Bhagavan Ramana Teachings

[Balaji]

Sri Ramana Sannidhi Murai
by Sri Muruganar , translated from the tamil by Prof K.Swaminathan
photo : Madhavi Kanumuri
Song 969

[Balaji]

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi: Isvara Aradhana

D.: When dukha (misery) overpowers me, enquiry is impossible.

M.: Because the mind is too weak. Make it strong.
D.: By what means?
M.: Sat-sanga, Isvara Aradhana, pranayama ?association with the wise, worship of God, breath control. [By these,] misery is removed; our aim is removal of misery. You do not acquire happiness. Your very nature is happiness. Bliss is not newly earned. All that is done is to remove unhappiness. These methods do it.

Talks 290

[Balaji]

I prostrated before him and said, "Bhagavan! I am doing Rama japa. Is not Arunachala mantra superior to the other?" "No! No!" said Bhagavan, "Both are identical.
`Ra' means 'That is' and
'Ma' means `Thou';
'A' means 'That',
`Ru' means 'Thou
`Na' means 'Art ' ;
and added, "Using your mind as your mouth let the name 'Rama' revolve continuously as the Vishnu Chakra (Wheel weapon of Vishnu) within your mind. None other need know that you are doing a japa." I interjected, "If I spend all my time like that what will happen to my teaching work? Will not my bread-winning be in jeopardy?" Bhagavan replied "The one whose name you repeat will take full charge of all that, don't fear!"
N.R.K.  Reminiscences Part II
Boundless ocean of grace Vol.II

[Balaji]

From face book

Ramana Maharshi is not known for performing stunning miracles. Instead He is known for bestowing spiritual peace on humanity. More importantly he taught us how to attract Divine Grace. What is greater? Is it to give food or to impart the knowledge of how to cultivate food? Maharshi belonged to the category of Mahatmas who empowered individuals to attract the grace of the Divine. One such gift is Five hymns to Arunachala which can radically change the spiritual condition of one who recites it. His teachings given in the small booklet Who am I? are actionable. What is the result of practising His teaching? It is that you can throw all your responsibility, all you worry and cares to the feet of the Divine and remain free and happy. Even as a traveller in a train puts his luggage down without carrying it on his head, the follower of Ramana Maharshi traverses life, without being troubled by any burden of any kind. There is no higher praise of Him than to say with all your heart Arunachala and experience pure joy.

[Balaji]

from fb Sri Ramana Maharshi

 Power of Lord Natarajar's Devotee.

