Ramana Gita II, 1-2: In the centre of the Heart-cave

[Guest guest]

[The whole Chapter II is dedicated to Verse 2, the famous verse of the

Heart-cave.]

 

Verse 1

In the rainy season of 1915, Bhagavan Ramana Rishi

stated the essence of his teaching in a verse.

 

Verse 2 [This verse is the heart of Ramana Gita!]

In the centre of the Heart-cave,

Brahman shines alone.

It is the form of Self experienced directly as 'I-I'.

Enter the Heart, through self-enquiry

or merging or by breath-control

and become rooted as That.

 

Commentary

There are three hundred verses in Ramana Gita. Of these, this

verse only was composed by the Maharshi himself.

Although the other verses composed by the Muni also set out

only the teachings, this verse has a special significance. ...

It is also the first composition of Ramana in Sanskrit.

 

The story of its composition makes interesting reading. In 1915,

Jagadiswara Sastri, an ardent and scholarly devotee wrote the first

few words of this verse,

'Hridaya kuhara madhye', 'in the centre of the Heart cave',

but could not proceed further however much he tried.

After some futile attempts, he went out somewhere and left

the paper under Ramana's seat. Before he returned Ramana himself

has completed the verse.

 

Ganapati Muni is of the view that this verse contains the essence

of Ramana's teachings and hence he gives in the pride of place by

having an exclusive chapter for it.

 

[More commentaries about this verse will follow.]

 

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Ramana Gita, transl. and commentary by A.R. Natarajan

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