By Sandy Jones

Gospel of Thomas

[5]. Jesus says: "Know what is before your face,

and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you.

For nothing hidden will fail to be revealed!"

Sitting With A Silent Master

A Question - Perhaps - Answered - by Sandy Jones

In his second book "The Awareness of Self-Discovery," printed in 1970, William Samuel tells us this rather curious and inspiring story.

“Some years ago I was honored to be the first American student of a renowned teacher in India. For fourteen days a group of us sat at the feet of this "Master," during which time he spoke not one word—not so much as a grunt—until the final day when he bade us farewell and assured us we had learned much.

And to my surprise, I had. It took months before the seeds of those silent days began to sprout one by one, revealing that there are indeed many things for which the uptight, recondite babble of books and teachers is more hindrance than a help.”

_______

Years after William wrote about this renowned teacher in India, I was given all of William Samuel's books and literary material. Since then, I have been asked many times if I knew who this "renowned teacher" was. My answer was always that I did not know. William passed away, keeping the name of this Silent Master to himself.

Many felt that it was Sri Ramana Maharshi--and I suspected this too. I knew that William had visited India while he was an Infantry Captain during the war in China. That would have been around 1944. William only 21 years old. However, knowing that little bit of information, I still had no answer as to who this "Master" was. So, I let the whole thing go. Many assumed it was Sri Ramana Maharshi, but there was no proof.

That William would not mention the name of this revered Indian teacher fits precisely into the things we know about William Samuel and his honest, beautiful teachings.

Here are some of William’s words in reference to this:

"To whatever extent I allow Samuel to be the object of praise and veneration (instead of God-self) to that same extent I create the tangible situation which must appear to bring Samuel down in the eyes of the venerator. That is self-flagellation I can do without. It is difficult enough already for the few of us on earth who have been given the task of waging worldwide battle against the power of belief. Most tenacious among those beliefs is the insanity that one must be either a leader or a follower. Allness leads what? Singleness follows whom? The Seminal Idea discloses Identity to be nothing less than the Ineffable's very own Self-awareness!"

William makes many statements along these lines throughout his work.Really, his entire message is that we eventually find the Real Authority, the Truth, the Light and the Way, right here, Always Here as this Identity we are.

William preferred not to be categorized or assigned to any religion, particular study, nor tied to any spiritual teaching. He would say "We are gathering of folks from all walks of life, people of all religions and philosophical outlooks, Eastern and Western. He would go on to say "We are neither a group nor an organization. We are unbeholden and unattached to leaders or an intermediary. The Seminal Idea of Truth is capable of standing on its own. We spend no time worshiping the fountain, rather, we drink the water."

So, it was no wonder he told no one the name of the renown silent "Master" he had visited in India. William's mention of this visit with this teacher was to point out that much Light can be communicated without words. And that all teachers and all listening, and understanding is happening here within the Self we are.

In William’s own words: "We honor the Light that is Life, that every person is. We may very well appreciate a mirror that speaks to us with clarity and honesty--and we may consider that mirror unique among mirrors--but the authority lies with the awareness that looks into that mirror, and not the mirror."

Many years after William’s passing, I felt I should explore more, and maybe find out who that silent teacher in India was.

So in my heart I kept the idea that if I am meant to share the name of this Master teacher, maybe I will be led to the answer. I would have to be shown some evidence, or proof of who it was. Then, I trusted I could share the information with those who ask.

Well, miracles and wonders began to happen - it was not but a few weeks of feeling I might find the answer, when divine synchronicity brought me to a most interesting story. It seemed to confirm for me what so many had thought. The teacher William mentions truly must have been Ramana Maharshi. It seems conclusive to me. As William said, he had been the first American to visit with this venerated silent teacher. It was during his time in China.

Here is how I found this confirmation: I was looking up link connections to William Samuel on the internet. Wanting to see how many other links there were that could lead to William Samuel. I was delighted to see a growing number of links connected to William's name. As one link led to another, I came across this very unusual and interesting website called "Wanderling" and a mention of William Samuel. I started to read his web pages. It was all very intriguing. Totally unexpected, I found the answer we had all wanted to know. Right there, as bright as a neon sign. It was magical. I certainly could not deny this story and the wondrous evidence. It was a convoluted story entangled in several time lines, but it all led to this wonderful confirmation.

Here is a small part from Wanderling’s extensive marvelous story about his meeting with William Samuel so far back in 1944, and connecting the time of William Samuel’s visit with Sri Ramana Maharshi and days at Arunachla to William long after those days in China and India.

On his list of "Enlightened Individuals" Wanderling had met, right there, was the name WILLIAM SAMUEL.

In 1944 he (Wanderling) was 10 years old and living at the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi. Wanderling had a friend there, the same age, named Adam Osborne. Adam was the son of Arthur Osborne (1906–1970) who was an English writer on spirituality and mysticism, and an influential disciple and biographer of Ramana Maharshi. Adam and his mother (Arthur Osoborne's wife) were living at the Ashram, along with this boy who now calls himself "Wanderling"-- when, as he tells it, in April of 1944 William Samuel a 21 year old U.S. Infantry Captain came to visit Ramana Maharshi near the hill of Arunachula in India.......

And the whole fascinating story in Wanderlings own words continues from there.

There is so much more to this. You can read the whole story on Wanderlings website. War stories, history, time, meetings and connections. Then decide for yourself what all this means and or if it has any importance. I was just happy to find this most beautiful gift, a discovery, a journey that went weaving all these pieces together. I was enchanted by the whole magical adventure.

Explore Wanderlings story here: The Website page is titled: The Wanderling - Enlightened Individuals I Have Met:

If you would like further guidance in understanding any of William Samuel's work based on Self discover you are welcome to contact me, Sandy Jones - samuelandfriends@gmail.com - Ojai, California -