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Search for the Lost Boy and Mother's Visit
In the meantime, Venkataraman 's relatives were making anxious enquiries and searches at various places, but he could not be traced. Annamalai Thambiran (mentioned in the second para of the previous page), who had learnt the young Swami's name and native place at the math, happened to visit Madurai. He spoke to one of Venkataraman's family friends about the well-known young saint at Tiruvannamalai who belonged to Tiruchuzhi. Immediately after getting this information, Venkataraman's uncle set off for Tiruvannamalai. He pleaded in vain for the Swami's return and left for Madurai empty-handed.
After sometime, the young Swami began to reside at the Pavalakunru shrine on the Arunachala hill, where also he would sit as before, immersed in the Bliss of Being. It was here that mother Alagamma came to take back her son, whom she recognised despite his wasted body and matted hair. With a mother's love and concern, she lamented over his condition and pressed him to go back with her, but he sat unmoved despite her repeated entreaties. One day, pouring out her grief to the devotees around him, she beseeched them to intervene. Seized by the mother's plight, one of them told the Swami, "Your mother is weeping and praying; at least give her an answer. The Swami need not break his vow of silence, but he could certainly write what he has to say."
Venkataraman took a pencil and wrote in Tamil: "The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their prarabdha-karma. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try hard as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it.This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent."
The last sentence applied to the mother, who was asking what could not be granted. It applies to people in general in the sense that 'it is no use kicking against the pricks,' opposing the destiny that cannot be altered. But it does not mean that utmost sincere efforts to succeed are not made. The man who says, "Everything is predestined, therefore I need make no effort", is indulging in the wrong and tricky assumption that he knows what is predestined. The mother returned home and the Swami remained absorbed in the Self, as before.
The Swami Moves to Virupaksha Cave
Early in 1899, the young ascetic, accompanied by his attendant Palaniswami took up his residence in the Virupaksha Cave, named after the thirteenth century saint Virupakshadeva, whose remains lie buried there. The cave is curiously shaped to resemble the sacred monosyllable OM, the tomb being in the inner recess. He stayed in this cave for about seventeen years.
Here also the young Swami maintained silence for the first few years. His radiance had already drawn a group of devotees around him and an ashram had come into being. He occasionally wrote out instructions and explanations for his disciples, but his silence did not impede their training because his most effective way of imparting instruction was through the unspoken word. The penetrating silence became the hallmark of the young sage.
Some Early Visitors
Sivaprakasam Pillai, an officer in the Revenue Department and an intellectual, heard of the young Swami residing on the hill. At his very first visit in 1902, he was captivated by the Swami's aura and became his life-long devotee. As the Swami was maintaining silence he answered fourteen questions of Pillai by writing on a slate. These were later expanded and arranged in a book form Who am I? This is perhaps the most widely appreciated prose exposition of the Maharshi's philosophy.
Ganapati Muni, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet, was another devotee who visited the Swami from 1903 onwards and accepted him as his guru in 1907. It was the grateful Muni who named the Swami as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, and sang of him as an incarnation of Subrahmanya, son of Lord Siva. The Maharishi's answers to the questions put by the Muni and his disciples, largely constitute the well-known work Ramana Gita. The most quoted sloka of this book tells us: In the interior of the Heart-Cave [right hand side of the chest, not left] Brahman alone shines in the form of atman. Enter deep into the Heart with a questioning mind, or by diving deep within, or with breath under check, and abide in the atman.
The earliest Western seeker to come under the Swami's influence (in 1911) was F.H. Humphreys. When he asked how he could help the world, Sri Ramana replied, "Help yourself, and you will help the world. You are not different from the world, nor is the world different from you."
The number of devotees increased greatly over a period of time. The text provides a record of experiences of a large number of such of those devotees who felt inclined to write or communicate through others.
Consideration for the Down-trodden and Lowly
The text contains many instances of Sri Ramana's concern for the underprivileged. One such incident was narrated by Sri Ramana himself many years after the event to Suri Nagamma: When we were on the hill, at midday some women of the lowest caste, who carried heavy loads of grass on their heads, would frantically search for water to quench thirst and relieve exhaustion. But as they were not permitted to go near the well, I would wait near the well and pour water in the cup of their hands, which they drank with great satisfaction. They had to reach home quickly to look after their children, and used to come to us with hope and expectation.
Skandasram and Sri Ramanasramam
In 1916, as the number of resident devotees increased, Sri Ramana shifted to the more commodious Skandasram, named so as it was built through Herculean efforts of his staunch devotee Kandaswami.
After the death of his mother in 1922 (who had come to stay with her ascetic son six years before and had got nirvana in his hands), her body was laid to rest at the foot of the Arunachala hill. The present Ashram, named Sri Ramanasramam, has developed around the mother's samadhi called Matrubhuteswara, God in the form of Mother.
The Ashram, which began with a single thatched shed over the mother's samadhi, has developed into a fairly large complex of buildings, the most important of which, according to many sadhakas, is the Old Hall where Sri Ramana spent most of his living time for over twenty years on a couch gifted by a devotee. The shrine over Sri Ramana's samadhi, which has a large, bright, and airy meditation hall attached to it, regularly draws a large number of devotees and visitors throughout the year.
After Sri Ramana came down to live in the Ashram at the foot of the hill, he made it clear, though not explicitly, that giving darshan and communicating with people through silence or brief messages of deliverance was his sole goal in life. A large number of seekers in various stages of spiritual evolution came to him and found peace, clarity and strength of mind in his presence, as detailed in the text.
