Swamy Viswananda -Salutations to the Holy feet of Sri Ramana, : Extracts from:

Extracts from:

Salutations to the Holy feet of Sri Ramana

- Swamy Viswananda

By then I had read more writings of the Maharshi but could not understand them as their perspective was so much greater than my mind had the capacity to absorb. I read them again and again and slowly and eventually was able to understand more. All of a sudden I decided I should see the Maharshi. First finding out how to reach the distant Tiruvannamalai I set out by train to Villupuram and then another train in which I found myself at Thiruvannamalai. Next I hired a tongawala [ horse-cart] which dropped me at Ramanashramam, surprising me that the driver took only two annas fare. Walking into the ashram I saw so many people sitting around a swamy seated on a couch in the hall. All but the swamy looked at me. He was gazing through a window out into the sky. He was not looking at anyone. I gave him my pranam and took a seat before him, and soon to my great astonishment, my mind had become deeply calm and serene. The swamy did not even seem to know that I had come. I became intensely introspective and realised for perhaps the first time how shallow my life was. I was a young boy of 20 years old.

Though I gazed at Bhagvan for a long time he never looked at me. As a sensitive young boy I was disconcerted that, having come all this way, he did not even make an effort to acknowledge me. I was not recognized as a living being by him and this troubled me. I sat there for an hour until 11 p.m. Then a tall swami in ochre robes came into the room and for a moment I thought he must be the swami as everyone paid him respect, so I also did namaskar. But having seen in a book the photo of Maharshi who was, now I understood, sitting on the sofa, he could not be who I was seeking. Suddenly he then saw me as if he was looking at himself and as if I was not myself, but himself. Strangely I felt he had established himself in me yet I was not established in him though he was in my heart. Yes, that was my first impression of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.

I came often to the Ashram during my stay of five or six days and was extraordinarily happy. More than that, when I entered the dining hall I had the previlage of the Maharshi sitting along with us when we ate. I hail from Shankaraparampara and had gone to Sringeri Shankara math to receive darshan of the Shankaracharya, but the experience was not the same. Sri Ramana Maharshi was sitting in the midst of the dining hall and accepting to eat whatever was served to him, looking equally with us and accepting us as if we were his kith and kin. It had a great impact on me. Here was a real way of life observing SAMADHARMA. Whatever doubts I had had in my heart was satisfied with this very look of Bhagavan. From that day onwards I saw no divisions of good, nor bad, nor evil or otherwise. I began to realize increasingly that all inequalities in life are the creations of our minds. I also realized that Bhagavan was deeply caring for me even though he seemed not to look at me.

Though Bhagavan had not studied Sanskrit, even Ganapati Sastri was in awe of his excellent Sanskrit verses which shows Bhagavan was SARVAJNA [ omniscient].

Niranjananada Swamy did not like my staying in the ashram for long periods. But nobody could be stopped from going to Bhagavan’s presence. I never went to the kitchen without the Swami’s permission. Once Shankara Rao, a banker, some other person and me were walking into the dining hall, Sarvadikari stopped me for whatever reason. Once on a special occasion I was serving in the kitchen. When someone said something rotten against the Sarvadikari I went and hit him. This came to Bhagavan’s notice and he told me in a stern voice, “ You have not come here to hit anybody”. I shivered out of fear of Bhagavan, who so  directly and fearlessly attacked the egoism of my resentment.

Recently, in kerala I was giving a talk on Bhagavan Ramana and his philosophy. In the audience one person declared that the man in the photo, i.e.Bhagavan had appeared before him. Bhagavan is inside of us and also everywhere and what we have to do is to put ourselves in tune so that the current can pass through us like the breeze of a fan. That is my philosophy and nothing else. From the day I met Bhagavan I had not violated his words though I moved with papa Ramdas, Anandamayi Ma and the Shankaracharya, in particular, H.H. Chandrashekara Bharathi who knew that I was on the right path.

Bhagavan Ramana is Dhakshinamurti to me. While taking food in the plate, a number of items are there but really, it is mainly rice and sambar. We should concentrate on what is essential and not be distracted by the unnecessary. Though it is difficult to describe the Brahman in words, it is in my experience that Bhagavan has removed my AVARANA [covering or body of Ignorance]. As Lord Krishna said, to leave everything and surrender to him – it is Bhagavan whom is the only refuge to me.

http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/videosflv/video12.html

Mountain Path July-September 2009 printed pages 28, 29, 32, 34

“ Is the chutney asking for idlies?”

OAM NAMO BHAGAVATE SRI RAMANAYA

One morning at about 4 am I was summoned to the kitchen. To my surprise, when I entered the kitchen veranda I saw Sri Bhagavan in his loin cloth sitting near the chutney grinding stone. A few other people were also sitting nearby. I began to grind the coconut scrapings and he helped me by pushing in the overflowing ingredients. At the same time, he was busy putting salt, chillies and other ingredients in the chutney to make it tasty. When the grinding was over he placed all the contents in a vessel. Then he went into the kitchen and prepared the seasoning in a big spoon with oil and dry chillies. When it was boiling he brought it from the kitchen to the veranda where the chutney was being prepared. Then he began pouring the seasoning over the chutney and mixed it well.

