Remembering Nisargadatta

[Guest guest]

Nisargadatta , " wwoehr "

<wwoehr@p...> wrote:

> Hi friends,

>

> At David Godman's site there are some really interesting and

nice

> texts about and arround Nis. Worth to be read !

>

> http://www.davidgodman.org/interviews/nis1.shtml

>

> Werner

 

thanks Werner! Greaqt stuff:

 

 David:   I have to mention Ganesan's visit here. V. Ganesan is

the

grandnephew of Ramana Maharshi and in the 1970s he was the

de facto manager

of Ramanasramam. Nowadays, his elder brother Sundaram is

in charge. Ganesan

came to visit Maharaj for the first time in the late 1970s. As soon

as he

arrived Maharaj stood up and began to collect cushions. He

made a big pile

of them and made Ganesan sit on top of the heap. Then, much

to everyone's

amazement, Maharaj cleared a space on the floor and did a

full-length

prostration to him.

     When he stood up, he told Ganesan, 'I never had a chance to

prostrate

to your great-uncle Ramana Maharshi, so I am prostrating to you

instead.

This is my prostration to him.' 

 

Harriet: That's an extraordinary story! Were you there that day? 

 

David: Yes, I was sitting just a few feet away. But the truly

extraordinary

thing for me was what happened next. Maharaj and Ganesan

chatted for a

while, about what I can't remember. 

     Then Maharaj made an astonishing offer: 'If you stay here with

me for

two weeks, I guarantee you will leave in the same state as your

great-uncle

Ramana Maharshi.' 

     Ganesan left that day and didn't come back. I couldn't believe

he had

turned down an offer like that. If someone of the stature of

Maharaj had

made an offer like that to me, I would have immediately nailed

myself to the

floor. Nothing would have induced me to go away before the time

was up. 

     When I returned to Ramanasramam I asked Ganesan why he

hadn't stayed. 

     'I didn't think he was serious,' he replied. 'I just thought he was

joking.'