Fw: Living in the Presence of the Infinite

[Guest guest]

-

Gabriele Ebert

g.ebert

Sunday, January 27, 2002 12:03 PM

Living in the Presence of the Infinite

 

 

MORE RAMANA REMINISCENCES

by Thelma Rappold

 

 

 

Living in the Presence of the Infinite

Thelma Rappold spent three years with Ramana Maharshi (1947-1950) at Sri

Ramanasramam, in Tiruvannamalai, South India. At that time, the township of

Tiruvannamalai was still a rural area, with none of the everyday amenities a

Westerner would be used to. Remarkably, Thelma met her husband (also an

American) in Tiruvannamalai during those years. She now lives in Northern

California. This article is a transcript of the complete conversation, which was

recorded for the new video Abide As the Self.

 

How did you first find your way to the hermitage of Ramana Maharshi?

 

I went to India with the idea of finding a Guru. I landed in Bombay, then

traveled all over India until I ended up in Pondicherry, at the center of Sri

Aurobindo. It was there that someone said I might like to meet Ramana Maharshi.

I said okay, and took one of those wonderful Indian buses. On my way to Sri

Ramanasramam [Maharshis hermitage], I found myself in a state of reverie. In

this state, I saw the large luminous eyes of Ramana; he just appeared to me as a

sort of dream. When I actually saw him, my heart pattered for here was the same

face that I had seen in my state of reverie I was really, really shocked. I felt

I was going to unpack my one little bag and spend the rest of my life at the

Ashram. That was my first meeting. He opened those eyes, looked at me, and I

just melted.

 

You had never seen Ramana before. When you finally saw him, was it exactly as

you had seen him on the bus?

 

Thats right. That is what made it so shocking. What was it like sitting in

Ramana Maharshis presence? When I sat in Maharshis presence I left that my

little ego had slipped some place, and I opened my heart and let those beautiful

waves enter into me. I felt willing to accept whatever was offered me. It seemed

that the so-called problems I thought I had just vanished. I went through a

cleansing process. I would think to myself, What am I so concerned about, it

doesnt really matter, nothing matters but who am I, who is this I, what is this

entity? Ramanas presence made me inquire, not intellectually, but deeper, and I

was in this the Awareness. The whole world disappeared, and I was in this

wonderful space it was up to me to absorb it, open to it, and let it become my

being.

 

Can you describe what life at Ramanasramam was like during an average day in

1948?

 

Life was much the same day after day. We arrived in the hall about 6:30 in the

morning and sat in front of the Maharshi, who rested an a couch. The assembled

devotees stayed until lunchtime, at which we dispersed to our homes for lunch.

We returned [to the Ashram] at a certain hour and stayed there until dinner

time. We spent our entire day with Maharshi and absorbed as much of that

presence as our little thimble would allow-depending on how open we were. It was

a very quiet, simple and beautiful life. Sometimes nothing was said at all,

while at other times people asked questions. There was always an interpreter

available because Ramana didnt speak English very fluently. His common language

was silence. No one actually lived on the Ashram grounds; we all had to find our

own place outside. Our main reason for being there was to be with Ramana and

spend as much time with him as possible. I had to learn to do my own cooking on

a little bun burner; I dont know what you would call it here. Others taught me

how to survive this kind of rustic life. I would wake at dawn and prepare my

noonday meal. I placed the meal in a tiffin carrier [metal food carrier] and

placed it on charcoals, so it cooked while I was at the Ashram. My entire being

was one-pointed-to absorb as much presence and teaching as possible. It always

amazed me how Ramana sat absolutely quiet and motionless, Yet his eyes were so

penetrating. When I had questions I didnt verbalize them, because it wasnt

necessary; the questions were answered almost immediately. It was our means of

communication. It was a mind-to-mind connection.

 

How did this stay in a remote Ashram, in the presence of a great sage, affect

you?

 

When I first met Ramana. I had been seeking, looking for someone for a long

time. However that doesnt mean that I had shed my attachments. That was one

thing that he taught me in the very beginning. You are what you are: accept it.

When the time comes to give it up, do it with grace. That was the first lesson

taught to me, and as the years went by I kept trying to open as much as

possible. I recognised that we all choose our suffering because we do not open

up and accept what life brings; we dont find out who it is that is experiencing

the suffering. I had never, at any previous time in my life, really let go and

tried to just be. When we can do this, love just pours out. What was it like at

Ramanasramam at the time of Ramanas Nirvana . At the moment of Ramanas passing,

we were gathered. It was as though one was aware of the essence leaving his

body, A comet appeared in the sky the very moment he left his body, just when

everyone was weeping and wailing. You couldnt imagine all the sorrow. I felt a

great loss, even though I knew only the physical body had gone. He must have

been suffering. Yet during his illness, his eyes never lost their luminosity. It

was as though Bhagavans body and his Essence were two separate things. He just

ignored the body and its suffering. Various doctors came to try and cure him [of

malignant sarcoma, but without results. The tumour just continued to grow and

grow, but he was the Awareness, apart from the physical body. Immediately after

his passing, it was as though a great magic wand had been waved over the entire

congregation. You could have heard a pin drop, there wasnt a sound. It was as

though everyone present was engulfed in peace and Ramana was still sitting in

front of us pouring out love, beauty, and calmness.

 

What is your experience of Ramanas presence now?

 

I felt I had found my true home and teacher. It was as if I had lived several

life times in those few short years that I was with him. The person who came to

him in the beginnig was not the same person that left. I had grown so much and I

had understood about the power to open locked doors within me.

