Some Stories from Bhagavan's Life

M.A. Piggot M.A. Piggot was the first English lady who visited Sri Ramana. Devotee Piggot writes her reminiscences: I had visited India before, but my first visit off the beaten track was in 1932-33. It was my wish to meet one of the holy men of India, but so far it had been a vain one.Then I was told of Ramana Maharshi. The friend who gave me the welcome news offered to take me to him, and so we arrived at Tiruvannamalai. He was seated on a divan in front of which sandalsticks were burning. About a dozen people were present in the hall. I sat crosslegged on the floor, though a chair had been thoughtfully provided for me. *Suddenly I became conscious that the* *Maharshi's eyes were fixed on me.* *They seemed literally like burning* *coals of fire piercing* *through me. Never before had I* *experienced anything so* *devastating – in that it was almost frightening.* What I went through in that terrible half hour, by way of self-condemnation and scorn for the pettiness of my own life,...

Rangan had a brother, who had also been Bhagavan Sri Ramana 's classmate. Though his name was Mani, he was nicknamed "Pokkiri" Mani ("Pokkiri" means "rogue" in Tamil). He was a tough, hefty man who intimidated people wherever he went. No one dared to pick a fight with him and gave in to his every whim. His mother was deeply devoted to Bhagavan Sri Ramana, even though she had seen him only as a child. When she saw Bhagavan Sri Ramana later at Virupaksha cave, she was totally transformed. Unfortunately, her son did not share her spiritual aspirations. Once, while travelling to Tirupati, the train passed through Tiruvannamalai. Mani's mother begged him, "Let us get down here and see our Venkataraman!" "I do not believe in all these fake sadhus. I won't come," he rasped. He took her to Tirupati, but on the way back she begged again, "I can't proceed further. I must see my Venkataraman!" Pokkiri Mani finally complie...

It is by God's Grace that you think of God. Ramana Maharshi 

All the activities that the body is to go through are determined when it first comes  into existence. It does not rest with you to accept or reject them. The only freedom you have is to turn your mind inward and renounce activities there... If you want to go to fundamentals , you must enquire who you are and find out who it is who has freedom of destiny. Who are you and why did you get this body that has these limitations? Day by Day with Bhagavan. June 1st,  1946 

Finally it happens. Thought is extinguished like a snuffed candle. The intellect withdraws into its real ground, that is, consciousness working unhindered by thoughts. I remain perfectly calm and fully aware of who I am and what is occurring. Yet my sense of awareness has been drawn out of the narrow confines of the separate personality; it has turned into something sublimely all-embracing. Self still exists, but it is a changed, radiant self. For something that is far superior to the unimportant personality which was I, some deeper, diviner being rises into consciousness and becomes me. I, the new I, rest in the lap of holy bliss. My heart is remoulded in rapture. ~ Paul Brunton speaking about his direct experience from Sri Ramana Maharshi's gaze. 

CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI When the mind appears every morning don't jump to the usual conclusion, 'This is me; these thoughts are mine'. Instead, watch these thoughts come and go without identifying with them in any way. If you can resist the impulse to claim each and every thought as your own, you will come to a startling conclusion: you will discover that you are the consciousness in which the thoughts appear and disappear. You will discover that this thing called mind only exists when thoughts are allowed to run free. Like the snake which appears in the rope, you will discover that the mind is only an illusion that appears through ignorance or misperception. You want some experience which will convince you that what I am saying is true. You can have that experience if you give up your life-long habit of inventing an 'I' which claims all thoughts as mine'. Be conscious of yourself as consciousness alone, watch all the thoughts come and go. Come to the...

"Has God a form?" a man once challenged Ramana Maharshi, the great Indian sage. "Who says God has a form?" Ramana retorted. The questioner persisted, "If God is formless is it not wrong to ascribe to Him the form of an idol and worship Him in it?" He had understood the retort to mean, "Nobody says God has a form." But it meant exactly what it said and was now amplified, "Let God alone; tell me first whether *you* have a form." "Of course I have a form, as you can see, but I am not God." "Are you then the physical body made of flesh and bones and blood and nicely dressed?" "Yes, that must be so; I am aware of my existence in this bodily form." "You call yourself that body because now you are aware of your body, but are you that body? Can it be yourself in deep sleep when you are quite unaware of its existence?" "Yes, I must have remained in the same bodily form even in deep sleep because I am ...

The turning point in Venkataraman's - Ramana Maharshi - life came spontaneously in mid-July 1896. One afternoon, the youth for no apparent reason was overwhelmed by a sudden, violent fear of death. Years later, he narrated this experience as follows: "It was about six weeks before I left Madurai for good that a great change in my life took place. It was quite sudden. I was sitting in a room on the first floor of my uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden, violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it; and I did not try to account for it or to find out whether there was any reason for the fear. I just felt, 'I am going to die,' and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or my elders or friends. I felt that I had to solve the problem myself, then and there. The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and...

THE NAME OF ARUNACHALA Of all the names of God, the name dearest to the heart of Sri Bhagavan was Arunachala. Every one of the 108 verses of Sri Arunachala Aksharamanamalai ends with the name Arunachala, and the refrain is 'Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva, Arunachala!' From the great love that Sri Bhagavan had for this name, it is clear that he regarded it as being no less powerful than the form of Arunachala. This fact is confirmed in verse seventy of Aksharamanamalai in which Sri Bhagavan sings, 'O Arunachala, the very moment I thought of your name, you caught me and drew me to yourself. Who can understand your greatness?' There are many incidents in the life of Sri Bhagavan that illustrate his great love for the divine name Arunachala, but perhaps the most striking occurred during his last moments. About twenty-five minutes before he left his body, the assembled devotees began to chant Aksharamanamalai. Hearing the name of his beloved Arunachala, Sr...

Vaikuntavasar worked up his way to be Sri Ramana's attendant in 1940. Later he also was a member of the Board of Trustees of Sri Ramanasramam. The following article written by him entitled, 'Bhagavan the Way' appeared in the April, 1977 issue of The Mountain Path. "Out of thousands, perhaps one strives for Perfection; out of those who strive, perhaps one knows Me as I AM" BHAGAVAD GITA, Ch. VII. v. 3 Many are called but few are chosen; many more are not even called! Mumukshutwa (the seeking) is a rare trait and God's grace is needed for one to become a seeker. One does not become a seeker simply by giving up attachment. The great Maharashtrian saint, Eknath, a great scholar himself, had to do seva (service) to his guru, Janardana Swami, for not less than forty years! The seva included all household jobs like washing, cleaning, fetching water and there was actually no spiritual teaching as such. Our tradition enjoins twelve years of service to the guru. I was f...