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12466

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:19:18 AM »

Verse 47:


சிலைமறவ ருரைசெய்ய நாகன் தானும்
   திண்ணனைமுன் கொண்டுவரச் செப்பி விட்டு
மலைமருவு நெடுங்கானிற் கன்னி வேட்டை
   மகன்போகக் காடுபலி மகிழ வூட்டத்
தலைமரபின் வழிவந்த தேவ ராட்டி
   தனையழைமின் என அங்குச் சார்ந்தோர் சென்று
நிலைமையவள் தனக்குரைப்ப நரைமூ தாட்டி
   நெடிதுவந்து விருப்பினொடுங் கடிது வந்தாள்.


When they spake thus, Nakan sent for his son
And uttered these words: 'My son is to pursue
His maiden-hunting in the hilly forests;
Call the chief priestess of my clan to offer
Sacrifices pleasing to the sylvan deities.'
When hunters apprised her of his words
The old matron hastened in joy to Nakan.

Arunachala Siva.

12467

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:16:52 AM »

Verse  46:


இத்தனைகா லமும்நினது சிலைக்கீழ்த் தங்கி
   இனிதுண்டு தீங்கின்றி இருந்தோம் இன்னும்
அத்தநின தருள்வழியே நிற்ப தல்லால்
   அடுத்தநெறி வேறுளதோ அதுவே யன்றி
மெய்த்தவிறல் திண்ணனைஉன் மரபில் சால
   மேம்படவே பெற்றளித்தாய் விளங்கு மேன்மை
வைத்தசிலை மைந்தனைஈண் டழைத்து நுங்கள்
     வரையாட்சி யருளென்றார் மகிழ்ந்து வேடர்.


"All these years we abode under your bow;
We ate and flourished trouble-free;
Father, we?ll follow the way indicated by
Your mandate; no other path will we pursue;
Moreover you have blessed us with your son,
Thinnan who is the great scion of your line;
Call your son who is an expert archer and invest
Him with the right to rule the hills."
Thus they spake in delight great.   

Arunachala Siva.

12468

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:14:37 AM »

Verse  45:


சொன்னவுரை கேட்டலுமே நாகன் தானும்
   சூழ்ந்துவருந் தன்மூப்பின் தொடர்வு நோக்கி
முன்னவர்கட் குரைசெய்வான் மூப்பி னாலே
   முன்புபோல் வேட்டையினின் முயல கில்லேன்
என்மகனை உங்களுக்கு நாத னாக
   எல்லீருங் கைக்கொண்மி னென்ற போதில்
அன்னவரு மிரங்கிப்பின் மகிழ்ந்து தங்கோன்
    அடிவணங்கி இம்மாற்றம் அறைகின் றார்கள்.


When Nakan heard them, he considered
His ageing plight and addressed them thus:
'On account of my old age I am unable
To indulge in hunting as before; may you all
Accept the leadership of my son.'
When he spake thus, they felt sad
And eventually grew glad; they hailed
His feet and addressed him thus:

Arunachala Siva.

12469

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:11:51 AM »

Verse 44:


அங்கண்மலைத் தடஞ்சாரற் புனங்க ளெங்கும்
   அடலேனம் புலிகரடி கடமை ஆமா
வெங்கண்மரை கலையொடுமான் முதலா யுள்ள
   மிருகங்கள் மிகநெருங்கி மீதூர் காலைத்
திங்கள்முறை வேட்டைவினை தாழ்த்ததென்று
   சிலைவேடர் தாமெல்லாம திரண்டு சென்று
தங்கள்குல முதற்றலைவ னாகி யுள்ள
   தண்தெரியல் நாகன்பால் சார்ந்து சொன்னார்.


When fierce forest boars, tigers, bears, kadamai,
Jungle-cows, angry-eyed marai and other wild animals
Thronged thick and laid waste the fields and gardens
In the great slopes of the beauteous hills
The hunters assembled, and as a body
Called on Nakan, the chief of their clan,
-- The wearer of cool wreath of flowers --,
And said: 'Lack of periodical hunting
Has caused havoc.'

