Mother Azhagammal
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by A. R. Natarajan
The Mountain Path, Vol. 27, Nos. 1 & 2, May - June 1990
The scene is the Hillock, Pavazhakunru. Ramana had left his uncle Subba Iyer's house at Madurai twenty eight months earlier, after his 'Death Experience' in July 1896. Azhagammal had come in the sure faith tflat her motherly love would be sufficient to persuade Ramana to return. She had no idea of the supreme state of her son. Ramana's physical condition, the matted hair, long nails and a dirty body covered by a cod-piece confirmed her resolve that she should somehow 'save' him. Ramana was fully aware of his filial duty. Besides, Ramana always gives in return a thousand-fold more than what he receives. What indeed could be the true gift of a Jnani to his mother? To give her his own state, of course. Ramana could, however, readily see that she was not yet ripe for it and he was not the one to thrust spiritual benediction when one was not in a condition to receive it. This
is not to say that the mother was not evolved, Her womb had nurtured the unique Ramana. Such a blessing was impossible but for ardent tapas which she must have performed over several lives. She had a generous heart and was all too ready to share, along with her husband Sundaram Iyer, her wealth with the poor and needy. She also had grounding in Vedantic ideas. But for all that, she was not ready for the final spiritual assault. Her motherly pride and love were dominant. Hence, Ramana let her go back, let her obey the Karmic law. But at the same time he made her his first disciple by giving her a written message pregnant with meaning. The message was that the ordainer is everywhere administering a just law. Wisdom would demand acceptance of the law as it unfolds. The seed had been sown. It was bound to work.
They met only years later for a day in Virupaksha cave up on the Hill. Azhagammal asked for a boon, a child for her youngest son Nagasundaram. This suggests clearly that she had come to recognize the stature of her son. It may be because she had a vision of him as Siva bedecked with snakes or it might have been because of the universal reverence in which he was held. But this marks a special stage, for, reverence for the guru is a pre-requisite. This made it possible for her to surrender to Ramana later, when she came to stay permanently with him.
A year later mother came again, on her way to a pilgrimage to Tirupathi. Her faith in Ramana's powers had grown for she had asked for a boon and it had been fulfilled. During her stay she became seriously ill with typhoid. The son then became the mother. Ramana attended on her with utmost care. Her life had to be saved for she was not yet ripe enough to receive the gift of liberation. So the phenomenon, the only instance of a prayer by Ramana. The pray to ostensibly to extend her her life-span. At there was the undercurrent that this fresh lease of life which was being sought was onlyt in order that she may be consumed by Arunachala, 'the blazing fire of knowledge' as he himself had been consumed.
The final chapter in their relationship began in 1916 when mother decided to place herself fully in the hands of her ascetic son. She came to Virupaksha cave and refused to budge. She just had to be in his physical proximity. Ramana too knew that the time had come for him to take over. Hence his consent for her staying with him over-ruling the ignorant protests of the inmates. In 1896, she had come to claim him as her son. Whereas now, she had come to surrender herself to him as her guru and entrust herself physically and spiritually to his custody. From then on, it was no longer a relationship between mother and son. It was that of a Sadguru and his disciple. The love showered by Ramana on all women made it clear to her that in his state, all women were his mothers and that there could be no special exception to this. Her orthodoxy got eroded, thanks to the daily lessons of Ramana's compassion which knew no distinctions. Azhagammal gradually evolved from being Ramana's mother into being the mother of the Ramana family to begin with. Later she blossomed as the universal mother. The master's devotees and the visitors were her children to be fed and cared for. Every needy person was her ward. When requested by her daughter Alamelu to come to her home for a house-warming function, she firmly said that her place was at Ramana's feet and that she did not care if Ramana threw her dead body into the bushes. She also told Ramana that she wanted to die in his arms. From these remarks it is clear that her faith in him was unqualified and complete. She was ready and could therefore profit fully from Ramana's spiritual ministration.
On the historic day, May 19, 1922, when she lay dying, facing death, Ramana took over the solemn assignment of liberating her from the travail of births. With his left hand placed on her head and the right hand on her heart, he sat for full twelve hours when mother was battling with her tendencies. Literally there was a fast forward of the experiences of her future life which she would have had to go through. The whole gamut was condensed into a few hours. She fought bravely, working out her karma. Ramana had in him the power to destroy the balance of karma. But he let mother battle it out for effort is necessary and inescapable till the last breath till one learns to hand over the baton to the Sadguru. This would serve as an example for all seekers who cannot afford to take it easy till effort is no longer possible. Thanks to the omnipotent power and grace of Ramana her life-force was absorbed in the Heart. She became a jivanmukta. Ramana had repaid his debt, and in what a way! He had rendered a service to the mother which is unparalleled in spiritual history!
When Ramana moved over from Skandashram to Sri Ramanasramam in December, 1922, he explained that the same force which had brought him to Arunachala was responsible for his moving over there. The construction of the Mathrubuteswara temple over mother's samadhi, which was possible only because of the tireless efforts of Sri Niranjanananda Swami, had the backing of Ramana's grace.
Now we have two shrines, the Mother's shrine and the Ramaneswara Mahalingam. For all appearances they are visibly two temples. But are they really one or two? Ramana's power had intermingled with that of the mother at the time of her liberation. The two had merged. If only we can lose ourselves to this force, where can there be any question of deaths or births?
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