Sant Shree Ramana Maharshi

Sant Shree Ramana Maharshi was born on 30th December, 1879. He was known as Venkataraman. He was born to a Tamil Hindu Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu.Actual birthdata of Sant is available, hence, let me analyze his horoscope first ……..

Birthdata: 1879 December 30 at 1 am (IST) at 78e15, 9n50

Calculations:

In D-20, planets are as follows: Sun, Mars - Ge, Saturn - Cn, Jupiter, Rahu, Ketu - Sc, Venus - Sg, Lagna -Cp, Moon - Aq, Mercury - Pi. AK Moon's divisional longitude in D–20 is 24Aq54. Taking houses from him, we get: Moon, Mercury – 1st, Sun, Mars – 4th, Saturn – 5th, Jupiter, Rahu, Ketu – 9th, Venus – 10th. Planets in kendras are Moon, Mercury, Sun, Mars, Venus. In the order of strength, we get Mars, Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury. Only Saturn is in a panaphara and Jupiter, Rahu and Ketu are in apoklimas.

Mars: 1879 – 1889

Sun: 1889 – 1891

Moon: 1891 – 1898

Mercury: 1898 – 1906

Venus: 1906 – 1916

Saturn: 1916 – 1923

Jupiter: 1923 – 1927

Ketu: 1927 – 1939

Rahu: 1939 – 1947 (debilitated)

Judgment:

In 1892, his father passed away and the young boy contemplated the matter of death noting that the body was still there but "I" was gone from it. The young boy started to contemplate what that "I" was. In 1896, he had a life altering experience. A spontaneous self-enquiry resulted in his ego getting lost in a flood of Self-awareness. Soon he left home and went to Arunachalam to stay there forever. This self-realization came in Moon dasa. The 12th lord from AK Moon is Saturn. He should have given Self-realization. However, Moon and Saturn have a sign exchange and hence Moon gave Saturn's result! From AK Moon, Mercury is the 5th lord in 1st house. His dasa brought some name, fame and following. From PK Saturn, Mercury is in the 9th house. He started accepting disciples and started guiding them in Mercury dasa. Ketu is the 10th lord in the 9th house in own sign from AK Moon. Paul Brunton's visit in 1931 and publishing of "A Search in Secret India" made him famous across India and outside.

Flight From Home

On the 29th of August 1896, Venkataraman left his home in the district of Madurai in search of his Father, Lord Arunachala. From that day till the end of his earthly sojourn, Venkataraman made Arunachala (Tiruvannamalai) his abode, transmitting through Mouna, the golden language of his egoless state, the Message of Eternal Truth, to the four corners of the globe. Venkataraman left a note behind to his rebuking brother: "I have, in search of my Father, according to His command, started from this place. On a virtuous enterprise, indeed, I have this day embarked. Therefore, for this action none need grieve or trace this one. No money need be spent for searching me".

The Great Enlightenment

"It was about six weeks before I left Madurai for good, in the middle of the year 1896, that the great change in my life took place" said Sant Sri Ramana Maharshi, when asked by devotees as to how he was transformed, "It was so sudden. One day I sat up alone on the first floor of my uncle’s house. I was in my usual good health. But a sudden and unmistakable fear of death seized me. I felt I was going to die and at once set about thinking as to what I should do. I did not care to consult anyone, be he a doctor, elder or friend. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and there. The shock of the fear of death made me at once introspective or ‘introverted’. I said to myself mentally, ‘Now that death is come, what does it mean? Who is it that is dying? This body dies’. I at once dramatised the situation. I extended my limbs and held them rigid as though rigor mortis had set in. I imitated a corpse to lend an air of reality to my further investigation. I held my breath and kept my mouth closed, pressing the lips tightly together, so that no sound could escape. ‘Well then’ I said to myself, ‘this body is dead. It will be carried to the crematory and there burnt and reduced to ashes. But with the death of my body, am I dead? Is the body I? This body is silent and inert. But I am still aware of the full force of my personality and even of the sound of I within myself as apart from the body. The material body dies, but the Spirit transcending it cannot be touched by death. I am therefore the deathless Spirit’. All this was not a feat of intellectual gymnastics, but came as a flash before me vividly as living Truth, which I perceived immediately, without any argument almost. I was something very real, the only real thing in that state, and all the conscious activity that was connected with my body was centred on that. The I or myself was holding the focus of attention with a powerful fascination. Fear of death vanished at once and for ever. The absorption in the Self has continued from that moment right up to now".

Tapas of Maharshi

Sant Sri Ramana practised Tapas in the thousand-pillared Mandapam, near the Patala Linga, in Subrahmanya’s shrine, in the Mango garden, the Sadguru Swami cave and Cora hills. From 1909 to 1916 he lived in the Virupakshi Cave. During his days of Tapas, mischievous boys pelted him with stones and hurled tiles at him; and yet Ramana was ever peaceful and calm through the strength of meditation and penance.

Sant Sri Ramana Maharshi was known as Brahmana Swami in Tiruvannamalai. Kavya Kanta Ganapathy Sastri, the great Sanskrit scholar, came to Ramana’s Ashram in 1908 and stayed with Maharshi and wrote the Ramana Gita.

The life of the Maharshi was one continued meditation, Ananda Anubhavam. Maharshi established peace within. He lived in the Light of the Lord within. He encouraged others to do the same thing. To him all the world was one. Maharshi seldom talked, and whenever he did speak, he did so only because it was absolutely necessary.

His Divine Message

Sant Sri Ramana was a living example of the teaching of the Upanishads. His life was at once the message and the philosophy of his teachings. He spoke to the hearts of men. The great Maharshi found Himself within himself and then gave out to the world the grand but simple message of his great life, "Know Thyself".

"Know Thyself. All else will be known to thee of its own accord. Discriminate between the undying, unchanging, all-pervading, infinite Atma and the ever-changing, phenomenal and perishable universe and body. Enquire, ‘Who am I?’ Make the mind calm. Free yourself from all thoughts other than the simple thought of the Self or Atma. Dive deep into the chambers of your heart. Find out the real, infinite ‘I’. Rest there peacefully for ever and become identical with the Supreme Self." This is the gist of the philosophy and teachings of Sant Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Sant Sri Ramana says, "The world is so unhappy because it is ignorant of the true Self. Man’s real nature is happiness. Happiness is inborn in the true Self. Man’s search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true Self. The true Self is imperishable; therefore, when a man finds it, he finds a happiness which does not come to an end.

"In the interior cavity of the heart, the One Supreme Being is ever glowing with the Self-conscious emanation I...I... To realise Him, enter into the heart with an one-pointed mind—by quest within or diving deep or control of breath—and abide with the Self of self". Sant Sri Ramana Maharshi has set at naught the prattle of materialists that Self-realisation and Samadhi are things of the remote past, and that in the present age, they are impossible of achievement to man. He has shown by his lifelong Samadhi that it is still possible to realise the Supreme and live in that realisation.

The Light Shines Brighter Than Ever

Lieut-Col. P.V. Karamchandani, I.M.S., D.M.O., North Arcot District, attended on Sri Ramana when the latter suffered from a kind of malignant tumour in his upper left arm above the elbow. The Maharshi was operated four times.

A meteor hit the sky at 8-47 p.m. on the 14th April, 1950, when Sant Sri Ramana Maharshi left his mortal coil and entered Mahasamadhi.

The all-pervading Light which shone through the embodiment of that Light in Maharshi Ramana had once again resolved itself into its original state. A lifelong proof of the Upanishads was what we called Sant Sri Maharshi Ramana. That proof will for ever exist, reassuring us of the Ultimate Reality.

The saint is no more in his mortal frame. But the Light of his soul is now merged in every receptive individual soul. Maharshi Ramana lives in our heart. His passing away should not be grieved for. For he had fulfilled the mission of his life. He had achieved the highest goal, Self-realisation. So there is nothing to grieve for. The death of only those that are not able to achieve the goal of life or do their duty has any reason to be mourned. The Light of the Maharshi’s soul shines today brighter than ever.

