Spiritual: Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

After sometime, the young Swami began to reside at the Pavalakunru shrine on the Arunachala hill, where also he would sit as before, immersed in the Bliss of Being. It was here that mother Alagamma came to take back her son, whom she recognised despite his wasted body and matted hair. With a mother’s love and concern, she lamented over his condition and pressed him to go back with her, but he sat unmoved despite her repeated entreaties. One day, pouring out her grief to the devotees around him, she beseeched them to intervene. Seized by the mother’s plight, one of them told the Swami, “Your mother is weeping and praying; at least give her an answer. The Swami need not break his vow of silence, but he could certainly write what he has to say.”

Venkataraman took a pencil and wrote in Tamil: “The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their prarabdha-karma, Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try hard as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it.This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.”

The last sentence applied to the mother, who was asking what could not be granted. It applies to people in general in the sense that ‘it is no use kicking against the pricks,’ opposing the destiny that cannot be altered. But it does not mean that utmost sincere efforts to succeed are not made. The man who says, “Everything is predestined, therefore I need make no effort”, is indulging in the wrong and tricky assumption that he knows what is predestined. The mother returned home and the Swami remained absorbed in the Self, as before.

Ganapati Muni, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet, was another devotee who visited the Swami from 1903 onwards and accepted him as his guru in 1907. It was the grateful Muni who named the Swami as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, and sang of him as an incarnation of Subrahmanya, son of Lord Siva. The Maharishi’s answers to the questions put by the Muni and his disciples, largely constitute the well-known work Ramana Gita. The most quoted sloka of this book (II. 2) tells us:

In the interior of the Heart-Cave [right hand side of the chest, not left] Brahman alone shines in the form of atman. Enter deep into the Heart with a questioning mind, or by diving deep within, or with breath under check, and abide in the atman

Sri Ramana’s teachings were mirrored to perfection in his life. He declared that to abide in the Self was the highest attainment, and it was in this State Transcendent that one found him at all times. He had the characteristics of a jivanmukta – emancipated, while yet in the physical body. According to the Yoga Vasistha, to such a person: “Pleasures do not delight, pains do not distress. He does not work to get anything for himself. There is nothing which he has to achieve. He is full of mercy and magnanimity. He rests unagitated in Supreme Bliss.”

Sri Ramana was much against miracles. He once said, “A magician deludes others by his tricks, but he himself is never deluded. A siddha who manifests his siddhis is inferior to the magician as he is deceiving others as much as himself.” The ‘miracles’, which used to happen from time to time looked like coincidences, and if brought to Sri Ramana’s attention he would just laugh them away. Sri Ramana would use the term ‘Automatic Divine Action’ for the ‘miracles’ and he made the devotee believe that he had no part to play in the matter.

Sri Ramana clarified that Who am I? is not a mantra to be repeated. The purpose of asking the question is to withdraw the mind from going outward and diving deep within one’s own Self. The monkey mind which is only a bundle of thoughts, would eventually vanish through persistent and serious meditation on the question Who am I?

Paul Brunton:

The Maharshi once told me, “The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature. Every man is divine and strong in his real nature. What are weak and evil are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself.”

Paul Brunton:

The gist of his message is: “Pursue the enquiry, ‘Who am I?’ relentlessly. Analyse your entire personality. Try to find out where the ‘I’ thought begins. Go on with your meditations. Keep turning your attention within. One day the wheel of thought will slow down and an intuition will mysteriously arise. Follow that intuition, let your thinking stop and it will eventually lead you to the goal.”

The Maharshi said, “Suffering turns men towards their creator.” Such simple words – yet what a whole philosophy is congealed within the phrase. You may think them to be platitudinous, and they would be, did they not derive from a man who knew what he was talking about because he ascended to spiritual regions beyond our ken, to regions where God is.

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Sadhu Ekarasa:

For a sage who always lives in the realisation, St Dionysius’s words hold good:

“All that you may say about God is untrue, for God is beyond speech and therefore what you say about God relates to something else.”

Sadhu Ekarasa:

Sri Ramana claimed his spiritual heritage without even having been told there was a heritage to claim. He is a Guru in the true sense of the word – the word means ‘dispeller of darkness’. The Maharshi’s way is as direct as it is simple. But it is so profound that it fails to reach the consciousness of many. Many come to him for something definite, or, in other words, finite. They do not understand that they stand in between the true Initiation into the Mystery of Being and themselves. Many times it has happened that visitors and resident disciples have asked the Maharshi to vouchsafe them initiation, grace, blessings or spiritual experience, and that he replied, “I am always giving it. If you cannot comprehend it, what am I to do?”

In contradiction to gurus of a less exalted level, who are inclined to be aware of their spiritual superiority, Ramana Maharshi considers all beings to be potential jnanis with God-Reality shining within them, even if they are not aware of it. Some of his utterances run parallel to that of the eighth century mystic Hui Neng who said: “The only difference between a Buddha and the average man is that one realises what the other discards.”

Sri Ramana proclaims that the Divine Heritage is ever there, waiting to be received; God-Reality is ever present within the Heart of all. The average man is inclined to pity the Sage, whom he regards as having foregone the pleasure of life.The Sage, however, pities his sympathizing fellow human beings, because the latter do not know what real happiness is.

From the point of view of the restless worldly mind, which delights in movement and change, an unbroken stay of fifty years in one place seems to be a tremendous achievement. It is indeed unique. But surely Sri Ramana has never looked upon it as being in any way remarkable. He has attained the Great Magnet of the world, the centre of the Heart, and became as immovable as his Father, Lord Arunachala.

Banning Richardson: What Jesus the Christ taught 2000 years ago that “I am in my Father and my Father is in me. My Father and I are one” is the same as He who teaches today at Tiruvannamalai.

Avadhoota Gita: “It is only through the Grace of God that in men with knowledge is born a desire to experience cosmic unity, a desire which protects them from the great dangers of samsara.”

Ramana: “Just be. All is in you, only a veil stands in between. You have only to rend the veil and then, well just be.”

B. Sanjiva Rao: The Maharshi is a living proof of the ancient advaitic thought. He demonstrates the reality of Self-transcendence. He states that the Ego-less state is the natural, the real state, that the Ego state is the unnatural and the false state. In the Ego-less condition, the true ‘I’ stands apart from the apparent reaction of the mind. The Sage watches the movements of the mind with the same objective detachment and impartiality as the scientific investigator of a physical phenomenon. The immediate effect of such self-scrutiny is quietening and stilling of the mind.

Swami Siddheswarananda: When I saw him I found in him the perfect example of the description which Sri Sankaracharya gives in his Vivekachudamani, when he explains what characterises a jivanmukta. According to verse 429:

He who even when his mind is merged in Brahman, is nevertheless entirely awake, but is at the same time free from the characteristics of the waking state and whose realisation is free from all desires, should be considered a man liberated while still alive.

Swami Siddheswarananda: The Maharshi can be best described in the words of the Gita: One who is satisfied in the Self by the Self (II. 55); the self-controlled one (XII. 14); one with firm determination (XII. 14); the desireless one (XII. 16); one who has renounced all enterprise (XII.16); content with anything (XII.19); sitting like one unconcerned (XIV. 23). Further, he is the man who revels here and now in the Self alone, and in the Self alone is content – for him there is no work which he must do (III. 17); he who is inwardly happy, revels within, and who likewise becomes the Light within, that yogi becomes the Brahman and realises the transcendental Bliss of the Brahman (V. 24).

According to Sankara in the Nirvanashtaka, he alone can say, “I have no death nor fear, no distinction of rank or class. I have no father, no mother, no friend, no master, no disciple; I am Absolute Knowledge and Bliss. I am the all-pervading Self, I am the all-pervading Self.”

As mentioned by the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, “Lo, verily, it is the self that should be seen, that should be harkened to, that should be thought on, that should be pondered on …”

His silence is more eloquent, more effective, more far-reaching than the sermons of any number of teachers put together. His grace is ever ready for us. All that we have to do is to qualify ourselves by our self-effort and self-purification to make ourselves worthy of his attention.

The Maharshi tells that we will never get at Reality if we take the appearance to be real: the dream world appears all too real to us so long as we are in it; but as soon as we are awake, we realise its unsubstantiality. The Maharshi seldom talks. He believes that the Self is best taught in silence. He says, “Silence is ever speaking, it is the perennial flow of language.” For the benefit of those who cannot understand the language of Silence, the Maharshi sometimes talks, but he warns at the same time that questions and answers lie within the region of avidya. Till the dawn of wisdom, doubts will necessarily arise. Once the Self is realised there will be no problem to be solved.

