Contents

1. Endowed At Boyhood with God’s Gracious Gifts
2. Learning of Vedanta and Hearing Bhagavan’s Name
3. Miraculous Coincidences On My Way to Tiruvannamalai
4. Darsan of the Sat-Guru
5. The Guru's Behests Are His Upadesa
6. I Pray for Grace and Receive Upadesa
7. Reproached for Insensitivity
8. Celebrating My Day of (Re)Birth
9. The Power of the Presence
10. Serving the Guru
11. Doubts Dispelled
12. The Accolades of Achyuta Dasa
13. Palani Swami's Tender Care
14. Neighbours’ Animosity & Pranava Deham
15. Loving Concern of the Head of the Eesanya Mutt
16. Visions of the Past Witnessed by Bhagavan
17. Bhagavan Attempts a Disguise
18. Bhagavan’s Reading of Vedanta
19. An Attempt at Initiation
20. The Giant Banyan Tree and the Fury of the Hornets
21. Navanna Swami's Instructions on Serving One's Guru
22. Kandaswami and Skandashram
23. The Last Days of Palani Swami_
24. The Genesis of Akshara Mana Malai
25. Provisions Made for Daily Dietary Needs
26. Vichara Sangraham
27. The Fine Art of Frugality
28. The Day’s Routine
29. Darsan from Afar
30. Chaste Ascetics
31. Kavya Kantha Ganapati Muni and Sri Ramana Gita
32. Shakti and Santham
33. Yazhpani
34. A Ramanasramam at Rishikesh
35. Yazhpani's “Abhishekam”
36. Seshadri Swami’s Uncanny Omniscience
37. Gopal Rao
38. Bhagavan’s Bodyguard
39. Sri Narayana Guru Pays a Vi
40. Bhagavan's Giri Pradakshina
41. Pokkiri Mani
42. Devotees Assume the Stance of the Trinity of Deities
43. Mother's Soul Rests in Peace
44. Samadhi Ceremony
45. Moksha Deepam and Mandala Puja
46. Vasu Deva and Vaasu Deva
47. Parayana and Bhagavan's Indrawn Repose
48. Bhagavan’s Sense of Humour
49. Permanent Stay by Mother's Samadhi
50. Bathing in the Pandava Holy Tank
51. A Repast of Assorted Greens
52. Repeated Giri Pradakshina
53. Three Modes of Japa
54. Deekshitar of Injikkollai Plays a Prank
55. Thatha Reddiar’s Prediction
56. Merits of Bhiksha
57. Bhiksha Tradition as Taught by Bhagavan
58. Mother and Child
59. The Traits of True Penance
60. A Fling at Fasting
61. Singular Devotion and the Significance of Obeisance
62. Benefits of Giri Pradakshina and Sanchara Samadhi
63. The Return of Kandan
64. Who
65. Seeing Only the Good in Everyone
66. A Desire to Study Vedanta
67. Know All by Abiding in the Self
68. The Pundit too Has Become One Like Us
69. “Eesa! Jegadeesa! Kapaleesa!”
70. My First Vedanta Teacher
71. Jadai Swami’s Entombment and Bhagavan’s Words of Appreciation
72. The Genesis of Upadesa Undiyar
73. Protecting the Disciple Who Has Sought Refuge
74. Youngster Vasu
75. Swami Veerasubbiah’s Accolades
76. The Erudite Recognise the Erudite
77. Veerappa Chettiar’s Notable Service
78. The State of Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi
79. Specifications for Construction of a Samadhi Tomb
80. Iyengar Swami’s Devotion and Spirit of Service
81. A Devotee’s Complaint and Discontinuance of Pradakshina
82. How to Shake Off Laya Samadhi
83. Samadhi State Transcends Time and Space
84. Sofa Gounder and Housing
85. Bhagavan's Gospel and My Sadhana
86. A Swargashram in Tiruvannamalai
87. My Parayanam Practice and Bhagavan's Kindness
88. Devotees’ Foolhardiness and Bhagavan's Forbearance
89. A Modern Day Nayanmar Family
90. “What If I Can't See Him! Enough If He Sees Me!”
91. A Barber's Devotion to Sadhus
92. Natesan’s Good Karma
93. Devotion To Dogs
94. A Family of Bonded Servitors
95. The Hospitality of the Seven
96. The Potency of Uchishta Theertham
97. A Family of Sterling Devotees
98. Motherly Souls That Fed Bhagavan
99. Selfless Kitchen Service
100. Fortunate Servitors
101. Serving at the Book Stall
102. Serving the Ashram Administration
103. Bhagavan's Biographers
104. Bhagavan’s Biographers
105. Veda Recitation and the Vedic School
106. Major A.W. Chadwick
107. Puja Procedures at the Ashram
108. Parayana Practice by Devotees
109. Day's Routine of Bhagavan
110. Sarvadhikari Niranjanananda Swami ~ Able Administrator
111. Venkitoo
112. Palakothu ~ A Virtual Tapovanam
113. A Deed of Will for the Rights of the Ashram Admi
114. "Is this alone unreal?"
115. Epilogue

Landmarks

1. Cover

Publisher’s Note to the present translation

Sri Kunju Swami came at a young age to Sri Ramana Maharshi when he was at Skandasramam. Bhagavan not only welcomed him but referred to him as another son while consoling his mother grieving over the recent death of a devotee who was like a son to her. Sri Kunju Swami never married and lived a life of surrender and meditation for a little over seventy years near and at Sri Ramanasramam strictly following the Master’s teaching. His reminiscences have the power of bringing the presence of Bhagavan very close to us even as his inimitable satsangs did when he was amidst us.

Sri Kunju Swami narrated the contents of this book in Tamil to Bhagavan’s devotee Srimati Pankajakshi who wrote it down carefully. The original Tamil Edition was enlarged and another edition with additional details was brought out. The present English translation by Prof.P.Ramasamy[1] closely follows the expanded Tamil edition but excludes the final section of the book which is about other devotees and their reminiscences.

The Ashram has already published Living with the Master, an English translation of this book by Dr.K.Subrahmanian. It is a concise summary. The need was, therefore, felt for a verbatim translation of the Tamil original and the Ashram is happy to bring the present translation to the readers.

We hope it would benefit the seekers in their spiritual pursuit.

Sri Ramanasramam
24-4-2017
67th Aradhana Day of Bhagavan

V.S.Ramanan, President

Publisher’s Note, 4th ed., 2013

Bhagavan Ramana lived as the very jnana swarupa [embodiment of wisdom] in Annamalai, which beckons and invites realised souls, drawing them to its lap. Likewise Bhagavan draws spiritual aspirants to him and feeds them the nectar of the blissful jnana. One such person who basked in the sunshine of Bhagavan’s spiritual splendour was Kunju Swami. During the centenary of Bhagavan’s Jayanti [birthday] in 1980, in response to the wishes of the ashram, he presented us with Enadu Ninaivugal (My Reminiscences), which is an expression of how he has been the recipient of Bhagavan’s glorious grace. From then on until his demise in August 1992 a good number of devotees who approached him were rewarded with several more of his reminiscences.

In particular, Sri V. Ganesan’s Moments Remembered, (later translated into Tamil as Ramana Ninaivalaigal and gone through three impressions since) records Kunju Swami’s reminiscences, narrated to him, in more than fifty pages (except in Chapters 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 18 and 22). Sri Ganesan’s volume to Kunju Swami’s text, Enadu Ninaivugal, is a fit companion.^[2] Kunju Swami came to Bhagavan during Bhagavan’s days in Skandashram and had the good fortune of serving him ever since then. A request was hence made to him to prepare a book, with the title, Sri Ramana Bhakta Vijayam, comprising sketches of devotees’ experiences of Bhagavan from out of the wealth of Kunju Swami’s presence near Bhagavan. With inputs from him Srimati Murugayya Pankajakshi compiled the reminiscences of more than thirty devotees of Bhagavan. Is there a limit to the ocean of grace that is Bhagavan or to the great number of his devotees? It was decided to include what had been compiled thus far by appending this to the present third edition as a separate fifth section. Thus readers now have an enlarged edition of Enadu Ninaivugal carrying sketches of reminiscences of Bhagavan by other devotees as well.^[3] We pray that reader-devotees may get the benefit of spiritual enlightenment that is bound to accrue by reading this volume with devout attention.

