LITERATURE- LIGHT AND DELIGHT
46. SRI RAMANA LITERATURE-2
For Sadhakas, what Bhagavan himself wrote is sufficient. But learned people are not satisfied with simple truth, unadorned and plain. Where such people gather, there is a tendency for literature to grow in volume, and also in complexity and variety.
Bhagavan wrote only in Tamil, his mother tongue. This was of the literary, classical type. Some devotees felt that Bhagavan was a Maharshi, what he wrote was of the status of an Upanishad, and how could an Upanishad be in any language other than Sanskrit? So efforts were made to translate his works into Sanskrit, and then into English and then write glosses or commentary on them!
But there was a problem. Those most eager to translate came from a different philosophical and theological persuasion.. Though Ramana is regarded as an ultimate Advaitin and exemplar of Jnana marga, his way is very unconventional. In the traditional way, one is asked to investigate the nature of the world; Bhagavan's method is to enquire into the Self! This enquiry is not akin to traditional meditation or dhyana. Bhagavan did not encourage any theological or philosophical or intellectual speculation into the nature of Reality- he said any answer suggested by the mind cannot be true. Traditional dhyana uses the mind to control thought; Ramana's method is to investigate the nature of mind or question its reality. His method is not to suppress thoughts (mano laya) but to transcend thought and mind (mano nasa). One may follow any theology, but belief about particular forms of God is not essential. His Arunachala was not just a hill, which was the abode of God like Kailas: Arunachala was God Himself ( Giri idu param!) Ramana's teaching cannot be called philosophy or theology or religion. It is just an invitation to the pure experience of the Self.
People who attempted Sanskrit translation were of a Sakta persuasion, who did not follow the method of enquiry. Their translation was naturally full of howlers. They put some questions on topics which were not germane to Bhagavan's teaching and gathered the answers and published them in Sanskrit with the lofty title 'Ramana Gita'. But Ramana was very charitable, and did not engage in any corrective exercise. About the Ramana Gita, he simply said that the questions had been raised in a particular spirit, and he had answered accordingly. When the inaccuracies in the translations were pointed out, he simply asked the person why he himself could not undertake a translation! (He, Lakshmana Sarma did later, and his version was corrected by Bhagavan himself!)
Of all learned people who came to Bhagavan, Lakshmana Sarma and Muruganar came without any knowledge of traditional Vedanta. They asked Bhagavan to explain the 40 verses to them, and Bhagavan did explain them word by word, verse by verse. Their writings alone reflect the true teaching of Bhagavan, without any pigment of their own idea or imagination, belief or prejudice.
Muruganar deserves special mention. He was a great Tamil scholar of the traditional type, C.K.Subramanya Iyer being his original name. He was highly regarded by peers and made a member of the Lexicon committee. He was naturally endowed with poetic genius and was attracted by Gandhi's movement. But once he saw Bhagavan's ' Marital Garland' he was captivated by its poetic charm and sublime devotional mood. He understood that the writer could not be an ordinary person. He was working as a Tamil Pundit in Madras, and visited Bhagavan frequently, unable to depart from the presence.Bhagavan had to send someone with him to ensure that he boarded the train for his return! After his mother's demise in 1926 he gave up his job, came to Tiruvannamalai and till his demise in 1973, he was there, most of the time living by biksha. Somehow, the Asramam did not look upon him with favour for many years. He lived near, but not in the Asramam. But he would be sitting in Bhagavan's presence most of the time.
