The Mountain Path

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42.  ॐ वृषध्वजाय नमः

 OM Vṛṣadhwajaya namaH

 He whose banner bears the emblem of the bull.

In our last article, we discussed the first zodiac sign of Aries (Meṣa), the birthplace of dharma. The title “He whose banner bears the emblem of the bull” now turns us naturally to Taurus (Vṛṣabha), the bull — the second sign, and the domain of artha, the principle of value and sustenance.

In jyotiṣa, Taurus corresponds to the second house, the cradle of our inherited belief patterns and our value system itself. It is where we imbibe the earliest teachings of our mother, through her breastmilk and the psychosomatic material contained therein, through her touch, her words, and her love. Fittingly, the second house also governs the face, especially the mouth, and speech, and thus also corresponds to food and money - the currencies through which we taste and enjoy the world. Thus, the second house of Taurus represents the fertile ground of pleasure and survival.

Yet, the meaning runs deeper. Says the Ṛg Veda of the Supreme Being, “Four are his horns, three are the feet that bear him; his heads are two, his hands are seven in number. Bound with a triple bond the bull roars loudly; the mighty god hath entered into mortals.” Far from random imagery, this verse enumerates the very structure of manifested existence — the layered dualities, energies, and bonds, including the binding principle of the three gunas — through which consciousness becomes embodied. The bull is thus the līlā of life itself: ordered, luminous, and binding.

Siva’s bull, Nandikeśwara, sits eternally facing his Lord in stillness and devotion. If Arunachaleśwara bears that bull upon his banner, it is tantamount to saying clearly: the Lord of the Red Hill has perfect mastery over the ordered universe — over value and pleasure, over inherited patterns, over the conditions that generate bondage and experience, and over the process of surrender that ultimately undoes all egoic ties.

Thus the bull upon His flag is not merely a sign of worldly abundance, but of transcendence. Inherent in Him is both the mechanism of bondage and the grace that frees us forever.

— S. Lazar

In the Yoga Vasistha, the classic Advaitic text often cited by Bhagavan, Sage Vasistha says to Rama:

“There are four gate-keepers at the entrance to the Realm of Freedom. They are Shanti (self-control or quietness of mind), Vichara (spirit of inquiry), Santosha (contentment) and Satsanga (good company). The wise seeker should diligently cultivate the friendship of these, or at least one of them.”

In my previous editorials I reflected on the practice of Santosha (contentment) and Satsanga (good company), and the vital role they play in spiritual practice. In this editorial, I turn to the other two gatekeepers: Shanti and Vichara.

Shanti and Vichara in Bhagavan’s Words

In Who am I?, Bhagavan explains with unmistakable clarity that realization of the Self requires first the quieting of the mind (manonigraha). Only when the mind is thus stilled can it become one-pointed, and only such a mind is fit for Vichara, or Self-enquiry. Through enquiry, the mind is finally dissolved (manonasa), which is nothing other than moksha, or liberation.
The path Bhagavan outlines is therefore sequential. To assist in calming the restless mind, he recommended various preparatory disciplines—breath control, meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, and regulation of food. These practices help cultivate stillness and focus. Yet Bhagavan consistently warned that quietude by itself, is not the goal. The mind may subside temporarily, but without enquiry it will sooner or later resume its outward movement.
For this reason, Bhagavan emphasized that Shanti must culminate in Vichara if the mind is to be rendered completely quiescent and finally destroyed. When asked, “Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?” his reply was unequivocal:

“Other than inquiry, there are no adequate means.”^[1]

Vichara is widely misunderstood. The clearest explanation comes from Bhagavan, who holds a unique authority on it, as Vichara forms the very heart of his teaching. He explains:

“It is the inquiry ‘Who am I?’. The thought ‘Who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.^[2] When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: ‘To whom do they arise?’ It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, ‘To whom has this thought arisen?’. The answer that would emerge would be ‘to me’. Thereupon if one inquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source.”^[3]

Because Vichara is central to Bhagavan’s teaching, I will later examine how to bring its practice into everyday life.

The Path to the Supreme Bliss

The value of Shanti in cultivating focus is universally recognized. Success in any field depends on a disciplined, self-controlled mind. Resisting temptation, restraining the senses, and exercising discipline are essential. A successful athlete or scientist, for example, sacrifices ordinary pleasures to attain higher joy through learning, discovery, health, meaningful work, and service. In short, they live a worthy life.
For the spiritual seeker, self-control reaches even deeper: restraining the mind from the senses and fixing it single-pointedly on God. Bhagavan’s recommended disciplines—moderate sattvic food, Japa, pranayama, and meditation—strengthen the mind so it can turn inward, remaining steady amid the pull of sense impressions. The result is profound stillness, deep peace, and quiet happiness. Recognizing that beyond worldly pleasures lies a joy infinitely greater is itself a turning point on the path.
But when such self-control is combined with Vichara, the rewards multiply. Manonasa, the destruction of the mind, leads to the highest unalloyed joy beyond imagination. The Taittiriya Upanishad begins with the highest human happiness: perfect health, perpetual youth, complete learning, universal renown, and fulfilled desires. From this base, bliss expands a hundredfold at each level: first the joy of celestial Gandharvas, then of the gods, followed by Indra, Brihaspati, and Prajapati. Beyond even these lies the bliss of Brahman—boundless and beyond calculation.
Through this gradation, the Upanishad guides the seeker beyond worldly pleasure to the supreme truth: the highest ananda—Brahmananda. This is not something to be acquired, but the very nature of the Self, revealed through the Guru’s grace.
This is not mere theory. Bhagavan himself embodied this bliss, showing us how to tap into a perennial current of unalloyed joy, accessible here and now.

Practice of Shanti and Vichara in Everyday Life

Shanti

In Verse 25 of Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says:

“Completely renouncing all desires arising from thoughts of the world, one should restrain the senses from all sides with the mind. Slowly and steadily, with conviction in the intellect, the mind will become fixed in God alone, and will think of nothing else.”

In Verse 26, He adds:

“Whenever and wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and continually focus it on God.”

Bhagavan translated these verses into Tamil.^[4] They capture the essence of the practice of Shanti.
When we encounter an object of beauty and feel the desire to possess it, we should consciously withdraw the mind and allow the agitation to subside. This requires understanding that the object is impermanent and cannot provide lasting joy—this is detachment (vairagya). Longing for a mansion, a beautiful garment, a promotion, or recognition as a poet are all examples of desires that can quietly pull us away from the spiritual goal. Through steady, single-minded practice, we gradually loosen their hold on the mind.
Another helpful approach is to perceive all objects as manifestations of the Self, which results in a softening of attachment. Yet another is to surrender everything to God, accepting whatever comes in life as the fruits of our actions, as his prasadam. In all approaches, the feverishness born of attachment to the senses gradually subsides, and the mind becomes quiet.
We are advised to proceed slowly and patiently.

Vichara

The purpose of Bhagavan’s advent was to restore and adapt the ancient path of Atma Vichara (Self-enquiry) to the conditions of modern life. In earlier times, this path was largely reserved for heroic seekers who could withdraw from the world and remain absorbed in meditation in solitude. As conditions changed, such a way of life became increasingly rare.
Bhagavan revived this path in a living form, integrating it with Karma Yoga so it could be practiced amidst the responsibilities of daily life. Since it requires no ritual, outward observance, or renunciation of work, it is ideally suited to our times.
There is, however, much confusion about how Vichara should be practiced. What follows is a simple and faithful outline of the practice as taught by Bhagavan.
First, we bring our attention to the “I” thought. Bhagavan taught that the ego is nothing more than a bundle of thoughts, at the root of which lies this fundamental “I” thought. In deep sleep, when we are free of ego and thought, there is bliss and harmony; even the greatest sorrow cannot touch us in that state. Upon waking, the first thought to arise is the “I” thought—from it we identify ourselves: “I am a doctor,” “I am in India,” “My leg hurts,” and so on. All waking thoughts are rooted in this primary sense of “I.”
In Sad Darshanam, Verse 26, Bhagavan says:

“When the ‘I’ thought arises, all things arise with it. When it does not, there is nothing else.”

Second, we investigate the nature of this “I” thought.
As Bhagavan states in Upadesa Saram, Verse 18:

“Thoughts alone make up the mind; and of all thoughts, the ‘I’ thought is the root. What is called mind is but the notion ‘I’.”

And in Sad Darshanam, Verse 25:

“Holding a form it arises; holding a form it stays; holding and feeding on a form it thrives. Leaving one form, it takes hold of another.”

Thus, the “I” thought cannot exist independently; it must cling to adjuncts. If we strip away “doctor,” “India,” and “leg,” the “I” thought has nothing to feed upon. This gives us a vital clue for practice: the “I” thought must be deprived of its props, and attention turned toward the felt presence of ‘I’ beneath the thought.
Third, we isolate the “I” thought and observe its arising, remain with its immediacy, prior to description, only to eventually discover that it has no independent existence. What remains is pure “I-awareness,” free of thought. In Upadesa Saram, Verse 17, Bhagavan declares:

“When unceasingly the mind scrutinizes its own form, it will see that there is no such thing as the mind. This is the direct path open to all.”

This is a revolutionary declaration, which reveals the radical simplicity of Bhagavan’s teaching: the mind, as we ordinarily conceive it, and the “I” we habitually identify with, have no ultimate reality.
Fourth, we search for the source of this spurious “I” thought. Bhagavan’s question, “Who am I?”, is, in truth, an inward turning to discover whence this “I” arises. As he says in Upadesa Saram, Verse 19:

“When one turns within and searches whence this ‘I’ thought arises, the ‘I’ vanishes and wisdom’s quest begins.”

In Sad Darshanam, Verse 29, he further clarifies:

“Cease all talk of ‘I’ and search with inward-diving mind whence the ‘I’ thought springs up. This is the way of wisdom. To think instead, ‘I am not this, but I am that’, is helpful in the search, but is not the enquiry itself.”

If the enquiry remains verbal or conceptual, it has not yet engaged in Vichara proper; it must resolve into absorption with the felt sense of being. Though introduced through the ‘I’ thought, Vichara is not a process of thinking about the Self, but a shifting of focus on this felt sense of being that underlies the ‘I’. At this point, enquiry ceases to function as a question and becomes a wordless immersion into the living current of beingness, rather than remaining entangled in a conceptual, discursive thought process.
Finally, we discover the source, the spiritual Heart, and merge in it. In the very next verse (Sad Darshanam, Verse 30), Bhagavan says:
“When the mind turns inward seeking ‘Who am I’ and merges in the Heart, then the ‘I’ bows its head in shame and the one ‘I’ appears as itself. Though it appears as ‘I-I’, it is not the ego. It is reality, perfection, the substance of the Self.”
This is the final consummation, the merging of the mind in the Heart, for which the grace of the Guru is indispensable. We must walk the path with sincerity, patience, and humility, doing our part with earnestness while awaiting the silent working of grace.
With the Guru’s grace, the mind rests in its source, revealing the Self—Sat-Chit-Ananda, Brahman, eternal awareness, and unbroken peace. By embracing the four gatekeepers—Shanti, Vichara, Santosha, and Satsanga—we are led to moksha, the supreme liberation. In walking this path, we awaken to the eternal truth of our own being, where joy is limitless, and the heart rests in the serene home that has always been ours.

In humility and devotion,

Venkat S. Ramanan

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Endnotes

Purest Advaita teaches that the individual as an individual is a mere fiction. The quintessence of Advaita is threefold: non-difference between the individual Jiva and the Absolute Brahman, the distinction between the absolute and the relative, and the doctrine of nescience. Advaita is primarily based on Sruti-Prasthana, Smrti-Prasthana, and Nyaya-Prasthana.

Right from Upanishadic Rishis, there came a great line of preceptors of Advaita Vedanta in Bharat. The recent star in this firmament is Sri Ramana Maharshi. His teaching is primarily focused on “Vichara” or enquiry into the Self. He declares that Self-Realization is the prerogative of everyone. It is “Here and Now” and not obtained from outside. As Advaita teaches that one is not the corporeal frame or mind, their continued appearance or disappearance is inconsequential. As the Upanishad says, one is already Brahman.

The man who is living this reality is known as a “Jivanmukta.” Bhagavan Sri Ramana is one of the most recent exemplars of this state. He embodied liberation-in-being. From his absolute perspective, there is no teacher, no disciple, no teaching, no birth/death, no enlightenment, no unenlightened being; there is no knower nor known; there is no means of knowledge. What exists is only the Self. The Self is Truth.

He taught that our life in this world has no more substance than experiences in a dream. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, and whatever is destined not to happen will not take place. He directed Sadhakas to begin self-enquiry in earnest and perform spiritual practices. He advised seekers to perform worldly duties with non-attachment. Ramana is not a traditional philosopher; he did not instruct seekers to analyze the world from a theoretical perspective. He wanted them to dive within and discover the source of all thought and thereby discover the deeper awareness beyond the mind.

Ramana did not propound a closed system of Advaita philosophy, rather, he lived Advaita. When asked whether his teachings were identical with those of Sankara, he replied that his teachings are only expressions of his experiences. Initially, the aspirant’s awareness of his true nature is awakened through the Grace of the Guru. On the path, only a subtle distinction exists between the goal and the path itself. Finally, he said, the aspirant will dissolve in the Absolute (footnote to ‘Arunachala Pathigam’).
For Ramana, ignorance (Avidya) denotes a fundamental affliction of the psyche—a state of existential ignorance. He never emphasized the need for theoretical philosophy. For him, preoccupation with theory can actually be harmful; it can distract from the serious pursuit of realization by offering a mere mental alternative which cannot help transcendence.

Traditional Advaita employs the technique of knowing the trans-phenomenal Brahman through preliminary superimposition and subsequent denial (Adhyaropa and Apavada). In this, attributes like perfection, omniscience, etc., are superimposed upon the Absolute to guide understanding; subsequently, these attributes are negated to facilitate a deeper analysis. The second method adapted by Advaitins is that of “via negativa,” as mentioned in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad—“not this.” When asked about this “neti-neti,” Ramana replied that it can be done only by holding to the One that cannot be destroyed; that is, “iti” (that which is), as it transpired for Ramana in his great awakening in Madurai. At that time, he did not know the theory or practice of neti; yet he mentally practiced this by rejecting the entire corporeal frame and mind.

Since the Self cannot be known through words, it can only be indicated through inference. This does not mean that Ramana accepted the futility of verbal expression; he only stressed the inadequacy of language to grasp Reality. On the perennial question of predestination versus free will, Ramana gave an astounding explanation. According to him, most people have to undergo preordained rewards and punishments as per their karma. But he said that only the freedom to realize the Self exists. That said, the concepts of “freedom” and “predestination” lose all value, because the Self neither acts nor experiences. According to Ramana, the question of free will or predestination does not arise at all from the point of view of non-duality.

Shankara himself said that, in a sense, everybody is an Atmajnani, the knower of the Self—only they do not know the real nature of the Self. Hence the need for enquiry, for investigation into the real nature of their own being. This ultimately leads to the discovery that the Self is identical with Brahman, the Supreme Reality. This is the brahma-jijnasa, the deep desire to inquire into the self that Vedanta talks about.

Ramana Maharshi, the great sage of Arunachala, made this Self-enquiry a great technique, a wonderful Vedantic practice suited to the present age. Specifically, he taught seekers to incessantly question: Who am I? Ko’ham? Vedanta also asks us to interrogate our own Self through the process of Ko’ham. We use this word “I” at every moment in our daily conversation, but seldom do we ask this question. The notion of “I” is associated with several layers of yourself—with the body, with the mind, with the intellect, and so on. Vedanta calls this adhyasa or abhinivesha: false identification, false superimposition. The true Self, the Atman, gets superimposed upon these false sheaths, and in turn, these false sheaths get superimposed on the Atman.

This process of mutual superimposition—technically called anyonya adhyasa—is responsible for ajnana, or ignorance. The sheaths are essentially five: annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya, anandamaya (physical, vital energetic, mental, intellectual, and blissful). When someone asks: “How are you?” one may instantly reply: “Oh, I am not well.” But is it the true “I” that suffers?

If you carefully reflect, engage in self-enquiry, and dive deep within, you will see how the “I” is continuously formed as a result of identifying with these sheaths. We foolishly say “I, I, I” at the various stages, whereas the real “I” is none of these and is beyond all of them—it is the ever-pure, ever-awakened, ever-free Self (nitya shuddha, nitya buddha, nitya mukta).

Vedanta therefore urges us to enquire, to investigate—this is the process of enquiry or jijnasa. The whole of Vedanta is a mighty investigation, a grand exploration of the inner world of the Self—atmaloka. It is a simple, rational inquiry into the inner source that is the Self, the real nature of “I.” Vedanta is thus not some theology to believe in. It is not metaphysics to speculate about. It is not even philosophy to argue about. “It is not doctrinal conformity nor ceremonial piety,” as Dr. S. Radhakrishnan said about religion itself.

Vedanta then is just pure investigation into the nature of Reality, the nature of the Self. The instrument of enquiry is the pure mind, concentrated, sharpened, and focused inward—drisyate agryaya buddhya, sukshmaya, sukshmadarshibhih as the Kathopanishad says: This Atman is seen by the sharpened pure, higher intelligence by sages who are given to subtle and deep perception.
Swami Atmapriyananda of the Ramakrishna Mission also explains that Vedanta is also called  Uttara Mimamsa, meaning that it is the final conclusion after a deep search and enquiry into the nature of the Ultimate Reality. This enquiry arises after you have finished with all the enjoyments of the world of senses and have developed viveka and vairagya (discrimination and dispassion). After completing all worldly pursuits, being intensely dissatisfied, one asks: “Is there something beyond this world of senses, beyond sense gratification?”

Swami Vivekananda said that religion begins with an intense dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs and the deep desire to transcend the senses and realize That Undying, Undecaying, Immortal Reality. To illustrate this point, Swamiji presented the life story of Buddha. Gautama the Buddha was a glorious example of one who walked the path following such dissatisfaction. He was living in the lap of great luxury, being a prince. He had apparently felt no sorrow of his own. But the moment he encountered sorrow in the world outside his palace, he immediately connected to it, internalized it , and intuitively understood the universality of pain and suffering. That is why he is called an avatara, for an avatara lives the life of the all of humanity in his own existence. Buddha saw that this universal sorrow was eating into the vitals of all humanity. He was so overwhelmed that he began to enquire into the cause of this universal sorrow, in a quest to find out how to conclusively end it.

In modern times, Ramana Maharshi made Self-enquiry a great and penetrating technique. Vedanta, then, begins with an intense enquiry into the nature of one’s own self. Here, the path of pure jnana (the path of enquiry) blends with the path of devotion or bhakti. Shankara defines bhakti as that intense longing, the intense love of the inner Self that draws the mind towards its enquiry and realization: Swaswarupa anusandhanam bhaktrityabhidhiyate.

Vedantasays that “Bhuma” (Supreme Consciousness) alone is real and it is infinite. From this Bhuma, there arises a finite consciousness by virtue of taking on an upadhi (limiting adjunct). This is abhasa or reflection. Merging this individual consciousness into the Supreme One is what needs to be done.

Sri Ramana Maharshi cautions that “Vritti” is often mistaken for consciousness. While Self-Realization is akhandakhara Vritti (unbroken experience), “Vritti” is only a phenomenon and operates at the level of “abhasa” (reflected consciousness). Vritti is qualified, directed consciousness—the absolute consciousness made finite through limitations imposed by cognition, thoughts, senses, etc.

Where are the faculties of Cetana, Cittam, Buddhi, and Ahankara (Consciousness, mind, intellect, and “I-ness”) during sleeping and dreaming? Where is the feeling of I-ness or doership (Kartha) during these states? What provides the continuity when you wake up after a dream or sleep? According to Indian thought, a continuous thread of consciousness exists through all the three states.

Only the “I” or pure beingness that persists in all the three states is real. Existence or consciousness is the only reality. Consciousness plus waking, we call waking. Consciousness plus sleep, we call sleep. Consciousness plus dream, we call dream. Consciousness is the screen on which all the pictures arise and disappear. The screen is real; the pictures come and go. The screen is real; the pictures are mere projections on it. There is only the one Existence or Consciousness; all other states are unreal.

Bhagavan directed us to hold on to the “I” thought and to probe its source. Then it will disappear as a phantom. What remains is the real “I,” the Self. Thus directs Sri Bhagavan.

Introduction

There are individuals in human history whose lives do not fit into familiar archetypes, who seem to stand apart from categories, movements, or schools of thought. Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi is one such figure. Although his life and teaching have been recounted in innumerable books and articles, there remains something irreducibly fresh and immediate about his presence. Seekers across generations attest to his continued accessibility: guiding, shaping, and silently bestowing grace.

Ramana’s authority did not come from initiation into a lineage, studying spiritual texts, or undertaking rigorous sādhanā. His realization at the young age of sixteen was spontaneous and unpremeditated. It was an instantaneous unveiling of what is always present. He had not reasoned or striven his way to the Self; he had realized it directly, in a single moment of existential shock.^[1]
Ramana left behind no elaborate philosophical system and no established sect or successor. What was disclosed through that realization was a universal dimension — the truth of the Self that lies at the heart of all traditions, though each uses different idioms to express it. This intuition was pithily encapsulated over three thousand years ago in the Rig Veda: “एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति” (Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti), “That which exists is One; the sages call It by various names.”

The Ground of Ramana’s Teachings

Ramana’s realization experience established him completely and irrevocably in the Self — absolute, adjunct-free, and beyond all qualities and indicators. This Self is the source and ground of all manifestation and embodiment. It shines completely independently of the play of phenomena, and it is also the basis for the very possibility of phenomena.

