RAMANA GITA STUDY GROUP Ch2 V. 1, 2 ,3. EKA SLOKA

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Krishna Bhikshu Translation

 

v.1 In the Chaturmsya1 of 1915 of the era of the Son of God, Bhagavan Ramana

Maharshi uttered in

a verse the essence of his teaching:

 

v.2: The Eka Sloka In the interior of the heart-cave, Brahman alone shines

in the form of the

Atman with direct immediacy as I, as I. Enter into the heart with questing

mind, or by diving

deep within, or through control of breath, and abide in the Atman.

 

v.3: Whoever understands this verse, the essence of Vedanta, uttered by

Bhagavan Maharshi, will

never again be assailed by doubt.

 

Sri T.V.Kapali Shastriar's Commentary

on The Eka Sloka

(Chapter Two Verse 2 of the Ramana Gita)

 

FIRST, HERE is the story - Bhagavan's own account as told to Suri Nagamma - of

how the Eka Sloka

came to be written. " In 1915 Jagadeesa was staying in Skandasram during

'Chaturmasya', and one

day he wrote down in a piece of paper 'Hridaya Madhye', held it in his hand and

sat down. When I

asked him what it was he said he wanted to write a sloka but when he actually

began it, only that

much he could write.

 

"I asked him to complete the rest. He said that nothing was coming forth

and thereafter just

left the paper under my seat. Though I reminded him any number of times he

pleaded his inability.

One day he left for some place. Before his return, I completed the Sloka,

wrote below that as

'Jagadeesan' and showed it to him as soon as he returned. Those days he was

very young. He said

"Is it not Bhagavan who completed it? Why is it written as Jagadeesan?' I said

'I don't know

that! was it not Jagadeesan who completed it?' Then, saying 'If it was written

by Jagadeesan

please give me the paper' he took it away and preserved it with him."

 

Suri Nagamma, to whom this account was given, wanted to have from Bhagavan

in an explicit

manner what was, as usual with him in such matters, left implicit. She records

that she asked him

further about this sloka: "Bhagavan himself is Jagadiswara, is it not so?"

 

Bhagavan just replied evasively "That is alright" and proceeded to divert

the subject by a

narration as to how the Sloka ultimately came to be incorporated in Ramana Gita.

Thus Bhagavan

had left us in no doubt that the prompting and the product was that of Lord of

Universe

'Jagadeesa' Sri Ramana Himself.

 

Another important thing about this sloka is that it is the first composition

of Bhagavan in

Sanskrit. Earlier his compositions were in Tamil. When Kavya Kantha Ganapati

Muni, the great

Sanskrit scholar, saw this sloka he was beside himself in joy and proclaimed it

as

"Ramanopanishad", "Hardopanishad". He decided to write out an exhaustive

commentary on it. When

in 1916 a reference was made about this in the presence of Bhagavan, Kavya

Kantha said "The time

for that is yet to come. I shall compose something like Geeta (the bhagavad

gita) as a

commentary." That was how Ramana Gita itself was born.

 

Here now is the verse itself, followed by Kapali Shastry's remarks taken

from his Commentary:

on the Forty Verses:

 

"In the interior of the heart cave,

Brahman alone shines in the form of the Atman

with direct immediacy as I, as I.

Enter into the heart with questing mind,

or by diving deep within, or by control of breath,

and abide in the Atman."

 

"Just as one forgets all other thoughts and keeps aside all other cares, and

holding breath

and speech gets into the well and plunges deep and plunges deep to find the lost

article; even so

one has to forget for the moment all his responsibilities and cares and take a

deep plunge into

the deeper truth of himself, holding calm his breath and mind which would

otherwise dissipate his

energy and divide his interests. Thus he gets into a movement of plunge that

deepening and

deepening with a vigilant and discerning eye develops into a supreme awareness.