Bhagavan was not disposed to speak on his own. Whenever a sadhaka raised a question or doubt, and if it had a bearing on the sadhana and was not out of idle curiosity, he would answer, and his answer would be in Tamil. Our Muruganar would immediately note it down on any piece of paper available nearby in verse form. Later he would show them to Bhagavan and get his approval; where Bhagavan did not agree, he would correct them or even compose a verse on his own. ( In this respect, it exceeds even the Gospel of Ramakrishna in authority!) Thus grew a corpus of splendid verses which were collected together under the name "Guru Vachaka Kovai" - Garland of Guru's Sayings. If his Ramana Sannidhi Murai can be regarded as hymns (Stotra) in praise of Bhagavan, his Guru Vachaka Kovai constitute the sastra. This is the authority to look into regarding any doctrinal point about the true teaching of Ramana. It consists of more than 1200 verses of exquisite beauty in classical Tamil. Both the Sannidhi Murai and Kovai were seen and approved by Bhagavan himself and were published in his life time. Unfortunately, they were not encouraged or published by the Asramam and when an inmate published them on his own, he was sent out! (He was thus effectively prevented from entering Bhagavan's presence, but Bhagavan compensated him by visiting him in his place!)
I have read Ramana literature since 1970, everything published by the Asramam, but nothing else comes any where near the works of Muruganar. If Mahendranath Gupta is the great M of Sri Ramakrishna, Muruganar is MM Sqare of Ramana!
He persuaded Bhgavan to write the 40 Verses and Upadesa Undiyar, which are the very foundation of the corpus of Ramana's teaching. He wrote the Sannidhi Murai in praise of Bhagavan's advent, which was recognised by Bhagavan himself as ' equal to Tiruvachakam'. As for the Kovai, just a small incident will reveal the esteem in which Bhagavan held it. Sadhu Natanananda wrote the introduction to the first edition in 1939 and in the end he wrote (in Tamil, I give the English translation):
I make a distinction between books published in Bhagavan's life time and those published since.Two biographies were published: one in Tamil by the poet-mystic Suddhananda Bharati, and the other in English by B.V.Narasimhaswamy. He went round collecting material from many sources, visiting many people and places. It is in the old Victorian style, which was then in vogue ( early 30s). Bharati's work is also in ornate poetic style. They were seen by Bhagavan during publication. But he was somewhat indifferent to clinical accuracy. However, like Sri Ramakrishna, he had revealed many incidents and details of his life in conversation with devotees. Unlike Sri Ramakrishna whose life was captured by M only during the last 4 years, Ramana had lived in Arunachala for 54 years. He was constantly surrounded by devotees, visitors and followers day and night, and he had no privacy at all. Many people had witnessed the events in the Asramam, but human nature is such that each is prone to put his own interpretation. We as devotees are concerned with his teaching, not the Asramam in his name. The Asramam is holy ground, but we cannot say Bhagavan is confined to that spot alone! Bhagavan himself wrote in a verse: Arunachala Ramanan, who resides in the lotus of the heart- ' agattaamarai malar meedurai Arunachala Ramanan'. If we keep our heart pure, He will come and reside there.
There are 3 other publications which are treated as part of the Canon. Of these, "Talks" was compiled in the mid-30s. Munagala Venkatramaiah, a resident devotee kept a note book and noted down the questions that were raised by visitors and Bhagavan's replies. This he did as a Sadhana during a troubled period of his life. Later they were collected and published in book form. Whatever may be the language in which the question was put, Bhagavan invariably answered in Tamil and these were translated into English. It is the English translations that were recorded in the Talks, with occasional verses in the other languages. But it contains only the questions and Bhagavan's answers- like a text book. Years later, they were rendered into Tamil by Visvanatha Swami. It may look odd that the words spoken originally in Tamil were recorded in their English translation, which were then re-translated into Tamil! But Visvanatha Swami was with Bhagavan since early days, was himself well learned and was thoroughly familiar with the style of Bhagava's speech; so we may consider his Tamil rendering as authentic. Since he was also present during most of those talks, he furnishes some information not in the original.
Bhagavan answered a variety of questions on all conceivable subjects, but we cannot take them all as "the teaching" of Bhagavan. The questions were invariably from the level and practice of the questioner. Bhagavan never imposed his teaching on any one on his own; he strengthened the questioner in his own belief and practice, though he would point out how in the end it all boiled down to knowing the Self! If some one asked about the Gayatri mantra, he would say that it was the highest in our system; if some one asked about mantra japa, he would say that it was effective, provided it was received properly and not picked up casually. If some one asked about repeating Ram Naam, he would agree.
