SPIRITUAL
STORIES
AS TOLD BY
RAMANA MAHARSHI
SRI RAMANASRAMAM
PREFACE
The mind seeks to define the infinite. In doing so it has
used its own resources to bring down Supreme Truth in a simple
and yet potent language. Scattered throughout the religious
scriptures of India, parables and stories abound, weaving a
colourful thread around the most profound spiritual truths of
mankind. Handed down from parent to child these religious
treasures of India remain a relevant force today.
Sivaprakasam Pillai, one of the earliest devotees to recognise
the spiritual greatness of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi,
commented “Sri Ramana Bhagavan has attained the state of
Brahman without knowing the word Brahman.” For it was not
until years later, that books were brought to Sri Bhagavan by
devotees, describing the very state he himself had intuitively
experienced. With his pure and retentive memory, he retained
the essence of all these books at a glance, and brought forth at a
moment’s notice, the perfect story or parable suitable to the
occasion. In Sri Ramana’s own words the beauty and wisdom
contained in such stories are made ever more beautiful and the
essence made even clearer.
Sri Bhagavan would not only tell the story but would act
out the part to the delight of his devotees. If the story was
particularly moving, tears would flow freely from his eyes. “Such
was the attraction of these stories”, Kunju Swami related, “that
when we heard Sri Bhagavan beginning a story, even if we had
heard it numerous times before, we would literally stop whatever
we were doing and run to his side to hear it again!” S. S. Cohen
in Guru Ramana relates, “Bhagavan was reciting from memory
a poem of a Vaishnava Saint, in which occurred the words,
‘Fold me in Thy embrace, O Lord’, whereupon the arms of
Bhagavan joined in a circle round the vacant air in front of
him, while his eyes shone with devotional fervour and his voice
shook with stifled sobs which did not escape our notice. It was
fascinating to see him acting the parts he related, and being in
such exhilarated moods as these.” On another occasion while
Bhagavan was reading and explaining a story about Tara Vilasam
his eyes became full of tears and his voice became tremulous. It
looked as if the whole drama was being enacted in his presence.
Noticing this Suri Nagamma remarked, “Bhagavan appears to
have been transformed into Tara herself.” Pulling himself
together the master said with a smile, “What to do? I identify
myself with whosoever is before me, I have no separate identity.
I am universal.”
At the suggestion of Mrs. Lucia Osborne, we have included
the incidents which inspired Sri Bhagavan to relate the story. A
few new stories have been added, along with a glossary of
Sanskrit and Tamil words. Special thanks must be made to
Sri S.Tyagarajan who with great care went over the entire
manuscript with Sri Kunju Swamigal. Sri Kunju Swamigal’s
unfailing enthusiasm and keen interest helped us greatly.
With deepest salutations this little work is offered to
Sri Bhagavan, whose guidance, grace and love has prompted
this collection of stories. We pray for the grace and blessings of
Bhagavan Sri Ramana. May his words inspire us to turn within.
Sri Ramanasramam Joan Greenblatt
August 5, 1984
FOREWORD
Everyone knows that Sri Bhagavan Ramana was a master
story teller! Sri Ramanasramam publications, like Letters, Day
by Day, and Talks, abound with marvellous accounts of how
Bhagavan picturesquely narrated, rather enacted, incidents that
took place in the lives of sages and saints and traditional stories
of great spiritual content, like the story of Sage Ribhu.
Seeing how the first edition of this book was serving
devotees, the compiler, Mrs. Joan Greenblatt, worked onepointed
to enlarge and improve it; the result is the excellent
second edition now in your hand!
We hope all seekers will find this book both interesting
and enlightening and partake of the Spiritual Presence which
lies within its pages and the abundant grace of the narrator Sri
Ramana Himself!
Sri Ramanasramam Sri T. N. Venkataraman
Maha Sivarathri President, Board of Trustees
17.2.85
Various
Stories & Tales
Sri Bhagavan became transformed while relating incidents from
his vast collection of stories and tales. On one occasion while
describing Gautama’s joy at Goddess Parvati’s coming to his
Ashram, Sri Bhagavan could not go on, for tears filled his eyes
and emotion choked his voice. Trying to hide his plight from
others, he remarked, “I don’t know how people who perform
Harikatha explain such passages to audiences and manage to
do it without breaking down. I suppose they must make their
hearts hard like stone before starting their work.”
SELF-SURRENDER
D: I fear that Self-realisation is no easy thing to attain.
M: Why impede yourself by anticipating failure? Push
on. Self-realisation will come to an earnest seeker in a trice.
To illustrate this, Sri Bhagavan told the following story:
KING JANAKA WAS listening to a philosophical treatise read
by the state pandit, wherein a passage occurred to the effect that
a rider who had placed one foot in the stirrup, contemplating
upon realisation could realise the Self before he lifted the other
foot to place it in the other stirrup. That is, the passage taught,
that when realisation comes, it comes in an instant. The king
stopped the pandit from proceeding further, and ordered him
to prove the statement. The pandit admitted that he was only a
book-worm and was unable to impart practical wisdom. Janaka
suggested that the text was either false or exaggerated, but the
pandit would not agree to this. Though he himself was unable
to impart practical wisdom, he maintained that the text could
not be false or exaggerated, since it contained the words of wise
sages of the past. Janaka was annoyed with the pandit and in a
fit of rage condemned him to prison. He then inflicted the
same punishment on every pandit who passed for a wise man
but was unable to prove this scriptural text.
