Meeting of Ramana Maharsi and Paramahansa Yogananda

A reader of the Arunachala Network Blogs wrote asking for information on the meeting of Ramana Maharshi and Paramahansa Yogananda.

In the words of Yogananda the meeting went like this:-

“Before leaving South India, I made a pilgrimage to the holy hill of Arunachala to meet Sri Ramana Maharshi. The sage welcomed us affectionately and pointed to a nearby stack of East-West magazines. During the hours that we spent with him and his disciples, he was mostly silent, his gentle face radiating divine love and wisdom.

To help suffering humanity regain its forgotten state of Perfection, Sri Ramana teaches that one should constantly ask himself: “Who am I?” The great Inquiry indeed. By stern rejection of all other thoughts, the devotee soon finds himself going deeper and deeper into the true Self, and the sidetracking bewilderments of other thoughts cease to arise. The illumined Rishi of South India has written:

Dualities and trinities on something do hang,

Supportless they never appear;

That support searched for, they loosen and fall.

There is the Truth. Who sees that never wavers."

Swami Yogananda asked the following questions:

Yogananda: How is the spiritual uplift of the people to be effected? What are the instructions to be given to them?

Maharshi: They differ according to the temperaments of the individuals and according to the spiritual ripeness of their minds. There cannot be any instruction en masse.

Yogananda: Why does God permit suffering in the world? Should He not with His omnipotence do away with it at one stroke and ordain the universal realisation of God?

Maharshi: Suffering is the way for realisation of God.

Yogananda: Should He not ordain differently?

Maharshi: It is the way

Yogananda: Are yoga, religion etc., antidotes to suffering?

Maharshi: they help you to overcome suffering.

Yogananda: Why should there be suffering?

Maharshi: Who suffers? What is suffering?

Yogananda: No answer.

The swami’s secretary C.R. Wright, asked:

Wright: How shall I realise God?

Maharshi: God is an unknown entity. Moreover, He is external. Whereas the Self is always with you and it is you. Why do you leave out what is intimate and go in for what is external?

Wright: What is this Self again?

Maharshi: The Self is known to everyone but not clearly. The Being is the Self. Of all the definitions of God, none is so well put as the biblical statement, “I am that I am” in Exodus (Chap. 3). Knowing the Self, God is known. IN fact, God is none other than the Self.

[Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad]

Above is a fascinating short video in which Ramana Maharshi is sitting in the centre with Paramahansa Yogananda and Paul Brunton standing behind him. Which is rather apt as it was the writings of both these personages that brought so many devotees to India on their own spiritual quest.

In Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi the meeting and conversation between Ramana Maharshi and Paramahansa Yogananda goes thus:- 

Swami Yogananda with four others arrived at 8.45 a. The group had lunch in the Ashram Mr. C. R. Wright, his secretary, asked: 

Wright: How shall I realise God? 

Maharshi: God is an unknown entity. Moreover He is external. Whereas, the Self is always with you and it is you. Why do you leave out what is intimate and go in for what is external? 

Question: What is this Self again? 

Maharshi: The Self is known to everyone but not clearly. You always exist. The Being is the Self. 'I am' is the name of God. Of all the definitions of God, none is indeed so well put as the Biblical statement "I AM THAT I AM" in Exodus (Chap. 3). There are other statements, such as Brahmaivaham, Aham Brahmasmi and Soham. But none is so direct as the name Jehovah = I AM. The Absolute Being is what is - It is the Self. It is God. Knowing the Self, God is known. In fact God is none other than the Self. 

Question: Why are there good and evil? 

Maharshi: They are relative terms. There must be a subject to know the good and evil. That subject is the ego. Trace the source of the ego. It ends in the Self. The source of the ego is God. This definition of God is probably more concrete and better understood by you. 

Question: So it is. How to get Bliss? 

