If your prarabdha does not give you satsang with a jnani, go directly to the source and have satsang of the unmanifest Self. - Annamalai Swami

 CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI

Q: We are able to have satsang here. It is very nice, very sweet.
men we leave here, how can we get such satsang?

Annamalai Swami: If it is not your destiny to stay with a jnani you can always try to establish contact with the formless Self. This is the real satsang.

You say that it is your prarabdha to live in a big city. Prarabdha only pertains to the activities of the body. No prarabdha can
prevent you from turning inwards and putting your attention on
the Self. This is a freedom which every human being has irrespective of his prarabdha. If your prarabdha does not give you satsang with a jnani, go directly to the source and have satsang of the unmanifest Self. This satsang is much harder to achieve and maintain, but if you have no other alternatives you must try it. Small babies live in towns without being affected by the atmosphere or the people there. If you live a pure life and make the right effort you can also reach the state in which the world cannot effect you.

Q: It will be very difficult. I shall be calling for help very frequently.

AS: If you have a desire to have satsang, or a desire to be always engaged in meditation on the Self, these things will happen. If your desire is strong enough the power of the Self will make all the arrangements for you. It will send you a Guru, or satsang, or whatever else you might need. If you are earnestly doing meditation on the Self, everything you need will automatically come to you.

Living by the Words of Bhagavan

Shared via Ramana Hridayam

Is the world we see, Real ?

THE REALITY OF THE WORLD

D: I cannot say it is all clear to me. Is the world that is seen, felt and sensed by us in so many ways something like a dream, an illusion?

M: There is no alternative for you but to accept the world as unreal, if you are seeking the Truth and the Truth alone.

D: Why so?

M: For the simple reason that unless you give up the idea that the world is real, your mind will always be after it. If you take the appearance to be real you will never know the Real itself, although it is the Real alone that exists. This point is illustrated by the analogy of the ‘snake in the rope’. As long as you see the snake you cannot see the rope as such. The non-existent snake becomes real to you, while the real rope seems wholly non-existent as such.

D: It is easy to accept tentatively that the world is not ultimately real, but it is hard to have the conviction that it is really unreal.

M: Even so is your dream world real while you are dreaming. So long as the dream lasts, everything you see, feel, etc., therein is real.

D: Is then the world nothing better than a dream?

M: What is wrong with the sense of reality you have while you are dreaming? You may be dreaming of something quite impossible, for instance, of having a happy chat with a dead person. Just for a moment you may doubt in the dream saying to yourself, ‘Was he not dead?’, but somehow your mind reconciles itself to the dream vision, and the person is as good as alive for the purposes of the dream. In other words, the dream as a dream does not permit you to doubt its reality. Even so, you are unable to doubt the reality of the world of your wakeful experience.

How can the mind which has itself created the world accept it as unreal? That is the significance of the comparison made between the world of wakeful experience and the dream world. Both are but creations of the mind and so long as the mind is engrossed in either, it finds itself unable to deny the reality of the dream world while dreaming and of the waking world while awake. If, on the contrary, you withdraw your mind completely from the world and turn it within and abide thus, that is, if you keep awake always to the Self, which is the substratum of all experience, you will find the world, of which alone you are now aware, just as unreal as the world in which you lived in your dream.

- Maharshi’s Gospel

Maurice Frydman - His Life Story. - Your Heart will melt

From: Ramana Periya Puranam (Inner Journey of 75 Old Devotees)
by V. Ganesan, grand nephew of Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Maurice Frydman was a genius.
He was born in a Jewish ghetto in Poland.
He came from such a poor family, that he tasted white bread only at the age of thirteen.
He could read and write Russian, Hebrew and Cyrillic by the age of ten, and could speak fluent Russian, Polish, French, English and Hebrew.
He stood first in his class right from his school days to the time he was a student of electrical engineering.
An extraordinary genius, he had nearly a hundred patents for his engineering inventions by the time he was just twenty.
At the age of twenty five, Maurice had a strong inner urge to seek God.
In the process, he gave up Judaism and took to Russian Orthodoxy.
He became a monk, leading an austere life in a solitary monastery.
On one of the rare occasions he ventured out, he found himself on top of a mighty waterfall. Here, Satan tempted him by saying, “If you have real faith in Jesus Christ and if you really love the church, jump into this waterfall.”
Maurice, very characteristically, jumped immediately into the deep chasm, wearing his monk´s robe. Would Arunachala let anything happen to him? His robe got entangled in some of the shrubs on the precipice, and he was saved! Proof, that when there is earnestness, a thirst to know the truth, the truth will guide us.
All the orthodox dogmas he was practicing failed to lead him to the truth and he became vexed. He sought freedom from bondage of every kind.
This quest led him to the Theosophical Society and to Annie Besant.


The meeting with J. Krishnamurti impressed him the most.
All these meetings took place in 1926.
Krishnamurti declared, “Truth is a pathless land.” And that truth can be arrived at only by applying oneself diligently without being dependent on any kind of external authority.
This approach appealed to Maurice and he had lengthy dialogues on the subject with Krishnamurti. It is on record that Krishnamurti always obliged Maurice whenever he wanted to talk to him.
Maurice had a seething desire to see God and know the truth, but all the while, from 1928 to 1934, he continued working in the electrical industry. He became the general manager of a well known electrical goods manufacturing factory in France.
Yet, his aspiration to know the truth never left him and he started reading the French and German translations of Vedantic treatises like the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
1935 proved to be the turning point in his spiritual life.
This was when he started reading Paul Brunton‟s books.
The teaching „Who am I?‟ proved to be tremendously enlightening.
The teaching that truth exists within oneself, rather than outside of the Self made him turn within. Paul Brunton´s books kindled the burning desire to visit India and meet the living sage, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.


In all these, providence guided him. The diwan of Mysore (a diwan is akin to the chief minister of a state or even, the prime minister of a country) wanted to modernize his state and was touring Europe and England to learn more about the facilities available in these countries. One day, he visited the factory that Maurice Frydman was in charge of. He was so impressed by Maurice‟s sincerity, application and hard work that he requested him, “Will you please come to our state and advise us on how to develop our state?”
In the 1930´s, India was in a very backward condition and technology had really not found a place here. Maurice shot back characteristically, “My bags are packed, sir. I am prepared to leave for India with you.” Such was the beauty of Maurice.


Maurice Frydman arrived in India, the country of his dreams in 1935. He was put in charge of setting up a big electrical goods manufacturing factory since he was an expert in the field. His aspiration, however, was to meet Bhagavan. Despite his busy work schedule, he went to meet him.
From the very first instance, he was prepared to surrender himself to Bhagavan. He would work day and night at the factory. So much so, he became very successful within a short time. On weekends, he would go to Arunachala, where people would greet him with, “Here comes our Maurice.”


During his sojourn, he would talk to his friends and to Bhagavan, questioning Bhagavan often, and Bhagavan would tolerate it all. Bhagavan was spontaneous and natural, reflecting you like a mirror. When someone was totally immersed in spirituality, he too responded by giving himself to them.
People in Ramanasramam commented on his frequent weekly visits, “Maurice, why do you not come once a month or maybe once in two months? You have to spend so much to come here.” Maurice would reply, “What can I do? My battery can take only so much. Within a week it dries up. I have to come here every week to be in Bhagavan´s presence and get it recharged!”


Maurice was extremely close to Bhagavan. He gathered as much as he could about Vedanta, had discussions with others and read up as much as possible about the Hindu scriptures. He read that if one wanted final emancipation, one had to take sanyas. He approached Bhagavan and enquired, “Bhagavan, this is what the Hindu scriptures say. Will you please give me sanyas?”
Bhagavan remained silent - but you know our dear Maurice.
He was persistent in his appeal.


One day, he approached Bhagavan on the hill and said, “Bhagavan, give me sanyas. I want to renounce the world and strive towards enlightenment.”
Bhagavan, in a very compassionate tone, answered,
“Sanyas is taken from within; not from without.”
Maurice‟s face fell at the response.
Bhagavan, like a mother, looked at Maurice and explained,
“You are already a sanyasin. Why do you want to take up ochre robes?”
Maurice did not give up. He kept asking Bhagavan for sanyas, and Bhagavan repeatedly answered, “There is no need for sanyas.”


So, what did Maurice with his ingenious, inventive brain do?
He went to Swami Ramdas - a realized soul - in Anandashram.
Somehow, he convinced Swami Ramdas to give him sanyas.
Swami Ramdas gave him the outward sanyas that he so desperately desired. Maurice was given a new name. He was called Swami Bharatananda, which means „one who delights staying in India.‟
Maurice became close to Swami Ramdas.
Once, Swami Ramdas told him, “Maurice, Swami Bharatananda, this is your last birth.” Being a great sage, he could understand the greatness of Maurice Frydman. 


