THE MAHARSHI 3-4/2004

February 26, 2005

THE MAHARSHI

March/April 2004Vol. 14 - No. 2

Produced & Edited byDennis HartelDr. Anil K. Sharma

The Collected Works

The new 2004 edition of the Collected Works will have a few additions which in size are not substantial, but like all of Sri Bhagavan’s teachings contain seed kernals of potent food to assuage the spiritual hunger of aspirants.

When Sri Bhagavan was living at the Viruapaksha Cave, Ganapati Muni one day contested Bhagavan’s assertion that the Heart was the the most important center. He argued that the brain or sahasrara was of more importance since the cells of the brain contained all the tendencies (vasanas). Bhagavan refuted this by saying that if that was true a decapitated person would immediately be free from all vasanas and attain liberation. He explained futher that the vasanas reside in their subtlest form in the Heart and project themselves through the lens of the brain, outward through the five senses onto the screen of the world, thus utilizing his famous ‘cinema-show’ analogy of creation.

Among those present while this conversation occurred was a school boy, N. S. Aruanchalam. He stood nearby listening intently to the whole conversation and composed nine verses in English describing the scene and gist of the converstion.

About these nine verses the Maharshi said, “When I was in Virupaksha Cave, Nayana came there once with a boy named Arunachala [N. S. Arunachalam Iyer]. He had studied up to the school’s final class. While Nayana and I were talking, the boy sat in a bush nearby. He somehow listened to our conversation and composed nine verses in English, giving the gist of what we were talking about. The verses were good and so I translated them into Tamil verses in Ahaval metre. They read like the Telugu Dwipada metre.1”

The following is a prose rendering of Sri Bhagavan’s Tamil translation of the nine verses.2It should be noted that the boy identifies Bhagavan as the “Muni” and Kavyakantha as the “Lord”.

The Heart and the Brain

1. The Heart of the world (Sri Bhagavan) and the brain of the world (Kavyakantha) began to converse between themselves in the beautiful sacred cave (Virupaksha). All who heard those words at that time remained speechless as pillars.

2. The light of the sun, which exists and shines as the Heart of this earth, illumines the moon in the height, and the moon gives light to the earth;

3. Likewise, Upanishads came from the lips of the Muni (Sri Bhagavan), whose place (or abode) is the Heart, addressed to the Lord (Kavykantha), whose place (or abode) is the brain, and were also heard by us as light is received by the earth.

4. I shall compose, though ungrammatically, the truth of every precious word of the pure sacred sayings I heard. If asked, ‘Why is it the Truth?’ it is merely because it is the Truth.

5. I, the ignorant one, shall prattle that which Sri Ramana, the Maha-mauni, lovingly told about the Heart and brain, which is more secret than the meaning of any scripture.

6. “Just as the pictures in the film, which is placed inside the machine (the cinema projector) are expanded through the magnifying lens and move as very big pictures on the wall,

7. “So the atom-like vasanas in the Heart are made gross by the lens of the brain, go out through the eyes, mouth and nose and so on (that is, through the five senses) and appear in space as wonderful pictures of many kinds.

8. “I spent all theses days in the Heart, and when I came from the Heart into the world I found my way to get back into the Heart through the brain, and thereby I also discovered my system (or method).”

9. Thus they finished speaking these pure words, which the Lord (Kavyakantha) then noted in his mind, which all of us understood well, and which I have now quoted.

Na Karmana

“ Na Karmana” is the last Vedic chant of both the morning and evening Veda Parayanas at Sri Raman-asramam. It is customary for devotees to stand as it is chanted and then prostrate to the Guru when it concludes. This tradition continues in the Ashram at the Master’s samadhi shrine.

In 1938, A. W. Chadwick (Sadhu Arunachala), with the help of some devotees, translated “Na Karmana” into English. Sri Bhagavan corrected and approved his English versification. The Maharshi’s explaination of the verse and Chadwick’s English versification appears in Talks With Sri Ramana Maharshi under the date of 9 - 9 - 1938.

