Sri Rama and Sri Ramana Maharshi

[Subramanian.R]

Sri Rama Navami - 2019:


* * * The Greatness of "Rama" Japa * * *

A devotee asked,
?Swami, what is the easiest way to attain moksha??

Bhagavan Sri Ramana said with a smile,
?As and when the mind goes astray,
it should be turned inward and made to steady
itself in the thought of the Self.
That is the only way.?

Another devotee said,
?To do so, the repeating of the name of Rama is good, is it not??

?Certainly, it is good,? said Bhagavan Sri Ramana .

?What could be better?

The greatness of the japa
of the name of Rama is extraordinary.

In the story of Namadeva he is reported to
have told one devotee,
?If you want to know the greatness of the name of Rama
you must first know what your own name is,
what your real nature (swarupa) is,
who you are and how you were born.
Unless you know your own origin,
you will not know your name!?

This idea is found in the Abhangas
of Namadeva written in Marathi language and
in the Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayana.?

Thereupon Bhagavan Sri Ramana related a story from the latter.

IT IS STATED in that book that
when Anjaneya ( Lord Hanuman) went in search of Sita,
he seated himself opposite to Ravana in the Darbar Hall
on a high pedestal and fearlessly spoke to him thus:

?Oh Ravana,
I give you a teaching (upadesa) for attaining liberation (moksha).
Please listen to me carefully.
It is certain that the Self (Atma) gets purified
by intense devotion to Hari,
who is in the lotus of the Heart at all times.
The ego gets destroyed and
then the sin gets destroyed.
Afterwards, in its place,
the knowledge of the transcendent Self emerges.
With a pure mind and with the Bliss (Ananda)
generated by a firm knowledge of the Self,
the two letters ?Ra? ?Ma?
which are like mantras,
will repeat themselves within you automatically.
What more is required for a person
who has this knowledge,
however little it might be ?
Hence worship the lotus feet of Vishnu,
which will remove all worldly fears,
which are dear to all devotees and
which shine as brightly as the light of a crore of Suns.
Give up the ignorance of your mind?.

This has been mentioned in two or three slokas in the Sanskrit Adhyatma Ramayanam but not as elaborately as
in the Malayalam text.

Is the greatness of the name of Rama ordinary?

~ from Spiritual Stories as told by Ramana Maharshi book

***

Arunachala Siva.

[Subramanian.R]

Sri B.V. Narasimhaswami, author of Self Realization, has given a number of
similarities between Sri Rama and Sri Ramana. 

The most important is their sticking to the truth.

Truth is Sri Rama and truth is Sri Ramana.

Bhagavan  calls it as ulla- porul, that is, the only true Substance.  One can see it
in Ulladu Narpadu. 

Arunachala Siva.

[Subramanian.R]

Today is Punarvasu day in the month of Chaitra, the star on which Sri Rama was
born.  Sri Bhagavan also was born on the Punarvasu star day in the month of Dhanus.

Today the Asramam is celebrating Punarvasu star day and also Sri Rama's birth day.

I am giving a few verses of Murugnar under the title of Punarsu Vannam:

   
Now I am  giving two beautiful verses from Sri Ramana Sannidhi Murai, Tirupadam kaNda thiRan: The benefit of seeing the divine feet of Sri Bhagavan:

Seeing the Sacred Feet:


406.

Lord whose star is Ardhra, Master of Vedas,
Who brought as bright experience to my heart
The truth the Ancient taught, he made me
His own out of sheer kindness. This
Quick, mercurial magic, this transforming
Glory manifest in broad daylight, I witnessed!

(Tamizh original starts as -  Adiraiyin naLanai anubhavama vedanta....)

410.

I know and I, beside myself,
Bowed low, and worshipped what I saw;
The Plane of Siva, which is Pure
Blissful Awareness sweet to taste,
The Guru's Plane, which with the wealth
Of Self enriches all beholders,
The all transcending Hill of radiance
Beyond the reach of human speech, I witnessed !

(Tamizh verse starts as - parisevakum pahara voNNap paramjyoti parup padhathai...)

411.

The highest heaven of pure Awareness
From which there is no return,
The rare beatitude extolled
By the ultimate sacred word as far
Beyond thought or rich of dark, deluded
Mind, Kaivalya grand, the state
Of Brahman, this, even this I witnessed!

(Tamizh verse starts as - tirumbudhal illatha param dhama oLich chiRparamAha....)

****

Arunachala Siva.