A Light On Miracles

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya!

The womb of miracles is Grace which is none other than the Self. Miracles here, may be defined as not the glaring ones as in Physic powers, Clairvoyance or materialising objects etc that bears the stamp of doership. They are simply divine interference in day to day life, that are too very natural which could often escape from even an alert eye. Such were those which took place in the presence of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.

Any ardent seeker's life is peppered with miracles or divine interference. There are two common outlooks towards miracles. While most intellectual seekers on the path of Self realization often have a self imposed indifferent attitude towards miracles, seekers on the path of bakti or devotion often get lost in miraculous happenings. In my humble opinion, I guess focusing on Grace, the underlying factor of miracles than focusing on miraculous happenings or, being aware of miracles rather than being indifferent to them voluntarily could be the right attitude, for Grace is none other than the Self.

Grace strengthens faith and bestows surrender which in turn thins doership. It aids one to rest and relax in it even at times of turbulence or dynamic action. While Bhagavan Ramana did not accept doership to the numerous miracles that dotted his devotees' life, He claimed miracles to be the 'automatic divine activity' as stated by Sadhu Om Swami, a great devotee of Bhagavan in an interview with David Godman http://sri-ramana-maharshi.blogspot.in/2008/05/interview-with-sadhu-om.html .  Ramana simply stated miracles as occurrences  in the presence of any divine being.

Ramana once told Rangan, His childhood friend that all the latter's sufferings were a dream and nothing more. However His Grace did not fail to intervene in numerous occasions to smooth out the wrinkles in Rangan's life.

Cherishing and shunning miracles are both states of mind. While to transcend the opposites is the end of a spiritual journey, tuning the mind to Grace rather than dwelling on miracles themselves is the way to deal with miracles in the course of one's journey (Though in reality there is no journey). The former frees while the latter could bind.

Can the manifestations of Grace infused with Grace alone, be different from Grace it self?

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya!

Next to follow Moments in Grace.

Eradicating the ego

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

Ramana had His own way of eradicating the ego, whenever it showed up in his disciples. Muruganar, one of the greatest devotees of Bhagavan Ramana, a remarkable poet, had an urge to pen something akin to Siva Puranam (a great work on Lord Siva by the great saint Manickavasagar) about Ramana. Devotion took the shape of words as it poured down on paper. Muruganar was however doubtful if he should call it ‘Siva Puranam’ owing to his firm belief that Ramana was none other than Shiva, or ‘Ramana Puram’. Unable to discern the same he left it for Bhagavan to decide. Bhagavan graciously wrote ‘Ramana Puranam’ in each page and also Himself being a poet par excellence, added a few more verses.

The work was completed and was presented to Bhagavan for proof reading, Bhagavan found at the beginning of the verses that He had penned, “Written by Bhagavan” added by Muruganar.

Picture shows indian mystic Ramana Maharshi, 1879-1950. It was taken by G. G. Welling around 1940. Copyright-holder is Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, 606603, Tamil Nadu, India: "The copyright holder gives permission to any visitor to wikipedia to download the photographs."

The Master said, “Oh from here Bhagavan has written?” The open question was simply a bash to the ego. Was not the whole poem an outcome of His Grace? Was He not the sole poet?

That one simple question cut asunder the sense of doer-ship, stemming out of the sense of an individual identity, the ‘I’, the ego. He is the only reality that shines as the self in all manifestations. When one is focused on multiplicity owing to focusing on outward manifestations, separate identity blinds the truth of the one underlying, unifying essence in all manifestations, the Self.

In a conversation with a devotee of Bhagavan regarding this episode, she recalled an incident where another devotee strongly objected to his name being published for his writings. If the objection was to avoid the possible swelling of the ego, it is also a subtle but sure instance of the existence of the ego in another form, harbouring the sense of ownership to one’s name. Even with regards to me, when I was impelled to write this blog, the fear of the ego getting boosted was inevitable. However it took some time to realise before taking to writing, that He is the sole doer and the seeming individual actions are all but His. Are not all movements that of the Cosmic Dancer’s?

It is a simple revelation that the life of the Master is as important as His teachings, for His life itself is a great teaching. It is a treasure trove were gems of practical wisdom sparkles to light up the path of spiritual seeking.

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

From Him unto Him-The true definition of Charity

                                                                         

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

On 9th December, I happened to visit the Ramana Maharshi shrine to attend the Poornima puja. In Bhagavan’s physical presence with swarming fellow devotees, how could one describe the bliss and glory? The puja came to an end with devotees going around the shrine chanting ‘Aksharamanamalai’ We then stood engaged in a little Satsang in a small group listening to Ms. Sarada Natarajan (President of Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning) about Bhagavan and Arunachala and the Karthigai Deepam festival, when the others had taken leave.