A Sweet Little Joke
When the chutney was ready Bhagavan distributed a little among the four or five people who were sitting there. The he lifted his face up and from above dropped a bit of the chutney into his mouth without his finger touching his mouth (This healthy principle of not contaminating food prepared in the kitchen with one’s saliva is followed even now in India among Hindu families) . As the devotees tasted the chutney, Sri Bhagavan asked them how they liked it. Out of reverence they all kept quiet to signify approval. Then Sri bhagavan smiled and quipped in Tamil, “ Is the chutney asking for idlies?” Everyone enjoyed the joke and smiled. The group of ashramites then dispersed and the chutney was taken to the kitchen to be served with idlies when the morning visitors arrived.
Service at the Vegetable Cutting Room
Bhagavan next entered the vegetable cutting room where a kitchen assistant was cutting vegetables for the lunch that was to be served to the ashramites and visiting devotees. Bhagavan began assisting there also. He sat cross-legged and cut up all the vegetables with utmost attention. I noticed that almost all the vegetable pieces he cut were exactly the same size. From this I learnt the lesson that whatever action one performs should be done with attentiveness and energy, for every job is a worship of the Lord.
from: Mountain Path October-December 2009 issue Printed page 26
Article: " With Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi "
by Swamy DAMODARANANDA,
resident swami at the Ramakrishna Mission,
Vedanta Centre of Perth, Western Australia.

About the Search

♥ॐ♥ OAM NAMO BHAGAVATE SRI RAMANAYA ♥ॐ♥

The Necklace

A visitor said to Ramana Maharshi that
she understood things only intellectually.
This was his reply:

"You are already That. Time and space cannot affect the Self.
They are in you; so also all that you see around you are in you.
There is a story to illustrate this point:

A lady had a precious necklace around her neck.

Once in her excitement she forgot it and thought that the necklace was lost. She became anxious and looked for it in her home but could not find it. She asked her friends and neighbors if they knew anything about the necklace. They did not. At last a kind friend of hers told her to take her hand to her neck and feel the necklace for herself.

She found that it had all along been around her neck and she was happy!

When others asked her later if she found the necklace which was lost, she aid,

“Yes, I have found it.”.

She still felt that she had recovered a lost jewel.

Source:
http://sentient.org/ramana-maharshi/about-the-search.html

OAM NAMO BHAGAVATE SRI RAMANAAYA

this article is by one Ms. Shivani Sharma.
she visited Sri Ramanaashramam in the year for the first time in 1942
she was just of 7 years.the Text matter:


It was during this time (1942) that the decisive event of my life occured, something that has stayed with me ever since. As I don't remember the exact external details, leave it to my father who once told the story this way:


[ In the years when we were living in Madras,] I often brought my family and business collegues to the ashram on weekends. Out of all the people I brought, the Maharshi seemed to be particularly fond of my daghter. She had learned Tamil quite well during her time in Madras, so she could converse with him in his native language. They used to laugh and play together whenever we visited. On one of my visits she sat in front of the Maharshi and went into what appeared to be a deep meditative trance. When the bell for lunch went, i was unable to rouse her. The Maharshi advised me to leave her in peace, so we went off to eat without her. When we came back she was still in the same place in the same state. She spent several hours in this condition before returning to her normal waking state.


Major Chadwick had been watching all this with great interest. After her expereince ended, he approached the Maharshi and said, " I have been here for ten years, but have not had the experience like this. This seven-year old girl seems to have had this experience without making any effort at all. How can this be?'


The Maharshi merely smiled and said,
' How do you know that she is not older than you ? '

Source: Mountain path Advent issue - january - march 2010

The Story of Ribhu

The Story of Ribhu




This is a lovely story told by Ramana Maharshi
when a visitor asked him to explain:


A Puranic story of Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha, is particularly instructive. Although Ribhu taught his disciple the supreme Truth of the One Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in spite of his erudition and understanding, did not get sufficient conviction to adopt and follow the path of Jnana (Wisdom), but settled down in his native town to lead a life devoted to the observance of ceremonial religion. But the Sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter venerated his Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would himself go to his disciple in the town, just to see how far the latter had outgrown, his ritualism. At times the Sage went in disguise, so that he might observe how Nidagha would act when he, did not know that he was being observed by his Master.


On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the disguise of a village rustic, found Nidagha intently watching a royal procession. Unrecognized by the town-dweller Nidagha, the village rustic enquired what the bustle was all about, and was told that the king was going in procession.




"Oh! it is the king. He goes in procession! But where is he?" asked the rustic. "There, on the elephant," said Nidagha. "You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the two," said the rustic, "but which is the king and which is the elephant?" "What!" exclaimed Nidagha. "You see the two, but do not know that the man above is the king and the animal below is the elephant? What is the use of talking to a man like you?" "Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like me," begged the rustic. "But 'you said 'above' and 'below' -- what do they mean?"


Nidagha could stand it no more. "You see the king and the elephant, the one above and the other below. Yet ' you want to know what is meant by 'above' and 'below''' burst out Nidagha. "If things seen and words spoken can convey so little to you, action alone can teach you. Bend forward, and ' you will know it all ' too well". The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his shoulders and said: "Know it now. I am above as the king, you are below as the elephant. Is that clear enough?" "No, not yet," was the rustic's quiet reply. "You say you are above like the king, and I am below like the elephant. The 'king', the 'elephant', 'above' and 'below' -- so far it is clear. But pray, tell me what you mean by 'I' and 'you'?"


When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden with. the mighty problem of defining a 'you' apart from an 'I', light dawned on his mind. At once he jumped down and fell at his Master's feet saying: "Who else but . my venerable Master, .Ribhu, could have thus drawn my mind from the superficialities of physical existence to the true Being of the Self? Oh! benign Master, I crave thy blessings".


From "Spiritual Stories as told by Ramana Maharshi",
Source: www.sentient.org/story the story of RHIBU