Hazrat Inayat Khan
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On Easter Sunday morning in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a small group of us gathered for a beautiful Universal Worship at Munawir and Zarifah’s house to celebrate Ramana’s life and to mourn the loss of our dear friend. We sang, read poems, and told stories about how he touched us. People spoke of his playfulness, his gifts as a healer, how much he gave to his friends and the Sufi community (and how utterly without ego he did so), and especially of his hugs and his glance. Through those eyes, one just felt this enormous love!
There are so many memories, but what stands out for me is the few days Elisa and I spent as Ramana’s helpers in the wood shop, building window frames for the Abode barn. Whenever I look at the barn, I’ll always think of the skill and love Ramana poured into that sacred building. And I’ll never forget the love he poured into me.
All my love to Noor-un-nisa and the whole Smallen family. May God hold you close in Her mercy and compassion.
Whenever I look at the barn these days I cannot help but think of that wonderful barn raising for which Ramana gave so much fantastic help! What a wonderful and generous being.
Although he could not speak, Ramana was able to smile, as he did when I entered the room a few weeks ago on what would be my last visit. This cordial welcome from a man who was suffering terriblly will always be remembered and cherished. The memory of this will always remind me that it’s the small things we do that mean so very much.
Ramana, may you be in peace.
Love,
Halimah
I met Ramana while we were both working on the Cosmic Mass in NYC. That’s where I learned of his mechanic skill. From a window overlooking the street, I spied Ramana and another man, pushing a car through an intersection below. Later, I asked Ramana what happened. He reported that he went to help push the car when the man said, “I’m done with this car. If you want it, you can have it.”
Ramana took the car, fixed it up and drove it. As he was passing, I recalled this and can only think that Ramana pushed his body as far as he could. If he could have fixed it up and driven it farther, he would have.
Ramana was and is a wonderful friend and healer. We will miss him here, but we are consoled by the peace and healing that he now enjoys. We send love and blessings to his family and all his friends.
Seeing Ramana was always great. We would look into each others eyes and then kiss mouth to mouth like children, because we loved each other like brothers. I regret that I never got to go sailing with him but we often talked about the joy and freedom we both associated with being on the water. He loved his old sailboat, even tho’ it almost killed him more than once, at least according to what he told me. Maybe I was afraid of going out with him for that reason…A stranger came to my house for a flute lesson a couple of years ago; after a while he told me a Ramana story: sometime 30 years ago he had lived on the same country road as Ramana and Noor-un-nisa. The man’s VW bus had broken down at a very inopportune moment, so he and a friend pushed it up the road to Ramana’s in the rain. Our friend the Sufi VW healer naturally came out with his toolbox and went to work as it got darker and darker. The engine refused to start despite all his efforts, so in the end they gave up for the night and left the bus on the side of the road. The next day Ramana and the owner returned to try again, only to discover that someone had stolen the motor out of the bus! The man had never forgotten Ramana’s kindness nor the huge laughter they had shared when they discovered the missing motor and imagined the expression on the face of the thief when he tried to start that engine! I was happy to be able to tell the man where Ramana could be found. And I know that wherever Ramana is now, there is laughter and hugs and abundant, selfless generosity, because such is his heart.
Ramana has been a friend who always had a smile, a kind word, a compliment, a chuckle, even in the last stages of his life.
On the night of his passing we did a prayer circle for Ramana and read the story by Khalil Gibran “Jesus the Good Carpenter”.
“He was a good carpenter. The doors He fashioned were never unlocked by thieves and the windows he made were always ready to open to the east and to the west. All my doors and windows are yielding to the years save these which He made. They alone stand strong against the elements.”
May your light shine on over the Chesapeake and in all the hearts that you have touched.
Love and Blessings to the family!
Gayatri & Abraham Hull
Ramana
I felt your warm hands
chest like a barrel hug
and something simple and complete from your breath.
We talked of wood and sails
and how boats sometimes wander off and get stuck on shore
until the tide rises and carries them off again
The water’s horizon calls you and you turn,
and there is a breathless pause in the air
before laughter breaks us into new stories.
I’ ll miss those warm hands
and soft voiced breath
and I will hold you to your promise
of a day’s sail to the clear water’s horizon.
– Jalil
What a joyous welcome from your Sufi family who proceeded you. Journey in joy and love my brother.
I have been so blessed to have had the honor and great fortune that Ramana has been my friend and teacher for many years and my wise, ever devoted and loving guide for the past 4 years. As soon as he was able to speak after his injury he was asking me about my life and my practices and even in the ICU and in the midst of his ordeal, either during my visits or by email, he continued on as my loving and compassionate guide. Words cannot express my gratitude to Ramana. His kind heart, profound yet humble wisdom, inquiring glance, and amazingly healing bear hugs live on in all who have known him. His life has been a blessing upon the earth and a such great blessing in all of our lives. Ramana’s good work lives on.
In New York City and in Maryland, Ramana had the best hugs ever. I will miss you, my friend, and be with you in the end.
Much love to you and your family,
Toby Zahir
Dear Ramana, your deep hug, laughter, loving glance and healing balm are ever with us, even as you have journeyed home.
On the day after you passed, we read your name within Sura Ya Sin, and its translation, RAMANA = Mercy Full, and it read of “one who is in awe of the Mercy Full in the unseen”. It is your being! We are ever grateful for your friendship, guidance and great spirit.
Love,
Sharifa and Muinuddin
Ramana was a dear friend, first at The Abode, (where we both met and married the spouses we stayed with until death parted us) and later in Maryland, where we kept in touch during the years before he returned to The Abode. Often, when I pass under a tree, I think of how he made his exit, and what a horrid shock it was for everyone who loved him. My husband and I used to refer to him as ‘A Walking Heart.’ He was that, indeed. I loved him then, and love him still.