32

CHAPTER TWO

LIFE OF BHAGAVAN AND IDS WORKS

The relationship between a creative writer's life and his work

is an issue that has been much discussed but not resolved. There was

a violent reaction against biographical criticism as an extrinsic

approach in the earlier part of this century. Yet, recent critics have

tooded to take a more complex view of the matter. In fact, it is now

generally agreed that life-experience is certainly the raw material for

literature which in the process of literary creation goes through a

process of transmutation. This process of transmutation is also what

gives each literary work its individual characteristic. As seen in the

previous chapter, the life-experience of a mystic finds effective expres-

sion in his writings. The literary creation of the mystic becomes the

vital record of his inner, spiritual experience. A study of the inner,

psychic as well as the external life of a mystic is a means to interpret

the recorded experience in his poetry. It is in the light of these facts

that an account of the life of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi is provided

in this chapter.

Madurai which lies between Madras and Cape Comori? in South

'-,
India, is ,a city of temples with its 'cloud-capped towers' and is well-

known for the holy shrine of Sree Meenakshi and Iswara (Shakti ~ and

Lord Siva). Thiruchuzhi which is located about fifty kilometres south-

east of Madurai is noted for its Bhuminatheswara temple. It has been

. '.
.~: ~
,,:. . .'
:

,"' ".'
.' .' .". -:. :--
 33

sung by saint-poets like Sundaramurthy Nayanar, Manickavachakar and

Sekkizhar in their sacred Hymns Devaram, Thiruvachakam and Periya-

puranam respectively. In this town, there lived a virtuous and pious

Brahmin couple Sundaram Aiyar, an uncertified lawyer and Azhagammal,l

an ideal housewife. They were blessed wi th four children

Nagaswamy, Venkataraman, Nagasundaram and Alamelu. Venkataraman,

the second son was born on December 29, 1879, in the early hours

of December 30. This day is the sacred day of I Thiruvadirai I dedicated

to Nataraja, the Lord of Dance2 -- and the very day on which in

ancient times Lord Siva manifested himself as Arunachala in the form

of the column of fire of knowledge to Brahma and Vishnu to subdue

their ego. This day symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and

humili ty over arrogance.

Venkataraman had his primary education in Thiruchuzhi and

Dindigul and elementary education at Scott I s Middle School, Madurai,

and then the secondary level at American High School, Madurai. Though

he had a good memory, he showed no keen interest in his studies.

He had a robust physique and was very good at wrestling, football

and swimming. His friends used to play pranks on him only when he

was asleep and they discovered that he was an unusually sound-sleeper.

1
Bhagavan sings of this Holy Shrine and mentions his parent-
age in 'Navamanimalai I , v.8 and 'Aksharamanam_al~i I I v.2. The
house where Bhagavan was born is now known '-, as "Sundara
Mandiram".

It was also the day when Lord Siva I danced I the cosmic dance
after subduing the demon Andhaka. Arunacnalam or Tiruvannamalai
is at the foot of the Arunachala Hill which is at a distance of
160 km from Madras.

, -.
.,~. . ";,',,",".
 34

After his father passed away on February 18, 1892, his mother

moved to Madurai to stay with his paternal uncle, Subbaiyar, whose

,.
3
residence was just 21 yards away from the South Tower of the Holy

Shrine of Sri Meenakshi. On November 1, 1895, an elderly relative

visited their home. On being asked where he was coming from, his

relative said, "From Arunachalam" . On hearing . II Arunachalam" ,

Venkataraman was thrilled. Further, hearing that ' Arunachalam' is

'Ti ruvannamalai' he felt a call from the Holy Shrine. Shortly after

this, he came across Sekkizhar's periyapuranam,4 a book of Tamizh

Saivite Agamic (=religious) literature that narrates the pious lives of

the sixty three I Nayanmars I . On reading the profound devotion of the

Nayanmars, he felt a rare love for Lord Siva welling up in his heart.

