Letters from Sri Ramanasramam 6

[Guest guest]

26th November, 1945

 

(6) IN SERVICE OF THE SAGE

 

When I went to the Ashram for the early morning Veda

 

Parayana everyone was terribly busy. The kitchen presented

 

a picturesque appearance, some cooking, some cleaning,

 

some giving orders, everyone busy with one thing or another.

 

Puliyodara, dadhyonnam, pongal, vadai, chips, puries and kootu

 

and ever so many eatables were filled into baskets and sent

 

up the hill. The Sarvadhikari does not appear to have had a

 

wink of sleep the whole night. He is the person who has

 

taken all the trouble.

 

 

 

Lord Krishna is reported to have stopped the celebration

 

of the annual Indra Yajnam performed by the shepherds and

 

instead arranged for the worship of the Govardhana Giri itself.

 

When you saw the series of baskets going up the hill it appeared

 

as if Sri Ramana had arranged this worship of Arunachala in

 

place of the vana samaradhana of the Amala Tree (garden

 

festival) performed annually during the month of Karthika.

 

 

 

After Veda Parayana, Bhagavan had his bath and

 

breakfast and started for Skandasramam accompanied by

 

Rangaswami, who is like Nandi to Lord Siva. Leading the

 

way, Bhagavan went up the hill to Skandasramam as if he

 

was going to his own home.

 

 

 

Without giving the least inconvenience to Bhagavan the

 

devotees proceeded in several groups and reached

 

Skandasramam. Aunt Alamelu (sister of Bhagavan) and

 

myself followed. Some other women got to the destination a

 

little late. Being surrounded by the devotees Bhagavan was

 

seated comfortably under the pleasant shade of the trees

 

just in front of the Skandasramam building. This showed

 

what a Rishiasramam is generally like. This Ashram was just

 

like Badarikasramam of old as described in Harivamsam

 

though the latter could not now be witnessed direct. This

 

Skandasramam like Badarikasramam provided a visual feast

 

with its water coming out of the rocky fountain, resembling

 

the sandhyarghya jalam (the oblations at dawn and dusk) of

 

Samyameswara and warblings and melodious notes of the

 

birds sounding like the musical hymns of Sama Veda as sung

 

by rishikumaras (the sons of seers). Apart from the many

 

sadhakas and sannyasins present, lawyers and doctors,

 

engineers and artists, newspaper correspondents and poets,

 

songsters and a good many others arrived from Madras,

 

Pondicherry and Villupuram. The young and old, the men

 

and women and all without distinction of high and low,

 

squatted on the ground around Bhagavan looking at him

 

with a fixed gaze. While the Arunagiri abounding in mineral

 

wealth served as the precious jewelled-throne, the clouds

 

adorning the sky served the purpose of Sveta Chhatram (the

 

white Umbrella) and the tree grove with innumerable

 

branches acted as vensamarams (fans used in deity worship).

 

Sri Bhagavan shone in his glory as an emperor crowned,

 

while Prakritikanta (Nature personified) waved lights to him

 

with its agreeable rays of the sun.

 

 

 

Brother! How can I draw that picture for you? The

 

Maharshi is calm and his serene gaze, coming from the source,

 

pervades all corners. His gentle smile shone like the cool rays

 

of the moon. His words simply rained amrit. We sat there like

 

statues without consciousness of the body. The photographers

 

then attended to their job. After 9-30 a.m. the usual daily

 

programme of the Ashram below, relating to mails, newspapers,

 

etc. was gone through as in a Maharaja's durbar. The clouds

 

then increased and the wind blew heavily. The devotees gave

 

Bhagavan a shawl with which he covered his whole body except

 

the face. Then Bhagavan, in his sitting posture, looked like his

 

mother Alagamma incarnate. Aunt and myself were of the same

 

opinion. This scene was also photographed.

 

Sri Bhagavan preached for some time in silence in the

 

'gurosthu mouna vyakhyanam' (the Guru explaining by mere

 

silence) way. There may certainly be some pure-hearted souls

 

that could all become 'chhinna samsayah' (cleared of all

 

doubts). But in my case, my mind ran to the preparations

 

like puliyodara and dadhyonnam, etc., as it was lunch time.

 

The question was whether everything was offered to the hill

 

or anything was left behind. The doubt was solved after 11-

 

30 in the forenoon. My brethren wished to arrange the

 

delicacies for Bhagavan separately in a comfortable place.

 

But would he agree to that? He got a table arranged by his

 

sofa and feasted there in the midst of all.

 

 

 

After the meal, his sofa was set up on the verandah,

 

which has an iron-grating enclosure. The devotees were at

 

first at a distance but in a few minutes came near to Bhagavan.

 

Aunt Alamelu and I with some other women were seated in

 

an adjacent room looking at Bhagavan through a window

 

just opposite to his lotus feet. He then began to talk, telling

 

us short stories about his past life on the mountain, relating

 

the arrival of the mother, the construction of Skandasramam,

 

the water supply, the supply of provisions, the rule of the

 

monkey kingdom, the peacock dances, his association with

 

serpents and leopards. During this discourse he greeted a

 

new entrant, the poet Naganarya, by enquiring, 'When did

 

you come?' Turning towards me he observed, 'Here he

 

comes.' I replied, 'Yes.' Then something was recalled to his

 

mind and he said, fixing his resplendent gaze, 'There mother

 

had her nirvana (left her mortal frame). We made her sit

 

there outside. Still no mark of death was visible in her face.

 

Like one seated in deep samadhi, divine light was seen in a

 

holy dance. There, just there, where you are now sitting.'

 

His enchanting words entered my ears like the sweet

 

note of the Venu (the divine flute). I stood at this place worth

 

seeking and heard the words worth hearing. What a glorious

 

day is today!

 

Kapila liberated Devayani by initiating her into the

 

Reality. Dhruva put Sunita on the path of salvation. Sri Ramana

 

in his turn not only vouchsafed the eternal empire of freedom

 

and bliss to his revered mother but also did the highest honour

 

by installing the Mathrubhuteswara Lingam on her samadhi

 

to make her glory permanently extolled in the world.

 

On hearing the word 'Mother' from the mouth of

 

Sri Bhagavan, I was overcome with ecstasy and tears filled

 

my eyes. It sounded as though the words about the mother

 

were uttered to the daughter. Mahatmas always honour

 

women. They view woman as the mother and love in perfect

 

form. There is no creation without nature. Before the arrival

 

of the mother there was no cooking in the Ashram. The

 

mother came and gave a hearty meal to the residents. The

 

agnihotra (fire) first instituted by the mother does the cooking

 

even today and fills the bellies of thousands of devotees.

 

I turned round to see the photo of that revered mother

 

but, being disappointed on finding none, said silently within,

 

'O Mother, that brought glory to womanhood in general!

 

We are blessed!' In the meanwhile various kinds of delicacies

 

were served. Half an hour after we ate them, puri and koottu

 

were given. After helping ourselves we began to go back.

 

After seeing us all off one after another, Bhagavan came down

 

from the throne of Arunagiri accompanied by his attendants

 

and, walking slowly, reached the Ashram at its foot just as

 

the sun sank behind the mountain on the west. Then the

 

routine programme of Veda Parayana, etc., was gone through

 

as usual.

 

...........

 

May the powers of the Mahatma be heard and seen direct.

 

Listen! Can they be transcribed in true perspective?

 

Is it possible for any one to do it?

 

Let Brahma alone do that job.

 

~~~~~~~