Reminder - 53rd Aradhana of Sri Bhagavan

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We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

 

53rd Aradhana of Sri Bhagavan

 

Monday, April 28, 2003

Time: All Day

 

"14th April, 1950:- Maharshi is in a very precarious condition.

The whole morning has been spent by devotees in hushed gloom and

bated breaths. After the evening darshan which was attended by

more then fifteen hundred persons, the unanimous verdict was

that it was positively the last. The Master is now propped on

large pillows, almost in a sitting posture to enable him to

breathe freely. At 7 p.m. oxygen is administered to him for a

few minutes, but , seeing it gave him no relief, he feebly asked

that it should be stopped. The situation was tense; about five

hundred devotees were outside in sad expectation of the solemn

last moment. Blood relations, Ashram workers, and a few veteran

disciples went in by turn to have a last sight of him. When the

end was known to be approaching the whole congregation with one

voice took to chanting the Tamil hymns he had composed in praise

of Lord Arunachala : "Arunachala Siva, Arunachala!", till it

came at 8.47. Many devotees grief stricken and beating their

breasts with agony, rushed to the big darshan Hall, to which the

sacred body had been brought and made to sit cross-legged in

yoga asana, to pay their last respects.

 

"15th April : At 6.30 p.m. the body which by then had received

the homage of not less than about 40,000 persons was carried in

a decorated palanquin, reserved for the God of the temple, to

the samadhi. Here it was placed in the same yoga-asana posture

into a bag made of the finest kaddar (home-spun cloth), which

was then filled with pure camphor, and lowered into the area in

the pit which had been reserved for it. Then the pit was filled

to the brim with camphor, salt, and sacred ashes to preserve the

body from worms and rapid disintegration, and closed with

masonry work.

 

from Epilogue by S. S. Cohen in Self-Realization, Life and

Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, By B. V. Narasimha Swami -

1985 Edition