The Silent Power Selections from The Mountain Path and The Call Divine SRI RAMANASRAMAM -1

The

Silent Power

Selections from

The Mountain Path

and

The Call Divine

SRI RAMANASRAMAM

Foreword

Like the previous volumes Fragrant Petals and Surpassing

Love and Grace, The Silent Power contains selections from The

Mountain Path and The Call Divine. Besides the writings on

Sri Maharshi and his beloved Arunachala, a few other interesting

articles on various topics have been included.

TIRUVANNAMALAI V.S. RAMANAN

PART I

ON ARUNACHALA

ARUNACHALA

Lucia Osborne

“Arunachala! Thou art the inner Self who dances in

the Heart as ‘I’. Heart is Thy name, O Lord!” (Five Stanzas

to Sri Arunachala, verse 2.)

IN THE PURANAS Arunachala is referred to as the oldest

Hill on earth and is regarded as the heart of the Universe.

Scientists have also pointed out the eastern ghats of the Deccan

plateau as the oldest land. Arunachala has many names: Arunagiri,

Sonagiri, Sudarsanagiri, Annamalai, to mention but a few and

is also referred to as the Tejolingam — the lingam of effulgence

— which is the formless emblem of Siva.

The form of the Hill is said to resemble Sri Chakra, the

emblem of the Cosmos with its substratum, and shaktas regard

this Hill as Sri Chakra itself. Bhagavan took an active part in

the installation of Sri Chakra in the temple dedicated to the

mother.

Devotees of Siva consider this divine Hill as the form of

Siva, who appeared in the midst of Brahma and Vishnu as a

column of fire without beginning or end in order to dispel

their ignorance. Both failed to realise his presence by their

physical efforts. This signifies the inability of mind or intellect

to go beyond itself. Arunachala is traditionally identified with

Sudarsana (a form of the chakra or discus of Vishnu). In the

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form of a deity, Sudarsana appears in a fierce aspect, armed

with weapons of destruction. When a seeker penetrates beyond

the semblance of the terrible, while struggling to overcome what

seems terrible in himself — namely, the dark downward

propensities of his own psyche — grace reveals itself as love and

compassion. This, according to Dr. Mees, an authority on

symbolism, is the etymology of Sudarsana which aims at the

destruction of these propensities, so as to reveal love and beauty.

Many saints and sages have sung and composed songs in

praise of Arunachala and its import, and some have attained

enlightenment here. Shankara also seems to have visited

Arunachala. In one of his compositions he calls this Hill ‘Meru’

and says, like Bhagavan, that Sidddha Purushas are found here.

Saint Namasivaya lived in one of the caves, which is still called

by his name. His disciple has written the well-known Annamalai

Venba, a hymn in praise of Arunachala. Another well-known

Saiva saint, Virupaksha, also lived in a cave higher up on the

slope. It is said to be in the shape of OM — and some devotees

have heard there, the sound of OM in silent meditation. The

saint’s tomb is also there and this cave bears his name. Bhagavan

spent seventeen years in it and later moved up to Skandashram

where a trickle of water changed overnight to a perennial stream

whose water, like that of the Ganges, does not deteriorate with

time. Arunagirinathar, another notable saint, is also celebrated

for his songs of praise after he received illumination through

the grace of Muruga in the Arunachala temple.

When mention was made one day of the tank adjoining

the Ashram being called Agastya Thirtam, the Maharshi was asked

if that sage ever visited the Hill. Bhagavan remarked “Yes, of

course, everyone must come here eventually”, meaning that

everyone must eventually return to the source — Arunachala.

3

Sages have said that one can attain salvation by being born

in Tiruvarur, by dying in Benares, by worshipping in

Chidambaram and by merely thinking of Arunachala. “So

worship Arunachala of shining golden lustre for mere

remembrance of Him ensures deliverance,”1 Bhagavan also

affirms.

Bhagavan mentioned that the Hill is one of light.

Sometimes one can see manifestations of lights on the Hill.

In the early years, a French devotee, Sujata Sen, once spent

the night on the Hill in protest against an order of the

management not allowing women devotees to remain in the

Ashram after dark. This was the most wonderful time for many

devotees when Bhagavan used to sit with them for an hour or

so in radiant silence. Sujata dwelt on her grievance onepointedly.

Next morning she told me that she was taken inside

the Hill and found a whole world in it, which she described. I

did not pay much attention to this, dismissing it as a dream or

imagination. Strangely enough many years later, in 1970 to

be precise, another devotee, Mr. S. N. Tandon, had a similar

experience which he described in detail in the April 1970 issue

of The Mountain Path in 1970, that year. It is reminiscent of

Dante’s inferno, leading by stages to light, in which all

manifestation disappears in the feeling of pure I-Am-ness.

Sri Visvanatha Swami, who from his adolescence spent many

years with Bhagavan, shares with us the following account.

Bhagavan said to him one day in the early twenties, “Innumerable

are the visions I have had of this Hill, Arunachala. I have seen

beautiful groves of trees and fine palaces inside it. Once I saw a

large tank and a big congregation of rishis and yogis seated on a

1 Five Hymns on Arunachala.

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wide plain around it. Every face was familiar and so were the

surroundings. A dais was there and I went up and sat on it with

my right hand held up in Chin-mudra. It seemed my usual place

and my usual pose.” Chin-mudra is a pose in which the right

hand is held up with the thumb and forefinger joined and the

three remaining fingers straight up. It is the pose of Dakshinamurti.

It denotes the unity of the individual with Brahman, the

transcendental Reality beyond the three gunas.

It is said in the puranas that a Siddha Purusha, the ancient

teacher in the form of an eternal youth, is present higher up on

one of the slopes seated under an enormous banyan tree,

diffusing his spiritual radiance in silence.

In the early days Bhagavan used to roam a good deal

on the Hill. One day he found, in a dried up watercourse, a

banyan leaf of such enormous size that it set him wondering

what tree could produce such a leaf. Proceeding further he

saw from a distance a huge banyan tree growing on what

looked like sheer rock. Going closer, Bhagavan inadvertently

put his foot in a hornet’s nest and did not withdraw it until

the hornets appeased their anger for being disturbed, by badly

stinging his leg.

Bhagavan did not go near the tree but returned to his

abode. Subsequently he firmly discouraged devotees from trying

to find the place saying that it was inaccessible and not advisable

for them to do so. “It is impossible. I know it!” he told them,

“For there shall no man see Me and live.” (Exodus 33, 20).

The finite ego must die before it can behold and merge

with infinity. Once a whole group of devotees, obviously

unaware of Bhagavan’s injunction, set out to locate the place

but they found themselves in such distress that all they could

pray for was to be able to return safely!

