SPIRITUAL
STORIES
AS TOLD BY
RAMANA MAHARSHI
SRI RAMANASRAMAM
HEADSHIP OF A MUTT
A devotee told Bhagavan about his ill-health,
treatment by doctors and services rendered to him by his
servants. Bhagavan did not immediately reply to him, but
in the evening, when the devotees all gathered, he began
massaging his own legs with oil. Looking at the questioner
with a smile, he said, “We are our own doctors and our own
servants.” The questioner then said, “What are we to do if
we do not have strength like Bhagavan to attend to our own
work?” Bhagavan’s reply was, “If we have strength to eat,
why should we not have strength to do this?” The questioner
could not say anything and so kept silent with his head bent.
Just then the post arrived. After looking through the letters,
Bhagavan narrated the following story.
ONCE A CERTAIN sanyasi was anxious to be the head of a
Mutt. He had to have disciples, you see and he tried his level
best to secure some. Anyone who came, soon found out the
limited knowledge of the person and so went away. No one
stayed on. What could he do?
One day he had to go to a city. There he had to keep up
his position; but he had no disciple. No one must know this.
His bundle of clothes, etc., was on his head. So, he thought he
would place the bundle in some house unobserved and then
pretend to go there afterwards. He wandered throughout the
place. Whenever he tried to step into a house, he found a
number of people in front of it. Poor chap! What could he
do? It was almost evening. He was tired. At last he found a
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house with no one in front. The door was open. Greatly
relieved, he placed the bundle in one corner of the house and
then sat in the verandah.
After a while the lady of the house came out and enquired
who he was. “Me! I am the head of a Mutt in such and such a
place. I came to this city on some work. I heard that you were
good householders. I therefore sent my belongings through my
disciple to put them in your house thinking that we could put up
with you for the night and go away next morning. Has he done
so?” “No one has come sir”, she said. “No, please. I asked him to
put the bundle here, go to the bazaar and get some things. Kindly
see if he has put it in any corner”, he said. When the lady searched
this side and that, she saw the bundle in one corner. Thereupon
she and her husband welcomed him and gave him food, etc.
Rather late in the night, they asked, “How is it, sir your
disciple has not come yet?” He said, “Perhaps that useless fellow
has eaten something in the bazaar and is wandering about. You
please go to bed. If he comes, I will open the door for him.”
That couple had by then understood the sanyasi’s true
position. They thought they would see further fun and so went
into the house to lie down. Then the person started his acting.
He opened the door and closed it, making a loud noise so as to
be heard by the members of the household. He then said loudly,
“Why! What have you been doing so long? Take care – if you
do it again, I shall beat you black and blue. Be careful
henceforth.” Changing his tone thereafter, he said in a plaintive
voice, “Swami, Swami, please excuse me. I shall not do it again.”
Assuming the original tone, he said, “All right. Come here,
massage my legs here. No, there. Please hit lightly with your
fists. Yes a little more.” So saying, he massaged his own legs and
then said, “Enough. It is rather late. Go to bed.” So saying he
went to sleep. There was a hole in the wall of the room where
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the couple were staying and through it they saw the whole farce.
In the early morning the sanyasi again began repeating
the evening’s performance, saying, “You lazy fellow! The cocks
have begun to crow. Go to so and so’s house and come back
after doing such and such work.” So saying, he opened the
door, pretended to send him away and went back to bed. The
couple saw this also.
In the morning he bundled up his belongings, put the
bundle in a corner, and went to a tank nearby for bathing,
etc. The couple took the bundle and hid it somewhere. The
sannyasi returned and searched the whole room but the bundle
was not found anywhere. So he asked the lady of the house,
“Where is my bundle?” The couple then replied, “Sir, your
disciple came here and took away the bundle saying you wanted
him to bring it to you. It is the same person who massaged
your legs last night. He must be round the corner. Please see,
Swami.” What could he do then? He kept his mouth shut and
started going home.
This is what happens if a disciple serves you. Just like me,
we are our own servants.
So saying, Bhagavan pretended to massage his legs with
his hands and his fists.
40
BHAKTA EKANATH
A discussion in the hall centred on the story of
Kulasekhara Alwar, which had appeared in the Vision
magazine. During a Harikatha, Kulasekhara identifying
himself so completely with the situation of the story, felt it
his duty as a worshipper of Rama to at once hasten to Lanka
and release Sita. He ran to the sea and entered it to cross
over to Lanka, when Rama appeared with Sita and
Lakshmana and showered His grace on him. This led others
in the hall to remark, “Some Maratha saint also did a similar
thing. He leaped up to the roof, I think.” Thereupon Sri
Bhagavan related the story.
EKANATH WAS WRITING the Ramayana, and when he
came to the portion in which he was graphically describing that
Hanuman jumped across the ocean to Lanka, he so identified
himself with his hero Hanuman that unconsciously he leaped
into the air and landed on the roof of his neighbour’s house.
This neighbour had always had a poor opinion of Ekanath,
taking him for a humbug and religious hypocrite. He heard a
thud on his roof, and coming out to see what it was, discovered
Ekanath lying down on the roof with a cadjan leaf in one hand
and his iron stile in the other. The cadjan leaf had verses
describing how Hanuman leapt across the sea. This incident
proved to the neighbour what a genuine bhakta Ekanath was
and he became his disciple.
After a pause Bhagavan also related: “God appeared in a
dream to Ekanath and asked him to go and repair the tomb
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of Jnaneswar. When Ekanath went there accordingly, he found
a contractor ready to do all the work and take payment at the
end. The contractor opened a big account in which all expenses
were entered, with the names of all the workmen and wages
paid. Everything went on systematically. When the work of
repairs was completed, the accounts were looked into and the
contractor paid his dues. Then the contractor and his big
account book totally disappeared. Then alone Ekanath came
to know that God was his contractor and did the work. Such
things have happened.”
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THE IMMATURE POT
D: Is it possible to speak to Iswara as Sri Ramakrishna
did?
M: When we can speak to each other why should we
not speak to Iswara in the same way?
D: Then why does it not happen with us?
M: It requires purity and strength of mind and practice
in meditation.
D: Does God become evident if the above conditions
exist?
M: Such manifestation is as real as your own reality.
