← Meetings with Sages and Saints

KRISHNA PREMI SWAMI (SRI SRI ANNA)

Life

Krishna Premi Swami, fondly addressed as ‘Sri Sri Anna’ was born in Chenganoor, a small village on the banks of River Manniar in Tamil Nadu, to the devout couple Venkatarama Sastri and Parvathi Ammal. Born on Lord Krishna’s Janmashtami (birthday) on 31st August, 1934, he was named ‘Ramakrishnan’. But, every one fondly called him ‘Ambi’. Later, as he grew up he was called Sri Sri Anna.

From a very young age, Sri Sri Anna demonstrated a prodigious gift for learning the Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas. He detested the regular school, and ran away from home after his first week there. He was then left under the tutelage of a learned Vedic scholar by his father around the age of seven. One day, this scholar asked him to repeat a portion of the Vedas, but Sri Sri Anna stopped after one of the sentences. When asked why he had stopped, Sri Sri Anna replied that one of the sentences had been left out as he was following the meaning of the mantra. The teacher was astounded at the ability of the boy to understand and follow the esoteric meaning of the Vedic text. When his father arrived the next day, the teacher remarked, “My teaching your son is merely a formality, as he is already knowledgeable.” True to that prediction, Sri Sri Anna soon mastered all the scriptures and started composing commentaries on them in Sanskrit.

During his childhood, he received a text-book on the Upanishads from a pious Brahmin priest. In it, he found a photo of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi with his name printed underneath it. He would gaze upon the smiling photo of the Maharshi and go into a state of silent ecstasy. From then on, he had very deep love and reverence for the Maharshi.

Equally evident to those who witnessed and recorded his childhood, was the divine nature and qualities of the young boy. He had an intense longing for God and spent many hours in solitude and meditation. He had mystical communions with saints like, Tulsidas, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and Bhodendra Swami - which strengthened his steadfastness. He had darshan of Lord Krishna along with His consort Radha. This conferred on him a deeper mystical communion: He lost normal consciousness for three days and pined for Sri Krishna as Radha would, even manifesting feminine qualities. After this experience, he became convinced that his mission was to reveal to the world that the path to attain the lotus feet of Lord Krishna was through ‘Bhakti’.

Around 1957, Sri Sri Anna visited a small drought-affected village near Tirukoilur, called Paranur. Despite its being a poor, remote area, Sri Sri Anna was struck by the depth of devotion of its villagers and intuitively felt connected with the village. He started visiting it more often and finally settled down there. The village got transformed into a haven of devotion – a veritable “Brindavan” itself. He conducted ‘Srimad Bhagavatha Saptaham’ (reading and discoursing on the text ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’ for seven days) regularly.

‘Bhakta Kolahalan’

Another remarkable incident took place during that period while Sri Sri Anna was in Paranur. A beautiful idol of Lord Krishna, which was originally found on the banks of the River Yamuna by a saint from Gujarat, was under the care of a businessman in Kumbakonam. Sri Sri Anna had a vision of that beautiful idol. He visited the businessman and asked him to give him the idol and was met with refusal. However, that night, Lord Krishna appeared in the dream of the businessman and directed him to hand it over to Sri Sri Anna. The very next day, the businessman reverentially handed over the idol to Sri Sri Anna. Sri Krishna was given the divine name ‘Bhakta Kolahalan’. A temple was raised in Paranur and Sri Sri Anna himself performed daily puja to it. Like all other saint-singers, Sri Sri Anna started composing songs on ‘Kolahalan’ ; and nearly a thousand songs have been composed to date!

While in Paranur, Lord Krishna appeared to Sri Sri Anna in his dream and instructed him to marry Madhurambal who lived in Paranur. Initially, Sri Sri Anna was hesitant as he felt the life of a householder would be a distraction to his mission, but another saintly person, Vasudeva Brahmam, for whom Sri Sri Anna had great regard, had a similar vision while offering prayers to Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati. Sri Sri Anna consented and the marriage was performed. Madhurambal is addressed with reverence as ‘Manni ’, by all the devotees of Sri Sri Anna. What he told Manni gives a glimpse into the true purport of his acceding to become a householder.

