THE SAGE OF ARUNACHALA
By Ratna Navaratna
THE light of eternity, Para Sivam, transcendence merging in
the immanence of Sat-Chit-Anandam, formless form of Siva
that eluded the search of Brahma and Vishnu. Into its
resplendence was drawn the youngster of sixteen,
Venkataraman. The call of the Father was promptly obeyed
by the son of Matrubhuteswara.
He had done little sadhana [?]. He made no vows, but vows
were made for him. The youngster did not leave home in
search of happiness, nor was he seeking a solution to life's
sufferings as did Prince Siddhartha. The son of Alagu-
Sundaram set out on a homeward journey, from the citadel
of Sakti, Madurai Meenakshi, to the abiding dwelling of
the Father, Arunachala Siva, the eternal flame of Pure
Awareness. Saint Pattinathar sings of the self same
experience thus:
I followed in the footsteps of the gracious Mother,
Till at last, I was led to the Father-Lo!
The Mother, I no longer remembered.
Bliss was mine. This is Nishtai indeed!
O Kanchi Ekambaranatha!
For fiftyfour years, the son moved about as the radiant
smile of Arunachala Siva. He stood as a tree on this mount of
transfiguration. Like sage Trisanku, immortalised in
Sikshavalli of the Taittreya Upanishad, he declared:
I am the Tree of life, the splendour,
The Mountain's crowning glory;
I am its eternal support and auspiciousness,
The light of the brilliant sun. my treasures are
Luminous wisdom and nectar of immortality.
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After a poignant period of total withdrawal, the young
swami ushered in a new race of mankind with the age-old
query of "Who am I??" (Naan Yaar?) indicating the spiritual
quest for personal and social regeneration. His technique of
Self-enquiry awakened the inner consciousness of man by
stilling the mind. Saint Tayumanavar thus describes this stage
of Awareness in his adoration of the mouna guru, "Chintai
yara nil, or freed from the fetters of thought, be still".
People came to him for illumination and peace. From all
walks of life at all stages of inner growth they came. And he
was accessible to them all. They came for solace, world-weary
and exhausted, some hopefully and some casually. He set them
all at ease by his compassionate look and drew them gently
out of the quagmire of delusion into the inner sanctuary where
the heart rules with the subdued mind in attendance. From
the enlightened muni they learnt "that one illimitable force
alone is responsible for all phenomena we see and for the act
of seeing them". They acclaimed him as the Dakshinamurthi,
the Jnana Guru, of our age.
The "Who am I?" quest leads to the direct realization of
the Self -- Siva, Siva. It is the heart of the Saiva faith to
recognise the eternal not as obscured, but as revealed, by the
transient, and to hold infinity in the palm of one's hand, to
see the One unborn in every birth and the One undying in
every death. "Find out who you are and then ponder no more
on the tragic brevity of your mortal tenure or on the transience
of all things seen and known", is the injunction of Bhagavan.
Basking in the sunshine of his grace, his robust family of old
and young, learned and unlettered, cows and peacocks, live
and grow as That which is responsible for them all. I am that
I am, the experience of true Being-Awareness, lies embedded
deep within each one, breathing the breath of eternity,
whispering the music of peace, throbbing with power to meet
the challenges of life.
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True awareness is the Infinite Eye
Which sees no other, no duality,
No good and evil, object and subject,
Time, space or seed and fruit of deed.
Thus it came to pass that Ramana Maharshi embodied and
spread anew the message of Arunachala. He pines not.
Passions sway him not. Never for a moment does he forget
the Self. He unfolds every moment the natural virtue of Self-
giving. In Walt Whitman's words:
I do not ask the wounded person how he feels;
I myself become the wounded person.
. . . . . . . . .
I understand the large hearts of heroes,
The courage of present times and all times.
I am the man, I suffered, I was there.
Let us not forget that the constant meditation on the source
of our being calls for loving kindness, and an active radiation
of goodwill in all directions and towards all forms of life.
Bhagavan's sadhana [?] of Self-enquiry cures us of deafness to
the still sad music of humanity, gives us courage to confront
the giant agony of the world, saves us from the tendency to
be self-centered, uncharitable and ill-tempered. Know who
you are. Return to the source. Dive into the depths of your
being. Saint Karaikal Ammaiyar, in that exquisite poem,
Atputha Tiruvandadi, unfolds the majesty of the Supreme Siva,
perfect awareness.
The Knower is Himself, the object known.
Himself, the knowing too Himself.
Object, subject, all the universe.
He alone the sole Reality.
Bhagavan's experience of his being as Pure Awareness
released a fount of all-fulfilling love and power. The old
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meditation hall continues to this day to be the central power
station, transmitting the Master's love and wisdom. The
sanctum of the Matrubhuteswara temple and the Samadhi mantapam
of Bhagavan vibrate as dynamic power centres,
so that all who meditate or worship there pick up
spontaneously the bliss of Sat-Chit-Anandam.
The preceptors of sanatana dharma prescribe diverse forms
of sadhana [?] in order to attain the goal of Self-realisation, such
as study, dhyana [?], tapas [?] and bhakti [?]. However, in this age of
split personality, it seems most natural that the science of the
Self should be learnt by investigation and experiment in the
laboratory of the mind. The jnana marga [?] and the vichara [?]
method are the most appropriate to humanity today. Bhagavan
is a modern Upanishadic seer, pointing to Arunachala as the
symbol of Satyasya Satyam, the pure I AM which shines in
silence, Self-effulgent.
He who, his ego gone, knows through and through
I, the first person, subject substantive,
Combined with `AM', the predicate of being,
He indeed and he alone is the true knower.
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