THE MAHARSHI 1-2/2003

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THE MAHARSHI

January/February 2003Vol. 13 - No. 1

Produced & Edited byDennis HartelDr. Anil K. Sharma

Madhavi Ammal

Srimati Madhavi Ammal was the sister of K.K. Nambiar. She, like her

brother, was an earnest devotee who looked upon Bhagavan as her

Master and Lord.

K. K. Namabiar writes in his book, The Guiding presence of Sri Ramana:

"My sister, K. K. Madhavi Ammal, was deeply religious. She went to the

Ashram quite often, much against the will of her husband, who

sometimes even scattered the fruits, flowers, etc., got ready by her

for being taken to Bhagavan. One day Bhagavan had some tooth trouble

and one tooth had to be removed. My brother-in-law, the doctor in

charge of the hospital nearby, was sent for. He went inside

Bhagavan's hall fully clad in a suit, approached Bhagavan's sofa and

asked him to open his mouth. 'Bhagavan, Vayi thora!' was what he

said, to the amusement of devotees gathered in the hall. The tooth

was extracted and the doctor left, a changed man. He no longer stood

in the way of my sister visiting the Ashram as often as she wished.

He even felt that the hand which

had touched Bhagavan was able to perform surgery more successfully

thereafter. He, too, now visited the Ashram, prostrated before

Bhagavan, and sat in the hall like other devotees in meditation."

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Madhavi Ammal was fortunate in having many opportunities to talk

freely with Bhagavan and appeal to him directly for upadesa. Bhagavan

made things easy for her in many ways, one of which was to speak to

her in Malayalam, her native language. He gave a patient hearing to

her tales of woe, which were many. A devotional entreaty of hers can

be seen in the archival films. In the following narrative, Madhavi

seems to have almost wrested the upadesa from the Guru by her

perseverance.

I knew full well that Sri Bhagavan gave no formal upadesa but I kept

on asking for it whenever an opportunity presented itself. Invariably

Sri Bhagavan used to reply, "Who is the Guru and who is the sishya

(disciple)? They are not two. There is but One Reality. It is in you

and It can neither be given nor taken. But you may read books for

intellectual understanding."

On March 12, 1934 after prayers at the Shrine of Sri Mathrubhuteswara,

I went to the old hall. Only the attendant Madhava Swami was with Sri

Bhagavan. When I made my usual request Sri Bhagavan laid aside the

newspaper he was reading and sat in padmasana, quite absorbed. I then

recited a general hymn of praise to the Guru in Telugu and also

"Aksharamanamalai" in Telugu (the hymn on Sri Arunachala by Sri

Bhagavan). Sri Bhagavan turned to Madhava Swami and said, "She has

prayed to Sri Arunachala." This struck me as meaning that Sri

Arunachala will give the initiation and also that Sri Bhagavan and

Sri Arunachala are not two. Sri Bhagavan resumed his state of

absorption and I had my persistent request for upadesa. But he

continued to sit motionless. Finally I begged of him, "Am I not a

competent person to receive upadesa? Sri

Bhagavan should himself tell me about this. Even if Sri Bhagavan

confirms this how is it that I adopted him as my Guru immediately on

hearing of him (she was just told that a rishi lived at the foot of

the Hill)? Will it all be in vain?" Immediately on my speaking thus I

found a bright light emanating from Sri Bhagavan's holy face, and the

effulgence filled the whole Hall. I could not see Sri Bhagavan's body

but only the brilliance. I shed tears in profusion. The whole incident

could have lasted just two seconds! I prostrated to Sri Bhagavan.

There was a smile on his face but no movement otherwise. After a

while Sri Bhagavan turned to me as if to ask, "Are you rid of your

mania?" Yes, I was. He then took a piece of paper, wrote a sloka

(verse) on it and gave it to me saying, "You can make use of it in

meditation."

This is the sloka: "I adore Guha the Dweller in the Cave of the Heart,

the Son of the Protector of the Universe, the Pure Light of Awareness

beyond thought, the Wielder of the weapon of Jnana Sakti and the

Remover of the ignorance of blemishless devotees."

And again he smiled graciously.

This was wonderful upadesa indeed by a Master rare to see. My Master

taught me the great truth that there is only ONE. The proper Guru is

one who shows what is. This was but a practical demonstration of the

saying, "The Master's face reveals Brahman. You attain Brahman

through Grace."

-from The Silent Power (see page 7)

 

 

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