In other words, when you identify yourself with the body as
in jagrat you see gross objects; when in subtle body or in
mental plane as in swapna, you see objects equally subtle; in
the absence of identification as in sushupti you see nothing.
The objects seen bear a relation to the state of the seer. The
same applies to visions of God.
By long practice the figure of God, as meditated upon,
appears in dream and may later appear in jagrat also.
D: Is that the state of God-realisation?
M: Listen to what happened once years ago.
Vithoba found Namdev had not yet realised the Supreme
Truth and wanted to teach him. When Jnaneswar and Namdev
returned from their pilgrimage, Gora Kumbhar gave a feast to
all the saints in his place and among them were Jnaneswar and
Namdev. At the feast Jnaneswar, in collusion with Gora, told
Gora publicly, “You are a potter, daily engaged in making pots
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and testing them to see which are properly baked and which are
not. These pots before you (i.e., the saints) are the pots of
Brahma. See which of these are sound and which not.”
Thereupon Gora said, “Yes, Swami, I shall do so,” and took up
the stick with which he used to tap his pots to test their soundness.
Holding it aloft in his hand he went to each of his guests and
tapped each on the head as he usually did to his pots. Each guest
humbly submitted to such tapping. But when Gora approached
Namdev, the latter indignantly called out, “You potter, what do
you mean by coming to tap me with that stick?” Gora thereupon
told Jnaneswar, “Swami, all the other pots have been properly
baked. This one (i.e. Namdev) alone is not yet properly baked.”
All the assembled guests burst into laughter.
Namdev felt greatly humiliated and ran up to Vitthala
(the deity he worshipped) with whom he was on the most
intimate terms, playing with him, eating with him, sleeping
with him and so on. Namdev complained of this humiliation
which had happened to him, the closest friend and companion
of Vitthala. Vitthala (who of course knew all this) pretended
to sympathise with him, asked for all the details of the
happenings at Gora’s house and after hearing everything said,
“Why should you not have kept quiet and submitted to the
tapping, as all the others did? That is why all this trouble has
come.” Thereupon Namdev cried all the more and said, “You
also want to join the others and humiliate me. Why should I
have submitted like the others? Am I not your closest friend,
your child?” Vitthala said, “You have not yet properly
understood the truth, and you won’t understand if I tell you.
But go to the saint who is in a ruined temple in such and such
a forest. He will be able to give you enlightenment.”
Namdev accordingly went there and found an old,
unassuming man sleeping in a corner of the temple with his
feet on a Sivalingam. Namdev could hardly believe this was
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the man from whom he – the companion of Vitthala – was to
gain enlightenment. However, as there was none else there,
Namdev went near the man and clapped his hands. The old
man woke up with a start and seeing Namdev, said, “Oh –
you are Namdev whom Vitthala has sent here. Come!” Namdev
was dumbfounded and began to think, “This must be a great
man.” Still he thought it was revolting that any man however
great, should be resting his feet on a lingam. He asked the old
man, “You seem to be a great personage. But is it proper for
you to have your feet on a lingam?” The old man replied,
“Oh, are my feet on a lingam? Where is it? Please remove my
feet elsewhere.” Namdev removed the feet and put them in
various places. Wherever they were put, there was a Sivalingam.
Finally, he took them on his lap and he himself became a
Sivalingam! Then he realised the truth and the old gentleman
said, “Now you can go back.”
Bhagavan added, “It is to be noted that only when he
surrendered himself, and touched the feet of his guru,
enlightenment came. After this final enlightenment Namdev
returned to his house and for some days did not go to Vitthala
at the temple, though it had been his habit not only to visit
Vitthala every day, but to spend most of his time with Vitthala
at the temple. So, after a few days, Vitthala went to Namdev’s
house and like a guileless soul, enquired how it was that Namdev
had forgotten him and never visited him. Namdev replied, ‘No
more of your fooling me. I know now. Where is the place where
you are not! To be with you, should I go to the temple? Do I
exist apart from you?’ Then Vitthala said, ‘So you now
understand the truth. That is why you had to be sent for this
final lesson’.”
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TAPO BHRASHTA
(Fallen from the state of tapas)
NAKKIRAR WAS DOING tapas on the bank of a tirtha. A
leaf fell down from the tree; half the leaf touched the water
and the other half touched the ground. Suddenly the waterhalf
became a fish and the land-half became a bird. Each of
them was united to the other by the leaf and struggled to go
into its own element. Nakkirar was watching it in wonder
and suddenly a spirit came down from above and carried him
away to a cave where there were already 999 captives, all of
whom were tapo bhrashtas.
Devotee: “Was Nakkirar a tapo bhrashta?”
Bhagavan: “Yes. While engaged in contemplation, why
did he fall from contemplation and take to watching the
mysterious happening in front of him? Nakkirar composed
Tirumurukatruppadai and obtained the release of all the
thousand prisoners.”
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YOGI’S PENANCE
Bhagavan narrated the following story to illustrate the
distinction between manolaya (stillness of mind) and
manonasa (destruction of mind).
A YOGI WAS doing penance (tapas) for a number of years on
the banks of the Ganges. When he had attained a high degree of
concentration, he believed that to remain in that state for
prolonged periods constituted salvation and therefore continued
practising it. One day, before going into samadhi (a state of deep
concentration), he felt thirsty and asked his disciple to bring some
water for drinking from the Ganges; but before the disciple could
return with the water, he had gone into samadhi, and he remained
in that state for countless years. When he woke up from this
experience, the first thing he did was to say, “water! water!”; but
there was neither his disciple nor the Ganges in sight.
The first thing which he asked for was water because, before
going into deep concentration, the topmost thought in his mind
was about water; by concentration, however deep and prolonged
it might have been, he had only been able to lull his thoughts
temporarily; therefore when he revived consciousness this topmost
thought flew up with all the speed and force of a flood breaking
through the dykes. If this was the case with regard to a thought
which took shape immediately before he sat for meditation, there
is no doubt that other thoughts which had taken deeper root
earlier would still remain unannihilated. If annihilation of
thoughts is salvation, can he be said to have attained salvation?
The moral is that one should not be taken away by the
spell of temporary stillness but pursue the enquiry till the last
vasana is eradicated.