The Maharshi’s method of Self-enquiry ends in mental suicide; it provides an instrument whereby the mind destroys itself, thus revealing the Self. The Maharshi directs us to put ourselves the question, ‘Who am I?’ But this is not an empty formula or a barren mantra to be muttered. Patient, intelligent and unsparing effort is required before progress could be registered on this arduous journey.

The Maharshi teaches that the Heart, on the right side of the chest, is the seat of the Self. He makes it very clear that any reference to the physical body is only from the empirical point of view. From the absolute standpoint it is impossible to locate the Heart or Self in any place either inside the body or outside. So, when any particular part of the body is spoken of as the seat of the Self, it is so described only as an aid to the layman’s understanding.

Once someone enquired of Bhagavan as to what he would request if Lord Siva appeared before him on His bull prompting him to ask for a boon. Bhagavan is reported to have said, “Do not try to deceive me. He has no form. I don’t want to be tempted by your question. He is the formless Self in all.”

Balarama Reddy: His actions were spontaneous and natural, and by watching him we learnt how to live in the world. His example was the greatest teaching, and his divine presence far outweighted a lifetime of strenuous sadhana. Just to think of him or sit in his presence used to raise us to higher levels of blessedness.

He understood human frailty and was determined to teach us how to transcend it, not dwell upon it.

When pressed to say something, Bhagavan quoted from the Bible, “Be still and know that I am God”, and added a rider that the Lord said, “‘know’ and not ‘think’ that I am God.”

S.S Cohen: “Last night Mr.Brunton and myself had a heated discussion on the question of sex and marriage, especially as it affects the spiritual life. What does the Maharshi think about it?”The Maharshi kept silent for a moment and remarked, “As far as sadhana is concerned, brahmacharya means dwelling in Brahman,” leaving me to take it as I willed.

Speaking of retrospection, sadhakas must be warned against the tricks of memory. It cannot be too often recommended to them to forbear looking into the past with its trials and errors, acts of omission and commission, regrets, fears, passion, love and hatred, personal tragedies etc. Everything is dust, everything transitory, including the seemingly indissoluble human ties, more so wealth and fame, are thus not worth a moment’s regret. Nothing is changeless and lasting but the natural state of Pure Being.

Yes, you are right; all preconceptions must go, practice alone will show you where the truth lies

SS. Cohen

The Real is ever-present, like the screen on which the cinematographic pictures move. While the picture appears on it, the screen remains invisible. Stop the picture and the screen will become clear. All thoughts and events are merely pictures moving on the screen of Pure Consciousness, which alone is real.

In a cinema-show you can see pictures only in a very dim light or in darkness. When all lights are switched on, pictures disappear. So also in the floodlight of the Supreme atman all objects disappear. Think of God, attachments will gradually drop away. If you wait till all desires disappear before starting your devotion and prayer, you will have to wait for a very long time indeed.

That which comes and goes, rises and sets, is born and dies is the ego. That which always abides, never changes and is devoid of qualities is the Self.

Pain and pleasure are to the ego, which is itself imagined. When the ego disappears through a constant enquiry into its nature, the illusion of pleasure and pain also disappears, and the Self alone remains.

Habits create the false notion that thinking is a permanent institution, with which it is impossible to dispense, but enquiry and discrimination will blast this fallacy. None succeeds without effort and the successful few owe their victory to perseverance.

We are so accustomed to objectivity that we have lost the knowledge of ourself simply because the Self cannot be objectified. We are the Self, yet we ask how to know the Self.

I have never said that there is no need for a guru. All depends on what you call guru. He need not be in a human form. Dattatreya had 24 gurus. The Upanishads say that none but a guru can take a man out of the jungle of intellect and sense perceptions. Did I not sing hymns to Arunachala? Guru is God or the Self. First a man prays to God to fulfill his desires. A time comes when he will no more pray for the fulfilment of material desires but for God itself. God then appears to him in some form or other, human or non-human, to guide him to Himself in answer to his prayer and according to his needs.

Meditation includes mind control, the subtle watchfulness against intruding thoughts. In the beginning, efforts for control are greater than for actual meditation, but in due course, meditation wins and becomes effortless.

Heart is the seat of jnanam. It is represented in the physical body by a hole smaller than the smallest pinpoint, which is always shut. When the mind drops down in kevala-nirvikalpa it opens but shuts again after it. When sahaja is attained it opens for good. The former is like the mental bucket under the water, which can be pulled out any moment. The latter is like the river that has linked up with the ocean from which there is no return.

Adi Sankara in Sivananda Lahari has written a sloka, wherein he says: “O, Lord Sankara! You are a bhikshu. Why not tie down my mind, known as monkey, to your stick and go about begging? You will then get alms in abundance.”

Once a devotee asked Bhagavan the significance of fasting. With a benevolent look, he said, “If all activities of indriyas are given up, the mind becomes single pointed. When such a mind gets concentrated upon God, it is real upavasam. ‘Upa’ means near and ‘vasam’ means living. Where is he going to live? He will live in his Self. Desires are the food of mind. Giving them up is the upavasam. One who can ‘fast’ the mind, need not fast the body. For those who cannot fast the mind, fasting the body has been suggested so as to purify the mind.”

Man has three functions: thought, action and being. ‘Being’ underlies the other two and is the necessary substratum for them, and yet is almost completely overshadowed by them. The simile Bhagavan made use of was of a cinema screen on which film is shown. The spectators become aware of the picture, which are only shadows on the screen, which is unaffected by them. A fire in the picture does not burn the screen nor a flood makes it wet. Sometimes he gave the example of the actor on a stage playing a certain part, although knowing that he is not really that person; sometimes of a bank cashier who pays out thousands coolly and efficiently, knowing that it is not his money that he is paying.

The morning before I left, Dr. Syed, Professor of Philosophy, Allahabad University, asked Bhagavan, “What is the purpose of creation?”

Usually Bhagavan gave replies in Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam. This time He spoke directly in English, and asked, “Can the eye see itself?” Dr. Syed replied, “Of course not. It can see everything else, but not itself.” To Bhagavan’s question that “if it wants to see itself”, he said, “It can see itself only in a mirror.” Bhagavan then commented, “That is it. Creation is the mirror for the ‘I’ to see itself.”

At Bhagavan’s instance I translated into Telugu verse His selections from Yoga Vasistham. In the last verse which says, ‘whatever part you have taken in life, play it well,’ I added in Telugu rendering the phrase saisava lila (the sport of childhood). Bhagavan appreciated it by saying, “It was a happy phrase and correctly portrays the attitude of mind one should cultivate according to the slokas. Has not the Christ said, ‘Unless thou be as children, thou shalt not enter the Kingdom of God?’”

One Somasundaraswami approached Bhagavan with a new notebook and requested him to write one aksharam (letter) in it first. Aksharam also means the indestructible (Self). So Bhagavan wrote in Tamil, “One aksharam shines always of Itself in the Heart. How could it be written?”

One day, while going up the Hill, Bhagavan referred to the misunderstanding between two prominent devotees and wanted me to convey to them the following message: “Whoever condemns us is our friend. For he condemns only our body, which is our enemy. The enemy’s enemy is the best friend. We should really beware of those who praise us.”

One day in December 1939, Devaraja Mudaliar, an intimate devotee, asked how Bhagavan could observe distinction among His devotees. “For instance”, he added, “Shall we be wrong if we say that Subbaramayya is shown a little more favour than others?”Bhagavan smilingly replied, “To me there is no distinction. Grace is flowing like the ocean ever full. Every one draws from it according to capacity. How can one who brings only a tumbler complain that he is not able to take as much as another who brought a jar?” Once Bhagavan quoted two Tamil verses of poet Muruganar [No.53], and explained them as follows: (i) That which is said to be beyond the beyond and which is at the same time inside of the inside and shines within the Heart itself, the Real Self is verily Sri Ramana, do adore Him. (ii) Like the cock that throws aside the diamond taking it to be a pebble, you may also belittle this Arunachala Ramana mistaking Him for a common fellow man, while He is really the Supreme Self. So beware!

On the question of attaining Self-realisation, Bhagavan told me that in the early stages a person who was regularly meditating would usually at first go into a trance which would probably last for some thirty minutes, and if he continued with his tapas properly, such samadhi would become more frequent. A person can still carry on with the ordinary day-to-day business but he no longer identifies himself with the activities, but watches them like a dreamer watching a dream.

Bhagavan said that the mind was like a monkey, never still for one second, it was an almost hopeless task to try and quieten it; the best thing to do was to give it a productive employment and never allow it to fritter itself away. Let it concentrate on ‘Who am I’? And then there will be no room for any other thought.