 

(from: The Ramana Way, November 98)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

- Gabriele Ebert

g.ebert (AT) gmx (DOT) de

Sunday, January 27, 2002 12:03 PM

Living in the Presence of the Infinite

MORE RAMANA REMINISCENCES by Thelma Rappold

Living in the Presence of the Infinite

Thelma Rappold spent three years with Ramana Maharshi (1947-1950) at

Sri Ramanasramam, in Tiruvannamalai, South India. At that time, the

township of Tiruvannamalai was still a rural area, with none of the

everyday amenities a Westerner would be used to. Remarkably, Thelma

met her husband (also an American) in Tiruvannamalai during those

years. She now lives in Northern California. This article is a

transcript of the complete conversation, which was recorded for the

new video Abide As the Self. How did you first find your way to the

hermitage of Ramana Maharshi? I went to India with the idea of

finding a Guru. I landed in Bombay, then traveled all over India

until I ended up in Pondicherry, at the center of Sri Aurobindo. It

was there that someone said I might like to meet Ramana Maharshi. I

said okay, and took one of those wonderful Indian buses. On my way to

Sri Ramanasramam [Maharshis hermitage], I found myself in a state of

reverie. In this state, I saw the large luminous eyes of Ramana; he

just appeared to me as a sort of dream. When I actually saw him, my

heart pattered for here was the same face that I had seen in my state

of reverie I was really, really shocked. I felt I was going to unpack

my one little bag and spend the rest of my life at the Ashram. That

was my first meeting. He opened those eyes, looked at me, and I just

melted. You had never seen Ramana before. When you finally saw him,

was it exactly as you had seen him on the bus? Thats right. That is

what made it so shocking. What was it like sitting in Ramana

Maharshis presence? When I sat in Maharshis presence I left that my

little ego had slipped some place, and I opened my heart and let

those beautiful waves enter into me. I felt willing to accept

whatever was offered me. It seemed that the so-called problems I

thought I had just vanished. I went through a cleansing process. I

would think to myself, What am I so concerned about, it doesnt really

matter, nothing matters but who am I, who is this I, what is this

entity? Ramanas presence made me inquire, not intellectually, but

deeper, and I was in this the Awareness. The whole world disappeared,

and I was in this wonderful space it was up to me to absorb it, open

to it, and let it become my being. Can you describe what life at

Ramanasramam was like during an average day in 1948? Life was much

the same day after day. We arrived in the hall about 6:30 in the

morning and sat in front of the Maharshi, who rested an a couch. The

assembled devotees stayed until lunchtime, at which we dispersed to

our homes for lunch. We returned [to the Ashram] at a certain hour

and stayed there until dinner time. We spent our entire day with

Maharshi and absorbed as much of that presence as our little thimble

would allow-depending on how open we were. It was a very quiet,

simple and beautiful life. Sometimes nothing was said at all, while

at other times people asked questions. There was always an

interpreter available because Ramana didnt speak English very

fluently. His common language was silence. No one actually lived on

the Ashram grounds; we all had to find our own place outside. Our

main reason for being there was to be with Ramana and spend as much

time with him as possible. I had to learn to do my own cooking on a

little bun burner; I dont know what you would call it here. Others

taught me how to survive this kind of rustic life. I would wake at

dawn and prepare my noonday meal. I placed the meal in a tiffin

carrier [metal food carrier] and placed it on charcoals, so it cooked

while I was at the Ashram. My entire being was one-pointed-to absorb

as much presence and teaching as possible. It always amazed me how

Ramana sat absolutely quiet and motionless, Yet his eyes were so

penetrating. When I had questions I didnt verbalize them, because it

wasnt necessary; the questions were answered almost immediately. It

was our means of communication. It was a mind-to-mind connection. How

did this stay in a remote Ashram, in the presence of a great sage,

affect you? When I first met Ramana. I had been seeking, looking for

someone for a long time. However that doesnt mean that I had shed my

attachments. That was one thing that he taught me in the very

beginning. You are what you are: accept it. When the time comes to

give it up, do it with grace. That was the first lesson taught to me,

and as the years went by I kept trying to open as much as possible. I

recognised that we all choose our suffering because we do not open up

and accept what life brings; we dont find out who it is that is

experiencing the suffering. I had never, at any previous time in my

life, really let go and tried to just be. When we can do this, love

just pours out. What was it like at Ramanasramam at the time of

Ramanas Nirvana . At the moment of Ramanas passing, we were gathered.

It was as though one was aware of the essence leaving his body, A

comet appeared in the sky the very moment he left his body, just when

everyone was weeping and wailing. You couldnt imagine all the sorrow.

I felt a great loss, even though I knew only the physical body had

gone. He must have been suffering. Yet during his illness, his eyes

never lost their luminosity. It was as though Bhagavans body and his

Essence were two separate things. He just ignored the body and its

suffering. Various doctors came to try and cure him [of malignant

sarcoma, but without results. The tumour just continued to grow and

grow, but he was the Awareness, apart from the physical body.

Immediately after his passing, it was as though a great magic wand

had been waved over the entire congregation. You could have heard a

pin drop, there wasnt a sound. It was as though everyone present was

engulfed in peace and Ramana was still sitting in front of us pouring

out love, beauty, and calmness. What is your experience of Ramanas

presence now? I felt I had found my true home and teacher. It was as

if I had lived several life times in those few short years that I was

with him. The person who came to him in the beginnig was not the same

person that left. I had grown so much and I had understood about the

power to open locked doors within me. (from: The Ramana Way, November

98) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~