Emerging from the Self is aham sphurāṇa, an unceasing “I-I” pulsation of pure beingness. This is not the Self in itself, but its immediate, felt manifestation. Aham sphurāṇa is both beacon and indicator: rooted in the Self, it is an intimation of the pure presence of Self, and it also signifies the depth of a seeker’s spiritual maturation. Though ever present, it is ordinarily obscured by the outward-directed attention and may be sensed as the mind turns within and becomes still.^[2]

It is from his abidance in the Self and its proximate manifestation, aham sphurāṇa, that Ramana’s highest teaching arose: Silence (mouna). When seekers came into his presence, what they encountered was not the Self absolute, for that transcends manifestation, but its perceptible revelation as Silence. This Silence was the natural mode by which the Self projected itself through Ramana’s form, rather than an intentionally conceived technique. It was a charged, transformative presence that could be tangibly felt by all who approached him. He described this silence as dynamic and alive, comparable to a fast-spinning top that yet appears unmoving.^[3] He once responded to a question about why he did not travel and preach: “What do you think of a man listening to a harangue for an hour and going away without being impressed by it so as to change his life? Compare him with another who sits in a holy presence and leaves after some time with his outlook on life totally changed. Which is better: To preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending forth intuitive forces to play on others?” He concluded simply: “Words are therefore the great grandson of the original source. If words can produce an effect, how much more powerful should the preaching through silence be?”^[4] Silence was the supreme teaching (mouna-para-vāk), the most direct transmission, prior to and unmediated by thought or concept. His highest teaching thus was the Self abiding as Self, vibrating and radiating as Silence through the embodiment called Ramana, and unveiling itself within those who approached.^[5]

Complementing this Silence was Grace (anugraha), an inner wellspring that melted the heart and dissolved the sense of separateness. In Ramana’s presence, devotees experienced a pure and unmediated resonance, often describing a subtle current that stirred the heart. This Grace was not an external bestowal but the Self’s own power acting from within. About this, Ramana explicitly said: “Grace is within you. If it is external it is useless. Grace is the Self. You are never out of its operation. Grace is always there.”^[6] Elaborating on its nature, he said: “The very fact that you are possessed of the quest of the Self is a manifestation of the Divine Grace... It is effulgent in the Heart, the inner being, the Real Self. It draws you from within.”^[7] Grace thus serves as the Self’s own gravitational pull, drawing the heart back to its source — not as a gift bestowed from without, but as the Self’s unceasing call.

Where Silence quieted the mind, Grace opened the heart. Both currents are inseparable; they are the twin operations of the Self, acting in concert to still thought and kindle devotion. To encounter Ramana is thus to stand exposed to a presence that both quietens and consumes: the peace of Silence and the bliss of Grace, both merging in the Heart.

To those not yet attuned to his Silence and Grace, Ramana gave verbal guidance. Shaping his instruction to the seeker’s temperament and capacity, he articulated two complementary paths of practice: Self-enquiry (ātma-vicāra) and Surrender (śaraṇāgati). Self-enquiry is the reflexive tracing of the “I” sense back to its source, dissolving the illusion of agency in its very pursuit. Surrender is the yielding of that agency altogether, the complete acceptance that the Divine alone acts. Ramana insisted there is no essential difference between the two. Self-enquiry leads to the disintegration of ego, while surrender seeks dissolution of the ego from the start. As he once explained: “Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga (prapatti) are one and the same. Self-surrender leads to realisation just as enquiry does. Complete self-surrender means that you have no further thought of ‘I’. Then all your predispositions are washed off and you are free. You should not continue as a separate entity at the end of either course.”^[8] Both end in union with the Self, the ground ceaselessly throbbing as “I-I.”

Considering these elements together, it is useful to view the teachings as facets of a single current of realization rather than as discrete components. These four strands — Silence, Grace, Self-enquiry, and Surrender — may be discerned as interwoven aspects of a unitary expression of the Self. Silence and Grace represent its unmediated efficacy, stilling the mind and melting the heart; Self-enquiry and Surrender articulate, in verbal form, the corresponding approaches extended to seekers. Self-enquiry thus mirrors the stilling function of Silence, and Surrender mirrors the melting power of Grace. Such an understanding allows us to appreciate how the one Self ramifies along two axes: pre-conceptual — conceptual, and contemplative — devotional.

Ramana’s Silence and Grace, and the paths of Self-enquiry and Surrender were the natural expressions emanating from his anchoring in the Self. These currents and teachings found their hub in Arunachala, not as a metaphor or an adjunct, but the very Self concretized into an earthly frame. This hill that Ramana revered as Guru, God, and Self was the profound and transcendent fulcrum: a dense and potent coalescence of spiritual knowledge (jñāna) and a nectar-filled ocean of grace (karuṇāpūrṇasudhābdhe) whose vibrations he intuitively sensed from a young age.

Within this unfolding of his realization, another nuance warrants acknowledgement. Ramana did not discount other devotional practices, though he clearly identified gradations in them. In his Upadeśa Sāram, he outlined a progression of worship: deeming hymns of praise superior to ritual actions, meditation better still, and Self-enquiry the best. This was not to disparage the subordinate forms of worship but rather to validate their legitimacy and appropriateness as phases on the path.

His own actions bore out this inclusivity. In his Will, he dedicated Sri Ramanasramam’s properties to Śrī Mātṛubhūteśwara Swami and to his own symbolic representation after his passing, explicitly specifying that ritual worship would continue there. He also expressed appreciation for the Śrī Chakra Pūjā, remarking on its magnificence and affirming the value of its continued conduct in the Mātṛubhūteśwara shrine.

Ramana’s teaching is both radically immediate and inclusively ordered: abiding in the Self, he radiated Silence, bestowed Grace, counselled Self-enquiry and Surrender, and also affirmed ritual and devotion as appropriate forms. His presence did not exclude but embraced.

The Uniqueness of Ramana’s Perspective

Far more than a simple convergence of Silence, Grace, Enquiry, and Surrender, Ramana’s uniqueness lies in the wholeness from which these arose. His realization was not the result of treading a path or of spiritual effort; it was a singular event, instantaneous and absolute. In a single, unpremeditated moment, he was transported and established, without prior study, practice, or teacher, into the full and undivided wholeness of the Self.^[9]

To use a familiar image: spiritual traditions often describe different paths toward the mountain peak of realization. Ramana, by contrast, found himself in an instant at the pinnacle itself. He found himself on the ground that is the support for all action and movement, the goal of every seeker, and the final destination of every path prescribed by all contemplative traditions and teachers. From that vantage point, he could see all the trails that lead to the summit, and he could guide each seeker according to their temperament and the tradition from which they approached. His teaching was not derived from acquired knowledge or the pursuit of a spiritual discipline; rather, it arose organically from the effortless fullness of one abiding steadfastly at the peak.

This vantage point explains why Ramana could endorse ritual for some, devotion for others, meditation for still others, even while unceasingly radiating Silence and Grace. It is also why his later pedagogical references to Advaita Vedānta were not formative but explanatory, not fundamental but accommodative. Ramana once remarked:

“What books did I read when I was young? What did I learn from others? I was always immersed in meditation. After some time, Palaniswamy used to bring from various people a number of books containing Vedantic literature and used to read them… when I took those books in order to read them myself, and tell him what was in them, I found that what all was written therein had already been experienced by myself. I was surprised. I wondered, ‘What is all this? It is already written here in these books about myself.’ That was so in every one of those books.”^[10]

Ramana’s teachings do not resemble Advaita; rather, Advaita, as also other teachings, resembles aspects of what Ramana lived and embodied. His realization was pre-doctrinal, extra-traditional, and whole. His teachings flow from and articulate that original realization, but the realization itself precedes and transcends all formulation.

The Distinctiveness of Ramana’s Presence

Ramana’s distinctiveness cannot be reduced to the content of his teachings alone. His presence itself was the teaching. The silence in his presence was the supreme transmission, unique in recorded history. He himself categorically stated that his highest instruction was transmitted through silence.^[11]

For countless seekers, simply sitting in his presence produced experiences that defied explanation: a sudden quieting of the mind, a deep peace, even a foretaste of realization. These were neither isolated nor rare instances. They were reported profusely, across decades, by seekers from every spiritual background. The sheer scale and consistency of testimony to the power of his presence is among the most remarkable in the annals of human spirituality.^[12]

The efficacy of his presence did not cease with the dissolution of his physical form. Those who come within its ambit often speak of a silent transformation that continues long after their encounter with him, stilling and calming the mind, and imbuing the heart with joy and peace. What has been awakened by his presence deepens over time as the working of the Self’s own power, an unaccountable spiritual maturation that subtly manifests through the years. His Grace is thus not confined by time or place; it endures as the Self’s continued unfolding. The same inward pull that first draws seekers to him sustains them on their spiritual quest, and quickens the blossoming of the Heart.

His presence also is inseparable from Arunachala, the hill he identified with the very Heart of Being. To him, Arunachala was no ordinary mountain. In his hymns, he called it the embodiment of Grace, the Guru itself: unmoving and dazzling like the sun, drawing within all who approached, revealing itself as Pure Consciousness, and immersing the seeker in an Ocean of Bliss. This magnetic force that drew him in his youth to Arunachala continues to infuse the hearts of seekers and transform their lives. The Hill remained his fulcrum to the end. To speak of Ramana’s presence is therefore to evoke the mysterious power of Arunachala itself.

Even in his final illness, when devotees wept at the prospect of his departure, he reassured them: “They say I am dying, but I am not going away. Where could I go? I am here.” He declared that the presence they cherished was not confined to the body. This presence continues not merely as memory but as a palpable, living, guiding force.

The Eternal Self

Ramana’s realization preceded and transcended all formulation. What manifested through him was prior to thought and, for that reason, cannot culminate in doctrine. His presence, words, and example were the natural expressions of a realization already complete, articulating itself through a particular life without becoming bound to it. What we have traced here — Silence, Grace, Self-enquiry, and Surrender — are not strands to be separated and grasped, but the pure light of the Self refracted through the needs of seekers. With some, he shared silence; to others, he turned their attention inward; for yet others, he melted and irrigated their hearts with unfathomable joy and peace.

To view these strands detached from the Self is to mistake the pointing finger for the sun. They are but aspects of the Self’s unitary movement, acting through the being called Ramana to draw the heart and mind within, toward their own source. This is why his presence and guidance, inseparable from Arunachala, continue to be available to seekers, despite the dissolution of his physical form.

Toward the end of his incarnate existence, when devotees beseeched him not to leave them, he replied simply: “Where can I go? I am here.” For those who turn toward that same silent source today, he is here still — and will be for the generations to come.

Be Still
Summa Iru
சும்மா இரு

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Endnotes

For over twenty-five years, my life has been quietly, yet profoundly, shaped by the divine presence of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. From the time I was young, the gentle echo of his name reverberated in my home, carried by the stories and reverence of my late father—a man whose faith in Bhagavan was total, serene, and rooted in lived experience. He often spoke about the sacredness of Tiruvannamalai, the majesty of Arunachala, and the quiet intensity of the Ashram. Though I did not fully understand then, the seed had been sown.

As the years passed, I visited the Ashram many times. Each visit left a subtle imprint on my soul—something intangible but undeniably real. The stone paths, the silence of the Old Hall, the unwavering stillness in the eyes of Bhagavan’s photograph—these moments slowly began to whisper truths that the noise of daily life often drowned out.

It was, however, the first time I truly read “Who Am I?” that the whisper became a voice.

“Who Am I?” is not merely a book. It is a mirror held before the soul, stripping away pretense and identity, compelling not answers but awareness. Each word seemed to emerge from silence, and return to silence, yet in that sacred space, they lit a flame within me. The question pierced the layers of the accumulated self—not by force, but with the loving sharpness of truth.

Every reading became a meditation. Every sentence opened up a depth that seemed infinite. One day, a line would point toward the unreality of thought. Another day, the same line would seem to speak to me about the essence of matter. As a scientist trained to work with materials—specifically in the field of crystal growth and semiconductor technologies—I was astonished by how seamlessly Bhagavan’s spiritual inquiry began to inform and deepen my scientific practice.

In time, my research itself was transformed. It was no longer simply a process of external observation, but one of inward reflection. When I stood before a growing crystal, I began to ask: What is its nature? What is it trying to reveal, not just as a material, but as a manifestation of that One Being in whom all appears? Bhagavan’s teachings taught me to see beyond the laboratory—to see the crystal as a metaphor, an expression of the Self.

Crystals fascinated me long before I understood their deeper symbolism. Their perfect internal order, their response to heat and pressure, their ability to transmit or transform energy—all these qualities made them essential in lasers, sensors, and quantum devices. But under Bhagavan’s light, a new question emerged: To whom does the crystal appear?

This question was no longer academic. It was experiential. The boundaries between observer and observed, mind and matter, began to blur. The inquiry turned inward.

At some point—quietly, mysteriously—Bhagavan began to visit me in my dreams. He appeared not in grand visions, but as a soft, gentle presence. His voice was always calm, always kind, and always deeply instructive.

He would say: “Nature is made simple. Do not complicate it with wavering thoughts.”

These words struck me with a clarity that no textbook ever could. The next morning, as I stood in my lab—amid vacuum chambers, high-temperature furnaces, and spectroscopic tools—I could still hear his voice. And something would shift. A block in my research would dissolve. A new path would open up. An insight would emerge—not from logic, but from stillness.

Over time, I began to realise this was not my imagination. It was grace.

This inner communion became a rhythm. Every night, before I fell asleep, my final thought would be of Bhagavan. His words, “Who am I?” would arise in my heart, sometimes softly, sometimes intensely. Even in dreams, I would grapple with this question. It became the undercurrent of my very being.

Bhagavan often said that Arunachala is not merely a hill—it is the Self itself, in physical form. Many may take this to be a mere metaphor. But for those who have felt its pull, it is undeniable. My visits to Arunachala were never pilgrimages in the traditional sense. They were homecomings.

Walking around the hill, especially in the early dawn hours, when the air is still and the world hushed, I would feel something inexplicable—an absorption of the mind, a dissolving of the personal ‘I.’ Thoughts would slow down, sometimes stop entirely, and a deep contentment would emerge, uncaused and unmistakable.

In those moments, I understood—this is what Bhagavan meant when he said, “Be still.” and the ‘I’ will dissolve.

In my scientific work, particularly in the domain of crystal growth, I often marveled at the interplay of heat, energy, time, and order. A disordered melt slowly cools and arranges itself into a perfect lattice. It is as though nature yearns for symmetry, for coherence—for truth.

Bhagavan’s teachings made me see crystal growth as a symbol for spiritual evolution. The human mind, like a chaotic melt, full of disturbances and impurities, undergoes a subtle process of purification through inquiry, of alignment through awareness. Slowly, the structure forms. Clarity emerges. The Self shines forth.

He once said, “Truly, your own Realization is the best help you can possibly render to ‘others.’”^[1] These words transformed the very meaning of success in my life. Research was no longer just about citations, grants, or recognition. It became about silence, sincerity, and simplicity—the values that Bhagavan embodied so perfectly.

There were several occasions when I was stuck with difficult challenges in my research. Conventional models failed. Equipment malfunctions frustrated progress. But then, in my dreams, Bhagavan would appear—not dramatically, but humbly, seated on a mat, a faint smile on his face.

In one such dream, he said to me: “Nature is not your subject. It is your teacher. Listen.”

That line changed my approach. I stopped trying to control experiments and began to observe them more deeply. I surrendered the desire for outcomes and focused on the process. As if in response, the crystals began to grow better. Unexpected patterns emerged that revealed new principles of how order takes shape within matter—results I had not anticipated, but which proved deeply revealing.

This was no longer just science. It had become sadhana.

Even amid the hum of vacuum pumps, the heat of furnaces, and the cold calculations of theory, the question “Who am I?” never left me. It followed me like a shadow, but a shadow composed of light.

The beauty of Bhagavan’s question lies in its simplicity. It asks you to turn your attention, again and again, not outward, but inward. To trace the ‘I’ to its root. Each time I did so, something fell away: an opinion, a fear, a memory. What remained was not a concept, or a thought, but a presence—a silence that was not empty, but full.

Every discovery I made in the laboratory—whether in bringing new materials into form or in clarifying their inner order—was ultimately the result of his grace. Sometimes, I would open a drawer and find a forgotten note that solved a current problem. Sometimes a colleague would mention something casually that led to a breakthrough. Sometimes, I would just feel a quiet conviction to try something unorthodox, and it would work.

Was this coincidence? Intuition? No—this was Bhagavan.

It was as if he were silently orchestrating things from within me, guiding my hands, clearing my mind, whispering in the language of silence. What else could explain the deep joy I felt not in results, but in the process itself?

This joy was not the high of achievement. It was the peace of surrender.

Even as I write this, my heart swells. Tears well up when I think of Bhagavan. He is not a saint to me. He is not even a guru. He is my very breath. My inner compass. My true teacher—not by lectures or sermons, but through example, silence, and presence.

To live with Bhagavan is to live with truth. To love him is to dissolve the self that separates. To inquire “Who am I?” is to walk the most sacred path—not away from the world, but through it, beyond it, into the heart of being.

In the lab, every material has its distinctive properties—each with its own behavior, structure, and patterns of interaction with light. Yet, the more deeply I looked, the more I saw that all these variations were surface differences—configurations, not reality.

Bhagavan’s presence in my life revealed that the essence behind all material forms is the same—just as waves differ but are all ocean, all phenomena arise in and return to the same substratum: the Self.
This realisation reoriented my scientific perspective entirely. Where once I saw fragmentation, now I saw wholeness. Where once I pursued precision, now I revered stillness. The space between electrons became a metaphor for silence. The lattice structures mirrored the cosmic order. The entropic decay of systems whispered of the ego’s dissolution.
When Bhagavan said, “All knowledge is meant only to lead the person to the realisation of the Self”,”^[2] I understood that he was pointing not to a rejection of science, but to its completion. Science without the Self becomes noise. But science rooted in Self becomes clarity, compassion, and consciousness.
Even now, every single day, Bhagavan is with me.
When I walk into the lab, I greet him inwardly. When I see the glimmer of a new crystal formation, I recall his gaze. Before equations fill my notebook, I write a single word: Ramana.
His teachings are no longer something I read—they are something I live. In conversations, I am aware of the ‘I’ underlying the speaker. In decisions, I pause and ask: To whom does this matter? Even in pain or confusion, I trace the feeling back, gently, to its source—until it dissolves into presence.
All the recognitions, all the results, all the discoveries—none of it touches me anymore as deeply as the soft light of his darshan. Even in dreams, when he appears, it is not to grant me worldly boons. It is simply to remind me: “Be still. You are That.”
How can I speak of his grace? How can I ever repay it?
Even writing this feels inadequate—like trying to explain a sunrise to someone who has known only night. But I write not to describe the light, but simply to point toward it.
If even one reader turns their attention inward and sincerely asks, “Who am I?”, then this offering is complete.
I become emotional when I think about Bhagavan. Not because I miss him—how can I miss what is always present? But because I am overwhelmed by the gentleness of his love, the fierceness of his truth, and the simplicity of his path.
He is not a figure from the past. He is the silence in the present. He is not a guru separate from me. He is the very “I” that inquires. The very stillness that watches. The very heart that loves.
Every time I touch a crystal, I am reminded of him. Every time I succeed, I bow to him. Every time I struggle, I surrender to him. His voice echoes eternally: “Find the source of the ‘I.’ That is all.”
I began as a scientist seeking knowledge. I became a devotee seeking truth. Now, I simply remain—a being dissolving into Being, guided forever by the light of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
In my journey through matter, I found the Self. In my pursuit of knowledge, I found stillness. In the love for a sage, I found the deathless presence beyond form, thought, or description.
Bhagavan once wrote: “There is no knowledge without ignorance; and without knowledge ignorance cannot be.” “Since the Self shines self-luminous, with nothing else for It to know, with nothing else to know It, the Self is Knowledge.”^[3]
To me, that Self is Bhagavan. That Self is also Me. And you. And all things.
Like a perfect crystal, the Self refracts nothing. It is clear, pure, and unchanging. The more I tried to understand it, the more it invited me to stop trying. To simply be.
That is his greatest teaching. And that is my eternal refuge.

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Endnotes

Silence as Teaching

Source: Venkataramiah M.,Talks with Śri Ramaṇa Maharṣi

Talk 68
Dr. Radhakamal Mukerjee, a well-known Professor, fair man of middle age, with a peaceful look, practising yoga or meditation, has had some occult experiences and desires the mystery to be unravelled by the Master. He has written a book and had it published by Messrs. Longmans Green & Co., London. He finds Self-Realisation hard to attain and requires the Master’s help. His question: “The upanishadic method of meditation has now disappeared. There was a great sage in Bengal who instructed me in it. After long years of discipline and practice I am having some mystic experiences. I feel sometimes that Bhuma (Supreme Consciousness) is infinitude and that I am finite consciousness. Is that correct?”.
M.: Bhuma (Perfection) alone is. It is Infinite. There arises from it this finite consciousness taking on an upadhi (limiting adjunct). This is abhasa or reflection. Merge this individual consciousness into the Supreme One. That is what should be done…
D.: Sri Bhagavan’s silence is itself a powerful force. It brings about a certain peace of mind in us.
M.: Silence is never-ending speech. Vocal speech obstructs the other speech of silence. In silence one is in intimate contact with the surroundings. The silence of Dakshinamurti removed the doubts of the four sages. Mouna vyakhya prakatita tatvam (Truth expounded by silence.). Silence is said to be exposition. Silence is so potent.
For vocal speech, organs of speech are necessary and they precede speech. But the other speech lies even beyond thought. It is in short transcendent speech or unspoken words, para vak…
The Professor asked Sri Bhagavan to extend His Grace to him although he would soon be a thousand miles off. Sri Bhagavan said that time and space are only concepts of mind. But swarupa (the Real Self) lies beyond mind, time and space. Distance does not count in the Self.
The lady with him was most reluctant to leave the Master and return home. The Master said, “Think that you are always in my presence. That will make you feel right.”. They left after dusk.