Arunachala Siva.

12470

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:10:08 AM »

Verse  43:


இவ்வண்ணந் திண்ணனார் நிரம்பு நாளில்
   இருங்குறவர் பெருங்குறிச்சிக் கிறைவ னாய
மைவண்ண வரைநெடுந்தோள் நாகன் தானும்
   மலையெங்கும் வனமெங்கும் வரம்பில் காலம்
கைவண்ணச் சிலைவேட்டை யாடித் தெவ்வர்
   கணநிரைகள் பலகவர்ந்து கானங் காத்து
மெய்வண்ணந் தளர்மூப்பின் பருவ மெய்தி
   வில்லுழவின் பெருமுயற்சி மெலிவா னானான்.

As Thinnan throve thus, the chief
Of the sylvan town where dwelt fierce hill-men
-- The dark strong-shouldered Nakan --,
For countless days through hills and forests
Hunted with his beauteous bow, quelled foes,
Lifted cattle and kept watch over his hill ranges.
He grew old and was enfeebled;
He was no longer the master of his bow.

Arunachala Siva.

12471

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:08:10 AM »

Verse  42:


வண்ணவெம் சிலையு மற்றப்
   படைகளும் மலரக் கற்றுக்
கண்ணகன் சாயல் பொங்கக்
   கலைவளர் திங்க ளேபோல்
எண்ணிரண் டாண்டின் செவ்வி
   எய்தினார் எல்லை யில்லாப்
புண்ணியந் தோன்றி மேன்மேல்
   வளர்வதன் பொலிவு போல்வார்.


He who was like 'the congregation of splendorous piety ever-growing'
Became a great master of the bow and other weapons;
With ever-crescent beauty he shone a full moon;
He was now sixteen years old.   

Arunachala Siva.

12472

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: February 22, 2016, 08:05:39 AM »

Verse 41:


பொற்றட வரையின் பாங்கர்ப்
   புரிவுறு கடன்முன் செய்த
விற்றொழிற் களத்தில் நண்ணி
   விதிமுறை வணங்கி மேவும்
அற்றைநாள் தொடங்கி நாளும்
   அடற்சிலை யாண்மை முற்றக்
கற்றன ரென்னை யாளும்
   கானவர்க் கரிய சிங்கம்.



In the slope of the beauteous mountain;
From the day when he first held the bow
Each day he practiced the art of archery;
The skill of him -- the lion of foresters,
And my own deity --, was crowned with consummation.   

Arunachala Siva.

12473

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Re: Our Bhagavan-Stories

« on: February 22, 2016, 06:42:54 AM »

K.R.K. Murthy further writes:-

An old woman bent double with age used to go round and round Bhagavan's Hall and finally go
near Bhagavan's seat and loudly sing songs composed extempore by her.  Her spontaneous
compositions used to pour forth effortlessly from her extremely devoted heart. She was not a
learned lady.  There might be some grammatical mistakes and errors in rhyme, rhythm etc.,
She used to thus sing her prayers daily for obtaining the grace of Bhagavan.

One day,  Bhagavan smilingly remarked that her songs seemed to be much better than those of
her son.  Her son was a scholar and from an ordinary point of view of view, the scholar's compositions
ought to be superior but for Bhagavan, those arising from the bottom of the heart with great devotion
and emotion are more pleasing.  Are not the standards of judgement different?

Whenever Bhagavan's physical body appeared to suffer from some ailment, some devotees used to
prescribe medicines for relief, forgetting that Bhagavan Himself was Vaidyanatha (Lord of
the Universal medical care) who can cure all ills if he so willed. Bhagavan used to take or apply the
medicines just for the satisfaction of the devotees who prescribed the same and not curing Himself. 
He never wanted to wound the feelings of even the humblest of devotees and He used to accept the medicines, though there was no necessity for any of them as far as He was concerned.   Though the
act is the same, the object is different.

