Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages
Page 11
metamorphosis that my body and mind underwent. And of this body too [meaning himself]thesamewouldhavebeenthefate;butfortunatelythemajorportionofmy
dayswaspassedinecstaticoblivionoftheMother'sdivinevision.Henceforthforsix
long years not a wink of sleep ever visited my eyes, and the eyelids would never close,trythoughImight.Allsenseoftimevanishedfromme,andthebodyideawas
totally obliterated. A terrible fear would seize me at the slightest reversion of the mindfromtheMothertothebody.OftenthefearcamewhetherIhadreallyrunmad.
Iwouldstandbeforemyimageinamirror,andwhenonpokingmyeyesIwouldfind
them insensitive, I would burst into tears in terror, and pray to the Mother: ‘O
Mother, is it that as a result of all my prayers and absolute reliance on Thee, Thou hast brought on me an incurable disease?’ But next, the alternating thought would come:‘OMother,whateverfatemayovertakemybody,doThouneverforsakeme!
VouchsafeuntomeThyvisionandThymercy!OMother,haveInottakencomplete
shelteratThyhallowedfeet?ExceptThee,OMother,Ihavenootherrefuge!’And
thusprayingtearfully,mymindwouldbefilledwithastrangeenthusiasm,creating
an unbounded disgust for the body, and would lose itself in the comfort of the Mother'sDivinevisionandconsolingwords.”
TheMaster'spuremindwasitselfhisfirstandmostimportantteacher.Aboutthisthe
Mastersaid:“Whenevernecessityarose,ayoungSannyasin[monk]frominsidemy
body, in appearance exactly like myself, would come out and teach me everything.
When he came out in this way, sometimes I would retain a little consciousness of external objects and at other times, I would lose all consciousness of the outside world except for the awareness of his presence and doings. When he re-entered the body,Iwouldagainbecomeawareoftheexternalworld.WhatIhadheardfromhim
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before,thesameteachingsIheardfromBrahmani,Totapuri,andothers.WhatIlearnt fromhimbefore,thesameIlearntfromtheseteacherslater.”
ReferringtohisTantrikSadhanaundertheguidanceofBhairaviBrahmanitheMaster
said:“TheBrahmaniwouldgoduringthedaytoplacesfarawayfromDakshineswar
andcollectthevariousrarethingsmentionedintheTantricscripturesasrequisitesfor Sadhana. At nightfall she would ask me to go to one of the seats. I would go, and afterperformingtheworshipoftheMotherKali,Iwouldbegintomeditateaccording
toherdirections.Icouldhardlytellmybeads,forassoonasIbegantodosoIwas
always overwhelmed with divine fervor and fell into deep Samadhi. I cannot now relatethevarietiesofwonderfulvisionsIusedtohave.Theyfollowedeachotherin
quick succession, and the effects of those practices I could feel most tangibly. The Brahmaniguided me through all the exercises mentioned in the sixty-four principal Tantricworks.MostoftheseareextremelydifficultSadhanas,whichgenerallycause
manyadevoteetosliphisfootandsinkintomoraldegradation.Buttheinfinitegrace
oftheMothercarriedmethroughthemunscathed.”
DescribinghisexperienceoftheawakeningofKundalini,theMastersaid:“WhenI
realizedthisstate(thestateofGod-consciousness),onelookingexactlylikemecame
andthoroughlyshookmyIda,Pingala,andSushumnanerves.Helickedthe‘lotuses’
of the six ‘centers’ with his tongue, and the drooping lotuses at once turned their facesupwards.AndatlasttheSahasrara‘lotus’becamefull-bloomed.”
Ihadtopracticethevariousreligionsonce,Hinduism,Islam,andChristianity,andI
have walked the paths of the different sects of Hinduism again—the Sakta, the Vaishnava, the Vedantic, and others. And I have found that it is the same God towardsWhomallaretravelling,onlytheyarecomingthroughdiverseways.
