The Great Transition 3

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THE GREAT TRANSITION

 

 

PART THREE

 

 

 

The repercussion of actions, good and bad alike, is more swift and strong. After the first shock of bereavement devotees began to be drawn back to Tiruvannamalai.

 

The mystery of Arunachala Hill also has become more accessible. There were many formerly who felt nothing of its power, for whom it was just a hill of rock and earth and shrubs like any other.

But from the time when the Spirit left the body and a bright star trailed towards the Hill devotees have felt more directly that it is holy ground; they have felt in it the mystery of Bhagavan. 1

 

 

SHRINE AND ASHRAM

 

‘Naturally, there are not the same crowds at the Maharshi’s Ashram at Tiruvannamalai that there were during his lifetime. Many of these were visitors eager to have a sight of the holy man. Many also, especially from Western countries, were intellectuals, students of philosophy or psychology, who came to pose academic questions. It is possible that a higher percentage of these who come now are genuine seekers or true devotees.

‘The tomb of the Maharshi was made just outside the old meditation hall where he sat with his devotees for so many years.

The beginnings have been made of a shrine over it of beautiful polished black and grey stone from Arunachala, but funds are awaited to complete it.

‘There is no spiritual head of the Ashram in human form.

The Presence of the Maharshi is so powerful and pervading that it would be a redundancy to have some person there as a guru.

Instructions for meditation are given in his writings and sayings; spiritual support comes direct from him; all that is needed is practice.’ 2

 

 

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION

 

 

 

During the lifetime of the Maharshi the Ashram had been run by his younger brother Sri Niranjanananda Swami, known also as Chinnaswamy or the Little Swami’ and entitled the Sarvadhikari or Governor. He took sannyasa after the early death of his wife, while the Maharshi was still living in a cave on Arunachala; and when the Maharshi came down to the foot of the hill after his mother’s death and took up his abode there, it was he who organised the Ashram that we now know.

After the death of the Maharshi a Committee of devotees was formed to advise him but he continued the Ashram management.

The Sarvadhikari did not long outlive the Maharshi. He died on January 29, 1953. By the general wish of the devotees he was buried in the Ashram precincts and a small shrine erected where he lay.

He was succeeded by his son, T. N. Venkataraman, who is the present President of the Ashram. Even before becoming the President, he had been serving in the Ashram from 1938. He is fondly addressed by fellow devotees as ‘Venkatoo’.

The premises are kept clean and tidy, meals are served punctually, all are free to sit and meditate, and apart from that the Ashram management is of little concern to visitors.

It is better however, to write to the President before coming because now also, as in the lifetime of the Maharshi, there is often difficulty in finding accommodation.

As a reflection of the informality of the Maharshi’s teaching and method of training, the Ashram has never undertaken precise or ample arrangements for visitors. Even for those who stay in its guesthouse there is no tariff of charges. They are expected to make a donation when they leave, but it is up to them.

 

End of Part Three

To be continued

 

 

 

 

1. Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge, pp. 185-192, by Arthur Osborne,

Rider & Co

2. Sri Ramanasramam, Yesterday and Today, pp. 56, Sri Ramanasramam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE MOUNTAIN PATH

(Quarterly)

Editor: Arthur Osborne

L1 JANUARY 1964 No 1