But none of this meant that these were his teachings! The questions revealed the mind of the questioner, and Bhagavan would not unsettle them. The sages respond to each one individually and it would not be proper to take them as universal teachings..The pity is, most people only asked about what they felt and believed and practised, and very few really sought the teaching of Bhagavan himself! As Sadhu Om once pointed out, it was like school boys asking Einstein when he visited them about some doubt in their home work, instead of asking Einstein what he had discovered!
'Day by Day With Bhagavan' is the record of a diary kept by A.Devaraja Mudaliar, a devotee resident in the Asramam in the early 40s. He was clearly influenced by The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He wanted to maintain a record like that, but felt lazy. Then on the morning of 1 January 1945 three people suggested to him, within the space of about an hour, to maintain a diary of events that took place in the presence of Bhagavan. This appeared quite logical as he was often translating the replies of Bhagavan. Mudaliar was an independent spirit, and he was quite free and uninhibited with Bhagavan, calling himself " Ramana Sei" - the child of Ramana! He informed Bhagavan and started the diary. It recorded not only the questions of visitors and replies, but other events and conversations and discussions. In the beginning, he used to read out to Bhagavan the entries daily, but later gave it up. Though started in January'45, it contains only a few entries for the year and ends in January 47. It was lost for some time, and was published only in January,52, after Bhagavan's passing. It is an interesting chronicle and contains some reminiscences of the old days.
"The Letters" were a compilation of letters written originally in Telugu by a lady devotee, Suri Nagamma to her brother in Madras in the late 40s, towards the closing days of Bhagavan's Lila on earth. She was a pious and simple lady, had suffered much and come to reside near the Asramam and visit Bhagavan 's hall daily when women were allowed. She did not have much formal education, but had a literary bent of mind and could write in Telugu. She described the events that took place in the Asramam, some in the Hall where Bhagavan spent most of his waking hours and some general events. All the letters have a personal angle, and reveal the human side of Bhagavan, and also the mischief that some times happened. " O the Delight of the unlettered and the learned" sang Sri Ramalinga Swami.( " Kallaarkkum katravarkkum kalipparulum kalippey"). Suri Nagamma's letters reveal how an ordinary devotee received and enjoyed the grace of Bhagavan. The last days of Bhagavan recorded here are heart-wrenching.
The Ramana Literature cannot be closed without the mention of two more authorities. Arthur Osborne came to Bhagavan just after the conclusion of World War II, during which he had been interned in Siam during the Japanese occupation. His wife and children were already here in Tiruvannamalai during the time. Osborne was very learned and a serious spiritual practitioner. Coming to the Asramam, he received Bhagavan's grace and progressed fast in Sadhana. Later, after Bhagavan's Nirvana, he became the leading exponent and interpreter in English of Bhagavan's teaching.Three books written by him are essential reading: Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self Knowledge, Bhagavan's Teachings in His Own Words, and The Collected Works. There is a small book "Ramana Arunachala" containing articles on Bhagavan's continued presence and his method of teaching. Of all the writing in English, I have found Sri Osborne's most helpful for Sadhana. I owe three important discoveries to him:
People who attempted Sanskrit translation were of a Sakta persuasion, who did not follow the method of enquiry. Their translation was naturally full of howlers. They put some questions on topics which were not germane to Bhagavan's teaching and gathered the answers and published them in Sanskrit with the lofty title 'Ramana Gita'. But Ramana was very charitable, and did not engage in any corrective exercise. About the Ramana Gita, he simply said that the questions had been raised in a particular spirit, and he had answered accordingly. When the inaccuracies in the translations were pointed out, he simply asked the person why he himself could not undertake a translation! (He, Lakshmana Sarma did later, and his version was corrected by Bhagavan himself!)
Of all learned people who came to Bhagavan, Lakshmana Sarma and Muruganar came without any knowledge of traditional Vedanta. They asked Bhagavan to explain the 40 verses to them, and Bhagavan did explain them word by word, verse by verse. Their writings alone reflect the true teaching of Bhagavan, without any pigment of their own idea or imagination, belief or prejudice.