Silence Enacted: Words Suspended

Source: Venkataramiah M.,Talks with Śri Ramaṇa Maharṣi

Talk 440
D.: Without logic, without learned terminology, please instruct me the way to the Bliss of Self. Let it be of Guru’s grace only.
M.: Have a clear idea of your requirement. Who seeks to gain what? Then ask the method.
D.: Bliss manifests occasionally but I am unable to describe it. At times there is illumination, but is it the Reality? If so, how to make it permanent? The method must be simple. Please make it clear without logic, learned discussions or mystifying words.
(No answer.)

The Teaching in Silence

Source: Sundaresa Iyer T.K., At the Feet of Bhagavan

It was a Sivaratri Day. The evening worships at the Mother’s shrine were over. The devotees had their dinner with Sri Bhagavan, who was now on His seat, the devotees at His feet sitting around Him.
At 8 p.m. one of the Sadhus stood up, did pranam (offered obeisance), and with folded hands prayed: “Today is the Sivaratri Day; we should be highly blessed by Sri Bhagavan expounding to us the meaning of the Hymn to Dakshinamurti (stotra).” Says Bhagavan: “Yes, sit down.”
The Sadhu sat, and all eagerly looked at Sri Bhagavan and Sri Bhagavan looked at them. Sri Bhagavan sat and sat in His usual pose, no, poise. No words, no movement, and all was stillness! He sat still, and all sat still, waiting. The clock went on striking, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, one, two and three. Sri Bhagavan sat and they sat. Stillness, calmness, motionlessness — not conscious of the body, of space or time.
Thus eight hours were passed in Peace, in Silence, in Being, as It is. Thus was the Divine Reality taught through the speech of Silence by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Dakshinamurthy.
At the stroke of 4 a.m. Sri Bhagavan quietly said: “And now have you known the essence of the Dakshinamurti Hymn”? All the devotees stood and made pranam to the holy Form of the Guru in the ecstasy of their Being.

The Transformative Presence

Source: Nagamma S.,Letters from Sri Ramanasramam

(212) VISIT OF THE HEAD OF PURI MUTT^[1]
About a week or ten days ago, the Puri Sankaracharya came here. His meeting with Bhagavan was something unique. As the arrival of the Acharya was known beforehand, the Sarvadhikari made all the required arrangements for the occasion. As you know, Bhagavan has been staying only in the Jubilee Hall during daytime. On the day of the arrival of the Acharya, devotees spread a tiger skin on Bhagavan’s couch and decorated it in a fitting manner. By the side of the couch, a suitable seat was arranged for the Acharya also. After Bhagavan had been out for his afternoon walk at 3 p.m. and had returned and resumed his seat on the couch, the devotees as usual prostrated before him and sat down. The Acharya arrived at the Ashram at the appointed hour, went to his lodging in the Veda Patasala (School for Scriptures), made his ablutions and then, accompanied by his disciples, came to Bhagavan’s presence.

At the time of his coming, Bhagavan sat cross-legged in his usual padmasana pose and with his characteristic silence. The Acharya came to Bhagavan with his Danda (the staff of an ascetic) and saluted him. Bhagavan nodded his head in acceptance of the salutations and with great regard requested him by signs to sit on the seat arranged for him. He did not, however, sit there but sat down nearby on a deerskin and began looking at Bhagavan with a fixed stare. Bhagavan too looked at him with an unwavering and compassionate look. Neither spoke. The audience also kept perfect silence like the still waters of a great lake. For about half an hour, both of them remained absolutely still like that, exemplifying the relationship between devotion and compassion. At that time, Bhagavan’s face shone like the illumination of a crore of sun gods. Because of that brilliance, the faces of the people who came to witness this scene also blossomed like lotus flowers. A glorious voice saying, “What a splendour on Bhagavan’s face!” appeared to ring in the hearts of all the people there. One amongst them spontaneously said, “It will be very good indeed if someone takes a photo now.” As though the silence were disturbed by those words, the Acharya got up, respectfully asked for permission to leave, and went away to his lodging.

Seeing all this, I was reminded of Sri Dakshinamurthy who came to the earth to initiate Sanaka, Sanandana and others. “Vriddah Sishya Gurur yuva” (The disciples are old and the Guru is young). Similarly, the Acharya is a very old man and in contrast Bhagavan appeared to be a young man. The place also appeared at the time to be similar. The flower garden to the right was like Nandavanam; the Arunachala Hill at the back like Mount Kailas; the almond tree to the left, with its several branches, like a banyan tree; and the open space in front with a sea of human faces which had blossomed as if they were lotus flowers, like the great lake Manasarovar. Like the saying, “Gurosthu Mouna Vyakhyanam Sishyasthu Chhinnasamsayah” (The Guru’s sermon was ‘Silence’ and the doubts of the disciples were cleared). The Acharya did not ask any questions that day. It seems that before he came here, he had written regarding his doubts as to the sentence in the Agama Sastra beginning with “Haragowri Samyoge... Avachhaya Yogah.” The Ashram authorities did not reply to him giving Bhagavan’s views as they felt that the matter could be explained when the Acharya came here. Hence when the next day the Acharya asked Bhagavan about it, Bhagavan replied saying, “What is there? It is a well known thing. ‘Avachhaya Yogam’ means, when the force that is engaged in doing things, i.e., mano vritti (action of the mind) becomes pure and merges in Hara (Lord Siva), and when the shadow of the Self (Atma) falls on that force, it is called ‘Avachhaya Yogam’.” The Acharya said he did not understand it. Bhagavan thereupon spread his benign look over him for about half an hour. The Acharya’s eyes got closed involuntarily. After experiencing indescribable bliss and with tears of joy and with hands folded on his head, he said, “Bhagavan, I have now understood it,” and assuring us that he would be back by the time the Kumbhabhishekam (consecration ceremony) is performed, he left on pilgrimage to the south accompanied by his disciples.

(24) A PAIR OF PIGEONS^[2]

One morning about September or October 1945, a devotee from Bangalore, by name Venkataswami Naidu, brought a pair of pigeons and gave them to the Ashram as an offering. Seeing that, Bhagavan said, “We have to protect them from cats, etc., is it not? Who will look after them? A cage is required, food must be given. Who will do all that here? It is better for him to take them away”.

The devotee said he would make all the required arrangements and requested that they should be kept in the Ashram. He placed the pair of pigeons in Bhagavan’s lap. With overflowing affection and love, Bhagavan drew them near him, saying, “Come dears! Come! You won’t go back? You wish to stay on here? All right, stay on; a cage will be coming”. As he thus petted them with affection, they became absolutely quiet, closed their eyes as if they were in samadhi, and stayed on there without moving this way or that. Bhagavan thereupon keeping them on his lap stopped petting them, and with his gracious eyes fixed on them, sat in silence, deeply immersed in samadhi.

It took nearly an hour for the devotees in the Ashram to find and bring a cage for them. The wonder of it is, all through that one hour, the pigeons sat in Bhagavan’s lap without moving one way or the other as if they were a pair of yogis in samadhi.

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Endnotes

51. மனைத்தக்க மாண்புடையள் ஆகித் தன்கொண்டான்
 வளத்தக்காள் வாழ்க்கைத் துணை.

manait-takka māṇbuḍaiyaḷ āgit tan-koṇḍān
vaḷat-takkāḷ vāzhkkait tuṇai.

Meaning

(A wife) who has all the qualities befitting family life, and manages the household within her husband’s resources, is a (good) life partner.
[மனைத்தக்க மாண்புடையள் ஆகி = (A wife) who has all the qualities befitting family life; தன்கொண்டான் வளத் தக்காள் = manages the household within her husband’s resources; வாழ்க்கைத் துணை = is a (good) life partner]

Commentary

A good wife should have all the qualities befitting family life such as patience, love, character, respect for the husband and elders in the family, ability to adjust to the husband’s household, capable of doing all her duties well such as cooking, taking care of the family and guests, managing the servants, etc. She should also be able to manage all the household expenses in accordance with the husband’s income. This means that she should plan all her expenses in such a way that they are within her husband’s income. If she has come from a rich family, she cannot lead a lavish lifestyle unless her husband’s income permits it. If the husband is not so rich, she should be able to control her desires through understanding. Otherwise, there will be friction between the husband and wife. Thus, Sage Tiruvaḷḷuvar is showing us the qualities required of a good wife so that family life would be harmonious and happy.

52. மனைமாட்சி இல்லாள்கண் இல்லாயின் வாழ்க்கை

 எனைமாட்சித் தாயினும் இல்.

manai-māṭchi illāḷkaṇ il-lāyin vāzhkkai
enai-māṭchit tāyinum il.

Meaning

 If the wife does not have the necessary qualities befitting family life, then family life would be bleak for a person, despite having any other glory for himself.
[மனைமாட்சி இல்லாள்கண் இல்லாயின் = if the wife does not have the necessary qualities befitting family life; வாழ்க்கை இல் = then family life would be bleak (for a person); எனைமாட்சித்து ஆயினும் = despite having any other glory for himself]

Commentary

If one does not have a wife with qualities needed for leading a proper family life, he will not be happy even if he has other virtues like wealth, a good job, and social status. If the wife is unable to perform the duties of the family life properly, whatever be the other benefits one may have, they will not bring happiness. There will be only conflicts due to disharmony between the husband and wife. Thus, wife is the main factor in the success of one’s family life. If the wife has all the good virtues, the family life would go on very smoothly and all will be happy in the household. Otherwise, the family would not be able to progress as a unit, and there will be much unhappiness in the family.

53. இல்லதென் இல்லவள் மாண்பானால் உள்ளதென்

 இல்லவள் மாணாக் கடை?

illaden illavaḷ māṇbānāl uḷḷaden
illavaḷ māṇāk kaḍai?

Meaning

If the wife is worthy, then what is it that one does not have? If the wife is unworthy, then what does one really have?
[இல்லவள் மாண்பு ஆனால் இல்லது என் = If the wife is worthy, then what is it that one does not have?; இல்லவள் மாணாக் கடை உள்ளது என் = If the wife is unworthy, then what does one really have?]

Commentary

If the wife has a noble character, then one has everything to lead a happy family life. But, if it is not so, then whatever else one has, it is of no value. Thus, Sage Tiruvaḷḷuvar gives great importance to having a noble and virtuous wife as the key to a happy family life. Even if the husband is not so good, a good wife would still be able to take care of the family and slowly try to bring the husband to the good path. But if the wife is not good, it is like having a bad engine for a car. Irrespective of how good are the other aspects of a car such as appearance, seats, etc., it is primarily the engine that holds the key to its performance. The wife too is like the engine for the car. Therefore, one should be fortunate to get a good wife. It means one should have done many good karmas to get a worthy wife. Then everything will go well for him in the family.

54. பெண்ணின் பெருந்தக்க யாவுள கற்பென்னும்

 திண்மை உண்டாகப் பெறின்?

peṇṇin peruntakka yāvuḷa kaṛpennum
tiṇmai uṇdāgap peṛin?

Meaning

What can be more valuable than a wife, if she has the strength of chastity?
[பெண்ணின் பெருந்தக்க யா உள = What can be more valuable than a wife; கற்பு என்னும் திண்மை உண்டாகப் பெறின் = if she has the strength of chastity]

Commentary

To have a wife who is loyal to her husband, not just physically, but also in the mind, is the greatest asset for a husband. This is the true meaning of chastity. It was this strength of chastity that made the noble lady Kaṇṇagi, walk fearlessly into the court of the Pandya King Nedunchezhiyan and take him to task for the injustice meted out to her husband, who was falsely accused of stealing the queen’s anklet and given a death sentence. This story comes in the great Sangam work Silappadikaram. Chastity is the very soul of a woman and there are stories of many great women in our country who achieved great glory on account of their devotion to their husband, like Savitri, Arundhati, etc. Thus, to have a chaste wife is the greatest blessing for a husband, but chastity should be there even for the husband, otherwise how could the family life be happy?

55. தெய்வம் தொழாஅள் கொழுநன் தொழுதெழுவாள்

 பெய்யெனப் பெய்யும் மழை.

deyvam tozhāaḷ kozhunan tozhudezhuvāḷ
pey-yenap peyyum mazhai.

Meaning

(A woman) who upon rising (from sleep) worships not God but her husband (first), (would bring much joy to him) like a rain cloud that showers at our wish.
[தெய்வம் தொழாஅள் கொழுநன் தொழுது எழுவாள் = (A woman) who upon rising (from sleep) worships not God but her husband (first); பெய் எனப் பெய்யும் மழை^[1] = is like a rain cloud that showers at our wish]

Commentary

This is a Kuṛaḷ that is normally misinterpreted by the scholars. Here, the glory of a devoted wife is mentioned, which is part of our culture that is still in vogue in the country, though not like it used to be during the earlier times. She on rising from sleep would first touch the feet of her husband and then only get to her work. Only after touching the feet of her husband she would think of God. She thinks of her husband as her first God because he is the one who supports and protects her throughout her life, and her whole life revolves around pleasing and caring for the husband in all aspects, which she considers as her primary duty. In fact, the word Purusha also means God. Her happiness depends on her relationship and wellbeing of her husband.
Sage Tiruvaḷḷuvar says that having such a wife would bring great joy to her husband similar to that when the rain cloud showers at our wish. On a hot and sultry day, we may sometimes find clouds gathering in the sky. How nice would it be if it rains at our wish? What a great relief it would be from the sweltering heat. So too, a devoted wife will bring great joy to her husband whenever he faces the heat of samsara by giving him solace and support in difficult situations. It is not that it will rain whenever a devoted wife wishes for it. This is how some scholars tend to misinterpret. Sage Tiruvaḷḷuvar is giving such a telling example to make us realise the happiness of having such a devoted wife.

56. தற்காத்துத் தற்கொண்டான் பேணித் தகைசான்ற

 சொல்காத்துச் சோர்விலாள் பெண்.

taṛ-kāttut taṛ-koṇḍān pēṇit tagai-sānḍṛa
sol-kāttus sōrvilāḷ peṇ.

Meaning

A wife is one who guards her (chastity) and takes care of her husband, maintains the dignity of her family and does not neglect (her duties).
[பெண் தற்காத்து = A wife is one who guards her (chastity); தற்கொண்டான் பேணி = takes care of her husband; தகைசான்ற சொல் காத்து = maintains the dignity of her family; சோர்வு இலாள் = does not neglect (her duties)]

Commentary

We have mentioned in the earlier Kuṛaḷs about the importance of the wife to protect her chastity. In addition to taking care of her husband, she has to fulfil all her family duties in a perfect manner without neglecting them. Her duties include taking care of the children, in-laws and guests. She should not shirk her responsibilities by leaving her work to her mother-in-law and going off to attend her kitty-party. Sometimes, the work load may be high due to guests and she should not try to escape from them. It will be good for her to fulfil all her duties as and when they are required, otherwise, they will come back to her in the later part of her life and give her much misery. If she holds on to God during her work, she will get the strength to complete all her duties even if they are sometimes strenuous. Unless all the duties are fulfilled, her karmas will not end, and she will not be able to have a peaceful old age nor be able to pursue her spiritual goals properly. Thus, Sage Tiruvaḷḷuvar is teaching the housewife to conduct herself properly so as to protect her own dignity and that of the family, and also perform all her duties without any neglect. This is the way to peace and happiness in the family which will pave the way for one’s evolution.

57. சிறைகாக்கும் காப்பு எவன்செய்யும் மகளிர்

 நிறைகாக்கும் காப்பே தலை.

siṛai-kākkum kāppu evan-seyyum magaḷir
niṛai-kākkum kāppē talai.

Meaning

What is the use of a prison to protect a woman’s chastity? Her own self-control is the best safeguard for her honour.
[மகளிர் சிறை காக்கும் காப்பு எவன் செய்யும் = what is the use of a prison to protect a woman’s chastity?; நிறை காக்கும் காப்பே தலை = her own self-control is the best safeguard for her honour]

Commentary

What is the point in trying to protect a woman’s chastity by keeping her confined to the house? How long can you keep her under strict control? If you keep her confined to the house, her mind would probably stray more and be more inclined towards indulgence. The best course is for the woman to develop the right understanding and mental strength by which she would be able to protect her chastity on her own through self-restraint. For this, the parents should be able to guide her properly when she comes of age. When a woman realises that it is sinful to indulge in immoral sexual relations, she would be able to control herself from temptations. She would wait to get a husband to fulfil her natural feelings of passion. That is why there is the institution of marriage in the society to take care of the natural physical needs of a man and woman. But marriages should be conducted at the right time so that these natural feelings can be fulfilled in a responsible manner without delay. If the marriages are delayed, then it would be difficult for the man and woman to control their urges for long and hence they may be prone to indulge in immoral relationships. Even after marriage, every man and woman should fulfil their passions only with their spouse, and that is the meaning of chastity. It is very sinful to have extramarital relationships as this would dilute the sacred relationship between husband and wife and also create bad karmas.

58. பெற்றான் பெறின்பெறுவர் பெண்டிர் பெருஞ்சிறப்புப்

 புத்தேளிர் வாழும் உலகு.

peṭṛān peṛin-peṛuvar peṇḍir peruñchiṛappup
puttēḷir vāzhum ulagu.

Meaning

When a husband gets a (worthy) wife, they will attain great happiness through a heavenly life (on earth).
[பெற்றான் பெறின் பெண்டிர் (பெற்றான் = husband) = When a husband gets a (worthy) wife; பெருஞ்சிறப்பு பெறுவர் = they will attain great happiness; புத்தேளிர் வாழும் உலகு (புத்தேளிர் = devas) = through a heavenly life (on earth)]

Commentary

All the heavenly happiness can be got here, on earth, in family life, when a husband gets a worthy wife. A worthy wife is one who has all the qualities befitting family life which includes chastity. But true chastity is common to both husband and wife. It is not that the wife alone has to maintain chastity and the husband can do whatever he wants. But the wife has a greater responsibility because she has to protect her womb; otherwise, she would have to pay a heavy price if she conceives an illegitimate baby. In the Mahabharata, Kunti suffers throughout her life for abandoning her first child Karna, who was an illegitimate baby. When the wife is able to take care of her husband and family in a loving manner, the family life would be heavenly. If they are able to lead a life with understanding, they would be able to get over their physical attractions over the years and would become partners in their spiritual development. Then they would be able to achieve their purpose of life. This is the objective of marriage and family life.

59. புகழ்புரிந்த இல்லிலோர்க்கு இல்லை இகழ்வார்முன்

 ஏறுபோல் பீடு நடை. 

pugazh-purinda il-lilōrkku illai igazhvār-mun
ēṛu-pōl pīḍu naḍai.

Meaning

One who does not have a wife who brings honour (to the family), cannot walk with bold, lion-like majesty before his detractors.
[புகழ்புரிந்த இல் இல்லோர்க்கு = One who does not have a wife who brings honour; இகழ்வார்முன் ஏறுபோல் பீடு நடை இல்லை (ஏறு = lion) = cannot walk with bold, lion-like majesty before his detractors]

Commentary

If one does not have a worthy wife who can bring honour to the family, he will not be able to face his detractors. He will not be able to walk boldly like a lion in front of them, if the wife brings discredit to the family through bad conduct. Therefore, to have a good wife is the greatest good fortune for a man, as he will be able to lead a happy life and also walk on the road holding his head high before everybody, including his detractors. In fact, he can walk boldly on the road with his wife by his side without any apprehension. It is our good karmas done in the past life that fetches a good wife, and the same is true for the wife also with regard to getting a good husband. Therefore, we need to do a lot of good deeds to get a happy family life. Through a happy family life, one will be able to achieve all the objectives of life including spiritual development.

60. மங்கலம் என்ப மனைமாட்சி மற்றதன்

 நன்கலம் நன்மக்கட் பேறு.

maṅgalam enba manai-māṭchi maṭṛadan
nan-kalam nan-makkaṭ pēṛu.

Meaning

Obtaining a good wife is said to be a blessing (for a family), and good children are its fine ornaments.
[பேறு = obtaining, blessing; மனை = family, wife; மங்கலம் = blessing; மாட்சி = good, great, worthy; மங்கலம் என்ப மனைமாட்சி = a good wife is said to be a blessing (for a family); மற்று = அசை, an expletive; நன்மக்கள் அதன் நன்கலம் = good children are its fine ornaments]

Commentary

A good wife is indeed a great blessing for a family as she will be able to manage the family well and take care of everybody in the family with love, and also raise the children well giving them good values. And the husband would be able to concentrate on his job without any worry. When he comes back home, he would have an understanding wife to make him relax. She would be a pillar of support for the husband during all his ups and downs. When the wife and husband are both good and have a loving relationship based on understanding and shared values, they will make a happy couple. For such a family, bringing forth good children are the ornaments that add to its beauty. Good children are born only to good parents. Such good children will maintain the family values and traditions and enhance the family glory. Thus, it is important that both the wife and husband should be of good nature so as to produce good children. They should mate when their minds are peaceful and thoughts noble in order to get good children. Thus, they should lead a responsible marital life to produce good children. When good children are born to a good couple, it would add to the happiness of the family.

    (To be continued)

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Endnotes

“The Son is Beholden to the Father” — it is with this profound statement that Suri Nagamma begins her book, Letters from Sri Ramanasramam. The incident she describes is as follows:

“On the occasion of the Karthigai Deepam festival, Lord Arunachaleswarar was led to the Ashram entrance amidst the sounding of traditional instruments. Niranjanananda Swami, the Sarvadhikari (manager), offered ritual honors and prostrations. Bhagavan, coming from the direction of the cowshed, witnessed this grand ceremony and sat on the porch of the library. After applying the Arathi prasadam to his forehead, Bhagavan remarked in a soft, trembling voice, ‘The Son is Beholden to the Father.’ His voice faltered, heavy with the weight of supreme devotion.”
After Bhagavan heard the sacred name “Arunachala” from a relative, and the “death experience” that followed, he was drawn irresistibly to his Father. Leaving a note stating, “I have set out in search of my Father according to His command,” Bhagavan surrendered himself completely. He often praised that Divine Father of Wisdom, saying, “O Thou who grantest Grace greater than the mother who gave birth!”
Let us now explore how Bhagavan spiritually ripened his mother, Alagammal—once a simple housewife—and ultimately granted her Mukti (liberation).