Venkataraman had a remarkable mystic experience on July 17,

1896 when he was sitting alone in a small room on the first floor of

his uncle I s house in Madurai. A sudden fear of death gripped him

totally, even though he was not ill. Unperturbed by this fear of death,

he boldly enacted and scrutinized the process of death. Lying down,

he made his body stiff and closed his lips tightly. Turning his atten-

tion within towards himself, he experienced death. He said of his

experience:

3 This abode of peace is now popularly known -as

I

"Sri Ramana
Mandiram" .
'.
4
Periapuranam (Tamizh language) was written by Sekkizhar _who
was the Prime Minister of I Chozha I King Anabhaya Chozhan during
the 12th century. Sekkizhar depicts the, devotion of the sixty
three Nayanmars towards Lord Siva in Periyapuranam .

.'.' ,"'
.:...... '"):.' '.:
 35

The shock of the fear of death drove my mind

inwards and I said to myself mentally, wi thout
actually framing the words: 'Now death has come;
what does it mean? What is it that is dying? The
body dies.' And I at once dramatized the occurrence
of death. I lay with my limbs stretched out stiff
as though 'rigor mortis' had set in and imitated
a corpse so as to give greater reality to the
enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly
closed so that no sound could escape, so that neither
the word 'I' nor any other word could be uttered.
.. 'Well then,' I said to myself, 'this body is dead •
It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and
there burnt and reduced to ashes. But with the death
of this body am I dead? Is the body I? It is silent
and inert but I feel the full force of my personality
and even the voice of the 'I' within me, apart from
it. So I am Spirit transcending the body. The body
dies but the Spirit that transcends it cannot be
touched by 'death. That means I am the deathless
Spirit~ 5

This realization -- I am the imperishable Self came to him in a

flash without any prior preparation or initiation or training in 'Yoga'

or meditation. As a result, the 'ego' or body consciousness was lost

and this experience of the Self continued to shine permanently in him

as his natural state beyond time and space. 6 It is this experience that

finds expression in all his philosophical poems and .

proseI writings.

5
Arthur Osborne, Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-l<nowledge
(1954; Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1973), pp. 18-19.

6
Later on, Bhagavan said, liThe Sun that rose in Madurai is the
same Sun that shins in Tiruvannamalai. Nothing is newly added
to or removed from me".

';.
'.~. ,
: ......... ,;"
 36

In Indian mystical tradition, there are a few references to Self as God

or Brahman or 'I' but such Self-Realization occurring within twenty-

five minutes is incomparable even in the world history of mysticism.

Since Bhagavan confirms that Self is God, this can also be called the

'Mysticism of the Self'.

After this experience of Self-Realization, he began to wean him-

self away from his previous mode of life and became meek and passive.

He visited Sree Meenakshi temple with added force daily and stood

before the idols of the sixty three Saivite Tamizh saints, shedding

tears of ecstasy. Indeed, he was totally transformed. As Venkataraman

started neglecting his normal duties, his elder brother Nagaswami taunted

him, calling 'a great saint'. Once his teacher asked him to copy a

lesson in Bain' s English Grammar Book three times as punishment for

his failure to learn an item in English grammar. The next day, August
'.
29, 1896, Venkataraman had written the imposition twice in the house.

He then threw aside his books and closed his eyes in Self-absorption.

His elder brother, who was watching him, said, "Why all these for

one like this?" Venkataraman did not respond, but immediately resolved

to leave home for Arunachalam. On the pretext of attending a special

class on electricity, he wanted to leave. His brother asked him to

get five rupees from their aunt and pay his (Nagaswami' s) college fees.

Venkataraman consulted an old map and noted that the .near~st Rail way

Station to Arunachalam was Tindivanam. This map did not show the

branch line from Villupuram to Tiruvannamalai. Calculating the cost of

the journey to be Rs.3/-, he took with him only Rs.3/- and left the
 37

house of his uncle leaving behind a note in Tamizh in a prominent place

that reads thus:

I have, IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER and in obedience

to His command, started from here. THIS is only
embarking on a virtuous enterprise. Therefore none
need grieve over THIS affair. To trace THIS out,
no money need be spent. "Your college fee has not
yet been paid. Rupees Two are enclosed herewith:'

Thus
7

This letter in four lines with a straight line instead of the signa-

ture speaks of his mind when he left from Madurai for Arunachalam.