Muruganar deserves special mention. He was a great Tamil scholar of the traditional type, C.K.Subramanya Iyer being his original name. He was highly regarded by peers and made a member of the Lexicon committee. He was naturally endowed with poetic genius and was attracted by Gandhi's movement. But once he saw Bhagavan's ' Marital Garland' he was captivated by its poetic charm and sublime devotional mood. He understood that the writer could not be an ordinary person. He was working as a Tamil Pundit in Madras, and visited Bhagavan frequently, unable to depart from the presence.Bhagavan had to send someone with him to ensure that he boarded the train for his return! After his mother's demise in 1926 he gave up his job, came to Tiruvannamalai and till his demise in 1973, he was there, most of the time living by biksha. Somehow, the Asramam did not look upon him with favour for many years. He lived near, but not in the Asramam. But he would be sitting in Bhagavan's presence most of the time.
Bhagavan was not disposed to speak on his own. Whenever a sadhaka raised a question or doubt, and if it had a bearing on the sadhana and was not out of idle curiosity, he would answer, and his answer would be in Tamil. Our Muruganar would immediately note it down on any piece of paper available nearby in verse form. Later he would show them to Bhagavan and get his approval; where Bhagavan did not agree, he would correct them or even compose a verse on his own. ( In this respect, it exceeds even the Gospel of Ramakrishna in authority!) Thus grew a corpus of splendid verses which were collected together under the name "Guru Vachaka Kovai" - Garland of Guru's Sayings. If his Ramana Sannidhi Murai can be regarded as hymns (Stotra) in praise of Bhagavan, his Guru Vachaka Kovai constitute the sastra. This is the authority to look into regarding any doctrinal point about the true teaching of Ramana. It consists of more than 1200 verses of exquisite beauty in classical Tamil. Both the Sannidhi Murai and Kovai were seen and approved by Bhagavan himself and were published in his life time. Unfortunately, they were not encouraged or published by the Asramam and when an inmate published them on his own, he was sent out! (He was thus effectively prevented from entering Bhagavan's presence, but Bhagavan compensated him by visiting him in his place!)
But the services of Muruganar did not stop there. He was a natural poet, and his poetic instincts could not be suppressed. Bhagavan had directed it towards his own sadhana, realisation and experience. Out of this experience over the years flowed a steady stream of poems in classical Tamil which he wrote on any piece of paper, and kept in his trunk. Because of his humility and self effacing and retiring disposition, this was not known for a long time. But when finally seen and organised by earnest devotees, it ran into more than 12,000 verses! They were again published outside the Asramam, under the title 'Ramana Jnana Bodham', running into 9 volumes.
I have read Ramana literature since 1970, everything published by the Asramam, but nothing else comes any where near the works of Muruganar. If Mahendranath Gupta is the great M of Sri Ramakrishna, Muruganar is MM Sqare of Ramana!
He persuaded Bhgavan to write the 40 Verses and Upadesa Undiyar, which are the very foundation of the corpus of Ramana's teaching. He wrote the Sannidhi Murai in praise of Bhagavan's advent, which was recognised by Bhagavan himself as ' equal to Tiruvachakam'. As for the Kovai, just a small incident will reveal the esteem in which Bhagavan held it. Sadhu Natanananda wrote the introduction to the first edition in 1939 and in the end he wrote (in Tamil, I give the English translation):
Summing up, it may be said that this work seeks to explain in detail and in pure form the real nature and essence of the philosophy of Ramana.In Tamil, the Sadhu had said " idu enalaam". Bhagavan saw this and made the "idu" into " iduvey".Which means, instead of 'this work', it now reads, "this work alone" or 'only this work'! Bhagavan also called it 'preeminent scripture'. English translations are now available for these, but only for a part of Ramana Jnana Bodham.
