I
A. Venkateswara Sarma and Smt. Sala

SRI VENKATESWARA SARMA, a native of Keelapasalai
Village, Ramnad Dt., is an old devotee of Sri Bhagavan,
who along with his wife, Smt. Sala, equally devoted to Sri
Bhagavan, lived in Sri Ramana Nagar. Both are closely related
to Sri Bhagavan.

For over a decade he studied the Kavya (poetical literature
in Sanskrit) gaining mastery in the same and also became an
adept in the science of astrology by training he had for years at
Vidyalaya in Kerala. In his early days while staying at Kandanur,
he had a remarkable experience. He saw the portrait of Sri
Bhagavan in his majestic standing posture with a penetrating
look which not merely seemed but was really felt as directed
only to him and which thrilled his whole being. This experience
provoked a great urge to have Sri Bhagavan's darshan
immediately.

He started the very next day and arrived at Tiruvannamalai,
his luggage consisting of a panchangam (almanac) in one hand
and an umbrella in the other. That was in 1920. He climbed up
the hill to Skandashram, and recognising Sri Bhagavan who
was seated then under a nelli tree he hastened to prostrate at his
feet, spontaneously reciting in a state of ecstatic inspiration the
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first sloka of Sri Dakshinamurthi Ashtakam. "Look, look at the
visitor who has come -- Subbu's son, is it not?" So exclaimed
Sri Bhagavan, turning to his mother who was there. The mother
gave him a hearty welcome and made him feel at home.

Delighted by the stay with Sri Bhagavan that night, he was guided
to perform giripradakshina (circumambulation of Holy
Arunachala) next day. He expressed an ardent desire to stay
with Sri Bhagavan for good and pleaded that he did not want
to marry but wished to remain with him and serve him and do
pujas. The mother would have none of it, he had duties to
perform, she reminded him and an uncle's daughter awaited
marriage with him. He was then 22 years old. Sri Bhagavan
consoled him, "What does it matter if you do puja or get married
or whether you are here or elsewhere?" And so he left!

Since then Sri Sarma was coming to Sri Bhagavan from
time to time, often staying for a month or two and benefitting
by Sri Bhagavan's utterances and his silent influence with
devotion and piety.

Though a successful astrologer by profession, especially in
the branch of prasna (astrological forecasting on the basis of the
exact time of the client's question), Sri Venkateswara Sarma felt
the futility of leading a bread-earning life and hence came to
Sri Ramanasramam in 1939, along with his wife, and lived with
Sri Bhagavan's sister's family. In 1946 they took up abode at
Adi Annamalai, four miles away from the Ashram on the
circumambulation path, after duly informing Sri Bhagavan.

They went round the hill daily and sometimes twice a day and
thus had darshan of Sri Bhagavan on the way.

Sri Sarma compiled a short history of Sri Bhagavan's
life consisting of 120 slokas in Sanskrit, known as Ramana
Charitamrutasaram, which Sri Bhagavan graciously perused
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and corrected. He also composed songs in Tamil and
presented them to Sri Bhagavan, who used to correct them
only sparingly. Such corrections were not only grammatical
in content but also vitally enriched them with spiritual depth.

For instance, in the following verse: "Those who are caught
in the mouth of a great tiger are certain to die in this world;

but all those, caught in the glance (drishti) of the great tiger
adorning the slopes of Arunachala, known as great Ramana,
get merged with natural ease in the eternal happiness,
discarding fear of even the Lord of Death," Sri Bhagavan
put in the word with natural ease `(iyal) in the place of daily'

(nidham) of Sri Sarma's!

Since 1948, he settled with his wife and only son in
Tiruvannamalai town. The son passed away four years later.

Both parents feel they survived that shock only by
Bhagavan's Grace. They continued to render service at the
Shrines of Sri Bhagavan and the Mother, assisting in the
daily routine -- perhaps as a fulfilment of his former
sankalpa ^[?] (desire) to do puja to Sri Bhagavan! He felt: "Sri
Bhagavan is ever present in my mind and heart, in jagrat
and swapna and his manifest Grace only is sustaining us in
all circumstances and at all times!"