Today evening Asham worshipped Lord Nataraja and Mother Sivakami with abhishekham. A group of thirty Veda Pathasala students and their teachers chanted the Vedas. We know that Bhagavan gave liberation to Cow Lakshmi. Someone asked Bhagavan Swami, you say that Cow Lakshmi attained liberation; but is it not true that only human beings can get moksha Why In Chidambaram a devotee of Lord Nataraja, a great saint gave moksha to a thorn bush, said Bhagavan with a smile. Upon further inquiry Bhagavan narrated this story:
In Chidambaram, there was a saint by the name of Umapathi Sivacharya. He was a poet and also a scholar. As he was in an extraordinary state of spirituality, he did not pay much attention to the usual Brahminical practices. The pundits of the place became angry with him, especially since he was a learned man and knew all the precepts of the Hindu religion and they forbade him from living in the village or even visiting the temple. He therefore lived in a small hut built on a raised ground outside the village. A low caste man called Pethan Samban took care of him and also helped him in a general way. One day, Pethan was met by Iswara Himself in the guise of the Dikshita in charge of the temple, wrote a verse on a palmyra leaf, gave it to him telling him that it was to be handed over to Umapathi Sivacharya.
Pethan gave that verse to Sivacharya, who, on opening it, found in the first line itself the words, the servant of the devotees, the Lord of Chidambaram. Immediately, he was overwhelmed with devotion and a thrill passed through his body as he read the letter. The gist of the verse was A note from Chidambaranathan - the servant of the devotees to the person who has set up a new establishment, namely Sivacharya. It is your duty to give initiation to this Pethan Samban regardless of caste and to the surprise of all people.
He read the letter and was overwhelmed with joy. In obedience to the orders of the Lord, he initiated Pethan into the order of sannyasi, though he belonged to the lowest caste and in due course he gave nayana diksha (transmission of power through the eyes) to Pethan, immediately after which Pethan vanished into holy light. Sivacharya himself was immensely surprised at this occurrence and only then understood the wisdom of Pethan.
Enemies of Sivacharya noticed the sacrificial offerings and other things he was having for his initiation and complained to the Government that Sivacharya had burnt Pethan to death for some mistake that Pethan might have committed. When the king came there with his retinue to enquire into the complaint, Sivacharya showed the verse of Lord Nataraja and said that he gave initiation to Pethan and that Pethan vanished after that in the form of a divine light (Jyoti). The king was surprised and asked Sivacharya if he could likewise give initiation and moksha to the thorn bush nearby. Yes. What doubt is there said Sivacharya.
Accordingly he gave nayana diksha to that thorn bush and that too immediately disappeared in Pure Light (Jyoti).
The king was still more astonished at that and said, This looks like some black magic. You said Lord Nataraja had written this note. Let us go and ask Him.Sivacharya pointed out that there was a ban on his entering the temple. Hearing all this, all the people - the pundits, the common people curious about the whole thing and the enemies of Sivacharya who were sure he would be duly punished - flocked to the temple to see the strange sight. As the two entered the temple, and out of regard for the king when Arathi (waving of lights) was offered to Lord Nataraja, it was found that on either side of the Lord there stood Pethan and the thorn bush. The pundits were surprised and, out of fear and remorse, fell at the feet of Sivacharya requesting him to pardon them for all their faults. They subsequently brought him back into the village with due honours. This story is in Chidambara Mahatmyam. Such is the power and glory of saints devoted to the Lord of Chidambaram.

[Balaji]