I make a distinction between books published in Bhagavan's life time and those published since.Two biographies were published: one in Tamil by the poet-mystic Suddhananda Bharati, and the other in English by B.V.Narasimhaswamy. He went round collecting material from many sources, visiting many people and places. It is in the old Victorian style, which was then in vogue ( early 30s). Bharati's work is also in ornate poetic style. They were seen by Bhagavan during publication. But he was somewhat indifferent to clinical accuracy. However, like Sri Ramakrishna, he had revealed many incidents and details of his life in conversation with devotees. Unlike Sri Ramakrishna whose life was captured by M only during the last 4 years, Ramana had lived in Arunachala for 54 years. He was constantly surrounded by devotees, visitors and followers day and night, and he had no privacy at all. Many people had witnessed the events in the Asramam, but human nature is such that each is prone to put his own interpretation. We as devotees are concerned with his teaching, not the Asramam in his name. The Asramam is holy ground, but we cannot say Bhagavan is confined to that spot alone! Bhagavan himself wrote in a verse: Arunachala Ramanan, who resides in the lotus of the heart- ' agattaamarai malar meedurai Arunachala Ramanan'. If we keep our heart pure, He will come and reside there.
There are 3 other publications which are treated as part of the Canon. Of these, "Talks" was compiled in the mid-30s. Munagala Venkatramaiah, a resident devotee kept a note book and noted down the questions that were raised by visitors and Bhagavan's replies. This he did as a Sadhana during a troubled period of his life. Later they were collected and published in book form. Whatever may be the language in which the question was put, Bhagavan invariably answered in Tamil and these were translated into English. It is the English translations that were recorded in the Talks, with occasional verses in the other languages. But it contains only the questions and Bhagavan's answers- like a text book. Years later, they were rendered into Tamil by Visvanatha Swami. It may look odd that the words spoken originally in Tamil were recorded in their English translation, which were then re-translated into Tamil! But Visvanatha Swami was with Bhagavan since early days, was himself well learned and was thoroughly familiar with the style of Bhagava's speech; so we may consider his Tamil rendering as authentic. Since he was also present during most of those talks, he furnishes some information not in the original.
Bhagavan answered a variety of questions on all conceivable subjects, but we cannot take them all as "the teaching" of Bhagavan. The questions were invariably from the level and practice of the questioner. Bhagavan never imposed his teaching on any one on his own; he strengthened the questioner in his own belief and practice, though he would point out how in the end it all boiled down to knowing the Self! If some one asked about the Gayatri mantra, he would say that it was the highest in our system; if some one asked about mantra japa, he would say that it was effective, provided it was received properly and not picked up casually. If some one asked about repeating Ram Naam, he would agree.
But none of this meant that these were his teachings! The questions revealed the mind of the questioner, and Bhagavan would not unsettle them. The sages respond to each one individually and it would not be proper to take them as universal teachings..The pity is, most people only asked about what they felt and believed and practised, and very few really sought the teaching of Bhagavan himself! As Sadhu Om once pointed out, it was like school boys asking Einstein when he visited them about some doubt in their home work, instead of asking Einstein what he had discovered!
'Day by Day With Bhagavan' is the record of a diary kept by A.Devaraja Mudaliar, a devotee resident in the Asramam in the early 40s. He was clearly influenced by The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He wanted to maintain a record like that, but felt lazy. Then on the morning of 1 January 1945 three people suggested to him, within the space of about an hour, to maintain a diary of events that took place in the presence of Bhagavan. This appeared quite logical as he was often translating the replies of Bhagavan. Mudaliar was an independent spirit, and he was quite free and uninhibited with Bhagavan, calling himself " Ramana Sei" - the child of Ramana! He informed Bhagavan and started the diary. It recorded not only the questions of visitors and replies, but other events and conversations and discussions. In the beginning, he used to read out to Bhagavan the entries daily, but later gave it up. Though started in January'45, it contains only a few entries for the year and ends in January 47. It was lost for some time, and was published only in January,52, after Bhagavan's passing. It is an interesting chronicle and contains some reminiscences of the old days.
