Stories of the Maharshi

the only way to peace

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:48:00 +0000

Q: ... All I want is peace.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj: You can have for the asking all the peace you want.

Q: I am asking.

M: You must ask with an undivided heart and live an integrated life.

Q: How?

M: Detach yourself from all that makes your mind restless. Renounce all that disturbs its peace. If you want peace, deserve it.

Q: Surely everybody deserves peace.

M: Those only deserve it, who don't disturb it.

Q: In what way do I disturb peace?

M: By being a slave to your desires and fears.

Q: Even when they are justified?

M: Emotional reactions, born of ignorance or inadvertence, are never justified. Seek a clear mind and a clean heart. All you need is to keep quietly alert, enquiring into the real nature of yourself. This is the only way to peace.

~ I Am That

I Am

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:20:00 +0000

I found this really helpful ...

What is the first name of God?

I Am.

Exactly. I Am is the first name of God. When you want to think of God, you think of I Am with your respiration. I Am is the first name of God. Close your eyes and try. Inhale and say, "I." Exhale and say, "am." Inhale say, "I," exhale say, "am." Doesn't that make you feel good? Just by saying I Am to yourself, it lifts you up. So the thing to do is this: Whenever you have a problem, I don't care what it is, I don't care how serious you think it is, whether it's personal or worldly, wherever it came from, the secret is to forget yourself. For the moment, forget about the problem for as long as you can, and do the I Am meditation. Every time the problem comes back to you, do the I Am meditation. If your mind wanders, bring it back again and do the I Am meditation.

When I explain this to some people they say, "Robert, but you tell us we have to get rid of our minds. We have to annihilate the mind, not think with it." This is true. This is the highest truth. But yet most people cannot do this. Remember Advaita Vedanta is really for mature souls. People who have practiced sadhana in previous lives. It's like going to school. Self- inquiry, Advaita Vedanta, is like the university of spiritual life. You cannot fool yourself.

There are so many people who try to practice Self- inquiry and they give it up. Then I tell them to surrender, surrender completely. That's the other way. Again this becomes difficult. They try it for awhile and they always revert back to themselves, your personal self. So I give them the I Am meditation. Everybody can do that. When nothing seems to work, go back to the I Am. It's really very powerful. Do not take it simple. I can guarantee you this. If you can practice I Am for one day, just one day, all of your troubles will be transcended. You will feel happiness you've never felt before. You will feel a peace that you never even knew existed. As you keep practicing I Am, your thoughts will become less and less. Your personal self will go into the background and you will begin to feel an inner Bliss. You will begin to feel that it no longer matters what I'm going through. It makes no difference, because it is God who is going through this, not me. And God has no problems. You automatically become happy, just by using the I Am meditation.

In the Bhagavad Gita it says, "Out of a million people, one searches for God. And out of a million people who search, one finds Him." It's sort of difficult. That's how it appears. But if you begin to use I Am as a meditation and you allow the I Am to go deeper and deeper, your bodily consciousness will disappear, and I Am will take over.

If you want to mix Self-inquiry, Atma Vichara, with I Am, that's permissible. You can use them both together. I'll explain how. Say you're using the I Am meditation. In between, thoughts keep popping up. Whether they're good thoughts or bad thoughts makes no difference, but thoughts keep interfering. You can now inquire, "To whom come these thoughts?" and you don't have to go any further. Just observe and watch. When your mind becomes silent again, you go back to the I Am meditation with your respiration. When thoughts come again you inquire, "To whom do they come?" As you progress in this method, you complete the question. "The thoughts come to me. What is the Source of me? Who am I? What is the Source of I?" You begin to feel and see that the I that seems to have the problem is not you. You begin to feel, "I" have a problem. "I" am sick. "I" am angry. "I" have no peace of mind. And you begin to laugh. For the realization tells you, "I" has all these things, I don't. "I" is the culprit. "I" appears to want this and need that. So it is with desires, wants, self-aggrandizement. All of this belongs to the "I." Who is this I? Where does it come from? If the "I" isn't really me, then who am I? And you keep still.

