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Trust in God
Sri Ramana Maharshi
on Trust in God
Edited by John David Oct 2021
INTRODUCTION
In this blog “Ramana Maharshi on Trust in God”, Sri Ramana Maharshi addresses a situation in the Ashram where the manager rebuked Sri Sadai Chettiar, the caretaker of the Draupadiamman temple, in front of the attendees. Mr. Knowles had donated 75 rupees for the maintenance of the temple, but the manager demanded part of the sum for the Ashram’s needs, arguing that the donation was made because of Bhagavan. When Sri Ramana Maharshi noticed the caretaker’s discomfort, he immediately spoke up, emphasizing the importance of trust in God’s provision to meet all needs. Bhagavan’s words guided the Ashram’s manager to reconsider his actions, and ultimately, the issue was resolved with Mr. Knowles offering to pay the caretaker directly, putting an end to the matter.
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“In my opinion, Aham Sphurana, a Glimpse of Self Realisation, will become a Treasure Trove of Wisdom to the Seekers of Truth in general, and particularly to the devotees of Bhagavan.”
Swami Hamsananda – Athithi Ashram, Tiruvannamalai
“This collection is a profound offering for those who are inspired to deeper inquiry. I have read both volumes for myself and others. Many passages reveal freshly and intimately the gift that is Ramana Maharshi. This is a book to cherish.”
Gangaji
“Thanks for presenting the book. I went through the book and it is indeed a good read. As you have mentioned, certain portions are controversial. However, many portions on Self-enquiry (genuinely in Bhagavan’s words) are profound and helpful to the seekers. Pranams”
Sri Ramanacharana Tirtha Swami
(formerly Sri Nochur Venkataraman),
“An excellent book suitable for anyone serious about the spiritual life and committed to knowing profound and liberating realisations. The beauty of Ramana’s teachings shows in the unwavering directness with a remarkable clarity and simplicity. Meditate on the questions and responses. Listen inwardly beneath the mind’s activity.”
Christopher Titmuss
“Aham Sphurana is the most profound, subtle and practical version of Ramana Maharshi. When you read this book you realise just how diluted, vague and lacking are most of the books published in the name of this great sage of Arunachala.
It is not an easy new age read, it is the real deal with all its subtleties and intricacies. Our role is to develop a profound, sensitive and subtle mind and heart to understand and absorb these teachings.
The persons who wrote and published this book faced fierce objection from many people and are no less than warriors of spiritual truth.
Their devotion and respect to Ramana Maharshi made them fight this war and they deserve our appreciation and respect for making these rare teachings available to us.”
Noah
2nd Volume
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The pristine, pure mind of the Master that speaks through this profound volume is bound to bring us to an awakening into the most obvious yet hidden truth of our own existence.
Pravrajika Divyanandaprana
Trust in God
A scene took place in the Hall, wherein the master upbraided the Ashram’s sarvadhikari [manager] in front of all the attendees. Seeing the dilapidated condition of the Draupadiamman temple near the Ashram, Mr. Knowles had donated a sum of 75 rupees toward its upkeep and maintenance, with a view to prevent at least further incremental damage to the somewhat neglected ancient shrine on account of the passage of time. He had donated the sum to Sri Sadai Chettiar, the temple’s manager. The Ashram’s sarvadhikari had come to know about this, and had wrested away the sum in part from the poor man, telling him,
“That Caucasian has come to Tiruvannamalai not to see your Draupadiamman temple but only to see our Bhagavan. Only because of Bhagavan have you received this endowment toward the temple’s welfare; had it not been for him, would somebody from such a distant country ever dream of setting foot in this place? No. So, give 50 rupees to the Ashram and the rest you can use for the temple. We are in dire need of funds. What are you going to do with 75 rupees? It will encourage you to go in for wasteful expenditure, whereas even for necessaries we find ourselves in a tight corner in the Ashram.
