THE SELF SUPREME – A LIST OF UNPRECEDENTED TRIBUTES PAID TO SRI RAMANA

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prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

SRI RAMANA : THE SELF SUPREME – A LIST OF

UNPRECEDENTED TRIBUTES PAID TO SRI RAMANA

 

 

The following encomiums bestowed on Sri Ramana Maharshi appear to

be beyond the extraordinary. It seems doubtful whether any other

person in recorded history ever got similar adulations in his

lifetime or within a few decades thereafter. The writers have

attempted to describe in myriad ways the indescribable Truth, which

Sri Ramana was. The Maharshi exemplifies Einstein's historic tribute

to Mahatma Gandhi: " Generations to come will scarce believe that

such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. "

No wonder that the Maharshi is envisioned by the contributors as the

highest pinnacle of Truth and Wisdom towards which humanity will

strive to move for generations to come.

The figure at the end of each entry is the page no. of the

forthcoming book of Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad. The publication

entitled Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi contains reminiscences

of 160 persons who had the privilege of meeting Sri Ramana. The

book is likely to be available in the first week of May 2006.

 

A spiritual superman, 18

He is eloquent enough without opening his lips, 20

Possesses a deific personality which defies description, 21

The silent flavour of spirituality emanating from him was

unstoppable, 21

Each phrase that fell from his lips seemed to contain some precious

fragment of essential truth, 21

A visitor from another planet, 22

A being of another specie, 22

Best philosophers of Europe could not hold a candle to him, 22

A pure channel for the higher power, 23

A spiritual torch, 23

Immortality stands out from his every word and look, 25

I had come in touch with spiritualism of the finest type, 27

His very presence generates an atmosphere of peace, 28

He was the Truth and the Light, 29

He is gentle to a degree that surpasses gentleness, 30

Hercules among the yogis, 31

Greatness sat easily on him, 32

Provides peace which is as unaccountable as it is delectable, 32

His detachment was as complete as it was perfect, 33

Nothing seems to possess the power to disturb his super poise, his

marvellous tranquility and peace, 33

He represents a very perfect instance of the Ego-less state, 34

He is a veritable storehouse of spiritual energy and wisdom, 34

His silence is more eloquent than his speech, 34

To be in his presence is a stirring experience in the elevation of

the soul, 35

When he smiled it was as though the gates of heaven were thrown open,

35

He is an ocean of tranquility, 37

Peace in his presence passeth all understanding, 37

He touches you by a fourth-dimensional touch, 37

He is a living example of knowledge without which the humanity of

today is but a pitiful joke, 40

He relies on action-less action and carries on a wordless teaching,

40

He renders the Truth demonstrable, 41

He is a perfect example of a jivanmukta, 41

He is a mahadhi – the man of the highest intellect, 42

His omniscience is constant and remains undiminished, 42

The world-intoxicated mind becomes subdued, calm, and purified in his

holy presence, 43

The darshan of the Sage is an experience in itself, not capable of

being described, 44

His greatness is based on his actual living by the creed of Advaita

Vedanta, 46

The whole humanity owes its homage to this great sage, 47

A divine master endowed with all spiritual and human qualities, 48

His silence is more eloquent, more effective, more far-reaching than

the sermons of any number of teachers put together, 48

He is the greatest of modern sages of India, 49

He is a sublime example of what a sage ought to be, 50

He is like the rivers and mountains, the common property of mankind,

50

He was a consummate artist in life, 52

If not God himself – for He is omnipresent – the Maharshi is at least

Greatness incarnate, 54

The Maharshi's grace can plunge the ordinary man in the ecstasy of

timeless Omnipresent Being, 55

His very presence among us is a benediction, 55

A silent look or an encouraging word from him will do more good than

all the sermonic literature of the world, 57

It is easy to remember but impossible to know the Maharshi, 58

Whether indifferent or sympathetic, in either case the world gains by

him, 58

Whatever may be written about the Maharshi, there is no such thing as

knowing him, 59

Divinity and grace radiated from the countenance of the Sage, 62

Being with him is being elevated, 69

The Divine Power of his presence was something remarkable, entirely

outstanding, 70

