CONTENTS

Preface v Foreword viii Contents x List of Poems in Praise of Sri Ramana xvm Sri - A Life Sketch 1-12

REMINISCENCES

1. Dr.Paul Bmnton was a British journalist whose writings made Sri Ramana known the world over...... 13 2. Ekarasa (Dr.GH.Mees, M.A., LL.D.) was aDutch scholar. 24 3. Prof. Banning Richardson, M.A. (Hons.) (Cantab.), A.B. (Princeton) was Professor of English Literature...... 27 4. Justice K.Sundaram Chettiar, B.A., B.L., was High Court Judge, Madras...... 27 5. Manu Subedar was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly. 28 6. WilliamS.Spaulding (Jr.) was from New York City. ... 29 7. Grant Duff (Douglas Ainslie) was a scholar and a senior government official at Madras...... 29 8. Dilip Kumar Roy belonged to , Pondicherry. He authored many books and was also a musician...... 31 9. B.Sanjiva RaO, B.A. (Cantab.) belonged to the pre-Independence Indian Educational Service...... 33 10. Justice N.ChandrasekharaAiyar was High Court Judge, Madras. 34 11. Eleanor Pauline Noye was from California...... 35 12. K.S. Venkataramani, M.A., B.L., was Adviser to the former Alwar State (Rajasthan)...... 37 13. Dr. C. Kunhan Raja was Director of the Adyar Library, , Madras...... 37 14. Madan Mohan Varma was Chairman, Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Jaipur...... 39 15. Ella Maillart was a Swiss travel writer and photographer. ... 40 16. Siddheswarananda was Head, Mission, Paris. 41 Contents xi

17. T.M.Krishnaswami Aiyar, B.A., B.L., was Chief Justice of the former Travancore State (Kerala)...... 43 18. K.S.RamaSWami Sastri, B.A., B.L., was Chief Justice of the former Pudukottah State ()...... 43 19. Dr. K.C. Varadachari, M.A., Ph.D., was a scholar based in . 44 20. Giridhan Lai belonged to , Pondicherry. 45 21. Prof. B.L.Atreya, M.A., D.Litt., was Head, Dept. of Philosophy and Psychology, Benaras Hindu University...... 46 22. Oliver LaCOmbe was L'Attache Culturel, Consulat General de France, Calcutta...... 47 23. Prof. Syed M.HaflZ, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt., was Head, Dept. of Philosophy, Allahabad University...... 47 24. A.S.Panchapagesa Ayyar belonged to the former Indian Civil Service...... 49 25. Prof. T.M.P Mahadevan, M.A.,Ph.D., was Head, Dept. of Philosophy, Madras University...... 51 26. , M.A. (Oxen.), was a British scholar and a Theosophist...... 52 27. H.Ghosh, M.A., was Principal, Holkar College, Indore (Madhya Pradesh)...... 57 28. C.S.Bagi, M.A., was Principal, Lingaraj College, Belgaum (Karnataka). 57 29. Rudra Raj Pande, M.A., was Principal, Tri-ChandraCollege, Nepal. 59 30. Prof. S.V.Ram, M.A., Ph.D., was Head, Dept. of Political Science, Lucknow University...... 61 31. Dikshitulu, B.A., L.T., was a distinguished Telugu author. 62 32. Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, a poet and artiste, was younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of . ... 63 33. Dr. K. Subrahmanian was Professor of English, Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad. He was the Founder President of Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad...... 65 34. N.Balarama Reddy, M.A., who authored My Reminiscences, lived closely with Sri Ramana for over a decade...... 69 35. A.Devaraj a Mudaliar, who authored the well-known Day by Day with and My Recollections ofBhagavan Sri Ramana, moved closely with Sri Ramana for over a decade. 36. , a Polish Jew, was a research engineer who worked in Karnataka...... 75 37. S.S.Cohen, an Iraqi Jew, was a qualified accountant who adopted Sri Ramanasramam as his home in 1936. He authored Ramana and Residual Reminiscences of Ramana, ...... 78 xii Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