Sri Sri Anna: “This is the first night since our marriage that we are both alone. The full moon is adorning the entire Universe with its silver rays. The stars are glittering as pearls. The world is asleep. We should not be like the people of the world. If we while away our time by just eating, sleeping, and engaging in sensual pleasures, there will be no time to pursue the Truth. To know and realise the Absolute Truth – the Supreme Power – that is behind this inert Universe, is what we should strive for. Unless one’s life is spent for this, one’s very birth becomes a waste”.

“Due to the merits of umpteen births, we have become servants of our Lord Krishna. By living an ideal life of serving the Lord, both of us should reach the Lord’s Sacred Feet, together. This must be our aim.”

One of the first sacred places that he visited with Manni after their marriage was Arunachala. Sri Sri Anna climbed up the holy hill, along with Manni and seated on the rock outside Virupaksha Cave, gave specific spiritual instructions to her. Then, climbing down the hill to Sri Ramanasramam, he walked into the bookstore. Upon opening a book there, he found the same upadesa given by Bhagavan Ramana to his mother, Alagammal. Showing it to Manni, he remarked, “See, it is all written here:”

‘The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their Prarabdha karma. Whatever is destined not to happen, will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.’”

Sri Sri Anna felt his mission was to spread bhakti in India. To that end, he has travelled countless times from the southernmost point Kanyakumari to the north in the Himalayas, giving talks on and spreading Bhagavatha Dharma (glory of devotion to god). In addition to his tireless travels, he has composed nearly 40,000 verses in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi. According to his devotees, only the ancient Sage Veda Vyasa has composed more verses in Sanskrit !

Sri Sri Anna has also renovated many dilapidated temples and established trust funds to help maintain them. He founded ashrams in several parts of India, to spread Bhakti, giving total importance to ‘Nama Sankirtana’ (singing and dancing in ecstasy).

Despite being 85 years old now, Sri Sri Anna remains active and ceaselessly working. He continues to travel across the country, giving discourses on ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’. He says that his mission is to continue with discourses as long as he can.

Sri Sri Anna’s scintillating ‘Majestic Voice’ is surcharged with a spiritual power that transforms the devotees to a state of spiritual ecstasy !

Flower-offerings to Sri Sri Anna in Kanyakumari ( standing behind Sri Sri Anna is Gnanagiri Ganesan)

SRI SRI ANNA AND ME

EKADASI – 1

‘Vaishnava Ekadasi ’, ( the 11^th day after Full Moon and New Moon) started playing a special role in my life ! At Sri Ramanasramam, we gave monthly importance only to Masa Sivaratri, because of the pradosha puja to Lord Siva. Suddenly, the days dedicated to Lord Vishnu, every month, started becoming important to me! When I mentioned this to Kanakamma, she smiled and exclaimed, “Saivam Muththinaa Vaishnavam.” (“When devotion to Lord Siva ripens, it lands one in devotion to Lord Vishnu.”)

At that time, I was at Tiruchuzhi, the birth place of Sri Bhagavan, undergoing nature cure treatment that entailed fasting and total rest. Anuradha accompanied me. In that nature care centre, named after Sri Bhagavan, we were given a small hut each, with a bed where one is supposed to be most of the time totally resting – no bathing, eating, talking and if possible, no thinking – complete silence -- merely staying still – ’Summaa Iruttal’ !

We completed the first three days of fasting with difficulty. Two days after that, there was ‘feasting’ – albiet only on soups and steamed vegetables, in restricted quantities! Another round of three days of fasting was going to commence, when Swami Ananthananda most cheerfully announced that our Ekadasi round was starting! We had good satsang with Swami Ananthananda who was running that institute. He too loved Sages and Saints.

Our good friend, Gnanagiri Ganesan from Sivakasi arrived to have sadhus darshan and brought along with him a cassette player and tapes containing spiritual discourses of Krishna Premi Swami, who is fondly addressed as Sri Sri Anna! He said that he always listened to Sri Sri Anna’s tapes on all Ekadasi days. Gnanagiri Ganesan, Anu Ma and I started listening to the first tape titled: “Madras Bhagavatham”. The entire side of ‘A’ of the tape was like a commentary on Sri Bhagavan’s ‘Who am I ?’ We listened very intently - the narration was breath-taking! Anu Ma and myself uttered at the same time: “It feels like Sage Sukha himself is narrating ! ”

L to r : Smt.Narmada,Swami Ananthananda,VG,Smt.Chitra - in front of Tiruchuli temple

Swami Ananthananda came in to suggest to us that we all better rest; but, stayed back to listen to the Bhagavatham. His assistants, Chithra and Narmada, who came in to give us pranic healing too stayed back to listen. The space inside the hut was fully packed by the afternoon! The recognition came that we were not going to take rest from our listening to the tapes. So, one more cot was placed in the corner of the room for Anu Ma. The subsequent three days of fasting flew by like three minutes! We had no idea that the contents of ‘Bhagavatham’ could be so Vedantic and Advaitic!

