Robert Adams tells a story about calmness that Ramana Maharshi told to him personally in 1948:
… also there is another incident that Ramana told me personally.
In 1948, I was at Arthur Osborne's home near Ramana ashram.
And Ramana used to walk in there every once in a while.
He came in one day, sat down and he started to talk about not reacting to things.
He said,
" THE ONLY SPIRITUAL LIFE YOU NEED IS NOT TO REACT. "
And he smiled and he told me this interesting story, that happened to him.
Back in the 1930s some pundits who lived in Madras decided that Ramana should not remain at Arunachala, that he should come to Madras, where many people can see him and be with him.
Twelve of them approached Ramana and said,
"Ramana, we would like you to come to Madras. We're going to take you to Madras where you can be with more people. You are left in the jungle here where hardly anybody knows where you are. Most people do not know about you. We will take you to Madras in two days time."
RAMANA DIDN'T SAY A WORD.
IN TIMES LIKE THIS HE ALWAYS KEPT SILENT, TOTALLY SILENT, HE NEVER ANSWERED.
His devotees became very worried, very upset because they knew he would never answer, he never does and yet they were going to come in two days and take him away.
These were scholarly people.
When they left they asked Ramana,
"What have you done.
By not answering you've agreed to go to Madras with these people?"
He just smiled and said,
"DON'T WORRY."
Two days passed, the devotees were biting their fingernails they wanted to lock the doors of the ashram.
Some of them wanted to take physical action against these people.
For the people from Madras said a group of twenty of us will come in a bus to take him to Madras.
They were supposed to be there at 4 o'clock but they never showed up.
Ramana called the cook and he said,
"Prepare a meal for twenty people, they will come soon."
And all the devotees said,
"What are you talking about? Are you going with them? You can't leave us."
They were crying and screaming and doing all kinds of things.
Ramana said,
"DO NOT WORRY, PREPARE FOOD."
And they did.
At about 6 o clock the group from Madras entered the hall.
They were disheveled. Some of them were bleeding.
They sat down in front of Ramana and just looked at him and didn't say a word and he didn't say a word.
What had happened when they were on the bus two miles from the ashram, the bus turned over three times.
Nobody was seriously hurt but they were in bad shape.
They sat on the ashram floor looking at Ramana.
After about an hour he said come let's go to the kitchen and eat.
He took them into the kitchen, they ate then they came back into the hall and sat down again.
After two hours of sitting they got up and went home and nobody ever heard of them again.
Ramana ended the story by telling me that:
TO BE CALM IS THE GREATEST ASSET IN THE WORLD.
IT'S THE GREATEST SIDDHI, THE GREATEST POWER YOU CAN HAVE.
IF YOU CAN ONLY LEARN TO BE CALM YOU WILL SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM.
This is something you must remember.
When you are perfectly calm, time stops.
There is no time, karma stops, samskaras stop.
Everything becomes null and void.
For, when you are calm you are one with the entire energy of the universe and everything will go well with you.
To be calm means you are in control.
You're not worried about the situation, the outcome.
What is going to happen tomorrow.
To be calm means everything is alright.
There is nothing to worry about, nothing to fret over.
This is also the meaning of the biblical saying,
"BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD."
To be calm is to be still.
If you have a problem right now, think about this problem for a moment. If there is anything wrong with your life, think about this for a moment.
As you become calm, peaceful the problem will dissolve of its own nature.
There cannot be a problem with a person who is calm.
It makes no difference how strong your problem may be if you remain calm throughout it, you will come out smiling, laughing, at peace.
To be perfectly calm is the same as self-inquiry.
When you ask the question, "Who is upset? Who feels discouraged? Who feels disillusioned?"
(Robert asks student)
Did you raise your hand Bob? I thought you felt disillusioned.
(Robert continues)
When you inquire within,
"Who feels this?"
The feelings begin to disappear, just from the inquiry, which is really interesting.
This is why self-inquiry is the best psychotherapy around.
Cheapest, because you can do it yourself.
Whatever happens in your life it makes no difference what it is, how serious it may be, merely inquire,
"To whom does this come? Who is going through this? Who is feeling this?"
IT'S THE SAME AS BEING CALM.
But once you inquire and ask this question something happens within yourself.
There is a shuffling that goes on within yourself.
The nervousness, the stress that has been annoying you most of this time starts to back off and you feel good.
So even though some of you are not using self - inquiry for liberation or realization.
You can use it in your everyday life to become calm, peaceful and happy.
-Robert Adams
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