The formless and imperishable Real stands revealed in the Aruna Hill, the embodied Presence of the three-eyed God. Since the Cave named Virupaksha sustains the very devotees who dwell within the Heart-cave of that God, well may we call it Mother.
—Bhagavan
Ramana
Ramana stayed in the
Virupaksha Cave for seventeen years from 1899 to 1916. Ramana was just a young
lad of twenty years when he shifted from Gurumurtam to the Virupaksha Cave.
Ramana’s feelings towards this cave are expressed in the stray verse extracted
above. He considers it appropriate to call it “Mother” because it sustains the
very devotees who give themselves wholly to the Aruna Hill, the embodied form
of Lord Siva.
This cave is situated on
the eastern slopes of the Aruna Hill. It is a unique cave, which has the shape
of the mystic syllable “Om.” It is named after Virupaksha Deva, a saint who
lived and has been buried there in the 13th century. Many momentous events in Ramana’s
life took place during the years of his stay here. It was here that his mother
Azhagammal came to live with him permanently in the last years of her life. She
surrendered herself totally to him and was guided by him on the inward path.
Her liberation at the sacred hands of Ramana is an epoch-making event.
Another event of immense
significance is Ramana’s “first spoken upadesa” to a disciple, which was given
to Ganapati Muni in 1907. Till then Ramana had remained silent outwardly as
well.
It was again at
Virupaksha that Ramana communicated the experience of his enlightenment through
his spiritual instructions to Gambhiram Seshier and Sivaprakasam Pillai.
In writing about the
Virupaksha years of Ramana, one might say that it is not a biographer’s account
but almost an autobiographical account by Ramana himself.
Hornets
In the initial years an
attempt was made by the trustees of the Virupaksha Math, who owned the cave, to
levy a small charge for the entry. Ramana did not want any kind of interference
with his accessibility. Hence he moved out of the cave to a level path of
ground outside it and sat under the shade of a tree there. When the agent tried
to levy a fee there also, Ramana shifted to the nearby Sadguruswami cave for a
short time. The trustees, realizing the inconvenience caused, stopped levying
the fee so that Ramana could return to the Virupaksha Cave.
An event while at this
cave as narrated by Ramana is fascinating. “In those days I used to go all by
myself. For answering calls of nature I used to stroll along taking no water
with me, but going wherever water may be available.
It was on one such
occasion, on one morning, that I came across the banyan tree of which I have
spoken often.
“As I was walking on the
bed of a hill stream, I saw a big banyan tree on a boulder, with big leaves.
And crossing the stream, I wanted to get to the other bank and view from there
this big tree. When I accidentally put my left foot near a bush on the way to
the other bank, so that the hornets clustered round my left leg up to the knee
and started stinging it. They never did anything to my right leg.
I left the leg there for
some time, so that the hornets could inflict full punishment on the leg which
had encroached on their domain. After a time, the hornets withdrew and I walked
on. The leg got swollen very much and I walked with difficulty and reached
‘Ezhu Sunai’ (Seven Springs) about 2 a.m.
“Jadaswami, who was
camping there then, gave me some buttermilk mixed with jaggery, which was all
that he could provide by way of food. This is what actually happened. But
afterwards, people have gone and written that I had purposely set out to
explore and find the banyan tree described in the purana as the one on the
northern peak of the Hill, where Arunachala is said to be residing as a siddha.
I never had any such idea. When I saw for the first time a remarkable banyan
tree on a huge and precipitous boulder, I was prompted by curiosity to have a
look at it. Meanwhile, the hornets stung me and I forgot all about the tree.”
The last words, “I
forgot all about the tree,” show Ramana’s sense of humor.
Ramana also composed a
stray verse on this incident, which is extracted below:
Apology
to Hornets
When
I was stung by hornets in revenge
Upon
the leg until it was inflamed,
Although
it was by chance I stepped upon
Their
nest, constructed in a leafy bush,
What
kind of mind is his if he does not
At
least repent for doing such a wrong?
Composition
of the Five Hymns
We have an account of
how the Decad on Arunachala and Eight Verses on Arunachala came to be composed
by Ramana spontaneously.
“One morning, when he
was sitting on the verandah in Virupaksha Cave, the words ‘Karunaiyal Ennai’
came to him very insistently, but he took no special notice of them. It seems
the same thing happened the following morning also.
Then Bhagavan composed
the first stanza of The Decad on Arunachala. The next morning the words beginning
the second stanza similarly came to him and he composed the second stanza; and
so the thing went on every day, till the last two stanzas were composed on one day.