Maharshi: Bliss is not something to be got. On the other hand you are always Bliss. This desire is born of the sense of incompleteness. To whom is this sense of incompleteness? Enquire. In deep sleep you were blissful: Now you are not so. What has interposed between that Bliss and this non-bliss? It is the ego. Seek its source and find you are Bliss. There is nothing new to get. You have, on the other hand, to get rid of your ignorance which makes you think that you are other than Bliss. For whom is this ignorance? It is to the ego. Trace the source of the ego. Then the ego is lost and Bliss remains over. It is eternal. You are That, here and now . . . That is the master key for solving all doubts. The doubts arise in the mind. The mind is born of the ego. The ego rises from the Self. Search the source of the ego and the Self is revealed. That alone remains. The universe is only expanded Self. It is not different from the Self. 

Question: What is the best way of living? 

Maharshi: It differs according as one is a Jnani [knower] or ajnani. A Jnani does not find anything different or separate from the Self. All are in the Self. It is wrong to imagine that there is the world, that there is a body in it and that you dwell in the body. If the Truth is known, the universe and what is beyond it will be found to be only in the Self. The outlook differs according to the sight of the person. The sight is from the eye. The eye must be located somewhere. If you are seeing with the gross eyes you find others gross. If with subtle eyes (i.e., the mind) others appear subtle. If the eye becomes the Self, the Self being infinite, the eye is infinite. There is nothing else to see different from the Self. 

He thanked Maharshi. He was told that the best way of thanking is to remain always as the Self. 

[Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi]  

Lord Dakshinamurti and a Man's Good Fortune

I have been constantly surprised at the huge crowds that visit the small Dakshinamurti Temple located near Ramana Ashram on the Chengam Road. This crowd increases to huge proportions in particular on Thursdays, which is the day dedicated to the Guru, represented by Lord Dakshinamurti.

The reason for my surprise is that this God represents a very esoteric aspect of the Divine and one that I did not think would be significant to the local population at large.

Dakshinamurti is the visual representation of the Supreme Guru. Under the Kallaal (spreading Fiscus tree) in Kailas, Dakshinamurti is seated in the pose of perfect peace and bliss. His form is of a youth of sixteen years and at his feet, sit the four rishis: Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara. The Lord does not utter a word but his very pose gives the Rishis instruction and they depart, enlightened with all their doubts dispelled.

Painting of Lord Dakshinamurti

The significance of this God is explained in the below extract of a talk between Ramana Maharshi and a devotee. 

Significance of Lord Dakshinamurti

Maharshi: . . . which is the real power? Is it to increase prosperity or bring about peace? That which results in peace is the highest perfection.

Devotee: But people in Europe and America would not appreciate such an attitude and would desire a display of powers and instructions by lectures, etc.

Maharshi: Lectures may entertain individuals for a few hours without improving them. Silence on the other hand is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity.

Devotee: But silence is not understood.

Maharshi: It does not matter. By silence, eloquence is meant. Oral lectures are not so eloquent as silence. Silence is unceasing eloquence. The Primal Master, Dakshinamurti, is the ideal. He taught his Rishi discipes by silence. 

Devotee: But then there were disciples for Him. It was all right. Now it is different. They must be sought after and helped.

Maharshi: That is a sign of ignorance. The power which created you has created the world. If it can take care of you, it can similarly take care of the world also.

[Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi]

Visiting Temple on Chengam Road

Lord Dakshinamurti Temple

Crowds line to take darshan of Lord Dakshinamurti

Only yesterday I was informed by a local resident of the reason for the huge increase of interest in this particular Temple dedicated to Lord Dakshinamurti. Apparently a man living adjacent to the Temple and a big devotee of this God, won a large amount in the Lottery, word of his good fortune which he attributes to the grace of Dakshinamurti, has travelled word of mouth through the town, until now the crowds visiting this Temple on Thursday can extend up to a 100 yards in length. 

Relationship of Seshadri Swamigal and Ramana Maharshi

The below is a fascinating narrative written by a devotee of Sri Seshadri Swamigal about an occasion when the Mahan chased away rowdies from a meditating young Brahmana during his early days at the Pathala Lingam at Arunachaleswarar Temple. The narrative is particularly interesting because it explains how the Mahan viewed the nature of the relationship between himself and Sri Ramana. 

