Devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi's Life
Sri Ramana Maharshi's Teaching
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Over the course of Sri Ramana's lifetime, people from a wide variety of backgrounds, religions, and countries were drawn to him. Some stayed for the rest of their lives (or his) and served him with great devotion, and others came for a single darshan and left, deeply affected by the peace he radiated.
Many other creatures came to him as well and received his love and blessing.
Human Devotees
Temple Period (September 1, 1896 - early 1897)
Akhilandamma -- born in 1871 in Desur. First saw Sri Ramana in 1896 when he was living in the Arunachaleswara Temple.
Uddandi Nayanar -- came to Sri Ramana in late 1986. He was the first regular devotee to become attached to Sri Ramana.
Annamalai Tambiran
Gurumurtam Period (early 1897 - )
Venkatarama Aiyer
Palaniswami
Pavalakkunru (September 1898 - )
Virupaksha Period (1899-1916) (Mango Tree Cave during summers)
Sivaprakasam Pillai
Gambhiram Seshier
Echammal -- born in Mandakolathur, a village about 20 miles from Arunachala. Came to Sri Ramana in 1906
Ganapati Muni -- met Sri Ramana Nov 18, 1907
M. V. Ramaswami Iyer -- first came to Sri Ramana in 1907 or 1908
F.H. Humphreys -- the first Westerner, met Sri Ramana November, 1911.
Ramanatha Brahmachari -- first encountered Sri Ramana in 1912.
Mastan-- born in 1878 in Desur, accompanied Akhilandamma to Tiruvannamalai and saw Sri Ramana for the first time in 1914.
N. R. Krishnamurti Aiyer -- born in 1898 in a village near Tiruchirappalli. First saw Sri Ramana in April, 1914.
Skandasramam Period (1916-1922)
Sri Bhagavan's Mother settled at Skandashram in 1917.
Sri Bhagavan's younger brother Nagasundaram
Kunju Swami -- born 1887, came to Sri Ramana in his teens in 1920 and served him until 1950.
Sadhu Natanananda -- born in 1898. First saw Sri Ramana in 1918.
Swami Viswanatha -- (1904-1979) first had Sri Ramana's darshan in January, 1921.
Mother's Samadhi Site (became Sri Ramanasramam) Period (1922 onwards)
Sri Muruganar-- (1893 - 1973). Came to Sri Ramana in September, 1923.
Shantammal -- first came to Sri Ramana in 1927
Annamalai Swami -- born in Tondankurichi in 1906. Came to Sri Ramana in 1928.
Lakshman Sarma -- came to Sri Ramana in the late 1920's.
Krishna Bhikshu -- came to Sri Ramana in May 1929.
Paul Brunton -- (1898-1981) first saw Sri Ramana in January, 1931.
G. V. Subbaramayya -- first came to Sri Ramana 8, 1933.
Sri Janaky Matha (also spelled Sri Janaki Mata) -- born in 1906. Came to Sri Ramana April 20, 1935.
Sundarammal -- came to Sri Ramana in 1935.
Santha Rangachary -- came to Bhagavan in 1935
Major Chadwick (Sadhu Arunachala) -- came to Sri Ramana on November 1, 1935
S. S. Cohen -- first saw Sri Ramana February 3, 1936
Chalam (1894-1979) -- first saw Sri Ramana in 1936.
Souris -- came to Sri Ramana in May, 1938.
Chhaganlal V. Yogi -- came to Sri Ramana in December, 1939.
Suri Nagamma -- born in a small village in the Guntur District in Andhra Pradesh in August, 1902. Came to Sri Ramana in July, 1941.
Swami Madhavatirtha (1895 - 1960) -- first Darshan of Sri Ramana was 14 August, 1944.
Papaji (H.W.L. Poonja) (1910 - 1997) -- came to Sri Bhagavan in 1944.
Sadhu Om -- born in 1922 in Tamil Nadu. Came to Sri Ramana on June 6, 1946.