"The Letters" were a compilation of letters written originally in Telugu by a lady devotee, Suri Nagamma to her brother in Madras in the late 40s, towards the closing days of Bhagavan's Lila on earth. She was a pious and simple lady, had suffered much and come to reside near the Asramam and visit Bhagavan 's hall daily when women were allowed. She did not have much formal education, but had a literary bent of mind and could write in Telugu. She described the events that took place in the Asramam, some in the Hall where Bhagavan spent most of his waking hours and some general events. All the letters have a personal angle, and reveal the human side of Bhagavan, and also the mischief that some times happened. " O the Delight of the unlettered and the learned" sang Sri Ramalinga Swami.( " Kallaarkkum katravarkkum kalipparulum kalippey"). Suri Nagamma's letters reveal how an ordinary devotee received and enjoyed the grace of Bhagavan. The last days of Bhagavan recorded here are heart-wrenching.
The Ramana Literature cannot be closed without the mention of two more authorities. Arthur Osborne came to Bhagavan just after the conclusion of World War II, during which he had been interned in Siam during the Japanese occupation. His wife and children were already here in Tiruvannamalai during the time. Osborne was very learned and a serious spiritual practitioner. Coming to the Asramam, he received Bhagavan's grace and progressed fast in Sadhana. Later, after Bhagavan's Nirvana, he became the leading exponent and interpreter in English of Bhagavan's teaching.Three books written by him are essential reading: Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self Knowledge, Bhagavan's Teachings in His Own Words, and The Collected Works. There is a small book "Ramana Arunachala" containing articles on Bhagavan's continued presence and his method of teaching. Of all the writing in English, I have found Sri Osborne's most helpful for Sadhana. I owe three important discoveries to him:
- Bhagavan is indeed a Guru: There used to be a view widespread that Bhagavan was not a Guru since he did not initiate any one, and did not call any one his disciple. Sri Osborne obtained a categorical answer from Bhagavan that he did indeed act as a Guru.
- While any one may just call Bhagavan his Guru, it is necessary to obtain Bhagavan's approval and initiation, which came in definite form, known only to the devotee!
- We may keep and offer worship to the picture of Bhagavan- this is indeed a physical support of grace!
These observations of Osborne are not just his idea or opinion, but based on his experience, and confirmation from Bhagavan himself.
From 1964, Sri Osborne founded and edited the "Mountain Path", the journal of the Asramam. He continued as the editor till mid-70, when he passed away. He contributed the bulk of the articles in the initial years and later, obtained contributions from leading international writers. The magazine became a prestigious one. Its focus was not theory, but sadhana in the present circumstances of the world, based on insight from all spiritual traditions. With his vast learning, varied background, and practical spritual experience, he wrote on many subjects under various names like Abdulla Qutbuddin, Sebastian Gubbins, etc, besides the editorials. Mercifully, his writings have been collected and published in two volumes: For Those With Little Dust, and 'Be Still, It is the Wind that Sings'. No student of Ramana can afford to miss them.
There are three other books of Osborne: The Question of Progress, Buddhism and Christianity in the Light of Hinduism, and The Incredible Sai Baba.Sri Osborne is a realised soul and that shows in his writings. I bow to him.
Prof. K. Swaminathan is the other devotee whom we cannot forget. He was instrumental in publishing the Ramana Jnana Bodham of Muruganar, in the 80s and 90s. He also translated the two other works of Muruganar into English verse: Sanndhidi Murai as "Homage to the Presence"; Guruvachaka Kovai as "The Garland of Guru's Sayings". It is through these that I could study the original of Muruganar!
When there is an organisation, publication of books becomes an important activity and over the years, the quality of publications falls. There is also a tendency to publish translations, commentaries , commentaries on commentaries, etc. many of which are unnecesary.We have to be careful in selecting the reading material. For those who know Tamil, Bhagavan's own works are there in the original. Then we have the works of Muruganar and Sadhu Om. Sadhu Om's speciality is that he does not quote scripture or other authorities to explain Bhagavan's works- he explains them on their own. His writings render any other writing not only superfluous, but ridiculous. In English we have the works of Arthur Osborne. For one who is intent on understanding and practice, these are sufficient.
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