Our Bhagavan-Stories

[Ravi.N]

Friends,
I scrolled through the topics in this section to see if there is anything exclsively devoted to Stories on sri Bhagavan.I could not locate one,so I am opening a new thread for collecting stories on Sri Bhagavan.I am also opening a seperate thread along with this -Our Bhagavan-Comments thread.It will be convenient to add stories that devotees enjoyed to the Stories thread and any comments that one may have to the comments thread.

One of the Little Gem of a Book is 'At the Feet of Bhagavan' by Sri T K Sundaresa Iyer.This has some truly wonderful stories about Sri Bhagavan,his intense Humanity and Love for one and all.
Here is one such story:

CAN A CRACKED EGG BE HATCHED?

IT was the early hours of the morning in the Hall of Sri
Bhagavan. He had had His bath, and now went to the
farther end of the Hall to take His towel that hung from
a horizontally suspended bamboo, at one end of which
a sparrow had built her nest and laid therein three or
four eggs.
In the process of taking His towel Sri Bhagavan’s
hand came against the nest, which shook violently, so
that one of the eggs dropped down. In this way the egg
was cracked; Sri Bhagavan was taken aback, aghast. He
cried out to Madhavan, the personal attendant. “Look,
look what I have done today!” So saying, He took the
cracked egg in His hand looked at it with His tender
eyes, and exclaimed: “Oh, the poor mother will be so
sorrow-stricken, perhaps angry with me also, at my causing
the destruction of her expected little one! Can the cracked
eggshell be pieced together again? Let us try!
So saying, He took a piece of cloth, wetted it, wrapped
it around the broken egg, and put it back in the mother’s
nest. Every three hours He would take out the cracked
egg, remove the cloth, place the egg on His roseate palm,
and gaze at it with His tender eyes for minutes together.
What was He really doing at this time? How can we
say? Was He sending with those wonderful looks of gentle
Grace life-giving beams into the cracked egg, putting ever
newer warmth and life into it? That is a mystery none can
solve. Yet He kept on saying: “Let the crack be healed!
Cannot this be hatched even now? Let the little one come
from this broken egg!”
This anxious concern and tenderness of Sri Maharshi
continued from day to day for about a week. So the
fortunate egg lay in the nest with its wet bandage cloth,
only to be fondled by Sri Maharshi with divine touch
and benign look. On the seventh day, He takes out the
egg, and with the astonishment of a schoolboy
announces: “Look what a wonder! The crack has closed,
and so the mother will be happy and will hatch her egg
after all! My God has freed me from the sin of causing
the loss of a life. Let us wait patiently for the blessed
young one to come out!”
A few more days pass, and at length one fine morning
Bhagavan finds the egg has been hatched1 and the little
bird has come out. With gleeful smiling face radiant with
the usual light, He takes the child in His hand, caresses it
with lips, stroking it with His soft hand, and passes it on
for all the bystanders to admire. He receives it back at last
into His own hands, and is so happy that one little germ
of life has been able to evolve in spite of the unhappy
accident to it in the embryo.
Ah, what concern for the meanest of creation! Is it
not the heart of the real Buddha which shed first tears of
anxiety at the crack in the eggshell and then tears of joy
at the birth of the new-born babe? Could the milk of
kindness ever be seen or conceived of sweeter than this?

-T K Sundaresa Iyer.

[Ravi.N]

SAMADARSATVAM! (EQUALITY)

SAMADARSATVAM!
(EQUALITY)