One lady devotee was one day expressing to Bhagavan that she had come that day, from a long
distance.  Bhagavan suddenly remarked:

"You did not come.  The train brought you here."  The other side of the picture is more real to
Bhagavan.  She did not come there perhaps by her individual exertion but she was brought by
Bhagavan's Grace.

(Source:  Arunachala's Ramana, Boundless Ocean of Grace,
Volume 6. Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.)

Arunachala Siva.

12474

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Re: Our Bhagavan-Stories

« on: February 22, 2016, 06:38:03 AM »

In his Ramana reminscences, K.R.K. Murthy says:

With a view to record Bhagavan's voice and preserve the same for posterity, someone raised a
discussion on the sound recording machines, in the presence of Bhagavan.

Bhagavan agreed with what they said, regarding this wonderful machine.  Seeing that Bhagavan
was very favorably disposed towards the same, they wanted to pursue the matter further
and fix up a date for recording Bhagavan's voice.  At that moment, Bhagavan Ramana replied:
"My real voice is Silence.  How can you record that?"  In this connection, He narrated the story
of the saint Thandavarayar*, who by his dynamic silence stilled the minds of several people, for
three full days.

(* Thandavarayar is a Tamizh saint-poet who lived about 500 years back in Nannilam, Thanjavur
District, Tamizh Nadu.  His original Tamizh advaitic classic Kaivalya Navaneetam, is quite famous,
and has been translated into German and English by Dr. Charles Graul DD of the Leipzig Lutheran
Mission.  Thandavarayar's disciple composed a poem called Bharani in Tamizh.  The friends of the
disciple asked him:  "How can you write a Bharani on your saint-guru, since Bharani is normally
written only towards a King who had killed 1000 elephants in a war?"    The disciple said:
"You all come and see my Guru, then only you will understand.  The friends came to see guru
Thandavarayar.  The Guru was in utter silence, with a vacant gaze.  No one could open their mouths. 
Soon, more and more people came and sat before Thandavarayar.  The number exceeded even
one thousand.  They all kept quiet inundated by the Silence of the guru.  It happened for three days.
On the fourth day the guru said:  "You must all be very hungry.  Go and eat something!")


(Source:  Arunachala's Ramana, Boundless Ocean of Grace,
Volume 6.  Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.)

Arunachala Siva.

12475

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Upadesa Saram - Tr. D.M. Sastri

« on: February 21, 2016, 05:52:07 PM »

(D.S. Sastri might have been related to Suri Nagamma, may be her brother or cousin.)

1. kartur-aajnayaa-praaptyate phalm
    karma kim param karma taj-jadam

By the will of of the Creator,  action bears fruit.  Is action, then, supreme?  No, it
is inert, unconscious.

This is the fundamental answer to the ultimate question.  We cannot perform actions and expect those
actions to result in the desired fruits.  The Creator, Isvara or Siva, is the Lord of Action and determines
what fruits and what subsequent actions will be forthcoming. We not only cannot control the fruits of our
behavior, we cannot even choose the actions themselves since these are influenced by an endless series of
past actions. So action, is, in itself, inert, unconscious.  It and its fruits are Isvara's.  Do we choose our
dream actions?  For the Maharshi, waking and dream have the same degree of reality. (Self Realization,
B.V. Narasimhaswami)

In the Yoga Vasishta, the crow-yogin, Bhusanda, was asked why he had survived for so many ages.
He replied, 'Who will be able to overstep the strict ordinances of Siva?  His will was that I should act
thus and other yogins should act in the way they did.  As every preordained event should work out
its results, such events will inevitably come to pass.  Such is the nature of the law.' (Yoga Vasistha,
Aiyer)

The Sanskrit jada is translated as 'inert'.  Referring to this opening verse, the Maharshi said, 'There
is no truth in the insentient (jada). One whole Consciousness prevails over all alone.' (Talks)

Karta means Isvara.  He is the one who distributes the fruits of action to each person according to his
karma.  That means he is the manifest Brahman.  The real Brahman is unmanifest and without motion.
It is only the manifest Brahman that is named as Isvara. (David Godman, Be As You Are.)