For fear of being imprisoned, some of the pandits fled the
country in voluntary exile. While two or three of them were running
through a thick forest, a sage called Ashtavakra,* who though young
* Ashta means ‘eight’ and vakra means ‘bends’. Ashtavakra was so named
because his body had eight deformities.
in age was wise in learning, happened to cross their path. Having
learnt their plight, Ashtavakra offered to prove the text true to the
king and thereby have the imprisoned pandits released. Impressed
by his bold assurance, they took him in a palanquin to the king. At
the sight of the sage, the king stood up and saluted him with great
reverence. Ashtavakra then ordered the king to release all the pandits.
Janaka thought that such an order could come only from one who
had the capacity to set his doubts at rest, and hence he released all
the pandits and asked the sage whether he could summon the horse.
The sage advised him not to be in a hurry and suggested that they
should go to a solitary spot. Thereupon the king on his horse and
the sage in a palanquin went out of the city towards the forest.
When they reached the forest the sage asked the king to send back
the retinue. The king did as he was asked, and then placing one of
his feet in the stirrup, he requested the sage to prove the scriptural
text. But the sage replied by asking whether the position in which
they stood indicated a proper master-disciple relationship. The king
then understood that he should show due reverence towards
Ashtavakra, and prayed to him for grace. The sage then addressed
him as ‘Janaka’, since he was no longer a king and told him that
before being taught Brahma jnana, a true disciple should surrender
himself and all his possessions to his Master. “So be it”, said the
king. “So be it” replied the sage and disappeared into the forest.
From that moment Janaka stood transfixed with one foot in the
stirrup and the other dangling in the air, as if he were a statue.
(Saying this, Sri Bhagavan imitated the posture of King Janaka).
Time passed by, and the citizens, finding no sign of their king
returning, grew anxious and began to search for him. They came
to the place where Janaka was standing transfixed and were dismayed
to find him unaware of their presence and indifferent to their
earnest enquiries. They therefore began searching for Ashtavakra
who, they thought, must be a charlatan that had cast a spell upon
their king, and vowed vengeance upon him. At the same time,
being concerned with the king’s condition and wanting to minister
to him, they brought him back to the city on a palanquin. The
king, however, continued to remain in the same condition.
At last, having found Ashtavakra, the ministers entreated
him to remove the alleged spell and bring the king back to his
normal condition. At the same time they charged him with the
responsibility for having cast the spell. Ashtavakra treated their
ignorant remarks with contempt and called the name of Janaka,
who immediately saluted him, and responded to his call. The
ministers were surprised. Ashtavakra told the king that he was
being maliciously accused by the people of having brought him
to some sad plight and asked him to tell the truth. On hearing
this, the king angrily asked, ‘Who said so’? The ministers were
taken by surprise and pleaded for mercy. Thereupon, the sage
advised the king to resume his normal functions, adding that
Brahma jnana could be taught only to competent persons and
that since the king had successfully passed the test, he would
now impart it to him. Then the sage remained alone with the
king during the night and taught him the ultimate Truth, saying
“Brahman is not anything new or apart from oneself and no
particular time or place is needed to realise It.” He finally
concluded by saying, “That Thou Art” (tat tvam asi). That is
the Self, eternal and infinite.
The next morning the ministers found that the king called
the assembly and performed his functions as usual. In the
assembled court Ashtavakra asked the king whether his former
doubt about whether Brahma jnana could be attained as suddenly
and as quickly as mentioned in the scriptures was cleared, and if
so to bring the horse and demonstrate the truth of it.
The king was all humility now and said, “Lord! Because of
my immaturity, I doubted the correctness of the scriptural text.
I now realise every letter of it is true.” The ministers thanked
the sage.
THE JNANI AND THE SIDDHA
One day, while speaking about hatha yoga and related
subjects, Sri Bhagavan narrated the following story from
Prabhulingalila, a well-known Tamil work by the Sage
Sivaprakasa Swamigal.
PRABHULINGA, THE FOUNDER of the Lingayat sect (now
mostly prevalent in Karnataka State only), was touring the land
for the uplift of the spiritually minded. He met the famous Yogi
Gorakhnath in Gokarnam (a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage
on the west coast of India). The yogi welcomed him respectfully,
but was however, proudly conscious of his own extraordinary
powers over the elements. He considered his guest more or less
his equal, expressed pleasure at meeting him, and upon greeting
him, asked who he was.
Prabhulinga replied that only the One who had destroyed
his ego, root and branch, and who had thereby realised himself
could know who he was, and wondered what he could say to a
non-entity, a person, who clung to his perishable body.
Gorakhnath, who identified his body as himself, replied,
“That person alone who has gained the immortality of the body,
by the favour of Siva and consumption of gulikas (medicinal
herbs), will never die. Therefore one who had not gained such
immortality dies.”
Prabhulinga remarked that knowledge consists in realizing
one’s Self and not in immortalising the body and went on to
explain at length that the body cannot be the real Self. However,
Gorakhnath could not be persuaded and would not budge an
inch from his ground; he proudly challenged Prabhulinga to
try cutting his body, handing him a long, bright and sharp
sword. When the sword struck the body of Gorakhnath, it caused
him no injury but was itself blunted. Prabhulinga feigned
surprise, and asked Gorakhnath to try cutting his body. At first
Gorakhnath hesitated to do so saying that Prabhulinga would
die. But when Prabhulinga insisted, he took up the sword and
tried to cut his body. To the great surprise of Gorakhnath, the
sword passed easily through the body of Prabhulinga without
affecting it in any way. It was as if the sword was passing through
empty space! Only then was Gorakhnath, the Siddha, ready to
acknowledge the superiority of Prabhulinga, the Jnani. Thus
his pride was humbled, and he prayed to Prabhulinga, to teach
him the truth. Prabhulinga then expounded Brahma vidya to
Gorakhnath as follows: “Gorakhnath, do not think your body
to be your Self. Seek the In-dweller (the cave-dweller) and you
will once for all rid yourself of the disease of birth and death.
