A Sadhu's Reminiscenses of Ramana Maharshi, #4

October 28, 2005

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To try and describe my reactions when I first came, into the presence of Bhagavan is difficult. I felt the tremendous peace of his presence, his graciousness. It was not as though I were meeting him for the first time. It seemed that I had always known him. It was not even like the renewal of an old acquaintanceship. It had always been there though I had not been conscious of it at the time. Now I knew. In spite of being entirely new to India and its customs, nothing that happened in these first days of my stay at the Ashram seemed strange to me, it was all quite natural. It was only afterwards when I had dwelt in India for some time that I began to realize 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. I do not mean, of course, that Bhagavan really had reactions or that his behaviour could ever be anything but natural, it was only that it appeared like that to us, for he was like a mirror which seemed to reflect back your own feelings. If you were reticent and over-awed he appeared almost stand-offish, but on the other hand if you responded quite naturally to the all-embracing love of his presence, then he treated you as one of his own. When I entered the Hall for the first time he was seated on his couch facing the door. It was about 7o’clock and he had just returned from his stroll on the Hill. He greeted me with his lovely smile and asked if I had had my breakfast and then told me to sit down. There were quite a lot of people present that day, though this was some time before the crowds started to be a regular feature of the Ashram, it must have been some Hindu festival because the lighted camphor was brought in after Pooja which was only done on special days and Na Karmana was chanted in his presence.

Bhagavan talked to me the whole morning till it was time for the mid-day 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 on arrival 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.

He was very interested to hear about Brunton whom I had met in London, and who was returning to India in a few months. This was the first time he would be at the Ashram since the publication of his book, A Search in Secret India. Brunton had surely been inspired by Bhagavan to spread his teachings, or at least a knowledge of Bhagavan’s existence, in the West. He undoubtedly wrote a lot of rubbish afterwards and was a plagiarist of the first water, but very many came to Bhagavan because of his book and were grateful to him for the indication he had given them of where to find their Guru.

I have always felt that his chapters in the book which refers directly to Bhagavan were certainly inspired by Bhagavn himself. That Brunton always retained a love and great respect for Bhagavan there seems to be no doubt in spite of his quarrels with the Ashram and some of the petty remarks about his guru found in his later books.

Bhagavan certainly had a special message for the West where he was much appreciated. His purely rationalistic arguments and the lack of sentiment in his teachings had a great appeal. He never preached or laid down the law, but always concentrated on turning the seeker back on himself and pointing out to him that it was entirely up to him, the guru could only indicate and guide, for no one could give Self-realization to another.

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taken from

A SADHU'S REMINISCENCES OF RAMANA MAHARSHI By SADHU ARUNACHALA (A. W. Chadwick)