Now you may go back to I Am with the respiration. You inhale and you say I. You exhale and you say Am. As you progress this way, you're going to find something interesting happening to your life. You're going to find there's more and more space between I Am. It will happen by itself. You will inhale and you will say I, and all of a sudden nothing will come out of that. Then you will exhale with Am. You will inhale again and say I. Remember you're not putting this on, you're not making it happen. It's happening all by itself. And the space between I Am is the fourth dimension of Consciousness. After waking, sleeping, dreaming. It is the state of the Jnani. It is your freedom. It is Pure Awareness. Pure Awareness is not the I Am. The I Am leads to Pure Awareness. And when you keep practicing, "Who am I?" alternating with both of them, there will be a greater space before you say, "Who am I?" again. That space is Bliss. You'll feel something you've never felt before. An inner joy, an inner delight. You will just know that the whole universe is the Self, and I Am That. As the months progress, the words will become less and less. You may start off with I Am, and then you will be in the Silence. You will not say another word. You will just experience the Silence. That Silence is Nirvana, Emptiness. It is no thing. It is the nothing I was talking about. You will just sit in the Silence.

~ Robert Adams, Silence of the Heart

“Please, I beg of you, help me with my temper problem.”

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:13:00 +0000

One of the great regrets of my life is the loss of a letter which I received in 1934. It was in reply to a rather hysterical missive I had despatched addressed ‘Personal and Private’ to Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi at Tiruvannamalai. This communication dealt with a serious, self-admitted weakness of mine which was my mother’s despair — a combustible temper which would explode at the slightest provocation. It was a bad time for me.
I had just lost a father I had worshipped. I was twelve, going on thirteen, and at once all had been said.

I desperately needed a confidant, an adviser, somebody preferably outside the family, and out of the blue the name of Ramana Maharshi came to me. His was the only name I had ever heard my father — a stubborn, intolerant sceptic — mention without any codicils. I decided, therefore, to write to the sage of Tiruvannamalai secretly. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, I finally sent off a letter asking the Maharshi directly to “please, I beg of you, help me with my temper problem.” Within a week I received a reply signed by the Sarvadhikari, informing me that my letter had been received and placed before the Maharshi and that his message to me was that if I myself made a constant and earnest effort to overcome my temper I would rid myself of it, and that he sent me his blessings.

My first reaction to that letter was one of astonishment at being treated like a grown-up, since I had always been told what to do, guided, instructed, warned, but never challenged except on Sports Day. And here was this great Guru as good as telling me: “It is your temper, isn’t it? So, you yourself deal with it.” He had simply batted the ball back to my court in the nicest possible way by treating me as an individual in my own right. I rather liked that.

For the rest of this account, please see this.

~ Santha Rangachary, The Mountain Path

The Groundnut Party

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:31:00 +0000

Finishing our inspection we were returning to the veranda by another side, when we heard a childish voice say "Chee, asatthe! (Fie, you creature!)."

We could see no children around, and, therefore, peeped to find out the source of the voice. We observed movement among the leaves of the brinjal, lady's-finger and other plants in the kitchen garden near the veranda.

Looking more intently, we saw a small goat, a little monkey and a squirrel and Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi! Bhagavan was sitting on his haunches with his legs folded up to his breast. The goat nestled between his knees; the monkey had its head resting on his right knee; the squirrel was perched on his left knee. Holding a packet of paper in his left palm, Bhagavan picked ground nuts from it with his right-hand fingers, one by one, and fed the goat, the monkey and the squirrel, and himself, by turns. His remarks appeared to have been addressed to the monkey which had tried to snatch the nut he was going to place between the squirrel's lips.

As we watched, the four companions went on enjoying the eating. All four seemed to be equally happy; the way they looked at one another and kept close together was touching. The goat, the monkey, the squirrel, and Bhagavan, had obviously forgotten their differences in species! And we too, looking on, saw all the four only as good friends despite the differences in their forms.

No words could describe the feelings which passed through my being at the sight. The vision of the Transcendent appeared as a flash of lightning, and revealed to me the essence of being, awareness and bliss, sat-chit-ananda.

~ T. R. A. Narayana's account in Surpassing Love and Grace

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:44:00 +0000

Imagine being at Arunachala,
getting up very early
and taking a lantern
to feed hungry sadhus
rice and idlies.

Imagine doing hundreds of billions
of prostrations at Bhagavan's shrine
though I do not think I could manage
to do it ... I might have to jump
into Bhagavan's arms,
or I might be too overwhelmed by grace
to do anything for a few days.

