Heart Without Measure

Spiritual truths are often too simple for the discursive rational mind, that adjunct of the ego, the limited, fragmented and conditioned part of ourselves that is anxiously separate from the Centre and that constantly tries to lose itself in frantic activity. These two books are expressions of Ravi's own quest or awakening where he shares his experiences with his fellow travellers in a way that keeps returning to the central themes of the spiritual life. As Ravi puts it early in his 'Whispers', 'the struggle to know who I am, in truth and spirit, is the spiritual quest'.

Heart without Measure is the touching and frank account of Ravi's ten-year encounter with Jeanne de Salzmann, who carried on Gurdjieff's work after his death (which she describes) in 1949 until her own passing at the age of 101 in 1990. Even his first meeting is a parable with which every reader will resonate. You know the feeling when you were unavoidably going to be late for an important appointment – I say 'were' because mobile phones now enable us to warn people in advance if we are stuck. Even so, the mind goes into overdrive as you formulate your story of excuses to be proffered on arrival. Mme de Salzmann was not interested in Ravi's excuses, but rather in the fact that he had succumbed to reaction instead of rising above it. The book chronicles a series of encounters with Mme de Salzmann which are interspersed with summaries of her sayings for good measure. There is some degree of repetition here, but, as Radhakrishnan remarked, there are certain truths that one cannot hear too often!

Many readers will know about Gurdjieff''s concept of work, which is a balance of effort and surrender aimed at making contact with higher energies that can come through the body and lead to conscious evolution and transformation. Indeed the function and meaning of human existence is defined by Mme de Salzmann in terms of becoming a bridge for these higher energies as part of the conscious evolution of the planet and its inhabitants. The energy is 'received in contemplation and given out in love', as Eckhart put it. This process is impossible unless one wakes up and remains vigilant, hence the practice of meditation and self-remembering. Otherwise one simply reacts mechanically (passive association is not active thought) and remains spiritually asleep. This exchange of energy actually involves the sacrifice of what is mechanical and unconscious. It also seems to be part of a more subtle method of building what some teachers refer to as a body or vehicle of light that transcends the death of the body.

The ego does not wish to be transformed but rather enhanced; it is afraid of transformation and surrender, and yet no radical progress can be made in the spiritual life without this movement. This sets up a tension between higher and lower energies, between the directions of Spirit and flesh, between the self as initiator of action and the self as instrument of a higher will. Ideas are not enough to generate the energy for transformation, which is a function of the higher part of the mind or nous. In sum, transformation is impossible from the bottom up – there must be a meeting with this 'top-down' energy, which some traditions would call grace or the action of the Spirit.

Heart without Measure has the makings of a classic of spiritual biography and autobiography. Just to read about Mme de Salzmann is an inspiration, a spur to greater effort, which partly explains why I sat down to write this review at 11.00 at night when my body would rather have gone to bed! Ravi is the reader's warm-hearted and lucid companion on the journey.

Whispers from the Other Shore is a more discursive book on 'spiritual search – East and West', a distinction that Ravi himself has said means less to him these days. 'All religions, like all philosophies, are ultimately lies'. The reader pauses for thought at this arresting statement, which Ravi goes on to justify by explaining that formalising (the letter) betrays the spontaneity of the experience (spirit), commenting that the words tradition and betrayal come from the same root. The important thing is presence, the flame of the Spirit. It is also refreshing to read a definition of faith as 'radical openness to the plenitude of being', which makes it integral to an experiential approach. Ravi speaks for the prophet rather than the priest, but the burgeoning spirituality of our time (indeed of any time) is essentially prophetic rather than priestly. What we need, asserts Ravi, is a path of spiritual becoming rather than a system of theological talking. The paradox is that reading his books is an exercise in thinking but there is a subtle osmosis that can be transmitted if the words are read contemplatively rather than just for their conceptual content. Serious aspirants will want to read both of these spiritually nourishing books, and I would advise starting with Heart without Measure and moving on to the Whispers from the Other Shore. And now I can retire to bed having made that extra effort!