 

"The methods hitherto suggested (i.e. in the Forty Verses) are all some sort

of search with

the mind and indeed they yield results of their own: and the earnestness of the

search determines

the measure of success. But in this verse the method called 'Plunge' is

suggested, and this is

the real test of earnestness. For an honest whole-hearted attempt involves the

gathering up of

all one's divided interests and dissipated energy into a concentrated effort of

the whole man, of

his being in all its entirety. It is not a partial attempt by the mind or by

means of controlling

the life-breath.

 

"Here restraint of breath and speech are suggested as a means and an

accompanying condition of

the 'Plunge'. Restraint of speech suggests a mind equipped for the attempt with

preliminary calm.

Restraint of breath also is spoken of here both as a means and as a necessary

condition. It is

easy to see that it naturally accompanies a serious attempt of this kind. But

how is it a means?

The discipline of regulating the breath has a value to life-breath, as it

clears away to a

certain extent the impurities that are the heritage of a life that is divided in

its interest.

Besides, the discipline of regulating the breath, Pranayama, gives a certain

purity to life in the

body and thereby helps the mind to have control over itself by getting clear of

the arrogating

advances of life upon it. An impure and weak mind is a slave of life which is

ever out for the

satisfaction of appetite - hunger and thirst - and is full of desire for

enjoyment of sensual

objects.The Sadhana by which Prana is purified goes a long way to purify and

elevate the mind.

 

"It must be noted that what is enjoined here is the adoption of any means, that

will enable one to

take a determined dive to find the Real in the deep. Though the Maharshi's

attitude to Sadhana

may be summed up in one word Nishtha - (steadfast abidance) - leading to or

realised in Prapatthi

- (self-surrender to the Lord, in the knowledge of ones own helplessness), he

has no predilection

to any of the stereotyped yogas, for instance the Jnanayoga of Nethi (not this,

not this) or the

Bhaktiyoga with its eight limbs of sravana, kirtana, etc, or the Rajayoga that

aims solely at the

mind becoming entranced into a state undisturbed by the world. The Vichara or

quest is described

as a quest for the Self by the calm collected and deepening mind. ...When the

mind becomes calm,

free from all thoughts other than the single thought of the Self and begins to

search for it in

silence, then alone real quest for the Self vichara may be said to begin."

 

 

"As in a well of water deep, dive deep with Reason cleaving sharp.

With speech, mind and breath restrained,

Exploring thus mayest thou discover

The real source of ego-self."

 

(Kapali Shastriar's translation)

 

Note:This sloka is repeated in verse 8 of the Supplement to the 40 Verses and

is engraved in gold

letters on black basalt above Ramana's couch in the new hall.

 

There is also a Commentary published by Ramanasramam by C.Sudarsanam in Pamphlet

Form

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Natarajan's Ramana Gita Ch 2 `The Three Paths'

 

Vs 1

In the rainy season of 1915., Bhagvan Ramana Rishi stated the

essence of his teachings in a verse.

 

Vs 2

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 300 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. For, great importance has to be attached to

the words of seers as they express their direct vision of the Truth.

It is also the first composition of Ramana in Sanskrit.

 

……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 leaving the paper under Ramana's seat. Before he returned Ramana

himself had completed the verse.*

[*Letters from Sri Ramanasramam by Suri Nagamma ..pg 341]

 

Ganapati Muni regards this verse as containing the essence of

Ramana's teachings. Hence gives it pride of place through an

exclusive chapter.

Note that `Heart', `Brahman', `Atman' & `Self' are used

interchangeably by Ramana. However use of expression `Heart' is most

commonly seen. This `Heart' is not the blood circulating organ to

the left but the spiritual heart. Based on his own experience,

Ramana locates it 2 digits to right of centre of chest…It is at once

the seat of the Self& the source of the ego, the individuality.

Scriptures declare, `Brahman' shines in hearts of all creation,

pure, eternal & self-luminous. Ramana describes how consciousness

shines forth by itself, spontaneously, taking form of an un-broken

feeling of `I'.—a continuous throb of consciousness, `I'-`I'.

The expression Brahman `alone' indicates absence of duality.