We could find a little monkey
and call him Hobbler.
We could meet a relative
of Lakshmi's!

Imagine sitting exactly
where Bhagavan used to sit,
finding the spots,
and sitting in the same position.

I could find a little orphaned
peacock egg or chick
and take care of it.

It would be the perfect place
to give up all wants, all thoughts,
all needing.

I can't wait to clean the pradakshina path
sweeping it with a palm frond broom
and cleaning up any litter.

There is nothing else
I really want to do,
nowhere else I want to go.

I can't say any more,
I just have to go!

~T

let me be born in the presence of Bhagavan

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:26:00 +0000

Would you put up billions
of photographs of Ramana
everywhere in the universe
so that if I do not realise the Self
in this lifetime,
no matter where I am reborn
the first thing I see
will be his beautiful smiling face?

~ T to his mother

Nestled in the Divine Presence

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:42:00 +0000

At times when the heart dances and the step is light, one is perched on cloud nine, like the squirrel on his knee. Or as we run to him to tell him our little stories, with outstretched arm he meets us as he does cow Lakshmi. Otherwise, tired of our constant wanderings in mind-made worlds, we rest at his feet like the cheetah cub or nestle close like the rabbit.

~ A. R. Natarajan, Bathing in the Divine Presence

Ahimsa

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:17:00 +0000

From the example set by Sri Ramana, we should understand that it is good for us to be always humble, unselfish, kind, caring, considerate, gentle, compassionate, generous and sharing, and that all our outward actions and reactions — which in many cases may appropriately include our refraining from doing certain actions or any action whatsoever — should always be guided by these inward qualities of mind and heart. The great importance of such true generosity, kindness and care was clearly emphasised by Sri Ramana when he concluded this nineteenth paragraph of Nan Yar? by saying:

… All that one gives to others one is giving only to oneself. If [everyone] knew this truth, who indeed would refrain from giving?

....

Therefore until we merge and lose ourself entirely in our natural state of absolutely non-dual self-conscious being, which alone is the state of true self-knowledge, our love for God and for our neighbour will only be partial and imperfect. However, even though we may not yet actually experience and love all our fellow sentient beings as ourself, if we have really understood at least theoretically that they are truly not other than ourself, we will naturally feel compassion for them and will therefore empathise with all their sufferings. When we feel such compassion and empathy for all sentient beings, we will naturally refrain as far as possible from causing even the least harm or suffering to any of them.

~ Michael James, Happiness and the Art of Being

Afterward by T: And therefore, eating meat is the same as eating Ramana ... and who could justify that?

Idli Swami

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 06:54:00 +0000

At that time there was in the Ashram a small sickly, lame puppy who, we feared, would die any moment. But under Sri Bhagavan's constant care he not only recovered health but began to eat 'idlis' (rice-cakes) daily with so much relish that Bhagavan nicknamed him 'Idli Swami.'

~ G. V. Subbaramayya, Sri Ramana Reminiscences

Listening to the Veda Parayana

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 06:25:00 +0000

In Greek myths
they say the peacock
cries sadly,
but I think the sound
is just beautiful.

influenced by Bhagavan

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 04:24:00 +0000

All the creatures you see here
are getting along perfectly with each other.
This is the way it should be with humans.
All these animals have been influenced by Bhagavan
to behave peacefully together.

there is only the Self

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:00:00 +0000

Turn inward,
Ask: who am I?
You will never find the I.
There is only the Self.

Sri Bhagavan's Enlightenment Day!

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:36:00 +0000

Animals are coming from far and wide to celebrate Bhagavan's Enlightenment Day and receive darshan. The prasad (fresh iddlies) is delicious.

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 05:14:00 +0000

Let your aims be common,
and your hearts be of one accord,
and all of you be of one mind,
so you may live well together.

- Rig Veda X . 191

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:49:00 +0000

Many are the lovely flowers of worship
offered to the Guru,
but none lovelier than non-killing.
Respect for life is the highest worship,
the bright lamp,
the sweet garland and unwavering devotion.

- Tirumantiram 197

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 04:12:00 +0000

This mountain is the home of these wild animals and we are their guests.

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:38:00 +0000

1st January, 1946

The other day I learnt of one more incident in
Bhagavan’s life on the hill and so I am writing to you about
it. When Bhagavan was living in Virupaksha Cave, the roar
of a leopard was heard from the place where drinking water
was available nearby. By the time the scared devotees had
gathered some plates and drums in order to make a noise
and drive the leopard away, it had drunk the water it
required and gone away with one more roar.