Verse 1 is completed.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                     

12476

General topics / Dhyana - Jonathan Bader:

« on: February 21, 2016, 02:31:25 PM »

(This article is from Mountain Path issue of April - June 2007.)

*

In the ten Upanishads singled out Sankara, the term Dhyana is virtually synonymous with Upasana,
or simply denotes 'thinking'. (see Chandogya Upanishad 1.3.12).  Sankara does not seem concerned
with distinguishing Dhyana from Upasana.  In Brahma Sutra Bhashya (BSBh) 4.1.7 and 4.1.8.,he
repeats precisely the same explanation for each of the two terms:  'maintaining a uniform train of thought'.

Yet despite their similarity there are obvious differences. Firstly, unlike Upasana, Dhyana does not necessarily
entail a devotional attitude.  Secondly, as Dhyana comes to be associated with yoga practice, the term
is specifically identified with techniques used in controlling the mind. Upasana does not connote a
particular set of mental exercises.  In Upasana, the emphasis is on the object of the meditation, the deity
with whom identity is sought, hence the sense of 'worship'. As the early Upanishads suggest, Dhyana       
is indeed a kind of thinking.  But it is a specialized mode of thought:  'a way of attaining identity', or
'a means of true knowledge'.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.

12477

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Re: The Many Sides of Ramana - David Frawley:

« on: February 21, 2016, 01:35:34 PM »

Ramana is indeed the Hill. Like Siva, He is the Lord of the Hills.  His teaching comes through nature,
not through the human mind, and has all the power of the universe within in.  Whenever I see Hill
like Arunachala (we have one that has a similar shape nearby here in New Mexico) my mind goes to
Ramana.  The Aruna Hill is the Hill of the dawn before which the Atman or spiritual Sun arises in the east.
It is the home of the Aruna Ketu rishis who are lauded in the Vedas (Taitiriya Aranyaka, Aruna Prashna)
as the creators of the universe.

Ramana is not merely a person. Nor is His teaching something He invented or a one man show. Ramana
is the door way to all the wisdom of the Rishis and Yogis, which in turn takes us to all the powers of the
universe, visible and invisible. Like the Vedas, He is the fire, the water, the wind, and the sun. He is the
Hill that holds the world and the spirit hidden in nature, like the fire hidden in fire sticks.  He represents
a teaching that integrates the vast wisdom of the ancient and eternal Seers into a simple prescription
for our modern ills.  But this teaching, though having a simple core, is subtle, and many sided.
It is not a standardized prescription for mass consumption but a way of attunment with one's individual
nature.

The story continues to unfold.  During my last trip to India I was fortunate to meet with Sivananda Murti,
a great devotee of Bhagavan in Andhra Pradesh, who revealed to me another aspect of Ramana,
Meanwhile, I was sent as a gift by the Sivananda Ashram, who knew my reverence for Skanda, a large
statues of Lord Skanda and his two wives.  Valli and Devasena (who represents the forces of nature
and the power antra), so that Skanda also lives in my house.  Yet whether it is Ramana who became Skanda,
or Skanda who became Ramana, we cannot be sure!

concluded.

Arunachala Siva.                   

12478

General Discussion / Re: The Best of Friends - Bhagavan and Chadwick - Part II -Louis Buss:

« on: February 21, 2016, 10:41:24 AM »

Chadwick had suffered his own personal Blitz.  But at the end of it all, rising like St. Paul's Cathedral 
from the rubble, towered the enduring figure of Ramana Maharshi. The surrounding devastation only
made that beloved shape seem more grand and triumphant, more familiar and dear.

