What Renunciates and the Law of Attraction have in common: the Art of Allowing

There exists in the world’s spiritual teachings a common theme, which can be found in expressions of this teaching as disparate as (for instance), the renunciate sage Ramana Maharshi, on one hand,  and the modern teachings of “Law of Attraction” such as those voiced by Abraham Hicks, on the other.

 

This is what we might call “the Art of Allowing,”  allowing the intelligence, Source, God, or Self to Work Through Us .  It is “allowing” in the sense that is not so much about doing, but “allowing oneself to be done through“, we might say.

 

It is a surrender to the flow and workings of life.  This does not mean surrender in the sense of giving up, or becoming a mere unintelligent puppet of source, —

but rather in the sense of an intelligent sensitivity to the subtleties of the moment;  and a “going with” the intuitive feel of what is right in that moment.

 

This does not mean that “Do-ers” are not allowing the Self or Source to work through them.  Indeed, often those inspired by Source and allowing it to “work through their hands” as it were, end up being the most active beings of all.

 

For instance, Ramana Maharshi, when some questioned him about what work should be done in national politics (this was in pre-independence India), replied that Gandhi was simply allowing himself as a conduit for the Primordial power of the Self to work through:

“Adhyatma sakti [the primordial power of the Self] is working within him and leading him on. That is enough. What more is necessary?”