Describing his experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the Master said: “After the
initiation,‘thenakedone’begantoteachmethevariousconclusionsoftheAdvaita
Vedanta and asked me to withdraw the mind completely from all objects and dive intotheAtman.ButinspiteofallmyattemptsIcouldnotcrosstherealmofname
and form and bring my mind to the unconditioned state. I had no difficulty in withdrawing the mind from all objects except one, and this was the all-too-familiar form of the Blissful Mother—radiant and of the essence of Pure Consciousness—
whichappearedbeforemeasalivingrealityandwouldnotallowmetopassbeyond
therealmofnameandform.AgainandagainItriedtoconcentratemyminduponthe
AdvaitateachingbuteverytimetheMother'sformstoodinmyway.IndespairIsaid
to‘thenakedone,’‘Itishopeless.Icannotraisemymindtotheunconditionedstate
and come face to face with the Atman.’ He grew excited and sharply said, ‘What!
Youcan'tdoit!Butyouhaveto.’Hecasthiseyesaroundforsomething,andfinding
a piece of glass, took it up, and pressing its point between my eyebrows, said,
‘Concentrateyourmindonthispoint.’ThenwithasterndeterminationIagainsatto
meditate,andassoonasthegraciousformoftheDivineMotherappearedbeforeme,
Iusedmydiscriminationasaswordandwithitsevereditintotwo.Thereremained
nomoreobstructiontomymind,whichatoncesoaredbeyondtherelativeplane,and
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IlostmyselfinSamadhi.
“I was for six months in that state of Nirvikalpa from which ordinary mortals cannotreturn.Foraftertwenty-onedaysthebodydropsofflikeawitheredleaf.Days
and nights succeeded one another perfectly unnoticed. Flies would enter the mouth and nostrils just as in the case of a corpse without producing any sensation. Hairs becameallmattedwithdust.SometimesevenNature'scallswereansweredunawares.
Hardly would the body have survived this state but for a Sadhu who happened to comeatthistime.Heatoncerecognizedmycondition,andalsounderstoodthatthe
Mother had yet to do many things through this body—that many persons would be benefitedifitwerepreserved.Soatmealtimeheusedtofetchsomefoodandtryto
bringmetoexternalconsciousnessbyadministeringagoodbeatingtothebody.As
soon as traces of consciousness were perceived, he would thrust the food into the mouth.Inthiswayafewmorselswouldbeswallowedonsomedays;onotherdays,
noteventhat.Fullsixmonthswerethuspassed.Later,aftersomedays'stayinthis
state, I came to hear the Mother's command, ‘Remain on the threshold of relative consciousness (Bhavamukha) for the instruction of mankind.’ Then appeared blood dysentery.Therewasacutewrithingpainintheintestines.Throughthissufferingfor
sixmonthsthenormalbodyconsciousnessslowlyreappeared.Orelse,everynowand
then the mind would, of its own accord, soar to the Nirvikalpa (Samadhi beyond form)state.
Thenaturaltendencyofthis(my)mindisupwards(towardstheNirvikalpastate).
Oncethatstateisreached,itdoesnotliketocomedown.ForyoursakeIdragitdown
perforce. Downward pull is not strong enough without a lower desire. So I create some trifling desires, as for instance, for smoking, for drinking water, for tasting a particulardish,orforseeingaparticularperson,andrepeatedlys
uggestthemtomy
mind.Thenalonethemindslowlycomesdown(tothebody).Again,whilecoming
down, it may run back upward. Again it has to be dragged down through such desires.”