5

Any endeavour to write about Arunachala is like ‘painting

the lily’ — to borrow an apt expression. It is impossible to

present it better or more clearly than Bhagavan himself and in

this case there is no distinction between them. Arunachala in

the form of Bhagavan speaks about himself! Like Bhagavan, the

Hill comes to life and can appear to us as the beloved of our

heart as an indescribable tenderness. What could be nearer and

dearer than one’s own Self, Arunachala?

“O nectar springing up in the heart of devotees .... haven

of my refuge. . .” (Arunachala Padikam).

“The one Self, the sole Reality alone exists eternally. When

even the youthful teacher of ancient times, Dakshinamurti,

revealed it through speechless eloquence, who else could convey

it by speech?” (Ekatma Panchakam).

Bhagavan explained that the Universe is like a painting on

a screen, that screen being the red Hill, Arunachala. That which

rises and sinks is made up only of what it rises from. The finality

of the Universe is Arunachala. Meditating on Arunachala or

the Self, there is a vibration ‘I’. Tracing the source of ‘I’, the

primal ‘I-I’ alone remains and it is inexpressible. The very first

sloka in the Marital Garland of Letters expresses this tersely:

“Arunachala! Thou dost root out the ego of those who meditate

on Thee in the Heart, O Arunachala!’’

Bhagavan, who scarcely ever gave advice to devotees unless

asked, wholeheartedly approved and encouraged their going

round the Hill as conducive and very beneficial to progress in

sadhana. He himself set an example by doing giripradakshina

countless times. Worship is expressed by going around the object

of worship in silent remembrance or singing bhajans — and

not giving way to stray thoughts. One usually goes barefoot.

The most auspicious times are full-moon days, Sivaratri (the

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night of Siva) and Kartikai, the night when the beacon is lit on

top of the Hill. It is said that the pilgrim is accompanied by an

invisible host of siddhas and rishis. On festival days, the stream

of pilgrims in white and brightly coloured clothes resembles

garlands of flowers, strewn around Arunachala, wafting their

scent in the way of bhajans.

Among the many holy places in India, representing

different modes of spirituality, Arunachala stands out as the

centre of the most direct path, guided by the silent influence of

the guru. It is the centre and the path where physical contact

with the guru is not necessary. The silent teaching acts and speaks

directly to the Heart. There was something essentially immutable

and rocklike in Bhagavan, although he had a thousand faces.

He spoke and explained when asked, but his greatest and most

inspiring teaching was, like the Hill, like Dakshinamurti, given

in silence. Through Bhagavan, the immense potentiality for

spiritual regeneration inherent in Arunachala, with which he

identified himself, was brought to life and into focus.

The benedictory verse adopted as an auspicious

introduction to the Five Hymns to Sri Arunachala was rather

puzzling as it was not clear who actually wrote those words “the

Paramatman, who is the same as Arunachala or Ramana.” Sri T.

P. Ramachandra Iyer, one of the oldest devotees, who gave up

his practice as a lawyer to serve Bhagavan, was consulted and so

was Sri Visvanatha Swami. Their account of the matter is that

one day, when Bhagavan went out of Virupaksha Cave for his

usual morning walk, one Amritanatha Yati put on Bhagavan’s

seat a piece of paper on which he told in a Malayalam verse, of

his great longing to know who Bhagavan really was, “Are you

the manifestation of Lord Vishnu, or Siva, or the great

grammarian Vararuchi, or the greatest of yatis (renunciates)?”

7

His question was couched in classic form and script. When

he returned a little later to the cave, he found Bhagavan already

back from his walk. On the reverse of the piece of paper was

Bhagavan’s reply, also in verse and Malayalam script, rendered

with mastery. On reading it, Amritanatha Yati felt shaken and

in all humility fell at Bhagavan’s feet “like a tall coconut tree

cut even at the base”, to use his own words.

The reply was as follows: ‘In the lotus-shaped Heart of all,

beginning with Vishnu, there shines as absolute Consciousness

the Paramatman who is the same as Arunachala-Ramana. When

the mind melts with love of Him and reaches the inmost recess

of the Heart wherein He dwells as the beloved, the subtle eye

pure intellect opens and He reveals Himself as pure

Consciousness.”

“Through the potent grace of Bhagavan”, wrote Osborne

“the path of Self-enquiry was brought within the competence

of men and women of this age, was indeed fashioned into a

new path that can be followed in the conditions of the modern

world with no form or ritual . . . . This creation of a new path

to suit the needs of the age has made Arunachala the spiritual

centre of the world. More than ever, now that he has shed his

physical body and is one with Arunachala, the grace and

guidance that emanates from him to those who turn to him

and seek his aid is centred outwardly at Arunachala, to which

many are drawn, both those who were disciples of Bhagavan in

his lifetime and those who have come later.”

As in the lifetime of Bhagavan, so also now one can turn

and speak to Arunachala-Ramana far more effectively than in

one’s own words, by repeating an appropriate verse chosen from

the Five Hymns to Arunachala which Bhagavan wrote on behalf

of his disciples from whom he was not separate. The individual,

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being only a mode of absolute Consciousness, struggles against

his finitude to regain his primordial state of absolute freedom

through grace. These verses come from the devotees’ own heart:

“Even when the thieves of the five senses break in upon

me, art Thou not still in my Heart, O Arunachala?”

“On seeking Thy real Self with courage I lost my moorings.

Have mercy on me, O Arunachala!”

“Unless Thou extend Thy hand of grace in mercy, I am

lost, O Arunachala!”

“Unlovable I am to look at now, yet ornament me with

Thy grace and then regard me, O Arunachala!”

“Thou hast administered the drug of confusion to me, so

must I be confounded! Shine Thou as grace, the cure of all

confusion, O Arunachala!”

“Lord! Who art Consciousness itself reigning over the

sublime Sonagiri, forgive the grievous wrongs of this poor self,

and by Thy gracious glance benignant as the rain cloud, save

me from being lost once more in the dreary waste, or else I

cannot ford the grim (stream of universal) manifestation.”

“Lord! Deign to ease me in my weariness struggling like a

deer that is trapped. Lord Arunachala! What can be Thy will?”

“O pure One! If the five elements, the living beings and

every manifest thing is nothing but Thy all-embracing light,

how then can I alone be separate from Thee . . .”

Bhagavan has given many indications of his continued

presence. Ever-present, all-pervading, where could he go?

Outwardly manifested and visible as the Hill, he will remain

here always, guiding as before. “Only the body travels the Self

just is”, Bhagavan used to say. His body travelled and disappeared.

He just is as he always has been and the visible support of grace

is Arunachala. It is a great blessing to be able to come here, to

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stay here. After many years, every day still seems like a gift.

