Week 8 - Expert Lecture - Ramana Maharshi

The “lecture,” or what would more accurately be called a story, of Ramana Maharshi's life was an interesting one, if somewhat boringly delivered. Besides the story of his life, one of the real draws for me was the setting. The scenery of the Indian villages, temples, etc. can be beautiful and breathtaking. I've always found the differences between Western and Eastern cultures to be intriguing. This film was a nice showcase of much of what is different about some of these Eastern cultures.

The developing years of Ramana Maharshi's life seem pretty typical of a child trying to find his or her identity. It can be surprising to think that well respected people often grew up under the same circumstances as you or I. I found it especially amusing how much “spiritual enlightenment” appears to parallel “shirking responsibilities.” Ramana Maharshi's fascination with discovering what it is like after death also seemed appropriate for someone in his stage of development. All in all, his formative years actually seemed pretty routine, at least from a Westerner's perspective.

I found the approach that people took to Ramana Maharshi's existence to be intriguing. The man had literally done “nothing” for years, he merely contemplated his own existence and gave some written instructions to his followers. Yet, despite his lack of involvement in people's lives, they worshiped him. It would appear that people can be just as intrigued by the unknown as they can be afraid of it. Let them come to you and make up their own minds about the meaning of your actions, or lack thereof. The devotion that someone has towards the “answer” to life can be a powerful thing. This reminds me of the movie “Forrest Gump.” When he was running back and forth across America and people followed him, despite not having a clue as to the purpose behind it all. They made their own purpose, but when he stopped running they were lost, or purposeless once again.

It was in the Maharshi's later years that he became more relatable. He was a fair and practical man, both very inspiring qualities. He also interacted with the world; it was mentioned that he read the newspaper. To me, this aspect of the Maharshi was most commendable. He looked at the world with no prejudices and accepted everyone while still learning about the world himself.

This is the first piece of material that made me realize just how similar religion and philosophy actually are. They both strive to understand the world and give meaning and purpose to it. Philosophy doesn't accept or create illusions, however, it tries to deconstruct them. In that they will forever be different, while remaining eternally linked.

Philosophy is religion without the spirituality.