Just to think of him or sit in his presence would raise us to higher

levels of blessedness, 70

In Sri Ramana the sublime majesty of the divine life stood and moved

in all simplicity, 75

In the Maharshi the ultimate had revealed itself as immediate, and

the undreamt had become the actual, 76

He was a beacon light in an otherwise impenetrable darkness and a

haven of peace, 79

He was Supreme Detachment incarnate, 79

Renunciation was the `completest' with him, 80

His mere presence conferred blessedness upon those near him, 82

My heart was being irresistibly attracted as though by a mighty

spiritual magnet towards that divinity in human form, 85

For the first time in my life, I began to understand what the grace

and blessings of a guru could mean, 97

He was Divine Grace in human form, 98

He was indeed the universal guru, 98

His graciousness awoke a feeling of guilt as to how great was the

reward for so little effort made, 99

His face was wreathed in the most lovely smiles, with an expression

of serenity and beauty on it which is impossible to describe, or even

believe unless you have seen it yourself, 115

He was a perfect Impersonality like the sun in the sky or like the

unnoticed daylight in an inner chamber, 118

The Supreme Lord has assumed a human body as an act of grace and

resides at Arunachala under the name of Ramana, 126

Gurus like the Maharshi are manifestations of God in human form. To

relieve and redeem the suffering of mankind, the Lord occasionally

comes down to earth and manifests in a physical form, 143

I know no other beauty comparable to the beauty of the Maharshi, 144

If I have to write how the Maharshi has impressed me, all the

vocabulary I can command in all the three languages I know would not

suffice, 146

In the presence of the Maharshi my breath seems to stop for a while

and my mind got elevated into the spiritual realm of unutterable

peace, 147

The Maharshi truly represents in himself the University of Spiritual

Education, 150

He was so great yet so simple, 159

For the first time I fully understood the significance of darshan [of

a sage], 163

The Maharshi undoubtedly was one of those rare mahatmas who had the

power to banish the suffering through his presence, merely through

giving darshan,166

His look and smile had a remarkable charm. When he spoke, the words

seem to come out of an abyss. In his presence the unique bliss of

peace was directly experienced, 172

The mere sight of him made me tremble all over because I had come

face to face with the divine, 197

Effort seemed redundant when his presence alone was enough to

evaporate the usual mental flow of thoughts, ideas and problems, 198

How can his smile be described, it contained the whole world, 200

The Maharshi is unimaginable and therefore indescribable, 200

He was a bomb that exploded the myth of my life, 200

He enabled me to realize the timeless, unimaginable, unthinkable `I

am', 200

Whatever transformation took place in his presence, happened on its

own accord, not because he desired or willed it. Darkness was exposed

to light and ceased to be dark. Light did not orchestrate it in any

way, 201

His face is full of compassion, unearthly serenity and power, of

infinite kindness and understanding, 205

He reigns in silence, 205

The Maharshi's spiritual alchemy could transmute the hard materialism

into something pure and noble, 206

He is like the highest tribunal of our conscience, the Father

Confessor whose very presence purifies us of all sins, 207

Being near the Maharshi one feels the presence of God as a matter of

course – no arguments or proofs are necessary, 207

The Maharshi seems to supervise the inner processes in us just as an

operator watches the work of complicated machinery, which he knows

thoroughly, 207-8

The Maharshi is the sun whose rays of grace fall and dance on the

minds and hearts that are open, 209

The Maharshi is a God-man who has annihilated his mind and is

therefore a perfect stillness and bliss, 209

The Maharshi has condensed in himself the immortal, the eternal, 210

The Maharshi's touch was the touch of the immortal, which elevates

you and make you feel that you are also someone worthwhile, 210

He was the very personification of the infinite, of the divine, 210

Every word he spoke was charged with the wisdom of atma vidya, 210

The Maharshi is a tremendous spiritual dynamo who enters our hearts

even without our knowing it, 211

The Maharshi is the form of satyam, sivam, sundaram, 212

In front of the Maharshi, for the first time I knew the meaning of

Eternity. I got caught up into bliss that passeth understanding, 212

The Maharshi was living in a sphere beyond the limitation of time and

space, 213

