A Real Story

The following is a real story which happened to a woman I know. This is the main point here. Had it not been a person I know personally I wouldn’t have published it here. Quite certainly.

I met her in ’94. - I wasn’t certain as for my own choice of a path and so I was interested in inquiring with regard to different possibilities. I contacted her in order to hear about Ramana Maharshi, - a Hindu non-dualistic teacher in the school of Advaita. - And so I came to hear the following story: -

At the point where our story here begins she was already married and had two sons. That is in the summer of 1972.
- One day during this summer she was spending time at the beach (in Tel Aviv) with her husband and teenage sons.

- Apparently that morning she fell asleep. - On the beach that is. - Falling asleep unintentionally on the beach may be considered an unfortunate event in itself, - in most cases, - but either way one might view it it remains the same fact; - and it did not turn unfortunate - to say the list, - in this story here told. - As the following occurrences might tell.

And in her sleep she then had a dream. - As does happen in stories told, - quite often perhaps, - only this one is real.

- In her dream she was as Indian boy, - not a girl, - she was walking with her mother in the street and she begged - she said - her mother to go to school. - Her mother said they can’t afford it. (- Apparently she [- him, - that is, - mind you - the child she was in the dream] was of a very poor family in the dream - as many do exist in India) - Shortly after an old man was walking in the opposite direction on the other side of the street. Her mother rushed her (- him, - i.e., - as before - the young boy that she was) to him; - she told her (- him) to run to this man. - She said this person could teach her far beyond [what] she might learn in any school.
- So she did, - run after the man, - who had advanced somewhat by the time. - He heard her heavy breathing (- as she was running) from behind him and stopped. He put his hand on the child’s head (- again, - remember, - all along, - it’s a boy, - not a girl) and looked at her. - This instance seems to have had a great impact on her. - She remembers that moment as most impressive and awe-inspiring. - And at this point she woke up.

I will not do about what it was about the old man’s glance that she found so overwhelming and loving.

Either way, - she found it an outstanding dream, - particularly due to its last moment, - and strange no doubt - but as she subsequently went swimming, - and returned home, cooked or prepared lunched, ate with her family, etc, - it would have likely had faded away at the rhythm of life, - hers anyway, - and somewhat practically did by these few hours already. - As you might expect.

- Then after lunch she went to bed to get some sleep. - She had the same dream again. - Exactly, - as if it was a TV program rebroadcasted or a video media replayed.

(- though she says the impression the second time was stronger, - somewhat, - the dream seems to have been brighter on the replay)

- Consequently, - a person she has been previously unfamiliar with - the old man from the dream here previously described, - began to appear in her dreams - as a matter of course that is.

- You might find it strange, - or actually you certainly will, - but (among other things) he would advise her as for her daily life through his appearance in her dreams.

I think she only gave me one example when she told me the story. - Though you will certainly find it reasonably remarkable, and it is quite clearly an outstanding one, - somewhat at least: - When her son, - the younger one, - wanted a motorcycle, - (which means he was about 16 years of age at the time) quite eagerly - as I understood, - she and her husband were very much concerned.

- Then she had the following dream: -

She and her son were standing in Ben Yehuda street in Tel Aviv. - She says it was a very crowded and busy street those years. - We’re talking about the early 70’s.

- I actually lived just next to Ben Yehuda street for over 20 years, until about 4 years ago, - and though it indeed is one of Tel Aviv’s larger streets, - it was not that crowded then, - and is not now.
- But then that is just why she did make this point, - as for those earlier years when it was.

Her son was standing near the bike and then got on the bike, - and then her “uncle”, - as she was calling this person, - whom she did not yet have any idea as for the identity of, - appeared as well. - He sat on the bike behind Rafi, - as her son’s name is, - (“Raphael”) and they went off in a wild ride in the busy street - as it was in the dream, - bypassing cars in all possible directions, back and forth - as I managed to understand from her description of the dreamed occurrence.

She seems to have been quite frightened at this seemingly dangerous running or management of the two, but eventually they returned unharmed and her “uncle” - her current here-noted via-dreams consultant, - had reported to her that he had put her son through most uneasy situations and that he had proved a responsible and capable person.

Consequently, - the son’s request was granted - with peace of mind.

(She gives a more detailed description of the situation prevailing at the time of the dream, but I did not find that necessary here)

- Again remember, - at this point she did still not know who it was that was appearing in her dreams, nor did she seem to have any intention or direction of an attempted guess as for who might that be.


This situation seems to have lasted about two years. She had two occupations, - she was a Yoga teacher and a graphologist. - Of course she did not make public of the unusual story here among her wider circle of acquaintances, - as - as she said - (though I am not putting it here in her own words) they would have (or might have - that is; - R.K.) questioned her mental state consequently.
- At the time of the last dream mentioned only her husband new of it.


As she was a Yoga teacher she was borrowing books at the library of a Yoga center, - though not one belonging to the same tradition she was teaching in.

(She was a student of a Swami by the name of Venkatesananda)

- One day, - in the library of that Yoga center, - she opened a book, - and from within its pages, - off its first page, - she completely unexpectedly came across the picture of her familiar uncle’s face, - looking at her.

Apparently it was Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. - I will briefly refer to who Ramana Maharshi was in just a couple of paragraphs, - but I will mention here that he has not been around (- physically, - that is) for over 20 years at the period of time we are discussing; - he has taken his leave of this world in 1950.

Her surprise at the moment of seeing the picture was as you might imagine, - and her awe at the revelation of his identity was great as well.

- With reference to the influence of this realization on her life since you should perhaps relate to her own words, - not mine, - and this is anyway not the objective of this post here. Not primarily obviously, - at least anyway.

- However, - with a revelation a mystery has began rather than ended, - she says.

- Now just a few words about who Ramana Maharshi was and is: - (assuming you don’t want to trouble yourselves to the links)
Born in 1879, he attained liberation at the age of 17, following which he left his parents home for Tiruvanamalai.
He lived in various caves on the hill, - also known as Arunachala, - (see the picture above) for about 34 years, - since somewhat over two years after his arrival there. Then he descended from the hill to where his ashram was later formed, and still stands and functions today.
For 17 years he did not speak, - since about the time he arrived in Tiruvanamalai I suppose.
- As mentioned earlier, - he entered Parinirvana in 1950, - which means in more common English that he has died that year. - However, - his ashram still maintains the spirit and atmosphere as it was during his life. I have not been there at the time of course but this is the way it is said to be. - Which is to say, - practically, - in common English, - that he is still there. - Though not in his physical body of course, - which he has left as referred to above and has been buried in the ashram as well.

- Anyone interested in more information about the Maharshi could easily find it through the last link, (and the one before that too) and in many other places [on and off the web] as well.


- Back to our story: - Following her life changing discovery, - she became a Ramana-Maharshi-devotee, - his path of course became hers - and quite fervently; - she altered her Yoga’s Vedanta for his Advaita, - though it has been quite some time (for reasons irrelevant here) until she has been able to visit his ashram in the south of India, - at the foot of the sacred hill known as the center of the Indian spiritual non-dualist school of Avaita.
- She has visited it three times since.

- However, - at the time I met her she said she would no longer go there, due to her age. - She was 70 at the time, - and India is not that convenient to travel at that age.


- Also, - following the discovery, - she published a book in Hebrew of his.

It is actually two separate pieces she put together (published in English as “Maharshi's Gospel” and “Who Am I?”) and had a friend of hers translate into Hebrew.

It is the book the cover of my-own-copy-of you can see in the first picture at the top of the post. - As I bought and read it I contacted her as her name appeared on it as the publisher. - This is how I came to meet her. - And as told in the beginning how I came to hear the story brought here in the above words.

(Added - 27.10.15)

About two years later - on my way back from Japan to Israel, - in the autumn of ’96, I visited Ramanashram (as the Maharshi’s ashram’s name is) and Papa-ji’s satsang house in India. - I stayed for most of my stay in Japan in Nishijima’s Dojo in Ichikawa. - (a city in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo) Though I originally intended to go to Ryutaku-ji (a Rinzai sodo) near Mishima, - a city at the foot of mount Fuji.


- Either way, - traveling especially from Israel to India would have been too expensive for me. - But making a stop on the way back from Japan costs you almost nothing, - as far as I can remember. (- and India is so cheap the cost of stay is not beyond the normal cost of living in Israel; - again - i.e., - as far as I can remember)

When in the ashram, (I only stayed there for about five days) I thought I’d bring her a present from the place. - Ramana Maharshi means a lot to her, and as I mentioned - roughly - she can’t go there anymore. They have a bookshop at the ashram. I asked one of the personnel, - a person who seems to know her from her previous visits, - as for what [book] I might buy her. - As I mentioned, - prices in India are ridiculous. - The most expensive book would be roughly nothing compared to prices I’d be used to, - or you might be just the same.

- It seems she’d generally have anything they had at the store. But there was a new book he pointed to he said she’d probably not have. (- as it was a new one)

- It is the second of two books. - (- or was at the time: - A third one, - though unlikely, - might have been published by today) It seems she is not the only one to whom unusual events regarding Ramana Maharshi have occurred. - The most outstanding one, - I suppose, - quite clearly, - is that of H.W.L. Poonja, - known as “Papa-ji”, - slightly mentioned on my #5 post here at the blog and earlier in a word on this one too.

(- Just Papa-ji is mentioned, - not the story. - Ramana Maharshi seems to have appeared before Papa-ji in real life, - not in a dream. - This is why I’m saying this is the most outstanding one.)

- These books are about such stories. - It seems different people at different parts of the world had various incidents, - I don’t really know which - since I didn’t read either book, and I didn’t ask her particularly as well.


- I asked her for the book (the one I bought her) because I wanted to scan the cover and post the picture up here, as I did with the book the cover of which you can see above, - but she said she has a lot of books and can not find it. - Though she also said she’d give it another try, - so in case she finds it I could still add it here and update the post.

- That’s about it; - to read the story in her own words check this link.

(- Or in case you can read Romanian you might check here.)

- So far for this post. - Make of it what you will.