samarpan july 2010

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SAMARPAN | JULY 2010 | 2 http://forum.spiritualindia.org

www.spiritualindia.org

Contents

Editorial ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

Articles are invited for Oct 2010 ................................................................................................................... 8

.......................................................................................................................................... 9

Anandamayi Ma .......................................................................................................................................... 11

Guru & Guru-Pournima ............................................................................................................................... 15

Guru Nanak ................................................................................................................................................. 18

Ramakrishna Paramhansa ........................................................................................................................... 21

Why Am I worried about my Future? ......................................................................................................... 26

Sri Ramana Maharshi .................................................................................................................................. 31

Acharya Shri Tulsi ........................................................................................................................................ 38

Think It Over ................................................................................................................................................ 40

Life of Saint Patrick ..................................................................................................................................... 42

Saint Augustine ........................................................................................................................................... 44

Babas Eternal Presence.............................................................................................................................. 46

Baba Guided Me in Dream .......................................................................................................................... 47

Baba taught me a Great Lesson .................................................................................................................. 48

Bike Accident ............................................................................................................................................... 50

Baba Helps During Delivery ......................................................................................................................... 51

Awaiting Babas response ........................................................................................................................... 52

Experience with baba .................................................................................................................................. 53

Green Traveler Bag ..................................................................................................................................... 54

Spiritual experiences with Sai Baba ............................................................................................................ 56

Sai Tu He Sahara.......................................................................................................................................... 57

Sai O Lord .................................................................................................................................................... 58

Sai's Blessing ............................................................................................................................................... 61

Shri Ram, Hanumanji, and Jalaram bapa in Sai baba .................................................................................. 63

Sanathanadharma, Yet Another Perspective .............................................................................................. 65

New Hopes .................................................................................................................................................. 68


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Three Poems on Baba Sai ............................................................................................................................ 69

A Flight by Sai Baba ..................................................................................................................................... 73

Baba Jai Gurudeo ........................................................................................................................................ 75

Babas Blessings .......................................................................................................................................... 76

Bow to Sai ................................................................................................................................................... 77

Faith Never Fails .......................................................................................................................................... 79

My Friend Ganesha ..................................................................................................................................... 80

My Dear Sai Bandhus! ................................................................................................................................. 81

My Experiences with Sai Ram ..................................................................................................................... 83

We are Lucky People ................................................................................................................................... 84

Sai Tum Me Sab Lok Samaaye ..................................................................................................................... 85

Waiting for Babas Miracle.......................................................................................................................... 87Baba got me Job .......................................................................................................................................... 89

............................................................................................................................................................ 91

Tranquility of Soul ....................................................................................................................................... 93

Devotion in Prayers ..................................................................................................................................... 94

Miraculous Words ....................................................................................................................................... 95

Mantra to Salvation .................................................................................................................................... 97

Inspirational factors .................................................................................................................................... 98

Neem Karoli Baba...................................................................................................................................... 100

Medicine or Miracle .................................................................................................................................. 103

Baba Accepted My Shawl .......................................................................................................................... 104

Sai Baba's blessings ................................................................................................................................... 106

Baba's feet rescue us all ............................................................................................................................ 108

Baba helps restore documents ................................................................................................................. 109

Baba's Eternal presence ............................................................................................................................ 110

Miracle of Udi & Sai Vrat Experience ........................................................................................................ 111

Baba - Eternal Healer ................................................................................................................................ 112

Shibpur Sai Mandir A Divine Mission ..................................................................................................... 113

Chiku (sweet) Sai Baba .............................................................................................................................. 116

Got A Job Through Baba's Grace ............................................................................................................... 117


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Babas miracle in my Life .......................................................................................................................... 118

................................................................................................................... 119

........................................................................................................................ 121

.................................................................................................................................. 122

Baba's Miracle ........................................................................................................................................... 124

.................................................................................................................................. 125

Baba changes the value of 'Pi' .................................................................................................................. 126

Atisha ........................................................................................................................................................ 128

Sai Ka Upkar .............................................................................................................................................. 131

Baba's Way of Retrieving the Photos ........................................................................................................ 132

Sai's Grace ................................................................................................................................................. 133

Bolo Sai ...................................................................................................................................................... 134

A beautiful Sai Baba Picture ...................................................................................................................... 135

Disclaimer.................................................................................................................................................. 136


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Editorial

By: Ashok Jain

I read an interesting story sometime back. In the story there was a sufi saint and during one

night, a thief entered his house. The saint asked the thief to wait till he brought a lamp and

then he told the thief that they both would search

with the help of that lamp if they could find

something in the house. The saint said that he has

been living in that house for many years and had

been looking all his life but found nothing in the

house. He wanted to start his search again with

someone's help; as his own search was futile sofar. The thief was amused and without saying

anything to the saint, he ran away. The story ends

here. However, the lesson begins here. Similar to

the saint living in that house, we have been living

in this world since long long time. We have also

not found what we were searching here. Yet, we

come again and again and start that search all over

again. The thief who was supposed to help the

saint in his search runs away, however for us, wecan always get assistance in our search and that

assistant, helper and guide is none other than our

Guru. Yes, a sadguru can help us in our search.

This edition of Samarpan is Guru special and a

Guru is one who can lead us from ignorance to

knowledge. The knowledge which is not mere facts

but realization of all that has to be known for us to

know about ourselves; which can help lead our

lives in such manners that we get closer and closer

to our own self. Baba has said that the only aim of

birth is to learn how not to take birth anymore,

this is actually a very profound statement and even

though we understand what it means on surface,

we have some way to go to understand it at the

Editorial TeamAnisha Saluja

Ashok Jain

Damanpreet Kaur

Mythili K

Nikhil Dugar

Poornima S

Published EveryJanuary, April, July & October

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level at which we need to. Through successions of joys and sorrows we will start seeking true

purpose of our living and that's when a Guru can guide us, help us, answer our questions and

show us the right path. Religions, sects, sub-sects, various faiths should not act as divisive force

among us; we should know that our transmigratory soul would take birth in many religions and

many situations.

It would be an understatement if I say that Sai Baba is a Sadguru, actually for each one of us

Baba is that missing link between our external view and internal reality. Baba is our friend, He is

our guardian, He is our parent, He is our sibling, He is the sign in despair, He is the smile in

tough times, and He is our sensibility in times of triumph. Baba is inseparable from us. All of us

are connected to Baba by one way or another. In fact, we all are connected to each other. We

may not appreciate it very much, but the fact is that when we give joy and happiness to

someone, we actually give the joy to our own self. When we give pain to others, we do the

same to us. We inflict all mental and physical injuries to us during our course of life. When we

are sarcastic, when we are selfish, when we are harsh; we are actually being sarcastic to our

own self, we are being selfish to none other than our own self. All pain and misery have to be

borne by us.

When we see God in everyone, we will become God in time; when we see evil in everyone, we

will become the same in time. It is important that we see good in others, do not judge others,


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do not harm others, do not inflict physical, mental or psychological pain to anyone in the world.

Let us not forget that all that pain is going to come back to us. As a seed takes time to become a

tree and fruit, so are our various actions which will give our dues in time. We must remember

that every act of kindness which we apparently do to others is a kind act to our own self, every

service performed in this world is a service done to ourselves.

When we kill an animal or a bird, we kill ourselves. When we inflict injury to other living beings,

we are doing the same to us. Our acts may seem to be projecting outwards, but all effects will

be internal. We alone are responsible for all our acts. Baba can help us stay focused, minimize

our bad acts, help us in avoiding those acts which will bring more sufferings; Baba provides us

necessary peace and succor during our bad times. Good and bad times are nothing but our own

acts and as we mix good and bad acts together, so do we receive mixed experiences in time.

