Ramana Ashram

[Balaji]

The Lord of the Vedas, the Jewel of the Vedas, he is the Vedas incarnate. The delighter in life eternal gained by power of his love is Ramana Sat-Guru! Verse 13 in Ramana stuti panchakam

Grant me the essence of the Vedas, which shine in the Vedanta, one without a second, Oh Arunachala! Verse 99 in Aksharamanamalai
For over a century Bhagavan devotees like Raju Sastrigal and the family of Chandrasekhara Iyer have been organizing and participating in special Veda Parayana during the ten days of Karthigai festival. In the last eight years additional groups headed by our Veda Patsala teachers Sendil Ganabadigal and Hari Ganabadigal have added to this tradition and conduct their own group Parayana. Over hundred Ritwiks from various parts of India come to Arunachala and devoutly chant the Vedas to the delight of devotees. Included are Sukla Yajur Veda Ghana Parayanam, Krishna Yajur Veda Ghana parayanam and Sama Veda Chantings. It takes forty days or four year at the rate of ten days a year to recite the entire Vedas. Vedas are chanted at the ashram shrine, Sankara Madam, Sri Lalitambika temple and in the Tiruvannamalai town near Ayyankulam tank.

Fourth day procession included "Kalpaka Vriksham" , the wishful filling tree and "Kamadenu" the wish fulfilling cow. The presence of Lord Arunachala makes them harmless in the sense that wishes fulfilled will not lead to any unwanted side-effects.

[Balaji]

Sunday witnessed the grand procession of Lord Arunachala riding the bull. The event is a big crowd puller and the devout residents wait in line with family and children for hours to pay homage to the Lord. Philosophers explain that the Rishaba or the Bull represents righteousness and it being the vehicle symbolizes the fact that only a righteous person can become a carrier of Lord Arunachala's grace. Bhagavan in Guru Vachaka Kovai says It is said that Siva chose the Bull for His service, this is to give us, step by step, the basic attitude that all the forms we see are the forms of Siva.

We know Bhagavan came as a boy of sixteen to Arunachala on Sepetember 1st and stayed in the big temple. First Karthigai Deepam would have occurred about three or four months later. What impact did the festival have on his contemplative world-indifferent life-style Read on:In the early days, when I was under the illuppai tree in the Temple compound I had no clothing of any sort. It was not because of renunciation. The cod-piece I was wearing used to bring on sores where it touched the skin. When the sore became bad, I threw away the cod-piece. That is all. There used to be an old priest who for the first time arranged for some regular food for me either by supplying some from his house or by sending the milk from the temple. After I had been nude for about a month, this old priest told me one day, Boy, the Kartigai Deepam is approaching. People from all the 24 districts will be flocking here. Police from all the districts will also be here. They will arrest you and put you into jail if you are nude like this. So you must have a cod-piece. So saying, he got a new piece of cloth and made four people lift me up to tie the cod-piece round me.

Even Bhagavan had to dress up for the festival! Has He not sung Tear off these robes, expose me naked, then robe me with the robe of Thy Grace, O Arunachala! May Bhagavan ever ride in the Rishaba of our Hearts.

from the fb

[Balaji]

The majestic awe-inspiring chariot weighing over 300 tons and nearly 100 feet tall is hauled by the muscle power of devotees or more accurately the power of devotion. Because thousands of devotees pull the chariot it is not easy to get a grip on the steel chain. Once the chariot starts moving the individual is no longer in control of what happens. The cumulative power of all the devotees takes over and exerts mighty force which actually determines the motion of the devotee himself. Those who pull the chariot experience spiritual elevation and it becomes easy for them to understand Bhagavan's teaching in Sri Ramana Gita chapter 12, verse 15 Supreme Lord (Arunachala) moves by His Own Supreme Power. By manually drawing the chariot devotees experience the teaching of Bhagavan in a practical way ,I am not the body and I am not the doer.
Sixth day's event featured silver chariot.


from the fb

[Balaji]

For a week the Lord displayed wish-fulfilling tree, grand chariot, silver chariot and heavenly splendor. On the eighth day Lord Arunachala comes in the unrecognizable form of a very poor destitute beggar, Pichandavar. Those who recognize Him even in such a lowly form are blessed with life in Kailas. Others who reject Him saying Go away can forget about Grace, wish-fulfilling tree etc. If you think all this is fairy tale read from Bhagavan's life. When I was going out for Bhiksha(begging),people used to say Swami is come, and give me food with fear and devotion. Those who did not know me used to say, You are strong and sturdy. Instead of going out like this as a beggar, why don't you go out to work as a cooly(labourer) I used to feel amused. But I was a Mouna (silent) Swami and did not speak. I used to laugh and go away feeling that it was usual for ordinary people to talk like that.