A person from the group handed some money as a donation for the centre’s activities to Ms Sarada Natarajan requesting her to use it for the Poornima celebrations or for any other related activity.  The person humbly added, when I am HIS, what could remain as ‘mine’ to donate?

Ms. Sarada Natarajan narrated an incident in response to the donor’s words. Shri Nochur Venkatramanji’s child of five or six, standing near the Ganges, cupped his little hands to fill it with water and then emptied it into the river again saying, “This is true worship!”  A lesson from a little child indeed!

Ms Sarada Natarajan looked at the donor and said, “Your words remind me of that little child who could impart a great teaching in the course of his little play of worship"

While charity in the normal sense can be an exercise to purify the mind, the true definition of charity is something greater.

With the dissolution of identity, as Bhagavan always says, “There is no 'other,” (where there is no giver and the taker, but the SELF) true charity is that which is given even without the slightest notion of giving, where everything is the‘SELF’ Here there is no expectation from the taker in return and exploitation of the taker by the giver.

In the mighty ocean of Ramana, when the waves are of its (His) very nature-water, is there anything apart from Him?

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya!

Self-Reliant-Are We Really?

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

Self-Reliant-Are We Really?

                          

Self-reliance  would normally mean being reliant on work, wealth, intelligence, social strength, relationships etc. Are we really Self-reliant in the truest sense while basing our reliance on these?

When one is reliant on the aforesaid aspects, one is indirectly reliant on the mind. They are based on intelligence and emotions which are thought forms which constitute the mind.  In all of these impermanence is engrained. Such reliance is simply attachment which causes pain when their life elapses, or when they fail, while monotony and discontent are unavoidable outcomes of a successful life at some point. The mind hunts for something new. We are reliant on them owing to the belief somewhere; deep down, that they are going to exist for ever. It is only one’s true Self , the eternal which can bestow a perennial flow of contentment. It is to be noted that it is not about shunning work, wealth, relationships etc. It is about understanding deeply that they are transitory.

Bhagavan’s question to Paul Brunton throws light on what the true Self is. He simply brushed aside his’s (Paul Brunton) answers to His single question as to who he was, when he (Paul Brunton) replied with his name, profession, nationality etc. Bhagavan clearly pointed out that they were simply his name, profession etc and not his Self.

Hence what is the ‘Self’ or ‘Who Am I?’

A little story from the book “The Way of the Wizard” by Deepak Chopra is a good pointer. Merlin, the wizard, visits King Aruther’s court and questions who he (the king) was to the courtiers, promising a bagful of gold dust for the correct answer. Merlin brushes aside all answers like he is “the king” (by a knight), “Arthur” (by an old maid), “beloved husband” (by the queen) and even “your old friend and disciple” (by Arthur himself). When everyone leaves the room, Arthur sees Merlin empty the bag of gold dust out of the window. When he is questioned, Merlin says that he gave it to the wind, which answered correctly!

Arthur said, “The wind? But it didn’t say anything”

“Exactly,” said Merlin.

So how can ‘Nothingness’ be realised with the mind? It is simply impossible, for the mind dwells by clutching something by the way of thought. The Self can be realised only with the dropping of the mind. Here comes the importance of practice, which can change one’s perspective about one self.  Self-enquiry immerses one in the true Self to experience it.

Shri V Ganesan’s explanation of Self enquiry in his ‘Direct Teaching of Bhagavan Ramana’ beautifully exposes it. “One questions ‘Who am I?’ Watch! Immediately, all thoughts stop! When there are no thoughts, there is no mind. You need no other proof than your own experience. With proper Self-enquiry there ensues a state where the mind has voluntarily become inoperative. A state of silence alone prevails. That Silence is the Self.  You are THAT-‘TAT TVAM ASI”

He further says, “See the simplicity of all! Don’t convert “You are That” into a concept, yet another thought. Experience it as the Reality that is your core, the imperishable, unchanging ground of your existence. Experiencing (not thinking) is the clue”

One can call oneself to be self-reliant when one bases himself on the Silence of the Self while in the pursuit of self-enquiry each time it is employed, at the rise of each thought. There is immense peace even while practising it. It bestows clarity in day today activities and the vision to look at life as a continuous flow with the degree of contentment rising only to become the very contentment (Realisation) someday. One is in life yet beyond it.