One day, while Bhagavan was coming down the hill, Maurice came and stood in front of him, dressed in the ochre robes and beads of a Hindu monk. Maurice was rather anxious because he wanted his master to approve of what he had done. Seeing him, Bhagavan started laughing. Then, Bhagavan smilingly said to his attendant, “Hey, he looks like a buffoon in a circus.”


Maurice understood. All his life he had been a true sanyasin from within. Consequently, his attachment to wearing ochre robes continued only for a few more years. That is what Bhagavan meant when he said, “Sanyas is to give up attachment,” because Maurice never had any kind of attachment.


Even while working in the factory, Maurice led a very austere life. He refused to accept his monthly salary of three thousand rupees - an incredibly huge amount in those days. He declined the amount, saying, “I do not want it. Give it to the workers fund.”


As for sleeping, once the shops closed for the night, he slept on the porch of one of the shops. And what did this big boss, this top man working at the factory have for lunch? While all the other workers trooped into the dining hall to eat the lunch that they had brought from home, Maurice would stand at the dining hall´s entrance, clad in his ochre robes and with his begging bowl in his hands. This was in the spirit of a true sanyasin. The workers, who loved him very much, would first put something in the begging bowl before going into the dining room to eat. Not only that, Maurice stitched his own clothes. He wore only khadi pyjamas and kurtas made out of cloth from the yarn that he himself had spun on the charkha, a traditional, Indian spinning wheel. Even his footwear was stitched by him! He led a remarkably simple life, but he was happy and content. He didn´t gloat about his way of life or relent from it - he was just tremendously happy.


Maurice´s association with Bhagavan remained close and regular. Just like the child questions the mother, so too, Maurice put forth a lot of incisive questions to Bhagavan on the practical aspects of sadhana. It was not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity that he asked them. Bhagavan would patiently answer his questions. Maurice used to record these exchanges and then show the record to Bhagavan and get it corrected. This was later published as Maharshi‟s Gospel on the occasion of Bhagavan‟s sixtieth birthday in 1939. From that year onwards, this book has been guiding true seekers.
Even today it remains a beautiful guide for serious seekers. I always recommend three books to sincere seekers for study - The Maharshi and His Message, Words of Grace and Maharshi´s Gospel.


It was during such close interaction with Bhagavan, that Maurice wrote a series of moving verses. Bhagavan read them with great interest. In two of these verses Maurice says:
“So long I have been on this stage to please thee.
My eyes are blinded by the light of thy play.
My ears are deafened by the rolling thunder of thy laughter.
My heart is turned to ashes by the flame of real sorrow.
My lord, to please thee I have made a fool of myself.
And now I am unable to stop the agony of the play.
My lord, drag me down from this stage.

Master, I have forgotten the way in and the way out.”


Bhagavan was happy to read through the verses. He said that this was exactly what had been written by Appayya Dikshitar, a sage who lived several centuries ago. His verses in Sanskrit were written on palm leaves and many people were not aware of them. Bhagavan said that Appaya Dikshitar‟s verses describe the situation of the court dancer performing in the presence of the king. She cannot stop dancing unless it pleases the king to tell her to stop. The dancer´s limbs may ache but she cannot stop of her own accord. She cries, “Oh lord, I am weary of the many births and deaths that I have endured. One glance from you, oh lord, is sufficient to put an end to this dance of birth and death and grant me release.”


Bhagavan paused before saying,
“Maurice Frydman belongs here.
Somehow, he was born abroad but he has come here again.
Otherwise, how is it possible for him to compose verses similar to Appayya Dikshitar?”


Bhagavan made Maurice continue his dance by not asking him to come down.
As we are going to see, he had to continue performing on the world stage because he was a karma yogi who still had a lot of good deeds to perform. So, Maurice flowed along with the state of things and continued working busily in the factory. Apa Pant, the prince of Audh, who had studied in England, was sent to the Maharaja of Mysore for training in the art of governance. In the course of his training, he was asked to visit the factory in which Maurice was the managing director. When he went to the factory, Apa Pant, himself a calm and collected person, could not help being drawn to Maurice‟s brilliance and dedication. Likewise, Maurice too took a great liking to Apa Pant and started guiding him spiritually. He also impressed upon the young prince, the need to focus on development in the villages of his state and to take science and technology there so that life became easier and smoother for the peasants. Apa Pant then told Maurice, “Please come to our state and stay there for at least five or six months and guide us.”


One fine day soon after this, the prince found Maurice in his palace. Maurice told the prince, “I have come to you. I have resigned my job in Bangalore. I would like to serve the villages of the Audh state!” The poor prince (poor, not literally) did not know what to say. He could only say, “This state cannot afford to pay an engineer like you.” Maurice, in his very characteristic manner said, “I will sleep on the floor in that room. Just give me an Indian desk to work on. I have got legs to walk and I will take you on my walks. We will both work together in the villages of Audh. Now, if you could give me some food, I am hungry.”


Maurice was always telegraphic, but very, very clear!
Wherever he was, Maurice remained in correspondence with Bhagavan.
We have to understand that inside he was all the time in the presence of Bhagavan.
In one of his letters to Bhagavan, he wrote,
“The Maharshi is with me not only when I think of him, but also when I am not thinking of him. Otherwise, how do I live?”


Apa Pant and Maurice started working together. You will be surprised to know that Maurice´s office was under the shade of a huge tree in a village. He lived in the villages he visited and worked very hard for them. Maurice heard about Mahatma Gandhi´s deep interest in bringing decentralized democracy into the villages in order to empower them. He set out to meet Mahatma Gandhi to learn more about the process. Mahatma Gandhi took to Maurice immediately; he addressed Maurice only as Bharatananda; everyone in his Sevashram addressed him in the same manner. Gandhi found that Maurice was not only a hard worker but also an inventor who was using the Indian charkha. By way of blessing, Mahatma Gandhi asked Maurice, “Why do you not invent something by which we can produce yarn more quickly?” Maurice immediately invented a new charka called Dhanush Takli. The extraordinary thing about the new invention was that one could produce three times the yarn with the same energy that was spent on the traditional charka. Mahatma Gandhi was, needless to say, extremely pleased!


Whether Maurice was with Bhagavan, Mahatma Gandhi or J. Krishnamurti, his method of first questioning, experimenting and experiencing the truth at every level, and only then accepting and following it, remained the same. Such was his nature. This is exactly how he led the seventy five villages that he was reforming. He loved the poor, uneducated villagers and was so compassionate towards them that they felt purified in his presence; in fact, they addressed him as „Swami‟. Maurice was successful in his venture in the villages and very soon the whole of India became aware of the kind of life Maurice was leading. By this time, Bhagavan and Mahatma Gandhi had dropped their bodies. This was a great setback for Maurice but he decided to rededicate himself to the cause they had taken up because he felt he was still on stage and had to play the outward game.


Maurice went to Varanasi to stay in the Krishnamurti institution there. He implemented the reform programmes in the surrounding villages. Krishnamurti‟s followers were also great admirers of Buddhism since the teachings of the Buddha and Krishnamurti were similar in many aspects. Senior followers of Krishnamurti like Achyut Patwardhan became very close to Maurice. This also happened to be during the Tibetan turmoil, when the communists in China were in the mood for seizing power. When Maurice heard about the tumult, he swung into action because at that time Apa Pant had just become the governor of Sikkim. Without wasting time, he immediately went to Sikkim and met Apa Pant.


He told Apa Pant, with gusto, “You are going to be of great use to me! We have an important mission to accomplish here because we have to save His Holiness the Dalai Lama, all the old Buddhist manuscripts and thousands of Tibetans.” Characteristic of him, Maurice immediately took Apa Pant to Delhi to meet Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. Maurice, the diligent worker, already had by this time the road map to successfully carry out the rescue plan. Both Maurice and Achyut Patwardhan related to me how they had worked a plan for the escape of His Holiness.


It was eventually the blueprint laid down by Maurice that Nehru followed in getting His Holiness out of Tibet. They fed the Chinese government with wrong information on the flight of His Holiness and ultimately the Indian government acted in a contrary manner. The day His Holiness escaped to India, so did hundreds of fellow Tibetans. His Holiness came with many old Buddhist manuscripts, now preserved in the museum in Sarnath. Thus, thousands of priceless manuscripts were saved from the destructive hands of communist China. When the Dalai Lama entered India, Maurice planned it in such a manner, that Achyut Patwardhan would meet the Dalai Lama and give him the details. Yet, there is no mention of Maurice in any of the books related to either the Dalai Lama‟s escape or the smuggling in of Buddhist manuscripts from Tibet.