Bhagavan said that the principal sadhanas we should practise were to eat only sattvic food and observe satsanga. He laid no other rules. He said that the mind was entirely created by the food we ate.

Bhagavan never taught morals, and had no special abhorrence to sex. He once said in answer to troubled disciples in my hearing, “It is better to do it than to be always thinking about it.” This reminds one of the Gita, “Thoughts are acts in their infancy.”

One day Bhagavan said, “Why do you think that you are the doer? It is absurd, as it is obvious that ‘I’ does nothing. ‘I’ is always the witness. Concentrate on being the witness and let things take their course, they will go on anyhow, you cannot prevent them.”

Bhagavan was insistent on ‘means’ and taught that we should leave the ‘ends’ to look after themselves.

If asked about Self-realisation, what it was like, or what would be our state in future, he would always reply, “Why worry about something in future? It is here and now which are important. You are always Self realised, but only ignorant of the fact.”

From the Bible he often cited the key passages like: Be still and know that I am God; the kingdom of God is within you; my Father and I are one

Once Rangachari, a Telugu teacher in a Vellore college, asked the Maharshi to explain nishkama karma (desireless action). There was no reply. After a time, the Maharshi went up the hill followed by a few devotees and Rangachari. There was a thick, strong, thorny branch lying on the way which the Maharshi picked up and began working on. The spikes were cut off, the knots made smooth and the surface polished with a rough leaf. Hours of hard and careful work resulted in a nice stick that Maharshi presented to a passing shepherd boy who appeared dejected because he had lost his stick. Rangachari confessed that he had learnt a new lesson in the art of teaching, for this silent practical demonstration was the Sage’s perfect answer to his earnest question.

Bhagavan’s special mission was to convince all and sundry that by self-enquiry, ‘Who am I?’ (his brahmastra), and self-surrender, anyone of us can and should live securely, comfortably and happily in both worlds, the Timeless and time.

Sivaprakasam Pillai: With kind words you said, “The meaning of the word ‘I’ is the one reality that exists as supreme bliss, as knowledge. It is indestructible, and although it is within this fleshly body, it is still different from it. If you desire to know this supreme essence, you must first get rid of the attachment that takes the body as ‘I’ and then enquire, Who am I? If one repeatedly dives within [like the pearl diver searching for the pearl] one can know oneself. This Self-knowledge is liberation.”

Akhilandamma: One day when I went up the hill with all the required foodstuff to serve a bhiksha, a swami told me, since it was a full moon day, it was an auspicious time to receive upadesa from great souls. I approached Bhagavan, bowed, stood up and said, “ Bhagavan, kindly tell me something.” Bhagavan stared at me and asked, “About what am I to tell you? ”I was both puzzled and nonplussed. A mixture of fear and devotion along with an eagerness to hear Bhagavan’s gracious words welled up within me, rendering me incapable of speech. I just stood mutely. Bhagavan understood my predicament. No one can hide anything from him. He can understand the state of mind of anyone who approaches him, merely by looking at him.

He looked at me graciously and said, ‘unnai vidamal iru’, that is, ‘Be without leaving yourself.’

I beseeched him fervently saying, “It is my great desire that I should actually experience your gracious wisdom. Kindly fulfil my desire.” In those days Sri Ramana was not speaking much. Still he spoke kindly as follows, “Is it the body in front of me that desires to obtain my grace? Or is it the awareness within it? If it is the awareness, is it not now looking upon itself as the body and making this request? If so, let the awareness first of all know its real nature. It will then automatically know God and my grace. All that you have to do hereafter is that you do not identify yourself with the body, the senses and the mind. You have to convert the state of ignorant deep sleep in which one becomes formless and unattached, into conscious deep sleep.You should never forget that this experience will come only through long practice. This experience will make it clear that your real nature is not different from the nature of God.”

Bhagavan never used to prescribe discipline for any one. His nature was to instruct by following himself the discipline of conduct enjoined upon spiritual aspirants. When someone complained that Bhagavan was not censuring the conduct of some devotees, he said,

“Who is to correct whom? Is it not the Lord alone who has the authority to correct everyone? All we can do is to correct ourselves. That itself is correcting others.”

Bhagavan would exhort devotees to try to attend to the Self all the time. He told a gentleman from the West who was sweeping up the leaf-plates that were lying near the dining room: “Is sweeping the used leaf-plates the means to get salvation? Is it to perform this tapas that you came here all the way? Go inside. The service of purifying your heart is the highest service. That alone can redeem you.”

A certain lady would prostrate to Bhagavan, touch his feet and then put the hands that had touched Bhagavan’s feet on her eyes. After noticing that she did this daily, Bhagavan told her one day,

“The pure awareness, which is shining as the inward illumination is guru’s gracious feet. The contact with these [inner holy feet] alone can give you true redemption.”

Almost everyone who approached Bhagavan wanted to get some special upadesa from him. To one such seeker, Bhagavan said, “Jnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. It can be realised by everyone in his own heart. Since the meaning of the word upadesa (upa+desam) is only ‘being in the Self’ or ‘being as the Self’, so long as one is seeking the Self from outside, Self realisation cannot be attained.”

On one occasion, a maharaja came for Bhagavan’s darshan.When he was leaving, a resident devotee followed him in the hope of getting a donation for the Ashram. Bhagavan did not approve of this and said, “To a sannyasi even a king is mere straw,” and illustrated it by recounting a story : A Muslim saint, learning that Emperor Akbar very much liked to associate with sadhus, went to the palace to obtain a favour for his devotees. He saw Akbar in prayer, asking favours from God. Immediately he left the palace.When Akbar heard of the saint’s visit, he called him and asked why he left without seeing him.The saint replied, “To fulfil a small need of my devotees I thought of approaching you. But I found that you yourself have needs and were praying to God for their fulfilment. As the scene reminded me the truth that God alone can fulfil everyone’s needs, I left the palace.”

Towards the end of Bhagavan’s life, a devotee who firmly believed in the omnipotence of the great ones, could not bear to see the Maharshi weak because of the disease. He appealed to the Maharshi with great feeling that he should transfer the disease to him and stay in the body for some more time to save many other helpless devotees. Wondering at the devotee’s childlike innocence, Bhagavan looked at him with compassion and replied graciously, “Who created this disease? Is it not He alone who has the freedom to change it? Is it not enough that I have borne till today all by myself this load of flesh that [once it is dead] must be carried by four persons? Should I continue bearing it henceforth?”

Through these words he made it clear that in the physical world the law of destiny was inexorable. The jnani merely remains as a witness established in his natural state.

Bhagavan’s non-identification with the body was witnessed by those who saw him in the last few months of his life, when he was affected by cancer. He remained indifferent to the treatment arranged by devotees and allowed the doctors to do their job as wished by the devotees. He said,

“Our job is to remain a witness to all that happens,” and added, “Thinking this body alone to be Bhagavan, they are grieved that Bhagavan is suffering because of illness. What to do? They are worried that Swami is going to leave. Where to go? How to go?”

N.R Krishnamurthy Aiyer:

At that time, there were no buildings in the Ashram except for a shed covering the mother’s samadhi. I saw Bhagavan seated on a bench under a tree, stroking a dog near him. Among us Brahmins, the dog is an animal which will defile purity. A good part of my respect for the Maharshi was gone. I asked him, Sir, you are sitting like this, what is your next sthiti (move)?

My idea was to elicit from him the reply that there is a soul that survives the dissolution of the body, which later gets unified with God. I wanted to have a verbal fight with him so that I could prove that this was not so. Minutes passed but no reply was forthcoming. I said to myself, “Is this man taking shelter under his dumb-indifferent silence from answering an inconvenient question?” Just then Bhagavan’s ringing voice exploded, “Sthiti, what do you mean by sthiti?”

I was not prepared for the question. I said to myself, “Oho, this man is very dangerous, he is dangerously alive. I have to answer with proper care.” I began to think: If I ask him about the body, it is a useless question; the body will be buried or burnt. Now, if I say that the question is about the state of mind, he will naturally ask me to define mind, for which no answer was forthcoming within me. I landed in a void, and was like a helpless mute. There was a fierce glow in Bhagavan’s eyes that held my own eyes in a tight grip. I lost awareness of both the body and the world. I do not know how long it continued. When I came to myself, I was terribly afraid of the Maharshi. In spite of myself, I prostrated and made a headlong flight.