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BRAHMIN’S CURSE
ONE DAY A sage called Pakanar was weaving a basket in front
of his house. Hearing a loud voice chanting, “Hare Ram”, he
asked his sister who it was that was chanting. His sister replied
that it was a brahmin who is keeping his own daughter. Pakanar
replied, “You are the hundredth person to repeat the scandal”.
Meanwhile, the brahmin having come to that place, the sage
told the brahmin that his curse was lifted and that he could
return home. Later, he explained to his sister thus: “This brahmin
was living with his widowed daughter. They were generous and
kind-hearted. They would invite sadhus and feed them with
love. On hearing of their generosity a sadhu came to visit them.
He was well received and fed. The sadhu was immensely pleased
with their devotion and decided to bless them.
He just glanced once and knew what was in store for them
when they die. He called the brahmin and told him that after
his death he would be tortured by a mountain of leeches in hell.
On hearing this, the brahmin fell at his feet in terror and
implored him for some means of escape. The sadhu told him,
‘Once while you were cooking food a leech fell from the roof
into the cooking pot and died unobserved. You offered that
food to a realised sage. Since whatever is given to a sage will be
received back a thousand-fold a mountain of leeches are in store
for you’. The sadhu then advised the brahmin that in order to
escape this fate he should conduct himself towards his grownup
widowed daughter in such a way, as to provoke a scandal
that he was having illicit intimacy with her. He assured him that
when a hundred persons had uttered the scandal the sin would
leave him completely, having been distributed among the
scandal-mongers. The brahmin did accordingly and you are the
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hundredth person to tell the scandal. So I say that the brahmin’s
curse is now removed.”
Sri Bhagavan drew from the story the following moral:
“Have the best intention, but act in such a way not to win
praise, but to incur blame. Resist the temptation to justify
yourself even when you are just.”
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KABIR
KABIR WAS A great bhakta (devotee) who lived in or near
Benares some centuries ago. Although he had siddhis (psychic
powers), he earned his livelihood by weaving. One day, when
he was working on his loom, a disciple entered in great
excitement and said, “Sir, there is a juggler outside here who
is attracting large crowds by making his stick stand in the
air”. Thereupon Kabir, who like all true saints, discouraged
the display of jugglery, wanted to shame the man, and so
rushed out with a big ball of thread in his hand. Seeing the
long bamboo standing in the air, he threw his ball of thread
up in the air. As the ball went up it unwound itself till the
whole length of thread stood stiff in mid-air, and to a far
greater height than the juggler’s stick, without any support
whatever. The people, including the juggler himself, were
stunned with amazement, and Sri Bhagavan’s eyes acted the
amazement, while his hand stood high above his head in the
position of Kabir when he threw up the ball.
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KAMAL, SON OF
SAINT KABIR
A devotee asked, “Can the place between the eyebrows
be said to be the seat of the Self?” Bhagavan replied, “The
fact is that a sadhaka may have his experience at any centre
or chakra on which he concentrates his mind. But, that
particular place of his experience does not for that reason
become ipso facto, the seat of the Self. There is an interesting
story about Kamal, the son of Saint Kabir, which serves as
an illustration to show that the head (and a part of the
space between the eyebrows) cannot be considered the seat of
the Self.”
KABIR WAS INTENSELY devoted to Sri Rama, and he never
failed to feed those who sang the praise of the Lord with
devotion. On one occasion, however, it so happened that he
had not the wherewithal to provide food for a large gathering
of devotees. For him, however, there could be no alternative
except that he must somehow make every necessary arrangement
before the next morning. So he and his son set out at night to
secure the required provisions.
The story goes that after the father and son had removed
the provisions from a merchant’s house through a hole they made
in the wall, the son went in again just to wake up the household
and tell them, as a matter of principle, that their house had been
burgled. When, having roused the household, the boy tried to
make good his escape through the hole and join his father on the
other side, his body got stuck in the aperture. To avoid being
identified by the pursuing household (because, if detected, there
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would be no feeding at all of the devotees the next day), he called
out to his father and told him to sever his head and take it away
with him. That done, Kabir made good his escape with the stolen
provisions and his son’s head, which on reaching home was hidden
away from possible detection.
The next day Kabir gave a feast to the bhaktas, quite
unmindful of what had happened the previous night. “If it is
Rama’s Will,” said Kabir to himself, “that my son should die,
may it prevail!” In the evening after the feast, Kabir set out with
his party as usual in procession into the town with bhajana, etc.
Meanwhile, the burgled householder reported to the king,
producing the truncated body of Kamal, which gave them no
clue. In order to secure its identification, the king had the body
tied up prominently on the highway so that whoever claimed it
or took it away (for no dead body is forsaken without the last
rites being given to it by the kith and kin) might be interrogated
or arrested by the police, who were posted secretly for the purpose.
Kabir and his party came along the highway with the bhajana
in full swing when, to the astonishment of all, Kamal’s truncated
body (which was considered dead as a door-nail) began to clap its
hands, marking time to the tune sung by the bhajana party.
This story disproves the suggestion that the head or the
place between the eyebrows is the seat of the Self. It may also be
noted that when in the battlefield the head of a soldier in action
is severed from the body by a sudden and powerful stroke of
the sword, the body continues to run or move its limbs as in a
mock fight, just for a while, before it finally falls down dead.
A devotee protested: “But Kamal’s body was dead hours before.”
Bhagavan replied: “What you call death is really no
extraordinary experience for Kamal. Here is the story of what
happened when he was younger still.”
As a boy Kamal had a friend of equal age with whom he
used to play games of marbles etc. A general rule they observed
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between themselves was that if one of them owed the other a
game or two, the same should be redeemed the next day. One
evening they parted with a game to the credit of Kamal. Next
day, in order to claim “the return of the game”, Kamal went to
the boy’s house, where he saw the boy laid on the verandah,
while his relatives were weeping beside him. “What is the
matter?” Kamal asked them. “He played with me last evening
and also owes me a game.” The relatives wept all the more saying
that the boy was dead. “No,” said Kamal, “he is not dead but
merely pretends to be so, just to evade redeeming the game he
owes me.” The relatives protested, asking Kamal to see for himself
that the boy was really dead, that the body was cold and stiff.
“But all this is a mere pretension of the boy, I know. What if
the body be stiff and cold? I too can become like that.” So
saying Kamal laid himself down and in the twinkling of an eye
was dead.