In the heart of humanity the saint shall live for ever, guiding, encouraging, goading and inspiring, so that millions and millions might seek and find the Great Truth that Ramana realised.

Too well did Sant Sri Ramana expound the Vedanta philosophy, not through bookish knowledge, but by practical experience. His teachings imparted through all-absorbing ‘Silence’ embodied the highest ideals and the ultimate reaches in divine realisation. To ever assert one’s latent divinity, to ever strive to live in the consciousness of the immortal Self and to remain as an unaffected witness of the transitory phases of life immersed in that Supreme Silence—was the clarion call of the Maharshi. Dogmas and religious prejudices he cared not for! For he was far above those mundane limitations. With him lived orthodox Brahmin priests, Moslems and Christians and the so-called Indian untouchables. They were all alike to him.

source:http://sbsaraswati.multiply.com/journal/item/157/145._Sant_Shree_Ramana_Maharshi_

Sri Ramanasramam

He was but a young man in his early twenties, yet Sri Ramana Maharshi had already the serene countenance and radiant eyes of a Sage. He lived in a cave on the sacred mountain, Arunachala, beside the town of Tiruvannamalai in Madras State. He sought solitude and maintained silence to discourage visitors. Nevertheless, disciples gathered round. He was already known as ‘Maharshi’, the ‘Great Sage’; devotees addressed him in the third person as ‘Bhagavan’ (Lord).

		After some years the cave became too small and the Maharshi and his followers moved to Skandasramam, a little higher up the mountainside. This also was a cave but was enlarged and built out to give more accommodation. His mother renounced the world and came to join him there. She began to cook for the little group, whereas previously they ate only what was given in charity by the pious when some of them daily begged for food in the town. The Mother died in 1922, attaining Liberation at the moment of death, through persistent effort fortified by the concentrated grace of her son. As tradition demands in the case of a Liberated Being, the body of Mother was not cremated but
buried. As no burial is allowed on the sacred mountain, she was buried at its foot, at the southern-most point where a cemetery already existed.

It was less than half an hour’s walk from Skandasramam and the Maharshi would go there daily. Then, one day, he stayed. It was here that Ramanasramam sprang up.

Sri Ramana Maharshi was already over forty at the time and had spent twenty-six years at Tiruvannamalai as a Self-realized sage; and yet he was not widely known outside of South India. He had avoided publicity and had done nothing spectacular to attract people, such as cures or miracles. There was no Ashram office, no correspondence, no facility for visitors, no publicity.

An Ashram did not spring up immediately. At first there was only a shed with bamboo uprights and a roof of palm leaves. The Maharshi himself maintained the same aloof attitude, and he continued to live in utmost simplicity. He asked nobody to come and told no one to go;
if any wanted to come they could, if any wanted to settle down there they could, but each had to make his own arrangements. Ashram organization was not his concern. If rules were made he would be the first to abide by them, but he himself did not make any. His work was purely spiritual: silently guiding the ever-growing family of devotees that gathered around him and radiating his Grace upon them. To all appearance, he was aloof, but his love was all embracing and utterly overpowering. Everyone felt the subtle, ever-watchful power and grace of his guidance.
It was his younger brother, Sri Niranjanananda Swami, who oversaw the construction of buildings and the growth of the Ashram. He became its sarvadhikari or manager. As the Maharshi became more widely known, donations flowed in and a whole complex of buildings arose. Particularly dear to the sarvadhikari’s heart was a temple that he built over the Mother’s shrine and a large new meditation hall, known as the New Hall, adjoining it.

		The focus of all attention was, of course, the meditation hall where devotees sat with the Maharshi. There was a couch there where he sat in the daytime and slept at night. Devotees would sit before him on the floor, men on one side of the hall, women at the other. During the early years the doors were never closed, and even at night people could come and lay their troubles at his feet. In later years, because of age and failing health, the Ashram management decided that hours of privacy would be necessary for him.

Concerned that he should be accessible to all comers at all hours, Sri Bhagavan never left the Ashram except for his daily walk on the mountain and palakothu, morning and evening, and in the early years, an occasional walk on the nine-mile road around the mountain. This is said to be particularly meritorious and should ideally be done barefoot, as a pilgrimage. The Maharshi always encouraged it.

People would sit in meditation while the Maharshi watched over them, guiding them wordlessly. However there was no rigidity about it, no rule that every one must meditate at a given time or in a certain manner. Accommodation was sometimes difficult to find. It was never a residential Ashram in the usual sense; nevertheless, a large dormitory was put up where men could spread their bedding on the floor. There were also a few private rooms for guests. However, all this proved insufficient, and was of no help to women, who were not allowed to stay overnight in the Ashram premises. A number of devotees built their own houses round about, and thus a housing estate grew up. Sadhus made a colony near the Ashram and lived in caves and huts. A Maharaja donated a guesthouse. In spite of all this, difficulties in finding accommodation persisted.

		All of this suddenly changed in 1950. After a long and wasting illness the Maharshi attained Maha Samadhi. The crowds of devotees dispersed and it seemed for a while that the Ashram might come to an end or survive only as a relic. However, contrary to what had been feared, there was no feeling of void. Indeed, never had the atmosphere
more vibrant with the Maharshi’s effulgent Presence and Grace. The power of his presence seemed not to have been withdrawn but, on the contrary, to be stronger and more potent than ever. Such grace was there that those who stayed on could not even feel sad. There was nothing to grieve about, no sense of loss or privation. More and more, people came to feel the Maharshi’s continued presence at Sri Ramanasramam. Devotees who had left returned. The flow of visitors resumed. It was recalled that the Maharshi himself had given many indications of his continued presence. In approving a Will that was drawn up he had stated that this Ashram was to continue as a spiritual center. Shortly before his death he had said: “They say that I am going away, but where could I go? I am here.” On the one hand, this was a purely metaphysical statement. For the Sage who has realized his identity with the universal Self there is no coming or going, no change or becoming, no here or there, only the changeless Here and Now. And yet, his words had physical implications as well. They applied to his Ashram at Tiruvannamalai. During his lifetime, the Maharshi had often said that only the body travels; the Self remains unmoving. This was one aspect of the truth which would be a consolation to those not destined to go to Tiruvannamalai. But the other aspect was no less true: that it was and is a great blessing to be able to go to Sri Ramanasramam at the foot of the sacred Arunachala Mountain, and that powerful spiritual help will be found there for those who come. While Sri Ramana is universal and ever present in the hearts of those devotees who dedicate their lives to him, there is, at the same time, no denying that his power and guidance are concentrated at his Ashram at Tiruvannamalai.

There were other confirmations of Sri Bhagavan’s continued Presence. When some devotees complained before his death that he was leaving them he answered cryptically: “You attach too much importance to the body.” The implication was obvious. The body was leaving them; he was not. He would remain the Guru as before.

There is no spiritual head of the Ashram, no lineage successor to Bhagavan in human form. The Presence of the Maharshi is so intensely powerful and all-pervasive that it is clear to all his devotees that the Mighty Impersonality that Ramana was is the eternal Guru and presiding deity here. The spiritual instructions that he has left behind are complete in every way and spiritual support comes directly from him; all that is needed is practice.

The sarvadhikari died in January, 1953 and his son, T. N. Venkataraman, took over the management of the Ashram as President. In 1994, T. N. Venkataraman retired and, as enjoined by Bhagavan’s will, entrusted his eldest son, V. S. Ramanan, to serve as the Ashram President.

source:http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/ramanasramam.html

Self Inquiry - As taught by Ramana Maharshi

Ther really has a place in my heart.

What he taught is very simple and straight forward. But that is how spiritual practice, including meditation, is extremely deceptive. The 'I get it' part of the mind is very rapid and easy, but the practise of it is something completely different.
One should not allow the mind to go into confusion about it, while practising. Trust the integrity of your intention to do it to the best of your ability and sit with it... Errors will reveal and correct themselves if you keep at it.

