Ramana Maharshi:
Narayana Iyer once had a significant conversation with Bhagavan about
the power of an enlightened being to change the karma of devotees if he
so wished. Bhagavan responded by saying that a jnani couldn’t possibly
have any desire to change anything. The conversation explored the term
‘sankalpa’, which is usually translated as ‘will’ or ‘intention’.
‘One day when I [Narayana Iyer] was
sitting by the side of Bhagavan I felt so miserable that I put the
following question to him: “Is the sankalpa of the jnani not capable of
warding off the destinies of the devotees?”
‘Bhagavan smiled
and said: “Does the jnani have a sankalpa at all? The jivanmukta
[liberated being] can have no sankalpas whatsoever. It is just
impossible.”
‘I continued: “Then what is the fate of all us who
pray to you to have grace on us and save us? Will we not be benefited
or saved by sitting in front of you, or by coming to you?…”
‘Bhagavan turned graciously to me and said: “…a person’s bad karma will
be considerably reduced while he is in the presence of a jnani. A jnani
has no sankalpas but his sannidhi [presence] is the most powerful force.
He need not have sankalpa, but his presiding presence, the most
powerful force, can do wonders: save souls, give peace of mind, even
give liberation to ripe souls. Your prayers are not answered by him but
absorbed by his presence. His presence saves you, wards off the karma
and gives you the boons as the case may be, [but] involuntarily. The
jnani does save the devotees, but not by sankalpa, which is non-existent
in him, only through his presiding presence, his sannidhi.”’ (The
Mountain Path 1968, p. 236, reprinted in The Power of the Presence, part
one, pp. 81-2)