I do see the Supreme Being as the veritable Reality with my very eyes! Why then shouldIreason?IdoactuallyseethatitistheAbsoluteWhohasbecomeallthings
around us; it is He who appears as the finite soul and the phenomenal world! One must have an awakening of the spirit within to see this reality. As long as one is unabletoseeHimastheonereality,onemustreasonordiscriminate,saying,“Not
this;Notthis.”Ofcourse,itwouldnotdoforonemerelytosay,“Ihaveseenbeyond
the possibility of a doubt that it is He Who has become all!” Mere saying is not enough. By the Lord's grace the spirit must be quickened. Spiritual awakening is followed by Samadhi. In this state one forgets that one has a body; one loses all attachment to the things of the world, i.e., “woman and gold”; one likes no other words than those relating to God; one is sorely troubled if called upon to listen to worldlymatters.Thespiritwithinbeingawakened,thenextstepistherealizationof
theUniversalSpirit.ItisthespiritthatcanrealizetheSpirit.”
FromthewordsofSriRamakrishnaParamahamsa,asspokentohisdisciples
duringthelatterpartofthenineteenthcentury.
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RAMANAMAHARSHI
99
FOURTEEN
RAMANAMAHARSHI
1879-1950,INDIA
ONE DAY, in the small village of Tiruchuli in South India, a boy of sixteen named Venkataraman “died,” never to be the same again. In that moment he realized the impermanence of the body and his identification with the universe. Soon after, the child was inwardly called to a neighboring peak, the red mountain Arunachala, believedtobetheembodimentofLordShivaofHindumythology.Leavinghishome
forgoodwithjustafewrupeesforthejourney,thechildnevertouchedmoneyagain.
Upon arriving at the town of Tiruvannamalai, at the base of Arunachala, the boy plunged deeply into the peace of meditation in the cellar of the thousand-pillared temple of Shiva. After months of blissful samadhi (absorption in the Self), covered with vermin, the boy was taken from the temple and cared for in a cave beside the mountain.SriRamanaMaharshi,ashebecameknown,neverleftthemountainthat
had inexorably drawn him. Long after his passing, Ramana's abiding presence
continues to draw seekers from all over the world to Sri Ramanashram and
Arunachala.
Ramana taught primarily in silence, though at times he engaged in conversations withdevotees.PaulBrunton,theWesternmysticaljournalistlargelyresponsiblefor
bringingRamanatotheattentionoftheWest,explained,“Icannotturnmygazeaway
from him. My initial bewilderment, my perplexity at being totally ignored, slowly fadeawayasthisstrangefascinationbeginstogripmemorefirmly.Butitisnottill
the second hour of the uncommon scene that I become aware of a silent, resistless change that is taking place within my mind…. I know only that a steady river of quietness seems to be flowing near me, that a great peace is penetrating the inner reaches of my being, and that my thought-tortured brain is beginning to arrive at somerest.”
Ramana encouraged the seeker to examine his own sense of identity through a
processcalledself-enquiry.“Aseachthoughtarises,onemustbewatchfultowhom
is this thought occurring.” When asked a spiritual question, he often replied, “Find out who it is that wants to know.” Ramana emphasized that self-enquiry “directly leads to Self-Realization by removing the obstacles which make you think that the Selfisnotalreadyrealized.”Hedirectedhisdisciplesto“Learnfirstwhoyouare….
Thisissimpleexperience.Thestateofbeingisnowandhereallalong.”
Though frail of body in his later years, and plagued by the cancer that led to his death, Ramana remained ever present, ever peaceful, and always compassionate to thosewhosoughthimoutfromthecornersoftheworld.Ramanaevengave darshan
(aviewingofthemaster)whenhewastooweaktositup,notwantingtodisappoint
thecrowdsofpeoplewhofiledslowlybytospendasecondortwoinhispresence.In
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the hours before he passed away, Sri Ramana remarked, “People say I am leaving.
WherecouldIgo?Iamhere.”
These stories following come from Ramana's talks with his close disciples or
descriptions of his early life by family members. They are from various sources, collectedin RamanaMaharshi:APictorialBiography,preparedforthecentennialof hisbirth.
