Ramana Maharshi
His Self-Realization
At age 16, he heard somebody mention
"Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the
name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited.
At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a
book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it.
In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that
he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held
his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am
still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was the
Self.
Ramana said, “No. She will not need to be born as a man — she has passed beyond that. She is not going to be born at all. She has attained enlightenment.”
Ramana Maharshi was born on December 30, 1879 in a village called
Tirucculi about 30 miles south of Madurai in southern India. His middle-class
parents named him Venkataraman after Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, the family
deity. His family were Iyers, members of the Tamil Brahmin caste. His father
died when he was twelve, and he went to live with his uncle in Madurai where he
attended American Mission High School.
At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized. Six weeks later he
ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala where he would remain for the rest of
his life. When he arrived he threw away all his property including the thread
which marked him as a Brahmin. For several years he stopped talking and spent
many hours each day in samadhi. When he began speaking again, people came to
ask him questions and he soon acquired a reputation as a sage. In 1907, when he
was 28, one of his early devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Divine
Eminent Ramana the Great Seer, and
the name stuck. Eventually he became world-famous and an ashram was built
around him. He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.
His Self-Realization
At age 16, he heard somebody mention
"Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the
name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited.
At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a
book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it.
In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that
he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held
his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am
still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was the
Self.
Account by Ramana
of his enlightenment:
“One day, I was alone on the first floor of my uncle’s house. I
was in my usual state of health, but a sudden and unmistakable fear of death
seized me. I felt I was going to die. Why I should have so felt cannot now be
explained by anything else in the body. I did not, however, trouble myself to
discover if the fear was well-grounded. I did not care to consult doctors or
elders or even friends. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and
there.”
“The actual inquiry and discovery of ‘Who am I?’ was over on the
very first day, after a short time. Instinctively, I held my breath and began
to dive inward with my inquiry into my own nature … I stretched myself like a
corpse, and it seemed to me that my body had actually become rigid. ‘I’ was not
dead. ‘I’ was, on the other hand, conscious of being alive, in existence. So,
the question arose in me, “What was this ‘I’?” I felt that it was a force or
current working, despite the rigidity or activity of the body, though existing
in connection with it. It was that current or force or center that constituted
my personality, that kept me acting, moving, etc. The fear of death dropped off.
I was absorbed in the contemplation of that current. So, further development or
activity was issuing from the new life and not from any fear.”
What happened
after this was narrated by Ramana to Narashima Swami.
“That changed my mental attitude and habits. I had formerly some
preferences and aversions. All these dropped off, and all food was swallowed
with equal indifference. I would put up with every burden imposed on me at home
and every slight at my expense by the boys. Studies and duties became a matter of
utter indifference, and I was going through studies turning over pages
mechanically.”
Quotes of Ramana Maharshi
Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it.
What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.
The question 'Who am I?' is not really meant to get an
answer, the question 'Who am I?' is meant to dissolve the questioner.
One should remain as a witness to whatever happens,
adopting the attitude, 'Let whatever strange things that happens happen, let us
see!' This should be one's practice. Nothing happens by accident in the divine
scheme of things.
Why should you trouble yourself about the future? You do
not even properly know about the present. Take care of the present, the future
will take care of itself.
Silence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And
hence Silence is the Self.
Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try 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.
Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The Sun
is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole
world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the
whole world.
Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can
render the world
Your true nature is that of infinite spirit. The feeling
of limitation is the work of the mind.
Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what
it is that remains.
Sri Ramana
Maharshi was probably the most famous sage of the twentieth century both in
India and the rest of the world.
He was renowned
for his saintly life, for being fully realized, and for the powerful
transmissions that often occurred to visitors in his presence. At age 16 he
realized spontaneously and ran away to Arunachala, one of India's traditional
holy sites, where he stayed for the rest of his life. So many people came to
see him there that an ashram was built around him. Many of his close devotees
were regarded by their peers as self-realized.
His Main Teaching
Ramana Maharshi
always said that his most important teaching was done in silence. He meant that
when people were in his physical presence, in his sannidhi, their
minds were affected. In some cases the effects were astonishingly strong.
