Ramana Maharshi -Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma -5

Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

(141) MANIFESTATION OF THE SELF

Prev Next    12th September, 1947
A devotee who came here some time back and had been
listening to the various discussions in Bhagavan’s presence,
approached Bhagavan this afternoon and respectfully asked,
“Swami, it is said that Ishwara who is the reflection of the
soul and appears as the thinking mind, has become jiva, the
personal soul, which is the reflection of the thinking faculty.

What is the meaning of this?”
Bhagavan answered, “The reflected consciousness of
the Self (Atman) is called Ishwara, and Ishwara reflected
through the thinking faculty is called the jiva. That is all.”
The devotee: “That is all right, Swami, but what then is
chidabhasa?”
1
Another name of Arjuna.

Bhagavan: “Chidabhasa is the feeling of the Self which
appears as the shining of the mind. The one becomes three,
the three becomes five and the five becomes many; that is, the
pure Self (satva), which appears to be one, becomes through
contact, three (satva, rajas and tamas) and with those three, the
five elements come into existence, and with those five, the
whole Universe. It is this which creates the illusion that the
body is the Self. In terms of the sky (akasa), it is explained as
being divided into three categories, as reflected in the soul:
the boundless world of pure consciousness, the boundless
world of mental consciousness and the boundless world of
matter (chidakasa, chittakasa and bhutakasa). When Mind (chitta),
is divided into its three aspects, namely mind, intuition and
‘Maker of the I’ (manas, buddhi and ahankara), it is called the
inner instrument, or ‘antahkarana’. Karanam means
upakaranam. Legs, hands and other organs of the body are
called ‘bahyakarana’, or outer instruments, while the senses
(indriyas) which work inside the body are antahkaranas or inner
instruments. That feeling of the Self, or shining mind, which
works with these inner instruments, is said to be the personal
soul, or jiva. When the mental consciousness, which is a
reflection of the tangible aspect of pure consciousness, sees the
world of matter, it is called mental world (mano akasa), but when
it sees the tangible aspect of pure consciousness, it is called total
consciousness (chinmaya). That is why it is said, ‘The mind is the
cause of both bondage and liberation for man (mana eva
manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoh)’. That mind creates
many illusions.”
The questioner: “How will that illusion disappear?”
Bhagavan: “If the secret truth mentioned above is
ascertained by Self-enquiry, the multiplicity resolves itself into
five, the five into three, and the three into one. Suppose you
have a headache and you get rid of it by taking some
medicine. You then remain what you were originally. The
headache is like the illusion that the body is the Self; it
disappears when the medicine called Self-enquiry is
administered.”
The questioner: “Is it possible for all people to hold on
to that path of Self-enquiry?”
Bhagavan: “It is true that it is only possible for mature
minds, not for immature ones. For the latter, repetition of
a prayer or holy name under one’s breath (japa), worship
of images, breath-control (pranayama), visualising a pillar
of light (Jyotishtoma) and similar yogic and spiritual and
religious practices have been prescribed. By those practices,
people become mature and will then realize the Self through
the path of Self-enquiry. To remove the illusion of immature
minds in regard to this world, they have to be told that
they are different from the body. It is enough if you say,
you are everything, all-pervading. The Ancients say that
those with immature minds should be told that they must
know the transcendent Seer through enquiry into the five
elements and reject them by the process of repeating, ‘Not
this, not this (Neti, neti)’. After saying this, they point out
that just as gold ornaments are not different from gold, so
the elements are your own Self. Hence it must be said that
this world is real.

“People note the differences between the various types
of ornaments, but does the goldsmith recognise the difference?
He only looks into the fineness of the gold. In the same way,
for the Realized Soul, the Jnani, everything appears to be his
own Self. Sankara’s method was also the same. Without
understanding this, some people call him a nihilist (mithyavadi),
that is, one who argues that the world is unreal. It is all
meaningless talk. Just as when you see a stone carved into the
form of a dog and you realise that it is only a stone, there is no
dog for you; so also, if you see it only as a dog without realizing
that it is a stone, there is no stone for you. If you are existent,
everything is existent; if you are non-existent, there is nothing
existent in this world. If it is said that there is no dog, but
there is a stone, it does not mean that the dog ran away on
your seeing the stone. There is a story about this. A man
wanted to see the King’s palace, and so started out. Now, there
were two dogs carved out of stone, one on either side of the
palace gateway. The man standing at a distance took them for
real dogs and was afraid of going near them. A saint passing
along that way noticed this and took the man along with him,
saying, ‘Sir, there is no need to be afraid.’ When the man got
near enough to see clearly, he saw that there were no dogs,
and what he had thought to be dogs, were just stone carvings.

“In the same way, if you see the world, the Self will not
be visible; if you see the Self, the world will not be visible. A
good Teacher (Guru) is like that saint. A Realized Soul who
knows the truth is aware of the fact that he is not the body.

But there is one thing more. Unless one looks upon death as
a thing that is very near and might happen at any moment,
one will not be aware of the Self. This means that the ego
must die, must vanish, along with the inherent vasanas. If
the ego vanishes thus, the Self will shine as the luminous
Self. Such people will be on a high spiritual plane, free from
births and deaths.” With that Bhagavan stopped his discourse.

(142) SIMPLICITY

Prev Next    13th September, 1947
Recently, while coming from Bangalore, Arvind Bose
brought some costly pencils and gave them to Bhagavan.

After answering the usual enquiries about his welfare he
went away to his compound, named “Mahasthan”.

After he left, Bhagavan examined the pencils closely,
wrote with them, appreciated their good quality, and handed
them to Krishnaswami, saying, “Please keep these carefully.

Our own pencil must be somewhere. Please see where it is
and let me have it.” Krishnaswami carefully put away those
pencils, opened a wooden box which was on the table nearby,
and, after searching for a while, found a pencil and gave it
to Bhagavan.

Turning it this way and that, and examining it,
Bhagavan said, “Why this one? This is from Devaraja
Mudaliar. Our own pencil must be there. Give it to me and
keep this one also safely somewhere.” Krishnaswamy
searched everywhere but could not find it. “See if it is in the
hall,” said Bhagavan. Someone went there and came back
saying it was not there. “Oh! What a great pity! That is our
own pencil, you see. Search properly and find it,” said
Bhagavan. Devaraja Mudaliar, who was there, said, “Why
worry, Bhagavan? Are not all these pencils your own?”
Bhagavan said with a smile, “That is not it. You gave this
one; Bose brought the other ones. If we are not sufficiently
careful, somebody may take them away. You know, Swami is
the common property of all people. If your pencil was lost
you might feel aggrieved, for you bought it, spending a good
amount of money, and gave it to me. If it is our own pencil it
does not matter where it is kept. It costs half-an-anna and
even that was not purchased. Some one brought it and gave
it, saying it had been found somewhere. So, it is our own. As
regards the others, we are answerable to the donors. No one
will question us about this one and that is why I am asking
for it. The others are for the use of important people. Why
do we want such pencils? Have we to pass any examination
or have we to work in an office? For our writing work, that
pencil is enough.” So saying, he had a search made for it
and ultimately got it.

Sometime back, a similar incident happened. Some rich
people brought a silver cup, saucer and spoon and placing
them reverentially before him, said, “Bhagavan, please use
these when you take any liquid food.” Bhagavan examined
the things and passed them on to his attendants. As the
attendants were placing them in the bureau in the hall, he
objected and said, “Why there? Let them be kept in the
office itself.” “They were given for Bhagavan’s use, were
they not?” said a devotee. “Yes,” replied Bhagavan, “but
those are things used by rich people. What use can they be
to us? If required, we have our own cups and spoons. We
can use them — why these?” So saying, Bhagavan told his
attendant, “Look, from tomorrow we will use our own cups.

Take them out.” A devotee asked, “What are those cups,
Bhagavan?” “Oh! Those cups are made of coconut shells,
smoothed and preserved. They are our cups and spoons.

They are our own. If we use them the purpose is served.

Please keep the silver articles carefully elsewhere,” said
Bhagavan. “Are not those silver articles Bhagavan’s own?”
asked the devotee. Bhagavan said with a laugh, “Yes, they
are. But tell me, why all this ostentation for us? They are
costly. Should we be careless, some one might steal them.

So they must be guarded. Is that the job for Swami? Not
only that. Somebody might think, ‘after all, he is a sannyasi
and so will he not give them away if asked?’ and then ask
for them. It is not possible to say ‘No’. Yet, if they are given
away, those who presented them might resent it, as they
gave the articles for Swami’s use only. Why all that trouble?
If we use our own cups it does not matter how we use them
or what we do with them.” So saying, he sent away the
silver articles, had his own cups taken out and shown to all
present.

About the same time, a devotee brought a nice walking
stick with a silver handle, and presented it to Bhagavan.

Turning it this side and that, and examining it, Bhagavan
remarked to the devotee, “Good. It is very nice. Please use
it carefully.” “But it is not for my use,” he said. “I have
brought it thinking that Bhagavan would use it.” “What an
idea!” exclaimed Bhagavan. “A nice walking stick with a
silver handle should be used only by officials like you. Why
for me? Look, I have my own walking stick. That is enough,”
concluded Bhagavan.

“When that one is worn out, you could use this one,
couldn’t you?” asked another devotee. “Why these costly
things for me? If a bit of wood were chiselled, a walking stick
could be made out of it in an instant. While I was on the hill,
I used to chisel a lot of wood into walking sticks, smooth
them and preserve them. Not even a paisa was spent on that
account. Several people took away those walking sticks. They
were our own. Why all this ostentation for us? Those cheap
walking sticks will do for us.” So saying, Bhagavan gave the
stick back to the devotee.

As a rule, Bhagavan does not use costly things. He likes
things which do not cost even a paisa.

(144) PEACE OF MIND ITSELF IS LIBERATION

Prev Next    16th September, 1947
The day before yesterday, an Andhra lady with her
husband came to Bhagavan and asked, “Swami, I have heard
several discourses on Vedanta. I also do some meditation.

Sometimes while in meditation, I feel blissful and tears come
to my eyes; at other times I do not have them. Why is that?”
Bhagavan with a smile, said, “Bliss is a thing which is
always there and is not something which comes and goes.

That which comes and goes is a creation of the mind and
you should not worry about it.”
The lady: “The moment the bliss that comes, with a
thrill of the body, disappears, I feel dejected and desire to
have the experience over again. Why?”
Bhagavan: “You admit that ‘you’ were there both when
the blissful feeling was on and when it was not? If you realize
that ‘you’ properly, those experiences will be of no account.”
Another questioner: “For realizing that bliss, there must
be something to catch hold of, mustn’t there?”
Bhagavan: “There must be a duality if you are to catch
hold of something else, but what IS, is only one Self, not a
duality. Hence, who is to catch hold of whom? And what is
the thing to be caught?”
No one replied, and with a kindly expression, Bhagavan
said, “The inherent vasanas are so strong. What can be done?”
A young man came in, sat down, and gave a note to
Bhagavan.

Bhagavan, after reading it, said, “See, in this note is
written, ‘Is peace of mind liberation (moksha)?’ The reply is
contained in the question itself. What else can be said? He
must have asked after knowing what mind (chitta) is.”
Someone asked the young man, “You know what is
meant by chitta, don’t you?”
The young man: “Chitta means mind.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, but what about it? Your question itself
states that peace of mind is liberation.”
The young man: “The mind is at times peaceful and at
other times distracted. How are we to prevent those
distractions?”
Bhagavan: “For whose mind is that distraction? Who is
it that is enquiring?”
The young man: “For my mind. The enquirer is myself.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, that is the real thing. There is a thing
called ‘I’. Peace being experienced now and then, it must be
admitted that there is a thing called peace. Moreover, those
feelings called desires are also of the mind, and if desires
were banished, there would be no wavering of the mind;
and if there is no wavering, that which remains is peace. To
attain that which is always there requires no effort. Effort is
required only for the banishing of all desires. As and when
the mind wavers, it must be diverted from those matters. If
that is done, peace remains as it is. That is Atma, the Self,
that is Liberation and that is Self.”
ytae ytae iniírit mníÂlmiSwrm!,
ttSttae inyMyEtdaTmNyev vz< nyet!.

Restraining the restless and fidgety mind from all those
objects after which it runs, one should repeatedly
concentrate on the Self.

Gita, VI: 26

(145) ARUNACHALAM

Prev Next    20th September, 1947
Four or five days ago, some devotees who were going
for Giripradakshina, asked me to accompany them and so I
went with them after obtaining Bhagavan’s permission. By
the time we reached Adi Annamalai, it began to rain and so
we took shelter in a small mutt by the side of the road. I
asked a sadhu who was there, “Whose is this mutt?” “It is
Manivachakar’s” he said. When I enquired about the
circumstances under which the mutt happened to be built,
he narrated all sorts of stories. I could not understand what
exactly he said; even then I listened to him patiently, without
further questioning, in the hope of getting the required
information from Bhagavan himself later.

Yesterday I waited for an opportunity to enquire about
this but Bhagavan was busy reading the story about
Sundaramurti in the Kaleswara Mahatmyam. This Kaleswara
Mahatmyam is a part of Brahmavaivartha Puranam. He read
out to us the portion relating to Sundaramurti going to the
Kaleswara Temple but before entering it, Sundaramurti went
for a bath to the Gaja Pushkarini Tank which was opposite.

When he came out of the tank after his bath, he found that
the temple had vanished. So Sundaramurti sang a few songs,
expressing his regret at going to the tank for a bath and not
to the temple first for the Lord’s darshan. Thereafter the
temple reappeared. After reading some more portions of
the story Bhagavan remarked, “Everything appeared to him
first as a large expanse of water and nothing else and later
as Jyothi (divine light).”
A devotee enquired, “It is said that Arunachalam is
also a form of Jyoti.” “Yes. It is so. For the human eye it is
only a form of earth and stone but its real form is Jyoti,”
said Bhagavan. Taking advantage of this opportunity I
asked, “There is a mutt in Adi Annamalai in the name of
Manikkavachakar. What could be the reason for its being
named like that?” “Oh! That one. It seems he came to
Tiruvannamalai also in his pilgrimage. He then stood at
that particular place and addressing Arunagiri, sang the
songs ‘Tiruvempavai’ and ‘Ammanai’. Hence the mutt got
established there, in commemoration. You must have heard
of the ‘Tiruvempavai’ songs; they are twenty in number.

Andal sang thirty songs in praise of Lord Krishna and in
the same strain Muruganar also has sung songs in praise of
me,” said Bhagavan.

DEVOTEE: “How did this Mountain get the name
Annamalai?”
BHAGAVAN: “That which is not reachable by Brahma or
Vishnu is Annamalai. That means it is the embodiment of
the Jyoti which is beyond word or mind. Anna means
unreachable. That is the cause of the name.”
DEVOTEE: “But the mountain has a form and a shape.”
BHAGAVAN: “When Brahma and Vishnu saw it, it
appeared as a pillar of Light enveloping the whole universe.

It was only later that it appeared like a mountain. This is
Ishwara’s sthula sariram (gross body). Jyothi itself is the sukshma
sariram (subtle body). That which is beyond all these bodies
is the Reality. Subtle means the Tejas (illumination which fills
the whole universe).”
DEVOTEE: “Was it the same thing even to Sundaramurti?”
BHAGAVAN: “Yes. At first it appeared as Jalamayam
(expanse of water), subsequently as Tejas (Lustre all round)
and finally to the human eye it appeared as a temple.

Mahatmas always look with divine eyes. Hence everything
appears to them as Pure Light or Brahman.”
NAGAMMA: “Bhagavan has, I believe, written a padyam
(verse) about the birth or appearance of the Arunachala
Linga, is it true?”
BHAGAVAN: “Yes. I wrote it on a Sivarathri day in the
year Vikrama, when somebody asked for it. Perhaps I have
written it in Telugu also.”
NAGAMMA: “Yes. It is stated in that Telugu padyam that
the linga appeared in dhanurmasam on the day of the Arudra
star; that Vishnu and the devas worshipped Siva who gave
divine vision to them; that was in the month of Kumbha.

What is the original story? And what was the occasion for
the festivities connected with the Krithika star?”
BHAGAVAN: “Oh! That! Brahma and Vishnu were
quarrelling as to who was greater. In the month of Kartika,
on the day of the Krithika star, a luminous pillar appeared
between them. To mark that event, a festival of lights is
celebrated on that day every year. You see, both Brahma
and Vishnu got tired of their fruitless search for the beginning
and the end of the pillar. Depressed by defeat they met at a
common place and prayed to God Almighty when Lord Siva
appeared before them in the pillar and graciously blessed
them. At their request, He agreed to be within their reach
for worship in the shape of the mountain and the Linga (in
the temple). He also told them that if they worshipped Him
thus, He would after a time, come out in the shape of Rudra
and would help them in all possible ways. Then He
disappeared. From then onwards, in the month of Dhanus,
on the day of the Arudra star, Brahma and Vishnu began to
worship the Linga that had manifested itself according to
the promise of Ishwara. As they continued the worship from
year to year in the second half of the month of Kumbha on
the thirteenth/fourteenth day at midnight, Siva manifested
Himself from that Linga and was then worshipped by Hari
and the devas. Hence that day is called Sivarathri as stated in
the Linga Puranam, and Siva Puranam. It seems it is only
from then onwards the worship of the Linga commenced. It
is emphatically stated in Skanda Purana that it is only in
Arunachala that the first Linga manifested itself.”

(146) MANIKKAVACHAKAR

Prev Next    21st September, 1947
From the time Bhagavan told me about the probable
reason for the establishment of Manikkavachakar’s Mutt in
Adi Annamalai I have been keen to hear the story of his
birth and achievements. When an opportunity came I asked:
“It is stated that while Manikkavachakar was singing the
Tiruvachakam, Natarajamurthy wrote it down. Is it true?
Where was he born?”
BHAGAVAN: “Yes. It is true. That story will be found in
Halasya Mahatmyam. Don’t you know?”
NAGAMMA: “There is no copy of Halasya Mahatmyam in
Telugu here. So I do not know.”
BHAGAVAN: “I see. If that is so, I shall tell you the story
in brief.” So saying Bhagavan narrated the following story:
“Manikkavachakar was born in a village called Vadavur
(Vatapuri) in Pandya Desha. Because of that people used to
call him Vadavurar. He was put to school very early. He read
all religious books, absorbed the lessons therein, and
became noted for his devotion to Siva, as also his kindness
to living beings. Having heard about him, the Pandya King
sent for him, made him his Prime Minister and conferred
on him the title of ‘Thennavan Brahmarayan’, i.e., Premier
among brahmins in the south. Though he performed the
duties of a minister with tact and integrity, he had no desire
for material happiness. His mind was always absorbed in
spiritual matters. Feeling convinced that for the attainment
of jnana, the grace of a Guru was essential, he kept on making
enquiries about it.

“Once the Pandya King ordered the minister to
purchase some good horses and bring them to him. As he
was already in search of a Guru, Manikkavachakar felt that
it was a good opportunity and started with his retinue
carrying with him the required amount of gold. As his mind
was intensely seeking a Guru, he visited all the temples on
the way. While doing so he reached a village called
Tiruperundurai. Having realised the maturity of the mind
of Manikkavachakar, Parameswara assumed the form of a
school teacher and for about a year before that had been
teaching poor children in the village seated on a street pial,
near the temple. He was taking his meal in the house of his
pupils every day by turn. He ate only cooked green
vegetables. He was anxiously awaiting the arrival of
Manikkavachakar. By the time Manikkavachakar actually
came, Ishwara assumed the shape of a Siddha Purusha
(realised soul) with many sannyasis around him and was seated
under a Kurundai (yellow amanth) tree within the compound
of the temple. Vadavuraar came to the temple, had darshan
of the Lord in it, and while going round the temple by way
of pradakshina, saw the Siddha Purusha. He was thrilled at the
sight, tears welled up in his eyes and his heart jumped with
joy. Spontaneously, his hands went up to his head in
salutation and he fell down at the feet of the Guru like an
uprooted tree. Then he got up, and prayed that he, a humble
being, may also be accepted as a disciple. Having come down
solely to bestow grace on him, Ishwara, by his mere look,
immediately gave him Jnana Upadesa (initiation into
knowledge). That upadesa took deep root in his heart, and
gave him indescribable happiness. With folded hands and
with joyful tears, he went round the Guru by way of
pradakshina, offered salutations, stripped himself of all his
official dress and ornaments, placed them near the Guru
and stood before him with only a kowpeenam on. As he felt
like singing in praise of the Guru he sang some devotional
songs, which were like gems. Ishwara was pleased, and
addressing him as Manikkavachakar, ordered him to remain
there itself worshipping Him. Then He vanished.

“Fully convinced that He who had blessed him was no
other than Ishwara Himself, Manikkavachakar was stricken
with unbearable grief and fell on the ground weeping and
saying, “Oh! my lord, why did you go away leaving me here?”
The villagers were very much surprised at this and began a
search for the person who was till then working in their village
as a school-teacher but could not find him anywhere. Then
they realised that it was the Lord’s leela. Some time later,
Manikkavachakar got over his grief, decided to act according
to the injunctions of Ishwara, sent away his retinue to Madurai,
spent all the gold with him on the temple and stayed there
alone.

Hearing all that had happened, the king immediately
sent an order to Manikkavachakar to return to Madurai.

But then how could he go to the king without the horses? If
he wanted to purchase them then, where was the money?
Not knowing what to do, he prayed to Lord Siva for help.

That night Lord Siva appeared to him in a dream, gave him
a priceless gem and said, “Give this to the king and tell him
the horses will come on the day of the Moola star in the
month of Sravana.” Startled at that vision he opened his eyes,
but the Lord was not there. Manikkavachakar was however
overjoyed at what had happened, put on his official dress
and went to Madurai. He gave the gem to the king, discussed
the auspicious time when the horses would be arriving and
then was anxiously waiting for the day. He did not however
resume his official duties. Though his body was in Madurai,
his mind was in Tiruperundurai. He was merely biding time.

The Pandyan King, however, sent his spies to Perundurai
and found out that there were no horses there meant for
the king and that all the money meant for their purchase
had been spent in the renovation of the temple. So he
immediately put Manikkavachakar in prison making him
undergo all the trials and tribulations of jail life.

“Meanwhile, as originally arranged, on the day of the
Moola star, Ishwara assumed the guise of a horseman,
transformed the jackals of the jungle into horses, and brought
them to the king. The king was astonished at this, took
delivery of the horses and according to the advice of the
keeper of the stables, had them tied up at the same place
where all his other horses were kept. He thanked the
horseman profusely, and after sending him away with several
presents, released Manikkavachakar from jail with profuse
apologies. The same night, the new horses changed into their
real forms, killed all the horses in the stables, ate them,
created similar havoc in the city and fled. The king grew
very angry, branded Manikkavachakar as a trickster and put
him back into jail. Soon in accordance with Iswara’s orders,
the waters of the river Vaigai rose in floods and the whole of
the city of Madurai was under water. Alarmed at that, the
king assembled all the people and ordered them to raise up
the bunds of the river. For the purpose, he ordered that
every citizen should do a certain amount of work with a
threat of dire consequences should he fail to do his allotted
work.

“There was in Madurai an old woman by name ‘Pittuvani
Ammaiyar’. She was a pious devotee of Lord Siva. She was
living alone earning her livelihood by daily preparing and
selling ‘pittu’ (pittu is sweetened powdered rice pressed into
conical shapes). She had no one to do her allotted work on
the river bund nor had she the money to hire a person to do
it. She was therefore greatly worried and cried, ‘Ishwara!
What shall I do?’ Seeing her helplessness, Ishwara came there
in the guise of a cooly with a spade on his shoulder and
called out, ‘Granny, granny, do you want a cooly?’ ‘Yes’, she
said, ‘but I do not have even a paisa in my hand to pay you.

What to do?’ He said, ‘I do not want any money and would
be satisfied if you give me some portion of pittu to eat. I shall
then do the allotted work on the river bund.’
“Pleased with that offer, she began making pittu but they
did not come out in full shape but were broken. Surprised
at this she gave all the bits to the cooly. He ate as many of
them as he could and went away saying that he would attend
to the bund-raising work. Surprisingly, the dough with the
old woman remained intact even though she had prepared
and given bits of the pittu to the cooly. The cooly went to the
workspot, but instead of doing the work lay down there idly
standing in the way of others doing their work.