What Ramana Maharshi taught as Self-inquiry, is a meditative (or contemplative) technique centred around the question "who am I"?
Some feel the question might better be asked as "what am I"?
Here is a short explanation he gives, transcribed in the book "Who Am I? (Nan Yar?), The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi."
(Translation by Dr. T. M. P. MAHADEVAN From the original Tamil.)

Q: ~ What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought 'Who am I?'
A: When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: 'To whom do they arise?' It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, "To whom has this thought arisen?". The answer that would emerge would be "To me". Thereupon if one inquires "Who am I?", the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear.
Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called "inwardness" (antarmukha). Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as "externalisation" (bahir-mukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the 'I' which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without the egoity "I". If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of Siva (God)."

source:http://www.squidoo.com/on-meditation?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster

Silence and Solitude in Ramana Maharshi

The Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) was not only a representative of Advaita Vedanta, the loftiest Hindu teaching on non-duality, but also known for his silence. He spent years in solitude, and when devotees pressed him for a public presence, Ramana spent hours before them in silence. Ramana's silence was not an eccentricity but a conscious expression of his philosophical and spiritual teaching.

The term mouni refers to several aspects of silence: 1) to one of the traditional austerities or tapas undertaken as an indefinite vow or a temporary spiritual practice, 2) to the actual practitioner of the vow of silence, and 3) to the profound spiritual condition experienced in meditation. Ramana did not represent himself as a mouni practicing silence from a vow. Such a vowed silence, like many monastic austerities, can be easily undermined. Thomas Merton, who belonged to the Catholic Trappist order (whose full title is Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, because silence is a vow), has remarked on the inevitable use of gestures and hand signals in the monastery that circumvent silence. Silence is not the absence of communication. Silence is a positive state, and this is how Ramana understood and used it.

As Ramana puts it, silence is

that state which transcends speech and thought ...; it is meditation without mental activity. Subjugation of the mind is meditation; deep meditation is eternal silence.

Hence, silence is the natural result of meditation, not merely an a priori vow to be taken or an imposed austerity to be accepted and/or resented. Silence flows from the transcendent self because there is no longer anything relevant that ca be said by or to or on behalf of the enlightened person.

To Ramana, silence is not a negation but a noumena, a true thing-in-itself:

Silence is ever-speaking, it is the perennial flow of "language." It is interrupted by speaking, for words destroy this mute language. Silence is unceasing eloquence. It is the best language. There is a state when words cease and silence prevails.

Though Ramana expressed his concept of silence in a clear and reasoned fashion, it was experience and not abstract learning that brought him insight. At the age of seventeen, he unexpectedly experienced samadhi, the state of insight or enlightenment wherein he became conscious of non-duality, of the identity of self and Self (capital S) as one. He had been a typical youth of his village and clan. Ramana's father was a part-time pleader and country lawyer (some sources identify him as a farmer), and Venkataraman (Ramana's given name) was a fair student, more interested in sports and daydreaming than reading, not particularly religious. The only signal events he recalled as striking was a sense of mystery concerning Arunachala, the sacred hill near his town, and an inspired reading of the Periyapuranam, a book of biographies of sixty-three Tamil saints.

After the awakening experience, Ramana's behavior changed, a change characteristic of solitaries:

I lost what little interest I had in my outer relations with friends and relatives. ... Whatever work was given [to me], whatever teasing or annoyance there was [in school], I would put up with it quietly. The former ego that resented and retaliated had disappeared. I stopped going out with friends to play games and preferred solitude. I would often sit alone, especially in a posture suitable for meditation and become absorbed in the Self, the force or current which constituted me.

Another change was Ramana's daily visits to Minakshi Temple at Madura, a prelude to his leaving home to live at the temple shrine of Tiruvannamalai a couple of months later, where he lived in silence and without possessions, dependent on the grace of others for food and water and no more. Although he was willing to sit in silence with visiting devotees for periods of the day after the 1920's, it was the solitary silence that was to remain his mode of existence the rest of his life.

Not unexpectedly, his family was baffled by Ramana's behavior, and his mother came to him pleading for his return. Because he would not see or speak to anyone at this time, Ramana responded to his mother through an intermediary, in a written note expressing in an impersonal manner the incontrovertible nature of each person's destiny. "Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent." Many have compared this response to that of Jesus at Cana.

Ramana was not merely telling his mother to be silent and leave him alone. He was framing every person's necessity to recognize reality in a larger karmic setting. Silence is our mature response to the vicissitudes of life.

This response to worldly circumstance is not simply a psychological pose or a stoicism. It is a setting for nirvikalpasamadhi or oblivion to the manifest world, a prelude to the fuller experience of enlightenment. It is not a permanent state. It is, unlike the mouni's silence, to be broken as needed. Ramana came to realize a kind of pragmatism in this regard, speaking occasionally and deeply concerning philosophical and spiritual teaching, or even to give mundane advice to those who visited him, in this way showing that silence was not an end to itself but a path open to all.

Ramana's notion of enlightenment without a personal guru is especially relevant to silence and solitude. For despite the strong Hindu tradition that enlightenment is attained under a guru or spiritual mentor or master, Ramana clearly broke with and transcended this prescription. "The Guru is the self," he maintained. "The Master is within." Those who came to him sought him out as their guru, but Ramana's chief instruction (upadesa) was to remain profoundly silent before them. This silence was itself an instruction or guidance, called mouni-diksha.

The prelude to a devotee's upadesa was initiation, simply introducing the petitioner to the guru Ramana. After this initiating experience, the petitioner might learn some fundamental teaching, or simply bask in the radiating grace of Ramana's silent attention. Arthur Osborne cites this example:

The initiation by look was a very real thing. Sri Bhagavan [i.e., Ramana] would turn to the devotee, his eyes fixed upon him with blazing intentness. The luminosity, the power of his eyes pierced into one, breaking down the thought-process. Sometimes it was as though an electric current was passing through one, a vast peace, a flood of light. One devotee has described it: "Suddenly Bhagavan turned his luminous, transparent eyes on me,. Before that I could not stand his gaze for long. Now I looked straight back into those terrible, wonderful eyes, how long I could not tell. They held me in a sort of vibration distinctly audible to me"

Ramana's method of Self-enquiry or Self-knowledge (vichara) was an historical path in Hinduism but invariably required silence on the part of guru and devotee. Ramana considered this method superior to any other path, including all forms of devotion, ritual, and action. Typically, then, he did not give more than a few words of oral instruction at a time to his devotees. His collected spiritual writings, assembled by devotees and listeners, are sparse but very rich.:

Lectures may entertain individuals for hours without improving them. Silence, on the other hand, is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity.... 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 in a holy presence and goes away after some time with his outlook on life totally changed. Which is the better, to preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending out inner force?

Of course, Ramana is speaking here of his own method, but there is a firm metaphysics to justify it.

There is abstract Knowledge, whence arises the ego, which in turn gives rise to thought, and thought to the spoken word. So the word is the great-grandson of the Original Source. If the word can produce effect, judge for yourself, how much more powerful must be the Preaching through Silence!

In Hinduism, the model of silent teaching is Dakshinamurti, manifestation of Shiva, who transmits truth through silent teaching. But Adaita Vedanta proposes enlightenment without a guru, and this tenet of Ramana is an important component of his method as well.

Ramana was flexible and practical in the application not only of silence but of solitude. He begins with the observation that ascetic and householder alike are capable of achieving enlightenment or samadhi.

Solitude is in the mind of a man.. One might be in the thick of the world and yet maintain perfect serenity of mind: Such a person is always in solitude. Another may stay in the forest but still be unable to control his mind. He cannot be said to be in solitude. Solitude is an attitude of the mind; a man attached to things of life cannot get solitude, wherever he may be. A detached man is always in solitude.

Ultimately, then, there is no physical solitude, only a spiritual state called ekantavasa or dwelling in solitude. As the Self is all-pervasive, there can be no particular place for solitude. Rather, the state of being free from mental concepts is what Ramana calls "dwelling in solitude."