Preface, 1st ed., 1980

by Sadhu Natanananda

Kunju Swamigal, the author of this book, is one among the early devotees of Bhagavan. Impelled by the good karmas earned from previous births, he began doing japa from tender boyhood and was endowed with such divine gifts as a vibhuti pouch, a rosary of rudraksha beads and the like by the Lord’s grace. That grace qualified him for the grace of the Sadguru as well, which brought him to seek surrender in Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in 1920.

From that day of his arrival at Bhagavan’s sannidhi, the services he rendered to Bhagavan’s physical existence, his life as a true ascetic and his pious nature that ever spoke of the one Absolute - these traits of his were what drew me to pen the foreword to his work.

After the mahanirvana of his grace-showering Father, what kept him going were those memories of the Divinity, memories which he has compiled into a text. No wonder their words shine, capturing Bhagavan’s presence in his multifarious facets, mirroring the Bliss of that Supreme Reality that is Bhagavan.

Foreword by the Author

A couple of years ago Shri V.Ganesan, Editor of The Mountain Path, put forward a proposal to me and a few very early devotees like Viswanatha Swami and Ramaswami Pillai. This request, coming, as it were, from a person who has dedicated his life to the service of spreading the glory of Bhagavan the world over and who is no less than the son of Sri Venkataraman, President of Sri Ramanasramam, was as follows, “Please write and give me in detail all events relating to Bhagavan that took place, beginning from your taking refuge in Bhagavan. Also record all that you were witness to or learnt from contemporaneous devotees. They deserve to be published for the benefit of the posterity of devotees.” Ganesan thus voiced his noble intent in the form of a request.

In response to the wish of this great soul I carefully and at leisure thought over and recollected, one after the other, those countless and wonderful experiences of mine from the day of my arrival to Bhagavan to the day of his mahanirvana. As I kept recapitulating them, one by one, Srimati Murugayya Pankajakshi then and there recorded them in writing with due care and loving attention. She happens to be an ardent devotee of Bhagavan and the daughter of C.Somasundaram Pillai of Cuddalore, who had himself been a devotee of Bhagavan.

The manuscript of these experiences imbued with spiritual fervour was keenly perused by Sadhu Natanananda, a long-standing, distinguished devotee who had closely moved with Bhagavan. He made corrections to the text where necessary and arranged events in sequence of their contents, besides providing the text with a preface.

Devotees owe a great debt of gratitude to Sri V.Ganesan who was the cause of origin of this book and his father for its publication. I dedicate and submit this work to the holy feet of Sri Bhagavan.

Prefatory Verse on the Author

by Sadhu Natanananda

In former times Lord Dakshinamurti, seated at the foot of the banyan tree, revealed the true Reality to the four rishis with a gesture of his hand. Now He has come to dwell at the foot of Arunachala in the form of Sri Ramana, to express that Reality through his gaze.

Recalling it vividly, Kunju Swami faithfully reports in this narrative - which speaks of the reward received by a tender lad from his Guardian — the jnana nature of Sri Ramana, who possessed all the qualities of the realised sage.

He became a devotee of Lord Shiva at an early age. Later he applied himself assiduously to the practice of yoga. Finally he met the Sadguru and set about completing the austerities that remained [to be completed in this birth].

Lord Murugan hurled his spear at and slew the invincible demon^[4] to end the suffering of his devotees. Likewise, with the sword of jnana, he [the author] slew the jiva [ego], which, assailing us in myriad forms, makes us seek the pleasures of the senses.

Followers there are new-fangled indeed, whose ways are incompatible to the way of the Master [Sri Ramana] who will not consent to performance of puja to his feet or accept offerings of lucre. He [Kunju Swami], not wallowing in illusion like them, attained salvation through the performance of true austerities.

Hard indeed it is to subside in the Self and become established there as he did, without allowing any scope whatsoever to conduct oneself like those contentious persons who seek the status of a guru, acompany of devotee-followers, wealth and renown.

One can count on one’s fingers those paragons of virtue like Kunju Swami who found his grace-bestowing guru and attained salvation; after receiving initiation of the five-syllabled mantra from the Lord, coins from Him to buy a vibhuti pouch, and a gift of rudraksha beads.

This work of truth loudly proclaims the life and words of Ramana, the ascetic, who never strayed from the state of the Self. All true devotees who strive to realise the Self and to attain salvation will rejoice in this text, cherishing it like gold.

With just one word the guru enjoins the seeker to enquire into the Self. The disciple follows that path so that thought subsides and birth is no more. The import of this work is to affirm that true knowledge is the exalted state, where the sadhaka’s head, the ego, is bowed in shame.

Long live the exalted name of Sri Ramana. May it rise up to the heavens. May ignorance be entirely destroyed through true knowledge. May the whole world come to know that Reality, and merge with the desireless state of those who expound it.

Translator’s Note

Reminiscences of Kunju Swami is a translation of the Tamil text Enadu Ninaivugal (My Reminiscences) 4th Edition, 2013 (which is an exact reprint of the 3rd edition) by Kunju Swami, excluding the following:

1. Its general prologue from pp. 1 to 23 except one chapter,“Four Classes of Jivanmuktas,” which forms the Prologue to the present translation.

2. Its Section V from pp. 261 to 451 excepting its last two chapters from pp. 451 to 455, which I have included as the last two chapters of Section IV of the present translation.

3. Its concluding portions, pp. 460 to 466 following the “Epilogue.”

Omission 1 comprises basic information on Tiruvannamalai and other important Saivite kshetras and a brief life sketch of Bhagavan. Omission 2 is a compilation of sketches of more than 60 devotees, dealing with their experiences with Bhagavan. The publishers propose to relocate this material. Omission 3 is the programme of daily parayana in the ashram and a list of publications of Sri Ramanasramam.

But for these omissions I have not left out or added anything to the contents of the original text. I have provided English equivalents to Tamil and Sanskrit words and phrases in square brackets, next to the terms. I have used footnotes to provide explanatory information or comments. Footnotes in the original Tamil text, which are but few, have also been reproduced in my translation adding the remark Editor. This is to differentiate footnotes found in the source text from mine. Curved brackets in the translation are as found in the source text.

This text is not only a narrative of reminiscences but a chronicle of happenings and incidents reported by the author who lived for seven decades, three of them while Bhagavan was in the body and the remaining four decades as a resident of Sri Ramanasramam or in its vicinity. I have not omitted any bit of information, keeping in mind that devotee-readers value every item of information relating to Bhagavan.

I have made minor changes to the sequences of sentences within chapters to ensure the flow of the narrative. I have also recast paragraphs within chapters. This became necessary as the text is of an oral, informal nature. Such changes do not detract from the flavour of this oral narrative. I have not moved ideas or sentences from one chapter to another, so there is no fracturing of the content. Very minor changes have been made by creating one more section.

I have telescoped a few brief contiguous chapters into a single chapter of reasonable length. The original narration has not been tampered with in any other manner.

