Nothing Existed Except the Eyes of the Maharshi

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Nothing Existed Except the Eyes of the Maharshi | 1, 2, 3

 

"Sthiti, what do you mean by the word sthiti!" he exclaimed.

 

I was not prepared for that question. "Oho, this man is very

dangerous, very dangerously alive. I will have to answer with proper

care," I thought.

 

So I said to myself, "If I ask him about the sthiti or `state' of

the body it is useless: the body will be burned or buried. What I

should ask him was about the condition of something within the body.

Of course, I can recognize a mind inside of me." Then I was about to

answer "By sthiti, I mean mind," when it struck me what if he

counter-questions with "What is mind?" This I am not prepared to

answer.

 

As all this was passing through my mind he was sitting there staring

at me with a fierce look.

 

I then questioned within me, "What is mind? Mind is made up of

thoughts. Now, what are thoughts?" I landed in a void. No answer. I

then realised that I could not present a question about a mind which

did not exist!

 

Up to that point, the mind was the greatest thing that existed for

me. Now I discovered it did not exist! I was bewildered. I simply

sat like a statue.

 

Two pairs of eyes were then gripping each other: the eyes of the

Maharshi and my eyes were locked together in a tight embrace. I lost

all sense of body. Nothing existed except the eyes of the Maharshi.

 

I don't know how long I remained like that, but when I returned to

my senses, I was terribly afraid of the man. "This is a dangerous

man," I thought. In spite of myself, I prostrated and got away from

his company.

 

MY NEXT VISIT to the Maharshi was in 1934 on a Jayanti Day. He was

sitting on a raised platform under a pondal (thatched roof),

specially constructed in front of the Mother's Shrine. As the

celebration was going on, all the devotees were seated around him.

 

While sitting there, my eyes were intensely fixed upon the Maharshi

and I saw his form assume different manifestations. It first changed

to the Avatar of Vishnu (Vahar Avatar). Then his form changed into

that of Ganesha, the elephant God. Next it suddenly changed and I

saw Ramana and Arunachala as one. Then I had the vision of the whole

Arunachala Hill — the top of the Hill was transparent and inside it

I saw a Shiva Lingam, similar to what we see in temples.

 

Devotees were singing the Marital Garland of Letters. When they

began singing the last couplet, "My Lord let us exchange garlands —

the devotee (the bride) garlands the Lord Arunachala (the groom),

and the Lord garlands the devotee," I suddenly saw garlands of

flowers all over the pondal. The Maharshi had a string of flowers

garlanded around his neck, and all the devotees (including myself)

had a string of flowers around their necks. I saw a large garland

around the Shiva Lingam on the hill top. All these garlands were

shining with a dazzling brilliance. This experience convinced me of

the existence of the deities mentioned in our ancient scriptures.

 

Later that evening in the Old Hall I sat at the feet of the

Maharshi. He was reclining on the couch gazing westward and I sat on

the floor facing him. Our eyes fixed, one upon the other, were

pinned together for quite a long time. I then saw the form of the

Maharshi take the shape of Ardhanareswara.

 

Ardhanareswara is one aspect of Shiva — one half is the Mother and

the other half is the Father; one half of the form had a breast and

the other had a trident. Around us the pundits were reciting

Sanskrit verses.

 

Reprinted with permission from

The Maharshi

 

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As it went on, I began to witness certain changes in my body taking

place. I saw a pair of serpents rising from the base of my spine in

a crisscross, spiralling manner. They rose to the crown of my head

and spread their hoods. One was red; the other blue. The whole

cranium became suffused with a bright light. My attention was fixed

upon the point between my eyebrows where the serpents' heads were

pointed.

 

All of a sudden there was a splitting of the skull from the top

front to the back. This was followed by an upward gush of a reddish

flame shooting out from the top of my head. While this was flowing

out, a stream of nectar issued from the single breast of the

Ardhanareswara form of the Maharshi and a second stream of nectar

flowed out from the top of Arunachala. Both streams landed on my

head and sealed the break in my skull.

 

A much longer account of these experiences is contained in the book

Power of the Presence Part One. Click here for details.

 

Text copyright 1991 Arunachala Ashrama.

 

Next page | For nine years it went on like that and then stopped of

its own accord.

1, 2, 3

 

This page was published on October 29, 2001 and

last revised on November 2, 2001.

 

metta, Era