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[Guest guest]

Sometime back Harsha asked if people would post their favorite

stories about Ramana Maharshi. I couldn't find this book at the

time, but would like to post this story now. It is taken from the

book "In Quest of God", the autobiography of Swami (Papa) Ramdas of

Kerala. Papa Ramdas died in 1963. I had read this book many times,

but had not known until 1993, that Ramdas's meeting with the Maharshi

was the point of his awakening.

 

In 1993 I was visiting Anandamayi Ma's ashram in Khankal, outside of

Hardwar, and there met a French man, Swami Vijayananda, who had been

living in India for 40 years as a disciple of Ma's. Swami

Vijayananda left France at the end of WW 2 to go on a spiritual

journey to India. He met many saints, including my own guru, Neem

Karoli Baba, and Papa Ramdas, whom he described as the happiest, most

childlike person he had ever known.

 

A friend of mine told me the other day that Swami Vijayananda is

still alive and living in Khankal. He is still to be found talking

with the westerners in the evening after arti at Ma's ashram.

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Here is the story from "In Quest of God" the autobiography written by

Ramdas, which is narrated in the third person:

 

One day, a kind [friend] took him [Ramdas] for the darshan of a

famous Saint of the place, named Sri Ramana Maharshi. His ashram was

at the foot of the Tiruvanamalai mountains. It was a thatched shed.

Both the visitors entered the ashram, and meeting the Saint, fell

prostrate at this holy feet. It was really a blessed place where

that great man lived. He was young, but there was on his face a

calmness, and in his large eyes a passionless look of tenderness,

which cast a spell of peace and joy on all those who came to him.

Ramdas was informed that the Saint knew English. So he addressed him

thus:

 

"Maharaj, here stands before thee a humble slave. Have pity on him.

His only prayer to thee is to give him thy blessing."

 

The Maharshi, turning his beautiful eyes toward Ramdas, and looking

intently for a few minutes into his eyes as though he was pouring

into Ramdas his blessing through those orbs, shook his head to say

that he had blessed. A thrill of inexpressible joy coursed through

the frame of Ramdas, his whole body quivering like a leaf in the

breeze. O Ram, what a love is Thine! ...