Prologue

Four Classes of Jivanmuktas

Jivanmuktas [those who are liberated while alive] have traditionally been classified under four categories - the brahma-vid, the brahma-varan, the brahma-variyan and the brahma-varishtan. The characteristic traits of the first type, the brahma-vid, are spelt out in Kaivalya Navaneeta, in its section “The Exposition of the Truth,” as follows:

Should passions rise up [in them] they disappear instantly and cannot taint the mind of brahmavids, who live in society detached like water on a lotus leaf...

Prarabda, ie., karma, which is now bearing fruit, differs in them according to the actions in past incarnations. Therefore, the present pursuits also differ among the jnanis, who are all liberated. They may perform holy tapas; or engage in trade and commerce; or rule a kingdom; or wander about as mendicants.

They would not think of the past or future; would partake of what comes unsolicited; would not wonder if the sun turned into the moon or at any marvel... nor would they distinguish good and bad, for they always remain as the unchanging Witness of all.

Another verse describes the other three classes of jivanmuktas:

One who is in any of the states described above is a jivanmukta. Bhagavan had lived in all the four states but, out of immense compassion, deigned to come down, step by step, from the most elevated state among the four, that of the brahma-varishtan. We are fortunate that he made himself accessible to us in this way. As Saint Tirumoolar observes:

He is beyond worlds all
Yet, here below, He bestows His grace abundant
On the good and the devout,
And in love works for salvation of all;
Thus is the Holy Guru
Whose praise is beyond speech
Like Siva, the Being Pure.^[6]

So that lesser mortals like us can proudly hail him as our Bhagavan, see him to our hearts’ content, listen to his precious utterances, experience, realise, exult and melt in devotion and get redemption, Bhagavan has come to us like “an ocean that comes seeking the river,” remaining like any one of us, verily in sahaja, as the Lord of Compassion, enthralling us with those captivating eyes. How can one ever describe in words the immense sway of his grace and shakti. Muruganar Swami too sings of Bhagavan’s easy accessibility thus, in his “Tiruvembavai” hymn in Sri Ramana Sannidi Murai

That you are far away beyond,
Transcendent, unapproachable,
Others may think and suffer.
To us you are near, here, within,
Clear like the amalak [the Indian gooseberry] in our palm,
Firm seated in the heart, its Ruler.^[7]

A gooseberry held in our palm is clearly visible to us without any hindrance to obstruct our vision of it. Likewise Bhagavan, out of abundant grace, took a human form for the sake of ordinary people like us and captivated us by his presence. Such is the power of his grace!

Brahma-varishtan: During Bhagavan’s earliest days in Tiruvannamalai, he was in the most elevated state of the jivanmukta, namely that of the brahma-varishtan. This period includes his stay in the Patala Lingam, inside the thousand-pillared mantapam [a hall with no enclosing walls] and underneath the iluppai [mahua in Hindi, Madhuca longifolia] tree, inside the Arunachaleswar Temple, the Gurumurtam shrine on the Vettavalam Road and other places. At the Arunachaleswar temple, the milk used for the daily abhishekam [ritual bathing] to the idol of Apeeta Kuchambal, the divine spouse of the Presiding Lord, was fed into the mouth of young Bhagavan by Muniswami, who was in charge of the milk offering to the deity. This was all the food that Bhagavan took in a day. This milk contained the remnants of turmeric powder and other cleansing powders used for the idol’s bath. Bhagavan was in the transcendent state, indifferent to the inedible substances present in the milk. This state continued during his stay at the various spots within the temple - in the vahana mantapam where the deities’ vehicles were stored, the banana grove, the flower garden, the iluppai tree’s shade, etc.

This state of Bhagavan’s still continued after he moved to Gurumurtam from January 1897. People, coming to know of young Bhagavan’s eminent state, began bringing food at all hours and tried to feed him. Palani Swami, the meticulous Malayali attendant of Bhagavan, wanted to save him from this bother. So he received their food, mixed it all together in a vessel, and fed three handfuls of this mixture to Bhagavan once a day, while Bhagavan remained all along in an unbroken samadhi state. [This was probably to satisfy the donors that the Swami had partaken of the food brought by each one of them]. Neither did Palani Swami know nor did Bhagavan inform him whether he was able to eat more than that. Such was Bhagavan’s state. Palani Swami would then distribute the remaining food as prasad to the devotees present there. Sometimes, while the third instalment of food was still in his mouth, Bhavan would go into samadhi before swallowing it. The next day Palani Swami would have to remove this food from Bhagavan’s mouth before feeding him fresh food. The brahma-varishtan is one who is indifferent even to his basic bodily needs and one whose needs cannot be understood by others either.

Brahma-variyan: Later, while at Guhai Namasivayar Cave and Mango Tree Cave, Bhagavan was in a state in which he ate his food himself, picking it up with his hands, whenever others provided him with food offerings which they placed before him. They would do this after giving him a bath first. His jivan-mukta state then was that of the brahma-variyan.

Brahma-varan: Still later Bhagavan lived at several places like Pavala Kunru, the lower cave (Sadguru Swami Cave) presently known as the Banyan Tree Cave, Arunagiri Nathar Temple by the side of Ayyan Kulam and in the corridors of the Durgai Amman Temple. While staying there he used to have a bath in the nearby hill spring on his own, whenever he felt that he needed one. He also began to go begging for food, for the sustenance of the body, once a day. This state of existence of his was that of the brahmavaran.

Brahma-vid: Later on, from 1900 to 1922, Bhagavan lived in Virupaksha Cave and in Skandashram. It was during this period that he made translations of the Sanskrit works of Adi Sankara — Sri Dakshina Murti Stotram, Viveka Chudamani and others. Likewise, he translated into Tamil two Sanskrit scriptural texts, Sri Devikalottaram and Sarva Jnanottaram. He created the Appalappattu and the Arunachala Akshara Manamalai in Tamil during this period.

In November 1922, after he moved to the site of his mother’s samadhi,[7] he composed Upadesa Undiar in Tamil. At the request of his devotees he made translations of it in Sanskrit, Telugu and Malayalam. Likewise he translated into Malayalam the Tamil original of his Ulladu Narpadu [Reality in Forty Verses]. From the Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita he translated a selection of forty-two verses into both Tamil and Malayalam. He composed the Anma Viddai in Tamil and translated into Tamil venba metre Adi Sankara’s Anma Bodham. Bhagavan created these compositions for our spiritual benefit while he was in sahaja, the state of the brahma-vid.

Bhagavan lived as a jivanmukta, remaining established in each of the four classes enumerated and described in the scriptures. He lived thus out of his abundant compassion and grace, captivating us so as to liberate us ordinary, ignorant folks. Is there a greater penance for us to practise than to melt in devotion and veneration of that grace supreme of Bhagavan’s?

A blessed bee am I to hover, ever at close proximity of the lotus that is verily the twin feet of Lord Annamalai, and drink deep of the nectar therein. Twice blessed indeed, to partake of the ambrosial grace of my Bhagavan, Guru Ramana, who, ever abiding as the Atman-Self, also led others on the path of deliverance. It is my fortunate lot to have thus been twice blessed.

Appalappattu and the Arunachala Akshara Manamalai in Tamil during this period.

In November 1922, afterA

Bhagavan lived as a jivanmukta, remaining established in each of the four classes enumerated and described in the scriptures. He lived thus out of his abundant compassion and grace, captivating us so as to liberate us ordinary, ignorant folks. Is there a greater penance for us to practise than to melt in devotion and veneration of that grace supreme of Bhagavan’s?

A blessed bee am I to hover, ever at close proximity of the lotus that is verily the twin feet of Lord Annamalai, and drink deep of the nectar therein. Twice blessed indeed, to partake of the ambrosial grace of my Bhagavan, Guru Ramana, who, ever abiding as the Atman-Self, also led others on the path of deliverance. It is my fortunate lot to have thus been twice blessed.