December fourth features journey to Kailas, the Heavenly abode of the Lord. December fifth is Maha Deepam. Live webcast of Maha Deepam from 5 pm to 6:30 pm from http://gururamana.net/

[Balaji]

Srimati Nagamma describes Deepam during 1947 in Letters from Sri Ramanarsamam: Bhagavan came from the cow-shed with his attendants, and it was as though it were actually Lord Siva Himself arriving on the scene. Spontaneously those gathered there rose; Bhagavan seated himself on the couch and all prostrated before him.When the ghee brought by devotees was poured into the pan for kindling the light, the pan was overflowing. Camphor was then placed on the wick. The fragrance from the lighted incense sticks spread on all sides and created a holy atmosphere.

Bhagavan sat lovingly looking at all the devotees and related to those near him the significance of the Festival of Lights. He also pointed out the exact place where the light was to be kindled on the hill-top. After that, Veda parayana began.
By the time the parayana was over, the sun had set. Soon, little lights in earthenware saucers were lit all-round the hall and garlands of electric lights of many colours were switched on. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the lighting of the sacred beacon on the hill-top and the attendants had handed to Bhagavan a binocular with which he, too, was eagerly scanning the hill. While his gaze was concentrated on the summit of the hill, ours was concentrated on his Divine face, for it was just a reflection of Arunachala.

With the firing of crackers at the Temple, the light on the hill-top appeared. Immediately, the akhanda jyoti (uninterrupted) light, opposite Bhagavan was lighted. The Brahmins rose and chanted the mantra, na karmana naprajaya dhanena, and lit the camphor; kumkum and vibhuti were distributed and then all the devotees sat down. After Bhagavan had partaken of a little fruit and some sweetmeats, the rest were distributed amongst the devotees. Immediately after that, the devotees divided themselves into two parties, one singing the hymns in the Akshara Mana Mala, and the other taking up the refrain Arunachala Siva. After that, the five stanzas beginning with Karunapurnasudhabhde in Sanskrit and its equivalent in Tamil were recited.

[Balaji]

According to Ramana Maharshi chanting Aksharamanamalai is its meaning. On December 14 Aksharamanamalai was chanted continuously from 6 am to 6 pm with occasional breaks. Entire hymn was chanted 21 times indoors. The final chanting outdoors before the Hill ended on a very auspicious note as the light on the Hill came to view just as the verse 101 anbu uru or form of love was being chanted. Given the zero visibility of Deepam on the previous day due to cloud cover it appeared as a sign from Lord Arunachala acknowledging our prayer. Annamalai ki arohara

101.அம்புவில் ஆலிபோல் அன்பு உரு உனில் எனை
அன்பாக் கரைத்து அருள் அருணாசலா,
Am/buvil/ā/lipōl An/buru/vuni/lenai An/bāk/karait/tarul Arunā/chalā.
As snow in water, let me melt as love in Thee, Who art Love itself, O Arunachala!

[Balaji]

Ashram news first: December 15 was the last day Deepam could be seen.From Dec 16th Dhanur Masa(Dec 16- Jan 14) puja began which includes special abhisekham plus parayana of Vishnu Sahasranama, Tirupavvai, Tiruvempavai and aksharamanamalai daily from 4:30 AM to 6:30 AM. Now yoga sutra 1 'Atma nishttho bhava.' Inhere in the Self.
Notes l ' Atman' denotes the body, the prana, the mind, the buddhi, the individual and the Ultimate. Here. 'Atman' is only used to indicate the Ultimate. Normally the Self is the word used to indicate the Ultimate and the self is used to indicate the individual entity. Already we are firm in the notion of our individuality, and it requires no teaching from the Master. The Master emphasizes that the aim should be inherence In the Ultimate.