I have never seen a person as self effacing as Maurice.
Similarly, there was no mention of Maurice‟s name in the Maharshi´s Gospel originally; only now is his name being mentioned.

At the time of the Tibetan struggle, Jawaharlal Nehru very bluntly said, “My hands are tied.” Maurice immediately travelled all over India, spending his own money, in order to find refuge for hundreds of Tibetan refugees. Maurice sought cooler places for the refugees and established five settlements. If the Tibetans enjoy a peaceful existence in India today, it is because of this Jewish mystic saint, whose name is not mentioned anywhere!

Discovering the capability of this man in bringing a semblance of order even in the most chaotic situations, Nehru requested Maurice to take over the khadi movement. It had initially been started by Gandhi, but was later in total disarray. This meant that Maurice had to go to Mumbai. Here, he stayed with an old friend of his, Miss Petite.

Bhagavan gave me the opportunity to meet Maurice in Mumbai.
I had earlier met him at the ashram in the 1960´s during the rare visits that he made. Again, I met him when I went to Mumbai in the 70´s to collect funds for the advertisements for Ramanasramam´s journal, The Mountain Path.

Maurice then told me, “While your body is engaged in running the ashram, your heart should be totally settled in that pure awareness of truth.
Never miss that, whatever you are doing.”

We used to have beautiful private conversations. Once, Maurice confessed to me in all seriousness, “The burning regret for us is that probably full advantage was not taken of those happy and precious days when Bhagavan was with us physically - eating, talking, laughing and openly available to us all. Reality was there in abundance in our midst for the taking, and anyone could take it. But, we enclosed ourselves in our false humility, in procrastination, and false excuses. We took therefore, a cupful, when the ocean was at our feet!”

On yet another occasion, he prodded me on, just to give me a push:
“See, Bhagavan is not the person. He is the teaching. As the teaching, he is fully available to you. In addition to whatever work you are doing, plunge within and taste awareness inwardly. That awareness is our Bhagavan.”

Maurice used to take me for long walks in Mumbai. He would tell me,
“I will not provide you with a car; I will not even take you by bus; you have to walk wherever you go, along with me. Are you prepared?” With hands folded in a namaste, I would answer, “Would I hesitate to be in the proximity of the truth of reality?”
Maurice was a spiritual giant, but physically he was less than five feet tall.
Surely no one would hesitate to walk next to him! 

On one of these walks, Maurice said, “Ganesan, today I am going to take you to the place where I met a simple man selling beedis.”
As we were walking towards the place, Maurice narrated,
“I saw a group of people smoking beedis; they were relating their woes of life. This simple man answered them exactly in the manner of Ramana Maharshi. Had Ramana Maharshi spoken in Marathi, it would have been the same! I stopped in my tracks and listened intently. It was astounding to see an ordinary man selling beedis talking so spontaneously! I started going to the place every day and noting down what he says. I would then go home and translate all the questions and answers into English.”

However, Maurice was ridden with guilt because he had not sought the permission of this person. He informed the man what he had been doing and read out all his writings, translating them into Marathi.
The man was delighted and told Maurice, “Go on recording, go ahead!”
This was later published as I am That -
a publication that shook the entire spiritual world.
This man was none other than Nisargadatta Maharaj. 

Later on, after I had met Maharaj, I told Maurice,
“Whatever you say is absolutely true. I can feel Bhagavan´s presence in his presence. The teaching of Bhagavan comes from him spontaneously.”

Maurice always used to encourage me, “Come on and narrate to me the dialogue that you had with Maharaj.” He would add, “Being a spiritual seeker, associating with sages and saints will deepen your understanding; it will help you go deeper and experience it. Reading improves only intellectual understanding. This experience oriented understanding will happen, whether you have understood it or not, only in the presence of realized masters.”
Saying this, he encouraged me to go to Maharaj. 

I was unable to be with Maurice Frydman in his last days.
But I was happy to understand from a devotee of Bhagavan who was also Nisargadatta Maharaj´s devotee, that Bhagavan himself looked after him. The devotee told me about a nurse in Mumbai who normally charged a huge fee for her services. This nurse had a dream, in which a sadhu wearing only a loin cloth told her very clearly, “My devotee is suffering. Go and attend on him.” The sadhu also gave her precise directions to reach Maurice´s residence. The nurse went to the place described in the dream the next day and found Maurice Frydman in bed. Miss Petite was older than Maurice and she too was helpless and unattended. The nurse immediately offered her services. Maurice´s austere attitude would not allow him to accept her services and so he refused. Disappointed, the nurse was leaving the room when she saw a picture of Ramana Maharshi there. She turned to Maurice and exclaimed, “This is the sadhu who appeared in my dream.” Maurice, visibly moved, said, “So, my master has come to look after me.” The nurse served him till the end. Apa Pant, who looked upon Maurice as his guru, was present during Maurice‟s last days. I would like to quote Apa‟s own words: “The sage is dying,” whispered a soft voice over the phone from Mumbai. “The sage is asking for you. Apa, come as soon as you can.” When I arrived, Miss Petite, the doctor and the nurse complained to me that Maurice was refusing to eat and take medicine. They implored me to make Maurice eat and take medicine - as if anyone could make Maurice do anything that he did not want to! There he lay in his familiar room, with everything meticulously clean and in its proper place. As I approached him reverentially, he shouted, „Apa, who is dying?‟ The next day, he drove everyone out of the room, ordering them to leave him alone with me. Then, he said beautifully, „Apa, I hear music. I see the bright light. Who dies? No one is dying. This diseased body is keeping me away from that harmonious beauty. Do not let them keep me in this body. Go now in peace.‟ The next day, we were all at his bedside as he breathed his last. Three breaths, “Hari Om, Hari Om, Hari Om,” and he was gone.

Nisargadatta Maharaj was also at his bedside, so I asked him, „Maharaj, where is Maurice going? What is happening to him?‟ Maharaj replied, „Nothing is happening. No one is dying, for no one is born.‟ Then I asked him, „Then why this sorrow, this emptiness, this loss, Maharaj?‟ Maharaj graciously turned to me and said, „Who is feeling the sorrow? Who is feeling the emptiness? Who is feeling the loss?‟ I remained silent.

Within hours, in the presence of Nisargadatta Maharaj, the remains of what we called Maurice Frydman were consumed in the fire. The remains had returned to their original order. The great devotee, Maurice Frydman, had returned to the source, Arunachala. 

Once, I went to Nisargadatta Maharaj´s house because he had asked me to stay with him. I stayed there for eight days. In the morning, from eight to ten, he would ask me to be seated while he did pooja. There were photographs of saints such as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Ramana Maharshi, and yes, even Maurice Frydman, in his room. Maharaj would apply sandal, vermillion powder and perfume to the photographs and garland them. As he was doing this ritual one day, I was asking myself, “Why is he doing this?” He turned to me and said in a compassionate tone,
“Maurice Frydman was a jnani. He was a saint, a sage.”
This is undeniably true.

Maurice Frydman has blessed us all by bringing to us the essence of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj.

How fortunate we are to be able to share the life of such a great person, a person who wanted to remain unnoticed and unseen.

So much so, that the first edition of The Maharshi‟s Gospel compiled by Maurice did not even bear his name!

We sincere seekers of truth must cling to him in our Heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book: Maharshi´s Gospel:
http://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Maharshi%27s-Gospel.pdf
**********
Book: I Am That:
http://selfdefinition.org/nisargadatta/Nisargadatta_I_Am_That.pdf

The Ecstasy of experiencing the "I Am"

Once, I asked Chadwick, “Are you realized?” I have put this question to all of the old devotees like Muruganar, Cohen, Osborne, Sadhu Natanananda, Devaraja Mudaliar and others. None of them either said yes or no - all smiled. When I asked him whether he was realized, he did not say yes or no.
Instead, he told me, “I will tell you what happened. After many years of my stay with Bhagavan - four or five years, I committed the mistake of trying to evaluate how much I have progressed spiritually. This is a thing any seeker should not do. I felt that I have not progressed. Many who saw me in Ramanasramam, looked at me like I was a sage or a saint saying, „Oh! He is so fortunate. He is so close to Bhagavan. He meditates so much. He is already in that state.‟ 

This created a contradiction in me as I personally felt that I was not progressing spiritually. However, having left the material life I could not go back to a worldly life either. I felt caught between the devil and the deep sea. I was sorrow stricken. I ran to Bhagavan‟s hall. He was alone. I told him, „Bhagavan, this is my plight. I am neither here nor there and this causes much sorrow in me.‟ Bhagavan looked at me compassionately and said, „Chadwick, who says all this?‟

Immediately, there was a current like shock in my body and I literally ran to my room, shut the doors and went into a neutral state. I was not bothered whether I was spiritually maturing or whether I would be able to stay in the world. I was in a neutral state of silence. A few days passed like that wherein I was neither happy nor worried.”