After the evening meal was over, I followed Bhagavan on his short stroll and asked, “ Bhagavan, I am doing Rama mantra japa. Is not Arunachala mantra japa superior to this?” “No! No!” said Bhagavan vehemently, “Both are identical. ‘Ra’ means ‘that is’ and ‘ma’ means ‘thou’. ‘A’ in Arunachala means ‘that’, ‘ru’ means ‘thou’ and ‘na’ means ‘art’.”Then he added, “Using your mind as your mouth, let the name Rama revolve continuously like the Vishnu’s chakra (discus) within your mind. Let no other know that you are doing japa.”

Prof. Aiyer who in his old age stayed with his son at Tiruvannamalai

told the following to V. Ganesan:

In Bhagavan’s daily life one noticed personal cleanliness, tidiness of dress, habitual wearing of vibhuti and kumkum on the forehead; equal sharing of all enjoyment with those around him; strict adherence to a time schedule; performing useful work however ‘low’ it may be; never leaving a work unfinished; the pursuit of perfection in every action; incessant activity except while sleeping or resting after a spell of hard work; never considering oneself superior to others; speaking the truth always, or strict silence if the expression of truth would hurt or lower the reputation of others; perfect self-help; never asking another to do a piece of work which can be done by oneself; taking full responsibility for failure, if any, without shifting the blame on others; accepting success or failure with equanimity; never disturbing the peace of others; leaving the leafplate clean after eating; complete non-interference in the affairs of others; never worrying about the future.These are the lessons Sri Ramana taught by example to his devotees.

Swami Madhavatirtha:

The silence of the sage is constant and exercises uninterruptedly its benign influence, whether the sage appears to be outwardly aware of the world or not. Reverting to the analogy of the transmitter, I may say that so far as the sage is concerned, his spiritual influence is transmitting unceasingly. But from the point of view of the seeker, who is still subject to the veiling power of maya, the continued beneficent influence exercised by the sage will have no apparent effect unless the seeker is ready to receive it.

When I enquired whether I should gaze at his eyes or his face, or should close my eyes and concentrate on a particular object, he replied, “Gaze at your own real nature. Everywhere there is one, so it is all the same whether you keep your eyes open or closed. If you wish to meditate, do so on the ‘I’ that is within you. It is atman.”

When asked about the required sitting posture, the sage’s view was that stability in Self was the real posture. The compulsion of having a particular kind of posture could make the mind agitated

Regarding the swaadhyaya (personal study) he said, “Self is the real book. You can glance anywhere in that book; nobody can take it away from you.Whenever you are free turn towards Self.Thereafter you may read whatever you like.”

About the problem of weariness, fear and anxiety, he said, “Find out to whom the problem occurs. By conducting this inquiry these things will disappear. If you direct your mind towards Self, fear and anxiety will go away.”

The Maharshi told me that ‘I’ (ahamkara) feeling is the root of all thoughts. If you destroy the root, the leaves and branches will wither away. Having put the question ‘Who am I’? before the mind, one should search for the root of the ‘I’ and make very sincere and persistent efforts to stop other thoughts. In all sadhanas the mind has to be kept quiet. Further, to get the experience one should not rely on buddhi alone, but should combine it with a firm conviction (bhavana) about one’s success through continued effort against all odds.

Once a visitor asked, why does God allow so much injustice to go on and why there is so much insufficiency among us?The Maharshi replied, “Go to God and ask Him about it. If you cannot go to Him as you are admitting, how to ask the question? Weak people do not get liberation.”

In answer to another question, the Maharshi said, “So long as the body is there, some activity is bound to happen. Only the attitude ‘I am the doer’ has to be given up. The activities do not obstruct. It is the attitude ‘I did’ that is the obstruction. Further, so long as an external object is required [for happiness], incompleteness is felt. When it is felt that atman alone is there, permanent happiness stays.”

One day when I asked Bhagavan why the experiences I had felt in his presence did not continue after my return, he referred to verses 83 to 93 of the first section of Kaivalya Navaneeta. He then summarised the verses and said, “The experience of the Self can occur in the presence of the guru, but it may not last. The disciple has to continue to study, think and practise until the distinction between knower, known and knowing no longer exists.”

We had the benefit of regularly receiving personal instructions from Bhagavan. One of them was that we should get into a meditative state before going to sleep. We were also advised to go into meditation for sometime, immediately after getting out of bed.

After he left, I said, “Bhagavan, why did you speak like this? How is it possible?” Bhagavan replied, “What can I do? If I had not spoken in this way, his faith would have been shattered to its foundations.”As I was still sceptical, Bhagavan asked me to read a verse from the Gita which meant: Knowledge should be given according to one’s ability to grasp it. If we teach philosophy to those who are not ready to receive it, their faith will be destroyed

In 1945, Bhagavan told Dilip Kumar Roy that bhakti is the mother of jnana. When a follower of the bhakti marga declares that bhakti is the best, he really means by the word bhakti what the jnana marga man calls jnana. There is no difference in the state, or its description by attributes or transcendence of attributes. Only, different thinkers have used different words.

A few days later, Roy asked Bhagavan, “What is the best way of killing the ego?” Bhagavan replied, “To ask the mind to kill the mind is like making the thief the policeman. He will go with you and pretend to catch the thief but nothing would be gained. So you must turn inward and see from where does the mind arise and then it will cease to exist.”

Bhagavan used to say, “The state that is beyond speech and thought

is called mauna. Silence is eternal speech. It is the perpetual flow of

language; it is the supreme language.”

Once I asked Bhagavan as to how I could rise above my animal existence. He replied with great compassion, “It is only by awakening a power mightier than the senses and the mind that these can be subdued. If you awaken and nurture the growth of that power within you, everything will be conquered. One should sustain the current of meditation uninterruptedly. Moderation in food and similar restraints will be helpful in maintaining the inner poise.” He added, “So long as you identify yourself with the body, you can never escape sex thoughts and distractions.”

Once I wrote a poem in praise of Bhagavan in which I said, “May you be with us in all your future births.” Bhagavan heard this and said, “Is this birth not enough, that he wishes me many more?” People scolded me for writing so disrespectfully. Some said Bhagavan was beyond rebirth. Others maintained he was the son of great Siva Himself, who was never in need of a human body. I exclaimed, “Bhagavan will be reborn many times, not because he needs it but because we need him.”

Bhagavan listened carefully. ‘Right’, he said, and became very quiet. The hall was filled with power and silence and immense love was pouring from Bhagavan like a mighty sea.

If during the quest of one’s own Self, the mind turns outwards on account of its attachment to objects of perception, the seeker should turn it inwards again. He should bring the mind back again and again and reengage it in the quest. There must be a resolve to become aware of the truth of oneself by means of the question, “Who is he that has this attachment to objects of perception?” The answer to this question is not an intellectual conclusion. The correct answer to it is only the experience of the real Self.

To create empty space in a room one only has to remove the encumbering, unwanted lumber. In the same way, to realise the Self nothing more is needed than the removal of false knowledge that I am the body

A devotee while taking leave of Bhagavan said, “Swami, I am going far away from you. The devotees who are staying in the Ashram are enjoying the bliss of your company every minute. Please accept me also in the same manner.” Bhagavan replied, “Everyone thinks that special grace is bestowed on the devotees who stay here. If there is such a preference how can he be a jnani? The Lord is bound to protect a person who has surrendered to Him. In fact one who has surrendered need not even pray; the Lord always remains close extending His protection. The frog stays near the lotus but it is only the bees that suck the honey of the flowers, from whatever distance they may come from.”

Sundaram: Once while meditating in the presence of Bhagavan, my mind persisted in wandering. I couldn’t control it. So I gave up meditation and opened my eyes. Bhagavan at once sat up on his couch and said, “Oh! You abandon it thinking it is the swabhava (nature) of the mind to wander. Whatever we practice becomes the swabhava. If control is practised persistently that will become the swabhava.” Yet another upadesa for me.

Subbalakshmi Ammal: When I chanced to go to the Ashram again, I went to the hall. No one else being there, I gathered courage and asked, “What is atma?” Bhagavan replied, “To remain without thinking is atma.” Then he looked at me and I felt my mind melt away into nothing. No thoughts came. Only the feeling of immense unutterable peace was there.

Subbalakshmi Ammal: I used to keep fast quite often. I had read: “He who wants to know himself and yet pays attention to his body is like a man who trusts a crocodile to take him across a river.” When I showed the text to Bhagavan, he said, “It does not mean that you should starve. It only means that you should not give the body more than it needs. With your mind, hold on to the enquiry [Who am I?] and just keep the body going on so that it does not become a hindrance. For this, fresh food, simply prepared and taken in moderation is a great help.”

Annamalai Swami: About ten days after my arrival I asked Bhagavan how I could attain Self realisation? He replied, “If you give up identifying with the body and meditate on the Self, you can attain Self-realisation.”

