Interesting but Forgotten Places - I

Cow Lakshmi's Nirvana Room

In this post, and maybe a few more later, I thought to write about some hidden little gems in Sri Ramanasramam and nearby places. Regular visitors to Sri Ramanasramam naturally become familiar with most places of interest within its august environs, and those found in and around Tiruvannamalai. So, one could be sanguine that over the years one would have seen virtually all that there is to see therein. But it is astounding how often one finds that there is a new, important sacred spot which one never knew about, and all one can do is pause and wonder, “how is it that I never heard of this place before?” It happens to me often actually, and described below is one such spot within Sri Ramanasramam which, for me, emerged into awareness 2 years ago.

Sri Ramanasramam houses the Samadhi shrines of (at least) 3 confirmed Self-realized souls: Sri Bhagavan and Mother Alagamma of course, and Cow Lakshmi. We know that the latter 2 were Self-realized too at the time of dropping the body, because as far as is known, they are the only 2 entities for whom Bhagavan Himself, physically, aided the soul’s release to the point of Liberation. The room where Bhagavan dropped His mortal coil is now the “Nirvana Room”, and an important sacred spot within the Ashram. Mother Alagamma’s Nirvana room is, of course, in Skandasramam on the Holy Hill, and again, an important place to visit and pray/meditate in. But what about Ma Lakshmi’s Nirvana room? Where within Sri Ramanasramam did she actually drop the body?

Amazingly, few even amongst the regulars at Sri Ramanasramam are aware of where exactly this momentous event happened. In books of reminiscences, as far as I can recall, all that is found is that in the last days Cow Lakshmi was moved to the “stall for the calves”, within the Goshala, which was cleaned and laid out with straw for her.

This “stall for calves” is now a fully enclosed room with a proper door and is used for storage purposes. The room is part of the front side of the old Goshala building, facing straight down the path which goes past the Veda-Pathshala building. As you enter the porch of the Goshala building, this room, Ma Lakshmi’s Nirvana room, is the one with the locked door on your right. It just so happened that I was around when the room was opened that day for some work, and thus could spend a happy few minutes there. That this was indeed Ma Lakshmi’s Nirvana room was confirmed to me by the very kind senior member of Ashram management, who had the key. [The old Goshala building extends at the back into the massive complex now which comprises the Sri Ramanasramam Dairy].



The path towards the right, from the front of the kitchen,
leading to the Veda Pathshala & Old Goshala Building





On this path the Veda Pathshala is on the left



The front of the Old Goshala Building is straight ahead





As you enter the porch where some sacks can be seen
piled up in the picture above, Ma Lakshmi's Nirvana
Room is this one on the right. Note the little red
"kumkum" marks placed around the door for
auspiciousness. Though open now, this
door is always kept locked.



Interior of the lovely Old Goshala Building. This is the
"stall for calves" now.

Inside the Old Goshala Building

Inside the Old Goshala Building

[The old Goshala building falls within the “functional” zone of Sri Ramanasramam and as such big crowds are not really desirable in that area. Also, though the odd devotee is fine, crowds would disturb the cows and also the Veda Pathshala work. And so it is my belief that this room has been consciously kept a little inaccessible, tho’ I was told that tentative plans are there to renovate and open it to devotees in the future. And so the room, at present, remains locked and can only be seen from the outside].

Addendum: Folks, am sure any devotee who is a regular visitor would have his own hidden gems, some unusual places associated with Bhagavan within Sri Ramanasramam or Tiruvannamalai, which are not so well known. Happy if you were to share your own little gem in the “Comments” below.

Arunachala Pancharatna Varttikam and Vichara

Preliminary

The significance of this work was touched upon previously, as to how it had the special attention of Sri Bhagavan. Also, please do bear in mind that in this post as well, particular importance is attributed to a few verses which were inserted by Bhagavan Himself into the main body of the text. Again the assumption is that they were most likely to have been composed by Bhagavan Himself; and if not, and were actually written by Sri Laksmana Sarma (“SLS”), that was done under Bhagavan’s specific directions as to content and meaning, and then brought back to Him to be added at the appropriate place. Again, in all fairness, I should mention that this is reasoned-out from a study of the printed manuscript in the book only and could be wide off the mark.