On that day, after composing the two last stanzas, Bhagavan, it seems, started
for giripradakshina (going round the hill). One of his disciples, Aiyaswami,
brought a piece of paper and pencil and told another disciple who was going
with Bhagavan, ‘Bhagavan has been composing one stanza every morning for some
days now, and today he has composed two stanzas. More may come to him today. In
case they do, have this paper and pencil with you so that the same may be
recorded.’ Bhagavan actually composed the first six stanzas of the Arunachala
Ashtakam
(Eight Verses on Arunachala).
It seems Echamma first got “The Marital Garland of Letters” published. Narayana Reddi came to know of the Padikam and Ashtakam soon afterwards and wanted to publish them.
Then Bhagavan composed
two more stanzas for completing the Ashtakam and the Decad (Padikam) and Eight
Verses (Ashtakam) were published by Narayana Reddi. This is how the Padikam and
Ashtakam in the Five Hymns on Arunachala came to be composed.”
The most famous of
Ramana’s Five Hymns on Arunachala is
“The Marital Garland of Letters” with the refrain Arunachala Siva. This was
also mostly composed during Ramana’s circuits of Arunachala. The story of the need
for composing these 108 verses has been mentioned by Ramana. In order to feed
Ramana and the fellow devotees at the Virupaksha Cave it became necessary to
beg for alms in the streets of Tiruvannamalai. Palaniswami wanted Ramana to
compose a new devotional hymn so that Ramana’s group may be identified by the
people of the town. After it was composed a party of four led by Palaniswami
would start out to town, blow a long blast on their conches, and start chanting
“The Marital Garland of Letters.” This was an announcement to the town’s people
that Bhagavan’s party had left the cave on their begging mission. The party
would give another blast when they reached the foot of the hill. A third call
would be sounded at the entrance of the street. All the residents of the street
would be ready with their offerings and the party would march along the street
singing and some collecting the offerings. The food collected was ample, it
seems, for all who gathered near Bhagavan and even all of the monkeys etc. “The
Marital Garland of Letters” was specially composed for use by the begging
party. Bhagavan humorously added, “‘Marital Garland of Letters’ fed us for many
years.”
Ramana
with Children
Even though Ramana
remained silent in the first years of stay at Virupaksha Cave, many children
would climb up to the cave and sit for long periods just to be in his presence.
After 1907, sometimes Ramana would join the children in their play. He played
marbles with them and referred to this later as follows: “The holes dug for the
purpose must be there even now. Those children sometimes used to bring packets
of sweetmeats and we all used to share them. During Deepavali they used to put
aside my share of the crackers and bring them up to me. We used to fire the
crackers together.”
Ramana has also narrated
how two children were emotionally moved when he was about twenty-two and living
in the Virupaksha Cave. It seems he was sitting on a rock near the cave and a
boy about 8 or 10 came there, looked at Bhagavan and, not being able to bear
the sight of such a young and bright person taking to such a hard life of
penance, was so moved by compassion that he started to sob and sobbed violently
for some time.
Bhagavan said, “Who
could say what was the reason for his sobbing and why tears flowed out of him
merely at his seeing me?” Bhagavan continued in a reminiscent mood later in the
day and added that another boy, also about 8 or 10 years old, met Bhagavan
another day at Virupaksha Cave. He took such pity on Bhagavan that the
following conversation took place between them.
Bhagavan was sitting on
a rock near the cave, all alone, and the boy met him there.
Boy: Why are you here
all alone, like this?
Bhagavan: I had some
trouble at home and so have come away like this.
Boy: Then how about your
food?
Bhagavan: I eat if
anybody gives me anything to eat.
Boy: I have a good
master. I shall take you to him.
First, you may have to
volunteer your services free. If he approves of your work, he will give three
pies a day and gradually increase it to six pies, and so on.
Bhagavan added, “There was
no doubt that the boy was very much concerned over what he considered my sad plight
and that he was moved ” by great and genuine pity.
Some
Other Incidents
One day Ramana was doing
a small masonry job when some visitors came up in order to see the Swami. He told
them, “Swami has gone out.” When they were returning down the hill, they met Echamma
who told them that the person whom they had met was none other than the Swami.
She later asked Ramana why he had misled the men, to which Ramana replied, “Do
you want me to go about with a bell around my neck announcing ‘I am the Swami’
or to have a label on my forehead that ‘I am the Swami’?”
In 1912, a group of devotees
headed by Vasudeva Sastri, wished to celebrate Ramana’s birthday for the first
time. Ramana opposed it saying that the true birth is only when one becomes Self-aware.
But Vasudeva Sastri pleaded with him saying ,"It is for our sake and
Bhagwan should not object." Since then the celebration known as jayanti
has been a very important occasion for all the disciples and devotees of Ramana.
Once Ramana’s
grandmother came to see him. This is Ramana’s account of it. “She came while we
were there and said that she would cook food for herself. We told her that she
could do so in the cave nearby. She agreed and started cooking. She said to me,
‘Venkatarama, I am cooking today. You should not take any other food!’ I said
yes, but after she left, I ate with the others as usual. When she had cooked, I
ate that food also.