38. K.K.Nambiar was Chief Engineer, Highways, . He authored The Guiding Presence of Sri Ramana...... 84 39. Suri Nagamma authored the famous Letters from Sri Raman- asramam...... 88 40. Arthur Osbome was an Oxford-educated Britisher. He was the Founder-editor of The Mountain Path and authored five books on Sri Ramana...... 94 41. Prof.G V.Subbaramayya taught English at a college in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. He was also a Telugu scholar. He authored Sri Ramana Reminiscences...... 102 42. Major A. W.Chad Wick O.B.E., who became Sadhu Arunachala, lived in the Ashram from 1935 to 1962. He authored A Sadhu's Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi...... 110 43. Prof. K.S waminathan taught English at Presidency College, Madras. He authored Sri Ramana - The Self Supreme and Ramana Maharshi. 117 44. Rangan (Velacheri Ranga ) was a classmate of Sri Ramana. 122 45. M.Sivaprakasam Pillai, a Government employee, was the first person to collect (in 1902) Sri Ramana's teachings, later published as the famous booklet Who am I? ...... 125 46. Akhilandamma served food to Sri Ramana for forty years. 127 47. Sadhu Natanananda (Natesa Mudaliar) was a scholar who authored many books on Sri Ramana...... 129 48. Prof. N.R.Krishnamuiti Aiyer taught physics for decades at the American College, (Tamil Nadu)...... 134 49. Chalam (Gudipati Venkatachalam) was a famous Telugu writer who authored Bhagavan Smritulu (Telugu)...... 138 50. Souris was daughter of Chalam (no.49)...... 143 51. Swami Madhavatiltha was a prolific Gujarati author. ... 146 52. Kunju Swami was Sri Ramana's attendant from 1920 to 1932. 150 53. Muruganar (C.K.Subramania Iyer) was an outstanding Tamil poet who sang nothing but glory of Sri Ramana in thousands of poems. 154 54. T.P.Ramachandra Iyer was a laywer who acted as an interpreter and also attended on Sri Ramana...... 159 5 5. Chhaganlal V. , a Gujarati devotee, authored Sri Ramana Mahima (Gujarati)...... 161 56. Lakshmana Swami of Gudur (Andhra Pradesh) was a sadhaka of great merit...... 167 57. VlSWanatha Swami, a Tamil and scholar, translated many Ashram publications into Tamil...... 171 58. RamanathaBrahmachari authored Ramana Strotra Anubhuti (Tamil)...... 174 Contents xiii

59. Mastan, a Muslim weaver, got drawn to Sri Ramana in 1914. 175 60. Echammal served food to Sri Ramana for decades. ... 176 61. Mudaliar Patti brought or sent food to Sri Ramana for 40 years, without missing a day...... 176 62. Bhikshu (Voruganti Krishnayya), a lawyer, authored Ramana Leela (Telugu)...... 178 63. Lakshman Sarma authored Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad (Sanskrit)...... 183 64. Natesa Iyer served for long as a cook at the Ashram. ... 184 65. Sampurnamma served as a cook at the Ashram for decades. 1 86 66. Shantammal served as a cook at the Ashram for decades. ... 189 67. Suildaram (Sadhu Trivenigiri) was a spiritually-minded person on the staff of the Ashram...... 191 68. SubbalakshmiAmmal served for long as a cook at the Ashram. 193 69. Wolter A. Keers was a Dutch teacher and writer who lectured on and Advaita in Europe...... 196 70. S wami looked after construction projects at the Ashram under direct supervision of Sri Ramana...... 201 71. (M. Sudouski), an Australian, authored the classic In Days of Great Peace...... 205 72. Kumar was a Bangalore-based journalist...... 209 73. Swami Ranganathananda was till recently President of Sri , , Howrah (West Bengal). ... 209 74. Swami Desikananda was a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order. 211 75. Pascaline Mallet, a French writer and seeker, authored Turn Eastwards...... 212 76. GuntlUll Lakshmikantam was biographer of (no.91). 214 77. Ethel Merston, a French devotee, visited Sri Ramana in 1939. 215 78. A European Sadhak, who withheld his name ...... 217 79. M. A. PiggOt was the first English lady to visit Sri Ramana. 218 80. J.P. Vaswani is Head, Mission, . ... 221 81. was the founder of Anandashram, Kanhangad, Kerala. 223 82. Swami TapOVanam was the guru of Swami Chinmayananda. 224 83. Swami Chinmayananda was the founder of famous ...... 225 84. Swami Muktananda was the founder of the well-known ashram at Ganeshpuri near ...... 226 85. Eliot C. Clark was a renowned American painter. ... 228 xiv Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

