Guest guest Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 The Recollections of N. Balaram ReddyConclusion After the Mahasamadhi ON APRIL 16, the day after Bhagavan’s body was buried, I gathered all my belongings and left on the noon train for Madras. At that time, I didn’t know when, or if, I would be returning to the ashram. Many prominent devotees also began leaving Tiruvannamalai. Everybody was selling off their properties, the ashram’s income dramatically fell and the Mauni, Srinivasa Rao, was scheming to seize control of the ashram; even before Bhagavan’s demise he was scheming. After one year, I again returned to the ashram to attend Bhagavan’s aradhana celebration. The ashram was struggling to stay afloat financially. I remember Chinnaswami informing me that the ashram would be unable to serve me breakfast and I should go to town and eat. By the mid 1950s T. N. Venkataraman began to gain considerable support, although he definitely had an uphill battle. And, as Bhagavan willed, the ashram has somehow been going along, prospering ever since. There are, no doubt, the occasional incidental problems in the operation of the ashram. Still, like before, I believe it is only Bhagavan who is getting everything done. His presence continues to be the controlling factor in the day to day operation of the ashram. And just look how the ashram has grown and how more and more seekers from all over the world are flocking here. "Why Do You Doubt It?" One time G. V. Subbaramayya questioned Bhagavan about his Atma Vidya song, which begins with "Self-knowledge is an easy thing, the easiest thing there is." Subbaramayya wondered why, if it is so easy, we don’t realize it. This is something we all wondered about. I then quoted to Bhagavan verse three in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavadgita, wherein Sri Krishna says, "Of thousands of men, some rare soul strives to realize Me; of those striving yogis, again, some rare one (devoting himself exclusively to me) knows Me in reality." I thought if Atma Vidya (Self-knowledge) was so easy, as Bhagavan’s song suggests, why did Krishna make this declaration in the Gita? Bhagavan looked at us with compassion and, smiling confidently, said, "What is written in the song Atma Vidya is true. Why do you doubt it? It is as clear as a gooseberry in the palm of your hand." When he spoke to us like this, with such certitude and conviction, we were filled with an unflinching faith and self-confidence in our ability to attain the ideal he taught us. Moreover, he sat before us as the living example of that ideal, a perfected soul, absorbed in the purity and peace of the Absolute Reality. What more did we need in life? How blessed we all felt. This concludes the Recollections N. Balaram Reddy, recorded by Dennis Hartel during a 1993 visit to Sri Ramanasramam. The foregoing ten installments and an additional Appendix (not published in the MAHARSHI) are being compiled into a book and published by Sri Ramanasramam, India. Sri N. Balaram Reddy was absorbed into his Master on May 11, 1995. **** FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar MSN Toolbar Get it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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