AT THE FEET OF BHAGAVAN

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THE MAHARSHI

September/October 1993Vol. 3 - No. 5

Produced & Edited byDennis HartelDr. Anil K. Sharma

At The Feet Of Bhagavan by T. K. Sundaresa Iyer

T. K. Sundaresa Iyer, an especially devoted and sincere sadhaka of the

highest order, enjoyed in a special way the graciousness and guidance

of Bhagavan. Sri T. K. S. lived continuously in the presence of the

Maharshi and passed away in 1965 in Sri Ramana Nagar after a lifetime

with Bhagavan. In the following article, taken from the book of the

same name, his heartfelt devotion is expressed in beautiful, simple

language as he pays homage to his Guru.

IT WAS IN 1908 that I first contacted Sri Ramana Maharshi, then in the

Virupaksha Cave, when I was a boy of twelve. Had you seen him in those

days, you would hardly have taken him for a mere human being. His

figure was a statue of burnished gold. He simply sat and sat, and

rarely spoke. The words he spoke on any day could easily be counted.

He had an enchanting personality that shed a captivating lustre on

all, and a life-giving current flowed from him charging all those

nearby, while his sparkling eyes irrigated those around him with the

nectar of his Being.

Peace, peace, peace. Now you have lost your individuality in him; he

absorbs you, is your all, is the All. I remember (how well!) the

first song I sang before him at that time: it was the famous

Namasivayapadikam commencing "Matrupatrenakkinri", the gift of the

great Saint Sri Sundaramurti Swamigal. From then on he had me linked

inseparably to himself. I know one and only one thing, and that is

that he alone exists as the Divine and all else has only the

appearance of existence, but in reality is not.

I never had to leave Tiruvannamalai after my nineteenth year. Sri

Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni was at that time in Tiruvannamalai; his

Vaidika Sabha Society was very active and he gave a series of

discourses on the Vedas. His magnetic personality and exposition of

the greatness of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi so deeply impressed me

that I decided to study the Vedas at his feet and was gladly accepted

as a student. He was then living in the Mango Tree Cave below the

Virupaksha Cave on the hill. For eight years I studied the scriptures

under him; daily we visited the Maharshi together and enjoyed the

benefit of his presence.

After the Maharshi's mother, Alagammal, passed away, Sri Maharshi came

down the hill and the present Ashrama came into being. Sri Kavyakanta

and his pupils would come down to the Maharshi's abode, where there

would be memorable and scintillating discussions. When the Muni was

in the hall, Sri Maharshi could be seen in the full bloom of his

being. The discussion ranged across various schools of thought and

philosophy and it was a period of great literary activity at the

Ashrama. Besides Kavyakanta, a host of others used to be in the hall

which was open all hours of the day and night. Among them were Kapali

Sastry, Muruganar, Lakshmana Sarma, Arunachala Sastriar of the Madras

Gita fame, Munagala Venkataramiah (the late Swami Ramanananda

Saraswathi, the author of Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi) and

Sivaprakasam Pillai. It was then the world of freedom of Sri Ramana,

our Lord, Guru and very Self. Our lives were based and turned upon

that one central Personality. Nothing gave us greater joy than to be

in his presence as often as possible and to do his bidding.

Thus did time pass until 1929 when, on leaving Tiruvannamalai for

good, Sri Kavyakanta made me over to the care of Sri Maharshi and in

the very first letter he wrote asked Bhagavan to take particular care

of me. I was at school when that letter was received and the Maharshi

tucked it under his cushion. He pulled it out, read it to me when I

returned from school and said, "Look here, you must not run away from

here. I am answerable to Nayana; he may come at any time and claim you

from me."

Our happiness in the presence of Sri Bhagavan was comparable to the

joy of the hosts of Siva on Mount Kailasa. Sri Bhagavan used to say,

"Kailasa is the abode of Siva; Arunachala is Siva Himself. Even in

Kailasa things are as they are with us here. Devotees go to Siva,

worship Him, serve Him, and hear from him the interpretation of the

Vedas and Vedanta day in and day out." So it was Kailasa at the foot

of the Arunachala Hill, and Arunachala Paramatma in human form was

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

In May 1933 on my 36th birthday, after the usual bath and prayers, I

sat in Sri Bhagavan's presence in a pensive mood. I addressed a

prayer in the Tamil viruttam style to Sri Bhagavan complaining, "O

Bhagavan, I have completed three-and-a- half decades and yet have not

had the experience of the real you. Pray let me have this day the

touch of your grace." Handing over this slip of paper I prostrated

before him. Bhagavan bade me sit down and gazed steadily at me; I was

still in a pensive and meditative mood. All of a sudden I lost

body-consciousness and was absorbed in Sri Maharshi. I was turned

inward and the voice of Bhagavan bade me see whatever I desired. I

felt that if I could have the darshan of Sri Rama my life would be

fruitful, as I was very much devoted to Sri Rama. I had then

immediately a darshan of Sri Rama, with Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata,

Satrughna and Hanuman. The ecstasy of the vision defied description;

I simply sat on with Maharshi perhaps gazing on me without my being

aware of his gaze. Two hours may thus have passed in pin-drop

silence, lost in the vision, until it vanished. I prostrated at the

feet of Sri Maharshi, with tears of ecstasy in my eyes and my hair

standing on end. To Bhagavan's enquiry I replied that I, of course,

had seen my dear Rama.