Bhagavan looked at those frightened devotees and said to them in an
admonishing tone, “Why do you worry so much? The
leopard intimated to me by the first roar that she was coming
here. After drinking water she told me by another roar
that she was going. She went her own way. She never
meddled with your affairs. Why are you so scared? This
mountain is the home of these wild animals, and we are
their guests. That being so, is it right on your part to drive
them away?”

Perhaps with the intention of relieving them
of their fears, Bhagavan added, “A number of siddha purushas
(holy beings) live on this mountain. It is perhaps with a
desire to see me that they come and go, assuming various
shapes. Hence, you see it is not right for you to disturb
them.”

From that time onwards, the leopard used to come
frequently to that place to drink. Whenever the roar was
heard, Bhagavan used to say, “There you are! The leopard
is announcing her arrival.” Then again he used to say, “The
leopard announces her departure.” In this manner he used
to be quite at ease with all the wild animals.

One devotee asked Bhagavan whether it is true that,
when living on the mountain, he was friendly with snakes,
and one snake crawled over his body, one climbed up his leg
and so on.

In reply, Sri Bhagavan said:
“Yes, it is true. A snake used to come to me in all
friendliness. It used to try to crawl on my leg. At its touch
my body used to feel as though it was tickled, so I withdrew
my leg; that is all. That snake used to come of its own accord
and go away.”

Letter 18, Letters from Sri Ramanashramam by Suri Nagamma

Hobbler and the hot milk

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 04:54:00 +0000

On another occasion, by no fault of his own, Sri Bhagavan was the one who got the slap. When serving Hobbler a cup of milk, Bhagavan blew on it to cool it. Without warning, Hobbler lunged forward and struck his friend on the forehead. A devotee nearby shouted out in disbelief. Mother rushed to the scene ...

Mother: What happened?

Devotee: This crazy monkey struck Bhagavan!

Bhagavan: Nothing to worry about. Just a mild blow.

Mother: Why should he hit you? See, his monkey instinct is coming out!

Bhagavan: It's not like that, Amma. As the milk was hot, I blew on it. He thought I was going to drink it myself so he hit me in protest.

Mother: (Noticing him approaching) He's coming. He might attack you again.

Bhagavan: No, no, he's only coming to apologize. (To Hobbler) Hey! Why do you stand there with such a long face? (Good humouredly) Did you hit me for trying tto keep your mouth from getting burned?

(The monkey approaches Bhagavan with an apologetic look.)

Mother: Poor fellow, he's come back to say he's sorry.

- from Sri Ramana, Friend of Animals: Hobbler and the Monkeys of Arunachala

"Monkey!"

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:55:00 +0000

Mrs. M. A. Piggot, an English lady, who had read "Search in Secret India", came to see the Maharshi. The services of a disciple as interpreter were provided. There were many visitors at the time in the hall, including some ladies with their infants. The place resounded with noise. At length silence prevailed.

Suddenly Maharshi, who seemed to be looking at infinite space, was heard to say softly, "Monkey"!

A little baby was then discovered in the doorway (unobserved by the mother who was seated on the other side of the door) with a large monkey standing on his hind legs, who with both hands was fondling the child not hurting it in the slightest, both being at peace with each other in Maharshi's presence. When Maharshi's voice was heard the monkey jumped away adroitly and disappeared. The incident greatly impressed the lady.

- from Talk 13, Talks with Ramana Maharshi

to read many more talks, go to: http://talks-with-ramana-maharshi.blogspot.com

do no harm to animals

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:57:00 +0000

At that time, Arya(sage) Mahamati(Great Wisdom) Bodhisattva-Mahasattva said to the Buddha:

"Bhagavan(World Honored One), I see that in all worlds, the wandering in births and deaths, the enlaced animosities, and the falling into evil paths, are all caused by meat eating and cyclical killing. Those behaviors increase greed and anger, and make living beings unable to escape from suffering. That is truly very painful."

"Bhagavan, people who eat meat are destroying the great merciful seed of their own, thus the people who practice the holy Way should not eat meat. "

~ from Lankavatara Sutra, translated during the Yuan,Wei Dynasty by Tripitaka master Bodhiruci from India

to read more, please see http://www2.fodian.net/old/English/671_16.html

it was the best time of my life

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:49:00 +0000

The time I sat there by your hip
Was the best time of my life.
I hope I did not tickle you
With my ears.