“The king went round to inspect the progress of the
work and found that the portion allotted to Ammaiyar
remained unattended to. On enquiry, his servants told him
all about the pranks of that cooly. The king got infuriated,
called the cooly and said, ‘Instead of doing the allotted work,
you are lying down and singing.’ So saying he hit the cooly
on the back with a cane he had in his hand. The hit recoiled
not only on the king himself but on all living beings there
and all of them suffered the pain on that account. The king
immediately realised that the person hit by him was
Parameswara himself in the guise of a cooly. The king stood
aghast. Parameswara vanished and soon a voice from the
sky said, ‘Oh king! Manikkavachakar is my beloved devotee.

I myself did all this to show you his greatness. Seek his
protection’. Soon after hearing that voice, the king went to
see Manikkavachakar, and on the way he stepped into the
house of Pittuvani to see her. By that time she had already
got into a vimanam (a heavenly car moving through the skies)
and was on her way to Kailasa. The king was greatly surprised
and saluted her and from there he went straight to
Manikkavachakar and fell at his feet. Manikkavachakar lifted
him with great respect, and enquired of his welfare. The
king entreatingly said, ‘Please forgive me and rule this
kingdom yourself.’ Manikkavachakar, looking at the king,
said with kindness, ‘Appah! (a term of endearment) As I have
already agreed to serve the Lord, I cannot be bothered with
the problems of ruling a kingdom. Please do not mistake
me. Rule the kingdom yourself looking after the welfare of
the people. Henceforth you will have nothing to worry
about.’ So saying, smilingly, he put on the dress of a
sannyasin, went about visiting holy places singing the praise
of Siva. There are several stories like this.”
NAGAMMA: “When was the Tiruvachakam written?”
BHAGAVAN: “No. He never wrote. He merely went about
singing his songs.”
NAGAMMA: “Then how did Tiruvachakam get to be
written?”
BHAGAVAN: Oh that! He was going from one place to
another until he came to Chidambaram. While witnessing
Nataraja’s dance he started singing heart-melting songs and
stayed in that place itself. Then one day Nataraja, with a
view to making people know the greatness of
Manikkavachakar and to bless those people with such an
excellent collection of hymns, went to the house of
Manikkavachakar in the night, in the guise of a brahmin. He
was received cordially and when asked for the purpose of
the visit, the Lord smilingly and with great familiarity asked,
‘It seems you have been singing Hymns during your visit to
the sacred places of pilgrimage and that you are doing it
here also. May I hear them? I have been thinking of coming
and listening to you for a very long time but could not find
the required leisure. That is why I have come here at night.

I suppose you don’t mind. Can you sing? Do you remember
them all?’ ‘There is no need to worry about sleep. I shall
sing all the songs I remember. Please listen’. So saying
Manikkavachakar began singing in ecstasy. The Lord in the
guise of a brahmin, sat down there writing the songs on palm
leaves. As Manikkavachakar was in ecstasy he hardly noticed
the brahmin who was taking down the songs. Singing on and
on, he completely forgot himself in the thought of God and
ultimately became silent. The old brahmin quietly
disappeared.

“At daybreak, the dikshitar (priest) came to the Nataraja
Temple as usual to perform the morning puja and as he
opened the doors he found in front of the Nataraja idol a
palm-leaf book on the doorstep. When the book was opened
and scrutinised there were in it not only the words
‘Tiruvachakam’, it was also written that the book was written
as it was dictated by Manikkavachakar. It was signed below
‘Tiruchitrambalam’, i.e., Chidambaram. The stamp of Sri
Nataraja also was there below the signature. Thereupon, all
the temple priests gathered in great surprise and sent word
to Manikkavachakar, showed him the Tiruvachakam, and the
signature of Nataraja and asked him to tell them about the
genesis of the hymns.

“Manikkavachakar did not say anything but asked them
to accompany him, went to the temple of Nataraja and
standing opposite to the Lord said, ‘Sirs, the Lord in front
of us is the only answer to your question. He is the answer.’
After having said that, he merged into the Lord.”
As he narrated the story, Bhagavan’s voice got choked.

Unable to speak any more he remained in ecstatic silence.

(147) THE OMNIPRESENT

Prev Next    25th September, 1947
Bhagavan was reading something from a Malayalam book
yesterday afternoon. Someone nearby enquired whether it was
the Vasishtam, and Bhagavan replied in the affirmative. A Pandit
who was there began discussing the stories in the Vasishtam,
and said, “Swami, there will be several bondages for the
attainment of realization, will there not?”
Bhagavan, who was reclining on the sofa, sat up and
said, “Yes, that is so. They are the bondages of the past, the
future and the present.”
“Of past bondages there is a story in the Upanishads
and also in the Vasudeva Mananam. A brahmin with a large
family acquired a she-buffalo and, by selling milk, curds,
ghee, etc., he maintained his family. He was fully occupied
the whole day with obtaining fodder, green grass, cotton seed,
etc. for the buffalo and in feeding her. His wife and children
passed away, one after the other. He then concentrated all
his love and affection on the buffalo, but, after a time, the
buffalo too passed away. Being thus left alone and disgusted
with family life, he took to sannyasa, renouncing the world,
and began practising prayer and meditation at the feet of a
Holy Teacher (Sadguru).

“After some days, the Guru called him and said, ‘You
have been doing spiritual practices (sadhana) for several
days now. Have you found any benefit from them?’ The
brahmin then related the above story of his life, and said,
‘Swami, at that time I used to love the buffalo mostly because
it was the mainstay of my family. Though it passed away
long ago, yet when I am deeply engrossed in meditation, it
always appears in my thoughts. What am I to do?’ The
Guru, realizing that it was a past bondage, said, ‘My dear
friend, the Brahman is said to be ‘asti, bhati and priyam’. Asti
means omnipresent; bhati means lustre; priyam means love.

That buffalo, being an object of your love, it also is the
Brahman. It has a name and a form; so what you should
do is to give up your own name and form as well as those of
the buffalo. If that is done, what remains is the Brahman
itself. Therefore, give up names and forms and meditate.’
“The brahmin then meditated, giving up both of them,
and attained realization (jnana). Name and form are past
bondages. The fact is, that which IS, is only one. It is
omnipresent and universal. We say ‘here is a table’, ‘there is
a bird’, or ‘there is a man’. There is thus a difference in
name and form only, but That which IS, is present
everywhere and at all times. That is what is known as asti,
omnipresent. To say that a thing is existent, there must be
someone to see — a Seer. That intelligence to see is known
as bhati. There must be someone to say, ‘I see it, I hear it,
I want it’. That is priyam. All these three are the attributes of
nature — the natural Self. They are also called existence
consciousness, bliss (sat-chit-ananda).”
Another devotee queried, “If priyam (Love), is a natural
attribute, it should be existent no matter what the object
may be. Why then is it not existent when we see a tiger or a
snake?”
Bhagavan replied, “We ourselves may not have any
love for them, but every species has love towards its own
kind, hasn’t it? A tiger loves a tiger, and a snake a snake. So
also a thief loves a thief and a debauchee a debauchee. Thus,
love is always existent. There is a picture presented to you
on a screen. That screen is asti, omnipresent, and the light
that shows the pictures is bhati and priyam, lustre and love.

The pictures with names and forms come and go. If one is
not deluded by them and discards them, the canvas screen,
which has been there all through, remains as it is. We see
pictures on the screen with the help of a small light in an
atmosphere of darkness; if that darkness be dispelled by a
big light, can the pictures be visible? The whole place
becomes luminous and lustrous. If, in the same way, you
see the world with the small light called mind, you find it
full of different colours. But if you see it with the big light
known as Self-realization (atma-jnana), you will find that it
is one continuous universal light and nothing else.”

(148) BONDAGES

Prev Next    26th September, 1947
A devotee who had been listening to all that Bhagavan
had said yesterday morning about past bondages, came and
sat near Bhagavan today.

The devotee spoke: “Yesterday, Bhagavan was pleased
to tell us about past bondages, but he did not tell us anything
about present and future bondages.”
“That is so,” said Bhagavan, “but then has not Sri
Vidyaranya, in his Panchadasi explained in detail about future
bondages and the way in which deliverance from them can
be had?”
“I have not read the Panchadasi,” said the devotee.

“Then I will tell you,” said Bhagavan, and proceeded
to expound it:
“Present bondages are said to be of four types —
‘vishaya asakti lakshanam’, ‘buddhi mandyam’, ‘kutharkam’ and
‘viparyaya duragraham’. The first of these means great desire
for material things; the second, inability to grasp the
teachings and expositions of the Guru; the third means to
understand perversely the teachings of the Guru; the fourth
is to feel egoistically that ‘I am learned in the Vedas’, ‘I am
a Pandit’, ‘I am an ascetic’. These four are called present
bondages. If it is asked how these can be overcome, the
first can be overcome by tranquillity (sama), by curbing the
evil propensities of the mind (dama), by detachment (uparati)
and by indifference to external things (titiksha). The second
type can be overcome by hearing the teachings of the Guru
over and over again; the third by reflection or
contemplation; and the fourth by profound meditation on
a thought. If, in this way, the obstacles are removed and
destroyed, seekers get confirmed in their belief that they
are themselves the embodiment of the Self (atma-swarupa).

“As for future bondages, they arise from acts done without
anyone knowing they are sinful. How can this be discovered?
A seeker should recognize it as a future bondage when some
action presents itself which makes him feel that he wishes to
do it because the doing of it is an act of human kindness and
sympathy; and so he is tempted into doing it. He does not
realise that the act will be the cause of future bondage. If he
thinks that, by being a non-doer (akarta) and worldly-detached
(asanga), the fulfilment of the desire will not affect him and he
can therefore do the act, he will become bound all the same
and will be freed from the bondage only after several more
births. That future bondages result in re-births is
authoritatively stated in the Scriptures (srutis and smritis).

Vasudeva, for instance, had one more birth, Bharata had
two more, and others many more. Hence a seeker must bear
in mind the three bondages and carefully avoid them. If he
does not avoid them there can be no doubt that he will have
more births. ‘Whosoever is released from these three
bondages, for him deliverance (mukti) is certain,’ said
Vidyaranya. All this is mentioned also in the Vasudeva
Mananam in which, in addition to this, a number of stories
are related. The story of Bharjuva and that of Yajnapasu are
particularly interesting, as also that of Asura Vasana. For
each aspect of these bondages, a separate story is given by
way of illustration. Have you not read even that?”
“I did read it when young but did not realise that it
contains such important matters. I will look into it again,
Bhagavan.”
With that, the devotee took his leave of Bhagavan.

(149) BRINDAVANAM

Prev Next    28th September, 1947
This morning, a North Indian wrote the following on a
slip of paper and handed it over to Bhagavan.

“If I could have audience (darshan) of the real form
(swarupa) of Lord Krishna in Brindavanam, would I find
the strength to rid myself of all my troubles? I want to have
audience with Him to tell Him all my troubles.”
Bhagavan replied, “Yes, what is the difficulty? It can be
done all right. After seeing Him, all our burdens will be
transferred to Him. Even now, why worry about it? Throw
all the burden on Him and He will see to it.”
The questioner: “If I want to see the real form of Lord
Krishna, do I have to go to Brindavanam and meditate, or
could it be done anywhere?”
Bhagavan: “One should realize one’s own Self and when
that is done, Brindavanam is wherever one is. There is no
need to go from place to place thinking that Brindavanam is
somewhere else. Those who have the urge to go, may go,
but there is nothing imperative about it.

AhmaTma gufakez svRÉUtazyiSwt>,
Ahmaidí mXy< c ÉUtanamNt @v c.

Arjuna, I am the Self seated in the hearts of all beings. I
am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all
beings.

Bhagavad Gita, X: 20
“Where one is, there is Brindavanam. If one enquires
as to who one is and what one is, and finds out the truth,
one becomes oneself. To resolve all inherent desires into one’s
own Self is real surrender. After that, our burden is His.”
A priest, one Sastri, who was present, enquired, “It is
said in the Bhagavad Gita, XIII: 10 ‘Vivikta desa sevitvam aratir
janasamsadi’. What is meant by ‘vivikta desa’?”
Bhagavan replied, “‘vivikta desa’ is that where there is
nothing but the Supreme Self, the Paramatma. ‘aratir
janasamsadi’ means to remain without getting mixed up with,
or absorbed by the five senses (vishayas). It is these five senses
that rule the majority of people. ‘Vivikta desa’ is that state in
which they are in abeyance.”
The questioner said, “The ‘vivikta desa’ state to which
Bhagavan refers is, I take it, the state of intuitive experience
(aparoksha), and if so, that state of intuitive experience can
only be attained if one follows the precepts, i.e., does sadhana,
for keeping the senses in abeyance. Is that right?”
“Yes, that is so,” replied Bhagavan. “In the Vasudeva
Mananam and in other books, it is stated that one has to gain
conceptual realization (paroksha jnana) with the help of a Guru
by the act of hearing (sravana) and musing (manana), and
then gain knowledge of ‘intuitive experience (aparoksha)’ by
spiritual practice, and by consequent complete maturity of
the mind. It is stated in the Vicharasagara: ‘Intuitive
experience (aparoksha) is always present; the only obstacle is
conceptual knowledge (paroksha)’. Spiritual practice (sadhana)
is required to remove the obstacle; there is no question of
attaining intuitive experience. It is all the same — hearing
and the like, are necessary whether it is to know the intuitive,
or to remove the obstacles. Those who are able to overcome
the three-faced obstacles are likened to the naked light in a
windless place, or to the ocean in a waveless state; both are
true. When one feels the Self within one’s body, it is like the
naked light in a windless place; when one feels that the Self
is all-pervading, it is like the waveless ocean.”

(150) SIMPLE LIVING

Prev Next    18th October, 1947
Recently, owing to some maladjustment in diet,
Bhagavan’s health has been somewhat indifferent. Noticing
this, a rich devotee, by name Kamala Rani, sent a soup made
of costly vegetables and sweet grapes to the Ashram one
morning, with a request that it might be served to Bhagavan.

As it was received just as Bhagavan was about to take his
food, Bhagavan accepted it.

Next day, she again prepared it in the same way and
sent it to the Ashram. But this time, looking at his attendants,
Bhagavan said, “Why this daily? Please tell her not to send it
henceforth.”
The lady, however, sent it the following day too.

“There!” said Bhagavan, “It has come again. She will
not stop sending it. I should have said ‘No’ at the very
beginning. It was my mistake to have accepted it.”
A devotee said, “At present, Bhagavan is much run down.

She is perhaps sending it because a liquid preparation with
grapes might be good for Bhagavan’s health.”
“Oho!” Bhagavan exclaimed, “Is that so? And have you
authority to plead on her behalf?”
“That is not it, Bhagavan. I am saying so because I
thought that such preparations might be good for the health.”
“May be so,” rejoined Bhagavan, “but such things are
for rich people, not for us.”
“That devotee says that she herself will prepare it and
send it,” persisted the devotee.

“That is all right,” replied Bhagavan, “and if so, please
find out if she could supply the same thing for all the people
who sit here.”
“Why to all people?” asked the devotee.

“Then why to me alone?” said Bhagavan.

“It is possible to do it, if it is for Bhagavan alone, but
would it be possible to prepare the same costly food for
everyone?” said the devotee.

“Yes, that is just it,” said Bhagavan, “everyone says the
same thing, ‘We will do it for Bhagavan alone’. Yet, if it is
good for Bhagavan, is it not good for all others? If, with the
amount spent on this preparation, broken rice were brought
and rice-gruel (kanji) prepared, a hundred people could
partake of it. Why this expensive preparation for me alone?”
“Our anxiety is that Bhagavan’s body should be healthy.”
“That is all right,” Bhagavan rejoined, “but do you
mean to say that health could be maintained only if soup
prepared from grapes and costly vegetables is taken? If it
were so, then rich people should all be enjoying good
health. Why is it then that they are more unhealthy and
sickly than the others? The satisfaction that poor people
get by taking sour rice-gruel cannot be had from anything
else. In olden days, when we were doing the cooking during
summer, we used to have a pot into which we put all the
cooked rice left over, fill it up with water, a little buttermilk,
a little rice-gruel, dry ginger and lemon leaves, and set it
aside. It would get sour, cool and clear. The liquid used to
be drunk with a pinch of salt by all of us by the tumblerful,
and we used to feel very happy. No one had any illness
whatsoever. Even now, if I were to drink two tumblerfuls of
such water, all my ailments would disappear. But then
nobody prepares it for me. ‘Aye! Aye! How could we give
sour milk gruel to Swami?’ they say. What is to be done? To
prepare soup of this sort will cost a rupee. If, with that
money, millet (ragi) were brought and ground into flour, it
would last for about a month for preparing gruel from it
which is very healthy and nutritive. The amount spent on a
single meal could be utilized for the living of a person for a
month. I took all those things while I was on the hill and I
used to be very satisfied. Now, who will do that? Grape
juice, tomato soup and the like are offered to me. Why do I
require such things? Tell her not to send the soup from
tomorrow.”
The thing stopped there. Bhagavan told us several times
that while he was living on the hill he was eating bilva fruit
(a sort of wood-apple) for some days and sustaining himself
on it. Bhagavan does not like to eat any food without sharing
it with the people around him.

(151) ON BEING THE MASTER

Prev Next    22nd October, 1947
Bhagavan’s body has become much reduced of late and
some of the devotees have been saying that it is due to his not
taking enough of nourishing food. Having heard this a Bengali
lady brought some pieces of guava sprinkled with salt and
chilly powder, and said beseechingly, “Bhagavan, you are
getting very thin; it is good to eat fruit like this. Please accept
my humble offering.”
Bhagavan said with a smile, “Who is it that is thinner?
You or I?”
She said it was Bhagavan.

Bhagavan: “That is nice. Who exactly has grown thin
will be known if the weight is taken. If you like, you may eat
those fruits every day yourself. Why this for me? It is all
right; you have brought them to day, but please do not bring
them again.” So saying, Bhagavan took a few pieces and said
to his attendants, “See how lean she is! Please give her several
of these pieces and distribute the rest to the others.”
One of those who could venture to talk to Bhagavan
more freely said, “Bhagavan, you have recently very much
reduced the amount of food you take daily. It’s not good.”
“Oho!” said Bhagavan. “Who told you that? I am taking
whatever I require. What good would there be in my taking
more food and getting fat? By getting fat, do you know how
many ailments one suffers? The more you eat, the greater
will grow the strength of the ailment. If you eat just what is
necessary, ailments will be avoided.”
“Why have you given up taking even pepper-water and
buttermilk?” said another devotee.

“You enquire why?” said Bhagavan. “If you observe what
is being done when the meals are served, you yourself will
understand. Buttermilk is brought into the dining hall in big
buckets with large ladles. When taking out the buttermilk for
serving me, the ladle is full, but when the same is served to
the very next person, the ladle is only half full. When I saw
that, I got disgusted and felt that I myself should not take any
more than half a ladleful.”
“Why not at least take fruit juice?” said the devotee.

“So this has started again!” said Bhagavan. “Everyone
says the same thing. How will all that be possible for me?”
“What do you mean, Bhagavan? We get quite a lot of
fruit. Why say that it is impossible? You yourself have stated
that what is offered voluntarily can be accepted.”
“So that is it!” said Bhagavan. “If I did say that such
offerings could be accepted, did that mean that the people
around could be ignored?”
“True,” said the devotee, “but quite a lot of fruit is
received; it can be distributed to the others too.”
“All is very well,” said Bhagavan, “but where have we
the wherewithal to give them all? The fruit is shown here to
the Swami as an offering, a naivedya, and then taken away. It
is kept locked in the store room. The keys are in the charge
of the store-keeper. Who will go and ask him? In the same
way, the various articles here are in the custody of someone
or other; I have none. This is the result of being a spiritual
preceptor!” said Bhagavan smiling.

It seems that some fifteen days back, someone brought
some green pepper. Bhagavan had that pepper, some
myrobalams, acetic acid, salt and other ingredients mixed,
ground and made into little pills. Today Sivanandan came
in to enquire whether he could get the pills for Bhagavan, as
they are supposed to be good against phlegm and Bhagavan
had been using them now and then during the cold weather.

As Sivanandan had not enquired about them all these fifteen
days and is doing it only now, Bhagavan said with a laugh,
“I see, you have now remembered about them. Yes, yes, you
have been waiting to see whether I would ask for them, and
thereby test me. Were I to ask, you would say, ‘What is this?
Swami has begun to ask about everything and is worrying
us’. What am I to do? They feel that if they but salute me
once, I should thereafter do everything they want. People
say that spiritual preceptorship (swamitvam), is a matter for
happiness. But see, this is what it is to be a spiritual preceptor.

Would it not be good if a book is written on spiritual
preceptorship?”
“Bhagavan is saying something unusual,” said a devotee.

Bhagavan replying with a smile, said, “What is there
unusual about it? It is all true. ‘Swami is seated on a sofa
with a soft mattress spread on it. What is there for him to
worry about?’ That is what people think. But do they know
about our troubles? That is why I say that it would be good
for a big book to be written on spiritual preceptorship. If all
the things that have happened here during the last years
had been written in the form of a book, it would be as big as
the Mahabharatham! Anyone who cares to write it, may do so
even now!” he said.

“Who would write all that?” said a devotee.

“Why not?” said Bhagavan. “If a book recording these
events is written, all people will then know that spiritual
preceptorship consists in saying, ‘Yes, yes,’ and ‘All right, all
right’. What is the difficulty in writing about it?”
So saying, Bhagavan looked at me and with a laugh
said, “Why? If you like, you can write it!”

(152) ONE-POINTEDNESS

Prev Next    24th October, 1947
Yesterday a monkey with her baby stood in the window
by the side of Bhagavan’s sofa. Bhagavan was reading
something and so did not notice it. After a while, the monkey
screeched and one of the attendants tried to drive her away
by shouting, but she would not go. Bhagavan then looked up
and said, “Wait! She has come here to show her baby to
Bhagavan. Do not all the people bring their children to show
them? For her, her child is equally dear. Look how young that
child is.” So saying, Bhagavan turned towards her, and said in
an endearing tone, “Hullo! So you have brought your child?
That is good!” And, giving her a plantain, he sent her away.

Did you hear about what the monkeys did last
Independence Day? A few days before, on the 11th or 12th,
while Bhagavan was seated in the Jubilee Hall, an army of
monkeys came clamouring for fruit. Krishnaswami, the
attendant, tried to drive them away by shouting, whereupon
Bhagavan said, “Remember, the 15th of August is an
Independence day for them as well. You must give them a
feast on that day instead of driving them away.”
On the 14th, while some of the Asramites were busy making
arrangements for the hoisting of the flag, the army of monkeys
came again and again. One of the servants tried to drive them
away. Seeing this, Bhagavan said with a laugh, “Do not drive
them away, please. They too have attained independence, have
they not? You must give them Bengal-gram, lentils and parched
rice and feast them. Is it proper to drive them away?” “But
tomorrow is the Independence Day, Bhagavan,” said the
servant, “not today.” Bhagavan laughed, “So that’s it, is it? But
when you are making arrangements for the celebrations, should
they not make their own arrangements? That is why they are
busy, don’t you see?”
You know what happens with the monkeys on other
occasions? One of the attendants will be sitting with a basket
to receive the fruit offered to Bhagavan by devotees. Off
and on the attendant sits with closed eyes being drowsy or
listening to the radio. Waiting for a suitable opportunity,
some of the monkeys come and snatch away the fruit. When
the people in the hall try to scare them away, Bhagavan would
say, “When these attendants are immersed in deep meditation
(dhyana samadhi), the monkeys come and see to the work of
the attendants. Someone has to look after the work! The
attendants put the fruit into the basket, the monkeys put the
fruit into their stomachs; that is all the difference. While
people forget themselves while listening to the music over
the radio the monkeys busy themselves in enjoying the sweet
juice of the fruit. That is good, isn’t it!” If the monkeys come
while no attendants are there, Bhagavan says, as soon as one
returns to duty, “See, not one of you was here and so the
monkeys have been looking after your work. They are
actually helping you. So you can take some rest. When I was
on the hill, they were my constant companions. You now
drive them away, but in those days, theirs was the empire.”
Sometimes these great monkey-warriors knock the fruit
out of the hands of newcomers, while on their way to
Bhagavan, and at times even snatch away the fruit which
people keep by their side after having had it given back to
them as prasadam* by Bhagavan’s attendants. Noticing these
things Bhagavan would say, “They take their share of the
fruit, why be angry with them? There is the concentrated
look, the ‘lakshya drishti’. Somehow they find out where the
fruit is kept and in the twinkling of an eye, all of them come
and take away their share. Their attention is always on the
fruit. That is why, in Vedantic parlance, the monkey’s look is
given as an illustration of the concentrated look, lakshya drishti.

