nirvṛtti pañcakam

Five verses on Tranquility

Kim nāma deśa ka jāthiḥ pravṛtti kā kiyad vayaḥ
ityādi vādoparatir yasya tasyaiva nirvṛtti – (1)

What is your name? Where are you from? What is your caste? What is your profession? How old are you? One who is free from such questions alone attains tranquility.

āgacha gacha māgacha praviśa kvanu gachasi
ityādi vādoparatir yasya tasyaiva nirvṛtti – (2)

Come! Go! Don’t go! Come in! Where are you going?
One who is free from such discussions alone attains tranquility.

kva yāsyasi kadā āyāta kuta āyāsi kosi
ityādi vādoparatir yasya tasyaiva nirvṛtti – (3)

When did you go? When did you come? From where did you come? Who are you?
One who is free from such questions alone attains tranquility.

aham tvam soyam antarhi bahir asti na vā asti va
ityādi vādoparathir yasya tasyaiva nirvṛtti – (4)

Me or you, that or this person, inside or outside,
One who is free from such discussions alone attains tranquility.

jnāta ajnāta samaḥ sva anya bheda śūnyaḥ kuto bhida
ityādi vādoparathir yasya tasyaiva nirvṛtti – (5)

Equal towards the known and unknown, without discrimination between self and others.
One who is free from such questions alone attains tranquility.

Although most biographers mention the meeting between Bhagavan and Narayana Guru in their books, a detailed account is rare. Swami Mangalananda had written an authentic report on this meeting in the Sivagiri magazine in 1948 under the name S.M. As it was written according to the details provided by Ramana Maharshi himself when Swami Mangalananda personally visited him, it may well be called the most authentic on this subject. The ‘Mountain Path’ magazine from Ramanashram also gave a description of Sri Narayana Guru’s visit in its July 1984 issue. Swami Satchidananda of Sivagiri Mutt had also written about it in detail in the Sivagiri magazine, the May 1985 issue of Vivekodayam and his book ‘Gurudeva charithrakathakaliile kaanappurangal’. The following account has been prepared based on these articles.

It was in 1916, Swami Govindananda, a disciple of Sri Narayana Guru had established an ashram named ‘Sri Narayana Seva Ashram’ at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. Sri Narayana Guru arrived there for the inauguration of the ashram with his disciples Swami Achyutananda, Swami Sugunananda, Swami Vidyananda, etc. At the end of the ceremony, Kunnakudi Mutt head Swami Advaitananda, Ganapati Swami, Koviloor Mutt head, Palani Swami of Ramanashram, etc. who were present there invited Gurudevan to their respective ashrams. Among them, Palani Swami was a Keralite and had visited Sivagiri ashram a number of times. He requested Gurudevan to visit Ramanashram at Tiruvannamalai during his return journey to Kerala. As Gurudevan had to return to Kerala soon, the visit to Kunnakudi and Koviloor was postponed (he later visited these places in 1926). Gurudevan informed Palani Swami that during his return journey, he would be visiting Tiruvannamalai before proceeding to Kerala. After the inauguration of the ashram, Gurudevan traveled to Chennai (then Madras) with his disciples including Swami Govindananda. After a week long program in Madras, they turned towards Kerala via Tiruvannamalai.

Ramana Maharshi had arrived at Tiruvannamalai at the age of 17 and had never left that place. Gurudevan and his disciples visited the big Shiva temple in Tiruvannamalai and then arrived at the foot of the mountain by 10 in the morning. During this period, Ramana Maharshi used to stay at the Skanda Ashram on the mountain. After resting for sometime at the base of the mountain, Gurudevan said to his disciples, “Seems like Maharshi has never come down this mountain after arriving here. Let’s go up and meet him.” They started climbing the mountain. Gurudevan shared a lot of jokes with his disciples during this journey. At one juncture, he stopped suddenly and turned around towards his disciples and with his natural sense of humor, he said, “We had to climb all these mountains because of an oldie”. Thus the disciples were immersed in joy as they climbed the mountain with Gurudevan.

