Ramana Diciple Ganapati Muni #1

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Ganapati Muni and Muruganar stand foremost among the disciples of Ramana. When

we think of the Muni the image of the ancient rishis of India, like Vasishta,

Atreye, and the like comes to our mind. He was a ripe fruit of intense penance

{tapasya}. The mantra of five sacred syllables, 'Namah Sivaya', was an 'ajapa',

a continuous remembrance which was always with him.

 

Ganapati Muni "has an air of charm and majesty about him. There was grace in his

gait, sureness in his speech. When he spoke, perhaps the gods come down from on

high and listened. His voice had an ethereal magnificence which beckoned the

soul of the listener... When the Muni initiated someone into a Mantra, there was

no necessity for that person to carry on with the japa. From the moment the

initiation was done, the voice of the Muni that articulated the Mantra continued

to reverberate ever afterwards in the heart of the disciple."

 

F.H. Humphreys, the first western devotee of Ramana was introduced to him by the

Muni, Humphreys's account of Muni is worth recalling. he met the Muni for the

first time at the railway waiting room at Vellore. "When the train came in, I

recognized the Muni. He was about 5ft 10 inches in height and well built with a

high round forehead and aquiline nose, good looking in every sense of the term.

he got out of the train and we sat together in the waiting room... Thought he

hardly said a word and does not know English, to be in the presence was to feel

oneself thrilled though and through. It was an extraordinary experience.. His

face when at rest, shines with happiness. At the least excuse, he laughs.

 

"...He would say, 'It is not 'I', but Maharshi who does these things.' He

evidently regard himself as the Maharshi's instrument."

 

To be continued from "Timeless in Time" by Natarajan