Annamalai Swami: A few days later I asked, “Scientists have invented and produced the aircraft which can travel at great speeds in the sky. Why do you not give us a spiritual aircraft in which we can quickly and easily cross over the sea of samsara?” Bhagavan replied, “The path of self-enquiry is the aircraft you need. It is direct, fast, and easy to use. You are already travelling very quickly towards realisation. It is only because of your mind that it seems that there is no movement.” In the years that followed, I had many spiritual talks with Bhagavan but his basic message never changed. It was always: “Do self-enquiry, stop identifying with the body and try to be aware of the Self, which is your real nature.”

Swami Ranganathananda: There is a beautiful verse in Sankaracharya’s Vivekachudamani,

which is so apt for the Maharshi: ‘Absolutely poor but full of happiness,

no army behind but infinitely strong, no experience of sense satisfaction

but always happy, none equal to him but he feels all to be his equals.’

“The light of the Self travels from the heart to the mind and from there to various parts of the body. The discriminating one must, through incessant effort, turn the light back to the heart wherefrom it has arisen. Then one experiences the bliss of the Self. Though the heart is all pervasive, since the individual identifies himself with the body, a physical location, the right side, is indicated.”

I again asked about the relation of the body to the ‘I’. He gave his smile, and said, “You came up from the bungalow this morning in a cart, yet you do not say, “The cart came.” You say, “I came up.” You did not make the mistake of identifying yourself with the cart. In the same way, look upon your body as you do the cart. Treat it well, and it will be a good servant and instrument. But do not be deceived into thinking it is ‘I’. At the end of our talk, he quoted that wonderful saying from the Upanishad, “When, to the man who understands, the Self has become all things, what sorrow, what trouble can there be, to him who has once beheld this unity?”

My first question was, “What are the hindrances to the realisation of the true Self?” He said, “Memory, chiefly habits of thoughts, accumulated tendencies.” When I enquired, “How does one get rid of these hindrances,” his answer was:

“Seek for the Self through meditation by tracing every thought back to its origin, which is only the mind. Never allow thought to run on. If you do, it will be unending. Take it back to the starting place – the mind – again and again, and the thought and the mind will both die of inaction. The mind only exists by reason of thought. Stop that and there is no mind. As each doubt and depression arises, ask yourself, “Who is it that doubts? What is it that is depressed?” Go back constantly to the question, “Who is the ‘I’? Where is it? Tear everything away until there is nothing but the source of all remains. Live always in the present; there is no past or future, except in the mind.”

Regarding meditation, he said, “Meditate on what you are in Reality. Try to realise that your are not th body, emotions or intellect.” As the days passed, I saw more and more clearly that this was no theoretical philosophy. He himself lived it continuously and joyously.

An effective method of slaying the entire army of thoughts, according to Sri Bhagavan is – whenever a question arises within you ask yourself, ‘to whom does this question arise?’ The answer naturally will be, ‘to me’. Then ask yourself again ‘who is that me?’ ‘who is that ‘I’?’ Every time that you put this question you will find that a thought which has come to lead you astray will itself slink away. In this way you will be able to strike down thoughts until one blessed day you will find that the mind is merged in the Heart, where shines the true Self – the divine Self. Through persistent practice and sincere efforts the mind can be merged at its source. The ego will vanish and the true Self alone will remain. This is the path of atma vichara.

J.P Vaswani: Sri Bhagavan was a jnani of the highest order that the world has ever known. But remember, every true jnani is at the same time a bhakta and a karma yogi. Sri Bhagavan said, “Cast all your cares on the Lord. Throw all your burdens at His lotus feet. Remember, the Lord of the Universe is one who carries all burdens, why must you carry your burden yourself?” These are the words of Sri Bhagavan and every word that he uttered came out of the depths of his own realisation.

Swami Tapovanam: Work should be undertaken and pursued to take us ultimately to the workless Abode of Divine Silence and endless Peace. This is the secret doctrine of all our Vedas and ancient scriptures.

Ganapati Muni, a great Siva bhakta, chose Tiruvannamalai, the holy seat of Siva, for his tapas in 1903 and briefly met Sri Ramana on the hill. In 1907, when he came again to Tiruvannamalai he found that nothing tangible had emerged from his severe tapas. Disappointed, he climbed up the hill and fell flat on his face holding Sri Ramana’s feet with both hands.

With a voice trembling with emotion he cried, “All that has to be read I have read. I have performed japa to my heart’s content. Yet I have not up to this time understood what tapas is. Pray, enlighten me about the nature of tapas.”

After listening to the Muni, Sri Ramana silently gazed at him as he sat in anxious expectation. Then he said in Tamil, “If a mantra is repeated and attention directed to the source from where the mantra-sound is produced, the mind will be absorbed in that. That is tapas.” This short instruction filled Muni’s heart with joy. He stayed on the hill for some hours and composed five stanzas in praise of the Swami 2 in which he shortened his original name Venkataraman to ‘Ramana’, which has stuck to the Swami ever since. He wished his disciples to call him Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. The Muni must be given credit for this name.

A devotee asked, “It is stated that one should dive into oneself with a keen one-pointed mind controlling speech and breath. Is it necessary to control the breath also?” Bhagavan replied, “If all thoughts are controlled, automatically the breath is also controlled. By intense and sustained practice it will become habitual. Controlling the breath through various yogic exercises is like putting brakes to the train when the engine is working. But by watching the source of the mind with full concentration, the thoughts would get controlled. This method will be more effective and easy. It is like shutting the power of the engine and thereby stopping the train completely.”

Once a few very learned Sanskrit scholars were seated in the hall discussing portions of the Upanishads and other scriptural texts with Bhagavan. I felt in my heart, how great these people are and how fortunate they are to be so learned and to have such deep understanding and ability to discuss with our Bhagavan. I felt miserable. After the pandits had taken leave, Bhagavan turned to me and said, “What?” looking into my eyes and studying my thoughts, “This is only the husk ! All this book learning and capacity to repeat the scriptures by memory is absolutely of no use. To know the Truth, you need not undergo all this torture of learning. Not by reading do you get the Truth. Be Quiet that is Truth. Be Still, that is God.”

Once I cried and told the Maharshi that I knew nothing about Vedanta nor could I practise austerity, being a householder. I prayed to him to help me by showing the Reality or the way to it. I also frankly told him that his method of Self-enquiry was too hard for me. He then graciously said, “You know Ulladu Narpadu [Truth in Forty Verses]. It imparts Pure Truth, deals with it and explains it. Go on reading it verse by verse. The words of the verses will in course of time vanish and Pure Truth (sat) alone will shine, like the snake relinquishing its skin and coming out shining.”

G.Lakshmi Narasimham - The essence of what Bhagavan said in my talks with him was: “You say that on final analysis all that I see or think or do is one; but that really comprises two notions: the all that is seen; and the ‘I’ that does the seeing, thinking and doing, and says ‘I’.Which of these two is the more real, true and important? Obviously the seer, since the ‘seen’ is dependent on it. So, turn your attention to the seer who is the source of your ‘I’ and realize it. This is the real task. Up till now you have been studying the object, not the subject. Now find out for what reality this ‘I’ stands. Find the entity which is the source of the expression ‘I’. That is the Self, the Self of all selves.”

This direct, simple teaching was like a tonic to me. It swept away the unrest and confusion that till then had haunted my mind. It is, of course, the essence of Ulladu Narpadu and the central theme of all Bhagavan’s writings. The simplicity of it made me burst out, “Then Bhagavan, Selfrealization is very easy, just as you say in the poem Atma Vidya!”

Bhagavan smiled and said, “Yes, yes, it seems so at first, but there is a difficulty. You have to overcome your present false values and wrong identification. The quest requires concentrated effort and steadfast abidance in the Source, when reached.” However, while warning me, he also added words of solace: “But don’t let that deter you. The rise of the urge to seek the ‘I’ is itself an act of Divine Grace, for which one has to pray.”

“Bhagavan! I have heard about the vichara marga of yours, but have no clear conception of it. Is it to sit in a quiet place and ask oneself the question ‘Who am I?’ repeatedly or meditate on that question as on a mantra?”

On hearing my words all eyes turned towards me. Bhagavan replied tersely and clearly in Malayalam.“No, it is not repeating or meditating on ‘Who am I?’. It is to dive deep into yourself and seek the place from which the ‘I’ thought arises in you and to hold on to it firmly to the exclusion of any other thought. Continuous and persistent attempt will lead you to the Self.”