The only luxury that Chadwick allowed himself was taking his bath in a bath tub which he had in the verandah of his cottage. One day, shortly after the above incident, something happened unexpectedly. As Chadwick told me later, “I was taking my bath and very honestly Ganesan, I was not in a spiritual state or in a prayerful mood when it suddenly dawned - the „I AM‟!” He experienced it - not just as words. He was so ecstatic that he did not even dry himself. He just wrapped a towel around his waist and ran to the Old Hall from where a few days back he had run away.

Fortunately, this time too, Bhagavan was alone. In this spiritual ecstasy of experiencing the „I AM‟, where there was no Chadwick, just the „I AM‟, he asked Bhagavan, “Bhagavan, is THIS it?” Chadwick recounted, “Bhagavan gave me the most glorious smile, and then confirmed, „Yes, Chadwick, THIS is THAT!‟ I then asked him, „Bhagavan, is it so simple?‟ Bhagavan replied, „Yes it is that simple.‟ Since then, I‟ve never had any doubt.”
Ramana Periya Puranam

Devotion has the eyes to see the things of the Beyond. Incident from Bhagavan Ramana's life.

Very often, I would go to TPR‟s room outside the ashram and wait for him. One day, as he came out of the room, he was murmuring, “The grandfather sowed; the grandson is reaping.” He kept muttering it repeatedly.

                          I asked him, “What are you saying?” He then gave me a beautiful explanation, “One day, a devotee offered a huge bhiksha - a traditional feast given in honour of a saint - to Bhagavan in the ashram. While I was expressing joy to my friend over the feast, Bhagavan walked in. He had heard our exchange. He smiled and then turned in my direction and said, „Thinking about bhiksha? Your grandfather‟s house was the only one I entered to eat after coming to Arunachala. Every day, your grandfather would regularly visit the temple. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Arunachaleswara. A tall and heavy built man, he adorned himself with a rudraksha garland and other beads. In those days, around 1896, I used to stay inside the big temple near the Gopuram Subramanya shrine at the entrance of the Arunachaleswara temple. Every day, your grandfather would sit in front of me for a while without saying anything. I was a young boy of sixteen. He was an elderly person, but he too kept silent when he was with me. He was a well known person in the town and a lot of important people used to be his guests. One day, a very important person came home and arrangements were made for a feast. Even on that day, after your grandfather came to the temple to have the darshan of the Lord, he came to me and sat down. After a while, he got up and then, abandoning his usual silence, said to me, „Get up! We will go to my house, have bhiksha and come back.‟ I was not used to talking in those days. I made signs to indicate my unwillingness. He did not heed me. He was big and strong, while I was thin and weak. He repeated his request. I persisted in signalling „no‟. Since I didn‟t budge even a little, he bent down, linked my arms to his, forced me to get up and follow him. I was thus forced to enter his house. He made me occupy the most important place and spread in front of me a leaf much larger than the other ones. He himself served me. After I finished my meal, he ate. In those days, I never had a bath.

My body would smell, and so nobody would come close to me. Yet, your grandfather used to come unfailingly and sit close in front of me. Many people in town came to see me and then went away. Your grandfather alone realized that though young, what was in this was fullness.‟

” TPR had tears in his eyes when he narrated this. He concluded, “Ganesan, it is solely my grandfather‟s devotion to Bhagavan that is now enabling me to enjoy his holy presence and experience the inner felicity which Bhagavan is showering on me every day.”

Ramana Periya Puranam

Feeling pity for others is illusion. To know this, there is no other way, than to turn inwards. Incident from Bhagavan Ramana's life.

THERE ARE NO OTHERS

In the 1940s, a staunch devotee of Bhagavan, who was also a hard working ashramite had to leave the ashram. Before leaving the ashram he felt so abashed and embarrassed, that he did not have the courage to meet Bhagavan. The other ashramites were helpless in persuading him to stay as he had left unnoticed the previous night.

TPR was accompanying Bhagavan during his usual morning walk on the hill. Assuming that Bhagavan did not know what had happened the previous evening, TPR told him that this ashramite had left under undesirable circumstances. TPR did so with a sincere, heavy heart for he loved this person very deeply. Bhagavan stopped walking and turned towards TPR and said, in a harsh and uncompromising tone, “Just because some one has slipped down one foot, remember sir, you have not moved even an inch up. Beware! Beware!”

Though Bhagavan‟s voice had a tinge of pain and anguish, these words were spoken with such sternness and authority that TPR got a shock and was almost knocked down to the ground. Seeing his pitiable condition, Bhagavan became mellow, turned back and continued walking with his usual, calm and measured strides.
Realizing that TPR had not yet got back his composure, Bhagavan told him with great love and affection, “There are no others. One takes the body to be oneself. Hence, one treats others also as bodies. These is only „I AM‟. When attention is turned inward to „I AM‟, these so called bodies, minds, worlds, good and bad actions, are found to be not there. Attention turned inwards, there prevails only the Truth. Turned outward, there is nothing but untruth. “I AM‟ is the head of the coin. „No others‟ is the tail of the same coin. You are thus, ever the Truth. Plunge within and be the Truth, always.”

After a pause Bhagavan continued, “How does one see a fault in the other? The appearance of the other is taken to be true, which itself is an error. Added to that, one sees a fault in him. That is, one already knows what a fault is, which means the mistake is born only in the one who cognizes. One then shifts it to the other on the back of spurious proofs based on one‟s valid or invalid reasoning. Who is corrupt now? Who is at fault now? Who is the culprit now? So, turn every outward movement inwards.

Be the silence, your true Self, every moment. Now, where is the room for any division?”

DROPS from the OCEAN

Sri Janaki Matha - An ardent devotee of Bhagavan Ramana

Sri Janaky Matha

(The following article, which describes the life of a unique devotee of Bhagavan Ramana, was written by Darlene Delisi Karamanos, using Dr. G. Swaminathan's Biography of Guru Devi Sri Janaky Matha for source material.)

Sri Janaky Matha was a wife, mother of seven children, community volunteer, devotee of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and an enlightened soul. Her amazing life of inner visions, spiritual yearning, surrender and bhakti inspires all to pursue the spiritual ideal, delve into the Supreme Self and not waste even a minute in the process.

Born on July 27, 1906, the child Janaky exhibited unusual detachment. She accepted all things with a joyous heart. Janaky was full of devotion to the local deities, Sri Viswanatha and Visalakshi, and as she grew in years, Janaky desired to be like Sita, the ever-faithful, pure and holy wife of Sri Ram.

In her thirteenth year her uncle discussed with Janaky her willingness to marry a doctor who was then thirty-two years of age. When told that the widower had two daughters, aged two and six, Sri Janaky replied, "What of that? That doesn't make much of a difference and, after all, I like children." Even though her parents were not too keen on this matrimonial arrangement because of the extreme age difference, Janaky intuitively felt that the doctor would be helpful in the attainment of her goal of Liberation. So in 1919, Sri Janaky married Dr. C. S. Ganapathy (known hereafter as 'Doctor'), in a quiet ceremony performed before Lord Venkataramana of Tirupathi. The Doctor was often heard to remark: "Wherever you (Janaky) go, I shall follow you." And where else could she go, but to God? Living in Tirupathi, Sri Matha's devotion to Sri Venkataramana grew steadily.

In 1921, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Padmavathy, after the consort of Lord Venkataramana. Then a son, Srinivasa Subrahmanya, was born, and several years later another daughter, Sarada.
There came a point in her life when she realized: "To none but Him (God) should true love be directed. To turn to the Divine is the only truth in life." From that day on she continued to take care of her family and responsibilities but shifted her life's ideal to that of total devotion to God.

At the age of twenty her daily routine was as follows: She read the Gita and other Scriptures until about 1 a.m. every night. Janaky would get up at 5 a.m., finish her ablutions and meditate until 7 a.m. Then she would take a bath, recite hymns while attending to household work for about three hours, and after sending the children to school and the Doctor to work, she would engage herself heart and soul in worship until 1 p.m. From 1 to 4 p.m. she was busy looking after the needs of her husband and children. At 4:30 p.m. she would go to the Ladies' Club (which did much volunteer community service), attend meetings, play tennis and return home at 7 p.m. Upon returning home she would meditate for an hour before taking her supper of gruel and milk. Though she took very little food, she was healthy and always cheerful.