1.  Endowed At Boyhood with God’s Gracious Gifts

I am the third child to my parents, Raghavan and Ponnukutti, of a middle-class farming community, born in January 1897 in the village of Cherakodu that lies between Palakkad and Chittur in Kerala. Until my third year I grew up like any other child, showing nothing to mark me as being different from other children. After that I would, it seems, sit quietly in some place, neither joining other children of my age in play nor crying or throwing those childish tantrums. This uncharacteristic behaviour of mine naturally puzzled my father who then showed my horoscope to my maternal uncle, an expert astrologer. My father wanted him to divine those planetary influences that would account for my odd behaviour. On perusing my horoscope this uncle of mine was struck with wonder and delight! He said to my father, “To beget a child such as this one, so full of the wealth of divinity, is more than what our family of modest standing deserves! Therefore, in bringing up this child, you should show every care in matters of food and ceremonial cleanliness.” My father was much pleased to hear this pronouncement. He was well learned in Vedantic texts such as Kaivalya Navaneetam. His keen interest in the philosophic texts of Vedanta was matched by an equally deep faith in God.

I was sent to the thinnai-school^[9] of my village when I was nearing six, where, to some extent, I managed to learn to read my vernacular Malayalam and to write it on palm leaves. From my seventh year on my father used to take me with him daily to bathe in the village pond. There, I would see Vedic Brahmins bathing in the adjacent ghats [the pond’s shoreline earmarked into exclusive bathing segments for the various social groups of the village], chanting mantras while standing waist-deep in water. Their sight kindled in me a keen desire to do likewise. The desire persisted and soon turned into an obsession when one night Lord Siva appeared in my dream. With matted tresses of hair, body smeared all over with sacred ash, and wearing a string of rudraksha’^[10] beads, He pronounced the panchakshari (the Five-Syllabled ‘na-ma-si-va-ya’ mantra) in my ears, three times in succession. On waking up, however, I was unable to recall the syllables, being too young to remember them. The whole of the next day I felt grieved, as though I had lost a treasure that I had obtained. I went to bed that night overcome by disappointment and longing. The Lord came again that night in my dream and repeated the mantra! This time I listened with attention and, from then on, I took up ceaseless mental utterance of the panchakshari mantra.

While so, I began to feel a compulsive desire to possess a vibhuti pouch.’^[11] In those times, only Brahmins and ascetics/sadhus used to carry this pouch. I was now in a dilemma - on the one hand not daring to ask anyone for a vibhuti-pouch, and on the other, being unable to overcome my longing to possess one. Once again the compassionate Lord Siva himself came forward to quench the burning thirst of a tender child. Again appearing in my dream, He informed that there were a few coins lying underneath a particular huge tree, by the very shore of the pond where I bathed daily. The Lord advised me to pick them up and use them to buy the cloth-pouch. The next morning, as soon as I awakened, I rushed to the pond without informing anyone and searched under the tree. And what wonder! I did find three quarter-anna coins [an anna = one sixteenth of an Indian rupee of those times]lying amidst its twisted roots. Grabbing them with delight, I washed them clean of muck and took them home. To avoid being caught shopping by anyone I waited until dark, then visited a store and enquired the price of a vibhuti pouch. It came as a surprise when I was told that it would cost three-quarter annas! That was the exact amount I had unearthed from under the tree! I tendered the change, bought the pouch and kept it with devout care at home. It was a divine miracle that the Lord God thus made me his vassal even at that tender age. He deigned to fulfil my wish yet did not provide more than what I required! No doubt it was a portent of things to come - a monastic, frugal living all through my life. Since those distant childhood times to this day, Bhagavan continues to protect me from the desire to possess more than what is essential for my minimal needs. One day my father chanced to see my vibhuti-pouch and wanted to know how I came in possession of it. When I told him what had happened he was amazed.

A year went by and then I was caught up by yet another desire. This time it was to possess a string of rudraksha beads, an unusual wish that I dared to express to no one. This wish of mine too was fulfilled by the Lord Almighty in the following manner: it was my daily habit at that time to go to bathe in the pond along with a playmate of mine. One particular day, while on our way to the pond, my friend exclaimed, “Oh! I forgot to do something which my father had asked me to!” So saying, he left me. As I continued my walk alone, I saw a large lotus lying on my path. When I picked it up with curiosity, I was astounded. A rosary of rudraksha beads, strung in gold, lay aglitter in the hub of the unusually large flower, the largest that anyone could have ever seen. Filled with tears of ecstasy, I looked around but discovered no one that could be a likely claimant to it. With pious fervour, I brought it home and showed the rosary to my father telling him how I had chanced upon it. My parents and others were awe-struck. I began to wear the string of rudraksha beads around my neck. Later on my brothers deposited it amidst other articles of worship in the family prayer room. My heart swells with piety whenever I recall Lord Siva’s boundless compassion. He has been a veritable kalpaka tree^[12] to me.

2.  Learning of Vedanta and Hearing Bhagavan’s Name

I was around ten then. In the neighbouring village a mile away, some Tamil pundits[scholars of the scriptures] had arrived. They were reading out the celebrated Tamil religious epic Thiruvilayadal Puranam [a narrative of the sixty-four divine sports of Lord Siva at Madurai, written by Sage Paranjyoti] and discoursing on it in Malayalam. My father, coming to know of it, took me with him to attend their discourse and I fervently listened. After returning home, my father said, “All right, recount to your mother now what you heard!” And I could relate the entire thing, free of errors too. My mother was happy and proud of her little son. This recounting became a daily practice for the duration of those discourses. It also resulted in my father taking me to several other venues of such discourses. News spread about my accurate memory and verbatim retelling and people from nearby villages began inviting me to their homes to deliver my “discourses.” Some years went like this. Then one Kodumudi Swami, a celebrated saint, came on a visit to the Kerala region. A single codpiece was all that he wore. He was a member of the sect of Bhairava [Lord Siva in his fearsome aspect] worshippers. This Kodumudi Swami could perform feats of occult powers. Crowds of people thronged to have his darsan. My father too wanted to go and take me along to see this god-man, but I did not go as I was not interested. When the Almighty Siva himself had appeared to me as my Guru, giving me initiation by mantra, I felt, I had no need to visit god-men.

A few more years went by. I had turned sixteen at that time. Some three miles away an ascetic had come to stay and was teaching Vedanta to a few elderly persons. My father, who had happened to go there on some work, came to know of it. He thought that it would not do for me to go on delivering discourses and chanting sacred mantras. He felt that, like siddhis [occult powers gained through yogic disciplinary practice], these exercises of mine would not endure. What would stand me in good stead would be to listen to explications of Vedanta, ponder over them, and then turn myself to unremitting meditation, he believed. But he was apprehensive that I would refuse to go to see this master, even as I was earlier unwilling to meet Kodumudi Swami. So, he met this scholar-ascetic, briefed him about me, said that he would somehow persuade me to meet him, and requested the Swami to prevail upon me to attend his Vedantic discourses. Without telling me what had transpired, he then asked me to accompany him to where he was going on some business. Taking me to the Swami, he sat with me for a while and then left saying, “You just wait here. I am going out and shall return shortly.” I waited, unwillingly though. Some minutes elapsed. Then the Swami, turning towards me, began enquiring about me. He tactfully sent away all the others sitting there. Addressing me, he said, “To go on delivering discourses and earning others’ appreciation is of no avail. Yogic siddhis might give you occult powers but they are incapable of giving you mukti [spiritual liberation]. Instead, you would do well to listen to lessons on Vedanta, to study them and to master their essence. That alone can lead you to the experience of the Reality that is the atman. So, what do you intend to do?” I replied, “You decide on whatever you deem fit for me.” To this, the Swami said, “I will not force anything upon you. I shall teach you what you yourself desire to learn! Iam well versed in the sacred epics, in reading the future, and in the supernatural arts, medicine and Vedanta. Of these, I will impart to you what you choose to learn.” When I still could not make up my mind the Swami decided to draw lots. Miraculously ‘Vedanta’ fell to my lot! He was greatly pleased and said he would start his instruction immediately, that being an auspicious time. He then wrote out the following six verses from Kaivalya Navaneetam on a palm leaf and asked me to read them aloud. After listening to my reading he asked me to return home, learn the verses by heart and come again the next day at the same time:

I began memorising the verses even during my walk back home. My father asked me what had happened. I reported everything to him and then recited those verses from memory. I could in this way learn a hundred verses by heart within a fortnight of attending “class.” My father then pointed out that memorising the verses was not enough and advised me to learn their meaning too from my master. Thus I learnt the entire text of Kaivalyam along with its meaning.

