34. FOLLOWERS
AS Sri Ramanasramam was taking shape followers ofBhagavan also increased. They also began taking part
in the Ashram activities.
With the increase in the number of followers and
Ashram inmates it became necessary to regulate the running
of the Ashram. As Bhagavan aged his body became easily
tired hence it became necessary to regulate the visiting
hours. Of course, these regulations were not to the liking
of some but, the Ashram could not, obviously, be run
without any regulations.
Bhagavan would never allow any special treatment
for himself. He would first make sure that whatever was
served to him was available to all. Not only that, he would
severely scold anyone who tried to show any preferential
treatment towards him while serving food. He also wished
that ashramites cultivated vairagya, bhakti and seva
(detachment, devotion and service) completely. He
deprecated the tendency to cause inconvenience to
devotees in the name of regulations. Here is an instance:
westerners found it difficult to squat on the floor. A
European lady stretched her legs while sitting in the
presence of Bhagavan. The attendants of Bhagavan warned
her against that practice. Immediately, Bhagavan who
usually stretched his legs, folded them and sat cross-legged
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but as he was suffering from rheumatic pains, that posture
caused him pain. He felt that the regulations applied to
him also. To get Bhagavan to resume his normal posture,
the attendant allowed the western lady to sit in any posture
convenient to her.
Gradually, the number of animals devoted to
Bhagavan decreased with the increase in the number of
human devotees. Here is a little about the animals.
LAKSHMI:
The darling of all ashramites, Lakshmi the cow was
believed to be Keerai-patti reborn. She had a free run of
the Ashram ground. She would often trample upon
vegetable beds and have her fill and if anyone tried to
chase her away, the Maharshi would intervene and say, "It
was your fault that you did not properly fence off the
area. Why blame her?" On such occasions, Lakshmi would
walk into the hall and stand close to Bhagavan as if she
was innocent. Nobody could do anything about it.
Lakshmi was quite intelligent and she was aware of the
timings for food and without feeding her first no one else
even thought of a meal. During summer, cool water would
be specially kept for her. Lakshmi was very fond of fruits
and would savour them as the Maharshi fed her with fruits.
In turn, she would lick Bhagavan's body with her rough
tongue and make it appear red, Bhagavan's patience was
truly remarkable. Lakshmi was naughty also and did not
hesitate to use the hall as a toilet or to make threatening
advances towards new comers. Of course, if they patted
or caressed her she would be nice to them.
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On festive occasions special care would be given to
Lakshmi. She would be bathed and suitably done-up. She
would also be decorated with garlands. As if to show her
beauty she would immediately run to Bhagavan and stand
before him. She would not return to the cowshed without
visiting the Maharshi in the evening. Before her departure
the Maharshi would feed her bananas.
On some occasions, Lakshmi would stand tear-filled
in front of the Maharshi as if some experience of an earlier
birth came to her mind. Maharshi would console her on
such occasions and thereafter she would slowly move
towards the cowshed.
Over the years, Lakshmi delivered calves on the jayanti
of Maharshi or on the day of his Janma-Nakshatra
(Punarvasu). Her progeny grew up in the Ashram.
Lakshmi was very conscious of her importance-she
would not touch ordinary bananas if the mountain variety
was available.
On the occasion of the inauguration of the cowshed,
Lakshmi came a little earlier than the prescribed time and
stood before the Maharshi refusing to budge until he rose.
The Maharshi rose saying, "She wants to take me to her
new house why do you want to send her away?" Lakshmi
showed him the way to the cowshed as the ashramites
watched astonished.
VALLI:
This deer was presented to the Ashram by a
manufacturer of match boxes. The deer also was loved by
the ashramites. All visitors used to pet her , with the result
that she became completely accustomed to human
company. She roamed about so freely that she would mix
with the lambs of outsiders and accompany them for
grazing. On several occasions the shepherds would bring
back the deer to the Ashram. Once, she strayed far away
when some poachers hurt her . On noticing that the deer
belonged to the Ashram, someone went to her rescue and
brought her back to the Ashram. In spite of all the attention
bestowed on her, the deer lost her life. The deer was buried
on the northern side of the Ashram.