 --- oOo ---

‘That our Swamiji attained Jnana Siddhi after severe penance dedicated to Goddess Parasakthi is well known. Accordingly Mahan used to say many times that he was Parvathi Devi. He used to call Sri Ramana Bhagavan as Subrahmaniamurthy and characterised him as a child. The statement of devotees on the subject indicate the mother and son relationship between the two saints. 

As per his usual practice Sri Venkatachala Mudaliar went to take bath in Sivaganga at 12 noon. At that time some noise emanated from the nearby hall of thousand pillars. On investigation he found five or six rowdies pelting stones into the Pathala Iswara Temple. When he approached near the Temple, there emerged from inside our Swamiji with a loud laughter. Mudaliar was taken by surprised by his sudden appearance. Swamiji asked him not to be afraid and took a Banyan stick lying there and with it drove the rowdies away. 

Then Swamiji came back and told Mudaliar, “See my child is doing penance inside.” Mudaliar asked him how he said that it was his child. Swamiji responded, “you already know that I am Parvathi and I have told you but you have forgotten.” Saying this, Swamiji led him by his hand and asked him to look inside the Temple. Mudaliar got down two or three steps and peeped in and saw someone’s head behind the Sivalingam there. 

Outside Pathala Lingam before renovation

As it was quite dark, Mudaliar was afraid of going aone to the Sanctum and in the company of a few persons crept in and witnessed Sri Ramana Bhagavan sitting stiff like wood in Samadhi. All lifted Sri Raman and brought him out. Both is thighs bore wounds oozing blood resulting from the onslaught of insects. Swamiji patted him on the back and left after telling, “Now do you see my child Skanda.” Thus, it is brought out that our Swamiji as Parvathi had always been looking after Sri Raman as child Skanda.’ 

[By Brahmasri Kuzhumani Narayan Sastriar] 

More information about the history of the Pathala Lingam at this link here.

The Naked Saints of India

The below is a fascinating narrative written by the eminent Dadaji entitled, “The Naked Saints of India,” which explains that according to scriptural texts, naked sannyasins are regarded as manifestations of the highest expression of renunciation. 

Later in this posting I have included an excerpt from Day by Day which details Ramana Maharshi’s experience (in his own words) of his time living as a naked sadhu (albeit for slightly different reasons to the ones explained in the Dadaji narrative) whilst staying at the Arunachaleswarar Tempe when he first arrived at Tiruvannamalai. 

The Naked Saints of India 

In some of the oldest scriptural texts of India, we find references to naked saints and sannyasins. In the Rig Veda of Vedic Aryan tradition reference is made to them but worded in such a way that shows the Brahmins did not properly understand them but were held in wonder by the spiritual and psychic powers some of them possessed. 

These naked Sadhus belonged to the non-Vedic or pre-Aryan religion which flourished long before the Vedic religion was introduced into India. The scriptures of these people were known as Agamas and the same teachings were later written as Tantras. The earlier texts of the Agamas are mostly dialogues where the spiritual teaching is put into the mouth of the Lord Shiva as Guru teachings to Parvati the Mother Goddess as sishya. The same teachings found their way into the Vedic texts and were known as Upanishads. The Agamas tell us of naked sannyasins as revealing the highest expression of renunciation and suggests that he who wants nothing of the world does not want its rags either. 

Another reference tends to be critical of one who claims to be a high initiate and yet hides the lingam (penis) which is the sacred symbol of Shiva. The sannyasins of the non-Vedic religion practised tapas or austerity. It was the path between needless and foolish physical discomforts on one hand and sensual luxury-seeking on the other. It was the path of moderation which was later introduced into Buddhism as the Middle Way. These sadhus did not take any vow or make any promises. 

Nakedness was accepted as part of their way of life, but there was nothing to prevent a sadhu from using clothes to protect himself from extreme cold or in time of sickness. There can now be little doubt that complete nakedness was the accepted pattern for the majority of sadhus and a pattern which still existed till the time of Gautama the Buddha and Mahavira the Jain. Although the Buddha probably remained naked until the day he died, his followers introduced robes into the Buddhist order. Also among the Jain followers of Mahavira, there came a division into two separate sects -- the Svetambars, clad in white cloth and the Digambars who sometimes wore clothes but were expected to end up naked at some future date. Nakedness was never practised by laymen in the Jain community. Many foreign visitors have often rushed to see a Digambar Jain only to find he was a decorously dressed shopkeeper. Household Jains take their designation from the sect which they follow. 