God in its highest truth is just a witness and does not interfere with our lives, we are the ones

who are responsible for our lives. People, society, parents, friends, circumstances and

environment are chosen based on our past acts and how they influence us is based on our acts.

Coming back to our magazine, we have an additional member in our editorial team and her

name is Damanpreet Kaur. She is from Delhi and is currently pursuing MBA. She likes to write

and does blogging. Thanks Daman for your contri butions toward this magazine. So, with

addition of Damanpreet, our editorial team is complete for the time being, to carry out all

activities related to the magazine.

Hope you all are doing fine in your lives and are moving ahead like bright lights in this universe.

Remember that each one of us is tightly coupled with Baba and let us seek his guidance in every

matter of our life and lead our life in the best possible manner. Let us try practicing the

teachings of Baba a little more every day. May you all be healthy, happy, prosperous and have

plenty of peace.

Lots of love to you.

Om Sai Ram.


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Articles are invited for Oct 2010

Samarpan is the first online magazine on Sai Baba of Shirdi. If you like to publish your articles in

Samarpan, please send us an email [email protected] your entry. All the approved

entries will be published in Oct 2010 edition. You can send the following types of items:

- Spiritual Article- Mythological stories- Poems- Bhajans- Spiritual Experiences with Sai Baba- Spiritual Experiences with any other God/ Goddess- Information about religious events- Spiritual Photographs

Your article should be original. Please do not submit any copyrighted article. Please send your

article latest by August 31, 2010.

Please follow below guidelines for submitting your articles for next edition of SAMARPAN.

- Please give a suitable title and write your name or the name of the author (if you are notthe author).

- Please do not copy someone elses article.- Please keep your articles in the range of 100 to 1500 words.- Please do not type everything in capital (upper case).- Please do not use font size greater than 12.- Please use basic fonts like Arial, Times new roman etc.- Please do not use short forms (SMS style of writing)

- Write you and not u- Write because and not becoz- Write and and not n- Please use full stop . and not .

Please do spell checks before you submit the article and correct all spelling mistakes.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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By: Sarika


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Anandamayi Ma

By: Ashok Jain

Anandamayi Ma was born in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in 1896. Her father would rise at 3

AM and sing Bhajans, and was given to wandering for long periods. His wife would go searching

for him and bring him back home. On one occasion, during a storm, the roof blew off the house

and he continued singing in the rain.

Anandamayi's mother was also known for her states of bhava or religious emotion. While

pregnant with Nirmala (Anandamayi's given name), she would see visions of sages and statues

of deities which would appear, and then suddenly disappear. She later took vows and became a

female renunciant.

Anandamayi Ma was very sensitive to religious ritual as a child, and the sound of religious

chanting would bring about ecstatic feelings in her. At temples, she would also see religious

figures emerging from religious statues and reentering them. Her education was very limited

and her writing skills were minimal.

She married at 13 years of age to Ramani Mohan Cakravarti or Bholanath as he was known, and

spent a few years living in her brother-in-law's house, much of it apparently in trance. Her

brother-in-law died, and she went to live with her husband at age 18.

It was a celibate marriage though not by her husband's choice. When thoughts of sexuality

occurred to Bholanath, Anandamayi's body would take on the qualities of death and she would

grow faint. His relatives said he should remarry but he did not follow their advice. Later,

Bholanath took initiation from her and accepted Anandamayi as his guru.

While living in Dacca, others came to recognize her spiritual qualities. At the sound of religious

chanting, she would become stiff and even fall to the ground in a faint. Her body would

occasionally become deformed during these events. Sometimes it would lengthen. At others, itwould shrink or its limbs would seemingly go into impossible positions as if the skeletal

structure had changed shape beneath her skin. She would hold difficult yogic positions (asanas)

for long periods and spontaneously form complex tantric hand positions (mudras) and gestures.

Her husband thought she might be possessed, and took her to exorcists. One physician

suggested she was not mad in the conventional sense but instead had a kind of god intoxication

- a divine madness for which there was no secular cure.


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In 1916, she became ill and moved back to her parent's home in Vadyakuta. In 1918 she and her

husband moved to Bajitpur where she began to do Shaivite and Vaisnavite spiritual practices.

Inner voices would tell her what actions to perform and which images to visualize. Her yogic

practices (kryias) were spontaneous and she described them as occurring much like a factory

where the various machines all worked automatically and in perfect sequence to produce aproduct.

Anandamayi would shed profuse tears, laugh for hours, and talk at tremendous speed in a

Sanskrit-like language. Other unusual actions included rolling in the dust and dancing for long

periods whirling like a leaf in the wind. She would also fast for long periods and at other times

consume enough food for eight or nine

people.

In the history of Indian devotional traditions,

changes in bodily structure and state are

considered to be spontaneous expressions of

religious emotion. Anandamayi's changes

were more extreme than these more

common sattvika bhavas (sweating, fainting,

crying, change in skin color, hair standing on

end, etc.) which also normally indicate strong

religious emotion. Some respected Indian

saints of the past were described as having

had similar bodily changes.

Anandamayi went on various pilgrimages

traveling throughout India stopping in

ashrams and attending religious festivals. She

had a temple built for her by disciples in

Dacca but left the day it was completed. She traveled to Dehradun where she lived in an

abandoned Shiva temple for almost a year without money and often in freezing temperatures

without blankets.

She was known for her siddhis or yogic powers where she could read her devotee's thoughts

and emotions at a distance, make her body shrink and expand, and cure the sick. One disciple

claimed that she was saved from death after a car accident when Anandamayi grasped her "life

substance" and brought it back into her dead body.


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Anandamayi was sensitive to environmental influences as was demonstrated when she once

passed a Muslim tomb. She immediately began to recite portions of the Quran, and to perform

the Namaj ritual (Muslim prayers). These and other similar acts showed Anandamayi to be

someone always moving through a wide variety of psychic and religious states, each one

expressing itself through her. She often objectified her body by describing her actions in phaseslike "this body did this" or "this body went there". She believed her chaotic actions were

expressions of the divine will.

She sometimes ascribed her actions to a personal though unnamed god: I have no sense of

pleasure or pain, and I stay as I have

always been. Sometimes He draws me

outside, and sometimes He takes me

inside and I am completely withdrawn. I

am nobody; all of my actions are done by

him and not by me.

She also sometimes described herself as

completely empty with no sense of the "I

am" remaining. She was lost in the great

void (mahasunya) which was responsible

for her actions. The action that emanated

from this void was often chaotic and

incoherent. Her view was that a universal

state of chaos arises due to spontaneous

eruptions of the divine will which arise out

of this nothingness. But she also talked in

theological terms stating that her bhavas

or expressions were the play of the Lord

(Bhagavan) acting through her body.

Anandamayi considered individual identity to be a kind of spiritual disease. She called it bhava

roga, or the disease of feeling where every person looks at him or herself as a separate

individual. When some of her disciples complained about the large crowds of people that would

sometimes follow her, she responded, as you do not feel the weight of your head, of hands, and

of feet ... so do I feel that these persons are all organic members of THIS BODY; so I don't feel

their pressure or find their worries weighing on me. Their joys and sorrows, problems and their

solutions, I feel to be vitally mine ... I have no ego sense nor conception of separateness.