The Mandalabhishekam was performed in Mathrubhuteswara
temple on Vaisakha Suddha Chathurthi, i.e.,
Monday the 2nd May, 1949. Mahapuja (the Anniversary of
the death of Bhagavan’s Mother) was performed yesterday,
Vaishakha Bahula Navami. By that time, the erection of the
front hall of the temple had almost been completed. Hence
the Sarvadhikari consulted his assistants and requested
Bhagavan to stay in the front hall on those two days.
Accordingly on the afternoon of the 20th, Bhagavan came
there. That day I happened to be there a little earlier than
usual. When I went in by the main gate there was an
uncommon activity in the front hall. I went to the verandah
eagerly and found that Bhagavan was seated on the sofa. His
face was not radiant as usual. I was wondering why it was so. I
could not ask anybody.
The Sarvadhikari was standing opposite Bhagavan’s sofa
with his friends and some important people amongst Ashram
workers and was saying something. Bhagavan was merely
saying ‘Yes, yes,’ in a noncommittal manner. I hesitated to
go in under those circumstances and so stood in the
verandah. Bhagavan had noticed through the window my
coming and my hesitation to enter the hall. Ten minutes
elapsed by the time all of them left. Subsequently Sivanandam
alone was there near Bhagavan. Two or three people who
had recently arrived were seated at a distance. Bhagavan
was looking intently at the ceiling of the hall and at the huge
stones that were being chiselled outside. I went in, prostrated
and got up. Bhagavan looked at me and with a voice full of
kindness, said, “Do you see this? They have imprisoned me
within these four walls. They have made me a prisoner by
preventing other people from coming in. Look! There is no
scope for anyone to come in.” So saying, he looked up at the
ceiling, which had no outlet or inlet any where and said,
“How can they (the squirrels) come here?” He continued to
stare at the ceiling. I stood absolutely dumbfounded on
realising his way of looking at things. Sivanandam, who was
close by, said, “The Sarvadhikari and others feel that if
Bhagavan is here he will be protected from rain or hot
sunshine outside.” Bhagavan whose look was concentrated
on the ceiling, came to with a start when he heard those
words and looking at Sivanandam, said, “That’s all right. If
we look to our comfort, is it not at the expense of the
sufferings of others? Squirrels, monkeys, peacocks, cows and
others have no chance of coming here. Does it not mean
that we have deprived them all of their privileges? People
think that it is a great happiness for Swami if he is here.
What is to be done?” Bhagavan’s voice became tremulous.
The attendant took up the thread of the conversation and
said, “Yes, that is true. Only human beings can come in;
animals and birds cannot come in freely.” Bhagavan did not
say anything.
After sometime, some rich devotees came and sat opposite
Bhagavan. One or two poor people came after them but were
afraid to come in. Noticing this through the windows,
Bhagavan said to his attendants, “There you are. Look at those
people. You said there was every convenience for men to come
in. Is there scope for all people to come in? Rich people are
accustomed to see huge buildings with lights, fans, collapsible
doors and other imposing furnishings, and so they come inside
unhesitatingly. But poor people like me will hesitate to come
in, for they feel that it is a place where only rich people live.
They are afraid of what people would say if they come in, and
so, go away quietly like those people who, as you see, are
peeping through the windows. Where is the place for them
here? See those poor people! What a pity!” Unable to say
anything further Bhagavan resumed silence.
As soon as it was evening, he sent away some of his
attendants saying that the evening was the time when all of
them (monkeys, peacocks, etc.) come here. “They may
perhaps think that Swami has given them the slip and gone
elsewhere. Please go. What a pity! Go, give them at least
some food and come back.” As soon as the attendants
returned after feeding them, Bhagavan remarked with a
tremulous voice, “Have you fed them all? They will perhaps
feel that Swami has deserted them and has gone away to a
better place and is sitting there so that he alone can be happy.
Perhaps they thought that I had forgotten them. There is no
scope for them to come here. What to do?” Whenever any
animals or birds come to him, he would always say, “We do
not know who they are,” and would never look at them with
indifference. If any of the attendants do not give them proper
attention he would not tolerate it, but would say, “That is
bad. You merely see the skin that covers the body but not
the person that is within. You feel that you are great, and
the others are small, and so try to drive them away. They
have come here just as we have come. Why do they not have
the same rights that we have?” He used to admonish them
thus. It is not surprising that Bhagavan feels compassionate
towards the animals and the poor who do not venture to
come into this new hall with all these lights, fans, iron doors,
guards and other paraphernalia. You see, samadarsatvam, i.e.,
looking at all living beings with equality, is but natural to
Bhagavan.

