A devotee of Ramana Maharshi, who had been with him about twenty-five years, had a son that died, and he was grief-stricken. So he begged to have an audience with Ramana. Now Ramana rests from twelve to two. He agreed to see his devotee. When the devotee entered the hall, Ramana was reclining on his couch with his eyes closed, and he started to cry and tell him all his troubles, how much he loved his son. And then he asked Ramana, “What is God?” Ramana didn’t answer. He kept still for about fifteen minutes. Then he opened his eyes and he said very softly, “What is, is God.”

What is, is God. It’s like when someone asks the question, “Is the world real?” The world, by itself, is an illusion, but God, as the world, is real. As we progress we find there never was a God, so there never was a world. But for the sake of talking, because God is, the universe is. Everything, from the lowliest microbe to the fullest galaxy, is God in expression. Everything is God. Every leaf, every piece of clay, every star, every planet has no basis for its existence, by itself. Because God is, everything else is.

That’s what Ramana meant when he answered, “What is, is God.” He was trying to explain to the devotee, “Your son dying, that is God. Your son living, that is God. There’s no real difference. Only in your mind.”

Robert Adams
Transcript 3
My Confession
16th August, 1990