SURPASSING LOVE AND GRACE By His devotees SRI RAMANASRAMAM TIRUVANNAMALAI 2001 © Sri Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai First edition 2001 - 2000 copies CC No: ISBN: 81-88018-60-0 Price: Rs. Published by V. S. RAMANAN President, Board of Trustees SRI RAMANASRAMAM Tiruvannamalai 606 603 S. India Typeset at: Sri Ramanasramam Offset by: Kartik Offset Printers Madras - 600 015 CONTENTS Foreword .. vii 1. Reminiscences-I — Viswanatha Swami —At the Feet of Bhagavan Ramana .. 1 —In the Proximity of Bhagavan .. 5 —With the Two Great Poet-Disciples .. 9 —Two Great Men Meet Bhagavan .. 12 2. From Early Days .. 14 3. Scenes from Ramana’s Life — B.V. Narasimha Swami .. 19 4. How Bhagavan Came to Me —Sadhu Trivenigiri Swami .. 30 —Y.N. Athavale .. 33 —Santhanam Iyengar .. 37 —Santha Rangachary .. 39 —Anonymous .. 45 —T.R.A. Narayana .. 49 5. Incidents Connected with the Life of Sri Bhagavan — M.V. Krishnan .. 55 6. Lessons from Bhagavan’s Life — K.R.K. Murthy .. 60 7. Loving Devotion — T.P.R. .. 62 8. Memorable Days with the Sage of Arunachala —Swami Desikananda .. 65 —Santi .. 68 9. Sri Bhagavan’s Replies to Questions .. 73 10.Remembering Ramana — Chagganlal Yogi —Sri Ramana — The Destroyer of Miseries .. 77 —Sri Ramana The Nameless .. 83 —Sri Ramana’s Sense of Equality .. 84 —Sri Ramana’s Sermon of Love .. 89 —Homage to Sri Ramana .. 93 —Ramana — An Embodiment of Silence .. 96 11.Reminiscences-II —Dr. Haribhai M. Adalja .. 97 —K.R.K. Murthi .. 98 iv —S. Kannikeswarier .. 100 —S. Subramania Iyer .. 101 —R. Narayana Iyer (Sub-Registrar) .. 103 —K. Arunachalam .. 105 —Panthalu Lakshmi Narayana Sastri .. 109 —B.N. Datar .. 114 —Mrs. Merston .. 117 —Sadhu Bramaniam .. 121 —Bharatananda .. 125 —Srimat Puragra Parampanthi .. 128 —Dr. T.N.Krishnaswamy .. 132 —Swami Satyananda .. 133 12.Humour of Sri Bhagavan — Evelyn Kaselow .. 136 13.Conversations with Bhagavan —Swami Madhava Thirtha .. 139 14.Dreams — A.W. Chadwick .. 148 15.Lest We Forget. —Natesan .. 150 —K. Venkataraman .. 153 16.The Turning Point — Natanananda .. 156 17.Beyond Categories — “Sein”..158 18.Arunachala Ashtaka and Siddha Purusha — Dr M. Anantanarayana Rao .. 160 19.In To Bhagavan’s Fold — K. Padmanabhan .. 169 20.More than a Dream? — T.P.R. .. 172 21.Ramana As I Know Him —C. Rajagopalachari .. 176 —P.S. Jivanna Rao .. 176 —N. Ponniah .. 178 —Swami Sivananda, Rishikesh .. 181 —Dr M. Anantanarayana Rao .. 183 —Swami Iswarananda .. 188 —Dr T.M.P. Mahadevan .. 190 —M.S. Madhava Rao .. 193 —Dr S.S. Sastry .. 195 22.Silent and Solid Grace — K.R.K. Murthy .. 197 v 23.SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI —N.N. Rajan .. 202 —Kundalmal A. Mahatani .. 203 —Prof. D. Gurumurti .. 206 24.What is Life? — Dr M. Anantanarayana Rao .. 209 25.With the Sage of the Holy Hill — Dilip Kumar Roy .. 212 26.PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING —Swami Prasannananda Guru .. 223 —K.R.K. Murthy .. 226 27.Grapefruit — S.S. Cohen .. 229 28.Gospel of Sri Ramana — Swami Pragnananda .. 232 29.Liberation During Last Moments — Viswanatha Swami .. 235 30.The Great Event — R. Narayana Iyer .. 241 31.A Dialogue — A.W. Chadwick .. 244 32.Bhagavan Sri Ramana — Mrs. Eleanor P. Noye .. 249 33.I Am! I Am! I Am! — P.S. Jivanna Rao .. 251 34.Means and Ends — A.W. Chadwick .. 254 35.Portrait of the Guru — Atmananda Giri .. 257 36.Ramana Lives — A.W. Chadwick .. 259 37.Ramanashram Today — Arthur Osborne .. 263 38.Seekers and “Seekers” — S.S. Cohen .. 270 39.The Maharshi of Arunachala — Sadhu Ekarasa .. 274 40.The Unfinished Game — Ratanlal Joshi .. 282 41.Bhagavan on Reincarnation .. 285 42.Effect of Maharshi’s Picture — A Polish Devotee .. 290 43.Ever-Present — Duncan Greenless .. 292 FOREWORD We present in this volume the reminiscences and reflections on Ramana’s teaching by his devotees. These articles are taken from The Mountain Path and The Call Divine. In this collection of articles those devotees who were blessed enough to sit at his feet share their experiences with the reader. Here one can find that there is an underlying unity of deep devotion and love for the Master. What was the first impression on seeing him? From the moment Bhagavan’s eyes fell on a devotee, the latter’s heart went out to him in spontaneous love and reverence. The visit to Ramanasramam was a shattering experience for some of them. They literally fell in love with him. This love which had been awakened was the kind which totally transcended the physical and material and created an awareness of a different kind of consciousness which can only be described as a mindless rapture, pure joy. What was their experience while they sat in his proximity? Sitting in his presence one was