tive mental tendencies (vāsanās). Nisargadatta Maharaj, however, feels differently (Nisargadatta 1994). What he realized upon practicing “ātma vichara” as given to him by his Master Siddharameshwar Maharaj, is that the Universe provides everything that we need for life – be it a famous, rich, average life, or life in poverty. Thus we should have faith in the universal system, which provides us with exactly what we need or deserve. If we accept it, then our energy can be fully invested into Self-discovery. The need to know our Self (Ātman) as a goal of life is not a new notion, as even the basic Indian life model assumes that apart from living in accordance with the concept of dharma, having appropriate degree of wealth, and having suitable enjoyments, one has to achieve alsomoksha– “liberation” (Self knowledge). But as regards reliance in God’s provision, Ramesh Balsekar conveyed a model that is not easy to put into practice. 2 The dialogue The original English sound track on a cassette got lost and so the text given below is retranslated to English from the Czech translation of the dialogue by Ivo Sedláček. The dialogue happened during the visit of Gejza [Geza] M. Timčák (Q) and Ivo Sedláček at the home of Ramesh Balsekar (A) in Bombay, India. We are both grateful to Ramesh Balsekar for his willingness to have this dialogue. Regretfully, Ramesh Balsekar is no longer with us, so we could not consult him further, regarding the points that were raised by him. There is one single basic question: whose will prevail in your own life (forget the rest of the world). Was it your will or God’s will? All is directed to this basic question. It cannot be that it is your will a bit an a bit of Divine will. This cannot happen. [Laughter] You cannot bargain with God – like that he will have a 80% will and I a 20% will. It is either your will or God’s will. But surely there exist something that could be called grace of God. Yes. But this is like a lottery – one can win or one does not win. Absolutely correct. Look for example to this: You were born in Czechoslovakia. [Note: I was not born in Czechoslovakia, but from the point of view of this conversation it is irrelevant.] Still for that matter, you could have been born in Ethiopia and be hungry. Naturally, it could have happened. But instead of being hungry you have a quite comfortable life in Czechoslovakia. And I also have a quite comfortable life in India. It is true. Nevertheless, in order to win a jackpot in a lottery, one would have to buy a lottery ticket. Thus one has to do at least something in order to open this potential possibility. Yes, yes. But tell me frankly: does everyone buy lottery tickets? Of course not. So, even if someone buys a lottery ticket, it is a matter of his predestination or fate. Is it not so? [Laughter] Whether he gets a winning 56 (2) Gejza M. Timčák
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