One cannot help feeling the living presence, radiation and

powerful spiritual help accorded to those who seek it, and above

all are humble enough to surrender to this influence of faith!

“The Hill which draws to itself those who are rich in jnana

tapas (those who are ever intent on gaining wisdom) is this

Arunachala” (Annamalai Venba).

􀁗 􀁘

10

ARUNACHALA’S TRUE

SHAPE

Aquarius

From every angle Arunachala presents a different aspect.

But the Sivalinga, representing the Hill, symbolises its true

shape, that of the formless including all forms.

ARUNACHALA IS RAMANA. Every true devotee of Sri

Bhagavan comes to feel this to be true. Arunachala is an

insentient Hill while Sri Ramana was a sentient human being.

How could they be the same, we ask, except perhaps in a

metaphysical sense? But do we know what Arunachala is like

even in the physical sense?

I approach Arunachala generally by bus from the east as I

come to Tiruvannamalai from Madras. Arunachala becomes

visible from about ten miles away. At first it is only a vague

cloudlike shape but as I come nearer it becomes clearer. It

assumes the form of an irregular cone somewhat longish at the

base with a curved spur on its northern side.

This shape lasts only until I come to the temple of

Arunachaleswara. It changes gradually when I proceed to the Ashram

and finally when I reach the Ashram it assumes the beautiful shape

which is familiar to all devotees of Sri Bhagavan. It reminds me of

Mount Kailas as it looks in the familiar photographs of that sacred

mountain. Others have also noticed this resemblance.

11

I have seen Arunachala not only from these two angles

but also from numerous other angles too. While going round

the Hill on the holy circuit it looks different from each spot.

Names like the ‘five-faced Arunachala’ and the ‘four-faced

Arunachala’ have been given to those aspects in which it appears

to possess five peaks or four peaks. When one comes to the

northern side the appearance changes completely. It becomes

more rugged and massive. Arunachala has many faces and many

shapes. From every angle it presents a different aspect, reminding

us of the ever changing flux of creation, the motionless dance

of Arunachala-Siva whose unity penetrates all diversity!

Every true devotee of Siva believes that Arunachala, the

Hill, is Siva himself or a huge Siva linga in the form of the Hill.

The puranas elaborate this. That is why one walks round it

barefoot reverently all the eight miles of the way. Siva linga is

simply an emblem of Siva, in its manifest form as the Hill and

the linga of fire without beginning or end, as mentioned in the

well known story of its first appearance, symbolises its

unmanifest transcendence. Thus Siva is rupa (with form) and

arupa (without form). He has many forms and at the same time

can reveal himself as formless.

“When I approach regarding Thee as having form, Thou

standest as a Hill on earth. If (with the mind) the seeker looks

for Thy (essential) form as formless, he is like one who travels

the earth to see the (ever-present) ether. To dwell without thought

upon Thy (boundless) nature is to lose one’s (separate) identity

like a doll of sugar when it comes in contact with the ocean (of

nectar) and when I come to realize who I am, what else is this

identity of mine (but Thee), O Thou Who standest as the

towering Aruna Hill?”1

1 Arunachala Ashtakam, verse 3.

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THE CULT OF THE HILL

Kenneth Grant

OF THE OUTER symbol of Sri Arunachala on earth, Lord

Siva says, “Meditate on the fact that in the heart of the Hill

surges the spiritual glory, within which the whole world is contained.”

It is in fact this holy Hill — the Mount Kailas of the south

and the very embodiment of Siva — that is the manifest and

visible guru of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

It behoves us therefore to remember, that now the beloved

master is not with us any more in the fleshy garments of frail

humanity, this holy guru is nonetheless visible and accessible to

all those whose eyes are opened to the spiritual glories which

Siva describes as surging within its mysterious heart.

Here is the tangible focus of that tremendous spiritual

energy, which burned with unabated strength in the form of

Ramana; thus is this symbol supremely sanctified for us today

by the certainty of liberation, which Bhagavan himself taught

was the reward of the unflinching surrender of the ego in the

flames of its all consuming embrace.

Those who feel disturbed within themselves at the great

loss of the body of Bhagavan, should instantly direct their minds

to the contemplation of the ‘Hill of the Holy Beacon’, which

— Bhagavan has told us — only waits to respond eagerly and

tenderly to even our weakest yearnings towards It.

13

In his article called ‘Physical Supports of Grace’, Arthur

Osborne says that the Hill called Arunachala is verily the greatest

of physical supports, for did it not bear upon its sacred surface

the earthly tabernacle which was the physical form of Bhagavan?

Yet for those who are unable to live within sight of the

earthly Arunachala, there need be no regrets, for the Hill itself

is but a thought-construction same as any other. If we would

grasp the inner significance veiled by the ‘dull’, outer form of

its simple contours, we must search within the heart, and establish

contact with that regionless bliss, void of all conceptions which

the mind is capable of formulating. For Arunachala is the symbol

of the void nature of the Self manifesting in so simple a shape

as the ‘Hill of the Holy Beacon’.

This is the form of Ramana, which lasts longer than the

human garment that he wore for our sake. But as long as the

world appearance lasts for each aspirant, so will endure the Hill,

to symbolise to us the perfect void, the all full Self that lies as

the heart in the spaceless and timeless eternity.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said,

“Is Kali, my divine mother, of a black complexion? She

appears black because she is viewed from a distance, but when

intimately known she is no longer so. The sky appears blue at a

distance but look at it close by and you will find that it has no

colour. The water of the ocean looks blue at a distance, but

when you go near and take it in your hand, you find that it is

colourless.”

And so it is with the ‘Hill of the Holy Beacon’; go near to it

in spirit and it is without shape, without colour, without attributes

of any kind. It is only distance which lends it the illusory qualities

it seems to possess. Really, we impress the void — It essentially is

with the attributes we seem ourselves to possess and then we

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imagine seeing what is not truly there. Thus it is our attributes

we have to slough if we would come close to the sacred symbol

and know its real significance, and our everyday life can help us

insofar as we regard all things that occur to us in a new light.

For instance, instead of viewing circumstances and conditions

as isolated phenomena occurring to us for no reason at all, we

should strive to regard each event as a stone upon the slopes of

Arunachala; each trivial repetition of which event constitutes at

last that sacred ‘mount of the spirit’ which is our true nature.