The cave is your heart only, the In-dweller thereof is called God
and I am That.”
TWENTYFOUR GURUS
A KING WAS passing through a forest in all pomp and
pageantry, with his army and retinue behind him. He came
across a man with not even a cod-piece on, lying on the ground,
with one leg cocked over the other. He was laughing away,
apparently supremely happy, contented with himself and all
the world. The king was struck with the man’s happy state and
sent for him. But when the king’s men approached the nude
ascetic and delivered the king’s message, he took absolutely
no notice and continued in his ascetic bliss. On being told of
this, the king himself went to the man and even then the man
took no notice. Thereupon it struck the king that this must
be no common man, and said, ‘Swami, you are evidently
supremely happy. May we know what is the secret of such
happiness and from which guru you learnt it?’ Thereupon the
ascetic told the king, ‘I have had twentyfour gurus. Everything,
this body, the earth, the birds, some instruments, some persons,
all have taught me’. All the things in the world may be classed
as either good or bad. The good taught him what he must
seek. Similarly, the bad taught him what he must avoid. The
ascetic was Dattatreya, the avadhuta.
ENTER THE HEART
A devotee who had suddenly lost his only son came to
Bhagavan in a state of acute grief, seeking relief. He asked a
few questions in which his grief was evident. Bhagavan, as
usual, asked him to enquire into the Self and find out who is
grieving. The devotee was not satisfied. Bhagavan then said,
“All right. I will tell you a story from Vichara Sagaram. Listen”.
TWO YOUNGSTERS BY name Rama and Krishna, told their
respective parents that they would go to foreign countries to
prosecute further studies and then earn a lot of money. After
some time, one of them died suddenly. The other studied well,
earned a lot and was living happily. Some time later the one that
was alive requested a merchant who was going to his native place
to tell his father that he was wealthy and happy and that the other
boy who had come with him had passed away. Instead of passing
on the information correctly, the merchant told the father of the
person who was alive, that his son was dead, and the father of the
person that was dead, that his son had earned a lot of money and
was living happily. The parents of the person that was actually
dead, were happy in the thought that their son would come back
after some time, while the parents of the person whose son was
alive, but was reported to be dead, were in great grief. In fact,
neither of them saw their son but they were experiencing happiness
or grief according to the reports they received. That is all. We too
are similarly situated. We believe all sorts of things that the mind
tells us and get deluded into thinking that what exists does not
exist and that what does not exist exists. If we do not believe the
mind but enter the heart and see the son that is inside, there is no
need to see the children outside.
BUDDHA
During a conversation on non-attachment, Bhagavan
said, “In this part of the country, one of our ancients wrote,
‘O Lord, thou hast given me a hand to use as pillow under
my head, a cloth to cover my loins, hands wherewith to eat
food, what more do I want? This is my great good fortune’!
That is the purport of the verse. Is it really possible to say
how great a good fortune that is? Even the greatest kings
wish for such happiness. There is nothing to equal it. Having
experienced both these conditions, I know the difference
between this and that. These beds, sofa and articles around
me – all this is bondage.”
“Is not the Buddha an example of this?” asked a devotee.
Thereupon Sri Bhagavan began speaking about Buddha.
“YES,” SAID BHAGAVAN, “when the Buddha was in the
palace with all possible luxuries in the world, he was still sad.
To remove his sadness, his father created more luxuries than
ever. But none of them satisfied the Buddha. At midnight he
left his wife and child and disappeared. He remained in great
austerity for six years, realised the Self; and for the welfare of
the world became a mendicant (bhikshu). It was only after he
became a mendicant that he enjoyed great bliss. Really, what
more did he require?”
“In the garb of a mendicant he came to his own city, did
he not?” asked a devotee.
“Yes, yes,” said Bhagavan. “Having heard that he was
coming, his father, Suddhodana, decorated the royal elephant
and went out with his whole army to receive him on the main
road. But without touching the main road, the Buddha came
by side roads and by-lanes; he sent his close associates to the
various streets for alms while he himself in the guise of a
mendicant went by another way to his father. How could the
father know that his son was coming in that guise! Yasodhara
(the Buddha’s wife), however, recognised him, made her son
prostrate before his father and herself prostrated. After that, the
father recognised the Buddha. Suddhodana however, had never
expected to see his son in such a state and was very angry and
shouted, ‘Shame on you! What is this garb? Does one who should
have the greatest of riches come like this? I’ve had enough of it!’
And with that, he looked furiously at the Buddha. Regretting
that his father had not yet got rid of his ignorance, the Buddha
too, began to look at his father with even greater intensity. In
this war of looks, the father was defeated. He fell at the feet of
his son and himself became a mendicant. Only a man with
non-attachment can know the power of non-attachment”, said
Bhagavan, his voice quivering with emotion.
THE SADHU AND THE
THREE STONES
In 1949 the inauguration of Mother’s Temple took place,
and the dedicated labour of ten years was consecrated in Sri
Bhagavan’s presence. In front of the Matrubhuteswara Shrine,
the Jubilee Hall was built to accommodate the ever-increasing
number of devotees. A large granite couch was installed with
elaborate carvings, spread with a silken mattress for Bhagavan’s
comfort. As a big pillow was placed on one side for Bhagavan to
keep his arms, another behind him to lean against and a third
one at his feet, the actual seating space was considerably reduced.
