Cherished Memories

Ch.05 - Who is Ramana ?

Once, during a conversation with devotees, Bhagavan recounted an interesting incident involving Amrithanatha Yatindra....

Once, while I was staying in the Virupaksha Cave, Amrithanatha came to see me. It was during this visit that he composed a poem in Malayalam, in which he tried to present me as an avatar (incarnation) of the Almighty. The song, when translated, would read: “The Ocean of Compassion, the great Seer, Bhagavan Ramana, who lives in the beautiful cave on the summit of the Arunachala Hill — who is he? Is he Vishnu? Is he the Preceptor of Lord Siva Himself or Lord Subrahmanya? Is he the great Sivayogi, Vararuchi? Or is he the greatest of all Seers, the incomparable poet Vyasa? My heart is full of eagerness to know the identity of my Master.” Amrithanatha wrote this poem on a piece of paper and left it under my seat, while I had gone out. Leaving the poem there, he left the cave. When I returned to the cave, I found the piece of paper with the poem on it. After reading the poem, I wrote a reply also in the same metre as Amrithanatha’s own composition. When he came back to the cave I gave my poem to Amrithanatha. The poem which I wrote in reply to Amrithanatha’s queries, is as follows:

It was Amrithanatha’s desire to attribute some super-human qualities to me. By asking, ‘Is Ramana Hari, or Sivaguru, or Vararuchi, or the poet-saint Vyasa?’ he thought he could trick me into acknowledging one of these identities. But I had written like this! Poor man! He couldn’t do anything about it!” Saying this, Bhagavan smiled mischievously at all of us!

Though Bhagavan had disclaimed all superhuman attributes and had stated that he was just ‘That Self-knowledge that glows within the heart of every living being,’ those who had the opportunity to watch Bhagavan interacting with the various creatures around him felt that Amrithanatha had been quite correct in his perception. All the names that Amrithanatha sought to confer upon Bhagavan seem quite appropriate.

Bhagavan’s compassion was boundless, and it was extended to all creatures. Not only human beings, but animals and birds too, were recipients of Bhagavan’s Grace. In fact, it often appeared as though animals had a greater claim upon Bhagavan’s love than mere human beings! Monkeys, squirrels, and even tigers, leopards and snakes would come to Bhagavan, and he would treat them with incredible affection and compassion. Bhagavan used to say that depending upon one’s Karma, even great souls sometimes assumed the most unexpected forms. He forbade his devotees from driving away even the wildest and most ferocious looking animals. He would say that these animals had as much right to approach him, as any human being. On several occasions, Bhagavan has clearly stated that these creatures had come to him, fully aware of his power to set them free from all their bonds.

Whether the ‘visitor’ was a dog or a monkey, a cow or a crow, Bhagavan would never refer to the creature as ‘It’. Every one of them was treated with the utmost courtesy. If any of the devotees happened to illtreat an animal or to show anything less than perfect courtesy while dealing with an animal, Bhagavan would be displeased. He would reprimand the erring devotee saying, “Why do you do that? You do not see anything beyond the outer form. You have no idea about the soul within. What makes you so sure that you are superior to these creatures? They have also come into the world in the same way as we have. Do they not have the same privileges that we human beings claim for ourselves? Why should you try to drive them away?” Bhagavan protected the dumb creatures that came to him, and showered his love upon them.

From the time when Bhagavan was staying on the Hill, monkeys used to visit him regularly. They would approach Bhagavan with the utmost confidence. They would bring their disputes to him for his judgement! He could understand their language, and could communicate with them easily. On several occasions, Bhagavan heard the monkeys’ complaints about each other and settled their disputes to the satisfaction of all the parties involved! The Telugu book, Ramana Leela records numerous incidents involving Bhagavan’s interaction with monkeys.