An old relative of
Ramana’s known for his abusive tongue came along. He was really a good-natured
man and meant no ill to anybody. Soon after he came, he asked jocularly, “What
Venkataraman, it seems you have become a big Swami! Have you grown horns on
your head?”
While at Virupaksha,
Ramana also wrote in prose a Tamil translation of Vivekachudamani, a sacred scripture
composed by Adi Sankara. Right from Gurumurtam days, Palaniswami used to bring
Ramana spiritual books from the library in the town. At Virupaksha also he
continued to do so.
Thus Ramana became more
and more acquainted with the sacred lore of Vedanta.
In his early years in
Virupaksha Cave, he would occasionally visit Padmanabha Swami, popularly called
Jatai Swami because of his matted hair. The Swami had several Sanskrit books
through some of which Ramana would glance, and remember all that he had read.
We have already seen that even as a boy at school he was remarkable for his
prodigious memory. A scholar once came to the cave and left a copy of
Sankaracharya’s Vivekacudamani, a metrical manual of Vedanta, which expounds
the truth of Advaita in a clear and comprehensive manner. Ramana read it and
also a metrical Tamil version produced by Palaniswami. Then it occurred to him
that a prose translation would be very useful for aspirants who did not know
Sanskrit, so he undertook the translation which came to be printed and published
under the following circumstances. “Uddandi Nayanar, who was the first regular
devotee to be attached to Ramana, was called away in 1897 to the headquarters
of the ascetic order to which he belonged. Seven years later, he returned with a
hundred rupees as his offering. The Master refused to accept it, since he had
no use for money and would not touch it.
Nayanar left the money with
a devotee asking him to utilize it for any good cause of which the Master
approved. It was spent on printing the translation of the Vivekacudamani.”
In those years there
used to be tigers and leopards on Arunachala. Ramana had no fear because the
sign of a jnani is desirelessness and fearlessness. Hence the wild animals
would not hill and the other down. When I came out of the cave and asked,
‘Swamiji, weren’t you afraid when the two animals were playing so close to
you?’ Bhagavan said with a smile, ‘Why have fear? I knew as I saw them that,
after a while, one of them would go up the hill and the other down.
And they did. If we get
frightened and say, “Oh! A tiger!”
They will also get
frightened and say, “Oh! A man!” and will rush forward to kill us. If we do not
have fear, they too will not have any fear, and will then move about freely and
peacefully.’” In spite of all that Bhagavan had said, Sastry ” added, “My fear
never left me.
Ramana would never take
anything without sharing it with all those present.
As a result often there
would not be enough food to go around. Ramana has narrated what used to happen.
“When I was in Virupaksha Cave, Sundaresa Iyer used to go out into the town for
bhiksa and brings food. At times, there used to be no curry or chutney. People
to eat were many while the food obtained was limited. What were we to do? I
used to mix it into a paste and pour hot water over it to make it like gruel,
and then give a glassful to each and take one myself. Sometimes we all used to
feel that it be frightened of him.
An
interesting incident is recorded by Vasudeva Sastri.
“In the broad daylight
Swamiji and I were seated on the rock outside the cave. In the valley below, a
tiger and a leopard were playing with each other and Bhagavan was smiling as he
watched the friendly movements of the two animals. I was however in a terrible
fright and requested Bhagavan to come into the cave. He was adamant and sat there
motionless. As for myself, I sought the shelter of the cave. The two animals
played about for a while, looked at Swamiji in the same way pets do, and
without any fear or expression of anger went their own way, one going up the
hill and the other down. And they did. If we get frightened and say, “Oh! A
tiger!”
They will also get
frightened and say, “Oh! A man!” and will rush forward to kill us. If we do not
have fear, they too will not have any fear, and will then move about freely and
peacefully.’” In spite of all that Bhagavan had said, Sastry added "My
fear never left me".
Ramana would never take
anything without sharing it with all those present. As a result often there
would not be enough food to go around. Ramana has narrated what used to happen.
“When I was in Virupaksha Cave, Sundaresa Iyer used to go out into the town for
bhiksa and bring us food. At times, there used to be no curry or chutney.
People to eat were many while the food obtained was limited. What were we to
do? I used to mix it into a paste and pour hot water over it to make it like
gruel, and then give a glassful to each and take one myself. Sometimes we all
used to feel that it would be better if we had at least some salt to mix with
it. But where was money to buy salt? We should have had to ask someone for it.
If once we began to ask for salt, we would feel like asking for dhal, and when
we ask for dhal, we would feel like asking for payasam, and so on. So we felt
that we should not ask for anything, and swallowed the gruel as it was. We used
to feel extremely happy over such a diet. As the food was sattvic, without
spices of any kind, and there was not even salt in it, not only was it healthy
for this body, but there was also great peace of mind."