நான் ஏன் ரமண மஹரிஷியை தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறேன்
--- பேராசிரியர் G.V. குல்கர்னி
நான் ஏன் ரமண மஹரிஷியைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறேன் ? ஏனெனில் நான் உண்மையான மௌனத்தை விரும்புகிறேன் , முழுமையான அமைதியை விரும்புகிறேன் , அது வேறெங்கும் கிடைக்கவில்லை எனக்கு.
இது என்னுடைய முயற்சியால் ஒரு போதும் அடையப்பட மாட்டாது என்பதை நான் முழுதும் அறிவேன். ஒரு முழுமையான குருவின் அருளும் வழிநடத்துதலும் எனக்குக் கட்டாயம் தேவை அந்த குரு சூரியனும் சந்திரனும் இல்லாத நாட்டைப் பார்த்திருக்க வேண்டும் எல்லாவற்றையும் ஒளிவிடச் செய்யும் ஒளியைத் தரிசித்திருக்க வேண்டும் , முழுதும் சுதந்திரமாகவும் , அபயத்தன்மையோடும் இருக்கவேண்டும். பகவான் ரமணர் அத்தகைய குரு என்பதில் எனக்கு அசைக்க முடியாத நம்பிக்கை உண்டு. உயர்ந்த உள்குருவாகவும் ஆத்மாவாகவும் அவர் நமக்குள் இருக்கிறார். ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் வெளியிலிருந்து உள்ளிருந்தும் அவர் நம்மையெல்லாம் தன்னிடம் அழைக்கிறார் என்பதை நான் உணர்கிறேன்.
இதுதவிர , உண்மையை அறிய சுற்றுவழி எதுவும் எனக்கு வேண்டாம். எனக்குத் தேவையானது நேராக , உறுதியான , மிகக் குறுகிய , நிச்சியமான பாதையே. அதுவே முடிவாகவும் இருக்க வேண்டும். மகரிஷியின் பாதை அத்தகையது என்பது நிச்சியம் வேறு எந்த ஒன்றையும் இப்பாதையில் நாடியிருக்க வேண்டிய அவசியம் இல்லை. நம்மை நாம் நாடியிருத்தால் மட்டுமே போதும். மகரிஷி வார்த்தைகளால் போதிப்பதில்லை , மௌனத்தாலே உபதேசிக்கிறார் எனவே தான் நான் அவரைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறேன். அவரது மௌனம் காலத்தையும் , இடத்தையும் கடந்து அவற்றை அடக்கி ஆள்வது. அவரது உபதேசமும் பாதிப்பும் மிக ஆழமானவை , நுட்பமானவையும் கூட அவரது தனித்த அனுபவத்திலிருந்து அவை முகிழ்கின்றன அவரது உபதேசத்தின் அடிப்படை அத்துவித வேதாந்தமாக அமைந்தாலும் , அது பெரும் உயிர்த்துடிப்பும் , புதுமையும் கொண்டது. அதில் எல்லாச் சமயங்களும் சந்தித்தே ஆக வேண்டும். அது எளிமையானது , இயற்கையானது தூய இருப்பாம் ? நான் இருக்கிறேன் ? என்ற விழிப்புணர்வைக் கொண்டது. ? அதைச் செய்ய வேண்டும் , இதைச் செய்ய வேண்டும் ? என்ற கட்டாயம் , ஆடம்பரம் இதில் இல்லை. ? இரு ? என்றே அவர் சொல்லி தனது விரல்களைப் புதிரின் இதயத்தில் வைக்கிறார். அது போதும் அகந்தையின் நுட்பமான செயற்பாட்டை அவர் அறிகிறார். அவரைப் பின்பற்ற வேண்டும் என்றோ தனது ஆசிரமத்திற்கு வர வேண்டும் என்றோ அவர் நம்மிடம் கூற வில்லை ; மாறாக நமது ஆத்மாவுக்கே செல்லச் சொல்லுகிறார். நமக்குள் இருக்கும் புனித சன்னிதானத்தை அடையும்படி கூறுகிறார்.
? உள்ளே செல் , உள்ளே விசாரி. அருணாசலர் அகத்தில் இருக்கிறார் ? என்பது அவர் வாக்கு. ரமணரையும் அருணாசலரையும் பிரிப்பது என்பது முடியாத காரியம். அவர்கள் சக்தியும் சிவனும் போல வேறல்லர். தந்தை மகன் உறவுமுறைபோல் அவர்கள் இணைக்கப் பட்டாலும் , தந்தையும் மகனும் , இயேசு பெருமான் கூறுவதைப் போல , ஒன்றே ஆவர்.
என்னைச் சுற்றி அகந்தை என்னும் மேகம் படரும் போதுதான் ரமணரைக் கூப்பிடுகிறேன். அவர் வருகிறார் , வருகிறார் , எப்போதும் வருகிறார் !
மாயை என்னையும் உலகையும் மூடும் போது அவர் ஒளியை நான் நாடுகிறேன் சூரியனைபோல் அவர் வருகிறார் , வருகிறார் , எப்போதும் வருகிறார்.
எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் மேலாக நான் ரமணரை நேசிக்கக் காரணம் , அவர் தான் எனது வாழ்வு , எனது மூச்சு , எனது நம்பிக்கை. அவரில்லாது போனால் எனது வாழ்வே மிகுந்த சுமையாகி விடும். கர்மச் சக்கரத்தின் அனுதின செயற்பாடாகி விடும்.
மேலும் மேலும் நான் பகவான் ரமணரையே தேர்ந்தெடுக்கக் காரணம் என்ன தெரியுமா ? அவர் என்னைத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்தது தான்.
நன்றி : ரமண ஜோதி

from fb ramana mandiram

[Balaji]

Guru Vachaka Kovai

65 Being Still

773 What our Lord (Ramana)firmlyteaches us to take as the greatest and most powerful tapas, is only this much :'Summa iru.' There is no other duty for the mind and its thoughts." 40.

774. The lazy state of just being and shining is the state of self and that is the highest state that one can become. Revere as the most virtuous those who have attained that lazy state which cannot be attained except by very great and rare tapas.41



Note :
40  Since iru is the imperative of both the verb ' to be ' and the verb ' to stay' summa iru canbe translated by a wide variety of expressions: ' just be ' , ' be still', ' stay quiet', ' be as you are ' ' stay as you are ' and so on.  This verse appears to be a comment by Muruganar, rather than a statement by Bhagavan.

