| Anonymous feedback. Tell us what you think. (more info) |
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| See the messages we get here. |
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| Anonymous feedback. Tell us what you think. (more info) |
| Send us your message. |
| See the messages we get here. |
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Thank you so much for your lectures and podcasts... |
Dear John, Thank you so much for your lectures and podcasts about the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. Cutting to the chase, after decades of wrestling with (while simultaneously unconsciously running away from) vichara, of not really understanding much about how, or feeling that I really knew what to do (but remaining attracted to the practice), during this Northern Hemisphere summer, in what felt like my last, desperate chance, while on a private retreat (stuck for the better part of 2 months in my mother-in-law's living room with few distractions), I whittled my intentions/sadhana down to concentration on the 'I' thought, basing my practice on a short passage from Talks with Ramana Maharshi where in frustration (it sounded like to me) he told a similarly confused devotee to just concentrate on the 'I'. I made myself a wrist mala, began repeating 'I' to myself at every opportunity (amazing how many lulls there are in life when you start taking advantage of them) and gradually stopped concerning myself with the (perceived) negativities/shortcomings in my life that had tormented me for almost 60 years. Then, back in Adelaide, I went onto Google, tripped headlong down the rabbit hole and came out on your site. I downloaded and listened to the podcast "The End of Misery and Suffering," and the lights came on and stayed on. I was — and remain — overjoyed: you are the first person who has been able to communicate to me what the intent/purpose of vichara is and, more importantly, perhaps, what it is not, the first to be able to talk about Ramana's teachings without degenerating into spaced-out -- and therefore suspect — doublespeak, or degenerating into indiscriminate hero-worship of Ramana himself (whom I hero-worshipped without spiritual progress for a very long time!). Everything has fallen in place and I'm going at it with a (joyful) will. I cannot stress too strongly to anyone who has doubts about vichara or how to proceed, that as you so straightforwardly instruct, the mere doing of it will clear all doubts and obstacles, whether quickly or slowly (which in the end is immaterial). I also requested your book "Meeting Ramana Maharshi" and find it as delightfully lucid as the podcast. Warm regards and thanks again, C.
Adelaide, Australia
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| Worldwide Online Meeting | ||||
Saturday, March 13 at 1 pm PT (GMT/UTC -8) People all over the world gather together online with John for a couple of hours. John is available to listen to your questions, and to help you sort out any difficulties you might experience in your own practice of the vichara. This is very much like a call-in radio show. If you simply want to listen to the meetings, all you need to do is to install the software and have speakers attached to your computer. If you wish to speak with John, then you will need a headset with microphone. You can also use earbuds and a microphone. |
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| Download our 2010 Schedule of Events: | ||||
| Word file PDF | ||||
All our events are always free of charge. All are welcome, with no regard for religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. Spontaneous donations for the support of our work are always welcome and gratefully accepted. |
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| Featured Letter of the Month | ||||
| We receive many, many beautiful and useful letters. Every month we try to feature one here that seems especially valuable and instructive for one reason or another. | ||||
| Podcast | ||||
A Meeting with John Sherman - February 13, 2010 "Self-reliance is not easy. Self-reliance is full of mistakes, stumbling blocks, false trails and premature conclusions. Self-reliance isn't pretty. Self-reliance is hard, it is not easy. It is easy to abandon self-reliance and try to find answers in other people's understandings and experiences. That's easy. Trying to manifest experiences that we have come to believe to be what we need to be in order to be free and happy and satisfied and fulfilled, that's easy. But it is not self-reliance." John Sherman Complete, live recording of a Worldwide Meeting with John Sherman broadcast live from Ojai, California on February 13, 2010. |
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| Video Blog | ||||
Our Work First, last, and always, my advice is only to look at the feeling of being you, without the mediation of understanding, the need to resolve paradox, or the requirement that this looking lead to any conclusion. Simply make every effort just to look, and persist in that effort as often as you can. In this effort, understanding is irrelevant, belief is irrelevant, even duration is irrelevant -- the briefest look, repeated over time, does all the work. A Message from John Sherman, videotaped in Ojai, California on May 15, 2009. |
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| Rides Needed & Rides Offered Accommodations Needed & Offered |
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Our work is to bring the vichara to all who are interested. The only problem anywhere to be found is the false belief that you are at the mercy of your life, and the only solution is the truth, which is everywhere and always present and self-evident. Ridding oneself of the false is as easy as repeatedly tasting the truth of being here, unmovingly, unchangingly here. This repeated looking directly at oneself is the infallible method of the vichara. Although our meetings are free of charge, they are certainly not free of cost. The money needed for this work must come entirely from the generosity and compassion of those who, like us, have seen for themselves the immense worth of spreading this good news to all humanity. Please help provide financial support for the work of making this method more widely available in the world by making a donation or a monthly pledge in any amount now. All gifts to the RiverGanga Foundation are fully tax-deductible as charitable donations. |
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| Read a brief report on the work accomplished in 2008. |
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RiverGanga Foundation RiverGanga Foundation is a not-for-profit, 509(a)(2) public charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Our Internal Revenue Service Employer ID Number is 77-0561647. All donations are tax deductible for US residents as charitable contributions. Click to view our letter of determination from the IRS. IRS Tips for Year-End Donations
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