Ursulla Muller
SADHANA WITH BHAGAVAN RAMANA
By Ursulla Muller
IN the night of December 21-22, 1964, I was told by the Lord Himself:
Within you I fulfill my word; Behold I am creating all anew.
These words arose out of the boundless depth of blissful silence and faded away again, leaving naught but an unlimited expanse. Throughout the night these words were repeated at long intervals until the young day was breaking.
At that time, I had been meditating already for about six years in accordance with Sri Ramana’s teaching. All the same, and especially at first, I felt I was not mature to receive such a communication from the one Father of all, and there was none to whom I would have dared speak of this new spiritual experience. Yet, in spite of the hardship of those days, I was always aware of the gracious hand of Sri Ramana whose glorious renewal of ancient lore had made me tread the blissful path to Arunachala Siva. Thus, I was able to realize in course of time that the Lord alone is the doer, within and without, while I was to stay silent to allow the divine in me grow and the poor ego decrease.
During my sadhana there was always Bhagavan Ramana’s guidance. He had for instance advised me to stop reading unnecessary things, at times with an apparent sense of humour, as can be deducted from the following incident.
Once after meditation late in the evening, I had gone to bed. In order to improve my knowledge of the English language, I would read some pages in English before sleeping. That evening I was going to have a short look into a copy of the Readers’ Digest. However, being tired, I was not able to read but was staring at some text in the booklet without taking in its contents. Suddenly I felt Bhagavan Ramana looking in smiling surprise over my shoulder at the text I was reading. Only now I cognized the heading of the article I was staring at, which was, Famous Recipes of German Housewives, a topic I for sure would not have selected consciously from the table of contents. It was now my turn to laugh silently at myself and to end the mistaken enterprise by switching off the light.
Again there was Sri Ramana’s loving guidance when I was physically and spiritually exhausted on account of having undertaken a new task without considering carefully enough, my daily meditation practice as well as my demanding part time office job. Having started hatha yoga at a yoga school, Ramana Maharshi wanted me to go on with my daily hatha yoga exercises despite my fatigue, as I learned from the following incident: One early morning, while sitting on the carpet ready to start my exercises, yet feeling tired, I suddenly found myself kneeling at the feet of Sri Ramana touching them with my forehead in utter devotion. Immediately I knew in my heart that I was to continue my regular exercises without considering my body’s condition. I have been following Bhagavan’s advice strictly until this day and am much better now.
On the other hand, when I was too fatigued for sitting in padmasana posture for meditation, Bhagavan taught me that silence alone is important and not the physical posture observed along with it. Subsequently I learnt to sit comfortably in an easy-chair during meditation time. This has been a great help for my continuous sadhana during the past years, and I gratefully bow down at Sri Ramana’s holy feet.
Kinder far art Thou than one’s own mother. Is this then Thy all-kindness, Oh Arunachala? My newest experience of Sri Ramana’s unceasing grace is only some days old. I had to stay at home on account of a sudden, serious cold and felt miserable, supposing that my hatha yoga practice might be too poor. Two or three days later, still in bed, I happened to take in hand an old copy of The Mountain Path and open it on page 117 where my eyes fell exactly on the passage, “Bhagavan’s feet are ever over your head”. A wave of bliss ran through my mind and body and a little later I could think of going on with my sadhana again.
Within you I fulfill my word; Behold I am creating all anew.
These words arose out of the boundless depth of blissful silence and faded away again, leaving naught but an unlimited expanse. Throughout the night these words were repeated at long intervals until the young day was breaking.
At that time, I had been meditating already for about six years in accordance with Sri Ramana’s teaching. All the same, and especially at first, I felt I was not mature to receive such a communication from the one Father of all, and there was none to whom I would have dared speak of this new spiritual experience. Yet, in spite of the hardship of those days, I was always aware of the gracious hand of Sri Ramana whose glorious renewal of ancient lore had made me tread the blissful path to Arunachala Siva. Thus, I was able to realize in course of time that the Lord alone is the doer, within and without, while I was to stay silent to allow the divine in me grow and the poor ego decrease.
