2010 IV Oct

CONTENTS
R amana Ashtottaram 2
Editorial Comparisons 3
Understanding Self-Enquiry: Part Two N.A. Mohan Rao 9
Suffering As A Spiritual Catalyst Vijaya Ramaswamy 21
How Sri Bhagavan Dragged Me Into His Holy Presence
M.G. Shanmukham 31
K eyword : V asana A nd S amskara John Grimes 37
Poem: Grace Ana Callan 41
Ulladu Narpadu: Verse Twenty Eight S. Ram Mohan 43
The Quest: Swami Ramdas And Incantation Lucia Osborne 47
Umapati Sivam And The Enlightened Thorn Bush
T.V. Venkatasubramanian 57
C old F eet : P art T wo Wasyl Nimenko 69
The Antipode Of Arunachala Mithin Aachi 77
A Rose Is Always A Rose A. Roy Horn 81
Hazrat Babajan: A Sufi Saint John Maynard 89
Poem: Silence Martin Wolff 99
Book Excerpt: Ramana Maharshi : The Crown Jewel Of Advaita
John Grimes 99
M aha B hakta V ijayam : Vithoba Returns To Grihasthashrama
Nabaji Siddha 103
M aharaja T huravu Sri Kumara Deva Swamigal 111
B ook R eviews 121
A shram Bulletin 125
EDITORIAL
Ramana Ashtottaram
Comparisons
70. Aae< sÎzRnaepdeò+e nm>
oà saddarçanopadeñöre namaù
Prostration to the Teacher of Satdarshan, revealer of
Reality.
In the years following 1922 Ulladu Narpadu (Forty Verses on

Reality) came to be written at the request of devotees. Its translation
in Sanskrit by Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni is named Sat-Darshan.
There are commentaries on this work by Kapali Sastri, ‘WHO’, I murmured because I had no shoes until I met a man who had
Sivaprakasam Pillai and Dr. T.M.P. Mahadevan. no feet. — Persian Proverb
Just by his very presence Sri Ramana revealed and demonstrated
the truth of sat-chit-ananda. To receive his darshan was to be in the
presence of Sat.
W e all look out and see in others what we think we want for
ourselves. Comparisons, by definition, are made from the
71. Aae< sÑ´v&Ndpirv&tay nm> outside, but if we could see the world and life from behind the eyes
oà sadbhaktavåndaparivåtäya namaù of another it would become immediately obvious that what we wish
for is very rarely what it seems.
Prostration to the One surrounded by bands of lovers We know all too well the notion, ‘If only I knew beforehand...
of Truth. if only I had more money...if only, if only’. This refrain punctuates
our thoughts or feelings; it colours our wishes, our fears. Happy they
Like a magnet the Sadguru Sri Ramana attracted more and more who are content with their lot. It is so rare that when we experience
those sincere sadhakas in search of Truth. These true devotees or a moment of complete fulfilment we cherish the memory. We live
seekers surrounded him and opened their hearts to the endless stream for such moments.
of His Grace.  Easy indeed is Self-knowledge as our Sadguru assures us but to
most of us the path to inner wisdom seems complex. It requires
perseverance and a refusal to be defeated. We learn slowly but surely
2 October - December 2010 3

MOUNTAIN PATH COMPARISIONS
that happiness is found not in possessing people or objects but in the also smugly think that ‘they’ are not as evolved as ourselves, much to
state of pure being which needs nothing. There are many synonyms our detriment for we can learn from everyone, without exception.
to denote the same state: samadhi, ecstasy, satori, fana, grace, hesychia, If we aspire to nurture spiritual wisdom, negative thinking is a
revelation, holiness. dangerous spiral that has no end. Ill-judged comparisons will detract
Our minds have certain qualities which aid us in this quest. In all from the focus of attention on the subtle realm of inner transformation.
the traditions there are stories of the innocent who sets out in quest We therefore discipline our minds and hearts to remain one-pointed.
of wisdom, gold or a sacred object. In the end he returns to where he This is called sadhana. We do not compare oursleves with others how
came from only to understand it was before his very eyes all the time. ‘advanced’ they are; we accept whole-heartedly where we are now in
Why are we blind? It is a paradox that we first have to comprehend the confidence that the higher power or the guru knows best. We
what we have lost before we can begin to appreciate what we have. delight in the grace of the guru and savour that the best is yet to come.
To become what we are not before we can realise who we are. There is of course the view that everything should be harsh or else
We exercise the power of discrimination to see what is real it has no value. We pray for a reward but deny that we are worthy.
and what is false. The mind compares ideas, feelings or objects to Perhaps we should tell God that He has got it wrong and only the
arrive at a conclusion. In philosophy it is called thesis, antithesis severest penance is acceptable?
and synthesis. We begin with an observation or assumption, then There is the well-known Puranic story of the soul who was told
compare it with its opposite; or perhaps we find something that he had but eight births left and was depressed. Another soul was
is similar which aids us in arriving at a conclusion. Life would be told he had eighty births left and rejoiced in his good fortune. It all
impossible without this procedure. For example, how would we depends on our attitude. The modern analogy is the glass which is
recognise what is up if we did not know what is down? How can either half-full or half-empty depending on our inclination.
we see light if there is no darkness to set it off? In this world where Whatever we most value, be it our sadhana or our family or say, a
the laws of duality exist it is imperative to know who we are in any prized possession, it will be the determining principle by which we live
relationship, be it with a person or an object, otherwise we would be and the miracle of the universe is that whatever is necessary will naturally
lost; some people become unhinged because they cannot function unfold at that moment for us to learn a lesson no matter how hard or
in this climate of distinction and are insensitive to others. Frozen seemingly impossible. The universe is not a static object; it responds and
by a view that has no counter-balance, they are blind to any other changes according to our thoughts and feelings. Just as dreams at night
purpose than their own selfish view. reflect the tensions and joys of the preceding day so also does the external
The strength of our discrimination (viveka) depends on the world present us with a mirror. We create our own heaven and hell.
strength of our aspiration. Those who totally surrender may carry the There is the well-known saying, “Comparisons are odious.” That
heaviest burden. Or they may enjoy the lightest of journeys. Again, may well be. For if our imaginings are impractical, we will be caught
we do not know and it is presumptuous to judge others. If we follow in the vicious quicksand of vanity, pride and anger. If we compare
a spiritual path we see all round us the admirable qualities of another ourselves to our immediate superior or boss, and imagine what we
and are given the option of either admiration or jealousy. We may would do in his place, though it has to be said, we would naturally
praise them and vicariously rejoice in the virtue or sneer, deny and do it much better, it is harmless; but when we believe that position
be depressed. We may through the power of comparison observe, see is our right, or that we should be treated in the same measure,
our shortcomings and be motivated to cultivate that virtue. We may the comparison between our present position and his gives rise to

MOUNTAIN PATH COMPARISIONS
delusion. We will be in conflict not only with others who have a beginning of time. Like the blind men who feel the diverse parts of the
different view to say the least, but also with ourselves, because though elephant we each arrive at a different conclusion. When we behave as
we may be able to fool ourselves for much of the time, there is the if we are in command, events tend to spin out of control. Surrender
small soft voice deep inside, which, if we care to listen will tell us we to what is happening right now is arduous and the mind easily revolts,
are much like the emperor without clothes. Comparisons then are for that is its nature to weave webs of what might be. We cannot stop
necessary to know our place in the scheme of things. its doing its work but what we can do is focus its ability. Living in the
Bhagavan taught that everything is predetermined in our lifeline. present seems to be an incarceration but actually it is the great release. It
Our body, our mind and life-span are already fixed in a groove. Our is full of possibility as we observe the moment without pre-conception.
one choice is whether to identify with our destiny or not. If we choose In Advaita Vedanta we should be aware of the fundamental
to surrender to the ‘will of God’ all will proceed without resistance. difference between the absolute (paramarthika) and the relative
This is not a death sentence. Bhagavan has also taught that Isvara, the (vyavaharika). In the absolute sense there are no distinctions; in
Divine Principle, has allotted to us that providence which will be of the relative the differences are endless. We do not measure up to
the greatest benefit for our release from the wheel of karma. We need Bhagavan because he exists on another plane of reality, turiya, the
to see it is unique and not compare our fate to another. For example, supreme reality. We cannot be like him, we can only be Him. As
we may have just eaten and are satisfied. Do we then look enviously Sri Muruganar cautions us in his Ramana Tiruvembavai, “Let us
at another who is hungry and is now eating? We may but we know it not be deceived by deeming this Satchitananda Sivam Principle to
would be unintelligent on a full stomach to start eating again. Does that be a man.” If we apply the same logic to our true nature there is no
mean the other person is better off because they are eating and we are comparison. It is because we forget the absolute sense of ‘I’ we fall
not? It is an absurd proposition and yet based on this theme we do it into the miasma of difference and compare our identification with
all the time in subtle variation. When will we be satisfied and not look a distinct name and form with that of other names and forms. How
jealously over the boundary to another and see the grass is apparently can we compare our sense of ‘I’ with another? It is impossible. Even
greener? It is a fallacy for a person with arthritis to think that those on a relative level there is a clue: if someone advises us, “If I were
who move freely are happy. The poor make the same mistake about you, I would do this,” this cannot be so because if that person were
the rich. Their miseries are not less, but merely different. I, he would do exactly as I would do.
In the grand scheme of events if everything is as it should be, What does it mean that we do not compare what we are now with
then why should we compare our destiny with another? Consider what we want in the future or were in the past? It means our mind
the evidence in our own lives when we suffered a painful accident does not move from the moment. It means we are in the centre as
which eventually turned out to be a blessing. It would be foolish then the world spins. Though we feel the effects of our actions we are
to judge circumstances as favourable or unfavourable simply because unmoved by the manifestations which come and go. It is important
we do not know at our level of understanding what is good for us. to understand that Arunachala Ramana is not one numerically; it
The solution is one-pointed devotion to a higher power. In our is one indivisibly. To be absorbed in Arunachala Ramana is not to
particular manifestation, it is Bhagavan or Arunachala. What this does transfer our identity, as if we travel through space and time. It is not
is relieve us of the burden of trying to decide for ourselves based on a material unity, nor even a subtle one of mind with mind. It is alive
our laughably poor store of information. We can never know all the in our Heart. That is why liberation (moksha) is instantaneous. Our
origins and ramifications of our behaviour. They stretch back to the task is to realise this. 
MOUNTAIN PATH
Understanding
Self-enquiry
Part Two
Enquiring into the Self
N. A. Mohan Rao
S elf-enquiry is ordinarily said to proceed in three steps. Firstly, the

stream of thoughts in the mind is brought to a halt in order to
bring the ‘I-thought’ into focus. The source of this ‘I-thought’ is then
investigated to attain abidance in the Self. Next, the state of abidance
in the Self is allowed to last as long as possible. The cycle is repeated
till all the vasanas are eliminated, culminating in Liberation.
Of the three steps enumerated, the first one is plain enough to
understand and follow. At any rate, it is soon found to be redundant.
The third step requires no special skills since it is only a matter of
holding on to what has been gained in the second step. So, if any
difficulty is experienced with Self-enquiry, it is only with the second
step of investigating the source of the ‘I-thought’. Many seekers find
it difficult to understand the true nature of this step. It shall be our
D. Thiyagarajan
N. A. Mohan Rao lives in Hyderabad, where he has settled after retiring

as a professor of chemical engineering.

MOUNTAIN PATH UNDERSTANDING SELF - ENQUIRY
endeavour here to delve into and obtain as clear a picture as possible When we refer to ourselves in everyday life as ‘I’, what operates in
of this crucial step.1 our mind as ‘I’ is the ‘I-thought’. It is not our true-I, but a pseudo-I,
Thought and Feeling otherwise known as the ‘ego’,4 which alone projects all other thoughts.
It operates primarily as the idea ‘I-am-the-body’, or ‘I-am-the-mind’.
Our mind operates broadly on two planes of consciousness, namely, For instance, when we say, “I had been to Chennai yesterday”, the
thought and feeling. To take an example, we all know what it feels to ‘I’ there is mostly identified with our body. When we say, “I like
be angry. At such times, what we sense with our mind is the ‘feeling of poetry better than prose”, that ‘I’ is identified more with our mind.
anger’. When a Guru speaks to his disciples on the need to shun anger, by It is hence that Bhagavan said, “This ‘I’-thought is … contaminated
recounting its many evils, what occurs in the minds of those people is the with the association of the body and senses.”5 Being thus composed
‘thought’ of anger. Thus, thought and feeling are entirely different things.2 of parts, the I-thought is classed as ‘dualistic’.6
‘Feeling’ may be said to be more intimate to us than ‘thought’. The I-thought may take other derivative forms too, such as ‘I-am-
We can see this clearly from the fact that, generally speaking, we can the-doer’, ‘I-am-the-enjoyer’, ‘I-am-the-parent’, ‘I-am-the-shopper’,
change a thought quickly at will, but not so a feeling. While thought etc depending on the situation.7 Each form is composed of two parts:
may be said to be ‘superficial’, being essentially confined to the the the subjective part ‘I’,8 which represents the sentient principle, and
mind, feeling would somehow appear to run deeper in our being. a predicative, insentient part such as ‘body’, ‘doer’, ‘parent’ etc. The
Feeling is therefore said to belong to the category of experience, while idea such as ‘I-am-the-body’ superimposes a false sense of sentience of
thought is to that of knowledge. the ‘I’ on the predicative part. In most situations in life, we identify
I-thought and I-feeling ourselves with this falsely sentient predicative part. We are therefore,
The I-thought and I-feeling occupy a central place in Self-enquiry, most of the time, a doer, a parent, a shopper or some other cognizable
because the very purpose of Self-enquiry is to unveil the Self, which object, but not our original, subjective ‘I’. This, in brief, is the nature
is our true ‘I’. As with any other thought-feeling pair, the I-feeling is of the I-thought.
more intimate to us than the I-thought. It means, of the two, the But, then, there can be certain situations in which we take part
I-feeling is closer to our Self, and plays by far the greater role in the with a noticeable level of awareness of our subjective ‘I’. A typical
practice of Self-enquiry.3 instance is when we brood over a misfortune that has visited us most
4
“The ego is the I-thought. The true ‘I’ is the Self.” Talks, §146 (p.128). See also
1
When we try to explain matters closely related to the Self, we cannot avoid some §285 (p.243).
degree of ambiguity. This is because the Self is non-dual, whereas all our analysis 5
Talks, §266 (p.222). See also §285 (p.243).
rests on dualistic concepts. Whenever advancement in understanding is obtained, 6
“Duality is the characteristic of the ego.” Talks, §618 (p.582). The ‘duality’ is
it is only by pushing the anomalies and uncertainties to a yet higher level where reckoned at the absolute level.
they do not immediately bother us. 7
“… the forms the ego may assume are legion.” Maharshi’s Gospel, Book II, p.63
2
It does not mean that they are necessarily mutually exclusive. For instance, the (2007). Often times we have a multiple set of identities which lie in a jumble,
thought of anger and the feeling of anger occur together when a person shouts without our precise knowledge of what they are.
angrily, “I don’t get angry for nothing.” 8
The term ‘subject’ is used here in the grammatical sense as the complement to
3
“Thoughts must cease … Feeling is the prime factor, and not reason.” Talks ‘predicate’. It should not be confused with the ego, for which ‘subject’ too has
with Sri Ramana Maharshi, §24 of 4.2.1935 (p.21), 9/ed., 1994 . “… the actual been used, in the sense of a doer of sadhana, in Bhagavan’s system of categorisation
intuition is akin to feeling …” Talks, §28 (p.31). of meditation and Self-enquiry. (Vide Part One).

unexpectedly. Another is when we offer our grateful thanks to a that it is profoundly different from the usual, predicative type of
stranger, who had gone out of his way to help us in a crisis situation. I-thought, in which we identify ourselves with all kinds of insentient
The feeling of ‘I’ that we become aware of and experience in ourselves things. We shall therefore treat them as two separate and distinct
at such times is what we call the ‘I-feeling’. In the examples cited, entities. The I-thought may then be broadly characterised as being
this I-feeling plays a subordinate role to the I-thought which actually predicative, conceptual, of the nature of knowledge, and dualistic.
runs the proceedings. We may call it the ‘implicit’ I-feeling. We can The I-feeling, on the other hand, is largely subjective, intuitional, of
see that even such a second-grade I-feeling occurs a little deeper in the nature of experience,9 and unitary (or integral).
us than the I-thought we have when we make a matter-of-fact The Essence of Self-enquiry Practice
statement like “I like poetry better than prose.”
Once we have some inkling of what I-feeling is, we may be able The second step in Self-enquiry, which is our main area of concern here,
to summon it at will with a little practice. The practice consists in might be stated somewhat thus: “When we investigate the source of the
merely turning our attention inwards, and looking for a feel of our I-thought (or ego),10 there results our spontaneous abidance in the Self.”11
subjective ‘I’. In other words, we straightaway intuit the I-feeling. We are usually deceived by the simplicity of the statement. If we take it
It is an ‘explicit’ type of I-feeling, in which thought, if any, takes a literally, we find it odd that we do not get the real non-dual experience,
mere secondary role. It is the only kind of I-feeling that is relevant said to be characteristic of the Self, upon an attempted investigation of
in Self-enquiry. Hence from now on when we say ‘I-feeling’, we shall the I-thought. All that we get to is the I-feeling, with a few thoughts
mean only the explicit kind. fluttering about. But, then, we arrived at the I-thought only after
Initially, we may find the I-feeling a little too elusive, but after eliminating other thoughts, and now its investigation brings us back to
some practice, will be able to hold it for a few moments at a time. some thoughts again. We wonder if we are to proceed once more with
Even at this early stage, we can see how remarkably different it is the question, “To whom are these thoughts?”, and if so how it would end.
from the I-thought. We distinctly experience some kind of ‘abidance’ The fact is that the statement of the second step is an over-
within us: we feel we are at one with where we belong, untouched simplification. Taken literally, it holds good only in the case of a
by any objective feature of our existence. We get a feeling of being very advanced sadhaka (to whom the one-step model of Self-enquiry
in something of a safe-house, beyond limits for intrusive thought. applies). To the rest of us, the abidance in the Self can come only over
The world would seem to lie somewhere ‘out there’, and not in our a period of time,12 and not spontaneously. Alternatively, if we want to
immediate ken. It will appear there is nothing that can threaten our
existence in that ‘pure’ state, and so we feel we ought to be eternal in
9
“How do you say ‘I am’? …” (D: By experience.) “Yes. Experience is the word.
Knowledge implies subject and object. But experience is non-terminous, eternal.”
that state. All these we experience within the brief span over which Talks, §128 (p.114).
the ‘I-feeling’ lingers. The criss-crossing of any thoughts expressive of 10
The investigation takes the form of the question, “Whence am I ?” The question is
this state does not seem to hamper the feeling of our ‘abidance’. Such put by the ego to itself. Hence it is equivalent to asking, “Whence is this I-thought
a state of abidance co-existing as a capsule alongside ‘non-intrusive’ ?” Cf. Day by Day with Bhagavan, Entry of 1.12.1945, p.47, (1989).
thoughts, is what we shall call the ‘impure’ I-feeling. It is the key
11
The inclusion of ‘spontaneous’ is felt justified in view of the exclamatory ‘ayi’ in
Upadesa Saram, v.19, and Sadhu Om’s interpretation of Ulladu Narpadu, v.30,
element in the take-off to Self-enquiry. in The Path of Sri Ramana, v.i., Ch.8, p.142.
Although we have deduced the I-feeling as only a kind of I-thought, 12
The Garland of Guru’s Sayings, v.399. See Part One of the article for the meaning
in which we identify ourselves mostly with the subjective ‘I’, we see of the one-step model.

rely on the term ‘spontaneously’, then we have to take the statement The practical-minded seeker can, therefore, straightaway plunge
in a different sense. Then the statement applies to practically all of into practice on the basis of these indications. He has everything to
us. We shall return to this point later. gain and nothing to lose thereby. If, however, the seeker is one of
Strictly speaking, for the practice of Self-enquiry, we do not need an inquisitive type, who would not take a step forward before he
any more understanding than what has been given above of understands the in and out of a thing, then he needs put himself to
the I-feeling, and a general insight into the method as given in Part a little more study. In this cyber age, we may suppose, most seekers
One. We can then, if we have normal levels of intuition, practise would belong to this category. We shall, for their sake, attempt a
Self-enquiry to its logical end. The practice consists in merely detailed analysis below.
holding on to the ‘abidance’ found in the I-feeling all the way, till, at
Identity of the I-feeling vis-à-vis the Self; Evolution and Involution
long last, Realization is obtained.13 The state of Realization will be
unmistakeable,14 and so we will know when we come to it. It lasts When the unmanifest Self begins to manifest, its light issues out as
for some time, and then the former duality sets in. We have then to ‘I’ or aham.16 We may refer to it as the ‘undifferentiated-I’. Bhagavan
go through the cycle once again. Eventually, when all the vasanas are often refers to it as the ‘light of I—I’ (or ‘reflected light from the
destroyed, we attain Liberation. Self ’).17 Sometimes he calls it ‘light of I’ in the sense of ‘the I that is
In case a sadhaka finds it beyond his capacity to intuit the I-feeling, light’.18 The Maya mode begins here.
he need not be disheartened. He can take to a vocal or mental japa of The ‘undifferentiated-I’, upon further evolution, divides itself into
‘I’, incessantly.15 His mind will then automatically catch the I-feeling what we may designate as the ‘particularised-I’ (also known as aham),
within. It must be understood that the practice must be continued and the object, idam.19 The two may be looked upon as the sentient
each time till the onset of I-feeling, which must then be held on to. and the insentient principles respectively. The particularised-I, by its
Without it, merely indulging in the I-thought fleetingly, howsoever very nature, seeks an object for its identity. So it grabs a part of the
often, does not serve any purpose. idam, such as the body, and superimposes itself on the latter forming
A useful suggestion at this juncture is that the seeker should not the ‘ego’. The rest of the idam takes on the role of the ‘world’. The
over-exert himself for obtaining or retaining the I-feeling. This is particularised-I, that now forms the sentient constituent of the
because when the mind gets active, intuition takes a back seat. Only ego, is what we have called the ‘subject-I’ (i.e., subjective ‘I’). The
intuition can bring in abidance. Folding up the analytical mind, and portion of idam constituting the insentient part of the ego, is called
adopting a laid-back attitude, is what is needed to bring intuition into the ‘predicate’.20
play. It is like withdrawing into the ‘now’ of the moment. 16
Talks, §518 (p.500); §314 (p.275); §510 (p.493).
17
Talks, §307 (p.267).
13
“Thus it is sufficient if we cling to the feeling ‘I’ uninterruptedly till the very 18
Talks, §518 (p.500).
end.” The Path of Sri Ramana, Part One, Sri Sadhu Om, Sri Ramana Kshetra, 19
Talks, §314 (p.275). The terms ‘undifferentiated’ and ‘particularised’ have been
Tiruvannamalai, Ch.7, p.138, (6/ed., 2005). The term ‘Realization’ is used in the adapted from Bhagavan’s explanation in §510 (p.493).
sense of ‘Self-abidance’, as explained in Part One of the present article. 20
This entire cycle of evolution is said to occur every day in the trice of a moment
14
Talks, §205 (p.174). when we awake from sleep (Talks, §314, p.275; §323, p.288). We are, however,
15
“Think ‘I’ ‘I’ ‘I’ and hold to that one thought to the exclusion of all others.” not to consider it as taking place in time, but in the planes of consciousness. So, it
Talks, §266 (p.222). See also Who am I ? §9; Day by Day with Bhagavan, Entries is not as if at a certain point of time when the world appears, the Self or its other
of 8.5.1946, 28.6.1946, 24.11.1946. modes cease to exist. Time itself is non-existent in certain planes of consciousness.