A visitor came to see my Swami during that time. He was Rangaswami Gounder, known to all as Samiar Gounder, from the village of Pudupalayam in Pollachi taluk. Seeing me with my guru and learning of my spiritual inclinations from my father, he took me, along with my guru, to his home in Pudupalayam, where we stayed for a period as his guests. While there, I asked my guru, while he was alone, “I am unable to experience the state of samadhi described in Yoga Vasishtam. Should I just go on with my reading of texts on Vedanta, or is there something more that I should do?” The Swami replied that reading and understanding those texts was not enough, and that I would have to start practising certain disciplinary mental exercises. He instructed me how to practice those drills. Accordingly, I started the practice of meditation exercises, simultaneously with listening to Vedanta lessons. Some time went by in this manner but I could still not get any spiritual experience. Again, I asked the Swami what I had to do. He advised me to continue with more intensity and while maintaining silence of speech. He assured me that I would certainly be rewarded with exalted states.

By now a few months had gone by since my coming to Pudupalayam. I decided to return home and continue my practice back there, so took leave of the Swami. Back home, observing silence, I practised rigorously but could make no progress. I continued in a state of limbo for a couple of years, losing my earlier poise, but not gaining any new ground. While doing so, my guru, after undertaking a tour of several places in Tamil Nadu, now returned. In his entourage came some wealthy, influential persons, and with them the Gounder of Pudupalayam too. The Swami now announced that he would enter into jīva samadhi on a particular day a year later. He added that the wealthy folk had come to erect, in advance, a cave-like tomb at the proposed samadhi site.

The building of this large tomb was afoot, at a site three miles from my village. The Swami, obtaining my father’s permission, took me to be with him. There he declared that I was his prime disciple and that after his jīva samadhi, I would succeed as the head of his mutt. I was, however, put off by all this ostentation and publicity mongering. My mind was restless. A few months passed and I could stand it no more. In anguish, I blurted out to the Swami, “So much time has gone by but I am unable to experience Self-Realisation. Are there no realised souls living today, like the maharishis [great sages] of yore who lived during the ancient times of the Yoga Vasishtam?”

The Swami replied, “Oh yes! There lives a sage in Tiruvannamalai whose name is Ramana Maharshi. He attained the experience of jnana at the age of sixteen and abides ever in that state. I have visited him and had his darsan.” I was amazed at this news, and felt as though struck by an electric current. It was an exhilaration the likes of which I had never before felt. So excited was I, I wanted to fly to Tiruvannamalai at once.

Instantly I sought the Swami’s permission to proceed there at once, which annoyed him. “I shall be entering jīva samadhii six months from now. You ought to be present here to take care of things then. After that, you are at liberty to go where you please,” he admonished me. I was in a state of despair when a friend of mine from a nearby village came to see me. His name was Ramakrishna, and he was a year or two older than me. He had a special affection and regard for me on account of my spiritual efforts, which he too was making. He came from a wealthy family and arrangements by his elders were under way to conduct his wedding. But he was not the least inclined towards matrimony and one day he came to me to seek a way out of this tangle. I immediately told him, “I hear there is a sage in Tiruvannamalai known as Ramana Maharshi. I myself feel an intense longing to go to him but I am tied up for the next six months by my guru’s orders. Therefore, you should set out forthwith for Tiruvannamalai. Later on I shall join you. As soon as you reach there write to me all about the sage and about the spiritual teaching you receive from him.” With these words I put him on the train myself. Two days later his relatives came to me looking for him and asked, “Where is he gone? Only you must have sent him away.” I replied, “I did not send him. He asked me for directions and I told him. He has gone only to Tiruvannamalai.” A week later I received a letter from Ramakrishna, accompanied by a portrait of Bhagavan and a copy of Bhagavan’s iArunachala Akshara Mana Malai. Seeing Bhagavan’s portrait filled me with peace and joy.

The pre-determined day of my guru’s entombment was approaching. There was an increasing swell of people and uproar and excitement all around. Beginning three days before D-day, the Swami began to partake of only a diet of milk. On D-day po- licemen had to be deployed to control the surging crowd of onlookers. In the afternoon at three, the Swami marched down into the samadhi-cave. At close proximity were myself, his foremost disciple, members of his family and others who were intimate with him. The Swami now said, “My head will keep shaking for a while. When the shaking stops, close the tomb with this huge stone slab.” We waited to carry out his instructions. Half-an-hour went by and then an hour. Still nothing happened. The Swami, who could no more bear to sit in his tomb, rose, came out, took to his heels, and vanished into the mass of onlookers. Abusing him and calling him a fraud, the disappointed crowd dispersed.

Along with some others I went in search of him and discovered him under a tree in a nearby grove. He was rattled and visibly in distress. He said that it had not been his intention to dupe the public. He had duped himself with the conviction that he could bury himself in jeeva samadhi. “Now the untoward has happpened!" he said ruefully. He said he was now proceeding on a visit to Samiar Gounder of Pudupalayam after which he would go on a pilgrimage to Palani, and return after the dust settled down. “You all go back to your respective homes. We shall meet later on,” he told us. He advised me to continue with my listening to Vedanta teachings and practising meditation. He departed early the following morning. Thus ended the misadventure of the jeeva samadhi of Elapulli Kuppandi Swami. Though the Swami’s attempts at preplanned interment ended in a fiasco, it was from him that I came to know of Bhagavan Ramana’s spiritual stature. I am thus indebted to Kuppandi Swami for revealing the presence of Bhagavan who became my spiritual Master.

[13] The Upanishads, [literally, ‘ Veda’+ ‘anta’= ‘the Veda's final part’]

[14] The Sutras, the kavyas, and the bhashyas.

[15] Sadhanas.

[16] Kaivalya Navaneeta: The Cream of Emancipation. An Ancient Tamil Classic by Tandavaraya Swami. Tr. Swami Ramananda Saraswati. 7th Ed. Tiruvannamalai, Sri Ramanasramam 2011....

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[1] Prof.P.Ramasamy is serving the ashram since his retirement as a professor of English in 2011. He had the good fortune of being introduced to the ashram by his father in the mid-1950s. His father had visited and conversed with Bhagavan. Four generations of his family are devotees of Bhagavan.

[2] V.Ganesan serialised in The Mountain Path, under the common serial title “Moments Remembered,” reminiscences of Bhagavan by various early devotees like Kunju Swami, that he had personally obtained by meeting and interviewing them. These reminiscences were later published as a book under the same title in 1990.

[3] Publisher’s Note;

1) Four chapters at the end of Section IV of the first edition - “Sri Ramana Nagar,” Sri Bhagavan’s Birth Centenary Inaugural Event,” its second special event and the grand main event — have been deleted in the second and the present third editions.

Appendix 1 of the first and second editions consisting of the texts of the hymns of the daily parayana have also been deleted from the present edition and published separately as The Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi in His Own Handwriting.

