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A Sadhu's Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi
enveloping. The idea is that when a Sadhu returns from a state of deep Samadhi, the first point of outer consciousness of which he is aware is this point in the so-called Heart. At this point the transcendental experience drops away and the ego again takes possession. So, looking back, it almost seems to him as though Self-realization was found there, as it was his last point of consciousness. Talking inexactly, then it is possible to say that Realization was found in the Heart. People were sometimes advised to take their minds back to this point, for, at the same point where ego took birth, at this same point the ego would drop away. This was not laid down as a necessary Sadhana but only as a help for a certain number of seekers. For Bhagavan repeatedly pointed out, “You cannot locate an experience.” In this connection I quote another beautiful poem found in the Vedas, the Narayana Sooktha, which is chanted by the boys every evening as one of a number of hymns during their evening prayers:
(1) It must be understood that the heart resembling the lotus, a span below the throat and a span above the navel, hangs upside down and is the chief seat of the Universal form of Paramatman.
(2) There is a subtle hole in its centre. In it is the Paramatman for the purpose of giving Grace to those who meditate on Him. In the centre of the heart there is a fire full of heat.
(3) This fire is active and is for consuming and distributing the digested food from head to foot, for the vitalising of the body.