The poor relatives who were weeping till then for the death
of their own boy, were distressed and dismayed, and now began
to weep for Kamal’s death also. But up rose Kamal on his back,
declaring, “Do you see it now? I was as you would say dead, but I
am up again, alive and kicking. This is how he wants to deceive
me, but he cannot elude me like this with his pretensions.”
In the end, the story goes, Kamal’s inherent saintliness
gave life to the dead boy, and Kamal got back that was due to
him. The moral is that the death of the body is not the extinction
of the Self. The Self is not limited by birth and death, and its
place in the physical body is not circumscribed by one’s
experience felt at a particular place, as for instance between the
eyebrows, due to practice of dhyana made on that centre. The
supreme State of Self-awareness is never absent; it transcends
the three states of the mind as well as life and death.
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MUTUAL CURSE
INDRA APPROACHED AHALYA (wife of Gautama) taking
the form of Gautama and she yielded without knowing that he
was not her husband. Without ascertaining the truth, Gautama
cursed her to become a stone. Angered thereby Ahalya said, “Oh,
you fool of a Muni! Without enquiring into the truth, you have
cursed me and have not even stated when I shall be free from the
curse. Tell me, when will the curse end and how? Why not have
some consideration for me and tell me at least that?” Gautama
thereupon told her that she would be released from the curse at
the time of Rama avatar when the dust from Rama’s feet fell on
her. Immediately thereafter she became a stone.
Gautama left that place and tried to get into his daily rituals
but he could not, for he had no peace of mind. He tried his
level best but could not control his mind and became more
and more troubled. On thinking deeply over the matter, he
realised that he had cursed his wife Ahalya without proper
enquiry and also recollected that she had in turn cursed him by
saying, “You fool of a Muni!” After all, she was also a great
tapasvini (a female ascetic). Hence those words which were
unusual must have resulted in an irrevocable curse on himself.
He therefore decided to seek the help of Iswara, by seeing his
“Nataraja Dance”, in order to get relieved of the curse.
He therefore went to Chidambaram. At that place he heard
an ethereal voice saying, “I shall be pleased to give you darsan
of my Thandava dance in Trisulapura.” Gautama immediately
left that place and went on foot towards Trisulapura. On nearing
the place, and at the mere sight of it, even from a distance, his
mind began to get clear. He stayed there for a very long time
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doing tapas. At last Iswara was pleased and gave him darsan of
his “Nataraja Dance” in the month of Dhanus when the Ardra
star was predominant. It was at that time Gautama is reported
to have lived under the tree and performed tapas. After seeing
the dance of Iswara, Gautama worshipped Iswara, went to his
original place and began to perform his rituals as usual.
Later on Ahalya became purified by the dust of the feet of
Sri Rama and regained her normal form.
Devotee: “The statement that Ahalya turned into a stone
applies only to her mind and not to her body. Is that not so?”
Bhagavan: “That is so. If it is not for the mind, could it
be for the body? It is only ordinary people that say her body
turned into a stone and that Rama restored her to her original
form by putting his foot on the stone. How is that possible? It
only means that the mind lost its awareness of the Self, and
unable to think of anything else, she became dull like a stone.
That dullness got relieved by the darsan of a great personage.
As she herself was a great tapasvini she could immediately
become aware of the Self. She worshipped Sri Rama as the
embodiment of the Self. This inner meaning could be found
in the Ramayana. The moment Rama set his foot in
Gautamasrama, the mind of Ahalya was restored to its original
state, like the blossoming of a flower.”
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THE LORD HIMSELF COMES
A new Tamil translation of Sankara’s Atmabodha with
a commentary was sent to the Ashram. After glancing
through it, Bhagavan sent it to the library. It was noticed
that Bhagavan did not seem pleased with the translation.
Sending for a copy of Sankara’s Atmabodha from the library,
Bhagavan began looking intently into it and after two days
rendered two slokas into Tamil verse and showed them to
the devotees. Overjoyed at seeing Bhagavan’s translation they
asked him to finish the whole work. Although Bhagavan
said, “Why, why?” he wrote some more saying, “though I
feel disinclined to compose more verses, one after another
comes and stands in front of me. What am I to do?”
Little by little the verses continued till all of them were
translated. Addressing Sri Muruganar, Bhagavan with a
smile said, “How is it I feel I have read this before? Is it
possible that someone has already written this?” Muruganar
answered, “No one has written it in venba metre. What
surprise is there, if one verse after another occurs to
Bhagavan. It is said that in every kalpa the Vedas appeared
as though they were standing before Brahma. This also is
like that.”
JAYADEVA’S STORY IS found in Panduranga Bhakta Vijayam.
After writing the Gita Govindam, Jayadeva wrote Bhagavatam
also in Sanskrit. On hearing about that, Krauncha Raja appealed
to Jayadeva to read the Gita Govindam in the durbar hall and so
he began reading it. People who heard him were so impressed
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with the writing and with his discourses that his fame spread in all
directions and people came in large numbers to hear him. His
fame spread so far that Jagannatha Swami, the presiding deity of
Puri, was eager to listen to him. So he started in the guise of a
brahmin one day while the discourse was going on and entered
the durbar hall of the king. After blessing the king, he said, “Sir, I
am a resident of Gokula Brindavan. I am a pandit well versed in
all sastras. I have been searching all the world over for someone
who could discuss the sastras with me on equal terms but so far I
have not found any one. I am therefore itching for a discussion. I
learned that Jayadeva was with you and so I came here. Where is
he?” and when the people pointed out Jayadeva to him, he said,
disdainfully, “Oh! You are Jayadeva. Let me see. Let us discuss any
one of the sastras you have studied,” and looking at him steadily,
said, “What is that in your hands?” Without waiting for a reply,
he snatched the book from his hands and said, “Oho! This is
Bhagavatam. So you are a Pauranika? (one who gives discourses
on the epics). Who wrote this?” With fear and devotion Jayadeva
said, “Sir, I am not a pandit to hold discussions with you. I humbly
seek the blessings of elders like you. Though I do not have the
courage to say before you that, I wrote this book, still as it will be
a fault not to tell you the truth, I admit that I am its author.”