The moment the Guru makes a sign with his eye, the disciple
should understand; otherwise the disciple cannot achieve
his aim.

(153) EXISTENCE AFTER REALIZATION

Prev Next    26th October, 1947
This morning after Veda Parayana, a gentleman who came
a few days ago, enquired of Bhagavan, “Swami, it is said that
though a Jnani (a realised soul) appears to be doing all the
* It is customary in India, on offering fruit or flowers to the deity
or a holy man, for a portion of the offering to be returned to the
devotee.

routine things, he really does nothing. How can that be
explained?”
Bhagavan: “How? There is a story about it. Two friends
while travelling on business slept the night somewhere, and
one of them had a dream that he and his companion had
gone together to several places and had done various things.

On rising in the morning, the other man had nothing to say,
for he had slept soundly. But the first man asked his friend
about the various places they had seen together during the
night, but the second man could say nothing about them,
having had no dream like the other. He merely said, ‘I have
gone nowhere; I have been here only’. As a matter of fact,
neither had gone anywhere; but the first man had only an
illusion of having gone. Similarly, to those who look upon
this body as real, and not unreal as in a dream, it may appear
real, but, strictly speaking, nothing affects the Jnani.”
Remarked some other person: “It is said that the eyes of
a Jnani appear to look at things, but in reality they see nothing.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, the eyes of the Jnani are likened to the
eyes of a dead goat, they are always open, never closed. They
glitter but they see nothing, though it seems to others that
they see everything. But what is the point?”
The devotee continued: “It is also said that for such
adepts, siddhas, there is no conditioning or limitation (upadhi)
of space and time.”
Bhagavan: “That is right. It is true that there is no such
thing as conditioning or limitation, but the doubt then arises
as to how the day-to-day work is done. It has therefore to be
said that they have limitation. It is also stated that the
limitation will be there in a subtle way until there is
deliverance from the body (videha mukti). It is like a line drawn
on water; the line appears while it is being drawn, but is not
there immediately after.”
The devotee: “If that is so for emancipated souls (siddha
purushas), there will be no upadhi (support) after their mortal
body falls away. But Bhagavan himself has said that there
are several emancipated souls on this hill. If they have no
support (upadhi) how could they remain in existence?”
Bhagavan:
]Ir< ]Ire ywa i]Ý< tEl< tEle jl< jle,
s<="" yait="" twa="TmNyaTmivNmuin">.

Those who have attained complete emancipation (jnana
siddhi) merge with the universe after their bodies fall off,
just as milk merges with milk, oil with oil, water with water.

In the case of lower souls, because of some samskaras or
latent tendencies remaining unexpired, they stay in this
world, taking whatever form they please, and ultimately
become merged.

Viveka Chudamani, verse 567
The devotee: “Why does that difference arise?”
Bhagavan: “It arises because of the strength of their
desires (samkalpas).”

(154) VAIRAGYA, BODHA, UPARATI (NON–ATTACHMENT, ILLUMINATION, DESIRELESSNESS)

Prev Next    28th October, 1947
I have recently been reading the Vasudeva Mananam.

Yesterday I read in the chapter of “Vairagyabodhoparati”
that, if Realization be attained, then liberation, (moksha) can
be gained even without vairagya (non-attachment) and uparati
(desirelessness). I asked Bhagavan how that could be, as
according to the Ancients, the sign of a Realized Soul (Jnani)
is non-attachment.

Bhagavan replied, “It is true that non-attachment is the
sign of a Realized Soul. But it is also stated in the same book
that any apparent attachment one may be conscious of
pertains to the body only and not to the Self. That attachment
is a deterrent to the complete happiness of a jivan mukta, i.e.,
of one delivered from worldly bonds during his lifetime;
whereas for the videha mukta (one who is delivered from
worldly bonds only at death), Realization alone is important.

When it is stated that liberation can be gained by obtaining
realization even without non-attachment and desirelessness,
it means that liberation is gained only at the time of death. It
cannot be said, however, that it will all be of waste if one has
non-attachment and desirelessness yet no realization, for they
will enable one to attain heaven (punyaloka). It is all mentioned
in Vasudeva Mananam.”
I then asked how realization could ever be attained
without non-attachment and desirelessness.

Bhagavan explained, “Non-attachment, Illumination
and desirelessness (vairagya, bhodha, uparati), these three, will
not remain separate from one another. After attaining
realization though one may continue outwardly to show
attachment, inwardly non-attachment will necessarily be
there. It is however said to be a hindrance to the complete
enjoyment of bliss by a jivan mukta. Owing to the strength of
the results of past actions (prarabdha), he acts as one having
inherent tendencies (vasanas); but, strictly speaking,
attachment will not touch him. That is why it is said to be the
result of past actions.”
I asked whether that meant that, even though one
attained knowledge of the Self, one would not be able, were
past actions to remain too strong, to discard inherent
tendencies, and that, until those inherent tendencies were
destroyed, one could not attain undisturbed peace.

Bhagavan replied, “Yes, those who are firm in their
vairagya, bodha and uparati are indeed in a high state of
realisation, that means they are jivan muktas. If instead those
for whom Self-realisation alone is the most important, but
out of prarabdha they move about as if they have attachments,
they remain conscious of the fact that they actually do not
have attachments. Strictly speaking such attachments do not
affect them. That is why in Vasishtam it is said that even in
the third stage, vasanas get exterminated and the mind gets
destroyed. If it is asked when the fourth stage is reached
and where is the need for the fifth and the sixth stage, some
vague replies are given. So long as there is a doubt, there is
an explanation. The disappearance of all doubts is
realisation.”
“For a Realized Soul,” I asked, “to the extent to which
he has non-attachment, will he to that extent have tranquillity
and peace; while to the extent that his attachment grows,
will he to that extent be further removed from tranquillity?”
“Yes,” said Bhagavan, “that is the meaning.” And so
saying, he was again silent.

(155) KNOWLEDGE OF OTHER LANGUAGES

Prev Next    29th October, 1947
This afternoon at 2-30, Bhagavan was reading a
Malayalam book and was speaking to a devotee seated near
him. The devotee was asking, “Did Bhagavan learn to read
Malayalam in his younger days?”
“No,” Bhagavan replied, “while I was staying in
Gurumurtham, Palaniswami used to be with me. He had a
copy of the Adhyatma Ramayanam and was often reading it
aloud. Every Malayali who knows how to read, invariably
reads that book.

“Hence, even though he did not know how to read well,
he somehow managed to read it, albeit with many mistakes.

I was at the time observing silence, and so I used merely to
listen. After we shifted to the palmyra grove, I took the book
and found it to be in Malayalam script. Having already learnt
that script, I easily learned to read and write.”
“When did you learn Telugu?” asked someone.

“When I was in the Virupaksha Cave,” said Bhagavan,
“Gambhiram Seshayya and others asked me to write some
stanzas in Telugu and so I transcribed letter by letter from
Sanskrit into Telugu script and practised them. Thus I slowly
learnt Telugu in the year 1900.”
I asked him when he had learnt the Nagari script.

“That must also have been about the same time,” said
Bhagavan. “Muthurama Dikshitar and others used to come
frequently, as they had books in Nagari script, I used to
copy the letters and in that way got used to them.”
Someone said, “We had heard that you learnt Telugu
only after Nayana came to you.”
“No,” said Bhagavan, “I learnt it much earlier, but I got
used to speaking it freely only after he came, that’s all.”
“We had heard,” said another, “that you learnt Telugu
in your boyhood days.”
“I did not know how to write or read Telugu at that
time,” said Bhagavan. “My grandfather’s younger brother
knew Telugu; he used to keep me by his side on the cot and
teach me Telugu alphabet. That was all. I learnt Telugu only
while writing the stanzas. Subsequently, when I wrote
‘Upadesa Saram’, Yogi Ramiah wanted it in Telugu, so I wrote
it in couplets (dvipada), closely following the Tamil metre. I
then showed it to Nayana who said that it was not a correct
Telugu couplet and he taught me the metres (ganas) of the
Telugu verses. I wrote them down in Tamil script and then
made the required alterations. When I showed it to Nayana,
he said it was correct and could be given to the printers. Later,
when Balarama Reddy got me a copy of the Sulakshana Saram,
I learnt the metres of the other verses, copied them on two
pages of paper and pasted them in our copy of the Telugu
primer. That has been sufficient for my purposes. Now, if
anyone reads a verse, I can easily find out in what metre it is
and what mistakes, if any, there are. I learnt one language
after another in the same way. I did not purposely learn any
language,” said Bhagavan.

(156) TURIYAVASTHA (THE FOURTH STATE)

Prev Next    30th October, 1947
This morning, a young Tamilian asked Bhagavan,
“Swami, it is said that there is no world without the individual
soul and God (jiveswara). What is the meaning of it?”
“Yes,” Bhagavan told him, “the world, individual soul
and God (jagatjiveswara) are the embodiment of the three
qualities or gunas.”
“Is the Personal God, Ishwara, to be included in the
three qualities?” asked the young man.

“Certainly,” said Bhagavan. “In that group, goodness
(satvam) is the personal God (Ishwara); activity (rajas) is the
individual soul (jiva); and heaviness (tamas) is the world
(jagat). It is said that the Self is pure goodness (suddha satva).”
A young Bengali who was present asked, “Swami,
samadhi
1
is said to be of two sorts: ‘kevala nirvikalpa’
2
and ‘sahaja
nirvikalpa’
3
. What are their attributes?”
Bhagavan looked kindly at him, and said, “One who
accustoms himself naturally to meditation (dhyana) and
enjoys the bliss of meditation, will not lose his samadhi state
whatever external work he does, whatever thought may
come to him. That is called ‘sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi.’ It is
these two states that are called complete destruction (nasa)
and suppression (laya); nasa is sahaja nirvikalpam and laya is
kevala nirvikalpam. Those who are in the laya (suppressed)
samadhi state will have to bring the mind back under control
from time to time. If the mind is destroyed, it will not sprout
again; the mind will then be something like a fried seed.

Whatever is done by such people is just incidental; they
will not slide down from their high state. Those that are in
the kevala nirvikalpa samadhi state are not siddhas
4
; they are
mere sadhakas.

5
Those who are in the sahaja nirvikalpa state
are like a light in a windless place, or the ocean without
waves; that is, there is no movement. They cannot find
anything which is different from themselves. For those who
l
Samadhi is that state of absorption within when distinction between
subject and object is lost.

2
Kevala nirvikalpa samadhi is the state of absolute thought-free
awareness. The mind which is subject to Vasanas is forcibly stilled
by a person sitting quietly for some time. At other times he gets
back to his normal worldly activities.

3
Sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi is the state of pure awareness even during
normal activities.

4
Semi-divine beings supposed to be of great purity and holiness
and said to be particularly characterized by eight supernatural
faculties called Siddhis.

5
Those who are practising to become Siddhas.

do not reach that state, everything appears to be different
from themselves.”
Two days ago, a young man in ochre robes and
belonging to the Ramakrishna Mission, asked, “What is
meant by the ‘Fourth State’ (turiyavastha)?”
Bhagavan replied, “There is no such thing as the Fourth
State. Self itself is the Fourth State.”
“Why then do people say the ‘Fourth State’ and ‘Beyond
the Fourth State’ (turiya and turiyatita)?” asked the questioner.

Bhagavan replied, “What there is, is one state only; you
may call it turiya or turiyatita or what you like. The wakeful
state (jagrat), the dream state (swapna) and the state of deep
sleep (sushupti) — these three states go on changing like the
scenes in a cinema. All the three are ideas of the mind. That
which is beyond these three, and which is real and
permanent, is the Self itself. That is the state called the Fourth,
the turiya, state. In common parlance, people talk of the
‘Fourth State ‘and of ‘Beyond the Fourth State’, and so on,
but strictly speaking, there is only one state.”

(157) UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD

Prev Next    19th November, 1947
Until some time ago, the evening Veda Parayana,
(chanting of the scriptures), was held in the little hall, but
for some time past, many people, for lack of space, have had
to sit outside. Now that the Golden Jubilee Hall* has been
*A great ridge-roofed and thatched verandah abutting on to the
old hall facing the hill. Bhagavan sat on a stone couch at its western
end, head to the north.

constructed, the evening Veda Parayana has been shifted
there. It was after this change that the Maharani of Baroda
presented a white peacock to the Ashram.

During the early days after its arrival, Bhagavan watched
over it with great care, for it was very young. It slept at night
in Bhagavan’s old hall; being summer time, Bhagavan himself
slept out in the Jubilee Hall at night, and hence, the morning
scripture chanting (the Upanishad parayana) was held there.

But now, with the onset of winter, the attendants moved
Bhagavan back into the old hall at nights. The peacock at
night rested on a beam in the hall with the consequence that
the floor underneath it became very dirty by the morning
and much inconvenience was felt at the early morning
parayana, some people being actually obliged to sit outside.

This disgusted the attendants, and on expressing their
disgust, Bhagavan said, “Why are you disgusted? Why not
get a cage made and keep the peacock in it in the Jubilee
Hall?” Taking the hint, a devotee immediately had a cage
made.

The cage was placed in the Jubilee Hall next to the
stone couch of Bhagavan, and this automatically became the
home of the peacock. The day it was moved out to the Jubilee
Hall, Bhagavan who had been sleeping in the old hall until
then, insisted on his bed too being shifted outside to the
Jubilee Hall. But, as it was now very cold at night, it was
feared that sleeping in the open hall would adversely affect
Bhagavan’s health. On the devotees expressing their fears,
Bhagavan laughed and said, “The peacock came to us from
somewhere. What respect is it to that guest if we make him
sleep outside while we sleep inside? If a relative comes to
your house, is it proper to make him sleep on the verandha
while you sleep inside the house? If possible, we have to take
him inside, or else, we too should sleep outside on the
verandah.” Turning to his attendants, he said, “If you are
afraid of the cold outside, you can sleep inside.”
The attendants said, “Sleeping outside will be bad for
Bhagavan’s health. If necessary, one of us will sleep there to
keep the peacock company.”
“Enough, enough of this!” said Bhagavan. “Will that
not affect your health? If you want to, you can sleep inside.”
However much they pleaded, Bhagavan was adamant
and slept that night out in the Jubilee Hall.

Next afternoon, as soon as Bhagavan went out for
his walk at about 4-45, his attendant Krishnaswami
removed Bhagavan’s things from the Jubilee Hall back
into the old hall and arranged for the Veda Parayana to be
held there. Seeing this, on his return, Bhagavan said, “This
is what I don’t like, keeping the peacock a prisoner in its
cage and leaving it there outside, while we are all here
inside. Not only that, it was because this hall was found to
be insufficiently small for the Veda Parayana that we shifted
outside to the Jubilee Hall. Has this hall then grown any
bigger? Are we again to allow some people into this hall
while others are forced to be outside? Why is all this? If
everything is done there in the Jubilee Hall, the peacock
will not feel lonely and we shall have ample space. From
tomorrow arrangements should be made accordingly. If
you shift my seat here, I will not sit here, so take care!”
Having spoken thus, Bhagavan had his bed transferred
after food to the Jubilee Hall and slept there keeping the
peacock company.

The next day, Bhagavan went back to sit in the old
hall but on going out in the afternoon, Bhagavan looked at
the peacock’s cage and again said, “It is all right if, by the
time I return, you have arranged for the Veda Parayana to
be held in the Jubilee Hall; otherwise I will spread my towel
and sit here alone. If you find it difficult to change my seat
from one hall to the other, I will stay all day long in this
Jubilee Hall only. It is just as you please. After all, what do
I need? This towel is enough for me.”
By the time Bhagavan returned from his walk, his seat
was shifted into the Jubilee Hall. It was after this incident that
the old hall was extended and that Bhagavan continued to
stay there all the time. Treating all living beings that come
into his presence as near and dear relatives is possible for
Bhagavan alone. Is it possible for us?

(158) REMEMBERANCE — FORGETFULNESS

Prev Next    21st November, 1947
At 3 o’clock this afternoon, the white peacock came into
Bhagavan’s presence and began moving about in the midst
of us all. A devotee, noticing how tame it was, remarked,
“This bird appears to have a knowledge of its previous births;
would it otherwise move so freely in the midst of all these
people?”
Bhagavan said, “That is why so many people here say
that it is Madhava (an old attendant of Bhagavan who had
recently passed away) who has come here in this form.”
The devotee asked, “If so, will it know that it was so
and so in its last birth?”
Bhagavan: “How could it? No one knows about his
previous birth. People forget, and that forgetfulness is good.

In this one life alone, we are sometimes terribly worried over
what had happened in the past. Could we bear such worries
if we knew all about our previous births? Knowing the facts
of previous births means knowing one’s own Self. If that is
known this birth and the previous births will be seen to be of
the mind and its desires (sankalpa) only. See in how many
different ways this creation has been described in the
Vasishtam. When Gadhi asked Krishna to show him his illusory
bodies (maya swarupam), He showed him innumerable forms.

The story of Lavana Maharaja is also like that, and the story
of Sukra is still more interesting. It is told that Sukra remained
in samadhi without realizing that his body had meanwhile
completely decayed and was no longer in existence. During
that time, he had several births. At last he was born as a
brahmin and, while leading an austere life on Mount Meru,
his father Bhrugu with the God of Death (Kala) in their
human bodies (sthula sarira) went to him and told him all
that had happened during his births and rebirths. Sukra
then accompanied them both and saw his original body and,
with the permission of the God of Death, entered into it. In
some other stories it is told that what appeared to one person
in a dream, another saw it in the waking state itself. Among
these, which story is true?” added Bhagavan.

The devotee said, “If something appeared to one in a
dream, how could it appear to someone else in the waking
state?”
“Why not?” said Bhagavan. “That is also a dream,
though of a different sort. Like the pictures that appear on a
screen, everything that appears is the creation of the mind.

In reality one is not any one of those things. In this unreal
world, which is like a doll’s play, it is better to forget everything
rather than remember that one was that doll or this picture.”
The devotee: “According to the material world, we have
to say, ‘this is mine’, must we not?”
“Yes, indeed,” replied Bhagavan, “we have to say so.

By merely saying so, however, there is no need to think
that we are all that, and get immersed in the pleasures and
sorrows relating to that. When we ride in a carriage, do we
feel that we are the carriage? Take the example of the sun;
it shines in water in a small pot, in big rivers and in a mirror.

Its image is there. But just because of that, does it think
that it is all that? The same thing with us. All the trouble
arises if one thinks one is the body. If one rejects that
thought, then, like the sun, one will shine everywhere and
be all-pervading.”
The devotee: “It is for that, is it not, that Bhagavan says
that the best thing to do is to follow the path of Self-enquiry
of ‘Who am I’?”
Bhagavan: “Yes; but in the Vasishtam it is mentioned
that Vasishta told Rama that the path of Self-enquiry should
not be shown to anyone who is not sufficiently qualified. In
some other books it has been stated that spiritual practices
should be done for several births, or for at least twelve years
under a Guru. As people would be scared away if I said that
spiritual practices had to be done for several births, I tell
them, ‘You have liberation already within you; you have
merely to rid yourselves of exterior things that have come
upon you’. Spiritual practices are for that alone. Even so,
the Ancients have not said all this for nothing. If a person is
told that he is the Godhead, Brahman itself, and that he is
already liberated, he may not do any spiritual practices,
thinking that he already has that which is required and does
not want anything more. That is why these Vedantic matters
should not be told to spiritually undeveloped people
(anadhikaris); there is no other reason.” And Bhagavan smiled.

A recently arrived devotee, taking up the thread of the
conversation said, “In the stanza on Sankara, ‘like a city in a
mirror, the Universe is a reflection in the Self (viswam darpana
drisyamana nagari tulyam nijanthargatam)’. The statement that
the world is a myth and unreal is for ordinary people and not
for Realized Souls. Is that not so?”
“Yes,” replied Bhagavan, “In the eyes of the Realized Soul,
everything appears to be full of Brahman. The non-realized
soul (the ajnani) cannot see anything, however much he is told.

Hence all the scriptures are for the ordinary people only.”

(159) THE PATH OF SELF–ENQUIRY

Prev Next    29th November, 1947
This afternoon, a devotee asked Bhagavan, “Swami, for
gaining Realization, is the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ the only way?”
Bhagavan answered him: “Enquiry is not the only way.

If one does spiritual practice (sadhana) with name and form,
repetition of holy names (japa), or any of these methods with
grim determination and perseverance, one becomes THAT.

According to the capacity of each individual, one spiritual
practice is said to be better than another and several shades
and variations of them have been given. Some people are a
long way from Tiruvannamalai, some are very near; some are
in Tiruvannamalai, while some get into Bhagavan’s hall itself.

For those who come into the hall, it is enough, if they are
told as they step in, ‘Here is the Maharshi’, and they realize
him immediately. For others they have to be told which route
to take, which trains to catch, where to change, which road
to turn into. In like manner, the particular path to be taken
must be prescribed according to the capacity of the practiser
(sadhaka). These spiritual practices are not for knowing one’s
own Self, which is all-pervading, but only for getting rid of
the objects of desire. When all these are discarded, one
remains as one IS. That which is always in existence is the
Self — all things are born out of the Self. That will be known
only when one realizes one’s own Self. So long as one has
not that knowledge, all that is seen in this world appears as
real. Supposing a person sleeps in this hall. In his sleep he
dreams of going somewhere, loses his way, wanders from
one village to another, from one hill to another, and during
that time, and for days together, searches without food or
water. He suffers a good deal, enquiries of several people
and finally finds the correct place. He reaches it, and feeling
that he is stepping into this hall, greatly relieved, he opens
his eyes with a startled look. All this will have happened within
a short time and it is only after he wakes up that he realizes
that he had not been anywhere. Our present life is also like
that. When the eye of knowledge is opened, a person realizes
that he remains ever in his own Self.”
The questioner asked further: “Is it true that all spiritual
practices, as is said, merge into the path of Self-enquiry?”
“Yes,” replied Bhagavan, “the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ is
the beginning and the end of the teachings of Vedanta. It
is said that only he who has the assets of the four kinds of
spiritual practice is fit for Vedantic enquiry. Of the four
categories of practice the first is the knowledge of the Self
and the non-Self (atma and anatma). That means a
knowledge that the Self is eternal (nitya) and that the world
is unreal (mithya). How to know this is the question. It is
possible to know this by enquiry as to ‘Who am I?’ and
what is the nature of my self! Usually this procedure is
suggested at the beginning of the spiritual practice, but
generally it does not carry conviction. So all sorts of other
spiritual practices are resorted to and it is only ultimately,
as a last resort, that the practiser takes to Self-enquiry. The
alphabet A B C D E, etc., are learnt while young. If it is
stated that these letters are the fundamentals for all
education and that there is no need to study for B.A. or
M.A., will people listen to such advice? It is only after
studying and passing these examinations that it will be
realized that all that has been studied is contained in those
fundamental letters A B C, etc. Are not all the scriptures
contained in the elementary thing, the alphabet? That it is
so, is only known after learning by heart all the scriptures.