His Second-Most
Important Teaching
His second-most
important teaching was a practice called vichara in Sanskrit. The customary
English translation is "self-enquiry."
Self-enquiry as
taught by Sri Ramana is the continuous effort to focus attention as keenly as
possible on the I-thought in order to recognize the I-thought's source, the
Self.
When this is done,
awareness intensifies and thoughts diminish. In most cases the practice must be
performed continuously for long periods in order to achieve results.
One day when I was
still new in the kitchen, I served Bhagavan with a few more pieces of potato
than the rest. Bhagavan noticed it and got very angry with me. He turned his
face away and would not look at those who were serving food. I could not make
out the cause of his anger and wondered who it was who had offended him. The
women who worked in the kitchen would collect around him to take leave of him
in the evening, after the work was over. Usually he would exchange a few words
with us, enquire who was accompanying us, whether we had a lantern, and so on.
That evening he gave me a sign to come near.
“What did you do
tonight?”
“I don’t know
Swami, have I done something wrong?”
“You served me
more curry than others?”
“What does it matter”
I did it with love and devotion.”
“I felt ashamed to
eat more than others. Have you come all this way to stuff me with food? You
should always serve me less than others.”
“But Bhagavan, how
can I treat you worse than others?”
“Is this the way
you hope to please me? Do you hope to earn grace through a potato curry?”
“Out of my love
for you I committed a blunder. Forgive me, Bhagavan, I shall respect your
wishes.”
“The more you love
my people, the more you love me,” said Bhagavan and the matter was closed.
~ Eternal Bhagavan
by Shantamma, Ramana Smrti Souvenir
...the Lord of the Universe carries the entire burden of
this world. You imagine you do. You can hand all your burdens over to His care.
Whatever you have to do, you will be made an instrument for doing it at the
right time. Do not think you cannot do it unless you have the desire to do it.
Desire does not give you the strength for doing. The entire strength is the
Lord's.
Quotes ....
There is neither past nor future. There is only the
present. Yesterday was the present to you when you experienced it, and tomorrow
will be also the present when you experience it. Therefore, experience takes
place only in the present, and beyond experience nothing exists.
All unhappiness is due to the ego. With it comes all your
trouble. If you would deny the ego and scorch it by ignoring it you would be
free.
If one's mind has peace, the whole world will appear
peaceful.
If a man considers that he is born, he cannot avoid the
fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any
birth. He will discover that the Self always exists, that the body that is born
resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of
all mischief. Find from where thoughts emerge. Then you will be able to abide
in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear
of death.
How to get rid of the mind? Is it the mind that wants to
kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself. So your business is to find the real
nature of the mind. Then you will know that there is no mind. When the Self is
sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one need not worry about the
mind.
Apart from the body does the world exist? Has anyone seen
the world without the body?
The greatest obstacle to enlightenment is getting past
your delusion that you are not already enlightened.
(Ramana and Laxmi the Cow
…
Not many years ago, just
a few years ago, there was a great Master, Ramana Maharshi — a Perfect Master,
In his DARSHANS — because he was a silent man, would speak rarely and very few
words — each morning when he would sit for the darshan for one hour and people
would come to sit with him, a cow would also come. The cow was so regular that
no other disciple was so regular , It might rain, it might be summer, it might
be winter — whatsoever! — the cow might be ill, or healthy, whatsoever, but the
cow was bound to come at the exact time.
She would come and stand
in the verandah and look inside through the window, her head inside the window,
and remain there for one hour, sometimes with open eyes and sometimes with
closed eyes. And sometimes tears flowing… it has become a miracle!
One day the cow was very
ill and could not come — so Ramana had to go! He had never gone to visit any
other disciple, but for that poor cow he had to go. And all the disciples said,
“What are you doing, Bhagwan?” And he said, “But I have to go. She was so
regular. And I know she wants to come — the spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.”
And when he went, she was
just sitting in the direction of his room looking at the window from far away.