JACK:
The manner of Jack's death is interesting. About three
weeks prior to the Pongal festival of 1933, Jack fell ill.
Even earlier, he refused to take any solid food because of
which he was fed on milk. Ever since he became sick, Jack
did not leave the presence of Bhagavan. The repulsive
smell which is characteristic of a dying dog never emanated
from him. Though his death was expected any time, he
survived till the festival was over and passed away
peacefully. The parallel between Jack's death and that of
Bhishma the grand warrior of the Mahabharata was not
missed even by Bhagavan who said as much. With the
death of Jack, Kamala's progeny came to an end.
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SQUIRRELS:
For some time the activities of the squirrels in the
Ashram were intense. The squirrels would take liberties
with Bhagavan like crawling over him. In turn, Bhagavan
would feed them with various nuts. One day, a squirrel
bit Bhagavan's finger as he had not fed her by then.
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PIGEONS:
In September 1945, a visitor placed two pigeons on
Bhagavan's lap and would not take them back. Bhagavan
caressed them affectionately at which both the pigeons
closed their eyes and became still as if in samadhi.
LEOPARDS:
During the same period another visitor brought two
leopard cubs and gave them to Bhagavan. As usual,
Bhagavan caressed them and fed them milk. Both the
cubs fell into a deep slumber near Bhagavan's sofa. A
devotee took a photograph of this.
WHITE PEACOCK:
Similarly, the white peacock sent by the Maharani of
Baroda, became a picturesque addition to the Ashram.
From the moment Bhagavan came to the Ashram,
several people with varied objectives and aspirations visited
him. Some visited him wondering if in modern times a
Maharshi could be found at all, some visited him considering
him to be a sacred presence, some others visited him in the
hope of getting their desires fulfilled by a mere darshan, yet
others visited him out of disenchantment with worldly life
and sought refuge at his feet. The lives of many got
transformed by Bhagavan's darshan and they became happy.
Such visitors also would extol in various ways Bhagavan's
grace towards them. Some wrote hymns either in Tamil or
in Telugu in praise of Bhagavan. Among them were Swami
Pranavananda, Murugunar and Ramaswamy Iyer. Some
composed songs in Sanskrit. Narayanaswamy Iyer compiled
Maharshi's talks. Lakshmana Sarma expounded Bhagavan's
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philosophy in his Maha Yoga. Those who translated
Bhagavan's works into other languages and those who spread
Bhagavan's glory all over the world were also there.
SRI YOGI RAMAIAH:
There is an old saying, "It does not matter even if you
are not learned. If you are sincere and devoted in your
sadhana [?] the results will follow on their own." Sri Rama
Yogi's life is an example of this saying. He came from a
village, Mopuru, near Nellore. His family was well known
for its philanthropic disposition and thirst for knowledge.
A peculiar feature of the family was that in each generation
only one male child was born and within a short time of its
birth the father passed away. The same thing happened in
this case also because of which Ramaiah was brought up by
his maternal uncle at a neighbouring village.
Young, rich and single, the future yogi behaved like a
spoilt youth for a short time. At the same time, he had
abiding bhakti [?] for Lord Rama and always wondered if he
could become a devotee like Valmiki or a detached person
like Kabir, well known devotees of Lord Rama. He would
constantly repeat the name of Sri Rama. As good luck
would have it, at an early age a sadhu [?] by name Sri
Brahmananda Teertha Swami became his guru and initiated
him in the Taraka Mantra. The guru directed him to repeat
the mantra five thousand times a day, which Ramaiah
did. Once, in a fit of detachment, he set out to go to Kasi.
The guru saw him and asked him whether he had obtained
the permission of his mother for the journey. When
Ramaiah confessed that he did no such thing the guru
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advised him to perform his japa in a lonely spot in the
garden of their house and thus dissuaded him from
undertaking the proposed trip. In addition to japa
Ramaiah resorted to vegetarian food and Pranayama, this
last, without anyone's guidance . In a short time he had
various spiritual experiences but they soon passed away.
Once, he had a unique experience where everything
appeared as a brilliant light. Ramaiah wondered what it
was and tried to find out its nature from various people
but to no avail. His guru also had passed away by then.