~ Meditator Rabbit

God and Guru

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 01:54:00 +0000

Question: Is it not possible for God and the Guru to effect the release of a soul?

Sri Bhagavan: God and the Guru will only show the way to release; they will not by themselves take the soul to the state of release. In truth, God and the Guru are not different. Just as the prey which has fallen into the jaws of a tiger has no escape, so those who have come within the ambit of the Guru's gracious look will be saved by the Guru and will not get lost; yet, each one should by his own effort pursue the path shown by God or Guru and gain release. One can know oneself only with one's own eye of knowledge, and not with somebody else's. Does he who is Rama require the help of a mirror to know that he is Rama?

~ from Who Am I, The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

How to get released from karma

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:52:00 +0000

Devotee: Jiva is said to be bound by karma. Is it so?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: Let karma enjoy its fruits. As long as you are the doer so long are you the enjoyer.

D.: How to get released from karma.

M.: See whose karma it is. You will find you are not the doer. Then you will be free. This requires grace of God for which you should pray to Him, worship Him and meditate on Him. The karma which takes place without effort, i.e., involuntary action, is not binding. Even a Jnani is acting as seen by his bodily movements. There can be no karma without effort or without intentions (sankalpas). Therefore there are sankalpas for all. They are of two kinds (1) one, binding - bandha-hetu and the other (2) mukti-hetu - not binding. The former must be given up and the latter must be cultivated. There is no fruit without previous karma; no karma without previous sankalpa. Even mukti must be the result of effort so long as the sense of doership persists.

~ Talk 116, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

for more talks, please see: http://talks-with-ramana-maharshi.blogspot.com/

The Bee Sting

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:50:00 +0000

My sister was again left with my aunt at Tiruvannamalai. She would visit Bhagavan daily and play there. Once there was a cry from the garden and Bhagavan said, "It is Shantabai's voice," and sent someone to fetch her. My sister was reeling with pain. She came to Bhagavan crying and said that a bee had stung her hand. Bhagavan took her hand and caressed it. Immediately the pain of the sting vanished. Being innocent the child told Bhagavan, "Why did you make me cry so long? If you had wanted it you could have stopped it then and there." My Aunt who was there at the time was shocked at the audacity of my sister's complaint. However, Bhagavan smilingly asked what she had done to the bee before it stung her? She said that she was pelting stones at the mangoes and one of the stones disturbed the bee. Bhagavan smilingly said to her, "You see, the stone you threw hurt the bee and so it stung you. So hereafter never harm anyone." Young as she was she understood what Bhagavan meant and thereafter never hurt any living being. Later, whenever she recalled this incident, she felt grateful to Bhagavan for giving her this lesson on non-violence.

~ account by Chakkubai Srinivasan, recorded at Sri Ramanasramam. For full story, please go to http://www.arunachala.org/newsletters/2007/?pg=may_jun

the touch of Bhagavan's hands

ramanamayi@hotmail.com (ramanamayi) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 04:04:00 +0000

18th January, 1946
About a year ago, some person who was rearing two
baby cheetahs brought them into Bhagavan's presence. When
they were fondled and given milk, not only did they move
freely amongst the people in the hall, but they got on to the
sofa with Bhagavan's welcome and slept soundly thereon.

One of the Ashram devotees took a photo of that unusual
group. From about 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Bhagavan confined
himself to one end of the sofa keeping the cubs on the sofa
in the same position all the time. They woke up afterwards
and were there till about 4 p.m., moving about freely in the
hall. Once again, before Bhagavan went up the hill at the
usual time, photos were taken with the cheetah cubs on the
sofa and also on the table in front of the sofa. They were
published in the Sunday Times later.

The wonder of it was that even the cheetah cubs lay
down happily on the sofa, overpowered by sleep induced by
the touch of Bhagavan's hands. While they were there, the
squirrels came and ate nuts and the sparrows came and ate
broken rice, as usual. In olden days, when animals and birds
of all sorts moved about together without enmity in any place,
people used to think that it was perhaps a Rishi Ashram.

~ Suri Nagamma, Letters from Sri Ramanasramam