2. By implication, the Master Insists that the seeker should turn his face away from all the affairs and ideas of the world. He must be literally dead to it, so that he may be reborn in the Divine realm. The Master teaches that we should strictly abandon all activities, contacts and social functions of the world, whether good or bad, whether for individual or for social benefit. The aspirant should be a 'nissanga' (non-attached). He should not allow himself to be carried away by such propaganda suggesting that ' living in society means participation in it for the good of society', or for that matter, for any portion of society or even for individuals. He should be non-attached even to his individual matters, including attainment of mystic powers or better worlds, called 'heaven' in the Christian and Mohammedan religions, 'svarga' in the Hindu and Buddhist religions and the several lokas of Indra. Agni, Varuna, etc ; (Indra, Agni and Varuna are the devas or deities mentioned in the Veda ; they have their own worlds or ' lokas ') (In the Ramana-doctrine, there is no God or gods, angels or archangels, powers and hosts to rely upon for attaining this state of Self-inherence).

3. 'Nishtha' comprises two ideas really. 'Shtha' indicates 'being in'; 'nish' indicates 'firmly, never to come out'. The use of 'nish' indicates that in the Ramana-doctrine, once one attains the highest state, there should be no coming back, or down. In the yoga-sastra the sadhaka comes down to earth again even from the states of highest Samadhi. When the power of his concentration slackens, he reverts to his normal state of consciousness, that is, 'jagrat'. Ramana distinguishes this state as the state of practice and not a state of attainment of the goal, which he calls the ' sahaja state', that is, the native state, the original state. According to him, it is only when one forgets one's pristine state, that the notions of oneself, the world and the Lord of the world occur.

4. This aphorism defines the goal; it must be noted that in Ramana's opinion all other activities even the divinization of the world, are futile without which knowledge one can never understand his relation to the world and to the Lord, nor the lesser aim of perfecting the world, which will not and cannot be successfully done.

[Balaji]

Sri Ramana Maharshi was born 135 years ago on December 30th. Astronomically Earth completes 135th orbit around the Sun today counting since His birth. Earth not only revolves around the Sun but also spins around its own axis. Both are Bhagavan approved forms of worship. Before Bhagavan pities us for paying too much attention to His body we remember: Ramana has no Jayanti of His own, because He is the Unborn, Timeless, Real Self in us. So what we call His Jayanti is only our jayanti - Our Birth in Him, our Real Self. This birth is guaranteed to us, His sincere devotees, because He has looked on us with grace.

Ramana is the Formless, Timeless and Spaceless Arunachala who dances as the I in the Heart. He has graciously taken a form, that we may be relieved of the bondage of form. He is not a geographical entity but the Moveless Brahman of the Upanishads. Grace is His Essence, and out of grace He has become our Guru. Grace is not simply in Tiruvannamalai, but resides in our hearts. The Heart is the True Arunachala.
The might of His Grace is infinite, It is invincible: By His look we were caught in the net of His Grace, and It will accomplish Its work. There is no escape from It. His Grace is like the unerring light of the Sun. As it devours the darkness, so Grace devours Ignorance and Unreality. We need do nothing at all, except to give our free consent that this work of Grace shall be accomplished.

To give our consent we must realise the truth about the work of Grace that it demands, in return for the gift of Ramana Himself, our own too much cherished, but wholly valueless false self, the ego, which makes us think and say, I am so and so". We must ourselves ardently desire to win Him by paying this seeming price and surrender this ego to Him.

This highly profitable bargain is to be won by Faith and Loyalty. We need to have such Faith, since we know that Ramana is the same as Bhagavatpada Sri Sankaracharya and Sri Dakshinamurti, and that His words are the primary Upanishad, from which the ancient Upanishads themselves derive their authority. We do not go backward in time for our authority -we find the needful authority in Ramana alone.
Though He tells us about the Quest of the Self by the Question "Who am I?", He also tells us that even now - without our making the Quest - We are that" and that That Itself is we". In other words we are Free by nature and always - that we are Nitya-Muktas, Bondage is unreal.
Hence our Jayanti is not in the future; but now. All Difference including Bondage, Karma, etc., is unreal - He laughs at us for asking how we can become One with Him, saying it is like a man in Tiruvannamalai, asking the way to that very place.

Let Him laugh at us. For that laugh is full of grace, and will make us realise that we are He, and do not need to become He.
There is no room for discouragement, or remorse for our sins, or for fear of failure. For Grace alone exists, and it is He. If we do wrong let us not weep for it, but forget it at once, and joyfully take Refuge in His Grace.

Must we do something, like the Squirrel at the Setu-Bandhan? Well let us think of some of these truths of Ramana's Grace, and surrender our little selves to it, once or twice a day, when we awake. At other times, if Remembrance comes of its own accord, let us rejoice in it. If we fail often to stick to our programme, let us not waste thought in sinful regret, but go on with faith in His Grace.