'Letter From Sri Ramanasramam'-Suri Nagamma

[Hari]

Thank you for these inspirational stories! Prostrations to Lord Ramana Who is embodiment of Sat-Chit-Ananda-Prema, Who is the Eternal Brahman! Prostrations to Lord Ramana Who has given all His Life for the benefit of all suffering beings, to free them from the painful circle of samsara!

[Ravi.N]

Friends,
The Story of Bhagavan being stung by the Hornets :
It is said in the Puranas that on the northern slope of
Arunachala, near the summit, a Siddha  Purusha   known as Arunagiri Yogi sits beneath a banyan tree, in an almost inaccessible spot, teaching in silence.It happened one day, about 1906, that Sri Bhagavan was wandering on the northern slope of the hill when, in a dry watercourse, he saw an enormous banyan leaf, large enough to serve a meal on. Presuming that it must have been carried down by the water and wishing to see the tree which bore such leaves, he set out on a later occasion to climb the water-course up the hillside. After climbing steep and rugged parts of the hill, he reached a place whence he could see a large flat rock and on it the banyan tree he was seeking, enormous and a deep green. He was amazed to see such a tree growing on what looked like bare rock. He continued to climb but, as he was drawing nearer, disturbed a hornets' nest with his leg. The hornets flew out and attacked the offending leg in a fury of revenge. Sri Bhagavan stood still until they had finished, meekly accepting their just punishment for having destroyed their home; but he took this as a sign not to proceed and so returned to the cave. The devotees were getting anxious as he had been out so long. When they saw him they were appalled at the state of his leg, swollen and inflamed. He has since pointed out the position of the almost inaccessible banyan tree but he never again set out to reach it and he discouraged any of his devotees who wished to do so.

Questioned by Muruganar in the form of the following
verse:

Sighting an overgrown, green-leaved bush, and
When stepping on it and stung by hornets to have legs
swollen,
Venkata, in truth, why was an accidental intrusion
Treated without mercy, just as a wanton transgression?

Sri Bhagavan responded likewise in verse:

When I was stung by hornets in revenge
Upon the leg until it was inflamed,
Although it was by chance I stepped upon
Their nest, constructed in a leafy bush;
What kind of mind is his if he does not
At least repent for doing such a wrong?

Do not know what to comment!
Namaskar.

[Ravi.N]

BHAGAVAN TELLS THE STORY OF KANNAPPAR THE SAINT

Devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana know well that the one book which radically influenced His inner
life while He was still at school was the Periapuranam in Tamil, written by the poet-saint Sekkilar. This book
contains the lives of the sixty-three saints of Tamil Nadu who, by their acts of supreme devotion or merit, won
Siva’s Grace and came to the state whence one never again returns to worldliness. Bhagavan never made distinction
between bhakti (devotion) or jnana (knowledge), provided this true State is thereby obtained: “In that state bhakti is
no other than jnana, jnana nothing else but bhakti”; this is Bhagavan’s experience of them both.
In His perpetual silence, Sri Ramana was looked upon as Sri Dakshinamurti, and His teachings always emphasised
the Karya-karana (cause-and-effect) aspect. The emphasis on this aspect was so great that there seemed to be no
room in His teaching for anything but pure reason. People even used to feel that it was all cold and heartless logic.
But those who have lived with Bhagavan know only too well that Bhagavan’s heart — a strange term, this; is
Bhagavan different from Heart? — was full of feeling for suffering humanity. His great disciple, Sri Kavyakanta
Ganapati Muni, used to say that Bhagavan had the light of the Teacher Sri Adi Sankara, the heart of
Sri Ramanujacharya and the analytical powers of Sri Madhvacharya. Be that as it may, on several occasions
Bhagavan revealed in His life the aspect of true Bhakti. Once, on the night after the Karthikai Deepam, the
deities Arunachala and Apithakuchambal were in procession round the Hill. When the procession came in
front of our Ashram, we offered flower garlands, coconut and camphor, and after being waved before them, burning
camphor was taken to Bhagavan on His seat in the Old Hall. The devotees took this camphor, along with the
ash-prasad (vibhuti) of Arunachaleswara, and began to wave it before Bhagavan. But He exclaimed, “Why all
this? The Son is included in the Father!” Once someone placed the Periapuranam in Tamil
prose in Bhagavan’s hands, and He began reading out of it. Now Bhagavan was a past master in story-telling, and
he used to tell stories in hundreds. His solo-acting was ever the admiration of His devotees; His modulation of
voice for different characters, suiting gestures and postures for each incident, was wonderfully effective. His devotees
never missed a chance of being in the Hall on such occasions, so as to enjoy and benefit by the recitals.