One day when Suri Nagamma entered the hall Sri Bhagavan
said, looking at his attendants, “See how this mattress slips from
one side to another! People think that it will be comfortable for
Bhagavan if there is a costly mattress. It is, however, not possible
to sit on this restfully. Why this? It would be much more
comfortable if I sat on the stone seat itself. As told in the story
about the sadhu, people think that Swami is undergoing great
hardship when he lives in a thatched shed and lies on a stone
bench, and so they make a fuss. It will perhaps be better if, like
that sadhu in the story, I gather some stones similar to those I
had in the Virupaksha Cave, take them to whichever place I
go, and spread them on a mattress like this.”
A devotee asked, “What is that story of the sadhu which
Bhagavan has now mentioned?” Whereupon Bhagavan
began relating the following story.
A GREAT MAHATMA was living as a sadhu under a tree in a
forest. He always used to keep with him three stones. While
sleeping, he used to keep one of them under the head, another
under the waist and the third under the legs and cover himself
with a sheet. When it rained, the body used to be on the stones
and so the water would flow underneath, and the water that fell
on the sheet too, would flow down. So there was no disturbance
to his sleep; he used to sleep soundly. When sitting, he used to
keep the three stones together like a hearth and sit upon them
comfortably. Hence snakes and other reptiles did not trouble
him nor did he trouble them, for they used to crawl through the
slits under the stones. Somebody used to bring him food and he
would eat it. And so, there was nothing for him to worry about.
A king, who came to that forest for hunting, saw this sadhu
and felt, ‘What a pity! How much must he be suffering by having
to adjust his body suitably to those stones and sleep thereon. I will
take him home and keep him with me for at least one or two days
and make him feel comfortable’. So thinking, he went home and
sent two of his soldiers with a palanquin and bearers, with
instructions to invite the sadhu respectfully and bring him to his
palace. He also said that if they did not succeed in bringing the
sadhu, they would be punished. They came and saw the sadhu and
told him that the king had ordered them to bring him to the palace
and that he should come. When he showed disinclination to go
with them, they said that they would be punished if they returned
without him. So they begged of him to come, if only to save them
from trouble. As he did not want them to get into trouble on his
account, he agreed to go with them. What was there for him to
pack up? A kaupeenam, a sheet and those three stones. He folded
and kept the kaupeenam in that sheet, kept those three stones also
in the sheet and tied them together. ‘What is this? This Swami is
bringing with him some stones when he is going to a Raja’s palace!
Is he mad or what?’ thought those soldiers. Anyway, he got into the
palanquin with his bundle and came to the king. The Raja saw the
bundle, and thinking it contained some personal effects, took him
into the palace with due respect, feasted him properly and arranged
a tape cot with a mattress of silk cotton to sleep upon. The sadhu
opened his bundle, took out the three stones, spread them on the
bed, covered himself with the sheet and slept as usual.
The next morning the king came, bowed to him with
respect and asked, “Swami, is it comfortable for you here?”
Swami: “Yes. What is there wanting here? I am always happy.”
King: “That is not it, Swami. You were experiencing
hardships in the forest by having to sleep on those stones. Here
this bed and this house must be giving you happiness. That is
why I am asking.”
Swami: “The bed that was there is here also. The bed that
is here is there also. So I have the same happiness everywhere.
There is nothing wanting at any time, either in regard to my
sleep or to my happiness.”
The king was puzzled and looked at the cot. He saw that the
three stones were on it. Whereupon, the king immediately prostrated
himself before the sadhu and said, “Oh great man! Without knowing
your greatness I brought you here with the intention of making you
happy. I did not know that you are always in a state of happiness, and
so I behaved in this foolish manner. Please excuse me and bless me.”
After making up for his mistake in this way, he allowed the sadhu to
go his way. This is the story of the sadhu.
“So, in the eyes of Mahatmas, the free life is the real happy
life?” asked that devotee. “What else? Life in big buildings like
this is like prison life. Only I may be an ‘A’ class prisoner. When
I sit on mattresses like these, I feel that I am sitting on prickly
pears. Where is peace and comfort?” said Bhagavan.
Next day that mattress was taken away and the usual mattress
was spread on the couch. Even so, several people thought that it
might be better to leave Bhagavan to a free life like that of the
sadhu. But Bhagavan had to stay there alone, like a parrot in the
cage of the devotees, because the devotees never leave him free.
INITIATION
A devotee asked, “Can anyone get any benefit by
repeating sacred syllables (mantras) picked up casually?”
Sri Bhagavan replied, “No. He must be competent and
initiated in such mantras.” To illustrate this he told the
following story.
A KING VISITED his minister in his residence. There he was
told that the minister was engaged in repetition of sacred syllables
(japa). The king waited for him and, on meeting him, asked
what the japa was. The minister said that it was the holiest of all,
Gayatri. The king desired to be initiated by the minister but the
minister confessed his inability to initiate him. Therefore the
king learned it from someone else, and meeting the minister
later he repeated the Gayatri and wanted to know if it was right.
The minister said that the mantra was correct, but it was not
proper for him to say it. When pressed for an explanation the
minister called to a page close by and ordered him to take hold
of the king. The order was not obeyed. The order was often
repeated, and still not obeyed. The king flew into a rage and
ordered the same man to hold the minister, and it was
immediately done. The minister laughed and said that the
incident was the explanation required by the king. “How?” asked
the king. The minister replied, “The order was the same and
the executor also, but the authority was different. When I
ordered, the effect was nil whereas, when you ordered, there
was immediate effect. Similarly with mantras.”
PEACE IS THE SOLE CRITERION
When asked about the characteristics of a jnani,
Bhagavan said, “They are described in books, such as the
Bhagavad Gita, but we must bear in mind that the jnani’s
state is one which transcends the mind. It cannot be described
by the mind. Only Silence can correctly describe this state
and its characteristics. Silence is more effective than speech.
From Silence came the ego, from the ego came thought, and
from thought came speech. So if speech is effective, how much
more effective must be its original source!” Then, in this
connection Sri Bhagavan related the following story.