In Self-enquiry, we aim to precisely reverse this process of evolution, Our continued abidance, now in this particularised-I, amounts to
by taking the consciousness up the scale — from the ego to the Self.21 its isolation from idam; and so, it being unstable in this condition,
We call it ‘involution’. Two important stages in this ascent are the resolves itself into its cause, the undifferentiated-I. We thus arrive
subject-I (in the I-feeling) and the undifferentiated-I. at abidance in the undifferentiated-I. Bhagavan considers this as an
When we wish to investigate the source of the I-thought, we indispensable stage before Realization. He terms it therefore as the
instinctively try to look for our Self, but it being too ‘remote’, we ‘forestate of Realisation’,25 and refers to it often as the ‘transitional-I’.26
reach only the subject-I. It involves shifting of our attention that is At times, he refers to it as ‘pure-I’ too.27
presently locked in the predicate part of the ego, to the subject-I. When the undifferentiated-I is held steady, it itself is realised to be the
While doing so, we do not find it necessary to identify what that Self.28 It is somewhat like this. The Self is like a person resting in the
predicate part is, since it may consist of many identities, all lying in interior of his house. The undifferentiated-I is like the person standing
a jumble. It suffices if we merely fix our attention in the direction of at the front door intending to go out.29 The sadhaka is like a passer-by
the subject-I. The shifting then occurs by itself, as desired. who can strike conversation with the person standing at the front door,
Our abidance in the subject-I is at first accompanied by some but not with the one in the interior. If, now, the passer-by engages the
thoughts. This is what we have called ‘the impure I-feeling’. From person at the door in conversation long enough, the latter’s intention
now on, our practice consists in merely holding on to the abidance to go out is frustrated, and he becomes as good as the person resting in
found in it.22 The abidance becomes more and more intense and the house. In the same way, the urge of the undifferentiated-I to evolve
steady, as the practice goes on.23 As for the thoughts, we do not have to as aham and idam is defeated by our constant attention to (or abidance
specifically try to control them. If we remain keen with the abidance, in) it, and in absence of that urge, it is no different from the Self.30
the thoughts (and with them the breath) will subside in due course. It is clear from the above, that the I-feeling has nothing to do
The control of thoughts was once necessary to arrive at the I-thought with the true Self. But in parts of spiritual literature, the I-feeling is
for investigating its source, but that purpose is now served with the
onset of the I-feeling, and we have no more concern with either the 25
Talks, §62 (p.68) read with §518 (p.500).
presence or absence of thoughts.24 26
“If the transitional ‘I’ be realised the substratum is found and that leads to
In due course, we attain a perfect, unwavering abidance in the the goal.” Talks, §314, (p.275). The ‘substratum’ means the Self, ‘finding it’
subject-I. Since this is tantamount to holding it in isolation from its is Realization, and the ‘goal’ is Liberation (See Part One of this article for the
predicate, the subject-I transpires to be the ‘particularised-I’ itself. difference between Realization and Liberation). Bhagavan points out “This is the
only passage to the Realisation of the Self … .” Talks, §323 (p.288).
27
“… the pure ‘I’ of the transitional stage must be held …” Talks, §314 (p.276).
21
“This is the only way, to go back by the same way by which you came.” Day by 28
“If … one senses it (sphurana or undifferentiated-I) continously and automatically
Day with Bhagavan, Entry of 27.12.1946, p.301, (1989). it is Realization.” Talks, §62 (p.68).
22
“You are hazily aware of the Self. Pursue it.” Talks, §240 (p.193). 29
It is analogous to Isvara in classical Vedanta. Isvara may be looked upon as Brahman
23
This is due to the steady eradication of the vasanas, as explained later, and the with intent to create. If the intent is frustrated, then he is Brahman.
strengthening of the positive vasana of sadhana. 30
In the cosmic scale of evolution, Brahman, Isvara, Hiranyagarbha and Virat (Cosmic
24
This is what makes the practice of Self-enquiry possible concurrently with other Consciousness) come in that order. During involution effected by sadhana, we may
activity as a second rung of sadhana. Our mind can be active in other ways, even therefore expect to visit these states in the reverse order. The subject-I, particularised-I
as we keep to our abidance. Such a parallel activity is not possible with meditation. and undifferentiated-I may thus be identified with Cosmic Consciousness,
Talks, §17 (p.11), §310 (p.268). Hiranyagarbha and Isvara respectively. Cf. Talks, §323 (p.288).

identified with abidance in the Self. We have to understand that such of action. Since the intellect cannot discern causal objects, this passage
passages are only simplified presentations. Else, we will be confronted of the intellect through causal zone has been compared to the groping
with the anomaly that the Self, known to be beyond the mind,31 is of one’s way in a dark room past obstacles towards a ticking clock
being cognized by the mind. The fact that we need to expend effort (see Part One). It is thus that the knot is transited (‘transcended’)
to maintain the I-feeling, also shows that it cannot be a state of abidance subconsciously.
in the Self, which is known to be effortless. Besides, Bhagavan has ruled When we attain abidance in the subject-I, the light of the subject-I
out any connection between ‘feeling’ and the Self.32 Hence, the I-feeling falls on the vasanas, causing their annihilation to an extent.35 Since it
must be understood as merely abidance in subject-I, and not the Self. is only a reflected light, its intensity is less as compared to the light of
In general, whenever we see references to the Self in literature in the true Self. Hence only the grosser of the vasanas are eliminated at
a dualistic context, we might do well to take them as referring to a this stage. In the subsequent stage of abidance in undifferentiated-I,
manifestation of the Self, (known in common as ‘I’, aham, naan or the less gross vasanas start to be eliminated. When, finally the Self
‘pure-I’) such as the subject-I or undifferentiated-I, and not the true is realised, its direct light shines on the vasanas, and hence even the
Self (otherwise called ‘I—I’, atma, taan, or ‘true-I’). The statement of subtlest of vasanas start to be eliminated. Continued practice at these
step two of Self-enquiry we saw earlier, may therefore be understood different stages eliminates all vasanas and leads to Liberation.
(inclusive of its reference to ‘spontaneity’) to refer to a manifested
form of the Self as far as a beginner is concerned. Concept of Sphurana
Sphurana stands for abidance in a manifestation of the Self (in the Maya
Subconscious Processes in Self-enquiry mode), such as the subject-I or the undifferentiated-I. Sphurana is short
When we investigate the source of the I-thought, we instinctively shift for aham-sphurana, which means ‘shining forth of I’. It is a figurative
our attention from the predicate part of the ego to the subject-I.33 way of referring to the seeker’s glimpsing of the ‘I’ (aham) during the
These two parts of the ego are joined together by a ‘knot’, called the said states of abidance. Thus, when we enter the I-feeling, we are said to
chit-jada-granthi.34 It consists of age-old vasanas, and belongs to the have sphurana of the subject-I. A characteristic of sphurana is that it is
causal sphere. So, shifting of our attention from the predicate to the cognized by the mind. So, sphurana has a semblance of non-duality in
subject involves crossing of this causal zone by our intellect, the agent the form of abidance, and duality in the form of knowledge of the mind.
The concept of sphurana allows us to discuss abidance in subject-I
31
Cf. Kena Up. I.6, Taittiriya Up. II.9.
32
“Pratyaksha [the Self ] is very being and it is not feeling, etc.” Talks, §500 (p.481). and undifferentiated-I in common. It is advantageous, since, for all
“Pratyaksha is another name for the Self.” Day by Day with Bhagavan, Entry of practical purposes, we as sadhakas do not have to distinguish between
22.3.1946 afternoon, p.157. them any time. All that we do is merely keep holding our abidance,
33
Alternatively, this may be viewed as separation of the subject-I, which is presently and it changes from subject-I to undifferentiated-I on its own. The
superimposed on the predicate, from the latter by undoing the superimposition.
subsequent abidance in the Self too follows on its own, except that
The Katha Upanishad (II.3.17) famously compares it to the separation of the pith
from the reed of Munja grass. Bhagavan terms it “sifting of the pure ‘I’ from the a brief discontinuity will be encountered before this ultimate step.36
contaminated ‘I’.” The Talks, §266 (p.222). Muruganar puts it as, “in the heart,
renounce the relative”. The Garland of Guru’s Sayings, v.415. Bhagavan considers 35
“Apprehending it (the Self ) even vaguely helps the extinction of the ego.” Talks,
this step as so central to Self-enquiry, as to say, “Atmavichara … consists in sifting §80 (p.82).
the Reality from unreality.” Talks, §298 (p.261). 36
The Path of Sri Ramana, Ch.8, p.151; Concentration and Meditation, Swami
34
The Path of Sri Ramana, Ch.8, p.161. Sivananda, The Divine Life Society, p.342 (3/ed., 1964).

MOUNTAIN PATH
The fact that the intellect is able to cognize the higher manifestations
of ‘I’ in sphurana may be understood from two viewpoints. Firstly,
Suffering as a
as Bhagavan said quoting from Kaivalya Navaneeta, “Maya cannot
obscure Sat (being) but it does obscure Chit and Ananda.”37 Hence the
‘being’ aspect of the Self is transparent to the intellect, and is realised
Spiritual Catalyst
as sphurana. Secondly, the intellect becomes subtler and subtler, as
sadhana progresses.38
Bhagavan wants us not to think of sphurana as something too
far out of the ordinary. He assures us, “Sphurana is felt on several
occasions, such as fear, excitement, etc.”39 In its pure form, it is said
to occur immediately upon our waking from sleep for a brief moment.
Bhagavan suggests holding on to it as a viable way to Realization.40 The Metamorphosis of Jaishree
Sphurana is also said to be experienced in the brief interval between
two consecutive thoughts.41 Rajamani into Ramana Kiran
Sphurana stays with us from the time we attain the impure I-feeling
till we are on the verge of realizing the Self. It ensures that we never
lose track of our goal, just as a dog that is in possession of its master’s Vijaya Ramaswamy
scent, or a mountaineer with a hazy view of the distant peak, do not.
Incentive to Practice
A sound understanding of Self-enquiry is itself the best incentive to
its practice. The knowledge that the vasanas start getting depleted
from as early a stage as abidance in subject-I (I-feeling), enthuses us to
T his is the third part of the three-part series on “Suffering as Spiritual
Catalyst’. I have traced here the arduous spiritual journey of an
everyday housewife, her astral meeting with Sri Ramana, and her
proceed with hope even if we do not presently measure up to sky-high metamorphosis into Ramana Kiran, a being saturated with Ramana
levels of aspiration. We feel optimistic that both our aspiration and consciousness. In this new-found persona, the ill-treated and socially
practice will pick up as time passes. It behoves us to keep persevering isolated Jaishree radiated peace, non-hatred towards the victimizers,
and translate this hope into reality.  and a joy-permeated aura.
How did Jaishree become metamorphosed into Ramana Kiran?
I wish to begin Jaishree’s story in her own words. This is the
concluding paragraph of her self-reflexive ‘prose-poem’ entitled
37
Talks, §100 (p.97). See also Self-enquiry, §39.
38
Self Enquiry, §11, p.9 (1999); The Path of Sri Ramana, Ch.8, p.158.
Prof. Vijaya Ramaswamy teaches ancient Indian history at the Centre
39
Talks, §62 (p.68).
40
Talks, §196, (p.162); §314 (p.275); §311 (p.271); §323 (p.288); §609 (p.564); for Historical Studies, JNU, New Delhi. Her family has been closely
§623 (p.586). connected with Sri Ramanasramam for generations. She may be contacted
41
Talks, §609 (p.564); §286 (p.245); §314 (p.276). at biyarangu@yahoo.com

MOUNTAIN PATH SUFFERING AS A SPIRITUAL CATALYST
“Spiritual Hysteria”, written on the 17th of March 1996, which begins Jaishree fought her frail physical condition with her enormous mental
in blank verse but concludes as prose: strength. Her doctor, S. Padmavati, who now runs a well-known heart
“This narrative of a victim of this affliction can make a case study institute in Delhi, wrote about Jaishree’s illness in medical journals
for further research. Enjoying the secret happiness unrelated to as a unique case. The one thing that sustained Jaishree through
anything in the world and always in a magnanimous spirit of sharing those difficult years, when she had to be carried to her classroom
and giving, this victim, by name Ramana Kiran, wishes to unfold the in her father’s arms, was her complete faith in God. The efficacy of
fact of completeness, in the merging of the infection, the infected, the penicillin in curing serious heart condition had just been discovered
non-infected, the cause and effect, the doctor, the treatment and the and the wonder drug was extremely expensive. For one whole year
cure into one whole. ‘Spiritual hysteria’ is only a part of this whole she was given a regular painful injection to save her heart. Jaishree’s
which is complete and perfect. grandmother taught the child not to cry out in pain by repeatedly
“Om Tat Sat Om…” telling her, “Ask yourself, ‘Who is feeling pain?’. Observe the manner
All of Jaishree’s literary outpourings are signed not with her name in which the nurse injects the needle into your arm and mentally
but as Ramana Kiran. detach yourself from that arm.” The child learnt to come to terms
Jaishree was born into a Tamil Brahmin family in riot-torn Delhi. with physical suffering very early in her life. She told me that in her
Her parents with their two daughters lived in Daryaganj in the heart sixteenth year while meditating, she had the unusual experience of
of Old Delhi. Here in the 1940’s, Hindu and Muslim families lived effortless levitation without striving for it. She found herself sitting
cheek-by-jowl in very old streets like Balli Maran that go back to in a cross-legged posture at least a couple of feet off the ground.
the Mughal times. Jaishree’s father was a journalist and her mother As she grew up, Jaishree seemed to have gotten over her illness.
a housewife. The situation in the area had become very tense by Although frail, she began to lead a normal life. Her spiritual
November 1946 following the pre-partition riots all over the country. experiences continued, although on a lower key. In 1969, she finished
People reported mass killings and migrations into what would be her post-graduation studies and joined as lecturer in a leading women’s
Pakistan. It was their Muslim milkman who warned the family that college in Delhi. She was good-looking, young and romantic, as any
riots would break out that night and they should escape from the girl in her early twenties would be.
area. The mother was in an advanced state of pregnancy with her She was married into a fairly affluent family in April, 1970. Her
third child. The couple desperately searched for refuge and a place husband, who was studying for his chartered accountancy, was tall,
where the child could be safely delivered. Finally they found asylum handsome and charming, and Jaishree was deeply in love with him.
with a compassionate government servant who stipulated that the She was a working woman who was proud of her housekeeping skills.
couple should leave within a month of the delivery. It was under these This year can be said to mark the first step in the development of
circumstances that Jaishree was born on 2nd of December, 1946. her ‘Spiritual Hysteria’. Her married life turned out to be a prolonged
She was named Jaishree meaning victorious and auspicious since she nightmare. Her habitual cheerfulness was submerged by the daily
had come through the partition riots, one of the most harrowing melodramas which became a part and parcel of her existence. One
experiences that India has faced. day Jaishree removed her mangal sutra (the symbol of her status as a
The life of this child continued to take unexpected twists and turns. married woman) and stood on the parapet walls of her marital home,
In her seventh year, she fell ill with high fever that was diagnosed as ready to end her life. Something held her back, and the return to the
endocarditis, a rare type of heart disease. For the next twenty years, everyday misery was the beginning of her spiritual transformation.

After giving birth to two girls, Jaishree suddenly resigned her from her husband and in-laws. In a ravenous fit of hunger, she would
lucrative job in 1983, to the horror of her in-laws who felt the loss of gobble up stale food meant to be thrown away. She would not bathe
her pay packet. She began to interact with spiritual practitioners instead for days and yet her body emitted fragrance. It was also in these days
of holding the tuition classes that could have supplemented the family that she began to hear a particular voice which she believed was that
income. The in-laws retaliated and snatched her infant from her arms, of Sri Ramana.
saying that she suffered from hysteria and would harm the child. One of her early poems after a vision of Ramana, entitled “Oh,
It is important to point out here how reminiscent Jaishree’s Arunachala Ramana, You Speak to me Now”, describes her experience:
spiritual journey was to that of other women saints who had led One day you called me,
unhappy married lives. Meera danced with abandon “with anklets You gave me a vision of you as the grey mountains
on her feet” in her passion for her God Giridhar Gopal, with the Against the backdrop of a bright sky.
dire consequence of being poisoned by her sister-in-law, probably in
connivance with her husband. The fourteenth century saint Lal Ded of You appeared to me black and white
Kashmir writes in her vak that her mother-in-law never forgot to mix As if to reveal the darkness i was
pebbles in her food until she gave up her marital home and walked And the light you were to me.
out naked. Her contemporary, Bahina Bai, writes in her abhang how Arunachala, Arunachala, Arunachala
her husband routinely beat her for keeping company with saints. It resounded, shaking me from my slumber.
Chakkubai, another saint from Maharashtra, was tied up with ropes It seemed to echo my name
by her in-laws to prevent her from joining the warkari pilgrimage And i called out, “What is this?”
to Pandarpur. Such examples are legion.1 In every case among these You thundered back, “Your final abode.”
women, marital ill-treatment acted as a catalyst for spiritual emergence i came to you with my guru lighting my path
that usually took the form of hysteria or apparent madness. i lay bare before you, unclothed,
In 1995, Jaishree’s mother presented her with a small copy of Body shattered beyond recognition
Ramana Maharshi’s Direct Path, an enquiry into the Self by the self, Soul alone preserved in you.
centered on the one question “Who Am I?’. Jaishree became oblivious O, Arunachala Ramana, you told me things that made no sense
to the world around her and delved into Ramana’s philosophy. Her You know why? My consciousness was you
journey towards her own centre earned for her the epithet of ‘madness’ i was your child, i took it so, they were
Fairy tales for me of futuristic dimension
1
I wish to draw attention to some of my own articles where I have discussed this link
i enjoyed, puzzled and shuddered.
between marital ill-treatment and spiritual emergence of women saints – ‘Anklets
on the Feet: Women Saints in Medieval Indian Society’, The Indian Historical Oh! Arunachala Ramana, You speak to me now,
Review, vol.XVII, Nos 1 and 2, (July 1991 and Jan. 1992), pp. 60-89: ‘Madness, What happened then?
Holiness, Poetry: The Vachanas of Virasaivite Women’ in Indian Literature, Issue My consciousness was dissolved in yours
173, vol.XXXIX, No.3, (May-June 1996), pp.147-155; ‘Rebels, Mystics or
Housewives? Women in Virasaivism’, India Intenational Centre Quaterly (Winter
You shook me hard, brought my senses out
1996) vol.23, nos. 3 and 4, pp.190-203; ‘Rebels- Conformists? Women Saints Sent me down head first
in Medieval South India,’ Anthropos, (March 1992) vol. 87, pp.133-146. Into the womb of mother earth

To live this life, the life of a living corpse Marital abuse cleansed Jaishree of her worldly vasanas or tendencies
Sans the soul. and turned her into a spiritually ‘possessed’ person. Spiritual
Oh! Arunachala Ramana hysteria was the esoteric outward manifestation of the seeker of the
i hear you now loud and clear ‘transpersonal’ and the ‘transcendent’. I would therefore like to wrap
Enough to penetrate the dense hard core. up this brief narration of her life by quoting from Jaishree’s poem
i live in you, you in me “Spiritual Hysteria”:
What is the difference between you and me? There is a dangerous infection
Then and now and forever. For which there is no cure
Oh! Arunachala Ramana The nature of the infection is so dangerous
i hear, i hear That the afflicted refuses to be treated…
Soham, Soham, Soham. The afflicted exhibit a funny expression of
Suddenly, one day in 1995, Jaishree left her marital home. For a Some secret inner bliss.
week no one knew about her whereabouts. Jaishree had just boarded This delirious ‘blissful” state is sometimes
a train and fled to Ramanasramam. Jaishree did not want to go Outwardly violent and sometimes
back to Delhi to face the challenges of everyday misery, but she had Suppressed and calm to the point of inertia…
to leave because ashram rules did not permit an indefinite stay, nor The symptoms are completely confusing
would her marital family allow it for fear of social calumny. One of Though they have many in common, enough to diagnose
her daughters came to Tiruvannamalai to take her back. It is more akin to insanity than sanity
Jaishree developed the powers of clairvoyance, clairaudience and But when one comes to deal with them out of pity
the power to heal. By1996 she was living on her own with her two It may appear or emerge as a fact that
children, now past their teens. They failed to come to terms with this It is the doctor who needs the asylum.
woman who had an all-embracing love for humanity but failed to fulfill
her role as mother and housewife. Her intense physical suffering due to They become oblivious to the things around them
mental anguish and her asthma, a psychosomatic illness, resulted in a They have a faraway look of communing
leap of faith. All this was incomprehensible to her growing daughters, The maddening factor to it all, is that their
and unknowingly her spiritual journey left them with mental scars. Communication is received by some.
Socially isolated, Jaishree led a very rich inner life. Poetry in four The condition of the afflicted gets topsy-turvy
languages began to pour forth. She had but a rudimentary knowledge from the very base of their living
of Tamil, her mother tongue, since she was born and bred in Delhi, The dull, stupid ones become bold, articulate and
but now mystical poetry in Tamil emanated from her, imbued with present a determined vision.
great richness of meaning. She also wrote in Sanskrit, with which she The lively, intelligent and bright ones become
was barely acquainted, and in English and Hindi, both of which she dull, silent and dumb, lethargic morons.
knew well. She was fully established in the Ramana Kiran identity The two of both types ignore hygiene and health rules
and divorced from her name and social standing. Regarding attire and food

Make a pitiable and sometimes spiteful exhibition of themselves “One must steal jnana [true knowledge] from the darkness of
Long period of mental take-off or apparent sleep ajnana [spiritual ignorance]. This must be done in the most secret
Opaque blank look, blissful dancing and manner without being caught by the public eye. The outer appearance
An indifferent state that only the of the jnani (realized soul) should hide the inner being.”
Deeply ignorant and empty-headed can do. Jaishree was radiant and joyous in her last days, in the world and
When they are ignored, cruelly teased and ill-treated yet out of it. She was held to Arunachala by the umbilical cord of
They are full of mirth and laughter… pure devotion. One of her Tamil poems describes this relationship. I
Others of this type are those normal and ordinary householders shall attempt a translation of it:
Who turn abnormal and extraordinary. Revealing your beauty, attracting, destroying
They turn illogical, irrational, unreasonable You vanished into me, Arunachala!
At a spin or overnight, Reminding me of you, ridding me of my inebriation,
Enlightened about something to conjoin me to you, you conspired, Arunachala!
quite incomprehensible to others.
As per your wish, you initiated me into vipasana
They transform into singers, poets or writers breaking making me stay still in the state of ‘soham’, Arunachala!
Away the strings attached to their surroundings.
Moulding me as per your wish, entering, revealing
They begin to relate to the world upside down… You rendered me naked, O Arunachala!
In 1997, Jaishree went to her in-laws’ house for the annual sraadh To make me yours, separating me from self, becoming me
(offering of worship and prayers to a dead ancestor) ceremony. On Placing me far away, you became my will, Arunachala!
her return to her own home, she developed a sickness from which
Your penetrating gaze, making me a mud-doll, lighting me
she never recovered. She had visions of her own past births and the
with your light,
curious bonds that had bound her to her in-laws in a karmic cycle. You made me your shadow, Arunachala!
She spoke to me at length about her life, her karmic knowledge, and
the visions of Ramana. To keep up your divine play, changing my relatives,
Separating me, you placed me in empty space2 blessing me
An essay titled ‘Meaning of Vedanta’ provides a window into the
With transcendence.
workings of her mind in the final stages of her life:
“Madness is an external appearance free of illusion (maya) but Learning me your arts, maturing me, as I begin my outward drama,
outside the social norms; to attain this state one has to stand outside Do you stand by and enjoy, Arunachala?
one’s body consciousness to attain the consciousness of Brahman. In your story production, which is the stage, who the actors,
This [madness] is the supreme aim of all yoga.” What the parts,
She passed away on the 19th of January, 1998, at the age of 51. In Will you remind me, Arunachala?
her last years she performed miracles, especially the miracle of healing, Merging in you, being in one’s state, in one’s place
but this was done on the conditions of strict secrecy. To quote again
from the poem “Meaning of Vedanta”: 2
The Tamil term she uses is ‘verum veli veettil’ which is a Vedantic expression for
shunyata (emptiness) or ‘ether’ as ‘ether/empty house’.

MOUNTAIN PATH
Sky and earth coming together
In the moon of that silence, in merger FROM THE ARCHIVES
I offer my salutations to that Arunachala Ramana Kirana chaitanya.
Much of Jaishree’s prolific spiritual poems, some two hundred, have
not seen the light of day. The Faucauldian phrase ‘Administration of
Silence’3 perhaps best describes what Tamil patriarchal society did to
unbridled women’s writings that were autobiographical in content if How Sri Bhagavan
Dragged Me Into
not in form. Their families, ashamed of these personal outpourings,
destroyed them or they were ill preserved by those who failed to
realise their value. The fate of Jaishree’s writings reminds me of an
autobiographical reminiscence by Nartaki Ammal, who has been
living in the vicinity of Ramanasramam for some decades and later
served in the ashram for many years. She said that her foster mother,
His Holy Presence
Ranganayaki Ammal, spun the charkha every day, made fiery political
speeches during the freedom struggle, and ran an orphanage. She was
also given to divine visions, and when Ramana Maharshi passed away,
she removed her tali, the auspicious symbol of marriage, and took to M.G. Shanmukham
wearing saffron despite the fact that her husband was living. Her family
and her in-laws destroyed her writings in both Tamil and Telugu that The following article was discovered in the Archives. For some inexplicable
were on psychic and spiritual themes, the Indian freedom struggle, and reason it had never been previously published in the magazine.
the plight of Tamil women. The destruction of personal diaries such as
Ranganayaki Ammal’s and of the literary writings of spiritual women
is encountered time and again in Tamil patriarchal society.
Jaishree’s prolific writings met with a similar fate. Her spiritual
I owe an apology to all the readers of The Mountain Path for not
writing this article before, even though I had the good fortune of
being in contact with Sri Bhagavan for 24 years from 1926 until His
outpourings were not taken seriously by the people around her. It is
Mahanirvana Day; the reason being that Sri Bhagavan once told me that
only in her natal home that her poems are preserved and read with
it is always better that one practises atma vichara without any publicity.
reverence every 19th of January, on her death anniversary.
The late Sri Devaraja Mudaliar and Sri T.P.Ramachandra Iyer, and
It is hoped that the publication of this article will serve in some
other devotees of Sri Bhagavan wanted me to write my reminiscences
measure to help understand the spiritual journey of the many women,
and experiences with Sri Bhagavan lest they should be lost to posterity.
both saints and housewives like Jaishree, for whom suffering has served
Recently Sri Bhagavan himself appeared in my dream and ordered me
as a spiritual catalyst.  to write this article and also to revise the Tamil book Sri Bhagavan’s
Life and His Sayings, which was written by me through His unbounded
3
Silence for Foucault ranged “from an oppressive-dominant silence to a more grace and published as early as 1930 and further he told me that the
positive enigmatic-aesthetic silence.” book must be handy.