Lakshmana Swamy -- Came to Sri Ramana in 1949.
Sri Ramana Maharshi and Children
The Bee Sting
My sister was again left with my aunt at Tiruvannamalai. She would visit Bhagavan daily and play there. Once there was a cry from the garden and Bhagavan said, "It is Shantabai's voice," and sent someone to fetch her. My sister was reeling with pain. She came to Bhagavan crying and said that a bee had stung her hand. Bhagavan took her hand and caressed it. Immediately the pain of the sting vanished. Being innocent the child told Bhagavan, "Why did you make me cry so long? If you had wanted it you could have stopped it then and there." My Aunt who was there at the time was shocked at the audacity of my sister's complaint. However, Bhagavan smilingly asked what she had done to the bee before it stung her? She said that she was pelting stones at the mangoes and one of the stones disturbed the bee. Bhagavan smilingly said to her, "You see, the stone you threw hurt the bee and so it stung you. So hereafter never harm anyone." Young as she was she understood what Bhagavan meant and thereafter never hurt any living being. Later, whenever she recalled this incident, she felt grateful to Bhagavan for giving her this lesson on non-violence.
~ account by Chakkubai Srinivasan, recorded at Sri Ramanasramam. For full story, please go to Chakkubai Srinivasan's Account
~~~
On Kartika day in 1931, when K. Venkataraman was about 11 years old, he was staying with his grandmother Echammal. Finding her busy with the sraddha ceremonies for her late husband, he took her permission to go to the temple for puja.
Before going into the Sanctum Sanctorum, he decided to have his bath inside the temple compound. He went down the steps and entered the water carefully, as he did not know how to swim, but despite his care, he slipped and went down deep into the water. With great effort he was able to come to the surface several times and shout for help, yet no one took any notice of him.
After his third unsuccessful attempt, he sank deep into the water, without any hope of survival. Suddenly he saw a very bright light inside his head in the midst of which Sri Bhagavan's face shone. This phenomenon came in a flash, and disappeared immediately. A little later he felt something catch his ankles and he experienced a similar flash in exactly the same manner and intensity as before. By then he was unconscious.
When he awoke as if from a deep sleep he found himself on the steps of Siva Ganga tank. After looking around carefully and reassuring himself that he was really alive, he asked people around him how he had come there. He was told that an old man who was doing pradakshina of Kambathu Ilayanar had run down the steps, jumped into the tank, brought him out of the water and laid him down, and then had gone away as swiftly as he had come. Venkataraman then quickly had his puja performed and went straight home, without mentioning a word about it to his grandmother.
The next morning they went together to the Ashram as usual and prostrated before Sri Bhagavan. Bhagavan looked at them and asked how deep Siva Ganga tank was. The lad could not understand the import of question, and ran out of the hall silently. It was only later in life that he realised that his saviour had been none other than Sri Bhagavan himself. It is true that Sri Bhagavan shunned occult powers as an obstacle to pure sadhana but it is also true that Sri Bhagavan is all grace and compassion and never fails his devotees.
Another incident he recalls happened about a year later when he had come from his father's home to stay with Echammal for his school vacation. One morning at the Ashram he noticed that almost everyone had copies of a new book which he found was Suddhananda Bharati's biography of Sri Bhagavan, Sri Ramana Vijayam, fresh from the press, and presented it to all inmates. Disappointed at not getting a copy, he went to Chinnaswamy to ask for one. After Chinnaswamy refused to give him one, he went where Sri Bhagavan was and stood weeping. Bhagavan asked why he was crying and Venkataraman told him what had happened. Bhagavan then sent an attendant to the book stall for a copy of the book. After writing "Ramanan" on the flyleaf, he handed it the boy, who was filled with joy and thanked him for it. Sri Bhagavan then observed: "Oho! You are all joy now and your weeping vanished so soon." Venkataraman then went out of the Hall to tell Chinnaswamy that he had got what he wanted from the hands of Sri Bhagavan himself.