TATTVARAYA COMPOSED A bharani (a kind of poetic
composition in Tamil) in honour of his Guru Swarupananda
and convened an assembly of learned pandits to hear the work
and assess its value. The pandits raised the objection that a bharani
was only composed in honour of great heroes capable of killing a
thousand elephants, and that it was not in order to compose such
a work in honour of an ascetic. Thereupon the author said, “Let
us all go to my guru and we shall have this matter settled there.”
They went to the guru and, after all had taken their seats, the
author told his guru the purpose of their coming there. The guru
sat silent and all the others also remained in mauna. The whole
day passed, night came, and some more days and nights, and yet
all sat there silently, no thought at all occurring to any of them
and nobody asked why they had come there. After three or four
days like this, the guru moved his mind a bit, and thereupon the
assembly regained their thought activity. They then declared,
“Conquering a thousand elephants is nothing compared to the
guru’s power to conquer the rutting elephants of all our egos put
together. So certainly he deserves the bharani in his honour!”
THE GARLIC PLANT
While Bhagavan was perusing the monthly journal
Grihalakshmi he began to laugh and handed the journal to
Suri Nagamma as she was leaving the hall, saying, “The
greatness of garlic is described in it. Please read it.” The
article contained recipes for making chutneys and pickles
and in conclusion it stated that there is nothing equal to it
in its greatness and its benefit to the body. When Suri
Nagamma returned to the hall in the afternoon,
Sri Bhagavan inquired if she had read the article and said,
“People say it is very good for health. Really it is so. It cures
rheumatism and gives strength to the body. For children it
acts like amrit (nectar). Garlic is also known as amrit.”
A devotee asked how it got that name. Sri Bhagavan
replied, “There is a curious story about it,” and began telling
the following story.
AS IS WELL known, when gods (devas) and demons (rakshasas)
churned the ocean, amrit came out of it. When the rakshasas
were running away with the vessel containing amrit, the devas
appealed to Vishnu. Vishnu came on to the scene in the shape
of Mohini (enchantress), and offered to resolve their quarrel by
serving amrit to them all. They agreed. While serving it to the
gods first, it appeared that there might not be enough to go
round for the demons. One of the latter got into the line of the
gods, unobserved by Mohini, and was swallowing the amrit,
when the Sun and Moon noticed it and gave her the hint. She
threw the ladle, with which the amrit was being served, at the
demon in such a way as to cut off his head. The ladle became
the Chakra (an invincible lethal weapon of Vishnu) and cut off
his head. But as the amrit had already gone down his throat, the
head became a graha (planet) and has since been taking
vengeance on the Sun and Moon at the time of an eclipse. That
is the story. Now, when the head of the demon was severed, the
trunk fell down, and in the process, a few drops of amrit fell on
the ground. It is said that those drops became the garlic plant.
That is why it is said that garlic has some of the properties of
amrit. It is very good for the body. But since it also has the
touch of the demon, it has tamasic qualities too, which when
eaten affect the mind. Hence, it is forbidden for sadhakas.
‘I’ AND YOU
An earnest devotee asked Sri Bhagavan about the
method to realize the Self. As usual, Sri Bhagavan told him
to find out who is the ‘I’ in his question. After a few more
questions in this strain the devotee asked, “Instead of
enquiring ‘Who am I?’, can I put the question to myself
‘Who are you?’ since then, my mind may be fixed on you
whom I consider to be God in the form of Guru.”
Sri Bhagavan replied, “Whatever form your enquiry
may take, you must finally come to the one ‘I’, the Self. All
these distinctions made between ‘I’ and ‘you’, master and
disciple, are merely a sign of one’s ignorance. That ‘I’ Supreme
alone is. To think otherwise is to delude oneself.” Thereupon
Sri Bhagavan told the following story.
A PURANIC STORY of Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha,
is particularly instructive.
Although Ribhu taught his disciple the Supreme Truth of
the One Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in spite of his
erudition and understanding, did not get sufficient conviction
to adopt and follow the path of jnana, but settled down in his
native town to lead a life devoted to the observance of
ceremonial religion.
But the sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter
venerated his Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would himself
go to his disciple in the town, just to see how far the latter had
outgrown his ritualism. At times the sage went in disguise, so
that he might observe how Nidagha would act when he did not
know that he was being observed by his master.
On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the disguise
of a rustic, found Nidagha intently watching a royal procession.
Unrecognised by the town-dweller Nidagha, the village rustic
enquired what the bustle was all about, and was told that the
king was going in procession.
“Oh! It is the king. He goes in procession! But where is
he?” asked the rustic.
“There, on the elephant,” said Nidagha.
“You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the two,”
said the rustic, “But which is the king and which is the elephant?”
“What!” exclaimed Nidagha. “You see the two, but do not
know that the man above is the king and the animal below is
the elephant? What is the use of talking to a man like you?”
“Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like me,”
begged the rustic. “But you said ‘above’ and ‘below’ – what do
they mean?”
Nidagha could stand it no more. “You see the king and the
elephant, the one above and the other below. Yet you want to know
what is meant by ‘above’ and ‘below’?” burst out Nidagha. “If things
seen and words spoken can convey so little to you, action alone
can teach you. Bend forward, and you will know it all too well”.
The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his shoulders
and said, “Know it now. I am above as the king, you are below
as the elephant. Is that clear enough?”
“No, not yet,” was the rustic’s quiet reply. “You say you are
above like the king, and I am below like the elephant. The
‘king’, the ‘elephant’, ‘above’ and ‘below’ – so far it is clear. But
pray, tell me what you mean by ‘I’ and ‘you’?”