Although the Doctor was then earning a good salary, owing to various reasons, there was a lack of funds. One day before going to bed she prayed to Sri Subrahmanya to keep her carefree by taking on His shoulders the oppressive burden of the family's welfare. The next day, a sannyasi (ascetic) came to her house. She was all alone when he said to her, "You were calling me yesterday. I have come from Palni. Leave to me all your family worries and worship me with a carefree heart. Whatever is needed for the family - be it money or other needs and necessities of life - will be provided for." He asked her to give him the promise that she would never forget him. After she agreed, he disappeared.

After this she had many wonderful spiritual experiences and visions of deities, often lasting the whole night.
Sri Subrahmanya came twice more in the disguise of a sannyasi. When Janaky revealed this to the Doctor, he replied with scepticism, "I will believe your words only if He comes here when I am in." Janaky responded, "If that be your desire, let it be so."

The Doctor had just returned for lunch when they both felt a presence outside. Seeing a sannyasi, both Janaky and the Doctor came out and offered him a chair. He took some food and said, "You wanted me to come when your husband is in, and here I am." To make the Doctor believe His Divinity, He exhibited some psychic powers. He asked for another chair and requested Janaky to be seated. She felt reluctant to sit on the same level with Him, but he insisted and asked her what more she desired. Janaky requested Him to bless her with a Sadguru in human form.

What the sannyasi next said to her shocked her very much. "I am none none other Subrahmanya. Much pleased by your meritorious actions and depth of devotion, I have a longing to be born as a child to you. I will play with you for two years and then my power will get infused in your heart." Janaky exclaimed, "My Lord! You want me to plunge deep into the ocean of samsara (worldliness) when my desire is to ferry across it." She argued that she would not be a good person to bring up an incarnation since she was on fire with renunciation. What if she forgot His Divinity and scolded and punished him? What if she took pride that she had Subrahmanya at her beck and call; she would be in the depths of delusion. What if she turned to psychic powers and fell short of her goal of realization? Lastly, she begged, "Let me be blessed with a Guru."
With a smile of His face, Subrahmanya said, "Am I not your Guru? Anyhow, if such be your wish, there is a Mahatma by name Sri Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamalai. You may go and have His darshan." He showed Janaky a photo of Bhagavan Ramana that he was carrying. It was the first time that she had heard about Bhagavan Sri Ramana. Saying that he would come again to discuss with her His desire to be born as her child, He disappeared from sight.

Her heart then surged with an intense love for Bhagavan Sri Ramana. She continued with her meditations, worship, household chores and volunteer work. Day by day, Janaky could feel a number of changes happening to her nervous system. Her visions continued. A severe pain developed in her spine and she became bedridden. Her nerves seemed to have been shattered and often the heartbeat was faint and hardly audible. In spite of all this, her mind remained peaceful. Friends wanted her to be seen by specialists, but the Doctor was sure it was not a disease to be treated medically and that, by the grace of God, she would be all right. This state continued for forty days and then disappeared as mysteriously as it came.

After a few days, a sadhu appeared before her and again asked about Subrahmanya being born to her. Again she pleaded that she didn't need obstacles, but a helping hand. The sadhu assured her that, "Begetting a son will in no way shackle you in bondage. There will be no hindrances to your spiritual progress."
Janaky and the Doctor went to Sri Ramanasramam on April 20, 1935. Her long cherished yearning was now going to materialize. Bhagavan was sitting in the meditation hall. The moment Janaky entered the hall, the full and gracious look of Bhagavan fell on her. She stood motionless, intoxicated with the nectar flowing through Bhagavan's eyes. Bhagavan asked her to be seated. Her heart swelled with joy. Her mind was ready to absorb the full flow of Bhagavan's Grace. Throughout that night she enjoyed visions of Bhagavan blessing her.

To Janaky, Bhagavan was no different from the formless Arunachaleswara. In the evening hours of their departure day, Janaky knelt before Bhagavan and spoke to Him of her desire for liberation and Sri Subrahmanya's decision to incarnate in her womb. She also revealed her experience of the all-pervasive nature of the Paramatma and awaited instructions from Bhagavan as to what she should do next. He said, "Continue doing it in just the same way."

With the infant Swaminathan, Janaky and the Doctor returned to Sri Ramanasramam for the blessings of Bhagavan in August 1936. For a long time Janaky had been praying for her husband's spiritual awareness to be aroused so that he might not, at any time, stand in the way of her spiritual progress. Bhagavan asked both the Doctor and Janaky to come before him and he read aloud "Upadesa Saram" (Essence of Instruction) and asked them to follow it. Janaky's heart was overflowing with joy.

To quote from Janaky Matha's biography:

".From the moment she first came to Bhagavan Sri Ramana, He was her all. She reasoned, 'There is only one thing in the world worth achieving: the root cause of the whole universe, the 'One Without a Second'. I must attain it, realize it and experience it with Bhagavan's Grace."

Physically and mentally drained by her spiritual experiences, Janaky sought Bhagavan's help in October 1936. At an opportune moment, she prostrated before Bhagavan and poured out her heart to him. She told of her spiritual experiences and begged for his protection and the removal of obstacles in her quest for Liberation. She also expressed her fear of becoming deranged because she had no Guru to guide her. Bhagavan replied: "Who told you that you have no Guru? Don't get disheartened. I am here as your Guru; nothing will upset your mind." With that assurance, she transferred all her cares and worries to Bhagavan Ramana.

About a year later, Janaky felt something like a forceful explosion at the back of her head and powerful currents throughout her spinal cord. She did not think her physical body could withstand it. She said to herself, 'Let things take their own course. The grace of the Guru will do what is right and good for me.' This state continued for twenty-six days after which she asked the Doctor to take her to Sri Ramanasramam. He was reluctant at first due to her evident weakness, but allowed himself to be persuaded. Sri Bhagavan's full glance of grace poured forth blessings and strength on her. Even before Janaky had informed Bhagavan of her experiences, he spoke to her about a similar experience he had had in his early days: "Look here. Don't get frightened. One day while I was lying in bed I felt as if I had been bombed from inside at the back of my head."

The young Swaminathan, who had just completed his second year, said to Janaky in a sweet, childish voice, "Mother, see here! That Bhagavan we saw there in Tiruvannamalai is always standing near you. He follows you wherever you go." These words were a source of great consolation and joy as Janaky continued to feel the protecting grace of Bhagavan.

It was January of 1938 when Janaky's body became rigid from her toes upward. She thought she was nearing her end. Her mind withdrew into Sri Ramana in the heart. She had many visions and experiences, but the one that crowned all others was the experience of the dynamic force or Sakti ascending and embracing the Supreme Self. The kundalini continued to push upwards and tried to break through the spot in the top of her head. Janaky cried out, "What are you trying to do? Bhagavan Sri Ramana and I are inseparable! Against the downpour of the Guru's Grace, you can do me no harm." With this, the force stopped its attempts and bodily feeling returned. She told the Doctor that she had at last been set free from the rounds of birth and death and had attained her long cherished goal. The purpose of her earthly life was fulfilled. By the grace of Bhagavan Sri Ramana, Janaky became a Jivanmukta (liberated soul) at thirty-two years of age.
Janaky had travelled between Ramanasramam and her home whenever she felt the need to be near Bhagavan, but on January 18, 1938, while visiting Ramanasramam, she did not feel like continuing in family life. Doctor was upset and felt as if he had now lost his second wife. The younger children were grief-stricken. Their appeals and tears did not dissuade her as she was revelling in a glorious spiritual realm. Then, the next morning, she remembered the promise she had made to Bhagavan to remain in the family for five more years. She immediately said she would go back with them to Kakinada. Bhagavan gazed at her and said, "Did I ask you to become a sannyasini? Look at me. I have not taken sannyasa and do not wear the ochre cloth. You have only one family, but I have to shoulder the burden of all these devotees and their families." She knew then that renunciation must be in the heart.

Janaky was wondering why she should be having so many visions and experiences when her only desire was to be free from the cycle of birth and death. Bhagavan gently said, "Can one get this for the mere asking? It seeks the heart where it wants to shine."

As the Doctor and Janaky were preparing to leave, Bhagavan told the Doctor, "You doctors say that the heart is at the left side of the chest. But the whole body is the heart for yogis. Jnanis have their hearts both within and without." He then gazed at Janaky and again assured her: "I am always with you."

Bhagavan was her All. She desired only to contemplate the Holy Feet of Bhagavan. In the months and years that followed, devotees were drawn to Janaky as bees to honey. She began to be addressed as Sri Matha. She took a few of them to Sri Ramanasramam and said to Bhagavan, "All these people seek me as their Guru.I have never wished to be a Guru. I would request Bhagavan, in all humility, to kindly accept these devotees as Bhagavan's disciples."