~ from Surpassing Love and Grace
When my brother Adam was about four years old he was sucking a sweet when he came running into the hall to tell Bhagavan something. Bhagavan asked him if he was enjoying his sweet and Adam, without a thought, took it out of his mouth and offered to put it into Bhagavan’s hand. There was a gasp of shock from the orthodox individuals around, but Bhagavan understood the spirit in which the offering was made and smiled at Adam. He said something along the lines of “No, no, you keep it.” Completely unbothered Adam popped the sweet back in his mouth and went on with what he wanted to say ...
Sri Ramana and Adam
Osborne
I was a little girl of around eight years of age. I was playing on the hill when Bhagavan came walking down with a number of people around him. Looking at him I was filled with such an overwhelming feeling of love that I burst out with:
“Bhagavan, I love you so much.” There were coos of approval from those around and I thought that they were approving of me without knowing how naughty I could be. I didn’t want unearned praise so I hastily added:
“Of course I love the monkeys too.” Gasps of shock naturally followed. The wonderful thing about being around Bhagavan was that one knew that he could see into our hearts. Bhagavan knew exactly what I meant and he just laughed and walked on.
~ Katya Osborne, from The Mountain Path, Sept 2004
The single most powerful memory of those days in my personal experience of Bhagavan occurred one day when I accompanied my mother to the ashram. I was about 5 years old at the time. Bhagavan was sitting on a small pial (raised platform) in the thatched room adjoining the Old Hall. The place is where Bhagavan's samadhi is now. The platform faced east whereas in the Old Hall Bhagavan faced south. My mother prostrated before Bhagavn in the traditional way and I who was standing next to her, suddenly climbed on her back, and sat there as if riding a horse or an elephant. My mother became very angry and tried to push me down. But Bhagavan, seeing my innocent mischief, smiled and enjoyed the fun. He bade my mother not to scold or push but stay in that prostrated posture for a few seconds more. When I recollect this incident I become enthralled at the memory of his beautiful, smiling countenance. He loved children and their playful mischief.
~ D. Rajaram, The Mountain Path, June, 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and
Creatures
Lakshmi the cow first came to Sri Ramana December, 1926. Lakshmi was 6 months old.
One day the cow Lakshmi came to the Hall. She went straight to Bhagavan, put her head on Bhagavan’s shoulder and wept. Bhagavan sat very quietly and gently stroked her head. “Why are you so sad?” he would whisper in her ears. “Who has hurt you? Cheer up, my dear, stop crying. I am here to befriend you.” Lakshmi stopped crying, gave Bhagavan a few licks and went away, comforted.
The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya
As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Jackie the dog
~~~
When Bhagavan was living on the hill, a big monkey came one day when he was having his food, and sat near him. Bhagavan was about to put a morsel of food into his mouth, but when he saw the monkey he gave it the morsel. The monkey took it, put it on the plate and gave Bhagavan a square slap on the cheek. “What do you mean, you fellow? Why are you angry? I gave you the first morsel!” exclaimed Bhagavan. Then he understood his mistake. It was a king monkey and he had to be treated in the right royal manner. Bhagavan called for a separate leaf plate and a full meal was served to the king, who ate it all with dignity and proudly went away.
Tales of Bhagavan
Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad
Sri Ramana Maharshi with cheetah cubs
18th January, 1946
About a year ago, some person who was rearing two
baby cheetahs brought them into Bhagavan's presence. When
they were fondled and given milk, not only did they move
freely amongst the people in the hall, but they got on to the
sofa with Bhagavan's welcome and slept soundly thereon.
One of the Ashram devotees took a photo of that unusual
group. From about 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Bhagavan confined
himself to one end of the sofa keeping the cubs on the sofa
in the same position all the time. They woke up afterwards
and were there till about 4 p.m., moving about freely in the
hall. Once again, before Bhagavan went up the hill at the
usual time, photos were taken with the cheetah cubs on the
sofa and also on the table in front of the sofa. They were
published in the Sunday Times later.
