WHY RAMANA?
By Kumari Sarada
Life pours forth from the incomparable grace of Thy
steady and shining eyes". The light which pours forth from
Sri Bhagavan's vibrant eyes gives meaning and fulfilment to
our lives. His serene presence draws us in silence and envelops
every tiny detail of our daily existence. I too have partaken of
his extravagant grace, my parents having been drawn to
Bhagavan even before I was born. His loving grace and gentle
smile solve all my problems, answer every question and clear
all confusion. His presence, I feel, is the source of perennial
joy for me. Our Master is an ocean, and blessed as I am, I am
eager that all should share my blessedness. To satisfy such
sceptics as may look down upon this subjective experience
and in my eagerness to share my joy I would like to emphasise
the objectivity and universal applicability of Bhagavan's
method of Self-enquiry, which will stand always as the
simplest solution to every problem. I say this because Self-
enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagavan only requires keen, alert
and constant search for one's own identity, by observing the
source of the I-thought. Since the mind is a bundle of thoughts
and all thoughts revolve round the I-thought, watching that
thought introverts the mind back to its source, the Heart, our
true identity.
The process of Self-enquiry is scientific and does not
demand blind faith. On the other hand, constant awareness,
alertness and keen, continued questioning is advocated. Ah!
There is still scope to criticise -- it is far too dry and
intellectual! It is hridaya vidya, the knowledge of the Heart.
One who is aware of the power of the immensity of the Heart
through Self-enquiry experiences its presence in every activity
so that even a routine activity like reading a newspaper is an
act done with total absorption and spontaneity. Every act is
Page 123
natural -- how then can it merely be intellectual or dry? The
alertness to every minute of life is not an intellectual process
but an awareness and aliveness of being which responds fully
in all naturalness and hence most appropriately.
The method which Sri Bhagavan has taught and the
perfection it implies appear too simple to be accepted by the
mind. The human mind, which has conquered many
complicated fields through scientific research, prefers not to
accept the fact that in such a simple method lies the answer to
everything. When Copernicus explained simpler orbits of the
planets, he was burnt at the stake. Many may prefer to go in
for things complicated and ornate, for the mind can revel in
the glory of mastering such techniques.
Sri Maharshi's teaching, easy as it is, gives no scope for
this pride of mastery. Yet the method is attractive to the mind,
because the mind is the fulcrum of Self-enquiry.
Self-enquiry as taught by Bhagavan Ramana is the greatest
adventure as it is the adventure into the world of the spirit. It
includes the adventure of science in its rational analysis, that
of the explorer, as it explores the very nature of one's being.
And it is the adventure of the artist in its spontaneous creativity.
What does it create? It creates and infuses life and beauty
into our routine habits of existence. It is the simplest of
methods but, being the greatest of adventures as well, it does
not allow us to wallow in ease.
Why Ramana? Because his life was the living of this
method, not in order to practise what he preached, not as an
intellectualisation, but out of the spontaneity, the naturalness
synonymous with Self-enquiry. I say naturalness because,
Self-enquiry implies the constant awareness of our true nature.
Page 124