41.  Bhagavan appears to be making fun here of those people who said that a sadhana of being still was an incitement to laziness.

The Power of  The Presence Vol.II
by David Godman

[Balaji]

Sri Bhagavan would mix all the food together, add hot water and make a kind of porridge that would then be shared equally among all those presence.
Devotees who found this home-made gruel unappetizing would sometimes request that at least some salt should be added to the mixture. But where are we to get the salt? Sri Bhagavan would ask, Who will give us salt unless we specifically ask for it?  If once we relax our rule of non-begging in order to get the salt, the palate that craves for salt today will next cry out for sambar, then for rasam then for buttermilk and so on.  Its cravings will thus grow endlessly.  Because of this we should stick to our rule of non-begging.

Chhaganlal V Yogi
The Power of the Presence Vol.II

[Balaji]

3. Though I had evil karma and did not know of any refuge, though I was ignorant and totally worthless, even so, he established me in the blissful ocean of silence, the indescribable treasure of Grace, severing all bonds.

Ramanatha Brahmachari, The Power of Presence David Godman, Vol.III

[Balaji]

Ramanatha Brahmachari's relationship with Chinnaswami had already been  strained by an incident that had taken place a few years earlier. Chinnaswami  had asked Ramanatha Brahmachari to stop spinning thread saying that it would  damage his already weak eyesight. Ramanatha Brahmachari refused.  Somehow, this seemingly innocuous conversation degenerated into a violent
quarrel in which Chinnaswami started rolling the diminutive figure of Ramanatha  Brahmachari along the ground. Kunju Swami intervened when it looked as if  Chinnaswami was about to roll Ramanatha Brahmachari down some stone  steps.  Chinnaswami, in an attempt to enforce his authority, shouted 'Do you know who  I am?.  Ramanatha Brahmachari replied meekly, If we knew that we wouldn't be in this  quarrel".


The Power of Presence , David Godman Vol III

[Balaji]

BHAGAVAN?S  ECONOMY

 "You should be capable of making use of even the dust   while at the same time you should also be ready to reject entire cosmos as mere dust!" These were the potent words given by Bhagavan   to me, when we were together cutting vegetable.  Bhagavan was keen on using every bit of the vegetables for cooking; usually, the stem portion of a brinjal is cut off and thrown away. Bhagavan would gather these 'rejects' and utilise them in some other preparation. He would say that the stem portion is most nutritious. He would use the whole spinach, stem and all and not just the green leaves alone. He would grind the stem take out the juice and use it in rasam.  Bhagavan frowned on wastage. Like vegetables, paper too was to be used with the utmost care and economy. Every bit of paper would be preserved by Him. He would bind them into small note-books, according to their size. He himself would bind them, keeping with him gum, calico, needle and twine for this purpose.  And He would use these materials only when and to the extent they were required.   His day-to-day life was by itself a great lesson for every one of us. He taught by exemple economy and non-waste not only of materials but of words too, both spoken and written. How much He said in so few words!

Viswanatha swami
Boundless Ocean of Grace Vol.II 

[Balaji]

from fb Sri Ramana Maharshi

At the sight of him who in his heart has fixed the Lord Siva's Feet, Death is reminded of his bygone disastrous encounter with Markandeya and flees away. All other gods worship only Siva, placing their crowned heads at His feet. Such involuntary worship is only natural to Siva. Goddess Liberation, His consort, always remains part of Him. (Verse 65) Sivananda Lahari by Adi Shankaracharya
Men of pure minds who intensely fear death surrender themselves unto the Lord of all,
the blissful One, the indwelling Self, who has no death nor birth. By that (surrender)
their ego, along with their attachments, becomes extinguished. How can they who (thus) have won abode in Immortality, have any thought of death? Sri Ramana Maharshi Benediction. Indeed when such Lord appears before us he acts as follows on Sivaratri Day> (Note the onion)