Remembering the name Arunachala, which he had came
across earlier, Ramaiah went there to get his doubt cleared
from the Maharshi. Bhagavan explained the phenomenon
as a consequence of samadhi, to the satisfaction of Ramaiah.
Thereupon he took Bhagavan to be his guru and decided
to stay at Arunachala. For a long time he stayed at the
mango-tree cave performing tapas [?]. Later, he built an
ashram at the village where his mother lived and divided
his time between the village and Arunachala.
Owing to his goodwill and love towards all beings,
even towards poisonous animals like serpents he was never
harmed by any creature. He had several occult powers.
One among those who experienced them was Paul
Brunton, who said that because of Yogi Ramaiah he
experienced a stillness of mind. Ramaiah's disciples celebrate
his Jayanti year after year.
NARASIMHA IYER:
Author of Bhagavan's biography in English, and a
translation of Bhagavan's Upadesa saram, he hailed from
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Salem. As a lawyer and a freedom fighter he became quite
famous and in spite of being made fun of, spoke in his mother
tongue (Tamil) in the Madras Legislative Assembly. His
domestic life took an unexpected turn with the accidental
death of both his sons on the same day. With that shock he
turned towards spiritual life and came to Arunachala in 1928.
He stayed at the Ashram for about three years. He took great
pains in collecting details of Bhagavan's life; he obtained
written statements from various persons, and brought out a
biography of Bhagavan (Self-Realisation). He mastered western
psychology as well as spiritual literature in Sanskrit. He was
a very great devotee of Bhagavan but took care not to
exaggerate anything about him in the biography and succeeded
in turning many persons towards Bhagavan. He had great
interest in reconciling eastern and western spiritual thought
and he believed that even in deep sleep the mind was very
much in existence. In support of this belief he cited the facts
that but for the presence of the mind there could be no
recollection of happiness during sleep or the capacity to wake
up at a pre-determined time. He held that thoughts of the
waking state weakened and resulted in absent- mindedness,
day dreams, dreams and deep sleep. Bhagavan would try to
convince him that in the deep sleep state the mind would
only be in abeyance (laya [?]) but would not be destroyed (nasa)
and that because the mind was so weak it could be taken to
be practically non-existent.
SUDDHANANDA BHARATI:
Author of Bhagavan's biography in Tamil, he became
famous as a journalist and author even quite early in life.
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His Tamil work Bharata Sakti is quite well known. He
developed a great liking for national education and in
collaboration with VVS Ayyar established a Gurukula at
Cheranmahadevi. He had an interest in naturopathy as
well. In order to know the essence of all religions he studied
all religious texts extensively. As the implementation of
his lofty ideals needed sakti, he began worshipping Sakti
(Sakti -upasana); towards this end he learned pranayama [?]
and had certain spiritual experiences.
While at the famous sacred Jain spot, Sravanabelagola
studying Jain scriptures, Suddhananda had a desire to
have Bhagavan's darshan. When he reached the Ashram,
Bhagavan's physical body could not be seen by him but
only a column of light and later a Siva Linga. Subsequently,
Bhagavan's physical form appeared before him.
Suddhanananda prostrated before Bhagavan and later
before Ganapati Muni who was close by. Bhagavan said
to Ganapati "Is it Suddhananda the author of Bharata Sakti
?" Suddhananda was overjoyed at that compliment.
Bhagavan asked him to stay back for food to which Bharati
replied "Yes Sir, But I have come for spiritual food."
Suddhananda did not indulge in asking several questions,
his happiness lay in savouring the mere darshan of
Bhagavan. At that very moment several Tamil verses, welled
up in him.
Bharati spent six months at Arunachala. In the holy
presence his ego got destroyed and he began referring to
himself in the third person, he became completely inward-
looking. In order to continue his Sakti-upasana he left for
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Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry. Bharati's devotion
for Bhagavan formed itself into a mellifluous poetic
composition Sri Ramana Vijayam.
It is now necessary to refer to some who had
contributed to the development of the Ashram and who
could explain Bhagavan's teachings.