MOUNTAIN PATH HOW SRI BHAGAVAN DRAGGED ME INTO HIS HOLY PRESENCE
A brief sketch of my early life is necessary to show how Sri of such a great soul will entitle a man to have no births hereafter. I
Bhagavan dragged me to His holy presence. was astonished, and from then on the desire to go to Tiruvannamalai
I was born at Mayavaram and from my 14th year, I had a religious became an obsession. I was then studying F.A. class in the Municipal
turn of mind. I was then performing puja, repeating mantras and College, Salem. Four months elapsed. To my great surprise my father
reading almost all religious books on Advaita as well as the Upanishads, was transferred from Tiruchengodu to Tiruvannamalai as inspector
and Bhagavad Gita. My ardent desire from my childhood was to of police in the year 1926. I was perplexed, not knowing what to do.
become an advaitin and I used to sit before Swami Vivekananda’s My desire to go to Tiruvannamalai was so great that I approached my
picture in tears praying that I might be blessed enough to have the father and requested him to permit me to discontinue my studies and
darshan of a jivanmukta in this life itself. go with him to Tiruvannamalai to have Sri Bhagavan’s darshan on
My first guru was one Murugappa Desikar at Tiruchengodu, who the pretext that I was weak in mathematics and told my father that
initiated me into the meditation between the eyebrows in the year next year I would join Sri Meenakshi College at Chidambaram taking
1922. I practised it three times a day, each time for one hour, besides history as my optional subject. I was expecting a refusal because no
my usual pujas. After practising this for some time I developed a father would allow his son to waste one year of study. But wonder of
sort of a brain fag and a discomfort in the mind. At this time one wonders, Sri Bhagavan’s grace was there. My father willingly granted
Swayamprakasa Yogini Ammal, who had done penance for 12 years my request and permitted me to accompany him to Tiruvannamalai.
in the Himalayas, came to our house at my father’s invitation. My With my father and other members of the family I left
father, the late K.Gopala Pillai, was a police-inspector and was very Tiruchengodu for Tiruvannamalai. At Katpadi we had to change
religious. My father and the yogini had some spiritual discussions in from broad gauge to meter gauge. Soon after boarding the train,
which I wanted to join but my father refused to allow me to take part I felt half a sleep and half awake. In that state I had the following
on the grounds that I was too young. I became vexed and was greatly vision. “I travel to Tiruvannamalai enquiring the way and came to
disappointed. When the Yogini Ammal was alone, I narrated to her a place where there was a hut. Inside the hut I saw a tall gentleman
my spiritual life and experiences and prayed for her guidance. She lying on a bench and before him there was a kummudi (water pot).
was immensely pleased with me and said that meditation between As soon as I entered the hut there was a blaze of Jyothi (light) in the
the eyebrows might sometimes lead to insanity. Meditation must be kummudi.” I woke up.
practised in the heart. She was good enough to initiate me into the Soon after arriving in Tiruvannamalai, without informing anybody
practice of rupa dhyana of Sri Venkatachalapathi. Further she was even my beloved father, I enquired the way to Ramanasramam and
kind enough to ask my father to help me in all my spiritual pursuits. arrived there with some difficulty. When I entered the Ashram, to
The third guru was one Mahanmiyamachi Swamiar, who lived in my astonishment I saw the same hut, the same tall gentleman, except
one of the caves on the slope of the hill at Tiruchengodu. I learnt about that he was sitting on the bench and there was a kummudi in front
Sri Bhagavan from him. My father and I would visit the Swamiar once of him as I saw in the vision.
a week. When I went to his Ashram one day, I found he was absent, as I prostrated before him and he immediately asked me, “When
it happened, for three weeks. After his return I asked him where he had did you come?” and “How is your right hand?”. Wonder of wonders!
been all these days. He said that he had been to Tiruvannamalai and There was absolutely no chance of Sri Bhagavan knowing about my
had the great fortune to have the darshan of one great jivanmukta by fractured right hand. Further, the very first question put to me by Sri
name Sri Ramana Maharshi, who spoke a few words to him. Darshan Bhagavan shows he knew of my coming. He nodded his head and

MOUNTAIN PATH HOW SRI BHAGAVAN DRAGGED ME INTO HIS HOLY PRESENCE
by a gesture asked me to sit. I sat before His Holy Presence for one Bhagavan asked me “What is your experience?”. I narrated the whole
hour and then left after taking leave of him. He simply nodded with of my experience. Then Sri Bhagavan said that this is the state to be
a smile. My first contact with him was during an hour’s stay in His attained by constant practise of atma vichara and after attaining that
Holy Presence which gave me a perfect calmness, peace of mind and state one must go on practising it continuously till it becomes sahaja.
coolness of nerves, while the body felt light as a straw. He quoted from various scriptures about this supreme state.
From that day onwards my contact with Him from 1926 to1950 Another instance was that of saving my sister who was slowly
was continuous and He has done me a lot of good for my spiritual sinking to her death due to congestion of the brain. She had now
progress and completely changed my outlook on this world and become unconscious. Doctors tried their best and declared there was
I became a pure advaitin. By His grace I was able to practise His no chance of recovery and asked my father to inform all our relatives.
method of atma vichara. He cleared all my doubts then and there My mother, who was very devoted to Sri Bhagavan, shouted amidst
by His profound silence and by quotations from various scriptures. her crying, “O Bhagavan, we have just left your Holy Presence, what
My whole family was devoted to Sri Bhagavan. We had a lot of a calamity! Save my daughter!” Immediately my mother saw Sri
experiences and miracles. It is sufficient to quote two instances only Bhagavan passing by the side of my sister with His kamandalam (water
to show Sri Bhagavan’s greatness, omnipotence and His supreme pure pot). At once my sister woke up as if from sleep and asked for water.
consciousness (sahaja samadhi state) though He moved among us as an Sri Bhagavan, who had no knowledge of any scriptures and had
ordinary man for all outward appearances. I think it was somewhere no guru to initiate him, attained self realisation by going through
in the year 1935 or 1936 I put a question to Sri Bhagavan in the early the fear of death in His 16th year. He is a born jnani and belonged
morning. “What is the nature and state of nirvikalpa samadhi?” He to the highest type of jivanmukta known as atyasrami. Such jnanis
kept quiet. I wondered why I had put this question. In the evening appear rarely in the world to teach some forgotten truth. Bhagavan
I practised His method of self enquiry before His Presence very revealed the direct method of atma vichara, contrary to the traditional
intensively. My mind slowly became thought-free by the incessant method of sravana, manna and nididhyasana. It requires no restrictions
enquiry of “Who am I?” and slowly the mind began to meditate on whatsoever and can be practised by all irrespective of caste or creed.
the ‘I’ thought alone subjectively. The plunge started and the mind Sri Bhagavan even as an embodied soul moved with us as pure
became introspective going deeper and deeper meditating on the ‘I’ consciousness for 54 years and He is still living amongst us and His
thought. The heart is felt by a soft vibration and the breathing had Presence is felt very much by all sincere devotees. This is a fact of
become very shallow. The mind tried to drag me outward but at that experience. As Thirumular says that the jnani’s influence at the place of
moment suddenly some power pulled me inside completely and as His samadhi lasts for a thousand years, so the present Ramanasramam
a result of it the ego toppled down. At that very moment the body is the real abode of Sri Bhagavan where He is potently present always
and world consciousness disappeared totally and in their place there as pure and absolute consciousness even though He is omnipresent
was an expansiveness with the deep ‘I’‘I’-consciousness coupled with and omniscient, shedding His Grace on all His devotees and visitors.
an indescribable bliss which cannot be expressed in words. I woke Devotees and visitors are requested to avail of this golden opportunity
up from that supreme experience by the sound of Sri Bhagavan’s by visiting Bhagavan’s abode, the present Sri Ramanasramam at
cough. There was no one in the hall except Sri Bhagavan massaging Tiruvannamalai and receive His abundant Grace. A visit will surely
His knees. Bhagavan said “Come, we shall have our food”. I felt a convince anybody. 
supreme peace of mind. After the meal we returned to the hall and

MOUNTAIN PATH
KEYWORD
Vasana and
Samskara
John Grimes
Devotee: What are the obstacles which hinder realization of the

Self?
Maharshi: They are habits of mind (vasanas).
Devotee: How to overcome the mental habits (vasanas)?
Maharshi: By realizing the Self.1
T he Hindu tradition which is often compared to a banyan tree

links disparate gods, temples, traditions, philosophies,
cosmology, causality, liberation, even geographic landscapes into a
unified, syncretic whole through one concept: ‘law, action, karma.’
Despite, or perhaps because of, karma’s ubiquity, its capacity of being,
or seeming to be, everywhere at the same time, the concept is not
easily defined. Further, flowing from the idea of karma naturally
emerge the concepts of samskara and vasana.
There are no English words with the exact connotation of the
words ‘karma, samskara, and vasana’. They are the concept(s) which
seek to explain and resolve the mystery of how all actions become
potencies and how the individual perpetuates its seeming existence
James Clark
1
Venkataramiah, M. (ed.), Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, §13. 7th January, 1935.

MOUNTAIN PATH KEYWORD
and eventually, its liberation. Though in the physical universe it is samskaras (latent impressions) that lead to vasanas (tendencies). These
the inexorable cosmic law that every cause produces an effect and in produce thoughts (vrtti) that lead to actions. Entrenched habits are
turn, each effect becomes a cause, the exact modus operandi of karma formed. Thus, the wheel of samsara revolves.
of individuals, mankind and the cosmos itself, is shrouded in darkness. Samskaras are subtle imprints that are made in the mind-stuff (citta)
“Sri Bhagavan was uncompromising in his teaching that whatever is whenever one does an action. Impressions are not memories. Memories
to happen will happen, while at the same time he taught that whatever are formed from impressions just as a photograph is developed from
happens is due to prarabdha, a man’s balance-sheet of destiny acting a negative. Generally, a person only retains memories from recent
according to so rigorous a law of cause and effect that even the word impressions. Yet, we have countless impressions (samskaras) from
‘justice’ seems too sentimental to express it.”2 many, many lives. Most of these impressions no longer have memories
It is by this concept,which Sri Ramana upheld at the empirical associated with them. In other words, the impressions (samskaras)
level, that the Advaita doctrine of the causal body (karana-sarira or from many lifetimes affect us but we do not generally know how
bija-atman) contains all the potential, dynamic forces that constitute or why they do because we have no recollection of the actions that
an individual’s personality and is responsible for all one’s actions and caused the impressions. The effect of a samskara is called a vasana.
reactions. Further, samskaras and vasanas are thought of, not as static Vasanas are tendencies. In other words, vasanas are the inclinations
impressions like the impression of a stamp on paper, but dynamic forces. formed from our impressions (samskaras). They are mental urges, desires,
According to Indian philosophy, the doctrine of karma (from the and feelings. Further, unlike samskaras, vasanas (tendencies) are
Sanskrit ‘kr’ meaning ‘to act, do, make’) implies the idea of cause and readily identifiable. As well, ponder deeply the fact that vasanaksaya
effect. As one sows, so shall one reap, or, to put it in modern language, (destruction of one’s tendencies) is a well-known, oft-quoted description
‘what goes around, comes around’. At the experiential level, there are of liberation (moksa), but the phrase ‘samskaraksaya’ is never used.
no accidents, nothing chaotic or capricious. Further, karma includes If the mind becomes introverted through enquiry into the source
both an action and its result. Not only does every action produce of aham-vrtti, the vasanas become extinct. The light of the Self falls
its appropriate consequence but it also forms and ‘perfumes’ one’s on the vasanas and produces the phenomenon of reflection we call
character. That is, it leaves behind perfumed traces which become the mind. Thus, when the vasanas become extinct the mind also
embedded as seeds that act as a repository of past experiences. These disappears, being absorbed into the light of the one reality, the Heart.3
karmic seeds come to fruition at a later time. The power which drives Thoughts are only vasanas (predispositions), accumulated in
these seeds is called vasana. innumerable births before. Their annihilation is the aim. The state
Though they are often used as synonyms, the terms ‘samskara’ and free from vasanas is the primal state and eternal state of purity.4
‘vasana’ have subtle different meanings. Samskara, from the Sanskrit The sight of an object, the thinking of a thought, the performance of
‘sam’ + (s)kr meaning ‘put together’ or ‘accumulated’, are pre-natal or an act, the saying of a single word, leave a trace in an individual that lasts
innate tendencies, predispositions, impressions of which vasanas, from beyond the present time, leaving an imprint in the subconscious mind,
the Sanskrit ‘vas’ meaning ‘to dwell’, ‘to stay’, ‘to perfume’, are the which then colour all of life, one’s nature, responses, states of mind and
latent, subtle manifestation of these past tendencies and impressions, attitudes. This subconscious imprint is called a samskara. The character of
potential and habitual, in this life. Actions (karma) are said to produce
3
See Maharshi’s Gospel, 2002. Book Two, Chapter VI, ‘Aham and Aham-Vritti’, p.66.
1
Osborne, Arthur, Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-knowledge, 2002. p. 42. 4
Venkataramiah, M. (ed.) Talks With Sri Ramana Maharshi, §80. 3rd October, 1935.

MOUNTAIN PATH KEYWORD
a person, one’s attitudes, moral or mental status, talents, likes and dislikes, general rule, there is no harm in satisfying a desire where the satisfaction
desires, thoughts, all are determined by one’s samskaras, which are the will not lead to further desires by creating vasanas in the mind.
product of one’s past actions. Actions done with good intent lead to a In summary: every action that one does, leaves an impression
propitious rebirth in favourable conditions whereas those done with evil within oneself, and is called a samskara. These samskaras accumulate
intent lead to a rebirth under unfavourable conditions. Every act must to form vasanas, attributes, which are carried forward from one life to
have its consequences; this is a universal law. The samskaras and vasanas another. For example, you might have a natural inclination for arts, an
transmigrate from birth to birth, being never lost, and as driving forces, inborn interest for which you cannot find a reason. You might even
colour and motivate one’s attitudes and future actions. Bhagavan Ramana be born into a family that encourages art. All these are effects of your
said there are two kinds of vasanas or mental habits: (1) bandha hetuh, vasanas, from previous life. Understanding these natural inclinations
causing bondage for the ignorant, and (2) bhoga hetuh, giving enjoyment (vasanas), is a requisite to eliminate them. Because, only when these
for the wise. The latter do not obstruct self-realisation.5 vasanas are uprooted, can bliss descend. Vasanas are very deep rooted
Another way to describe these two vital concepts is that a samskara and subtle. The key to elimination of vasanas, is detachment. 
is an impression or groove created in the mind from a fluctuation or
thought (vrtti). A vasana is a strong groove (habit pattern) created in
Grace
the mind by repeated and strengthened samskaras. One’s samskaras
and vasanas are said to be stored in the causal body. This is the seed that Ana Callan
has the momentum to be reincarnated again and again. One changes For years,
the momentum of one’s karma by changing one’s desires, thoughts, Ramana sat yielding
and actions, that then sow new seeds or samskaras and vasanas. The to the flow of God,
impressions stored in the causal body then lead one in new directions, unyielding to the forces
giving new direction to one’s desires, thoughts and actions. of the world that come
“Bhagavan: Effortless and choiceless awareness is our real nature. If and go
we can attain it or be in that state, it is all right. But one cannot reach so when his family arrived
it without effort, the effort of deliberate meditation. All the age-long to take him home,
vasanas carry the mind outward and turn it to external objects. All He said,
such thoughts have to be given up and the mind turned inward. For I am already home
that, effort is necessary for most people.”6 not in words or action
Small desires such as the desire to eat, drink and sleep and attend but by sitting like
to calls of nature, though these may also be classed among desires, his mountain Lord,
can be safely satisfied. They will not implant vasanas in your mind, immovable and strong
necessitating further birth. Those activities are necessary to carry on life until his family let go
and are not likely to develop or leave behind vasanas or tendencies. As a of holding on
and they sat together
glorying in the forgotten
5
Ibid., §515. 17th September, 1938.
6
Mudaliar, Devaraja, Day by Day with Bhagavan, 2002. p.104, Afternoon 11-1-46. and true familiar face of God.

MOUNTAIN PATH
Ulladu Narpadu
Based on Lakshmana Sarma’s
Commentary
Verse Twenty Eight
S. Ram Mohan
Verse 28
As one dives into water to recover something fallen into it, so
should the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant), dive into himself,
controlling speech and breath, with a keen mind, and find the
source from which ego arises and thereby know That (the Self)
Commentary
T he sadhaka is here described as ‘diving inside’, with the one-pointed

mind directed inward in quest of the origin of the ego-sense.
The simile is at once striking and self-explanatory. Imagine a deep
well into which a valuable ornament has fallen. First, you go to the
well and look intently in with wide-open eyes and the whole mind
completely engaged. Other than the eyes, the other sense organs do not
John Maynard
Archives Collection: Small clock used S. Ram Mohan is on the editorial board of this magazine. He is also the
by Sri Bhagavan in the Old Hall editor of the Tamil magazine Ramanodhayam, dedicated to Bhagavan.
42 Archives Collection: ElectricOctober

Heater - December 2010 43
MOUNTAIN PATH ULLADU NARPADU
function here; in fact, all of them have merged with the eye. Sekkizhar’s to the surface. Similarly, in the search for the Self, you first locate the
Periyapuranam describes the state of Sundaramurthy Nayanar in the state where thoughts have died away, knowing that this is not the final
sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Nataraja temple. Sekkizhar says that the state. It is Consciousness expressing itself without thought. By enquiring
faculties of all the five senses themselves have been taken up by the eyes. intently ‘Who am I’ we trace the origin of the ego, sink into stillness
They have been drinking the nectar of Siva’s magnificent dance. The and become one with It. We realise the truth of Existence, our natural
saint experiences total bliss (ananda). Like-wise, in the intense search state. This is atma vichara as taught by Bhagavan.
for the fallen object, sounds are not heard; breathing automatically Turning the mind inward is the means that leads to the destruction
slows down; the mind is gripped by the simple thought of locating of the mind. For this, prana, (vital force) should be withdrawn from the
the ornament. The surface of the water also has to be still if we are to body and incorporated in its source the mind, so that the later will have
locate the fallen object with our eyes. In a similar manner, the energetic the necessary power (sakti) to dive within. In fact, the sadhana requires
quest for the lost Self takes place. The jewel is hidden deep in the well the temporary reduction of the body to a corpse-like state. This has been
of consciousness. The outward consciousness is like the upper surface emphatically stated by Bhagavan, with the word purposely added by
of a water reservoir that is not still but disturbed by the ripples of the him at the end of the stanza. Here Bhagavan mentions the suspension
mind (manas) and intellect (buddhi). To reach a ripple-free place that of the breath, as an aid to the diving into the Heart; without the breath’s
smooths the progress of our quest, we have to dive deep within. suspension, the mind will not leave the identification and therefore
Diving inside is a difficult technique. You can neither indulge in bondage to the body, and the ‘diving within’ may not take place.
speaking while diving into deep waters; nor can you have a normal Bhagavan taught that it is not necessary to resort to active breath-
inhalation and exhalation of breathing. The term ‘diving inside’ refers control (pranayama) for the purpose of diving within. What he said
to the place identified as the spiritual Heart from where the ego arises. was that if the mind is deeply imbued with the resolve to know the
The purpose of mentioning the Heart is only to indicate that the Self, the breath will subside of its own accord, without any specific
mind must be turned away from the external world towards the Self, effort. There is a special expedient mentioned by Bhagavan for the
resident in the Heart. Turning the mind inward means the engaging suspension of mind and that is as a witness to observe the breathing
the whole mind in the quest, without being diverted by thoughts of process without trying to interfere and the breath will slow down or
the world. It is only for convenience that we mention that the place stop effortlessly.
of the Self is the Heart. In truth, the Self itself is the Heart. Aside from the jewel in the well-bottom, Bhagavan has also given
This quest, turning the mind inward means the outright rejection the analogy of the pearl diver who, to facilitate reaching the very
of the entire external world and its objects. When you persist in the depths of the sea, ties a heavy stone to his waist that helps in the dive
quest, the thoughts stop and the breath automatically stops too. Forced to the greatest depth. That ballast which helps the aspirant sink to the
pranayama is unnecessary as it develops naturally during the quest. ultimate depth within himself is vairagya (renunciation or dispassion).
When the myriad thoughts become telescoped into one-pointedness, One-pointedness and vairagya are powerful instruments for
almost imperceptibly, the breath slows down and becomes almost strengthening the mind, which otherwise cannot reach the Heart.
imperceptible. Elaborating further on the analogy of the search for the Actually the two are not separate, but one and the same. Due to
jewel in the well — after clearly locating it, you close those very eyes myriad thoughts continuously arising and passing across the mind, it
which were originally kept open in the search. Then you hold your loses its moorings and is unable to reach the Self and abide in It. We
breath and dive directly to the bottom, recover the lost jewel and return need to strengthen the mind with vairagya. A person who has made

MOUNTAIN PATH
a firm resolve to experience the Self, to the exclusion of phenomenal
pleasures, is styled as dheera or ‘valorous one’. Bhagavan himself FROM THE ARCHIVES
has explained that valour consists of the syllables dhi meaning this
intellect and r meaning the power of controlling the thoughts. We
should keep the intellect firmly focused on the goal, so that the mind
is not diverted.
Bhagavan has also stated that if the mind remains sufficiently fixed
on the goal, then a greater divine power emerges from within. It takes
The Quest
possession of the questing mind and directs it into the Heart. Those
with a purified mind and who readily surrender without reservation to
this power will thereby be given the experience of the Self. The unripe
ones will generally resist this power and turn outward. Therefore, it is Chapter Five
necessary to ripen the mind and prepare it for the quest, by means of
devotion of God or better still, to the Self by discrimination through Lucia Osborne
the exercise of vairagya.
Bhagavan elsewhere has given another analogy for the quest: the
dog that has been separated from its master. The dog, intent on
Swami Ramdas and Incantation
rejoining its master, follows his footsteps by tracing him through his
specific scent and thus finally is reunited with its master. In sadhana
the ego-sense is itself the scent or clue to the location of the Self; the
sadhaka is the dog, the God is the master and atma vichara is the
S wami Ramdas followed the path of devotion. He was a bhakta
who throughout his life adopted the invocation of ‘Sri Ram, jay
Ram, jay jaya Ram OM, Sri Rama jaya Ram jay jaya Ram OM.”
faculty of scent-tracing. A French journalist and writer, Arnaud Desjardin, came to
The resolve to find the end-experience (the Self ) is devotion, which Tiruvannamalai with his wife and child. They stayed with us. After
is the very essence of sadhana. The intense devotion culminating as a week or so they were proceeding to Anandashram, the abode of
love, will itself confer the experience of the Self; this has been shown Swami Ramdas and Mother Krishnabai. Arthur thought I needed a
in a simple verse in Tamil, referred by Bhagavan in answer to a query holiday from the samsara of housekeeping, including the many visitors
by a devotee as to who or what is the real Ramana. In that verse, who came and feeding some who could not eat food hot with chillies
after clarifying that the real Ramana is not a person but Arunachala which was all the ashram provided at the time. It would be a good
Ramana, Bhagavan states in the latter portion of the verse that by idea if I went with the Desjardins in their caravan-car which was like
intense love, the mind melts and unites with the Heart and there the a little house on wheels. Swami Ramdas had written a foreword to
Sri Arunachala Ramana will shine as the Self.1 Arthur’s book The Incredible Sai Baba of Shirdi and invited us to visit
 him. On the way Arnaud asked several people the directions because
Lucia Osborne was married to Arthur Osborne, the founder of The Mountain
1
‘Arunachala Ramana’, The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi, 2001, p.142. Path. She was editor of the magazine from 1970 to 1973.