The letter begins with • I', an entity with a body and a soul. The inser-

tion just after the word • I' of the phrase • in search of my Father'

implies that so long as the • ego' exists, the existence of God apart

from oneself cannot be denied. The word • I' of the first sentence then

changes into • this' in the next sentence. This implies that as soon

as • I' ness and • mine' -ness are surrendered to the Father, • I • becomes

• this'. Finally, this also vanishes and the note ends without a signa-

ture. This denotes that the sense of individuality is lost. B. V .

Narasimhaswami states:

The personality which began with an • I' had melted

into •Th'IS • in the succeeding lines, and at the'-clo~e
'- "
there was evidently no person remaining at that time,
and at that place to sign the letter. The sense of

7
Ci ted. B. V . Narasimha swami, Self-Realization (1931; Tiruvanna-
malai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1985), P .28.
 38

personali ty had sunk, vanished, or at any rate got

too much attenuated to warrant a signature or
produce an inclination to sign the letter. 8

It is evident. that the letter written after his Self-Realization reveals

that as long as the body-consciousness persists., the dual self exists

and as soon as the I ego I vanishes, the Self starts shining as the

Absolute Reality. This can be observed in all his devotional hymns

that begin in duality and end in the disappearance of such distinction.

Though Venkataraman bought a third class railway ticket to

Tindivanam, he was instructed by a Muslim Moulvi in the course of

his journey that he could alight at Villupuram and board a train to

Tiruvannamalai. He was able to reach only upto Mambazhappattu with

the remaining money. He got down and walked on and on in the direction

of Arunachalam and reached Araiyaninallur temple near Thirukkoilur.

Entering the temple, he was lost in. I samadhi I (=deep contemplation)

and had a vision of a dazzling light enveloping the place. However,

he was not allowed by the temple priest to stay there for the night

and so he walked down with the priest to Viratteswara temple in

Kizhur. The temple-drummer gave him his share of food. He went to

a Brahmin I s house for water and fell down and fainted. The next

morning, which was the day of Sri Krishna Jayanthi (Lord Krishna IS

birthday celebration), he happened to go to the house of Muthukrishna

I
,.
Bhagavatar. The Bl;agavatar I s wife fed him and gave him a packet of

sweets. He pledged his gold ear-rings for Rs.4/- with the Bhagav£l.tar

and said he would redeem them later. But he had no interest in them

and so he tore up the address. With that money, he got the ticket

8
ibid., P .31.

'.~. , .
 39

and boarded the train to Tiruvannamalai. Early next morning Tuesday,

September 1, 1896, he reached Tiruvannamala1.

The temple of Arunachaleswara was empty with its doors thrown

ope n for His son to enter the shrine directly. Venkataraman went

directly to the inner shrine and surrendered to Him totally and

experienced greater ecstasy and unspeakable joy.

When he came out of the temple, someone asked him if he wanted

his head to be tonsured. He nodded affirmatively and was taken to

Ayyankulam Tank and his hair was removed. He threw away the

remaining money, the sacred thread and dress, and used only a piece

of cloth as I Kaupina I ( loin-cloth). As he returned almost naked with

a clean-shaven head, a heavy down-pour bathed him. The sixteen year

old boy Venkataraman had flowered into a Self-Realized person. On re-

entering the temple, he sat absorbed in the Self in the

thousand-pillared I mantapam I (hall).

After staying in the thousand-pillared hall for a few months,

the Brahmana Swamy (Venkataraman was known as Brahmana Swamy or

Swamy during this period) moved to the shrine of I pathala-lingam I

(underground vault) to avoid the attraction of curious people and

mischievous urchins. He sat immersed in Self-absorption leaning against

the wall for many days. Insects fed on his flesh and urqhins threw
\".

stones at him. One Seshadri Swamy guarded him against the urchins.
"
One day he and one Venkatachala Mudaliar went inside the cave -and

lifted the motionless body forcibly and separated it from the ground
 40

to which it had got sealed; the wounds opened and blood oozed out.

They brought him to the Subrahmania temple and fed him with liquid

food. But the Swamy was completely oblivious of his surroundings.

Some devotees engaged themselves in the services of the Brahmana

Swamy thereafter and gave him liquid food or milk or bananas.

Annamalai Tambiran and Uddandi Nayanar found peace in serving him.

In 1897, the Swamy moved to 'Gurumurtham' temple, and afterwards

to the adjacent mango grove, which were peaceful. He remained in these

places for a year and a half most of the time in 'Self-absorption'.