As with silence and solitude, Ramana views asceticism in a practical way. Asceticism is a means towards a spiritual goal and is a tool for detachment, but its not to be identified exclusively with a certain religious order or even a particular state of life.

As dispassion is the means of inquiry [into Knowledge], joining an order of ascetics may be regarded , in a way, as a means of inquiry through dispassion. Instead of wasting one's life by entering the order of ascetics before one is fit for it, it is better to live the householder's life.

And this holding on to the householder's life may go on indefinitely, explains Ramana, as long as there are concrete moral duties dependent upon one's karma.

A wise householder may also discharge without attachment the various household duties which fall to his lot according to his past karma, like a tool in the hands of another. Action and knowledge are not obstacles to each other. ... Although he is entirely unmindful of his bodily comforts, if, owing to his past karma, his family has to subsist by his efforts, he may be regarded as doing service to others.

So the concepts of silence, solitude, and asceticism are eminently practical -- if spirituality is to made accessible -- and practical for all. Where both silence and solitude are lofty and difficult, Ramana places no obstacles to them, no rigid access or prerequisites. Indeed the practice of solitude and silence ascend and descend on a spiritual ladder of sorts, each rung a step or stage of bliss.

A devotee once asked Ramana, "Research on God has been going on from time immemorial. Has the final word been said?" After a long interval, in which Ramana did not respond, the visitor asked, "Should I consider Sri Bhagavan's silence as the reply to my question?" Ramana replied:

Yes, Mouni is Isvara-svarupa [God-state]. Hence the text: "The Truth of Supreme Brahman proclaimed through Silent Eloquence."

¶

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

The printed works of Ramana are available in The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, edited and annotated by Arthur Osborne. London: Rider, 1959; New York, S. Weiser, 1970, The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words, edited by Arthur Osborne. London: Rider, 1962, and The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi. Boston, Shambhala, 1988 (reprint of 1972 ed.). Complete books by and about of Ramana in pdf format are available for download from the official Ramana Maharshi Web site: http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/bookstall/downloadbooks.html and from http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/downloads/downloads.htm. See also Arthur Osborne: Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge. London: Rider, 1954.

Silence

One day a young man visited Sri Ramanasramam with some evil purpose. Entering the hall and taking his seat in front he began to put all sorts of questions to Sri Bhagavan. He wanted to extort hush-money from the ashram by exposing Sri Bhagavan as a hypocrite. He had already tried this trick successfully with some rich monks. By repeated practice he had cultivated this art into a paying profession. Having gained success elsewhere, he had come to Sri Ramanasramam to try his trick there.

Sri Ramana's own method of meeting insolence, malice, jealousy, misbehaviour, etc., of others, was the observance of complete silence. In fact, he preached and taught also by silence. His silence was very powerful. Such a powerful weapon of his battled and disarmed all aggressive and insolent persons.

Indeed, silence had become Sri Ramana's inherent nature.

It was his impregnable armour against attacks from people of all sorts. So, when the youth tried his best to draw Sri Ramana into a hot discussion or some talk or expression to catch him somewhere, Sri Ramana remained completely silent. Hence the poor youth's purpose was foiled. Though the youth was belching out foul language Sri Ramana did not utter a single word, and was all along calm and unperturbed. At last, after exhausting all his resources, the youth saw the impossibility of achieving his object, so he had to admit defeat and quit the ashram.

source:http://arunachala-ramana.blogspot.com/2007/10/silence.html

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
'The Sage of Arunachala'
30th Dec. 1879 to 14th April 1950

Throughout the history of mankind spiritual giants have appeared on very rare occasions to exemplify the Highest Truth. Guiding followers by their conduct in every moment of their lives; Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was such a giant. Unique in our time, He perfectly embodied the ultimate truth of Self-realisation, or complete absorption in the Supreme Itself.

Drawn from His home by the power of Arunachala at the age of sixteen, he remained at Its feet throughout the rest of His life and became known as the Sage of Arunachala.

He wrote very little, but is known to have translated and corrected a number of important works for the benefit of devotees. He preferred to communicate through the power of overwhelming Silence, a silence so deep and powerful that it stilled the minds of ardent seekers who were attracted to Him from all over the world.

Although preferring silence, He was always willing to answer the questions of sincere aspirants and never failed to guide them in the right direction.

His highest teaching of 'Self-enquiry' (vichara) was understood in the infinite silence of his presence. Through this silence, countless numbers of devotees and visitors experienced the pure bliss of True Being. That same experience of perfect peace is still available to sincere souls who turn to him and practice his teachings with devotion.

This act of perfect grace can be experienced anywhere, but it is especially palpable at the foot of the holy Arunachala Hill, a hill that has attracted saints and sages for thousands of years. The Maharshi's teaching of 'Self-enquiry' (Pure Advaita) is simplicity itself, requiring no outward formalities, no outer change of life, only a simple change in 'point of view' and a sustained effort on the part of the seeker. The goal is no heaven after death or a faraway ideal, but rather the removal of the ignorance that prevents us from knowing that we are eternally One with our Source, the Supreme Self, or God. It is an experience than can be had NOW! All that is required is a sincere effort, which earns us the necessary grace.

On his deathbed the Maharshi told his grieving devotees, "You say I am going away, but where can I go? I am always here. You give too much importance to the body." His promise of a 'continued presence' is daily being experienced by numerous devotees around the world, and it is that experience of 'continued presence' that has inspired many to devote themselves to the path of peace and love.

source:http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/about_bhagavan.html

Stories of Ramana Maharishi

Teaching in Words and Silence

On a Shivaratri day, after dinner, Bhagavan was reclining on the sofa surrounded by many devotees. A Sadhu suggested that, since this was a most auspicious night, the meaning of the verse in praise of Dakshinamurti should be made clear. Bhagavan gave his approval and all were eagerly waiting for him to say something. He simply sat, gazing at us. We were gradually absorbed in ever deepening silence, which was not disturbed by the clock striking the hour, every hour, until 4 a.m. None moved or talked. Time and space ceased to exist. Bhagavan’s grace kept us at peace and silence for seven hours. In this silence, Bhagavan taught us the Ultimate, like Dakshinamurti. At the stroke of four Bhagavan asked us whether we had understood the meaning of the silent teaching. Like waves on the infinite ocean of bliss, we fell at Bhagavan’s feet.

T. K. Sundaresa Iyer
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

“What will it be like when one achieves Self-realization?” somebody asked. “The question is all wrong, one does not realize anything new,” said Bhagavan. “I do not get you, Swami.” “It is very simple. Now you feel like you are in the world. There you feel like the world is in you,” explained Bhagavan.

Tales of Bhagavan
Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad

It was ever like this with him. Whoever went to him, he would go down to his level; his words and gestures, even his intonation of his voice, would adapt themselves to the make-up of the people around him. With children he was their playmate, to family people—a wise councilor, to pandits—a well of knowledge, to yogis—the God of will, the God of victory. He saw himself in them and their hearts would be bound to his feet in everlasting love. All who would come to see him would be charmed by his love and kindness, beauty and wisdom, and the overwhelming sense of unity he radiated like fire radiating heat. To some he would grant special vision, invisible to others; with some he would openly discourse. Crowds would gather round him and each one would see him differently. Even his pictures differ. A stranger would not guess that they are all of the same person.

My Life, My Light by Varanasi Subbalakshmiamma
Narrated to B. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by C. Pat
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

At some other time another visitor started wailing before Bhagavan that he was being quite crushed under the enormity of his sins. Bhagavan asked: “When you sleep, are you a sinner?” “No, I am just asleep.” “If you are not a sinner, then you must be good.” “No, I am neither good nor bad when I am asleep. I know nothing about myself.” “And what do you know about yourself now? You say you are a sinner. You say so because you think you are. Were you pleased with yourself, you would call yourself a good man and stop telling me about your being a sinner. What do you know about good and evil except what is in your mind? When you see that the mind invents everything, all will vanish, and you will remain as you are.”