86. Swami was a Christian monk who lived as a sannyasi...... 229 8 7. Ramanadasa Sadananda (Seshagiri Iyer), a high school teacher, authored Sri Ramana Dasakam (Tamil)...... 230 88. Dr. M. Anantanarayana Rao was a doctor at the Ashram dispensary...... 232 89. N. Ramachandra Rao authored Sri Ramana's first biography in Kannada...... 234 90. Papaji (Hariwansh Lai Poonja) was a great Krishna bhakta who relinquished his commissioned post in the army in favour of spiritual attainments...... 235 91. Ganapati Muni, Kavyakantha was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet...... 243 92. F.H. Humphreys, a police official, was the first European to meet Sri Ramana in 1911...... 245 93. Raghavachariar was Superintendent, Public Works Dept., ...... 247 94. Manavasi V.RamaSwami Iyer was Supervisor, Public Works Dept. Tiruvannamalai...... 248 95. N.N.Rajan (N. Iyer) was station Master, Tiruvannamalai...... 249 96. Varma Appan Tampuran was Maharaja of Cochin (Kerala). 251 97. Swami RajeSWarananda was a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order and a life-long devotee of Sri Ramana...... 252 98. Dr.Lt.Col. P. V. Karamchandani was District Medical Officer of North Arcot district in Tamil Nadu...... 253 99. Dr.T.N.KrishnaSwami was doctor in-charge of the Ashram dispensary...... 256 100. R.Narayana Iyer was Sub-Registrar at Chetput, Tamil Nadu. 258 101. Suddhananda Bharati was a patriot who worked in the field of Tamil literature and social reconstruction. He authored Ramana Vijayam (1931), first biography of Sri Ramana in Tamil...... 262 102. Ramanapadananda (V.S.Kuppuswami Aiyengar) was a businessman...... 264 103. Col.A.N.S.'s mother's hometown was Tiruvannamalai. 265 104. V. Kameswara Rao met Sri Ramana after revelation in a dream. 267 105. Prof. V.B.Athavale of Kirloskarvadi () was a scholar oftheGita...... 269 106. G Lakshmi Narasimham, B.L. has translated two of Sri Ramana's works into Telugu...... 270 Contents xv

107. P. V. Sastli was a lawyer who came to Sri Ramana in the aftermath of his son's death...... 272 108. M.M.Menon was from Palghat (Kerala)...... 274 109. N. V.Gunaji was an advocate from Belgaum (Kamakta). ... 275 110. Sister Lalita belonged to the Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu). ... 276 111. C.V.Subramania Iyer was Assistant Director, Public Health, Madras...... z,/o 112. Jagadeeswara Sastri, a distinguished Sanskrit scholar, was associated with Sri Ramana for four decades...... 278 113. Ramanananda S wamagiri authored Crumbs from His Table. 280 114. Mercedes de AcOSta, a Spanish American, was a Hollywood socialite and a scriptwriter for films...... 282 115. T.K.Sundaresa Iyer was a school teacher at Tiruvannamalai. He served as an interpreter for English-speaking visitors at the Ashram and authored At the Feet ofBhagavan...... 285 116. T.R.Kanakammal authored Cherished Memories (original Tamil). 289 117. Sriklishnaprem was a British professor who became a Vaishnavite sannyasi...... 291 118. Prof. PrynS Hopkins was an American social psychologist. 292 119. Major-General V.N. Parameswaran Pillai was G.O.C. of the former Travancore State (Kerala) Forces...... 293 120. N.O.Mehta was a devotee from Gujarat...... 295 121. MadhaviAmmal was the lady who wrested rfifcs/w from Sri Ramana. 296 122. Dr.Shankar Rao was a medical officer who attended on Sri Ramana. 297 123. Emmanual Sorensen (Sunya Baba) was a Danish devotee. 298 124. Lokamma was a kitchen worker at the Ashram...... 299 125. Raja (V.RajaSubrahmania) Iyer was the first Ashram Postmaster. 300 126. Roda Maclver (nee Kamdin) hailed from a Parsee family of Bombay...... 301 127. Meenakshi was the wife of great poet Muruganar (no.53). 304 128. NagaiahV. ChittOOr was a legendary Telugu actor. ... 305 129. Padma Sitapati was daughter of Sri Ramana's famous devotee Janaki of Tanjore (Tamil Nadu)...... 306 130. Swami Pranavananda (S.Narasimham) was uncle of India's former President S.Radhakrishnan. He authored many books on Sri Ramana in Telugu...... 307 131. T.R.RajagOpal was a devotee from Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh). 308 132. Santanamlyengar was a school Headmaster at Tanjore (Tamil Nadu). 309 xvi Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