The feature of naked sadhus is still fairly common, even in modern India. Overseas visitors seldom see them because they seldom live or visit the tourist fleshpots and city terminals. When Allen Ginsberg, the American poet, visited India some years back, he expressed in letters which were printed in City Lights his sad disappointment at not seeing even one naked sadhu. This could be surprising because in Banaras, which he visited, it is doubtful if this great city of Shiva has ever been without naked sadhus and in considerable numbers. 

Banaras is still the one city in India where you can walk about naked and yet remain unnoticed. Even beggars display mutilated genitals to reveal a mental inclination to celibacy and a great sacrifice which would make physical delinquency impossible. In these days most naked sadhus wear a cloth in public or when travelling. They neither wish to draw needless attention to themselves or amuse the schoolboy population now sadly conditioned by modern education. Hindu Digambar sadhus have outnumbered, and still do, the naked Jains by thousands to one. Many city councils have introduced by laws forbidding public nudity even among sadhus. A new sense of Western respectability has come to India just at a time when the West is abandoning its Puritanism. 

Even today the great names and outstanding sadhus of Indian history and tradition have mostly been naked. In the years which followed the Muslim invasion of India it became obvious that there were many things which they did not like about Indian Paganism. They showed their aversion to images by smashing them and destroying temples. They loathed the sight of the naked sadhus, yet for some reason feared to interfere with them. 

There is only one record where a man was executed by King Aurangzeb for public nudity. He was not actually a sadhu. Born in Persia as a Jew, he became a convert to Islam. As a Muslim he came to India selling embroidered garments in Delhi. There he changed again and became a devotee of Rama and wrote many beautiful songs. Even this might have been ignored but he began to dance around the streets in the nude. The Muslims would not recognize that a Muslim could possibly embrace another religion. He was executed by the king as a degenerate Muslim who exhibited himself naked. 

Indian Paganism made its inroads into Islam and in India, unique among all other Muslim communities, we have records of numerous Muslim and Sufi saints who adopted nakedness. Some exist even today. It was the Muslims who seem to have first used the word Hindu and therefore it is a very recent addition to Indian words. It sprang from their own references to "people living on the other side of the Indus,' who were the "Indus' and later refined to Hindu. Many Indians still find the word unacceptable although it enjoys common usage. It is not found in the Vedas, Upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita. Since there was a time when the religion of old India enjoyed a monopoly, a name was unnecessary. After the invasion of the Aryans, the non-Vedic people began to use the term Sanatana Dharma, the eternal wisdom or teachings. When the Vedic and non-Vedic religions merged, the term came to be generally accepted. 

The Agamas of the original Indians have been ignored by Western scholars in favour of Vedic literature. This, in spite of the fact that it is the Agama teachings which have dominated Indian spiritual life for three to four thousand years. They and not the Aryan Vedas form the basis of all that is taught in all the Puranas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Uddhava Gita and other Gitas. The Avadhut Gita and the Jivanmukti Gitas, generally studied only by sadhus, are regarded as teaching the highest principles of spiritual life and refute much of what is taught in the Aryan Vedas. 

Historically the sannyasin goes back to primordial times. Some Indian scholars, free from Western conditioning, have speculated that they began in an age when nobody wore clothes and retained their naked status even after woven cloths and linens came into common usage. It is only an idea but the spiritual leaders of many religions do tend to preserve customs and forms long afar the lay population has abandoned them. Beyond this, we can consider that stronger than all other motives was the desire of the sadhu to remain a natural man in his natural environment. This separated him from the tendencies of worldly people to become more and more affluent and cling firmer to those delusions which he had abandoned. 

