Tradition and the resistance to change.

[Bindu*]

I heartily agree with David Frawley's wiews about this. He is a longtime student of the Ramana maharshi teachings and a much respected schoolar in both India and the west for his encyclopedic knowledge about Hinduism and vedas et.c.

https://www.vedanet.com/the-teaching...integral-view/
"By David Frawley. Note: The teachings of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi (1878-1950), the great sage of Tiruvannamalai, South India, have become popular throughout the world as part of a new interest in Advaita or non-dualist Vedanta. However, there is a tendency to oversimplify his teachings as a kind of instant enlightenment for all that neglects the necessary prerequisites and support practices to make it really work. The following article attempts to elucidate the greater tradition behind the Maharshi’s teachings to provide students a better foundation for practice."

...............................Though Bhagavan’s teaching is simple and direct, it is broad and flexible. It accepts all helpful yogic practices, even those that it may not specifically mention. The Maharshi’s path follows the integral approach of Vedic teachings going back thousands of years and, particularly, the Advaitic and yogic approaches taught by Shankaracharya (seventh century) that included devotional practices and raja yoga (as taught in texts like Saundarya Lahiri).

Many people today, particularly in the West, do not understand the interconnectedness of these various yogic disciplines and fail to understand their benefits. Simple formless Self-inquiry is difficult to sustain, except for very advanced aspirants who have well developed powers of attention and extreme dispassion from all external objects starting with the body itself.

Such detachment is, of course, extremely rare in this materialistic and sensate age. Additional practices are usually necessary to build the competence for this effort, which is said to be as daunting as scaling a steep rock face of a high mountain.....................................

Also another famous nondualist frequently emulated by nondualist teacher in the west; Nisargatta Maharaj did in fact practice bhakti yoga (devotional yoga), and did encourage mantra practice.

http://www.enlightened-spirituality....a_Maharaj.html
"We hasten also to note here that Nisargadatta Maharaj was a very devotional and spiritually respectful man, devoutly respecting the One Spirit or Reality in everyone, and maintaining an outwardly devotional life, even if he had inwardly long ago dropped any sense of dualism toward a separate God. This devotional, spiritually respectful aspect is lost on some of those who have more recently endeavored to spread Maharaj's teachings and even emulate his style of teaching. The Maharaj sang in his Marathi tongue the old bhajan songs and litanies four times daily (two sessions open to visitors), performed the traditional arati-worship ritual to his lineage of gurus and egalitarian distribution of prasad (fruit, sweets or flowers). And every morning he tirelessly (doerlessly!) cleaned, garlanded and anointed with sandalwood paste and kum-kum (vermillion) powder those altar photos and higher-hanging photos of the sages and saints adorning his meeting room. He was also known to have lovingly initiated many aspirants from East and West into mantra-recitation in a traditional Guru-disciple relationship (see a text of one such encounter, reproduced below), and to promote veneration of the Guru, as Sri Siddharamesvar had likewise done before him."



Just some food for thoughts......