Thus we can worship Sri Bhagavan in and through our ordinary

mundane life. It is merely a matter of re-orientation and

determination to accept as deeply significant in a spiritual way

all the seemingly trite and disconnected incidents which

constantly occur to us. Yet is this but a preliminary to the final

process of knowing Truth as it really is? For when Arunachala

has been thus truly built into the fabric of our hearts, we shall

need to view each separate part no longer as a separate stone of

the divine edifice, but as the structure entire in its sublimely

simple shape of the ‘holy Hill’. And then, entering into the

heart thereof with understanding, we shall know the whole as

the embodiment of that spirit of grace and compassion which

eternally enlightens our hearts.

In this way it is possible for the less advanced of us to

perform a spiritual discipline while living in the world even

though far removed from the outer symbol of divine grace

in Tiruvannamalai.

It is only when we realise that it is we who clothe the

formless Arunachala with form, because we view it with the

eyes of the body, that we shall begin to search within our hearts

for the formless Reality which that form veils. Until then, we

shall not penetrate and comprehend this miracle, nor shall we

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understand why Bhagavan Sri Ramana made no difference

between his human form and his Hill form. It is the guru in

hill form who is an everlasting beacon of hope for those who

inhabit the earth (or body). As soon as the body is dissolved

into a shining mist, so also does the guru’s Hill form dissolve,

and we are no longer deluded by other concepts such as our

own form or the Hill form — for these twain are no more.

The underlying Reality shines forth as the pure and perfect

void, conceptless and ever blissful.

As an aid to the realisation of this, it may help the devotee

— if he be remote from the physical sight of the Hill — to

create a mental picture thereof and endeavour through such a

mandala to pervade the Hill and become one with it. Certain

physical supports, such as a mound of actual stones taken from

the Hill itself, may further the project and intensify the

concentration, and also link the devotee in some subtle manner

with the focus of spiritual peace abiding in Tiruvannamalai.

Yet all this is of no avail if it be not always borne in mind

that these accessories are but props for exalting the

consciousness to the pitch necessary for contacting the subtle

emanations of grace, which spring from the spaceless

Arunachala Siva, whose eternal abode is the Heart. For, all

takes place in, and is supported by, the void, of which the Hill

itself is the perfect and singular symbol.

􀁗 􀁘

PART II

ON BHAGAVAN

19

SAB JAN, SRI MAHARSHI’S

CLASSMATE

“SEIN”

BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI emphasised

several times that the holy Hill Arunachala is the heart of

the world and the most ancient and oldest of hills. He also used

to say that it is a natural Sri Chakra and that from each angle it

has a different appearance. That is why it is a Siva linga with

form and without form. From every direction it presents itself

in a different majestic posture.

And so also I always like to see Sri Maharshi from different

angles and enjoy the differences in his appearances! In respect

of his teachings, movements in the Ashram, like assisting in the

kitchen, catering to the needs of devotees and even dumb

animals, devotees know Bhagavan to be more as one’s own father

and mother and God incarnate, than as Tatwama Sivaroopa.

His greatness as an intimate friend of a classmate of his is

portrayed here truly revealing his loving heart.

When young Venkataraman (of Tiruchuzhi) was reading

in Madurai in the American Mission High School, in his 4th,

5th and 6th forms, he was closely associated with one Muslim

boy, whom he chose as his intimate friend. Venkataraman was

very fond of this young Muslim, whom he addressed as Sab

Jan. His real name is M. Abdul Wahab.

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Mr. Wahab, now a retired police inspector, nearing eighty,

unable to see or hear properly, is living with his son at Neyveli.

Upon hearing this, I went there to meet with him. He welcomed

me very kindly and I was amazed at the serenity of his face. I

requested him to tell me something about Bhagavan in his school

days. His talks on the Maharshi gave me a thrilling experience

and enabled me to visualise with the mind’s eye, the intimate

friendship that he enjoyed with Venkataraman, later to be known

as the great Sri Ramana Maharshi.

When I asked him to describe the depth of their friendship,

Mr. Wahab recalled his happy past and jumped with joy saying,

“We were inseparable mates.” This Muslim enjoyed such privilege

with young Venkataraman. He began to tell me of his past happy

days that he was fortunate enough to spend with him.

“Venkataraman was very learned in Tamil and he stood

first in the class. When the teacher wanted to refer to some

portion in the text book he used to ask Venkataraman to quote

and Venkataraman used to do it with remarkable clarity. He

was particularly well-versed in Nannool Soothram (Aphorisms

of Tamil Grammar). Our Tamil Pandit, Mr. John Balakrishnan,

was very fond of him. His knowledge of Tamil was really

remarkable and that of Tamil Grammar very exact.

“But Venkataraman was not very good in English, in the

sense that he was not an expert in that subject. In other subjects

also he was above average. But in general, he was not much

interested in his school books. He was very fond of playing

games and among games he was an expert in football. He used

to encourage me to join him in playing the game, saying that

he would teach me how to play. We used to play together in the

same team and I was particular only to be with Venkataraman.

As was usual in those days, in Brahmin families they did not

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encourage the boys taking part in games, so Venkataraman’s

relatives did not like his playing games.

“Once when we were playing football, Venkataraman,

while defending against the attacks of the opposing players,

received a severe knock on his right leg, which immediately got

swollen. He was frightened and had to return home and I carried

him to a hospital and had some medicine applied and brought

his leg to normal condition. He was very happy and thanked

me for the timely help.

“Even as a student he was very religious. Every Saturday

and Sunday he would go to Tiruparankunram and go round

the Subramania Swamy Temple with fervent religious ecstasy.

He used to take me several times with him and make me go

around the temple saying, ‘God’s creation is alike and there is

no difference in creation. God is the same, the apparent

differences in Gods are created by man’. In the company of

Venkataraman I never felt any difference between a mosque

and the Subramania Swamy temple.

“This instruction of his really implanted in me a better

understanding of the secret approach to religion and thenceforth

I never felt any difference between a Hindu God and any other

God. It is quite possible, in fact, I am very certain, that because

of such an universal outlook implanted in me by Venkataraman

in those days, in my later days I could become an ardent devotee

of Sri Varadaraja Perumal of Kancheepuram, who actually

enveloped me in his divine rapture. I had visions of Varadaraja

Perumal in dreams and they proved to be of great help to me.”

When I asked him in what manner, he said, “For 12 years

I was able to partake actively in the Garuda seva of Sri Varadaraja

Perumal by giving a shoulder to lift the deity of Perumal, while

going in procession in the streets of Kancheepuram, which I

22

regard even today as the greatest privilege and boon. There

arose some complication also since some Vaishnavites objected

to my carrying the deity since I was a Muslim and that was

settled amicably later. This service of 12 years to Varadaraja

Perumal made me cling to him closer and closer.

“Once when I was on duty in Kuppam I received a

telegram that my wife, of whom I was extremely fond, had had

an abortion and I was greatly worried that she would die. The

same night Sri Varadaraja Perumal appeared in my dream and

assured me that my wife was all right and I need not worry.