Bhagavan began to read out the life of Kannappar, the great devotee saint. He went on reading incidents in
his early life, and how he went to the forest and found Kudumi Devar, the Sivalinga, his Lord, up the Kalahasti
Hill in the Chitoor district (of Andhra state). Then he told how Kannappar worshipped the Sivalinga with water
carried in his own mouth, flowers taken from his own hair, and the well-cooked and tasted beef prepared for his
own meal — knowing no better and having no better to offer his beloved Lord. The way in which the ordained
priest, Siva Gochariar, resented the intruding defiler of the sacred Sivalinga was so characteristically brought out
by Bhagavan, with His own explanations of the rites and the meanings of the mantras used in the worship, that it
enriched the recital greatly to the benefit and admiration of the devotees.
Then came the scene of scenes, when the Lord in that Sivalinga tested Kannappar and incidentally revealed
to Siva Gochariar the intensity of the forest hunter’s worship from a place of hiding. He saw the unexpected
trickling of blood from one of the eyes on that Sivalinga; he saw Kannappar running to and fro for herbs, and
treating the Lord’s eye with them. Then he saw how, finding them all useless, Kannappar plucked out one of
his own eyes and applied it to that in the Sivalinga; then, seeing the treatment was effective, he ran into ecstasies of
joyful dance.
When Bhagavan came to the story of how Kannappar was plucking out his second eye to heal the second of the
Lord, and of how the Sivalinga extended a hand to stop him, saying “Stop, Kannappar!” Bhagavan’s voice choked,
His body perspired profusely, His hairs stood on end, tears gushed out from His eyes; He could hardly utter a
word, and there was silence, pin-drop silence in the Hall. All were dumbfounded that this great Jnani could be so
overpowered by emotion and ecstasy at the great huntersaint’s devotion. After a while Sri Bhagavan quietly closed
the book, dried the tears in His eyes with the ends of His towel, and laid aside the book, saying, “No, I can’t go on
any further.”
Then we could realise the import of His words in Aksharamanamalai: “Having become silent, if one remains
like a stone, can that be called real silence?” His blossomed Heart had in it the perfect warmth of devotion, no less
than the supreme light of Knowledge.
At The Feet of Bhagavan-T K Sundaresa Iyer

[Ravi.N]

Friends,
Those who are not familiar with KaNNappa nAyanAr story may please refer the link provided below.It will help enjoy the story of how Sri Bhagavan narrated it.Please refer:
http://www.shaivam.org/nakannap.html

[Nagaraj]

Dear i,

Giving to Others is Grace to Yourself

One night last year I had a marvelous dream. In a big choultry on a hill-top I saw Sri Bhagavan and Sri Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Pitham seated before me. My heart overflowed with joy to see the two great Souls together. Sri Sankaracharya enquired how far I had advanced in my study of Sanskrit. Sri Bhagavan replied to him saying that my Sanskrit knowledge was up to the mark. Thereupon Sri Sankaracharya recited a 'Rik' from the Vedas and asked me to translate the rik. I did it to his satisfaction. Then Tirtham (Holy Water) was brought in a vessel. Sri Bhagavan first took a spoonful and passed it to Sri Sankaracharya who also tasted another spoonful and handed it to me to distribute among the vast crowd of devotees that filled the hall. I went round and as I served the last person, I found that the last drop of Tirtham was gone. Then I brought back the empty vessel. Sri Sankaracharya asked me whether I had taken the Tirtham myself, I replied "No." Then Sri Bhagavan observed "It does not matter. Distribution to others is Prasad (Grace) to yourself."