The usual interpretations of Bhagavan’s great hymn “Sri Arunachala-pancharatnam” are that the hymn covers all the 4 traditional paths to Liberation. Jnana is covered in verse 3, Yoga in verse 4, Bhakti in the first half, and Karma Marg in the second half of verse 5; and that each have equal weight, each reaches the Goal. Some also say that verse 4 actually expands on valid methods of aiding Vichara such as, “rejecting external objects, breath and mind controlled”, and so on.

The “Varttikam” commentary on the other hand is blunt and clear; Vichara and Jnana are Bhagavan’s primary teaching, and the only direct path to Liberation. The other paths are auxiliary. The text has many interesting verses (including a few added by Bhagavan) wherein the paths of the “Yogi” and the “Premi” (Lover of God) are considered. As the intent in this post is not to have a controversial discussion on the various paths and their efficacies, the actual “Varttikam” text may be referred to by those who may have further interest.

The focus of this post is to pay attention to what Bhagavan emphasized with respect to practical Vichara, by adding additional verses to the original text.

The Verses on Vichara

The third Chapter of the Varttikam book covering Vichara has 31 verses (Nos. 48 to 78) in it, of which 7 were added by Sri Bhagavan (besides the changes He made in several others). Again, as these are likely to have been composed by Bhagavan Himself, these verses have enormous significance. The chapter begins by a paraphrased rendering of the hymn’s 3rd verse by SLS as under:

“Searching for the Truth of oneself, with the exceedingly pure mind diving into the Heart to find “Whence arises this I’, if one has the Experience of Thee as the Self who is Pure Consciousness, then the mind becomes forever still in Thee like the river that has joined the ocean.”

Then, after 2 initial verses, comes this verse as SLS’s only contribution towards the actual practice of Vichara in the whole chapter:

50.   Eliminating its unconscious parts, namely the body etc., and taking up the pure ‘I’ which is of the nature of consciousness, one should seek the Source of it (the I), namely the Self.

Bhagavan then has added these 2 verses (please see scanned image of the manuscript from the book as published by Sri Ramanasramam):

51.     As a diver dives into water to get hold of something that has fallen into it, so the seeker should dive into the Heart, seeking the Source of the ‘I’.

52.      As a dog seeks his master taking hold of his scent, so the mind should seek its own  Source,  taking hold of the purified I.

Verses 51 & 52 are seen added by
Bhagavan at the top of the page

For me, these 2 verses exemplify all what Vichara is really about. Both examples were used by Bhagavan often and it is worthwhile to read their expanded versions.

The Pearl Diver

The example of the diver was used by Bhagavan in one of His first works, “Who am I”. Just how intense and dramatic the illustration actually is, as originally given by Bhagavan in 1902 or thereabouts, is apparent from what was incorporated by Sri Sivaprakasam Pillai in his poem “Anugraha Ahaval” [from the Mountain Path, Jayanthi 1993; “The Various Texts of ‘Who am I’”, Pg 145, article and translation by Michael James].

“… just as  just as a person who, wishing to obtain the pearl lying at the bottom of the ocean, has entered that [ocean], plunges and dives deep, deep into it again and again, and, even though the ocean-water obstructs and causes him much trouble, raising him to the outer surface, [finally] brings up [the pearl], so when one seeks that beautiful pearl [the real Self] by scrutinizing who one is, countless crores of thoughts about outer things will obstruct and drag one, casting one out towards the world, and yet in spite of their casting one out [thus], if, like a simple woman who will not cease going after something she has set her heart upon, one plunges and dives, dives, dives deep within oneself, one can know oneself; that knowledge alone is the rare and precious state of liberation.” 