Pazhaniswamy, a pious man from Kerala, came to stay with the Swamy

and served him for twenty one years. Annamalai Tambiran wanted to

worship the Swamy in an elaborate way but the Swamy, to stop the

ceremony, wrote in Tamizh on the wall with a piece of charcoal, "This

(food)) is the only service (needed) required for this (body),,9. This

means that food was all that should be offered to this body. The

revelation that the Swamy could write made him reveal his identity

at the persistent pleading of Venkatarama Iyer, a Head Accountant in

the local Taluk office. He wrote in English thus: 'Venkataraman,

Tiruchuzhi'. As the identity became known, the Swamy's fame spread

and pilgrims came to see him.

The Swamy's mother Azhagammal heard of her son's renunciation

I

through Annamalai Tambiran. She sent Nellaiyappar (one - of. the Swamy' s

uncles) to bring the Swamy back home. Nellaiyappar, in turn. came

•
and tried his best to persuade the Swamy to return, but the latter

did not move out of this holy sanctuary. When the Swamy was staying

9
ibid., p.55.

,','
.. ,' .' . ",
~' '
 41

in Pavazhakkundru (one of the hillocks in Arunachala), the Mother

herself came to Arunachalam with another of her sons, Nagaswamy; and

entreated the Swamy to go with her. The pleading and wailing of the

mother did not have the slightest influence on him. Unable to bear

this pitiable sight, some of the devotees prayed to him to give his

opinion at least in writing. He wrote on a piece of paper in Tamizh

thus:

The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accord-

ance with their I prarabdhakarmas I (destiny to be
worked out in this life, resulting from the balance
sheet of actions in past lives). Whatever is destined
not to happen will not happen, try as you may. What-
ever is destined to happen will happen, do what
you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best
course therefore, is to remain silent .10

The answer did not satisfy the mother; she returned home disappointed

and overwhelmed with grief. This answer in four lines speaks a lot

about his I gnana I (profound wisdom), his total surrender and his loss

of individuality. He had been in silence without uttering even a single

word for some years. He used to clap hands for food and receive it

if offered; if it was not, moved away calmly.

Indeed, he returned to the normal way of life -- moving, speak-

ins at times and eating -- but always established in the Supreme Self.

10
Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge, p .42 .

. .'.' ,"
 42

In 1899, he moved to the 'Virupaksha Cave' in which a saint

'Virupaksha Deva' was entombed in the 13th century. The shape of

the cave is in the form of the Sacred Syllable 'Om', the eternal sound.

This cave was Swamy' s abode for 17 years from 1899 to 1916.

As the Swamy was always absorbed in the Self, Divine Grace

filled the atmosphere, and many experienced the Bliss in his presence.

In 1900, Gambiram Seshayyar, an adept in 'Raja Yoga', put questions

to the Swamy and the answer he wrote became the Vichara Sangraham

(Self~oguiry) • This was published in book form in 1902.

Sivaprakasam Pillai, a graduate in philosophy, questioned him in the

year 1901 about theology and its practice. The answers that the Swamy

gave were published in book form in 1902 with the title Nan-Yar? (Who

Am I?). The replies given by the Swamy to the questions put forward

by Sri Natananandar became the Upadesa Manjari (A Bunch of Instruc~

tions). During this period, he received Adi Sankara' s ,Yivekachindamani

(The Crest-jewel) and rendered it into Tamizh prose.

In 1903, Kavya Kanta Ganapathy Sastri or Ganapathy Muni, a Yogi,

a renowned poet and erudite scholar in Sanskrit, came to the Swamy.

On November 18, 1907, he entreated Bhagavan for help in his spiritual

quest. He said:

All that has to be read I have read; even ,Vedanta

\"
Sastra I have fully understood; I have performed
'japa' (invocation) to my heart's content; yet have
I not up to this time understood what 'tapas' is.
Therefore I have sought refuge at your feet. Pray
enlighten me as to the nature of 'tapas'.
 43

The gracious young Swamy responded thus:

If one watches whence the notion I II arises, the

mind is absorbed into That; that is I tapas I . .When
. a mantra is repeated, if one watches the Source from
which the mantra sound is produced the mind is
absorbed in That; that is I tapas I .11

Ganapathy Muni proclaimed the Swamy, a I Maharshi I and I Bhagavan I ,

12
and composed Ramana Gita in praise of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.