There was an old shepherdess who used to visit Bhagavan in the early years, when he was on the Hill and would offer Him koozhu (gruel), saying: You are simply sitting like this all day long. At least, have this please. She once came on a Sivaratri day around
1948 with a large pot full of koozhu and some sliced onions for side dish. Though a rich and variegated fare was to be served to all on that festive day, Bhagavan said that he cared more for the koozhu
but urged others to partake of the sumptuous feast. When all those
present expressed willingness to share the koozhu (overlooking the onion) and begged Him to taste the rest of the fare too, Bhagavan agreed. I was there and watched Bhagavan intently. He sat in the
dining hall and simply waited till all the items were served, then mixing them all up together, ate the gruel!

Maha Sivaratri Today

[Balaji]

from fb David Godman

Over the last few weeks I have been working on new editions of The Power of the Presence. The materials I used for previous reprints were damaged during a flood at a press in Pondicherry. Since I never had digital files for these books, I decided to start from scratch and make new editions that would have photos to illustrate the text, as well as a little extra information and updated translations of some of the texts I cite. Today I was working on the chapter by and about Sadhu Natanananda.

Sadhu Natanananda was my neighbour when I first lived in Tiruvannamalai in 1970s. I was occupying a room in the Osborne house while he had a room in the neighbouring compound that was owned by Dorab Framji. We would occasionally pass on the road, but he would never acknowledge my existence. It wasn't just me. He tended to ignore everyone when he was out, even devotees he had known for decades.

Over time I came to learn that he had compiled the excellent booklet Upadesa Manjari (Spiritual Instruction) that has appeared in many editions of Bhagavan's Collected Works. This was not his only contribution to the book. He edited the question-and-answer version of Vichara Sangraham (Self-Enquiry) and wrote the essay version of the same text, the one that now most frequently features in editions of Collected Works. At Bhagavan's request he edited the first Tamil edition of Guru Vachaka Kovai, and in the 1950s he wrote Sri Ramana Darsanam, a Tamil book that contained teachings he had heard and events he had witnessed during Bhagavan's lifetime.

About fifteen years ago T. V. Venkatasubramanian asked me to help him bring out an English edition of this book. I agreed and we, along with Robert Butler, spent a couple of months working on the text,. It was a dense and linguistically complicated book: sentences occasionally sub-claused their way through a couple of pages, and the footnotes were so long and extensive, there were even footnotes on some of the footnotes. I showed our finished manuscript to Sundaram, the Ramanasramam president, who took it home to read. The next day he told me how delighted and excited he had been to go through the manuscript.

But haven't you read the original I asked, rather innocently.

Of course not, he replied. No one can understand a word of what he is saying in Tamil. His language and style are too complicated.

The English translation was eventually published by Sri Ramanasramam.

At the end we included two poems that had not appeared in the original book. They had been preserved in the Ramanasramam archives as manuscripts. In contrast to the prolix and interminable sentences of the book, these were simple two-line verses that occasionally spoke movingly of the grace that Bhagavan had bestowed on him. I should like to give a few of these verses, but before I do, I will post a brief account that Natanananda wrote in which Bhagavan appeared to promise him that he would attain liberation in his current life:

On one Vyasapumima day [a festival that is celebrated on the day of the July-August full moon], Ganapati Muni, Kapali Sastri, along with a group of Sanskrit scholars, were walking around the mountain. They stopped off at the ashram to pay their respects to the Maharshi. When they were seated in the old hall, they started discussing philosophy in Sanskrit. I was listening to the discussion, and I knew that they were discussing philosophy, but I could not follow the meaning. Because of this my mind began to wander and I became quite agitated, wondering when the day would dawn when I would have the experiences that they were talking about. My longing for these experiences was so intense that I lost all consciousness of the body. I was not sure how long I remained in that state, but suddenly a voice brought back my normal consciousness. All the others had left and only Bhagavan remained in the hall.

Why are you so dejected said the voice. If you were really unfit to realise the Self in this life, then you could not have come to this place at all. The power that drew you here will make you realise the Self. If not today, it is bound to fulfil its commitment. There is no reason why you should feel dejected.?