Bhagavan said, "When you are above likes and dislikes, desires and aversions, let things take their own shape. To the extent they believe in you, they will reap results. I will protect those who, with full faith, trust in you."

Another incident that happened at Ramanasramam occurred when an oil lamp went out and the hall was in darkness for a few minutes. When the light came back, three-year-old Swaminathan exclaimed, "The light failed and Bhagavan was not visible; the light came back and Bhagavan is seen!" Bhagavan turned to the boy and said, "What you say is precisely correct. When there is ajnana (ignorance), God is not realized. With the dawn of jnana (wisdom), He is seen." As it was Bhagavan who gave Sri Matha her light of wisdom, she decided to pay for the electrification of the Ashram.

Even after realization, Sri Matha carried on with her domestic and social activities. She was elected President of the Child Welfare Centre and Vice President of the Ladies' Club. She performed all her actions for God's sake in a supremely detached manner. With equanimity of mind, she saw the Lord in all of the world.
To some people she would advise, "Lead a righteous life and discharge your duties to the family, conduct family worship, practise charity, have an abundant life and learn to gradually still the waves of passion." To others who wanted to know more about Liberation, she taught, "Always nurture Divine thoughts, obliterate likes and passions and surrender to the Guru."

There were times when Sri Matha was lost in samadhi, oblivious to her surroundings. Food had to be forced into her mouth for sustenance and she had to be bathed by others, as she was oblivious of her body. At other times she attended to her routine work and concealed her exalted state.

After the marriage of her daughter, Sarada, Sri Matha was making final arrangements for a permanent stay at Sri Ramanasramam. After bowing before Bhagavan, the ten-year-old Swaminathan poured out his sorrow, weeping bitterly and rolling on the ground. He sobbed, "Pray give us back my mother and order her to come with us to Thanjavur."

Bhagavan, with a voice choked with emotion said to Sri Matha, "What can I do?" Then turning to Swaminathan said affectionately, "Take your mother and go back to Thanjavur." Sri Matha submitted to Bhagavan's request and returned with the Doctor, Swaminathan and the three-year-old Ramachandran.
At Sri Matha's request the southern portion of the family house remain as an ashram and spiritual centre with Sri Bhagavan as the Sadguru. The main objective of the centre is to spread the teachings of Bhagavan Ramana.

Moments before her passing away, in April 1969, devotees and relatives chanted Bhagavan's hymn Aksharamanamalai, with the refrain of "Arunachala Shiva, Arunachala Shiva."

Sri Matha's life stands as a shining example of perseverance to the ideal of Liberation and devotion to Bhagavan Ramana. Once, when some of her devotees were having a lengthy discussion of Bhagavan's 'Who am I?' enquiry, she halted them saying, "Enough of this discussion! My head begins to swim with such dry and useless discussions. Amma knows only one thing - to show devotion to Sri Bhagavan." It was through such steadfast devotion that Sri Matha achieved Liberation.

"Our Motivation to Practice is but to seek His Grace." - MICHAEL JAMES:

We are actually misusing Bhagavan's grace by thinking unnecessarily of various thoughts. Why we think these thoughts and feel they are important..because we don't have love for Bhagavan that much.
Hence these thoughts get more importance in our mind than Bhagavan. If we had love for Bhagavan, Bhagavan is ready to do anything for us. He is ready even to think for us.

Sadhu Om used to say..'Bhagavan is the best servant you could imagine. If we could surrender to Bhagavan to the dot, He will take care of everything, even your thinking.'
Why we think about all these various thoughts, problems, what I need to do tomorrow, how to fix the problem, how to change myself, when I can be happy, where will I go tomorrow etc etc ... why we think of all these things? Because we don't trust Bhagavan that much.
If we really trust Bhagavan, you leave everything to Him and just abide in Self. So Grace is always there, always present in whatever form we want. If we are wise, we use the Grace, if we are foolish, as we all are, we use it to go outward. The habit of the mind going out is what we need to break the pattern and it is done by practice atma vichara, by surrender and love for Him.
The motivation we have to practice is not anything but to seek the Grace of Bhagavan.We just need to let the Grace do Sadhana for us.
Michael James
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLYCjjlldhI

Question and Answer session with Bhagawan.

Talks with Ramana Maharshi (Talk 31)
4th February, 1935

A visitor asked: What to do to get liberation (moksha)?

M.: Learn what liberation is.

D.: Should I do worship (upasana) for it?
M.: Worship is for mind control (chitta nirodha) and concentration.

D.: Should I do idol worship? Is there any harm in it?
M.: So long as you think you are the body there is no harm.

D.: How to get over the cycle of births and deaths?
M.: Learn what it means.

D.: Should I not leave my wife and family?
M.: How do they harm you? First find out who you are.

D.: Should not one give up wife, wealth, home?
M.: Learn first what samsara is. Is all that samsara? Have there not been men living among them and getting realisation?

D.: What are the steps of practical training (sadhana) for it?
M.: It depends on the qualifications and the nature of the seeker.

D.: I am doing idol worship.
M.: Go on with it. It leads to concentration of mind. Get one-pointed. All will come out right. People think that freedom (moksha) is somewhere yonder and should be sought out. They are wrong. Freedom (moksha) is only knowing the Self within yourself. Concentrate and you will get it. Your mind is the cycle of births and deaths (samsara).

D.: My mind is very unsteady. What should I do?
M.: Fix your attention on any single thing and try to hold on to it. All will be right.

D.: I find concentration difficult.
M.: Go on practising. Your concentration will be as easy as breathing. That will be the crown of your achievements.

D.: Are not abstinence and pure food helpful?
M.: Yes, all that is good. (Then Maharshi concentrates and silently gazes at vacancy, and thus sets an example to the questioner).

D.: Do I not require Yoga?
M.: What is it but the means to concentration?

D.: To help concentration, is it not good to have some aids?
M.: Breath-regulation, etc., are such helps.

D.: Is it not possible to get a vision of God?
M.: Yes. You see this and that. Why not see God? Only you must know what God is. All are seeing God always. But they do not know it. You find out what God is. People see, yet see not, because they know not God.

D.: Should I not go on with repetition of sacred syllables, (mantra japa), e.g., Krishna or Rama's name, when I worship images?
M.: Mental japa is very good. That helps meditation. Mind gets identified with the repetition and then you get to know what worship (puja) really is - the losing of one's individuality in that which is worshipped.

D.: Is the Universal Soul (Paramatma) always different from us?
M.: That is the common belief, but it is wrong. Think of Him as not different from you, and then you achieve identity of Self with God.

D.: Is it not the Advaita doctrine to become one with God?
M.: Where is becoming? The thinker is all the while the Real. He ultimately realises the fact. Sometimes we forget our identities, as in sleep and dreams. But God is perpetual consciousness.

D.: Is not the Master's guidance necessary, besides idol worship?
M.: How did you start it without advice?
D.: From sacred books (puranas).
M.: Yes. Someone tells you of God, or Bhagavan Himself tells you.
In the latter case God Himself is your Master. What matters it who the Master is? We really are one with Master or Bhagavan. The Master is God; one discovers it in the end. There is no difference between human-guru and God-guru.

D.: If we have done virtuous action (punya) the achievement will not leave us. I hope.
M.: You will reap your destiny (prarabdha) that way.

D.: Will not a Wise Master be a great help in pointing out the way?
M.: Yes. If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you.

D.: Is there a difference between prapatti (self-surrender) and the Path of Yoga of the Seers?
M.: Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga (prapati) are one and the same.
Self-surrender leads to realisation just as enquiry does. Complete self-surrender means that you have no further thought of `I'. Then all your predispositions (samskaras) are washed off and you are free. You should not continue as a separate entity at the end of either course.

D.: Do not we go to Heaven (svarga), etc. as the result of our actions?
M.: That is as true as the present existence. But if we enquire who we are and discover the Self, what need is there to think of heaven, etc.?

D.: Should I not try to escape rebirth?
M.: Yes. Find out who is born and who has the trouble of existence now. When you are asleep do you think of rebirths or even the present existence, etc.? So find out whence the present problem arises and there is the solution also. You will discover that there is no birth, no present trouble or unhappiness, etc. All is That; All is Bliss; we are freed from rebirth in fact. Why fret over the misery of rebirth?

