a Robert Adams talk on Ramana

[Guest guest]

Remember the Reasons Why You Came Here

Satsang with Robert Adams

 

December 23, 1990

 

 

I welcome you with all my heart and with all my being. It's good to see you all

here, everyone of you. In 1947 I went to Ramana Maharshi. After spending

around three days talking with Ramana, I settled down with the devotees, in the

hall, and I used to sit at the right side of the hall against the wall, watching

all the people come in. They had devotees, disciples, and seekers. The

devotees were always the same. They never said much. They were immersed in

themselves. The disciples and the seekers quarreled with each other.

I recall a particular Indian who was very quarrelsome with the disciples, and he

used to find fault with everybody. He would go to Ramana and say, "So and so is

doing this, so and so is doing that." And Ramana would tell him, "Remember the

reasons why you came here and keep silent." The reason of course was to find

the Self, and not to interfere with anybody else. But there were all kinds of

incidents going on. Sikhs came, Hindus, Westerners, Buddhists, Zen Buddhists.

People were practicing hatha yoga. All these things were happening in front of

Ramana. But it didn't faze Ramana one bit.

 

I recall a Westerner, I'm trying to think of his name, Henry Wells, from

Scotland. He apparently had read a lot of books about Ramana, and this was his

first visit. He came into the hall, and I was watching this. He ran over to

Ramana and prostrated himself on his stomach, and started going crazy. His feet

were shaking, and he was chanting. The devotees wanted to pick him up, and

Ramana said, "Let him stay." When he came out of it he told Ramana, "At last I

have found you. You are my father, my mother, my son, my daughter, my friend."

And Ramana just smiled at him. And I said to myself, and I was only 18 years

old, I said to myself, "Someone this enthusiastic... let's see what happens, if

it lasts."

 

The days went by and he kept prostrating himself every day for about a month.

Then he finally stopped, and he sat down like everybody else. And after about 2

months or so, looking around the room at everybody, and he started complaining,

that this wasn't right, that wasn't right. After about 4 months of being there

he donated $40,000 to the ashram, and I'm just watching all these things going

on. After about 6 months of being there, he started to find fault with the

management. At that time Ramana's brother was managing the ashram. He started

to whisper to the other disciples, of course the devotees would have nothing to

do with this. It was the disciples and the seekers. He started spreading

rumors. He hardly ever talked to me. I guess I was too young. He was about 45

years old.

 

When about the 7th month he came over to me one day and he asked me, outside the

ashram, "Do you think Ramana is really enlightened?" So I just smiled at him.

I didn't answer and walked away. He started getting devotees to fight against

each other and rebel against the rules of the ashram.

 

On about the 8th month he saw me again and he tells me, "Do you think it is

right for Ramana to stand naked like this? Let's buy him some clothes and

dress him up, so when some Westerners come they won't be frightened." So I told

him what Ramana said: "Remember the reason for why you came." This went on.

 

A couple of days later I didn't see him in the hall. Second day passed and I

didn't see him. Third day passed and I didn't see him. And the fourth day I

enquired, "What happened to him?" And the house guest he was living with said,

"Oh, Henry packed his suitcase and went back to Scotland," and nobody ever

heard from him again.

 

The point of the story is this. If you realize the reason why you came you'll

be interested in one thing, awakening. And that will dominate your life.

Nothing else will. You will not be concerned with what somebody else is doing,

and you will be at peace with yourself and everybody else. Everything is

preordained anyway. Everything is karmic. So what's going to happen will

happen, whether you like it or not. So why get insulted. Why get your feelings

hurt. Be at peace.

 

It's interesting, this morning I was looking through a magazine and I found an

article by a devotee who lived at the ashram for quite a while talking about the

same subject. Mary would you like to read it?

 

Now listen carefully to this. It's called Mind the business for which you have

come.

 

"All events in life are shaped according to the Divine plan. What is bound to

happen will happen. What is not to happen cannot be brought about by any human

effort. On this point Ramana was quite categoric. When Deva Raja Mudalar

questioned him as to whether only important things in one's life, such as major

occupation or profession, alone are predetermined, or even trifling acts, Ramana

replied, 'Everything is predetermined.'