When I returned to Tirupathur she was in normal condition.

Her recovery was the grace of Sri Perumal.”

Mr. Wahab then spoke about Venkataraman:

“Suddenly Venkataraman disappeared and it was a shock

to me that he did not even tell me about his running away

from his home. His disappearance made his mother terribly

sorrow-stricken. While I refer to his home and his mother, 1

can not but mention the kindness and love with which mother

Alagammal used to receive me.

“Some Saturdays and Sundays he would go to Tiruchuzhi

to be with his mother and kith and kin. I would also go there

to see him. Mother Alagammal would immediately, with all

affection, tell Venkataraman of my arrival saying, ‘Your dear

Muslim friend has come.’ She had a wonderful face beaming

with nobility. Every time she gave me a very good reception

and used to give me whatever eatables were prepared at home.

If by chance 1 did not turn up for one weekend, she used to

enquire about my absence and give Venkataraman the eatables

saying: ‘Give these to your Muslim friend’. I could never forget

the maternal love of Alagammal and her kindness to me, even

though I was a Muslim.” (Muslims were regarded by caste

23

Brahmins as untouchables in those days. They were despised

and treated with contempt.)

I asked Sab Jan, “When did you know of the whereabouts

of Sri Maharshi?”

He said, “I was enlisted in the police department and in

1903 in one of the medical shops at Uttaramerur, I was surprised

to see a portrait of Venkataraman but completely different in

appearance. I was anxious to know how the shop man happened

to possess the photo of my classmate. Then I was told that this

was the ‘Brahamana Swamy’ living in Tiruvannamalai and that

the Swamy was in mounam then.

“I was very eager to meet Venkataraman and at last after

several months of strenuous efforts, I was able to come to Sri

Ramanasramam, the abode of Sri Maharshi, my dear friend of

those earlier days. I entered it and was taken in by a cowherd

woman who was supplying milk to Bhagavan. I introduced myself

as his classmate ‘Sab Jan’ (but his facial expression clearly showed

that he had at once recognised me and that my introduction was

not at all necessary) and he was pleased to receive me although he

did not speak. He simply nodded his head with a radiant face. I

was thrilled to meet my classmate as a swamy for he was all the

more beautiful and resplendent, with a mark of saintliness.

“Again, I went there when I was the Inspector of Police at

Tirupathur. I was very sad then, since my father had passed away

but Bhagavan showed me his mother’s tomb, which consoled

me. I understood from Bhagavan’s action that death is inevitable

as far as the body is concerned and that no one was ever born or

died. He was so kind and offered something to eat and asked me

to stay for a couple of days but I could not, since I was on duty.

After that I went to see him several times and on all occasions he

showed special attention to me and introduced me to whoever

24

was present on the occasion with deep love and kindness. He

used to make me sit by his side while taking food in the dining

hall, which later I came to know was quite unusual with him.

“A sudden change took place in me. I was transformed

into a devotee of Bhagavan from being a friend of

Venkataraman. This inward change brought about by Sri

Maharshi is the greatest boon he has showered on me. He showed

his greatness once through a dream in which he showed signs of

my wife passing away and in a mysterious way consoled me and

prepared me for the shocking incident. It did take place very

soon and my beloved wife passed away as predicted and by the

grace of Sri Maharshi it did not affect me very much. This

attitude of detachment is itself the grace of Bhagavan.

“In 1950, on 14th April, the memorable day of his Brahma

Nirvana, it so happened that even though it would have been

absolutely impossible for me to come to Tiruvannamalai, as I

was on duty at a place far away, I had the opportunity of visiting

the Ashram. In the day time I could not take my food due to

lack of time during travel to go to a hotel and take food.

“I paid my homage to my friend and guru who left his mortal

coil that night, but whose presence still pervaded his abode. I was

in deep mourning. Then someone asked me to take food since I

looked fatigued and tired and it was late in the night. I flatly refused

saying, ‘1 am going to fast the whole day as an act of reverence and

homage to my intimate friend and revered guru.’”

I thanked Mr. Wahab and took leave of him with great

reverence as the classmate of Bhagavan who did not stop at being

a classmate but went further and understood Venkataraman as

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Maha Guru.*

* Sri Wahab has passed away since the article was written.

25

KRISHNAPREM AND

MAHARSHI

Marie B. Byles

(An English professor in the purvasrama, Sri Krishnaprem

was an orthodox devotee of Krishna and as such had no intention

to follow Self-Enquiry. Yet he had a striking experience of the

significance of the question, ‘Who am I?’, when he visited

Bhagavan for his blessings.)

SRI KRISHNAPREM, formerly Professor Ronald Nixon

from Cambridge in England, had taught literature at

Varanasi and Lucknow universities before he gave up the life of

the world, donned the gerua robes and became a sannyasin. He

took as his guru the saintly woman Yashoda Mai who had been

a leader of Indian social life before she became a sannyasini and

established an ashram at Mirtola, about eighteen miles from

Almora in the Himalayas. Here Krishnaprem took up his abode,

soon performing the Vaishnava rituals in the temple, and, when

the Brahmin cook left, doing the cooking also. When Yashoda

Mai died in 1945 he was left in charge of the ashram, though he

handed over the management to another in 1955, ten years

before his own death.

He was an orthodox Vaishnava and worshipper of Lord

Krishna, that is, of the personal aspect of the Supreme, and the

26

last thing that would have entered his head would have been to

find his goal through asking the question, ‘Who am I?’ However

he regarded Maharshi as a living shining light of India and

because of this in 1948, he made the long journey from Almora

to the south to receive his blessing. The story of his visit is told

by his friend, Dilip Kumar Roy, in his book about him. And as

I do not seem to remember having read about this visit

elsewhere, others may find it as illuminating as I do.

He entered the room where Maharshi was reclining with

devotees before him, and sat down among them to meditate.

As soon as he did so, he heard a voice saying over and over

again, ‘Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?’ He tried to

ignore it but eventually he replied silently, ‘I am Krishna’s

servant.’ The voice still went on relentlessly. The question

changed to, ‘Who was Krishna?’ He answered, ‘Nanda’s son’,

and formulated various other answers, ‘He is an Avatar, the

One-in-all, the resident in every heart’. The voice continued

asking the former question. He became very disturbed, and

finally he rose and left the room. He returned and the voice

continued as before. Silently he prayed to Radha for guidance,

but she shook her head. Then the answer was revealed, but how

we are not told!

In the morning he again sat down with the other devotees.

Maharshi gave him a lightning glance and smiled at him. He

closed his eyes, then on a sudden impulse he found himself

silently asking Maharshi his own question, ‘Who are you?’