Sri Sadhu Om on the Path to Self-Realization

  

  

At first one may not be able to maintain unbroken Self-attention even for a few minutes. Due to long habit, it is only natural that the mind will start to think of some second or third person objects. Each time the attention thus turns outwards, the aspirant again tries to turn it back towards the first person. This process of slackening of Self-attention and then trying to regain it, will repeat itself again and again. If the aspirant’s mind is weak due to deficiency in the love to know Self, the slackening of Self-attention will happen frequently, in which case a struggle will ensue and the mind will soon become tired. Instead of thus repeatedly struggling to regain Self-attention, one should relax the mind for a while as soon as the initial attempt to fix the attention on the first person becomes unsteady, and then again make a fresh attempt. If one thus makes intermittent attempts, each attempt will be found to have a fresh force and a more precise clarity of attention.

      If one presses one’s thumb on a pressure scale, the dial may at first indicate a pressure of ten kilograms. But if one tries to maintain that pressure for a long period of time, the dial will show that it is gradually slackening and decreasing. On the other hand, if one releases the pressure and after a brief rest presses again with fresh vigour, the dial will show a little more than ten kilograms. Similar is the case with Self-attention. If one struggles for a long time to maintain Self-attention, the intensity and clarity of one’s attention will gradually slacken and decrease. But if instead one relaxes as soon as one finds that one’s Self-attention is slackening, and if after a brief rest one makes a fresh attempt to fix one’s attention on Self, that fresh attempt will have a greater intensity and clarity. Therefore, what is important is not so much the length of time one spends trying to attend to Self, but the earnestness and intensity with which one makes each fresh attempt.

      During the time of practice (sadhana) our attention, which is now focused on second and third person objects, has to turn back 180 degrees, so to speak to focus itself on the first person. In the beginning, however, one’s attention may be able to turn only 5, 10 or 15 degrees. This is because one’s turning is resisted by a powerful spring  – the spring of one’s tendencies (vasanas) or subtle desires towards worldly objects. Every time one tries to turn towards the first person, this spring of one’s worldly tendencies will tend to pull one’s mind back again towards second and third persons. Therefore the number of degrees one is able to turn will depend upon the firmness of one’s desirelessness (vairagya) towards worldly objects and upon the strength of one’s longing (bhakti) to know Self. Such vairagyaand bhakti  will be increased in one by regularly practising Self-attention, by earnestly praying to Sri Bhagavan and by constantly associating with such persons or books as will repeatedly remind one, “Only by knowing Self can we attain real and enduring happiness; so long as we do not know Self we will be endlessly courting and experiencing misery; therefore our first and foremost duty in life is to know Self; all other efforts will only end in vain.”

      As one’s desirelessness and longing to know Self thus increase by prayer to the Guru, by study (sravana) of and reflection (manana) upon His teachings, and by practice(nididhyasana) of Self-attention, one’s ability to turn one’s attention towards the first person will also increase, until one will be able to turn it 90, 120 or even 150 degrees at each fresh attempt. When one’s ability to turn one’s attention Selfwards thus increases, one will be able to experience a tenuous current of Self-awareness even while engaged in activity; that is, one will be able to experience an awareness of one’s being which will not be disturbed by whatever one’s mind, speech or body may be doing, in other words, one will be able to remember the feeling ‘I am’ which always underlies all one’s activities. However, this tenuous current of Self-awareness should not be taken to be the state of unceasing Self-attention, because one will experience it only when one feels inclined to do so.  [Emphasis mine]

      How then can one experience the state of unceasing Self-attention, the state of unswerving Self-abidance? The Guru’s Grace will more and more help those aspirants who thus repeatedly practise Self-attention with great love (bhakti) to know Self. When a glowing fire and a blowing wind join together, they play wonders. Likewise, when the glowing fire of love for Self-knowledge and the blowing wind of the Guru’s Grace join together, a great wonder takes place. During one of his fresh attempts, the aspirant will be able to turn his attention a complete 180 degrees towards Self (that is, he will be able to achieve a perfect clarity of Self-awareness, completely uncontaminated by even the least awareness of any second or third person), whereupon he will feel a great change taking place spontaneously and without his effort. His power of attention, which he had previously tried so many times to turn towards Self and which had always slipped back towards second and third persons, will now be caught under the grip of a powerful clutch which will not allow it to turn again towards any second or third person. This clutch is the clutch of Grace. Though Grace has always been helping and guiding one, it is only when one is thus caught by its clutch that one becomes totally a prey to it. If one once turns one’s attention a full 180 degrees towards Self, one is sure to be caught by this clutch of Grace, which will then take one as its own and will forever protect one from again turning towards second and third person objects. This state in which the mind is thus caught by the clutch of Grace and is thereby drowned forever in its source, is known as the experience of true knowledge (jnananubhutl), Self-realization(atmasakshatkaram), liberation (moksha) and so on. This alone can be called the state of unceasing Self-attention.

Significant ebooks who needs support on their path to Self-Realization

 Sri Sadhu Om: The Path of Sri Ramana PART ONE: The Jñana aspect of the teaching:
 http://www.happinessofbeing.com/The_Path_of_Sri_Ramana_Part_One.pdf

 Sri Sadhu Om: The Path of Sri Ramana PART TWO: On God, World, Bhakti and Karma:
http://www.happinessofbeing.com/The_Path_of_Sri_Ramana_Part_Two.pdf

The Life of Yogi Ramaiyah (The One sitting on the ground, beside Bhagavan Ramana) No words to describe it, if you are looking to intensify your spiritual practices.

Yogi Ramiah belongs to the community of Reddiars and was a wealthy land proprietor of Annareddipalayam, near Buchi Reddipalayam, Nellore District. He received hardly any education. Being the sole owner of his properties he had every inducement to pass his days merrily with his thoughtless companions, boys of his own age. But at about the age of eighteen his thoughts took a serious turn and he gave up his former associates and took an interest in religion.

A Brahmin Guru imparted to him the Rama Taraka Mantram and asked him to repeat it five thousand times daily. "If the number is exceeded, what then?" asked the ardent youth.

"So much the better," was the Guru's reply.

"If I repeat it always?" was the next query. The Guru was delighted at the keenness of the disciple's enthusiasm and expressed warm approval.

Ramiah went on with his japam from morning till night, whatever he might be doing. He also began to practice pranayanam, breath control. Consequently, vairagya, or disgust with his worldly surroundings, grew so strong in his breast that he suddenly left home to go north to perform tapas in holy places like Kasi, etc.

On the way, he met his Guru who asked him if he had obtained his mother's permission for the pilgrimage. When he admitted that there was no intimation or permission, the Guru sent him back to Annareddipalayam, telling him to "Go and do your tapas in the seclusion of your garden and later on I shall come and see how you have progressed." Ramiah returned home and went on with his tapas. He developed both breath control and meditation without any one to help him. He was able to remain several hours in a blissful mood, beholding the tip of his nose, i.e, breath being easily regulated and stilled. His mind was equally stilled and happy. Perfect continence, sattvic food, just barely enough to keep the body and mind working, and intense devotion through his japa to God (Rama) carried him soon to illumination in samadhi. He noted with surprise how God Rama as an external being vanished and gave place to the feeling of God in the Self. Again he noted that though at the outset he retained the distinction between himself (the subject) and the objects he perceived or thought of, the distinction was dissolved as soon as he was lost in Samadhi, when he experienced no real difference between subject and object. Yogi Ramiah sitting on the ground, B. V. Narasimha Swami behind him, with pencil and paper. Circa 1929 "Could the two be after all identical?" was the thought that occurred to him. As it was a novel and puzzling experience, he did not feel sure of his conclusions and asked local pundits about it. Their replies did not satisfy him. So he came to Tiruvannamalai in 1925 and in Maharshi's presence asked Kavyakantha Ganapathi Sastri about it. "The subject is of course different from the object," was the Sastri's reply. Ramiah was disappointed and looked up to the Maharshi, who at once supplemented or corrected the Sastri's reply: "Subject and object are distinct in the phenomenal world to the ordinary man, but in samadhi they merge and become one." Ramiah was very glad to note this corroboration from this eminent Swami. Thence forward he took Maharshi as his sole guide.

For many years he still continued with his life of yoga, with mounam (silence) and tapas, as its support. He ate little, controlled his breath and stayed many hours at a stretch in blissful ecstasy, mostly in the cottage of his own garden. He would also stay for a few months each year with Maharshi at Ramanasramam. He loved and was loved by the Maharshi. As Yogi Ramiah did not know Tamil, the Maharshi translated his Tamil poems .Upadesa Saram. and .Ulladu Narpadu. into Telugu. In appreciation, Yogi Ramiah helped in repairing Palithirtam, in the construction of Asramam hall and the Asramam well.