N.V. Gunaji: “Oh Bhagavan, if you are going to give us anything, give us this – Our ego should vanish, our sight (vision) should be focussed (on the self), thought should drop and the world should be no more. May we get natural happiness which depends not on the forms and objects of senses. As salt is dissolved in water, our minds should be merged in the Self.”

Hearing this, Bhagavan was mightily pleased. He stretched himself up and in a loud voice proclaimed, “Take, take as much as you like, get in, get in.”

I then asked Bhagavan, “How to get in and stay there when we get in?” Bhagavan laughed, looked at me and answered, “Leave out the body-consciousness (the idea that I am the body) and then where is ‘in’ and where is ‘out’? All life-consciousness is One throughout.”

In the interior cavity of the Heart [on the right side of the chest] the one Supreme Being Brahman alone shines in the form of the atman with direct immediacy as ‘I’ ‘I’. Enter into the Heart with one-pointed mind, either through self-enquiry, that is, constantly enquiring within yourself as to who am I, or by diving deep within, or through control of breath, and abide ever in the atman.

I visited Sri Ramanasramam in March 1934 and prostrated before Sri Ramana in the hall. Bhagavan asked me, “Who are you?” I said, “I am Narayanaswami.” [His actual name.] He said, “Is it the body, the mouth or the hands that represent the ‘I’ you are talking about?” and added, “you are different from the body. You are the possessor, and the body is your possession.” When I said, “I am different from my body, but I cannot clearly see the line of demarcation between my body and my Self”, Bhagavan suggested, “Put the question to your Self and you will know who you are, tracing the source from which the ‘I’ springs.”

Regarding food requirements for sadhana, Bhagavan often remarked, “The aspirants should eat a very moderate quantity of whatever food comes their way and not stipulate, discriminate, or pick and choose in the matter of diet.” His insistence was on continuous one-pointed enquiry (Who am I?), like thailadhara – unbroken flow of oil while being poured from one vessel to another.

Bhagavan: You should follow the Self. There is nothing or no one else to follow.”

I asked again, “What about religions, teachers, gurus?” He said, “Yes, if they can help in the quest for the Self. Can a religion, which teaches you to look outside yourself, which promises a heaven and a reward outside yourself, be of help to you? It is only by diving deep into the spiritual Heart

that one can find the Self.” He placed his right hand on his right breast and continued, “Here lies the Heart, the dynamic, spiritual Heart. It is called hridaya and is located on the right side of the chest and is clearly visible to the inner eye of an adept on the spiritual path. Through meditation you can learn to find the Self in the cave of this Heart.”

I said, “Bhagavan, you say that I am to take up the search for the Self by atma vichara, asking myself the question ‘Who Am I?’ May I ask who are you?” Bhagavan answered, “When you know the Self, the ‘I’, ‘You’, ‘He’, and ‘She’ disappear. They merge together in pure Consciousness.”

Before I bid a sorrowful farewell to Bhagavan, he gave me some verses he had selected from the Yoga Vasistha. These contained the essence for the path of a pure life: (i) Steady in the state of fullness, which shines when all desires are given up, and peaceful in the state of freedom in life, act playfully in the world, O Raghava! (ii) Inwardly free from all desires, dispassionate and detached, but outwardly active in all directions, act playfully in the world, O Raghava! (iii) Free from egotism, with mind detached as in sleep, pure like the sky, ever untainted, act playfully in the world, O Raghava!

T.K Sundaresa Iyer: Bhagavan turned to me and asked, “Well, won’t you sing?” I agreed. The substance of my song was: “Oh Lord, grant that my tongue may repeat Thy Name even when my mind strays.” Bhagavan felt happy and said, “Yes, that is what must be done”, and I took it to be his teaching for me.

One morning, Bhagavan was describing the state of a jivanmukta: “He is the ever-aware Self, the witness-consciousness transcending space and time and causation, the fullness of Being. How he is the non-actor, non-enjoyer, and yet at the same time the greatest of actors, the greatest of enjoyers and so forth.” This was too much for Knowles to digest. In the heat of the discussion he put a straight question to Bhagavan, “Are you or are you not speaking to us?” Bhagavan gave Knowles a meaningful look and said in a most emphatic tone: “No, ‘I’ am not talking to you.” In an ecstatic mood, Knowles echoed: “No, Bhagavan is not talking to us. He only exists. That is all.”

Srikrishnaprem would always carry a shoulder bag in which he kept in a glass-case the images of Radha and Krishna. Only while going to bed would he remove the bag from his shoulder. He was a staunch Vaishnavite. He once quoted ‘sarvam Vasudevamayam jagat’1 and asked Bhagavan, “Is not this the highest ideal?”

Bhagavan nodded his head in agreement and said, “Yes, Yes! It is an exalted state of Consciousness. Yet, who is it that thinks that all that is perceived is Vasudeva? Is it not you, yourself? While seeing the earth, trees and plants as Vasudeva, don’t you wish to see yourself as He? If you who see everything as Vasudeva, learn to see yourself as Vasudeva you will become Vasudeva Himself. If he who sees is transformed into Vasudeva, then that which is seen automatically becomes Vasudeva! Acharya Sankara’s drishtim jnanamayeem kritva (infuse perception with jnana) is simply this.”

The Maharshi went on to say that the essential thing is to divorce our sense of Self from what our ego and body are feeling or doing. We should think, “Feelings are going on, this body is acting in such and such a manner,” but never, “I feel, I act.”

He then took a piece of paper, wrote a sloka on it and gave it to me saying, “You can make use of it in meditation.” The sloka was: “I adore Guha the Dweller in the Cave of the Heart, the Son of the Protector of the Universe, the pure light of Awareness beyond thought, the wielder of the weapon of jnana sakti and the Remover of ignorance of blemishless devotees.”

One of my friends took photographs of Sri Bhagavan one afternoon. During the night when we both were together and I was dressing the wound, he referred to the photos and gave a profound spiritual discourse using the science of photography as an illustration. He said, “For taking a picture the silver salts are coated over a film in the dark and when the film is exposed in the camera, you get an impression caused by light outside. If the film is exposed to light before you put it in the camera there can be no impression on it. So is it with our jiva. When it is still in darkness, impression can be made on it by the little light that leaks in. But when the light of knowledge has already flooded it, no impressions of external objects can be obtained.”

Roda Mc Iver: Next morning, when I was in the hall somebody asked Bhagavan what was the use of sitting before him, if he does not give initiation? Bhagavan replied that initiation can be given in three ways: ‘by silence’, ‘by look’, and ‘by touch.’ When saying, ‘by look’, he looked at me. Then I had no doubt that I had received initiation from Bhagavan, my most revered Master!

Once two visitors came to Bhagavan. One of them addressing Bhagavan said, “My friend has taken as his guru a man who is not even a sadhu. To show him what a sadguru should be, I have brought him here.” Bhagavan replied sternly, “Who are you to say who is the right guru for him? By what power can you make out what a man really is? In fact, the guru is not as important as the disciple himself. If one worships with utmost devotion, even a stone would become the Supreme Lord.”

Bhagavan said, “Will anyone preserve after the dinner the leaf on which he has eaten?” I then realised that this body is like a leaf. When the purpose for which the body has taken shape is over, it will have to be thrown away as a leaf on which the food has been taken.

A devotee complained, “I am unable to have peace of mind. I am planning to go to the Himalayas in search of it.” Bhagavan said, “You have travelled 250 miles from Madurai and come here. How much mental quietness have you got? Multiply it by the distance from here to the Himalayas to measure the happiness you would get by going there.” Even the questioner could not help laughing.

In reply to a visitor who remarked, “I have had enough of these family troubles, my only recourse is sannyasa”, Bhagavan observed, “Now you are crying over domestic worries; then you will have your share of sannyasi’s problems. Mere change of clothes would not help. Find out the one for whom there is sorrow.”

Once I sought Bhagavan’s blessings on the ground that all my efforts to abide at the source of the mind had proved futile. When Bhagavan asked, “What is the obstruction?” I answered, “It is my deep-rooted tendencies. I need your grace.” His reply was, “Your repeated effort is bound to erase them. All sadhana is meant for this purpose only.” He further observed, “Keep up your practice. There is no need to remind God about His business which is to keep an eye always on our welfare. The mistake one is prone to make is to abandon effort under the mistaken impression that God’s grace is absent. But one should not slacken, for God’s grace is bound to operate at the ripe time.”

Once a devotee brought her dead son in a box and prayed intensely to Bhagavan to bring him back to life. Bhagavan could readily see the faith and hope behind her prayer. Tenderly he told her, “Amma, don’t you see that if I restore your son’s life, Sri Ramanasramam would be flooded with corpses?” Then he spoke to her at length about life, death and the need to be conscious of the state transcending both. He explained that all experiences were centred round the individual and that the search for the source of the ‘I’ alone would end all sufferings. These soothing words and advice went home and the lady returned, consoled at heart. This was only natural since Bhagavan’s words were loaded with power and grace.