She could not get up, she was dying. And when Ramana reached, she closed her
eyes and tears started flowing. She died. That cow was the first animal in the
whole history of humanity or of consciousness that was given a farewell as is
given to an enlightened person. Ramana was present there.
Somebody asked Ramana,
“Is this cow going to be born as a man?”
Ramana said, “No. She will not need to be born as a man — she has passed beyond that. She is not going to be born at all. She has attained enlightenment.”
Yes, it is possible. What
to say about man? Even animals, if they are receptive… and cows ARE very
receptive. That’s why in the East they have become sacred. It is not for no
reason at all — they ARE very receptive, open. They can grow in consciousness.
NO other animal can take this jump that the cow can take.
It was for no other
reason than this that they became an essential part of all the ashrams in the
East in the old days. They created a certain atmosphere — of purity, innocence.
– OSHO )
His Quotes ...
Concentration is not thinking of one thing. On the
contrary, it is excluding all thoughts, since all thoughts obstruct the sense
of one's true being. All efforts are to be directed simply to removing the veil
of ignorance. Concentrating the mind solely on the Self will lead to happiness
or bliss.
Drawing in the thoughts, restraining them and preventing
them from straying outwards is called detachment (vairagya). Fixing them in the
Self is spiritual practice (sadhana). Concentrating on the heart is the same as
concentrating on the Self. Heart is another name for Self.
Forgetfulness of your real nature is true death;
remembrance of it is rebirth.
No one succeeds without effort... Those who succeed owe
their success to perseverance.
Meditation depends upon the strength of mind. It must be
unceasing even when one is engaged in work. Particular time for it is meant for
novices.
Of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought 'I'
is the first thought.
Silence is never-ending speech. Vocal speech obstructs the
other speech of silence. In silence one is in intimate contact with the
surroundings. Language is only a medium for communicating one's thoughts to
another. Silence is ever speaking.
When we turn the mind inwards, God manifests as the inner
consciousness.
(Ramana and Laxmi the Cow
…
Not many years ago, just
a few years ago, there was a great Master, Ramana Maharshi — a Perfect Master,
In his DARSHANS — because he was a silent man, would speak rarely and very few
words — each morning when he would sit for the darshan for one hour and people
would come to sit with him, a cow would also come. The cow was so regular that
no other disciple was so regular , It might rain, it might be summer, it might
be winter — whatsoever! — the cow might be ill, or healthy, whatsoever, but the
cow was bound to come at the exact time.
She would come and stand
in the verandah and look inside through the window, her head inside the window,
and remain there for one hour, sometimes with open eyes and sometimes with
closed eyes. And sometimes tears flowing… it has become a miracle!
One day the cow was very
ill and could not come — so Ramana had to go! He had never gone to visit any
other disciple, but for that poor cow he had to go. And all the disciples said,
“What are you doing, Bhagwan?” And he said, “But I have to go. She was so
regular. And I know she wants to come — the spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.”
And when he went, she was
just sitting in the direction of his room looking at the window from far away.
She could not get up, she was dying. And when Ramana reached, she closed her
eyes and tears started flowing. She died. That cow was the first animal in the
whole history of humanity or of consciousness that was given a farewell as is
given to an enlightened person. Ramana was present there.
Somebody asked Ramana,
“Is this cow going to be born as a man?”
Ramana said, “No. She will not need to be born as a man — she has passed beyond that. She is not going to be born at all. She has attained enlightenment.”
Ramana said, “No. She will not need to be born as a man — she has passed beyond that. She is not going to be born at all. She has attained enlightenment.”
Yes, it is possible. What
to say about man? Even animals, if they are receptive… and cows ARE very
receptive. That’s why in the East they have become sacred. It is not for no
reason at all — they ARE very receptive, open. They can grow in consciousness.
NO other animal can take this jump that the cow can take.
It was for no other
reason than this that they became an essential part of all the ashrams in the East
in the old days. They created a certain atmosphere — of purity, innocence. –
OSHO )
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