It is the same with every one of these things. There are a
number of rivers, some flow straight, some wind and twist
zig-zag, but all of them ultimately become merged in the
ocean. In the same way, all paths become merged in the
path of Self-enquiry, just as all languages become merged
in Silence (mouna). Mouna means continuous speech; it does
not mean that it is a vacuum. It is the speech of self,
identifying with the Self. It is Self-luminous. Everything is
in the Self. In Tamil Nad a great person composed and
sang a song the purport of which is, ‘We are like a screen,
and the whole world appears like pictures on it. Silence is
full and all-pervading’. Like the saying, ‘` pU[Rmd> pU[Rimd<
pU[aRTpU[RmudCyte’ (om purnamadah purnamidam purnath purnam
udachyate),* everything appears to be the same for the
Realized Soul. Even though he sees something it is as good
as his not seeing it.”
So saying, Bhagavan was once more silent.

- - -
* “From the Fullness when the Full is taken the Full remains.”
The Abstract Brahman in Its fullness is all-pervading. The Jiva in
the body is also full with the knowledge of the Brahman and
awareness of the world. From the former, i.e., nirvikalpa Brahman,
is born the latter, i.e., savikalpa Brahman, with all the fullness of
the world.

(160) THE HOLY BEACON

Prev Next    29th November, 1947
When the Holy Beacon is lit on Arunachala, it is a sight
well worth seeing. In the Ashram, in Bhagavan’s presence, a
small deepam is also simultaneously lit, sacramental offerings
(prasadam) are distributed and “Akshara Mana Malai” and
other hymns are sung.

This year in particular, as there was no rain, the function
went off very well. In the afternoon, from 3 o’clock onwards,
the devotees started making preparations for the festival at
the Ashram. In the Jubilee Hall, the floor was decorated with
lime and rice powder floral designs, while hanging from the
roof all round, were mango leaf festoons. On such occasions,
the crowds which come to town for this Dipotsavam (Festival
of Lights) usually visit the Ashram in the morning as they go
round the hill; whereas in the evenings, it is mostly the
Asramites who are present at the Ashram celebrations, and
there is no crowd.

On this evening, when Bhagavan went out to the
cowshed, the attendants placed his couch in the open space
facing the summit of the hill, spread the bedding on it and
put a stool with all the things on it that Bhagavan usually
has by him. Opposite the couch a large shallow iron pan was
placed on a high stool, ghee poured into it and a wick placed
in the centre; flowers and garlands were strewn around it.

Just as these preparations were nearing completion,
Bhagavan came from the cowshed with his attendants, and
it was as though it were actually Lord Siva Himself arriving
on the scene. Spontaneously those gathered there rose;
Bhagavan seated himself on the couch and all prostrated
before him. We then sat in rows, the men on Bhagavan’s
right, the women on his left, along the steps leading to the
Hill. The space in front of Bhagavan was filled, not only
with baskets of fruits brought by the devotees, but also with
vessels of all sorts full of sweetmeats and other preparations.

When the ghee brought by devotees was poured into the
pan, it was overflowing. Camphor was then placed on the
wick. The fragrance from the lighted incense sticks spread
on all sides and created a holy atmosphere.

Bhagavan sat lovingly looking at all the devotees and
related to those near him the significance of the Festival of
Lights. He also pointed out the exact place where the
deepam was to be lit on the hilltop. After that, Veda Parayana
began.

By the time the parayana was over, the sun had set. Soon,
little lights in earthenware saucers were lit all round the hall
and garlands of electric lights of many colours were switched
on. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the lighting of the sacred
beacon on the hilltop and the attendants had handed to
Bhagavan a binocular with which he, too, was eagerly
scanning the hill. While his gaze was concentrated on the
summit of the hill, ours was concentrated on his Divine face,
for it was just a reflection of Arunachala.

With the firing of crackers at the Temple, the light
on the hilltop appeared. Immediately, the ‘akhanda jyoti’
(uninterrupted) light, opposite Bhagavan was lighted. The
Brahmins rose and chanted the mantra, ‘na karmana
naprajaya dhanena’, and lit the camphor; kumkum and vibhuti
were distributed and then all the devotees sat down. After
Bhagavan had partaken of a little fruit and some
sweetmeats, the rest were distributed amongst the
devotees. Immediately after that, the devotees divided
themselves into two parties, one singing the hymns in the
“Akshara Mana Malai”, and the other taking up the refrain
‘Arunachala Siva’. After that, the five stanzas beginning with
‘Karunapurnasudhabhde’ in Sanskrit and its equivalent in
Tamil were recited.

Bhagavan sat resting his cheek on his hand, slightly
reclining on the pillow — his characteristic pose. His face
appeared as though mirroring his Self-illumination, with his
silence and his profound thought reflected on it. The moon
rose in the east and cast its light on him as though seeking
its light from him. I sat there, facing east, with my back
against the almond tree. If I looked west, I had the light of
the Arunachala Hill; if I looked ahead I had the brilliant
light of the moon; and if I looked to the right, I had the
glowing light emanating from Bhagavan’s face. What a sight
it was, and how lucky I felt that I had the three-faced Light
around me that night! I felt an inexplicable bliss and
involuntarily closed my eyes.

On hearing the sound of the dinner bell, I opened my
eyes. Bhagavan was looking steadily at me, and that look
was more than I could stand; involuntarily my head hung
down. Bhagavan smiled and entered the dining room, the
devotees following him.

After the meal, with Bhagavan’s permission, we, the
devotees, started for the walk round the hill. I shall write to
you about it some time later.

(161) POOR MAN’S MITE

Prev Next    30th November, 1947
I have already written to you that on the night of the
festival of the Holy Beacon, (i.e., the Deepam Festival) when
the Beacon at the top of the hill was lighted, we took the
permission of Bhagavan and went round the hill. Hitherto,
the usual practice had been to go round the hill before the
festival, not after. But this time, however we started at night,
after the evening meal. There were about a hundred of us.

With Bhagavan in our hearts and with the Beacon Light
on the top of the hill before our eyes, and with the full moon
brightly shining, we started out on foot. Devotees who had
had the privilege of accompanying Bhagavan on his walks
round the hill in his earlier days, began to tell us about their
experiences: “Bhagavan used to sit here”; “here we used to
cook”; “this happened here”; “Bhagavan told us about this,
there.” While they were relating such incidents, we did not
feel the fatigue of walking, for we were absorbed in the tales.

But for the fact that we wanted to get back for the Veda
Parayana at 5 a.m., we might only have returned at day-
break. As it was, we returned at 3 a.m.

I will now tell you some of the things the devotees told
us that night:
As we were approaching the Unnamalai Tank, a devotee
said, “When Bhagavan went round the hill, he used to sit
here for some time so that those who were lagging behind
might catch up with the party. Let us also sit here and wait
for a while.” We accordingly all sat there for some time.

“How long ago was it that Bhagavan gave up going
round the hill?” I asked.

“Till 1926 Bhagavan used to do it. That was an exhilarating
experience,” said Kunjuswami, one of the old devotees.

“Why not tell us some of the incidents of those days?”
we asked. Kunjuswami agreed and began to tell us as follows:
“One day, we all felt like going round the hill with
Bhagavan. When we told him, he readily consented and we
started that afternoon immediately after food. It was usual
for Bhagavan to walk slowly while going round the hill, so
Venamma hearing that he had gone and confident that she
could catch up with the party in no time, started out with a
big basket of provisions.

“We were passing Sona Thirtham when Bhagavan
noticed Venamma at a distance, approaching, and he said,
‘There, you see, Venamma is coming. Someone must have
told her and sent her with a basket of food. However much I
protest, people will not give up these things. There she is,
with a heavy load on her head. All right, this is going to be a
punishment for her.’
“So saying, he began to walk fast. Could she overtake
him if he walked fast? Let us see. She continued to hurry,
panting and fretting all the time, but did not stop walking.

Bhagavan continued to walk in this way until we passed the
Gautamasram, when he looked back. He could see that she,
too, was walking fast, and, his heart melting at the sight, he
led us to a mango grove that was nearby the road.

“Standing under the shade of one of the trees, Bhagavan
said, ‘We will stop here. There is a well, and if not here, we
may not get water anywhere else near. I was hoping that she
would give us up, but she would not. She is tired and is
panting for breath. What a shame!’ So saying, he sat down.

“Unable to discover our whereabouts, and coming up
to the trees, Venamma began anxiously saying, ‘Where has
Bhagavan gone? There is no sign of him anywhere’. When
Bhagavan heard this, he began laughing, whereupon she
traced us to where we were and joined us. After eating what
she had brought us, we began our walk again, Venamma
now with us. From that day, we named the tree Venamma’s
mango tree.

“Bhagavan used to tell us that sometimes he started for
pradakshina at night and returned by daybreak. It was the
usual thing to start so. Sometimes, however, we would start
in the morning, with cooking utensils to cook food at noon
either at Sona thirtham or at Gautamasram or at Pachiamman
Shrine, eat, rest and return to the Ashram in the evening.

Before the Ashram grew to its present size, we would go
round leisurely, sometimes taking two days, or three days or
even a week, camping en route.

“On one occasion, we started to go round in the
morning with the intention of returning the same evening.

We stopped at the Gautamasram, cooked our food, ate it
and after taking some rest, packed all the milk, sugar,
buttermilk, etc., that remained and started walking again.

As we were approaching Adi Annamalai, Bhagavan began
walking off on a side road and very fast. Thinking that he
wished to avoid the crowds on the main road, we followed
him.

“After going along a path for about half a furlong, we
came to a tank. At the edge of the tank and under a tree,
sat on old man, his body covered by a blanket and holding
a small pot in his hand. This old man, whenever he heard
that Bhagavan was coming round the hill, would await
Bhagawan’s arrival on the road and bring him something
to eat. Not seeing him on the road, and lest the poor man
should be troubled at missing him, Bhagavan had made
the detour.

“Bhagavan, on seeing him, called him by name and
began talking with him very freely. The old peasant
prostrated before Bhagavan, then stood with folded hands,
saying nothing. ‘What is the matter?’ said Bhagavan, ‘why is
it that I do not see you anywhere these days? Are crops and
cattle all right? How are the children?’ And then, ‘What is in
that pot?’ queried Bhagavan.

“Very hesitantly, the old man said, ‘Nothing particular,
Swami. I came to know that you were coming. I wanted to
bring something as usual to offer you, but there was nothing
in the house. When I asked my old woman, she said, ‘There
is ample food in the cooking pot. You can take it to them’.

Unable to decide what to do, I put some of the food into
this small pot, but ashamed to face you with only this sort
of food to offer you, I was sitting here, Swami.’
“Bhagavan, seemingly very pleased, exclaimed, ‘Oh!
Cooked food, is it? That is excellent. Why be ashamed? It
will be very good. Let me have it’. As the old man was still
hesitating, Bhagavan took the pot from him, sat down under
a tree and told his followers to put down all the things they
had brought. We did accordingly. Bhagavan took out from
among the cooking things, a big open-mouthed tin-lined
vessel into which he put all the food, poured in a lot of water,
and mixed it well into a paste with his hand. Then from
some left-overs amongst our things, he took out some limes
and squeezed the juice into the mixture, poured in some
buttermilk, and made the whole thing into a liquid. Finally
he mixed some salt and dry ginger powder, then took out a
tumblerful of the liquid, drank it, and said, ‘Oh, this is
delicious!’ Then looking at us all, he said, ‘All of you, mix
some sugar with that milk left over and drink it; our luggage
will be lighter. I have this food; so what need have I for the
milk? This is first rate food for me in this hot weather. It is
also very nourishing, and has many other good qualities too.

But you wouldn’t like it, so drink the milk, and please give
my share of it and the sugar to this old man’.

“We accordingly mixed the sugar with the milk and,
after giving some to the old man, we drank the rest.

Bhagavan was meanwhile talking sociably with the old farmer
and taking two or three tumblerfuls of the liquid preparation
saying that it was like nectar. He then said to the old man,
‘My stomach is quite full. I feel that I shan’t be able to take
any food tonight. Take the rest of this liquid food home’. So
saying, he gave the remaining food to the old man, who
accepted it as though it were nectar. Wiping the tears of joy
that were welling up into his eyes, he took leave of us and
went off to his cottage.”
“Until recently,” I said, “that old man used to come to
see Bhagavan every now and then. Vyasa wrote in glowing
terms in the Bhagavatam about the beaten rice that Kuchela
presented to Lord Krishna. Had he seen this Lord’s kindly
act, how much more glowingly would he have written!”

(162) THE SLEEPER IN THE CART

Prev Next    30th November, 1947
Listening to the stories by Kunjuswami, we had gone
beyond Adi Annamalai. On reaching Vetavalam Mandapam,
he asked us whether we had heard why Bhagavan had written
the verse 31 of the “Supplement to the Forty Verses”. On
our answering in the negative, Kunjuswami related the
following incident:
“One night, as we were going round the hill with Bhagavan,
just about here, two or three fully loaded bullock carts were
passing along. The people in the cart were sound asleep, their
legs stretched out, and free from all cares. Pointing them out to
us, Bhagavan said, ‘Did you see that? It is like the natural state,
‘sahaja nishta’. For the Realized One the Self (Atman) which
sleeps in the body, all three states are the same, namely, that of
waking, dream and deep sleep. For example, this cart is going,
the man in the cart is asleep; that is like the working of the
body of a Realized Soul. Supposing the man continues to sleep
even when the cart stops on reaching its destination, is unloaded
and the bullocks removed, and he continues to sleep all through.

That is like the sleep of a Realized Soul. The body is for him a
cart; while in motion, while standing still, or while being
unloaded, that man goes on sleeping.’ Subsequently, the same
idea was expressed in the verse referred to above, which was
also written in prose in Telugu.”*
Continuing our conversation, we walked on and reached
the turning which leads to the Isanya Mutt. Kunjuswami
then continued his narration:
“Sometimes, while going round the hill, it would all of a
sudden rain heavily. Others accompanying Bhagavan would
run for shelter, but he never hurried his pace and walked on
steadily, unaffected by the rain. Once at this turning, it began
to rain heavily; we all ran to the Isanya Mutt, but Bhagavan
walked as usual and was drenched by the time he reached the
mutt. As a rule, he did not go to the mutt because they would
detain him there unnecessarily; he would go alongside the
hill to the Municipal Bungalow over there and sit on the
narrow verandah in front of it. Except for one or two of his
attendants, the rest of the party continued the walk after
prostrating to him. This was because, had they all gone
together as a crowd, the people of the town would come to
* “To the Realized Soul who is asleep in the gross body the states
of activity, samadhi and deep sleep mean no more than a cart’s
moving, stopping and being unyoked mean to a traveller who is
asleep in the cart.” (Translation).

know about our circumambulation and would have gathered
round and begun to do something in adoration of Bhagavan.

So, after sending all the others off, he would cover himself
with a shawl and reach the Ashram by a byepath. Even so,
sometimes a few people would recognize him and offer him
something to eat. If he went round the hill at night, he would,
on nearing the town, ask us not to sing or talk loudly as that
might disturb the people in their sleep.”
By the time Kunjuswami had finished telling us these
incidents, it was about 2 a.m. and we had reached the
town. Everything was quiet, and he again began
reminiscencing to us:
“Another time, during summer, after supper we
started to go round the hill. There was good moonlight
and by the time we reached this place, it was as now about
2 a.m. All the people in the town were asleep and it was
very quiet. Being summer, all the windows of the houses
were open. All the shops were closed and locked; only the
watchmen were patrolling the streets. Bhagavan, pointing
this out to us, said, ‘Do you see how still the whole town
is? The streets, the houses and the lights are there, but all
the people are asleep except the watchmen. Hence it is all
quiet. But when the day breaks, everyone will get up and
there will be activity on all sides. That is like ‘savikalpa
samadhi’. Do you see those big houses and small ones? The
windows are open, but the one who sees is sleeping. That
is like the turiya, or Fourth State. It could be said that the
state of the Realized Soul is also the same and could be
given as an example. It appears as though the eyes see;
they, however, sleep peacefully.”
After listening to this story, we reached our homes. The
next day, after finding out from those near him all the details
of what had happened during our walk round the hill,
Bhagavan said, “When I hear the happy way you went round
the hill, I feel envious of you. But then I cannot go out like
that now.” And he laughed. “If a lot of people accompanied
me, I used to go by the path through the jungle; but if I was
going alone, I used to take the path along the foot of the
hill.”
“Are there three paths for going round the hill?” asked
a devotee.

“Yes. The one is the road, the other is along the foot of
the hill, and beyond it is the jungle path,” said Bhagavan.

“So Bhagavan used to wander along all those paths?”
asked the devotee.

“Why along those paths only?” said Bhagavan, “I might
even say that there is no place on the hill that I have not set
my foot on. There are innumerable Ayurvedic herbs on the
hill; there are waterfalls in several places. That is why it is said
that this mountain is the abode of siddhas (adepts with powers).

Some time ago, a geophysicist came here to find out how old
this hill is, and when he wrote to us on his return to his native
land, he asked us to send him some stones as specimens. They
were sent and, on receiving them, he compared those stones
with some from other mountains (like the Himalayas) and
found that those from Arunachala were older. He himself
wrote to us about it.”

Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

(163) SIX KINDS OF SAMADHIS

Prev Next    3rd December, 1947
This morning a devotee approached Bhagavan and
asked, “Swami, it is said that some people remain in thought-
free awareness (nirvikalpa samadhi) for quite a long time.

Do they take food and other things during this period?”
“How can that be?” asked Bhagavan. “When you are
asleep, do you ever take food?”
“No. But then, during nirvikalpa samadhi, will the mind
be there or not?” asked the questioner.

“Why should it not be there? That which is there in
sleep, is there then also. Just see. Now, from noon 12 o’clock
to 2 p.m. we shut the doors of the hall and sleep inside. That
is also samadhi. A fine type of samadhi indeed! Who knows
whether the mind is there or not?” said Bhagavan.

The devotee asked once again, “What about those who
are in complete awareness (sahaja samadhi)?”
Bhagavan replied saying, “It is just because of such
questions that Vasishta narrated the story of the ‘Sage and
the Hunter’ to Rama to illustrate the fourth or turiya state.

In a forest, once a great Muni sat in the lotus posture
(padmasana) with his eyes open, but in deep trance. A hunter
hit a deer with an arrow, but the deer escaped and ran in
front of the Muni into the bush nearby and hid itself. The
hunter came in hot pursuit of the deer and not seeing it
asked the Muni where it had gone. ‘I do not know, my friend,’
said the Muni. The hunter said, ‘Sir, it ran right in front of
you and you had your eyes wide open. How could you have
not seen it?’ Finding that he would not leave him in peace
unless a proper reply was given, the Muni said, ‘My dear
man, we are submerged in the Self; we are always in the
Fourth State. We do not have the waking or dream or deep
sleep states. Everything is alike to us. These three states are
the signs of the ego and we have no ego. Egoism is itself the
mind and it is that which is responsible for all the deeds
done in this world. That ego (ahankara) left us long ago.

Hence it does not matter whether we keep our eyes closed
or open; we are not conscious of what is happening around
us. That being so, how can I tell you about your deer?” The
hunter thought that it was all sheer nonsense and went his
way.

“It may well be asked, ‘If there is no ‘I’ (aham), how did
he speak?’ When properly understood, that which occurred
as ‘I’ before, becomes our own Nature (swarupa) afterwards.

That is called destruction of mind (mano nasa). That thought-
free awareness or other signs of awareness are cases of
merging (laya) and not of destruction (nasa). So long as there
is merging and emerging, it is merely a state of spiritual
practice (sadhana),” said Bhagavan.

Taking up the thread of the conversation, another
devotee said, “Samadhi is said to be of several kinds such as
Savikalpa (absorbed in the thought) and Nirvikalpa (thought-
free). Can you tell us about them?” Thereupon, Bhagavan
explained thus:
“Yes. Sankara described the six kinds of Samadhi in his
Vivekachudamani and his Drigdrisyaviveka. The six are divided
into two main categories namely, Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa.

The former is divided into two, namely ‘Drisyanuviddha’ and
‘Sabdanuviddha’ and these two are again subdivided as under:
(1) Antar Drisyanuviddha Savikalpa Samadhi: Meditating
upon one’s own Self as a witness of desires and other visible
attributes of the mind.

(2) Antar Sabdanuviddha Savikalpa Samadhi: To know that
the Self is Asanga (contact-free), Swaprakasa (self-luminous),
Sat-chit-ananda (existence, consciousness, bliss) and Advaita
(non-dual).

(3) Antar Nirvikalpa Samadhi: With the exalted feeling of
the Self gained as a result of enjoying the ecstasy of the above
two states and discarding both of them and remaining
motionless like an unflickering light in a windless place.

(4) Bahya Drisyanuviddha Savikalpa Samadhi: As in the
case of the Self that is in the heart, to be able to discard with
indifference the outer things in the world which have their
names and forms and which are visible, and to meditate on
the underlying Reality.

(5) Bahya Sabdanuviddha Savikalpa Samadhi: To know and
be aware at all times that the Thing which manifests itself as
Sat-chit-ananda (existence, consciousness and bliss) is the
universal Brahman.

(6) Bahya Nirvikalpa Samadhi: With the experience of
the above two, to overcome all desires and to remain calm
and motionless like the waveless ocean.

“By constantly practising these six kinds of Samadhi, at
all times and without a break, one can attain a state of
thought-free awareness. Unless one attains that state, the
ego will not be completely destroyed. Persons whose ego is
destroyed are so detached that even if they appear to see
they do not really see; though they appear to eat they do not
really eat; though they appear to hear they do not really
hear; and though they appear to sleep they do not really
sleep. Whatever they do is not really ‘doing’.”

(164) GREATNESS OF NON–ATTACHMENT

Prev Next    5th December, 1947
When yesterday, during some conversation, Bhagavan
was describing the greatness of non-attachment (vairagya),
I said that in the Telugu Bhagavatam, in the second canto,
apropos of Suka Yogi, there is a nice verse about non-
attachment, explaining the path of deliverance. At Bhagavan’s
request, I read aloud the verse, of which the following is a
translation:
Are there not nice places on the earth on which to lie down?
Why the cotton bedding?
Are there not hands which nature has given?
Why all the various implements for eating and drinking?
Are there not fibre cloth, deer-skin and kusa grass for wear?
Why fine cloth of different varieties?
Are there not caves in which to live?
Why these houses and palaces?
Do not the trees yield juicy fruits?
Do not the rivers give sweet water?
Do not good housewives give alms?
Why then serve those who have become blind and proud
On account of their wealth?*
Having listened with great interest, Bhagavan said
emphatically, “That is right. In this part of the country, one
of our Ancients wrote almost similarly, ‘O Lord, Thou hast
given me a hand to use as a 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 of kings wish for such
* Original Telugu Verse:
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|ü&çj·TT+&ÉT≥≈£î
düVü≤»+ãT \>∑T ø£sê+»\T\T ̋Ò≈£îqïy ̊
uÛÀ»quÛ≤»q|ü⁄+» y ̊T\
e\ÿ ̋≤õq ≈£îXÊefi ̄ó\T ̋Ò≈£îqïy ̊
øÏ≥o
>=qø=ì edæsTT+|ü >∑TVü≤\T ̋Ò≈£îqïy ̊
ÁbÕkÕ<äkâ
|òü\s¡kÕ∑T&çj·Ty ̊ bÕ
kÕ«
u§dü">∑ _Ûø£å+ãTô|≥oπs |ü⁄D ́dü‘·T\T
<ûäûqet<ë+
happiness. There is nothing to equal it. Having experienced
both these conditions, I know the difference between this
and that. These beds, sofa, articles around me — all this is
bondage.”
“Is not the Buddha an example of this?” I said.

“Yes,” said Bhagavan, “when he 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, realized 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, recognized him, made her son
prostrate before his father and herself prostrated. After that,
the father recognized 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.

(165) SELF–ENQUIRY: ESSENTIAL IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE

Prev Next    7th December, 1947
Recently some people in responsible positions in Madras
came here and stayed for some days. On one of the days,
they went to the Gurumurtham and Pavalagiri caves on the
hill, where Bhagavan had lived long ago, and returned in
time for the evening Veda Parayana. After the parayana, when
Bhagavan was telling us about his life at the Pavalakkunru
Temple, and enquiring whether they had seen this or that
there, one of the party said to him, “Bhagavan tells us most
interestingly about those places we have just seen, but by the
time we reached the Pavalakkunru Temple and went into
the room there, we were thoroughly exhausted. Bhagavan
stayed there for a long time and we now realize how
completely Bhagavan must have felt that the body was not
his. Swami, how can people like us be saved from our
materialistic outlook? If we ask, you will surely say, ‘It is
enough if you go on with Self-enquiry — Who am I?’ How is
that possible for us who are family people and are doing our
respective jobs? If the mind goes on with worldly affairs,
how can we get peace of mind?” Bhagavan simply remained
silent, listening to them quietly.