The wonder of it was that even the cheetah cubs lay
down happily on the sofa, overpowered by sleep induced by
the touch of Bhagavan's hands. While they were there, the
squirrels came and ate nuts and the sparrows came and ate
broken rice, as usual. In olden days, when animals and birds
of all sorts moved about together without enmity in any place,
people used to think that it was perhaps a Rishi Ashram.
~ Suri Nagamma, Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
~~~
Once a monkey tried to bring her new born baby through a window near Ramana’s couch. The attendants were preventing her. Ramana chided them as follows, “Don’t all of you bring your newborn babies to me? She also wants to do so. Why should you prevent her?”
~ A R Natarajan, Timeless in Time
~~~
When Bhagavan was staying in the Old Hall, he was literally surrounded by squirrels. They would run all over his couch, on his body, and even under his pillows. Ramana had to be extremely careful before he sat or leaned lest some squirrels be crushed by the weight of his body.
~ A R Natarajan, Timeless in Time
~~~
On June 17, 1948, Lakshmi fell ill. The following morning June 18 it looked as if her end was near. At about 10 o’clock in the morning Ramana went to her. He found her breathing hard and she was lying prostrate. Taking her head into his arms, stroking her neck, Ramana fixed his gaze in her eyes. Her breathing became steady immediately. Tears began to trickle from her eyes. Ramana’s eyes too overflowed as he looked at her with great love. How could those nearby hold by their emotions? He asked tenderly, “Amma (mother), do you want me to be near you? I must go now as people are waiting for me in the hall. But wherever I may be, I am always with you.” Then he placed his hand on her head as though giving diksha. He put his hand over her heart also and then caressed her, placing his cheek against her face. When he convinced himself that her heart was pure, free from all vasanas entailing rebirth and centred solely on him, he took leave of her and returned to the hall. Her eyes were calm and peaceful. She was conscious up to the end and left the body at 11:30 a.m. quite peacefully.
On her tomb was engraved an epitaph by Ramana which makes it quite clear that she attained liberation.
~~~
D.: Does one who has realized the Self lose the sense of ‘I’?
R.: Absolutely.
D.: Then there is not difference between yourself and myself, that man over there, my servant. Are all the same?
R.: All are the same, including those monkeys.
D.: But the monkeys are not people. Are they not different?
R.: They are exactly the same as people. All are the same in One Consciousness.
~ A R Natarajan, Timeless in Time
~~~
At Skandasramam a peacock would follow Bhagavan everywhere. One day a huge black cobra appeared in the Ashram and the peacock attacked it fiercely. The cobra spread its hood and the two natural enemies were poised for a fight to the death, when Bhagavan came quite near the cobra and said: "Why did you come here? That peacock will kill you. Better go away at once." The cobra immediately lowered its hood and slithered away.
~ from At The Feet of Bhagavan
~~~
At about 4 p.m. Sri Bhagavan, who was writing something intently, turned his eyes slowly towards the window to the north; he closed the fountain pen with the cap and put it in its case; he closed the notebook and put it aside; he removed his spectacles, folded them in the case and left them aside. He leaned back a little, looked up overhead, turned his face this way and that and looked here and there. He passed his hand over his face and looked contemplative. Then he turned to someone in the hall and said softly: "The pair of sparrows just came here and complained to me that their nest had been removed. I looked up and found their nest missing." Then he called for the attendant, Madhava Swami, and asked: "Madhava, did anyone remove the sparrows' nest?"
The attendant, who walked in leisurely, answered with an air of unconcern: "I removed the nests as often as they were built. I removed the last one this very afternoon."
M: That's it. That is why the sparrows complained. The poor little ones! How they take the pieces of straw and shreds in their tiny beaks and struggle to build their nests!
Attendant: But why should they build here, over our heads?
M: Well-well. Let us see who succeeds in the end. (After a short time Sri Bhagavan went out.)
~~~
Can a cracked egg be hatched?
