A PERFECT IMAGE
OF THE LIFE DIVINE

---

K. Ramachandra

SAINTS AND SAGES are the salt of the earth. They are the
saviours of humanity. They are the sustainers of society. Philo
remarks, "Households, cities, countries and nations have enjoyed
great happiness, when a single individual has taken heed of the
good and beautiful. Such men not only liberate themselves,
they fill those they meet with a free mind."

In all sects of Hinduism, the worship of saints and sages
forms an important feature. In the galaxy of spiritual giants of
modern India, a great Sage answering to the description of Philo
in a supreme way is Bhagavan Sri Ramana, popularly known to
the world as `Maharshi'. He stayed at Tiruvannamalai in South
India for over fifty four years and attained Mahasamadhi in
April 1950.

His teachings have a unique appeal to thinkers of both
east and west. He was considered as the living embodiment of
God-centred life, a perfect image of the life divine in the mirror
of human existence. In the words of the world-renowned
psychoanalyst, Dr. Carl Jung, "Sri Ramana is a true son of the
Indian earth. He is genuine, and in addition to that, something
quite phenomenal. In India, he is the whitest spot in a
white space."

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The Maharshi was not one of those teachers who tried to
make an impression on his devotees and others by mystifying
matters. Nor did he utilise any of the psychic powers to attract
the curiosity-seekers and miracle-mongers. His method was
direct. He disclosed the truth in the simplest possible language,
as realised and lived by him. He spoke very little, but in his
look there was not only love and compassion, but a subtle
spiritual vibration which went deeper into the heart of the visitor.

He regarded nothing as alien, none as other, no event as
undesirable. He thought of others in the same way as he thought
of himself. Love and love alone influenced his relationship with
others. His teaching through mouna ^[?]or silence was difficult to
be understood by the average person. Once a visitor from the
west put the question to him as to why he was staying at one
spot for years together, without moving about and preaching
to people the truth he had realised. The Maharshi gave his
characteristic reply as follows:

"How do you know that I am not doing it? Does preaching
consist in mounting a platform and haranguing the people
around? Preaching is simple communication of knowledge. It
can really be done in silence only. What do you think of a man
who listens to a sermon for an hour and goes away without
having been impressed by it, so as to change his life? Compare
him with another who sits near a holy presence and goes after
some time with his outlook on life totally changed. Which is
better, to preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending
out inner force?" On another occasion, answering a similar
question by an Indian devotee, he remarked,
"Vivekananda was perfectly right when he said that if you
thought a good thought in a cave it would have repercussions
on the whole world."

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So, let us meditate in silence on Bhagavan Sri Ramana.

Though he has given up his physical body, his presence is felt by
thousands as before. It is not confined to Tiruvannamalai. It
never was. But the hall where he sat for years has a special
attraction. Visitors come there even today from the four corners
of the globe.

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