After the lady left, a devotee asked, “Is it possible to revive the dead?” Bhagavan replied, “Jnanis, siddhas and yogis can restore life, but is it for this purpose that they have come?”

Once Bhagavan was asked whether it was true that by the grace of the guru the highest state is reached in a moment. Bhagavan replied, “Yes. If the disciple is in a ripe state, the ajnana (ignorance) will be removed only by the avalokana (look) of the guru.” He added, “The kripa (grace) flows towards one in proportion to one’s merit. If the vessel is small, the kripa received will be small; if the vessel is big, the kripa will be proportionately more.”

Once, going through an English daily as usual, Bhagavan read somewhat aloud a sensational report of a new invention and smiled. After a pause he gently remarked, “One may acquire any number of powers, but without realising the yathartha (truth) one cannot acquire mano shanti (peace of mind). When someone asked, “What is yathartha?” Bhagavan replied, “That which exists always,” and added after a pause, “Peace is our swabhava (nature). Just as a person who keeps a number of things in a room and complains that there is no space in the room, we say there is no peace. Is not the space obtained automatically when the things are removed?”

“He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is wise among men; he is a yogi who has accomplished all action.” -- Gita

In the afternoon, when I sat before him in the hall, he enquired about my health. I replied that I had been suffering terribly from sciatica for three years, had no sleep, no desire for food and was growing from bad to worse in spite of the treatment by the best of doctors. He graciously said, “You can stay here in peace. Your disease is not incurable.” He quoted a verse from the Gita (II.14): “O son of Kunti, the contacts between the senses and their objects, which give rise to the feelings of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc., are transitory and fleeting. O Arjuna, endure them,” and pacified me. I felt extremely relieved. In three or four months I was completely cured of the disease.

In 1946, I went to Sri Ramanasramam for Bhagavan’s darshan.

Devotees were seated in the hall in front of Bhagavan. I wrote a chit and

placed it before Bhagavan, stating, “I feel I have the experience of the

Self, but my mind does not agree with that.” After reading it, Bhagavan

ordered a copy of Ulladu Narpadu, turned to verse 33 therein, and

asked someone to show it to me. It read, “To speak I have not known

myself or I have come to know myself is ridiculous. What? Are there

two selves, one to objectify the other? The experience for all is that the

Self is only One.”

Once I asked Bhagavan, “If waking and dream states are not

different, can a man realise his Self in the dream state?” He replied, “First

realise the Self in the waking state and then raise the question.”

Bhagavan was quoting an example of the relation of gold with

the ornaments, that only gold is real, while the name and form of gold

appearing as ornaments are unreal. I raised a query, “Though the

ornament is false, we see gold and also the ornament which is false,

which is not the case with the world, i.e.,when we see the world in

numerous forms we do not see the Reality, the substratum.” Bhagavan

explained, “In dream there is no world, and yet you see it just as in the

waking state. Both name and form are illusions; you see them only

when you see yourself in form and identify yourself with the ego sense.”

On another occasion, a talkative man made his appearance.

He chose to sit near the sage and unceremoniously asked, “Bhagavan,

what is your view on birth control?” There being no answer that man

explained at length the importance of the topic. Again getting no reply,

he continued until he could say no more and then fell silent. Silence

reigned supreme in the hall. In the midst of this silence, the Maharshi

asked, “Do you know death control?” There was no response.

One day it was suggested to the Maharshi that no spiritual

progress could ever be made without sadhana or discipline. After a

pause he made these observations: Mind binds man, and the same mind

liberates him. Mind is constituted of sankalpa and vikalpa – desire

and disposition. Desire shapes and governs disposition. Desire is of

two kinds – the noble and the base. The base desires are lust and

greed. Noble desires direct us towards enlightenment and emancipation.

Base desires contaminate and cloud the understanding. Sadhana is

easy for the aspirant who is endowed with noble desires. Calmness is

the basis of spiritual progress. Plunge the purified mind into the Heart.

Then the work is over. This is the essence of all spiritual discipline!

Sri Ramana did not seek to establish any new cult but showed the direct way to Self-realisation. He taught as a jivanmukta (liberated soul), exemplifying Tat tvam asi (‘Thou art That’ of the Chhandogya Upanishad). Like Suka of the Bhagavatam, he was characterised by samatva (sameness in joy and sorrow and freedom from duality).

He frequently referred to verses from the Yoga Vashista wherein the Sage Vashista advised the young Sri Rama to fulfil his mission as avatara purusha, all the while abiding in the Self. The ideal of Self realisation is not visionary, but is the very goal of life. Unswerving abidance in the Self, the one eternal Truth, whatever one may be doing, is well described in the Yoga Vashista: Firmly established in the vision that shines forth/ On the renunciation of all desires, and rooted/ In your own Being as a jivanmukta / Act playfully in the world, Oh Raghava.

One day Bhagavan told me, “Silence is the most powerful form of teaching transmitted from the master to the adept. The soundless voice is pure intuition. It is the voice of the spiritual mind speaking in our innermost being. Self-enquiry is the only path we have in order to eliminate spiritual unconsciousness, which is widespread. Self-enquiry brings the consciousness of the divine, the universal truth and the light that governs the universe. All this must be known, felt, lived and realized. In order to realize this truth, we need to eliminate the thinking mind, to dissolve it in the Universal Self.”

To forget the ego and discover the Universal Being, is the direct path taught by Bhagavan. After practising Self-enquiry for a period of time one awakens a current of consciousness, the supreme consciousness.

Bhagavan recommends: “Effort is necessary to move oneself deeper and deeper in the practice of Self enquiry. Firm determination is essential to achieve the experience.” Diving into the right side of the chest, the adept enters into the attitude of silence. Thoughts disappear and the state of consciousness, ‘I am that, I am that’, arises.

David Godman records:

Bhagavan could turn the most mundane event into an opportunity for spiritual instruction. Once, for example, Ramaswami Pillai was searching for a key that he had lost. After sometime he came into the hall and told Bhagavan about the missing key, who said to him, “The key is where it always was. It is not lost. Only your memory is lost. Atman (the Self) is always there, but due to ajnana (ignorance) we spend our time searching for it.”

Once I read a book which explained Dakshinamurti’s chinmudra. Wonder of wonders, when I entered the hall on the weekend he was explaining chinmudra.

The purport of his talk was: “It is just like when you point to God above with your index finger. We then generally point to ourselves using our thumb. Joining of the index finger and thumb is chinmudra, which is symbolically indicative of ‘That thou art’(tatvamsi), the union of jivatma and Paramatma.”

Robert Adams: Ramana used to quote from the scriptures; Jesus and Ramana said basically the same things. Jesus said, “ the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” Ramana said, “The Self is within you. Search for and find it, and awaken.” Jesus said, “Son, I am with you always, and all that I have is yours.” Ramana said, “I can never leave you, I am always with you.” His compassion never left him.

M.G. Shanmukam: During my 24 years of personal association with Bhagavan, I found that he seldom preached elaborately. He would give hints which keen seekers had to absorb carefully. He once said categorically, for practising atma vichara everyday is auspicious. All other sadhanas require external objects and congenial environment, but for atma vichara nothing external to oneself is required. Turning the mind within is all that is necessary. While one is engaged in atma vichara one can attend to other activities also.

Some of Bhagavan’s personal instructions to me were:

(i) If you observe the breathing one-pointedly, such attention will lead you into kumbhaka (retention), which is jnana pranayama.

(ii) The more you humble yourself, the better it is for you.

(iii) You should look upon the world only as a dream.

(iv) Except attending to the duty-work in life, the rest of the time should be spent in atma nishta (absorption in the Self).

(v) Do not cause slightest hindrance or disturbance to others.

(vi) Do all your work yourself.

(vii) Both likes and dislikes should be discarded and eschewed.

(vii) With attention focused on the first person and on the heart within, one should relentlessly practice ‘Who am I?’ During such practice, the mind might suddenly spring up; so you have to vigilantly pursue the vichara ‘Who am I?’

A Polish lady came to the Ashram and told Bhagavan that she was working hard to collect money to help people in distress and asked him whether it was a good thing to do. Bhagavan took out a copy of Kalyan Kalpataru [a monthly journal of the Gita Press, Gorakhpur] and showed her a passage to read. As I was sitting beside her, I could read it too, and it made me smile. Bhagavan looked at me and said, “It is for you too.” The passage stated, “A frail woman who knows how to find God’s peace through prayers can do more to help a country or mankind than all the intellectuals put together.”