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Though she was never formally initiated by a guru, one evening she spontaneously performed

her own initiation, visualizing both the ritual scene and movements. Simultaneously, she heard

the chanting of initiatory sacred words (mantras) inwardly.

She explained that there were four stages in her spiritual evolution. In the first, the mind was"dried" of desire and passion so it could catch the fire of spiritual knowledge easily. Next the

body became still and the mind was drawn inward, as religious emotion flowed in the heart like

a stream. Thirdly, her personal identity was absorbed by an individual deity, but some

distinction between form and formlessness still remained. Lastly, there was a melting away of

all duality. Here the mind was completely free from the movement of thought. There was also

full consciousness even in what is normally characterized as the dream state.

While sometimes speaking of spiritual evolution, she also maintained that her spiritual identity

had not changed since early childhood. She claimed that all the outer changes in her life were

for the benefit of her disciples.

When Paramahansa Yogananda met Anandamayi Ma and asked her about her life, she

answered: "Father, there is little to tell." She spread her graceful hands in a deprecatory

gesture. "My consciousness has never associated itself with this temporary body. Before I came

on this earth, Father, 'I was the same.' As a little girl, 'I was the same.' I grew into womanhood,

but still 'I was the same.' When the family in which I had been born made arrangements to have

this body married, 'I was the same.' ...And, Father, in front of you now, 'I am the same.' Ever

afterward, though the dance of creation change[s] around me in the hall of eternity, 'I shall be

the same.'"

Anandamayi was a holy woman without formal religious training or initiation whose status was

based entirely on her ecstatic states. She did not have an outer guru, though she did hear

voices that told her what religious and meditative practices to perform. She emphasized the

importance of detachment from the world and religious devotion. She also encouraged her

devotees to serve others. She did much traveling and wandering, at times refusing to stay at

the ashrams her devotees provided for her. While her parents worshiped Krishna, she could not

be placed in any definite tradition. An ecstatic child of ecstatic parents, she became a famous

saint who like many other female Indian saints stood on the edge of several religious traditions,

and in the midst of none. She influenced the spirituality of thousands of people who came to

see her throughout her long life, and died in 1981.


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Guru & Guru-Pournima

By: Gaurav kathuria

Gurupournima is a day to express gratitude towards your Guru. The spiritual aspirant thinks of

celebrating this day in the best possible manner. The Guru is 1000 times more active on this day

than on any other day. Hence we get more spiritual experiences (anubhutis) and receive

auxilliary blessings of 'Guru' when we perform satseva (service to God) and sacrifice on this

occasion, than on any other day.

This year, Gurupournima falls

on July 25 2010 (Ashadh

Pournima, as per Hindu lunarcalendar).

Who is a Guru?

There are various aspec ts tothe Supreme God Principle.

These aspects perform specific

functions in the Universe. This

is pretty much akin to the

government of any countrywhich has various departments

to facilitate the smooth

functioning of the country as a

whole. The aspect of God that

looks after spiritual teaching

and spiritual growth in the Universe is known as the Guru. HE is known as the unseen or

unmanifest Guru. The Guru helps pervades the entire Universe and is with us at all times,

during & after our life. The salient feature is that the unmanifested Guru stands by us

throughout our life and lifts us from our worldly affairs to a spiritual life. The Guru guides us asper our spiritual level, i.e. our capacity to imbibe knowledge.

Among all the poeple in this world, few takes up spiritual practice which is universal and

beyond the confines of formal & organized religion. Among them, very few people through

their spiritual practice (regardless of their religion) attain a spiritual level of over 70%. The

unmanifest Guru then works completely through some of these evolved individuals who are


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,

,

,

,

then known as the manifest Guru or the Guru in the human form. In other words, a person has

to be at least at 70% spiritual level to qualify as a spiritual guide or a Guru. The Guru in human

form acts as a beacon of spiritual knowledge for humanity and is in total alignment with the

Universal Mind and Intellect of God.

The need for the Guru in ones life

One has to enquire with someone else while looking for an address in an unknown city.

Similarly, only a Guru can give us God's address.

If we are unable to swim, then we need a boat to get us to the other side of the river. Similarly,

to get across the ocean of life, we need the Guru who can help us reach HIM either by

swimming or by sailing in the boat, i.e. he will guide us with the path to reach GOD by

meditation or by HIS natter. A disciple can progress spiritually through his own efforts but his

path to self-realization or towards perfection becomes easy when he follows the teachings of

his Guru & is guided by him. If a steamer reacheses its destination in 4 hours, then a tiny boat

tied to it also reaches the destination in 4

hours. But, if the tiny boat is separated

from the steamer, it would take 12

hours to reach the same destination.

Similarly, if we make efforts towards

spiritual progress without taking

appropriate guidance then we would

reach the GOD but would take a long

time due to our mistakes & defects in our way.

However, under the guidance of an appropriate Guru we could cover the distance of 12 hours

in just 4 hours. Hence, according to the Sanskrit proverb 'Mahajano yena gataha sa panthaha',

one should follow the path taken by great souls/people; one should accept and get the

guidance of a Guru.

Only the Guru can guide us with the Path leading to God. This can be expressed by a simple

example: when we have to visit a friend in a new town & we do not have the address, we need

to enquire someone who knows where our friend lives. Once we have the address we can easily

find our house. In the same way, only the Guru can give us the address of our 'true self' i.e. our

soul.

I could explain this again by a fact that if we lost our way in a desert and do not have a guide

with us, we will probably wander here & there. We will get exhausted without food and water

& would not survive for long. Similarly, if we do not get the guidance of a Guru we would be


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stucked in the maze of 84 lakhs (8,40,000) different types of births (yoni). The reason behind

this longevity is the mistakes we commit & our non-concentration in almighty. When we are

not able to get in touch with a friend over the phone, then the operator helps us. Similarly, if

we are unable to connect to God the Guru removes all the obstacles and help us to connect to

HIM. The obstacles are: the veil of maya-the great illusion, which includes attachment toparents, siblings, wife, wealth, etc. The Guru releases us from these attachments and shows us

the divine path to God.

If we seek the guidance from teachers, doctors, lawyers in their respective fields, one can

imagine the importance of the Guru, who releases him from the bondage of life and death and

takes him closer to the source, i.e. God.

The importance of service (satseva) and sacrifice (tyag) in one's life

A gradual sacrifice of body, mind and wealth is necessary for rapid spiritual growth. The mind is

sacrificed through chanting, the body through physical service unto Truth (satseva) and wealth

through donation (arpan). Our give and take account of previous births is responsible for the

problems in this life, such as obstacles in business, illness, money disposition etc. Normally

these problems get solved by donating wealth to the saints at different holy places or by

helping poors.

One is required to make the sacrifice of every minute thing to attain God. Reduction in the level

of attachments towards worldly affairs & relations is far more important than how much one

actually donates. For example, it is more important to donate $100 when we have just $100,

than to donate $10,000 when we have millions. The Guru is 1000 times more active on the day

of Gurupournima than on any other day. Hence we receive more of the Guru's blessings when

we perform satseva and sacrifice on the occasion of Gurupournima.


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Guru Nanak

By: Poornima S

Guru Nanak Devji was the founder of Sikhism. He was also the first amongst the ten Gurus of

the Sikhs. He believed that there is only one God and we can reach him through any religion, be

it Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, etc. he was also a great poet as well as an excellent musician and

could easily convince anybody through the power of his words.