Undoubtedly, merely to be in his presence is the greatest help that

one could possibly receive, 213

He conveyed thoughts silently and so powerfully that the vibrations

would sometimes roll in waves down the hall almost hurting the one

by the force with which they impinged upon the body, 216

Sri Bhagavan is unique, peerless, 217

In the light of his perfection, all imperfections were revealed, 218

When the Maharshi turned his head and smiled I suddenly felt as if

all the flowers of the world had poured their fragrance into our

midst, 219

You may read all the sastras in the world, but what you will gain is

nothing as compared to the few words you listen from the Maharshi, 222

Sri Ramana was the highest reality and the cream of all scriptures in

the world, 226

The Maharshi was beyond body consciousness, beyond all attributes,

and beyond all dualities, 227

He belonged to everyone and everyone to him, 227

In the Sage of Arunachala I had discerned the unique sage of the

eternal India, 230

He was the divine magician, 231

Many people have experienced happiness in his presence even without a

word being spoken, 232

His body was not of the man; it was an instrument of God, 246

Everyone who comes to him is an open book, and a single glance

suffices to reveal its contents, 246

You can imagine nothing more beautiful than his smile, 246

It is strange what a change it makes in one to have been in his

presence, 247

The praise of the Maharshi like that of Sri Krishna is delightful and

beneficial to worldly-minded as well as to those seeking liberation,

252

The Maharshi was the personification of emancipation, 252

His solemn presence lifted us beyond our body and mind to our true

Self, 252

His life is a study in divine illumination based on dynamic silence,

252

All worries of the world simply melted in his presence like ice

before fire, 252

He was himself the quest and the find, 253

So surcharged with spirituality was he that spirituality wafted out

to us, completely enveloping us, 254

He was a saint of colossal spiritual magnitude, 254

The vibrations that emanated from him were celestial, 255

His impact made me feel that I must have done something in the course

of my life to deserve this unique blessing, 262

Sri Ramana was the substratum of the universe and the most glorious

avatar that has been witnessed till now, 264

When I went to the hall I felt that I was in the presence of God, 267

When he smiled it seemed that I have never before known what a smile

was, 283

To write my experience with him is like trying to put the infinite

into an eggcup, 284

I saw life differently after I had been in his presence, 284

He gave us a tangible demonstration of God's omnipotence, omniscience

and omnipresence, 287

I felt that he was India at its highest, bringing peace that

surpasses all understanding, 295

It is astonishing how Sri Ramana's presence and his usual and

apparently humdrum activities cast such a magic spell over all those

who are blessed to come near him, 296

His personality was super human and God-like, 297

His chief language was radiant silence, 299

His darshan remains an unforgettable experience, 299

When the Maharshi appeared before my eyes, I couldn't believe that I

was watching a glorious sun unfold, 302

His majestic silence ended my suffering and my self concern about my

bereavement, 305

The Maharshi was not a person who knew Brahman; he was Brahman

himself, 314

He was a jivanmukta, 317

He is more than all other gods or prophets so far incarnated on the

earth, 317

There was about him an irresistible and indefinable spiritual power,

which simply overwhelmed me, 319

In the presence of the Maharshi, speech seemed redundant, 319-20

We sat and sat and looked and looked. No one spoke or made any noise.

But the confrontation was not a dead silence; it was a very live

experience in which each one of us communed with the Supreme

Consciousness, 322

He was a yogi of the highest order, a mystic of the supreme

realisation, who radiated the living presence of divinity, 326

His greatness is too vast – too immense, to be captured within our

mental orbit, 327

He was serving the best interest of mankind in his own unobtrusive

and silent ways, 332

Nothing seemed more enjoyable in this blessed world than to sit in

silence in the holy presence of the Maharshi, 337

Darshan of the Maharshi is a singular experience, which words can

hardly describe, 338

He was the living incarnation of the divine reality in human form, 340

His body seemed a glass case from which a blissful brilliance

streamed out, 342

He was not an ordinary master but a Universal Sadguru, 343

He is the link to the formless Being, 344

One gets transformed by his very presence, 353