133. Prof. Sista Subba Rao taught English at the Hindu College, Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh)...... 309 134. Mahapatra Dave was a teacher at the Gujarati School, Secundrabad (Andhra Pradesh)...... 312 135. SubbalakshmiwasthewifeofDr.M.R.KrishnamurthiIyer(no.l55). 315 136. VajreSWari was the daughter of Ganapati Muni (no.91). ... 316 137. Kundalmal A. Mahatani was a devotee from (now in )...... 316 138. SanthaRangachary was a career journalist...... 317 139. T.R. A.Narayana was manager in a large British firm in Madras. 320 140. K.R.K.Murthi, BE. (Elec.) was Chief Electrical Engineer, Electricity Dept., Government of Andhra Pradesh...... 323 141. Slimat Puragra Parampanthi, a renowned Swami of his time, has authored many books...... 326 142. K.Aninachalam was a Gandhian social worker. ... 327 143. Panthulu Lakshmi Narayana Sastri was a Sanskrit and Teiugu scholar...... 329 144. B.N.Datar was a famous philosopher based in Hubli (Karnataka). 331 145. Y.N. (alias Bhaurao) Athavale was one of the few Maharashtrian devotees of Sri Ramana...... 333 146. Dr. Haiibhai M.Adalja was a disciple of Swami Madhavatirtha (no. 51)...... 334 147. Sadhu Bramanian, earlier Dr. R.Subramanian, was Director of Public Health, Madras...... 335 148. M.V.Knshnan was the son of Munagala S.Venkataramiah who compiled the well-known volume Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi 336 149. N.Ponniah, who lived in Malaysia, visited Sri Ramana in 1948. 337 150. Swami Satyananda was Sri Ramana's attendant. ... 338 151. Henri Hartung was a Swiss devotee...... 339 152. Swami Chidbhavananda was Head, Sri Ramakrishna Ashram, Ootacamund, 1926-40...... 340 153. C.R.Pattabhi Raman was a Central Government minister. 342 154. Maha Krishna Swami established 'Bhagavan Sri Ramana Ashramam' in Brazil...... 343 155. Dr.M.R.Krishnamurthi Iyer was the first doctor at the Ashram dispensary...... 344 156. Prof. Mohan Lai was Head, Dept. of Philosophy, Osmania University, Hyderabad...... 345 Contents xvii

157. Prabhakar was the author of Prapatti Satakam (Sanskrit). 348 158. Lakshmi Ranganadham was referred to as 'Our Lakshmi' by Sri Ramana...... 349 159. Ramaswami Pillai was a long-standing devotee of Sri Ramana. 350 160. Morarji Desai was Prime Minister of India...... 352 Annexures I Mountain Arunachala and Temple of Arunachaleswara in Tiruvannamalai ...... 354 II KarthikaiDeepamor DeepamFestival ...... 355 DI The Periapuranam's Story of Great Siva Bhakta - Kannappan Naayanaar ... 356 IV The Cow Lakshmi 358 V Dakshinamurthi - The Great Silent Guru, an Incarnation of Lord Siva 359

Glossary of Non-English Words and Important Sanskrit and Tamil Books Referred to in the Text 361 References of the Sources of Material Used 371 Highlights of 160 Contributions 376 Alphabetical List of Contributors ... 387 Accolades Showered upon Sri Ramana 390 Index ... 396 PPN: 257940200 Titel: Face to face with Sri Ramana Maharshi : enchanting and uplifting reminiscences of 160 persons / compiled and edited by Laxmi Narain. Foreword by T.N. Chaturvedi. - . - Hyderabad : Sri Ramana Kendram, 2005 ISBN: 81-903538-0-2pbk. Bibliographischer Datensatz im SWB-Verbund