Never fail to find this absolutely stunning. Each time I compare what I am doing by way of Vichara practice and the level of intensity described by Bhagavan above, in so simple and clear terms, I know that more and even more is required. There is no mere “holding on to the ‘I’” here as is understood by many as describing the process of Vichara. There is an intensely alert, a sort of deliberately calm and composed but intensely dynamic sense about it all. It is almost as if – if not done in such visceral a manner, then there is a life-threatening situation on hand, unsaid but lurking just behind the scenes somewhere. Just “holding on to the ‘I’” puts us in as a swimmer in a sanitized and safe swimming pool as it were. Whereas being Bhagavan’s “pearl-diver” throws us into a dangerous and unpredictable sea, and we stake our very life each time we deliberately choose to dive for the prize we seek. Only then is it “Vichara”.

The Dog following his Master’s Scent

An elaboration of Bhagavan’s second example above is found in “Maharshi’s Gospel” [In the Chapter “Aham & Aham-vrtti”, Pg 78].  

M:   “Self-enquiry by following the clue of Aham-vritti is just like the dog tracing its master by his scent. The master may be at some distant, unknown place, but that does not at all stand in the way of the dog tracing him. The master’s scent is an infallible clue for the animal, and nothing else, such as the dress he wears, or his build and stature etc., counts. To that scent the dog holds on undistractedly while searching for him, and finally succeeds in tracing him. Likewise in your quest for the Self, the one infallible clue is the Aham-vritti, the ‘I-am’-ness which is the primary datum of your experience. No other clue can lead you direct to Self-realization.”

This one focuses on doggedness (pun intended!) in approach. The doggie is completely and single-mindedly focused on following the scent of its master. Nothing distracts it, nothing stops it, till its master is located.

[As an aside, whenever this example comes to mind I am reminded of the “Search Companion” we find in the “Search” option that pops up on clicking “Start”  in Windows XP operating software; it is a little animated doggie character, and when we start a search of our computer for a particular file or folder, the little doggie animates, presses its nose to the ground and tail up in the air, and enthusiastically goes sniffing about in a little quadrant of the screen as if physically searching for the files, and continues to do so till the search program finishes].

To summarize then, Bhagavan completed His little teaching on Vichara in this commentary by adding 2 important practical aspects to the basic, “Seek the Source of the ‘I’”. One verse emphasizes the dynamic and intense nature of this search, and the other the earnestness and doggedness needed to carry on till the Goal is reached.

I had briefly mentioned above that an approach to Vichara often suggested is, “locate your sense of ‘I’, hold on to this ‘I’, then you will sink in deeper and deeper, wait for the Supreme ‘I’ to reveal itself”. It is my humble opinion that this is too static and low-key, a sort of a wimpy, sleepy approach to it all. In all His primary works, Bhagavan described the process repeatedly as, “Seek the Source of the ‘I’”; and the “seeking” bit adds the absolutely critical dimension of dynamism to it. We have to chase full-tilt after the ‘I’, hunt it down to the point from which it arose as it were. The level of intensity in chasing after it is exemplified by Him with the “Pearl Diver” example; and the level of undistracted earnestness and persistence needed is shown via the “Dog hunting down the Master” example. Also need to mention here, that really no “Source” or a point of origin as such can ever really be located or pinned down; for, that the Source should exist as a “source” or as a specific location anywhere is ab initio a contradiction in terms, given that It is beyond the subject-object duality. The whole point of the instruction is - that the intense and earnest effort to “Seek the Source” introverts the mind like nothing else, and as you rapidly sink deeper and deeper within, the “you” bit dissolves away, and the pure ‘I’ shines forth.

Just remains to mention one other remarkable verse added by Bhagavan in this chapter, as it covers a crucial (theoretical) aspect of Vichara (please see scanned image below):

“Brahman & Brahmajna” (Reality and the Knower of Reality)

SLS gets into a detailed and complicated exposition of theory towards the middle of his commentary in this chapter. Some of the verses are difficult and that probably prompted Bhagavan to add several clarificatory verses (though herein we consider only one).

SLS wrote these 2 verses:

60.   The extinction of the thought that what is nonself is the self is the true meaning of the expression “knowing the Self”. The real Self is the only one that exists, and is devoid of the knower or the known.