VISWANATHA BRAHMACHARI:
He came to the Ashram in 1923 when he was barely
nineteen without informing anyone at home. His father,
who did not like the son going away from home, somehow
guessed that he must have reached Arunachala and landed at
the Ashram in search of his son. The father knew the Maharshi
as Venkataraman several years earlier . But on seeing the
Maharshi in the new place he was astonished and said " This
is not the Venkataraman I used to know." To this Bhagavan
replied smiling "Oh he! It is quite sometime since he vanished."
And speaking of Viswanatha, Bhagavan said, "By the time
he left his home he had acquired some knowledge of Sanskrit
at least, I did not have even that when I left home." Viswanatha
Brahmachari had a great devotion for Ganapati Muni,
associated himself with him and studied all his works.
MUNAGALA VENKATARAMAIAH:
He was a government official holding a high position.
Round about 1925 he lost this job. Initially he stayed at
the Ashram with his family and consulted Bhagavan in
regard to all his family matters. One night he and his
younger children were asleep in the hall. At about
midnight he heard Bhagavan say, "Why did you come
here at this time? Won't the children be afraid?" When,
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Venkataramaiah opened his eyes and looked around, he
saw a huge snake go out of the window past the children.
He was astonished at this. Venkataramaiah's daughter,
Kamakshi was an Ashram child. Her husband Ramachandra
Kaundinya also was a great devotee of Bhagavan.
Venkataramaiah helped Bhagavan's devotees a lot. He
acted as an interpreter for them in their interaction with
Bhagavan and compiled those conversations in three
volumes entitled Talks with Maharshi. He also translated
into English, Tripura Rahasyam.
SUNDARESA IYER:
A native of Tiruvannamalai he joined Bhagavan's circle
of devotees at the age of ten. He had also associated himself
with Ganapati Muni and learned from him Mantra Sastra.
Well-versed in English, Sanskrit and Tamil he frequently wrote
and published articles on Bhagavan and was helpful in the
Ashram activities. When Bhagavan's collected works were to
be published as Nool Tirattu (Tamil) Bhagavan chose Sundaresa
Iyer to write the introduction. This itself indicated his worth.
MURUGANAR:
A reputed scholar and Tamil poet. As he had a a great
attachment for Tamil he changed his name from
Subrahmanian to Muruganar . His magnum opus Ramana
Sannidhi Murai has attained the status of a classic and is
venerated by Tamil poets. He initially looked upon
Bhagavan as an embodiment of all gods but later he became
a votary of the concept of a formless god. He was a firm
Advaitin. It was he who was responsible for Bhagavan's
Tamil works Upadesa Undiyar and Ulladu Narpadu.
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RAMASWAMI PILLAI:
He joined the Ashram soon after leaving college . He was
a personification of service and was an embodiment of devotion
towards Bhagavan. He had a good knowledge of Tamil and
was fond of singing Tamil songs in praise of Bhagavan. The
Ashram would always reverberate with his songs.
DEVARAJA MUDALIAR:
He functioned as a Public Prosecutor at Chittoor
and came to the Ashram. His diary, Day by Day with
Bhagavan was published by the Ashram.
GRIDDALUR NARASIMHA RAO:
Among the Telugu writers mention has to made of
Griddalur Narasimha Rao who rendered Arunachala Stuti
Panchakam and Ulladu Narpadu into Telugu. For this purpose
he learnt Tamil and Bhagavan had gone through all his works.
GURRAM VENKATA SUBBARAMAIAH:
He also learnt Tamil. His service consisted in his
translating Ramana Gita both into Telugu and English. It
was at his request that Bhagavan selected a few slokas from
the Bhagavad Gita and composed Sri Bhagavad Gita
Ratnamalika (also known as Sri Bhagavad Gita Saram).
SURI NAGAMMA:
She could be described as Ramana Putri. She was widowed
very young and came to Bhagavan's presence in 1941. From
1945 to 1950 she recorded in the form of letters the conversations
and events which took place in Bhagavan's presence. To facilitate
this work she spent most of her time at the Ashram. These were
collectively published as Sri Ramana Ashrama Lekhalu in Telugu.
Bhagavan was very affectionate towards her.