The Path of Firmness and Prayer

When Alagammal first found her son at Pavalakunru, his body was emaciated and his hair matted. Distraught, she pleaded with him to return home. To her tears, Bhagavan replied with a written note of stark philosophical truth:
“The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their Prarabdha (destiny)... Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain.”

He remained unmoved, demonstrating that a Jnani’s Vairagya (dispassion) cannot be shaken by worldly ties. However, when she fell ill in 1914, Bhagavan—who never asked for anything for himself—composed four beautiful verses (Venpas) to Arunachala for her recovery. While they appeared as prayers for physical health, their inner meaning sought her liberation from the “fever” of Maya:

“O Medicine that rises as a Hill to cure the endless cycle of births! It is Thy duty to heal my mother and take her under Thy protection.”
“O Vanquisher of Time! Show Thy lotus feet to her who bore me, so that Death may not approach. Enquire: Who is Death?”
“O Arunachala, the Flame of Knowledge! Clothe her physical form in the garment of Wisdom and merge her into Thy feet.”

“O Great Hill that dispels the darkness of Maya! Why delay in removing my mother’s delusion? Who else but Thee can shield those who seek refuge?”

Training in Skandashram: From Orthodoxy to Oneness

In 1916, after the passing of her daughter-in-law Mangalam, the mother arrived permanently in Tiruvannamalai with the firm resolve: “Even if my body is thrown into a thorn bush, I will stay only with my son.” Bhagavan, seeing her determination, allowed her to stay. Initially, she stayed with Echammal, as some devotees disapproved of a woman staying with him. Later, they moved from Virupaksha Cave to Skandasramam. There, the mother began cooking for the residents and visiting devotees.
Initially, Alagammal struggled to let go of her orthodox habits and ritualistic purity (madi and acharam). Bhagavan, through gentle mockery and sometimes stern “practical instruction,” gradually prepared her for a state of detachment. Since she was skilled in cooking, he taught her supreme wisdom using the language she understood best—through the “Appalam Song” (Appala Pattu).
In this metaphor, the black gram represents the human soul, which must be ground by the pestle of dispassion to begin its transformation. Through this rigorous process, the ego—the individual “I”—is completely pulverized into a fine powder. This powder is then immersed in the fire of wisdom, where it is fried to achieve ultimate liberation. By framing the path to enlightenment through the act of cooking, he showed her that one can destroy the ego and grow spiritually while performing their humble, daily duties.
This transformative process of the mother’s effort meeting the Guru’s grace is perfectly captured in the scriptures:

“The Jnana Bodham (8-192) states: ‘If seekers, supported by the grace of God or the Guru, perform their spiritual practice (sadhana) to the best of their ability, then God or the Guru will personally step forward to complete what is beyond the seekers’ power. However, if they fail to perform the practice that is within their capacity, then even that grace becomes difficult to attain.’”

Accordingly, to his mother—who had prepared herself for spiritual practice to the utmost of her ability—Bhagavan, acting as both her son and her Guru, bestowed the gift of liberation (mukti).

The Great Lineage of Matru Mukti

Bhagavan’s act of liberating his mother aligns him with a sacred lineage of Sages in Indian history:
Adi Shankara: Even after taking Sannyasa, he fulfilled his promise to his mother by appearing at her deathbed to provide spiritual instruction and perform her final rites, thereby transcending monastic tradition.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa: He devotedly cared for his mother, Chandramani Devi, until the end, acting as the catalyst for her liberation.
Pattinathar: A wealthy man turned renunciate, he also performed his mother’s final rites despite public opposition. His soul-stirring verses, beginning with “Ten months she bore me, suffering in every limb...,” exemplify how the discharge of an essential filial duty is not incompatible with high spiritual achievement.
In this same tradition, Bhagavan Ramana did not view Alagammal merely as a parent, but as a maturing soul worthy of the ultimate grace. In 1922, as Alagammal’s end neared, Bhagavan sat by her side. He placed his right hand on her heart and his left hand on her head. He systematically cleared the remaining subtle impressions (Vasanas) from her heart, merging her individuality into the Supreme Self. The Father (Arunachala) had drawn the Son; the Son (Ramana) now absorbed the Mother.
Since liberation and wisdom are common to both genders, the body of a Jivanmukta (liberated soul) should not be cremated; it is a temple. Accordingly, he had his mother’s body buried and a Lingam consecrated over the spot, naming it Matru Bhuteswara. He firmly stated, “This is the body of a liberated Sage; there is no ritual impurity (theetu) here.”

The Sacred Status of Motherhood

Indian tradition places the mother above even the Divine. The Taittiriya Upanishad commands “Matru Devo Bhava” (Treat the mother as God). The Manu Smriti states that a mother is a hundred times more venerable than a father, and Thiruvalluvar notes that a mother’s greatest joy is seeing her son become a righteous Sage.

A Warning for the Modern Era

Bhagavan’s life serves as a timeless mirror for our own conduct. While our tradition places parents even above the Divine, today’s changing times tell a different story. As the youth race toward purely economic goals, many have begun to view their parents as a burden. Abandoning them in old age homes represents a significant disintegration of our cherished cultural values.

Conclusion: Living the Teachings

Bhagavan Ramana did not merely provide oral instructions; he lived as the very definition of his teachings. Despite his total renunciation, he cared for his mother in her final days and ensured her eternal freedom. He later established a shrine over her burial place, confirming her status as a liberated Jnani.
We hear and read many spiritual truths, but to truly follow Bhagavan is to move beyond mere words. Following him means adopting that same life of conscious action and selfless service that he so gracefully demonstrated.

कथं नु मां ज्ञास्यसि तत्त्वतस्त्वं ज्ञातुं स्वात्मानमुतासमर्थः।

इत्यज्ञमर्त्यं हसति प्रपञ्च इत्येवमूचे भगवान्गुरुर्नः।।   103

kathaṃ nu māṃ jñāsyasi tattvatastvaṃ jñātuṃ svātmānamutāsamarthaḥ|

ityajñamartyaṃ hasati prapañca ityevamūce bhagavāngururnaḥ||

Sri Bhagavan, our Guru, says: “The world laughs at the ignorant man! How can you know me aright, being unable to know yourself aright?”

This verse refers to an actual conversation that Bhagavan had with a young European visitor. He began by pointing out the Buddhist point of view with regard to the ‘I’ and eventually drifted to the experience in the deep sleep state.

The visitor said: “The world sends impressions and I awake!”

Maharshi.: Can the world exist without someone to perceive it? Which is prior? The Being-consciousness or the rising-consciousness? The Being-consciousness is always there, eternal and pure. The rising consciousness rises forth and disappears. It is transient.

D.: Does not the world exist for others even when I am asleep?

M.: Such a world mocks at you also for knowing it without knowing yourself. The world is the result of your mind. Know your mind. Then see the world. You will realise that it is not different from the Self.^[1]

The point that Sri Bhagavan is making is this: if the world is a self-existent reality, what prevents it from revealing itself in sleep? The world whose existence is doubted, does it not include the “others” also, who are called upon to bear witness? The world neither exists by itself nor is it conscious of its own existence. A dependent, unself-conscious, ever-changing world cannot be real.

Perception of forms takes place in the state of ignorance

शरीरमेवात्मतयाऽवगम्य तत् सत्यमेवेत्यपि निश्चयेन।

प्रत्येति सत्यं सकलं हि रूपं सर्वोऽपि जन्तुः परिदृश्यमानम्।। 105

śarīramevātmatayā’vagamya tat satyamevetyapi niścayena|
pratyeti satyaṃ sakalaṃ hi rūpaṃ sarvo’pi jantuḥ

paridṛśyamānam||

Every creature first identifies his own Self with the body and concludes thereby that the body is real; then he comes to believe that all forms that are seen are also real.

Whatever is seen is a form. We mistakenly conclude that all forms are real. The first link in the chain of this mistaken perception is the ‘I am the body’ notion. As we intuitively know that the Self (the pure sense ‘I am’) is real, we ascribe reality to the body. Body being a part of the world, the world also is taken to be real. Thus, the initial mistake of the ‘I am the body’ notion leads us to conclude that the world is real. But are we the body?
In Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan says:

“If the Self be with form, so would the world and the Supreme Lord. But since the Self is without form, who is there to see the forms of these two? How could they be seen? Is the spectacle ever different from the eye that sees? The Eye, really, is the Real Self, and It is the infinite Eye.”^[2]

If one is identified with Consciousness, one sees Consciousness alone everywhere. This is what is known as Jnana Drishti – seeing through the Eye of Wisdom. The division between the seer and the seen disappears. That division-less vision is One, Limitless and Complete. Being identified with form is a state of ignorance. In pure Awareness of the Self, nothing has form. A jnani, established in this state, does not see objects or people in front of him in the way that ordinary people do.

காணாநின் றாற்போலக் காண்கினுஞ்சுட் டொன்றுமெதிர்

காணா விசுத்தவெளிக் கண்ணான பாதம்.

KaaNa ninrarpolak kaaNginum suttonru medir

KaaNa visuddha veLik kannana paadam ^[3]

Though he appears to see things in front of him, Padam (Bhagavan) is that extremely pure expanse, the Eye that sees no object whatsoever before it.

Bhagavan once likened the eyes of a jnani to those of a dead goat! They are always open; they glitter but they see nothing, though it seems to others that they see. ( Letters, 26^th Oct 1947)

वपुः प्रपञ्चाविति दृश्यमेकं वीक्षाऽप्यवीक्षाऽप्युभयोः सहैव।

विनाऽऽत्मनो रूपमिदं शरीरं किं न्वीक्षते कश्चन विश्वमेतत्।।  108

vapuḥ prapañcāvapi dṛśyamekaṃ vīkṣā’pyavīkṣā’pyubhayoḥ sahaiva|

vinā’’tmano rūpamidaṃ śarīraṃ kiṃ nvīkṣate kaścana viśvametat||

One’s own body and the world are one indivisible spectacle; either they are both seen together or they are both not seen. Does anyone see this world without at the same time seeing the body, which is the form ascribed to the Self?

Neither the world nor the body is seen apart from the other. In other words, if one is present the other too is present; when one is absent, the other also is absent (as in deep sleep). In Vedantic jargon this is called ‘anvaya and vyatireka,’ meaning ‘co-presence and co-absence.’ Vedanta uses this logic as a tool to discern the Real from the unreal.
In the waking state there is a waking world and a waking body; in the dream state too there is a dream body that experiences a dream world. In the deep sleep state, there is no body and no world. However, no one denies their own existence in deep sleep. Pointing to this experience, Bhagavan says that there is discontinuity of the person but no discontinuity of existence or Beingness, as such. The conclusion to be drawn from this is: that which comes and goes (body and world) cannot be real, whereas formless Beingness must be Real as it continues throughout, in all three states of waking, dream, and sleep.

Bhagavan has further elaborated on this point while explaining the Invocatory verse of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham:

“The world is always apparent to everyone. All must know “I and this world exist”. On enquiry “do these always exist?” and “if indeed real, they must remain even unrelated to time, space and differentiation; are they so?” It is evident that only in the waking and dream states these are perceived but not in deep sleep. Therefore ‘I’ and the world appear sometimes and disappear also. They are created, have their being and later vanish. Whence do they arise? Wherein do they remain? Where do they go on vanishing from view? Can such phenomena be admitted to be real?
Furthermore, I and the world, objects of creation, sustenance and destruction, are perceived in the waking and dream states only and not in deep sleep. How does deep sleep differ from the other two states? In sleep there are no thoughts whereas in the other two states there are. Therefore, thoughts must be the origin of the ‘I’ and the world.

Now what about thoughts? They cannot be natural; otherwise they cannot appear at one moment and disappear at another. Wherefrom do they arise? Their source, ever-present and not subject to variations, must be admitted to be. It must be the eternal state as said in the upadesa mantra - That from which all beings come forth, that in which they remain and that into which they resolve. This stanza is not in praise or adoration but only an expression of the Reality.”^[4]

उक्तं शरीरत्रितयं यदेतत् तत् पञ्चकोशात्मकमुच्यते च।

मध्यं त्रयं सूक्ष्मशरीरमुक्तं कोशोन्तिमः कारणदेह उक्तः।।   111

uktaṃ śarīratritayaṃ yadetat tat pañcakośātmakamucyate ca|
madhyaṃ trayaṃ sūkṣmaśarīramuktaṃ kośontimaḥ kāraṇadehauktaḥ||

The three bodies mentioned here are also enumerated as five sheaths. The middle three sheaths are the same as the subtle body, and the last sheath is stated to be the causal body.

In Advaita Vedanta, the discussion on the three bodies that the jiva wears, leads to the discrimination of Self from the non-Self (atma-anatma viveka). Realisation of the truth that Self or atman is the ultimate subject, the Real ‘I,’ permanent and self-revealing is arrived at through reasoning. The three bodies of the jiva, namely, gross, subtle, and causal, are non-Self since they are only the relative subject, impermanent and are not self-revealing.
Classifying it in a slightly different manner, the Self is said to be covered with five sheaths, namely, anna-maya (sheath of food or material sheath), prana-maya (vital sheath or sheath of bio-energy), mano-maya (mental sheath), vignana-maya (knowledge or intellectual sheath), and lastly ananda-maya (sheath of bliss). Mapping these two classifications, anna-maya kosha is the same as the gross body (our visible form); prana-maya, mano-maya and vignana-maya together are called the subtle body or sukshma sarira. The causal body or karana-sarira is the same as the sheath of bliss.
Bhagavan points out that when deham or sarira is mentioned in general, it includes all three bodies.

Gross Body or material sheath. This is the external shell of the Self — it engages in action, is sustained by food and is made of flesh, blood, bone etc. It is created because of past karma and through the combination of the five elements, viz., earth, water, fire, air, and space. It undergoes continuous transformation and decay. It has its full play in the wakeful state.
Subtle body. This consists of the three sheaths, namely, vital, mental and intellectual, is known as the inner instrument or antahkaranam.

* Prana-maya Kosham is the vital or bio-energy sheath. It senses hunger and thirst; it is subtler than the material sheath. It consists of karmendriyas (organs of action like tongue, legs, hands, etc. and vital airs).
* Mano-maya Kosham is the mental sheath. It consists of jnanendriyas (senses of perception like seeing, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). It is the seat of thoughts and emotions. It perceives differences between objects (vastu vikalpa), and is the source of sankalpa-vikalpa (intention and imagination). Objective knowledge begins here – ‘me and the other’.

* Vijnana-maya kosham is the knowledge sheath; it is the centre for reasoning and determination. This sheath receives the light of the Self first, and is a highly refined layer of the inner organ. The senses of agency, will power, doer-ship and enjoyer-ship (kartrutva and bhoktrutva) reside here.

The subtle body has its full play in the dream state.
Causal Body. ^{Associated with the anandamaya kosha, it reflects the bliss of the Atman. It is constituted of primal ignorance that obscures recognition of the Self and serves as the repository of latent tendencies (vasanas). In deep sleep, the jiva remains in it in the seed state}.

‘The sleep experience is not through any medium (such as senses or mind), but bears out the fact that consciousness does exist in deep sleep. The unawareness is owing to the absence of relative knowledge, and the happiness to the absence of seething thoughts.^[5]

Answering a question about the five sheaths, Bhagavan says:

“The ‘I-thought’ arises first and then all other thoughts. They comprise the mind. The mind is the object and the ‘I’ is the subject. Can there be will without the ‘I’? It is comprised in the ‘I’. The ‘I-thought’ is the vijnanamaya kosa (intellectual sheath). Will is included in it.”^[6]

Sri Bhagavan said further: Annamaya kosa is the gross body sheath. The senses with the prana and the karmendriyas form the pranamayakosa (sense-sheath). The senses with the mind form the manomaya kosa (mind-sheath). They are the jnanendryas. The mind is formed of thoughts only; Idam (this) is the object and aham (‘I’) is the subject; the two together form the vijnanamayakosa (intellect-sheath).

यावन्न बोधात् त्रितयं विनश्येत् स्याद् देहवानेव हि जीवनामा।

तुरीयभावे ह्यशरीरताऽस्ति सहैव यस्मिंस्त्रितयं विनश्येत्।।  112

yāvanna bodhāt tritayaṃ vinaśyet syād dehavāneva hi jīvanāmā|

turīyabhāve hyaśarīratā’sti sahaiva yasmiṃstritayaṃ vinaśyet||

So long as the three bodies remain undissolved by the light of Supreme Awareness, the jiva will be embodied. Only in the Supreme State, wherein all the three are together lost, will there be bodilessness.

The three bodies collectively form what is known as an upadhi (limitation or adjunct). In the ultimate analysis, the limitation is actually imagined by the jiva due to ignorance (avidya). This ignorance has to be removed for jnana to dawn. The ever-present Self reveals itself then. All one’s sadhana is structured for the purpose of the removal of ignorance. Ignorance leaves only when the upadhi obstructing the vision of the Self is dissolved. This is the import of the Upadesa Saram verse:

“With the elimination of all superimpostions (or upadhi), occurs vision of one’s Self. That itself is the vision of God in the form of one’s Self.” ^[7]

The causal body, being the repository of all latent tendencies, is the primary sheath that needs to be dissolved in order to lift the dark veil of ignorance and reveal the Self permanently. Dissolution of the causal body implies eradication of all accumulated tendencies (vasana kshayam). Along with this, the ‘I am the body’ notion (dehatma bhavam), an attribute of the subtle body, also gets destroyed. The constant vacillation of the mind thus stops and the state of thought-free awareness prevails. This is the state of a jnani or a jivan mukta. He is said to abide in sahaja samadhi.
Aspirants in pursuit of the Self will occasionally experience the state of samadhi (absorption in the Self) but soon come out of it, unable to abide in it permanently. This is due to the non-destruction of the causal body, which pulls the aspirant out of the samadhi experience. The flow of thoughts in the mind resumes and the aspirant goes back to the false mind-identified state.
By contrast, a Self-realised jnani, a jivan mukta, though apparently acting in the world, never loses the vision of the Self.
How does a jivan mukta function in the body after Realisation? The explanation given is that a jivan mukta’s body continues to function until all of its karmas are exhausted. He functions with a Suddha Manas (pure mind), which does not bind him to anything; it is like a burnt rope – it has the shape of a rope but is useless to bind anything. With his ego lost forever, he has no kartrutva bhava (doership attitude). His sthula sarira (gross body) has no effect on him and is for all practical purposes destroyed too. At the time of his physical death, his subtle body, which is not other than Cosmic Consciousness, merges in the Original Light in the Heart. He is said to become a videha mukta. Ultimately, however, Bhagavan says that these are all explanations given to satisfy the onlooker. The jivan mukta himself sees no limitation of any kind whatsoever after attaining the egoless state.

आविद्यकत्वं जगदीक्षणस्य विस्पष्टमेवं गुरुणोपदिष्टम्।

एवं निरस्ता जगतोऽस्य सत्ता दिष्टाऽऽत्मनः केवलताऽपि सत्या।।  123

āvidyakatvaṃ jagadīkṣaṇasya vispaṣṭamevaṃ guruṇopadiṣṭam|

evaṃ nirastā jagato’sya sattā diṣṭā’’tmanaḥ kevalatā’pi satyā||

Thus it has been made plain by the Master that the seeing of the world is an effect of the primary ignorance, and thus the claim of the reality of the world has been refuted by him. He has also shown that Self alone is real and it is non-dual.

The primary ignorance (mula avidya) mentioned in this verse is the ‘I-thought’ or the ‘I am the body’ notion. This is the root thought, and only after it arises do all other thoughts arise to form the mind. The waking and dream worlds rise as a product of the mind. The waking world is experienced only when the mind and senses apprehend it, while the dream world is produced by the mind alone (without the senses) during sleep. When the mind is not active, as in deep sleep, neither the waking world nor the dream world are perceived. Thus, the world is the creation of the mind alone. Since the mind itself is a product of the primal ignorance, the worlds that are seen by it cannot be real. This is the chain of logic. Neither in deep sleep nor in pure Awareness, can there be knowledge of a world.

“^{The waking, dream and sleep states have their origin in the Original Darkness (mula avidya). With the mind outgoing and deriving experiences from its modes in the waking and dream states, and indrawn in sleep, experiencing with modes of Maya, a unique power regulates all activities of the individuals and of the universe. All these are only phenomena passing through the Reflected Light on the substratum of the Self-radiant Being.
Just as a rope-snake cannot be seen in broad daylight, nor rope itself in thick darkness, so also the world appears neither in the samadhi state of Self-shining pure Being or in deep sleep, swoon, etc. Only in Reflected Light (Light mixed with Darkness or knowledge soiled by ignorance) can the world, not independent of its Source, seem to rise up, flourish and be resolved. Its diversity too cannot be exclusive of the Reality, the original Source}”^[8]

स्वाप्नस्य विश्वस्य मृषात्मकत्वं स्वप्ने न शक्नोति हि कोऽपि बोद्धुम्।

तथैव जाग्रद्भुवनं मृषेति शक्नोति बोद्धुं नहि जागरेस्मिन्।।   132

svāpnasya viśvasya mṛṣātmakatvaṃ svapne na śaknoti hi ko’pi boddhum|

tathaiva jāgradbhuvanaṃ mṛṣeti śaknoti boddhuṃ nahi jāgaresmin||

No one is able to know the unreality of the dream-world during the dream itself. In the same way, no one is able to know the unreality of the waking world while he is in the waking state.

The import of this verse is that the nature of the mind is to believe its own projections to be real. Yet, when Sri Bhagavan says that the waking world is no more real than the dream world, we are unable to accept it. The reality of the waking world is truly understood only when we ‘awaken’ from it.