The contents of Appendix 2 of the first and second edition, containing six accounts by devotees of Bhagavan have been relocated at suitable places in the now appended Section V of the present edition.

[4] Soorapadman, the asura [demon] killed by Lord Murugan. His killing is considered one of the valorous acts of Lord Murugan.

[5] V.96 to V.10. Tr. Swami Ramananda Saraswati. Pub, Sri Ramanasramam, 2011, 7th ed.

[6] V.4, Tantiram 6, Tiru Mandiram. Trans. B. Natarajan (2000). Source: www.thevaaram.org

[7] Tr. K. Swaminathan, V. 1482, “Maidens’ Bathing Songs,” Homage to the Presence of Sri Ramana. Sri Ramanasramam, 1994.

Sri Kunju Swami and the Steadfastness of Jnana

Selected Verses from Kaivalya Navaneetam

Sri Kunju Swami came to Sri Bhagavan as a young man and was blessed to stay in the divine presence of his guru while following his guidance in a spirit of total surrender. In reply to some of his sincere inquiries, Sri Bhagavan referred to the advaitic work Kaivalya Navaneetam (The Cream of Emancipation), stating that it contained the answer to his questions. Composed by Swami Tandavaraya in the form of a dialogue between the guru and disciple, the author of this work states that he has condensed the ocean of milk of Vedanta into the cream of pure knowledge, navaneetam, to be shared by all.

Sri Bhagavan's initial upadesa to Sri Kunju Swami has been described by Swamiji himself in an interview published earlier in the Mar/Apr issue of 'The Maharshi'. In that interview he recalls how he visited Sri Bhagavan in Virupaksha Cave in 1920, and took the first utterances of Sri Bhagavan as Upanishadic Mahavakyas. During his first visits too, he asked Sri Bhagavan some questions about the attainment of peace and how to make that peace permanent and abiding. In response, Sri Bhagavan referred to the Vedantic text titled Kaivalya Navaneetam.

Earlier, Kunju Swami had learned Kaivalya Navaneetam from a sadhu who had advised him of the need to grasp the import of Vedanta if the goal of liberation was to be attained. Accordingly, Kunju Swami agreed to study the text. He describes that event as follows:^[1]

“The Swami was delighted at this and decided to teach me Vedanta the very same day, as the day was auspicious. On palm leaves, he wrote six verses in Malayalam from Kaivalyam and asked me to return the next day about the same time. The poems dealt with the need to discriminate between the permanent and impermanent. I memorised all of the verses[2] on the way home.

The verses were the following^[3]

2. I worship ever-shining Pure Consciousness, which manifests as Brahmā, Vishnu, or Mighty Shiva, according as He creates, preserves or withdraws (the universe), and also as the countless individual beings; yet It remains ever-free and perfect, as the blazing sun over the ocean of Bliss.

6. All the ancient sages drew from the boundless ocean of milk, namely Vedanta, and filled their pitchers, their works[sic]. I boiled them all (on the fire of the Master’s words), churned them (with the churn of enquiry into the self) and I present this Cream of Emancipation – Kaivalya Navaneetam – to all.

8. The sages say that there are four prerequisites for realisation of the Truth: (1) viveka: discrimination between the temporary (therefore unreal phenomena) and the permanent (therefore the reality, i.e., the noumenal); (2) indifference to the enjoyment of pleasures here or hereafter; (3) the group of six qualities and (4) the longing for liberation.

9 &10. The six qualities are sama, dama, uparati, titiksha, samādhāna and śrāddha. Of these, sama is control of mind; dama is control of the senses; uparati is cessation of activities (relating to caste, creed, family, etc.); titiksha is control of passions, and includes endurance; samādhāna is, according to the sages, the settling down of the mind to reflect on the Truth as revealed (by the scriptures and the sages); śrāddha denotes faith in the Master and the scriptures. Such are the meanings of the six terms of this category.

11. No one can achieve anything in the world without being properly equipped for the task. For the same reason, only those who are qualified with these four categories of prerequisites can gain illumination. A novice cannot get it so readily. If so gained, it follows that the person has been successively purified in countless incarnations in the past.

“I told my father what had taken place and also recited the poems. In fifteen days, I had memorised one hundred verses.”

Also during his first visit to Sri Bhagavan Sri Kunju Swami states: “I thought it was a great opportunity for me to talk to him freely. I told him about my interest in giving discourses, doing japa and studying Vedanta. I told him that I had not been getting any peace, but the moment I heard about him, I was filled with peace. I told Sri Bhagavan in Malayalam about how the Swamiji who had taught me Vedanta tried to obtain samadhi.^[4] Sri Bhagavan listened to everything with a smile. I asked him ‘what I should do to get mental peace’. Sri Bhagavan replied, “You have read Kaivalyam. It is clearly stated that if you realise your Self, you will be freed from the cycle of birth and death and be freed from all trouble.”

The verse Sri Bhagavan referred to is as follows:

தன்னையுந் தனக்கா தாரத்
தலைவனை யுங்கண் டானேல்
பின்னையத் தலியவன் றானாய்ப்
பிரமமாய்ப் பிறப்புத் தீர்வ
னுன்னைநீ யறிந்தா யாகி
லுனக்கொரு கேடு மில்லை
யென்னைநீ கேட்கை யாலே
யீதுப தேசித் தேனே. 20

taṉṉaiyun taṉakkā tārat
talaivaṉai yuṅkaṇ ṭāṉel
piṉṉaiyat taliyavaṉ ṟāṉāyp
piramamāyp piṟapput tīrva
ṉuṉṉainī yaṟintā yāki
luṉakkŏru keṭu millai
yĕṉṉainī keṭkai yāle
yītupa tecit teṉe.

If he comes to see the individual self and its substratum, the Overself, then he becomes the substratum, i.e., Brahman, and escapes rebirths. Should you know your Self, no harm will befall you. As you asked, I have told you this.  – v.20

Sri Kunju Swami continued:

“When asked how to realise the Self he said that I should first know who I am. When asked how I could find out who I am, he said, ‘Find out where thoughts start from.’ When asked how I should do it, he said, ‘Turn inward and merge the mind in the heart.’ After saying this, he fell into his natural silence. Thinking that I should also be like him, I sat in silence. Sri Bhagavan’s gracious looks were on me. My mental agitation vanished that very moment and I attained a peace and joy that I had not experienced earlier.”

Kunji Swami stayed with Sri Bhagavan for 18 days. The bliss that he experienced continued uninterruptedly in Sri Bhagavan’s presence. The thought occurred to him to return home. Why? He felt that perhaps he could continue in uninterrupted meditation at home, free from any responsibility of chores, etc. In addition, he was feeling uncomfortable in staying at his guru’s ashrama, partaking of the limited quantity of food that was available without offering any substantive work in return. So both Ramakrishna Swami and he took leave of Sri Bhagavan, determined to rest in silence in their homes.

Of course, his family was very happy to see him return. Even if he did not communicate with them and stayed in silence, they experienced relief. However, Kunju Swami noticed that the agitation-free state of mind that he had experienced spontaneously in Sri Bhagavan’s presence diminished over the next few days and then disappeared. He was at a loss as to what to do. To whom could he express his disappointment? That experience that he believed was permanent, that joy that flowed so freely in his heart at Virupaksha Cave, the goal, the attainment for which the Masters of yore strove tirelessly for years and lifetimes, had disappeared. Not unexpectedly, Ramakrishna Swami was experiencing the same loss of unbounded peace that had been vouchsafed to him in the presence of the guru. After speaking with each other, they decided to return to Sri Bhagavan’s holy presence. It was in his presence that the turbulent mind had subsided. Foolishly thinking that this state would continue uninterruptedly even away from the gracious guru, they had returned home.