The original manuscript, wherein Yogi Ramiah tells in his own words about his life and experiences:

From my boyhood I had great devotion (bhakti) towards Sri Rama Namam. Till I was nineteen years old I was generally of a rajasic temperament and was fearless. I used to listen attentively whenever elders recited stories of God or taught dharma; and I used to make friendship with such elders. Once I heard of the life of Kabir from an old gentleman and at once I became sorrowful that I had wasted my life till then. "How to get undistracted devotion (ananya bhakti)?" "How can I become fit for God's mercy (kripa)?" These were my desires. Though I was not a bhakta from childhood like Kabir, I got vairagyam and wanted to do penance (tapas) like Valmiki, until the body is covered with ant hills. I then knew that penance meant meditating on Rama Namam continuously like the constant flow of oil, and to be in samadhi, forgetting this body. Thus I acquired bhakti and vairagyam. Subsequently love for the body (dehabhimanam) disappeared.

Formerly I had many friends, but the feeling of friendship for them left me. I couldn't leave the continuous dhyanam (meditation) even for a minute. I used to feel sorry that the nights were being wasted in sleep. I used to feel that I was meditating even in my sleep. I used to be in meditation when I awoke. I used to get up at 3 o.clock in the morning, bathe and, sitting in a secluded place, would meditate till 8 o.clock. From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. I would read Bhagavatam. After meals I would listen to Bhagavatam read by a Brahmin. In the evenings, I would go outside the town and meditate sitting alone. Even if such a place be the pathway used by men and cattle, I would neither know of or hear anything during meditation. I used to offer puja, imagining the form of Vishnu in my heart.

When Brahmanantha Thirtha Swami was at Nellore, I went and prayed to him to give me upadesa and teach me yoga so that I could meditate upon Rama and conquer the mind. He then gave me Rama Tarakam Mantram and asked me to meditate on it, observing pranayama, for a little while, at the time. He said that to practice pranayama vigorously, solitary living and food restrictions are necessary.

I was then meditating by focusing my attention towards the middle of the eyes. In a short time, Chitkalas (guiding spirits) began to appear in a variety of ways, but they disappeared after some time. Then a flame like the sun began to appear. This would appear even when meditating with eyes closed, but there would be nothing when opening my eyes. I thought that Surya Bhagavan was appearing. Knowing that the vision was from inside, I began to practice vigorously. After some time the vision assumed a clearer form like the moon. Later on in the place of this moon a jyoti began to appear. While in this condition, the drik (subject) and drisyam (object) would disappear and I would feel that the atma was Poornam, the Perfect survivor. At that time this condition would not last continuously, but would only recur from time to time. I then got extra vairagyam. It was at that time that I left my home.

Without telling anybody I wanted to go to Dandaka Forest and do penance like Valmiki and the rishis. Before traveling north, I got down from the train to meet my Guru at Bapatla, in the Guntur District. As soon as he saw me he asked whether I had left home after informing my people. I told him the truth, that is, that I did not inform anyone. He then told me, "You cannot stay there (Dandaka Forest) and do penance. There are many difficulties there. Have an asramam in your village and do penance there. I will come and see you occasionally. Go back home to your village." Before leaving to return to my home, he gave me upadesam.

When I first got vairagyam I started a water pandal for distribution of water on Narasimha Jayanti days. It is still going on. I started my own asramam and named it Rama Asramam. It has been useful for meditation and also other purposes. Within two years of my spiritual life there was a break in yoga. I felt very sorry for this break and with firm determination, giving up all things, I joined this Rama Asramam in 1922. By constant meditation, sitting on an asana, I used to become fatigued. To get over this fatigue I would immediately do pranyama. While doing this and learning from books, such as Jnana Vasishtam, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam, that yoga should be practiced keeping the lakshyam at the tip of the nose, I began to do likewise. Practicing like this for some time and seeing nothing at the end of the nose I began to feel discouraged. Summoning confidence, however, from my firm belief that what is written in the sastras can never be untrue, I gave up interest in food and sleep and assumed a meditative posture. I was always doing dhyana, dharana and pranayama. Gradually I achieved breath retention. Now and then I used to feel the sushumna, subtle force, rise up. Since then a jyoti began to appear. For some months there was no body sense and the Self was all pervading. Ahamkara disappeared. It was realized that it was not I that was meditating, the I was the witness of the ahamkara, that I really am Atman and that this is my true form. The external vision decreased by constant concentration of the Self.

There was no desire to eat anything. In spite of bodily difficulties the mind was always happy. I was thinking of Rama in saguna aspect and offering puja to Hari in my heart.

As the external vision decreased, I wanted to go to experienced gurus with Brahma Nishta and tell them about my experiences and to find out what their experiences were. By enquiry I found out that there were many who had read books only, without experiencing the Self and I could not find any with Brahma Nishta. In my boyhood when I came on a pilgrimage to Arunagiri I saw Bhagavan. Since then, at times, I used to think of him. Learning that Bhagavan knows Telugu, I went to him, offered my respects, sat in his presence and was looking at him. I found that he was introverted, his eyes were not moving, breath appeared to have stopped . no movement was visible in him. Seeing that, I also turned my vision inside. As I had acquired dharana siddhi at the tip of the nose, I found it easy to turn my vision inside. When the vision is turned to the drik (subject) inside, the drisya (objects) are not seen. Self was all pervading and perfect (purna). In this state I was sitting for two hours. I came to the conclusion that when the mind was subdued and the objects are not seen, the subject and object are merged in the Self, and that Self is all pervading and perfect. Ganapathi Sastri had come there and I questioned him about this. The sastri replied that the subject and object are different. I couldn't agree with what he said. Bhagavan immediately said that when the mind is subdued there is only one thing, and that the subject and object are not different. I felt very happy on hearing this and concluded with certainty that he was the Guru and that he had realized the truth.

I then told Bhagavan about my eyes and he replied that they would get right after some time and that there was no danger. As it was Kartika Deepam time and, as there was a big crowd of people, Bhagavan said that if I went to see him in the night it would be more convenient. I agreed and went away. When I went there in the night, the doors were closed and all inside were asleep. Thinking it would not be proper to disturb them in their sleep I lied down on the pial outside. As it was the winter season the cold was severe, mosquitoes began to bite and I was unable to sleep. At about three in the morning Bhagavan came outside and saw me. I prostrated. Bhagavan who was all kindness said that I had been put to much trouble and asked me to come inside and sleep by his side. That night I asked him some questions:

Q. What is Nirvikalpa Samadhi?
A. That which has no sankalpam to Nirvikalpa.
Q. In Samadhi, will there not be even the Brahma Bhava?
A. If there is Bhava, it will not be Nirvikalpa.
Q. What is meant by Rama?
A. That in which everything takes its origin, exists and disappears, is Rama.

I then determined that all practices are only means to attain this final stage. I was giving up my former spiritual practices little by little. I felt immensely attracted to Bhagavan and felt quite at home in Ramanasrmam. Bhagavan was all love. After meeting Bhagavan I did not go to any other Guru.

I then read the life of Maharshi. By reading it one acquires vairagyam and dispassion. Just to see him is upadesam; to sit in his presence gives peace. This is my firm belief.

After some time, with Bhagavan's permission, I went back to my native place. I would come twice every year to see him. I heard blessed words from him regarding his experiences.The Swami himself would look after my food arrangements. Just as a father would nuture motherless children, he was always filled with limitless kindness. As I have no strength to walk any distance, I always stay in my cottage or with the Maharshi. And as speech may cause chitta chalanam (thought movement), I observed mounam (silence).

Some time later I came to see Bhagavan again and was in the Asramam for some days. One day I told him about my experience of that time. I told him that at the time of meditation only, the whole thing would appear to be one, and then at other times the subject and object appear to be different, and I asked him how this difference would disappear. He told me that there was still dehavasana, i.e., attachment to the body, and asked me to carry on with my meditation till it disappeared entirely.

I then asked him to tell me how to concentrate. He then said: "When a man dies the funeral pyre is prepared with fuel and the dead body is laid on the pyre. The pyre is lit. First the skin is burnt, then the flesh, and then the bones, until the whole body is converted into ashes. What remains thereafter? Only the spirit. But by Self inquiry the spirit also disappears."

"When this dehavasana goes, ahamkara also vanishes and the Self alone remains."

He had composed "Upadesa Saram" in Tamil. I prayed that he might translate it into Telugu. He rendered it in dwipada (couplets) form in Telugu. I then stayed in the Asramam for some days, went abroad for some time, and then returned to my Asramam. I then gave up everything. When I returned to Tiruvannamalai I would sometimes stay in the Mango Tree Cave near Mulaipal Thirtham.

After Bhagavan had composed "Ulladu Narpadu" in Tamil (.Reality in Forty Verses.), I prayed to him to teach it to me in Telegu. He rendered it into Telegu prose and taught it to me. Reflecting on what he taught me the mind was subdued and dissolved in the Self. Now nothing different from Self is seen.