Henceforth, the young Swamy came to be known as I Bhagavan Ramana

Maharshi I • The young Swamy, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, dispelled

the doubts of even aged devotees, mainly through I Silence I •

Bhagavan never discriminated between beasts and human beings.

Tigers used to visit Bhagavan and be friendly with him. Tigers and

leopards used to play together in his presence. Monkeys, birds and

mangooses used to be in the company of Bhagavan and got comfort in

his presence. The cow Laxmi attained liberation by being in his

gracious presence. Bhagavan said about man I s fear of animals thus:

"If you do not have fear, they too will have none, and will move about

freely and peacefully. Fear arises out of recognition of plurality. If

there is no another, who need fear whom?,,13 It is this attitude that

finds expression in all his devotional hymns known as Arunachala Stuti

Panchakam. Bhagavan composed some philosophical poems in this period.

11 ibid., p.95.
\"

12
Kavya Kanta Ganapathi Muni compiled all the teachings of Bhagav..an
in Sanskrit in Sri Ramana Gita (6th edn. Tiruvannamalai: Sri
Ramanashramam, 1977) . Bhagavan I s maid~n Sanskri t verse is
included in Ch. 2, verse 2, p.ll.
13 Sri Ramana Vazhi, p.24.

.,' ... '

.....
"
,' ,...•.. ' ....
 44

While Bhagavan was living in the Virupaksha cave, he was joined

by his mother. Till then, the devotees used to beg in the streets for

food and whatever was received was divided among all those who

happened to be present then. Bhagavan' s mother started cooking for

them. Bhagavan shifted to 'Skandasramam' in 1916. Bhagavan' s brother

Nagasundaram who had become a , sannyasin ' with the name

Niranjanananda Swamy joined him. The Mother became the mother of

all. She fell ill in May 1922. When her condition became critical,

Bhagavan placed his right hand on her heart and the left on her head.

She left her body on the night of Friday, May 19, 1922, and the body

was buried where now the shrine of Mathrubhutheswara stands. Six

months later, Bhagavan settled permanently there and thus came into

existence 'The Ramanasramam'. Gradually buildings sprang up around

Ramanasramam -- a cattle-shed, a school for teaching the Vedas, a

department of publication and a temple.

Bhagavan used to make leaf-plates, cut vegetables, read proofs,

read newspapers and books, suggest lines of reply to letters received

and watch with detachment the various on-going activities. He used

to answer questions put by the devotees. He was accessible to the

devotees round the clock. "The most extraordinary thing about the

Maharshi was his twenty-four hour accessibility. No permission was

14
needed to see hi m and there were no special ' darshan ' hours." He

was not only gracious to men, animals and birds but - also to thieves

and atheists. A few thieves broke into the 'asramam' on June '20, 1924.

14
K. Subrah manian, "The Uniqueness of Bhagavan" , The Mountain
Path. January 1987:24. p.9. .

, ,:.". . ".' ~ .. ".

," ~.
 45

To their dismay, they found neither money nor ornaments. Infuriated,

they started slapping the residents of the asramam including Bhagavan.

But Bhagavan asked his devotees not to retaliate. He sat silent and

unperturbed.

Life in the 'asramam' was and is regular, quiet and peaceful.

"-J

Every year, the 'Karthik day' (the ' Light Festival' ) is celebrated

in a grand manner on the full moon day of the Tamizh month 'Karthikai'

(October-November). On those days, Bhagavan used to sit 'silent as

monument' and give ' darshan' to all. Everyday, he used to get up at

three or four in the morning, help in the kitchen, listen to the

chanting of the Vedas at five. At 7 a. m., he used to have breakfast

with
along Lthe devotees. He had his meals in the common hall with others.

He accepted only whatever was offered to others and would never waste

even a morsel of food. After lunch, he would rest for some time. In

the evening, devotees would chant the Vedas, recite Tamizh hymns,

etc. Dinner was served at 7.15 p.m. The rest of the time, Bhagavan

would sit absorbed in the Self. He would go round the hill which he

said helped to still the mind, and he suggested circumambulation of

the hill for others.