All Upanishadic and Gita teachings lead to the one simple but inescapable truth that we are not bodies but immortal souls. So what does an immortal want to hide and should they try to look like worldly men? The word Digambar is taken from the Sanskrit Digambara. Its literal meaning is wearing the sky or sky-clothed. Though often used as a synonym for naked, it has a much deeper meaning. A householder is separated from his environment by his clothes, and when he removes his clothes he is separated from his environment by his skin. He fails to understand or realize the oneness of all nature and life. This should not be so with the sadhu and when he is digambar he is one and absolute with everything. 

[By Dadaji] 

Day by Day 

By A. Devaraja Mudaliar 

10-10-46 

. . . . . 

This afternoon, Mr. Subba Rao said that some incidents in Bhagavan’s life had not at all been recorded in any book so far; for instance, he said, nobody knew that Bhagavan was for some time nude, but he found out by reading Bhagavan’s horoscope that he must have been nude for some time. It was then discovered in the Telegu biography the above facts about Bhagavan was mentioned. 

This led Bhagavan to say, “It is true I was nude for some time in the early days, when I was under the illuppai tree in the Temple compound. It was not because I had a vairagya that I should have no clothing of any sort. The cod-piece I was wearing used to bring on sores where it touched the skin. When the sore became bad, I threw away the cod-piece. That is all. There used to be an old Gurukkal who for the first time arranged for some regular food for me either by supplying some from his house or by sending the abhisheka milk from the Temple to me. After I had been nude for about a month, this old Gurukkal told me one day, ‘Boy, the Karthigai Deepam is approaching. People from all the 24 districts will be flocking here. Police from all the districts will also be here. They will arrest you and put you into jail if you are nude like this. So you must have a cod-piece.’ So saying, he got a new piece of cloth, made four people lift me up and tied a cod-piece round me.” 

Sri Venkateswara Sarma (Sastrigal Mama)

Many mystic adepts have been attracted to Arunachala throughout the ages. In recent times great adepts like Sri Seshadri Swamigal and Ganapati Muni and the astrolger Sri Venkateswara Sarma found their way to Tiruvannamalai. 

The below is a short narrative on the life of Sri Venkateswara Sarma who was renowned during his life as an exceptional astrologer. 

"Sri Venkateswara Sarma (Sastrigal Mama) was an exceptional and astounding astrologer. From childhood he exhibited a rare genius in this field. While still very young, his extraordinary intelligence enabled him to master the most abstruse and difficult branch of astrology. All, including his guru, declared him as the wisest student. 

Prasna is an astrological science based on a perfect fruition between mathematics and intuition. With just some meagre information from the questioner, which includes only the first word of the question, a Prasna astrologer can, within seconds, draw up mentally a horoscope. This requires great mathematical precision and perfection. Having drawn the horoscope within his mind, and in a flash also having studied it, the astrologer will have to wait, prayerfully. Then, from the depths of his inner intuition words gush forth, forming the astrological predictions for the questioner. As this Prasna process is not merely based on mathematical horoscopes, it culminates in intuitional revelation, and the predictions are said to be amazingly accurate and correct to the minutest detail. Sri Sastrigal Mama was highly proficient in this system of astrology. 

He once described it to me by citing this example: One day a merchant came to his house while he was engaged offering worship in his puja room. His wife informed him that one Nagappa Chettiar was waiting on the verandah and that he seemed worried about some urgent matter. Not willing to interrupt his worship, and by merely listening to the name and the few details given by his wife, Sri Sastrigal Mama, within a minute, began giving the following prediction: 

"Tell Nagappa Chettiar that he has come to inquire about his lost, costly diamond ring. He suspects his servant. Assure him that no one has stolen it. In his garden, near the well, there are two rows of plantain trees. On one side there are only two trees; on the other there is a cluster of trees. Let him search under the two trees and the diamond ring will be found there. While he was cleaning his clothes on the washing stone the ring slipped off his finger and fell to the ground."

 Nagappa Chettiar returned home and found the ring exactly where Sri Sastrigal Mama had said, and because of this and similar astounding predictions Sri Sastrigal Mama became quite famous. He also became convinced that the Prasna branch of astrology was the most perfect science. 