It was the early hours of the morning in the Hall of Sri Bhagavan. He had had His bath, and now went to the farther end of the Hall to take His towel that hung from a horizontally suspended bamboo, at one end of which a sparrow had built her nest and laid therein three or four eggs.
In the process of taking His towel Sri Bhagavan's hand came against the nest, which shook violently, so that one of the eggs dropped down. In this way the egg was cracked; Sri Bhagavan was taken aback, aghast. He cried out to Madhavan, the personal attendant. "Look, look what I have done today!" So saying, He took the cracked egg in His hand looked at it with His tender eyes, and exclaimed: "Oh, the poor mother will be so sorrow-stricken, perhaps angry with me also, at my causing
the destruction of her expected little one! Can the cracked eggshell be pieced together again? Let us try!"
So saying, He took a piece of cloth, wetted it, wrapped it around the broken egg, and put it back in the mother's nest. Every three hours He would take out the cracked egg, remove the cloth, place the egg on His roseate palm, and gaze at it with His tender eyes for minutes together.
What was He really doing at this time? How can we say? Was He sending with those wonderful looks of gentle Grace life-giving beams into the cracked egg, putting ever newer warmth and life into it? That is a mystery none can solve. Yet He kept on saying: "Let the crack be healed! Cannot this be hatched even now? Let the little one come from this broken egg!"
This anxious concern and tenderness of Sri Maharshi continued from day to day for about a week. So the fortunate egg lay in the nest with its wet bandage cloth, only to be fondled by Sri Maharshi with divine touch and benign look. On the seventh day, He takes out the egg, and with the astonishment of a schoolboy announces: "Look what a wonder! The crack has closed,
and so the mother will be happy and will hatch her egg after all! My God has freed me from the sin of causing the loss of a life. Let us wait patiently for the blessed young one to come out!"
A few more days pass, and at length one fine morning Bhagavan finds the egg has been hatched1 and the little bird has come out. With gleeful smiling face radiant with the usual light, He takes the child in His hand, caresses it with lips, stroking it with His soft hand, and passes it on for all the bystanders to admire. He receives it back at last into His own hands, and is so happy that one little germ of life has been able to evolve in spite of the unhappy accident to it in the embryo.
from At The Feet of Bhagavan
~~~
Mudaliar Swami, son of the lady who brings bhiksha every day to Sri Bhagavan, related the following interesting incident:
During the time Sri Bhagavan was staying in Virupaksha Cave, Sri Bhagavan and Mudaliar Swami were walking together behind the Skandasramam site. There was a huge rock about 15 feet high; it was a cleft, a girl (a shepherdess) was standing there crying. Sri Bhagavan asked the reason of her sorrow.
She said, "A sheep of mine has slipped into this cleft; so I am crying." Sri Bhagavan descended into the cleft, took the sheep on his shoulders, climbed up to the surface and delivered the sheep to her.
Mudaliar Swami says that it was a very remarkable feat for any human being.
from Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
~~~
Once the Maharshi set out on giripradakshina with his disciples by a short-route across the hill. He asked Jacki to go down the hill to the town. Accordingly, Jack left and was sighted by the Maharshi on its way down. Midway on their walk the Maharshi changed course and walked down the hill. As they were descending, Jack was returning from the town. The Maharshi then directed Jack to go back to the ashram. Though reluctant to leave Bhagavan's company, as an obedient fellow, Jack went back to the ashram. Jack was soft and austere in his ways. His daily routine was like this: early in the morning he would visit a devadasi's (temple dancer's) house for breakfast and then go to a priest's house to accompany him to the shrine at Guha Namassivaya. After that he would go to Virupaksha cave for Bhagavan's darshan and later to a resting place nearby. Around 9.30 in the morning he would visit the shrine at Guha Namassivaya for prasadam and get back to his place of rest. Again by evening he would visit the devadasi's house for food. After supper he would go to a math to keep company with the priest. To the extent possible he would spend his time in
the vicinity of Arunachaleswara, much like a yogi.
~ from Ramana Leela
Sri Ramanarpanamastu