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How
I Came to the MaharshiBy Chhaganlal V. Yogi
ITwas in the darkest period of my life that I rst heard of Sri
Ramana Maharshi. At that time, I
seemed heading swiftly towards scepticism ;the world appeard to
me full .of inustice, cruelty, greedand hate and other e!ils, the
e"istence of which logically led me to a strong dis#elief in $od.
%or, hadHe truly e"isted could anything dark or e!il e!er ha!e
&ourished, I 'uestioned. (ou#t upon dou#tassailed me to lose
whate!er re!erence I might ha!e had for sadhus and sanyasins.
)ne day, while tra!elling on an electric train to the o*ice, I
suddenly happened to meet a friend who
had spent o!er a decade in +urope and America. I had not met him
for 'uite a while and sometimesused to wonder where he had
disappeared to. He said that he had #een to Sri Ramanasramam,
andwhile trying to descri#e to me his e"perience of the darshan of
the Maharshi, he drew out from hispocket a small packet which he
o*ered me. He e"plained that it contained something
e"tremelyprecious some vibhuti , ashes #rought from the Ashram. He
insisted on my accepting it, #ut I wasamused and scornfully wa!ed
it aside. He felt insulted. I said
- ell, if that #e so, to .please you, I will take a pinch of the
ashes -. He insisted that Sri RamanaMaharshi was not one of those /
socalled 0 saints, #ut an / authentic 0 Sage, acknowledged all o!er
theworld, and ga!e me a #ook, to start with, Sri Maharshi, #y the
late Sri 1amath of Sunday Times.
%rom another friend, I #orrowed a copy of Self Realization. My
interest grew e!en without my #eing awareof it. Something made me
write to Sri Ramanasramam for all the literature on the Maharshi
a!aila#lein +nglish. I studied it with great a!idity and found that
my outlook on life and the world #egan toundergo a su#tle
transformation ; yet at the #ack of my mind there still lurked the
old scepticism,which would not yield place so easily to the new
faith. I argued with myself
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that while so many #ooks were wonderful to read, their authors,
more often than not, were notso wonderful to know. It was possi#le
for men to teach truths which they could not li!e themsel!es.hat
then was the use of #ooks 2 I decided to correspond with the
Maharshi, which I did for a fewmonths with more and more fre'uency.
Answers to my letters reached me with rare punctuality. 3utthey
hardly ga!e me a glimpse into the nature of the daily life li!ed #y
Him. An ine"plica#le desire to!isit the Asramam and see things for
myself #egan to haunt me.
4o full that desire, I paid my rst !isit to Sri Ramanasramam in
the 5hristmas of 6789. hen Iarri!ed at0 the Asramam I met with
terri#le disappointment. 4he Maharshi was erri seated on a
couch, as 'uiet as a statue which did notmo!e or speak. :either did
His presence seem to con!ey anything unusual. I was !ery sad when
Inoticed how indi*erent towards me His whole attitude was. I had
e"pected warmth and intimacy, yetnow, I seemed to stand #efore
some#ody who lacked #oth. %rom morning till e!ening,. I sat waiting
tocatch a glimpse of His grace, #ut He seemed cold and una*ected.
My mind #ecame a !acuum, myheart nearly #roke in despair. I decided
to lea!e that !ery night, more sceptical than #efore. 4he edapadesa
Sar ', a few copies of which had only ust thenarri!ed. He then
asked me to chant the $uarati !erses from the #ook. - I am not a
singer -, I said,and for a moment I hesitated. 3ut soon I got o!er
my hesitation and #egan to chant !erses from the#ook, fteen of
which I had hardly completed when the #ell for the e!ening meal
rang. hile I waschanting, I could feel Sri 3haga!an keenly
o#ser!ing me ; the light of His eyes, as it were, su*used
my consciousness, #ringing a#out a su#tle #ut certain
transformation within me. 4he darkness, whicha few moments #efore
had seemed hea!y and un#eara#le, gradually lightened and turned
into awarm glow. I felt in my heart an ine"plica#le oy.
I sat at the e!ening meal close to Sri 3haga!an and while I ate
e!ery morsel seemed to ha!e anunusual and ethereal taste. 4his was
an actual e"perience, of which I had not had a glimpse eitherduring
the morning ti*in or the lunch at noon. ?iterally I felt that I was
sharing some hea!enly mealin the !ery presence of $od. 4he thought
of lea!ing the Asramam that night !anished. I stayed on forthree
days longer in order to enoy the e"perience of di!ine grace.
(uring my three days near the Master, 6 found my whole outlook
entirely changed. I #egan to see thefolly and the futility of
seeing only the dark side of life and of the world.
4he di!ine magician had wrought a miracle and transformed the
world for me. It was now full of hopeand oy. His presence on earth
was promise of a #etter future for su*ering humanity. %or the rst
timethen, I understood the meaning and purpose of Darshan.
hile I lay in #ed in the guestroom of the Asramam, I recalled
the entire scene on the electric trainin 3om#ay. I saw that prasad
from the Master was a gift of $race which no wealth could #uy. hat
amiracle of transformation @ hy did it take half a lifetime #efore
I could meet my Master 2 In thefollowing years, !isit after !isit
seemed to #e miraculously arranged #y the Maharshi who knew myneed
to #e close to Him physically from time to time. +!ery succeeding
!isit deepened the light andoy within me