MOUNTAIN PATH
if two agreed then it would be wise to follow. ‘To oblige they might
tell you anything’ he said.
A beaming Swami Ramdas greeted us and put us immediately at our
ease. He seemed completely without guile, a squat figure past middle
age, full of joy. A devotee from Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry
sent a desperate letter to Swami Ramdas asking for secrecy. He read
it out to all present. To Mother Krishnabai he was literally all in all.
A raconteur par excellence he told two of us sitting in his room some
story which made us burst out laughing. At this moment Mother
Krishnabai came into the room and told him reproachfully: “Again you
are making them laugh.” “If not they will be meditating all day,” was
his retort. She epitomized love through service. Swami Ramdas told us
a characteristic story about her. A poor man came to her complaining
of his abject poverty. She gave him a cow from the Ashram. A few
days later he came back complaining that now he had a cow but no
shed for her. So she gave him the materials to build one. A few days
later he came back complaining that he had no fodder for the cow. So
she offered him daily fodder. A few days later he came again and said:
“Mataji, now I have a cow, a shed for her and daily fodder but nobody
to buy the milk,” so it ended up by the Ashram buying his milk. “We
can always use a little more,” she assured him.
The invocation ‘Sri Ram jay Ram jay jaya Ram Om...’ was being
chanted at the Ashram from morning till night by devotees in relays.
They were also asked by Krishnabai to write it out up to one hundred
thousand times or more.
Swami Ramdas, who always spoke about himself in the third
person, describes how he came to Sri Ramana Maharshi.
“One day the kind sadhuram took Ramdas for the darshan of a
famous saint of the place Arunachala Hill, Tiruvannamalai, by name
Sri Ramana Maharshi. His ashram was at the foot of Arunachala. It
was a thatched shed. Both of us entered the ashram and prostrated at
the holy feet of the saint. He was young but there was on his face a
John Maynard
calmness and in his large eyes a passionless look of tenderness which
cast a spell of peace and joy on all those who came to him. Ramdas
was informed that the saint knew English so he addressed him thus:

Papa Ramdas
MOUNTAIN PATH THE QUEST
“Maharaj, there stands before you a humble slave. Have pity on him. time it was enough to put some question to set him off again, like
His only prayer to you is to give him your blessing.” pressing a button. Once he said that after giving up the body he
The Maharshi turned his beautiful eyes towards Ramdas and will come back to earth for the sake of his devotees. “Papa,” I asked
looked intensely for a few minutes into his eyes as though he was him, “did you or did you not say that those who see you or come to
pouring into Ramdas his blessing, then nodded his head to say he you will not be reborn?” “Ram made me say it,” he replied. “Then
had blessed. A thrill of inexpressible joy coursed through the frame for whom will you come back?” “How they catch us,” he exclaimed
of Ramdas, his whole body quivering like a leaf in the breeze. The after a momentary silence, completely unruffled and added: “Saints
Maharshi did not speak a word. like to be caught like that.” He also said in reply to a question on
Now Ramdas desired to remain in solitude. From there Ramdas kundalini that if kundalini reaches the sahasrara (the highest chakra
went straight to the Arunachala Hill, selected a small cave and or point in the head) the person is realised. This reminded me of my
remained there for twenty days, living on a meal of rice boiled without own experience of kundalini.
salt. Day and night he was repeating the Ram Mantra without a break. I was in the midst of packing to return to Tiruvannamalai from
After twenty days when Ramdas came out of the cave one morning he Kodaikanal with the children. It was a terrific rush and had to be
saw the light of God-Ram everywhere. The entire landscape changed; done with very little help. All the household things also had to be
all was Ram, nothing but Rama wherever Ramdas looked. Everything packed properly so as not to be broken on our way down to Kodai
was Rama — vivid, rapturous, marvelous — the trees, the shrubs, the Road railway station. One had to be ready for the bus.
ants, the cows, the cats, the dogs, even inanimate things pulsated with It was in the thick of this that it happened. A sort of lassitude came
the marvellous presence of the one Rama. And Ramdas danced in over me, but a most pleasant lassitude. From the base of my spine a
joy....he rushed at a tree in front of him which he embraced because tingling feeling arose as if a thousand ants were creeping up. I must have
it was not a tree but Rama Himself. A man was passing by. Ramdas fever, I thought, but a most delightful fever, so let it be. All thoughts
ran towards him and embraced him, calling out: “Rama, O Rama.” of packing or leaving or any urgent work just vanished. I simply
The man got scared and bolted but Ramdas gave chase and dragged rested, whether sitting or lying down I do not remember. The ascent
him back to his cave. The man noted that Ramdas had not a tooth of the ants or tingling continued, stopping at various points along
in his head and so felt a little reassured; at least the looney would not my spine. I particularly remember some difficulty at the base of my
be able to bite him, Ramdas said laughing. neck. Then it burst through the crown of the head with the blaze of
The bliss and joy became permanent. This experience is called a million suns — the splendour of it. Ecstasy which no words could
sahaja samadhi in which you are one with all because you have describe. Only this indescribable feeling of blissful well-being; radiant
perceived that all is He, the One-without-a-second. all-embracing flaming Consciousness - I - Am - ness and nothing
About forty years later Ramdas commented: “Ramdas went to else. ‘So that’s it.’ How long did it last? A second, an eternity? Then I
Ramana Maharshi in a state of complete detachment from the world. returned to normal body-consciousness and the world emerged again.
How intense was his longing.” He felt thrills of ecstasy in his presence. It felt like being thrust back into a cage. At that time I knew nothing
The Maharshi made the awakening permanent in Ramdas. of kundalini; I had never read about it or practised it.
Swami Ramdas and the devotees used to sit in the front hall for On my return to Tiruvannamalai I came across Sir John
an hour or so after the evening meal asking questions or listening Woodroffe’s The Serpent Power and there read about the chakras
to his lively discourses and reminiscences. When he was silent for a and verified my astounding experience. I did not mention it to the

Maharshi until sometime later when He asked me to go through to results. Outer circumstances conform to our needs for spiritual
Heinrich Zimmer’s German work Der Weg zum Selbst (The Way to development. Some people need troubles to turn them inwards or
the Self ) in which he speaks also about kundalini from what seemed to make them concentrated; and so they get them. Others turn away
me an intellectual standpoint. In this connection I told the Maharshi from the pleasures and trivialities of life, even from a life of luxury,
that my experience was different and wrote out an account of it. He like the Buddha and some saints to seek a meaning to life, to seek
perused it very attentively and did not return it to me but gave it to the truth behind appearances. Progressively as thoughts become more
the attendant to file. concentrated they gain more power. Bhagavan said that no thought
Remembering my experience of the merging of Arunachala form is ever lost. Each desire gets fulfilled in due course; in this life or
with Perumal, the sacred hill at Kodaikanal, I asked the Maharshi a future one; that’s how the world revolves as per the Tibetan Wheel
whether there was any connection between them. The reply was of Life. Fulfillment of desires is not a criterion for happiness.
in the affirmative; Arunachala was once worshipped as the Hill of A modern writer-painter Beh Shahn understood that the Wheel
Mahavishnu. They were one; Arunachala-Siva withdrawn, Perumal of Life is the objectivisation of all the vasanas (predispositions) and
a majestic outer manifestation. delusions in the mind of man, more clearly than some scholars in
When I heard Swami Ramdas tell his disciples that when kundalini Buddhism.
bursts through the sahasrara in the crown of the head the person is “In a monastery near the border of Tibet I found a portrait of
realised, I spoke with him privately about it afterwards. I told him myself. Someone in saffron told me that it was called The Wheel
about my experience and said that with me it was only temporary and of Life, the Round of Existence, but it was myself, exact and
not a permanent change of state, as my mind not being still enough representational. There were all the many aspects of myself painted
re-asserted itself. He asked me about it in great detail and was surprised crude and clear: the pig, the lion, the snake, the cock, all animals,
but obviously convinced and said it was a sign of grace. Bhagavan angels, demons, titans, gods and men, all heaven and hell, all pleasures
said that we are never out of the operation of grace, only we have to and pains, all that went to make me and all as it were within the round
come out of the shade. My experience was probably a culmination of of myself, within the wall exactly as I had found it. All that I could
such practice in a previous incarnation. With some it would be final be was within the enclosure of myself; all that I could do would only
if their minds were steady in stillness. Once or twice this experience turn the wheel around and around. There was no way out. I would
tried to repeat itself after returning to Tiruvannamalai but it never go on and on, now up, now down, never ceasing, never changing.
went beyond the throat chakra. Obviously I was not detached or The mechanism was perfect.”
passive enough, anticipating a repetition eagerly. The world would be a better place to live in if human beings were
After our return I was confronted in the Ashram with a powerful taught to concentrate their destructive energy to subdue their ego-
looking dog who seemed to know me. I could not place him till a centricity, the root of all trouble. The aim of spiritual striving (sadhana)
slight tremor of his hind leg disclosed that it was my formerly decrepit is just that. It is the ego which hides our divine primordial state. Dr.
dog so metamorphosed. Now he could easily hold his own among Bucke experienced it as a sense of exaltation, an immense joyousness,
the other dogs. bliss which was accompanied by an intellectual illumination the
Following a spiritual path with absolute faith in the Guru renders splendour of which he finds impossible to describe. He comes to the
life simple if we do all that life demands of us, that is perform conclusion that the moments of illumination experienced by all of
whatever duties fall to our lot as best we can with detachment as the great religious leaders (also mystics and seekers) have much in

common. It is a case of cosmic Consciousness, illumination with a the attendant to bring him a book from the revolving bookcase,
sense of immortality. The soul of man is immortal. The cosmos is opened it and sent it to me. I had not asked any question but I had
not dead matter but a living Presence. been wondering for several days whether it was right to combine the
There is a state so happy, so glorious that all the rest of life is atma vichara with invocation and hesitated to ask in public. The
worthless compared to it, a pearl of great price to buy which a wise book opened on a page which positively fully answered my unasked
man willingly sells all that he has; this state can be achieved. Stilling question. It started with Saint Namdev saying: “The Name permeates
the mind means the same. ‘Be still and know that I AM God’ or the whole universe...” and ended with extolling the invocation. It was
rather that God is I AM. When Christ said ‘I am the way...’ perhaps very helpful at the time.
the original in Aramaic was I AM is the way. Bhagavan said that in the sphere of speech the mystic sound AUM
Stilling the mind,Bhagavan said, simply means that the mind gets represents the transcendental aspect. When invoking the Name one-
clear of impurities and becomes pure enough to reflect the Truth, the pointedly a feeling of devotion arises after a while till one may dissolve
real Self, the I Am. This is impossible when the ego is assertive.... in tears. When the invocation becomes mental it is contemplation;
“Where I am there is God; this is the naked truth that is, when one thought persists to the exclusion of all others. This
Man is in truth God and God is in truth man is its object confining oneself to one thought only, then that one
In this break-through I experience that I and God are One.” thought too vanishes into its source which is pure consciousness.
Meister Eckhart. Consciousness is always in the first person. It is I-am-ness on the
In the language of physics Schrödinger defines consciousness as a substratum of which ‘you’, ‘he’ and all otherness arises.
singular that means the same in all with an illusory plural. We function In Swetasvatara Upanishad it is said: “Fire is not perceived though
only through the divine Light of the Self, Bhagavan says. It enlivens present until one stick is rubbed against another. The Self is like that
the inert body like a current passing through inert electric bulbs and fire.” It is realised in the body by meditation and whatever spiritual
makes them glow. But this Light is clouded by our predispositions, practices help one to be one-pointed and to still the mind, whether
thoughts, and desires and so on, so it is a mixed light. by invocation, self-enquiry, dhyana and so on. With dervishes it is
God forgets Himself in man and man remembers himself in God. sacred dancing. Dilip Kumar Roy, a famous singer who used to pour
The Koran: ‘There is no God save Him. Unto Allah is the journeying.’ out his heart in songs of devotion, asked Bhagavan whether this way
‘In the beginning was Allah and nothingness beside Him and now He was right for him. Bhagavan assented.
is as He was.’ It struck me like a flash of lightning. Nobody doubts It is said also that continuous chanting of the Name or mantra
that he exists. His existence is beyond a shadow of doubt then which has intrinsic power in it creates harmonious vibrations and
Who am I? makes the mind serene. Sometimes diseases get eradicated in this way.
With the greatest patience Bhagavan would explain and reply to After a while meditation and stilling the mind through the atma
questions of sincere seekers. He knew who sincerely wanted to have a vichara or letting thoughts pass over one like waves unmoved by their
doubt cleared and who wanted to engage him in a discussion for the influence is sufficient.
sake of discussion. The first year I was in Tiruvannamalai there was “The truth is,” Bhagavan reminds us, “that you are always united
also an author of travel books there who liked discussions. She had with the Lord (you are invoking) but you must know this.”
prepared a long list of questions which were handed over to Bhagavan. True bhakti (devotion) leads to jnana (wisdom), jnana embraces
After one look he put them aside without replying. Then he asked bhakti. Perseverance and steadfastness in either reveals it. Even if there

MOUNTAIN PATH
is only a spark in the ashes of the heart to start with, slowly, one-
pointedly, invocation will fan it into flame. The heart melts. Some
Umapati Sivam and

say the very bones melt.
What counts in sadhana is perseverance and steadfastness. After a
time meditation recalls itself spontaneously. “Whether or not results
the Enlightened
of meditation are obtained is of no importance,” Bhagavan states.
“The essential is to arrive at stability; It is the most precious thing
that one can gain. In any case one must trust with confidence in the
Divinity, the Guru, and await His Grace without impatience....” The
same rule applies to all spiritual practices. They are cumulative and
the result will come at the right time when the heart is empty enough
Thorn Bush
to be flooded with Grace.
One night I had a vision of waiting in an enchanting dream-
garden, so peaceful that not a leaf stirred. I was waiting for someone, T. V. Venkatasubramanian
Arthur? (I had been several years without any news from him, kept in and David Godman
a concentration camp in Bangkok by the Japanese during the war). On
the horizon a figure was slowly emerging, a majestic, radiant figure.
Like a bride I was waiting, my heart astir, rooted to the spot for him
to come. He was not only Arthur but all mankind condensed in this
one wonderful, radiantly serene figure ruling me with his gracious
glance more gentle, more loving than words could say.
Arunachala -Siva -Ramana formless, all-pervading, able to take
any shape to lead one back to Itself abiding in all hearts.
I n a letter dated 21st July 1948, written three days after Bhagavan
had certified that the cow Lakshmi had attained liberation,
Suri Nagamma recorded an interesting story that arose out of this
One day on the Hill after a lengthy absence: declaration of enlightenment by Bhagavan. She wrote:
‘Softly, gently caressingly One of the devotees who yesterday heard of the verse written
The Mountain breeze surrounds me by Bhagavan about the deliverance of Lakshmi approached him
In an embrace of greeting this morning and said, ‘Swami, we ourselves see that animals
Touches my head, my face and birds are getting deliverance [moksha] in your presence; but
Long have you been in coming is it not true that only human beings can get moksha?’
The heart stirs ‘Why? It is stated that a mahapurusha [great saint] gave moksha
Oh, My Beloved.’
 to a thorn bush,’ said Bhagavan with a smile. The devotee
T. V. Venkatasubramanian has edited and translated several books on

Bhagavan’s teachings. He is currently working on an English edition of
Guhai Namasivaya’s Arunachala venbas.

MOUNTAIN PATH UMAPATI SIVAM AND THE ENLIGHTENED THORN BUSH
eagerly asked who that great saint was and what was the story Umapati Sivam was born into a brahmin family that belonged to
about the thorn bush, and Bhagavan then related [the] story:1 the Tillai Muvayiravar, the group of three thousand brahmins who
The version Bhagavan narrated was a concise summary of the basic traditionally have the exclusive privilege of undertaking the priestly
facts about the thorn bush, but it left out many interesting elements duties in the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple. They all come from
of the story, in particular those relating to Umapati Sivam, the key the dikshitar community.
figure in the drama. There are several variations on the basic story. Umapati was a precocious child who soon mastered all the Tamil
The one presented here has taken elements from several different and Sanskrit texts, including the Vedas and Agamas. Following the
sources and consolidated them into a single narrative.2 family tradition, he eventually became one of the Sivacharyas who
* * * performed all the acts of worship in the Chidambaram shrine. In
Jnanasambandhar, Appar, Sundaramurthi and Manikkavachagar recognition of his outstanding accomplishments the Chola king of
are regarded as the acharyas of the Saiva faith (samaya-acharyas). the day bestowed on him special honours such as a pearl palanquin
Collectively known as the ‘nalvar’ (the four), they each composed and in which he was carried around. The honours also included a drum
sang devotional hymns in Tamil in praise of Siva. The songs of the first accompaniment as he went about his business, and a torch that was lit
three are known collectively as ‘Tevaram’, whereas Manikkavachagar’s even during daylight hours. He was clearly a major figure in his city.
outpourings are contained in works entitled Tiruvachakam and One hot summer day, after performing his duties at the
Tirukkovaiyar. Several centuries later these primary texts (now part Chidambaram Temple, Umapati Sivam was being carried through the
of the Saiva canon) were interpreted in a philosophical way, and the streets of the town. His procession passed a veranda where Maraijnana
resulting philosophy became known as Saiva Siddhanta. Four teachers, Sambandhar, the third santana-acharya, was teaching his disciples.
known as the santana-acharyas, were primarily responsible for this later This was before Umapati Sivam became his disciple.
codification of the fundamental tenets of philosophical Saivism in Seeing Umapati Sivam proceed in such pomp down the street,
South India. All of them belonged to one Guru-disciple lineage, the Maraijnana Sambandhar declared loudly, ‘Look! There is a person
head and founder of which was Meykanda Sivam. He was followed who is blind during the day, riding around in dead wood.’
by Arulnandi Sivam and Maraijnana Sambandha Sivam, who in turn The ‘blind during the day’ remark was a reference to the lit torch
was the Guru of Umapati Sivam, the last of these four acharyas. which was always part of his entourage.
Umapati Sivam was a highly mature soul who was in search of a
jnana Guru. Instead of being offended by the criticism, he heard these
1
Prior to the consolidation of Letters from Sri Ramanasramam and Letters from and words and took them to be jnana upadesa. When he looked through
Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam, this story only appeared in the latter book.
All the letters from this volume now appear in an enlarged version of Letters from
the window of his palanquin at the person who had uttered this
Sri Ramanasramam. stinging critique, he saw, in the place of Maraijnana Sambandhar, Lord
2
In addition to Bhagavan’s account in Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, accounts from Nataraja Himself. Umapati immediately alighted from the palanquin,
the Pulavar Puranam (a 19th century anthology of biographies of Tamil poet-saints) ran up to Maraijnana Sambandhar, and fell at his feet. While Umapati
and Arulmigu Umapati Sivacharya Swamigalin Varalaru (a Tamil account of Umapati Sivam was still lying on the ground, Maraijnana Sambandhar ran
Sivam’s life published by Kumara Devar Madam) and Saiva Siddhanta with special
reference to Sivaprakasam, by S. Gangadharan have also been utilised. The story also
away at a great speed. Umapati Sivam took up the chase, following
appears in the Chidambara Mahatmyam (The Greatness of Chidambaram), the sthala him like a shadow, but since it was the height of summer, both of
puranam of Chidambaram and Saiva Santanacharya Puranam. them soon became exhausted. They stopped and collapsed onto the

veranda of a house in a street where all the inhabitants belonged to At the end of the ceremony Umapati Sivam called all the senkundars
the senkundar (weaving) community. Maraijnana Sambandhar begged (the weavers) and told them, ‘You are the ones who gave food to my
for food there, but all the owner of the house could offer was a bowl Guru and assuaged both his thirst and his hunger. By this act you
of the starchy liquid that was used to size the threads that were woven also enabled me to consume the Guru’s ucchistam. Therefore, out
there. Maraijnana Sambandhar nevertheless accepted the offering and of gratitude, I am going to honour your community by issuing a
began to drink it. Some of the mixture flowed down his forearm and proclamation that from now on your community will have the exclusive
dripped off his elbow. Umapati Sivam happily consumed these drops privilege of offering the cloth that is used in the flag-hoisting ceremony.’
as Guru ucchistam (food left over after the Guru has finished eating). It is interesting to note that this tradition is followed not only in
When the brahmins of the Chidambaram Temple came to know the Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram, but in most other Siva temples,
that a member of their exclusive group had taken food dripping including the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai.
from the body of Maraijnana Sambandhar, they excommunicated There is no accepted biography of Umapati Sivam. Though he
Umapati Sivam and banned him from entering the temple. The himself wrote about the lives of many Saiva saints, no one took the
caste of Maraijnana Sambandhar is not known, but since the trouble to record systematically the events of his own remarkable life.
initial offering had come from a low-caste weaver, that in itself This resulted in there being different and contradictory versions of
was sufficient grounds for excluding Umapati Sivam from his several key events. One such discrepancy concerns the circumstances
priestly duties in the temple. under which he was allowed to return to the Chidambaram Temple.
Umapati Sivam was unconcerned. He continued to be a disciple S. Gangadharan, a writer and lecturer on Saiva Siddhanta, has
of Maraijnana Sambandhar, and eventually attained jnana. Later on, recorded an interesting and possibly alternative version of events in his
he established his own math on the outskirts of Chidambaram in a introduction to Saiva Siddhanta with Special Reference to Sivaprakasam.
place called Kotravan Kudi. When Umapati Sivam had been prevented from entering the
The ban proved to be a temporary one. At the beginning of the temple and performing puja, he decided to do puja mentally in his
annual festival in the town, the temple priests attempted to raise a flag own math. That day, when a priest went to do puja to one of the
to mark the commencement of the festivities. However, when they temple lingams, he discovered that it was no longer there. Siva then
attempted to do so, they could not get the flag to move up the pole. manifested as a disembodied voice and instructed the priests to allow
After attempting unsuccessfully many times to hoist the flag Umapati Sivam back into the temple to perform rituals.
properly, a disembodied voice was heard which said, ‘If you bring Both stories could be true. If so, it would seem that the story of
Umapati Sivam here, he will be able to raise the flag for you’. the disappearing lingam came first. There is no specific indication
The priests went to Umapati Sivam and requested him to come and in the flag-hoisting story that this is the first time he was allowed to
raise the flag for them. He agreed, but when he arrived at the temple, return to the temple.
instead of attempting to raise the flag manually, he stood beside the It is not known whether Umapati Sivam resumed his career as a
flag pole and sang four verses. As soon as he began to sing, the flag temple priest since there are no further stories about his performing
spontaneously began to move up the pole. By the time he had finished service in the temple. What is known, though, is that, based in his
the fourth verse, the flag had reached the top of the flagpole. These own math on the outskirts of the town, he became a prolific author,
four verses, known as Kodikkavi (The Flag Verses) now form part of writing many works on Saiva Siddhanta, Saiva saints, and the history
the Saiva Siddhanta canon. of Saivism.

There are fourteen works that comprise the Meykanda Sastras, the Two key elements permeate Umapati Sivam’s writings and
canonical texts of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. Eight of them were philosophical world view – the importance of personal devotion to
written by Umapati Sivam.3 He also composed many other works Siva, and the necessity of an enlightened Guru. Both of these appear
in both Tamil and Sanskrit. Many of his non-canonical works in in the story of Pettan Samban, a pulaiyan (outcaste) who lived in
Tamil focus on the lives of the Periyapuranam saints, the muvar – Chidambaram at the same time as Umapati Sivam. As an outcaste
Jnanasambandhar, Appar and Sundaramurthi – and the Tevaram Samban was unable to visit the Chidambaram Temple. This, however,
verses that were sung by them. He also composed Koyil Puranam, a did not prevent him in any way from having great devotion to Lord
Tamil history of the Chidambaram temple. Siva. Wherever he was, and whatever he was doing, his thoughts were
The following partial list of five of his Tamil works indicates just always on Him.
how much interest he had in the lives and songs of the old Tamil saints: As a reward for his devotion Lord Siva manifested before him in
Sivakshetra Sivanamak Kalivenba: 300 couplets on the 274 His full traditional form: bearing the trident, the battleaxe, carrying
pilgrimage sites visited by the muvar. a deer, and so on.
Tirttondarpuranasaram: an abbreviated and highly distilled version Samban went into ecstasy.
of the Periyapuranam. Siva then asked him ‘What do you want?’ to which Samban replied,
Tevara Arulmuraittirattu: an anthology of ninety-nine Tevaram ‘My Lord, I crave only liberation. I want nothing else.’
verses – sixty-three from Appar, twenty-six from Jnanasambandhar and On hearing these words, Lord Siva wrote a verse on a palm leaf
ten from Sundaramurthi – with a commentary by Umapati Sivam that and gave it to Samban. It said:
interprets these verses as primary texts of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. This is a note given to the person at Kotravan Kudi [Math,
Sekkizhar Puranam: a biography of Sekkizhar, the author of the i.e. Umapati Sivam] by the One dwelling at Chitrambalam,5
Periyapuranam. In this version, the Periyapuranam is composed in the He who is easily accessible to devotees. It is My command in
courtyard of the Chidambaram Temple before being paraded through this world that you give diksha to Pettan Samban in such a
the streets of the town on the back of an elephant. At the conclusion way that the sense of difference is eliminated in him; bestow
of the parade, the whole work was read out, to great acclamation, liberation on him.
before an assembly that included the king and the temple priests.4 After passing the note to Samban, Lord Siva asked him to hand it
Tirumuraikanta Puranam: the story, in forty-five verses, of how the over to Umapati Sivam at the Kotravan Kudi Math. Samban, though,
majority of the Tevaram poems, lost for centuries, were rediscovered hesitated to approach Umapati Sivam directly because he was of such a
in the Chidambaram Temple. low caste. He decided instead on a more indirect approach, one which
he hoped would eventually bring him to Umapati Sivam’s attention.
3
The works are Sivaprakasam, Tiruvarutpayan, Vinavenba, Potripahrotai, Kodikkavi, Each day he secretly took a bundle of firewood and placed it in the
Nencuvitututu, Unmaineri Vilakkam and Sankarpa Nirakaranam. Collectively,
acharya’s math, taking care to ensure that no one noticed him doing it.
they are known as Siddhanta Ashtakam, the ‘Eight Works of Saiva Siddhanta’.
4
It was customary for new works to be read before assemblies of learned people. Samban was already delivering a bundle of firewood to the
One of Umapati Sivam’s works, Sankarpa Nirakaranam, was read before an Chidambaram Temple each day. After he had made his first delivery
assembly on a particular date (1235 A.D.) that was mentioned in the text. This
has enabled scholars to fix Umapati Sivam’s life span in the fifty years between 5
Chitrambalam, the space of consciousness, is one of the names associated with
1190 and 1240 A.D. the temple of Chidambaram.

as an offering for the cooking that went on there, Samban did a Umapati Sivam and his devotees were wonderstruck both by the
pradakshina of the outside of the temple since he was not allowed to event and by the maturity of Samban.
enter. As he was passing the southern gopuram, he saw two gold coins When Samban did not return home, his wife came to the math
lying on the ground. Initially, he didn’t want to pick them up since to make enquiries about his whereabouts. When she was told that he
he thought they must belong to someone else. had attained liberation and physically vanished, she refused to believe
However, as he was looking at them, he heard a disembodied voice it. She went to the king and complained that Umapati Sivam had
saying, ‘Take them. These are for your service.’ killed her husband for failing to supply the math with firewood the
Siva Himself had manifested the money and left it in a place where previous day. The king responded by sending a deputation to ascertain
Samban could find it. From that day on, each time that Samban delivered the facts of the case. They returned to the king with the story that
firewood to the temple, he found two gold coins in the same place. Umapati Sivam had told them: of the firewood donor bringing the
The disciples of Umapati Sivam collected and used Samban’s note from Siva, getting nayana diksha, vanishing, and merging with
firewood offering without ever finding out who the donor was. No the chidakasa. The king was astonished by this narrative, so much so
one ever made enquiries about where the wood was coming from. that he decided to visit the math himself to get the story first-hand.
Since this roundabout way of gaining Umapati Sivam’s attention He arrived shortly afterwards with a large entourage, including
had not produced any results, Siva Himself decided to intervene Samban’s wife, and asked Umapati Sivam to tell him directly what
because He wanted His note to be delivered. One day He made it rain had happened.
so heavily, there was flooding, as a result of which it was not possible When the king heard the story again, he refused to believe that the
for Samban to make his daily delivery of firewood. That day there was events described had actually occurred. However, he gave a chance to
no firewood available in the math, and this caused the cooking to be Umapati Sivam to prove his assertions by challenging him to grant
greatly delayed. When Umapati Sivam asked why the cooking had liberation to someone else while he was present as a witness.
been so delayed, he was told that the mysterious firewood delivery Umapati Sivam responded by saying, ‘This state can only be
had not appeared that day. This was the first time that he came to bestowed on a mature devotee’.
hear that his math had been using firewood secretly delivered each He looked around to see if anyone present was in a sufficiently
day by an anonymous donor. Curious about the person who was advanced state, but none of them had the qualifications he was looking
anonymously giving wood, he asked his devotees to intercept the for. However, as he was scanning the area for a suitable candidate,
next delivery and bring the donor to him. he noticed a large, thorny, wild eggplant (mulli) that had grown by
This order gave Samban the opportunity he had been waiting consuming the abhisheka tirtha, the water that had drained from the
for. When he was taken the next day into Umapati Sivam’s presence, lingam that Umapati Sivam had been worshipping every day.6 Seeing
after making his usual delivery, he fell at his feet and handed over its mature state, he bestowed nayana disksha on it in the same way
the note that had been written by Lord Siva. As soon as Umapati that he had with Samban. The result was the same. The bush turned
Sivam started reading the note, he went into an ecstasy. He followed to light, merged in the chidakasa, and physically disappeared.
Siva’s instructions to him and gave Samban nayana diksha, initiation
through the eyes. Samban was such an advanced devotee, as soon as
he was caught in the gaze of Umapati Sivam, he turned into light, 6
This Siva lingam that was worshipped by Umapati Sivam is at present being
merged in chidakasa and physically disappeared. On seeing this, maintained and worshipped at the Kumara Devar Madam in Vriddachalam.