(N Balaram Reddy, My Reminiscences)

Sallutations to Bhagavan

[Subramanian.R]

Kannappa Nayanar is one of the earliest Saiva Saints.  Ramalinga Swamigal says that he is not able to do any thing
that any one of the three, could do? How can I get Siva padam, asks Ramalinga Swamigal. Who are the three?

1.  Siruthondar who gave the flesh of his son to a Byragi who asked for it as food. (Byragi was Siva in disguise,)

2.  Tiru Neela Kanta, the potter who did not touch his wife, since the latter swore saying that he should not touch her. She had
doubted that Neelakanta had gone to a harlot.  The couple lived together many many years losing their youth in course of time.
No children. Siva again came as a brahmin and made them touch each other by a trick and also restored their youth for good
conjugal living.

3. Kannappa Nayanar who with his highest form of love, attained Siva padam in just six days!

vALAl mahavarinthu ootta vallen allen.....

Nagaraj, can you give this wonderful song in Tamizh fonts?

Arunachala Siva.       

[Ravi.N]

Once I wrote two verses in Tamil, one in praise of
the Lord without attributes, the other of the Lord with
numberless forms. In the latter I wrote: “From whom
grace is flowing over the sentient and insentient.”
Bhagavan asked me to change one letter and this altered
the meaning to: “who directs his grace to the sentient and
the insentient.” The idea was that grace was not a mere
influence but could be directed with a purpose where it
was needed most.
Bhagavan gave us a tangible demonstration of God’s
omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Our sense
of ‘I’ would burn up in wonder and adoration on seeing
his unconditional love for all beings. Though outwardly
we seemed to remain very much the same person, inwardly
he was working on us and destroying the deep roots of
separateness and self-concern. A day always comes when
the tree of ‘I’, severed from its roots, crashes suddenly and
is no more, this is Guru’s Grace!
At the Feet of Bhagavan-T K Sundaresa Iyer

[Ravi.N]

Our happiness in the presence of Sri Bhagavan was comparable to the joy of the hosts of Siva on Mount
Kailasa. Sri Bhagavan used to say, “Kailasa is the abode of Siva; Arunachala is Siva Himself. Even in Kailasa
things are as they are with us here. Devotees go to Siva, worship Him, serve Him, and hear from Him the
interpretation of the Vedas and Vedanta day in and day out.” So it was Kailasa at the foot of the Arunachala
Hill, and Arunachala Paramatma in human form was Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
In May 1933, on my 36th birthday, after the usual bath and prayers, I sat in Sri Bhagavan’s presence in a
pensive mood. I addressed a prayer in the Tamil viruttam style to Sri Bhagavan, complaining: “O Bhagavan, I have
completed three and a half decades, and yet have not had the experience of the real You. Pray let me have this day
the touch of Your Grace.” Handing over this slip of paper I prostrated before Him.
Bhagavan bade me sit down and gazed steadily at me; I was still in a pensive and meditative mood. All of a
sudden I lost body-consciousness, and was absorbed in Sri Maharshi. I was turned inward, and the voice of
Bhagavan bade me see whatever I desired, I felt that if I could have the darshan of Sri Rama my life would have
been fruitful, as I was very much devoted to Sri Rama. I had then immediately a darshan of Sri Rama, with Sita,
Lakshmana, Bharata, Satrughna and Hanuman. The ecstasy of the vision defied description; I simply sat on,
with Maharshi perhaps gazing on me without my being aware of His gaze. Two hours may thus have passed in
pin-drop silence, lost in the vision, until it vanished. I prostrated at the feet of Sri Maharshi, with tears of ecstasy
in my eyes and my hair standing on end. To Bhagavan’s enquiry I replied that I of course had seen dear Rama.
Bhagavan asked me to fetch the book Dakshinamurti Ashtottara, which I had not read, and opening a page
therein He gave it to me to read. ‘The fifth name from the last read “Om Sri Yoga Pattabhiramaya Namaha.”
Bhagavan then said: “Sri Rama is Dakshinamurti, and Dakshinamurti is Sri Rama. Do you know where Ayodhya
is? The Vedas say it is in the Sun, and describe it as ashtachakra navadwara devanam Purayodhya (the Gods’
city is Ayodhya with eight corners and nine gates). Arunachala is also astachakra puri (eight-cornered city),
and Lord Arunachala is Sri Rama as well as Dakshinamurti. One has no need to go to the Sun to see Ayodhya or Sri
Rama, but one may see them here and now.”