Sri Guru Nanak was born in Nankana Sahab

city of Punjab (now in Pakistan), in the year

1469. His parents belonged to the Hindu

Khatri clan. It is said that at the age of fiveyears, Guru Nanak Dev started discussing

spirituality. He left school at a very tender

age and initiated his own teacher as his first

disciple. Seeing his inclination towards

spirituality and asceticism, his family got him

married at the age of fourteen. However,

this did not prevent him from following the

path of spirituality.

With time, Guru Nanak Devji started

assuming more and more spiritual powers.

Later, he left his home, along with his

Muslim friend, and led the life of a wanderer

for almost twelve years. Throughout this

period, he met a number of religious

teachers as well Indian philosophers.

Even though Guru Nanak spent 12 years traveling around and visited many places, his following

four journeys are the most popular

Towards Bengal and Assam Towards Ceylon, via Tamil Nadu Towards Kashmir, Ladakh and Tibet Towards Baghdad and Mecca


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After leading the life of a wanderer for almost 12 years, Guru Nanak Devji left for the

Himalayas. It was there that he had the first direct experience of God. Thereafter, he settled in

Kartarpur as 'a Guru with a family' and started giving religious discourses. He spent the last 15

years of his life in Kartarpur and started the practice of 'Langar' (community kitchen) for theneedy and deprived. Sri Guru Nanak Dev left the world and took his place in heaven in the year

1539.

Beliefs and Teaching of Guru Nanak

God is one and the true way to attain Him is to worship Him. Human Beings are equal. Women are equal to men in all respects.

Sri Guru Nanak formalized the three important pillars of Sikhism in Sultanpur. They are,

Kirt Karnaa (Honest Earning) Naam Japna (Chanting God's name in a meditative manner) Vand ke Shakkana (Sharing with others)

His first statement after his prophetic communion with God was "There is no Hindu, nor any

Mussalman." This announcement of supreme significance declared not only the brotherhood of

man and the fatherhood of God, but also his clear and primary interest not in any metaphysical

doctrine but only in man and his fate. It means love your neighbour as yourself.

When Guru Nanak Dev ji were 12 years old his father gave him twenty rupees and asked him to

do a business, apparently to teach him business. Guru Nanak dev ji bought food for all the

money and distributed among saints, and poor. When his father asked him what happened to

the business, He replied that he had done a "True business". At this place where Guru Nanak

dev had fed the poor, a gurdwara was made and named Sacha Sauda.

Guru Nanak has given a beautiful summary of his teachings in one of his hymns as follows:

Love the saints of every faith:

Put away thy pride.

Remember the essence of religion

Is meekness and sympathy,

Not fine clothes,


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Not the Yogis garb and ashes,

Not the blowing of the horns,

Not the shaven head,

Not long prayers,

Not recitations and torturings,Not the ascetic way,

But a life of goodness and purity,

Amid the worlds temptations.

"Vahe Guru" is the Guru Mantra for the followers of Guru Nanak.


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Ramakrishna Paramhansa

By: K Mythili

Born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school

of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami

Vivekananda - both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu

renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries. Ramakrishna was born in 1836, in the village of

Kamarpukur, in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, into a very poor but pious, orthodox

brahmin family. His parents were Khudiram Chattopdhyya and Chandramani Dev. According

to traditional accounts, Ramakrishna's parents experienced supernatural incidents, visions

before his birth. His father Khudiram had a dream in Gaya in which Lord Gadadhara (a form of

god Vishnu), said that he would be born as his son. Chandramani Devi is said to have had avision of light entering her womb from Shiva's temple.

Ramakrishna was a popular figure in the village, with a natural gift for fine arts. Though he

attended a village school with some regularity for 12 years, he later rejected the traditional

schooling saying that he was not interested in a "bread-winning education". Kamarpukur, being

a transit-point in well-established pilgrimage routes to Puri, brought him into contact with

renunciates and holy men. He became well-versed in the Puranas, the Ramayana, the

Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata Purana, hearing them from wandering monks and the

Kathaksa class of men in ancient India who preached and sang the Puras. He could readand write in Bengali.

Ramakrishna's father died in 1843, after which time family responsibilities fell on his elder

brother Ramkumar. This loss drew him closer to his mother, and he spent his time in household

activities and daily worship of the household deities and became more involved in

contemplative activities such as reading the sacred epics. When Ramakrishna was in his teens,

the family's financial position worsened. Ramkumar started a Sanskrit school in Calcutta and

also served as a priest. Ramakrishna moved to Calcutta in 1852 with Ramkumar to assist in the

priestly work.

Ramakrishna was said to become deeply offended when others would not show the same level

of devotion for the goddess Kali as he did. He would become angry when others would tell him

that he was not really experiencing the presence of Kali. Yet Through his faith, and his spiritual

devotion, others would soon begin to believe in not only what Ramakrishna was seeing, but in

his teachings as well. One day, brought to the point of suicide by this longing, he had the


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experience of goddess Kali as the universal Mother, which he described as "... houses, doors,

temples and everything else vanished altogether; as if there was nothing anywhere!

Ramakrishna returned to Calcutta and resumed the charges of the temple again, but instead of

toning down, his spiritual fervor and devotion only increased. To cultivate humility andeliminate the distinction between his own high Brahmin caste and pariahs belonging of low

caste he would clean their quarters with his own hands and long hair.

He would take gold and silver coins, and mixing them with rubbish, repeat "money is rubbish,

money is rubbish". He later said that "I lost all perception of difference between the two in my

mind, and threw them both into the Ganges. No

wonder people took me for mad." According to

Swami Vivekananda, his hatred for money

became so instinctive that his body would shrink

back convulsively if it were touched with a coin,

even when asleep.

Vaishnava Bhakti

The Vaishnava Bhakti traditions speak of five

different moods, referred to as bhvas

different attitudes that a devotee can take up to

express his love for God. They are: nta, the

serene attitude; dsya, the attitude of a servant;

sakhya, the attitude of a friend; vtsalya, the

attitude of a mother toward her child; and

madhura, the attitude of a woman towards her

lover.

At some point in the period between his vision

of Kali and his marriage, Ramakrishna practiced dsya bhva. He started worshiping Rama in

the attitude of Hanuman, the monkey-god, who is considered to be the ideal devotee and

servant of Rama. According to Ramakrishna, towards the end of this sadhana, he had a vision of

Sita, the consort of Rama, merging into his body.

In 1864, Ramakrishna practiced vtsalya bhva under a Vaishnava guru Jatadhari. During this

period, he worshipped a metal image of Ramll (Rama as a child) in the attitude of a mother.

According to Ramakrishna, he could feel the presence of child Rama as a living God in the metal

image.


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Ramakrishna later engaged in the practice of madhura bhva the attitude of the Gopis and

Radha towards Krishna. During the practise of this bhava, Ramakrishna dressed himself in

women's attire for several days and regarded himself as one of the Gopis of Vrindavan.

According to the Ramakrishna, madhura bhava is practiced to root out the idea of sex, which isseen as an impediment in spiritual life. According to Ramakrishna, towards the end of this

sadhana, he attained savikalpa samadhivision and union with Krishna.

Ramakrishna visited Nadia,

the home of Chaitanya and

Nityananda, the 15th-

century founders of Bengali

Gaudiya Vaishnava bhakti.

According to Ramakrishna,

he had an intense vision of

two young boys merging into

his body. Earlier, after his

vision of Kali, he is said to

have cultivated the Santa

bhavathe passive

"peaceful" attitude

towards Kali.

Approach of Vedanta

In 1865, Ramakrishna was

initiated into sannyasa by

Tota Puri, an itinerant monk

who trained Ramakrishna in

Advaita Vedanta , the Hindu

philosophy which

emphasizes non-dualism.