Therefore, they again took leave of their respective families, who of course attempted to persuade them to stay. However, realizing that their freedom lay at the feet of Sri Bhagavan, they started out again for the Holy Hill.

Sri Kunju Swami describes the great opportunity he obtained to render service to Sri Bhagavan.^[5]

Bhagavan and Kunju Swami

click to see a large image

“We set out in a couple of days as planned and reached Tiruvannamalai. We felt delighted when Bhagavan gave us a smile of welcome. During my earlier visit I had felt uneasy dining as a guest of the guru without doing any service to him, which I thought was not proper. This time, however, Bhagavan gave me a rare opportunity. Perumal Swami who used to help with daily chores such as preparing hot water for his bath, washing his daily wear, massaging his feet with medicinal oil before bedtime, had to leave Bhagavan after my arrival. He deemed me fit to take his place. He must have reckoned that, trained in pious ways from childhood, I would not breach the observances of tradition and hence entrusted me with his jobs. Had I returned to Tiruvannamalai a couple of days later I would have lost the opportunity. I now recalled Bhagavan’s words of consolation to his grieving mother when Annamalai Swami, whose duty all this had been, passed away. At that time Bhagavan had said, ‘Here is this boy [referring to me] now come to serve in Annamalai’s place.’ Just a few days after he uttered this Bhagavan had taken me to serve him. Thrilled at the prophesy coming true, I remained holding firmly at heart the holy feet of Bhagavan. I could not cease wondering how Bhagavan, out of his grace, thus took me captive. The sense of wonder evoked by this has not lost its freshness even today in 1992, seventy-two years later. Incidentally, Ramakrishna Swami was asked to look after the outer affairs of the ashram and to serve Bhagavan during my absence. One day I ventured to ask Bhagavan why those exalted states which I had first experienced in Bhagavan’s proximity began to wane and then were altogether gone when I left him and reached Kerala. By way of answer to my query, Bhagavan asked me to read verses 83 to 93 in the Tattuva Vilakka Padalam, [The Exposition of the Truth Section] of Kaivalya Navaneetam, wherein lay the answer to my query.”

Sri Kunju Swami's experience in this regard is not unique. In fact, perhaps we have experienced the same. Having visited a place of pilgrimage, or a saint's hermitage or a beautiful natural setting, we may find that the peace of mind we experienced there dilutes and diminishes after our return to our day to day life. Let us now see the verses that were recommended by Sri Bhagavan as the answer to Sri Kunju Swami's question:

83. On hearing this, the disciple, loyal to the instructions of the Master, discarded the five sheaths and the blank, realised the Self as “I am Brahman,” went beyond that and remained as perfect being.

84. At the glance of the Master who was grace incarnate, the worthy disciple sank into the ocean of bliss and merged as the undivided whole, as pure consciousness free from body, organs and all else, with mind made perfect, and he became the true Self, unaware while awake.

85. After the blessed disciple had remained in that state for a long time, his mind gently turned outward. Then he saw his glorious Master before him. His eyes were filled with tears of joy. He was full of love and fell at the feet of the Master. He rose up, came round the Master, and with folded hands spoke to him:

86. “Lord, you are the reality remaining as my inmost Self, ruling me during all my countless incarnations! Glory to you who have put on an external form to instruct me! I do not see how I can repay your grace for having liberated me. Glory! Glory to your holy feet!”

87. The Master beamed on him as he spoke, drew him near and said lovingly: “To stay fixed in the Self, without the three kinds of obstacles obstructing your experience, is the highest return you can render me.”

88. “My Lord! Can such realisation as has transcended the dual perception of ‘You’ and ‘I’ and found the Self to be entire and all-pervading, fail me at any time?” The Master replied: “The truth that “I am Brahman” is realised from the scriptures or by the grace of the Master, but it cannot be firm in the face of obstructions.

89. Ignorance, uncertainty and wrong knowledge are obstacles resulting from long-standing habits in the innumerable incarnations of the past which cause trouble, and then the fruits of realisation slip away. Therefore root them out by hearing truth, reasoning and meditationi.

90. Checked by incantations, [sthambhana] fire will not scorch. Likewise defective realization will not put an end to bondage. Therefore, devote yourself to hearing the truth, reasoning and meditation, and root out ignorance, uncertainty and wrong knowledge.

91. Ignorance veils the truth that the Self is Brahman and shows forth multiplicity instead. Uncertainty is the confusion resulting from lack of firm faith in the words of the Master; the illusion that the evanescent world is a reality and that the body is the Self, is wrong knowledge. So say the sages.

92. Hearing the truth is to revert the mind repeatedly to the teaching: “That thou art.” Reasoning is rational investigation of the meaning of the text, as already heard. Meditation is one-pointedness of mind. If every day you do these, you will surely gain liberation.

93. The practice must be kept up as long as the sense of knower and knowledge persists. No effort is necessary after that. Remaining as pure, eternal consciousness, untainted like the ether, and thus liberated while alive, one will live forever as That – after being disembodied also.

The above verses, recited by Sri J.Jayaraman, complete with Tamil text and english translation can be heard on (embedded).

Thus, the method of remaining steadfast in jnana once the state has been granted by the grace of the guru was clarified by Sri Bhagavan in response to Sri Kunju Swami's inquiries. He referred to the text of Kaivalya Navaneetam due, no doubt to its profundity but also due to the fact that Sri Kunju Swami was already well-versed in its contents. In addition, the text reveals the best way to repay the guru for his infinite grace which had guided the devotee to the highest state. ‘To stay fixed in the Self, free of any obstruction, is the highest return that you can render me.’ Therefore, it is abundantly clear that Sri Kunju Swami repaid the grace of his Master in this manner, sharing his love of Sri Bhagavan freely with all who approached him.

May this divine guidance, given to Sri Kunju Swami, encourage us also to strive to remain steadfast in devotion to Sri Bhagavan, unshaken by the winds of samsara, knowing that we have reached the safe haven of his feet.

The Story of Nandanar

The original story of Nandanar is found in both the Tamil periya purāṇam [O] and the Sanskrit Siva Bhakta Vilasam.

The devotee Nandanar was one of the sixty-three Saivite saints who, though born in a low-caste family, attained the feet of the supreme Siva by his singular devotion. His story was adapted into a play by Gopal Krishna Bharati in the 19th Century. In this play, Nandanar sings plaintively, “Aiye, mettak kaṭinam, umadaḍimai aiye mettak kaṭinam” (It is very difficult, very difficult indeed to explain...) Sri Muruganar, Bhagavan’s great devotee, adapted this in the composition Atma Vidya to read, “Aiye, ati sulabam, anma viddai, aiye, ati sulabam.” (Lo! Very easy is Self-Knowledge. Lo! Very easy indeed.) This was the pallavi (refrain) of the composition, and the anupallavi (sub-refrain) composed by Sri Bhagavan, stated that the Self is indeed so real that compared to it, a fruit in one’s hand appears unreal!

We are pleased to present here the original story of Nandanar from the Periya Purāṇam. The translation has been done by R.Rangachari and is published by Sri Ramanasramam.

“The famed city of Ādhanūr was situated in the region of Kānād, well-watered by the river Kollidam. On the outskirts of this place, amidst his fellows of the ‘lowly class’, lived Nandanar, deeply devoted to the glorious feet of Lord Siva every conscious moment. He subsisted on the grant given to him by the town residents for doing the usual services. He was indeed unmatched in his love for the Lord who has the crescent moon for his wreath. His thoughts were ever-pure and did not stray into other paths through forgetfulness. He failed not in the customary duties and services that devolved on him by birth in his class. To all the neighbouring shrines of the Lord bearing the sharp trident, he gave the hide to cover the drums and the thongs to fasten them tight, and the strings for the veena and the yāzh played before the Lord for his worship. Apart from these offerings he would stand outside the gateway of each shrine and sing and dance in great devotion.

