Extracts from:
Salutations to the Holy feet of Sri Ramana
- Swamy Viswananda
By then I had read more writings of the Maharshi but could not understand them as their perspective was so much greater than my mind had the capacity to absorb. I read them again and again and slowly and eventually was able to understand more. All of a sudden I decided I should see the Maharshi. First finding out how to reach the distant Tiruvannamalai I set out by train to Villupuram and then another train in which I found myself at Thiruvannamalai. Next I hired a tongawala [ horse-cart] which dropped me at Ramanashramam, surprising me that the driver took only two annas fare. Walking into the ashram I saw so many people sitting around a swamy seated on a couch in the hall. All but the swamy looked at me. He was gazing through a window out into the sky. He was not looking at anyone. I gave him my pranam and took a seat before him, and soon to my great astonishment, my mind had become deeply calm and serene. The swamy did not even seem to know that I had come. I became intensely introspective and realised for perhaps the first time how shallow my life was. I was a young boy of 20 years old.
Though I gazed at Bhagvan for a long time he never looked at me. As a sensitive young boy I was disconcerted that, having come all this way, he did not even make an effort to acknowledge me. I was not recognized as a living being by him and this troubled me. I sat there for an hour until 11 p.m. Then a tall swami in ochre robes came into the room and for a moment I thought he must be the swami as everyone paid him respect, so I also did namaskar. But having seen in a book the photo of Maharshi who was, now I understood, sitting on the sofa, he could not be who I was seeking. Suddenly he then saw me as if he was looking at himself and as if I was not myself, but himself. Strangely I felt he had established himself in me yet I was not established in him though he was in my heart. Yes, that was my first impression of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi.
I came often to the Ashram during my stay of five or six days and was extraordinarily happy. More than that, when I entered the dining hall I had the previlage of the Maharshi sitting along with us when we ate. I hail from Shankaraparampara and had gone to Sringeri Shankara math to receive darshan of the Shankaracharya, but the experience was not the same. Sri Ramana Maharshi was sitting in the midst of the dining hall and accepting to eat whatever was served to him, looking equally with us and accepting us as if we were his kith and kin. It had a great impact on me. Here was a real way of life observing SAMADHARMA. Whatever doubts I had had in my heart was satisfied with this very look of Bhagavan. From that day onwards I saw no divisions of good, nor bad, nor evil or otherwise. I began to realize increasingly that all inequalities in life are the creations of our minds. I also realized that Bhagavan was deeply caring for me even though he seemed not to look at me.
Though Bhagavan had not studied Sanskrit, even Ganapati Sastri was in awe of his excellent Sanskrit verses which shows Bhagavan was SARVAJNA [ omniscient].
Niranjananada Swamy did not like my staying in the ashram for long periods. But nobody could be stopped from going to Bhagavan’s presence. I never went to the kitchen without the Swami’s permission. Once Shankara Rao, a banker, some other person and me were walking into the dining hall, Sarvadikari stopped me for whatever reason. Once on a special occasion I was serving in the kitchen. When someone said something rotten against the Sarvadikari I went and hit him. This came to Bhagavan’s notice and he told me in a stern voice, “ You have not come here to hit anybody”. I shivered out of fear of Bhagavan, who so directly and fearlessly attacked the egoism of my resentment.
Recently, in kerala I was giving a talk on Bhagavan Ramana and his philosophy. In the audience one person declared that the man in the photo, i.e.Bhagavan had appeared before him. Bhagavan is inside of us and also everywhere and what we have to do is to put ourselves in tune so that the current can pass through us like the breeze of a fan. That is my philosophy and nothing else. From the day I met Bhagavan I had not violated his words though I moved with papa Ramdas, Anandamayi Ma and the Shankaracharya, in particular, H.H. Chandrashekara Bharathi who knew that I was on the right path.
Bhagavan Ramana is Dhakshinamurti to me. While taking food in the plate, a number of items are there but really, it is mainly rice and sambar. We should concentrate on what is essential and not be distracted by the unnecessary. Though it is difficult to describe the Brahman in words, it is in my experience that Bhagavan has removed my AVARANA [covering or body of Ignorance]. As Lord Krishna said, to leave everything and surrender to him – it is Bhagavan whom is the only refuge to me.
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