Though he was astounded by the event he had witnessed, the king have all three impurities (malas) need a human Guru to realise Sivam,
was still not convinced. He felt that he had witnessed some sort of consciousness of Siva. Those devotees who are only afflicted by anava
black magic, rather than an act of liberation. and karma can reach Sivam by having Siva appear before them in a
The king announced, ‘You claim that Lord Nataraja gave you a physical form. Many of the devotees from the Periyapuranam would
palm-leaf note. Let us go and seek clarification on this matter from come into this category. Those in the third category, whose only mala
Lord Nataraja Himself.’ is anava, can get enlightenment through the power of the Self within,
Everyone then adjourned to the temple to see what Lord Nataraja without needing either a human Guru or the darshan of an external
had to say on the matter. God. Bhagavan would be a good example of someone who became
A puja was offered, and as the lighted camphor was being waved enlightened through the power of the Self alone. Since devotees who
before Lord Nataraja, both Samban and the wild eggplant were seen to fall into the second and third category are quite rare, it is an accepted
manifest on either side of Him. On seeing this confirmation of the story tenet of Saiva Siddhanta that in the matter of liberation from bondage,
in the temple itself, all those present realised the greatness of Umapati the Guru’s power exceeds that of Siva Himself.
Sivam and sought his forgiveness. The king even granted some land to Sadhu Natanananda summarised this tradition in verses 2-8 of
Samban’s widow so that she could live out her days in comfort. his poem Atma Gita:
The story of the thorny plant (mulli) and Samban manifesting on O mind! It is the established tradition that, though he [Brahman]
either side of Siva comes from Bhagavan’s account in Letters from Sri is pure consciousness, he appears as a human being to remove
Ramanasramam. There is an alternative version of the ending in which the ignorance of devotees. God appearing, assuming the form
a rishi appears out of the thorny bush, just before it disappeared, to say of the Guru, and becoming the redeemer of his devotees, is not
that he had been cursed to be born as a mulli because of misdemeanours something new. The fact that the Lord appeared in disguise in
in a previous life. In both versions the thorn bush is liberated.7 many forms to bestow grace on the Nayanmars [the sixty-three
The liberation of Samban by Umapati Sivam illustrates an saints in the Periyapuranam] is well known to the world. Other
important tenet of Saiva Siddhanta, one that Umapati Sivam himself than by coming as a Guru, it is very difficult for Mahesa [the
most definitely agreed with. Samban asked Siva for liberation. Instead great Lord, Siva] to bestow the liberation that ends the misery
of giving it to him, Siva sent him to Umapati Sivam. Saiva Siddhanta of birth. The state of Siva that comes only through the eye
teaches that the human Guru is essential for liberation in most cases, of jnana [jnana drishti] is very difficult to attain without the
even going so far as to say that the Guru can liberate certain categories Guru’s glance of grace.8
of devotees that Siva Himself cannot.
Muruganar also subscribed to the Saiva Siddhanta view on this
In the Saiva Siddhanta tradition there are three impurities – anava
point. In an essay entitled ‘Sri Ramana’ that appeared in appendix
(ego), karma and maya (illusion) – that prevent devotees from attaining
six of volume nine of Sri Ramana Jnana Bodham, he wrote about
the ultimate goal, oneness with the consciousness of Siva. Those who Bhagavan not needing an external Guru in the following words: ‘As a
result of tapas performed in the past, only a little of the anava impurity
7
Bhagavan did accept that plants could realise the Self. In Sri Ramana Reminiscences, was left over, and this was as thin as the wing of a fly.’ 
p. 61, G. V. Subbaramayya records Bhagavan as saying that there might be
exceptional cases of even animals and plants attaining Self-realisation. This was
recorded before Lakshmi’s liberation. 8
Natanananda, Sadhu, Sri Ramana Darsanam, p. 118.

MOUNTAIN PATH
Cold Feet
Part Two
The possible influence of Paul Brunton on Carl Jung. The writings

of Jung and their importance today in removing obstacles and doubts
about the spiritual path.
Wasyl Nimenko
A lthough Paul Brunton extolled Sri Ramana in his 1934

book A Search in Secret India,1 which had major impact on many
readers, I will argue that Brunton may well have had also a strong
influence in ensuring that Jung did not visit Sri Ramana. In the
interim between 1934 and 1937 when Jung visited India, Brunton
had fallen out with Sri Ramanasramam, due most likely to a serious
disagreement with Swami Niranjanananda, the younger brother of Sri
Ramana and administrator of the ashram. In Talks with Sri Ramana
Maharshi, Sri Ramana was asked about someone who had clearly
made unfavourable comments about either himself or the ashram.
Brunton had been at Sri Ramanasramam earlier in 1936.
1
Brunton, Paul, A Search in Secret India . London: Rider & Co., 1934.
Wasyl Nimenko is a psychotherapist specialising in psychological trauma

and has worked with the homeless, the armed forces and asylum seekers
who were victims of torture.
68 Carl Jung October - December 2010 69

MOUNTAIN PATH COLD FEET
“27th September 1936. A certain devotee asked about some If Brunton made the disagreeable statements in 1936 it appears
disagreeable statements made by a certain man well known to Maharshi. he had terminated his relationship with Sri Ramana, and it could
“He said, ‘I permit him to do so. I have permitted him already. Let be argued that this may have discouraged Jung from visiting him.
him do so even more. Let others follow suit. Only let them leave me Jung met Brunton in early 1937 along with Brunton’s new guru
alone. If because of these reports no one comes to me, I shall consider V. Subrahmanya Iyer. But instead of Jung meeting Ramana when
it a great service done to me. Moreover, if he cares to publish books he visited India the following year, as he was encouraged to do by
containing scandals of me, and if he makes money by their sale, it Heinrich Zimmer, Jung visited Brunton’s new guru, Iyer who was the
is really good. Such books will sell even more quickly and in larger guru of the Maharajah of Mysore. After returning from India, Jung
numbers than the others. Look at Miss Mayo’s book. Why should continued to write to Iyer who had a similar intellectual approach
he not also do it? He is doing me a very good turn.’ Saying so, he which Jung probably favoured over the apparently simple but subtle,
laughed.”2 Sri Ramana was unaffected by the negative publicity. direct approach of Sri Ramana. It is perhaps with a wry smile we read
In another of his books The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga, published that Jung in his autobiography Memories, Dreams and Reflections made
in1941, Brunton complains that he didn’t get the guidance he wanted an observation that given the choice between going to heaven and
from Sri Ramana. He also seemed very disgruntled with everything talking about it, mostly people would prefer to talk about it.
to do with Sri Ramana and Sri Ramanasramam. Paul Brunton is another guru whom Anthony Storr describes. If
“But during my last two visits to India it had become painfully Brunton’s predicament with Sri Ramana was the main cause of Jung
evident that the institution known as the Ashram which had grown not meeting Sri Ramana then his mental state is also worth looking
around him during the past few years, and over which his ascetic at to see how he might have influenced Jung. Brunton’s real name
indifference to the world rendered him temperamentally disinclined was Raphael Hurst and Storr describes him as follows.
to exercise the slightest control, could only greatly hinder and not help “Brunton exhibited many of the traits and forms of behaviour
my own struggles to attain the highest goal, so I had no alternative characteristic of gurus. He was secretive about his origins and revealed
but to bid it an abrupt and final farewell.”3
nothing of his personal life in any of his books. If one claims, as he
However there was a major shift in his perceptions in 1936, when he
did to have had many previous lives and to have come to earth from
returned to the ashram and it is very likely that he made the disagreeable
another planet, the less that is known about the actual circumstances
statements which Sri Ramana found so amusing. Jeffery Masson describes
of one’s birth and childhood the better. Brunton’s claim to wisdom
how Brunton spoke with Indian journalists about Sri Ramana.
largely rested upon memories derived from his previous incarnations
“What exactly happened between P.B., the Maharshi and the
and upon his assertion that higher beings residing in other parts of
Maharshi’s brother is not known. But whatever it was evidently P.B.
the universe had passed on their esoteric knowledge to him.”5
gave interviews in the Indian papers that the brother did not find
Uncharacteristically for a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Storr
satisfactory and it soured the relationship between all three men.”4
shows an astonishing deliberate lack of interest in the circumstances of
Brunton’s birth and also his childhood, which he doesn’t need to explain.
2
Venkataramiah, M. (ed.), Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi. 1996. § 250, pp.204-5. Essentially, Storr was rather bluntly saying that there are some things best
3
Brunton, Paul,The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga. London: Rider & co.,1969; first
published 1941. pp.16-18.
left unsaid. He is characteristically perceptive about Brunton’s thinking.
4
Masson, Jeffrey, My Father’s Guru: A Journey through Spirituality and Disillusion
New York: Addison-Wesley, 1993, p.25. Storr, Anthony, Feet of Clay. A study of Gurus. HarperCollins Publishers,1996. p.163.
5

“Although Brunton narcissistically claimed that he was particularly Storr once again shows humane insight into Brunton in the closing
spiritually advanced, and that he possessed an aura of such strength words of his chapter on Brunton’s mental state.
that it protected him against evil assaults, he was also frightened of “The diagnosis of mental illness should not be made on the evidence
insanity. However, his paranoid delusions of persecution served to of beliefs alone, however eccentric they may appear. I have tried to
explain how it was that such a gifted and important person had not demonstrate that a new belief system whether it is considered delusional
been even more successful, and thus preserved his self esteem.”6 or not, is an attempt at solving problems. Striving to make sense of strange
Masson was much more critical about Brunton’s claim to know mental experiences is only one example of the universal human desire to
Sanskrit because Masson not only had a PhD in Sanskrit from Harvard bring order to chaos.”8
but he was also professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto. In the 1930s Brunton had a major influence in the West about Eastern
Brunton lived in his parent’s household for some considerable time. spirituality and his A Search in Secret India inspired many to visit Sri
“The more I learned about India, the more I realised how little Ramana. Among them was Alan Chadwick who became a stalwart in
P.B actually knew. This began to enrage me. I felt I had been taken the ashram from the mid 1930s. Today, his books continue to inspire
in, duped. It was all a trick. P.B knew no Sanskrit, knew no texts, many on the spiritual path. It would indeed be ironic if this very same
invented things, lied, cheated and stole, intellectually speaking. How author had in some way helped dissuade Jung from seeing Sri Ramana.
could I have been so stupid? In spirit, P.B might have been like the A curious fact in respect to Brunton which has never been properly
Indian sages he idolised. His ideas may have been similar to theirs. explained is the extensive use he made of Bhagavan’s teachings without
But he did not really represent any tradition, any body of knowledge, specific acknowledgment.9 We also have yet to read a comprehensive
any other person, in fact anything at all. He was just a hodgepodge biography of Brunton. His son Kenneth Hurst did write a hagiography
of misread and misunderstood ideas from an ancient culture he did a few years after his demise but the facts were highly selective and
not know or understand. In this sense he was a phony, a charlatan, a raised more questions in a reader’s mind than it answered.
mountebank, an imposter, a quack. I couldn’t find enough words to Returning to the question of Jung we should be aware that what Jung
describe my disappointment.”7 wrote about Sri Ramana in his chapter The Holy Men of India was originally
I would temper the above observations of an author who has used as an introduction to Zimmer’s book The Way to ‘The Self’ 10 and this
coloured his memoir with the bitter animus of one whose childhood was heavily edited before it was used as the introduction to The Spiritual
dreams were shattered when he realised his mentor had feet of clay. Teachings of Ramana Maharshi.11 This was almost certainly edited because
We need to view this disillusionment with some degree of equability. certain people who were really aware of Sri Ramana’s authenticity could
Brunton was primarily interested in the ability of yoga and other obviously see that what Jung wrote about Sri Ramana was unacceptable
traditional disciplines in the transformation of consciousness and because Jung’s hesitancy seemed uncharacteristically ambivalent.
whether he knew Sanskrit and understood the intricacy of Hindu
dharma is, in the end, beside the point. The proof, as they say, is in the 8
Feet of Clay. A study of Gurus, op.cit., p.171.
pudding and one can observe in the later photographs of Brunton and 9
Chadwick, A.W., A Sadhu’s Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi, 1994, p.16. See
in his later jottings, an uncommon degree of sensitivity and sagacity. also the website http://www.members.shaw.ca/jgfriesen/index.html
10
Zimmer, Heinrich, Der Weg Zum Selbst: The Way to ‘The Self’ Lehre und Leben des
indischen heiligen Shri Ramana Maharshi aus Tiruvannamalai. Zurich: Rascher, 1954.
6
Ibid., p.165. 11
Maharshi, Ramana, The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi. Boston:
7
My Father’s Guru: A Journey through Spirituality and Disillusion, op.cit.,p.160. Shambhala, 1988.

There is compelling evidence shown in Part One, which shows leave you wondering if Shakespeare’s perception of people might be
there were several powerful forces influencing Jung at that time of appropriate here, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” This
his visit to India which discouraged him from visiting Sri Ramana means that one can insist so passionately about something being true
and explained his apparent ambivalence in The Holy Men of India. that people suspect the opposite of what you are saying. That has
Jung’s understanding of the Self was only from an intellectual always been my suspicion about Jung. My conclusion is that Jung
stance not from one of experiencing the atman ‘the Self ’ through regrettably got cold feet, which might have been appropriate, but
existence-consciousness-bliss, (Sat Chit Ananda). Jung borrowed ideas which sadly resulted in him missing a golden opportunity.
from the East about the atman ‘the Self ’ but when he was faced with Jung never doubted Sri Ramana’s authenticity but he did question his
the task of meeting Sri Ramana, the person known and honoured as uniqueness. Time has shown Jung to be quite wrong in this. The truth
an authentic guru, he studiously avoided meeting him. is that they were both important. Each served a purpose in the spiritual
He describes Sri Ramana being absorbed in ‘the Self’ but admits to development of humanity. Jung was a psychiatrist who behaved like a
not understanding Sri Ramana’s Self-realisation or what he actually prophet and a guru. He made advantageous use of his bouts of psychotic
did do. He also admits that his field of psychology is not competent illness to deepen his experience and make valuable contributions to
in understanding the Eastern insight of the atman ‘the self ’. This psychology. Whatever the defects of his essay, he did bring attention to Sri
begs the question, ‘Why exactly is Jung who is a psychologist being Ramana, which may turn out to be much more important than we realise.
so critical?’ When we look at his later correspondence, it proves that Lastly, in comparing the two the final proof lies in simply looking
Jung concealed the truth about why he didn’t meet Sri Ramana and at how the two men were when their lives ended. Did they die happy?
why his description of Ramana vacillated in the Holy Men of India. Despite the excruciating pain of the sarcoma Sri Ramana left this
In later correspondence, Jung is for the first time, actually honest world serene. There were tears in his eyes of joy and appreciation
and confesses that he was clearly aware of the profound danger he as his devotees chanted ‘Arunachala Siva’. But it seems rather tragic
would be in if he delved further into the East. It is only logical to that Jung did not appear to have found that elixir, the permanent
extrapolate on this that the person who represented the gravest risk
transformative happiness. This is most clearly seen in Claire Dunne’s
to Jung of losing his roots again, was the person he wrote the most
compassionate account of Jung’s life. In his last few days, Marie-Louise
about in the East and that was Sri Ramana.
von Franz visited Jung and confirmed that he was still having visions.
“Eastern philosophy fills a psychic lacuna in us but without
“When I last saw him he had a vision. ‘I see enormous stretches
answering the problems posed by Christianity. Since I am neither an
devastated, enormous stretches of the earth. But thank God it’s not
Indian nor a Chinese, I shall probably have to rest content with my
the whole planet.’”14
European presuppositions, otherwise I would be in danger of losing my
His final mental state and the path he died travelling on are also
roots for a second time. This is something I would rather not risk, for I
know the price one has to pay to restore continuity that has been lost.”12 penetratingly described by someone else who knew him at that time.
Many of Jung’s comments about why he didn’t visit Sri Ramana Miguel Serrano, a Chilean writer who formed a friendship late in
seem so uncharacteristically overcritical and unbalanced that they Jung’s life, commented:
“Up until the last moment Jung still seemed to be searching.
12
Letter to Countess Elizabeth Klinckowstroem L2, p.121 C.G Letters Volume 2,
Perhaps his was the road of the magician who, unlike the saint, did
selected and edited by Gerhard Adler in collaboration with Aneila Jaffe. Bollingen
Series: Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953. 14
Dunne, Claire, Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul. Continuum, 2000. p.203.

MOUNTAIN PATH
not yearn for fusion or for peace of God, but preferred the eternal
highway with all its unhappiness.”15
Both Jung and Sri Ramana were pioneers who revivified ancient
The Antipode of
teachings that had been either lost or corrupted. Both rediscovered in
their own inimitable ways treasures which could heal and guide us.
Fundamental to Jung’s Analytical Psychology is the paradigm of the
four functions. Jung exposed the significance of the four elements in the
oldest form of psychology, namely astrology: air, earth, fire and water.
He reinvigorated this typological with the four associative functions
Arunachala
of thinking, feeling, sensing intuition, as well as extroversion and
introversion. He coined many expressions such as ‘a complex’ and ‘the
shadow’. He fathered a new science which has opened, through dream
psychology and research into astrology and alchemy, new avenues in
the eternal quest for self-knowledge. Jung arrived on the scene when Mithin Aachi
the myths of the gods were no longer given credence and the Western
soul was dying from the insidious power of disbelief and cynicism.
One could say he was a new Parsifal in search of the Holy Grail. The
final success was not in his hands but he did not die wondering for he What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to
was a magus who dedicated his heart and mind to the eternal search. find out, which is its exact opposite. — Bertrand Russell
Sri Ramana on the other hand, through fearless discrimination
and detachment faced and overcame death. He recharged the noble
tradition of Advaita Vedanta with a razor-sharp intellect free of all pre-
conceptions and a single-pointed devotion. It is more than likely that
A ntipode is a fascinating word. It is derived from the Greek word
antipodes which means ‘opposite the feet’. It was used by many
Greek historians including Plato and Aristotle. Ancient legends
in the future Sri Ramana’s legacy will yield a far greater understanding tell us how the primitive civilizations used to talk about Antipodal
of the nature of the ‘Self ’ than we have at this time. Meanwhile many civilizations as those which were filled with people who had their ‘feet
benefit from absorbing his teaching and practising his method of against our feet’. Though the knowledge of the Earth being a sphere
Self-enquiry. Many also benefit from visiting his shrine. was far from known, ancient legends and the word antipode persisted
What would have transpired if Sri Ramana and Carl Jung had met through time. Modern mathematics talks to us about the ‘Antipodal
remains in the realm of speculation but this we do know that even Point’. It means a point on a sphere which is exactly opposite to the
though their paths did not cross, the impact of India and the invisible reference point and a line drawn through both these points forms
threads of thought which permeate India profoundly influenced Jung the true diameter. Geographically antipode means a piece of Earth’s
and the development of his insights into human consciousness.  surface terrestrial/under the ocean, which is directly on the opposite
15
Serrano, Miguel, Jung and Hermann Hesse: A record of two friendships. Taylor Dr Mithin Aachi is an orthopaedic surgeon who practises in Hyderabad.
Francis Books Limited. p.112. He is the author of a novel, The Storyteller. His website is aachimithin.com

MOUNTAIN PATH THE ANTIPODE OF ARUNACHALA
point of the Earth. We see by such definitions that Spain and New never discuss the matter with Bhagavan, as it was not until many years
Zealand islands are correct antipodes to each other and so are parts after his passing that I had any indication that anything of this sort was
of China and parts of South America. happening in those parts. I had many years ago travelled extensively
A point on Earth has an exact antipode. The same can be said of in that country, but had never seen anything which would lead me to
Arunachala Hill. think that there might be important spiritual centers there.”1
Every devotee knowledgeable about literature dealing with Though Major Chadwick never got a chance to verify the true
Bhagavan Ramana knows about the fact that Ramana was sure that location of the Antipode of Arunachala, there was a renewed interest
Arunachala was the North Pole of the spiritual axis of the Earth and in Ramana devotees about this matter in the coming years and the
a corresponding Hill should be present on the other side of the Earth interest centered around the Machu Picchu area in Peru taking into
which symbolized the South Pole. This hill too, like Arunachala account its history of Goddess worship.
carried the same spiritual power. We come to know of this through It was argued that Arunachala is Shiva, the antipode should
Major Chadwick’s chronicles A Sadhu’s Reminiscences. In other words represent the Mother Goddess. Calculations by proponents of this
Bhagavan referred to the antipode of Arunachala and was quite sure theory took into account that the Earth is not a perfect sphere and
about its existence. hence the true antipodal point is difficult to determine and indication
This following extract from Major Chadwick’s chronicles illustrates of a centre’s spiritual power was enough to reasonably point out that
this conviction of Bhagavan. Machu Picchu is the antipode of Arunachala. It was also argued that
“He used to say that Arunachala was the top of the spiritual axis of Bhagavan was skeptical when the correct antipode was shown to be
the earth. ‘There must,’ he said, ‘be another mountain corresponding to under the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru and that he believed
Arunachala at exactly the opposite side of the globe, the corresponding that a land based Hill was in existence somewhere.
pole of the axis.’ So certain was he of this that one evening he made me Taking the second objection into account first, nowhere has
fetch an atlas and see if this was not correct. I found, according to the Chadwick said that Bhagavan has opposed the idea that the Antipode
atlas, the exact opposite point came in the sea about a hundred miles could be a Hill under the ocean surface.
off the coast of Peru. He seemed doubtful about this. I pointed out “I pointed out that there might be some island at this spot or a
that there might be some island at this spot or a mountain under the mountain under the sea”2
sea. It was not until some years after Bhagavan’s passing that a visiting The first assertion that Machu Picchu could be the antipode is
Englishman had a tale of a spot, supposed to be a great secret-power refuted by the fact that it is nearly 1500 kilometers away from the
centre, in the Andes somewhere in this latitude. Later I found that true calculated antipodal point of Arunachala which falls under the
though a centre had certainly been started, it had failed. Since then ocean floor and hence cannot be the true antipode.
I have been told of another person who is practising meditation in Doing further research into this I found out that the Arunachala
solitude in the region of the Andes in Ecuador. So it does appear as Hill peak has the coordinates of 12° 142 333 N, 79° 032 293 E.
though there were some strange attraction about that part of the globe. If the coordinates (longitude and latitude) of a point on the Earth’s
The earth is not an exact sphere and maps are not so accurate as all surface are (è, ö), then the coordinates of the antipodal point are
that, so we are unable to pin it down to any definite point. It is quite
possible that more is going on in that part of the world than we know 1
Chadwick, A.W., A Sadhu’s Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi, 1984, pp.27-8.
and this would fit in well with what Bhagavan said. However, I could 2
Ibid., p.28.

MOUNTAIN PATH THE ANTIPODE OF ARUNACHALA
(è ± 180°,”ö). This relation holds true whether the Earth is My description of the Hill is from the scans of the MGDS and
approximated as a perfect sphere or as a reference ellipsoid. it can vary in actuality. But I feel I have got most of the points right
By calculations the Antipode of Arunachala showed the coordinates taking the help of the scale on the side bar. It would be wonderful if
of 12° 132 123 S, 100° 552 483 W. some marine geologist can do more research in this aspect.
Any map will show that this point actually falls off the coast of Bhagavan was right. There is a mountain. Exactly on the opposite
Peru into the Pacific Ocean. pole of the Earth. This mountain lies near the Bauer Basin of the
By using modern technology like Google Earth, Global Multi Pacific Ocean thousands of meters below on the sea floor. It is very
Resolution Topography (GMRT) and Marine Geoscience Data System huge and has five peaks. It represents the Mother Goddess.
(MGDS) I was able to see a Hill/Mountain which corresponded Though it might be documented in Marine Geology, I do not
exactly to the antipodal coordinates on the ocean floor of the Pacific know if anyone has done a detailed study of this Mountain previously.
thousands of meters below! I propose to call it Karunachala ( The Hill of Grace )
It showed the Hill to be located near the Bauer Basin in the Pacific The South Pole of the spiritual axis of the Earth...the Mountain
Ocean off the coast of Peru. Ramana said does exist... the Antipode of Arunachala...
With the help of the same technology I was able to study the Hill As Arunachala represents the Infinite Pillar of Light which
further. manifested before Vishnu and Brahma, it is easy for us to imagine
The Hill seems to be almost identical to Arunachala in the terrain this pillar running through the bowels of the Earth exiting in two
scans. Bathymetry shows that the Hill rises 800 to 1000 meters locations…Arunachala and Karunachala. 
above the ocean floor. It seems to have five peaks with the second
peak from the west being the tallest. There is a huge ridge between
the third and the fourth peak. The southern face of the Mountain
had two deep valleys and a slanting fall. The North face slides down
into even ground which resembles the parikrama path of Mt Kailash.
Surprisingly the Northern face has a great Northern Bump like the
Mountain Path Subscriptions
Great Northern spur of Arunachala. The West face is wider and
slants down evenly into the north and south and the East face is ill We wish to upgrade our records of subscribers to the Mountain
defined. Mountains of various heights surround this great hill unlike Path so that in future we may inform you by email or sms if
Arunachala which seems to spring into a huge height all by itself. the subscription has expired. The subscription year is from
The ocean floor around the Hill is made of mostly basalt with traces January to December.
of glass and other minerals.The Hill does not seem to be associated with Please email bookstall@sriramanamaharshi.org to inform us of
any major volcanic activity but I could not confirm this in my research. your email address. You may quote your subscription number.
The Hill seems to occupy a land within a circuit of sixty kilometers. If you wish you may also give your cell number.
I am pretty sure that if a marine diving expedition to photograph this For those without email facilities could you please sms us with
Hill is sent it will definitely have a great resemblance to Arunachala. your subscription number at +91 9444018070
The base circumferance or girivalam appears to be about 60 km.