Once, he betook himself to Thirup-pungoor, overcome by the love of the gracious feet of the Lord there – Sivalokanāthar. The image of the great bull Nandi in the temple obstructed his view of the Lord within. So great was his longing to behold the Lord directly from without, that the Lord made the bull step aside and let him have the desired vision. Thus earning the grace of the Lord who pilots all souls across the sea of births and deaths, he adoringly left the shrine, with the leather thongs dangling across his back and, seeing a hollow nearby, made of it a tank to be useful to the devotees. Then he circumambulated the temple in the right way, prostrated himself again before the Lord, bade him ‘farewell’ and returned to Ādhanūr, his heart dancing in joy!

In due course, there arose in him a great longing to behold the Lord at Thillai (Chidambaram). The first night he could not sleep, but in the morning he thought that it would not be proper for him, born in the lowly class, to behold that Lord close, and he resolved to abide by the Lord’s will. Still, his longing grew apace each day! He began to say, ‘Well, well, I will set out.’ When he could not endure this any longer, he started on the road and reached Thillai. He hoped that the bondage of birth would be destroyed like dust caught in the blaze of the Lord’s grace!

Reaching the outskirts, he beheld the sacrificial smoke rising to the skies from within the city and the cloud-kissing tops of the mansions; straightaway, he remembered his lowly birth and was afraid to go nearer. ‘There will be the hallowed three thousand servitors of the Lord within, with the smoking altars in each mansion. How can I dare to cross those courtyards?’

illustration courtesy Ramalingar Pani Mandram

He stood by the high walls of the temple-city and began to skirt them, all his limbs and heart melting in love for the Lord; his hands stretched high in adoration.

Circumambulating the walls night and day, despairing of ever beholding the Lord of the Blue Throat from his courtyard, Nandanar fell asleep from sheer weariness. Even in his sleep, the thought of his lowly birth was uppermost. The gracious dancing Lord now chose to allay all the sorrow of his devotee. With a gentle smile playing on his lips, he appeared to Nadanaar and spoke:

‘To get rid of this birth, you may enter the flaming fire and emerge hallowed in the company of those wearing the three-stranded sacred thread.’ At the same time, the Lord commanded his ‘high’ servitors to arrange the fire! All the three thousand gathered before the Lord of the Assembly in great fear and resolved to do is bidding. With overflowing regard, they approached Nandanar and exclaimed, ‘Oh Master, we have come here unto your gracious presence to prepare the ‘fire-bath’ for you, at the Lord’s behest.

At these words, the great devotee sent out a heart-felt adoration exclaiming, ‘Ah, I have been saved.’ The high servitors chanted Vedic hymns. The fire was lit outside the southern wall of the temple. Knowing this, Nandanar went around it with the Lord’s feet firmly planted in this heart. He lifted his hands in adoration, and meditating on the dancing feet of the Lord, plunged into the flames. Straightaway, he left off the common ‘illusory’ body and emerged a hallowed sage with shining sacred thread and matted tresses looking like Brahmā himself seated on the lotus. The celestial drums beat a thunderous roar; the heavenly denizens broke out in glee and showered the kalpaka flowers on Nandanar. All the sacred servitors of Thillai too folded their hands in adoration; all other devotees were beside themselves with joy. Then the sage, who had come to be known as ‘the devotee who would go to the Lord on the morrow’ (Thirunālaip-povārām marai munivar) approached the inner precincts to adore the Lord, first worshipping at the grand tower in godly company. In the presence of the Lord, he suddenly merged in the divine form and no one could see him thereafter. The high servitors were amazed; the sages broke out into praise. Thus did the Lord out of his grace cut asunder the bonds of all karmas of the devotee and made him delight forever in the bliss of his lotus feet.”

Nandanar – the Film

The movie titled Nandanar is a classic of the Tamil devotional genre. The movie was released in 1942. It was produced by S.S.Vasan, with the lead role of Nandanar played by Dandapani Desikar.

This film was viewed by Sri Bhagavan at Ramanasramam on Sept. 2nd, 1946, during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations. This was the first viewing of a motion picture by Sri Bhagavan as well as for many of the devotees present that day. This film has been recently posted in its entirety and may be seen on Sri Ram Mohan's youtube channel : part 1 and part 2.

With the help of a generous friend, english subtitles have been added, allowing a wider audience to revel in the profound devotion of this great saint, Nandanar.

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The Significance of Kartigai Deepam

The festival of Kartigai Deepam was celebrated on Dec. 6th, 2022 at Sri Ramanasramam. Devotees' hearts filled with joy as the beacon of light appeared on the summit of Sri Arunachala and the grace of Sri Bhagavan and Arunachala was felt by all.

Deepam at Ramana Shrine, Nova Scotia

click to see a large image

The significance of seeing the deepam on Arunachala is given in two verses composed on the 24th of November, 1931 on Kartigai Deepam day. The first verse, Arunachala Tattuvam, (The Significance of Arunachala), was written by Sri Muruganar:

“The appearance of Annamalai in front of Brahmā and Vishnu^[6] and their utter distress at not being able to know it symbolizes the Heart Center (the Self), which shines itself, while the intellect and ego are nonplussed seeking it.”

This refers to the traditional story of Shiva appearing as an infinite column of light in front of Brahmā and Vishnu, who were unable to find the beginning or the end of it and returned disheartened after their quest to do so.

The second verse, Deepa Darsana Tattuvam, (The Significance of the Beacon), was written by Sri Bhagavan in reply to the above verse:

“Getting rid of the ‘I am the body idea’, turning the mind inwards, and merging it in the Heart to realize the real, non-dual and effulgent Self, is the real significance of seeing the beacon on Annamalai, the center of the universe.”

Devotees at Arunachala Ashrama in Nova Scotia gathered at Sri Bhagavan's shrine on Deepam day to recite Aksharamanamalai and revel in the beacon light of the Holy Hill.

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[1]  Reminiscences, Sri Kunju Swami, translated by K.Subramanian.

[2]  It is to be recalled that Kunju Swami was blessed with a prodigious memory even as a child. – Ed.

[3]   The verses are numbered as they appear in the text: 'Cream of Emancipation' (Kaivalya Navaneeta), translated by Sri Ramanananda Saraswati.

[4]  The Swami had announced that he would attain samadhi on a particular day while being placed in a tomb while still alive. When the day came for this much heralded event, the Swami entered the tomb. However, he hastily exited his samadhi site after a brief period and disappeared into the crowd.

[5]  Reminiscences of Kunju Swami (Enadu Ninaivugal) Translated by P.Ramasamy, Sri Ramanasramam.

[6]  the quote is reproduced from the invocatory verses of the Arunachala Mahatymam which is recited during Sri Ramanasramam's Tamil Parayana. The lyrics are available in english, and tamil

[8] The site of Bhagavan' mother's samadhi grew into the present-day Sri Ramanasramam.

[9] Thinnai is the raised veranda, open to the street, forming the entry to traditional South Indian street-houses. In small villages children were sent to this single-class-single-teacher ‘school’ that functioned on the thinnai of one of the larger houses of the village. They would be taught the alphabets and basic arithmetic tables. During Kunju Swami’s childhood all the education that most children got was their ‘schooling’ at the thinnai-school, which would generally last just a year, or two at the most.

[10] A sacred seed that forms a part of Siva’s costume, literally meaning ‘Siva’s tear drops;. These roundish beads are strung and worn around the neck by devotees of Siva as a mark of their devotion to Him, and also double as a rosary.

[11]

A thin pouch of cloth half filled with sacred ash, folded and kept always on their person by devout Saivites.

[12] A legendary wish-fulfilling tree in paradise that grants every wish of its celestial occupants.