This morning when I got to the Ashram, one of the
Asramites was speaking freely with Bhagavan and was saying,
“Yesterday evening, the people who came from Madras asked
you some questions, but you did not answer. Why was that?
In the past when Sivaprakasam Pillai wrote a verse beginning
‘Udalinai veruthum’ I am told that you were also silent. Why,
Bhagavan? Does it mean that no one can become a Realized
Soul, a Jnani, unless he lives in a lonely place like that?”
“Who said that?” Bhagavan replied. “The nature of the
mind is determined by its former actions, its samskaras. People
are able to continue to do all their work and yet pursue their
Self-enquiry and ultimately become Realized Souls. Janaka,
Vasishta, Rama, Krishna and others like them, are examples
of this. Again, for some it would appear impossible to do this
and they have to go to solitary places to become Realized
Souls through Self-enquiry. Of these, Sanaka, Sanandana,
Suka, Vamadeva, are amongst the examples. Self-enquiry is
essential for whomever it may be. It is called ‘human effort
(purushakara)’. The course of the body follows according to
our fate (prarabhdha). What more can we say about it?” added
Bhagavan.

(166) VRITTI JANYA JNANAM (AWARENESS OF THE SELF GENERATED BY ACTION)

Prev Next    13th January, 1948
This morning one of the inmates of the Ashram,
Sri Sundareswara Iyer, sat near Bhagavan’s sofa, book in
hand, waiting and watching Bhagavan’s face for a favourable
sign, then quietly asked, “In this book it is written in one
place ‘mano vritti jnanam’. What is the meaning of mano vritti
jnanam?”
“It means that the Self (atma) cannot be realized at all
unless there is mental action (mano vritti). They say, ‘We must
know the Self, we should know the Self; and we have known
the Self’. How do they know it? Let us agree that we are in
existence. Even so, is it not necessary that there should be
some action (vritti), to know that? Hence, the action of the
mind which is turned within is called Knowledge (vijnana)
and that which is turned without is called Ignorance (ajnana).

Vijnana is also called mind or chittam. When that vritti is
antarmukham (turned inward) it has to be called ‘buddhi’ or
‘aham’. All these put together are known as ‘antahkaranam’.

Aham is achalam (steady; immovable). But with the aid of
this antahkarana the panchabhutas (the five elements) came
into existence. These elements individually and collectively
multiplied and the body with its various limbs came into
existence. Discarding the present creation, which has come
into existence with the support of antahkarana, when the mind
becomes antarmukham, vritti janya jnanam (awareness of the
Self generated by action) appears. That means, you will know
the source of action (vritti). That source, or origin, is called
‘aham sphurana’, or the Self. However, it is only by the mind
that that is to be known. That is why it is called mano vritti
jnanam. That means it is the mind which is ‘suddha satvam’
(suddha = pure; satvam = the first and the best of the three
gunas which are supposed to constitute the external world).

It is that which manifests itself in innumerable ways and it is
that which remains still, all by itself. You may call it by
whatever name you like; any name,” said Bhagavan.

A person who had recently arrived and who had been
closely following the conversation, enquired of Bhagavan,
“Swami, is it a fact that a Jnani will not have any prarabhdha
except that of pareccha?” “Yes, it is the same thing. The
prarabhdhas, ‘iccha (desires), anichha (no desires) and pareccha
(desires of other people)’ will be common to Jnanis and
ajnanis. Experience also is the same. The difference, however,
is that for the Jnani, there will be no feeling that he is doing
anything and so there will be no bondage, while the ajnani
feels that he is doing everything and so there will be bondage.

Mind alone is the cause of bondage and release. The
saying,“mana eva manusyanam karanam bandhamokshayoh,”
mn @v mnu:ya[a< kar[< bNxmae]yae>
from the Upanishads (‘Mind alone is the cause of bondage
and release’) asserts that mind is the cause of everything.

For that mind, desires are the form. If the root cause of
desire is discovered, there won’t be any bondage. That root
is the Self. If one knows one’s Self, whatever desires may
come or go, they will not worry one,” said Bhagavan.

(167) THE PASSING AWAY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

Prev Next    6th February, 1948
On the night of January 30th, the news of Mahatma
Gandhi’s death became known everywhere. I heard the news
at home only, because women cannot be in the Ashram in
the nights. I went at 7-30 next morning. A prayer was being
broadcast over the radio. The news of the death was in the
newspapers, and Bhagavan reading it and hearing the prayer,
said, “This is the prayer of people who prayed like that
throughout his life.” The song “Vaishnava Janato” was
broadcast over the radio and Bhagavan listened to it sadly.

At 9-45, Bhagavan was about to go out when a
newspaper reporter came and requested him to give his
views on the tragedy so that they might be published.

Bhagavan, his voice choked with emotion, said, “For
the Mahatma’s death in this tragic manner, every person’s
heart is mourning. What is there in particular that I could
say? Who is there who is not grieved? If I say anything, you
will publish it and then, one after another, people will come
and ask me. What is the good of it?”
So saying, Bhagavan sent the reporter away and went
for his walk. On his return, “Vaishnava Janato” was again
being broadcast and tears fell from Bhagavan’s eyes.

At 4-30 that afternoon, all the ladies began to sing
“Raghupati Raghava Rajaram”.

1
With tears in his eyes
Bhagavan signed to us to continue. At 5 o’clock the conch
shell blew and in view of the Mahatma’s death a special arati
(waving of lights) was offered in the Mother’s temple. When
the sacred ash and vermilion powder were brought,
Bhagavan took them with great reverence.

The day before yesterday, while reading the paper,
Bhagavan remarked to someone sitting near him, “Look,
didn’t a comet appear some time ago? It is written in this
paper that the death of the Mahatma was due to that. So the
first result of it is now over.”
What exactly was in Bhagavan’s mind when he said that?
Meanwhile, he took up another paper and on reading it,
said, “The person who fired the shot, it seems, came up to
the Mahatma and, after bowing down, asked him, ‘Why have
1
A favourite song of Mahatma Gandhi, sung in chorus in praise
of the Lord Rama.

you come so late today, Sir?’ The Mahatma replied that it
was due to some work. The shot was fired immediately after.”
Bhagavan then drew a parallel from the Ramayana, saying,
“It seems that after Rama killed Ravana, he forgot that he,
Rama, had to go to Vaikuntha. So the Devatas took counsel
among themselves and then sent Yama, the God of Death,
to him. Yama came in the garb of an ascetic, and respectfully
said, ‘The work for which you have come is now over; please
come to heaven’. This is similar; ‘Swaraj has been obtained;
your work is over; why are you still here? Shouldn’t you go
back? It is already late’. Thus the Mahatma appears to have
been sent away.”
I asked, “The story you have just told us is from the
Uttara Ramayana, is it not?”
Bhagavan: “Yes, but not only there. It has been written
in another book that, in the case of Krishna, the arrow of
Vyadha was the cause of His death; similarly it happened
with the Mahatma.”
Yesterday, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya
2
showed a
photo of Mahatma, and said, “It is a pity that there was never
any meeting between Gandhi and Bhagavan.”
Bhagavan: “Some time ago, he came to Tiruvannamalai.

A meeting had been arranged for him to be held on the road
around the hill, beyond the Ashram. People here thought that
he would come to the Ashram on his way back, but owing to
the pressure of the crowds it was impossible, and he went
away direct to the station. It seems that he very much regretted
this afterwards. Shankarlal Banker was very keen on bringing
him here, and in 1938, when Rajendra Prasad and Jamnalal
Bajaj came here and saw Skandasramam, they wanted to
2
A brother of the famous Indian poetess and patriot, Sarojini
Naidu, and himself a fine poet.

induce the Mahatma to stay there for some time. But it did
not happen. If at Sabarmati, or at Wardha anyone said that
he was mentally depressed, the Mahatma used to say, ‘Go to
Ramanasramam and come back after a month’s stay there’.

When Ramaswami Reddiar went to see the Mahatma
immediately after taking office as Chief Minister, Madras State,
the Mahatma, it seems, asked him for how long he had been
going to the Ramanasramam. When he answered that he had
been going there for over thirty years, the Mahatma said, ‘Is
that so? I have tried thrice, but so far have not been able to go
there’. What could he do? How could he come here when he
was not left alone for one moment?”
Bhagavan read in today’s paper a report to the effect
that the Mahatma had had from a dream the night before
the tragedy, a premonition of his death, and that therefore,
he had quickly disposed of his papers which had caused the
delay in his coming to the prayer. Bhagavan commented,
“Yes. For enlightened people, will there not be that much of
premonition? They will know, but will not tell others.”

(168) EQUALITY

Prev Next    7th February, 1948
It is now fifteen days since our nephew Tilak had come
here from London. The results of his examination were not
yet out. His father, having written to him to come home
quickly, he decided to leave here on 30th of last month.

On the evening before leaving, he went to the bazaar to
buy raisins, dates etc. for offering to Bhagavan. On the 30th
we placed them all on a tray and took them to the Ashram in
time for breakfast. The kitchen people asked me to serve
them myself, and as I had no experience of serving in the
dining hall, I took them to Bhagavan first. In a tone showing
that he was not pleased, he asked me what it was. I told him
that my nephew had brought some fruit. Bhagavan nodded,
“All right. Give me one of each variety.” After serving
Bhagavan accordingly, I served the others likewise. But
towards the end, it was found that only a few bananas were
left and so one of the attendants cut them into small bits and
served them equally to the last ten people.

With an expression of disgust, Bhagavan said, “This is
what I don’t like. Why do you serve when you cannot give
the same quantity to all people?” And he began recounting
all other similar mistakes. The people all left quietly after
eating. As Bhagavan was about to get up, after massaging
his legs a little, Tilak and I went up to him, and prostrating
before him, I told him that Tilak was leaving. Bhagavan said,
“I see. When fruit was brought I thought he had passed his
exam. So he is going to his native place? Very good.” So
saying, and pointing me out to the people near him, he said,
“She served me first instead of serving all the others first.”
“I am sorry,” I said, “I was new and so made the mistake.”
“That is all right,” Bhagavan said, “that is why I am
telling you. If you serve Bhagavan after you serve all the
others, there will be equal distribution. If by chance nothing
remains, it does not matter if I don’t get anything. If all eat,
I am satisfied even if I do not get my share. Serving should
always be on that principle; it is a good principle. If all people
here eat, is it not tantamount to Bhagavan’s eating?”
I said, “That is so, I am sorry for the mistake.”
Bhagavan said, “All right, don’t worry, it does not matter.”
I do not know whether you have noticed that in the
Ashram three times a day, when the bell goes, a small portion
of all the dishes, including rice cakes (iddlies) are taken out
for feeding the cows, crows, dogs, monkeys and also any
poor people who happen to be in the Ashram at the time. If
that is not done first, Bhagavan will not come for food, nor
will he keep quiet unless they are fed. If squirrels and
peacocks come, groundnut kernels are given. If anyone shows
disinclination to serve like that, Bhagavan will not tolerate
it, and says, “All right. Go, if you like. They have come here
in the same way as we have all come, and they will get their
food as we all get it. You want to serve us with respect, saying
‘Swami, Swami’, but you serve them with curses. Did we
purchase them and bring them here? They have come just
as we did. Why this disrespect to them?”
Bhagavan said all this because I had forgotten the
principle and had made a mistake. One peculiar thing to
note in this connection is that Bhagavan had said, “When
the fruit was brought, I thought he had passed his
examination,” and on verification, we found that the results
were out in London on that very day. Brother sent a
telegram yesterday to say that the boy had passed his exam.

The voices of great souls do not go in vain, you see!

Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

(169) NIHILISTS AND ADVAITINS

Prev Next    8th February, 1948
When I went into the hall this morning, everything was
quiet. The smoke of the incense sticks enveloped the whole
atmosphere and a sweet smell was emanating from all sides.

Bhagavan had finished reading the newspapers and was
sitting in a calm attitude. Krishnaswami was winding the
clock. Unexpectedly someone asked, “Nihilists and Advaitins
go on arguing among themselves without end. What exactly
are their differences?”
The clock struck the hour, “tung, tung.” With a smile,
Bhagavan said, “You want to know the differences of opinion?
Look here. Just now, the clock has been wound; it has been
working and has struck the hour. ‘There must be someone
to wind the clock; otherwise the clock will not work,’ say the
Advaitins. ‘It is admitted that there must be someone to wind
the clock, there must then be someone to give the power or
the ability to that someone, and so on. If we proceed on that
basis, there will be no beginning and no end, and so there is
no such person as a doer (karta)’, say the Nihilists. These are
the differences of opinion. For instance, take this towel. It is
not separate from the cotton. What does that mean? The
cotton is first changed into seedless cotton, then into yarn
and finally into cloth. For doing all that there must be
someone, and so the weaver is called the doer, and it is
admitted that the various colours and varieties of a cloth are
not different from the basic thing, namely, the cotton. In the
same manner, the Advaitins say that though there is a doer
for the innumerable varieties that go to make up the world,
none of them is different from that which Is, namely,
Existence (Sat). There must be pots — big and small — but
they are all mere earth. If anyone of them gets broken, we
say that the pot is lost. But what is it that is lost? Only the
name and the form. When name and form are lost, the earth
still remains, as earth. But then, pots can be made only if
there is a potter. So the Advaitins say there is a doer as an
efficient cause. Nihilists say, ‘No’. Arguments increase but
the net result is zero. There will be no difficulties if they find
out who it is that is arguing.”
“Why then these arguments?” said the questioner.

“That is because all which is inside of a person must come
out. There will be several thoughts inside,” said Bhagavan.

One of the devotees who heard this, said, “What,
Bhagavan? You say that which is inside will always come out.

How will it come out? What is there inside?”
Bhagavan smilingly said, “Unless there is something
inside, how can anything come out? Unless some desire is
born inside, nothing appears outside. Desire is born inside
only. It develops into a big thing and comes out ultimately.”

Prev Next    27th March, 1948
When I was copying out Part II of these letters, beginning
with “drishtim jnanamayim kritva,” I did not know where exactly
the stanza occurred. I therefore went to the Ashram a little
earlier than usual to ask Bhagavan. Bhagavan was seated at
leisure and I approached and enquired in what book the
stanza was to be found. He kindly told me that it was in the
Tejobindu Upanishad and that Sankara had written the same
thing in his “Aparokshanubhuti” of which the relative stanzas
were:
†iò }anmyI k«Tva pZyedœ äümy< jgt!,
sa †iò> prmaedara n nasa¢avlaeikin.

†iò dzRn! †òIna< ivramae yÇ vE Évet!,
†iò tÇEv ktRVya n nasa¢vlaeiknI.

“Which means,” said Bhagavan, “that the aim (drishti)
is not to concentrate on the tip of the nose or between the
eyebrows. It should be to concentrate on the place where all
the attributes of the seer, the seen and the act of seeing are
dissolved. The meaning is that, when the aim, jnanamaya,
that is Realization is attained through meditation enabling a
man to understand his own nature and to see the way to be
united with the Supreme Spirit, then the whole universe
appears to be full of Brahman.”
The ‘Aparokshanubhuti’ was in the library, but I
hesitated to take it from there as I have to ask somebody to
get it. At the same time, I did not remember the stanzas in
full and was wondering what to do. Sensing the situation,
Bhagavan asked one of the attendants to take out
Palaniswami’s small notebook which was in the drawer. The
attendant took it out, shook the dust off it and handed it to
me. It is a very small notebook, written in Malayalam
characters. Bhagavan took a pen and paper to write. I
murmured, “There is a copy of the ‘Aparokshanubhuti’ in
the library, I think.”
“Why bother?” said Bhagavan, “I will write it out myself.”
And so saying, he copied the two stanzas from the notebook.

I was overwhelmed with joy and asked him, “Have you copied
the stanzas of Sankara as they are, or have you just written
down their meaning in stanzas of your own?”
“I merely copied them from the book,” said Bhagavan.

“In most of the small books written by Sankara, the
stanzas have been copied en bloc from the Upanishads.

Palaniswami asked me to copy out and give him some
stanzas of Sankara, but where were notebooks or paper
with us at that time? I collected every scrap of paper I could,
stitched them together into a notebook, wrote out the
stanzas and gave them to him. In this small notebook,
selections from about ten books of Sankara have been
written.”
“So, this is the first book?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Bhagavan, “At that time we had nothing but
a pot; we did not have even a towel then. In the early days of
our stay in the Virupaksha Cave, Palaniswami alone had a
towel to wrap round him. The cave had no iron doors then,
it had a wooden door with a wooden latch. We used to bolt it
from outside with a small stick, go round the hill, wander
hither and yon, return after a week or ten days, when we
would open the door with the help of another stick. That
was our key at the time; no need to keep it anywhere! This
notebook was the only article we took with us. As Palaniswami
wore a towel, he used to fold the book and tuck it into his
waist. That was enough for us. This book was the first
beginning of our (book) ‘family’,” said Bhagavan laughing.

“Did you write this from the Nagari script?” asked
another devotee.

“Yes,” Bhagavan told him, “and that too, only because
Palaniswami asked for it. At that time, and even afterwards,
I did not write anything of my own accord.”
“Why does Bhagavan require to do all this? He does
everything for the sake of others,” remarked the questioner.

“Yes, that is so,” said Bhagavan, “and of the ‘family’
that has grown since then, this book is the first.” And he
showed the book to us all.

(171) KAILASA

Prev Next    4th April, 1948
This morning a devotee brought an old copy of the Peria
Puranam and gave it to Bhagavan. Reading the story about
Sundaramurti going to Kailasa, Bhagavan said, “It seems that
Sundaramurti found that after his own arrival, the Chera Raja
had arrived on horseback almost immediately. The Raja asked
him, ‘How did you come here without my calling’?” So saying
Bhagavan read a verse from it. A Tamil youth, who was
present, said, “Where is that Kailasa, Swami?” “Kailasa! It is
at the very place where we are. First of all, tell me where we
are?” said Bhagavan.

“That’s not it, Swami. The Kailasa of which you have
just read, that Sundaramurti had gone to; does it really exist?
If so, where is it? Please favour me with a proper reply,” said
the young man.

“I have told you already,” said Bhagavan. “We have come
here now. From here we will go to some other place. If all
this is true, then that also is true. There, also, a Swami will
be found seated on a raised pedestal. Just like this there will
be devotees around. They ask something; he replies
something. That will also be like this. If you look at the thing
from the point of view of the body, that is how it is. If, however,
you look at it from the point of view of truth, wherever we
are, it is Kailasa. There is no question of its being born or
growing or dying. When we realize that there is nothing
real in this world, Kailasa is everywhere.”
“How will that be known?” the young man asked.

“Everyone knows that he is in existence. You were in
existence when you were born, when you were a year old,
when you were in middle age and when you were old. YOU
have not changed; it is only the body that has changed. To
know that your SELF has not changed, this illustration itself
is enough,” said Bhagavan.

Giving up that line of questioning, the youth again
asked, “It is said that a Jnani does not have happiness or
sorrows, bodily ailments, or the like. Sundarar and Appar
are reported to have jumped with joy when they had a vision
of God. Even Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is reported to have
grieved terribly when he did not get a vision of the Holy
Mother and to have gone into ecstasies when he did get a
vision. Not only that, when Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had
some bodily ailment, he used to cry out for Mother. What
does it mean? Do Jnanis have happiness and sorrow?”
Bhagavan answered him, “You say all that in relation
to the body, don’t you? It is not possible to judge a Jnani by
his bodily ailments. Manikkavachakar sang a hymn the
purport of which is, ‘O Ishwara you have showered on me
your blessings even before I asked for them. How kind of
you! Even so, why is it I do not feel grieved? Is my heart
made of stone? My eyes do not get wet. Are they made of
wood? Not only with these two eyes, but I wish that my
whole body were full of eyes so that I could weep with them.

I would then be very happy. I wish my heart would melt
and become watery so that it could be integrated with you.’
That is the purport. But then is that grief real grief? Some
people give vent to their happiness by loudly expressing it
when they get a vision of God, and some shed tears of joy.

It was the same with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. ‘Mother,
how kind of you; how merciful!’ he used to say and weep,
and sometimes he used to laugh. Anyway, if we want to
know about his real state, we should first know about our
own state,” said Bhagavan.

Instead of stopping at that, the young man again asked,
“Swami, when he was in an ecstasy of happiness, he did not
know the pain of the disease he was suffering from, but when
that ecstasy was over he used to realise the pain and groan
under it. Does a Realized Soul really know what pain or
pleasure is?”
“I see, that is your doubt. First find out about your own
affairs. What does it concern you how a Paramahamsa was?
He need not become a Jnani only after obtaining your
certificate. He has become something. Boyhood has passed
with boyhood; sleeping has gone with sleep. In this wakeful
state at least find out what you are, where you are. Is it
Kailasa* or Bhooloka or, Vaikunta? Why not find out all that
for yourself and become a Jnani?” said Bhagavan. The
questioning then stopped.

(172) EDUCATED PEOPLE

Prev Next    4th April, 1948
Yesterday, Sri Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and family
came here. Having had Bhagavan’s darshan, they went to
the great Arunachaleswara Temple in the town and, after
taking food and rest, came to Bhagavan to take leave of
him. Bhagavan graciously nodded his head, giving them
leave to go. Having known the ladies of the party, I went to
their car to see them off, and then came back to the hall.

I sat down and Bhagavan asked if they had gone. I replied
in the affirmative. “Ten years ago,” said Bhagavan, “they
were here; Pranavananda Swami is a first cousin of his.”
After a short while, Bhagavan noticed that the European
and the Gujarati ladies sitting by me were asking me
something, and so enquired what they were saying. I said
that they were enquiring as to whether Radhakrishnan had
asked Bhagavan any questions.

“I see,” said Bhagavan. “No, they are all well-read people,
they know everything. What is there for them to ask?”
* Kailasa: The world of Lord Siva. Bhooloka: Our human world.

Vaikunta: The world of Lord Vishnu.

An Andhra gentleman: “Did he ask any questions when
he came last time?”
Bhagavan: “No. It was the same thing last time too. He
had heard everything about me from Pranavananda Swami,
and when he came here he just sat, and never opened his
mouth.”
The devotee: “Outside, he gives lectures in a grand style.

Why did he sit here without any talk or discussion?”
Bhagavan with a laugh, said, “In 1938, Rajendra Prasad
came here and it was the same thing with him too. Although
he was here for four or five days, he did not ask questions
even once. He used to sit quietly in a corner with closed
eyes. Only when he was leaving did he want to know what
message, if any, I had for the Mahatma. Even that, he
prevailed upon someone else to ask for him.”
The devotee: “It seems that Bhagavan said that the
Mahatma was always in communion with the inner Self
(antaratma), that the inner Self is here, there and everywhere,
and that there is nothing that needs to be communicated. Is
that so?”
Bhagavan: “Yes, indeed. Jamnalal Bajaj also came at
that time, and it was the same with him too, he used to sit in
a corner quietly, without anyone being aware of where
exactly he was sitting. In the early morning, when we were
all cutting vegetables, he would join us in the work. It was
only at the end that he asked us a few questions and had his
doubts cleared.”
The devotee: “In 1944, when Manu Subedar, the
translator of the Jnaneswari into English, came here, he did
not ask any questions either, did he?”
Bhagavan: “No. At that time someone was reading the
Ribhu Gita and Manu Subedar said that in every book the Siddha
or adept state is elaborately explained, but nothing much is
said about the sadhaka state, the state of the spiritual practitioner.