When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden with
the mighty problem of defining the ‘you’ apart from the ‘I’,
light dawned on his mind. At once he jumped down and fell at
his Master’s feet saying, “Who else but my venerable Master,
Ribhu, could have thus drawn my mind from the superficialities
of physical existence to the true Being of the Self? Oh! Benign
Master, I crave thy blessings.”
EARNESTNESS OR FAITH
(SRADDHA)
A devotee obtained a copy of Sri Bhagavan’s work
Ulladu Narpadu (Forty Verses on Reality) and began to
write out the entire work for himself. Seeing him doing this
writing with earnestness, though with a certain amount of
difficulty and strain, since the devotee was not accustomed
to squatting and doing continuous writing work, Bhagavan
told the story of a sannyasi and his disciples to illustrate
what is called sraddha – earnestness of purpose.
THERE WAS ONCE a guru who had eight disciples. One day he
instructed them all to make a copy of his teachings from a notebook
he had kept. One of them, who had lived an easy-going life
before renouncing the world, could not make a copy for himself.
He, therefore paid a couple of rupees to a fellow disciple and
requested him to make a copy for him also. The guru examined
the copy books one day and, noticing two books in the same
handwriting, asked the disciples for an explanation. Both the writer
and the one on whose behalf it was written told the truth about it.
The Master commented that, though speaking the truth was an
essential quality of a spiritual aspirant, it alone would not carry one
to one’s goal, but that sraddha (earnestness of purpose) was also
necessary. Since this had not been exhibited by the disciple who
had entrusted his own labour to another, he was disqualified from
discipleship. Referring to his making payment for the work, the
guru sarcastically remarked that “Salvation” costs more than that
and he was at liberty to purchase it rather than undergo training
under him. So saying he dismissed that disciple.
IN THE WORLD BUT NOT
OF THE WORLD
KADUVELI SIDDHAR WAS famed as a very austere hermit.
He lived on the dry leaves fallen from trees. The king of the
country heard of him and offered a reward to one who would
prove this man’s worth. A rich dasi agreed to do it. She began to
live near the recluse and pretended to attend on him. She gently
left pieces of pappadam along with the dry leaves picked by
him. When he had eaten them she began to leave other kinds
of tasty food along with the dry leaves. Eventually he took good
tasty dishes supplied by her. They became intimate and a child
was born to them. She reported the matter to the king.
The king wanted to know if she could prove their mutual
relationship to the general public. She agreed and suggested
a plan of action. Accordingly the king announced a public
dancing performance by the dasi and invited the people to
it. The crowd gathered and she also appeared, but not before
she had given a dose of physic to the child and left it in
charge of the saint at home.
As the dance was at its height, the child was crying at home
for its mother. The father took the babe in his arms and went to
the dancing performance. As she was dancing hilariously he
could not approach her with the child. She noticed the man
and the babe, and contrived to kick her legs in the dance, so as
to unloose one of her anklets just as she approached the place
where the saint was. She gently lifted her foot and he tied the
anklet. The public shouted and laughed. But he remained
unaffected. Yet to prove his worth, he sang a Tamil song meaning:
“For victory, let go my anger!
I release my mind when it rushes away.
If it is true that I sleep day and
night quite aware of my Self,
may this stone burst into twain
and become the wide expanse!”
Immediately the stone (idol) burst with a loud noise. The
people were astounded.
Thus he proved himself an unswerving jnani. One should
not be deceived by the external appearance of a jnani. Verse
181 of Vedanta Chudamani further explains this. Its meaning is
as follows:
Although a jivanmukta associated with the body may, owing
to his prarabdha, appear to lapse into ignorance or wisdom, yet
he is only pure like the ether (akasa) which is always itself clear,
whether covered by dense clouds or without being covered by
clouds. He always revels in the Self alone, like a loving wife
taking pleasure with her husband alone. Though she attends on
him with things obtained from others (by way of fortune, as
determined by her prarabdha). Though he remains silent like
one devoid of learning, his supineness is due to the implicit
duality of the vaikhari vak (spoken words) of the Vedas; his
silence is the highest expression of the realised non-duality which
is after all the true content of the Vedas. Though he instructs his
disciples, he does not pose as a teacher in the full conviction
that the teacher and disciple are mere conventions born of
illusion (maya), and so he continues to utter words like akasvani.
If, on the other hand, he mutters words incoherently like a
lunatic, it is because his experience is inexpressible. If his words
are many and fluent like those of an orator, they represent the
recollection of his experience, since he is the unmoving nondual
One without any desire awaiting fulfilment. Although he
may appear grief-stricken like any other man in bereavement,
yet he evinces just the right love of and pity for the senses which
he earlier controlled before he realised that they were mere
instruments and manifestations of the Supreme Being. When
he seems keenly interested in the wonders of the world, he is
only ridiculing the ignorance born of superimposition. If he
appears wrathful he means well to the offenders. All his actions
should be taken to be only divine manifestations on the plane
of humanity. There should not arise even the least doubt as to
his being emancipated while yet alive. He lives only for the
good of the world.
TOTAL ABIDANCE
A devotee asked, “How does the repetition of the name
of God help Realisation?” Sri Bhagavan replied, “The
original name is always going on spontaneously without any
effort on the part of the individual. That name is aham –
‘I’. But when it becomes manifest it manifests as ahamkara
– the ego. The oral repetition of the name leads one to mental
repetition which finally resolves itself into the eternal
vibration. The mind or the mouth cannot act without the
Self.” Thereupon Sri Bhagavan told the following story.
TUKARAM, THE GREAT Maharashtra Saint, used to remain
in samadhi in the day and sing and dance at night with large
crowds of people. He always used to utter the name of Sri Rama.
