Sri Ramana Maharshi | Sage

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Rio

Sri Ramana Maharshi is one of my favorite teachers, and one of the greatest sages of the last century, a Buddha.  Although he was born in India, he was not a member of any particular religion.

Ramana Maharshi

Ramana Maharshi

“It was in 1908 that I first contacted Sri Ramana Maharshi, then in the Virupaksha Cave, when I was a boy of twelve. Had you seen him in those days, you would hardly have taken him for a mere human being. His figure was a statue of burnished gold. He simply sat and sat, and rarely spoke. The words he spoke on any day could easily be counted. He had an enchanting personality that shed a captivating luster on all, and a life-giving current flowed from him charging all those nearby, while his sparkling eyes irrigated those around him with the nectar of his Being.”

T.K. Sundaresa Iyer, At the feet of Bhagavan

T.K. Sundaresa Iyer, At the feet of Bhagavan

“At the age of sixteen Ramana Maharshi left his home, his family, and all he knew. He felt drawn to Arunachula – a small mountain in Southern India. He lived there for the rest of his life. His only possessions were a piece of cloth to cover himself, and a walking stick. Little by little word of a sage living alone on Arunachula mountain became known. Many felt drawn to sit in his presence. He seldom spoke. But occasionally he would respond to questions.

Sentient beings are in essence buddhas
It is like water and ice. There is no ice without water,
There are no buddhas outside sentient beings.
What a shame, sentient beings seek afar,
Not knowing what is at hand. It is like wailing from thirst
In the midst of water.

–Hakuin Ekaku, 1685-1768

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Success Now!

Posted on October 25, 2008 by Rio

In this world of matter everything is temporary, nothing stays. To try to wrestle permanence out of situations and things is not seeing reality as it is. To cling selfishly to anything is the mark of the ignorant. (This is the ignorance caused by an ego that refuses to acknowledge that everything is interconnected) Success comes when we see clearly that when we unconditionally help others we help ourselves, for we are never separate from the Source; to think otherwise is delusion; it is, again, the work of the ego.

Now, to see things as they are, to see the unity of all things, requires presence of mind, which means that your thoughts are not in past or future situations (unless you are using the past for reference or planning a shopping trip) but in what you are doing right now! Remember, you can’t cross the bridge until you get to the river. If you see ‘Reality’ as it is you’ll see that success, like well-being, does not depend on outside circumstances, for we actually have all we need. If you see reality as it is your life situation could change suddenly and drastically without affecting your inner balance because you’ll see that you are part of a whole that is in perfect balance and working perfectly well.

Of course, you will not see this if you don’t discipline your mind and develop presence because the ego will render you blind. And I am afraid that just reading or hearing about it will probably help you little. But if you do just your best and practice, you’ll see it as clear as sunshine. And allow me to quote from “Mindfulness in Plain English” by H. Gunaratana: “Your practice can show you the truth. Your own experience is all that counts.”

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Digression | Presence

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Rio

I was caught by the flu last weekend. It came out of the blue; I had been feeling great and the weather couldn’t have been better. San Diego, CA almost always has a summer breeze.

Isn’t it amazing how a simple virus can reduce a human being to a sniveling, panting heap of pain and discomfort? You can feel miserable enough to see your death staring at you; some viruses do kill. One positive thing about getting sick is that it can give you some perspective; it points out to us the impermanence of all life. All we have is the moment we live.

The flu made me think about the most important thing we can have…

Our actions are frequently affected by worries and influenced by misleading assumptions that stem from our aimless self-reflection. It is our undisciplined and relentless mind that produces irresponsible or base behavior induced by irrational fears, which originate in non-existent sources or situations. Reality is warped by the wandering mind; reality is not what we think (our concepts and ideas). Thus, the most important thing we do is to discipline our minds to focus on reality as it is now. We have the uncanny ability to ignore the obvious.

Although all sages from the beginning of time have stressed the importance of having presence of mind, we refuse to see the necessity of it. We refuse to see what it can do for us. To try to simplify something rather complex I would say that it does three things for us: Physically speaking, presence can even save our lives by helping us be aware of what is coming at us; mentally, it will eliminate stress because stress dwells either in a non-existent future or a past that we refuse to let go; and spiritually, it will help us to see that we are never separate from the Source–“be still and know that I am God”–psalms 46:10.

I don’t know anybody that can be mindful at all times, but just trying our best (just our best) makes a big difference. And with a disciplined mind comes equanimity and inner balance whether we have or have not. And bear in mind that “having” and “having not” are always subject to change, so the most important thing we have is our presence of mind.

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