That Silence is the base for all creativity and intelligence. It is in fact the very intelligence, simply because its nature is AWARENESS!

It is the experience of devotees that even while in the practise of enquiry as per  the Master’s teachings; they experience showers of His Grace, ever manifest in numerous forms to tide over the storms of the temporal sea, the world. May His Grace guide us in the pursuit of self-enquiry to be self-reliant and to realise the Self.

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya.

His Grace Ever Manifest

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

“Grace is both the beginning and the end. Introversion is due to Grace; Perseverance is Grace; and Realisation is Grace” says Ramana Maharshi-Talks 319

It would be the experience of every Ramana devotee, who has dedicated himself to the practice of Self enquiry, to experience the Grace of the Guru enveloping him, taking control of his life. This results in diminishing of the sense of ego-the ‘I’ sense which is identifying oneself with the body and the mind.

The showers of Grace in every minute detail of life are inexplicable and beyond one’s imagination; the sudden manifestation of it, yet very subtly and naturally, placing things in order leaves one dumbstruck.

Will basking in the ‘thought of Grace’ (in different situations) threaten one’s practice in subduing the ego and rather enriching it? In my humble opinion it depends on the mind-set of the people. When Grace has begun to manifest in one’s material life, it is sure to guide one to the ultimate as well. In my humble opinion, may be one will be caught in the snares of materialism in the beginning. However the manifestation of Grace in one’s material life also brings about exhaustion in the enjoyment of material pleasures, bringing in discrimination. One understands that all pleasures are time bound and one starts yearning for the eternal. Being already in the Guru’s fold, the manifestation of Grace diverts the attention from the end achieved to the thought of Bhagavan Himself. Bhagavan Ramana becomes the object of one’s thoughts.

A friend (a Ramana follower, steeped in the practice of Self enquiry) once asked me, “Why are you so enamoured by Him (His form)?” Another (an ardent devotee of Bhagavan) cautioned me on my yearning to visit the ashram for the creation of fresh vasanas or impressions. In both the cases the questions clearly pointed out an attachment on my side to the Guru’s form. While (purely by His Grace) that I make a little effort to practise His teachings, in my humble opinion, I feel that while I am attached to my own form and other forms in the name of relationships (though in the process of making efforts in practising), I feel that an attachment towards the Guru’s form begins to culminate the attachment to all other forms in His. Furthermore attachment to the Guru’s form brings about liberation and not binding as in other attachments.

I recall Shri Alan Jacobs ji’s beautiful words of wisdom in the ‘Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning,’ Bangalore, “One does not fall in love with Bhagavan, but one rises in love with Bhagavan!”

From another angle, manifestation of Grace and the thought of it slowly but surely endows the spirit of surrender in one. Having seen Grace manifested in different occasions, the sense of doer-ship slowly gives way to surrender as one understands clearly the exercise of the higher power. Living slowly becomes effortless.

Even in the very words of Bhagavan, to a devotee confessing about the difficulty of surrendering completely, “Yes, complete surrender is impossible in the beginning. Partial surrender is certainly possible for all. In course of time that will lead to complete surrender” In fact Bhagavan Ramana vouchsafes that partial surrender can undo destiny. He also states, “Complete surrender is another name for jnana or liberation,” (Day by Day with Bhagavan(1-3-46 Morning)

Even while we follow Self enquiry steadfastly (by enquiring ‘Who am I’ with the rise of every single thought, which is absolutely necessary), the very existence of the idea of engaging in the thought of Grace will slow down one’s practice will also have to be questioned. Is Bhagavan not both within and without?

Well, it all depends on the mind set of individuals being different, and each one progressing in one’s one pace. Here I recall Sarada akka (Saradha Natarajan, the President of Ramana Maharshi Centre of Learning) saying in one of our conversations, “Whether you cross half the well or little more or little less, you are still inside the well!”

However whatever mind-set one has and wherever one stands in his practise, Ramana’s unfailing and compelling Grace will no doubt guide the seeker in realising the truth of himself.

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

Image Courtesy : Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai

Just Be!-What is it to be?

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

To just be is an effortless state of existence or being. It is a state of pure surrender. It is basically shifting of one’s attention from the mistaken conception of one’s identity with the body mind complex to the self, or the ‘I-ness’ throbbing in one.

It is the state of dropping the mind, a deep let go of things.

Bhagavan Ramana’s teaching is to ‘Just be’. Self enquiry was suggested by Bhagavan as it is difficult to detach oneself from thoughts and to realise the true nature of one’s being at one go.

