"The very first step in understanding what this is all about is giving up the concept of an active, volitional 'I' as a separate entity and accepting the passive role of perceiving and functioning as a process." - Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Friday, January 12, 2018

Body, A Disease

Sri Ramana Maharshi/Sri Annamalai Swami

From Annamalai Swami's Diary Extracts

One day I asked Bhagavan (B), 'I often get stomach pains. What should I do about them?' I was hoping that he would suggest some medicine.

B replied, 'What to do about it? The body itself is a big disease. To destroy this disease all we have to do is to keep quiet. All other diseases will then leave even earlier.'

Then, as a joke, he remarked, 'You come and tell me about your diseases. Whom can I tell about the diseases that I have?'

B never complained when he was ill. I remember one period when he suffered from piles for a long time without bothering to tell anyone. When the ailment was discovered, some devotees prepared some medicine and gave it to Madhava Swami, telling him to give it to B twice a day.

Madhava Swami told Bhagavan that he must take this medicine but Bhagavan refused saying, 'Don't make any medicine for my sake and then give it to me. Taking medicine only increases the disease. As the donkey (disease) came, so it will go. Let me put up with it till goes away. You need not make any recommendations.'

After that he refused even to look at the medicine. B finally said that he would take the medicine if all the devotees in the hall were given an equal share. Since we all wanted B to get well, we all agreed to undergo the treatment collectively.

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सर्वभूताधिवासं यद्भूतेषु च वसत्यपि।
सर्वानुग्राहकत्वेन तद्स्म्यहं वासुदेवः॥

That in whom reside all beings and who resides in all beings,
who is the giver of grace to all, the Supreme Soul of the universe, the limitless being:
I AM THAT. -- Amritabindu Upanishad