Devotee: Is then the world nothing better than a dream?
Maharshi: What is wrong with the sense of reality you have while you are dreaming? You may be dreaming of something quite impossible, for instance, of having a happy chat with a dead person. Just for a moment you may doubt in the dream saying to yourself, ‘Was he not dead?’, but somehow your mind reconciles itself to the dream vision, and the person is as good as alive for the purposes of the dream. In other words, the dream as a dream does not permit you to doubt its reality. Even so, you are unable to doubt the reality of the world of your wakeful experience. How can the mind which has itself created the world accept it as unreal? That is the significance of the comparison made between the world of wakeful experience and the dream world. Both are but creations of the mind and so long as the mind is engrossed in either, it finds itself unable to deny the reality of the dream world while dreaming and of the waking world while awake. If, on the contrary, you withdraw your mind completely from the world and turn it within and abide thus, that is, if you keep awake always to the Self, which is the substratum of all experience, you will find the world, of which alone you are now aware, just as unreal as the world in which you lived in your dream.^[9]

Self-forgetfulness (svarupa vismriti) dominates the ego-mind at all times. This is why we are unable to accept the jnani’s words that the waking world is not real. Only through self-enquiry will the veil of the primal ignorance lift, to reveal the Self.

 (to be continued)

---

Endnotes

It was back in 1995 when I first visited Ramanashramam. A solo trip, armed with a letter of introduction to Balarama Reddy from Joan and Matthew Greenblatt. The whole experience, guided by the amazing grace of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, was magical. Balarama Reddy took me under his care like a mother and invited me to meditate with him every day the entire two weeks I was there. He never spoke very much, but the few things he said have never left me. One of them was “Just merge the mind in the Heart.” That’s all you need to do! Although simple enough for the mind to grasp, it has taken me decades to realize the profundity of those few words.

This is the fourth article of a series dedicated to various verses from Ramana Maharshi’s Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham or Supplement to Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, his lofty forty verses on Reality. In each instance, they are studied by comparing the original Sanskrit verses to his Tamil translations. The subject of the first article is verses 9, 25 and 40 of the Anubandham, which Bhagavan viewed as a free-standing poem in praise of the Self, and the second features verses 1 through 5 that  extol the supreme virtue of association with Sages. The focus of the third article is verses 26 and 27 that are derived from Sanskrit verses in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha in which Sage Vasistha instructs Rama on how one should conduct oneself in the world when knowing one’s true nature or ātma svarūpa. This article treats Bhagavan’s adaptation of four verses on the Heart, verses 21-24 in the Anubandham, that are also derived from verses in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha.^[1]
The etymology of the Sanskrit term for ‘heart’, namely hṛdayam, is unclear in the scholarly realm. In his highly respected dictionary, Monier-Williams can only speculate. In its form hṛid, it is thought to be connected with śrad, meaning ‘the heart as the seat of feelings and emotions’. As an adjective, hṛidaya (from hṛid + aya) in the Bhāgavata Purāna means ‘going to the heart’.
According to Robert Butler, “The Tamil term ullam—rendered in English as ‘heart’—is, for Sri Ramana Maharshi and Muruganar, another way of referring to the absolute reality, that which alone IS. The Tamil root ul means ‘be, exist’; therefore the primary meaning of ullam is simply ‘that which exists’.” He makes the following observation. “Thus we see that the same relationship exists between (1) ‘Heart’ as the Reality and ‘heart’ as the reflection of that Reality in the mind-body complex and (2) the absolute ‘I’ (often referred to as ‘I-I’) of the Self and the relative ‘I’ of the personal self.”^[2]
When asked what the heart signifies, Bhagavan replied “Call it by any name, God, Self, the heart or the seat of Consciousness, it is all the same. The point to be grasped is this, that Heart means the very core of one’s being, the Centre, without which there is nothing whatever.”^[3]
Why were verses 21-24 chosen by Bhagavan? The general consensus is that they are meant to correct any misapprehensions about the real nature of the spiritual heart and thus are a response to verses 18 and 19 in the Anubandham that Bhagavan translated from the Malayalam version of Ashtanga Hridayam, a standard work on ayurvedic medicine in Sanskrit and Malayalam. They read as follows.
18. Between the two breasts, below the chest and above the stomach there are six things of many colours. Among these, one thing which resembles a lily bud and which is within, two digits to the right (from the centre of the chest) is the heart.
19. Its mouth is closed; in the tiny hole which is inside (it), there exists the dense darkness (of ignorance) together with desire (anger, greed, delusion, pride, jealousy), and so on; all the major nerves (nadis) are connected with it; it is the abode of the breath, the mind and the light (of consciousness).^[4]
Now onto the verses from the Anubandham. Verse 21 is Bhagavan’s translation of verse 5.78.32 and the first line of verse 5.78.33.

श्री राम उवाच:

ब्रह्मन् जगति भूतानां हृदयं तत्किमुच्यते  |
इदं सर्वं महादर्शे यस्मिंस्तत्प्रतिबिम्बति    ||

श्री वसिष्ठ उवाच:

साधो जगति भूतानां हृदयं द्विविधं स्मृतम् |

śrī rāma uvāca:

brahman jagati bhūtānāṁ hṛdayaṁ tat kim ucyate |
idaṁ sarvaṁ mahādarśe yasmiṁs tat pratibimbati ||

śrī vasiṣṭha uvāca:

sādho jagati bhūtānāṁ hṛdayaṁ dvividhaṁ smṛtam |

Sri Rama: O Holy One, what is that which is known as the heart of all beings in the world in which great mirror the manifest universe is reflected?Sri Vasistha: My good Rama, listen! The heart of all beings in the world is thought of as twofold.^[5]

Tamil translation

To Rama, who asked, “Tell (me), in which great mirror do all these (worlds) appear in front (of us) as a reflection, and what is that which is declared to be the Heart of all the beings in this universe”, the Sage Vasishtha said, “When considered, the Heart of all beings of this world is of two kinds.”^[6]
In general there is not a great deal of difference between Bhagavan’s translation and the original Sanskrit verses. That said, ‘all these (worlds) appear in front (of us) as a reflection’ is more descriptive, direct and potent than ‘the manifest universe is reflected’. ‘Tell (me)’ is personable and underlines the context of a dialogue between two exceptional beings. ‘When considered’ conveys more strongly than ‘is thought of’ the depth of thinking that is at play here.
Mirror as a metaphor for the Self appears in many ancient texts, such as Tripurā Rahasya or The Mystery Beyond the Trinity, an ancient scripture of indeterminate date, perhaps somewhere between the Tenth and Fifteenth Centuries A.D., that had great popularity through the ages.^[7] Another popular text in which it is used is Adi Sankara’s Hymn to Dakshinamurti. Nochur Venkataraman paraphrases the first verse beautifully:
This universe is similar to the vision of a reflected city in a mirror. The entire vision happens in the Self. That which is within is projected as if it is outside, by the power of māyā. As the spell of dream breaks when one wakes up from sleep, the misapprehension ends for the knower and he realises that the One non-dual Self alone remains. To Him, the divine teacher, Sri Dakshinamurti, who alone bestows this knowledge, is this prostration.^[8]
Bhagavan used the cinema instead as a more contemporary metaphor as in verse 3 of Ēkāṉma Pañchakam.
When (in fact) the body is within self, (which is) existence-consciousness-bliss (sat-chit-ananda), he who thinks that Self is within that insentient body, is like one who thinks that the cloth (of the screen), which is the support of the (cinema) picture, exists within the picture.^[9]
Here is a striking example from Muruganar’s Sri Guru Ramana Prasadam.
250 As soon as I experienced the wondrous illumination of mauna, shining within my mind as the grace of supreme consciousness, the triad of knower, known and knowledge appearing before me became merely a series of images projected upon a screen.^[10]
Verse 22 is Bhagavan’s translation of the second line of verse 5.78.33 along with verses 5.78.34 and 5.78.35.

उपादेयं च हेयं च विभागोऽयं तयोः श्रृणु ॥

इयत्तया परिच्छिन्ने देहे यद्वक्षसोऽन्तरम् ।
हेयं तद्धृदयं विद्धि तनावेकतटे स्थितम् ॥
संविन्मात्रं तु हृदयमुपादेयं स्थितं स्मृतम् ।

तदन्तरे च बाह्ये च न च बाह्ये न चान्तरे ॥

upādeyaṁ ca heyaṁ ca vibhāgo’yaṁ tayoḥ śṛṇu ||

iyattayā paricchinne dehe yad vakṣaso’ntaram |
heyaṁ tad dhṛdayaṁ viddhi tanāv eka-taṭe sthitam ||
saṁvin-mātraṁ tu hṛdayam upādeyaṁ sthitaṁ smṛtam |

tad antare ca bāhye ca na ca bāhye na cāntare ||

This is the difference between the two. One is to be accepted and the other rejected. Know that the heart which is situated within only a small declivity inside the chest of the limited body is to be rejected. But the heart which is thought of as the full measure of the Self is to be accepted. It is inside and outside and it is neither inside nor outside.

Tamil translation

(Vasishtha continued): “Listen to the characteristics of these two, one which is fit to be accepted and one which is fit to be rejected. Know that the organ called heart which is situated in a place within the chest of the limited body is that which is fit to be rejected, and the Heart whose form is the one consciousness is that which is fit to be accepted. That exists both inside and outside, (but) it is not that which exists (only) inside or (only) outside.”
There are a number of modifications here. ‘Characteristics’ implies that the nature of the two hearts, especially the one to be accepted, is more important than simply ‘the difference between the two’. Bhagavan adds the words ‘the organ’ and replaces ‘a small declivity’ with ‘place’ to avoid any ambiguity about the heart to be rejected. He makes the nature of the heart to be accepted abundantly clear with the phrase ‘whose form is the one consciousness’. Adding ‘exists’ and ‘that which exists’ emphasizes that the nature of the true heart is sat or existence. Note the repetition of ‘which is fit’ that occurs three times! The last sentence refers to the paradox that the Self both pervades all and transcends all.
In Maharshi’s Gospel when asked about the nature of the heart, Bhagavan replied: “Truly speaking, Pure Consciousness is indivisible, it is without parts. It has no form and shape, no ‘within’ and ‘without’. There is no ‘right’ or ‘left’ for it. Pure Consciousness, which is the heart, includes all; and nothing is outside or apart from it. That is the ultimate Truth. From this absolute standpoint, the heart, Self or Consciousness can have no particular place assigned to it in the physical body. What is the reason? The body is itself a mere projection of the mind, and the mind is but a poor reflection of the radiant heart. How can That, in which everything is contained, be itself confined as a tiny part within the physical body which is but an infinitesimal, phenomenal manifestation of the one Reality?”^[11]
When questioned in the same text about the position of the heart in relation to the physical body, he replied that it would be on the right side of the chest for everyone by unerring intuition. In Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi (Talk 408) he says: “I had been saying all along that the Heart centre was on the right, notwithstanding the refutation by some learned men that physiology taught them otherwise. I speak from experience. I knew it even in my home during my trances. Again during the incident related in the book Self-Realisation I had a very clear vision and experience. All of a sudden a light came from one side erasing the world vision in its course until it spread all round when the vision of the world was completely cut out. I felt the muscular organ on the left had stopped work, I could understand that the body was like a corpse, that the circulation of blood had stopped and the body became blue and motionless. Vasudeva Sastri embraced the body, wept over my death, but I could not speak. All the time I was feeling that the Heart centre on the right was working as well as ever. This state continued 15 or 20 minutes. Then suddenly something shot out from the right to the left resembling a rocket bursting in air. The blood circulation was resumed and normal condition restored. I then asked Vasudeva Sastri to move along with me and we reached our residence.”
Verse 23 is based on verses 5.78.36 and 5.78.37.

तत्तु प्रधानं हृदयं तत्रेदं समवस्थितम् ।

तदादर्शः पदार्थानां तत्कोशः सर्वसंपदाम् ॥
सर्वेषामेव जन्तूनां संवित् हृदयमुच्यते

न देहावयवैकांशो जडजीर्णोपलोपमः ॥

tat tu pradhānaṁ hṛdayaṁ tatredaṁ samavasthitam |

tad ādarśaḥ padārthānāṁ tat kośaḥ sarva-saṁpadām ||
sarveṣām eva jantūnāṁ saṁvit hṛdayam ucyate |

na dehāvayavaikāṁśo jaḍa-jīrṇopalopamaḥ ||

That indeed is the preeminent heart. There the entire universe exists. That is the mirror of all things. That is the repository of all wealth. Consciousness alone is called the heart of all creatures. It is not one portion in a part of the body like a worn and insentient stone.

Tamil translation

Vasishtha continued: That (the real Self, whose form is consciousness) alone is the important Heart (mukhya hridayam). In it all these (worlds) are existing. It is the mirror to all objects. It alone is the abode of all wealth. Hence, consciousness alone is declared to be the Heart of all beings. It is not a small portion in a part of the body, which is perishable and insentient like a stone.
It is notable that Bhagavan uses ‘alone’ (aduvē) three times in his translation to underline the importance of consciousness (it appears only once in the Sanskrit version). ‘In it’ is stronger than ‘there’ to indicate where the universe or worlds exist, especially since the next sentence recalls the mirror metaphor that locates reflections as inside the mirror. As a place for all wealth, meaning spiritual wealth or grace, ‘abode’ has deeper resonance than ‘repository’ and implies a degree of holiness. The addition of ‘hence’ denotes a conclusion that is meant to be felt, and the addition of ‘small’ to describe the heart as an organ contributes to the contrast between the physical and the spiritual heart. In the last sentence, ‘perishable’ is stronger than ‘worn’. Grammatically ‘worn and insentient stone’ in the original verse modify ‘portion’ (aṁśo at the end of the compound in the 3rd pāda of verse 5.78.37), whereas in Bhagavan’s translation ‘perishable and insentient like a stone’ significantly relate to the body.
This verse continues the description of consciousness in the previous verse as pervading all, transcending all and beyond distinctions. It directly answers Rama’s question in verse 21, namely, “What is that which is known as the heart of all beings in the world in which great mirror the manifest universe is reflected?”. Heart is pure consciousness in the absolute sense and has no location in the physical body.
Another meaning for Heart is the holy mountain Arunachala. In Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam Bhagavan says: “O Red Hill (Arunachala)!  All this (world-appearance) which is a picture, rises, stands and subsides only in You. Since you dance eternally (in) the Heart as ‘I’ (the Real Self), they (the Sages or Jnanis) say that your name itself is Heart, (Hridayam).”^[12]
Verse 24 is adapted from verse 5.78.38.

तस्मात्संविन्मये शुद्धे हृदये हृतवासनः ।

बलान्नियोजिते चित्ते प्राणस्पन्दो निरुध्यते ॥

tasmāt saṁvin-maye śuddhe hṛdaye hṛta-vāsanaḥ |

balān niyojite citte prāṇa-spando nirudhyate ||

Therefore when the mind from proper effort is joined to the pure heart composed of awareness, the motion of the breath is restrained and one’s mental impressions are destroyed.

Tamil translation

(Vasishtha concluded): “Therefore, by the practice (sadhana) of fixing the mind in the pure Heart, which is of the nature of consciousness, the subsidence of the breath (prana) along with the tendencies (vasanas) will be accomplished automatically.”
‘By the practice (sadhana) of fixing the mind in the pure Heart’ is certainly stronger and more precise than ‘when the mind from proper effort is joined to the pure heart’. ‘Automatically’ is a significant addition when one understands that this verse includes valuable instruction on the correct method for purifying the mind. Sadhu Om explains the meaning of the verse as follows: “After reading verse 28 of Ulladu Narpadu, some aspirants wrongly conclude that it is necessary to practice some technique of breath-control (pranayam) in order to be able to harness the mind and turn it inwards to know its source, the Heart or real Self. However, in this present verse Sri Bhagavan clearly reveals that it is not necessary to practice any special techniques of breath-control, because the breath or prana will subside automatically when one fixes the mind in the Heart through Self-attention.”^[13] 
The core of this verse is the practice of merging the mind in the heart through self investigation, the priceless message Balarama Reddy gave to me with compassion. Consider these verses from Muruganar.
247 Through the experience of union gained through diving into the heart, asking, ‘Who am I?’ in accordance with the victorious method of self-enquiry, I came to know my true condition, the state which is entirely free of desire and fear, since there is nothing that is not myself because I alone exist.
249 When, through the enquiry enjoined by the Master who accepted my holy service, the life of grace, the overflowing experience of Sivam, arose within my  heart, my ruinous inherited propensities left me and [the world of] the senses—sight, hearing, taste, [touch] and smell—of which I was enamoured, was reduced to mere forms with an appearance of existence.
299 Ignorance will not be eradicated except in those who, through the power of self-enquiry conducted assiduously within the heart, have attained the victorious absolute vision in which the whole panoply of manifestation is transcended, being seen as a mere cinema show.
300 It will be hard indeed to unite with the state of the Real—the subtle knowledge that is pure intelligence—and find fulfilment, unless one gains it through attaining the knowledge of the Real by merging in the heart through the inner enquiry that is true spiritual practice.
320 Those whose worship is founded upon an awareness informed by inner renunciation, in which the mind is fixed one-pointedly in the state of pure consciousness—the state of grace that is pellucid mauna—will dwell in happiness, having clearly experienced within the heart the certain realisation that all that exists is their own Self.
Persevere and the fortress will be won. You are HEART!

Śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ

---

Endnotes

Uddhava Gita is the message that Lord Krishna gave to his friend and nephew, Uddhava, at the time of his departure from earth. It was a momentous occasion when Krishna, who had fulfilled the purpose for which he descended on earth, was bidding his farewell. He was leaving after the Yadu dynasty, to which he himself belonged, had perished due to infighting. Wishing to witness the Lord’s departure, Brahma, along with his four mind-born sons, Lord Siva, Indra, Gandharvas, and many others assembled at Dwaraka and paid obeisance to Krishna. Among those feeling the imminent pangs of separation most deeply was Uddhava. “Having remained with you all the time, walking, conversing, bathing, recreating, I cannot visualize a life without you. Therefore take me also with you,” he said. Listening to this outpouring from Uddhava, Krishna recognized that this was the opportune time to impart his final teaching. The Lord knew that following his departure, the adverse effects of the Kali Yuga would commence and this message would be of good use. He said: “Oh Uddhava, I will reveal to you certain principles and it is your duty to impart these values to the world.”

The conversation held between Lord Krishna and Uddhava has come to be known as the Uddhava Gita. The Uddhava Gita starts from Chapter 6 and ends with Chapter 29 of the 11th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, authored by sage Vyasa. While the Bhagavad Gita, the message that Krishna gave to his friend, the warrior Arjuna, is regarded as the crowning glory of the Mahabharata, the Uddhava Gita is considered the crowning glory of the Srimad Bhagavatam. While the Bhagavad Gita describes the main doctrines of Jnana, devotion, and Yoga, the Uddhava Gita elaborates on these themes while stressing the importance of detachment, renunciation, and dispassion. Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the central figure in this wonderful teaching called the Uddhava Gita, gives this valuable lesson to all of us. “Whatever that you see, the sun, the bird, the human, the gods, find them all as Me.”

Krishna begins his teaching to Uddhava by elucidating upon a conversation between sage Dattatreya (an Avadhuta) and King Yadu, son of Yayati. When King Yadu saw the Avadhuta in a different state, sometime smiling and sometime silent, he asked about the cause of his ecstasy and inner peace. The Avadhuta said that over the course of his travels, he had encountered 24 different animate and inanimate objects like a pigeon, a python, elephants, the earth, air, and sky, etc., and learned lessons from observing them. He said he also learned a lesson from his own body: “The body has come into existence as part of nature’s workings. The different organs of the body pull one in different directions. The body for which wealth is created and family maintained ultimately withers like a tree, creating the seed for a fresh body. But the body has its positive aspect too. Though the Supreme Lord created birds, animals etc., His greatest creation was the human body because a human body alone is endowed with Viveka, the power of discriminating the real from unreal. With this discriminating faculty one can use the body as a means to achieve his right goal: liberation. Therefore, while being in the body one should strive to attain his highest goal rather than going after sense gratifications.”

Addressing Uddhava, Krishna said: “One should follow the right path by performing the duties as prescribed in scriptures and also the duties in accordance with the Varnasrama Dharma. The materialist who considers sensory objects as real and goes after them will meet a disastrous end. He is unaware that the images he sees in the world, though they appear real, are all illusions. He should distance himself from material activities and engage in devotional service. Everyone is divine by nature, but when one identifies himself with the body and mind, he becomes other than what he naturally is and all the negative qualities like pride, envy, ego, anger, and possessiveness become part of his nature. He should seek the advice of a spiritual master and just by being near the Guru, the clouds of ignorance that surround him will disappear.”

The meeting of the individual and Guru provides the ideal ground for Jnana. When two pieces of stones are rubbed continuously, they generate the spark of fire. In the course of interaction, the Guru remains at the base, the disciple above, and the rod connecting the two pieces produces the fire of Jnana. The sadhaka attentively listens to the advice of his master and unconditionally accepts his counsel. With the master’s guidance, the Sadhaka is freed from attachment caused by the three Gunas, attains Jnana, and soon that knowledge itself gets extinguished just as the fire is extinguished after its fuel is consumed. He is thereby transformed to a state beyond knowledge and ignorance, and beyond the triads like knower, knowledge, and known. Lord Krishna adds that one who is thus enlightened is not obligated to perform even certain prescribed duties.

Krishna says: “Oh Uddhava, though I have enlightened you with the highest knowledge, there are others who hold different views. They think that the souls are many in number and their actions are the cause of their happiness or misery. They believe the ever-changing universe is eternal. They assume that knowledge is gained through intellectual study. They do not subscribe to the reality of Brahman, the one without a second. In short, they believe in material existence rather than spiritual existence. Though they think they are free, they are actually the prisoners of their body, mind, and senses. They cannot act independently or control their destiny. The happiness they get through material pursuits is momentary and lands them in misery. They are unaware that identification with the body causes transmigration. Only Atma Vidya, the state of highest wisdom, reached through renunciation and detachment, can liberate them.” (Bhagavatam 11-10).

