At the Feet of Bhagavan
Sri Ramana Gives Rama-darśan
It was in 1908 I first contacted Sri Ramana Maharshi, then in the Virupaksha Cave, when I was a boy of twelve. Had you seen Him in those days, you would hardly have taken Him for a mere human being. His figure was a statue of burnished gold. He simply sat and sat, and rarely spoke. The words He spoke on any day could easily be counted. He was an enchanting personality, who shed a captivating lustre on all, and a life-giving current flowed from Him, charging all those nearby, while His sparkling eyes irrigated those around Him with the nectar of His Being.
Peace, peace, peace. Now you have lost your individuality in Him; He absorbs you, is your all, is the All. I remember, how well! the first song I sang before Him at that time; it was the famous Namasivayapadikam, commencing “Matrupatrenakkinri”, the gift of the great Saint Sri Sundaramurti Swamigal. From then on He had me linked inseparably to Himself. I know one and only one thing, and that is that He alone exists as the Divine, and all else has only the appearance of existence, but in reality is not.
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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.
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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.”