 

In Upadesa Saram Ramana explains – true import of indivivuality is

the Heart, since it shines always without a let. Whereas, the `I'

thought or ego we take to be self, is only a phenomenon of the

waking state. The ego perishes , as it were, daily in deep sleep and

logically one cannot be that which comes and goes. It must be the

Heart which sparkles always because there can be no break in one's

being.

Though feeling of fullness as `I'-`I' is continuous even when one

has notion of separateness, awareness of this feeling would be

absent.When through conscious effort the `I' thought is traced to

its source and merged there, one becomes conscious of the continuous

sparkle of the Heart.

 

In '40 verses on Reality', ramana makes it clear that consciousness

of the `I'-`I' is different from the ego or the idea of

individuality. Ego is limited, separative and particular. The

feeling of `I'-`I' is the limitless expanse of consciouness. The `I'

thought, ego, is termed `Aham-Vritti' and the shining of the `I' in

the heart is called `Aham-sphurti'. Ramana describes the latter `as

an incessant flash of `I' consciousness, you can be aware of it,

feel it, hear it, sense it'.* When questioned by Kapali Sastri as

to how to feel in this in the body, Ramana explained "that the whole

body becomes a mere power, a force current; Life becomes a needle

drawn to a huge mass of magnet and as you go deeper and deeper you

become a mere centre and then not even that for you become mere

consciousness".**

[*Sat Darshana Bhasya-P xx, **Ibid –Pxxi]

………..

Ramana's translation of this verse into Tamil and Malayalam, in

the `Supplement to Forty verses' needs to be noted. The English

translation of this reads as follows.-

`In the interior of heart-cavern, Brahman shines alone as `I'-`I',

as the Self.

Resort to the heart by diving deep within through self-enquiry or by

subsiding the mind along with the breath. You will become

established in the Heart.'*

On plain reading it would appear that two alternatives are

suggested, that of merging through self-enquiry or merging through

breath control. The alternatives are suggested since the mind and

breath have a common source, the Heart. Ramana has explained in

Upadesa Saram that they are two branches of the same

tree, `Sakti, `Power'.**here again the two paths indicated would be

more for practice. The second alternative is more in the nature of

an aid to the first, the subsidence of the mind.

{*supplement to Forty verses-Vs 8. **Upadesa Saram – Vs 12.}

To blow up the controversy whether the paths are three, wo or one is

to miss the wood for the trees. It is important to remember that the

point which Ramana is emphasising is that direct experience is

possible and that one should somehow enter the Heart for which the

suggestions mentioned would be complementary in practice.

The self-enquiry suggested is not to be pursued weakly but with

total interest diving deep like a pearl diver exploring the ocean –

bed for pearls.*Or like one trying to recover something which has

fallen into water. The mind has to be gathered completely at its

root, the `I'-thought.

Regarding breath control, it may be mentioned that in the Ramana way

the emphasis is not on hata-yogic practices of controlling breath,

which involve time and need expert guidance. Instead, the mind is

used for watching the breath. On such watching the breath would be

regulated. Further, it is to be noted that though it would appear

from a literal reading that Ramana gives the same position to breath

control as for self-enquiry it is not really so. On a reading of his

views on mind-control in this work, and from his replies to the

doubts of seekers, it would be clear that Ramana regarded breath

regulation only as a temporary aid for self-enquiry itself. For, it

would serve as a brake to the ceaseless thought flow which prevents

total attention to the `I'- thought

Another reason why Ramana does not recommend breath regulation as an

independent means is because such regulation often produces

temporary stillness of the mind. This would leave the problem of the

ego, or thought of separateness, untackled. It is only through

conscious effort , through self-enquiry, that the subsidence of the

mind at the source takes place.

 

Vs 3

Whoever understands this verse, uttered by Bhagavan Maharshi,

containing the essence of Vedanta, will never again be assailed by

doubts at any time.

 

Commentary

The Muni is in raptures over the preceding verse for, seekers of

truth have been given a simple and direct way to Self-abidance. The

verse's authoritative nature springs from its being the words of

Ramana, one abiding firmly in the state of steady wisdom. Doubts

will come to an end for a path has been indicated the treading of

which leads to direct experience of truth for oneself.

 

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