A TELUGU VIDVAN RECORDS HIS EXPERIENCE OF STAY AT SRI RAMANASRAMAM

[Guest guest]

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.

 

A TELUGU VIDVAN RECORDS HIS EXPERIENCE OF STAY AT SRI RAMANASRAMAM

 

G.Lakshmi Narasimham translated into Telugu Five Hymns to Arunachala

and Reality in Forty Verses, works of Sri Ramana.

 

My contact with Bhagavan began in 1930, and I spent a continuous

period of three years at Sri Ramanasramam. It was a great blessing.

I was a science graduate. I had learned about the atomic

structure of the universe and how the matter finally resolves into

energy, and that the mind also is a form of energy. So the entire

world of the mind and the matter, when traced to its source, is one

uniform Energy or God, or whatever you choose to call it.

This was the attitude of my mind when I first went to Sri

Ramanasramam. Bhagavan was then translating his Ulladu Narpadu into

Telugu. After completing it he gave the manuscript to me and

said, " You are an Andhra: see if there are any grammatical mistakes

in it. " It was this translation which made my mind turn inwards

and set it on the right path.

The essence of what Bhagavan said in my talks with him

was: " You say that on final analysis all that I see or think or do is

one; but that really comprises two notions: the all that is seen; and

the `I' that does the seeing, thinking and doing, and says `I'.Which

of these two is the more real, true and important? Obviously the

seer, since the `seen' is dependent it. So, turn your attention to

the seer who is your `I' and realize it. This is the real task. Up

to now you have been studying the object, not the subject. Now find

out for what reality this `I' stands. Find the entity which is the

source of the expression `I'. That is the Self, the Self of all

selves. "

This direct, simple teaching was like a tonic to me. It

swept away the unrest and confusion that till then had haunted my

mind. It is, of course, the essence of Ulladu Narpadu and the central

theme of all Bhagavan's writings. The simplicity of it made me burst

out, " Then Bhagavan, Self-realization is very easy, just as you say

in the poem Atma Vidya! "

Bhagavan smiled and said, " Yes, yes, it seems so at first,

but there is a difficulty. You have to overcome your present false

values and wrong identification. The quest requires concentrated

effort and steadfast abidance in the Source, when reached. " However,

while warning me, he also added words of solace: " But don't let that

deter you. The rise of the urge to seek the `I' is itself an act of

Divine Grace, for which one has to pray. "

Once my mother said to Bhagavan, " You are God, kindly

help me. " He replied, " I, a God – I am only a believer in God's

existence. Don't say I am God. Then everyone will try to pick a hair

of mine. "

My three-year old son suffering from acute liver ailment was

taken to the Ashram for a few days but died after two months. The

incident was brought to Bhagavan's notice. When Bhagavan appeared in

dream to a close relation, he asked Bhagavan: " The child died even

though he was brought to you. " Bhagavan replied, " So many clients

come to the lawyer in your family. Does he not always say, " I will do

my best. " ? Does he always win the cases? So is the case with God

also.

When a devotee failed in his attempt to get a suitable

bridegroom for his daughter, he sought Bhagavan's help. He was given

a Tamil verse for chanting a certain number of times daily. The verse

was a prayer to Siva to take Parvati as his consort. After a month or

two the devotee succeeded in celebrating his daughter's marriage.

My daughter was also of marriageable age and I thought of

following the same device. For getting Bhagavan's clearance in the

matter I wrote down the verse on a piece of paper and showed it to

him saying whether there was any mistake in it. Bhagavan saw through

it and asked, " Why do you want this? You need not do all these

things.When the time comes, the bridegroom himself will come and take

her away by hand. " I gave up the idea; and my daughter was married as

predicted by Bhagavan.

In December 1930, my brother's newborn daughter was brought

to the Ashram for being named by Bhagavan. The two names familiar to

him were Lakshmi and Saraswathi. So, looking at the baby Bhagavan

said, " Why not give her the name Saraswathi? " When told that there

was already one Saraswathi, he named her Bala Saraswathi (Bala means

younger).

Bhagavan insisted on parayana (repetition of sacred texts).

He felt that though one may not be able to understand them in the

first instance, gradually the ultimate meaning would flash by itself.

Bhagavan also said that writing once is equivalent to reading ten

times.

In the early 1930s, a dog called Jackie fell sick. Bhagavan

arranged a soft bed for it in the hall and was tending it

affectionately. After a few days it got more sick and started

emitting a bad smell. It made no difference to Bhagavan's attention

on it. Finally, it expired in his hands. It lies buried in the Ashram

precincts, with a small monument over it. ( Source: Forthcoming

publication of the Kendram as mentioned before.)