Thus did Sri Ramana once appear to me as Sri Rama, proving once again the age-old adage that Mahatmas can
give darshan as any Beloved form — see Sri Ramana Gita, ch. 18 v. 26. In the Sri Krishna Avatara, did not Bhagavan
grant Hanuman the vision of Sri Rama? Later I realized
that the vision was given to me as painted in Sri Tyagabrahmam’s picture of Sri Rama, though not for
a moment can I equate myself with Sri Tyagaraja.
At The Feet of Bhagavan-T K Sundaresa Iyer

[Nagaraj]

Once Bhagavan 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

Salutations to Bhagavan

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Nagaraj,

All plants, birds and animals have also their resting time. They have got life. To disturb their resting time, by plucking a twig,
is an affront on the plants and trees. Are you not getting angry when someone pulls out your pillow during night when you
are in deep sleep? Sri Bhagavan says that even plucking of flowers and leaves, is an affront on plants and trees. Use only
the flowers and leaves that have fallen on the ground.  See Devi Kalottaram and Jnana Vichara Patalam.

Arunachala Siva. 

[Ravi.N]

THE TEACHING IN SILENCE
It was a Sivaratri Day. The evening worship at the Mother’s shrine were over. The devotees had their dinner
with Sri Bhagavan, who was now on His seat, the devotees at His feet sitting around Him.
At 8 p.m. one of the Sadhus stood up, did pranam (offered obeisance), and with folded hands prayed: “Today
is the Sivaratri Day; we should be highly blessed by Sri Bhagavan expounding to us the meaning of the Hymn to
Dakshinamurti (stotra).”  Bhagavan said: “Yes, sit down.” The Sadhu sat, and all eagerly looked at Sri Bhagavan
and Sri Bhagavan looked at them. Sri Bhagavan sat and sat in His usual pose, no, poise. No words, no movement,
and all was stillness! He sat still, and all sat still, waiting. The clock went on striking, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, one,
two and three. Sri Bhagavan sat and they sat. Stillness calmness, motionlessness — not conscious of the body,
of space or time.Thus eight hours were passed in Peace, in Silence, in Being, as It is. Thus was the Divine Reality
taught through the speech of Silence by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Dakshinamurthy.
At the stroke of 4 a.m. Sri Bhagavan quietly said: “And now have you known the essence of the
Dakshinamurti Hymn”? All the devotees stood and made pranam to the holy Form of the Guru in the ecstasy of
their Being.
At The Feet of Bhagavan-T K Sundaresa Iyer

[Ravi.N]