People from all over the world flocked to him for peace. Some

of his western devotees were: F . H. Humphrys, Paul Brunton, Arthur

Osborne, Somerset Maugham, Major Chad wick, Miss Ether and G. Meston.

Among the Indian devotees were: Sri Muruganar who wrote SrI ·Ramana

Sannidhi Murai, Sri Kavya Kanta Ganapathi Muni, Sri mati Suri Nagamma,

Devaraja Mudaliar, Viswanatha Swamy and Sri Sadhu Om. F .H. Humphrys

'.' .'
 46

recorded his experience in the International Psychic Gazette and Paul

Brunton in his books A Search in Secret India and in The Orient: Its

Legacy to the West. In 1938, Babu Rajendra Prasad, the former

President of India, approached Gandhiji to gain peace. Gandhiji advised

him thus:

If you want peace, go to Ramanashram and remain

there for a few days in the presence of Sri Ramana
Maharshi without talking or asking any question.
Accordingly, he arrived at Ramanashram on August
14, 1938 and stayed in the presence of Bhagavan
gaining peace and bliss for nine days. At the time
of his departure, he enquired, "Bhagavan, it was
Gandhiji himself who sent me here. Is there any
message that I may take to him?" Bhagavan responded
quickly, "The same power which is working here
is working there also! When heart speaks to heart,
where is the need for words?,,15

This answer reveals Bhagavan' s concept of the all-pervading Absolute.

On the first of September 1946, the golden jubilee of Bhagavan' s

arrival at Tiruvannamalai was celebrated. A year after in 1947,

Bhagavan's health began to deteriorate. Towards the end of 1948, a

small nodule appeared on the lower portion of his left arm and was

diagnosed as ' sarcoma'. Even after four operations, it did not sub side.

When the fourth operation took place, Bhagavan refuse9 to I be given

" '.
chloroform. He simply watched the surgical operation. His attitude

15
Sri Sadhu Om, The Path of Sri Ramana Part I, trans. Michael
James (Tiruvannamalai: Ramana Kshetra, 1991), p. 21.

. ",'

',' .' • ,> : , " " " : ' •• '

 47

towards the illness was expressed in one of his observations: "There

is no need for alarm. This body itself is a disease which has come

to us; if a disease comes to this disease (the body) is it not good

for us?"
16 Further, his unconcern for the body can also be observed

in his insistence on allowing all the people to see him till the last.

His eyes glowed, showered grace and he showed no trace of pain. As

the 'Asramam' echoed with the chants of "Arunachala Siva", Bhagavan

sat up in 'Padmasana' (the yogic posture of Indian saints), opened his

radiant eyes, let a tear of bliss trickle down and the last breath

merged in the heart at 8.47 p. m. on Friday, April 14, 1950. At that

very moment people saw a blazing light move slowly across the sky,

pass over the Arunachala Hill and merge behind it.

The method of realization or the process of experiencing the

mystic bliss expressed by Bhagavan is his own experience. He did

not learn the method· from any book nor was he taught by anyone. It

was innate in him. He did not travel on a mission of' enlightening the

people or propagating the process of realizing mystic oneness. He stayed

on the Arunachala Hill or at the foot of it for fifty four years,

confident that those whom he could help would intuitively find their

way to him. His writings and discourse reveal that the ordinary sense

of space and time does not limit the mystic experience. In fact,

Bhagavan saw the S elf everywhere and in everyone. In fact, a beautiful

I
'Lingam' , symbol of Lord Siva, was installed in the-, ,place where
,
Bhagavan's mortal body was entombed, and a meditation hall was built

over it, and was consecrated.

16 Suri Nagamma, Letters from Ramanasram trans. D.S. Sastri (1970;

Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1985), P .48.

.,:"): ," .'

0',. .
, ,:-:- .. .... '" . .. ", ~ ""~'.'
~

""' .. < .- ,. .'. "-. ~. "

 48

His works

Bhagavan did not write intentionally to become an author or a

poet. Whatever he wrote was only in response to the request of some

devotee or other except on two occasions when he composed two

devotional hymns -- , Pathikam' and ' Ashtakam ' of his own accord.