The
Most Significant Event After Enlightenment
The first biographer, B.V.
Narasimha Swami, had interviewed Ramana about an incident which happened in 1912
while he was staying at the Virupaksha Cave. This interview is given as an
appendix to Narasimha Swami’s biography under the heading, “A strange and
remarkable incident in the life of Sri Maharshi.” The significance of this
event is therefore likely to be lost sight of.
In 1912, Ramana,
Palaniswami, and Vasudeva Sastri, and a few others went from Virupaksha Cave to
Pachiamman Koil for taking an oil bath as facilities for such a bath were
available in plenty in that place. After bathing they returned cutting a path
across the hill for themselves.
The sun was fairly hot
even at about 10 a.m. when they reached the tortoise rock. Ramana began to feel
faint and what happened is best stated in his own words. “Suddenly the view of
natural scenery in front of me disappeared and a bright white curtain was drawn
across the line of my vision and shut out the view of nature. I could
distinctly see the gradual process. At one stage I could see a part of the prospect
of nature yet clear, and the rest was being covered by the advancing curtain.
It was just like drawing a slide across one’s view in the stereoscope. On
experiencing this I stopped walking lest I should fall. When it cleared, I walked
on. When darkness and faintness overtook me a second time, I leaned against a
rock until it cleared. And again for the third time I felt it safest to sit, so
I sat near the rock. Then the bright white curtain had completely shut out my
vision, my head was swimming, and my blood circulation and breathing stopped.
The skin turned a livid blue. It was the regular death-like hue and it got darker
and darker. Vasudeva Sastri took me in fact to be dead, held me in his embrace
and began to weep aloud and lament my death. His body was shivering. I could at
that time distinctly feel his clasp and his shivering, hear his lamentation, and
understand the meaning.
I also saw the
discoloration of my skin and I felt the stoppage of my heartbeat and respiration,
and the increased chilliness of the extremities of my body. Yet my usual current
was continuing without a break in that state also. I was not afraid in the least,
nor felt any sadness at the condition of my body. I had closed my eyes as soon
I sat near the rock in my usual posture but was not leaning against it.
The body which had no circulation
nor respiration maintained that position still. This state continued for some
ten or fifteen minutes. Then a shock passed suddenly through the body,
circulation revived with enormous force, as also respiration; and there was
perspiration all over the body at every pore. The color of life reappeared on
the skin. I then opened my eyes, got up and said, ‘Let us go.’ We reached Virupaksha
Cave without further trouble. That was the only occasion on which both my blood
circulation and respiration stopped.”
At the time of
enlightenment, which happened on July 17, 1896, Ramana had only the sudden fear
of death. However, in order to go through the experience of what death means,
“he stretched himself like a corpse as though rigor mortis had set in and held
his lips tightly together and his breath.” It was not a physical death but an
experience of death intensely felt as part of investigation to find out and
discover “Who am I? Still I felt within myself the ‘I’ was there, the sound was
there, the feeling itself ‘I’ was there. What was that? I felt that it was a
force or current, a center of energy playing on the body working on despite the
rigidity or activity of the body though existing in connection with it.”
This experience that the
true “I” was a current or a force or center that constituted the real “I”
stayed with him for the rest of life.
The second experience is
different in that there was a physical death for 10 or 15 minutes.
The heart beat and the blood circulation had stopped and the
body had become cold and blue. But the experience of awareness of the heart
current as the “I” remained. This is the
most significant aspect of this
experience. Even while narrating the experience Ramana has clearly stated, “Yet
my usual current was continuing as usual without a break in that state also.”
Ramana himself has
referred to this incident in the course of his conversation with B.V. Narasimha
Swami, years later, in 1937. The relevant portion reads as follows:
“I used to feel the
vibrations of the Heart, which resemble those of a dynamo, even in school. When
I developed rigor mortis many years ago in Tiruvannamalai, every object and
sensation disappeared, except these vibrations.
It was as if a dark
screen was drawn before my eyes and shut the world completely from me, but of
course I was all along conscious of the Self, with a vague feeling that someone
was crying near me. This state continued till just before I regained physical
consciousness, when I felt something rush from the Heart to the left chest and
re-establish life in the body.”
One shudders at the
thought as to what would have happened if the life force had not re-established
itself in Ramana’s body. But then it had to happen only in that way in the divine
scheme of things. One who is aware of the life of Ramana will also be aware
that the earmarked role for Ramana in the divine scheme was to guide seekers of
truth, as the inner and outer guru, on the direct path of self-enquiry for
Self-knowledge. This role as the sadguru was to be for about another five
decades in the body from the date of this experience. Ramana’s steady
Self-awareness and accessibility ensured this.