That brahmin pretended surprise and said, “What! If it is you
who wrote it, tell me, how could I have learnt all its contents by
heart?” So saying and without opening the book he began
repeating the contents quickly, chapter by chapter. The king and
the audience were amazed. Realising that Lord Jagannatha
Himself had come in that form to shower his grace on him,
Jayadeva prayed to him to reveal his real form (of Vishnu) with
the conch, mace, chakra (discus) etc. Pleased with the stotras
(prayers), Lord Jagannatha revealed Himself in the various forms
in which Jayadeva had invoked Him in his stotras, blessed him
and disappeared.
57
DELIVERANCE OF A
THORN BUSH
One of the devotees who had heard of the verses written
by Bhagavan about the deliverance of Lakshmi, the cow,
approached Him and said, “Swami, we ourselves see that
animals and birds are getting deliverance in your presence;
but is it not true that only human beings can get moksha?”
“Why? It is stated that a great saint gave moksha to a
thorn bush,” said Bhagavan with a smile. The devotee
eagerly asked who that great saint was and what was the
story about the thorn bush.
IN CHIDAMBARAM, THERE was a jnani by the name of
Umapathi Sivacharya. He was a poet and also a pandit. As he was
in a transcendental state of spirituality (athita sthithi), he did not
pay much attention to the usual brahminical practices. Hence,
the dikshitars of the place became angry with him, especially since
he was a learned man and knew all the precepts of the Hindu
religion. They forbade him from living in the village or even
visiting the temple. He therefore lived in a small hut built on a
raised ground outside the village. A low caste man called Pethan
Samban used to supply him with all that he required and also
helped him in a general way. As things went on like this, one day,
when Pethan was carrying on his head a bundle of firewood to
the hut, Iswara Himself met him on the way in the guise of the
dikshitar in charge of the temple. He wrote a verse on a palmyra
leaf and gave it to him, telling him that it was to be handed over
to Umapathi Sivacharya, and then disappeared.
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Pethan gave that verse to Sivacharya, who, on opening it,
found in the first line itself the words, “Adiyarkkadiyen
Chitrambalavanan” (the servant of the devotees, the Lord of
Chidambaram). Immediately, he was overwhelmed with
devotion and a thrill passed through his body as he read the
letter. The gist of the verse was, “A note from Chidambaranathan,
the servant of the devotees, to the person who has set up a new
establishment, namely Sivacharya. It is your duty to give
initiation to this Pethan Samban regardless of caste and to the
surprise of all people.”
He read the letter and was overwhelmed with joy. In
obedience to the orders of the Lord, he initiated Pethan into
the order of sannyasa, though he belonged to the lowest caste.
In due course he gave nayana diksha (transmission of Power
through the eyes) to Pethan, immediately after which Pethan
merged into holy light. Sivacharya himself was immensely
surprised at this occurrence and only then understood the
wisdom of Pethan.
Enemies of Sivacharya noticed the sacrificial offerings and
other things he had for this initiation. They complained to the
king that Sivacharya had burnt Pethan to death for some mistake,
he might have committed. When the king came there with his
retinue to enquire into the complaint, Sivacharya showed the
verse of Lord Nataraja and said that he gave initiation to Pethan
and that Pethan vanished thereafter in the form of a divine
light (jyoti). The king was surprised and asked Sivacharya if he
could likewise give initiation and moksha to the thorn bush
nearby. “Yes. What doubt, is there?” said Sivacharya. Accordingly
he gave nayana diksha to that thorn bush and that too
immediately disappeared in pure light (jyoti).
The king was still more astonished at that and said, “This
looks like some black magic. You said this note had been
written by Lord Nataraja. Let us go and ask Him.” Sivacharya
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pointed out that there was a ban on his entering the temple.
The king said that would not matter as he himself was
accompanying Sivacharya. Accordingly they started for the
temple together. Hearing all this, all the people – the pundits,
the common people curious about the whole thing and
enemies of Sivacharya who were sure he would be duly
punished – flocked to the temple to see the strange sight. The
two entered the temple. Out of regard for the king, when
Arathi (waving of lights) was offered to Lord Nataraja, it was
found that on either side of the Lord there stood Pethan and
the thorn bush. The pundits were surprised and out of fear
and remorse, fell at the feet of Sivacharya requesting him to
pardon them for all their faults. They subsequently brought
him back into the village with due honours.
61
Brahma,
Vishnu, Siva
Stories of the Hindu trinity Brahma Vishnu and Siva abound
throughout the scriptural literature of India. Although these stories
are both entertaining and enlightening Sri Bhagavan also gives a
deeper meaning to them, he says, “Siva is the Being assuming
all forms and the Consciousness seeing them. That is to say,
Siva is the background underlying both the subject and the
object. Everything has its being in Siva and because of Siva.”
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SILENCE IS THE TRUE
UPADESA
Once a devotee came and said that the great sages of
the past had travelled extensively preaching the Truth and
thus had served the world at large. Similarly, if Bhagavan
were to travel thus it would be beneficial to many. Smilingly
Bhagavan replied that his being settled in one place was
also beneficial and narrated the following story.
BRAHMA, THE LORD of Creation, once lost interest in the
work of creation and thought of taking to a life of tapas. So, out
of his mind he created Sanaka, Sanatkumara, Sanandana and
Sanatsujata, with the intention to hand over to them his job in
the course of time. They grew up and mastered all the branches
of study. Brahma then decided to hand over to them his job and
to retire. Sage Narada came to know of his father’s intention.
Since Narada knew that his brothers were full of dispassion and
fit to be initiated into the path of Self-knowledge, he decided to
warn them beforehand of Brahma’s intention. On hearing this
the four brothers, who had no intention to follow the path of
action, left home in search of a guru without informing their
father. They all proceeded to Vaikunta, the abode of Vishnu.
There they saw Lakshmi sitting on Vishnu’s couch massaging His
Feet. On seeing this they thought, “How can this family man
bound by the intimate glance of his consort render us any help
in learning adhyatma vidya. Look at the splendour of this palace
and this city! This is enough. Let us seek the help of Lord Siva.”
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Lord Siva, who was in Kailas with His family, knew
beforehand about their coming and understood their plight.
He was sure that they would be disappointed on seeing Him
with a family, so taking pity on them He decided to impart
spiritual knowledge to them. The kind-hearted Lord left
Mount Kailas and taking the youthful form of Dakshinamurti
seated Himself with Chinmudra under a banyan tree on the
Northern side of Lake Manasarovar, on the way by which
these disappointed devotees were returning to their homes.