Happiness and misery are concepts that come from the mind, from the senses and the Gunas. Even if one attains his assumed state of happiness through material pursuits, a time comes when he should meekly surrender before death. He walks like the man who goes to the gallows for being executed. Even if he is offered a grand feast at that time, he would not accept it. So, what does happiness actually mean in a world of material objects?

Just as the happiness experienced on earth is temporary, the happiness in the celestial world of heaven also does not give any permanence. Life both in heaven and hell is rife with conflicts. Besides, once the merits of good deeds are exhausted, one has to return to earth. Those who are obsessed with desires and lust for sense gratification remain under illusion and undergo repeated life and death. They should turn within, give up the attitude of separateness and engage in devotional activities. When the devotion matures, it leads to Jnana, which ultimately leads to Self-realization or liberation. Uddhava queries: “How to differentiate between the one who is liberated (Jivan Mukta) and the one who is in bondage, since outwardly they both appear to be doing the same things like walking, eating and speaking?” Lord Krishna answers this question in detail.

“Baddho mukta iti vyakya gunato me na vastutah, Gunasya Maya mulatvanna me mokso na bandanam” (Bhagavatam 11.11.1). Krishna says: “Normally, the individual is characterized as liberated or bound based on whether or not he is subject to the three modes of Gunas. The Gunas, which are rooted in Maya, are under My control. The liberated soul is never bound because he is supreme, ever free and exists beyond matter. Out of ignorance born of the influence of the Gunas, the ordinary man believes that the soul is conditioned by the material body. The liberated soul is never bound, because he has transcended matter. He who is under the influence of the Gunas, like goodness, passion and ignorance, is like the dreamer who takes the dream images to be real. He should wake up from the dream. With devotion and higher knowledge, he should turn his attention towards Me. He will then see the bodily experience to be just as unreal as the images he saw during the dream. He who turns away from material objects and directs his attention towards Krishna is elevated to a higher spiritual plane. He discovers the divine state, which he already possessed, and abides in Truth Consciousness and Bliss (Sat Chit Ananda), the state where questions of bondage or liberation or knowledge or ignorance do not arise.”

Krishna then answers the question of Uddhava on how to distinguish between the liberated one and the conditioned one. He cites the story of two birds residing on a tree. Though looking similar in nature, they differed widely. While one bird, subject to pleasure and pain, keeps eating the fruits, the other remained an undisturbed witness. The first bird which identified itself with its body symbolizes ignorance, the second one, abiding in its pure nature, symbolizes jnana. The first bird is conditioned, and the second one is liberated. Just as one who wakes up from a dream realizes that the dream was unreal, the realized soul who lives in the body and yet is detached from it, knows that the body is unreal. Though he performs activities with his body, he is detached from it all. Having been given a body, one cannot remain idle. He should perform actions, but they should be without motive, desire, or expectations. The individual who identifies himself with the body and the mind is a slave to their demands and lives as if in a dream. He should wake up to reality and realize the need to connect with Krishna, who is always present within. This connection can be made through devotion. Krishna also describes the qualities of a true devotee. Neither appreciation nor denunciation have any impact on him. He is beyond the Gunas. He is beyond the notion of “me.” He views everyone with equal vision. His attention is always focused on Krishna, the Supreme Lord. His study of Vedic literature would be complete only if his mind is turned towards Krishna, who is the cause of the origin, maintenance, and destruction of the universe.

Krishna continues his advice to Uddhava. The world is like a mirage which appears and disappears. Just as one who turns towards the ever-changing world ends up in misery, the householder who relies on his family for sustenance also meets disappointment. The plight of one who relies on his wife even when he knows she does not care for him is miserable indeed. Even while taking good care of his family, he should make sure that he is in the family and not the family in him. The boat should be in the water but the water should not be in the boat.

The ideal means for coming out of bondage is through devotion. When Uddhava asked Krishna to tell him more about devotion and more about the qualities of devotees, Krishna answers with great eloquence. Devotion developed through association with saints and sages paves the way for Jnana. Devotion makes it easy for the devotee to reach the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Krishna teaches: “A real devotee is one whose strength lies in abiding by truth and adhering to the principles of Dharma. His judgement is not clouded by attachment. He is self-disciplined. He is the ideal devotee whose heart is filled with love, who recites My names, participates in festivals, visits holy places, undertakes fasts, does service, participates in Namasankeertan (singing of holy names) and above all surrenders unto Me with the conviction that I will take care. He sees Me reflected in all existence, like the sun, fire, cow and worships them. He sings songs that describe the divine play of my childhood. During my childhood, I used to go to the neighbouring houses with friends, climb up and gently break the pot that contains curd and butter. This act symbolized the transcendence of the body, represented by the pot, and attaining Atma, represented by the butter. I climbed over the serpent Kalia, which symbolizes the ego, and controlled it. Janmashtami, the day I manifested on earth, marks the triumph of good over evil. One whose senses are focused on singing my glory, hearing the Bhagavatam discourse, walking towards my abode, and serving my devotees will be freed from all desires, attachments and will attain the highest state of fulfilment.”

The most ideal form of devotion, Lord Krishna said, is Satsang. Satsang means being in the company of saints and devotees and deriving inspiration from them. Association with enlightened personalities purifies the mind and eliminates attachment to material life. According to Krishna, neither Yoga practices, nor Sankhya philosophy, which discriminates between matter and spirit, nor study of Vedas, nor austerities, charities, sacrifices or pilgrimage draw devotees toward him as closely as Satsang. One may not have studied Vedas or engaged in austerities and sacrifices but merely by being in the presence of a few devotees, they get close to him. An individual sitting in the midst of devotees, singing songs of devotion and listening to the discourses experiences his presence.

Blessed are the Gopis of Vraja whose minds were absorbed in Krishna, who rendered songs with a heart full of love. Even while milking cows, churning curd, swinging infants in their cradles, or sweeping the floor, they were singing songs of praise to Krishna (Bhagavatam 10.44.15). Theirs was a pure devotion with the sole goals of union with Krishna. They found immense happiness by being in the company of Krishna. Nothing in the world absorbed them as much as the presence of Krishna. When Akrura took Krishna and Balaram away to Mathura, life for the Gopis became empty and unbearable. The time they had spent with Krishna seemed like a few moments but the time they were separated from Krishna felt like ages. Of the Gopis, Krishna said to Uddhava: “Like rivers merged in the ocean, they were immersed in my thoughts and became one with me. The Gopis were many but they all had only one goal: to be united with Me. Therefore, Uddhava, give up all rules and regulations. Abandon all varieties of religion. Renounce all other worldly associations and take refuge in Me. You will be free from all fear and illusion.” The Lord concluded this portion of the teaching by saying that He manifests at the spiritual center (Mooladhara) of the human body through Prana. Just as fire, which is latent, manifests itself as a spark when two sticks of wood are rubbed against each other. He manifests Himself at the right time, to protect the devotee, and to guide and emancipate him.

Lord Krishna then recalls the questions posed by the mind-born sons of Brahma, Sanaka and others, to their father. They said: “The mind clings to the sense objects. When the sense objects influence the mind, how can one attain liberation?” Brahma, who was active in his work of creation, was unable to answer and remained in deep contemplation. Then Krishna appeared before him in the form of a swan, which symbolized the separation of sense objects from the mind, just as the swan is able to separate water from milk. When Sanaka and his brothers saw the swan-form of Krishna, they asked, “Who are you?” Krishna said: “The sense objects and mind constitute the body which can be transcended by contemplating on Me. The threefold division in the form of body, senses and mind, is the projection of the three Gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and the three states of Jagrata (waking), Swapna (dream) and Sushupti (deep sleep). While in the waking state, one engages himself with the outside world through the mind, and while in the dream state he undergoes a somewhat similar experience. It is only in the deep sleep state that he withdraws from all. What exists unchanged during these three changing states is the Atma, which remains as a witness. The word witness is used for want of a better term because witness implies duality—seer and seen—whereas the Atma is one without a second. Any object other than Atman is unreal. With the power of discrimination (Viveka) given to him, the individual should transcend these states, distinguish between the real and unreal, and realize his blissful nature.” Krishna says: “One who has transcended the waking, dream, and deep sleep states, the three Gunas, and who attains the fourth state of pure Consciousness, experiences my presence.” By worshipping Krishna, one is able to abide in the Self because Krishna resides in as that same Heart. Having worshipped Krishna with supreme devotion and having enlightened themselves with the advice given by Krishna, Sanaka and his three brothers glorified the Lord through devotional songs.

“Vadanti Krishna shreyamsi bahuni Brahmavadinah” (Bhagavatam 11.14.1-5.). When Uddhava asked Krishna to tell him the means by which one attains the highest goal, the Lord replies: “Among the many paths prescribed, I consider devotion as the best means to reach Me. Devotion has the power to purify the mind. By virtue of continued devotion, the devotee is able to distance himself from the worldly objects of enjoyment and turn towards Me. When the mind is concentrated, it becomes steady and pure. Neither Brahma Deva nor Lord Siva, nor Balaram, nor Lakshmi are as dear to me as my devotee. In fact, I look for the arrival of that devotee by breaking all his worldly links. Even if a devotee is not able to control his senses, but enthusiastically does devotional service, the senses cannot overpower him. Just as fire burns firewood down to ashes, devotion towards me burns away all sins. One may study Vedas, perform austerities, renounce desires, but through simple devotion one can effortlessly attain the goal. A devotee can easily be identified. His voice will be choked with emotion. Sometimes he may be seen weeping, and at other times he may be seen smiling. Listening to the songs of devotion, he will be dancing in ecstasy. Just as gold melted in fire comes out pure, the mind of the individual engrossed in Bhakti Yoga becomes pure.” Krishna also adds that no other association causes as much misery to the individual as his association with women does. Krishna also explains how Yoga should be conducted by means of inhalation, retention, and exhalation of breath, by uttering the syllable OM, by focusing attention on the center of the heart, by reflecting on Him, his beauty, his gracious smile, his conch, disc and his crown. When the mind is thus absorbed, one experiences the presence of Krishna. Krishna also explained the eighteen kinds of Siddhis (mystic power) which one will derive from the Yoga practice, such as dying at one’s wish, entering into another body, etc.

“Vanam Vivikshuh Putreshu Barya nyasya sahaiva vaa” (Bhagavatam 11.18.1). Krishna tells Uddhava that when the spiritual seeker wishes to retire into the woods, he should put his wife in the care of his sons or go with her. Adherence to truth, dispassion (Vairagya) and non-attachment constitute the qualities of this seeker. Ultimately, he becomes devoid of any quality (Nirguna). He should beg for his food from neighbours. He should consider this world, the body and mind as superimpositions on his Self. He has no eagerness for performing rituals. He realizes that the Supreme Self that shines within is reflected in all beings, just as the reflection of the one moon is seen in all the vessels of water on the ground. Having his mind thus purified, he attains union with Krishna.

“Yo vidyaashruta Sampanna Atmavannaumaanikah” (Bhagavatam 11.19.1). Uddhava then requested Krishna to explain in detail how one can attain God realization and the details of the devotional practices one should follow. Krishna said that King Yudhishtira asked the same question to Bhishmacharya. Grieved by the death of his relatives during the war, he sought solace from Bhishmacharya and enquired about the religion that could show the way to liberation. Krishna said that as he was present at that time, he would describe the answer given by Bhishmacharya. Knowledge, he said, is related to the 9 elements of Prakriti (nature), the 11 elements of the organs of action and knowledge, the 5 elements of earth, water etc., and the 3 elements of the Gunas (totaling 28 elements). The real knowledge, Vijnana, consists in seeing oneself in every being. Real learning is eliminating notions duality or multiplicity. Vedic texts, direct perception, tradition, and inference are the evidence of knowledge.

Krishna then gives an Uddhava an elaborate description of the nature of devotion. Devotion means having a mind which is pure and under control, which is still and silent, and seeks solitude. He is the true devotee who does service to the Master, seeks guidance from him who is beyond the concept of “I” and “mine.” He discards desires. He does not covet wealth. He is ever content. He is fearless. He is not attached to sense objects. He is calm, composed and steady. He is detached from the world and, with full faith, surrenders unto God. He does duties without expectation. Lord Krishna says that the devotee pursues knowledge till he is able to realize the Self shining within. He also describes the power one would derive by practicing introspection, meditation and Yoga. (Bhagavatam XIII).

The Lord has also explained the three paths that lead to liberation. When the individual is disgusted with the world, possesses qualities of dispassion and renunciation, and listens to his Guru, he attains the path of Jnana. The Vedas constitute the highest spiritual wisdom, and they teach us the truth that Brahman, the eternal reality, shines as the Self. An active man who wishes to engage himself in action follows the path of Karma and does his duties without any expectation. One whose heart is filled with love towards Krishna, who finds bliss in reciting the names and songs of Krishna, and seeks union with Him, follows the path of devotion. However, these are not exclusive paths by themselves and each path is harmoniously interlinked with the other.

Srutis, Krishna says, declare that the sole cause of pleasure and pain is the mind. It is the mind that creates desire and differences. The desire for wealth, which results in conflict between brothers, arises from the mind. The agitating Rajo Guna and the ignorant Tamo Guna originate from the mind. All the scriptures teach that the ultimate goal is to master the mind. Control of the mind is the highest Yoga. The mind has power of its own and it can be controlled only by the powerful means of meditation and devotion. Krishna also speaks of the Sankhya doctrine, which differentiates between Prakriti (nature) and Purusha (the absolute Knowledge). Prakriti is the material aspect of this universe while Purusha is the substratum, Brahman.

He continues: The three Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas (goodness, passion and ignorance)—belong to Prakriti (nature), which is the foundation for the mind and matter. Due to their influence, the spiritual soul is tied up with the body and mind (Chit-Jada Granthi), which results in the rising of the false notion of ‘I.’ The seeker aspiring to know his true identity should transcend these Gunas. Since the Sattva Guna symbolizes sacred qualities like nobility, virtue and devotion, the individual should develop these qualities. When the Sattva Guna is predominant, it subdues the other two Gunas. As a result, the mind becomes purified, virtues like righteousness and devotion develop and the false notion of ‘I’ vanishes. Thus, by means of the Sattva Guna, the Sadhaka is able to attain his end, and is able to discard all the Gunas.

Krishna says: “That man who has conquered the Gunas which are produced in the mind and who kindles devotion which springs from his heart is attached to Me.” A true worshipper is one who finds God within, who is detached, and whose thoughts, words and deeds are centered on the Self. He attains the highest spiritual wisdom when he realizes that God is present within as the Self. One who has drunk the nectar of wisdom and devotion does not crave for anything.

In listening to or reading the advice of Krishna in the Uddhava Gita, which was centered on Self-realization, we find it similar to what Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi had lived and taught.

Muruganar scaled the loftiest heights of the spiritual path that every seeker aspires to attain in their sadhana, complete and unconditional surrender at the feet of the Lord appearing as their Satguru. In sharing this experience, he saw Bhagavan in and as everything. He freely employed mythological imagery in praising Bhagavan Ramana in his verses. However, he never lost his originality or his austere reverence for the living presence of Bhagavan before him. Speaking of this, Sri Prof. K. Swaminathan made a perceptive remark: “For all his traditional wealth of style and imagery, Sri Muruganar is no backward-looking poet. While making free and splendid use of the old mythological stories and situations, he never ceased to be an authentic modern poet uttering with authority and in strikingly appropriate language his own direct experiences, his own original thinking and his own genuine insights.”^[1]

This insight is brought into sharper relief as we journey further into Kīrttit Tiru-Ahaval in Sri Ramana Sannidhi Murai. Here, Muruganar progressively redirects his attention from the mythic symbolism surrounding Lord Siva as Ramana to the singular and unsurpassed glory of Bhagavan. In the ensuing section, he distills several of Bhagavan’s most exquisite teachings, likened to honeyed sayings, for the benefit of sincere spiritual seekers.
Muruganar regarded every statement from Bhagavan as sacred. During the period of this poem’s composition, he was also recording numerous individual verses, subsequently collected and published as Guru Vachaka Kovai. At the same time, Sri Munagala Venkataramaiah was documenting Bhagavan’s oral teachings in English.

அனாதி மலமுத்த ஆன்ம சொரூபமாம்

தனாது வடிவத்தில் தடுமாற்றங் கொண்(டு)
அரும்பெரும் பாவிநான் அந்தோ கெட்டேன்
இருந்துயான் என்செய் வேனன இரங்கிப்
பரிவு கூர்தலே பாவமா மன்றி
மருவிய பாவம் மற்றிலை யெனவும்
ஆதலின் பாவம் உண்டாயின் அப்பாவம்

சேதனத்தால் அலாது தீராது எனவும் (71-78)

Meaning: Without the veils of the three impurities (ego, maya, and action), the true nature of the Self shines forth as undifferentiated, eternal, and without beginning. But when obscured by ego, the individual self strays from this supreme state and laments: “Alas! I am a great sinner. What have I achieved in this life?” Such lamentation, borne of self-pity, is itself the gravest sin. Indeed, there is no crime greater than belittling one’s own Self. If sin exists at all, its only remedy lies in the direct realization of the Self, never in any other way.

In this section, Muruganar establishes the central principle of Saiva Siddhanta, based on his own direct experience and on Bhagavan’s words, with great clarity: the Self, in its essence, is untouched, whole, and ever-free. The only seeming obstacle to its recognition lies in the “three impurities” (ego, maya, and action) that explain why the supreme Self appears as the limited, individual “I.” When these coverings are absent, the Self is revealed as it truly is. There is no duality, whatsoever.
Yet the tragedy of human life is that, under the dominance of ego, the individual misidentifies with limitation and becomes ensnared in self-judgment. The cry, “I am a great sinner, I have wasted my life,” though outwardly appearing as humility, is here unmasked as a deeper form of egoism. Why? Because it clings to the false self-image rather than turning attention to the real Self. In this way, lamentation becomes a subtle form of bondage, hard to root out because of its seeming humility. Ego, often identified with an arrogant attitude, becomes less perceptible when it appears in the form of self-pity, drowning in sorrow and suffering. Therefore, Muruganar makes the assertion that such self-pity is “the gravest sin,” thus reorienting our understanding of morality. In ordinary religious thought, sin is the transgression of ethical or ritual law. But from the standpoint of Self-knowledge, the only true sin is estrangement from one’s own essence. To belittle or deny the Self is to perpetuate ignorance, and ignorance is the seed of all suffering.
The only remedy for such a grave sin lies in full realization of the Self. No outer expiation, no ritual, and no compensatory act can erase the primal error of misidentification. Only by abiding in the Self does the illusion of sin dissolve, because in that recognition the question of bondage never arises.
Bhagavan has emphatically given this Upadesa in multiple places.
“Misery is due to multifarious thoughts. If the thoughts are unified and centred on a single item there is no misery, but happiness is the result. Then, even the thought, “I do something” is absent; nor will there be an eye on the fruit of action.”^[2]
“From the point of view of jnana or reality, the pain you speak of is certainly a dream, as is the world of which the pain is an infinitesimal part. In the dream also you yourself feel hunger. You see others suffering hunger. You feed yourself and, moved by pity, feed the others that you find suffering from hunger. So long as the dream lasted, all those pains were quite as real as you now think the pain you see in the world to be. It was only when you woke up that you discovered that the pain in the dream was unreal. You might have eaten to the full and gone to sleep. You dream that you work hard and long in the hot sun all day, are tired and hungry and want to eat a lot.”^[3]

ஆன்ம சொரூபமாய் அனைத்து உயிரகத்தும்

யானெனும் தன்மையில் தானெழுந்து அருளலில்
கருத்தன்யார் எனத்தற் காண்டலே அறிவொடு

பொருத்தமாம் கன்மம் புலவோர்க்கு எனவும் (79-81)

Meaning: The supreme Self shines as “I am,” the true nature of every being, by the power of its own gracious presence. For the wise, the highest purpose of life is to realize this inward-radiant Self as the ultimate truth through sincere self-enquiry, asking, “Who is the one who acts?”
The passage above conveys the very heart of Bhagavan’s eternal message, which illuminates the path of liberation for every jiva with compassionate clarity. In Who am I?, and through his living presence, teaching both in speech and silence, Bhagavan has unveiled the supreme truth of the Self.

The supreme grace of Bhagavan lies in revealing that we are already whole and perfect. Nothing needs to be added, and nothing new needs to be attained, for our very nature is pure being itself. All other forms of striving stand in contradiction to this truth. Out of compassion, He imparted the highest teaching, “abide in the Self by simply being the Self.” This he accomplished in the peaceful silence of His presence. And for those who require words, He has given the essence of all instruction in the simple command: “Summā Iru” (Be still). “Moksha is to know that you were not born. ‘Be still and know that I am God.’”^[4]

விபத்தி யார்க்குஎன்று உள்வினாவலே விஞ்சு

சிவத்தி யானங்கெழு பத்தியாம் எனவும்
வியோகம் யார்க்கென்னும் விசாரமே ஒன்றுநல்

யோக மார்க்கத்தின் நிராசியம் எனவும் (82-85)

Meaning: The supreme form of devotional penance to Lord Siva is to turn inward and enquire, “Who is the experiencer of non-devotion?” Moreover, the consummate insight imparted by the path of Yoga, of oneness, is realized through the question, “Who is separate from the supreme Self?”
Vibhakti is the suffering born of non-devotion, arising from the individual’s delusion of being separate from the Self. Viyoga is the sense of separation or duality, the very condition that makes the quest for union necessary. In essence, both vibhakti and viyoga point to the same error: the illusion of an individual self apart from the Self.
Bhagavan speaks about these with great clarity, and it is likely that Muruganar composed this verse drawing directly on his words: “So long as there is vibhakti, there must be bhakti. So long as there is viyoga, there must be yoga. So long as there is duality, there must be God and devotee. Similarly also in vichara. So long as there is vichara, there is duality too. But merging into the Source there is unity only. So it is with bhakti too. Realising the God of devotion, there will be unity only. God too is thought of in and by the Self. So God is identical with the Self.”^[5]
Elsewhere, Bhagavan explains that although terms such as mukti, bhakti, and jñāna appear different, they in fact signify the same truth. He says: “The absence of thoughts is bhakti. It is also mukti. The jnana method is said to be vichara (enquiry). That is nothing but ‘supreme devotion’ (parabhakti). The difference is in words only.”^[6]
In the following verses, Muruganar affirms the unity of these diverse paths, showing that they all culminate in the realization of the Self, which stands as the conclusive teaching of all the Vedas.