K. Lakshmana Sarma

[Balaji]

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Dear Fellow Devotee:

Bhagavan's 135th Jayanti - Live Video webcast from Sri Ramanasramam

Date:    06.01.2015

Timings: 09.30 AM (IST) to 11.00 AM (IST)

Kindly visit the link : http://www.gururamana.net/

Web Team
Sriramanasramam
Tiruvannamalai,

[Balaji]

Bhagavan's 135 Jayanthi celebration video 2015

http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/portfolio-item/bhagavans-135th-jayanti-celebration-video-2015/

[drsundaram]

namasthe shri balaji

the audio quality of shri nochur was not that ok; hopefully in days to come the same will become better

om namo bhagavathe sri ramanya

[Balaji]

Aradhana of Swami Ramanananda Saraswati (May 26, 1914-December 26, 2007) was held on Thursday January 8th. He was born in answer to a prayer by Sri Azhagammal to Bhagavan for a child. His mother passed away when he was young while his father Sri Niranjananda Swamigal took Sannyas. Thus orphaned while very young the child was raised by his aunt Smt. Alamelu and her husband Pitchu Iyer. During childhood he was fortunate to occasionally receive baby-sitting care from Ramana Maharshi.

In Skandasaramam fruits, sweets, etc., gifted by visitors would be distributed to all equally. Nondi, the monkey, was also a beneficiary of this and his portion used to be set aside in a plate if he was not around. Once as baby Venkataraman ate from Nondi's plate the monkey suddenly arrived through the window and gave a blow on his face. While the child's reaction was predictable, Sri Bhagavan defended the monkey's action saying you deserve it. Why did you want his share? Be satisfied with your share.Unlike ordinary parents who would appease the beloved child by shooing away the monkey, Bhagavan gave him valuable instructions. The boy became silent and listened to Bhagavan. Swamiji once summarized the teachings he got from Bhagavan as Do not touch the property of others. Be content with what you have. Share equally what you have. Divide it with one and all around you. Help the needy. Be not blind when a wrong is committed before you. Correct it if possible, or at least speak out for the right.

The child grew up to be the second Sarvadhikari of the ashram. By his effort the ashram is flourishing today having grown into an internationally famed spiritual institution.

[Balaji]

Sivapraksam Pillai's(1875 - 1948) Memorial Day was observed at the ashram on January 12th . He not only elicited the highly original teaching of Bhagavan contained in 'Who am I' but also wrote songs which are inspiring and give hope to men subject to weaknesses of desire. It is noteworthy that Bhagavan commented on his demise Sivaprakasm has merged into the light of Siva.
It was not Bhagavan's way to say, "Surrender and I will look after you." However, the following incident is significant in that regard. About a year before Bhagavan left the body I said to him one afternoon " I am going to sing Bhagavan three stanzas from a poem by Sivaprakasam Pillai because they express what I want to say better than I could." I then sang them. Their meaning is : " I have not followed your teaching or instructions ; but is it proper for a Guru to get disgusted with his devotee as an incorrigible beast and to give him up . If you let me go my own way like this, what is to happen to me ? I shall not reform and you will not correct or change me. Have I any other help in this or the other world except you, my Lord ? What, then, is your idea ? Is this right behavior for you ? " Bhagavan did not immediately reply, which caused me some disappointment. After a minute or two he said: " Whether I do anything or not, your business is only to surrender and keep still." we pay homage to his memory by sharing the book Who am I in many languages.

[Balaji]

 Ashram wishes you a very happy Pongal.

The sun, symbolizing wisdom, divine knowledge and spiritual light, which receded from you when you reveled in the darkness of ignorance, delusion and sensuality, now joyously turns on its northward course and moves towards you to shed its light and warmth in greater abundance, and to infuse into you more life and energy. Ashram wishes you a very happy Pongal, Makar Sankranti or Lohri. May you soar high in spiritual life and your life be full of vigor like the colorful kites that dot the sky.

Dazzling Sun that swallows up all the universe in your rays, open the lotus of my heart, I pray, O Arunachala!
In sunlight the lotus blossoms, how then could Thou, the Sun of suns hover before me like a flower bee saying Thou art not yet in blossom, O Arunachala

O Love in the shape of Arunachala! Now that by your Grace you have claimed me, what will become of me unless you reveal yourself to me, and I, seeking wistfully for you and harassed by the darkness of the world, am lost How can the lotus blossom without the sight of the sun Thou art the Sun of suns; you cause Grace to well up in abundance and pour forth as a stream!
Ocean of Nectar, Full of Grace, engulfing the universe in Thy Splendour! O Arunachala, the Supreme Itself! be Thou the Sun and open the lotus of my heart in Bliss!