?It was these gracious words that brought me back to life, and peace entered my soul immediately. (The Mountain Path, 1981, p. 235)

It was not an idle promise. After Bhagavan passed away, Natanananda composed these verses and included them in a poem entitled Tiruvarut Selvam, which means The Wealth of Grace. There are 108 verses in total. These are the ones that deal with his direct experience of the Self and the role that Bhagavan played in revealing it to him.

48 On that day when I caught hold of your feet, saying, You are my refuge, you granted me freedom from fear by saying, Fear not.

49 I rid myself of burdens by surrendering my life to the guardianship of Sri Ramana. Responsibility for my life became his, and I attained salvation.

50 When I realised that no actions were my actions, and that all actions were actions of the Lord, I was freed from ego.

51 Only the thought of Siva-Ramana made my mind clear, dispelling completely the fear of birth and death.

54 By getting rid of oppressive attachments, I died. What is now animating the body is being-consciousness, that which abides as my Lord.

57 To me who had the conceit that I knew everything, my Lord, dispelling ignorance, gave the eye of jnana.

67 Consciousness, manifesting within and becoming my Guru, perpetually prevented me from identifying with sense perceptions.

68 Losing Self-awareness, I was chained in the body by the vile senses. I was liberated by consciousness that manifested in my Heart as the soul of my soul.

69 When I was surrounded by illusory darkness, remaining in a state in which I was unable to bloom, the sun of truth-grace made me blossom.

72 What excellent deeds did I, a dog, perform in the past that enabled me to come into contact with him who has no equal, and by doing so attain salvation?

73 Acting through ego-consciousness, the mind used to suffer by jumping out through the five senses, but now, through being-consciousness, it remains as sat [reality].

75 The body was formerly an abode for disease, the enjoyment of sense perceptions and the ego ghost. Now it has become the dwelling place of the Lord.

78 As desires ceased through the blessings of my Master, the mind, which was never previously satisfied, now attained fullness and completeness.

79 Having succeeded in getting the good fortune of practising devotion to the feet of the Lord in whom grace is abounding, the soul, which was merged in dark delusion, attained the Heart state.

80 To my eye of jnana, which has seen the truth, the Self appears everywhere. The illusory objects perceived by the senses, which I saw when I was deluded, no longer appear.

81 When the glittering sun appears, no stars are seen. Similarly, when my godliness arose, no thought appeared.

82 Jnana did not shine as long as the ego manifested. When the Self appeared, ego disappeared by itself.

85 By thinking without thought of the one [Bhagavan] who, like Arunachala, abides without movement, I sank into the Heart.

89 Appearing as the Guru outside and as consciousness within, he weeded out the illusory mind and revealed my real nature.

100 Becoming the Heart-space where my Lord dances, I remained permanently sunk in the ocean of bliss.

105 Your great and wonderful statement ? those who are caught in the net of the gracious glance of the sword-like eyes of the Guru will never escape ? has now become true.

106 By getting the rare-to-attain human birth, and the longing for supreme bliss and the difficult-to-find grace of the Guru, I arrived at true life.

In 1969 the French film-maker Louis Malle came to India and made a documentary about its ashrams. On his visit to Sri Ramansramam he talked to Sadhu Natanananda and filmed the exchange. Unfortunately, most of what Sadhu Natanananda said on that occasion was subsequently dubbed into French, so his original words cannot be discerned. Here is the clip from the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch v=3sdkqQerIOg

If anyone connected with Louis Malle or the French film industry gets to read this, I would love to know if there is any surviving material from the Ramansramam visit that didn't make the cut. It might be interviews with other devotees, film of Ramansramam and its environment, or possibly an extended version of this Natananananda talk that has his original words.

[Balaji]

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[Balaji]

Bathing in the Ganga removes the sins of man, not the sinner in him.   But the association with a sage destroys the sinner also.   There is nothing so powerful to purify the mind as association with a sage.


Lakshman Sarma, Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad.
The Power of the Presence, Vo.III,David Godman
THE GREATNESS OF SAGES.