In the Nirvanna Room in Sri Ramanasramam, there is a framed Tamil translation of “Na Karmana” written on two pages. The page on the left, which is in pencil, is Bhagavan’s draft; the right page is the same Tamil text but is a fair copy in ink, written by P. N. Swaminathan Iyer. Sri K. Natesan who was there when this translation was written said that Bhagavan had asked him to make a fair copy of his translation in ink, but his former math teacher, N. S. Swaminathan Iyer, who was also there, insisted he must do it. The fair copy in ink is his. The date written at the bottom of the sheet is 10-9-1938, one day after the entry in Talks. By these dates we can infer that Bhagavan was probably requested to provide the devotees with a Tamil translation at the time Chadwick translated it into English.

In the new edition of the Collected Works, the following translation of Chadwick’s has been added.

‘ Tis not by means of action immortality is gained,Nor even yet by offspring, nor possession of much gold,But by renunciation by some it is attained.The Sages who their senses have all thoroughly controlledAttain that Sat than which high heaven’s Supremacy is less,Which ever doth within the Heart its radiance unfold.The Adepts by renunciation and one-pointednessWho have become both pure in heart and who have also knownThe certainty of that one Truth Vedanta doth profess,Attain Self-realization; when ignorance has flownFrom body and its cause Maya they’ll gain full liberty.That only as minute Akash what has eternal shone,That is within the Lotus Heart, of every sorrow free,of the Immaculate Supreme, the seat molecular,Within the body’s inner core, should meditated be.He verily is Lord Supreme. He is exalted farAbove the Primal Word, which is of Veda first and last;In which blends the Creative

Cause, so merged in one they are.

Apology to Hornets

Also of note is the question-verse by Muruganar that elicited the following verse from Bhagavan:

When I was stung by hornets in revenge Upon the leg until it was inflamed, Although it was by chance I stepped upon Their nest, constructed in a leafy bush;What kind of mind is his if he does not At least repent for doing such a wrong?

The “Apology to the Hornets” verse pertains to the incident that occurred during theVirupaksha Cave days. One day Bhagavan was walking around the hill alone, went into the forest not to far from the Pachaiamman Temple, saw a huge banyan-tree leaf drift across his path, which reminded him of the sloka from the Arunachala Purnam that tells of the banyan tree under which the Arunagiri Yogi was seated. He started walking in the direction from which the leaf came and saw a large tree on an elevated spot and, while proceeding towards it, his thigh brushed against a hornets nest. Bhagavan appeared to feel remorse for disturbing the nest and stood still to allow the hornets to sting him to their heart’s content. He then left the area and slowly made his way back to Virupaksha Cave by nightfall, with a badly swollen thigh and leg.

After this incident there was much speculation about the giant banyan tree, its location and the Arunagiri Yogi. Bhagavan never again felt inclined to look for the tree, for reasons he never clearly explained. This added even more intrigue to the incident. He also, unsuccessfully, warned others not to go looking for it, and that is another story.

Muruganar seemed puzzled why Bhagavan should feel remorse for an accidental incident, something destined, with no ill will intended. In verse, he questioned Bhagavan thus:

Sighting an overgrown, green-leaved bush, andWhen stepping on it and stung by hornets to have legs swollen, Venkata, in truth, why was an accidental intrusionTreated without mercy, just as a wanton transgression?

This ninth, 2004 edition of the Collected Works will contain additional information concerning the genesis of other stray verses Bhagavan composed, a few new minor translations of existing works and a number of corrections.

Editions prior to the sixth edition contained the text (introduction and translations from Tamil) of Arthur Osborne’s original version.

After thoughtful consideration, beginning with the sixth edition, some of the translations were replaced by those of other eminent devotees, like Prof. K. Swaminathan’s, whose scholarship and devotion have endowed them with a deep insight into the subtleties of the Tamil language. However, the bulk of the translations in Collected Works still remain Arthur Osborne’s.

---------------1. Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, 13th February 1947.2. 2. The boy’s verses were published in the July, 1983 Mountain Path.

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