“For buying flowers, sandal-paste, and vermillion-powder will anybody need so much money? You require no expenditure to the massive tune of 75 rupees. For day-to-day pooja expenses 25 rupees is more than enough. So, come to the Ashram now and hand over 50 rupees. That Caucasian is staying in the Ashram — don’t forget it — and so the Ashram has a right of say over this money.”
The Chettiar was sitting in the Hall with a sad face and the master at once found out that his feelings were perturbed. Soon the cat was out of the bag. Bhagavan, addressing the sarvadhikari, spoke thus:
“Why should we behave like this? If we trust in God to take care of our needs, He will provide us with everything we need. There is no need for undue anxiety.”
The sarvadhikari directed a baleful look of resentment at the poor Chettiar who had meekly huddled himself together at the foot of the Sofa, with his arms clasped around his knees and chin nestled betwixt them, and who was pointedly avoiding looking at him. At once, the master told the sarvadhikari,
“Do not find fault with Chettiar for having revealed these happenings; he was sitting quietly in the Hall; it was this that wanted to know the truth of the matter.”
The sarvadhikari dolefully said that he would return the money at once. Now Mr. Knowles spoke up.
“I was thinking that I would pay my respects to the Ashram monetary-wise at the time of my departure from here; that is why I have not paid any donations here yet. There is no need for the manager to return the money. I shall pay the temple-man again; it is no matter; please let us discuss the issue no further, I beg you all.”
This seemed to promptly satisfy everybody, and the matter was dropped then and there.
More from Ramana Maharshi
Am I doing Vichara Correctly?
Unrealise the not-Self
Gossip
Reference Books and Translation
40th Anniversary Event
The Aghori’s Death and Liberation
Complete Cessation of Mental Activity
Libelling Bhagavan
Danger of Emptiness [shunyastithi]
Trust in God
Get Your Copy of the Book
Aham Sphurana
A Glimpse of Self Realisation
New Book about Sri Ramana Maharshi
Available Worldwide
On www.openskypress.com and Amazon:
“In my opinion, Aham Sphurana, a Glimpse of Self Realisation, will become a Treasure Trove of Wisdom to the Seekers of Truth in general, and particularly to the devotees of Bhagavan.”
Swami Hamsananda – Athithi Ashram, Tiruvannamalai
Reference Books and Translation
Aham Sphurana
A Glimpse of Self Realisation
New Book about Sri Ramana Maharshi
Available Worldwide
On www.openskypress.com and Amazon:
“In my opinion, Aham Sphurana, a Glimpse of Self Realisation, will become a Treasure Trove of Wisdom to the Seekers of Truth in general, and particularly to the devotees of Bhagavan.”
Swami Hamsananda – Athithi Ashram, Tiruvannamalai
Reference Books and Translation
Much of the content presented here, showing Bhagavan reeling off verses from the Bible and other texts, is done so with the implicit assumption that the reader would naturally give himself to understand that Bhagavan was reading out from a book; certainly, Bhagavan did not burst out with these lines of prose or poetry from memory— at least, not in a majority of the cases.
I felt too lethargic to jot down every time Bhagavan asked the attendant to fetch this or that book from the bookcase in the Hall. When the attendant complied, Bhagavan then opened the book at the requisite page, without searching, and handed over the same to the interpreter with instructions to read out select portions to the Hall…and so forth.
Likewise, an interpreter — many times Mr. TKS, occasionally myself in those fortunate few months I dwelt continuously in Tiruvannamalai, or someone else — was used whenever the other person was to be spoken to in English [even if it was a long-standing devotee domiciled within the Ashram on a permanent basis, such as Chadwick or Cohen].