Totapuri first guided Ramakrishna through the rites of sannyasarenunciation of all ties to the

world. Then he instructed him in the teaching of advaitathat "Brahman alone is real, and the

world is illusory; I have no separate existence; I am that Brahman alone." Under the guidance of

Totapuri, Ramakrishna reportedly experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, which is considered to be

the highest state in spiritual realisation.


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Totapuri stayed with Ramakrishna for nearly eleven months and instructed him further in the

teachings of advaita. After the departure of Totapuri, Ramakrishna reportedly remained for six

months in a state of absolute contemplation. Ramakrishna said that this period of nirvikalpa

samadhi came to an end when he received a command from the Mother Kali to "remain in

Bhavamukha; for the enlightenment of the people". Bhavamukha being a state of existenceintermediate between samdhi and normal consciousness.

His followers

In 1875, Ramakrishna met the influential Brahmo Samaj leader Keshab Chandra Sen. Keshab

had accepted Christianity, and had separated from the Adi Brahmo Samaj. Formerly, Keshab

had rejected idolatry, but under the influence of Ramakrishna he accepted Hindu polytheism

and established the "New Dispensation" (Nava Vidhan) religious movement, based on

Ramakrishna's principles"Worship of God as Mother", "All religions as true" and "Assimilation

of Hindu polytheism into Brahmoism".

Following Keshab, other Brahmos such as Vijaykrishna Goswami started to admire

Ramakrishna, propagate his ideals and reorient their socio-religious outlook. Many prominent

people of CalcuttaPratap Chandra Mazumdar, Shivanath Shastri and Trailokyanath Sanyal

began visiting him during this time (18711885). Mozoomdar wrote the first English biography

of Ramakrishna, entitled The Hindu Saint in the Theistic Quarterly Review (1879), which played

a vital role in introducing Ramakrishna to Westerners like the German ideologist Max Mller.

Among the Europeans who were influenced by Ramakrishna was Principal Dr. W.W. Hastie of

the Scottish Church College, Calcutta. In the course of explaining the word trance in the poem

The Excursion by William Wordsworth, Hastie told his students that if they wanted to know its

"real meaning", they should go to "Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar." This prompted some of his

students, including Narendranath Dutta (later Swami Vivekananda), to visit Ramakrishna.

Last days

In the beginning of 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from clergyman's throat, which gradually

developed into throat cancer. He was moved to Shyampukur near Calcutta, where some of the

best physicians of the time, including Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar, were engaged. When his

condition aggravated he was relocated to a large garden house at Cossipore on December 11,

1885.

During his last days, he was looked after by his monastic disciples and Sarada Devi. Ramakrishna

was advised by the doctors to keep the strictest silence, but ignoring their advice, he

incessantly conversed with visitors. According to traditional accounts, before his death,


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Ramakrishna transferred his spiritual powers to Vivekananda and reassured Vivekananda of his

avataric status. Ramakrishna asked Vivekananda to look after the welfare of the disciples,

saying, "keep my boys together" and asked him to "teach them". Ramakrishna also asked other

monastic disciples to look upon Vivekananda as their leader. Ramakrishna's condition gradually

worsened and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the Cossiporegarden house. According to his disciples, this was mahasamadhi. After the death of their

master, the monastic disciples lead by Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house

at Baranagar near the river Ganga, with the financial assistance of the householder disciples.

This became the first Math or monastery of the disciples who constituted the first Ramakrishna

Order.

Teachings

Ramakrishna's teachings were imparted in rustic Bengali, using stories and parables. These

teachings made a powerful impact on Calcutta's intellectuals, despite the fact that his

preachings were far removed from issues of modernism or national independence. His spiritual

movement indirectly aided nationalism, as it rejected caste distinctions and religious prejudices.

In the Calcutta scene of the mid to late nineteenth century, Ramakrishna was opinionated on

the subject of Chakri. Chakri can be described as a type of low-paying servitude done by

educated mentypically government or commerce-related clerical positions. On a basic level,

Ramakrishna saw this system as a corrupt form of European social organization that forced

educated men to be servants not only to their bosses at the office but also to their wives at

home. What Ramakrishna saw as the primary detriment of Chakri, however, was that it forced

workers into a rigid, impersonal clock-based time structure? He saw the imposition of strict

adherence to each second on the watch as a roadblock to spirituality.

Ramakrishna practiced several religions, including Islam and Christianity, and recognized that in

spite of the differences, all religions are valid and true and they lead to the same ultimate

goalGod. Ramakrishna's proclaimed that jatra jiv tatra Shiv (wherever there is a living being,

there is Shiva) which stemmed from his Advaitic perception of Reality. His teaching, "Jive daya

noy, Shiv gyane jiv seba" (not kindness to living beings, but serving the living being as Shiva

Himself) is considered as the inspiration for the philanthropic work carried out by his chief

disciple Vivekananda.


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Why Am I worried about my Future?

By: Karan Gulati

Yesterday night slept at around 230am but still manage to awake up at around 750am. Took

quick bath and left for temple. When i reached temple last part of lecture was going-on where

Prabhu was specifying that due to lack of faith people are so depressed with the worry of their

future which is making them to work hard so they can save money for their future. But they are

not aware of the fact if they will be fully dependent on Krishna

and spend only legitimate hours at work without compromising

their spiritual standards then all their anxiety about future will

be vanished. Even Jesus taught us that we need to pray for our

daily bread that's why we pray"Thank you Lord for our daily bread"

here we are not complaining that

God why you gave us rotten bread

yesterday or God tomorrow please

provide us Bread with Butter & Milk

but that's not a case because we pray "Thank you lord for our daily

bread" which means live in present give 100% to your present

without worrying about future. There is very nice story which we

can relate to this, its a story of a Hunter Mrgari(Ref Sri Caitanya Caritamr?ta Madhya)

- "Once upon a time the great saint Narada, after visiting Lord Narayana in the Vaikunthas,

went to Prayaga to bathe at the confluence of three rivers the Ganges, Yamuna and

Sarasvati.

- "Narada Muni saw that a deer was lying on the path through the forest and that it was pierced

by an arrow. It had broken legs and was twisting due to much pain.

- "Farther ahead, Narada Muni saw a boar pierced by an arrow. Its legs were also broken, and itwas twisting in pain.

- "When he went farther, he saw a rabbit that was also suffering. Narada Muni was greatly

pained at heart to see living entities suffer so.

- "When Narada Muni advanced farther, he saw a hunter behind a tree. This hunter was holding

arrows, and he was ready to kill more animals.


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- "The hunter's body was blackish. He had reddish eyes, and he appeared fierce. It was as if the

superintendent of death, Yamaraja, were standing there with a bow and arrows in his hands.

- "When Narada Muni left the forest path and went to the hunter, all the animals immediately

saw him and fled.

- "When all the animals fled, the hunter wanted to chastise Narada with abusive language, but

due to Narada's presence, he could not utter anything abusive.

- "The hunter addressed Narada Muni: 'O gosvami! O great saintly person! Why have you left

the general path through the forest to come to me? Simply by seeing you, all the animals I was

hunting have now fled.'

- "Narada Muni replied, 'Leaving the path, I have come to you to settle a doubt that is in my

mind.

- "'I was wondering whether all the boars and other animals that are half-killed belong to

you.'"The hunter replied, 'Yes, what you are saying is so.'

