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DEVOTEE: Can a Guru who has died still be Guru for the
living?
FRANKLIN: It is limited only at the level of life. He
can’t function as Guru in any way that requires a physical
presence. So he usually tries to leave genuine disciples in
the world who can continue certain aspects of the
Guru-function. One who has had real experience spiritually
can read a book written by an experienced man in spiritual
life and see things there that he knows are true. It
corroborates his own experience. Just so, one who is already
living the real form of spiritual life can approach the
burial site of a deceased saint or go to holy places, and
benefit from the pilgrimage in that same sense of
corroboration or recognition. The current of spiritual force
continues to be emanated by such beings after death, but
Truth is not lived by them bodily in the world. At times
people appear to have experiences on a subtle level with
people who are dead. In my own experience, in the case of
Swami Nityananda, Ramana Maharshi, Sai Baba of Shirdi, and
others there have been very concrete and complex experiences
of their subtle influence. Baba Muktananda remains in
physical form to this day, but I am able to visit him only
occasionally. Therefore, my experiences with him are
generally of a subtle although perfectly concrete variety,
entirely apart from the gross physical medium. Just so, my
own work with disciples is fundamentally subtle.
Method of the Siddhas – Vital
Shock – Chapter 4
return to Mahasamadhi
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