When they came and sat before Him, He went into samadhi.
He was in Perfect Repose. Silence prevailed. They saw Him.
The effect was immediate. They fell into samadhi and their
doubts were cleared.
Silence is the true upadesa. It is the perfect upadesa. It is
suited only for the most advanced. Others are unable to draw
full inspiration from it. Therefore they require words to explain
the Truth. But Truth is beyond words. It does not admit of
explanation. All that is possible to do is only to indicate it.
65
DAKSHINAMURTI
The Self alone, the Sole Reality,
Exists for ever.
If of yore the First of Teachers
Revealed it through unbroken silence
Say, who can reveal it in spoken words?
– Ekatma Panchakam, Sri Bhagavan.
Sri Bhagavan once told the story that follows to
Sri Muruganar. This brings out the profound significance of
the Supreme Silence in which the First Master,
Sri Dakshinamurti is established.
Sri Bhagavan said,
“When the four elderly Sanakadi rishis first beheld the
sixteen-year-old Sri Dakshinamurti sitting under the banyan
tree, they were at once attracted by Him, and understood that
He was the real Sadguru. They approached Him, did three
pradakshinas around Him, prostrated before Him, sat at His
Feet and began to ask shrewd and pertinent questions about
the nature of reality and the means of attaining it. Because of
the great compassion and fatherly love (vatsalya) which He felt
for His aged disciples, the young Sri Dakshinamurti was
overjoyed to see their earnestness, wisdom and maturity, and
gave apt replies to each of their questions. But as He answered
each consecutive question, further doubts arose in their minds
and they asked further questions. Thus they continued to
question Sri Dakshinamurti for a whole year, and He continued
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to clear their doubts through His compassionate answers. Finally,
however, Sri Dakshinamurti understood that if He continued
answering their questions, more doubts would arise in their
minds and their ignorance (ajnana) would never end. Therefore,
suppressing even the feeling of compassion and fatherly love
which was welling up within Him, He merged Himself into the
Supreme Silence. Because of their great maturity (which had
ripened to perfection through their year-long association with
the Sadguru), as soon as Sri Dakshinamurti assumed Silence,
they too automatically merged into Supreme Silence, the true
state of the Self.”
Wonderstruck on hearing Sri Bhagavan narrating the story
in this manner, Sri Muruganar remarked that in no book was it
mentioned that Sri Dakshinamurti ever spoke anything. “But
this is what actually happened”, replied Sri Bhagavan curtly.
From the authoritative way in which Sri Bhagavan replied and
from the clear and descriptive way in which He told the story,
Sri Muruganar understood that Sri Bhagavan was none other
than Sri Dakshinamurti Himself!
67
BRAHMA’S PRIDE
A family came from a distant place to seek solace from
the grief of losing six sons; the last child had recently died. As
though Bhagavan had inspired the question, a devotee asked
about using pranayama and other practices to prolong life
to enable them to become realised souls, jnanis.
Bhagavan gently replied, “Yes, people do live long if
they do these practices, but does a person become a jnani, a
realised soul, by living long? A realised 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.”
A devotee said, “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 was not so and that
there were people who had lived much longer than he. When
Brahma said 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
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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 hairs fall 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 Romasa Mahamuni dies, one of his own distortions
would straighten, and when all the distortions had gone, he
would die. On hearing this, Brahma was crestfallen. Similarly,
there are many stories. If true realization is attained, who wants
this body? For a Realised Soul who enjoys limitless bliss through
realization of the Self, why this burden of the body?
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SWEET OF SPEECH
SATI DEVI, THE wife of Siva and the daughter of Daksha,
gave up her life as she was insulted by her father during the
yajna performed by him. She was subsequently born to Himavan
and Menaka as Parvati. She wanted only Lord Siva as her
husband, and to achieve that purpose she set out for doing tapas.
Menaka, while trying to prevent her from doing so said,
“U (no), Ma (give up).” That is how she got the name of Uma.
Finding Menaka’s dissuasion of no use, Himavan took her to
the tapovana (hermitage) where Siva was staying in the form of
Dakshinamurthy and said, “This little child of mine wants to
do tapas. Please allow her to be under your care.” Seeing Parvati,
Siva said, “Why tapas at this tender age? Why not go home
with father?” Parvati replied, “No, I won’t go.” Parameswara
tried to dissuade her skilfully by saying, “I have conquered
prakriti (nature) and so could concentrate on this tapas. If you
are to be here you will be exposed to the ravages of prakriti. So
please go back.” Parvati was equally skilful, so she said, “Oh
Lord! You say you have conquered prakriti. Without some
relationship with prakriti how could you do tapas? You have
just spoken. How could you do that without prakriti? How
could you walk? Without your knowing it, prakriti is occupying
your heart. If it is not for the sake of argument, if you are really
above the influence of prakriti, why are you afraid of my staying
here?” Siva was pleased with this and said, “Ingithagna! (you
who are skilled in thought reading), Madhurvachani! (you who
are sweet of speech) stay on!” and sent Himavan home.
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PARVATI’S TEST
Sri Bhagavan was looking into the Siva Purana and
related, “Siva has the transcendental and immanent aspects
as represented by His invisible, transcendental being and the
linga aspect respectively. The linga, manifested as Arunachala
originally, stands even to this day.
“In the sphere of speech, Pranava (the mystic sound
AUM) represents the transcendental (nirguna), and the
Panchakshari (the five-syllabled mantra), represents the
immanent aspect (saguna).” To illustrate this Sri Bhagavan
recounted the anecdote of Parvati testing Rama.
RAMA AND LAKSHMANA were wandering in the forest in
search of Sita. Rama was grief-stricken. Just then Siva and Parvati
happened to pass close-by. Siva saluted Rama and passed on. Parvati
was surprised and asked Siva to explain why He, the Lord of the
Universe, being worshipped by all, should stoop to salute Rama,
an ordinary human who having missed his consort was griefstricken
and moving in anguish in the wilderness looking helpless.
Siva then said, “Rama is simply acting as a human being would
under the circumstances. He is nevertheless the incarnation of
Vishnu and deserves to be saluted. You may test him if you choose.”
Parvati considered the matter, took the shape of Sita and
appeared in front of Rama, as he was crying out the name of
Sita in great anguish. He looked at Parvati appearing as Sita,
smiled and asked, “Why Parvati, are you here? Where is Sambhu?
Why have you taken the shape of Sita?” Parvati felt abashed and
explained how she went there to test him and sought an
explanation for Siva saluting him.
Rama replied, “We are all only aspects of Siva, worshipping
Him at sight and remembering Him out of sight.”
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GOING ROUND THE SELF
In the evening when some devotees were beginning
giripradakshina, (circumambulation around the hill
Arunachala), Sundaresa Iyer, a long-standing devotee also
felt like going with them. Then feeling that he might not be
able to complete the round, as the others were taking leave,
he quickly went around Bhagavan. Bhagavan asked him
why he was doing this. He replied, “I am afraid I cannot go
around the hill, so I have gone around Bhagavan.” “Go
around yourself That will be Atma pradakshina,” Bhagavan
said with smile.
Another devotee remarked, “It means he has done
what Vinayaka once did”. Bhagavan was then asked to
tell that story.
ONCE UPON A time, Lord Parameswara wanted to teach a
lesson to His Son, Lord Subrahmanya. Along with Parvathi,
Parameswara sat on the top of Mount Kailas holding a fruit in
His hand. Seeing the fruit both Ganapathi and Subrahmanya
asked their Father, Parameswara for it. Then Iswara said that
He would give the fruit to whoever of them returned first after
going round the whole world. With self-confidence and pride
that he would win the race, Subrahmanya started immediately
riding on his favourite mount, the peacock. He began going at
a fast pace, frequently looking behind to assure himself that his
elder brother Ganapathi was not following. What could poor
Ganapathi do, with his huge belly? His vahanam (mount) was
after all a mouse. So he thought it was no use competing with
Subrahmanya in the race round the world, and went round
Parvati and Parameswara, bowed before them and claimed the
reward. When they asked him whether he had gone round the
world, he said, “All the worlds are contained within you; so if I
go round you, it is as good as going round the world”. Pleased
with his reply, Parameswara gave him the fruit and Ganapathi
sat there eating it.
By the time Subrahmanya finished going round the
world in full confidence that he would be the winner,
arriving at the starting point, he found Ganapathi seated
before Parvati and Parameswara, eating the fruit. When he
asked Parameswara to give him the fruit for winning the
race, Iswara said, ‘There it is, your elder brother is eating it.’
When he asked his father how that could be fair, Iswara
explained to him all that had happened. Subrahmanya then
realised his vanity in thinking that he was a great sage, bowed
before his parents, and asked to be pardoned. That is the
story. The significance is that the ego which goes round like
a whirlwind must get destroyed, and must get absorbed in
Atma. That is Atma Pradakshina, said Bhagavan.
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ARDHANAREESWARA
(A form of Siva – half man and half woman)
ONCE UPON A time on Mount Kailas, the mountain of
delight, the great Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati were sitting
on a resplendent throne. The place was filled with the scent of
fine flowers and incense. After granting the boons desired by
devas, rishis and other hosts of devotees, and dismissing them,
Lord Siva rejoiced in the company of Goddess Uma (Parvati).
The great God pleased Goddess Uma who was as beautiful as
goddess Rati and full of auspicious qualities and noble traits. In
a joyous mood the Goddess, who thought that her Lord’s
attention was entirely centred on her, slipped playfully behind
Him and in sport covered fondly the three eyes of Sambhu, the
Lord of the World, with her two hands resembling lotus petals
and asked merrily, “who is it?”
As soon as His three eyes (the Moon, the Sun and Fire)
were covered a dismal darkness spread over the universe for
millions of years, because half a trice for Siva is aeons for us.
The darkness produced by the playfulness of the Goddess proved
to be the cause of the untimely destruction of the worlds, for in
the dense darkness no activities were possible and consequently
living beings perished without giving birth to new generations.
Seeing this state of affairs, the ever glorious Siddhas
approached Sambhu with devotion and prayed to Him for the
well-being of the universe. In response to this prayer of devotees
and Siddhas, Lord Siva, the embodiment of compassion, said,
“Gowri! Leave my eyes alone”. Immediately the Goddess
removed the obstruction to the Moon, Sun and Fire in the
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form of the eyes of Hara. Light returned to the worlds. The
Lord then asked the Siddhas, who stood in an attitude of
worship, “How much time has elapsed?” and they replied, “Half
a second for you and millions of years for us”. On hearing this
the Lord, who is an ocean of compassion, turned with a smile
to his beloved and graciously spoke some words on dharma
and artha. “It is not proper that you, who are the Mother of the
world, should do anything to dissolve it. At the appointed time
only I am the one to do so. You have by your folly produced an
untimely dissolution. How can you, the embodiment of love,
perform acts which cause pain to your creation? You, who are
compassion itself, should not even for sport do anything to
hurt others”.
On hearing Sambhu’s words, Uma was struck with remorse
and prayed to know what she could do in expiation of this fault of
hers. At this Lord Siva was pleased with the repentance and devotion
of the Goddess and said, “What penance can be prescribed for you
leaving me out? Besides you follow the path of dharma. Therefore
I shall prescribe a penance for you in accordance with prevailing
practice. You may perform meritorious acts for the welfare of
karmabhoomi (the earth, which is said to be the place most suited
for performing religious rites). People will acquire firm faith in
dharma by seeing your method of doing penance. There is no
doubt about it. Your grace will make the earth realize its goal, which
is the maintenance of dharma, Goddess! The timeless Vedas declare
you to be the All. The city known as Kancheepuri is heaven on
earth. A little penance done there yields boundless results. I shall
remain there in the lotus of your heart in my formless state as the
Absolute Pure Being. Therefore you need not suffer the pangs of
separation from me”. On hearing this, the Goddess at once
proceeded southwards with her companions.
At that time, in the kingdom of Kasi there was famine for
want of rain, and the people were suffering greatly as they could
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not get food. Seeing this on her way and taking pity on the
people, Devi created a big mansion by Her mere wish, took the
name of Annapurna and, with a vessel which never became
empty, fed thousands of people. Before long Her fame spread
throughout the country.
Meanwhile the king himself found that his granary had
become empty and was wondering what to do. When he heard
of the poor-feeding that was being done by this lady Annapurna,
he was greatly surprised at the ability of a mere woman and, to
test her, asked for the loan of few measures of rice. He received
a reply saying that there was no question of lending but that he
could come there to eat. With a wish to test her ability, the king
and his ministers went there in disguise and ate the food that
was given. When the king found the inexhaustibility of the
food that was being served all round, he immediately realised
that this could not be done by any human agency but only by
divine power.
Therefore, after the meal, he went and fell at the feet of
Annapurna and prayed, “Great Mother, please bless us and grant
us deliverance”. Pleased with his devotion, the Divine Mother
assumed her original form and said, “My son, I am pleased with
your devotion. As I have stayed here so long, your country will
be relieved of the evils of drought. You will now have rain and
there will be no famine. I cannot stay here any longer. I must
go south for my penance. Rule the people well and be happy”.
The king prayed, “Even so, You should be available to us for
our worship”. So the Mother agreed and left. That is the reason
why She manifested herself as ANNAPURNA, and the place
where She was, is now famous as the Temple of Annapurna.
From there She went to Kancheepuram in the South. There
She saw the pure and holy waters of the Kampa and began to
practise austerities on the river bank. She put aside Her various
ornaments and instead wore beads of rudraksha. She threw away
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Her fine clothes and wore for garments the bark of trees, and
smeared her entire body with holy ashes. She lived on ears of
corn picked by Herself and always repeated the name of Siva.
Thrice a day (morning, noon and evening) She bathed in the
Kampa, and lovingly shaped its sand into a Linga. Full of
devotion she worshipped it with leaves as traditionally prescribed.
She respectfully welcomed the holy sages (maharshis) who came
to see Her. The sages were filled with wonder at Her austerities.
On one occasion she had collected and cleaned the flowers
from the forest. Repeating mantras She began to worship the
Linga made of sand, on the bank of the Kampa, in the agamic
way. Siva wished to test her devotion and so made the waters of
the Kampa rise and overflow its banks. Seeing a huge flood
approaching, Her companions warned Devi, who opened Her
eyes and saw the river in spate. Distressed at this obstacle to Her
worship, She at once embraced the Linga lest it should crumble
away and said to them, “What to do? Worship in progress cannot
be stopped, come what may. Only those who have acquired
merit can bring to completion their good actions in this world
and practise the dharma which is capable of fulfilling the desires
of the heart. The Sivalinga is made of sand. It will dissolve in
the flood. If a Linga is to be destroyed, a true devotee should
also perish with it. This flood has risen up through the maya of
Siva to test the sincerity of my devotion. I will continue without
the least fear. Friends! Go away quickly!” Saying this, Ambika
did not abandon the Linga which she was embracing, even
though she was fast being surrounded by water. She devoutly
adored the great Linga, clasped it to her heart, and with open
eyes meditated on Sadasiva with one pointed devotion.
Then a divine voice from the sky spoke: “Girl! This great
flood has subsided. You can now leave the Linga, noblest of
beings! This Linga worshipped by you will achieve everlasting
fame as the one worshipped by the gods and capable of granting
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boons. May your penance be successful! May human beings
who see and worship this Linga – established for the
maintenance of dharma – attain the goal of their lives! I myself
shine on this earth in the form of the effulgent Arunachala for
the liberation of mortals. Since it removes the cruel heap of
sins from all the worlds, and since bondage becomes nonexistent
when one sees it, it is named Arunachala (the Hill
that destroys bondage). Rishis, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Yogis etc.,
come here and fervently worship it, forsaking the peaks of
Kailas and Mount Meru. You may go there and learn from
the Sage Gautama about devotion to me and about the glory
of Arunachala, and do more penance. I shall reveal to you my
effulgent form there in order that all the sins (of the world)
may be destroyed and all the worlds prosper”. On hearing
these words which came from Siva in His formless state, Devi
said, “So be it”, and started at once for Arunachala. Turning
to the rishis who wished to follow Her, She said, “Perform
your austerities on the banks of the sacred Kampa. This Linga
of sand, which removes all sins and brings in all kinds of
prosperity, bears the marks of my embrace. Worship it. Let
my devotees know that I shall be worshipped as Kamakshi,
since I fulfil their desires and bless them. Let them worship
me and obtain the boons they desire.”
She then came to Arunachala. The Goddess saw Siddhas,
yogis, rishis and devas there. All the Maharshis begged Her to
be their guest, but She said that She must see Gautama
according to Siva’s command. So they directed Her to his
ashram. Devi then went to the Gautama Ashram at the foot
of the Coral Hill (pavalakunru). Satananda, the son of
Gautama, saw Her and full of devotional fervour invited and
worshipped Her as prescribed and requested Her to stay on
while he went to the forest to bring his father, Gautama, who
had gone to fetch Kusa grass. By that time Gautama had already
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started for home and when Satananda saw him, he ran to his
father with great excitement and told him that the Divine
Mother had come to their ashram. The whole forest in the
twinkling of an eye became green and full of flowers and
fruits. Gautama was surprised and asked his son if it was really
so. Satananda with a faltering voice said, “Mother Parvati
Herself has come.” Equally thrilled and elated, Gautama
hastened to the place, saw Parvati and worshipped Her. After
Devi performed penance for a long time according to the
instructions of Gautama, Mahadeva finally appeared before
Her and said that He would grant Her whatever boon she
asked for. With great respect Devi prayed that She should
become half of Siva Himself saying, “I cannot live any longer
with a separate body, for if separate, I may make another
mistake like this and then shall have to undergo all the
hardships of penance and suffer the pangs of separation”.
Parameswara therefore acceded to Her request and so united
with Her as ARDHANAREESWARA (the Lord with a halffemale
form). This is how Amba, the Mother of the universe,
became one half of Siva.
Periapuranam
The Periapuranam is a Tamil devotional classic depicting the
lives of 63 Saivite Saints. This book made a remarkable
impression on Sri Bhagavan as a young boy. Speaking of four
of the most famous Saivite Saints Sri Bhagavan once remarked,
“The devotion of Sundaramurthy to the Lord is that of a friend,
of Manikkavachakkar that of the beloved, of Appar that of a
servant and Sambandar that of a son.”
(Continued ...)
My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Bhagavan Sree Ramana Maharshi
and also gratitude to Bhagavan’s great devotees for the collection)
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