Temples in Tamil Nadu including Sri Ramana Ashram perform special winter worship in the morning hours (pre-dawn 4/4:30 AM) in the month of Margazhi (December 16  January 14). Winter prayers concluded today (January 14) with the onset of Uttarayana or the northward movement of the sun after a period of darkness and cold. The day is celebrated variously as Pongal, Lohri or Makar Sankranti.

[Balaji]

Mattu Pongal was celebrated on January 16th. Suri Nagamma writes in Letter from Sri Ramanasramam What a great day! I am writing to you, because I just could not contain my joy. On Mattu Pongal day, all over the country, domestic animals are decorated and fed with Pongal. In the Asramam also yesterday morning, several varieties of sweetmeats were prepared and, with garlands made of those sweetmeats, puja to Nandi was performed by drawing ornamental lines with lime powder(kolam) before the cowshed, by tying plantain trees around the pillars, by hanging garlands of green leaves, by bathing all the cows, by placing tilakam (vermilion marks) on their foreheads and garlands around their necks, and by feeding them with Pongal. Finally puja was performed to the chanting of mantras and the breaking of coconuts.
Lakshmi is the queen amongst the cows, is she not? You must see her grandeur! Her forehead was smeared with turmeric powder, and adorned with Kumkum. Around her neck and horns were hung garlands made of roses and several other flowers, as also those made of edibles, and sweets. Besides these, garlands made out of bananas, sugarcane pieces and coconut kernels, were put around her neck. When I saw Lakshmi thus decorated like Kamadhenu, I was overjoyed and felt extremely happy.

Bhagavan, who went out at 9-45 a.m., came to the Gosala (cow-shed) at 10 a.m., to shower his blessings on his children there. While he sat on a chair by the side of Lakshmi, enjoying the sight of the beautiful decorations on her, the devotees gave arati with camphor, chanting Vedic hymns such as Na Karmana etc. I was reminded of Lord Krishna in Repalle when I saw the grand spectacle of Bhagavan standing in the midst of the cows in the Gosala. Not only this, in Brahma Vaivartha Purana it is stated that Krishna is the Paramatma, the Lord of the cow world, and that Radha is Prakriti. The theory in that Purana is that Radha and Madhava are Prakriti and Purusha-the inseparable pair. Standing with his body bent slightly to the left, and with his left hand on Lakshmi, and with the walking stick in his right hand, looking as if it was a flute, with a sparkling smile on the face like the foam on the waves of the ocean of ananda, with a compassionate look towards the group of devotees that had gathered along with the herd of cows, Sri Ramana, the embodiment of grace, it is no surprise if one were reminded of Lord Krishna Himself standing with crossed legs, resting on his toes and playing exquisitely on the flute. If that Krishna is Ramana, what are we to say of our Lakshmi who appears to have been completely oblivious of this world with her ears hanging down, with her eyes closed and enjoying transcendental bliss caused by the touch of Bhagavan's hands on her body Shall I say that she is the embodiment of Prakriti in the shape of Radha Otherwise, how could she understand human language? You would perhaps laugh at my foolish fantasies but take it from me, that sight was so lovely.

Tiruvoodal Utsavam

According to a story in Skanda Purana, once, even Parvati and Parameswara succumbed to the quarrel-mongering of Narada. ?Lakshmi and Vishnu play dice, so why not you? said Narada, and egged them on to play. Parvati was enthusiastic over the idea and persuaded Siva to play dice with her. In the game, Siva lost and Parvati was puffed up with pride and spoke slightingly of him. That is the legend.
After reading it, Bhagavan, his heart full of bhakti, asked me, Have you read this story When I said, Yes, Bhagavan, he said with a voice choked with feeling, The holy festival which is annually performed here on Sankranti day, deals mainly with this quarrel between Uma and Maheswara.

You know, every year, the divine marriage festival is celebrated here and during those days, if anybody were to speak about the festival in Sri Bhagavan's presence, Bhagavan would usually remark with great feeling, This is the marriage festival of Father and Mother.
It is believed that those who participate in Tiruvoodal Utsvam will no longer have any quarrels in their married life.