Fw: [RamanaMaharshi] A Sadhu's Reminicences of Ramana Maharshi

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- Viorica Weissman

RamanaMaharshi

Thursday, August 30, 2001 5:46 AM

[RamanaMaharshi] A Sadhu's Reminicences of Ramana Maharshi

I found this text on an web site ; I read the book some time ago;

it is a wonderful book; I hope you will enjoy the reading; (it's

a little long)

==========================================================***AS I SAW

HIM - 1*** by Sadhu Arunachala* "AS I SAW HIM-1" has been extracted

from A Sadhu's Reminicences of Ramana Maharshi.

============================================================TO TRY TO

DESCRIBE my reactions when I first came into thepresence of Bhagavan

is difficult. I felt the tremendous peaceof his presence, his

graciousness. It was not as though I wasmeeting him for the first

time. It seemed that I had always knownhim. It was not even like the

renewal of an old acquaintanceship.It had always been there though I

had not been conscious of itat the time. Now I knew. It was

only afterwards, when I had dwelt in India for some time, that I

began to realise how gracious Bhagavan had been to me from the very

first. And this attitude of mine was to my advantage. Bhagavan

responded to people's reactions. If you behaved absolutely

naturally, with no strain, Bhagavan's behaviour was similar.

When I entered the Hall for the first time, Bhagavan was seated on

his couch, facing the door. It was about seven o'clock and he had

just returned from his stroll on the Hill. Bhagavan adored the Hill

and was never happier than when wandering about its slopes. He

greeted me with his lovely smile and asked if I had had my

breakfast, and then told me to sit down. Bhagavan talked to me the

whole morning till it was time for the midday meal. He asked me many

questions about myself and my life. All this seemed quite natural.

Later I was to discover that he usually greeted visitors with a

glance, made a few remarks and then remained silent, or waited for

them to put their doubts and question him so that he might answer.

Or often he appeared unconscious that anybody had entered, though

this was only in appearance, for he was always fully conscious.

I found when I had been in the Ashrama a short time and was

beginning to know my way about, that the best time to catch Bhagavan

alone was at one o'clock in the afternoon when he came back from the

Hill. Everyone who could would have slipped away for a siesta,

except for one attendant whose duty it was to remain with Bhagavan

in case he needed anything. This was before the days of electricity

so a punkah had been hung just over Bhagavan's couch and this would

be kept in lazy motion by a sleepy attendant who was himself dying

to run off and have a sleep. At times I would take his duty and let

him go, at others I would sit up near the head of Bhagavan's couch

and talk to him. It was during these quiet hours that he instructed

me and those quiet hours spent with him then were the most valuable

of all. Bhagavan was a very beautiful person; he shone with

a visible light or aura. He had the most delicate hands I have ever

seen with which alone he could express himself, one might almost

say, talk. His features were regular and the wonder of his eyes was

famous. His forehead was high and the dome of his head the highest I

have ever seen. As this in India is known as the dome of wisdom it is

only natural that it should be so. His body was well-formed and of

only medium height, but this was not apparent as his personality was

so dominant that one looked upon him as tall. He had a great sense of

humour and when talking a smile was never far from his face.

He had many jokes in his repertoire and was a magnificent actor; he

would always dramatise the protagonist of any story he related. When

the recital was very pathetic, Bhagavan would be filled with emotion

and unable to proceed. When people came to him with their family

stories he would laugh with the happy and at times shed tears with

the bereaved. In this way, he seemed to reciprocate the emotions of

others. Bhagavan never raised his voice and, if he did occasionally

seem angry, there was no sign of it on the surface of his peace.

Talk to him immediately afterwards and he would answer calmly and

quite undisturbed. He would never touch money, not because he hated

it-he knew that for the purpose of daily life it was necessary-but

he had never any need of it and was not interested in it.

People said that Bhagavan would not talk but this was untrue, as

were many other foolish legends about him. He did not speak

unnecessarily and his apparent silence only showed how much foolish

chatter usually goes on amongst ourselves. He preferred every sort

of simplicity and liked to sit on the floor, but a couch had been

forced upon him and this became his home for most of the twenty-four

hours of the day. He would never, if he could help it, allow any

preference to be shown to him and in the dining room he was adamant

on this point. Even if some special medicine or tonic were given to

him he wanted to share it with everybody. "If it is good for me,

then it must be good for the rest," he would argue and make them

distribute it round the dining hall. He would wander out to the Hill

several times a day, and if any attachment to anything on earth could

be said of him, it was surely an attachment to the Hill. He loved it

and said it was God Himself. Approached in the right way,

Bhagavan would advise, though the majority of people who moved with

him would deny it. They had never tried in the right way or, more

probably, never intended to take permission at all. They thus

bluffed themselves into thinking that he had given them leave and in

this way did what they themselves had intended to do. Bhagavan

was invariably kind to all animals though he did not like cats or, I

believe, mongooses; this was principally because the cats hunted his

beloved squirrels or chipmunks. These squirrels used to run in and

out of the Hall window over his couch and even his body. He would

feed them with nuts and stroke them; some of them even had names.

Their chief ambition seemed to be to make nests behind his pillows

so that they might bring up their families under his protection.

On February 5th, 1949 the tragedy of the final illness had its

inception. Bhagavan had been frequently rubbing his left elbow which

was causing some irritation. His attendant inspected this to see what

was the trouble and found a small lump the size of a pea. The doctor

decided that it was only a small matter and should be removed by a

local anaesthetic, and the operation was quietly performed in

Bhagavan's bathroom one morning just before the meal. This was the

beginning of the end. The curtain on the last act was slowly

descending. The growth turned out to be sarcoma. I feel

that I should not let the occasion pass without saying a word to

those who doubt the continued presence of our Guru amongst us.

Though we talk as though he were dead, he is indeed here and very

much alive as he promised, in spite of appearances. Often

visitors have remarked, "But one can feel him more strongly than

ever." Of course, one misses the physical presence, the opportunity

to ask questions, the delight of his greeting, the humour of his

approach, and most of all his understanding and sympathy. Yes, one

certainly misses all that, but one never doubts for a moment that he

is still here when one has taken the trouble to visit his tomb.

When Sri Ramana lay dying, people went to him and begged him to

remain for a while longer as they needed his help. His reply is

well known: "Go! Where can I go? I shall always be here." The

power of Sri Ramana, who gave up his physical form, has not

diminished. He is everywhere, like the light in a room shed by an

electric bulb. But the light is found to be far stronger near the

bulb, the source of light, than in any other part of the room,

though no spot is in darkness. What wonder, then, if the power of

our Guru is found near the place where his body is

interred.==================================================================Community

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Thanks so much for this! The kind of stories we don't often read about him.