It was then that I showed him the discussion between Vithoba
and Jnaneswar in the Bhakta Vijayam. That was all. He asked no
more questions. He is a well-read man. What is there for people
like him to ask? They come here for Peace.”
The devotee: “Satyamurthi, Thiru V. Kalyanasundara
Mudaliar, Jnaniyar, Bulusu Sambamurthi, Tanguturi
Prakasam, Karapatraswamy and many others, when they
came here did not speak at all. Yet all these people, when
they go away, deliver lectures, thumping the table and roaring
like lions, Bhagavan.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, they are learned people. Some are
writers, some are orators. Nayana was also like that.”
The devotees: “So people who are well-read do not ask
Bhagavan any questions. It is only ordinary people like us
who worry you with them. But if we do not ask you,
Bhagavan, how else are we to know?”
Bhagavan: “That is all right; it doesn’t matter.” And he
was once more silent.

(173) SALUTATIONS

Prev Next    6th April, 1948
At about 3 o’clock this afternoon a young boy, four or
five years of age, came with his mother. She prostrated before
Bhagavan and sat down. The boy prostrated likewise, but
continued the salutations over and over again. Bhagavan
laughed at that and told his attendants, “Just see. He is
prostrating to me over and over again. Perhaps he thinks
that if he does so, he may afterwards do whatever he pleases.

He is a young lad. What does he know? He is just imitating
his elders. He must however be rewarded. All that he wants
is a plantain. If he gets it he will stop. Give him one.” On
being given one, the boy went and sat down.

After some time, someone came and did sashtanga
namaskara (reverential salutation by prostrating with all the
eight limbs of the body touching the ground), but did not get
up for a long time. People nearby finally made him get up.

He somehow got up but began saluting again and again. He
was ultimately prevailed upon to stop saluting and sit down.

Bhagavan told the people near him: “Namaskara means
prostration a number of times according to some. What can
be done? The real meaning of namaskara is the dissolving of
the mind.” “What is the meaning of sashtanga namaskara,
Bhagavan?” asked the devotee. “It means that eight limbs of
the body, namely, two hands, two legs, two arms, chest and
forehead, touch the ground while saluting. The idea behind
this type of obeisance is that the person doing it says, ‘the
body which touches the earth, will resolve itself into that earth
ultimately, and the “I” in me will continue to be “I” alone’.

That idea must be known to oneself by enquiry. Without
knowing it, there is no use in doing these. With meaningless
namaskaras people want to secure all the benefits: ‘Swami must
give them whatever they desire, be it a bag of clothes or money.’
Whenever they do namaskara, I feel afraid. I must be beholden
to them. I must act according to their wishes. I must fulfil all
their desires. I must conduct myself carefully after knowing
their minds. Not only that. Just by bowing to me, they get a
sort of right over me. When people like us suffer like this,
what about Ishwara himself? He must be beholden to ever so
many; he must act according to the wishes of people; he must
give boons to people. When swamitvam itself has so many
troubles, what about Ishwaratvam? If anyone refrains from
prostrating before me, I feel very happy because I need not
be beholden to him. A Jnani need not prostrate before anybody
nor need he give his blessings to anybody. That is because his
mind remains always submerged. He is deemed to be doing
namaskara at all times. Some people feel offended when they
prostrate before a Jnani and he does not respond with another
namaskara nor even raise his hand and bless them. But the
fact is, before the others have prostrated, the Jnani will have
already prostrated lower, his mind having been dissolved. Even
blessing (asirvadam) is similar. The submerging of the mind
itself is a blessing. The Jnani’s mind remains always submerged.

That being so, who is the one to bless? What is it that is done?”
said Bhagavan.

(174) THE SACREDNESS OF THE FEET OF THE GURU

Prev Next    8th April, 1948
This afternoon when I went to Bhagavan, I found
someone singing a song, “Guru pada mahima”. After the
singing was over, looking at me, Bhagavan said: “These songs
have been written by Tatvarayaswami. You have heard of
the sacredness of the feet of the Guru, haven’t you?” “Yes. I
have heard the songs. As the meaning of the songs is
profound I thought some great personage must have written
them,” I said. “Yes. There is a story behind it,” remarked
Bhagavan. When I enquired what it was, Bhagavan leisurely
related to us the story as follows:
“Both Tatvarayar and Swarupanandar decided to go
in search of a Sadguru in two different directions. Before
they started they came to an understanding. Whoever
finds a Sadguru first should show him to the other.

However much Tatvarayar searched he could not find a
Sadguru. Swarupanandar, who was the uncle of Tatvarayar
was naturally an older man. He went about for some time,
got tired, and rested in a place. Feeling he could no longer
go about in search, he prayed to the Lord, ‘Oh Ishwara!
I can no longer move about. So you yourself should send
me a Sadguru’. Having placed the burden on the Lord, he
sat down in silence. By God’s grace, a Sadguru came there
by himself, and gave him tatva upadesa (Instruction for
Self-Realization). It is the gist of that upadesa that got
composed as a song, named Tatva-saram. That book has
been published with a commentary and is very famous.

The understanding arrived at by the uncle and his
nephew, could not be implemented as the Guru passed
away soon after. Under the circumstances, the uncle
himself gave upadesa (instruction) to his nephew.

Swarupanandar wrote only one book but Tatvarayar sang
innumerable songs; amongst them “Gurupada mahima”
is one. Though many other songs also are available, now
several have been lost.”

(175) WHAT IS DELIVERANCE (MUKTI)?

Prev Next    8th April, 1948
At 3 o’clock this afternoon, an Andhra youth with a sad
face approached Bhagavan and said, “Swami, I have a request
to make, if you will allow me to mention it. I have just come
from Bangalore. I do not know how to meditate in order to
attain deliverance (mukti), and so am worried. You must put
me in the way and help me to realise it.” “What are you
doing now?” asked Bhagavan. “I am doing nothing now,
Swami. That is why I am praying to you to tell me how I
should meditate,” said the young man. “Why do you want to
meditate? What is deliverance? What is it you want to realise?
Why has this idea come to you at all?” asked Bhagavan.

Poor man, he could not say anything and so was silent. It
was however clear from his face that he was worried over
something. After waiting for a while, Bhagavan, with a
compassionate look, said, “Keep your mind steadily on your
family deity, discard outside thoughts and meditate, or keep
the Self itself before your mind and meditate. If that is done,
that which comes from outside will gradually disappear and
meditation alone will remain. You need not meditate
separately. The meditation on Self will steady itself and will
remain constant. What IS, is meditation. There is no such
thing as attaining deliverance. Getting rid of extraneous things
itself is deliverance. Breath control (pranayama) and other
spiritual practices are only for concentrating the mind on one
thing. Breath control keeps the wandering mind within the
body. That is why breath control has been prescribed first
and only then the practising of japa (repetition of Divine
name), tapa (austerities) and the rest. If breath is controlled
and kept within for a while, it helps in practising Self-enquiry.

If the family deity or some other form is meditated upon, the
mind becomes controlled of its own accord. Where that is
done repeatedly, that meditation itself leads on to the
realization of the Self. You will not then have the duality of
the doer and the thing done. All becomes one’s natural state
(Swarupa) only.”
The young man sat like a statue hearing all this.

Bhagavan, addressing himself to another devotee by his
side, said, “See! Call HIM Ishwara (the Personal God), or
Atma (the Self) or what you will. He is omnipresent and
omniscient; only people cannot see Him. They say that they
will do tapas and, as a result of it, they want Him to come to
them suddenly. What can I do? We are in Him, and we
search for Him saying, ‘Where is He?’ The little ego ‘I’ wells
up and does all this mischief. See its great capacity!”

(176) NATURE’S SPLENDOUR

Prev Next    11th April, 1948
As summer has advanced and the space in the hall has
been found insufficient, Bhagavan has started staying in the
Jubilee Hall itself all day. Bamboo screens are usually tied
down behind his seat, but the attendants raised them
yesterday as they were obstructing the free flow of the breeze.

I did not notice it. I went there this morning at 8 o’clock.

Bhagavan was seated there on the sofa, facing south, like
Dakshinamurthy. The mango trees behind covered the whole
space like a pandal with their branches, their tender leaves
and delicate flowers heralding the dawn of summer. Between
those leaves and the flower stalks, bunches of little mangoes,
looking like Sivalingas, were dangling. The bowers of the
flower garden on his right were full of flowers. Pots containing
crotons were placed behind him very close to the sofa. On
the left, they had filled a cement tub with water, in which
sparrows were enjoying a bath. On either side of the sofa,
two peacocks were standing — one white and the other
coloured. The incense sticks were giving forth their
perfumed smoke, assailing the nostrils of the devotees
gathered there. The sun’s rays were coming in through the
slits in the covering of the thatched roof and falling on
Bhagavan’s body, making it shine like gold. Seeing all this
splendour, I do not even know if I prostrated as usual before
Bhagavan; I remained standing still, lost in admiration.

Ramachandra Iyer, one of the attendants, looked at me
as much as to say, “What is it?” Unable to contain my joy any
longer, I exclaimed, “Brother, have you noticed how beautiful
this scene is? See how nature around has blossomed and is
showing us all its beauty! It would be nice if a photo were
taken.” Bhagavan enquired as to what it was all about. “The
whole scene here looks so beautiful that I was suggesting
that a photo might be taken,” I said. Iyer also fell in with the
idea, and so said, “Yes, we will take a photo.” Immediately
thereafter, Bhagavan began narrating to us some incidents
in his early life: “As you all know, I was in the Mango grove
next to Gurumurtham, for some time. At that time also, I
had a small shed under a mango tree. They erected
something overhead like a nest to prevent rain falling on
me. There was however not enough space even to stretch
my legs fully while sleeping. I used to be sitting almost all
the time like a bird in its nest. Opposite my shed, Palaniswami
also had a small shed. In that huge garden, only two of us
used to stay.”
Quoting, I said, “icÇ< vqtraemURle v&Ïa> iz:ya> guêyuvaR>... ‘It is
nice to see the young Guru and the old sishyas together
under the banyan tree’. It used to be like that, I suppose.

Did anyone take a photo at that time?”
“No. Where were photos in those days?” said Bhagavan.

Addressing his attendant, he said, “See. She says a photo
must be taken of this sight.” “We shall arrange for it this
afternoon,” said Ramachandra Iyer. Looking at the trees and
recalling past incidents once again, Bhagavan said, “That
mango tree also had small fruit like this. They used to fall on
top of my shed now and then, creating a sound like ‘tup,
tup.’ Even though they got ripe, the outer cover was green.

After they were sufficiently ripe, they used to be plucked
and kept in storage until fully ripe. In the meantime, you
know what used to happen! Bats used to come in the nights,
nibble at all the ripe mangoes, eat a bit of each and throw it
down. The balance fell to our lot. That means it was a prasad
(remnants of food presented to a deity) from the bat.” When
he heard this, Ramachandra Iyer asked, “Did that gardener
never give you any fruit?” “He used to tell us to take the
fruit from the trees when we felt like it, but we never touched
them. We had the bat’s prasad, you see. When they got fully
ripe on the tree itself, they were delicious. Is that not enough?
Those thatched sheds and that nature’s beauty, gave us
immense joy,” said Bhagavan.

(177) THE FIRST BATH AND THE FIRST SHAVE

Prev Next    12th April, 1948
After writing to you yesterday afternoon about the
grandeur of Bhagavan’s surroundings in the Jubilee Hall, I
went to the Ashram a little later than usual. As soon as he saw
me, Bhagavan said, “Ramachandra Iyer and Ananthanarayana
Rao together have just taken a photo.”
Being summer and already hot, Krishnaswami
sprinkled water on the rush screen at the back of Bhagavan’s
sofa and also on the crotons which were behind the screen.

The spray from the sprinkling fell on Bhagavan and he
rubbed his body, saying, “See, they are consecrating
(abishekam) me!”
That incident seemed to have reminded him of
something that had happened in the past, for with smiles all
over his face and with appropriate gestures, he told us the
following story:
“After I came to this place, Tiruvannamalai, I had no
bath for four months. One day, when I was in the compound
of the Arunachala Temple, the wife of a devotee by name
Ponnuswami, came unexpectedly, pulled me along, made
me sit, cleaned my head with soap-nut powder and gave me
a bath. She had been coming to the temple every now and
then; so I had thought that she had come as usual, but that
day, she had come there prepared! That was my first bath.”
“Were you bathing regularly everyday afterwards?” I
asked.

“No, there was no question of a bath; who was to make
me bathe? Who was the one to bathe? After that, a year or so
passed in the same way. I had been in Gurumurtham for
some time, you see, and as not many people came there
every day, no one bothered me. Even so, a lady, by name
Minakshi, who used now and then to bring food to give me,
one day brought a large pot and began to boil water. I
thought it was for some use for herself, but, taking from a
basket some oil, soap-nut, etc., she said, ‘Swami, please come’.

I did not move. But would she keep quiet! She pulled me by
the arm, made me sit, smeared the oil all over my body and
bathed me. The hair on the head which had got matted for
want of care, was now spread out and hung down like the
mane of a lion. That was my second bath. After that,
Palaniswami came and everything was adjusted into routine
of daily baths.”
“This incident is not found in your biography,” I said.

“No, that is so,” said Bhagavan, “it was never written
then. Shaving was also like that. The shave I had on the day I
came here has been recorded; the second was after a year and
a half. The hair had got matted and woven like a basket. Small
stones and dust had settled down in it and the head used to
feel heavy. I had also long nails, and a frightful appearance.

So people pressed me to have a shave, and I yielded. When
my head was shaven clean, I began to wonder whether I
had a head or not, it felt so light. I shook my head this way
and that to assure myself that it was there. That showed the
amount of burden I had been carrying on my head.”
“During those one and a half years, did nobody try to
get your head shaved?” asked a devotee.

“Yes, indeed they did try,” said Bhagavan. “When I was
in the Subramanya Temple, one Nilakanta Iyer, the
grandfather of a lawyer of the same name now practising,
used to come there frequently. One day he came prepared
for the purpose. Thinking that he had come as usual, I kept
my eyes closed. Without saying a word to me, he stood some
way off opposite me. I heard a ‘tip, tup’ behind me, so opened
my eyes. I saw a barber sharpening his razor. I left the spot
immediately without saying a word. Poor man, he realized
that I was not willing to be shaved and so had gone off.

Ponnuswami’s wife alone would not leave me unless and until
I took a bath. When she dragged me, pulling me by the arm,
what was I to do?”
“Perhaps she felt you were like a child,” I said.

“Yes,” said Bhagavan, “and another thing happened
when I was living under the madukha tree. A twenty-year
old dancing girl, by name Rathnamma, saw me one day
while going to and from the temple to dance. She grew
devoted to me and got disgusted with her profession, and
told her mother that she would not eat unless she could
give food to the Swami. So both of them brought me food.

But I was then in deep meditation and opened neither my
eyes nor my mouth, even when they shouted. But they
somehow woke me up by asking a passer-by to pull me by
the hand; they then gave me food and left. When
Rathnamma insisted that she must daily feed the Swami
before she ate, her mother said, ‘You are young and so is
Swami, and he does not wake until somebody touches and
pulls him. We can’t do that; what can we do?’ Rathnamma
then asked a first cousin of hers for assistance, and with his
help used to give me food daily. After some time, however,
relatives of the boy felt this work to be undignified and so
stopped sending him. She, however, would not give up her
resolve to feed me; so at last the old mother herself came
regularly, and being elderly and thinking that therefore
there was no harm in it, used to wake me up by shaking me
and then gave me food. Shortly afterwards, the old mother
passed away, and I too shifted from there to a distant place.

Rathnamma could no longer then go the long distance to
feed me, and so gave up her attempts. Since she could not
live unless she earned by her profession, Rathnamma
confined herself to one man only. What does it matter to
what community she belonged, she was pure. She had great
non-attachment and great devotion. She had never liked
her profession and did not want her daughter to follow it,
so married her off.”
The story finished, Bhagavan was once more silent.

(178) UNDIVIDED ATTENTION

Prev Next    14th April, 1948
This afternoon I went to the Ashram at 2-30. Bhagavan
was taking some fruit. On seeing me, Bhagavan’s face lit up
with a smile. I thought there was some good news for me.

After a while, he began saying, “A letter and a photo have
been received from South America. In that photo, there are
six men and one woman. That woman is seated in the middle
with a photo of mine on her head. On either side, two men
are seated and four men are standing. It seems that they are
members of an association which is known as ‘Arunachala
Sangam’. In the letter it is written thus: ‘Bhagavan, we cannot
go over to your presence We are sending from here only our
reverential salutations to you and are doing spiritual practices
(sadhana). We want your blessings.’ They sent a prepaid
envelope also. Where is South America and where are we?”
said Bhagavan.

“Did any of them ever come here?” I asked.

Bhagavan replied: “They do not seem to have come. I
remember to have seen that lady some time. How they have
heard about me, I do not know. They have written saying
that they have read our books and started sadhana. South
America is the southern end of America. They have respect
for me. Why that is so, I cannot say.”
“Devotion has no bounds of distance, has it?” I asked.

“No, that is so. That lady has kept my photo on her
head. How could she have known about me?” said Bhagavan.

“When the sun rises will not the light be seen by the
whole world?” I said.

“That is all right. Seven or eight years back, a lady came
from Europe to see me. As soon as she landed, she did not
stop anywhere, but came straight here. After sitting in the
hall for half an hour, she got up, prostrated before me, took
leave, went round the Ashram, and left immediately. She
went straight to Colombo and as she got into the steamer
there, wrote me a letter: ‘Bhagavan, having heard about you,
I had a desire to see you. My desire is fulfilled. I have now
no desire to see anyone else in this country. Hence I am
taking this steamer.’ That was what she wrote. Rather
strange,” said Bhagavan.

I said to Bhagavan, “With a desire to see the form of
Brahman, and with the help of the divine sight given by
Lord Krishna, Dhritarashtra saw Brahman and when the
form disappeared, he told Krishna, ‘After seeing your sacred
form, I do not wish to see any other. So please take away the
sight you have given me.’ Just like that, this lady did not feel
like seeing anything else in India after seeing you. For
devotion, there is no difference between men and women, is
there?”
“No, there is no difference,” said Bhagavan.

(179) THE PATH OF LOVE

Prev Next    26th April, 1948
This morning a Tamil youth approached Bhagavan and
asked, “Swami, it is good to love God, is it not? Then why
not follow the path of Love?”
“Who said you couldn’t follow it? You can do so. But
when you talk of love, there is duality, is there not — the
person who loves and the entity called God who is loved?
The individual is not separate from God. Hence love means
one has love towards one’s own Self. For this, i.e., loving
one’s own Self, examples have been given in the Vasudeva
Mananam, stage by stage. Man loves money most; but he
loves his son more than money; his own body more than the
son; his indriyas (the organs of the body) more than the body;
the eye most among the organs; life more than the eye; and
the self (atma) more than life. This is exemplified thus: If the
son does something untoward and the government decides
to punish him for it, the parents offer money and even bribes
to set him free. Hence the love towards the son is more than
money. If, however, the government does not accept money
but say that they will let off the son if the father agrees to
undergo the punishment himself instead, then the father
will say, ‘Do whatever you like with the boy; I have nothing
to do with him’. Hence the father loves his own body more
than his son. If a man does something for which the powers
that be say that his eyes must be plucked out, he tries to save
his eyes by agreeing to bodily torture; so bodily torture is
preferred to loss of an organ. If, however, they decide to
take his life by beheading him, he would be prepared to lose
his eyes or any other organ rather than lose his life; so life
(prana) is loved more than the organs. In the same manner,
a person who desires to have Atma-Anandam (bliss of the Self)
would be prepared to lose his life even, if necessary; so the
Self is loved more than life. Hence the idea of a person in
loving God, is only with a view to being happy himself. He
is, however, the embodiment of happiness and that happiness
is God. Who else is to be loved? Love itself is God,” said
Bhagavan.

“That is why I am asking you whether God could be
worshipped through the path of love?” said the questioner.

“That is exactly what I have been saying. Love itself is
the actual form of God. If by saying, ‘I do not love this; I do
not love that’, you reject all things, that which remains is
Swarupa, i.e., the innate Self. That is pure bliss. Call it pure
bliss, God, atma or what you will. That is devotion; that is
realization and that is everything,” said Bhagavan.

“The meaning of what you say now is that we should
reject all outside things which are bad, and also all those
which are good, and love God alone. Is it possible for anyone
to reject everything, saying this is no good, that is no good,
unless one experiences them?” said some other.

“That is true. To reject the bad, you must love the good.

In due course that good also will appear to be an obstacle and
will be rejected. Hence, you must necessarily first love what
is good. That means you must first love and then reject the
thing you love. If you thus reject everything, what remains
is the Self alone. That is real love. One who knows the secret
of that love finds the world itself full of universal love,” said
Bhagavan and resumed silence.

(180) GRACE OF THE GURU

Prev Next    23rd April, 1948
On the 12th April one by name Gangaraju Mallikarjuna
Rao, of Vijayawada, who has been visiting the Ashram off and
on, came here with his wife and children. He has five
daughters. In between these daughters he had had five sons
alternately and they had all died. For the sixth son they
wanted to perform the annaprasana (ceremony of giving it
solid food for the first time) in Bhagavan’s presence.

Two days before the auspicious day, while still in
Vijayawada, the child suddenly died. They decided to leave
for this place that very evening and reached Bhagavan’s
presence the next day at 3 p.m.

As though Bhagavan had inspired the question in order
to be able to reduce the grief of these people, a devotee
asked, “Swami, it is said that by breath control (pranayama)
and other practices this body can be made to last for a long
time and that some people indulge in these practices to enable
them to become Realized Souls, Jnanis. Is it true? Is it good
to do such practices?”
“Yes,” Bhagavan gently replied, “people do live long if
they do these practices, but does a person become a Jnani, a
Realized Soul, by living long? Does realization depend on
how long one lives? Sankara lived for only thirty-two years,
Manikkavachakar thirty-two years, Sundarar eighteen and
Sambandar left the body in his sixteenth year. Were they not
Realized Souls? A Realized Soul has really no love for his
body. For one who is the embodiment of bliss, the body itself
is a disease. He will await the time to be rid of the body.

When he has the body, he has to clean its teeth, has to walk,
bathe, and give food to the body; and has to do many other
things besides. If a boil grows, it has to be washed and dressed;
otherwise it becomes septic and emits a bad smell. In the
same way, if the body is not kept clean, it will get diseased. A
Realized Soul looks upon his body in the same way that a
coolie does regarding his load. He will look forward to putting
down the load at the destination. That being so, will he try
to keep on his body and prolong its existence by breath
control and rejuvenation (kayakalpa) processes? Those are
the methods adopted by men in pursuit of powers, siddhas.

When I was on the hill, I had seen siddhas of that sort. If
anyone went to see them, they would make them sit, enquire
the name of their village and the names of their fathers,
grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and tell them that they
had once, during the great-grandfather’s time, been to their
village. Surprised at that, and wondering how such old men
could not only live so long, but could also remain so strong,
the villagers would give them several presents and depart.

All this was done to impress on the public their greatness,
but will people become Realized Souls by such methods? In
the Vasishtam it is stated that Rama, after his return from a
pilgrimage, found that the whole world was itself a cause of
misery. He therefore left everything to others, even things
like eating and drinking and remained motionless. When
Viswamitra asked Dasaratha to send Rama to guard his
oblations ceremony (his yagna), Dasaratha said that Rama
was like a mad man and described some of the signs of his
madness. On hearing them, Viswamitra said that he was very
pleased to hear of those symptoms, that such madness did
not come to many people and that he would like to see him
and asked for him to be brought. Rama accordingly came,
prostrated before all those present and sat down.

“Viswamitra saw him and asked him the cause of his
madness, and addressing Vasishta, said, ‘Please teach Rama
the knowledge of the Self, the knowledge which Brahma taught
you and me.’ Vasishta agreed to do so. While he was teaching,
siddhas from all over came to listen to him and they thought to
themselves, ‘Rama has gained so much knowledge at such a
young age; how surprising! how great! What is the use of our
living so long?’ Do you see how all this is?” said Bhagavan.

“Yes, it is true,” said another devotee. “Some people
say we have lived for fifty years, what more is needed? As
though living so long were a great thing!”
“Yes,” said Bhagavan with a laugh, “that is so. It is a sort
of pride and there is a story about it. It seems that in the olden
days, Brahma once felt proud of the fact that he was long-lived.

