Madhavi Ammal

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Madhavi Ammal

 

Srimati Madhavi Ammal was the sister of K.K. Nambiar. She, like her

brother, was an earnest devotee who looked upon Bhagavan as her

Master and Lord.

 

K. K. Namabiar writes in his book, The Guiding presence of Sri

Ramana: " My sister, K. K. Madhavi Ammal, was deeply religious. She

went to the Ashram quite often, much against the will of her husband,

who sometimes even scattered the fruits, flowers, etc., got ready by

her for being taken to Bhagavan. One day Bhagavan had some tooth

trouble and one tooth had to be removed. My brother-in-law, the

doctor in charge of the hospital nearby, was sent for. He went inside

Bhagavan's hall fully clad in a suit, approached Bhagavan's sofa and

asked him to open his mouth. 'Bhagavan, Vayi thora!' was what he

said, to the amusement of devotees gathered in the hall. The tooth

was extracted and the doctor left, a changed man. He no longer stood

in the way of my sister visiting the Ashram as often as she wished.

He even felt that the hand which had touched Bhagavan was able to

perform surgery more successfully thereafter. He, too, now visited

the Ashram, prostrated before Bhagavan, and sat in the hall like

other devotees in meditation. "

 

Madhavi Ammal was fortunate in having many opportunities to talk

freely with Bhagavan and appeal to him directly for upadesa. Bhagavan

made things easy for her in many ways, one of which was to speak to

her in Malayalam, her native language. He gave a patient hearing to

her tales of woe, which were many. A devotional entreaty of hers can

be seen in the archival films. In the following narrative, Madhavi

seems to have almost wrested the upadesa from the Guru by her

perseverance.

 

.....................

 

I knew full well that Sri Bhagavan gave no formal upadesa but I kept

on asking for it whenever an opportunity presented itself. Invariably

Sri Bhagavan used to reply, " Who is the Guru and who is the sishya

(disciple)? They are not two. There is but One Reality. It is in you

and It can neither be given nor taken. But you may read books for

intellectual understanding. "

 

On March 12, 1934 after prayers at the Shrine of Sri

Mathrubhuteswara, I went to the old hall. Only the attendant Madhava

Swami was with Sri Bhagavan. When I made my usual request Sri

Bhagavan laid aside the newspaper he was reading and sat in

padmasana, quite absorbed. I then recited a general hymn of praise to

the Guru in Telugu and also " Aksharamanamalai " in Telugu (the hymn on

Sri Arunachala by Sri Bhagavan). Sri Bhagavan turned to Madhava Swami

and said, " She has prayed to Sri Arunachala. " This struck me as

meaning that Sri Arunachala will give the initiation and also that

Sri Bhagavan and Sri Arunachala are not two. Sri Bhagavan resumed his

state of absorption and I had my persistent request for upadesa. But

he continued to sit motionless. Finally I begged of him, " Am I not a

competent person to receive upadesa? Sri Bhagavan should himself tell

me about this. Even if Sri Bhagavan confirms this how is it that I

adopted him as my Guru immediately on hearing of him (she was just

told that a rishi lived at the foot of the Hill)? Will it all be in

vain? " Immediately on my speaking thus I found a bright light

emanating from Sri Bhagavan's holy face, and the effulgence filled

the whole Hall. I could not see Sri Bhagavan's body but only the

brilliance. I shed tears in profusion. The whole incident could have

lasted just two seconds! I prostrated to Sri Bhagavan. There was a

smile on his face but no movement otherwise. After a while Sri

Bhagavan turned to me as if to ask, " Are you rid of your mania? " Yes,

I was. He then took a piece of paper, wrote a sloka (verse) on it and

gave it to me saying, " You can make use of it in meditation. "

 

This is the sloka: " I adore Guha the Dweller in the Cave of the

Heart, the Son of the Protector of the Universe, the Pure Light of

Awareness beyond thought, the Wielder of the weapon of Jnana Sakti

and the Remover of the ignorance of blemishless devotees. "

 

And again he smiled graciously.

 

This was wonderful upadesa indeed by a Master rare to see. My Master

taught me the great truth that there is only ONE. The proper Guru is

one who shows what is. This was but a practical demonstration of the

saying, " The Master's face reveals Brahman. You attain Brahman

through Grace. "

 

-from The Silent Power (see page 7)

from the latest The Maharshi Newsletter