It was not in Chadwick's nature to give public expression to his feelings.  But he did from time to time
in praise of Bhagavan, and in doing so gave the occasional inadvertent glimpse into his inner world.
A newspaper article which appeared in 1948, gives some idea of how much Ramana meant to him
by the end of the war:

'Sometimes when I walk into the Hall I see my mother come back to life, sitting in front of me. The same
expression of welcome;  the same loving interest in the look with which I am regarded as I take a seat.
It is almost uncanny.'

After all he had suffered and all he had lost, it was perhaps only natural that Alan's devotion should have
risen to such a pitch that he now literally saw Ramana as his mother. The true miracle was Bhagavan's
ability to respond with all a mother's love.  This is more amazing still when we consider that he was simultaneously occupying the same central place in the lives of so many others.  All of them made equally
gigantic emotional and spiritual demands upon Him, and all of them were mysteriously satisfied. Chadwick
was just one of countless devotees, and they all had similar stories to tell.  The difference was that, since
the majority were ordinary people with families and careers, most of them had something other than Ramana
in their lives.  Even those who had renounced everything to settle in the Asramam were mainly Indians,
and thus had at least retained the basic comfort and security of feeling at home.  But the various foreigners,
as well as Chadwick, although he should now technically be called Indian himself, would never feel completely
at home again.  He had not even learnt to speak Tamizh, since Bhagavan had advised him that this would
be a useless mental distraction. So there must have been times when Chadwick, like any foreigner, felt like
no more an overgrown  child, excluded  from the adult world, bewildered  and at a loss.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.         

12479

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Re: The Many Sides of Ramana - David Frawley:

« on: February 21, 2016, 10:19:38 AM »

My encounter with Ramana lead me to Ganapati, in whose works, I found the continuation of the Vedic
vision and the grace of Vedic and Tantric knowledge.  I also experienced Ganapati as Ramana's brother,
just as the god Ganapati (Ganesa) is the brother of Lord Skanda.  One needs Ganapati (mantra-sakti)
to pave the way for Skanda (Atma nishta).  It is a family matter, one could say, meaning Siva's family.

Ramana and the Hill:

The second major point of revelation for me was Ramana and the Hill.  I had grown up in mountain
regions and developed a strong reverence for their spiritual power.  One can still feel Ramana's presence on
and around Arunachala Hill, which has considerable one could say magic about it.  It is as if He still roams
the Hill, which reflects the tapas He experienced on it.  When I first climbed to the top of the Hill,
I stopped for a few minutes to meditate on the summit.  There while sitting a Sadhu appeared coming up
the side of the Hill taking long strides, and stopping occasionally to pick something like berries from a
bush or two.  He was an elderly man, wrapped in orange in the upper part of his body like a Swami.
As he came near he gave the greeting of the siddhas, raising his hand.  At that point, infinite space opened
up and my consciousness entered into it.  After a short time, he continued on the Hill.  I sat there quietly
absorbing the experience. Who this being was I do not know but it is my feeling that he was such a Siddha
of the Hill. Certainly the Hill has many such mysteries.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.             

12480

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Re: Viveka Chudamani - Sri Sankara:

« on: February 21, 2016, 10:08:20 AM »

Removal of Impressions:

Verse  267:

Even after knowing that substance (the Atman), powerful desire, which is beginningless (in the form of
'I am the doer and enjoyer'), which is the cause of this world, does not die. It remains there.  What can be
done with that?'  You must do away with that desire carefully, because that is freedom - the lessening of desire. That should be done even after realization.

Verse  268:

The idea of 'me' and 'mine' remains in the body and in other things that are non-Self.  This is called 'adhyasa',
and should be given up by the sage by identifying himself with the Atman.

Verse  269:

Knowing the real Self, which is the witness of the intellect and its actions, by this thought, 'I am That',
conquer the false idea of  'I am' in the non Self.

Verse  270:

First, give up following the world,  then following the body, and then following the scriptures, and in that
way, do away with your ignorance of identifying the Self with the non Self.           

contd.,


Arunachala Siva.