It is the pure state of awareness. It is a state of acceptance. Non-acceptance causes rebellion or conflict in mind. When one is in the state of just b-e-i-n-g, total acceptance has happened whatever be the external situations, with no trace of conflict in the mind.

It is pure b-e-i-n-g or existing. It is not a negative state of simply existing, but a vibrant, throbbing existence full of life-a state of consciousness.

It is the greatest state of relaxation where one is free from the illusion of the mind. By relaxing our grip over it, thoughts are pushed to the background.

Once when one is relaxed-when the grip over thoughts of the past and the future is loosened, one is fully in the Present-in the present state of awareness.

The aforesaid truth translates into being in unalloyed peace.

To just be is a state of being in meditation without the thought of doing meditation or being engaged in meditation. It is a state of pure being, the goal of all meditations.

Who could explain more clearly than the great Lord, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi? He says, “Look, the Self is only Be-ing, not being this or that. It is simple Being. Be-and there is end of the ignorance. Enquire for whom is the ignorance. The ego arises when you wake up from sleep. Realise your pure Be-ing. Let there be no confusion with the body. The body is the result of thoughts. The thoughts will play as usual, but you will not be affected. You were not concerned with the body when asleep; so you can always remain”-Talk No 46

Bhagavan clearly states that thoughts will exist but one will not be affected by them.

May Bhagavan bestow the bliss of being, which is possible only by His infinite Grace.

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya.

My Trip Alone To Ramanashram-Part II

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya

When the mind is worn out and weary,

When it needs to be revived,

To drink of your glory,

The elixir of life

Arunachala, the Mount of Grace,      

May the mind rest in your eternal embrace.

The turbulent mind

This time I rushed to the Master’s presence with a turbulent mind. On 7^th October, peace seemed to be something very distant. I went round Bhagavan’s Samadhi over and over again for thoughts to slow down, which of course did. However the storm did not subside. Meditation was rather difficult as there was a counter thought, a worry, ‘the hankering for peace’.

On 8^th morning the mind was totally worn out. It suddenly became averse to be engaged in any activity, be it to go round the master or to meditate in the meditation hall. It just dropped its movements. All of a sudden peace descended as I simply sat in the hall in front of the Mother’s shrine, where a black statue of Bhagavan is. Meditation later became fruitful.

The Tamil parayanam is what I really enjoy which devotees sing dripping with devotion in the presence of the Master in the evenings. It was as blissful as ever, singing along with them, especially ‘Ramana Satguru Raayanae’. In the later part of the evening, post dinner, I happened to speak to one of the devotees of Bhagavan Ramana, ripe in age as well as experience in the Master’s teachings. After our customary enquiries of each other’s wellbeing, when the topic of our talk as usual turned towards Bhagavan, He said, “Suffering cannot be avoided. It can of course be transcended. You will have to transcend it by understanding it!”

I felt that these words of wisdom came straight from Bhagavan to bring in the right understanding of issues in me.

On 9^th morning, the storm in the mind had considerably subsided and I started my journey back to Bangalore.

Dropping of the mind

 In Bangalore, I happened to tell Saradha akka, the president of the’ Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning,’ of my visit to the ashram alone. I recounted the account of my wonderful stay, despite not being able to do Giripradikshana or going up the hill to the caves as the asharm always warned women against doing them alone.

Saradha akka quickly said (in Tamil), “Bhagavan unnai summa irukka sollitaar!” (Bhagavan asked you to stay quiet or ‘just be!’)

The right cord was struck! Is He not the greatest musician who fine tunes the mind to the central note that runs through each piece of music?  Possessing nothing, is He not the greatest possessor who possessively reclaims the minds of His folks?  The words of Shri Nochur Venkataraman, a great devotee of Bhagavan who gives sessions on the Master’s teachings with a touch of experience and emotion popped up in my mind.  He had once said, “Bhagavan’s central teaching is to ‘Just be!’ Self-enquiry was suggested because it was difficult for one to drop the mind that is accustomed to perpetual wandering at one go and just be.

Furthermore I remembered reading in one of the books, of the function of the mind that thoughts existed only in the light of one’s attention. When one withdraws one’s attention, they simply drop off.  I experienced for the very first time, to let go of tormenting thoughts. Of course the experience is fleeting and the mind is bound to presume its vagabond ways, however I strongly believe that His enveloping Grace is sure to lead the mind to anchor at His Feet someday.

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya.