Experience of Sri Ramana Devotee Experiences

God is beyond words. No words would ever be able to describe Him. He can only be felt. How? The test is simple. One would feel total peace – an indescribable peace, by being with Him. In His presence, no questions, doubts and thoughts would distract one's mind. Further, the peace secured is beyond words and makes one fulfilled and consumed. In that situation one feels kritkritya – there being no need for any thing more to be achieved in life. About the Godhood of Sri Ramana, those who had the good fortune of being in His presence have expressed themselves according to their capacity to find words to record their experiences, as given below. (Page nos. indicate the source: Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi, a publication of Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad)

Paul Brunton: The Maharshi emanates [to send forth] the perfume of spiritual peace as the flower emanates fragrance from its petals…The peace overwhelms me. I know that there is nothing further that I shall ask from life…In the extraordinary peace, I find a sense of exaltation and lightness. Time seems to stand still. My heart is released from the burden of care. (pp. 13-23)

Justice Sundaram Chettiar: His very presence generates an atmosphere of peace. (pp. 27-8)

Grant Duff: The moment he looked at me, I felt he was the Truth and the Light. I was in direct contact with one who has passed beyond the boundaries of senses and was merged in the Absolute. (pp. 29-30)

Justice Chandrasekhar Aiyar: The Maharshi was the veritable [genuine] storehouse of spiritual energy. He radiates shanti or peace. To be in his presence is by itself stirring experience in the elevation of soul. (pp. 34-5)

Eleanor Pauline Noye: When He smiled it was as though the gets of Heaven were thrown open…At His feet happiness garlanded me. (pp. 35-6)
Ella Maillart: He implants a lasting peace in the centre of every heart…He is a link between the unknowable ultimate and man. (p. 40)

Duncan Greenlees: My mind was caught and held in that peace in a blissfulness it had never known before. He is greatness incarnate. (pp. 52-6)

Balarama Reddy: Just to think of him or sit in his presence used to rouse us to higher levels of blessedness…The Divine power of his presence was something remarkable, entirely outstanding. (pp. 69-72)

S.S. Cohen: Joy and peace suffused [gradually spread through] my being. Never before had I such a delightful feeling of purity and well-being at the mere proximity of a man. He was a beacon light in an impenetrable darkness. (pp. 78-84)

K.K.Nambiar: I felt an indescribable sense of calmness settling over me…He was a mighty spiritual magnet, Divinity in human form. (pp.84-8)

Arthur Osborne: The Maharshi was Divine Grace in human form. For the first time in my life I understood what the grace and blessings of a guru could mean. (pp. 94-102)

Prof. G.V. Subbaramayya: As our eyes met, there was a miraculous effect on my mind and I felt as if I had plunged into a pool of peace. I sat in a state of ecstasy [overwhelming feeling of great happiness] for nearly an hour. (pp. 102-9)

Major Chadwick: It is impossible to describe or even believe what the Maharshi was, unless you have seen it yourself. (pp. 110-16)
\Prof. K. Swaminathan: The pure happiness I enjoyed was that of a child when it sits securely in its mother's lap. (pp. 117-22)

Akilandamma: The gracious power that prevailed in that holy place numbed the mind so effectively that the visitors to Bhagavan's room were automatically silenced. (pp.127-9)

Swami Madhavatirtha: While in the presence of the Maharshi, my breath seemed to stop for a while and my mind was elevated into some spiritual realm of unutterable peace and happiness. (pp.146-50)

Kunju Swami: As Bhagavan's gracious look was fixed on me, all my confusions ceased and I experienced a peace and bliss [perfect happiness], I had never experienced before. (pp. 150-54)

Chhaganlal V. Yogi: The light of the Maharshi's eyes was suffusing my consciousness. Even without being aware of it, his silent gaze brought about a subtle but definite transformation in me. (pp. 161-6)

Viswanatha Swami: In the Maharshi's presence the unique bliss of peace was directly experienced. (pp. 171-3)

Wolter Keers: The light radiating from the Maharshi filled my being, sweeping away all my darkness in one stroke. His presence alone was enough to evaporate the usual mental flow of thoughts, ideas and problems. (pp. 196-201)

Mouni Sadhu: Being near the Maharshi one feels the presence of God as a matter of course – no arguments or proofs are necessary. (pp.205-9)

Pascaline Mallet: To look into his eyes was to be caught up into bliss that is beyond understanding. (pp. 212-3)

M.A. Piggot: When he smiled I felt as if all the flowers in the world had poured their fragrance into our midst. (pp. 218-20)

Ramanadasa Sadananda: Contagious [spread by direct or indirect contact] was his bliss! He sends forth beams of light of jnana by his mere proximity and fills even the unhappy with joy and peace by his very presence. (pp.230-2)

F.H. Humphreys: The Maharshi's body was not of man; it was an instrument of God from which God was radiating terrifically. (pp.245-7)

Dr. P.V. Karamchandani: The vibrations which emanated from the Maharshi were heavenly. His spirituality completely enveloped us and our minds attained a state of blissful meditation. (pp.253-6)
V.Kameshwar Rao: When I sat before the Maharshi, I felt that I was in the presence of God. (pp. 267-9)

T.K.Sundaresa Iyer: A life-giving current flowed from the Maharshi, charging all those nearby. (pp. 285-9)

N.O.Mehta: In the presence of the Maharshi, we were in a world totally different from the one we had left behind. (pp. 295-6)

Santha Rangachary: There was an irresistible and indefinable spiritual power about the Maharshi, which completely overwhelmed me. (pp. 317-20)

Srimat Puragara Parampanthi: The Maharshi's spiritual presence was dynamic and clearly perceptible. It touched me and I felt suddenly the presence of a spiritual power taking me to a higher plane. (pp.326-7)

N. Ponniah: Nothing seemed more enjoyable in this world than to sit in silence in the holy presence of the Maharshi. I felt a sort of electric charge – an unusual vibrating sensation. (pp. 337-8)

Morarji Desai: One gets transformed by his very presence. (pp.352-3)

T.S. Anantha Murthy: Sri Ramana was Brahman in human form. Spiritual illumination was enshrined in him. (pp. 376-7)

Suzanne Alexandra: The Maharshi is a king of yogis. The splendour of his Realisation radiates like a sun. He lifts you far above the world. (pp. 377-9)

K. Vithoba Kamath: The Maharshi radiated spiritual splendour through sublime [unparalleled] silence. (pp. 390-1)

Atmakuri Govindacharyulu: The Maharshi is an ocean of peace. He rules all through silence. (pp. 393-4)

Shanti: In the Maharshi's presence, the mind becomes calm and tranquil of its own accord. Doubts and questions become few and finally vanished. (pp. 408-9)

The above provides a brief glimpse of how the divinity of the Maharshi impacted the devotees. Words would fail to grasp the greatness of Sri Ramana – the Supreme incarnate in human form, who always kept an appearance of a humble and run-of-the-mill person. Grant Duff, a British scholar, noted in 1935: Never in world history was the Supreme Truth placed within such easy reach of so vast a multitude. We bow to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.