கன்மம் பக்தி யோகங்களுக்கு எல்லாம்

தன்மய ஞானமே தான்குறி அதனால்

அகமா அதன்பொருள் ஆய்ந்தடை அமைதியே

நிகமாக மப்பொது நிண்ணயம் எனவும் (87-90)

Meaning: The goal of the path of karma, the path of devotion, and the path of yoga is the same: the realization of the wisdom of the Self. Therefore, turning inward in self-enquiry and abiding as the inner awareness is the ultimate aim of all the Vedas.
In the above lines, Muruganar presents Bhagavan’s ultimate declaration as the conclusive teaching of all the Vedas. He further illuminates the false nature of the ego, which exists only as an illusion and has no reality in truth, in the next few verses.

ஆதல் அழிவுடை அகந்தைக்கு அணுவுமவ்

வேதமில் உணர்விய லேபொருள் எனவும்
அவதுன் மதிசேர் அகங்கெட மாய்த்தலே

சிவதன் மமாகச் செய்தவம் எனவும் (91-94)

Meaning: The ego, which arises and eventually fades, is sustained only by the ever-present supreme Self. Subduing this vain and troublesome ego and merging it entirely into the supreme Self, constitutes the supreme penance: Siva Yoga.
Muruganar’s depiction of the fleeting nature of the ego, also called the I-thought, faithfully reflects Bhagavan’s own words: “The ‘I’ which rises will also subside. That is the individual ‘I’ or the ‘I’-concept. That which does not rise will not subside. It is and will be forever. That is the universal ‘I’, the perfect ‘I’, or realisation of the Self.”^[7]

உண்மையாம் தன்னை யொழிந்தயல் ஒன்றும்

திண்மைசேர் தேற்றத்து இன்மையின் மயலால்
மனத்தை அயல்கண் மடாஅது ஒழித்தலே

கனத்த கடவுள் கடைப்பிடி எனவும் (95-98)

Meaning: The supreme reality of the Self, by its very nature as pure wisdom, does not recognize anything other than Itself, for nothing exists apart from It. Therefore, do not allow attention to stray toward external objects; turn it inward to the Self and abide there as one with the supreme Lord, the Self.
Muruganar’s poetic excellence is evident in his ability to encapsulate Bhagavan’s definitive statements on the nature of the Self: “There is only one Self. That Self is always aware. It is changeless. There is nothing but the Self,”^[8] and “The ultimate Truth is so simple. It is nothing more than being in the pristine state. This is all that needs to be said.”^[9]

அமையா மனத்தை அவ்வாற்றால் அமைத்தலே

சமயா தீதத் தலைப்பாடு எனவும்
பொய்க்கண் ஒழுகிய புலப்பம் தீரஅம்

மெய்க்கண் நிற்றலே மெய்யுணர்வு எனவும் (99-102)

Meaning: Naturally inclined to externalization, the mind must be stabilized in inward abidance if supreme peace is to be attained, a principle ultimately declared across all religious traditions. The suffering of the jīva stems from this outward-directed mind; the most certain solution is steadfast abidance in the Self, which reveals itself as the awareness “I am I.”
Muruganar concludes this section by affirming that the entire body of religious scriptures, across time, place, and language, ultimately proclaims a single truth: abide in the Self. Bhagavan expressed this succinctly and beautifully when he said,“All religions and methods are one and the same.”^[10]
In this section, Muruganar faithfully captures Bhagavan’s declarations, presenting them as Vedic truths in order to reveal the supreme glory of Bhagavan’s Kīrtti. These verses serve both as a concise summary and as an experiential reflection on Bhagavan’s teachings found in Upadesa Undiyar, Ulladu Narpadu, and Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham.

(To be continued)

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Endnotes

Prayer, parading one’s weakness before God and asking that one’s will be done, is useless. Even though a man may be praying for others it is fundamentally his own happiness that he is seeking. To pray for anything is offering resistance to the free play of God’s will. Nothing should be allowed to come between God and the seeker, not even a prayer. To be still and surrender oneself to God is to abide by His will. This does not mean that one should be inactive in life, only that one should learn to lead a non-volitional life.

“When all actions are performed by the qualities of Nature, only he who is confused by the ego-sense imagines himself to be the actor.”^[1]

“A true Master will not ask the seeker to do this or that. The seeker has to gain cessation of mental activities. The active mind creates and such creation destroys one’s self-nature. Becoming destroys being.”

The aim is simply to be inwardly still and to be aware. Effort must be made to still thoughts and there is awareness of the effort and of the thoughts stilled.

“All our experiences are only thought. Pleasure and pain are thoughts. And thoughts are within us. Pleasure and pain are not in the outer world. The kingdom of heaven and this world are not two different things. When the world is seen as within you it turns into the kingdom of heaven.”

God’s presence is not a living reality in the world as we see it because man’s mind is actively arranging the things of the world. Therefore it is logically correct to say that God is absent from the world; and where God is absent all doubts and fears are bound to be present. That which is aware of the sorrows of the world is the contracted ego, while the world is the expanded ego. So the evil in the world is inseparable from the ego which cognizes it and will last as long as the ego, “Until the ‘I’-riddle is solved the world-riddle will remain to perplex and torment us.”

“When the Self is seen the world is not. Then one realizes that there never was any creation.” How can there be suffering in the uncreated? Or what is there to ask for?

“One who says, ‘I shall not strive for my own salvation till I have relieved the suffering of the whole world,’ is like the compassionate dreamer who first wants to relieve the sufferings of the people in his dream before consenting to wake up.” Those who want to do social work are like such an amiable philosopher.

It is the outgoing mind that entertains such apparently compassionate thoughts. The mind should not be occupied outwardly but turned inwards. Its power should be used to stop its habit of thinking. There is a state in which thoughts do not come, not even the ‘I am’ thought, and yet awareness remains. There are no problems for such a stilled mind. It is not necessary for the Self to be aware of the world but only to BE. Awareness of the world can be added to Self-awareness or not; it doesn’t matter. The Self, being All, loses nothing by being aware of the world or by being unaware of the world. It has abiding peace and happiness whether aware of the world or not.

One should not lose sight of his ‘I’ in any circumstances. So long as he clings to it there is no harm in his leading an active life or doing philanthropic work. It is only the I-am-the-doer illusion that is harmful. The main aim should be to hold the mind constantly to the ‘I’ thought. This is the only remedy for the ills of the world.

The only way to know God in this world is to know one’s Self. One should not seek for God in the world but in oneself. Life’s sorrows serve a purpose insofar as they spur the mind to seek God. One should turn away from the world and look inwards to meet the Divine Presence. The Upanishad puts it: “The total subsidence of the ego is the end of the world and is termed ‘Siva, the Auspicious’.”

Suffering is rooted in ignorance; ignorance is removed by knowledge of the Spirit. This knowledge shows that the ego and the world to which we cling are fundamentally foreign to us and therefore cause suffering. The true teaching helps us to escape from the world which is synonymous with bondage and suffering.

 

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Endnotes

To fall gently like a ripe leaf from autumn’s bough,
Knowing well earth’s embrace waits patiently below,

To have no yesterday or tomorrow over which to brood,
To receive each given breath in surrendered gratitude,

To be led, not by the noisy head, but the silent heart,
To love, knowing all is one and there is none apart,

These are a few of the blessings that rain down on me,
From the monsoon sky of my lord Ramana’s feet.

“Remember the reason for which you came.”

— Sri Ramana Maharshi

We all forget the reason why we are here in this world. There is an old saying: “Rare is human birth.” But are we really valuing such a rare thing? There is a poem in Tamil by Avvaiyaar:

அரிதரிது மானிடர் ஆதல் அரிது

மானிடராயினும் கூன் குருடு செவிடு
பேடு நீக்கிப் பிறத்தல் அரிது
பேடு நீக்கிப் பிறந்த காலையும்
ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நயத்தல் அரிது
ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நயந்த காலையும்
தானமும் தவமும் தான்செயல் அரிது
தானமும் தவமும் தான்செய்வராயின்

வானவர் நாடு வழிதிறந் திடுமே

Aritaritu māṉidhar āadal aritu māṉidharāyiṉum koon kuruṭu ceviṭu pedu nīkkip piṟattal aritupēdu nīkkip piṟanta kaalaiyum Jñāṉamum kalviyum nayattal aritu Jñāṉamum kalviyum nayanta kālaiyum dhāṉamum tavamum tāṉceyal aritu tāṉamum tāṉceyvarāyiṉ vaaṉavar naadu vazhthitumey
Meaning: To be born as a human is difficult; being born without disabilities (hunchback, blind, deaf, etc.) is even harder; acquiring wisdom and education is rare, and performing charity and penance is the most difficult, which will lead to heavenly realms.
Such a rare thing is human birth, but we all think, “We will be here for eternity.” Although this thought is clearly incorrect, it has a kernel of truth in that we are not the human body; rather, we are the eternal, undying Self. However, this can only be said after realizing the “Self.” Many realized masters have stated this, including Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
The world is just a temporary home that we all are passing through. There is a small story that illustrates this:
Once there was a government officer who was stationed away from home for his work. He was placed as a supervisor in a government guest house and was living very happily there. He got married and had a couple of lovely children. He was discharging his duties diligently and even forgot that the place in which he was living was only a guest house. His children grew up, got good jobs, and went abroad. Now, he and his wife were staying there in the guest house alone. Years passed by and he neared the time of his retirement. It was only then that he realized he would need to vacate the guest house soon, as his tenure was about to end. He thought, “I have wasted all these years and didn’t build a home in my hometown, nor have I cared to visit it once in all these years.”
The same thing applies in our lives. Most of us simply come into this world, grow up, get married, strive to earn more money, name, and fame, and try to get settled. But, in the journey of life, we forget what we came here for! The purpose of life is to know the “Self.”
What guarantee is there that we will live in this world for 90 or 100 years, let alone any longer than that? Life is very fragile, yet many of us don’t accept it. There are no guarantees of life in this world. Anything can happen at any time.
Therefore, the most important thing is to realize one’s purpose and focus on the real “Self.” When this understanding dawns, then one’s life will be dominated by this aim. Eventually, one will be at peace with oneself and others. The vicissitudes of life in the world will not bother such a person. For this reason, it is crucial to focus on the purpose of life, i.e., to know the “Self.”
As Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi says, “The ordainer [God] controls the fate of souls in accordance with their past deeds – their prarabdha karma. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen – try how hard you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen; do what you may to stop it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is for one to be silent.”^[1]
When everything is preordained by karma, then there is no point in getting upset or offended by whatever may happen. But this is easier said than done. However, when someone keeps their focus on the purpose of life itself, nothing will disturb them. They will have peace and equanimity. Therefore, the best attitude is to be at peace, accepting whatever happens and remaining focused on the true purpose of life.
Here, some may have doubts: when everything is preordained, then why should one put in any effort at all in the first place?
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi says, “Effort is needed so long as there is mind. The state of emptiness has been the bone of contention in all philosophies.”^[2]
Bhagavan also says, “So one’s efforts are meant only for the removal of obstructions which hide the true vision. The real nature remains the same. When once it is realised it is permanent.”^[3]
Therefore, let us stay focused on what we are here for, rather than other things, and let us strive to know the real “Self,” the ultimate purpose of life.

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Endnotes

Today’s world is a vast digital ocean. Surrounded by an incessant flood of information, lightning-fast technological shifts, and the relentless pressure of curated social media images, youth live in a stifling environment. Although the generations known as “Gen Z” and “Gen Alpha” are always connected to the world online, they find themselves wandering in search of inner solitude, peace, and their true identities.

For the youth caught in this modern whirlpool, the life and teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi serve as a magnificent ‘lighthouse’ that dispels the darkness. These teachings offer us a spiritual roadmap to cease seeking external validation and instead live with clarity, boundless love, and unshakeable inner security. As the Bhagavad Gita (2.41) states:

“The intellect of those who are on this path is resolute, and their aim is one-pointed. But the intellect of those who are irresolute is many-branched.”

Here are the five fundamental challenges faced by modern youth and the timeless solutions shown by Bhagavan:

1. Digital Comparison and the Identity Crisis

Social media has birthed a ‘performance culture.’ Constantly comparing our lives with the artificial highlights of others breeds anxiety and inferiority complexes among youth.

Bhagavan’s Solution: Self-Enquiry (Atma-Vichara). Instead of exhausting ourselves trying to polish the ‘image’ we present to the external world, the permanent solution lies in tracing the source of the ‘I’ thought by asking, “Who am I?” Bhagavan lived with absolute indifference toward his physical appearance or public fame. Once you realize your True Self, you cease to be a slave to the opinions of others.

“The Self is not born, nor does it ever die... Unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval.” (Bhagavad Gita 2.20)

Your worth is not defined by a digital profile, but by your inherent inner Being.

2. Fragmented Attention and Mental Noise

Smartphone notifications and bite-sized video content (Reels) have severely fragmented the ability of young people to focus, robbing them of their mental peace.

Bhagavan’s Solution: The Power of Silence (Mouna). Silence is not merely the absence of speech; it is the natural state of a quiet mind. Bhagavan spent years in silence within caves, proving that the most potent guidance is delivered through stillness. Young people can practice “Digital Mouna”—dedicated periods of the day to disconnect from all devices and sit quietly within themselves.

“When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, becomes still... then one feels transcendental happiness.” (Bhagavad Gita 6.20-21)

This discipline builds mental strength and emotional resilience.

3. Chronic Stress and Burnout

The obsessive drive for success and a paralyzing fear of the future sit like a heavy burden on the shoulders of today’s youth.

Bhagavan’s Solution: The Metaphor of the Train. Bhagavan often told a story of a passenger on a train who insists on carrying his heavy luggage on his head instead of placing it on the floor. It is just as foolish to believe we must solely carry the entire weight of our lives. Bhagavan lived with total trust in the Supreme Power.

“You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities.” (Bhagavad Gita 2.47)

Such detachment eliminates unnecessary exhaustion and enhances true efficiency.

4. Isolation from Nature and Kinship

Spending excessive time in front of screens has severed the bond with the natural world and fellow beings, leading to a profound sense of isolation.

Bhagavan’s Solution: Universal Equality and a Playful Spirit. Bhagavan’s life was a masterclass in harmony. He treated animals as equal to humans and was famously a “child among children” when playing with the local youth. He taught that the same Consciousness dwells within all.

“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater.” (Bhagavad Gita 5.18)

Maintaining a playful heart and embracing this kinship allows one to withstand any challenge. Loving all life is the best medicine for loneliness.

5. Loneliness in a Hyper-Connected World

Despite having thousands of ‘friends’ online, many feel a deep void within themselves.

Bhagavan’s Solution: The Guru in the Heart. The Guru is not a physical body restricted by time or space; He is the “In-dweller” (Antaryami) within your own heart. Bhagavan offers an “Eternal Presence.”

“I am seated in the hearts of all living entities.” (Bhagavad Gita 15.15)

By turning inward, the youth can access His guidance at any time. This ‘Inner Light’ ensures that one is never alone and provides a sense of security more dependable than any human relationship.

Conclusion: The Inward Journey

The message Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi offers to this new generation is remarkably simple, yet profoundly powerful: “Stop wandering in search of yourself in the external world; realize the supreme power that already resides within you.” You are not beings who need to be made complete by anything external; you are already whole by your very nature.
As Lord Krishna promises in the Bhagavad Gita (6.22), once that inner state is attained, “One thinks there is no greater gain, and being situated in such a state, one is never shaken, even in the midst of the greatest difficulty.”
Dispel the clouds of social media illusions and the burden of expectations with the sunlight of ‘Self-Enquiry.’ Armed with awareness, universal compassion, and the relentless quest of “Who am I?” today’s youth can face this modern world with unshakeable fortitude and the radiant light of wisdom. In the shadow of that Great Silence, let the new generation discover its true freedom!

In the spiritual landscape of the 20th century, the revelation of Bhagavān stands as a solitary peak of non-dual absolutism. Central to this revelation is the concept of Hṛdaya — the primordial axis upon which the wheel of existence turns.

This Hṛdaya is the spiritual Heart on the right, representing the true state of all beings. The previous parts of this series explored the Muktakatrayam and Bhagavān’s ecstatic āryāgīti composition, Śrī Aruṇācala Pañcaratnam (SAP), detailing how its first śloka illuminates the Hṛdaya’s blossoming.
We now examine the second śloka, where Bhagavān radically ‘Advaitizes’ the mythos, showing the mountain’s geography is isomorphic to the Heart’s topography. We will contemplate on the śloka using K. Lakshmana Sarma’s Vārttikam and Kapali Śāstrī’s Darpaṇam, then trace the convergence of the Skanda Purāṇa’s mythology with Bhagavān’s experiential revelation.

Śloka 2 of SAP - The unity of Aruṇācala and Hṛdaya

The पदच्छेद, the word-wise breakup version of the 2^nd śloka is :

त्वयि अरुणाचल सर्वं भूत्वा स्थित्वा प्रलीनं एतत् चित्रम् ।

हृदि अहं इति आत्मतया नृत्यसि भोः ते वदन्ति हृदयं नाम ॥२॥

tvayi aruṇācala sarvaṃ bhūtvā sthitvā pralīnaṃ etat citram |

hṛdi ahaṃ iti ātma tayā nṛtyasi bhoḥ te vadanti hṛdayaṃ nāma ||2||

Bhagavān himself explained the meaning of this śloka: “The universe is like a painting on a screen - the screen being the Red Hill, Arunachala. That which rises and sinks is made up of what it rises from. The finality of the universe is the God Arunachala. Meditating on Him or on the seer, the Self, there is a mental vibration ‘I’ to which all are reduced. Tracing the source of ‘I’, the primal ‘I-I’ alone remains over, and it is inexpressible. The seat of Realisation is within and the seeker cannot find it as an object outside him. That seat is bliss and is the core of all beings. Hence it is called the Heart. ”^[1]

A Granular Exposition : Philological & Philosophical

To derive the import, we rearrange the words from their poetic meter into a logical sentence structure called anvaya:

[हे] अरुणाचल! एतत् सर्वं चित्रं त्वयि भूत्वा, स्थित्वा, प्रलीनम् [भवति]।

[त्वं] हृदि ‘अहम्’ इति आत्मतया नृत्यसि। भोः! [अतः] ते नाम ‘हृदयम्’ [इति] वदन्ति॥

[he] aruṇācala! etat sarvaṃ citraṃ tvayi
bhūtvā, sthitvā, pralīnam [bhavati] |
[tvaṃ] hṛdi ‘aham’ iti ātmatayā nṛtyasi |

bhoḥ! [ataḥ] te nāma ‘hṛdayam’ [iti] vadanti||

Let us analyze the terms to reveal how Bhagavān transforms the external deity into internal Reality:
Tvayi = In You, indicates the substratum. The universe does not exist apart from Aruṇācala; it exists in Him, just as a movie exists on a screen.
[he] aruṇācala! = O Aruṇācala! The external Mountain is addressed, but the context immediately shifts the focus from geography to the Universal Ground of being.
sarvaṃ etat citraṃ = All this picture. Bhagavān uses the term Citram (Picture) to establish Vivarta Vāda (Theory of Apparent Manifestation). The world is not a substantive creation; it is a projection.

Bhūtvā, Sthitvā, Pralīnam [bhavati] = Having become, sustained, and merged. All three happen Tvayi (in You).
Hṛdi = In the Heart. The same reality that holds the universe is located within the being as the Heart.
Aham iti = As ‘I–I’. He does not appear as a vision or object, but as the subjective Sphurana (pulsation) of ‘I-I’.
Ātmatayā = As the Self. A crucial term that confirms God is not an external ruler but the very nature (Svarūpa) of the seeker.
[tvaṃ] Nṛtyasi = You dance. Refers to the Spanda (Divine Vibration). Unlike the inert void, the Self is dynamic Awareness.
Bhoḥ = Oh! / Lo!. An expression of wonder (Ascarya) at this profound identity between the Hill and the Self.
[ataḥ] Te nāma hṛdayam = Therefore, Your name is Heart. Aruṇācala is not just a geographic label; it is a synonym for the Hṛdaya.
[iti] vadanti = The sages or scriptures declare thus.
Summarising, O Aruṇācala! All this [world-picture] is formed, maintained, and dissolves within You alone. Within the Heart, You dance eternally as the Self, pulsating as ‘I-I’. Therefore, O Lord, they call You Hṛdaya.

The Ontology of Chitram (The Picture)

The characterization of the universe as Etat Chitram (This Picture) is the philosophical pivot of the śloka. Here, Bhagavān employs the modern analogy of Cinema.

The Screen: Aruṇācala (The Heart) acts as the immutable screen. It is the support (Adhāra) without which the picture cannot be seen.

The Film: The Vasanas (latent mental tendencies) constitute the film roll.

The Light: The reflected consciousness (Chidabhāsa) of the mind illuminates the film, projecting the “Picture” of the world.