His medium of communication was mostly 'silence', and whatever took

the verbal form proceeded only from his 'Silent Bliss'. He composed

verses in Tamizh, Sanskrit, Malayalam and Telugu. His prose works

are: Vichara Sangraham (Self-Enquiry), Nan Yar? (Who Am I?) and

Upadesa Manjari ( A Bunch of Spiritual Instructions). His devotional

hymns are: (1) 'Arunachala Aksharamanamalai' ( ,A Nuptial Garland

of Letters' ) , (2 ) , Arunachala Navamanimalai' ( , Nine Stanzas on

Arunachala') ( 3) 'Arunachala Pathikam' (' Eleven Stanzas on Arunachala')

(4) 'Arunachala Ashtakam' ( 'Eight Stanzas on Arunachala' ) and

(5) 'Arunachala pancharatnam' (' Five Stanzas on Arunachala').

His philosophical poems are: (1) Upadesa Undhiyar (Instruction

in Thirty Verses) (2) Ulladhu Narpathu (Forty Verses on Reality)

(3) Ulladhu Narpathu - Anubantham (Supplement to the Forty Verses)

(4) 'Appalappattu' ('Song on Appalam') (5) 'Anma Vitthai' ('Making

of the Self') and (6) 'Ekanma Panchakam' (' Five Stanzas on the Self').

There are some stray verses composed on different occasions.

/
They are: 'Verses on the Celebrations of Bhagavan' s Birthday', ' Nine

Stray Verses', ' Apology to the Hornets', 'Reply to his Mother'" ' For

his Mother's Recovery', 'Arunachala Ramana', and the 'Self in the

Heart'. There are some translated works from Sanskrit into Tamizh.
 49

They are: 'The Song Celestial', , Translations from the Agamas' (the

religious literature)-(i) 'Sarva Gnanamottara Atma Sakshatkara

Prakatanam' ('All-comprehensive Knowledge') and (ii) 'Devi kalotra

Gnana .Vichara Patalam' ( 'A Discourse of Siva and Devi on Wisdom')

and the translations from Sri Adi Sankaracharya:

(i) 'Hymn to Dhakshinamurthy'

(ii) 'Guru Stuti' (' Hymn to the Guru')

(iii) 'Hastamalak Stotra' (' Hastamalak 's Hymn') and

(iv) 'Atma Bodha' ('Self-knowledge').

Prose works: (i) 'Vi vekachudamani ' ( 'The Crest jewel of Wisdom' ) .

(ii) 'Drik Drisya Viveka' ('The Knower-known Wisdom') and (iii)

'Vicharamanimala' (' Jewel Garland of Enquiry').

The songs the devotional, the philosophical, and the

translated verses -- are in mystic language. The theme of all the songs

is the One Great Supreme Reality, the Absolute Brahman! the Om, which

cannot be expressed in language in a direct manner. The Truth is not

perceived by the mind as an object, nor is i t a conclusion arrived

at through an intellectual process of reasoning. When the experience

of 'Truth-Vision' or 'Plenary Beatific Vision' is translated into a

verbal medium, it gets indescribable force of emotion both in its style

and import.

As said earlier, Bhagavan' s wri tings or teachingS.: were based

on his experience and not on the study of scriptures. In his writings,

one can find not only traditional wisdom but also a new direction for

making life full and happy.

. .: .,'
,'.' ' .... ..
'
 50

Bhagavan's Vichara Sangraham is the answer given by him in

writing to Gambiram Seshayyar' s forty questions during 1901 and 1902.

The caption Vichara Sangraham literally means 'A Compendium of Self-

Enquiry' and hence it is popularly known as self -Enquiry. Bhagavan

begins
L his answer with a clear exposition on Self-enquiry and states that
one should enquire wi thin to realize the Self:

Actions such as 'going' and , coming' belong only

to the body. And so, when one says 'I went, I
came', it amounts to saying that the body is 'I'
The ' I' consciousness which at first arises in
respect of the body is referred to variously as self-
concei t (' tarbodham ' ), egoi ty (' ahankara ' ), nescience
( 'avidya' ), ' maya', impurity (' mala') and individual
soul (' jiva' ) . . .. Therefore making the corpse-body
remain, as a corpse, and not even uttering the word
,I " one should enquire keenly thus: ' Now what is
it that ris'ils as 'I'? ' Then there would shine in
the Heart a kind of wordless illumination of the form
'I' 'I'. That is, there would shine of its own accord
the pure consciousness which is unlimited and one,
the limited and the many thoughts having
disappeared. If one remains quiescent without abandon-
ing that experience, the egoity, the individual sense,
of the form 'I am the body' will be totally
destroyed, and at the end the final thought, viz.
the 'I' -form also will be quenched like the fire
that bums camphor. The great sages and scriptures
17 } I
declare that this alone is release. ,-.