WALK WITH BHAGAVAN TO THE LAKE
THE Samudram Lake at the foot of Arunachala Hill near Sri Ramanasramam is very extensive; neither
summer rains nor winter monsoons in Tiruvannamalai fill this lake save once in a way, when it overflows.
Thus it overflowed once long years ago. The sight of it was very grand, and the outflow was as wide as a river.
The tank really seemed that day like the Ocean of its name (Samudram). Bhagavan told us that it held this name
because a certain local ruler had this tank constructed as a miniature sea to give his Queen an idea of what a sea
would look like; for she had never seen the sea and wished to do so.
People thronged to look at the overflowing lake, and then came to Bhagavan to talk about it. One morning
the devotees in the Hall expressed to Bhagavan a desire to visit the lake, and He was kind enough, human enough,
to accept the suggestion; so we all went for a stroll to see it. The tank bund is about a mile long; we walked about
a mile from the Ashram to the tank, and then the whole length of the bund. The presence of Bhagavan with us,
and His words, were more interesting to us than the brimming tank and the grand view of the wide waters at
the foot of holy Arunachalam.
Bhagavan talked of many things on that walk withus, but at this distance of time I remember only two topics
that interested me.At one place He pointed out a palmyra tree which had
decayed in the embrace of a parasitic banyan tree. Somebird had dropped a banyan seed into the palmyra, and as it
began to grow the palmyra became cloven and stunted in its own growth. Drawing our attention to this phenomenon,
Bhagavan remarked that this is just what the look of Grace from a Jnani does. One look into a soul, and the whole tree
of past tendencies and prejudices (vasana), gathered up through long cycles of past births, is burned up and decays
away. Then the reality of the Self is experienced. Thus He explained to us the effect of contact with the Great and He
said the supreme Jnana obtained with the touch of the Saint can never be won through the study of any number
of Scriptures, or by any store of good deeds, or by any other spiritual practices and efforts. Later, on return to the
Ashram, I put this in verse form as below: A bird drops seed upon a tree and causes its decay. So
Guru’s grace rays knowledge into the seeking mind,replacing ego-shadows with resplendent Jnana’s light.
(The point of this Verse, brought out fully in the Tamil, is that made by Bhagavan Himself. The seed of the huge banyan tree, which
grows to shelter hundreds, is one of the tiniest and represents unselfish benevolence. The seed of the palmyra which is so large, grows into a
tree which can hardly shelter a single man from the sun, and so well represents the selfish ego. Yet this tiny seed can be dropped by a bird
in its droppings, and while it grows it can demolish the palmyra tree itself. So the tiny seed of Grace can destroy the great tree of egoism.)
At the Feet Of Bhagavan-T K Sundaresa iyer

[Ravi.N]

THE SON IS BEHOLDEN TO THE FATHER,21st November, 1945
Brother, you have asked me to write to you from time to time whatever striking happens in Sri Bhagavan’s
presence and what Sri Bhagavan says on such occasions. But am I capable of doing so? Anyway, I will make an
attempt and am beginning this very day. The attempt will succeed only if Bhagavan’s Grace is on it.
The day before yesterday being full moon, the usual Deepotsava (festival of lights) was celebrated on a grand scale.
This morning Sri Arunachaleswarar started for giri pradakshina (going round the hill) with the usual retinue and devotees
and accompaniment of music. By the time the procession reached the Ashram gate, Sri Niranjanananda Swami (the
Sarvadhikari) came out with Ashram devotees, offered coconuts and camphor to Sri Arunachaleswarar, and paid homage when
the procession was stopped and the priests performed arati (waving of the lights) to the God. Just then Sri Bhagavan
happened to be going towards the Gosala (cowshed) and seeing the grandeur he sat down on the pial near the tap by the side
of the book depot. The arati plate offered to Arunachaleswarar was brought to Bhagavan by Ashram devotees and Sri
Bhagavan took a little Vibhuti (holy ashes) and applied it to his forehead, saying in an undertone “Appakku Pillai Adakkam”
(The son is beholden to the father). His voice seemed choked with emotion as he spoke. The expression on his face proved
the ancient saying “bhakti poornathaya Jnanam” (the culmination of devotion is knowledge). Sri Bhagavan is Lord Siva’s son.
Sri Ganapati Muni’s saying that he is Skanda incarnate, was confirmed. It struck us that Bhagavan was teaching us that
since all creatures are the children of Ishwara, even a Jnani should be beholden to Ishwara.
We can never tell how pregnant with meaning are the words of Mahatmas. You ask me to write somehow, but how
can I convey the exquisite beauty of his utterances? How can I describe adequately? I wrote in a recent poem that
every word that falls from his lips is scripture. Why talk of his words alone? If one has the ability to understand, his
very gaze and gait, his action and inaction, inhaling and exhaling — everything about him is full of meaning. Have I
the capacity to understand and interpret all this? With full faith in Sri Bhagavan’s grace, I shall write to you whatever
occurs to me, serving Sri Bhagavan with the devotion of the squirrel to Sri Rama.
SISTER
Letters from Sri Ramanasramam-suri Nagamma