MOUNTAIN PATH
A Rose is Always a
Rose
A. Roy Horn (Chandrashekar)
T o fully understand the philosophy and traditional teaching of non-

duality (Advaita Vedanta), the sincere spiritual aspirant needs
to recognize the two points-of-view from which the truth can be
observed. One standpoint is the relative; the other is the Absolute
(Brahman). From the relative point-of-view, time, space, causation
and the field of multiplicity are real. This is the relative truth of an
illusory superimposition (adhyaropa) under the influence of the
mysterious and paradoxical principle called ‘maya’. The fact that
the non-dual (advaita) universe appears as the many with names
and forms, the Absolute as the relative and the Infinite as the finite,
is maya. If the spiritual aspirant is under the influence of maya and
Michael Highburger
sees multiplicity everywhere, the Vedic seers out of compassion have

Michael Highburger
A. Roy Horn has been a long-term devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi

since the late 1970s and has pilgrimaged to Sri Ramanasramam on
six occasions. He recently published Heroes, Sages and Madmen www.
HeroesSagesAndMadmen.net (ISBN:(HB) 978-1-4415-4929-7; (SB)
978-1-4415-4928).
82 2010 83
MOUNTAIN PATH A ROSE IS ALWAYS A ROSE
pointed the way out of this dilemma. Depending upon the spiritual of our births is like a rose being born as a rose instead of a tulip. No
aspirant’s maturity, one way out begins by practising appropriate matter what actions we take to convert a rose into a tulip, it will still
actions (karma) that can disentangle the spiritual aspirant from the grow up as a rose. Creation has already made its choice. It may be a
illusoriness of the apparent world. Through these appropriate ethical healthy or distorted rose – but for this lifetime, a rose is always a rose!
actions, the spiritual aspirant can begin to find harmony in the world As a further illustration, if the spiritual aspirant is not knowledgeable
and gradually quiet his or her mind. about various flower characteristics, he or she may be mistaken and treat
The ancient Vedic teachings speak of four goals, purposes or ideals the rose as if it were a tulip. But, it will still grow up as a rose! When he or
(purushartha) for success and harmony in the world and gradually she mistreats the rose as a tulip, the rose will grow up as an aberration and
quieting the mind. In the Sanskrit language, these four ideals are out of harmony with its innate nature (swarupa). In the same way, each
called dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Although these four ideals of us has a basic nature within us at birth – just like the DNA of a rose in
are integrated into one supreme goal, for the purposes of spiritual seed form. When we discover our true nature and act accordingly, we can
practice it is useful to approach the four ideals as independent and grow up in harmony with this nature. This is the truth of a flower or of
sequential. In other words, to fully realize the second ideal (artha), it our birthrights whether we are humans, roses, tulips, orchids, or oak trees.
must be built upon the wisdom gained from the first ideal (dharma) When we are in harmony with our basic nature, a feeling of
having become functionally stable in one’s daily life. To fully realize fulfillment, integrity, personal honesty, independence, completeness
the third ideal (kama), the second ideal must also be realized and and unity will be felt within each of our physical body, emotions,
functionally stable. To fully realize the fourth ideal (moksha), the third mind and spirit. When we honour the “cosmic blueprint” of our
ideal must be realized and functionally stable. And lastly, the fourth own births, a sense of self-esteem and respect for life will permeate
and final ideal is ultimately the supreme ideal, or goal (moksha). The all our actions. The garden of life is created with a unity although it
supreme goal is the end fulfillment of life as true Life and the eternal appears to contain various plants whether they are called roses, tulips,
Truth (sanatana dharma) of the true Self (atma nishta) as the primal gardenias, orchids, plumeria or oak trees. What we call planet Earth,
Existence (sat). The supreme goal is the inner Freedom from all the cultures of the East and West, the societies that make up our
mental and emotional bondage and suffering. Upon its fulfillment, nations and our individual family groups are all like interconnected
perfect inner stability and a profound quiet inner Peace and Freedom and integrated “gardens.” As human life creations, we are made of a
will reign supreme. This supreme ideal or goal of Self-Realization variety of birth opportunities, patterns of growth and displays of both
and God-Realization is the ultimate purpose of a true Life and the aberrant development and of infinite beauty and harmony.
paradoxical Mystery of our primal Existence. This fundamental Law (dharma) of our inner birth and growth
The first ideal (dharma) relates to the spiritual Law or “cosmic is the basis for all our actions (karma). If we follow this Law, we will
blueprint” of our particular births that have arisen from our prior experience a feeling of success and fulfillment within our daily lives.
circumstances. It is somewhat likened to the DNA within each cell of Disobey this Law and our actions will bring confusion and a feeling
our physical bodies. This Law of our specific births is the Law of right of non-fulfillment in life. Finding, abiding, and acting within the
and appropriate functional action (karma) in the context or the given Law of our birth sets the stage for our personal harmony and inner
circumstances of our particular life spans (prarabdha karma). It is the Peace and Happiness. This Law is necessary to quiet our minds for
Law of our human births. Our human births include our biological, meditation and the considerations of the paradoxical teaching of the
emotional, mental and inner subtle spiritual unfoldment. The Law eternal Truth. This Law and our actions set the stage for our intelligent

MOUNTAIN PATH A ROSE IS ALWAYS A ROSE
enquiry (vicharana) and the realization of the eternal Truth of the true The fourth ideal (moksha), goal or purpose in life fulfills the
Self. Remember, discovering and realizing each of our special dharma hunger of our souls. This hunger is a whole body, emotional,
is the first stage on the path to Self-Realization and God-Realization. mental and spiritual yearning for the integration, completion and
The second ideal (artha) in life is to experience the feeling ultimate transcendence of our illusory separate personalities or egos
of personal wealth, fullness and peaceful abundance. This is (ahamkara). Through this transcendence of our illusory ego, we
accomplished through the development of a harmonious connection will naturally come into communion, harmony and understanding
with life’s creative energy. This ideal brings the energy and functional with the Creating (Brahma), Sustaining (Vishnu) and Transforming
power of money into our lives. It is the glue that holds secular society (Shiva) aspects of true Life. The third aspect, or the principle of
together to maintain family and culture. It is important to note that Transformation, destroys our sense of separation from our Self.
money and power must be acquired within the context of the Law Therefore, this principle is frequently personified and referred to
of our particular births. If not acquired according to this Law, those as “God” the “Destroyer” or “Transformer” (Shiva). This ultimate
seeking wealth may become greedy and develop an unhealthy lust destruction and spiritual transformation of our illusory ego is the
for money and personal power. Maturing in this second ideal of life direct experience (anubhava) of inner Freedom (moksha) from all our
brings harmonious self-expression and personal creative power to all notions of multiplicity, limitations (upadhis) and separateness. The
our personal, family, community and cultural activities. For centuries, other three ideals (dharma, artha, and kama) all lead to this fourth
the great sages (rishis) have taught that, of all the kinds of wealth in supreme ideal as the realization of the true Self (atma sakshatkara).
life, there is none greater than the realization of spiritual Wealth, that Mature spiritual aspirants intuitively know that the first three ideals
is, the direct realization of the true Self. are temporary and ultimately illusory. The realization of the fourth ideal
The third ideal (kama), goal or purpose in life is to discover within is permanent, absolute and transcendental. It is beyond all notions and
us the feeling of aesthetic desires associated with beauty, harmony and concepts of our mind no matter how subtle or profound. Remember,
graciousness. The fulfillment of our aesthetic desires are awakened in truth, all ideals goals and purposes are for our limited mind only—
when we are in harmony with our passionate and sensual cycles of that is, for the purpose of intelligent, appropriate and practical spiritual
growth and creative expression. This feeling of fulfillment is itself practice (sadhana). If we don’t use practical spiritual principles, concepts,
the feeling of wealth for sensitive and artistic types of spiritual notions and ideas wisely during our practices, we will bind ourselves
aspirants. In the personal actions of a sensitive spiritual aspirant, the further to our spurious and illusory egos. If we try to discard spiritual
feeling of wealth manifests as a calling to unselfish service among principles, concepts, notions and ideas prematurely, we could fall into
all living beings. Once again, our actions to achieve this ideal of life a mental trap of merely quoting empty statements and assertions with
must be guided by the Law of our births. It also must be built upon no real understanding. Remember, the great sages (maha rishis) have
a foundation of functional wealth in society by being in harmony pointed to this undefinable Self-Realization. We are ‘That’ (tattvamasi)
with our society’s economic rules for acquiring and managing money, which is the eternal Truth, the Great Mystery, Natural Absorption
wealth and other material things needed to function in the world. If (sahaja samadhi), No-mind (nirvana), and the ever-present true Self
not so guided, actions will lead to physical, sensual, and emotional (atma nishta). It is ultimately a Mystery and great Paradox beyond all
degeneration and dysfunction. Once again, the wise sages throughout words, ideals, notions, concepts, goals and purposes.
history have taught us that of all the kinds of desires in life, there is

none greater than Self-Realization as the supreme ideal.

Hazrat Babajan
A Sufi Saint
John Maynard
H azrat Babajan’s tomb, locating the mortal remains of her elusive

but elevated life, is now a small white marble structure situated
in a busy area, Char Bavadi, within the limits of the cantonment in
Pune. In the 1970’s it was darker in tone, but as vibrant with her life
and blessing as the teeming street upon which she used to live in later
life; the neem tree still spreads a living parabola above, giving welcome
shade. She is regarded as the second Islamic manifestation of divinity
within recent history in the female form, after Rabia of Basrah.
To call Hazrat Babajan a Sufi may be a misnomer. Her tomb in Pune
is certainly located near to a Muslim area of mosques and shops, but her
exact birthplace and date is unknown. Her tomb is draped every day
with the green shawls, as is the custom with Muslim saints. She chose her
“seat” at this locale in Pune in around 1905. She left no known lineage,
Hazrat Babajan nor did she align herself with any particular Sufi group or teaching, she
John Maynard is the curator of the photographic collection in the Ashram
Archives building.
2010 89
MOUNTAIN PATH HAZRAT BABAJAN
left no songs of enlightenment, or any of the more usually preserved To be in this sacred place and stay for some hours is to be transported
accoutrements of well-known saints of all callings; her life itself was the into the very living Presence. A custom here is that the devotee, upon
teaching, a grand teaching by example, not through words. entry, is brushed on the back with a peacock feather bundle before
Anyone having read the biographies of Meher Baba of Ahmednagar prayer or circumambulation of the tomb. This mirrors the sensation
will be familiar both with her name and the account of a mystical kiss of the descent of divine grace into the human body, as well as being a
upon his forehead while still a teenaged boy in Pune, merging him purificatory gesture. After this short initiation one is left to meditate,
immediately in samadhi. Dr Abdul Ghani Munsiff writes: pray or walk in silence. The Muslim caretakers within the shrine are
“According to the Indian spiritual master Meher Baba, Babajan silent, caring and reverential; all types including fakirs are seen to come
gave him God Realization through a kiss on the forehead in January and go freely and to be affected by the natural silent presence spreading
1914 when he was 19 years old on his way home from college in through the area, despite the non-stop traffic on the threshold.
Pune. After this, he said that he experienced being in bliss for nine Hazrat Babajan was a Pathan born to an aristocratic family in the
months, after which he was helped to return to normal consciousness Baluchistan border area of Afghanistan, close to Quetta. Her maiden
by a second sadguru, Upasni Maharaj of Sakori. Meher Baba said that name was Gul-rukh (“rose-faced”). Before the age of ten she became a
Babajan was one of the five Perfect Masters of her time.” 1 hafiz-i-Qu’ran., one who has memorized all the verses of the Qu’ran. 2
This occurrence indirectly connected her with Sai Baba of Shirdi, She was also familiar with Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages as well
the exact religion of whom is also in dispute by parties interested in as her native Pushtoo. As is the case with many saints she developed
such discursive wandering. It was Sai Baba who sent Meher Baba on mystical tendencies at an early age and solitude and prayer took their
to Upasni Maharaj; it was he who brought Meher Baba back to earthly place above play. Pathan girls were fully expected to marry upon reaching
consciousness. That she called the other masters of this era such as Baba maturity, an idea which was abhorrent to Gul-rukh. She somehow
Tajuddin her “Children” showed her high spiritual status. Other than managed to escape from her family home before matrimony and
this we have little information besides the source of the quoted original journeyed towards Rawalpindi via Peshawar. It should be remembered
biographical work in Marathi of Dr Abdul Ghani Munsiff, a recognized that this area, the Khyber Pass, even now, is a remote wilderness; in those
authority on Sufi genealogy and history in his time, and a contemporary times it was populated by bandits who were known to capture vulnerable
and devotee of Meher Baba. He visited Hazrat Babajan regularly. travellers as slaves for resale. That she reached Rawalpindi unscathed at
I revisited her tomb in April 2009 while making a pilgrimage the age of eighteen must be seen as an act of grace.
through Maharashtra to Pandharpur. The kerb side tomb is now clad Here Gul-rukh led an ascetic life for some years and later met
in soft white marble, the Neem tree beneath which she lived has since and was initiated by an unnamed Hindu saint; she then went into
died, but the stump remains within the humble edifice. The road is seclusion in the nearby mountains, and later journeyed to Multan.
now a non-stop traffic thoroughfare. I had almost forgotten this place, Of this period, her chief biographer Dr Abdul Ghani writes:
but whilst staying in the Sai Baba ashram in Shirdi a strong invitation “It was in Multan, when Gul-rukh was 37 years of age that she
came somehow, ‘via the ether’, to revisit her shrine and this was to contacted a Muslim Saint — a Majzoob or one immersed in Divinity
become one of the high points of the whole Maharashtrian journey.
2
The Qur’an is divided into 114 chapters, containing 6,236 verses (comprising
1
Hazrat Babajan of Poona — an article by Dr Abdul Ghani Munsiff — originally
some 80,000 words or 330,000 individual characters) — approximately the size
published in the Meher Baba Journal, 1938-1942; reprinted in The Awakener,
of the New Testament.
(New York 1961). pp.12-17, 20-22.

who put an end to her spiritual struggle by giving her God-Realization. some local orthodoxy in North India who had her sentenced to be
Gul-rukh once again wends her way to Rawalpindi, and there she buried alive. This heinous act was performed with the help of locally
is spiritually drawn to the same Hindu saint responsible for her first stationed Baluchi troops. It is further testament to both her high
initiation. The Saint helps her to come down from the super-conscious spiritual state and her robust Pathan constitution that she somehow
state of God-Realization to the normal consciousness of a personal survived this ordeal!
god. In the language of Sufis, the super-conscious state is called In 1900 she arrived back in Bombay for the second time and made
Mushahida and the return to normal consciousness is called Irfan.”3 her humble home in Choonna Bhatti near Byculla; traveling all over
There is traced out here, between the lines of her biography, the initial the teeming city and visiting local Sufi masters such as Hazrat Maulana
stage of God realization followed by a long stabilization process, in which Sahib of Bandra and Hazrat Baba Abdur-Rahman of Dongri, both
the Sufi, Saint or Yogi, is re-enabled to live in the world and even teach if of whom she referred to as ‘My Children’ despite their fame. She is
this mode is within their prarabhda karma after Self realization. In Sufi known to have travelled to Mecca twice and possibly to Medina in
terminology these two states are named fana and baqa. (We see these this period, contributing to the baraka 6 of these sacred sites, and
‘stages’ clearly in Sri Ramana Maharshi’s own life, well documented by returned to Bombay between 1905 -1907.
Kunju Swami in The Mountain Path, July 1979, page 154; Ramana It was Pune to which she finally came, and found her ‘seat’ after
Maharshi was at pains to point out that the realization of Self is the what would be a full lifetime for most. She settled beneath a neem tree
same, only the outer reflection changes). Gul-rukh or Hazrat4 Babajan in the cantonment fringe after a few more years of local itinerancy.
as she should now be called is said to have been aged sixty-five when Dr Ghani again gives us a vivid first-hand account of her life:
the final refinement of the baqa stage occurred.5 Although shabbily dressed, there was something very magnetic in
To the so-called neo-advaitin or new-age seeker of the instant ‘you her personality, very unusual in the street mendicant that she looked,
don’t need to do anything as you’re already enlightened’ variety this so that no passerby could resist giving her a second glance. She was
may all seem quite unnecessary but this re-balancing time period of seldom seen moving about or sitting anywhere all alone. There were
some years is seen to have been a normal requisite since antiquity. always a few people loitering round eyeing her curiously or sitting
Gul-rukh then journeyed throughout northern India, possibly with her smoking bidis (Indian cigarettes). Her bodily requirements
including the Calcutta of Ramakrishna’s times, and made her first trip were very few, and she ate very sparingly at long intervals. She was very
south as far as Bombay, after which she returned to the Punjab. It was fond of tea, which was offered her very frequently by visitors. Whoever
here that an incident occurred that was to have a positive affect on caught her glance as she walked the streets could not but halt or stand
her later life in Pune. As one possessed of God she would occasionally up reverentially until she passed by. The tea-shop wallas and fruit sellers
still utter ‘an’al haqq’, ‘ I am the Truth’, or ‘I am God’, in moments would expectantly invite her to help herself to anything she liked; if
of ecstasy. She was overheard making this blasphemous utterance by perchance she condescended to accept anything; that was deemed a
great honour and an auspicious token of good business for the day. 7
3
Munsiff, Dr. Abdul Ghani, op.cit.
4
Hazrat: Hadrat, Hazrat or Hazret is an reverential Arabic title used to honour a
person. The literal translation of Hazrat means ‘Great Presence’. 6
Baraka, in Arabic, Islam and Arab-influenced languages such as Swahili, Urdu,
5
Shepherd, Kevin R.D., A Sufi Matriarch-Hazrat Babajan, Anthropographia Persian, Turkish, meaning spiritual wisdom and blessing transmitted from God;
Publications, Cambridge, 1 st Ed. 1986, p.75, who sourced this from or in a Sufi context, ‘breath of life’.
Purdom,C.B.,The God-Man, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1964, p.18. 7

Paul Brunton described his spontaneous feeling of reverence for in stature, firm and agile in gait, back slightly bent with rounded
her in one of his meetings with her, near the end of her life: shoulders, skin fair and sun-burnt, face broad and heavily wrinkled,
“Those eyes puzzle me. They seem to be quite uncomprehending, high cheek bones, liquid blue eyes possessing great depths, head
entirely vacant. She silently grips my hand for three of four minutes covered with a silvery crown of thick white hair hanging loose to the
and continues to look blankly into my own eyes. I receive the feeling shoulders, deep sonorous voice, all conspired to make her personality
that her gaze penetrates me…Respect rises unbidden within me. very unique and unworldly. Her attire was simple, consisting of a long
I find that the contact has diverted my normal thought currents and apron extending below the knees, a pajama narrowed round the legs,
raised up an inexplicable sense of that element of mystery which and a linen scarf thrown carelessly round the shoulders. She always
surrounds our earthly lives...”8 went about bare-headed; the luxuriant crop of white hair—never oiled
Her chosen but squalid area underwent a positive metamorphosis or groomed—was for all practical purposes a headdress in itself.” 9
during the first few years of her arrival. It had been the hang-out for “…But the matriarch gave no formal teaching, no weighty
drunkards, opium smokers and hemp users, a place shunned by the discourses. Visitors reportedly felt the sheer impact of her presence,
respectable after dark, but after Babajan’s arrival the area became which in many cases exerted a transforming influence.”10
slowly transformed. Crowds began to gather around her; Muslims She lived open to the elements, within a minimalist self-constructed
and Hindus, all types of people, from the merely curious to those and flimsy shelter. Numerous miracles were attributed to her and she
seriously seeking knowledge, sought her out and questioned her, or referred to all as Bacha or Babu, child or baby. Babajan possessed a
were merely satisfied to sit in her presence. Incense burned and the unique method of healing the sick. She would hold the affected limb
crowds impeded the traffic in this cantonment area. The squalid slum of the patient between her fingers and give a few jerks, all the while
area became electrified in both senses; tea shops sprang up for the muttering that the ‘child’ was tormented by goliyan (lit. small round
constant throng of visitors. pellets) meaning samskaras or amal and order the entity to quit. Dr
In 1914 the Baluchi Regiment arrived in Pune on their way to Ghani stated that he witnessed numerous instant cures through her
fight in the Dardanelles against the Turks. Seated as she was near healing method.
the Cantonment area they must have seen and recognized her as the Once a local well-to-do businessman came to Babajan to pay his
heretical old woman they had previously buried alive hundreds of respects. He offered to take her to a local tea stall and buy her tea.
miles away to the North. Recognizing this as the miracle that it was, When she told him she would pay he proudly jingled the change in
and begging her forgiveness, they now became her resolute guardians, his pockets to demonstrate his own affluence. They proceeded to the
bringing their Pathan sepoy brethren to the area also, where she now hotel he had suggested, drank tea, but when the pretentious visitor
became their patron saint and they her private voluntary bodyguard. went to pay he discovered he no longer had any change in his pocket
She was never seen to sleep in the normal sense. Again Dr Ghani gives at all. Others were watching and he felt the sting of humiliation. He
us a first hand account of her appearance at this time: returned to Babajan and explained the problem. She said, “A little
“When Babajan first came to Poona, people surmised her age to while ago you had a good amount of change in your pockets.” She
be not less than 90 years and thereafter even 30 years added to her
life in the city wrought no material changes in her personality. Short 9
10
Shepherd, Kevin R.D., A Sufi Matriarch-Hazrat Babajan, Anthropographia
8
Brunton, Paul, A Search in Secret India, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. USA, 1935, pp. 62-65. Publications, Cambridge, 1st Ed. 1986, p.51.

then paid the bill herself with the alms money she had collected. lack? And still you perpetrate all these atrocities on them. What have
Back at the neem tree the now subdued visitor discovered his missing I done to merit all this?” When questioned about these unintelligible
change intact in his pocket. She was well-known for saving many mutterings Meher Baba explained to Dr Ghani:
in a disastrous fire which struck a movie-house some twenty miles “…Babajan was never married and had no children. By children,
away; she had shouted suddenly, “There is fire, there is fire! Doors she evidently meant the Saints of the time (Awliyae-waqt) who
are locked, people are burning! Oh you fire, be extinguished!”11 It is are misunderstood, vilified and persecuted by the churches of all
said that many escaped, the doors having suddenly released allowing denominations, unmindful of the circumstances of which they are the
most people out of the over-crowded hall. outcome. Babajan was equally concerned with the enlightened and the
Once a thief wanted to rob a costly shawl that had been presented ignorant, and hence her reference to feeding and clothing the latter.
to Babajan whilst she apparently slept. He had succeeded in removing She was as much for the material well-being of the world at large, as
most of the material but a part was still trapped under her body. Babajan for the spirituality of the godly few whom she called her children.”14
raised herself slightly so that the thief might achieve his aim. A devotee As to the “Vermin” Meher Baba explained:
from Bombay had presented her with a pair of gold bangles. Again a “Annihilation of all Amals,15 good and bad, means Najat (salvation);
thief came and removed them; he ripped them from her wrists so sharply and Babajan, being God-realized, was much above the state of
that she was left bleeding. Those around raised the alarm and the thief salvation. She not only had no Amal (actions) to account for, but
was promptly caught. Babajan asked the police to arrest those making was in a position to destroy the Amal of others. The physical body
the fuss about the theft and allowed the thief to leave unpunished. of a Saint like Babajan, when working on the earthly plane after
“It was observed that if anyone asked Babajan for material benefit Realization, becomes the focal point to which myriads and myriads
(rather than the alleviation of suffering), she was liable to pick up of Amals of the universe get attracted; and getting purified in the
a stick that she kept by her side and adopt a threatening attitude… furnace of Divinity, i.e., the body of the Saint, they go out again into
There were other occasions when the cause of Babajan’s angry moods the universe as spiritual Amals…Likewise perfect Saints like Babajan
of jalal12 were not so obvious. It may have been some attitude or habit give out more spiritual Amals to the world than what they destroy.
in those around her…When in a mood of jalal she would rise from Hence it is that living Saints are a blessing and mercy to the world,
the ground with flashing eyes and her stick in hand, the sepoys would whether one knows it or not.” This condition (halat) in Saints is the
run from the spot; even the strongest men in this group would not aspect of Divine love and beauty (Shan-e-jamal).”16
stay their ground.”13 Babajan’s status in the hierarchy of Islamic saints is that of Qutub,
Thus to the casual onlooker she could appear as if mad. She made literally meaning a peg or pin. A Qutub functions as a hub around
constant mutterings such as: “Vermin are troubling me incessantly, which the apparent universe revolves. One returning to normal
I sweep them away, but still they keep on gathering.” And, “Why do consciousness after Self realization is said to possess Divinity and
you torment my children; nay, you even kill them. They have done Gnosis, when Divinity is uppermost he is called Majzoob; when
no wrong to you. Do I not feed you, and clothe you? What is it you Gnosis is uppermost he is Salik. She possessed both properties and
11
Kevin R. D. Shepherd, op. cit., p.64 14
12
grandeur, retribution 15
Referenced as ‘Actions’ in the same article quoted, akin to karmas.
13
Listen Humanity by D.E. Stevens, ed., Dodd, Mead & Co., 1957 pp.64-65. 16