Aruṇācala is not merely the screen on which this world-picture appears and disappears. “In this world-picture, the canvas, the light, the seer, and the seen – all are He, the Self.”^[2] This implies that the world has no intrinsic reality. A picture of a fire does not burn the screen; a picture of a flood does not wet it. Similarly, the tragic events of the universe do not affect the Heart-Aruṇācala. But the world-picture that appears on the screen of Self is perceived as real when the light of Self appears diffused and dim in the form of the mind-light. “When the mind comes out from self, the world appears. Therefore when the world appears, self does not appear; when the self appears (shines), the world does not appear.”^[3] Lakshmana Sharma reveals the same in Aruṇācala Pañcaratna Vārttikam:

अधिष्ठानसदद्वैतं निर्विशेषं निरंशकम् ।

जगद्रूपतया भाति मनोव्यापारमात्रतः ॥२८॥

Adhiṣṭhāna-sad-advaitaṃ nirviśeṣaṃ niraṃśakam |

Jagad-rūpatayā bhāti mano-vyāpāra-mātrataḥ || 28 ||

“The Non-dual Reality, which is the Substratum, attributeless and indivisible, appears in the form of the world merely due to the activity of the mind.”
He further states: “The Mind itself is Maya, which makes the Supreme Reality appear otherwise (as the world). Let this be clearly understood from the fact that the world does not appear in deep sleep.”^[4]
Śri Muruganar in Guru Vachaka Kovai elucidates^[5]:

சின்ன ஒளி பேர் ஒளியில் சேர்ந்து ஒழியில் அவ்வொளியில்

துன்னு படக்காட்சி தொலைந்தாங்கே — மன்னிய மெய்ச்
சித்தொளியில் சித்த ஒளி சேர்ந்து ஒழியில் தீர்ந்து ஒழியும்

முத்திறப் பொய்க் காட்சி முடிந்து.

Cinna oḷi pēr oḷiyil sērndu ozhiyil av-voḷiyil
Tuṉṉu paḍak-kāṭci tolaindāngē — maṉṉiya mey

Cit-toḷiyil citta oḷi sērndu ozhiyil tīrndu ozhiyum

Muttiṟap poyk-kāṭci muḍindu.

“Just as the moving pictures in a cinema show disappear when the limited light (of the projector) merges and gets lost in the great light (of the sun), so too, when the mind-light (which projects the world) merges and dissolves into the Supreme Light of Pure Consciousness, the false three-fold appearance (of the seer, seen, and seeing, or God, Individual, and World) will completely cease to exist.”

The “Dance” (Nrityasi) in the Heart

The second line of the śloka introduces a dynamic paradox: “You dance in the Heart as ‘I’.”

The Motionless Dancer: Aruṇācala is physically a hill, synonymous with Achala (stillness). Yet, the śloka declares that this Motionless One dances (Nrityasi).

Cosmic Significance: This identifies Aruṇācala with Nataraja, the King of Dancers. However, unlike Lord Śiva’s dance in Chidambaram, this dance occurs hṛdi—in the subjective center of the being.

The Nature of the Dance: This dance is the Aham Sphurana—the throbbing of the ‘I-I’ consciousness. It is a vibration not of movement in space, but of pure Being. The Self is static as the screen (Aruṇācala) but dynamic as the light (I-I).

The divine alchemy of the esoteric experience is distilled and captured as a miracle by Śri Muruganar in Guru Vachaka Kovai^[6]:

மதி அரவி தம்மின் மணந்தாலே போலப்

புதிய வியப்பு ஆகும் இறும் பூதால் — இதயம் உறக்
கொஞ்சிய அடியாரைக் குசல உசா ஆற்று நடன்

குஞ்சித வண் பாதக் குலா.

Mati-aravi tammin maṇandālē pōla

Putiya-viyappu āgum iṟum-pūdāl — idayam-uṟak
Koñjiya-aḍiyārai kusala-usā āṭṭru naḍan

Kuñjita vaṇ pādak kulā.

“The rising of the Lord’s gracious Foot—which represents the dawn of the pure ‘I-I’ awareness—is a fresh and miraculous mystery. It is like the moon (the mind) losing its separate identity and wedding the sun (the Heart). This is not merely a human effort; it is the Lord Himself dancing as the inner enquiry. His Grace acts as the intense love within the devotee, ‘enquiring’ into their nature and embracing them. This divine embrace pulls the wandering mind back into the Heart, dissolving the ego in the radiant union of the Self.”

The Aruṇācala Māhātmyam of the Skanda Purāṇa

The Skanda Purāṇa is the largest of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas. Within its Maheswara Khanda lies the Aruṇācala Māhātmyam—“The Glory of Aruṇācala”. Bhagavān accorded immense scriptural authority to this text. In 1938, he personally selected a few verses from the Skanda Purāṇa compiling them to create a distilled “Aruṇācala Māhātmyam”.^[7] This was an act of interpretive curation, highlighting specifically those verses that identified the Hill with the Heart and the destruction of the ego.

Aruṇācala as the Heart of the World

The first verse selected by Bhagavān from the Purāṇa establishes the sacred geography of the Heart.

Purāṇa’s Assertion: “That is the holy place! Of all, Aruṇācala is the most sacred! It is the heart of the world!”

Analysis: The term used is Bhumeḥ hṛdayam (Heart of the Earth). Just as the life-force of a living being centers in the heart, the spiritual life-force of the terrestrial plane is centered at Aruṇācala.

The Myth of the Primordial Center: Lingodbhava

The conceptual foundation of the Hṛdaya in the Aruṇācala Māhātmyam is rooted in the legend of the Lingodbhava—the emergence of the Linga. This myth is not merely a story of divine superiority but an allegory of the cognitive limits of the ego and intellect in locating the Center of Being.

The Māhātmyam narrates that Brahma (the Creator) and Viṣṇu (the Preserver) became embroiled in a dispute regarding who was superior. To resolve this, Śiva manifested as a column of fire (Agni Sthambha), blazing without beginning or end, piercing the universe. This Pillar of Fire represents the Akhanda Ekarasa Satta—the unbroken, single essence of Existence.
The text describes Brahma assuming the form of a swan (Hamsa) to fly upwards and find the summit of the column, while Viṣṇu assumed the form of a boar (Varāha) to burrow downwards and find its base:

The Swan (Hamsa): Represents the intellect trying to reach the Truth through reasoning and ascent.

The Boar (Varāha): Represents the ego trying to find the foundation of existence through effort and digging deep.

Both failed. The “Heart” (Śiva) is that which remains unknowable to the outward-turned mind (Brahma) and the ego-centered preserver (Viṣṇu). It can only be known when the search reaches its limit and surrenders.
Upon the prayer of the gods, the unbearable heat of the Fire Column cooled and solidified into the form of the Aruṇācala Hill. This solidification is the crucial link to the Hṛdaya. Just as the infinite Fire became a tangible Hill to be accessible to the senses, the infinite Brahman becomes the “Heart-Center” within the body to be accessible to the mind of the yogi. The Hill is the “Heart” of the earth; Hṛdaya is the “Hill” within the body.
The Hṛdaya is the central protagonist of both the Purāṇa and the second śloka of SAP:
The Purāṇic Heart is the Static aspect (Achala): The Hill, the Foundation, the support of the Universe.
The Vedantic Heart is the Dynamic aspect (Sphurana): The Vibration of ‘I-I’, the Light of Consciousness.
Bhagavān’s synthesis reveals that the Static and the Dynamic are one. To circle the Hill (Pradakṣiṇa) is to circle the Self. To dive into the Hill’s “cave” is to dive into the ‘I’. Bhagavān codified this identity, leaving a legacy where the devotee can gaze at the mountain and see their own Heart, or close their eyes and find the mountain within. Let us end this part with T V Kapali Śāstrī’s exposition in his Darpaṇam:^[8]

एवं जगदाधारतया जीवरूपतया च यस्यावस्थानं

तस्यारुणाचलस्याहम्पदपरमार्थभूतहृदयशब्दवाच्यत्वमुक्तम्।

अत एवोक्ता तस्य सहजनर्तनक्रिया ।

evaṃ jagadādhāratayā jīvarūpatayā ca yasyāvasthānaṃ
tasyāruṇācalasyāhampadaparamārthabhūtahṛdaya.

śabdavācyatvamuktam|

ata evoktā tasya sahajanartanakriyā |

“Thus, because His existence is established as both the support of the universe and the form of the individual soul, it is declared that Aruṇācala is denoted by the word ‘Hṛdaya’—which is the ultimate reality of the word ‘I’. For this very reason, His ‘natural dancing activity’ (spontaneous vibration) is spoken of.”

(Hṛdaya continues to throb...)

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Endnotes

Hello young adults and children!

This is Nondi, a monkey devotee of Bhagavan. Welcome to the April 2026 edition of the Children/youth corner. In this section, I will share stories, anecdotes, puzzles and interesting facts to provide you spiritual nourishment every quarter. The aim is to inspire and help you blossom into kind, brave and decisive adults.
I look forward to engaging with all of you, all over the world, in the years to come. Please share your queries, feedback and articles with me at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Your friend,
“Nondi”

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Dreams

Bhagavan insisted that there is no difference between the dream and waking state. In his words,

“Waking is long and dream short; other than this there is no difference. Just as waking happenings seem real while awake, so do those in a dream while dreaming. In dream the mind takes on another body. In both waking and dream states thoughts, names and forms occur simultaneously.”

We find this so hard to accept. However, here is a beautiful anecdote from Bhagavan’s close devotee, Major Chadwick’s “A Sadhu’s Reminiscences” that shows we all experience this confusion.
Bhagavan taught that dreaming and the waking experiences were exactly the same. I always found this hard to understand and would often question him on the subject. He would explain that all my questions about dreams only occurred in my waking state, they never occurred in dream. How, then, could they be valid? Dream is for the person who thinks that he is awake, but actually both dream and waking are quite unreal from the Absolute standpoint. You do not question your state when you are dreaming, it is only questioned by the one who is awake. Is this fair?
Still, while knowing Bhagavan’s teaching, that all is only an appearance and a creation of the mind, I found his teaching on dreams hard to understand. For waking seemed to me continuous, going on from day to day. I awoke into the same world each day whereas my dreams were always different, they were distinct. However, Bhagavan would never accept this distinction and repeated that the criticism only arose in the waking state and never in that of dreams. Then I myself had a dream:
I was having an argument with somebody on the subject of dreams and in the course of this I said, “Whatever you say, Bishop Berkeley was right, things are only in the mind, there is no reality outside of that. Things just don’t exist; so dream and waking experience must be exactly the same. They are only mental concepts. ‘You say that now,’ the other replied, ‘but you would not talk like that in a dream.’” And then I woke up. The whole thing was intensely vivid.
Some people have failed to see how this applies to the above. But the point is that the dream was so real that I never questioned it to be anything but the waking state. The two were exactly the same.
Here is an AI-generated comic strip to illustrate the above. If you have created or come across similar AI-generated content that conveys Bhagavan’s message accurately for children, please share it with us at [email protected]

Shloka: Sri Ramana Ashtottaram

Let’s continue to memorize this wonderful composition by Sri Viswanatha Swami. These are 108 names of Bhagavan used to worship him. As each name is uttered by way of invocation, a flower is offered in worship. Let’s memorize one name at a time and understand its meaning. Here’s Name 10:

ओं सुन्दरार्यतपःफलाय नमः।

Oṁ sundarārya tapaḥ phalāya namaḥ
Meaning: Fruit of Sundara Iyer’s tapas (penance).
Sundara is Bhagavan’s father, and the word itself means beauty or sweetness. A father of such virtue, one who must have accumulated great merit — only such a man could have been the father of a divine child born with a divine purpose.

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Here’s this issue’s Fun Corner

Crossword Puzzle: Navaratri at the Ashram

ACROSS

1. The fish-eyed Goddess (9)
6. The Goddess performing penance to Lord Shiva (5)
7. Special decorations performed on each of the nine days (10)
8. Married women are invited and gifted saris, bangles and turmeric (9,4)
9. The Goddess of wisdom, holding the veena (9)

DOWN

1. Prayer to bless tools, instruments and computers (6,4)
3. Seated on the sacred bull Nandi (8, 7)
4. The name of the Goddess worshipped during Navaratri (9)
5. The focal point of the worship inside the sanctum of the Mother’s Shrine (3,6,4)

Solutions to January 2026 crossword puzzle
Maha Kumbhabhishekam Terms

ACROSS

2. Towering structure that crowns the temple’s main shrine (6)
6. Sacred Vedic chants that invoke and transfer divine energy into the deities and temple structures, spiritually revitalizing the site (7)
7. Holy water that is consecrated and used to sprinkle over the temple’s deities and tower (6)
8. The worship of a cow and its calf (2,4)
10. Sacred fire ritual (5)
11. Central element used to invoke the Gods and transfer divine energy into the temple and its deities (4)

12. Temporary sacred pot that serves as a vessel for the divine power of the temple’s deities (7)

DOWN

1. Ritual of temporarily transferring the divine power of the deity from the main idol into a sacred water pot (13)
3. Sacred paste made from eight ingredients used to affix a temple’s idol to its pedestal, to consecrate and revitalize the temple (11)
4. Temporary structure where the divine energy of the main idols is transferred to allow for continuous prayer during renovations (9)
5. Temporary sacred enclosure where priests perform rituals (9)
9. Fire ritual performed to purify the environment, invoke deities, and charge the temple and idols with divine, spiritual energy (5)

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Shloka: Sri Ramana Ashtottaram

Let's continue to memorize this wonderful composition by Sri Viswanatha Swami. These are 108 names of Bhagavan used to worship him. As each name is uttered by way of invocation, a flower is offered in worship. Let's memorize one name at a time and understand its meaning. Here's Name 10:

ॐ सुन्दरार्यतपःफलाय नमः।
Oṁ sundarārya tapaḥ phalāya namaḥ
Meaning: Fruit of Sundara Iyer's tapas (penance).

Sundara is Bhagavan's father, and the word itself means beauty or sweetness. A father of such virtue, one who must have accumulated great merit — only such a man could have been the father of a divine child born with a divine purpose.

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What's going on in this picture? Close your eyes for a moment, think about it, and then write down the best caption you can. It can be funny, thoughtful, or inspiring. Please share it with us at:

<[email protected]>

The winning caption will be published in our next issue.

Question: What is the exact import of the following statement of Bhagavan, made in response to a question in Talk 391 of Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi:
“…non-identification of the body with the Self is a foregone conclusion.”

Answer: In Talk 391, the discussion concerns the various grades of samadhi. Bhagavan defines samadhi as holding on to Reality. This is the fundamental requirement in all forms of samadhi.

Holding on to Reality automatically implies withdrawal of attention from the ‘body,’ which is unreal (the term body here includes the mind as well). One who is in samadhi transcends dehatma-bhava during the period of samadhi. Without this transcendence, association with the body continues, and such a state cannot be called samadhi. This is why Bhagavan says that non-identification with the body is a foregone conclusion for one in samadhi.
Bhagavan further explains that in nirvikalpa samadhi the seed of the mind is not destroyed; it is merely kept in abeyance, and therefore the mind can emerge again. When the mind re-emerges, dehatma-bhava also sprouts again, and holding on to Reality comes to an end. Bhagavan likens this to laya, or the temporary subsidence of the mind. Even a thousand years spent in nirvikalpa samadhi is still temporary for a sahaja jnani, who has transcended time itself.
Bhagavan says that real Liberation lies in remaining permanently established in Reality. That is why he cautions against concluding that nirvikalpa samadhi is the ultimate state. The mind must be destroyed completely.
As Bhagavan says in Verse 13 of Upadesa Saram:

लयविनाशने उभयरोधने ।

  लयगतं पुनर्भवति नो मृतम् ॥

Absorption is of two sorts;

Submergence and destruction.
Mind submerged rises again;
Dead, it revives no more.

Coming to sahaja samadhi, the state of the liberated one, the jnani, the form of the mind is destroyed and dehatma-bhava is gone once and for all. Yet, to the onlooker, the jnani appears to function like anyone else. In truth, he has passed into the state of all-inclusive Awareness—the only Reality. In this state, awareness of the world and the body exists, but not as something separate from his natural state of Pure Awareness.
This is difficult for us to comprehend, since the jnani is neither withdrawn from the world nor distracted by it. Bhagavan once remarked jokingly that a jnani has a mind, but it is a dead mind.
Thus, the phrase “foregone conclusion” refers to the necessary condition for entering samadhi.

146th Ramana Jayanti

On January 4, 2026, Sri Ramanasramam celebrated the 146th Jayanti of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, amidst an atmosphere of profound spiritual radiance. The commemorative day began at dawn with a soul-stirring recitation of Aksharamanamalai, as well as other ashram hymns, in Bhagavan’s samadhi hall, concurrent with the resonant chanting of Mahanyasa Rudra Japa in the Mother’s Shrine. Devotees gathered in the thousands to honor the Maharshi, who was born on the auspicious Arudra Darshanam day in 1879 in Tiruchuli. The celebrations reached a crescendo during the Maha Deeparadhana at 10:30 a.m., which followed elaborate Abhishekams in the shrine, where the sanctum had been adorned with vibrant floral arrangements and fragrant unguents. In keeping with Bhagavan’s legacy of compassion, the Ashram organized a massive Annadanam, serving a celebratory feast to thousands of seekers. Beyond the formal rituals, the event served as a powerful reminder of Maharshi’s central inquiry, “Who am I?”, calling all who attended to settle into the eternal, birthless Self.

Swami Ramanananda Aradhana

On Monday, January 5, 2026, devotees observed the Aradhana of Swami Ramanananda Saraswati at Sri Ramanasramam. Formerly known as T.N. Venkataraman, ^{the nephew of the Maharshi, had served as Ashram President} for four decades, navigating financial and legal challenges with a “warrior-like” grit. After embracing sannyasa in 1994, he passed away as a pillar of integrity. Devotees gathered at his Samadhi to honor this “Child of Grace” and custodian of Bhagavan’s legacy.

Sivaprakasam Pillai Day

Sivaprakasam Pillai (1875-1948), first met Sri Ramana Maharshi in 1902. He is best remembered for his role in getting Sri Ramana Maharshi write down his teachings, which were later published as the book Who am I? His Aradhana was celebrated on January 12, 2026, with devotees chanting his compositions on Bhagavan.

Mattu Pongal

Mattu Pongal was celebrated in a special way at the Ashram. Ceremonies included special pujas for Nandi in the Mother’s Shrine, at Cow Lakshmi’s Samadhi, and the Gosala. In Tamil Nadu, Mattu Pongal is dedicated to expressing gratitude and honouring cattle, particularly cows and bulls, for their role in agriculture and farming.

A Watershed Moment: National Honor and the Centenary of Sri Ramanasramam

On the historic occasion of the release of a coin marking the centenary of Sri Ramanasramam, a commemorative ceremony was held at Ramana Kendra, Delhi on January 22, 2026. The event was graced by the Honorable Vice President of India, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan, along with other distinguished guests, including the Attorney General of India, Shri R. Venkataramani, the President of Ramana Kendra Delhi, Justice K. Ramamoorthy, and the President of Sri Ramanasramam, Dr. Venkat S. Ramanan. The ceremony opened with the National Anthem, followed by the inauguration of the function by Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan, who lit a lamp to invoke the blessings and grace of Bhagavan. Subsequently, he formally released the coin issued by the Government of India. The proceedings were enriched by a Bharatanatyam performance titled Arunachala Taalam, which evocatively depicted the sanctity of Bhagavan’s sacred abode.
Shri B. Ganeshan, Secretary of Ramana Kendra Delhi, delivered the welcome address, noting that the release of this coin is a national recognition of Bhagavan’s supreme emphasis on self-knowledge. He recalled the words of psychologist Carl Jung, who famously described Sri Ramana as the “whitest spot in a white space” and the “purest of India.” Justice K. Ramamoorthy further remarked that while Bhagavan was a silent sage, his divine words and poetry carried supreme power; his devotion to Arunachala in particular, the esteemed Justice noted, is capable of conferring liberation on all who even think of it.
In an inspiring address, Dr. Venkat S. Ramanan reflected on the unassuming origins of the Ashram, which blossomed at the foot of Arunachala following the Mahasamadhi of Bhagavan’s mother in 1922. He described the Ashram as perhaps the first dedicated to a woman saint, and a site that is widely regarded to be a temple of Advaita and silence. Citing the ancient Sanskrit dictum, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family), he noted that this is a veritable fact in the case of Sri Ramanasramam, where sincere seekers from over 123 countries come each year to immerse themselves in Bhagavan’s living presence and to practice Atma-vichara (self-inquiry).
The Honorable Vice President amplified these sentiments, noting that Bhagavan reaffirmed the eternal wisdom of India through the quiet power of simplicity and direct inner experience. He praised Bhagavan’s life of complete non-attachment, observing that he was unattached even to his own unattached life. He emphasized that Bhagavan’s message of inner discipline and kindness remains profoundly relevant for modern leadership and global harmony.
The release of this `100 silver coin represents a “high-tier” honor within the Indian honors system, carrying a prestige that transcends typical commemorative tributes. While India Post issues up to 100 stamps annually, the Ministry of Finance is far more selective, typically releasing only 15 to 25 commemorative coins per year. To qualify, a subject must have “transcended barriers of region, community, or religion” and made a “lasting and durable impact” on society. For Sri Ramanasramam to thus be included in such a small list alongside national milestones (like the 75th Year of Independence) and iconic figures (like Mahatma Gandhi) is a sovereign tribute to its enduring global significance. As Sri Ramanasramam enters its second century, this national recognition stands as a testament to the universality of Bhagavan’s teachings and the continued power of his living presence, centered in the Ashram.

Maha Sivaratri

Sivaratri was celebrated at the Ashram on Krishna Paksha Chaturdasi, the 15th of February, with jagaran, the traditional all-night vigil sustained by puja, recitation and meditation. The first kala puja was followed by the lighting of the ceremonial bonfire (of cow dung) at the Ashram gosala, thus generating the upcoming year’s supply of sacred ash. This was followed by three more kala pujas throughout the night.

Obituary

Sri Subramania Sarma, a devoted Veda Pandita and the resident priest of Chennai Ramana Kendra, reached Ramanapatham (the abode of Ramana) on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Having received his formal Vedic education at the Sri Ramanasramam Patasala, he returned to his spiritual roots after a successful banking career. His later years were a testament to his devotion, spent in tireless service to the Maharshi. We pray for his soul to attain Shanti and merge into the Divine Light of Arunachala.

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