The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

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Cooking and The Dining Hall

One day when I was still new in the kitchen, I served Bhagavan with a few more pieces of potato than the rest. Bhagavan noticed it and got very angry with me. He turned his face away and would not look at those who were serving food. I could not make out the cause of his anger and wondered who it was who had offended him. The women who worked in the kitchen would collect around him to take leave of him in the evening, after the work was over. Usually he would exchange a few words with us, enquire who was accompanying us, whether we had a lantern, and so on. That evening he gave me a sign to come near.

“What did you do tonight?”

“I don’t know Swami, have I done something wrong?”

“You served me more curry than others?”

“What does it matter” I did it with love and devotion.”

“I felt ashamed to eat more than others. Have you come all this way to stuff me with food? You should always serve me less than others.”

“But Bhagavan, how can I treat you worse than others?”

“Is this the way you hope to please me? Do you hope to earn grace through a potato curry?”

“Out of my love for you I committed a blunder. Forgive me, Bhagavan, I shall respect your wishes.”

“The more you love my people, the more you love me,” said Bhagavan and the matter was closed.

Eternal Bhagavan by Shantamma
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

He was very strict with us in the kitchen. His orders were to be obeyed to the last detail. No choice was left to us to guess or try on our own. We had to do so blindly as he taught us and, by doing so, be convinced that he was always right and that we would never fail if we put our trust in him. When I think of it now, I can clearly see that he used his work in the kitchen as a background for spiritual training. He taught us to listen to every word of his and to carry it out faithfully. He taught us that work is love for others, that we never can work for ourselves. By his very presence he taught us of God and that all work is His. He used cooking to teach us religion and philosophy.

Bhagavan in the Kitchen by Sampurnamma
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

He would allow nothing to go to waste. Even a grain of rice or a mustard seed lying on the ground would be picked up, dusted carefully, taken to the kitchen and put in its proper tin. I asked him why he gave himself so much trouble for a grain of rice. He said: “Yes, this is my way. Everything is in my care and I let nothing go to waste. In these matters I am quite strict. Were I married, no woman could get on with me. She would run away.” On some other day he said: “This is the property of my Father Arunachala. I have to preserve it and pass it on to His children. He would use for food things we would not even dream of as edible; wild plants, bitter roots and pungent leaves were turned into delicious dishes.

Bhagavan in the Kitchen by Sampurnamma
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

Yogis control themselves severely for long periods to reach the state to which Bhagavan would take us by making us work near him in the kitchen. The small tasks of daily life he would make into avenues to light and bliss. Whoever has not experienced the ecstasy of grinding, the rapture of cooking, the joy of serving iddlies to devotees, his devotees, the state when the mind is in the heart and the heart is in him and he is in the work, does not know how much bliss a human heart contains.

My Life, My Light by Varanasi Subbalakshmiamma
Narrated to B. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by C. Pat
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

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1

Ramana Maharshi and Animals

When Bhagavan was living on the hill, a big monkey came one day when he was having his food, and sat near him. Bhagavan was about to put a morsel of food into his mouth, but when he saw the monkey he gave it the morsel. The monkey took it, put it on the plate and gave Bhagavan a square slap on the cheek. “What do you mean, you fellow? Why are you angry? I gave you the first morsel!” exclaimed Bhagavan. Then he understood his mistake. It was a king monkey and he had to be treated in the right royal manner. Bhagavan called for a separate leaf plate and a full meal was served to the king, who ate it all with dignity and proudly went away.

Tales of Bhagavan
Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad

One day the cow Lakshmi came to the Hall. She went straight to Bhagavan, put her head on Bhagavan’s shoulder and wept. Bhagavan sat very quietly and gently stroked her head. “Why are you so sad?” he would whisper in her ears. “Who has hurt you? Cheer up, my dear, stop crying. I am here to befriend you.” Lakshmi stopped crying, gave Bhagavan a few licks and went away, comforted.

The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

Once a monkey tried to bring her new born baby through a window near Ramana’s couch. The attendants were preventing her. Ramana chided them as follows, “Don’t all of you bring your newborn babies to me? She also wants to do so. Why should you prevent her?”

Timeless in Time

When Bhagavan was staying in the Old Hall, he was literally surrounded by squirrels. They would run all over his couch, on his body, and even under his pillows. Ramana had to be extremely careful before he sat or leaned lest some squirrels be crushed by the weight of his body.

Timeless in Time

On June 17, 1948, Lakshmi fell ill. The following morning June 18 it looked as if her end was near. At about 10 o’clock in the morning Ramana went to her. He found her breathing hard and she was lying prostrate. Taking her head into his arms, stroking her neck, Ramana fixed his gaze in her eyes. Her breathing became steady immediately. Tears began to trickle from her eyes. Ramana’s eyes too overflowed as he looked at her with great love. How could those nearby hold by their emotions? He asked tenderly, “Amma (mother), do you want me to be near you? I must go now as people are waiting for me in the hall. But wherever I may be, I am always with you.” Then he placed his hand on her head as though giving diksha. He put his hand over her heart also and then caressed her, placing his cheek against her face. When he convinced himself that her heart was pure, free from all vasanas entailing rebirth and centred solely on him, he took leave of her and returned to the hall. Her eyes were calm and peaceful. She was conscious up to the end and left the body at 11:30 a.m. quite peacefully.

On her tomb was engraved an epitaph by Ramana which makes it quite clear that she attained liberation.

Timeless in Time

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No Sense of Difference

D.: Does one who has realized the Self lose the sense of ‘I’?

R.: Absolutely.

D.: Then there is not difference between yourself and myself, that man over there, my servant. Are all the same?

R.: All are the same, including those monkeys.

D.: But the monkeys are not people. Are they not different?

R.: They are exactly the same as people. All are the same in One Consciousness.

Timeless in Time

Once he saw somebody cutting a twig in the night for use the next morning as a toothbrush. “Can’t you let the tree sleep in peace?” he asked. “Surely you can have your twig in the daytime. Why not have a little sense and compassion? A tree does not howl nor can it bite or run away: it does not mean you can do anything to it?”

The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

On special occasions like Jayanti and Mahapuja originally after the poor people were fed, eating in the dining hall would commence. Later it was changed such that when the poor started to eat their food it could be served in the main hall also. One day Bhagavan 1 that a poor man had not any share of food. Next day when the gong was struck, Bhagavan got up and want to the tree where the poor people were gathered and said, “If you will not give them food first, I will not come to the dining hall at all. I will stand under the tree and stretch out my hands for food like them and when I am given food I will eat it, go straight to the hall and sit.” Then the old practice was revived.

Timeless in Time

There was a large stone slab at Skandashrmam. Everyday tooth power and water would be kept there for use by Bhagavan. However cold it was, Bhagavan would come and sit on the slab and clean his teeth. In the rays of the early morning sun, Bhagavan’s body would shine beautifully. When it was very cold, devotees used to request him not to sit there, but Bhagavan would not listen to them. The reason for this was known only later. It was compassion for an elderly devotee Sowbagyathammal. She and a few others had taken a vow that daily they would eat only after they had seen Bhagavan and Seshadri Swami. They used to climb the hill to have the darshan of Bhagavan. One day she did not come. When she came the next day he asked her why she had not come the previous day. She replied, “I could not climb the hill because of my weakness. But I was fortunate enough to have you darshan from my house.” She explained how she saw Bhagavan when he was brushing his teeth sitting on the stone slab. She said that if he brushed his teeth in the same place everyday, she would be able to see him every day from her house itself as she found it difficult to climb the hill. From then on, Bhagavan brushed his teeth sitting on the stone, irrespective of weather conditions. It was a boon for other elderly people also.

Timeless in Time

At the time when the asram hall was being constructed, the attendants also used to carry stones to the site. One day an attendant Rangaswami’s finger was crushed when a stone fell on it. Till the finger was fully healed, Ramana himself took over the work of carrying stones.