convinced for the time being that all troubles were ended and one was forced back on oneself in spite of all obstacles. And this was the wonder of his presence. They saw before their eyes the grand manifestation of that majestic light. They saw the grandeur of that spiritual light before them. If one could not see it, it was one’s fault. The most remarkable feature about Bhagavan’s form were his eyes, extremely penetrating and profoundly fascinating. Once you had come within the range of those eyes beaming with love and affection there was no need for any other sadhana. viii Once those eyes had rested upon you there was no more fear or worry for you. In a great many ways did he shower his love and grace on them. It is said that love was the force that created the universe. Perhaps it is. The force of such unselfish love as his, purifies our hearts, when all other methods prove futile. No other discipline can give the disciple the true peace which the Master gives. His affection was always there; and as fire melts ice so his affection made worries melt. Sri Maharshi was a centre of love to his disciples. He left us his love and where else in the world could be found a purifying power such as this to bring peace to our hearts. The devotees’s hearts were kindled to deep affection while he taught them by word and example, while he silently showered the nectar of grace upon them all. What was the change in their life after coming to him? It is an unlocated, pervasive state of being sparked off by some kind of recognition and it stays with you and you are never the same again. We may not claim that the devotees’s life was transformed after seeing him. No. Most of them got married, set up house, had children, started a career of their own. Their grihasthasramam became their main preoccupation. But their visits to Ramanasramam had done something to them. It had left a mark on their minds and hearts. Although some of their material circumstances underwent changes for the worse their inner life was tranquil, always, since the day they had his darshan; for invariably they experienced his grace, particularly when they were most dejected. Whenever they felt that, that they wanted to go away some where, away from home, family, friends, books, mistakes, fears and sorrows, their mind automatically turned to Ramanasramam. And their body follows. They make the ix journey to Tiruvannmalai, walk into the Ashram, enter the Hall, and they are ‘home’ and totally at peace. The picture of the Ashram and of the Maharshi are always in their minds like the background curtain of a stage. Whenever they found that “the world was too much with them” the wish to go to Ramanasramam possesses them like a hunger. Even during their busiest hour a sudden look at a picture of the Maharshi hanging on the wall would momentarily root them to the spot and the mind would suddenly go blank. Such was,such is and such ever will be the Maharshi’s influence upon those who approach with piety and devotion. In the following pages they speak of him in awed tones and with overwhelming sensitivity and love. The reader is invited to participate in this spiritual feast. Sri Ramanasramam V.S. Ramanan Tiruvannamalai 606 603 PRESIDENT 16th May 2001 That light whose smile kindles the Universe, That Beauty in which all things work and move, That Benediction which the eclipsing curse Of birth can quench not, that sustaining Love Which through the web of being blindly wove By man and beast and earth and air and sea, Burns bright or dim, as each are mirrors of The fire for which all thirst; now beams on me Consuming the last clouds of cold mortality. – P. B. Shelly REMINISCENCES-I Viswanatha Swami I AT THE FEET OF BHAGAVAN RAMANA Y first darshan of Bhagavan Sri Ramana was in January, M1921 at Skandashram, which is on the eastern slope of Arunachala and looks like the very heart of the majestic Hill. It is a beautiful quiet spot with a few coconut and other trees and a perennial crystal-clear spring. Bhagavan was there as the very core of such natural beauty. I saw in him something quite arresting which clearly distinguished him from all others I had seen. He seemed to live apart from the physical frame, quite detached from it. His look and smile had remarkable spiritual charm. When he spoke, the words seemed to come out of an abyss. One could see immaculate purity and non-attachment in him and his movements. I sensed something very refined, lofty and sacred about him. In his vicinity the mind’s distractions were overpowered by an austere and potent calmness and the unique bliss of peace was directly experienced. This I would call Ramana Lahari, ‘the blissful atmosphere of Ramana’.