- "Narada Muni then inquired, 'Why did you not kill the animals completely? Why did you half-

kill them by piercing their bodies with arrows?'

- "The hunter replied, 'My dear saintly person, my name is Mrgari, enemy of animals. My father

taught me to kill them in that way.

- "'When I see half-killed animals suffer, I feel great pleasure.'

- "Narada Muni then told the hunter, 'I have one thing to beg of you.'"The hunter replied, 'You

may take whatever animals or anything else you would like.

- "'I have many skins, if you would like them. I shall give you either a deerskin or a tiger skin.'

- "Narada Muni said, 'I do not want any of the skins. I am asking only one thing from you in

charity.

- "'I beg you that from this day on you will kill animals completely and not leave them half-

dead.'

- "The hunter replied, 'My dear sir, what are you asking of me? What is wrong with the animals'

lying there half-killed? Will you please explain this to me?'

- "Narada Muni replied, 'If you leave the animals half-dead, you are purposefully giving them

pain. Therefore you will have to suffer in retaliation.'

- "Narada Muni continued, 'My dear hunter, your business is killing animals. That is a slight

offense on your part. But when you consciously give them unnecessary pain by leaving them

half-dead, you incur very great sins.'


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- "Narada Muni continued, 'All the animals that you have killed and given unnecessary pain will

kill you one after the other in your next life and in life after life.'

- "In this way, through the association of the great sage Narada Muni, the hunter was a little

convinced of his sinful activity. He therefore became somewhat afraid due to his offenses.

- "The hunter then admitted that he was convinced of his sinful activity, and he said, 'I have

been taught this business from my very childhood. Now I am wondering how I can become

freed from these unlimited volumes of sinful activity.'

- "The hunter continued, 'My dear sir, please tell me how I can be relieved from the reactions of

my sinful life. Now I fully surrender unto you and fall down at your lotus feet. Please deliver me

from sinful reactions.'

- "Narada Muni assured the hunter, 'If you listen to my instructions, I shall find the way you can

be liberated.'

- "The hunter then said, 'My dear sir, whatever you say I shall do.'"Narada immediately orderedhim, 'First of all, break your bow. Then I shall tell you what is to be done.'

- "The hunter replied, 'If I break my bow, how shall I maintain myself?'"Narada Muni replied,

'Do not worry. I shall supply all your food every day.'

- "Being thus assured by the great sage Narada Muni, the hunter broke his bow, immediately

fell down at the saint's lotus feet and fully surrendered. After this, Narada Muni raised him with

his hand and gave him instructions for spiritual advancement.

- "Narada Muni then advised the hunter, 'Return home and distribute whatever riches you have

to the pure brahman?as who know the Absolute Truth. After you have distributed all yourriches to the brahman?as, you and your wife should leave home, each of you taking only one

cloth to wear.'

- "Narada Muni continued, 'Leave your home and go to the river. There you should construct a

small cottage, and in front of the cottage you should grow a tulasi plant on a raised platform.

- "'After planting the tulasi tree before your house, you should daily circumambulate that tulasi

plant, serve her by giving her water and other things, and continuously chant the Hare Kr?s?n?a

maha-mantra.'

- "Narada Muni continued, 'Every day I shall send sufficient food to you both. You can take asmuch food as you want.'

- "The three animals that were half-killed were then brought to their consciousness by the sage

Narada. Indeed, the animals got up and swiftly fled.

- "When the hunter saw the half-killed animals flee, he was certainly struck with wonder. He

then offered his respectful obeisances to the sage Narada and returned home.


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- "After all this, Narada Muni went to his destination. After the hunter returned home, he

exactly followed the instructions of his spiritual master, Narada.

- "The news that the hunter had become a Vaisnava spread all over the village. Indeed, all the

villagers brought alms and presented them to the Vais?n?ava who had formerly been a hunter.

- "In one day enough food was brought for ten or twenty people, but the hunter and his wife

would accept only as much as they could eat.

- "One day, while speaking to his friend Parvata Muni, Narada Muni requested him to go with

him to see his disciple the hunter.

- "As the saintly sages approached the hunter's place, the hunter could see them from a

distance.

- "With great alacrity the hunter began to run toward his spiritual master, but he could not fall

down and offer obeisances because ants were running hither and thither around his feet.

- "Seeing the ants, the hunter whisked them away with a piece of cloth. After thus clearing the

ants from the ground, he fell down flat to offer his obeisances.

- "Narada Muni said, 'My dear hunter, such behavior is

not at all astonishing. A man in devotional service is

automatically nonviolent. He is the best of gentlemen.

- "'O hunter, good qualities like nonviolence, which you

have developed, are not very astonishing, for those

engaged in the Lord's devotional service are neverinclined to give pain to others because of envy.'

- "The hunter then received the two great sages in the courtyard of his house. He spread out a

straw mat for them to sit upon, and with great devotion he begged them to sit down.

- "He then fetched water and washed the sages' feet with great devotion. Then both husband

and wife drank that water and sprinkled it on their heads.

- "When the hunter chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra before his spiritual master, his body

trembled and tears welled up in his eyes. Filled with ecstatic love, he raised his hands and

began to dance, waving his garments up and down.

- "When Parvata Muni saw the ecstatic loving symptoms of the hunter, he told Narada,

'Certainly you are a touchstone.'

- "Parvata Muni continued, 'My dear friend Narada Muni, you are glorified as the sage among

the demigods. By your mercy, even a lowborn person like this hunter can immediately become

attached to Lord Krsna.'


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- "Narada Muni then asked the hunter, 'My dear Vaisnava, do you have some income for your

maintenance?'"The hunter replied, 'My dear spiritual master, whoever you send gives me

something when he comes to see me.'

- "The former hunter said, 'Please do not send so much grain. Only send what is sufficient for

two people, no more.'

So, this is real incident from which we can learn that a heartless person can transform to a

Vaishnava by getting right direction from his Guru, Association and firm faith in the words of

Guru. Without worrying about future Mrgari broke his bow which is the only source of his

income and you saw how Krishna had arranged food for his devotee.

Hare Krishna


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Sri Ramana Maharshi

By: K. Mythili

Born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu sage.Sri Ramana was born in a village called Tiruchuli

near Aruppukkottai, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, South India on Arudra Darshanam day, into an

orthodox Hindu Tamil (Iyer) family, the second of four children of Sundaram Iyer (1845-1892)

and Azhagammal and named Venkataraman at birth. His siblings were Nagaswamy (1877-

1900), Nagasundaram (1886-1953) and sister Alamelu (1891-1953). Venkataraman's father was

a respected pleader. After having attained liberation at the age of 16, he left home for

Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus, at Tiruvannamalai, and lived there for the

rest of his life. Although born a Brahmin, after having attained moksha he declared himself an

"Atiasrami", a Sastraic state of unattachment to anything in life and beyond all casterestrictions.

Childhood

Venkataraman seemed a normal child with no apparent signs of future greatness. He was

popular, good at sports, very intelligent but lazy at school, indulged in an average amount of

mischief, and showed little religious interest. He did have a few unusual traits. When

Venkataraman was about 11, his father sent him to live with his paternal uncle Subbaiyar in

Dindigul because he wanted his sons to be educated in English so they would be eligible to

enter government service and only Tamil was taught at the village school in Tiruchuzhi. In 1891,when his uncle was transferred to Madurai, Venkataraman and his older brother Nagaswami

moved with him. In Dindigul, Venkataraman attended a British School.