Meanwhile, learning that Gurudevan and his disciples have arrived below the mountain, Palani Swami informed it to Maharshi. Hearing this, Maharshi got ready to come down to receive them. By then, Gurudevan and his disciples had reached there. Both the sages faced each other for a moment as if their eyes were speaking to each other. Then, Gurudevan walked off and rested under the shade of a ‘chamba’ tree while his disciples stayed beside the Maharshi. One of them, Swami Achyutananda recited some of the poetic works of Sri Gurudevan like Advaita Deepika, Municharya Panchakam, Brahmavidya Panchakam, etc. for the Maharshi. Maharshi listened to them with attention. After some time, the disciples came back to Gurudevan and he asked them, “Did you all see him?”. They replied gladly, “Yes, we saw.”. Gurudevan said, “Everyone saw. Only I didn’t, right?”. When the disciples understood what Gurudevan indirectly meant by ‘seeing’, they felt a bit ashamed. What Gurudevan meant was seeing the magnitude or greatness of Maharshi’s spiritual attainment which can never be perceived or measured. The disciples then visited the nearby areas accompanied by the ashram inmates. Swami Vidyananda stayed with Gurudevan serving him and noting down his golden words. Some of the important verses of his work Darsanamala were composed by Gurudevan during this time.

When it was noon, an atmosphere of a feast prevailed at the ashram. In the traditional South Indian style, leaves of banana trees were placed as plates besides the cave where Ramana Maharshi rests. Gurudevan was still busy narrating something which were carefully being noted down by Swami Vidyananda. According to Maharshi’s directions, one his disciples went to invite Gurudevan for food. However, Gurudevan said that he will come later. When Maharshi saw that none of them were present, he himself went to invite Gurudevan. “We shall have food”, said Ramana Maharshi in Malayalam. Gurudevan stopped the writing at once and accompanied Maharshi. After having the lunch, Gurudevan went back to the same spot where he was resting earlier. At that time, a postman arrived there with a telegram for Gurudevan. Maharshi received the post and read it. It was a letter seeking the blessings of Gurudevan for the consecration ceremony of a temple somewhere in Kerala. Maharshi wrote down the message in Malayalam and sent it to Gurudevan who was sitting under the tree. Reading it Gurudevan said, “Oh nice, Maharshi writes Malayalam beautifully”.

Mahadeva Swami, the head of Ishanya Mutt near Ramanashram, also came there with his disciples to invite Gurudevan to their ashram. Without any hesitation Gurudevan visited their ashram too. Gurudevan distributed the large amount of sweets which were offered to him among the people gathered there. Gurudevan gave special attention to a small boy among them who was plucking flowers in the garden. He talked to the boy for sometime and later said to an inmate of the ashram, “You must educate this child. He will be a great man.” This child later became the renowned and scholarly head of Koviloor Mutt, Sri Nateshaswami Adigal.

After that, Gurudevan returned to Ramanashram. By 4 in the evening Gurudevan departed from Ramanashram. It was mentioned earlier that while resting under the chamba tree Gurudevan was narrating something which were carefully being noted down by Swami Vidyananda. It was a poem named ‘Nirvrutti Panchakam’ composed as a tribute to the great renunciation of Ramana Maharshi. Before leaving, Swami Vidyananda gave this poem as a sacred offering to the Maharshi.

In 1928, when Maharshi learnt that Narayana Guru was seriously ill and resting at Sivagiri, he sent Palani Swami and Kunju Swami to look after Narayana Guru. Later, many monks from the lineage of Narayana Guru like Salem Shantalinga Swami, Swami Achyutananda, Nataraja Guru, Swami Mangalananda, Nitya Chaitanya Yati, Swami Niranjanananda, etc. visited Maharshi. Swami Govindananda and Swami Atmananda, the disciples of Narayana Guru used to send ayurvedic medicines for Ramana Maharshi from their ashram at Kancheepuram. When Swami Mangalananda visited Ramana Maharshi to know more about Narayana Guru’s visit in 1916, Ramana Maharshi said, “Guru was a great man. He had nothing to speak with me. He knew everything.” Maharshi used to receive them great love and affection. Once a devotee of Ramana Maharshi, Swami Balananda recited Narayana Guru’s magnum opus poem on Advaita, the ‘Atmopadesha Satakam’ for Maharshi. Maharshi listened to it with great attention and was clapping his hand over his thigh as the verses progressed saying ‘Appadi than, appadi than!’ (exactly, exactly). When the verses related to realization came, Maharshi exclaimed ‘Ellam therinjavar…….ellam therinjavar (he knows everything). When he reached the middle portion of the poem, Ramana Maharshi exclaimed ‘Periyorkal….periyorkal (Great man, great man). Really, only a self realized soul can fully understand another enlightened soul.