Once he was answering the call of nature and also saying “Ram,
Ram”. An orthodox priest was shocked at the uttering of the
holy name by the saint when his body was not clean. Hence he
reprimanded him and ordered him to be silent. Tukaram said,
“All right!” and remained mute. But at once there arose the
name of Rama from every pore of Tukaram and the priest was
horrified by the din. He then prayed to Tukaram, “Restrictions
are only for the common people and not for saints like you.”
QUIET PIETY
THERE WAS A king with a devoted queen. She was a devotee
of Sri Rama and yearned that her husband should similarly be a
devotee. One night she found that the king mumbled something
in his sleep. She kept her ears close to his lips and heard the
word ‘Rama’ repeated continually as in japa. She was delighted
and the next day ordered the minister to hold a feast. The king
having partaken of the feast asked his wife for an explanation.
She related the whole occurrence and said that the feast was in
gratitude to God for the fulfilment of a long cherished wish.
The king was however annoyed that his devotion should have
been found out. Some say that having thus betrayed God he
considered himself unworthy of God and so committed suicide.
It means that one should not openly display one’s piety. We
may take it that the king told the queen not to make a fuss over
his piety and they then lived happily together.
UNKNOWN TENTH MAN
D. Not having realised the Truth that the Self alone
exists, should I not adopt bhakti and yoga margas as being
more suitable for purposes of sadhana than vichara marga?
Is not the Realization of one’s Absolute Being that is, Brahma
jnana, something quite unattainable to a layman like me?
M. Brahma jnana is not a knowledge to be acquired,
so that acquiring it one may obtain happiness. It is one’s
ignorant outlook that one should give up. The Self you seek
to know is verily yourself. Your supposed ignorance causes
you needless grief like that of the ten foolish men who grieved
the ‘loss’ of the tenth man who was never lost.
THE TEN FOOLISH men in the parable forded a stream and
on reaching the other shore wanted to make sure that all of
them had in fact safely crossed the stream. One of the ten began
to count, but while counting others left himself out. “I see only
nine; sure enough we have lost one. Who can it be?” he said.
“Did you count correctly?” asked another, and did the counting
himself. But he too counted only nine. One after the other
each of the ten counted only nine, missing himself. “We are
only nine” they all agreed, “but who is the missing one?”, they
asked themselves. Every effort they made to discover the ‘missing’
individual failed. “Whoever he be that is drowned” said the
sentimental of ten fools, “we have lost him”. So saying he burst
into tears, and the rest of the nine followed suit. Seeing them
weeping on the river bank, a sympathetic wayfarer enquired
for the cause. They related what had happened and said that
even after counting themselves several times they could find no
more than nine. On hearing the story, but seeing all the ten
before him, the wayfarer guessed what had happened. In order
to make them know for themselves that they were really ten,
that all of them had come safe from the crossing, he told them,
“Let each of you count for himself but one after the other serially,
one, two, three and so on, while I shall give you each a blow so
that all of you may be sure of having been included in the
count, and included only once. The tenth ‘missing’ man will
then be found.” Hearing this they rejoiced at the prospect of
finding their ‘lost’ comrade and accepted the method suggested
by the wayfarer.
While the kind wayfarer gave a blow to each of the ten in
turn, he that got the blow counted himself aloud. “Ten” said
the last man as he got the last blow in his turn. Bewildered they
looked at one another, “We are ten” they said with one voice
and thanked the wayfarer for having removed their grief.
That is the parable. From where was the tenth man
brought in? Was he ever lost? By knowing that he had been
there all the while, did they learn anything new? The cause of
their grief was not the real loss of any one of the ten, it was
their own ignorance, rather their mere supposition that one
of them was lost – though they could not find who he was –
because they counted only nine.
GOD WORKS FOR HIS
DEVOTEE
ON A PARTICULAR day in the year the God and the Goddess
are taken to an adjoining field and the festival of the gods and
goddess is celebrated. This is in memory of the fact that one day
Sundaramurti Swami entered the temple and found to his dismay
that neither God nor Goddess was there, and that on searching
for them he found them in a field working at transplanting
seedlings for a devotee, a Harijan.
EACH REFLECTS HIS OWN
NATURE
A NAYANAR WENT to Kalahasti for the darsan of God. He
saw all the people there as Siva, and Sakti, because he Himself
was so. Again Dharmaputra considered that the whole world
was composed of people having some merit or other and that
each of them was even better than he himself for some reason
or other. Whereas Duryodhana could not find even a single
good person in the world. Each reflects his own nature.
THE MASTER’S PAYMENT
A DISCIPLE SERVED his master for a long time and realised
the Self. He was in Bliss and wanted to express his gratitude to
the Master. He was in tears of joy and his voice choked when he
spoke. He said, “What a wonder that I did not know my very
Self all these years! I suffered long and you so graciously helped
me to realise the Self. How shall I repay your grace? It is not in
my power to do it.” The Master replied, “Well, well. Your
repayment consists in not lapsing into ignorance again but in
continuing in the state of your real Self.”
THE FAULT LIES IN
EXPOSURE
EZHUTHACHAN, A GREAT saint and author, had a few
fish concealed on him when he entered the temple. The saint
was searched and taken to the king. The king asked him, “Why
did you take the fish into the temple?” He replied, “It is not my
fault. I had it concealed in my clothes. The others exposed the
fish in the temple. The fault lies in exposure. Excreta within the
body are not considered filthy; but when excreted, they are
considered filthy. So also with this.”