Explaining the nature of the mind as 'an object of consciousness',

Bhagavan relates it to the three stages -- waking, dream and deep

17
The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, pp. 5-6 .

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 51

sleep. He points out briefly the notions of the ' world', the 'ego',

, self'. 'Self-enquiry' and 'devotion'. He comments on liberation

as 'the loss of body-consciousness' and states that 'sanyasa' (renuncia-

tion) is the effacement of 'I' thought. To achieve this state of renuncia-

tion, he mentions the traditional methods -- the paths of 'Yoga' (breath-

control) and 'gnana' (knowledge) along with their eight-fold divisions

and says that Self-enquiry is the easiest one. He concludes his answers

stating that simple diet, earnestness and consistent effort are essential

to root out the 'ego' and to achieve liberation.

Bhagavan's Nan-Yar? (Who Am I?) is the answer given by him

to the twenty-eight questions put by Siva Prakasam Pillai in 1902 and

is
this L briefer and more pointed than Self-enquiry. Bhagavan states that

'all living beings desire to be happy always' and to achieve the

eternal joy one should eradicate the false 'I' the bOdy-conscious-

ness, the five senses of perception, the senses of action, the breath,

the mind. This can be achieved by asking within 'Who am I?'. He

explains the process thus:

When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue

them, but should inquire: 'To whom do they arise?'
It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each
thought arises, one should enquire with diligence,
'To whom has this thought arisen? ' The answer
that would emerge would be 'To me' • Thereapon
,- if
one inquires 'Who am I?. , , the mind will go bac~
to its source and the thought that arose will become
quiescent Thus,. when the mind stays in the
Heart, the ' I' which is the source of all thoughts

531

',' "
 52

will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine,
whatever one does, one should do without the egoity
'I'. If one acts in
way, that all will appear as
8
of the nature of 'Siva' (GOd).1

Bhagavan says that this is the direct method to achieve Self-Realiza-

tion and to be in eternal bliss. The other method s are only aid s to

achieve one-pointed concentration, and 'Who am I?' is the easiest way

to realize the Self.

As seen earlier, the Upadesa Manjari (A Bunch of Spiritual Instruc-

tion) contains Bhagavan' s answers to the questions put by Natanananda

(Natesa Mudaliar). The book is divided into four chapters and they

are: Instruction ( 'Upadesa' ) , Practice ( , Abhyasa' ) , Experience

( , Anubhava ' ) and Attainment (' Arudha ' ) • Bhagavan aptly begins that

the real teacher (Sad Guru) is an embodiment of Grace and he abides

in the Self always. the earnest disciple is one with an intense longing

for the removal of sorrow and the attainment of joy. He explains the

paths of devotion and knowledge as means to the same goal of 'living

in the service of God' by destroying the ego. In the next chapter,

Bhagavan describes the method s of deyotion, breath-control, medita-

tion and the path of knowledge and arrives at the conclusion that to

perform Self-enquiry and to achieve Self-Realization one need not

renounce the household duties, but rather abide in the Self while doing

one's duties. In the third chapter ' Experience', Bhagavan says that
,
to abide in the Self is the state of Self-absorption and it should be

18
ibid., p.39.

.....: .. ,
 53

natural (I Sahaja nirvikalpa Samadi I ). Explaining the state of liberation

in the fourth chapter, Bhagavan concludes that a realized person knows

neither liberation nor bondage for he is always in the' state of Self-

ab sorption.

In this chapter, Bhagavan I s mystic experience, his Self-absorp-

tion, his silent communication and his translation of the mystic

experience into verbal medium have been analyzed. In the next chapter,

it is intended to study Bhagavan I s devotional hymns as bridal mysticism

in the sense that the individual soul is the bride for the Eternal

Bridegroom, the Absolute.

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