MOUNTAIN PATH
was therefore said to be the Salik-Majzoob of the time, a storehouse
of spiritual energy to all the Saints in her era.17 Her presence remains BOOK EXCEPRT
potent to this day.
The British cantonment board knew better than to try and move
her; she was too influential. After some deliberation they constructed
a slightly more substantial shelter for her to one side; she refused to
move one inch from her chosen spot. So an awning was constructed Ramana Maharshi:
The Crown Jewel
between the two areas and she used this expanded area until her
maha-samadhi on September 21st, 1931, after some thirty-five years
in Pune alone. Said to be born between1806-1820 she had reached
of Advaita
a ripe old age in all ways.
Her funeral saw the largest procession ever witnessed in Pune. It
was attended by people of all religions and layers of society and her
tomb was erected at exactly on this spot under the neem tree. Dr
Ghani ends his article with this Sufi quotation:
“Cycles change, the worlds rotate, John Grimes
But Qutubs ne’er their seat vacate.”  This is a new publication on Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi written by
a recognised academic authority of Advaita. It is a comprehensive survey
17
Munsiff, Dr. Abdul Ghani, op.cit. of Sri Ramana’s teachings in the light of Advaita Vedanta, Epistemology,
Metaphysics, Ethics, Spiritual Practice and Liberation, the Jivanmukta
and the Sadguru. It is published by Indica Books, Varanasi. pp.320,
Rs.395. ISBN: 81-86569-95-2. www.indicabooks.com
The following is from the Preface.
Silence
Martin Wolff R amana has often been called an Advaitin’s Advaitin. He has been
praised as one of the greatest living embodiments of Advaita
Vedanta, as great as the greatest of that illustrious group. Such a wonder
Everything happens in Silence — have you heard? the world seldom sees. He has often been described as ‘an incarnation
Gentle or harsh, all is in the unsounding Word. of Advaita’. The description is an intriguing philosophical oxymoron
as the thunderous truth of Advaita boldly declares that no one has ever
Mysterious, this continual arising — even seemingly perturbed,
But Silence is always now, continually undisturbed.
been born, lived, or died, and yet it is, without doubt, an astonishingly
powerful image in conveying the profound affinity that exists between
Call it Witnessing, if you like, Brahman if you please; the teachings of Advaita and Ramana. As one passes the philosophically
But who stands mute, beyond all name, completely at ease? relevant portions of Ramana’s teachings through the lens of Advaita,

MOUNTAIN PATH RAMANA MAHARSHI : THE CROWN JEWEL OF ADVAITA
they will be seen to be in perfect accordance with the essence of Advaita’s “I see” contains a hint of this multi-valence in that it denotes both
philosophical teachings. What is all the more astonishing is that a direct vision as well as a correct understanding.
Ramana’s teachings emerged spontaneously as the fruit of his sudden Darshana, as a systematic elaboration of the truth, encompasses
Great Awakening and only subsequently, almost by accident, did he fundamental interpretations of reality more commonly known as
learn of the ancient Upanisadic and Advaitic teachings. the classical philosophical systems. In this technical sense, the term
This book is an attempt to view, to see (have darshan) the life and embraces the different streams of philosophical thought running
teachings of Bhagavan SriÏ Ramana Maharshi through the lens of the parallel to one another and which were engaged in mutual dialogue,
philosophical system (darshana) known as Advaita Vedanta. Replying discussion, debate, criticism, and counter-criticism for the past two
to a question from a visitor to Sri Ramanasramam, Ramana said: “To thousand years.
have darshan (being in the presence) of a Sage is sure to bring good Ramana was a Sage, a jnani, an embodiment of the Self, a
to you. Thousands of people pass by Tiruvannamalai in trains every momentary appearance of the nameless, formless Reality. It may
day, but few alight here and fewer still visit the ashram. About darshan appear as if he had a birth, a personality, a history, spoke, acted,
of, and association with, a Sage, the scriptures say that it is a vessel taught – all the raw material which informs a biography and which
that enables you to cross the vast ocean of birth and death (samsara). comprise all that ordinary people can and do perceive with their mind
What more benefit do you want?” and senses – but know that all this is but a tale that a mind that is
Not only does the word ‘darshan’ mean ‘being in the presence’ possessed by the defect of duality tells. In whatever way one perceives
of a Sage or deity, but it is also the nearest equivalent Sanskrit word Ramana, know that Ramana remains what Ramana is, always has
for ‘philosophy’. Darshana, from the Sanskrit root drs meaning been, and always will be, the nameless, formless, indivisible Self.
‘to see’ implies not only vision (which includes insight, intuition, What were Ramana’s contributions to philosophy? He blazed forth
and vision of the truth), but also the instrument of vision (such as anew the path of Self-enquiry. Through it, anyone, at any place or
viewpoint, worldview, doctrine, philosophical system). In a word, time, can attain Self-realization. No one is excluded. No one is too
darshana implies ‘sight’ in all its myriad connotations and the term, low or too high, too small or too great for this path. Even as Ramana’s
like many Sanskrit terms, is multi-significant, multi-valent. Thus, Presence was always accessible to all, so were his teachings meant for
besides expressing viewpoints or perspectives, the term also suggests the good of the entire world.
the idea of right vision or realization (moksha). The former meaning Ramana’s life and teachings were an incredible confirmation of
customarily refers to the six great orthodox Indian philosophical both the Upanisadic teachings as well as the teachings of Advaita
systems (shaddarshana). Here, it is not so much a search for the Vedanta. However, in an interesting twist in this instance, Ramana’s
truth as it is an exposition, elaboration, clarification, vindication and teachings are the primary revelation and the Upanisads and teachings
conceptual fixation of what has been received. The latter meaning, of Advaita are of value because they are found to be in accord with his
on the other hand, refers to the person experiencing a vision of or teachings! It is a wonderful phenomenon that the words of Ramana,
insight. In this case, it is direct, personal and experiential. In other in numerous instances, are virtually the exact words found in the
words, the “seeing” implied by the term darshana includes both Upanisads, in the teachings of the Sages, ancient and modern, like
conceptual knowledge and perceptual observation, critical exposition Dattatreya, Ribhu, Sankara, and a host of others. What is remarkable
and intuitional experience, logical enquiry and spiritual insight, is that Ramana had no knowledge of the ancient teachings before
concrete and abstract, gross and subtle. The English expression his Self-realization and only came to learn of them many years after.

MOUNTAIN PATH
Ramana has left an indelible footprint on the sands of time by giving
a new exposition of the spirit of contemporary Indian philosophy
Maha Bhakta
that will continue to reverberate and inspire generations to come. The
tradition of Advaita has been renewed from time to time, by Sages
and philosophers. Ramana revealed the Light once again. Ramana
demonstrated in his life the truth of Advaita. He revealed how it is
possible for a Sage to be in the world but not of it. He demonstrated,
as well as occasionally explained, how a jnani acts in the world. The
Vijayam
objects of the world don’t disappear to such a one’s perception – though
they are no longer objects being perceived by a subject – they are now
appearances of the one, indivisible Self. The mind works by division Vithoba Returns to Grihasthashrama
but once the mind is divested of the ‘I’-thought, reflections are observed
as they truly are nothing but reflections of the prototype, the original,
the Self. “The moon shines by reflecting the light of the sun. When
the sun has set, the moon is useful for displaying objects. When the Nabaji Siddha
sun has risen no one needs the moon, though its disc is visible in the
sky. So it is with the mind and the Heart. The mind is made useful by
its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When turned inwards it
merges into the source of illumination which shines by itself and the
mind is then like the moon in daytime.”1  “Come, O my wish-fulfilling gem of saints! Apple of my eyes! Listen
1
Maharshi’s Gospel, 2002. Part One, Chapter Three, p. 12. to the wonderful story of the greatest of mystics, Jnanadev.” While
Vithoba was spending his days in spiritual bliss, Sidhopant was
heart-broken to see his daughter’s plight in Alankavati. He wailed,
“O Lord, why did you unite my daughter in wedlock to Vithoba who
has no desire to lead a householder’s life? Why have you separated
the life-partners? I can’t bear to see the anguish of my daughter who
is unparalleled among chaste women.” While his wife prayed to
the Divine Mother Lakshmi to restore happiness to her daughter,
Rukmabai observed rigorous austerities. She would get up at early
hours of the morning, take bath in Chakra Tirtha, circumambulate
the neem and peepul tree 108 times wearing wet clothes, chanting
the name of her husband 10000 times, and reach home in the late
afternoon. She subsisted on a single meal a day, wearing only worn
out clothes, leaving her hair uncombed which became matted and

MOUNTAIN PATH VITHOBA RETURNS TO GRIHASTHASHRAMA
sleeping on the bare floor. She talked to none in the house. Thus Overwhelmed by the favourable tidings in her life, she stood dazed,
her careless appearance and abnormal behaviour gave her the eerie shedding tears of joy. Sripada Swami insisted on an explanation for
appearance of a mad woman. About sixteen months passed. The her strange reaction.
impact of austerities and worship performed by the three entered “Revered Swami, though your words will certainly bear fruit, I
the heart of Sripada Swami, disturbed his samadhi and roused a wonder whether it is possible to cook food without fire, or light a
wave of desire in him to undertake a pilgrimage. He set out towards lamp without oil, or for a ship to set sail without water and similarly
Alankavati, passing through dense forests on the way. On reaching for an abandoned wife to beget children.”
the place, overcome by fatigue, he sat down under a Peepul tree. It The Master reassured her, “Even if your husband has left you out of
looked as if the Lord of the universe Himself had come to Alankavati hatred, my blessings will draw him to you. There is no need to lose heart.”
to grant the prayer of Rukmabai. “Swami, before I could apprise you of the story of my life, you
When Rukmabai came for her daily routine of perambulation of were so moved by compassion that you showered bounties on me.
the tree, she beheld a radiant Sannyasi sitting motionless under the My misgiving is, my husband did not desire me even when he was a
Peepul tree immersed in bliss. She realized that he must be a great householder. Now, having become a sannyasi, will he get back to me?”
being. Hoping that his blessings would soothe her pain, she repaired “O meritorious woman, one can become a disciple of one thousand
home fast, prepared an elaborate feast and placing it before him with Gurus, but to become the Guru of one disciple is an onerous task.
reverence said, “ O Swami, are you hungry and tired or are you lost It is as dangerous as setting fire to seven holy cities and reaping its
in the bliss of the Self? Will you kindly accept the food this servant consequences; or like changing the course of destiny in seven births
has brought and refresh yourself?” for that disciple. Even the burden of redeeming the sin incurred by
Hearing the mellowed voice, Sripada Swami came out of his the former act is much lighter than what a Guru has to go through
meditative state. Looking at Rukmabai he enquired, “O mother, who to burn away the karmas of the disciple performed in countless
are you, appearing like a Tapasvi? Pray tell me, what kind of sorrow births in order to uplift him from samsara. It is not an ordinary
has consumed you and made you take to a life of harsh austerities?” responsibility. Without knowing the hidden implications of giving
“Swami, please appease your hunger first with this food and rest sannyas to a disciple, many half-baked Gurus seeking name, fame
for a while. I will apprise you of my lot later.” Pleased with her warm and a large following for their service and mission, ordain sannyas
hospitality, Sripada Swami blessed her to become the mother of four indiscriminately. Such thoughtless sannyas brings ruin to both the
children. He advised her to give up the austerities and live with her Guru and disciple. What is the name of the Guru who initiated your
husband happily. householder husband into sannyas? Where does he live now?”
The strange circumstances of desertion by her husband on the one “Swami, I don’t know the name of his Diksha Guru. Now, he lives
hand and the saint’s blessing on the other brought a faint smile on in Varanasi.” Then Rukmabai unfolded the woeful tale of her life
Rukmabai’s face. She wondered, “How and when she would unite beginning from the pilgrimage of Vithoba, the Lord’s command to
with her husband and beget four children!” her father and husband, subsequent marriage, Vithoba’s indifference
“Why are you smiling? You don’t believe that my words will come to Rukmabai and his mind set on renunciation, death of his parents,
true? Even if the Trimurtis stand in the way, my blessing will not shifting to Alankavati and departure for Varanasi followed by sannyas.
become futile. I promise you that you will become the mother of Amazed to hear her story, Sripada Swami broke out saying, “O
four children.” incomparable woman, foremost among Tapasvis, gracious hostess,

please let me have a description of your husband’s physical features.” also will befall a liar. One can be redeemed from the curse of parents,
On hearing the name and description of Rukmabai’s husband, Sripada elders and even gods by the grace of the Guru, but the curse of the
Swami recoiled. When he guessed that the runaway was none other than Guru is absolute and irredeemable. If I say that I am a samsari, he
Vithoba, his mental condition became like that of a public woman who would fly into a temper that I lied to him earlier. If I deny it, I will
was exposed, or the guilt of a criminal brought to justice, or like a sick be transgressing from truth.”
person finding the taste of sugar bitter. He became disgusted with himself. Driven by turmoil, Vithoba fell flat at his Guru’s feet and cried out
Becoming furious with Vithoba, considering him a liar, he said, in despair, “O Lord, I have surrendered my body, life and wealth at
“I am bound by my promise to you and hence I am not able to lay any your feet. Even if you burn me down into ashes or cut off my head,
curse on your husband. Deserting a noble woman like you, uttering will any harm befall me who has taken complete refuge in you? Even
falsehood to me, he has committed a terrible sin. I will hasten to if misfortune comes to me, it will be yours only, not mine as I have no
Varanasi now and deal with him severely.” separate or independent existence, having staked everything at your feet.
Frightened by the Swami’s reaction, Rukmabai holding on to his O Master of all Vedas, O Lord, O exalted One, O transcendent Lord,
feet cried, “Please spare my husband. I don’t care for either progeny O eternal One, O blemishless One, O peace-incarnate, O eternal One,
or the eight-fold wealth. To know that he is alive and safe is more you have conquered all temptations, Source of all, wish-fulfilling gem,
than all auspiciousness.” Eye of Knowledge, you are beyond attributes, you are all purity, all
Sripada Swami consoled her saying, “O virtuous woman, please auspiciousness! O Light of lights, my Redeemer, O Witness without the
ego, adored by all gods, Uplifter, Jewel of Jnana, I take total refuge in you.”
don’t be agitated. I will set right everything to your satisfaction. He
Inspired by Vithoba’s adoration, other disciples also prostrated
will join you joyfully and my blessings will come true. Please await
at the feet of Sripada Swami and glorified him. Vithoba continued
our arrival with a peaceful heart.”
to weep inconsolably. The entire scene pacified Sripada Swami
Sripada Swami rushed back to Varanasi. Exploding in anger, he
somewhat. He was lost in thought for a while,
addressed Vithoba, “O impostor Chaitanya, are you not a grihastha?
Let the blaze of my fury burn you now. Come out with the truth Succumbing to anger is the greatest sin, source of all sins.
now, or else I will dispatch you to your doom with my curse, just as The immensity of fortitude is greater than the ocean;
sage Agasthya cursed his disciple to remain a mountain till eternity Killing a person is not as murderous as as hurting his
or Brihaspati cursed his student to become a leper.” feelings;
Seeing the wrath of his Guru, Vithoba trembled in fear like a Attachment in the heart is no more adulterous than the
guilty man before the king, a daughter-in-law in the presence of her physical act;
mother-in-law, an adulteress before her husband and a student before Love in the heart is true worship, more than merely uttering
his Guru. He reflected, “O my God, for a dispassionate aspirant, what adoration;
is the connection with samsara? How can he be contaminated with I Caring for a person is love, not mere physical embrace;
and mine? Where are the bonds of parents, wife and children for him? Water offered with love is a feast greater than nectar offered
Why does my Guru look so furious, asking about my marital status? without love;
By uttering falsehood, one incurs the wrath of the king, hostility of a To be fearful of wrong conduct is greater devotion than
friend, disgrace before the people and curse of the Guru consigning rendering service;
one to hell. Further, affliction of the body, bondage for several births To be without deceit is purity rather than a dip in holy Ganga;

Orthodoxy is not purity nor is dignity found in palaces and wealth; with this noble woman adorned by lofty virtues. Is there any gain of
Meditation is not steadfastness, but to be equanimous; external Sannyas that one cannot attain by internal renunciation? Will a
To be learned in scriptures is not learning, but Self-knowledge is. wise person refuse to comply with his Guru’s wish? Will a loyal disciple
“Without restraining my anger, how did I come to lose my head over humiliate his Guru? One who earns the blessings of his Guru by obedience
my beloved disciple’s lapse? Acting like a worldly person, I have brought will never meet with a downfall in life. O noble one, you have excelled
ignominy to my austerities. Great Rishis lost their power of austerities in your devotion to the Guru! O supreme renunciate, desireless one,
through anger. Vasishta conquered Viswamitra by his power of serenity. who took total refuge in the Guru! You are ripe in wisdom, without the
The knowledge of Brahman is contained in self-restraint. If one is inclined sense of I and mine and indifferent to worldly existence. Remaining in
towards liberation, can he lose himself in mad fury? Tranquility is all the noble householder’s life, may you emerge as a Jivan mukta!” Thus,
attainment, all moksha. Acting otherwise is certainly not spirituality.” showering his blessings on Vithoba, Sripada Swami took leave of them.
Now turning to Vithoba, Sripada Swami said, “I learnt about your Grief-stricken, Vithoba ran after him and clutching at his lotus feet
past from a noble woman in Alankavati. In obedience to the Lord’s wept bitterly, “O my Lord, bliss-incarnate, just in order to get rid of
wish you were married to her. Fearing that I may not initiate you, me, you have flung me into the desolate samsara. Do I have any other
you lied to me about your marital status. Without panic, you will refuge than you in this world? Can an infant live apart from its mother?
now accompany me to your village.” O Pure One who removed my impurities, O Supreme Lord adored
On reaching Rukmabai’s house in Alankavati, Sripada Swami by humans and gods, you bestowed on me the highest wisdom in a
called her out. Hearing the saint’s soothing voice, Rukmabai rushed trice. Lord’s grace came to me embodied as my Guru and enslaved me
out. She prostrated before him and then to the sannyasi with matted by His compassion. Forsaken by you, can I survive in this arid life?”
locks standing behind him. Vithoba was surprised to see his wife Sripada Swami raising him up and hugging him to his chest, spoke
who looked as much a tapasvi as himself with matted hair and frail endearingly, “Incomparable jewel, I hereby make over to you all the
physique. However, he was terrified that his Guru would command powers of my austerities that I have earned until this day. I hereby
him to live with his wife. When Sripada Swami asked him whether redeem the sins of your folks born in the previous seven generations
he recognized the woman, he kept silent. and yet to be born in the next seven generations. Without any mental
“O Vithoba, abandoning a noble woman like her who is not any less agitation, live happily with Rukmabai. The Trimurtis and Adishakti
in chastity and greatness than Anasuya, Damayanti and Chandramathi, will be born to you both as your children. I am blessed to have initiated
what are you going to gain by your outer renunciation? One thousand you. May you be absorbed in the bliss of the Self! May you attain the
sannyasis cannot hold a candle to a householder-saint. To tell the truth, vast empire of Brahman!”
fire of this woman’s chastity and austerities will scorch both of us. Even Vithoba again begged his Guru to protect him from being lost in
the mighty Trinities were reduced to the state of helpless children before the illusory existence. Sripada Swami advised him to behold the entire
Anasuya. By the power of chastity of Brinda, her husband Jalandharan universe as the form of the Guru and abide in the transcendental
conquered the gods. Did not Nalayini’s power block the sunrise and state. Thereafter, Vithoba absorbed his teachings and strove for the
envelope the world in darkness for seven days? exalted state. By the grace of the Sadguru, Vithoba experienced the
“Injuring the feelings of chaste women will throw the offender into glorious state of universal vision of beholding his Guru everywhere.
the worst purgatory. Without disregarding my words, please live together 
(To be continued )

MOUNTAIN PATH
VEDANTA TEXT TRANSLATION
MAHARAJA
THURAVU
Glory of Sannyasa: The Life and
Teachings of the King-turned-Ascetic
Sri Kumara Deva Swamigal

Translated by Swami Tanmayananda Sarasvati
Prelude as a Brief Link with the Earlier Story
S annyasa is of two kinds according to scriptures: i) vividisha sannyasa,

‘renunciation of the seeker’; and ii) vidvat sannyasa, ‘renunciation
of the knower’.
The first is primarily a means to gain knowledge about the Self
(paroksha jnana) by the systematic exposure to scriptural knowledge
(shastra vichara) under the guidance of a competent guru. Vividisha
sannyasa means ‘desiring to know (vettum icchaa), one renounces’. The
catalyst for such renunciation arises out of intense aversion towards all
worldly pursuits, coupled with a driving desire for the saving knowledge.
To facilitate this one-pointed pursuit of brahma vidya, the seeker
sheds all the encumbrances of worldly life such as a career and family
life. He seeks refuge with a guru and listens to his teachings based on
Swami Tanmayananda Sarasvati is a disciple of Swami Virajeshwara Sarasvati,
hailing in the lineage of Swami Sivananda, Rishikesh.
Swami Sivananda Sarasvati

MOUNTAIN PATH MAHARAJA THURAVU
the Upanishads. Scriptures strongly advise that ‘after renouncing the (samyak nyasa). An atyashrami in this context, is one who has
world, one must pursue listening (sannyasya shravanam kuryaat)’. This transcended all the four ashramas as did Bhagavan Ramana, Shuka
is followed by contemplation (manana), meditation (nididhyasana) till Brahma, Vamadeva, Rishabhadeva and Sadashiva Brahmendra (by
one eventually gains the vision of the Self. the sheer power of vichara and anubhuti mahima), where no rules
The direct recognition of the Self (pratyabhijna) now transforms whatsoever bind them in the least. (nistraigunye pathi vicharatah ko
the ‘renunciation of the seeker’ into ‘renunciation of the knower’. vidhih, ko nishedhah?)
The purpose of vividisha sannyasa is fulfilled upon atma sakshatkaram With this background, we can see that the king in the present text
and the jignasu (seeker of knowledge) is transformed into a jnani Maharaja Thuravu, is a person who renounced an enviable life like the
— a true brahmana in the Upanishadic sense, that is, a knower of Buddha, purely in order to know Truth and not out of any frustration
Brahman. However his sadhana does not end here but intensifies and or failure in life. This is called jignasu vairagya and he graduates from
shifts gears to a higher, exalted dimension. In the ‘knower’ stage of vividisha sannyasa to vidvat sannyasa by the power of his penance and
vidvat sannyasa, he should endeavour to consolidate his illumination enquiry. His life and spiritual journey of renunciation culminating
by constant Self-abidance (nididhyasana) till he attains cessation of in jivanmukti were described in the preceding 62 verses. The rest of
mind (manonasa) and complete effacement of desires (vasanakshaya) the text deals with his teachings to a devoted minister regarding the
which characterize turyaga, the seventh plane of jnana. glory of sannyasa (as a means) and Knowledge of Truth, which we
There have been instances of seekers who, due to some obstacles, could
shall see presently. — Translator
not take sannyasa early on in life, but while remaining in any one of the
earlier stages in life (brahmacharya, grahastha or vanaprastha) and correctly ******
following the scheme of studies, reflection and meditation, they could 63. Among the king’s former council of ministers, there was a
attain jnanam. When such a person finally enters into the formal order wise minister who learnt the king had attained enlightenment and
of sannyasa, for protecting his jnana nishta until it becomes sahaja, it was wandering as a perfected sage. He desired to trace the king’s
comes under the category of ‘renunciation of the knower’. Yajnavalkya
whereabouts and seek answers to some questions troubling his heart.
is a celebrated example for such vidvat sannyasa in the Upanishadic lore.
He soon found him and bowed in great humility and reverence before
In summary, the primary objective of vividisha sannyasa is
his former master.
to gain direct knowledge of the Self (which at the least ensures
kramamukti) while that of vidvat sannyasa is to attain ‘liberation 64. The minister saw the king radiant in his happiness, enjoying
while living’ (jivanmukti). The transcendence of vidvat sannyasa the plain earth as the flower-bed, with the sky as the canopy; the
is expressed forcefully by Sankara in Upadesa Sahasri (4.5), as “the sun and the cool moon as his lamps; the natural breeze serving as
direct knowledge of the Self is so firm and natural to a jnani in the a hand fan; the renunciation (of all attachments) attending on him
same manner as dehatmabuddhi is to an ajnani and thereby attains like a faithful wife and his majestic solitude conferring upon him
jivanmukti, even if he does not want it”! consummate bliss.
In the Srimad Bhagavatham, Lord Krishna declares to Uddhava, (Note: Earlier while ruling over a kingdom with a finite identity, all
“Among the four stages of life, I am the fourth ashrama” (ashramanam his luxuries and comforts were also finite and the pleasures fleeting and
aham turyah) and “amongst all dharmas, I am renunciation” petty but now in keeping with his immeasurable status of sovereignty over
(dharmanam asmi sannyasah). Sannyasa is thus described as the special the all-pervasive empire of Brahman, his creature comforts also acquired
glory (vibhuti) of the Lord and is characterised by total renunciation cosmic dimensions. After all, everything is in the mind!)