The Awakening

In 1892, Venkataraman's father Sundaram Iyer suddenly fell seriously ill and unexpectedly died

several days later at the age of 42. For some hours after his father's death he contemplated the

matter of death, and how his father's body was still there, but the 'I' was gone from it.

After leaving Scott's Middle School, Venkataraman went to the American Mission High School.One November morning in 1895, he was on his way to school when he saw an elderly relative

and enquired where the relative had come from. The answer was "From Arunachala." Krishna

Bikshu describes Venkataraman's response: "The word 'Arunachala' was familiar to

Venkataraman from his younger days, but he did not know where it was, what it looked like or

what it meant. Yet that day that word meant to him something great, an inaccessible,

authoritative, absolutely blissful entity. Could one visit such a place? His heart was full of joy.


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Arunachala meant some sacred land, every particle of which gave moksha. It was omnipotent

and peaceful. Could one behold it? 'What? Arunachala? Where is it?' asked the lad. The relative

was astonished, 'Don't you know even this?' and continued, 'Haven't you heard of

Tiruvannamalai? That is Arunachala.' It was as if a balloon was pricked, the boy's heart sank."

A month later he came across a copy of Sekkizhar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the

lives of 63 Saivite saints, and was deeply moved and inspired by it. Filled with awe, and a desire

for emulation, he began devotional visits to the nearby Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, and

associated with this bhakti, later

reported fever like sensations.

Soon after, on July 17, 1896, at

age 16, Venkataraman had a life

changing experience. He

spontaneously initiated a process

of self-enquiry that culminated,

within a few minutes, in his own

permanent awakening. In one of

his rare written comments on this

process he wrote: 'Enquiring

within Who is the seer? I saw the

seer disappear leaving That alone

which stands forever. No thought

arose to say I saw. How then could

the thought arise to say I did not

see.'. As Sri Ramana reportedly

described it later:

"It was in 1896, about 6 weeks

before I left Madurai for good (to

go to Tiruvannamalai -

Arunachala) that this great change

in my life took place. I was sitting alone 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 nor was there any urge in me to find out whether there was any account for the fear. I just

felt I was going to die and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a

doctor or any elders or friends. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and there. The

shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without


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actually framing the words: 'Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying?

This body dies.' And at once I dramatised the occurrence of death. I lay with my limbs stretched

out still as though rigor mortis has set in, and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to

the enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed so that no sound could escape, and

that neither the word 'I' nor any word could be uttered. 'Well then,' I said to myself, 'this bodyis dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burn and reduced to ashes. But

with the death of the body, am I dead? Is the body I? It is silent and inert, but I feel the full

force of my personality and even the voice of I within me, apart from it. So I am the Spirit

transcending the body. The body dies but the spirit transcending it cannot be touched by death.

That means I am the deathless Spirit.' All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly

as living truths which I perceived directly almost without thought process. I was something real,

the only real thing about my present state, and all the conscious activity connected with the

body was centered on that I. From that moment onwards, the "I" or Self focused attention on

itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death vanished once and for all. The ego was lost in the

flood of Self-awareness. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time. Other

thought might come and go like the various notes of music, but the I continued like the

fundamental sruti note ["that which is heard" i.e. the Vedas and Upanishads] a note which

underlies and blends with all other notes.".

After this event, he lost interest in school-studies, friends, and relations. Avoiding company, he

preferred to sit alone, absorbed in concentration on the Self, and went daily to the Meenakshi

Temple, ecstatically devoted to the images of the Gods, tears flowing profusely from his eyes.

The Journey to Arunachala

He decided to leave his home and go to Arunachala. Knowing his family would not permit this,

he slipped away, telling his brother he needed to attend a special class at school. Fortuitously,

his brother asked him to take five rupees and pay his college fees on his way to school.

Venkataraman took out an atlas, calculated the cost of his journey, took three rupees and left

the remaining two with a note which read: "I have set out in quest of my Father in accordance

with his command. This (meaning his person) has only embarked on a virtuous enterprise.

Therefore, no one need grieve over this act. And no money need be spent in search of this. Your

college fee has not been paid. Herewith rupees two."

At about noon, Venkataraman left his uncle's house and walked to the railway station. At about

three o'clock the next morning, he arrived at Viluppuram and walked into the town at

daybreak. Tired and hungry, he asked for food at a hotel and had to wait until noon for the food

to be ready. He then went back to the station and spent his remaining money on a ticket to

Mambalappattu, a stop on the way to Tiruvannamalai. From there, he set out, intending to walk


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the remaining distance of about 30 miles (48 km).

After walking about 11 miles (18 km), he reached the temple of Arayaninallur, outside of which

he sat down to rest. When the priest opened the temple for puja, Venkataraman entered andsat in the pillared hall where he had a vision of brilliant light enveloping the entire place. He sat

in deep meditation after the light disappeared until the temple priests who needed to lock up

the temple roused him. He asked them for food and was refused, though they suggested he

might get food at the temple in Kilur where they were headed for service. Venkataraman

followed, and late in the evening when the puja ended at this temple, he asked for food and

was refused again. When he asked for water, he was directed to a Sastris house. He set out but

fainted and fell down; spilling the rice he had been given in the temple. When he regained

consciousness, he began picking up the scattered rice, not wanting to waste even a single grain.

Muthukrishna Bhagavatar was

amongst the crowd that

gathered around Venkataraman

when he collapsed. He was so

struck by Venkataramans

extraordinary beauty and felt

such compassion for him that he

led the boy to his house,

providing him with a bed and

food. It was August 31, the

Gokulastami day, the day of Sri

Krishnas birth. Venkataraman

asked Bhagavatar for a loan of

four rupees on the pledge of his ear-rings so that he could complete his pilgrimage. Bhagavatar

agreed and gave Venkataraman a receipt he could use to redeem his ear-rings. Venkataraman

continued on his journey, tearing up the receipt immediately because he knew he would never

have any need for the ear-rings.

On the morning of September 1, 1896, Venkataraman boarded the train and traveled the

remaining distance. In Tiruvannamalai he went straight to the temple of Arunachaleswara.

There, Venkataraman found not only the temple gates standing open, but the doors to the

inner shrine as well, and not a single person, even a priest, was in the temple. He entered the

sanctum sanctorum and addressed Arunachaleswara, saying: "I have come to Thee at Thy

behest. Thy will be done." He embraced the linga in ecstasy. The burning sensation that had


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started back at Madurai (which he later described as "an inexpressible anguish which I

suppressed at the time") merged in Arunachaleswara. Venkataraman was safely home.

Early Life at Arunachala

The first few weeks he spent in the thousand-pillared hall, but shifted to other spots in thetemple and eventually to the Patala-lingam vault so that he might remain undisturbed. There,

he would spend days absorbed in such deep samdhi that he was unaware of the bites o f

vermin and pests. Seshadri Swamigal, a local saint, discovered him in the underground vault

and tried to protect him. After about six weeks in the Patala-lingam, he was carried out and

cleaned up. For the next two months he stayed in the Subramanya Shrine, so unaware of his

body and surroundings that food had to be placed in his mouth or he would have starved.

From there, he was invited to stay in a mango orchard next to Gurumurtam, a temple about a

mile out of Tiruvannamalai, and shortly after his arrival a sadhu named Palaniswami went to

see him. Palaniswami's first darshan left him filled with peace and bliss, and from that time on

his sole concern was serving Sri Ramana, joining him as his permanent attendant. From

Gurumurtam to Virupaksha Cave (1899-1916) to Skandasramam Cave (1916-22), he was the

instrument of divine protection for Sri Ramana, who would be without consciousness of the

body and lost in inner bliss most of the time. Besides physical protection, Palaniswami would

also beg for alms, cook and prepare meals for himself and Sri Ramana, and care for him as

needed.