Something made him open his eyes. Maharshi’s couch was empty,

there was no Maharshi on it. He closed his eyes again but in a

moment opened them. Maharshi was reclining in his usual place

and he gave a fleeting smile and meaningful glance, after which

he looked away. Maharshi did not ask Krishnaprem to cease

27

from worshipping Lord Krishna and surrendering all to him.

He never did this, there are different ways for different

temperaments. Some will perhaps be more direct than others,

but in the end all will find the same answer, and that vacant

couch gives the answer better than all.

And this is what I was taught when invisible cords drew

me to the Maha Bodhi Meditation Centre near Mandalay in

Burma. I was told there, that many are the ways of learning

Vipasana or insight meditation, but that all end up with the

experience of phyit pyet (come- go or ceaseless change) or the

end of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and ‘me’ — you are not the worrying

thoughts that disturb you, you are not the mind, you are not

the body. What are you then? phyit pyet. Whatever is your way

or my way, it is always helpful to understand and appreciate the

ways of others, as for example that of Krishnaprem, who found

that ultimately all faded away and there was only Krishna.

􀁗 􀁘

28

A PERFECT IMAGE

OF THE LIFE DIVINE

K. Ramachandra

SAINTS AND SAGES are the salt of the earth. They are the

saviours of humanity. They are the sustainers of society. Philo

remarks, “Households, cities, countries and nations have enjoyed

great happiness, when a single individual has taken heed of the

good and beautiful. Such men not only liberate themselves,

they fill those they meet with a free mind.”

In all sects of Hinduism, the worship of saints and sages

forms an important feature. In the galaxy of spiritual giants of

modern India, a great Sage answering to the description of Philo

in a supreme way is Bhagavan Sri Ramana, popularly known to

the world as ‘Maharshi’. He stayed at Tiruvannamalai in South

India for over fifty four years and attained Mahasamadhi in

April 1950.

His teachings have a unique appeal to thinkers of both

east and west. He was considered as the living embodiment of

God-centred life, a perfect image of the life divine in the mirror

of human existence. In the words of the world-renowned

psychoanalyst, Dr. Carl Jung, “Sri Ramana is a true son of the

Indian earth. He is genuine, and in addition to that, something

quite phenomenal. In India, he is the whitest spot in a

white space.”

29

The Maharshi was not one of those teachers who tried to

make an impression on his devotees and others by mystifying

matters. Nor did he utilise any of the psychic powers to attract

the curiosity-seekers and miracle-mongers. His method was

direct. He disclosed the truth in the simplest possible language,

as realised and lived by him. He spoke very little, but in his

look there was not only love and compassion, but a subtle

spiritual vibration which went deeper into the heart of the visitor.

He regarded nothing as alien, none as other, no event as

undesirable. He thought of others in the same way as he thought

of himself. Love and love alone influenced his relationship with

others. His teaching through mouna or silence was difficult to

be understood by the average person. Once a visitor from the

west put the question to him as to why he was staying at one

spot for years together, without moving about and preaching

to people the truth he had realised. The Maharshi gave his

characteristic reply as follows:

“How do you know that I am not doing it? Does preaching

consist in mounting a platform and haranguing the people

around? Preaching is simple communication of knowledge. It

can really be done in silence only. What do you think of a man

who listens to a sermon for an hour and goes away without

having been impressed by it, so as to change his life? Compare

him with another who sits near a holy presence and goes after

some time with his outlook on life totally changed. Which is

better, to preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending

out inner force?” On another occasion, answering a similar

question by an Indian devotee, he remarked,

“Vivekananda was perfectly right when he said that if you

thought a good thought in a cave it would have repercussions

on the whole world.”

30

So, let us meditate in silence on Bhagavan Sri Ramana.

Though he has given up his physical body, his presence is felt by

thousands as before. It is not confined to Tiruvannamalai. It

never was. But the hall where he sat for years has a special

attraction. Visitors come there even today from the four corners

of the globe.

􀁗 􀁘

31

A TALK WITH

SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI

Pryns Hopkins

IN AS MUCH AS India is notoriously the most

metaphysically minded of all countries, it was natural that I

should seek discussions in this field.

Ever since I had read Paul Brunton’s A Search in Secret

India, I had been keen to visit Ramana Maharshi, the sage whom

Brunton found most impressive of all those he sought out. Soon

after my arrival at his Ashram, I bade one of the two men who

mainly ministered to him to inquire whether I might ask two

questions. Accordingly, I was requested to take my seat in front

of the group of visitors and an interpreter sat next to me

(although Maharshi usually gets queries directly through English)

and was invited to present my question.

The first of these questions was: “If it is true that all the

objective world owes its existence to the ego, then how can that

ego ever have the experience of surprise as it does, for example,

when we stub our toe on an unseen obstacle?”

Sri Bhagavan answered, ‘that the ego is not to be thought of

as antecedent to the world of phenomena, but that both rise or

fall together. Neither is more real than the other, only the nonempirical

Self is more real. By reflecting on the true nature of the

Self, one comes at length to undermine the ego and at the same

32

time, material obstacle and stubbed toe are equally unreal and to

dwell in the true reality which is beyond them all.’

He then went on to outline that we only know the object

at all through sensations derived from it remotely. Moreover,

that physicists had now shown that in place of what we thought

to be a solid object there are only dancing electrons and protons.

I replied that while we had, indeed, direct knowledge only

of sensations, we know less, for all that knowledge about the

objects which gave rise to the sensations, about which knowledge

was checked continually by making predictions, acting on them

and seeing them verified or disproved. Furthermore (here I went

on to my second query), “If the outer phenomena which I think

I perceive have no reality apart from my ego, how is it that

someone else also perceived them? For example not only do I

lift my foot higher to avoid tripping over that stool yonder, but

you also raise your foot higher to avoid tripping over it too. Is

it by a mere coincidence that each of us independently has come

to the conclusion that a stool is there?”

Sri Maharshi replied that the stool and our two egos were

created by one another mutually. While one is asleep, one may

dream of a stool and of persons who avoided tripping over it

just as persons in waking life did, yet did that prove that the

dream stool is any more real. And so we had it back and forth

for an hour, with the gathering very amused, for all Hindus

seem to enjoy a metaphysical contest.

During that afternoon’s darshan I again had the privilege

of an hour’s talk with Maharshi himself. Observing that he had

given orders to place a dish of food for his peacock, I asked,

“When I return to America would it be good to busy myself

with disseminating your books to the people just as you offer

this food to the peacocks?” He laughed and answered that if I

33

thought it good it would be good, but otherwise not. I asked

whether, quite apart from whatever I thought, it wasn’t useful

to have pointed out a way to those who were ripe for a new

outlook. He countered with “Who thinks they are ready?’’

The Maharshi went on to say that the essential thing is to

divorce our sense of self from what our ego and our body are

feeling or doing. We should think “Feelings are going on, this

body is acting in such and such a manner”, but never “I feel, I

act.” What the body craves or does is not our affair.

I then asked, “Have we then no responsibility at all for the

behaviour of our ego?”

He replied, “None at all. Let it go its own way like an

automaton.”

“But”, I objected, “you have told us that all the animal

propensities are attributes of the ego. If when a man attains

jivanmukti he ceases to feel responsibility for the behaviour of

his ego and body, won’t they run amok completely?” I illustrated

my point with the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Maharshi replied, “When you have attained jivanmukti,

you will know the answer to those questions. Your task now is

not to worry about them but to know the Self.”

But I am forced to doubt the whole theory unless it explains

away this discrepancy. “Here before us is the Maharshi who has

attained jivanmukti, and so withdrawn from all responsibility

for the conduct of his ego and the body we see before us. But

though he declares them to be the seat of all evil propensities,

his ego and body continue to behave quite decorously instead

of running wild. This forces me to suspect that something in

the hypothesis is incorrect.”

He answered, “Let the Maharshi deal with that problem if

it arises and let Mr. Hopkins deal with who is Mr. Hopkins.”

RAMANA

REMINISCENCES

I

Arthur Osborne

ONCE AGAIN PEOPLE throng together from all parts

of India for the jayanti of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

at Tiruvannamalai, at the foot of the sacred mountain of

Arunachala. Men and women, young and old, from the town

dweller in coat and trousers, to the old- world type of sadhu, all

alike irrespective of wealth and caste and from beyond India

also. America, France, England, Holland, Poland, Iraq, Ceylon,

all are represented. The Maharshi, tall, white-haired, goldenhued,

frail now beyond his years, goes through his daily routine

unperturbed, unselfconscious because completely Self-conscious.

Being unperturbed does not mean being indifferent. Never was

a face so alive, so responsive. From the rocklike gravity of

samadhi to free laughter or amused smile; the gracious

recognition of a devotee drawn here again, a smile, a look of

compassionate understanding that enters the heart and makes

an impression never to be forgotten. Nevertheless, many are

puzzled about the Maharshi.

35

They ask, is he always in samadhi? Is it true that he will

not answer questions? Will he give advice? What kind of sadhana

does he enjoin? Is it any use for ordinary people to go there? I

will try to answer these questions as well as I can.

The supreme and final state of samadhi is Sahaja samadhi

which does not imply any trance or any oblivion to what we

ignorant ones call the ‘outer world’. There is no going backward

and forward between the trance state and the mental state, the

inner and the outer. His consciousness embraced both constantly

without distinction and without effort. That is why the Maharshi

seems so natural, so simple and human in his ways, why he

laughs and talks freely and shows interest in all that goes on

around him. He is gracious to all, responds to all. There is no

aloofness, except the indefinable grandeur, the awe that a devotee

feels in his heart.

He does not expound doctrine unless asked, but when

asked, he answers all sincere questions graciously and often at

length. The widespread idea that he will not answer questions

perhaps comes from his own saying that he teaches in silence.

But that only means that the real teaching is the silent influence

on the heart of the seeker. The doubts of the mind can take

shape in words but that is not the essential teaching because,

however much a man may argue, he is not really to be convinced

in his mind but only in his heart, and that teaching is silent.

Indeed, it has happened to many, as Paul Brunton relates, that

when they sat silent before the Maharshi such peace flooded

their heart that the mind’s doubts also disappeared and they

found they had no questions to ask.

In any case, the kind of sadhana enjoined by the Maharshi

requires little philosophy. It is the pure doctrine of Advaita.

This is the most direct spiritual path and is generally referred to

36

in books as the path of intellect. It is a peculiar use of the word

intellect and misleads many. It does not mean that there must

be more attention given to philosophy, but only that there must

be understanding of the one simple, central truth of Advaita,

that the Self alone is, and that all that is real in you is the Self,

Atma, and is universal. Therefore, the Maharshi does not answer

questions about what you were before you were born or what

you will be after you die. All such philosophy is brushed aside

and he turns you from such mental speculation to the practical

work of Self-enquiry ‘Who am I?’ When asked about life after

death, he has said, “Why worry about what you will be when

you die? First find out what you are now.” Probably

commentators will arise who will call this ‘agnosticism’ just as

some have called Buddha an agnostic or atheist, but it is not. It

is simply a practical reminder that the Self not only was or will

be, but is and that if the apparent separateness of this life is an

illusion, that of the next life is also, and for the jnani who abides

in truth, in the Self, there is neither past nor future, neither

birth nor death, neither this life nor the next. The body may

change, but the consciousness of Self is immutable.

In order to realise universality, it is necessary to try to give

up the thought ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’ and think only ‘I am’.

That is why the Maharshi does not advise people to change their

conditions of life or work. If he advised them to give up their

work or their family and retire into solitude it would only be

exchanging the thought ‘I am a house-holder’ for ‘I am a sadhu’

and both are equally wrong, since it is necessary to remember

only ‘I am’. It is the mind that must be overcome, and that can

be done as well in the world as in the jungle. If a man’s work

distracts him from sadhana, the cure is not to give it up (because

even if he does other thoughts will distract him) but to ask himself

37

constantly ‘Who am l?’ ‘Who is doing this work?’, until he acquires

detachment towards his life just like the work of the bank cashier

who receives and pays out lakhs of rupees efficiently and without

emotion because he is not the owner and the sums do not affect

him. It means playing one’s part in life with the same consciousness

and indifference to the outcome as the actor who knows that he

himself is not affected whether he has to play Caesar who is stabbed

or Brutus who stabs.

Many will say that this is too hard. Certainly it is harder to

control the mind than the body. To fast or remain celibate is

much easier than to keep your mind off food or women. But if

the way is hard, the blessing and support of the presence of

Bhagavan on earth is great. If a man says that this sadhana is

beyond his power, he is quite right! If he says that it is beyond

the power of Bhagavan to enable him to follow it, he is wrong.

Some may also say that it is a cold and mental way, but it is not

really. It is not a sadhana of the mind but of the heart. The

mind may wander and argue, the heart can perceive the truth

of oneness and must hold grimly to it until the wandering mind

has been subdued. But how can one explain the conviction that

awakens in the heart and the remembrance that stays there from

sitting in the presence of the Maharshi? His eyes can destroy

doubt and implant the seed of life. The memory is in the heart,

not the mind. It must be experienced to be understood.