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IAMNOTTHEBODY,IAMTHESELF
ITWASaboutsixweeksbeforeIleftMaduraiforgoodthatthegreatchangeinmylife
tookplace.Itwasquitesudden.Iwassittingaloneinaroomonthefirstfloorofmy
uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong withmyhealth,butasuddenviolentfearofdeathovertookme.Therewasnothingin
mystateofhealthtoaccountforit,andIdidnottrytoaccountforitortofindout whethertherewasanyreasonforthefear.Ijustfelt“Iamgoingtodie”andbegan
thinkingwhattodoaboutit.Itdidnotoccurtometoconsultadoctorormyeldersor friends;IfeltthatIhadtosolvetheproblemmyself,thereandthen.
The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without, actually framing the words: “Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? ‘This body dies,’” and at once dramatized the occurrenceofdeath.Ilaywithmylimbsstretchedoutstiffasthough rigormortishad set in and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to the enquiry. I held my breathandkeptmylipstightlyclosedsothatnosoundcouldescape,sothatneither
theword“I”noranyotherwordcouldbeuttered.“Wellthen,”Isaidtomyself,“this
bodyisdead.Itwillbecarriedstifftotheburninggroundandthereburntandreduced toashes.ButwiththedeathofthisbodyamIdead?IsthebodyI?Itissilentandinert but I feel the full force of my personality and even the voice of the “I” within me, apartfromit.SoIamSpirittranscendingthebody.ThebodydiesbuttheSpiritthat
transcendsitcannotbetouchedbydeath.ThatmeansIamthedeathlessSpirit.”All
this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truth which I perceiveddirectly,almostwithoutthought-process.“I”wassomethingveryreal,the
onlyrealthingaboutmypresentstate,andalltheconsciousactivityconnectedwith
my body was centered on that “I”. From that moment onwards the “I” or Self focussed attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death had vanished onceandforall.AbsorptionintheSelfcontinuedunbrokenfromthattimeon.Other
thoughts might come and go like the various notes of music, but the “I” continued like the fundamental sruti note that underlies and blends with all the other notes.
Whether the body was engaged in talking, reading or anything else, I was still centeredon“I”.PrevioustothatcrisisIhadnoclearperceptionofmySelfandwas
notconsciouslyattractedtoit.Ifeltnoperceptibleordirectinterestinit,muchless anyincli
nationtodwellpermanentlyinit.
Theconsequencesofthisnewawarenessweresoonnoticedinmylife.Inthefirst
place, I lost what little interest I had in my outer relationship with friends and relatives and went through my studies mechanically. I would hold an open book in front of me to satisfy my relatives that I was reading, when in reality my attention wasfarawayfromanysuchsuperficialmatter.InmydealingswithpeopleIbecame
meekandsubmissive.Goingtoschool,bookinhand,Iwouldbeeagerlydesiringand
expecting that God would suddenly appear before me in the sky. What sort of progresscouldsuchaonemakeinhisstudiesatschool!
One of the features of my new state was my changed attitude to the Meenakshi Temple. Formerly I used to go there very occasionally with friends to look at the images and put the Sacred Ash and Vermilion on my brow and would return home 102
almostunmoved.ButaftertheawakeningIwenttherealmosteveryevening.Iused togoaloneandstandmotionlessforatimebeforeanimageofSivaorMeenakshior
Nataraja and the sixty-three Saints, and as I stood there waves of emotion
overwhelmedme.
Thesoulhadgivenupitsholdonthebodywhenitrenouncedthe“I-am-the-body”
ideaanditwasseekingsomefreshanchorage;hencethefrequentvisitstothetemple
and the outpouring of the soul in tears. This was God's play with the soul. I would stand before Iswara, the Controller of the universe and of the destinies of all, the OmniscientandOmnipresent,andsometimesprayforthedescentofHisGraceupon
me so that my devotion might increase and become perpetual like that of the sixty-threeSaints.MoreoftenIwouldnotprayatallbutsilentlyallowthedeepwithinto
flowonandintothedeepbeyond.
I stopped going out with friends to play games, and preferred solitude. I would oftensitaloneandbecomeabsorbedintheSelf,theSpirit,theforceorcurrentwhich