Bhagavan asked me to fetch the book Dakshinamurti Ashtotra, which I

had not read, and opening a page therein he gave it to me to read.

The fifth name from the last read "Om Sri Yoga Pattabhiramaya

namaha." Bhagavan then said, "Sri Rama is Dakshinamurti, and

Dakshinamurti is Sri Rama. Do you know where Ayodhya is? The Vedas

say it is in the sun, and describe it is as ashtachakra navadwara

devanam purayodhya (the gods' city is Ayodhya with eight corners and

nine gates). Arunachala is also ashtachakra puri (eight-cornered

city), and Lord Arunachala is Sri Rama as well as Dakshinamurti. One

has no need to go to the sun to see Ayodhya or Sri Rama, but one may

see them here and now."

Thus did Sri Ramana once appear to me as Sri Rama, proving once again

the age-old adage that Mahatmas can give darshan as any beloved form

(see Sri Ramana Gita, Ch. 18, v. 26). In the Sri Krishna Avatara, did

not Bhagavan grant Hanuman the vision of Sri Rama? Later I realised

that the vision was given to me as painted in Sri Tyagabrahmam's

picture of Sri Rama, though not for a moment can I equate myself with

Sri Tyagaraja.

How the Mantra Came

The mantra "Om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" fascinated me greatly in my

early days; it so delighted me that I had always a vision of Sri

Krishna in my mind. I had a premonition that this body would pass

away in its fortieth year and I wanted to have a darshan of the Lord

before that time. I fasted and practised devotion to Vasudeva

incessantly; I read Sri Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam with

great delight. Then when I read in the Gita, "Jnani tvatmaiva me

matam" ("In my view, the Jnani is my own Self") I was greatly

delighted. This line of thought came to me: "While I have at hand

Bhagavan Sri Ramana, who is himself Vasudeva, why should I worship

Vasudeva separately?" Be it noted that all this was in my early days

before settling with Bhagavan at his Ashrama. So I wanted one single

mantra, a single deity (devata ), and a single scripture, so that

there might be no conflict of loyalties. Sri Ramana Paramatman became

easily the God to worship, his collected works easily became the

gospel; as for the mantra, it struck me intuitively that "Om namo

Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya" might be an exact parallel to "Om namo

Bhagavate Vasudevaya."

I counted the letters in this new mantra, and was very happy to find

it also contained twelve letters; I told this all to Sri Bhagavan,

and he gave the mantra his approval.

Advanced practicers (sadhakas) and thinkers may laugh at this and say,

"Why do you need a mantra while the Ocean of Bliss is there to be

immersed in directly?" I confess that in this I was trying to conform

to the traditional method of practice (upasana) which forms one of the

main elements in bhakti (devotion). Bhagavan has revealed his true

nature as the All-Witness, yet there is the explicit injunction that

Advaita must be only in the attitude and never be interpreted in

outer action. This is how the mantra first came out.

Where is the Divine World?

When studying the Upanishads in my early days, I always visualised the

divine abode in the sun god and was performing the practices enjoined

in certain texts. Even later, after settling at the abode of Sri

Maharshi, I continued this practice (upasana). It proved very hard to

succeed in this process and I had to undergo very trying experiences,

so I referred the whole matter to Bhagavan. "So you want to go to the

divine world ?" asked he. "That is what I am trying to obtain; that is

what the scriptures prescribe," I answered. "But where are you now ?"

the Master asked. I replied, "I am in your presence.Poor thing!

You are here and now in the divine world, and you want to obtain it

elsewhere! Know that to be the divine world where one is firmly

established in the Divine. Such a one is full (purna); he encompasses

and transcends all that is manifest. He is the substratum of the

screen on which the whole manifestation runs like the picture film.

Whether moving pictures run or not, the screen is always there and is

never affected by the action of the pictures. You are here and now in

the divine world. You are like a thirsty man wanting to drink, while

he is all the time standing neck deep in the Ganga. Give up all

efforts and surrender. Let the 'I' that wants the divine world die,

and the Divine in you will be realised here and now. For it is

already in you as the Self, not different from the Divine (Brahman),

nameless and formless. It is already in you, and how are you to

obtain that which ever remains obtained? The Self (atman) in you is

surely not different from US." Thus spoke Bhagavan.

"So then, Bhagavan says that he is the Self, (kutastha) in this, the

field of this soul (jiva), that this is already established in

Bhagavan as such, so this soul need do nothing but give up the sense

of being a separate soul?" I asked, prostrating before Bhagavan.

"Yes, yes," he replied, "that is what one must do to drop the

ego-sense. If that is done the Self will be experienced as 'I-I' here

and now and at all times. There will be no going into the divine world

or coming out of it. You will be as you really are. This is the

practice (sadhana) and this is the perfection (siddhi) too."

This teaching of Sri Bhagavan, himself being the divine world, is

recorded for the benefit of all who are ever in Him. Our hearts were

kindled to deep affection while he taught us by word and example,

while he silently showered the nectar dew of grace upon us all. Today

they turn to Him within, by day and night, no less of old; and they

rejoice to find that grace wells up from the fountain of the one Self

who alone is all wisdom, love and power.

 

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