At the height of his career he heard about Sri Ramana Maharshi. When he first saw Sri Bhagavan's picture he was immediately captivated and traveled to Arunachala to see the Sage. He climbed up to Skandashram, where Bhagavan then resided. On the very first look that the Maharshi gave him, Sri Sastrigal Mama became his slave. He had a strong desire to stay with the Maharshi permanently, renouncing everything he held dear. Yet, there was still his lifelong attraction to the science of astrology. He felt distracted by it and did not know how to proceed. 

One day, gathering courage, he approached Sri Maharshi in all humility and said, "Bhagavan, is not astrology the best and most accurate of all sciences?" 

In silence Bhagavan looked at him deeply for some time. Then, slowly but firmly, he replied: "The science of the Self is superior to all other sciences." 

It was the peak period in Sri Sastrigal Mama's life. For every prediction he was richly rewarded and was consequently acquiring immense wealth. Nevertheless, the words from the Master convinced him immediately to renounce his lucrative profession and pursue the science of the Self. His wife too fully supported him in this decision. The remainder of their life they lived in utter poverty at the holy feet of the Sat-Guru, under the protective shade of the Sacred Mountain, Arunachala." 

Secrets of Arunachala

In connection with my previous posting on Kenneth Grant and his metaphysical interpretations of the Hill, in which appeared several quotes by Sri Ramana Maharshi. Below follows an extract taken from ‘Letters of Sri Ramanasramam’ by Suri Nagamma, which gives more information about the Hidden Secrets of Arunachala as revealed by the Maharshi.

“. . . One of the devotees addressed Bhagavan:

Devotee:  “You told us once that you had seen on this Hill temples, gardens and such like. Was that all during the period you were on the Hill?”

Bhagavan:  “Yes. That was perhaps when I was in the Virupaksha Cave. I closed my eyes. I felt I was walking on the Hill itself towards the north-east. I saw at one place a nice flower garden, a big temple, a fine compound wall and a big Nandi (a bull, sacred to Siva, carved in stone). There was a strange light. It was extremely pleasant. As I was looking at all these, it was time for Puja (worship). The bell was rung and immediately after that I opened by eyes.”

Devotee:   “Bhagavan told us some time back that there was a big cave also.”

Bhagavan:  “Yes, yes. That also happened when I was living on the Hill. I was wandering about aimlessly, when I found at one place a big cave. When I entered the cave, I saw a number of waterfalls, beautiful gardens, tanks within those gardens, well-laid paths, fine lighting, everything there was most pleasing.

As I went farther and farther I saw a Siddha Purusha (Realised Sage) seated like Dakshinamurti under a tree on the banks of  tank. Around him, a number of Munis (sages) were seated. They were asking something, and he was replying to them. That place appeared to me very familiar. That is all. I opened by eyes.

Subsequently, after some time, when I saw Arunachala Purana in Sanskrit, I found . . . slokas (which described) that cave and that Siddha Purusha, and so I was surprised that what had appeared to me in a trance was to be found in that book. So I wrote their  translation in Tamil . . . Its meaning is ‘Though you are in the form of fire, you have kept away the fire and have taken the shape of a Hill, mainly to shower your blessings on people.  You are always living here in the form of a Siddha. The cave that appeared to me is in you with all the luxuries of the world.’

“Recently (i.e. c.1949), when the temple in Adi Annamalai was renovated, it was reported that in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, a large tunnel was found, and when people tried to find out its extent they saw that it was extending to the very centre of the Hill. As they could not go in very far, they came back. I  therefore thought that that which had occurred to me that which is in the Purana appear to be true, and that the tunnel was the way to the place I had seen.

It is reported that Siddha Purushas come from the cave inside to the temple through the tunnel night after night and go back after worshipping Ishwara. Why so far? Recently something like that was seen even here. I was going on to the Hill as usual when, as I was getting near the steps over there, a big city appeared before me. There were huge buildings of several varieties; well-laid thoroughfares; good lighting; and it appeared to be a great city. At one place, a meeting was being held; Chadwick was with me. He was even saying, ‘Bhagavan, all this is so self-evident. Who will believe if we say this is all a dream!” Everything appeared as if it was actually happening . . . “

                                                              

Sacred Places

Evans-Wentz: Mr. Brunton mentions a yogi in Madras who is said to hold communion with his master in the Himalayas.