“Nonself” being the limited ‘I’, the Jiva, the world we see; we take this as true and as our real self till we are ignorant; but extinction of this idea that this (falsity) is our (real) self, reveals the true Self and is enlightenment; and in that sense is regarded as “knowing the Self”. Really, SLS made it complicated here.

61.   The one whose mind is extinguished by diving into the Heart through the Quest, is the Self, not the knower of the Self; he is Reality Itself, not the knower of it.

This one makes it really really complicated. Questions that immediately pop-up are: The Self has a mind? The Self Itself undertakes the Quest? Surely it is the Jiva, the limited ‘I’, the mind of the individual which does the diving? How can the Jiva be called the “knower of the Self”?

Whereas, all I think what SLS is trying to present here is Bhagavan’s teaching, “There are not 2 selves at all; the Self is only one”. [The limited ‘I’ is an imposter and does not exist in the first place; it arises “in-between” as it were from the reflected light of the pure Self, and disappears when scrutinized]. And so SLS is actually saying that - though it seems that the Quest for the Self is undertaken by the mind, the limited ‘I’, since this is actually non-existent otherwise, it is in effect only the Self that undertakes it. Bhagavan clarifies this elegantly by adding this truly remarkable verse with a solemn warning at the end:

62.      The seeker who thinks that there is a real distinction between the Reality [Brahman] and him that is described as its knower [Brahmajna], is hindered by that same false notion. (His Quest will be a failure].

Something for those on the Quest to ponder over!

Verse 62 can be seen added by
Bhagavan at the top; note the extent
of the changes/additions  made by
Bhagavan on this page.

“The Words of the Master”

Preliminary

Sri Bhagavan’s devotees may be familiar with a slender but marvellous book published by Sri Ramanasramam in 2006 titled “Arunachala Pancharatna Varttikam”. The book is a commentary written by Sri Laksmana Sarma (hereafter referred to as “SLS”, for convenience, with all respect) on Bhagavan’s Sanskrit hymn in the beautiful but difficult “Arya” metre, “Sri Arunachalapancharatnam” (“Five Gems on Arunachala”). The extraordinary thing about this work is that Bhagavan not only went through the text of the commentary making corrections, He Himself composed several verses in Sanskrit and slotted them in at appropriate places to enhance the meaning. Maybe as many as 18 verses. The importance He gave to this work can be gauged from His changing (the latter part of) the title given by SLS from “Laghu Vritti” (meaning “short commentary”) to “Varttikam”. A “Varttikam” is technically defined as “explaining the meaning of that which is said, that which is left unsaid (on the concerned topic), or that which is insufficiently said” (taken from the General Introduction to the book). And thus we have Bhagavan Himself saying, in effect, that the commentary is an authentic expansion of the important teachings contained in such a terse manner otherwise in the great hymn; a hymn which has been subject to differing interpretations by devotees and writers in the past and even now. Again, we all owe SLS a world of gratitude in getting Bhagavan involved with this work, much as he managed to do for his translation and commentary on Ulladu Narpadu.

So which were the verses composed by Bhagavan for this work? The book merely confirms that Bhagavan made some changes in the text and composed new verses taking the tally to 108 for the work; it itself does not attempt to identify these. And I do not now recall having come across any references to this work in any of the reminiscences anywhere. Perhaps the original notebooks of SLS show the exact position. However, Sri Ramanasramam did a truly great job in enclosing the original manuscript in Bhagavan’s handwriting in this publication. Curiously, the whole text itself as composed by SLS of the original 90 odd verses seems to be in Bhagavan’s handwriting. (A conclusion that can be drawn therefore is that Sri Bhagavan may have first copied the text into this notebook as written by SLS; and then He may have been urged by SLS and possibly others to make changes in it as He thought appropriate). The changes and additions actually show up in a bolder impression as possibly Bhagavan used a different pen and ink, and are visible at even a cursory glance. And in my humble opinion, the new verses composed by Bhagavan are identifiable because, very simply, they can reasonably be assumed to be the ones written by Him along the sides and margins of the notebook sheet in the bolder ink. He then has scratched out the original numbering at the right hand side of the verses composed by SLS, and made a new numbering on the left incorporating the new verses composed by Him (see scanned picture of the manuscript from the Sri Ramanasramam publication – showing the addition of verses 5, 6 & 7. The circled numerals were put by me to number and tag the changes incorporated by Bhagavan).

