When we accept that Bhagavan is unfathomable, when we surrender our compulsion to understand and explain him, we fall into a deep silence that is the experience of the real Bhagavan within us." We have to admit our ignorance and our inability to say anything about him that is true. "Bhagavan is not something or someone we can fathom with our minds. Once in a state of deep surrender after having a vision of Bhagavan in Villupuram, he said to Swami Ramanananda, Sri Natesa Iyer served devotees in the dining hall at all hours of the day or night. He served Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi from the 1930's till his final day. Very much reminiscent of the deeply dedicated devotee Sri Ramanatha Brahmachari was Sri Natesa Iyer of Chidambaram. This was Bhagavan's lesson of compassion towards all. When people protested that she was impure Bhagavan replied, "Who is pure and who is impure? All are one, all are the same!"
Once during her periods, when she sat hungry in the mantapam outside the ashram, Bhagavan ordered that she be brought in and fed decently. He later told the ashram manager, "Why are you surprised? Was she alone? Was i not with her all the time?" Once when Bhagavan noticed that she was afraid walking along along the jungle path, he told her, "Why are you afraid? Am i not with you?". What happens to it later matters little, for it is out of our hands.
A thing well done, with love and devotion, is its own reward. It is the cooking that matters, not the cook or the eater. I have to preserve it and pass it on to His children" "This is the property of my father Arunachala. Everything is in my care, and I let nothing go to waste. Then only does a man become food fit for God to eat.īhagavan would allow nothing to go to waste. You must put a lid over it and let it simmer quietly. Only then will they keep their flavor and be fit to eat. You must cover your vegetables when you cook them. Some words of Bhagavan that she recollects are:
It is often said that His life itself was a teaching. Reading accounts and memoirs is a great way of understanding Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi's life, as well His teachings. This precious volume contains English translations of most, if not all, of the writings by the Maharshi, both texts and verses composed by him in writing or spoken form and English translations of Advaita Vedanta texts that were translated by him into the Tamil language.Ĭontains Self-inquiry, Who am I?, Spiritual Instruction, the five hymns to Arunachala, The Essence of Instructions, Reality in Forty Verses and the Supplement thereto, Five Verses on the Self, Self-Knowledge, many other verses, the Song Celestial (verses he selected from the Bhagavad Gita, 2 nondual texts from the Agama-s, 6 texts originally composed by Adi Sankara selected by the Maharshi, and Vichara Mani Mala (Jewel Garland of Inquiry), which is a selection by him of portions from Vichara Sagara (Ocean of Inquiry).The lives of the very fortunate devotees who got to serve during Bhagavan's mortal life continue to be a deep inspiration to devotees today. Everyone who has an interest in Nonduality, the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Advaita Vedanta, and Self-Knowledge should possess and read this book.