He went to Vishnu and said, ‘Do you not see how great a person
I am! I am the oldest living person (chiranjeevi)’. Vishnu told
him that that was not so and that there were people who had
lived much longer than he. When Brahma said that that could
not be, since he was the creator of all living beings, Vishnu took
him with him to show him people older than him.

“They went along, until, at a certain place, they found
Romasa Mahamuni.* Vishnu asked him his age and how
long he expected to live. ‘Oho!’ said Romasa, ‘You want to
know my age? All right, listen then and I will tell you.

“‘This era (yuga) consists of so many thousands of years.

All these years put together make one day and one night for
Brahma. It is according to these calculations that Brahma’s
life is limited to one hundred years. When one such Brahma
dies, one of the hairs of my body falls out. Corresponding to
such deaths as have already occurred, several of my hairs
have fallen out, but many more remain. When all my hair
falls out, my life will be over and I shall die.’
“Very much surprised at that, they went on to
Ashtavakra Mahamuni, an ascetic with eight distortions in
his body. When they told him about all the above calculations,
he said that when one such as Romasa Mahamuni dies, one
of his own distortions would straighten, and when all the
distortions had gone, he would die. On hearing this, Brahma
got crestfallen. Similarly, there are many stories. If true
realization is attained, who wants this body? For a Realized
Soul who enjoys limitless bliss through realization of the Self,
why this burden of the body?”
The devotee asked, “Is it possible to gain knowledge
without the blessings of a Guru? Even Rama, who was like a
dullard in his early life became a Realized Soul only with the
help of his Guru.”
* Romasa: full of hair
“Yes,” said Bhagavan, “how can there be any doubts?
The grace of the Guru is absolutely necessary. That is why
Thayumanavar praised his Guru in his hymns, and another
said, ‘Oh, Gurudeva, your look falling upon it, a tiger
becomes gentle like a goat, a snake like a squirrel, and a bad
man becomes a good man. And what else may not happen?
With your gracious look everything becomes good. How can
I describe your greatness?’ Thus he sang. The guru’s grace
is extraordinary,” said Bhagavan.

Hearing all these stories, the people from Vijayawada
were overjoyed and said, “Blessed are we that the grace of
the Guru has been showered on us! Bhagavan has told us all
these stories and relieved us of our grief.”

(181) DISCUSSION BETWEEN ASHTAVAKRA AND JANAKA

Prev Next    24th April, 1948
A devotee who heard the story of Ashtavakra two days
ago, asked Bhagavan yesterday morning, “The Ashtavakra
Muni, whom you mentioned yesterday, is he the same as the
one who gave upadesa* to Janaka?”
“Yes,” said Bhagavan. “The Ashtavakra Gita is well-known
in Northern India but not in the south. Only recently,
Viswanathan translated it into Tamil.”
An Andhra gentleman, who was present, said, “Is that
Gita, in Telugu?”
*Upadesa: Initiation or communication of an initiatory mantra or
formula.

“Yes, it is in Telugu. More than that Gita, the conversation
between Ashtavakra and Janaka, which was the cause of that
upadesa, is very interesting,” said Bhagavan, and he then told
us the story:
“As you are probably aware, all the kings of Mithila are
known as Janakas. Amongst them, one Janaka, before he
gained Self-knowledge heard one of the pandits reading, in
the course of his studies, the following passage: ‘Knowledge
of the Brahman can be gained even in such a short time
taken for placing the second foot on the second stirrup after
putting one’s foot in the first stirrup.’ He asked the pandit
whether such a thing was true. The pandit said that it was
possible and there was not the slightest doubt about it. The
king said that he would immediately send for his horse and
test the correctness of what was stated in the Scriptures
(sastras) and that the pandit would be held responsible for it.

The pandit said that he was not capable of proving the
correctness of the statement, but asserted that what was stated
in the book was absolutely correct. The king got angry and
said that if it could not be proved, the said sentence should
be removed from the text. Even then the pandit was not
afraid and so said that he had not the slightest doubt about
the truth of what was stated in the scriptures and that he
would not therefore say anything against it.

“The king immediately put the pandit in jail and sent
for all the pandits in the city. When he asked them about the
correctness of the statement in the scriptures, they all said
that it was correct. But when he asked them if they could
prove it, they also, like the first pandit said that they were
not capable of proving the truth of the statement. He
therefore put them all in jail and also ordered that whichever
brahmin entered his kingdom should be brought before him;
and if they too replied in the same way as the others, they
should also be put in jail. The news spread throughout the
country and so no brahmin ventured to set his foot into the
kingdom. After some time, Ashtavakra Muni happened to
pass that side and, while he was about to take rest under a
tree, saw two Brahmins. He enquired of them as to who was
the king of that city. They replied, ‘What do you propose to
ask of that king? Do you intend to enter the city?’ When he
said that he was thinking of going there and that was why he
was asking them about the king, they said, ‘Swami, the king
that rules this city has imprisoned a number of Brahmins
and we would advise you not to go there. If any unfortunate
brahmin goes into this city, he will be asked, “Can you prove
that within the time taken to put both feet in the stirrups of
the saddle of a horse, one can become a Realized Soul as
stated in the scriptures?” And if he says he cannot prove it,
he will be put in jail.’ Amused at that, he said, ‘Oho! Is that
the way of things? Then do one thing. Carry me in a
palanquin and take me to the king. I shall prove that the
statement in the scriptures is correct and get all the pandits
released.’ They were pleased and so immediately brought a
palanquin, seated the Muni in it, carried it themselves and
set it down before the king. The king was then sitting in the
Durbar hall.

“As soon as he saw the shining face of the Muni, the
king felt like worshipping him. Immediately he prostrated
before him, stretching himself full length on the floor, with
his eight limbs touching the ground, and with folded hands,
said, ‘Swami, what is the purpose of your visit to this place?
If there is anything I can do, please let me know.’ Satisfied
with the respect shown to him, the Muni said, ‘What fault
have the pandits committed that you have put them all in
jail? Please tell me this first. Then we can consider other
things.’ ‘They could not prove that the statement in the
scriptures that Self-knowledge can be obtained within the
short space of time taken by a person to place his other foot
in the second stirrup after the first foot has been placed in
the first stirrup. I have therefore put them all in jail. I have
done so to find out the truth of that statement,’ said the
king. ‘How absurd!’ said the Muni, ‘can we say that what is
stated in the scriptures is untrue merely because it cannot
be proved? I declare that each word therein is true,’ said the
Muni. ‘If that is so, I shall send for the horse just now. I pray
that you favour me by proving that what is said in the
scriptures is true,’ said the king. ‘As your desire is a good
one, I am happy. But I suppose you know that initiation into
realization cannot be given to one who is not fit for it. If you
want that initiation you must have the fullest confidence in
me and first release the pandits who are in jail. After that, if
you come to the forest on a horseback, I shall judge your
fitness and then give you upadesa (initiation)’ said the Muni.

“When he heard the words of the Muni, which inspired
great confidence, the king’s eagerness increased vastly and
so the prisoners were freed immediately. Ashtavakra was
made to sit in the palanquin, the king himself rode on
horseback, and went to the forest with his ministers and other
followers. Then, when they stopped under a banyan tree,
the Muni said, ‘Why not send away the whole retinue? Why
all these for the initiation?’ Accordingly, the king sent them
all away and unwilling to waste any further time, obtained
the permission of Ashtavakra and placed one foot on the
stirrup and as he was about to raise the other foot, the Muni
said, ‘Wait, wait! Before you raise the other leg you must
reply to my questions.’ On the king agreeing to it, the Muni
asked, ‘In the scriptures under reference, is there merely
the sentence that Realization can be obtained by one within
the short time of putting his other foot in the stirrup, or is
there something else also?’ asked the Muni. The king said
that there were many other things also. When the Muni asked
if it was also stated there that for obtaining realization, a
Guru also would be necessary, he replied in the affirmative.

‘If that is so, why do you ask for initiation without first
accepting me as your Guru?’ said the Muni to which the
king replied that as stated in the scriptures he straightaway
accepted the Muni as his Guru. ‘What about Gurudakshina
(gift to the Guru as fee)?’ asked the Muni. The king said that
he was at the very moment placing at the feet of the Guru
his body, his mind, his wealth, and everything that he
possessed in this world and requested him to accept them.

“As soon as he heard that, Ashtavakra went into a bush
close by and hid himself. The king with his one foot in the
stirrup, remained as he was without moving. The sun set. His
ministers and others, anxious at his not returning home, went
to the forest. They found the palanquin but no Ashtavakra.

The king was there motionless like a statue. They all stood
aghast at the sight. The minister went to the king and asked
him the reason for his remaining motionless but received no
reply. Then they thought that the Muni must have used some
black magic and so began searching for him, but he was not
found anywhere. Giving up all hopes of finding him, they put
the king in the palanquin, took him back to the palace and
made him lie down on a cot. He lay on the bed in the same
position as he was placed on it and remained motionless. The
ministers were very much grieved over it and called all the
cavalry men, and ordered them to go in search of the Muni
with instructions not to return without him.

“Not only did the king not eat anything, he did not
utter a single syllable. He would not even gulp down the
water that was poured into his mouth. Seeing his state, the
queen and other relatives of the king got overpowered with
grief. The news spread amongst the people and a feeling of
terror arose amongst them. Even at sunrise, the king did
not get up nor did the Muni turn up. While everyone was
anxiously waiting for some news, one of the servants turned
up towards sunset together with Ashtavakra seated in a
palanquin. As soon as they saw the Muni, the ministers were
wild with anger. But afraid that the work ahead would be
spoiled if they expressed their resentment, they respectfully
enquired of the Muni if any black magic had been practised
on the king. ‘What do I gain by practising black magic on
your king? Anyway, why not ask your master himself?’ said
the Muni. ‘We did ask, but the king is unable to speak. He
has not taken food, nor even water, for the last two days.

Please somehow see that he eats something’, said the ministers.

Then the Muni approached the king and said ‘Rajah!’
Immediately the king said, ‘What orders, swami? What is
that I have done against you?’ The Muni asked, ‘Who said
that you have done anything against me? You have done
nothing. It is all right. Don’t worry. Now get up and eat,’
said the Muni.

“The king got up, ate and sat again motionless. ‘Please
have mercy on us and restore our king to his original
condition,’ said the ministers. The Muni promised to do so.

After sending them all out, he bolted the doors behind them,
and approaching the king, asked him why he was sitting
motionless like that. Immediately the king said, ‘Swami, I
have no rights whatsoever over this body. These legs and
these hands are not mine; this tongue is not mine; these
eyes, ears and all the senses — none of them are mine; this
kingdom is not mine. In truth, I surrendered to you my
body, my mind and my wealth. Without your orders, I am
not competent to do anything. That is why I am like this,’
said the king.

“Hearing these words of faith and devotion, the Muni
was pleased and satisfied and placing his hand on the head
of the king said, ‘My dear man, to know whether you are fit
to be a Mukta or not, I had to give you these preliminary
tests. I have now secured a disciple who is fit for initiation.

You are now Brahma Swarupa (of the nature of Brahman), a
realised soul; one who has done successfully all that has to
be done; one that has received all that has to be received.’
The king thereupon prostrated before the Muni wondering
within himself how he had become Brahma Swarupa though
he was fully enveloped in ignorance, and asked:
Katham jnanam avapnothi
Katham muktir bhavishyathi
Vairagyamcha katham praptham
Etat bruhi mama prabho
Swami, please tell me how realization can be obtained, how
liberation is secured and how non-attachment is gained.

“Ashtavakra Gita is in the form of questions and answers,
Janaka got initiated into Self-knowledge. As a result of that
initiation, the whole night passed as though it were but a
few moments.

“Immediately after sunrise, as the door was opened the
ministers and others came in and were overjoyed to find the
king in great ecstasy. Then the great Muni enquired of the
king if he still had any doubts about obtaining knowledge
within the short space of placing the other foot on the stirrup
as mentioned in the scriptures and that if he had any, he
might as well send for his horse so that the statement could
be proved. With a heart full of gratitude and devotion, the
king said that there was no room in his mind for any sort of
doubt and that what was said in the scriptures was absolutely
true. He again expressed his gratitude for the great favour
shown to him. That is the story. The Ashtavakra Gita, like the
Ribhu Gita, teaches about the Supreme state of Realization.

That is to say, when Janaka surrendered his body, mind and
wealth unreservedly to the Guru, he became absorbed in his
own Self and went into the state of samadhi. In other words,
by teaching him the Gita, he was told that that was his real
state and that he could remain established in that natural
state.”
“It is the same as Vasishta preached to Rama, is it not?”
I said. “Yes. That is so. But in the Vasishtam it is in the shape
of stories. Only in this and in the Ribhu Gita the nature of
the Self (Brahma Swarupa) has been enunciated in greater
detail,” said Bhagavan.

Prev Next    25th April, 1948
An Andhra gentleman who listened to the story of
Ashtavakra yesterday when Bhagavan related it, approached
the Maharshi today morning and said, “Yesterday while
relating the discussions between Ashtavakra and Janaka you
made a reference to Ribhu Gita. What could be the reasons
for that Gita coming into existence?” “Oh, that. The initiation
Ribhu Maharshi gave Nidagha is itself the Ribhu Gita,” said
Bhagavan. “The story of how Ribhu tested Nidagha is very
interesting. Is it not?” I said. On hearing me, that devotee
requested Bhagavan to relate to him the story which
Bhagavan did with a smile.*
* The story of Ribhu and Nidagha is found in the Vishnu Puranam.

“Though Ribhu had several disciples he had some
special affection for Nidagha because of his thorough
knowledge of the sastras, his pure mind and great devotion
to the Guru. Ribhu taught him in great detail and clarity the
essentials of Advaita philosophy. Even so, his sishya’s mind
was steeped largely in the performance of karma and so he
could not keep steady in the path of jnana taught by the
Guru. He was performing all the rituals as laid down in
Karma-Kanda and went to live in his native place. Even though
he was living far away, the Guru’s concern for Nidagha was
growing from day to day. So Ribhu was going to Nidagha’s
place now and then to see how far he was getting
disassociated from the Karma-Kanda (performance of karma).

Once in a while he used to go incognito also.

“On one occasion, Ribhu went in the guise of a villager
and found Nidagha standing and watching the king
coming out of the Raj Bhavan in a royal procession.

Nidagha did not notice Ribhu coming from behind. The
latter wanted to test Nidagha and so said, ‘Why is there a
big crowd here?’
Nidagha: (without looking behind and not knowing who
the questioner was) The Rajah is going in a procession.

Ribhu: Oho! The Rajah is going in a procession! Who is
the Rajah!
Nidagha: There you see. The one on the elephant; that
is the Rajah.

Ribhu: What? What do you say? Did you say that the
Rajah is on the elephant? Yes. I see both of them. But who is
the Rajah and who is the elephant?
Nidagha: What is all this nonsense? You say you can
see both. Don’t you know the one above is Rajah and the
one below is the elephant?
Ribhu: What? What did you say? Please tell me clearly.

Nidagha: What a nuisance! It is difficult to explain
anything to a man like you. How often should I tell you the
same thing? Now listen. The one above is the Rajah and the
one below is the elephant. Have you understood it now at
least?
Ribhu: I am sorry. Please don’t get angry with a
simpleton like myself. I pray, one more word. You say above
and below. My dear sir, please tell me what exactly it means.

Nidagha: (With great anger) How funny! You can see
the one above; that is the Rajah. The one below is the
elephant. What nonsense do you mean by saying that you
do not know what is above and what is below?
Ribhu: Yes. Yes! It is true. I see both. But I do not
understand what is meant by above and below.

Nidagha: (Unable to contain his anger) What nonsense!
If you cannot understand that which is obvious and visible
the only way to make you understand is to give you a practical
demonstration. I shall do so now. Bend down. You will then
understand everything fully.

“That rustic labourer bent down as directed. Nidagha
sat on him and said, ‘Now, now look. Do you understand? I
am above you like the Rajah, and you are below me, like the
elephant. Is it all right? Do you understand clearly?’
Ribhu: No. I have not yet understood. I am still unable
to know the meaning. You say you are above me like the
Rajah and that I am under you like the elephant. I am able
to understand to the extent that the Rajah is above and the
elephant is below. You say, ‘You’ and ‘I.’ That I am not able
to understand. Whom are you addressing when you say ‘You’
and ‘I’? Please explain this clearly in some detail.

“He said all that in a calm and dignified tone.

“When Nidagha heard this question aimed at him
pointedly, he realised the nonexistence of separate entities
as ‘You’ and ‘I’ and that they merge in the consciousness of
the Self. So instinctively, he realised his mistake, jumped down
and fell at the feet of the rustic, who, he felt could be no
other than his Guru as he had made his mind turn from
outer distinctions to the TRUTH that is the Self. He folded
his hands and expressed his deep gratitude for the great
revelation and thanked him for all that he had done for
him. Ribhu again explained to him the state of Reality and
taught how to abide in the Self. That teaching is Ribhu Gita.

In that Gita the Self and the Self alone is dealt with at great
length.” So said Bhagavan.

(183) THE SCREEN

Prev Next    28th April, 1948
Yesterday afternoon, a devotee approached Bhagavan
and said, “Swami, for one who has realized his Self, it is said
that he will not have the three states of wakefulness, dream
and deep sleep. Is that a fact?”
Bhagavan said kindly, “What makes you say that they do
not have the three states? In saying that ‘I had a dream; I was
in deep sleep; I am awake’, you must admit that you were
there in all the three states. That makes it clear that you were
there all the time. If you remain as you are now, you are in
the wakeful state. This becomes hidden in the dream state,
and the dream state disappears when you are in deep sleep.

You were there then, you are there now, and you are there at
all times. The three states come and go, but you are always
there. It is like a cinema. The screen is always there. Several
types of pictures appear on the screen and disappear. Nothing
sticks to the screen; it remains a screen. Similarly, you remain
your own Self in all the three states. If you know that, the
three states will not trouble you, just as the pictures which
appear on the screen do not stick to it. That means that the
three states will not stick to you. On the screen, you sometimes
see a huge ocean with endless waves; that disappears. Another
time, you see fire spreading all around; that too disappears.

The screen is there on both the occasions. Did the screen get
wet with the water or did it get burned by the fire? Nothing
affected the screen. In the same way, the things that happen
during the wakeful, dream and sleep states do not affect you
at all; you remain your own Self.”
The questioner: “Does that mean that, although people
have all three states, wakefulness, dream and deep sleep,
these do not affect the people?”
Bhagavan: “Yes, that is it. All these states come and go.

The Self is not bothered; it has only one state.”
The questioner: “Does that mean that such a person
will be in this world merely as a witness?”
Bhagavan: “That is so. For this very thing, Vidyaranya,
in the tenth chapter of the Panchadasi, gives as example the
light that is kept on the stage of a theatre. When a drama is
being played, the light is there, which illuminates, without
any distinction, all the actors, whether they be kings or
servants or dancers, and also all the audience. That light
will be there before the drama begins, during the
performance and also after the performance is over.

Similarly, the light within, that is, the Self, gives light to the
ego, the intelligence, the mind and the lower mind
(ahankara, buddhi, chitta and manas) without itself being
subject to processes of growth and decay. Although during
deep sleep and other states, there is no feeling of the ego,
that Self remains attributeless, and continues to shine of
itself. That is the meaning. There will be no doubts
whatsoever if one finds out who one is and what one is by
Self-enquiry.”

(184) THE DOER AND THE DOING

Prev Next    29th April, 1948
This morning, at about 9 o’clock, a lawyer from
Rayalaseema who came here yesterday, sat near Bhagavan’s
couch and asked, “Swami, in the Gita, Lord Krishna first
said that everything is embraced in the ‘doing’ only, and one’s
self plays no role. Subsequently, He says that He Himself is
the ‘doer’, the ‘doing’ and the ‘deed’ (karta, karma and karyam);
though ‘doing’ (karma) is the most important of the three, it
is ineffectual by itself (jadam). If this is so, then everything
depends upon the ‘doer’, who is Ishwara. Why when He
first created ‘doing’ (karma), did He create different karmas
for different people? It is said that afterwards everyone is
made to function according to his karma. How did this
difference come about in the very beginning? How did it
arise? Not only that, if everything is left to the ‘doing’ and to
the ‘doer’ who is Ishwara, where does personal effort
(purushakaram) come in? If there is no personal effort, why is
it said that we ourselves must attain Realization? What does
it mean?”
Bhagavan said, “Who is it that is asking? To whom has
this doubt arisen? Why has it arisen? First think that over
and find out.”
The devotee: “Swami, I am only enquiring why Lord
Krishna said that.”
Bhagavan: “That is what I am referring to. What exactly
did Lord Krishna tell Arjuna? He told him, the deed will get
done according to the ‘doing’. I am the ‘doer’ watching the
whole thing from above. Why do you worry? It is your body
which does the killing of your relatives. Are you the body?
No! Why then this bondage for you? Renounce the idea, He
said. This means that He asks Arjuna to do the thing but to
give up the feeling that it is he that is doing it. That is personal
effort. The feeling that one is, or is not, the body, comes
from one’s own ignorance. One only has to give up that
feeling; that which one has, one must oneself reject. Who
else can do it? If by personal effort that bondage is removed,
action, under the orders of the ‘doer’, Ishwara, goes on of its
own accord. Every one has his work allotted to him and he
will do it automatically. Why should one worry? Arjuna, when
he felt that it was not proper to kill his relatives, was only
told to give up the feeling that he was the ‘doer’, yet it was
Arjuna himself who ultimately fought. By listening to the
Gita, he lost the feeling of being the ‘doer’ and the doubt he
had had was no longer there. The work had to be done with
that particular body, and it was done. Even Duryodhana was
like that. Not that he was not aware of the correctness or
otherwise of what he was doing. He knew that what he was
doing was not right, but some force was leading him on to
that work. What could he do? That work had to be done in
that way by that body, and it was done. He is reported to
have said so at the time of his death. Hence it is clear that
some Force is making all people to do things. Getting rid of
the feeling that ‘I myself am doing’ is personal effort
(purushakaram). All spiritual practices (sadhanas) are towards
that end.”
Another devotee: “That is all right. For this karma there
must be a beginning, but how it began, no one has mentioned.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, but it is the same thing. If you are asked
‘how did you get this?’ you say you have got it by ‘doing’
(karma). How were you born? By ‘doing’ (karma) that is all
that could be said. If, however, you ask how was this karma
born, you are told you should not ask such questions. This is
known as the Law of the seed and the tree (bija ankura
nyayam). The tree is born of the seed; again from the tree a
seed is born. Where is the origin of that seed? That is a
question which you are told is not to be asked. What can we
say to that? That is why I always ask people to find out first
how they were born and where they were born.”
#ñr> svRÉUtana< ùÎeze=juRn itóit.

æamyNsvRÉUtain yÙaêFain mayya.

O Arjuna, the Lord dwells in the heart of all beings who
are mounted upon the automation of this body, causing
them by His illusive power to spin round according to
their actions.

Gita XVIII: 61
tmev zra[< gCD svRÉaven Éart,
tTàsadaTpra< zaiNt< Swan< àaPSyis zañtm!.

Seek refuge in Him alone, with all your being, O Arjuna!
Through His grace, you shall obtain supreme peace and
the eternal abode.

Gita XVIII: 62

(185) NAYANA AND THE RAMANA GITA

Prev Next    30th April, 1948
Yesterday afternoon at 2-30, there was a talk about the
sloka, “Hridaya kuhara madhye”. A devotee asked Bhagavan
whether it was written while living at the Skandasram.

