You Have Arrived

There are many great dialogues between Ramana Maharshi and his devotees. This one, which is a dialog between Ramana and Papaji, highlights the use of meditation and the natural falling away of practices along the path of realization.

At one point, after meeting Ramana, Papaji could no longer chant the name of God, a practice he had been doing daily for many years. In the book, Nothing Ever Happened, by David Godman, he writes, " When I tried to resume my chanting, I found that I could not repeat the name of Krishna anymore. Somehow my mind refused to cooperate. For a quarter of a century the divine name had been flowing effortlessly through my mind; now I can't even utter it once. "

Papaji asked quite a few teachers about this. He was told that he needed to continue to try and that he was going through a phase, and needed to get through it. He wasn't satisfied with these answers, so during his next visit to see Ramana, he asked to speak to him privately about this matter.

He sat with Ramana and told him his predicament and asked "What has happened to me and what should I do?" Ramana responded by asking "How did you come here from Madras?" Papaji responded, not sure why he was being asked about this, that he had taken the train and a bollock cart. Ramana then asked "Where is the cart and train now?" Papaji replied that the cart had presumably returned to the station and the train was heading to another destination.

Ramana then explained his questioning. He said "The train brought you to your destination. You got off of it because you didn't need it anymore. You yourself did not give up your practices; they left you of their own accord because they had served their purpose. You have arrived. '

In that moment, Papaji became aware of the Self and realized that yes, there is no where to go and nothing to do to be who one is. He was home, Home Itself.