 

"One of the purposes of birth is to go through certain experiences which have

been marked out in the karmic unfoldment of this life. The whole program is

chalked out. This would apparently be a damper to all effort, for one would be

puzzled as to what the responsibility of man is. Is he an automation of karmic

forces? Where do his free will and effort come in?

 

"Ramana points out that there is another deeper purpose to life. That is to

search and find out the truth for oneself. He would say that the only useful

purpose of life is to turn within and realize there's nothing else to do.

Ramana would therefore constantly din into everyone the fact that the ultimate

truth is Sat-Chit, immediately available here and now.

 

"When Natananananda asked Ramana, 'Is it possible for everyone to know

directly without doubt what exactly is one's true nature?,' prompt came the

reply, 'Undoubtedly it is possible. The ultimate truth is so simple,' Ramana

would say. 'It is nothing more than abiding in one's own state.' This is the

essential message of all religions and creeds. Leaving aside the automatic

course of our lives regulated by the Creator, according to His Law, one's duty

is to channel effort to be self-aware. Steadfastness of purpose is in treading

the inner path through vigilant self-enquiry. On such enquiry as to the Source

of the individual, the enquirer merges in the conscious Source.

 

"The inner odyssey is seldom smooth sailing. Full many a delusion would wean

one away. For instance, people who go to Shri Ramana ashram to breathe its

rarified atmosphere, while there, instead of surrendering to His flowing Grace,

they would get involved in the happening of the ashram management. Ramana used

to jovially remark of some visitors on their first visit to Shri Ramana ashram,

they seemed to be alright. On the second visit they discovered that the ashram

is not properly run. On the third visit they start giving advice. On the

fourth they know best how to run the place. And on the fifth they discover that

the management is not responsive. On the sixth they suggest that the present

staff should walk out leaving the ashram to them They would thus get bogged down

in things which are irrelevant for the search. When such people complained,

Ramana would say: 'Mind the business for which you have come.'

 

"This would apply, of course, not only to their visit to Shri Ramana ashram,

but also to the purpose of human life itself. One has to constantly keep before

the minds eye the liberating purpose, the only worth while one of freeing

oneself from the karmic chain by discovering the hidden truth. Ramana would

even seemingly chide if one failed to pursue one's own sadhana, but spent time

thinking and talking of others

 

"A devotee once told Ramana: 'I have been here for many years. People got

into Samadhi. I close my eyes for a minute and my mind travels around the

world.' Ramana replied: 'Why do you think about others? Let them meditate,

sleep or snore. Look to yourself. Whenever your mind goes astray bring it back

to the quest.'

 

"Once Bhagwan told a devotee to wake up, look at the mirror, it shows the

growth to be got rid of. Instead of waiting time, start shaving. Similarly,

heaven knows when the allotted time would end. Hence not to seek the truth by

vigilant self-enquiry is truly suicidal. Many would like to blame their

circumstances for their indolence and laziness and failure to pursue

self-enquiry. Ramana would ask, 'Why depend on that which is not in your hands.

Go ahead with the business which is in your hands, under your control, leaving

aside what you cannot do anything about.'

 

"Proper utilization of God given freedom of turning the mind is what is needed

all the time. As for adverse circumstances in life of which everyone has a

belly full, while sympathizing, Ramana would at the same time say, 'You are

always free not to be affected by the pleasure and pain consequent on action.'

The teeth have to be taken out of an event by an attitudinal change which

neutralizes it.

 

"Sometimes Ramana would advise leaving things to the sure hand of the Sat

Guru, and to stick single mindedly to the effort which would make one

self-aware. Ramana would say, 'Why don't you do what the first class railway

passenger does? He tells the guard his destination, locks the door and goes

to sleep. The rest is done by the guard. If you can trust your Guru as much as

you trust the railway guard, it will be good enough to make you reach the

destination.' Again when someone pestered him for the darshan of Shri Krishna,

he said, 'Why don't you leave the shaktakara of Krishna to Krishna.' We also

have the pointed advice given by him to Ganapada Muni. 'Remain all the time

steadfast in the heart. God will determine the future for you to accomplish the

work. What is to be done will be done at the proper time. Don't worry. Abide

in the heart.'

 

Life becomes meaningful if we joyously tread the inward path, remembering that

ours is to do the Vichara and it is for the inner source to do the rest. Then

bliss is not the end product to be found on reaching the goal, but is felt all

along the homeward, heartward journey."

