Maha Yoga - The Sage of Arunachala, #7

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The vigorous search for the missing boy that was made by

his family proved a failure. But some years after his flight they

came to know by mere accident that he was at Tiruvannamalai.

First his uncle, and then his mother, came to him and importuned

him to come back and live near them, if he would not live with

them. But they could make no impression on him; it was as if he

did not recognise their claims on him; such claims were founded

on the assumption that his body was himself.

 

Much later his mother and younger brother — at that

time the sole surviving brother — came to live with him, and

he let them do so. He took advantage of this opportunity to

instruct and guide his mother on the path to spiritual perfection.

On various occasions during the early part of his life at

Tiruvannamalai the Sage passed through many kinds of trials.

But nothing could ruffle his peace of mind. He exemplifies in

himself the truth expressed in the Gita and other sacred books,

that the man who is firmly established in the Egoless State will

not be moved from it by the severest trials.

 

The correct explanation seems to be that the events of the external world,

including even what happens to the body, are not real to the Sage;

for he dwells in the State of unassailable happiness, a happiness

which is so abundant, that it radiates around him, draws to him

disciples and devotees and attaches them to him for life. Indeed

many of them look upon him as God in human form.

 

It is a curious fact about this Sage that he had never had any

book-knowledge concerning the real Self. The ancient lore, which

reveals as much of the truth of that Self as can be expressed in

words, never came his way; nor was he initiated by anyone into

the secrets of that lore; nor did he even know that there was any

such lore, till long after he had won the State which is their subject-

matter. But when disciples came to him, and some of them wanted

light on the inner sense of certain obscure passages in the sacred

lore, he had to read those books; and he understood their hidden

meanings with perfect ease, because those books described just

that very state — the Egoless State — which he was constantly

enjoying as his own; thus he was able to give out the correct

sense of those passages,— a sense that is beyond the grasp of the

most diligent students of that lore. Thus it happens that this Sage

is an exception to the general rule of the ancient lore, that every

aspirant to the State of Deliverance must become a disciple of a

competent Teacher and be initiated by him into the mysteries.

The competent Teacher is termed a ‘Guru.’

 

Another instructive feature of the Sage is that he teaches

more by Silence than by word of mouth. Visitors come to him

from far and near with bundles of questions; but when they take

their seats in his presence after making due obeisance, they forget

to put their questions; and after a time they find that the questions

have evaporated. The would-be questioner either realises that

the questions need no answer, or finds the answers in himself.

 

The Sage however quite readily answers any question that

is not purely worldly; and when he does answer, his words are

clear, but brief. And as a rule his teachings are free from the

technical terms that abound in most of the books. And as he

speaks, so he writes. That may be taken as a proof that he speaks

from his own experience — not from a knowledge of books.

The learned man cannot talk without using the phraseology of

the books he has studied; it may be said that the books master

the man, and not man the books.

 

The Sage has written a few books, which are all very

brief, but full of meaning. But these he wrote, not because he

himself wanted to write books, but because he was importuned

by certain disciples, who were eager to have a Revelation from

the Sage himself — not being content with the extant sacred

lore.

 

He has also, at the request of disciples, translated some

of the older sacred lore into Tamil. The disciples of this Sage

are in a stronger position than those who have to rely on the

sacred lore of the past. Answers that the Sage has given orally

to questions put to him have also been recorded by disciples.

Disciples come to the Sage from all over the world, and

they profit by his silent influence as well as his teachings,

according to the intensity of their desire for deliverance from

bondage. Their impressions about him vary according to their

mentality. But all recognise that he is a unique person, worthy

of profound veneration. What is the secret of this power in

him? The answer is that he has attained that state of

Deliverance which everyone aspires to, more or less earnestly;

some also find in his presence a foretaste of that state of being.

 

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taken from MAHA YOGA, by WHO