Gradually, despite Sri Ramana's silence, austerities, and desire for privacy, he attracted

attention from visitors, and some became his disciples. Eventually, his family discovered his

whereabouts. First his uncle Nelliappa Iyer came and pled with him to return home, promising

that the family would not disturb his ascetic life. Sri Ramana sat motionless and eventually his

uncle gave up. It was at the temple at Pavalakkunru, one of the eastern spurs of Arunachala,

that his mother and brother Nagaswami found him in December 1898. Day after day his mother

begged him to return, but no amount of weeping and pleading had any visible effect on him.

She appealed to the devotees who had gathered around, trying to get them to intervene on her

behalf until one requested that Sri Ramana write out his response to his mother. He then wrote

on a piece of paper, "In accordance with the prarabdha of each, the One whose function it is to

ordain makes each to act. What will not happen will never happen, whatever effort one may

put forth. And what will happen will not fail to happen, however much one may seek to prevent

it. This is certain. The part of wisdom therefore is to stay quiet." At this point his mother

returned to Madurai saddened.


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Soon after this, in February 1899, Sri Ramana moved further up Arunachala where he stayed

briefly in Satguru Cave and Guhu Namasivaya Cave before taking up residence at Virupaksha

Cave for the next 17 years, using Mango Tree cave during the summers (except for a six month

period at Pachaiamman Koil during the plague epidemic).

In 1902, a government official named Sivaprakasam Pillai, with writing slate in hand, visited the

young Swami in the hope of obtaining answers to questions about "How to know one's true

identity". The fourteen questions put to the young Swami and his answers were Sri Ramana's

first teachings on Self-enquiry, the method for which he became widely known, and were

eventually published as 'Nan Yar?', or in English, Who am I?.

The Later Years

The Sri Ramanasramam grew to include a library, hospital, post-office and many other facilities.

Sri Ramana displayed a natural talent for planning building projects. Annamalai Swami gave

detailed accounts of this in his reminiscences. Until 1938, Annamalai Swami was entrusted with

the task of supervising the projects and received his instructions from Ramana directly.

The 1940s saw many of Sri Ramana's most ardent devotees pass away. These included

Echamma (1945), attendant Madhavaswami (1946), Ramanatha Brahmachari (1946), Mudaliar

Granny and Lakshmi (1948). Sri Ramana was noted for his unusual love of animals and his

assertion that liberation was possible not only for animals but also for plants:

Final Years

In November 1948, a tiny cancerous lump was found on the Maharshi's arm and was removed

in February 1949 by the ashram doctor. Soon, another growth appeared, and another operation

was done by an eminent surgeon in March, 1949, with Radium applied. The doctor told Sri

Ramana that a complete amputation of the arm to the shoulder was required to save his life,

but he refused. A third and fourth operation were performed in August and December 1949,

but only weakened him. Other systems of medicine were then tried; all proved fruitless and

were stopped by the end of March when devotees gave up all hope. During all this, Sri Ramana

reportedly remained peaceful and unconcerned. As his condition worsened, Sri Ramana

remained available for the thousands of visitors who came to see him, even when his

attendants urged him to rest. Reportedly, his attitude towards death was serene. To devotees

who begged him to cure himself for the sake of his devotees, Sri Ramana is said to have replied,

"Why are you so attached to this body? Let it go.", and, "Where can I go? I am here."


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By April 1950, Sri Ramana was too weak to go to the hall, and visiting hours were limited.

Visitors would file past the small room where he spent his final days to get one final glimpse.

Swami Satyananda, the attendant at the time, reports, "On the evening of 14 April 1950, we

were massaging Sri Ramana's body. At about 5 o'clock, he asked us to help him to sit up.

Precisely at that moment devotees started chanting 'Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva'. WhenSri Ramana heard this, his face lit up with radiant joy. Tears began to flow from his eyes and

continued to flow for a long time. I was wiping them from time to time. I was also giving him

spoonfuls of water boiled with ginger. The doctor wanted to administer artificial respiration but

Sri Ramana waved it away. Sri Ramanas breathing became gradually slower and slower and at

8:47 p.m. it subsided quietly." Henri Cartier-Bresson, the French photographer, who had been

staying at the ashram for a fortnight prior to Sri Ramanas death, recounted the event:

Teachings

His earliest teachings are documented in the book Nan Yar?(Who am I?), first written in Tamil.

The original book was published by Sri Pillai, although the essay version of the book (Sri Ramana

Nutrirattu) prepared by Sri Ramana is considered definitive as unlike the original it had the

benefit of his revision and review. A careful translation with notes is available in English as 'The

Path of Sri Ramana, Part One' by Sri Sadhu Om, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramana.

Selections from this definitive version follow:

As all living beings desire to be happy always, without misery, as in the case of everyone there

is observed supreme love for one's self, and as happiness alone is the cause for love, in order to

gain that happiness which is one's nature and which is experienced in the state of deep sleep

where there is no mind, one should know one's self. For that, the path of knowledge, the

inquiry of the form "Who am I?", is the principal means.

Knowledge itself is 'I'. The nature of (this) knowledge is existence-consciousness-bliss.

What is called mind is a wondrous power existing in Self. It projects all thoughts. If we set aside

all thoughts and see, there will be no such thing as mind remaining separate; therefore,

thought itself is the form of the mind. Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the world.

That which rises in this body as 'I' is the mind. If one enquires 'In which place in the body does

the thought 'I' rise first?', it will be known to be in the heart [spiritual heart is 'two digits to the

right from the centre of the chest']. Even if one incessantly thinks 'I', 'I', it will lead to that place

(Self)'


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Acharya Shri Tulsi

By: Nikhil Dugar

Sudhre Vyakti, Samaj Vyakti se Rashtra swayam sudhrega- Acharya Shri Tulsi

The great saint Acharya Shri Tulsi was the 9th Acharya of the terapanth sect of Shewtambar

Jains. He was born on 20th October 1914 and chose sainthood at a young age of 11. Shri Tulsi

developed great knowledge and leadership skills. At the very young age of 22 Muni Tulsi

became Acharya Shri Tulsi and the world got new charismatic spiritual leader. He had vast

knowledge of subjects like history, Jain Aagams, Sanskrit, Prakrit language, grammar, judiciary

etc. Still Aacharya Shri had the

quality of attracting commonman with his pure and simple

language. Therefore people

felt very attached to him and

followed their dear gurus

teachings. His followers were

not only the jains but people

from every caste and religion.

He was against the age old

rituals which harmed commonmans health and wealth. He

awakened both rich and old

cadre of the society to curb

evil and unjustifiable rituals

like untouchability, dowry,

huge expenditures after death

ceremonies, unnecessary

expenditure on marriages and

different festivals. His idea wasthat poor people follow the rich people and try to be equal to them in showing off wealth. Such

show off put them in vicious circle of loans and money lenders. He was quiet successful in

curbing such evils wherever he toured.

The most valued contribution given by pujya Gurudev was of Anuvrat Andolan. Anuvrat is

made up two words. First is Anu meaning small tiny or atom sized. And Vrat means Oath.


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Therefore Anuwrat means small or atom sized oaths or promises made to ones own heart or

oneself. If a person start doing promises to himself like I will not give or take bribe in my whole

life. Or I will stop smoking and drinking or I will never waste food in my meals or will take food

samarpan july 2010

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