[In all fairness I must mention here, that I could be entirely wrong in my assumptions in picking out these verses as being composed by Bhagavan. Access to the original manuscripts is severely restricted and this is the best that is available to ordinary folks. Allow me to apologize in advance should there be any error in the reasoning above. Also, as a humble lay devotee it is not for me to make as enormous a claim as that these verses are definitely Bhagavan’s compositions. So let me just only say - that it seems very likely that they are so. And in any event, at the very least, they carry His categorical stamp of approval.]

When I had first picked up this book 5 years ago, I had spent some time poring over the manuscript and marking out every change and addition made by Bhagavan. It is fascinating to see how He changed the meaning and emphasis in several places by just altering or substituting a word or two; and in some places by replacing the whole line. And as to the verses added Him? They have a truly dramatic impact in sharpening and adding focus to the whole commentary. Discussed here are the first verses added by Him, as a set of 3 in the “Granthavtaranam”, “Introduction to the Work” (also shown in the scanned image above). Some, equally important, on Vichara and other matters, will be part of another post to follow. The translation into English was done by SLS himself.

The 3 verses added to the “Introduction to the Work”

The introduction, as is usual for a work of this nature, briefly describes what the original verses (on which the commentary is being made) are all about. Usually a few words are also included as to the high pedestal occupied by the author of the said verses, and the importance of his words and teachings. SLS thus had written in the 4th and the last verse of his original introduction:

4.   This Teaching is authoritative to the well-intentioned, because the Master here gives out the Truth of Himself as experienced by Himself all the time – that Truth which is blissful and free from imperfection.

Sri Bhagavan then added these 3 extraordinary verses:

5.   Let people think that the words of the Master are authoritative as being in agreement with the Vedic Revelation. But, we consider the Vedic Revelation as authoritative, because it is in agreement with the Master’s words.

6.   He is the Master who is firmly established in His own True Nature, known as Turiya, and whatever He teaches is the highest Upanishad.

7.   Because the words of the Master are (fully) authoritative, only the conclusions are set out briefly, leaving out controversies more or less.

Now, if these verses were composed by SLS on his own then they would be treated as any other laudatory item in praise of the Master, just read through and approved by Bhagavan as was His wont. But given the clear interpolation as is visible in the manuscript, it seems reasonable  that these verses are  likely to have been  composed by Bhagavan Himself; and else, at the very least, even if written by SLS, done at specific directions from Bhagavan and then brought to Him for adding-in. And then, for me at least, they immediately have an enormous significance. We all know how Sri Bhagavan was quite the paragon of simplicity, humility and self-effacement (pun intended!). Coming from Him, therefore, these verses become quite a hammer-blow if you will, of extraordinary and emphatic instructions to sincere devotees as to how to take His words and teaching, His life so pure itself, and the value and authority of it all in the scheme of things spiritual.

I thought to highlight the same in the inaugural post on this blog, so that it may remain in the forefront as to how important it is to take the words of our Master “as they are”. The 2 big mistakes we sometimes make is either we try to “interpret” the teachings in such a way as to find common ground with our own entrenched beliefs; or we try to “simplify” them for “others” in the vain belief that we understand the teachings better than others and thus have a quasi-guru role to play. How can one anyway interpret and simplify further the words of “the Master who is firmly established in His own True Nature”? One, particularly, who made it His life’s mission to explain esoteric and complex teachings in as simple and practical a way as possible? Surely He would Himself explain it perfectly, always, and anyone else’s attempts would merely add imperfections to the great teachings.

Herein we shall attempt to keep these 3 verses always in mind as the guiding principles behind every post and comment - in all the ramblings that may follow!