Timeless in Time

In 1943, the Old Hall used to be overcrowded with visitors and devotees. The children who came with the women dirtied the place and there were no proper arrangements for cleaning. The attendants in a mood of disgust suggested that the women could sit outside the hall. Bhagavan queried, “If ladies are to sit outside, why not the men too? When there is no work in the hall even for Bhagavan, it will be alright if I sit under the tree which is opposite the hall. Then there will be no trouble or worry for anybody for whatever the children may do.” Consequently the attempt to separate the women was given up.

Timeless in Time

Sri N. Ramachandra Rao of Bangalore, who visited Sri Ramana in 1923, says in his Kannada book that he saw Sri Ramana living in a shed and that he garlanded the sage’s photo hung in the shed and that many devotees were living in the premises and getting up at 4:00 a.m. to attend the various items of work in the kitchen. It was in that shed that Sri Ramana was sleeping on 26-6-1924. Personal attendants were resting in adjacent sheds. During the night, six robbers easily broke open the bamboo door and entered the hut and attacked him without any difference and commanded his to deliver the keys to them. They slapped him on cheeks and said, “Give us your keys. Where have you kept money? If you do not give keys, we will break your legs.” Sri Ramana continued to be as serene as before. In his soft voice, he replied, “We are poor sadhus. We have no money. You can take away anything you want.” By then the attendants ran out from their sheds and entered his shed. They were also attacked by the robbers. Some asram dogs barked at the robbers, who punished the dogs too. His attendants wanted to teach a lesson to the robbers by counter-attack. Sri Ramana gave them a counsel of perfection. He persuaded them to be non-violent. He told them to treat the robbers as themselves. Subsequently, his attendants, on being questioned by others, recollected the very words uttered by Sri Ramana and thus helped future biographers of the sage to record them in their books. On that night, when his attendants were about the punish the robbers, he checked them by saying, “Look here, we are sadhus. We should not abandon our dharma. These robbers are also human beings like ourselves. But, they are under the sway of ignorance. Our own teeth sometimes bite our tongue. Do we therefore break our teeth? Do not attack the robbers.” This incident shows Sri Ramana’s imperturbable calmness. It also shows that he treated the robbers as his own self.

Life and Teachings of Sree Ramana Maharshi
T. S. Anantha Murthy
Electron Printers, Bangalore, 1972

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Ramana’s Mother

Alagammal, Ramana’s mother, moved to Tiruvannamalai in 1916 to be near her son. Like all devout persons she wanted to end the repeating cycle of birth and death. Who could be a better guide than her own son to whom the world was turning for an inward way of life? In the beginning she stayed with Echamma who would daily prepare food for Ramana and the inmates of Virupaksha Cave and take it to them. Mother would accompany her. Notwithstanding her resolve it was increasingly evident that the fatigue of climbing up to the cave was beyond her physical strength at her age. The lady devotees intervened on her behalf and pleaded that she should be permitted to stay with Ramana in the Virupaksha Cave itself. Not knowing Ramana’s views and apprehensive that other lady devotees too would follow suit, the inmates flatly refused to hear their pleadings. The lady devotees persisted saying that mother was mother, and therefore special. Yet the inmates remained stubborn. The mother was about to return in deep sorrow.

Ramana, who was silent until then, was moved. He got up, held her hand and said, “Come let us go, if not here we can stay somewhere else. Come.” Alarmed, everyone regretted their negative stand and begged him in one voice, “Please stay with us. Mother too is welcome.”

Ramana now had the opportunity to give the necessary guidance to his mother. Firstly, he had to wean her out of the kitchen-religion, out of her orthodoxy. He would make fun of it. For instance he would say, “Amma, what are you going to eat? Today they have brought drumsticks and onions. If you eat them, will you not encounter a forest of drumsticks and onions on the way to moksha?” Gradually she came to see that moderation in food was all that was required for sadhana.

Besides her ingrained orthodox habits there was an even more important hurdle. It was the understandable feeling of being special as Ramana’s mother. Ramana would frequently tell her that all women were his mothers. There was undoubtedly a corrosion of her background because of these lessons from Ramana. Yet the real reason for her transformation was the way Ramana lived before her day in and day out. How could mother’s mental notions remain unchanged? She too felt like a mother to all those who had entrusted their lives to Ramana. Her heart began to blossom. This change should be seen in an illustration. Once a man carrying firewood fell down in front of the asram exhausted with fatigue and hunger. She fed him unhesitatingly ignoring caste restrictions. She would also refer to the many inmates of the asram as her sons.

However, her love for Ramana would not be defeated. Slowly, at Skandasramam she started cooking, “First a vegetable, then a soup and so on. She used to wander all over the hill, gather something or the other and say that he likes this vegetable, that fruit.” She took no notice of Ramana’s remonstration. In fact this was the beginning of the asram kitchen and the Ramana family of an ever widening circle of disciples and devotees.

In the last years of her life, mother completely surrendered herself to Ramana who had become her Sadguru. Above all it was life in Ramana’s sanctifying presence, listening to his teachings and observing his daily life, which transformed her. Such was her faith in Ramana that she used to tell him, “Even if you throw away my dead body in these thorny bushes, I do not mind. I must die in your arms.”

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Mother’s Liberation

Mother’s health started deteriorating from 1920. On the 19^th of May 1922, her condition became critical. After his morning walk Ramana want to her room at about 8 a.m., and sat beside her. Throughout the day, he had his right hand on her spiritual heart, on the right side of the chest and his left hand on her head. Ramana took on the sacred assignment of liberating his mother from the travails of births. He had the power to bestow liberation. But he let her battle for it while at the same time he extended his gracious and invaluable support for it to fructify. What happened has been described by Ramana himself. “The vasanas of the previous births and latent tendencies which are seeds of future births came out. She was observing one after another the scenes of experiences arising from remaining vasanas. As a result of a series of such experiences she was working them out.” Later someone asked Ramana to explain the process to which he replied, “You see, birth experiences are mental. Thinking is also like that, depending on samskaras (tendencies). Mother was made to undergo all her future births in the comparatively short time.” At 8 p.m., her mind was absorbed in the heart and she was liberated from all tendencies which give rise to future births. Even so Bhagavan waited for some time. For in the case of his faithful attendant of many years Palaniswami, he had done the same thing. But after the subsidence of the mind in the heart, Palaniswami had opened his eyes momentarily and the life force left the body though them. After a few minutes Ramana got up. When someone said that mother has passed away, Ramana immediately corrected and affirmed, “She did not pass away. ‘Adangi Vittadu, Addakam’ (‘absorbed’).” He added, “There is no pollution. Let us eat.”

Excerpted From Timeless in Time

source:http://www.satramana.org/html/maharshi_stories.htm

Ramana Maharshi - Stories of Absolute Being

Teaching in Words and Silence

On a Shivaratri day, after dinner, Bhagavan was reclining on the sofa surrounded by many devotees. A Sadhu suggested that, since this was a most auspicious night, the meaning of the verse in praise of Dakshinamurti should be made clear. Bhagavan gave his approval and all were eagerly waiting for him to say something. He simply sat, gazing at us. We were gradually absorbed in ever deepening silence, which was not disturbed by the clock striking the hour, every hour, until 4 a.m. None moved or talked. Time and space ceased to exist. Bhagavan’s grace kept us at peace and silence for seven hours. In this silence, Bhagavan taught us the Ultimate, like Dakshinamurti. At the stroke of four Bhagavan asked us whether we had understood the meaning of the silent teaching. Like waves on the infinite ocean of bliss, we fell at Bhagavan’s feet.

T. K. Sundaresa Iyer
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

“What will it be like when one achieves Self-realization?” somebody asked. “The question is all wrong, one does not realize anything new,” said Bhagavan. “I do not get you, Swami.” “It is very simple. Now you feel like you are in the world. There you feel like the world is in you,” explained Bhagavan.