BRAHMACHARI’S TOUCH
SRI BHAGAVAN WARNED the hearers against the mistake of
disparaging a jnani for his apparent conduct and again cited the
story of Parikshit. He was a still born child. The ladies cried and
appealed to Sri Krishna to save the child. The sages round about
wondered how Krishna was going to save the child from the
effects of the arrows (apandavastra) of Asvattama. Krishna said,
“If the child be touched by one eternally celibate (nityabramachari)
the child would be brought to life.” Even Suka dared not touch
the child. Finding no one among the reputed saints bold enough
to touch the child, Krishna went and touched it, saying, “If I am
eternally celibate (nityabramachari) may the child be brought to
life.” The child began to breathe and later grew up to be Parikshit.
Just consider how Krishna surrounded by 16,000 gopis is
a brahmachari! Such is the mystery of jivanmukti! A jivanmukta
is one who does not see anything separate from the Self.
THE KING AND HIS
MINISTERS
D: What is the difference between a man who makes
no attempt and remains an ajnani, and another who gains
a glimpse and returns to ajnana?
M: In the latter case a stimulus is always present to
goad him on to further efforts until the Realisation is perfect.
D: The Srutis say, ‘this knowledge of Brahman shines
forth once and for ever’.
M: They refer to the permanent Realisation and not to
the glimpse.
D: How is it possible that a man forgets his own
experience and falls back into ignorance?
Sri Bhagavan illustrated this with the following story.
THERE WAS A king who treated his subjects well. One of his
ministers gained his confidence and misused the influence. All
the other ministers and officers were adversely affected and they
hit upon a plan to get rid of him. They instructed the guards
not to let the man enter the palace. The king noted his absence
and enquired after him. He was informed that the man was
taken ill and could not therefore come to the palace. The king
deputed his physician to attend on the minister. False reports
were conveyed to the king that the minister was sometimes
improving and at other times collapsing. The king desired to
see the patient. But the pandits said that such an action was
against the dharma. Later the minister was reported to have
died. The king was very sorry when he heard the news.
The arrogant minister was kept informed of all the
happenings by spies of his own. He tried to foil the other
ministers. He waited for the king to come out of the palace so
that he might report himself to the king. On one occasion he
climbed up a tree, hid himself among the branches and awaited
the king. The king came out that night in the palanquin and
the man in hiding jumped down in front of the palanquin and
shouted his identity. The companion of the king was equally
resourceful. He at once took out a handful of sacred ashes
(vibhuti) from his pocket and scattered it in the air so that the
king was obliged to close his eyes. The companion also shouted
victory (jai) to the king and ordered the band to play so that
the other man’s shout was drowned in the noise. He also ordered
the palanquin-bearers to move fast and he himself sang
incantations to keep off evil spirits. The king was thus left under
the impression that the dead man’s ghost was playing pranks
with him.
The disappointed man became desperate and retired into
the forest for tapasya (austerities). After a long time the king
happened to go hunting. He came across the former minister
seated in deep contemplation. But he hastened away from the
spot lest the ghost should molest him.
THE GREATNESS OF JAPA
A devotee asked, “Swami, what is the easiest way to
attain moksha?”
Bhagavan said with a smile, “As and when the mind
goes astray, it should be turned inward and made to steady
itself in the thought of the Self. That is the only way.”
Another devotee said, “To do so, the repeating of the
name of Rama is good, is it not?”
“Certainly, it is good,” said Bhagavan. “What could
be better? The greatness of the japa of the name of Rama is
extraordinary. In the story of Namadeva he is reported to
have told one devotee, ‘If you want to know the greatness of
the name of Rama you must first know what your own name
is, what your real nature (swarupa) is, who you are and
how you were born. Unless you know your own origin, you
will not know your name!’ This idea is found in the Abhangas
of Namadeva written in Marathi language and in the
Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayana.” Thereupon Bhagavan
related a story from the latter.
IT IS STATED in that book that when Anjaneya went in
search of Sita, he seated himself opposite to Ravana in the
Darbar Hall on a high pedestal and fearlessly spoke to him
thus: ‘Oh Ravana, I give you a teaching (upadesa) for attaining
liberation (moksha). Please listen to me carefully. It is certain
that the Self (Atma) gets purified by intense devotion to Hari,
who is in the lotus of the Heart at all times. The ego gets
destroyed and then the sin gets destroyed. Afterwards, in its
35
place, the knowledge of the transcendent Self emerges. With
a pure mind and with the Bliss (Ananda) generated by a firm
knowledge of the Self, the two letters ‘Ra’ ‘Ma’ which are like
mantras, will repeat themselves within you automatically. What
more is required for a person who has this knowledge, however
little it might be? Hence worship the lotus feet of Vishnu,
which will remove all worldly fears, which are dear to all
devotees and which shine as brightly as the light of a crore of
Suns. Give up the ignorance of your mind’. This has been
mentioned in two or three slokas in the Sanskrit Adhyatma
Ramayanam but not as elaborately as in the Malayalam text.
Is the greatness of the name of Rama ordinary?
36
SILENT ELOQUENCE
Lakshman Brahmachari from Sri Ramakrishna
Mission asked, “Enquiry of ‘Who am I?’ or of the ‘I-thought’
being itself a thought, how can it be destroyed in the process?”
Sri Bhagavan replied with a story.
WHEN SITA WAS asked who was her husband among the
rishis (Rama himself being present there as a rishi) in the forest,
by the wives of the rishis, she denied each one as he was pointed
out to her, but simply hung down her head when Rama was
pointed out. Her silence was eloquent.
Similarly, the Vedas also are eloquent in neti-neti (not this,
not this) and then remain silent. Their silence is the Real State.
This is the meaning of exposition by silence. When the source
of the ‘I’-thought is reached it vanishes and what remains is the
Self.
37
(Continued ...)
My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Bhagavan Sree Ramana Maharshi
and also gratitude to Bhagavan’s great devotees for the collection)
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