During my sadhana there was always Bhagavan Ramana’s guidance. He had for instance advised me to stop reading unnecessary things, at times with an apparent sense of humour, as can be deducted from the following incident.
Once after meditation late in the evening, I had gone to bed. In order to improve my knowledge of the English language, I would read some pages in English before sleeping. That evening I was going to have a short look into a copy of the Readers’ Digest. However, being tired, I was not able to read but was staring at some text in the booklet without taking in its contents. Suddenly I felt Bhagavan Ramana looking in smiling surprise over my shoulder at the text I was reading. Only now I cognized the heading of the article I was staring at, which was, Famous Recipes of German Housewives, a topic I for sure would not have selected consciously from the table of contents. It was now my turn to laugh silently at myself and to end the mistaken enterprise by switching off the light.
Again there was Sri Ramana’s loving guidance when I was physically and spiritually exhausted on account of having undertaken a new task without considering carefully enough, my daily meditation practice as well as my demanding part time office job. Having started hatha yoga at a yoga school, Ramana Maharshi wanted me to go on with my daily hatha yoga exercises despite my fatigue, as I learned from the following incident: One early morning, while sitting on the carpet ready to start my exercises, yet feeling tired, I suddenly found myself kneeling at the feet of Sri Ramana touching them with my forehead in utter devotion. Immediately I knew in my heart that I was to continue my regular exercises without considering my body’s condition. I have been following Bhagavan’s advice strictly until this day and am much better now.
On the other hand, when I was too fatigued for sitting in padmasana posture for meditation, Bhagavan taught me that silence alone is important and not the physical posture observed along with it. Subsequently I learnt to sit comfortably in an easy-chair during meditation time. This has been a great help for my continuous sadhana during the past years, and I gratefully bow down at Sri Ramana’s holy feet.
Kinder far art Thou than one’s own mother. Is this then Thy all-kindness, Oh Arunachala? My newest experience of Sri Ramana’s unceasing grace is only some days old. I had to stay at home on account of a sudden, serious cold and felt miserable, supposing that my hatha yoga practice might be too poor. Two or three days later, still in bed, I happened to take in hand an old copy of The Mountain Path and open it on page 117 where my eyes fell exactly on the passage, “Bhagavan’s feet are ever over your head”. A wave of bliss ran through my mind and body and a little later I could think of going on with my sadhana again.
May Sri Ramana’s grace be with all of us!
* * *
Sayings of Sri Bhagavan
* * *
Sayings of Sri Bhagavan
A crippled disabled Brahmin came and complained: “O Bhagavan, right from my birth I have been suffering. Is it due to my past actions?”
Sri Bhagavan said:
We have to say that it is due to past actions. Then, if one asks what is the cause of those past actions, we have to bring in previous past actions and so on with out end. Instead of
enquiring into karma or actions, why not enquire whose karma it is? If we are the body, then let the body ask the questions.
When you say, you suffer, it is your thought. Happiness is our natural state. That which comes and goes is the ego. We think we are miserable, because we forget our essential nature, which is Bliss. Even an emperor, in spite of his wealth and power, often suffers because of his disturbed mind. The sage, who does not know where his next meal will come from, is ever happy. See who enjoys Bliss.
Sri Bhagavan said:
We have to say that it is due to past actions. Then, if one asks what is the cause of those past actions, we have to bring in previous past actions and so on with out end. Instead of
enquiring into karma or actions, why not enquire whose karma it is? If we are the body, then let the body ask the questions.
When you say, you suffer, it is your thought. Happiness is our natural state. That which comes and goes is the ego. We think we are miserable, because we forget our essential nature, which is Bliss. Even an emperor, in spite of his wealth and power, often suffers because of his disturbed mind. The sage, who does not know where his next meal will come from, is ever happy. See who enjoys Bliss.
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