These two anecdotes of Ramana Maharshi's are examples of deep acceptance of whatever is going to occur.

"Perhaps even more relevant and pertinent, and I would say shocking in modern times, is the answer given by Ramana Maharshi to a query put to him by a sincere young seeker. The seeker said, ‘I am carried away by the sight of the breasts of a young woman neighbor and I am afraid of committing adultery with her’. He implored Ramana Maharshi, ‘Please tell me what I should do’. The answer given by Ramana was amazingly straightforward. He said, ‘You are always pure. It is your senses and body which tempt you, and which you confuse with your real self. So first know who is tempted and who is there to tempt. But even if adultery does take place, do not think about it afterwards because you yourself are always pure. You need not feel guilty. You are not the sinner’.

"Some robbers came into Ramana Maharshi's place and beat up many people including Ramana Maharshi. His comment was. ‘You all worship me with flowers; they worship me with a stick. That is also a form of worship. If I accept yours, should I not accept theirs as well?’

The following stories continue the illustration of acceptance of the nature of things.

‘A Brahmin was having his bath in the river. Then he noticed a scorpion almost drowning. So he lifted the scorpion and put it on the ground. But before he could put it on the ground, the scorpion bit his hand. Many people were sitting around and some said to him, ‘What have you achieved? You have spared him only to get yourself bitten’. His answer was, ‘I did what I had to do according to my nature. The scorpion did what it had to do according to its nature’.

‘A rabbi who had the Understanding lived in a tiny room with no stools to sit on and a desk which served as his bed at night. Anybody who came to see him had to sit on the ground or stand to talk. One of his visitors said, ‘Rabbi, where is your furniture?’ The rabbi said, ‘Where is yours?’ The visitor replied, ‘I am only passing through.’ The rabbi replied, ‘So am I.’

This is a famous Zen story which Ramesh frequently quotes.

‘A farmer lived in the days when fighting was going on between small kingdoms in China. This farmer had a son. His son, with the aid of the horse, was tilling a small field. One day the horse ran away. The neighbors came and said, 'It's a very bad thing. You have such bad luck.’ The farmer said, ‘Maybe.’ So the next day the horse came back with half a dozen other wild horses. The neighbors came again and they said, ‘What tremendous luck.’ So he said, ‘Maybe.’ On the third day the son, while trying to ride one of the wild horses, fell and broke his leg. Again, the neighbors came and said what bad luck it was, and the farmer said, ‘Maybe.’ The next day the king's people came to recruit strong healthy farmers into the army. When they found this farmer's son with a broken leg they left him alone. So, again, the neighbors came and said it wasn't such bad luck after all and that everything had turned out well. The farmer said, again, ‘Maybe.’’