 

There's another article prior, previous to that , before that. The Purpose of

Life, by Lucille Osborne. Let Jay read this.

 

 

"Those whose spiritual effort is in the right direction get progressively

closer to their perfect Self, become more peaceful, happier and are increasingly

liked and helped by those with whom they come into contact. Some of the

negative category will attend rigorously only to externals like clothing and

pure food which will not help them much if it combines with egocentric selfish

behavior and possessiveness. They will do anything to be able to possess a few

more things of scarcely any importance. They do not realize the harm they do to

themselves getting deeper into samsara with all its problems and suffering, away

from realizing the glorious peaceful joy in their heart.

"This pertains also to those in positions of power who treat the people with

whom they deal without goodwill, sincerity, or even truthfulness. They will

usually be disliked, have a few friends, if any. Those who associate with them

will either have some affinity, or feel sorry for them, combined usually with

reluctance to forgo some convenience or other. Not a particularly spiritual

motive. One might say that a misguided seeker forfeits the great opportunity of

gaining the greatest fortune possible for a human being. The purpose of life is

to return to the Source. The source is mysterious, glorious, peaceful joy,

which is God in everybody's heart. This is realization. We do not gain it. It

is always there in the heart. Only the obstructions, vasanas, have to be

removed to reveal it."

 

Thank you Jay. Any question about that before we go on? Everybody

understand it perfectly? O.K. Let's play a song.

 

Hello again. It's good to be with you. I talk to many people during the week,

both on the telephone and in person. I speak to Zen Buddhists, Hindus1

Americans, all kinds of people, and 80% tell me they're enlightened. Most of

them tell me they've experienced the Void. Some say they've seen lights. Some

say they hear certain sounds. And they say, "What do you think?" So I remark,

"Somebody has to be present to experience these things. As long as somebody is

present, and somebody is present or you'll not be able to tell me about it, then

there's no enlightenment. Find out who is present, and hold on to that you,

because you are present to experience the Void. You are present to experience

the light or the sound. Who is that you? Find out. Hold on to that you.

Hold on to I. I was present to experience the Void. As long as I am present I

cannot possibly be enlightened, because I still exist."

 

It is like a movie theater. Let's take rather a stage theater, stage play,

where the lights shine on the players and on the audience. When the play is

over the audience and the actors both leave, but the light still shines, even

though it shines on nothing. So the empty theater is the Void. The light is

still shining on the Void as well as on the people.

 

A better example is: we see a room full of furniture, the eyes look and they

see. Then somebody turns off the light. The eyes are still there but they

don't see anything. That's how the Void is compared to the seer. There has to

be a seer to see the Void. Who is that seer? And you find out by

self-enquiring, "Who am I? Where did the I come from? What is the Source

of I that sees all these things?" Remember, all this phenomena is a projection

of your mind. The mind appears to be very powerful. It projects voids, light,

sounds, images, as well as the entire universe, and as well as your body and

mind. It projects itself out of the mind. The idea is to stop the projection,

and you stop the projection through self-enquiry. This is the fastest way.

 

So whenever you have some experience, go beyond the experience. Because there

has to be somebody to have the experience. Just like the eyes see when it's

light, and the eye is still there when it's dark, so the I is present when you

sleep, the I is present when you dream, the I is present when you are awake.

Find out who the I is. Dive deep within. Work on yourself. Just like the

article we read before, forget about the world, forget about others, forget

about your body, and enquire of the Self. Find out who the Self is. Who are

you? Are there two I's or one I?

 

There cannot possibly be two I's because that's duality. There has to be one I

only. Find the source of the I. Follow it diligently until you merge with the

source. Then you will find that you're happier than you've ever been in your

life. When you touch the source of I you have bliss, you have Absolute Reality,

you have God. This is the most important question in life. Nothing else is so

important. Can you think of anything else that is as important? Then why do

you worry so much about others? Why do you get mixed up with all kinds of

problems? Do your duty. Enquire. Find the source of I. It doesn't make any

difference how long it takes. Think of how many incarnations you had to go

through in order to be in this class today. Make yourself happy. Forget about

your troubles. They don't exist. Only God exists as yourself. But you must

find it out for yourself. Do it.