Not all who go to the Maharshi are intellectuals. All sincere

devotees enjoy his grace. Sometimes philosophers have gone

there and drifted away and simple folk with love in their heart

have remained. Here, though never in the material world, the

saying is made good ‘to each according to his needs’. You can

expect such devotees to tell you why they go there only when

the lover can tell why he loves and the penitent why he worships.

38

II

Dr. Hafiz Syed

IT IS SAID and perhaps rightly too, that over this distracted

world there is a greater sway of materialism than of spirituality.

The majority of people are deeply sunk in materialism and

therefore, have no inclination or desire to turn their attention

towards spiritual values.

The rapid advancement of science with its wonderful

achievements in the form of numerous discoveries and

inventions, has added to the materialistic tendencies of mankind

today.

The people in this modern age demand direct proof for

everything they are told to believe in. They are not satisfied

with mere assertions. As spiritual values can not be demonstrated

in the same manner as material things are, people do not give

even a moment’s thought to the possibility of values, other than

material which they see all round themselves. This sphere of

spiritual and material values is based on two different angles.

To quote a Tibetan Scripture, “The Self of matter and the Self

of spirit cannot remain together, one of the twain must go!”

The reality of spiritual life cannot possibly be undervalued

or ignored simply because the majority of people are drawn

towards materialism. But for the glory and achievements of

spiritual life, human civilisation would not have progressed nor

could humanity have taken a step forward in the scale of

evolution. The history of human civilisation has revealed, to no

small extent, that solitary spiritual men have achieved great

things and have rendered no small service in raising the standard

of human life from animality to humanity and from humanity

39

to divinity. The all-embracing influence of divinely inspired

prophets and sages in all ages is still being felt in various parts of

the world, and the fact that materialism has been unsettling our

minds, and in spite of the alienation of our sympathy from and

belief in higher values.

Of all countries, India has had the unique reputation of

producing in its fold a larger number of saints and sages from

time immemorial up to the present day. Every teacher of

humanity has had his own way of dealing with his brethren.

Some of them, say, for instance, Gautama the Buddha, Jesus

Christ, Guru Nanak, Kabir and Sri Sankaracharya have gone

about from place to place exhorting and admonishing the people

of their times to live moral lives and shun the ways of falsehood

and intrigue.

They used to give sermons to the eager crowds wherever

they went and in this way drew a larger number of people to

them, laid certain rules and regulations for everyday life, advised

people to seek true happiness exempt from decay and to be

helpful and charitable to each other. They thus laid the

foundation of the various religions that are still in vogue in

every part of the world.

Unlike all these saints, sages and prophets, Sri Ramana

Maharshi’s life and work tells quite a different tale. His way of

serving mankind is in many ways unique and all his own. If we

closely and critically survey his simple and evidently uneventful

life from his earliest youth up to the present day, when he has

completed what the Psalmists call three score years and ten, we

find that he has never of his own accord desired or moved a

finger to win people’s attention towards him. Nor did he offer

them any kind of spiritual or moral admonition to better their

lives.

40

When the people of Tiruvannamalai discovered his presence

at the foot of the Hill of Arunachala some of them were irresistibly

drawn towards him and sought his help and guidance.

There has been a gradual evolution in his relation with the

outside world. In his early days when he was observing complete

silence, some approached him out of mere curiosity to see what

the ‘Brahmana Swami’ looked like, while others were moved

by an inner spiritual urge to visit him and receive his blessings.

One person of the latter category was Sri Ganapathi Muni who

had all the equipment necessary to understand, a being endowed

with higher spiritual powers.

It is acknowledged on all sides that Sri Ganapathi Shastri

was deeply learned in Hindu shastras and in the light of his

knowledge given by the rishis of yore and having the requisite

qualifications as laid down by the sacred scriptures, he knew

full well how to appreciate a young sage. To his great joy, as we

all know, he found that Sri Ramana Maharshi in his youth had

acquired all the moral and spiritual qualities and had attained

the highest spiritual enlightenment to which humanity ever

aspires. It is he who made known to the outside world that the

‘Brahmana Swami’ was a great sage, whose spiritual eminence

could not easily be gauged by an ordinary mortal.

One great quality which shone brilliantly in the Sage was that

of complete desirelessness and a spirit of unreserved renunciation.

The thought of the world with all its glaring trinkets never crossed

his mind. He was deeply, unshakeably and permanently established

in his highest Self that was full of bliss. Having found his rest and

home in what he lovingly called, his ‘father’, he never cared to look

at anything that the world prized highly.

Only recently (i.e. in the late1940s) he suffered from a

sarcomatous growth on his arm, a disease which causes intense

41

pain to the body. It was operated on thrice and the sage’s serenity,

poise and peace were not at all disturbed. He remained absolutely

unmoved by the pain and suffering that is usually associated

with such a condition. He firmly believed and teaches others in

silence to understand that man is essentially a spiritual being,

free from all change, decay, and death. He is not his body, nor

his senses, nor even the mind.

They are all made of matter and therefore they are

constantly moving and changing. It is this realisation that makes

him truly happy, carefree, quiet and peaceful. Bhagavan Sri

Ramana’s life is the greatest proof of the reality of the spiritual

life which is a challenge to materialism. He lived in his higher

Self and is in constant communion with the supreme Reality.

Bhagavan’s method of approach to Truth is all his own. He

never dogmatises, he never sermonises, never gives any mantram

or expects people to follow any set mode of worship.

What he does for us we cannot convey by word of mouth.

His invisible gaze, silently, unobtrusively transforms the lives of

the men and women who, by virtue of their past good deeds,

are gathered around him, waiting for his benign attention and

paternal guidance.

All his great work for the improvement and betterment of

mankind is done invisibly and silently. His silence is more

eloquent, more effective, more far-reaching than the sermons

of any number of teachers put together. There is nothing

wanting in him for us. His grace is ever ready for us. All that we

have to do is to qualify ourselves by our self-effort and selfpurification

to make ourselves worthy of his attention.

The well known maxim, “God helps those who help

themselves”, holds good more in the case of his devotees than

of others. We have to raise ourselves to his level of requirements.

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Let a sceptic, an agnostic, or an unbeliever in higher values

come to him with an open mind, with a genuine desire to

understand what inner life is and to know what truth really

means and it may be said without the least hesitation that his

visit to Sri Bhagavan will never prove fruitless.

What the modern world wants is proof and demonstration.

That proof is present in the life of this great sage of India who is

in our midst to dispel the darkness of ignorance and restore the

light eternal, which alone can grant us the peace and happiness

that the world so badly needs.

(Continued  ...)   

My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Bhagavan Sree Ramana Maharshi
and also gratitude to Bhagavan’s great devotees   for the collection)