jIvanmukta

[Guest guest]

Namaste to all.

 

I am writing this to convey to the members an incident which I read about a few years ago in the monthly journal of the Guruvayur Devaswom, named Bhaktapriya.

About the beginning of the twentieth century there was a realized soul in what was formerly the Indian State of Travancore, but which is now part of Kerala. He was popularly known as Chattambi Swamikal. Once he had gone to Thiruvanantapuram and stayed for a few days with a family. Every morning he would go for a walk. His hostess noticed that when he came back there would be some foam-like deposit on his legs which he would wash off with water. His hostess became curious and asked him how the foam-like deposit came on his legs. He asked her to wait at a particular point on the road the next morning at the time when he would be back from his walk, if she wanted to know the reason. The next morning she went and waited at that spot. When Chattambi Swamikal came there on his way back after his walk two snakes rushed out from a snake pit in a corner, came to him, went up and down his legs and, after having played in this manner for a few minutes, went back to their pit.

This was a clear demonstration that the jnAni loves all creatures equally since they are all brahman.

 

A somewhat similar incident has been recorded about Jagadguru Abhinava Vidyatirtha Swami, the previous pontiff of Sringeri Sarada Peetham.

 

S.N.Sastri

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Sastri-ji,

 

Thank you for sharing this incident in the life of Chattambi Swamikal. As you know, there are a lot of observed and recorded incidents in the life of Bhagavan Ramana where wild animals would come and talk with him and be peaceful in his presence. Interestingly, Kunji Swami shares a different kind incident in the life of Bhagavan Ramana....

 

Sri Bhagavan was once walking on the northern slope of Arunachala by himself. As he was crossing the third of three streams that are there, he noticed a large banyan-tree leaf in the stream bed. He picked it up and was surprised to discover that it was large as a leaf from a teak tree. He looked around to find out where it had come from and saw high up on the mountain a large platform-like rock with a well-spread-out banyan tree near it. Thinking that this must be the banyan tree mentioned in the Arunachala Mahatmyam, he started climbing slowly with the intention of going to see it. As he was climbing up the rough path, slowly and with some difficulty, his left thigh happened to touch a hornets' nest in a bush. Immediately, a swarm of large mountain hornets came out of the nest and stung his left thigh.

 

Sri Bhagavan stood there patiently, thinking, 'For the misdeed I have committed, I must receive an appropriate punishment.' His thigh became red and swollen. Even though he was in great pain, Sri Bhagavan did not fail to notice and wonder that the hornets gave vent to their fury by stinging only that part of the body that brushed against their nest. As the pain and swelling increased, he forgot all about climbing the hill to see the big banyan tree. Instead, he turned aside and limped slowly and painfully back to Virupaksha Cave.

 

Palaniswami, who had been looking after Sri Bhagavan with great care and attention, was shocked to see the swollen thing. He rubbed sesame oil on the affected area and removed the hornets stings gently with a pair of tweezers. The swelling and pain subsided very slowly. Years later, when Muruganar heard about this incident from the life of Sri Bhagavan, he wrote a question in the form of a verse to which Sri Bhagavan replied with another verse. Here is Muruganar's verse:

 

O Venkata [sri Bhagavan], when you touched what you

thought to be a widely spread, green leafy bush, many

hornets stung that very leg, causing it to swell. How is

it that you felt repentant as if you had deliberately done

that wrong which happened accidently?

 

Sri Bhagavan's answering verse was:

After the leg was placed in such position that their

nest, spread in the midst of a green leafy bush, was

disturbed, the hornets stung in way that made it

become swollen. Though it was a wrong that happened

accidentally, what would be the nature of one's mind if

one did not even repent [of that accidental deed].

 

(From "The Power of the Presence" vol. 1, p31-32 by David Godman)

 

 

Regards,

Peter

 

 

advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf Of S.N. Sastri20 January 2009 04:25advaitin Subject: jIvanmukta

 

Namaste to all.

 

I am writing this to convey to the members an incident which I read about a few years ago in the monthly journal of the Guruvayur Devaswom, named Bhaktapriya.

 

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