65. The king was earlier accompanied by all royal insignia of 69. The king took pity on the pleading minister and replied:
chariots, an army of elephants, cavalry and soldiers who protected his “Oh virtuous Minister, you were foremost among my council of
frontiers. He was seated on a golden throne adorned with diamonds ministers. You have suitably approached me and asked me to clarify
and priceless gems and dressed in the dazzling splendour of royal robes the doubts that assail your mind. Now I shall answer your queries.You
with a shining crown and sceptre and commanding love and respect should listen patiently with one-pointed attention without allowing
from his subjects, ruled over the kingdom. Now he stood majestic your mind to run into worldly matters even for a moment. You have
in conspicuous isolation as a sage, clad in a single loin-cloth. He was rightly said that there is no king greater than me in this land who
unrecognizable, smeared all over the body as he was with the holy can surpass my glory.
ashes, with loose unkempt hair on his head. 70.….When you said that, for one desiring heavens after death, a
66. The king now went on foot everywhere without mounting well-led householder’s life in harmony with dharma is the appropriate
an elephant or a chariot, and sought alms not from a single fixed means, it is quite true. You rightly also said that moksha is attainable
house but from different houses. After renouncing all the royal by receiving the right vision of the Self through self-enquiry. But if
paraphernalia, the king had gracefully adopted the austere lifestyle of a person derives pleasure being mired in the unending burdens of a
a wandering ascetic. Moved by this heart-melting sight, the minister householder’s life, pray tell me, how can the vision of the Self ever
addressed him with the following words. occur?
67. “Oh, king! There was no other king more exalted than you 71. …the mind can focus its attention upon only one thing at a
in glory or power. After giving up such a powerful position, for what time [be it the sense of sound or touch or form or taste or smell, as
earthly purpose did you assume this dreadful mode of stern self-denial these alone constitute the so-called world of perceptions]; it cannot
and roam about everywhere? Your strong, youthful body is meant to attend to two subjects simultaneously. You may have a doubt that
luxuriate in regal pleasures but by assuming the rigorous lifestyle of people skilled in ashtavadhanam have specialised in performing eight
an ascetic, what are the new states worthy of conquest that are still to different jobs at one time but you should remember that such feats
be attained by you? Please be gracious enough to answer my doubts appear to take place simultaneously only because of the rapidity
in this regard for my edification and solace.” with which the mind functions in such gifted people. But really
even for them, the mind functions as a series-processing unit and
68. The minister continued, “If one desires to gain a heavenly
not simultaneously. Such amazing capabilities are, however, possible
abode after death, one should first take up the life of a householder
only for an extroverted mind, which leaps speedily from one thing
and live in perfect accord with the requirements of grahastha dharma
to another. But moksha is possible only for a tranquil mind, which is
and be a role model for society. If, on the other hand, one desires the
capable of a steady inward gaze. The bondage of a house-holder’s life
highest attainment of human life, liberation (moksha), one should
exists only for an outward-oriented mind and never for the renunciate.
choose the right course of enquiry for the Truth, to gain the vision of
I shall clearly explain to you the differences between the predilections
the Self. For either of these legitimate pursuits, it is neither necessary
of these two types of mind. Listen carefully.
nor desirable to choose the punishing mode of a mendicant’s life.
Which goal of life then do you desire by becoming such a self-denying, 72. For those who are living south of the Ganges, can they ever
stern ascetic? Please do illumine my sorrowing mind.” have a dip in the Ganges by travelling further south instead of going
northwards? In the same way, those who are desirous of moksha should

pursue the inward journey of jnana marga. Moksha is never possible for 76. When we are born into this world, we are first children.
those who follow extroverted pursuits. Kings ruling over great empires, This will quickly vanish and is replaced by boyhood which too is
besides being busy with their family life, have necessarily to confer evanescent. The lovely phase of youth that follows adolescence quickly
with their ministers in private regarding matters of administration slips away. Later, inexorably comes the sorry state of senescence when
to ensure the wellbeing and safety of their citizens. With such an bent with age, the old man leans on a stick. Then Yama, the Lord
extroverted attitude in life, it is not possible for them to pursue jnana of death enters; he is our final visitor. He beckons us to his abode.
marga undisturbed and attain moksha. With proper discrimination, When he takes us away, all the near and dear relatives of our temporal
you should investigate and realise this truth. life grieve; they forget our honourable name, and call our body by a
73. If a person sees clearly that attachment to a secure family life new, universal name, ‘corpse’ and promptly take it to the cremation
is inimical to the pursuit of moksha, will he be ever again infatuated ground. Know that this sequence is inevitable for every being born
by worldly life and cling helplessly to them? People with mere bookish into this world.
knowledge of scriptures which proclaim that attachment to worldly life 77. Moreover this body is subject to death even when it exists as
is bondage, will not assimilate that knowledge but waste their time a foetus; after it is successfully delivered into the lap of the mother
mouthing quotations that ‘everything is pervaded by the supreme Lord’. earth, it can die as a new-born child. There is no guarantee of its
Though possessed of scholarship and eloquence, they are incapable survival when it grows up into boyhood/girlhood either. The body
of renouncing in their hearts greed and desire. can perish when it enters the phase of a strong youth. In old age,
74. Some Vedantic texts do say that renunciation is superfluous when every limb of the body trembles in weakness, it can die at any
to attain moksha, which has no beginning or end; one can remain moment. Thus we see that the nature of this body is such that in
in householder’s life and yet gain the exquisite Self-Knowledge that all the stages of life, it is fit to be devoured by death — such is the
ends the transmigratory cycle of birth and death. Understand that such inherent instability of human life right from conception.
mild teachings are addressed only to the immature (manda adhikaris) (Note: Sri Sankara sings in Bhaja Govindam: Life is so delicate and
and that scriptures never give compromised, diluted instructions to unstable like the water drops tantalizingly poised on a lotus leaf which
intense aspirants (uttama adhikaris), who thirst for Self-knowledge can roll off any moment.)
and are willing to renounce everything for its sake. 78. Even the five elements like space. are subject to dissolution.
The sun, moon and all the stars, are perishable when the creation
75. I shall now expound the nature of all manifest objects in is swallowed up in pralaya (cosmic dissolution). The evil-minded
this creation and the nature of Brahman which is the material cause asuras also will die. Even the heavenly realms will perish one day and
(upadana kaarana) as well as the intelligent cause (nimitta kaarana) the celestial gods Indra, Brahma and Vishnu will face extinction at
behind this manifest creation. Listen carefully so that it eradicates all the end of their allotted span of sovereignty. The supreme abode of
the misery born of delusion. All manifested objects in creation are moksha, which is Brahman, is alone imperishable and truly immortal.
products of Maya and are tainted with the defects of transience and
impurity. They are riddled with misery. On the other hand, Brahman, 79. Further, this body is merely a material manifestation of the
which makes them manifest [being the first cause of this Maya-born seven fundamental humours (sapta dhatus) — skin, blood, bone, fat,
world], is free from these defects and shines as the eternal, pure and vital fluids, nerves and brain tissues. Everything that it consumes is
everlasting source of bliss. absorbed into itself. But a person lacking subtle discrimination fails to

see the material body as an assemblage of parts which are perishable they also alternately go through spells of joy and despair. Even their
and impure by nature. He is deluded by the belief that it is an enduring celestial bodies are subject to illness and are further afflicted by the
source of enjoyment. He does not realise that moksha, which is the arrows of Kama [the god of Love]. Desires torment them. They are
supreme abode of bliss, is alone pure and eternal. also immersed in sensual pleasures which entail consequent pain. They
80. Listen to me, Oh minister, I shall now recount all the miseries also suffer extinction when the creation undergoes dissolution. With
that emanate from this body. In this vast world, the three great activities such buffeting between pleasures and pains, what lasting happiness
namely creation, maintenance and destruction constantly take place in or peace can one find even in celestial domains?
an apposite sequence, maintaining balance and order in the phenomenal 85. Thus upon examination, one finds only aggregates of pain and
life. At the time of birth, the foetal jiva experiences as it emerges into the misery in the lives of human beings and celestial gods. But there is no
world the five great afflictions in the womb while at the time of death, comparison to the sufferings in the existence of lower levels of beings
the jiva experiences an agony which is eight-fold worse. Between birth such as animals and the plant kingdom that are constantly subject to
and death, the jiva goes through the afflictions of youth and old age. the cruelty inflicted by the higher race. Such being the case of life upon
81. In old age, the troubles that one faces are endless. In youth, earth, what to say of the endless agony and unspeakable torture jivas
one faces twice as much afflictions and restlessness! All youth can be are put through in the hells that follow after death? Discriminating
classified into three stages, namely childhood, boyhood and adolescent deeply, one must conclude that there is nothing but pain and suffering
youthfulness. In childhood, one suffers from utter ignorance and as in being born as a jiva. Moksha alone confers endless bliss.
a consequence, absolute dependence. 86. Oh, dear minister! Think well and see for yourself. This worldly
82. In teenage-hood, one faces constant admonitions and life which is driven by Maya is perishable, unreal and fraught with all
reprimands from one’s parents and teachers and thus one lives in fear kinds of misery. The immortal Brahman alone is truly real. Which
of disapproval and tongue lashings. In the best phase of youth, one of these two will be rejected by the wise people who are endowed
suffers the devouring pangs of hunger and lust; to neutralise these with sharp discrimination, which will they wholeheartedly cherish
afflictions we appease them, by seeking a job to earn money and in and pursue? You should arrive at the logical conclusion yourself by
the process one engages in work day and night without respite — thus proper, intelligent analysis.
one is incessantly tormented in youth. (Note: The purport of the verse is that wise ones will discard the sorrow-
laden worldly life as Maya and shall always nurture and nourish the life
83. Suppose, on account of meritorious deeds, we acquire wealth. that is replete with knowledge of Brahman.)
In its wake, there ensues the angst of safeguarding it from thieves and
evil-minded, greedy relatives. If one happens to be a king, he will invite 87. After ascertaining that this maya-prapancha is false, will they
the wrath and jealousy of a more powerful king and its consequent ever again have any attachment towards it, in the form of ‘I’ and
troubles. Even if one is an emperor ruling over the entire earth, still ‘mine’? After appreciating that Brahman alone is real and hence worthy
one will be haunted by fear of disease and death and the anxiety of of attainment through right knowledge, is there anyone who will not
his lot in the next birth. strive to gain it? Dear Minister, can there be any doubt in this regard?
Those who cannot discriminate and do not know the means to get
84. If you examine if there is at least unalloyed happiness in the out of this bondage of samsara, will continue to wallow in this world
heavens, we are told that devas are plagued by the enmity of asuras;

MOUNTAIN PATH
of Maya. They cannot discard the delusion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, which
bind them to this false world. BOOK REVIEWS
88. In the absence of the knowledge of Truth, people believe this THE VOICE OF WOMEN Gargi to Gangasati.
unreal world to be real and ignore the truly real Brahman as if it were Edited by Avadhesh Kumar Singh.D.K. Printworld (P)
non-existent. Thus they suffer endlessly all the travails of samsara. Ltd, Delhi. 2008. 314pp, (HB) Rs550. CD included.
On the other hand, wise seekers, by the Grace of the enlightened ISBN 13: 978-81-246-0461-8 dkprintworld@vsnl.net
Guru, come to understand that this phenomenal life is insubstantial Gargi who belonged to a priestly and therefore literate
and devoid of reality. They will always focus on Brahman which class in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad challenged the
is understood as the only reality and will obtain release from the great rishi Yajnavalkya to answer her penetrating
afflictions of bondage. questions on the nature of reality. The importance
of this is that it demonstrates that in ancient India
89. Dear Minister, if any one develops the discrimination that
women were capable of participating in religious discussions and more than
sees a house-holder’s life is a terrible yoke to burden oneself with, it holding their own. Gangati was a saint born in the mid-19th Century. Her
is natural for him, whatever his position, to immediately renounce given name was Mira and came from Saurasthra, Gujarat. Along with her
family life and live in solitude and contemplation to gain the bliss of husband Kahalsang and servant Panbai, who also rose to spiritual heights,
the Self. If, on the other hand, a person has the notion of happiness she taught what was called Pancadharatirtha, the confluence of five streams:
(sukha buddhi) and sense of reality (satya buddhi) in the lifestyle of a Bhakti, yoga, jnana, the three sadhanas of soham, sabda and ajapa-japa. All
householder, he will develop a great liking for it and will never find three saints voluntarily left their bodies in 1894.
it worthwhile to renounce it for a higher pursuit. Tell me, then, how The papers in this collection span important women saints from Andal,
can such people pursue the contemplation of Brahman and gain the Akka Mahadevi, Lal Ded to Mirabai. It is not without reason that we say
knowledge of the supreme Truth? Mother India. The feminine is crucial to the understanding of Hinduism and
its culture and society. The feminine is the dynamic power which sustains
90. Oh Minister, once a person realises the contemptible nature the intellectual energy and physical zest of the land of Bharat. It has been
of this false world, whoever he may be, he has no other option but often momentarily suppressed as say in the banishing of Sita a second time
the pursuit of the superior Brahmavidya. Conversely, if one does not because of gratuitous slander but always the divine spark rises again in the
realise the ghastly nature of this unreal world, he can never aspire to form of a woman to nourish and lead forward the cleansing power of sacrifice.
attain the liberating knowledge of Brahman. If a person is under the The women devotional poets could also be rebels who fought the perceived
sway of evil qualities such as anger, vanity and desires, one wonders injustices of familial and social conditions. They were not content with ritual
how many ages it would take for such a person to understand the utter worship of their chosen gods but wanted to possess and be possessed by
worthlessness of worldly life. Please do ponder over this and arrive them. The medicine they prescribed was not for the faint-hearted. We see
today a growing equality between men and women which is due in part
at the right conclusion yourself through proper reason and analysis.
to their influence.
 The book is a series of papers by reputed academics but is accessible and
informative. Included is a DVD of chants and songs by these significant
women. The seminar was graced by Morari Bapu, the renowed speaker
on Tulsidas Ramayana, who wrote an afterword.
(To be continued ) — Amrit Ray

MOUNTAIN PATH BOOK REVIEWS
SCIENTIST’S SEARCH FOR TRUTH by Swami His story deserves a better presentation. The book ends so abruptly, it
Virajeshwara. Published by Hamsa Ashramam, Arusoni, is a shock. The proof-reading, though mostly good, needs improvement.
via Kelamangalam, Tamil Nadu, 635113. 2005. There is much that has been left out of his story, principally his childhood
pp302,Rs175.ISBN:81-900827-0-1. SADHANA near Udipi and a glimpse of his family background which set him on a
& MEDITATION by Swami Virajeshwara. 2006. spiritual course, the ordination as a sannyasi and his days after departing
pp186, Rs125. ISBN: 81-900827-2-8 www.swami- from Rishikesh. Nonetheless, it is an inspiring book.
virajeshwara.com The second book is Sadhana & Meditation is a practical guide to
meditation and the meticulous preparations necessary to purify the mind.
Swami Virajeshwara (Hamsa) is an uncompromising, The teachings are based on the great Upanishadic tradition. Hamsa’s
blunt teacher whose simple language belies a profound simplicity of presentation belies the considerable learning which lies
original understanding of Vedanta. Though well versed in scriptures, he beneath. Only a teacher who is thoroughly in command of his subject
arrived at his deep understanding through personal experience and sharp can effectively communicate the subtleties of the subject. The driving
forcing of the book is the imperative need to find release from the cycle
discrimination, as befits one trained as a professional scientist, who studied
of birth and death. The reader can sense the utter sincerity of Hamsa in
and worked in the USA for some 13 years in, among other places, the
stressing the urgency of this task. Mere book learning is of no value unless
research labs of IBM developing high-speed computers. He maintained a
it is applied. Practice is emphasised above all else. This is one of the best
strict personal life-style of brahmacharya, yoga, pranayama and the study
condensed books available today on practical sadhana.
of scriptures. He finally returned permanently to India and was taught by — Christopher Quilkey
Swami Vidyananda of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. Hamsa’s account
of his personal journey is refreshing for its forthright comments of life in the
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF TRIKA
USA and the challenges faced by a sincere aspirant in India. The two most
SAIVISM by Moti Lal Pandit. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt.
important chapters concern his guru. The first, during his initial interaction
Ltd., New Delhi, 2007. pp248, Rs500( HB). ISBN: 81-215-1183-6.
at Rishikesh, was a rare mystical experience when he realised that the ‘I’ am www.mrmlbooks.com
is simultaneously infinite and infinitesimal. What is remarkable about the
experience is not just the incident, when he rose above his physical body This book presents an introductory analysis of the main philosophical-
and saw the whole universe as his body, but Hamsa’s ability to put it into theological principles of Trika Saivism of Kashmir. There are three
context with the Upanishads. The second is the account of the intense fundamental categories common to the Indian philosophical systems:
teaching he received from his gracious guru. We are given an idea of what epistemology, metaphysics, and liberation/practical teachings and this book
the true relationship between the guru and mature disciple is, in accord with deals individually with each of them. It begins by summarizing and reviewing
tradition. Again Hamsa methodically describes another mystical experience the textual sourcebooks of the Trika and then presents the Trika’s theory of
knowledge, conception of the Absolute, doctrine of cosmic manifestation,
in which the deep training in the Upanishads opens up an understanding
theory of appearance, theory of recognition, bondage, liberation and the
that the sense of ‘I’ associated with the body is a cipher and is not to be
methods to liberation, each in a separate chapter. In the last fifteen years,
confused with pure consciousness.
there have been an increasing number of books surveying the thought of
This brief spiritual autobiography stands out for its candour and humility.
Saivism in Kashmir, and especially Trika Saivism and this book can now
Hamsa’s observations are sharp and precise. With clear dispassionate eyes, he be added to the list. Though the book is not overly insightful nor does it
describes the delusions and traps to which many seekers are prone. Because probe deeply into the Trika’s presuppositions and consequences, and though
of his humanity and natural ability to tell the plain facts, we vicariously it appears to make a number of dubious claims as far as other systems of
share in his journey and learn what is of value for our own quest. Indian philosophy (especially in regard to Advaita Vedanta) are concerned,

ASHRAM BULLETIN
MOUNTAIN PATH
its presentation and analysis of Trika Saivism makes a useful introductory
book regarding the main philosophical principles of Trika Saivism.
— John Grimes
PEACE IN THE BUDDHA’S DISCOURSES A Compilation and

Discussion by Dennis Candy. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri
Lanka. 2008. 142pp, US$3.50. ISBN 978-955-24-0309-5 www.bps.lk
The Buddhist Publication Society based at Kandy, Sri Lanka has performed
a remarkable service over the past 50 years. Their books and booklets have
given guidance to many seekers who turned to Buddhism for knowledge and
understanding. We have reviewed a number of BPS publications notably the
teachings of the great Thai meditation master, Ajan Chan. The book under
review is an anthology of the Buddha’s teachings on santi, peace. The Buddha
used many terms to describe this state of mind, tranquillity, contentment,
the list goes on and on. For those who have visited a Theravada Buddhist
country one can notice, with a little discernment, the sense of calmness
which can be experienced in that society. Peace along with an underlying
impression of respect. The aim of this collection is to bring together all
the most important teachings of the Buddha culled from the so-called
Three Baskets, that is, the complete works of the Buddha. It is a helpful
introduction for those keen to deepen their knowledge of Buddhism with
the view to follow its precepts. Through meditation, we begin to observe
the mental processes and the rise and fall of thoughts and slowly disengage
their hold on our attention, so that we become more detached and peaceful.
— T.V. Ramamurthy
Books Received
AWAKENING INTO ONENESS The Power of Blessing in the Evolution
of Consciousness by Arjuna Ardagh. Indus Source Books, Mumbai 2007
pp210, Rs299. www.indussource.com
SRI SHANKARACHARYA SADHANA PANCHAKAM Trans.&
Commentary by Nagesh D. Sonde. Mumbai 2007. pp129,Rs200.
nageshsonde@gmail.com
S. Gopalakrishnan
ENLIGHTENED LIVING. The Self realized State by Ramesh Balsekar.

Zen Publications, Mumbai 2007. ISBN 81-88071-32-3 183pp, Price not
stated. 
MOUNTAIN PATH ASHRAM BULLETIN
Bhagavan Advent Day 1st September heart. His early demise is not only
Advent day celebrates the arrival of Bhagavan at Arunachala on the 1st a tremendous loss to his immediate
September 1896. The day began with the traditional Mahanyasa puja family, but to the ever-growing family
and abhishekam. After the centenary celebrations in 1996, it has now of devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi
become an annual event that devotees from Madurai associated with the the world over.
Sri Ramana Kendram, have continued the spirit of the yatra and still Ravi had always told his family
the Kendra devotees walk some of the distance at from Mambalapattu that at the age of 45 he would wrap
to Arakandanallur. They all chanted a special Parayanam on the day at up his commitments in America and
Sri Bhagavan’s Shrine in the early morning and the next day also at the together with his family return to
Matrubhuteswara Temple and Sri Bhagavan’s Shrine once more. There Tiruvannamalai. On the threshold
was a special sense of kinship and devotion in the air. of his 45th birthday, his Master and
Lord Sri Ramana, took him directly to
His eternal abode, bypassing whatever
Ravi Ramanan
noble plans of serving his Guru at Sri Ramanasramam Ravi had
On August 14th at 2:46 p.m., surrounded by family members and envisioned.
devotees, Ravi Ramanan was absorbed into his Master, Bhagavan It was about two years ago when Ravi’s brain tumor was first
Sri Ramana. Ravi was the second son of the President of Sri detected. This was soon followed by major surgery and continued
Ramanasramam, Sri V. S. Ramanan, and his wife, Srimati Susheela. therapy. The existence of a tumor first became apparent on September
Since Ravi landed in America, about 12 years ago, he was a source 23, 2008, when he suffered a seizure and lost consciousness while
of inspiration and support to all devotees. Throughout his successful exercising in the early morning. As he was losing consciousness, not
career, he often told us that whatever Bhagavan had given him belonged knowing what was happening to him, he first thought of the uncertain
to Bhagavan’s devotees. Even without his saying this, it was clearly fate of his wife and two daughters, but no sooner did that thought
demonstrated by his generous deeds, which were numerous. Although come than another overwhelming thought rushed in, formed in the
residing in the USA, Ravi continued to be a dedicated, active player in following words of the second verse of Sri Ramana’s Sri Arunachala
the affairs of Sri Ramanasramam. He went to great lengths to obtain Ashtakam: “Kandavan evanenak karuttinul nadak, kandavan indrida
copies of photos taken of Bhagavan by Eliot Elisofon, owned by Time- nindradu kanden”, which means, “Who is the seer? When I sought
Warner and archived at the University of Texas in Austin. He was also within, I watched what survived in the disappearance of the seer (that
successful in persuading the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation to is, the Self ).” Spontaneously focusing on the import of these words,
release Sri Ramana Maharshi’s photos from their archive in France. he experienced a flood of pure awareness filling his entire being. That
He, along with his wife Ranjani, was the founding editor of Saranagati, was the beginning of his final journey on Earth, a journey he felt to
the Ashram’s online monthly free newsletter. During the last few years, be the direct grace of Bhagavan Ramana.
he guided web designers in shaping Sri Ramanasramam’s website Everyone who had heard of Ravi’s illness during these last two years
(sriramanamaharshi.org). In every aspect of the Ashram he took was naturally saddened by the news. But those who went to visit him,
immense interest. His guidance in administrative matters was always surprisingly, came back inspired and encouraged. On seeing him we
decisive and correct, coming as they were from a pure, totally dedicated never felt any weakness of spirit, paucity of faith, or absence of complete

MOUNTAIN PATH
surrender or devotion to Bhagavan. Ravi never allowed others to dwell on
his illness or be inconvenienced because of it. As the months passed he
became spiritually transformed and indrawn, yet sensitive to the concern
and feelings of all his friends and relatives. Knowing his departure was
imminent, he gave instructions to his family on every detail regarding
where they should live, the girls’ education and even the destination of
his remains, which travelled within days to the foot of Arunachala.
All those present on Ravi’s last day tell of the overwhelming
experience of peace that flooded his room. They said it was like a
surging wave that washed up on the shore of his consciousness and
overflowed into the heart of everyone present. And some time after
he had breathed his last and that wave of peace and joy receded,
they found themselves left behind, standing, while Ravi, totally
surrendered, was swept away into that eternal ocean of pure awareness.
We regret the passing of Sri M. Govindarajan (1926-2010), who

merged in Sri Bhagavan on 17th April. He was an earnest and much-
loved devotee whose passion was the practice of atma-vichara. He
inspired and encouraged many fellow devotees to cling earnestly to
this practice, for which he will always be fondly remembered. He
first visited Tiruvannamalai in 1976 after reading Sri Ramana Vazhi
(The Path of Sri Ramana) and later, immersed himself in the Tamil
writings of Sri Bhagavan. Poor health compelled him to return to
Trichy, where he peacefully lived his last years in remembrance of
Sri Bhagavan and his teachings.
Sri Thambiah Navaratnam passed away on the 26th July in
Sri Lanka. He first came to Bhagavan as a young man in 1943. During
his stay he went up one day onto the hill, met Bhagavan as He was
descending the mountain and requested His Grace. Bhagavan told
him, “The forest has been set on fire and it will burn out of its own
accord. No need to worry hereafterwards.”
Born into a wealthy family who were religious minded, he sincerely
yearned from a young age to attain the feet of God. A devotee of
great natural dignity, he spent many years later in life at Arunachala.

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CONTENTS

In the years following 1922 Ulladu Narpadu (Forty Verses on

2 October - December 2010 3

4 October - December 2010 5

S elf-enquiry is ordinarily said to proceed in three steps. Firstly, the

N. A. Mohan Rao lives in Hyderabad, where he has settled after retiring

8 October - December 2010 9

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14 October - December 2010 15

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Devotee: What are the obstacles which hinder realization of the

T he Hindu tradition which is often compared to a banyan tree

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40 October - December 2010 41

Verse Twenty Eight

T he sadhaka is here described as ‘diving inside’, with the one-pointed

42 Archives Collection: ElectricOctober

44 October - December 2010 45

46 October - December 2010 47

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50 October - December 2010 51

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54 October - December 2010 55

Umapati Sivam and

T. V. Venkatasubramanian has edited and translated several books on

56 October - December 2010 57

58 October - December 2010 59

60 October - December 2010 61

62 October - December 2010 63

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66 October - December 2010 67

The possible influence of Paul Brunton on Carl Jung. The writings

A lthough Paul Brunton extolled Sri Ramana in his 1934

Wasyl Nimenko is a psychotherapist specialising in psychological trauma

68 Carl Jung October - December 2010 69

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A. Roy Horn (Chandrashekar)

T o fully understand the philosophy and traditional teaching of non-

sees multiplicity everywhere, the Vedic seers out of compassion have

A. Roy Horn has been a long-term devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi

84 October - December 2010 85

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H azrat Babajan’s tomb, locating the mortal remains of her elusive

90 October - December 2010 91