Tales of Bhagavan
Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad

It was ever like this with him. Whoever went to him, he would go down to his level; his words and gestures, even his intonation of his voice, would adapt themselves to the make-up of the people around him. With children he was their playmate, to family people—a wise councilor, to pandits—a well of knowledge, to yogis—the God of will, the God of victory. He saw himself in them and their hearts would be bound to his feet in everlasting love. All who would come to see him would be charmed by his love and kindness, beauty and wisdom, and the overwhelming sense of unity he radiated like fire radiating heat. To some he would grant special vision, invisible to others; with some he would openly discourse. Crowds would gather round him and each one would see him differently. Even his pictures differ. A stranger would not guess that they are all of the same person.

My Life, My Light by Varanasi Subbalakshmiamma
Narrated to B. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by C. Pat
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

At some other time another visitor started wailing before Bhagavan that he was being quite crushed under the enormity of his sins. Bhagavan asked: “When you sleep, are you a sinner?” “No, I am just asleep.” “If you are not a sinner, then you must be good.” “No, I am neither good nor bad when I am asleep. I know nothing about myself.” “And what do you know about yourself now? You say you are a sinner. You say so because you think you are. Were you pleased with yourself, you would call yourself a good man and stop telling me about your being a sinner. What do you know about good and evil except what is in your mind? When you see that the mind invents everything, all will vanish, and you will remain as you are.”

The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

Cooking and The Dining Hall
return to top

One day when I was still new in the kitchen, I served Bhagavan with a few more pieces of potato than the rest. Bhagavan noticed it and got very angry with me. He turned his face away and would not look at those who were serving food. I could not make out the cause of his anger and wondered who it was who had offended him. The women who worked in the kitchen would collect around him to take leave of him in the evening, after the work was over. Usually he would exchange a few words with us, enquire who was accompanying us, whether we had a lantern, and so on. That evening he gave me a sign to come near.

“What did you do tonight?”

“I don’t know Swami, have I done something wrong?”

“You served me more curry than others?”

“What does it matter” I did it with love and devotion.”

“I felt ashamed to eat more than others. Have you come all this way to stuff me with food? You should always serve me less than others.”

“But Bhagavan, how can I treat you worse than others?”

“Is this the way you hope to please me? Do you hope to earn grace through a potato curry?”

“Out of my love for you I committed a blunder. Forgive me, Bhagavan, I shall respect your wishes.”

“The more you love my people, the more you love me,” said Bhagavan and the matter was closed.

Eternal Bhagavan by Shantamma
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

He was very strict with us in the kitchen. His orders were to be obeyed to the last detail. No choice was left to us to guess or try on our own. We had to do so blindly as he taught us and, by doing so, be convinced that he was always right and that we would never fail if we put our trust in him. When I think of it now, I can clearly see that he used his work in the kitchen as a background for spiritual training. He taught us to listen to every word of his and to carry it out faithfully. He taught us that work is love for others, that we never can work for ourselves. By his very presence he taught us of God and that all work is His. He used cooking to teach us religion and philosophy.

Bhagavan in the Kitchen by Sampurnamma
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

He would allow nothing to go to waste. Even a grain of rice or a mustard seed lying on the ground would be picked up, dusted carefully, taken to the kitchen and put in its proper tin. I asked him why he gave himself so much trouble for a grain of rice. He said: “Yes, this is my way. Everything is in my care and I let nothing go to waste. In these matters I am quite strict. Were I married, no woman could get on with me. She would run away.” On some other day he said: “This is the property of my Father Arunachala. I have to preserve it and pass it on to His children. He would use for food things we would not even dream of as edible; wild plants, bitter roots and pungent leaves were turned into delicious dishes.

Bhagavan in the Kitchen by Sampurnamma
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

Yogis control themselves severely for long periods to reach the state to which Bhagavan would take us by making us work near him in the kitchen. The small tasks of daily life he would make into avenues to light and bliss. Whoever has not experienced the ecstasy of grinding, the rapture of cooking, the joy of serving iddlies to devotees, his devotees, the state when the mind is in the heart and the heart is in him and he is in the work, does not know how much bliss a human heart contains.

My Life, My Light by Varanasi Subbalakshmiamma
Narrated to B. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by C. Pat
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

1

Ramana Maharshi and Animals
return to top

When Bhagavan was living on the hill, a big monkey came one day when he was having his food, and sat near him. Bhagavan was about to put a morsel of food into his mouth, but when he saw the monkey he gave it the morsel. The monkey took it, put it on the plate and gave Bhagavan a square slap on the cheek. “What do you mean, you fellow? Why are you angry? I gave you the first morsel!” exclaimed Bhagavan. Then he understood his mistake. It was a king monkey and he had to be treated in the right royal manner. Bhagavan called for a separate leaf plate and a full meal was served to the king, who ate it all with dignity and proudly went away.

Tales of Bhagavan
Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad

One day the cow Lakshmi came to the Hall. She went straight to Bhagavan, put her head on Bhagavan’s shoulder and wept. Bhagavan sat very quietly and gently stroked her head. “Why are you so sad?” he would whisper in her ears. “Who has hurt you? Cheer up, my dear, stop crying. I am here to befriend you.” Lakshmi stopped crying, gave Bhagavan a few licks and went away, comforted.

The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

Once a monkey tried to bring her new born baby through a window near Ramana’s couch. The attendants were preventing her. Ramana chided them as follows, “Don’t all of you bring your newborn babies to me? She also wants to do so. Why should you prevent her?”

Timeless in Time

When Bhagavan was staying in the Old Hall, he was literally surrounded by squirrels. They would run all over his couch, on his body, and even under his pillows. Ramana had to be extremely careful before he sat or leaned lest some squirrels be crushed by the weight of his body.

Timeless in Time

On June 17, 1948, Lakshmi fell ill. The following morning June 18 it looked as if her end was near. At about 10 o’clock in the morning Ramana went to her. He found her breathing hard and she was lying prostrate. Taking her head into his arms, stroking her neck, Ramana fixed his gaze in her eyes. Her breathing became steady immediately. Tears began to trickle from her eyes. Ramana’s eyes too overflowed as he looked at her with great love. How could those nearby hold by their emotions? He asked tenderly, “Amma (mother), do you want me to be near you? I must go now as people are waiting for me in the hall. But wherever I may be, I am always with you.” Then he placed his hand on her head as though giving diksha. He put his hand over her heart also and then caressed her, placing his cheek against her face. When he convinced himself that her heart was pure, free from all vasanas entailing rebirth and centred solely on him, he took leave of her and returned to the hall. Her eyes were calm and peaceful. She was conscious up to the end and left the body at 11:30 a.m. quite peacefully.

On her tomb was engraved an epitaph by Ramana which makes it quite clear that she attained liberation.

Timeless in Time

No Sense of Difference
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D.: Does one who has realized the Self lose the sense of ‘I’?

R.: Absolutely.

D.: Then there is not difference between yourself and myself, that man over there, my servant. Are all the same?

R.: All are the same, including those monkeys.

D.: But the monkeys are not people. Are they not different?

R.: They are exactly the same as people. All are the same in One Consciousness.

Timeless in Time

Once he saw somebody cutting a twig in the night for use the next morning as a toothbrush. “Can’t you let the tree sleep in peace?” he asked. “Surely you can have your twig in the daytime. Why not have a little sense and compassion? A tree does not howl nor can it bite or run away: it does not mean you can do anything to it?”

The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir

On special occasions like Jayanti and Mahapuja originally after the poor people were fed, eating in the dining hall would commence. Later it was changed such that when the poor started to eat their food it could be served in the main hall also. One day Bhagavan 1 that a poor man had not any share of food. Next day when the gong was struck, Bhagavan got up and want to the tree where the poor people were gathered and said, “If you will not give them food first, I will not come to the dining hall at all. I will stand under the tree and stretch out my hands for food like them and when I am given food I will eat it, go straight to the hall and sit.” Then the old practice was revived.