Published by: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad
In the meantime, Venkataraman 's relatives were making anxious enquiries and searches at various places, but he could not be traced. Annamalai Thambiran (mentioned in the second para of the previous page), who had learnt the young Swami's name and native place at the math, happened to visit Madurai. He spoke to one of Venkataraman's family friends about the well-known young saint at Tiruvannamalai who belonged to Tiruchuzhi. Immediately after getting this information, Venkataraman's uncle set off for Tiruvannamalai. He pleaded in vain for the Swami's return and left for Madurai empty-handed.
After sometime, the young Swami began to reside at the Pavalakunru shrine on the Arunachala hill, where also he would sit as before, immersed in the Bliss of Being. It was here that mother Alagamma came to take back her son, whom she recognised despite his wasted body and matted hair. With a mother's love and concern, she lamented over his condition and pressed him to go back with her, but he sat unmoved despite her repeated entreaties. One day, pouring out her grief to the devotees around him, she beseeched them to intervene. Seized by the mother's plight, one of them told the Swami, "Your mother is weeping and praying; at least give her an answer. The Swami need not break his vow of silence, but he could certainly write what he has to say."
Venkataraman took a pencil and wrote in Tamil: "The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their prarabdha-karma. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try hard as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it.This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent."
The last sentence applied to the mother, who was asking what could not be granted. It applies to people in general in the sense that 'it is no use kicking against the pricks,' opposing the destiny that cannot be altered. But it does not mean that utmost sincere efforts to succeed are not made. The man who says, "Everything is predestined, therefore I need make no effort", is indulging in the wrong and tricky assumption that he knows what is predestined. The mother returned home and the Swami remained absorbed in the Self, as before.
The Swami Moves to Virupaksha Cave
Early in 1899, the young ascetic, accompanied by his attendant Palaniswami took up his residence in the Virupaksha Cave, named after the thirteenth century saint Virupakshadeva, whose remains lie buried there. The cave is curiously shaped to resemble the sacred monosyllable OM, the tomb being in the inner recess. He stayed in this cave for about seventeen years.
Here also the young Swami maintained silence for the first few years. His radiance had already drawn a group of devotees around him and an ashram had come into being. He occasionally wrote out instructions and explanations for his disciples, but his silence did not impede their training because his most effective way of imparting instruction was through the unspoken word. The penetrating silence became the hallmark of the young sage.
Some Early Visitors
Sivaprakasam Pillai, an officer in the Revenue Department and an intellectual, heard of the young Swami residing on the hill. At his very first visit in 1902, he was captivated by the Swami's aura and became his life-long devotee. As the Swami was maintaining silence he answered fourteen questions of Pillai by writing on a slate. These were later expanded and arranged in a book form Who am I? This is perhaps the most widely appreciated prose exposition of the Maharshi's philosophy.
Ganapati Muni, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet, was another devotee who visited the Swami from 1903 onwards and accepted him as his guru in 1907. It was the grateful Muni who named the Swami as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, and sang of him as an incarnation of Subrahmanya, son of Lord Siva. The Maharishi's answers to the questions put by the Muni and his disciples, largely constitute the well-known work Ramana Gita. The most quoted sloka of this book tells us: In the interior of the Heart-Cave [right hand side of the chest, not left] Brahman alone shines in the form of atman. Enter deep into the Heart with a questioning mind, or by diving deep within, or with breath under check, and abide in the atman.
The earliest Western seeker to come under the Swami's influence (in 1911) was F.H. Humphreys. When he asked how he could help the world, Sri Ramana replied, "Help yourself, and you will help the world. You are not different from the world, nor is the world different from you."
The number of devotees increased greatly over a period of time. The text provides a record of experiences of a large number of such of those devotees who felt inclined to write or communicate through others.
Consideration for the Down-trodden and Lowly
The text contains many instances of Sri Ramana's concern for the underprivileged. One such incident was narrated by Sri Ramana himself many years after the event to Suri Nagamma: When we were on the hill, at midday some women of the lowest caste, who carried heavy loads of grass on their heads, would frantically search for water to quench thirst and relieve exhaustion. But as they were not permitted to go near the well, I would wait near the well and pour water in the cup of their hands, which they drank with great satisfaction. They had to reach home quickly to look after their children, and used to come to us with hope and expectation.
Skandasram and Sri Ramanasramam
In 1916, as the number of resident devotees increased, Sri Ramana shifted to the more commodious Skandasram, named so as it was built through Herculean efforts of his staunch devotee Kandaswami.
After the death of his mother in 1922 (who had come to stay with her ascetic son six years before and had got nirvana in his hands), her body was laid to rest at the foot of the Arunachala hill. The present Ashram, named Sri Ramanasramam, has developed around the mother's samadhi called Matrubhuteswara, God in the form of Mother.
The Ashram, which began with a single thatched shed over the mother's samadhi, has developed into a fairly large complex of buildings, the most important of which, according to many sadhakas, is the Old Hall where Sri Ramana spent most of his living time for over twenty years on a couch gifted by a devotee. The shrine over Sri Ramana's samadhi, which has a large, bright, and airy meditation hall attached to it, regularly draws a large number of devotees and visitors throughout the year.
After Sri Ramana came down to live in the Ashram at the foot of the hill, he made it clear, though not explicitly, that giving darshan and communicating with people through silence or brief messages of deliverance was his sole goal in life. A large number of seekers in various stages of spiritual evolution came to him and found peace, clarity and strength of mind in his presence, as detailed in the text.
Published by: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad