[Advaita-l] Bhagavan Ramana and the pain of cancer

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com> wrote:

> // The great ones have demonstrated in their lives as to how one can
> completely delink oneself from one"s own body and remain unaffected by its
> changes or sufferings. *Ramana*"s body went through intense *pain*, caused
> by sarcoma, for over fifteen months. Not one moment did he complain of it
> though the *pain* must have been excruciating. When asked by Major
> Chadwick whether he was suffering, *Ramana* said 'No". But at the same
> time, he
> said 'There is *pain*" – the *pain* pertained to the body and not to him.
> Hence
> His bewitching smile and divine splendour, even on the 14th April 1950
> whenhe chose to give up his body which had been racked with intense
> *pain*.//
>
> praNAms
> Hare Krishna
>
> Yes, this clearly shows jnAni does not suffer due to the ailment of the
> body...It is we, the ignorants who are still identifying ramaNa as a jnAni
> with 6 feet tall body saying ramaNa is suffering...ramaNa as a jnAni, does
> not have the restricted boundaries of body to say it is 'my' body
> suffering...If you closely observe the above para, bhagavan is telling
> body is paining he is not telling here I am fine but 'my' body is
> suffereing...my body, my mind notions are ajnAna kruta, these notions
> cannot trouble the jnAni because he is brahmavida & brahman himself.
>
> Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
> bhaskar
> _
>
Namaste.

If we closely observe what Bhaskar ji states,

 // bhagavan is 'telling' body is paining 'he is not telling' here I am fine
but 'my' body is
suffereing..//

one can easily see the paradox:  The Jnani is Brahman and Brahman does not
have body, mind, etc.  Yet 'Bhagavan is telling'.  How can this be?  Without
body, etc. how can Bhagavan tell anything?  How could he first of all have
heard Major Chadwik asking him 'Does Bhagavan suffer due to the pain?'.
For, when there is no body, mind, etc. Bhagavan could not have even heard
the question.  And without a mouth, vocal chords, etc, he could not have
replied that question too.  And without a mind, he could not have processed
the question, formed an answer and expected the questioner to listen to his
answer.  For, The Gita 13 chapter says: sarvendriya guNaabhAsam, sarvendriya
vivarjitam..  Brahman has no sense organs.

Is this whole conversation reported about Ramana an imagination of an
ajnAni?  If yes, then reading it is also avidyakRta and that we are
discussing this is also avidyaakRta.

One is reminded of an analogy provided by Shankara in the Mandukya Karika
bhashya: ...अर्धं पाकाय, अर्धं प्रसवाय’.  A man wants to cook a half of a
hen for food and retain the other half for it to lay eggs.  We do not want
to admit a BMI for a Jnani but want to know what a Jnani says about BMI.

Om Tat Sat