Bhagavan himself needed no interpreter. When Bhagavan himself speaks English the same is indicated in brackets here by me. There were times when, for a Caucasian language, no interpreter would be available. It was then that the master would himself speak it, mellowly, placidly, and distinctly. An example is a conversation with the Swiss Professor Hüber, which took place directly in German without the assistance of any interpreter. Needless to say, on such occasions, what I have reported is certainly limited to how much I could follow. For instance, the substance of the above conversation, since it was in German, could be rudimentarily followed by me, albeit not without difficulty — but when in December 1936 a Mrs. Suzanne Sen visited the Ashram and exchanged a few words with the master in French, I was clueless, and had to depend upon Chadwick to later relate to me what they had spoken about.
I have not pointed out separately conversations which were carried on through an interpreter in consideration of the length of this manuscript. Likewise the names, cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, nationalities, and professed existing spiritual competencies of the various visitors who quizzed the master have also been—largely—filtered out whilst preparing this manuscript. A lengthy manuscript may fizzle out the patience of a prospective publisher; also, I am aware that a book that appears tediously lengthy is — more often than not — ignored and bypassed at bookshops!
Edited by John David Oct 2021
Mixed Blogs
Meeting Papaji
I asked the Master how much effort you have to make if you want to be free. Papaji whispered, he said, ‘You don’t have to make any effort to be free.’ The moment I heard those words, a vision appeared in my mind’s eye. I saw water flowing down the side of a mountain…
Surrender
Ramana Maharshi explains that unconditional surrender means total letting go, making Self-Realization inevitable, beyond thoughts, conditions, or expectations.
A Former Classmate Visiting Bhagavan
A touching reunion of childhood friends highlights Bhagavan’s humility, refusal of special gifts, and unconditional compassion for all.
Steve Jobs: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there.
And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be,because death is very likely the single best invention of life.
Aham Sphurana
B.: The importance of Summa Iru is, “Keep your mind idle or asleep in the Beingness of the Self.” As for the body, it has its own prarabdha (destiny that effects our life now) to attend to. You have no right of say over the body. You cannot decide whether the body should work or remain idle. What is bound to happen will happen. If the body is destined to remain without working, work cannot be obtained even if you hunt for it. If the body is destined to work you cannot alter such destiny, for the body will be forced to engage in it. So leave it to the Higher Power.
Devotion Opens the Heart
JD: Hello Bhakti, which is the Hindi word for devotion.
BHA: This is my treasure. In the first three minutes of silence, already I noticed I’m always just in thoughts.
So busy in the thoughts, and then I go more into myself and the tears came. If I hear you talking, then in just a short time I really can go into my heart. I appreciate this so much and I really recognise your energy, like a mystery.
The Aghori Sadhu Life Story
Through a lifetime of hardships, rituals, and encounters with saints, the Aghori finds the grace of Ramana Maharshi, surrendering ego and discovering the peace of the Self.
Diamond Thief
There was a diamond thief who thought to steal only the most exquisite of gems. This thief would hang around the diamond district to see who was purchasing a gem, so that later he could pick their pocket. One day he saw a well-known diamond merchant purchase the jewel he had been waiting for all his life…
The Heart
The spiritual heart shines forth when effort and doing subside, thoughts dissolve, and natural stillness becomes the only state.
Enlightenment is an Illusion
The first thing I would say is that there are not any enlightened people. This word enlightenment is a wrong word. It is like sex or love or god. It is like some idea far away in the future. Maybe it has a value because it can bring people to find themselves, just as the peak of Mount Everest brings people to climb mountains.
Mr. Evans-Wentz’s Visit
A visitor finds peace and wisdom with Ramana Maharshi, experiences deep spiritual moments, and departs with profound gratitude and joy.
What is Spiritual Awakening?
The only sure way to step out of all the stories and all the nonsense is to really see with great clarity that this ‘me’ that we are so fond of referring everything to, simply doesn’t exist. Once you see it doesn’t exist then the whole thing falls away. Everything just falls away and you’re left with your essence.
Destiny
Ramana Maharshi teaches that regardless of destiny, ego’s illusions must be dissolved inwardly for true Self-Realization and freedom.
Love is
Love is
Only love is
Love moves the leaves in the wind and the planets in the universe
All is LOVE and you are this LOVE