Bhagavan: “Yes, it was written while I was there. In
1915 I had to write it on account of Jagadiswara Sastri.”
The Devotee: “Is that the reason? In the Sri Ramana
Gita it is indicated that Bhagavan himself wrote it.”
“No, No,” said Bhagavan. “In 1915 Jagadisa was in
Skandasram during Chaturmasya
1
and one day he wrote
down on a piece of paper ‘Hridaya kuhara madhye’, held it
in his hand and sat down. When I asked him what it was,
he said that he wanted to write a sloka, but when he actually
began it, only that much he could write. And when I asked
him to write the rest, he said he was unable to do so
however much he tried. After a time, he went out
somewhere, leaving the paper under my seat. Before his
return, I completed the sloka, wrote underneath it the
word ‘Jagadisa’ and showed it to him as soon as he
returned. He asked me why I had put his name to it. I
said that it was because Jagadisa had begun it. He said
that if that were so, he should have the paper for himself,
1
The Chaturmasya period begins in the month of Asadha (June-
July) from the day of Ekadasi called Sayana-ekadasi, in the fortnight
of the waxing moon. The period ends in the month of Kartika
(October-November) on the Ekadasi day known as Utthana-ekadasi,
in the fortnight of the waxing moon. This four-month period is
known as Chaturmasya. During the four-month period of
Chaturmasya one should practice giving up all food intended for
sense enjoyment.

and took it away from me and carefully kept it with him.

He was very young at that time.

“Some time afterwards, I wrote down that same sloka.

I was sitting on a big stone slab near the Ashram and all
gathered round me and wanted me to tell them the meaning
of the sloka. I acquiesced and explained it to them for some
two or three hours. Taking advantage of this, Jagadisa
recently wrote a long commentary on it in the same style as
had been done on a sloka of Sankara’s. The manuscript has
apparently been lost somewhere. When Nayana
2
wrote the
Ramana Gita, he took this sloka as the opening sloka for the
second chapter. That is the whole story. I have not written
anything unless for a good reason.”
“Did you write this sloka at about the same time as
Nayana wrote the Ramana Gita?” asked someone.

“No,” said Bhagavan, “it was some time later; he wrote
in July 1917. But there is an interesting thing about it. In
1913, he asked me some questions and learnt something.

When what he had learnt became fully implanted in his mind,
he used, whenever he gave a lecture, to recite a sloka
extempore and say that it was from chapter so and so, sloka
number so and so, in the Ramana Gita. And that was long
before he began to write the Ramana Gita. When he bluffed
thus, no one dared to call his bluff, for he was a powerful
personality, full of resourcefulness. Reciting thus from time
to time, he finally wrote the Ramana Gita.”
Someone asked, “Had anybody asked where the Ramana
Gita was, what would he have done?”
Bhagavan laughed: “Who had the courage to challenge
him like that? That was his strong point. Even after writing
2
Kavyakantha Ganapathi Sastri who used to be addressed and
referred to as ‘Nayana’.

the Ramana Gita, do you know what he used to do? He used
to quote some slokas which were not in the Gita and cite them
as examples. If any one had the courage to say that they
were not in the printed book, he would say that they were in
the Maha Ramana Gita, an enlarged version of the original.

He had planned to write that also, but was finally unable to
do so. He used to say that he would write a commentary on
the “Arunachala Pancharatna”, and thereby show off all his
knowledge, but that too was never done.”
“It seems that Nayana once spoke in the same way on
the ‘Saiva Siddanta’,” said another devotee.

“Yes,” answered Bhagavan. “That was in the early days
of his coming here. At that time, he knew nothing of Saiva
Siddhanta. The Association of Saiva Siddhantis decided to
hold their conference in this place and invited Nayana to
preside over it. They also published that he, being a great
pandit, would speak at length and authoritatively on Saiva
Siddhanta. He was informed of the exact date only four or
five days before the conference. On the very morning of the
conference he came to me and said, ‘These people have asked
me to attend Saiva Sabha and speak, but I do not know what
that Siddhanta is and what really is its nature.’ I thereupon
took out a Tamil book, the Siva Jnana Bodha, selected twelve
aphorisms from it, explained their purport and then briefly
told him the essence of that Siddhanta. That was enough.

Being very intelligent he grasped the fundamentals in no
time and went to the conference. Able to compose slokas
extempore, he recited them with great confidence and then
lectured in Tamil so authoritatively that everyone present
was surprised at the profundity of his thought and erudition.

When Nayana returned from the Conference he said, ‘It
was not out of my knowledge or capacity that I spoke today.

It was all due to Bhagavan’s grace. The Saiva Siddhanta which
I have never read appeared to me as though I had had it in
my mind all these years’. Such was his intellectual power.”
Said one devotee: “It seems that even for the
Umasahasram he did not get ready until the evening before
the day fixed for its reading.”
Bhagavan replied, “Yes. Invitations had been sent out
to several people saying that the Umasahasram would be read
out at the Apeetha Temple on a certain day, and so many
people came even the day before. It was to be read the
following morning, and still 300 slokas had to be written.

Nayana came to me and said, ‘These 300 slokas have to be
written before daybreak. How can it be done?’ ‘Why worry?’
I said. ‘It will be all right if we sit up after food.’ ‘Then you
must come there,’ he said. All this happened when I was still
living on the hill. As desired, I went to the Mango Cave and
sat down in a corner, keeping my eyes open all the time.

Nayana sat down opposite me, kept four disciples by his side
to write and, giving them extempore, each a part of a sloka,
finished all 300 slokas by midnight.”
The devotee said, “Is it a fact that Bhagavan kept
intently looking on until all 300 slokas were finished, and as
soon as they were done, sat up and said, ‘Have you taken
down all that I said?’”
Bhagavan nodded: “Yes, it was so. I felt that I had
dictated all those slokas.”
The devotee further asked, “Is it also a fact that Nayana
changed the other slokas several times but never touched
even one of the 300 slokas?”
Bhagavan nodded his head in assent and was once more
silent.

(186) CONCENTRATION AND DESIRELESSNESS

Prev Next    1st May, 1948
Being busy with some bookbinding work, I went to the
Ashram a little late this morning. It was by then about nine
o’clock. By that time, some gentleman from Maharashtra, who
came here yesterday, appears to have asked some questions.

Bhagavan was replying to them with uninterrupted eloquence.

The words filled with nectar seemed to be coming out of him
like the rapid flow of the waters of the Ganges. A devotee was
translating them into English. I felt sorry for having come
late. I got into the hall hurriedly and sat down. The question
of ‘abhyasa’ (concentration of mind on one subject) and
‘vairagya’ (desirelessness) was being discussed at that time.

Bhagavan explained as under:
znE> znEéprmedœbuÏ(a x&itg&hItya,
AaTms<sw< mn=""> k«Tva n ik
</sw<>

He should through gradual practice attain tranquillity; and
having established the mind in God through reason controlled
by steadfastness, he should not think of anything else.

Gita, VI: 25
ytae ytae inírit mní
ttSttae inyMyEtdaTmNyev vz< nyet!.

Restraining the restless and fidgety mind from all those
objects after which it runs, he should repeatedly
concentrate it on God.

Gita, VI: 26
In spite of all this teaching, Arjuna’s doubts were not
dispelled and so he questioned further:
c<cl< ih="" mn=""> k«:[ àmaiw blvdœ †Fm!,
tSyah< in¢h< mNye vayaeirv suÊ:krm!.
</cl<>

For, Krishna, the mind is very unsteady, turbulent,
tenacious and powerful; therefore, I consider it as difficult
to control as the wind.

Gita, VI: 34
In reply to this:
As<zy< mhabahae="" mnae="" êinr¢h<="" clm!,=""
A_yasen tu kaENtey vEraGye[ c g&ýte.
</zy<>

The mind is without doubt unsteady and difficult to curb,
Arjuna, but it can be controlled through practice of
meditation and dispassion, O son of Kunti.

Gita, VI: 35
So said Lord Krishna. Hence it is very necessary that a
sadhaka should have practice and desirelessness.

One of the questioners said, “In the second chapter of
the Gita it has been stated that practising dhyana (meditation)
along with the path of enquiry is the best but in the twelfth
chapter it has been stated that the path of devotion is the
best. How to reconcile these two?” Bhagavan said, “The
sadhaka was first asked to practise meditation in the path of
Jnana. He could not do so; next yoga, then karma and finally
bhakti. In that way one after another was taught so that a
person could follow a path that suits him best. After all, the
goal is one, whatever the path. Lord Krishna’s idea was that
each path would be easy according to each person’s spiritual
development.”

(187) THE GREATNESS OF MAN

Prev Next    2nd May, 1948
After writing to you the gist of yesterday’s discussion
about practice of meditation and desirelessness, I wanted
to give you the number of the chapter and the number of
the slokas that were quoted but could not locate them easily
in the Gita. So I thought the best thing would be to ask
Bhagavan himself. I went to the Ashram early in the
afternoon by about 2-30. Not many people were there. I
gave Bhagavan my copy of the Gita. Bhagavan was not only
pleased to point out the slokas but also once again explained
their meaning to me. While doing so some Andhras came
there in a group and sat down. One of them asked, “Swami,
what is the easiest way to attain moksha?”
Bhagavan said with a smile, “That is just what I am
explaining now. 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 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 (repeating) of the name of
Rama is extraordinary,” and looking at me, he said, “You
know 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, (Own
name means one’s real nature Swarupa), 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. Someone wrote
Adhyatma Ramayana in great detail in the Malayalam
language. It is stated in that book that when Anjaneya went
in search of Sita, he seated himself opposite to Ravana in the
Durbar 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
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?
“But one thing. The method of repeating the name (japa)
must be known. In the case of all japa it is stated ‘pranayame
viniyogaha’ which means that the breath is to be controlled
first, and then japa should be done. In other words the mind
must be controlled. Sambanda is a devotee of Siva. He
explained in a verse the way to do the Japa of Panchakshari
(five letters) of Lord Siva’s name. Its meaning is that one should
close navadwaras (the nine apertures of the human body, i.e.,
two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, anus and the organ of
generation), lock them and seal them; otherwise the mind
will run away. After sealing the nine doors, do Panchakshari
japa (repeating the five letters). If, by controlling the senses,
the mind can be controlled, i.e. submerged, that which remains
is the Self. One meditates on one’s Self and the japa becomes
one’s own Self.”
“Is that state called ‘ajapa’?” asked someone else.

Bhagavan: “That which is repeated inwardly is ‘ajapa’, but
how could the one which is repeated by the mouth be ‘ajapa’?”
Devotee: “Will it be possible for all people at all times to
do Japa like that?”
Bhagavan: “No, it will not be possible. That is why elders
have said that you should do japa for some time, sing for a
while, read, write and thus turn the mind to good deeds and
prevent it from getting into bad habits. The Gita also says
that one should stop the mind from wandering by practice
and desirelessness. Even japa is like that. The mind should
gradually be made single-pointed while performing japa. It
is to get that single-pointedness that all the other practices
have been prescribed for spiritual practice (sadhana).”
A_yas vEraGya_ya< tiÚraex>
Its (mind’s) control by practice and dispassion.

Patanjali Yoga Sutras

(188) VEDARANYAM

Prev Next    4th May, 1948
The verses written by Appar and other devotees are
mostly padikams. That means a particular topic dealt with in
ten verses. Yesterday was the anniversary of Appar and so
Sundaresa Iyer and Sivanandam were singing the verses of
Appar at the rate of one or two from each of the Padikams
and Bhagavan was explaining to them the meaning of each
verse. When the last verse in the Stotra Padikam composed at
Vedaranyam was being sung, Bhagavan said:
“While on a pilgrimage, the twelve-year old Sambandar
and Appar reached Vedaranyam. The main gate of the
Vedaranyam Temple was found locked. It seems that long
ago the ancient Vedas took human shapes. They worshipped
the Lord in this temple with sprinkling or pouring of water
(abhishekam) and puja, and on going away, closed the main
gate and sealed it. Since then no one had the courage to open
it and so a hole was bored through the wall and a side gate
improvised for people for coming and going out. When Appar
and Sambandar enquired about the closure of the main gate,
the watchman told them this story and suggested that they
could go in by the side gate. They did not feel like using the
gate and so decided to pray Ishwara for the opening of the
main gate. Sambandar suggested that Appar should pray. It
was then that Appar sang this hymn of ten verses. Ishwara is
fond of Appar’s songs. It seems He was so absorbed in hearing
them that He forgot to open the gate. When the gate did not
open even on singing the ninth verse Appar was overwhelmed
with grief and sang the tenth verse saying, ‘Oh Lord, has
not Your heart melted yet?’ When even that had no effect,
he sang a eleventh verse beginning with ‘Arakkanai viralal
adarthitta neer...’, the purport of which is ‘when Ravana lifted
the Kailasa with his hands you struck him down with your
little finger and inflicted trouble on him for a thousand years.

That being so, how will you have compassion for me?’ When
this was sung, it seems that Ishwara regretted the delay and
immediately opened the doors.”
Bhagavan continued: “After entering the temple and
worshipping the Lord therein, they came out. Appar requested
Sambandar to pray to Ishwara to close the door and when
Sambandar sang only one verse, the doors closed with a bang.

On this occasion, Ishwara tested Appar by not answering his
prayers until he sang eleven songs and favoured Sambandar
by promptly closing the doors when he sang only one song.

On another occasion, it was Sambandar that was put to a severe
test while Appar was readily granted favour. That is another
story.” When I asked about that story, Bhagavan related it:
“From the time Ishwara put him to a severe test at
Vedaranyam, Appar felt aggrieved and began worshipping
Ishwara with greater devotion than ever. Subsequently both
Appar and Sambandar went on a pilgrimage with their
respective retinues and reached a village called
Tiruveelimalai. At that time the village was in the grip of a
famine. Unable to bear the sight of the sufferings of the
people they decided to stay in two different mutts along
with their attendants and distribute food to the people.

They had of course no money with them and so went to
the local temple to pray to Ishwara. Pleased with their
devotion, Ishwara gave them a sovereign each every day.

The sovereign used to be kept on the doorstep. The one
given to Appar was accepted by the vendors of food supplies
and the required articles were readily purchased. Food
could therefore be given to the people before the afternoon
set in. The sovereign of Sambandar was however below the
standard purity of gold and so the dealers offered to take it
only at a discount. The attendants had therefore to come
back to the mutt to obtain Sambandar’s consent, then return
to the shop, buy the required articles and then feed the
people rather late, by about 2 p.m. every day.

“In due course this delay came to the notice of
Sambandar. On enquiry he found that it was all due to the
bad coins he was getting from the Lord daily. He felt very
sad, went to the temple and sang ten songs beginning with
‘Vaasi teerave kaasu nalguveer’, which means, ‘Swami, why are
you giving me coins which are not pure gold!’ Then the Lord
who is the embodiment of kindness, said, ‘Appar is
worshipping me with his mind, thought and deed, while you
are doing it with your mind and thought only. (It seems
Appar was washing the idol and worshipping it daily, along
with menial service to the temple.) It was only to point out
the difference that I have been doing like this. Henceforth,
I shall give you also good coins. Don’t worry’. And from that
day onwards good coins were given. There are many stories
like this in their biographies,” said Bhagavan.

(189) APPAR (A SAINT)

Prev Next    5th May, 1948
After writing to you about what had happened
yesterday, regarding the Vedaranyam Temple and gold-coin
stories, I went to the Hall to day at 2.30 p.m., when I found
that the topic regarding Appar was still being discussed.

One devotee asked Bhagavan, “Is it a fact that Appar
got that name only because Sambandar was calling him
Appah?”
“Yes. That is a fact. The name given to him by his parents
is Marul Neekkiyar. As his voice was pure, he later got the
name of Vageesa but it was mainly because Sambandar called
him Appah (father) that he got the name Appar,” said
Bhagavan.

“Which was his native place?” enquired some one. Then
Bhagavan related the full details about Appar:
“Appar was born in a village called Tiruvamur in the
Thirumunaipadi region of a Vellala family of Saivites. His father’s
name was Pugazhanar and mother’s name was Madiniyar. He
had only one sister by name Tilakavati. As he grew up, he became
proficient in all studies. When Tilakavati was twelve years of
age, the parents decided to give her in marriage to a commander
in the king’s army. Just then there was a war and that
commander went away saying he would marry her on his
return. In the meantime Pugazhanar passed away and his wife
Madiniyar committed Sati.* The brother and sister were left
alone. They awaited the return of the commander, but after
some time they heard that the commander had died in the
war. Tilakavati wanted to commit Sati as her parents had decided
to give her away in marriage to that commander and she felt
that her body was therefore his. Marul Neekkiyar, with great
grief, fell at the feet of his sister and told her that he looked up
to her as his father and mother, and if she insisted on dying on
the funeral pyre, he would also commit suicide. As she was
anxious that her brother should live and prosper, she gave up
her idea of committing Sati.

“She however did not marry but remained at home
absorbed in the service of the Siva’s temple and in her own
tapas (austerity).

“Marul Neekkiyar realised that material wealth was
transitory. Consequently, whatever money, gold and other
valuables he had, he gave away, became a sannyasi, left home
and in his wanderings reached Patalipuram (Tirup-
podiripuliyur, i.e., Cuddalore). There the most important
place at that time was the Samana Jain Mutt. As fate would
have it, he went there, joined the Samana establishment, was
given the title of Dharmasena, became the head of the mutt,
the Purohit of the Rajah and the Poet Laureate of the
kingdom. He therefore stayed on there.

* Self-immolation by falling into the funeral pyre of the husband.

“Tilakavati, who was staying at her native place, heard
this news, felt sad, went to their family deity —
Veerasthaneswara — on the banks of the river Gedila and
prayed to God several times to save her brother from
following the way of heretics. One day Parameswara appeared
to her in a dream and said, ‘O Tapaswini, you can now give
up your mental agony. In his last birth, your brother was a
Sannyasi but did not perform tapas properly. There was a
flaw in his tapas. As a result of that, he has now joined that
heretic (Pashanda) cult. I shall now save him by making him
suffer from stomachache. Give up your grief and relax.’
“Immediately thereafter, Dharmasena had a violent
stomachache. Several people in that mutt who were well
versed in mantras and tantras tried best to cure him but could
not succeed and so gave up all hopes. Dharmasena could
not bear the agony any longer. He then remembered his
sister. Hoping she might be of some help, he sent a man to
fetch her. She refused to give up her own Dharma and go
over to that Samana Mutt. On hearing that, Dharmasena
regretted his having given up his own Dharma, namely,
Saivism, and without the knowledge of other people in the
mutt, left the mutt at night, with two servants, for his native
place. When he tapped at the door and called his sister, she
recognised his voice and opened the door. He fell at her feet
and requested her to forgive him. She received him with
open arms, and overjoyed at the kindness of Parameswara,
taught her brother the Panchakshari Mantra (Om Namah
Sivaya) after giving him holy ash. He smeared the holy ash
all over his body and repeated the mantra.

“Tilakavati took her brother to the temple of Veera-
sthaneswara. When he prostrated and got up, Marul Neekkiyar
began composing songs in Tamil in praise of Siva. The first of
the Ten Verses (Padikam) begins with ‘Kootrayinavaru.’ His
stomachache ceased immediately. That is why there is a belief
that whoever recites these songs gets relief from all illness.

“After that he went on a pilgrimage singing his Padikams
(containing 10 verses each). In due course he reached
Chidambaram. After worshipping Nataraja there, and singing
Padikams, he went with his followers to Sirkali, which was
nearby, as he heard that Sambandar had become a saint by
drinking the milk of the Mother of the Universe, Parvati,
when he was a little child. Hearing that he was coming,
Sambandar with his followers went out to meet him. As soon
as they met, Marul Neekkiyar fell at the feet of Sambandar.

The latter lifted him up with his hands with great affection
and as a show of respect, called him ‘Appa’ (father). Appar
immediately claimed that he was the Dasan (servant) of
Sambandar. From that time onwards, Marul Neekkiyar came
to be known as Appar. Subsequently both of them went
together to the temple of Brahmapureeswara. Sambandar
then asked Appar to worship the Lord, which Appar did
with his Padikams (ten verses). After that, they went together
to several temples and sang Padikams in praise of the Lord.

You have already heard of Vedaranyam and the sovereigns.

There are several other stories like that. After his contact
with Appar, Sambandar went to Patalipuram, defeated the
people of Samana Mutt by arguments and established Saivism.

They always used to be together.”

(190) THE MEANING OF DAKSHINAMURTHY

Prev Next    19th May, 1948
Yesterday being Tuesday, I got up very early and went
round the Hill. After returning home and finishing my
household work, I went to the Ashram at 7-30 a.m. As soon
as I got up after prostrating before Bhagavan, he asked me,
“Have you come back so soon after Pradakshina?”
“I returned by 7 O’clock but I was delayed a little at
home,” I said.

“Is that so? At what time did you start?” asked Bhagavan.

“At 3-30 a.m.,” I said.

“So early? Who else was with you?” asked Bhagavan.

“No one. I have been going alone. I do not feel afraid,”
I said.

“That is all right. What is there to fear? When we were
going around the hill, we were mostly doing it at nights only,”
said Bhagavan.

A devotee said, “It seems that on one occasion when
you all went round the hill, a devotee requested you to explain
the meaning of the ‘Dakshinamurthy Stotram’ and, by the
time you had completed explaining only one sloka, it was
daybreak.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, naturally; there is so much to explain
if one wants to. When I was on the hill, Palaniswami asked
me and I wrote in verse the meaning of those slokas. I wanted
to write the commentary also but in the meantime the book
was sent for printing. Later on, one devotee sent a man
urgently to ask for material for an introduction. And that
was the end.”
“So that was all we were destined to get,” said the
devotee.

“Today, while going round the Hill, I noticed in the
Arunachala Temple the idol of Dakshinamurthy with the
figure of a demon under the feet and wondered why it was
so. The same thing I observed in the idol of Dakshinamurthy
by the side of the road here and also, in the Amman Temple.

What is the significance?” I asked.

“It is said that that figure represents the magically
created demon called Muyalakan, that was hurled at Siva by
the Tapasvis of the Daruka Forest and that Siva stamped the
demon under his feet, killed it and sat on it. After all,
Dakshinamurthy is one of the five forms of Siva. To explain
esoterically one can say that that demon is ahankara (egoism)
or some such thing,” said Bhagavan.

“There being no form (rupa) for egoism, why do they
say like that?” I asked.

Bhagavan: “Even Dakshinamurthy does not mean only
a form. In the “Dakshinamurthy Stotram” it is that formlessness
that has been described in various ways. They all indicate
only formlessness. Just as that formlessness was invented, so
also descriptions of form.”
Another person took up the conversation and asked, “It
is said that Valmiki got his name because he got out of a valmika
(anthill) and that Vyasa got his name because of his arranging
(vyasa = arranger) the Vedas in their present form. What could
be the reason for Vasishta being called by that name?”
Bhagavan: “Vasishta means a person who knows what
is best (Visishta).”
Devotee: “What is the meaning of the words ‘pasyan
sarvam tavakrititaya satatam’ which occur towards the end of
the fifth sloka of ‘Arunachala Pancharatnam’?”
Bhagavan: “That means ‘seeing everything as a form of
Yours.’”
Devotee: “I am not able to understand that yet. May I
request you to let me have the meaning of the whole sloka?”
Bhagavan: “All right. Now listen. ‘Tvayyarpita manasa’
means with the mind surrendered to you. ‘Pasyan sarvam
tavakrititaya satatam’ = seeing everything as your form at all
times; ‘tvam’ = yourself; ‘bhajate ananya preetya’ = worships you
with wholehearted devotion; ‘saha’ = he; ‘jayatyarunachalatvayi
sukhe magnah’ = gets lost in Thy bliss, Oh, Arunachala! and
thus succeeds in his efforts. That is the full meaning of the
sloka. When the mind gets merged in the Self, everything is the
form of the Self. As, at all places, his own Self is all-pervading,
he worships his own Self.”
Hereunder is given the full sloka:
TvyaipRt mnsa Tva< pZyn! sv¡ tvak«ittya sttm!,
Éjte=nNy àITya s jyTyé[acl Tviy suoe m¶>.

He who dedicates his mind to Thee and, seeing Thee,
always beholds the Universe as Thy figure, he who at all
times glorifies Thee and loves Thee as none other than
the Self, he is the master without rival, being one with
Thee, Oh Arunachala! and lost in Thy bliss.

Arunachala Pancharatna, verse 5

(Continued  ...)

My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Bhagavan Sree Ramana Maharshi
and also gratitude to great philosophers and others     for the collection)