Maharshi: It is not more marvellous than telepathy; so commonly known. Telepathy cannot exist without the hearer and television without the seer. What is the difference between hearing from far and from near? It is only the hearer who matters. Without the hearer there cannot be hearing; without the seer there cannot be vision.

Evans-Wentz: So you want me to consider the subject and not the object.

Maharshi: The subject and object appear only after the mind has arisen. The mind comprises them and also the occult powers.

Evans-Wentz: Can the manifestations of light be seen on Arunachala Hill?

Maharshi: Yes.

Evans-Wentz: Is there any psychic effect in visiting sacred places like Mt. Kailas, Benares, etc.?

Maharshi: Yes.

Evans-Wentz: Is there any benefit accruing by dying in Benares?

Maharshi: Yes, the meaning will be clear if the real Benares and real dying be understood.

Evans-Wentz: You mean that they are in the Self?

Maharshi: Yes.

Evans-Wentz: There are six centres in the body and there are corresponding centres in the world.

Maharshi: Yes. What is in the world is in the body; and what is in the body is in the world also.

Evans-Wentz: Is the sacredness of Benares a matter of faith, or is it externally also real?

Maharshi: Both.

Evans-Wentz: Some people are attracted to one place of pilgrimage and others to another. Is it according to their temperaments?

Maharshi: Yes. Just consider how all of you born in different places and living in other lands are gathered here today? What is the Force which has attracted you here? If this is understood the other Force is also understood.

[Talks with Bhagavan]

Science Of The Self

There is an fascinating story of the famous astrologer Sri Venkateswara Sarma, who at the height of his fame and prestige met Sri Ramana Maharshi and thereupon decided to give up the science of Astrology for the science of the Self.

The story goes thus:


‘Sri Venkateswara Sarma (Sastrigal Mama) was an exceptional and astounding astrologer. From childhood he exhibited a rare genius in this field. While still very young, his extraordinary intelligence enabled him to master the most abstruse and difficult branch of astrology. All, including his guru, declared him as the wisest student.

Prasna is an astrological science based on a perfect fruition between mathematics and intuition. With just some meagre information from the questioner, which includes only the first word of the question, a Prasna astrologer can, within seconds, draw up mentally a horoscope. This requires great mathematical precision and perfection. Having drawn the horoscope within his mind, and in a flash also having studied it, the astrologer will have to wait, prayerfully. Then, from the depths of his inner intuition words gush forth, forming the astrological predictions for the questioner. As this Prasna process is not merely based on mathematical horoscopes, it culminates in intuitional revelation, and the predictions are said to be amazingly accurate and correct to the minutest detail. Sri Sastrigal Mama was highly proficient in this system of astrology.

He once described it to me by citing this example: One day a merchant came to his house while he was engaged offering worship in his puja room. His wife informed him that one Nagappa Chettiar was waiting on the verandah and that he seemed worried about some urgent matter. Not willing to interrupt his worship, and by merely listening to the name and the few details given by his wife, Sri Sastrigal Mama, within a minute, began giving the following prediction:

"Tell Nagappa Chettiar that he has come to inquire about his lost, costly diamond ring. He suspects his servant. Assure him that no one has stolen it. In his garden, near the well, there are two rows of plantain trees. On one side there are only two trees; on the other there is a cluster of trees. Let him search under the two trees and the diamond ring will be found there. While he was cleaning his clothes on the washing stone the ring slipped off his finger and fell to the ground."

Nagappa Chettiar returned home and found the ring exactly where Sri Sastrigal Mama had said, and because of this and similar astounding predictions Sri Sastrigal Mama became quite famous. He also became convinced that the Prasna branch of astrology was the most perfect science.

At the height of his career he heard about Sri Ramana Maharshi. When he first saw Sri Bhagavan's picture he was immediately captivated and traveled to Arunachala to see the Sage. He climbed up to Skandashram, where Bhagavan then resided. On the very first look that the Maharshi gave him, Sri Sastrigal Mama became his slave. He had a strong desire to stay with the Maharshi permanently, renouncing everything he held dear. Yet, there was still his lifelong attraction to the science of astrology. He felt distracted by it and did not know how to proceed.

