Spiritual Stories by Ramana

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DAKSHINAMURTI

 

The Self alone, the Sole Reality,

Exists for ever.

If of yore the First of Teachers

Revealed it through unbroken silence

Say, who can reveal it in spoken words?

 

– Ekatma Panchakam, Sri Bhagavan.

 

Sri Bhagavan once told the story that follows to Sri Muruganar. This

brings out the profound significance of the Supreme Silence in which

the First Master, Sri Dakshinamurti is established.

 

Sri Bhagavan said,

 

" When the four elderly Sanakadi rishis first beheld the sixteen-year-

old Sri Dakshinamurti sitting under the banyan tree, they were at

once attracted by Him, and understood that He was the real Sadguru.

They approached Him, did three pradakshinas around Him, prostrated

before Him, sat at His Feet and began to ask shrewd and pertinent

questions about the nature of reality and the means of attaining it.

Because of the great compassion and fatherly love (vatsalya) which He

felt for His aged disciples, the young Sri Dakshinamurti was

overjoyed to see their earnestness, wisdom and maturity, and gave apt

replies to each of their questions. But as He answered each

consecutive question, further doubts arose in their minds and they

asked further questions. Thus they continued to question Sri

Dakshinamurti for a whole year, and He continued to clear their

doubts through His compassionate answers. Finally, however, Sri

Dakshinamurti understood that if He continued answering their

questions, more doubts would arise in their minds and their ignorance

(ajnana) would never end. Therefore, suppressing even the feeling of

compassion and fatherly love which was welling up within Him, He

merged Himself into the Supreme Silence. Because of their great

maturity (which had ripened to perfection through their year-long

association with the Sadguru), as soon as Sri Dakshinamurti assumed

Silence, they too automatically merged into Supreme Silence, the true

state of the Self. "

 

Wonderstruck on hearing Sri Bhagavan narrating the story in this

manner, Sri Muruganar remarked that in no book was it mentioned that

Sri Dakshinamurti ever spoke anything. " But this is what actually

happened " , replied Sri Bhagavan curtly. From the authoritative way in

which Sri Bhagavan replied and from the clear and descriptive way in

which He told the story, Sri Muruganar understood that Sri Bhagavan

was none other than Sri Dakshinamurti Himself!