Timeless in Time

There was a large stone slab at Skandashrmam. Everyday tooth power and water would be kept there for use by Bhagavan. However cold it was, Bhagavan would come and sit on the slab and clean his teeth. In the rays of the early morning sun, Bhagavan’s body would shine beautifully. When it was very cold, devotees used to request him not to sit there, but Bhagavan would not listen to them. The reason for this was known only later. It was compassion for an elderly devotee Sowbagyathammal. She and a few others had taken a vow that daily they would eat only after they had seen Bhagavan and Seshadri Swami. They used to climb the hill to have the darshan of Bhagavan. One day she did not come. When she came the next day he asked her why she had not come the previous day. She replied, “I could not climb the hill because of my weakness. But I was fortunate enough to have you darshan from my house.” She explained how she saw Bhagavan when he was brushing his teeth sitting on the stone slab. She said that if he brushed his teeth in the same place everyday, she would be able to see him every day from her house itself as she found it difficult to climb the hill. From then on, Bhagavan brushed his teeth sitting on the stone, irrespective of weather conditions. It was a boon for other elderly people also.

Timeless in Time

At the time when the asram hall was being constructed, the attendants also used to carry stones to the site. One day an attendant Rangaswami’s finger was crushed when a stone fell on it. Till the finger was fully healed, Ramana himself took over the work of carrying stones.

Timeless in Time

In 1943, the Old Hall used to be overcrowded with visitors and devotees. The children who came with the women dirtied the place and there were no proper arrangements for cleaning. The attendants in a mood of disgust suggested that the women could sit outside the hall. Bhagavan queried, “If ladies are to sit outside, why not the men too? When there is no work in the hall even for Bhagavan, it will be alright if I sit under the tree which is opposite the hall. Then there will be no trouble or worry for anybody for whatever the children may do.” Consequently the attempt to separate the women was given up.

Timeless in Time

Sri N. Ramachandra Rao of Bangalore, who visited Sri Ramana in 1923, says in his Kannada book that he saw Sri Ramana living in a shed and that he garlanded the sage’s photo hung in the shed and that many devotees were living in the premises and getting up at 4:00 a.m. to attend the various items of work in the kitchen. It was in that shed that Sri Ramana was sleeping on 26-6-1924. Personal attendants were resting in adjacent sheds. During the night, six robbers easily broke open the bamboo door and entered the hut and attacked him without any difference and commanded his to deliver the keys to them. They slapped him on cheeks and said, “Give us your keys. Where have you kept money? If you do not give keys, we will break your legs.” Sri Ramana continued to be as serene as before. In his soft voice, he replied, “We are poor sadhus. We have no money. You can take away anything you want.” By then the attendants ran out from their sheds and entered his shed. They were also attacked by the robbers. Some asram dogs barked at the robbers, who punished the dogs too. His attendants wanted to teach a lesson to the robbers by counter-attack. Sri Ramana gave them a counsel of perfection. He persuaded them to be non-violent. He told them to treat the robbers as themselves. Subsequently, his attendants, on being questioned by others, recollected the very words uttered by Sri Ramana and thus helped future biographers of the sage to record them in their books. On that night, when his attendants were about the punish the robbers, he checked them by saying, “Look here, we are sadhus. We should not abandon our dharma. These robbers are also human beings like ourselves. But, they are under the sway of ignorance. Our own teeth sometimes bite our tongue. Do we therefore break our teeth? Do not attack the robbers.” This incident shows Sri Ramana’s imperturbable calmness. It also shows that he treated the robbers as his own self.

Life and Teachings of Sree Ramana Maharshi
T. S. Anantha Murthy
Electron Printers, Bangalore, 1972

Ramana’s Mother
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Alagammal, Ramana’s mother, moved to Tiruvannamalai in 1916 to be near her son. Like all devout persons she wanted to end the repeating cycle of birth and death. Who could be a better guide than her own son to whom the world was turning for an inward way of life? In the beginning she stayed with Echamma who would daily prepare food for Ramana and the inmates of Virupaksha Cave and take it to them. Mother would accompany her. Notwithstanding her resolve it was increasingly evident that the fatigue of climbing up to the cave was beyond her physical strength at her age. The lady devotees intervened on her behalf and pleaded that she should be permitted to stay with Ramana in the Virupaksha Cave itself. Not knowing Ramana’s views and apprehensive that other lady devotees too would follow suit, the inmates flatly refused to hear their pleadings. The lady devotees persisted saying that mother was mother, and therefore special. Yet the inmates remained stubborn. The mother was about to return in deep sorrow.

Ramana, who was silent until then, was moved. He got up, held her hand and said, “Come let us go, if not here we can stay somewhere else. Come.” Alarmed, everyone regretted their negative stand and begged him in one voice, “Please stay with us. Mother too is welcome.”

Ramana now had the opportunity to give the necessary guidance to his mother. Firstly, he had to wean her out of the kitchen-religion, out of her orthodoxy. He would make fun of it. For instance he would say, “Amma, what are you going to eat? Today they have brought drumsticks and onions. If you eat them, will you not encounter a forest of drumsticks and onions on the way to moksha?” Gradually she came to see that moderation in food was all that was required for sadhana.

Besides her ingrained orthodox habits there was an even more important hurdle. It was the understandable feeling of being special as Ramana’s mother. Ramana would frequently tell her that all women were his mothers. There was undoubtedly a corrosion of her background because of these lessons from Ramana. Yet the real reason for her transformation was the way Ramana lived before her day in and day out. How could mother’s mental notions remain unchanged? She too felt like a mother to all those who had entrusted their lives to Ramana. Her heart began to blossom. This change should be seen in an illustration. Once a man carrying firewood fell down in front of the asram exhausted with fatigue and hunger. She fed him unhesitatingly ignoring caste restrictions. She would also refer to the many inmates of the asram as her sons.

However, her love for Ramana would not be defeated. Slowly, at Skandasramam she started cooking, “First a vegetable, then a soup and so on. She used to wander all over the hill, gather something or the other and say that he likes this vegetable, that fruit.” She took no notice of Ramana’s remonstration. In fact this was the beginning of the asram kitchen and the Ramana family of an ever widening circle of disciples and devotees.

In the last years of her life, mother completely surrendered herself to Ramana who had become her Sadguru. Above all it was life in Ramana’s sanctifying presence, listening to his teachings and observing his daily life, which transformed her. Such was her faith in Ramana that she used to tell him, “Even if you throw away my dead body in these thorny bushes, I do not mind. I must die in your arms.”

Mother’s Liberation
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Mother’s health started deteriorating from 1920. On the 19th of May 1922, her condition became critical. After his morning walk Ramana want to her room at about 8 a.m., and sat beside her. Throughout the day, he had his right hand on her spiritual heart, on the right side of the chest and his left hand on her head. Ramana took on the sacred assignment of liberating his mother from the travails of births. He had the power to bestow liberation. But he let her battle for it while at the same time he extended his gracious and invaluable support for it to fructify. What happened has been described by Ramana himself. “The vasanas of the previous births and latent tendencies which are seeds of future births came out. She was observing one after another the scenes of experiences arising from remaining vasanas. As a result of a series of such experiences she was working them out.” Later someone asked Ramana to explain the process to which he replied, “You see, birth experiences are mental. Thinking is also like that, depending on samskaras (tendencies). Mother was made to undergo all her future births in the comparatively short time.” At 8 p.m., her mind was absorbed in the heart and she was liberated from all tendencies which give rise to future births. Even so Bhagavan waited for some time. For in the case of his faithful attendant of many years Palaniswami, he had done the same thing. But after the subsidence of the mind in the heart, Palaniswami had opened his eyes momentarily and the life force left the body though them. After a few minutes Ramana got up. When someone said that mother has passed away, Ramana immediately corrected and affirmed, “She did not pass away. ‘Adangi Vittadu, Addakam’ (‘absorbed’).” He added, “There is no pollution. Let us eat.”

Excerpted From Timeless in Time