One day, gathering courage, he approached Sri Maharshi in all humility and said, "Bhagavan, is not astrology the best and most accurate of all sciences?"

In silence Bhagavan looked at him deeply for some time. Then, slowly but firmly, he replied: "The science of the Self is superior to all other sciences."

It was the peak period in Sri Sastrigal Mama's life. For every prediction he was richly rewarded and was consequently acquiring immense wealth. Nevertheless, the words from the Master convinced him immediately to renounce his lucrative profession and pursue the science of the Self. His wife too fully supported him in this decision. The remainder of their life at the holy feet of the Sat-Guru, under the protective shade of the Sacred Mountain, Arunachala.’

[By V. Ganesan]

Magic of the Sun Mantra

Learning to Tolerate Great Heat

Many years later, when Jagadisha Sastri and I were walking down a street together in Bombay, it occurred to me that I had never seen him wear any kind of footwear. The black tar roads of the city got very hot in the summer and I found it hard to believe that anyone could walk comfortably without wearing sandals or shoes. I turned to him and asked, "Sastriji, your feet must have got burned a lot walking on these roads, isn't that so?" "No, no," he answered, "I have already got ravi raksha (protection from the sun) from Bhagavan. I may walk in any amount of heat but nothing ever happens to me."

I naturally asked, "How did you get this ravi raksha?"

By way of an answer, Sastriji told me a long story. "One day, right in the middle of the afternoon, Bhagavan took his kamandalu, got up and told me, "Jagadisha, come with me to walk about on the mountain."

"But it's so hot," I protested. "How can we move about in such weather?" I argued like this because I wanted to escape from the trip. Bhagavan found my excuse unsatisfactory. "You can move about in just the same way that I move about," he said.

"But my feet will burn!" I exclaimed. I didn't have any footwear with me and I didn't relish the idea of walking about over the burning rocks. "Will my feet not burn as well?" replied Bhagavan, obviously feeling that this was not a serious obstacle. Bhagavan never wore any kind of footwear. He could walk on the toughest terrain in any weather without feeling the least discomfort. "But yours is a different case," I answered, alluding to the fact that Bhagavan never needed footwear.

"Why? Am I not a man with two feet, just like you?" asked Bhagavan. "Why are you unnecessarily scared? Come on! Get up!"

Having realized that it was useless to argue any more, I got up and started walking with Bhagavan. The exposed stones had become so hot because of the severe heat of the sun that walking on them made my feet burn. For some time I bore the suffering, but when it became unbearable I cried out, "Bhagavan, my feet are burning so much! I cannot walk one more step. Even standing here is difficult. On all sides it is raining fire!" Bhagavan was not impressed. "Why are you so scared?" he asked. "If I remain in this terrible heat for any more time," I replied, "my head will crack open because of the heat and I will definitely die!" I was not joking. I really was afraid of dying.

"Bhagavan smiled and said in a very quiet and deep voice, "Jagadisha, give up your fear and listen. You must have the bhavana (mental conviction and attitude) that you are the sun. Start doing japa (internal repetition) of the mantra Suryosmi (I am the sun) with the conviction that it is really true. You will soon see the effect of it. You yourself will become Surya Swarupa, that is, you will have the characteristics of the sun. Can the sun feel the heat of the sun?"

I followed this instruction of Bhagavan and started doing japa of this sun mantra because there was no other way to be saved from the burning heat. In a short time I began to feel the effect of the japa. The severity of the heat lessened and eventually I began to experience, instead of the severe heat, a pleasing coolness. As the burning sensation diminished I found that I was able to walk quickly alongside Bhagavan. By the time we had both reached Skandashram I found that my feet were not at all burnt as I had continued the mantra japa right up till the end of the walk.

Later, I was astonished to discover that the effect of chanting this mantra was permanent. Though I no longer chant it, I have never again suffered from the heat of the sun. I can now walk in the summer on the tar roads of a city like Bombay with bare feet.