When he asked Bhagavan that without thinking that such and such thing must be done to relieve the suffering, how could he serve him, he was told that he should simply play his part as in a drama and do whatever is necessary with mental attitude of a witness attending to the work as the situation demands. Following Bhagavan’s instruction he began to feel that everything was atma vilasa (the Divine play) and that Bhagavan was simply playing a role as a sick person, although in reality he was the Paramatma Himself.

To help suffering humanity regain its forgotten state of Perfection, Sri Ramana teaches that one should constantly ask himself: “Who am I?” – the Great Inquiry indeed. By stern rejection of all other thoughts, the devotee soon finds himself going deeper and deeper into the true Self, and the sidetracking bewilderments of other thoughts cease to arise.

The illumined rishi of South India has written:

Dualities and trinities on something do hang,

Supportless they never appear;

That support searched for, they loosen and fall.

There is the Truth. Who sees that never wavers.

In Gita, the Lord says about Himself, “Nor do these actions bind me. Like one unconcerned, I remain unattached to these actions.” XI. 9]

During my ten days’ stay, one day when practising meditation in the hall, I could not concentrate the mind in spite of my best efforts. Desirous to know the way to surmount the difficulty, I approached the sage and said in English, “Bhagavan, my mind is not steady today. What is to be done?” The great sage raised his head and recited verses 5 & 26 from chapter VI of the Gita.1 After quoting the verses, the sage, in his infinite mercy, said in English, “These two verses contain the needed instructions. All efforts must be made to become effortless.” He then closed his eyes.

Verse 5: Let a man raise himself by himself, let him not lower himself; for, he alone is the friend of himself, he alone is the enemy of himself.

Verse 26: By whatever cause the wavering and unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it and bring it back direct under the control of the Self.

Just at that time the Maharshi addressed me thus: “What is the doubt?” I raised my head and said, “There is a human figure on the sofa. There is one on the floor. With my eyes I perceive these two very clearly. But you say that in reality there is only One. How can that be true?” The Maharshi smiled and kept quiet. After a few minutes he said, “You must be used to performing experiments in your laboratory. If you are examining an object, the amount of details would depend upon the quality of the instrument you use to examine the object. Now, even if your instrument is fine, but your eyesight is poor you will know little about the object. If the eyesight is good but the brain is not normal, the object’s true nature will not be known to you. Again, if the brain is fine but if the mind does not pay attention to what you are observing, the less you will know about the object. In brief, the amount you know about an object is dependent on an entity called mind.

What is mind? It is thoughts. All the thoughts spring up from a single thought. This thought is ‘I am-the-body’ thought. It has two components. One is the body and the other is I. The body being of transient nature, is subject to change, and it depends on external factors for its existence, such as food. But the nature of ‘I’ is different from that of the body. What exists in truth should be existing always. The body does not exist all the time, so it is not the truth. The ‘I’ exists in all states including waking, dream sleep, and deep sleep. Hence ‘I’ is the truth; body is untrue. Both of these combined can not exit as one entity. How can night and day, light and darkness co-exist? Similarly, there is no entity that has as its basis the co-existence of ‘I’ and the body. So ‘I am-the-body’ thought has no basis in truth. If we examine the world with this untrue thought as the basis, how can we learn the Truth?”

On the three previous days I tried to catch his eye, but could not. On the fourth day I managed to address him, while he seemed to be looking into the infinity of space, “Bhagavan, my mind does not obey me. It wanders as it likes and lands me into trouble. Be merciful and tell me how to bring it under control.” Bhagavan looked at me affectionately and spoke most kindly, and his words sparkled with meaning, “All religious and spiritual practices have no other purpose than getting the mind under control. The three paths – Knowledge, Devotion, and Duty, aim at this and this alone…The path of Devotion is the easiest of all. Meditate on God or on some mental or material image of Him. This will slow down your mind and it will get controlled of its own accord.” I felt satisfied, and there was deep peace in me when I looked at him for the last time.

Uma Devi, a Polish lady (Wanda Dynowska), converted to Hinduism, has authored The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, which attracted seekers from Poland to Sri Ramana. She translated the Gita into Polish. She started a publishing house that printed many Indian texts in Polish. She was a frequent visitor to the Ashram.

She told the Maharshi about her vision of Siva and asked him as to how it could be everlasting. Sri Ramana told her that a vision depends on the subject. It would appear and disappear. The value of the vision is the same as of the ‘seer’. A vision can never be eternal. Therefore enquire ‘Who am I?’ Sink deep within and abide in the Self. When she asked as to how to effect it as quickly as possible, the reply was: There is no question of time. Surrender to Him and abide by His will, whether he appears or vanishes, await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as you please, it is not surrender but a command. You cannot have Him obey you and yet think that you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when and how to do it. Leave everything entirely to Him. His is the burden, no longer you have to have any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. This is bhakti.

Or enquire to whom these questions arise. Dive deep in the Heart and remain as the Self. One of these two ways is open to the aspirant. Think of the man who sees only the cloth and not the cotton of which it is made, or the man who sees the pictures moving on the screen in a cinema show and not the screen itself as the background; or again the man who sees the letters which he reads but not the paper on which they are written. The objects are the consciousness and forms. The ordinary person sees the objects in the universe but not the consciousness in these forms.

One cannot see God and yet retain individuality. The seer and the seen unite into one Being. There is no cogniser, nor cognition nor the cognised. All merge into One Supreme Siva only.

One day he told me, “One could cause God through alchemy. But even if that God tells you something don’t believe it. If I come in front of you don’t believe it. The Seer is most important. You are. That is most important. Concentrate on the Seer, not on the seen. All that you see is false and the Seer alone is true. All knowledge you gather is useless, until you hold on to your Self. You are the Truth, not what is being told to you, not what you see.”

Thelma Rappold: When I first met Sri Ramana, he told me: You are what you are – accept it. When the time comes to give it up do it with grace. As the years went by, I kept trying to ‘open’ as much as possible. I recognized that we all choose our suffering because we do not open up and accept what life brings; we don’t find out ‘who’ it is that is experiencing the suffering. I had never, at any pervious time in my life, really let go and tried to just ‘be’. When we can do this, love just pours out.

Then it dawned on me that Bhagavan had given me a message. He had spoken without speaking that the mind creates the noise and is chattering and arguing illusions and unless one goes beyond this turmoil there can be no living in Truth, or Liberation. He had given me in a flash the message that ‘Awareness is all’.

It is said that Lord Siva manifested as Dakshinamurthi in order to instruct and enlighten four ascetics. In the traditional version of this story, He appeared in the form of a young boy sitting under a banyan tree. The four ascetics attained enlightenment as a result of receiving Dakshinamurthi’s silent transmissions. A verse from Adi Sankara’s Sri Dakshinamurthi Stotra goes on to say – “Look at the wonder under the banyan tree! While the disciples are old and grey-haired, the teacher is blooming youth. And though the Master’s speech is simple silence, the doubts of the disciples are all resolved.”

The Maharshi has told the following story about Dakshinamurthi to Muruganar

When four aged Sanakadi rishis [Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata] first saw the youthful Dakshinamurthi sitting under a banyan tree, they at once got attracted to him, and understood that he was the real sadguru.

They approached him, did three pradakshinas around him, prostrated before him, sat at his feet and began to ask very shrewd and pertinent questions about the nature of Reality and the means of attaining it. Because of the great compassion and fatherly love (vatsalya) which he felt for his aged disciples, the young Dakshinamurthi was overjoyed to see their earnestness, wisdom and maturity, and gave apt replies to each of their questions.

As he answered each consecutive question, further doubts arose in their minds and they asked further questions. Thus they continued to question Dakshinamurthi for one whole year, and he continued to clear their doubts through his compassionate answers.

Finally, Dakshinamurthi felt that if he continued to answer the questions more doubts would arise in their minds and there would never be an end to their ignorance (ajnana). Therefore, suppressing the feeling of compassion and fatherly love, which was welling up within him, he merged himself into Supreme Silence.Because of their great maturity (which had got ripened greatly due to their year-long association with the sadguru), as soon as Dakshinamurthi assumed silence, they too got merged into Supreme Silence, the true state of Self.

When Muruganar, who was hearing the story, remarked that no book has mentioned about Dakshinamurthi ever speaking anything, Sri Ramana replied curtly, “But this is what actually happened.”

From the authoritative way in which Sri Ramana reacted, Muruganar realised that Sri Ramana was none other than Dakshinamurthi himself.

Spiritual

Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

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