“If you want to realise God first you have to look inside. Don’t look at other people; you have so many egos inside.”
Click here to get to an Overview of all of John David’s Interviews with Spiritual Masters
Arranging this interview with Radha Ma in 2003 was a delight. She was immediately completely available, saying, ‘Why not now?’ So we sat together and had lots of fun making the interview. Meeting her again in recent years, there is tremendous love in her presence. The large sign on her gate reads: ‘I’m not a guru. Instead of wasting your time trying to meet me, you can go to Ramanashramam.’ I am touched that despite this, she accepts my invitations to speak at the Arunachala Pilgrimage Retreat. Her uncompromising delivery of Truth is lovingly and humorously expressed. A wise woman.
– John David
Questions and Answers
Sri Ramana proposed the fundamental question, ‘Who am I?’* Who are you?
Many Western seekers come to India looking for enlightenment as if it is an experience. What is enlightenment?
Are there any qualifications for enlightenment? Is sadhana (spiritual practice) necessary? If yes, what form do you advise?
Sri Ramana said that Self-enquiry is the most direct route to realising the Self. What do you say about Self-enquiry? How to conduct Self-enquiry?
When Sri Ramana was asked, ‘When will the realisation of the Self be gained?’ he replied, ‘When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realisation of the Self which is the seer.’* What is the true understanding of the world? How to remove the world?
It has been suggested that the mind must be destroyed for liberation to occur. Do you have a mind? Sri Ramana used the term manonasha to describe the state of liberation, meaning destroyed mind. How to destroy the mind?
What about vasanas, the tendencies of the mind? Must these be removed before Self-realisation can become permanent? Is it enough to achieve asattvic (calm and peaceful) state of mind and to know one’s vasanas so that they no longer bind? How to remove the vasanas?
At the end of his book, Self-Enquiry, Sri Ramana says, ‘He who is thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the experience of the Self is called a jivanmukta.’ Is this the state that can be called Self- realised?
He goes on, ‘And when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a videhamukta. It is the state of videhamukti that is referred to as the transcendent turiya (state). This is the final goal.’ Is this the state that can be called enlightenment?
It appears essential to meet a guru and stay with that guru. Who is the guru? What is the guru’s role? How to recognise a true guru?
Seekers often have curious ideas about the enlightened state. Please describe your typical day and how you perceive the world.
You have given us a profound discourse on awakening. When you meet a passion for awakening, what would your short advice be?
Devotion and Love
Radha Ma’s teachings emphasize the significance of pure devotion (Bhakti) and unconditional love towards the divine. She embodies the ideal of complete surrender and selfless love.
Spiritual Union
Central to Radha Ma’s teachings is the pursuit of spiritual union with the divine. This union transcends physical realms, focusing on an inner spiritual journey.
Compassion and Service
Radha Ma teaches the importance of compassion and selfless service (Seva) to others. Her teachings encourage followers to engage in acts of kindness and help those in need.
Inner Transformation
Her teachings often focus on inner transformation and self-realization. She guides her followers to look within themselves to find true peace and enlightenment.
Mystical Poetry and Music
Radha Ma’s teachings are often expressed through devotional songs and poetry, highlighting the joyous and celebratory nature of her spiritual path.
Inclusivity
Radha Ma’s teachings embrace all, irrespective of background or status, emphasizing the universal nature of spiritual pursuit.
Transcending Material World
She encourages followers to transcend material attachments and focus on spiritual growth and inner fulfillment.
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John David has been interviewing sixteen important Indian Spiritual Masters. The result is a compendium of astonishing wisdom about the biggest secret of all times: the Nature of our True Self and how to realise it.
This boock answers all questions of the spiritual search and is for everyone who has an inner passion to find out who they are.
Published in two volumes.
Radha Ma is part of Volume I.
Fascinating dialogues and stories of Ramana Maharshi recorded by Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer in the summer 1936, at Ramana Ashram.
Vichara offers a fresh and focused exploration of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s most profound teaching: Self-enquiry.
Sharanagathi explores Bhagavan’s direct and powerful path of dissolving the ego through surrender.
Biography
Radha Ma (sometimes written “Sri Radha Ma”; some sources give her dates as 15 June 1964 – 7 March 2011) was a spiritual figure associated with Tiruvannamalai at the foot of Arunachala. She was described as coming from Bangalore and having built a successful professional life in Hyderabad as a chartered accountant.
Accounts say she met her husband there and married partly to step out of intense family pressure around marriage; later he lived with her in Tiruvannamalai and was seen by many as a devoted supporter.
Although many people treated her as a teacher, she reportedly rejected being called a guru or master and did not present herself as such. On 6 March 2011, multiple reports describe an apparent self-immolation attempt that left her with extensive burns; she was taken for treatment (reported as Chennai), and she died shortly after (often given as 7 March 2011). Devotees sometimes describe her death in devotional terms as “samadhi.”
“The moment you make a blueprint, then you are freezing the moment. You see, the whole awakening is a mystery, and the moment you make a blueprint, the beauty is gone. You can’t make a blueprint as it is not a common thing for everybody. It is different for everybody, a different path and different way, so you can’t make a common blueprint” .
– Radha Ma