We continued to listen to Sri Sri Anna’s remarkable expositions with deep dedication and total absorption. ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’ touched the core of our Hearts, with its richness of Vedantic truth. His Ramayanam meanwhile, melted our hearts to sink into the Self. His hilarious narration of Mahabharatham made us laugh to the hilt. His talks on Bhagavad Gita were so highly evolved in its content that we were wondering to whom Sri Sri Anna was delivering such an invaluable treasure!

We had planned to stay for only fifteen days. But, we went on to stay in a trance for thirty-three days, as we felt we were thoroughly being blessed by the ‘Sacred Voice’ of Krishna Premi Swami !

EKADASI – 2

Back at Sri Ramanasramam, a lot of work was pending and as such we were buried in it for a few months. One fine morning, Swami Ananthananda arrived at our Ashram from Tiruchuzhi along with the auditor Gopalakrishnan and insisted that we take him to Tirukoilur, 20 miles from Arunachala, to show him the sacred places where Sri Bhagavan had got His jyoti darshan, his meal from the temple drummer and the house where he had pledged his ear-rings. We went along with them in their car.

After showing Swami Ananthananda all the places hallowed by Sri Bhagavan in that temple city and while we were preparing to return to Arunachala, the Swami was suddenly attracted to the tall, majestic towers of the Ulagalandha Perumal temple in the centre of the town. All of us went in and stood in the presence of the huge, imposing idol of Lord Vishnu standing with his right foot lifted up to the sky. It was a divine and moving sight! The priest who did the puja to the Lord on our behalf, held the aarti plate in front of us and enquired whether we had come to have darshan of Sri Sri Anna. As we looked askance at him, he explained that devout devotees travelling to see Krishna Premi Swami on Dasami night, stopped in the temple and then went on to spend Ekadasi with Sri Sri Anna.

It was then that we realised that the priest was talking about the ‘Sacred Voice’ we were all listening to in Tiruchuzhi! He said the village, Paranur where Sri Sri Anna lived, was only eleven kilometres from Tirukoilur. It was a very pleasant surprise to know that the Saint lived so close to where we were! I firmly believe to this day, that it was the Lord Ulagalandha Perumal who directed us to Sri Sri Anna’s presence on that day!

The road that led us from Tirukoilur to Paranur village was a mud bund. In the twilight, we felt we were ‘crossing the seven hills and the seas’ to reach there! On entering the village, we felt as if we had also crossed over several centuries into a hoary past, into the ancient times of Vedic Rishis! A pious man was seated on a raised platform of a small temple, and in front of him sat devout men and women, facing him. All of them were chanting ‘Vishnu Sahasranamam’ (the Litany of 1008 holy Names of Lord Vishnu). It felt like ‘Eternity frozen into a moment’ !

After all the devotees went away for dinner, Swami Ananthananda introduced me to Sri Sri Anna, the man seated on the raised platform, as Bhagavan Ramana’s grand-nephew. Sri Sri Anna gave a most gracious nod of his head in welcome. I asked him if he had seen Sri Bhagavan. He answered, “If there was one person on earth whom I wanted to see, it was Sri Bhagavan. But, I was not able to do it, as I was still a dependent on others and lived far away from Arunachala.” He said he was about 8 or 9 years old when he was presented with a book on the Upanishads in which he saw a picture of Sri Bhagavan with his name. He added, “Every time when the Upanishad revealed an aspect of Truth to me, I would turn the pages and look at Sri Bhagavan’s picture. It would confirm and establish me in that state of Truth.” He talked to the four of us about Sri Bhagavan and his glory for thirty minutes and concluded, “What is the wonder if Sri Bhagavan gave his state to pundits like Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni or Jagadeesa Sastri ! What is remarkable is that he granted that state even to the dogs Chinna Karuppan and Jackie!”

After listening to this enthralling story, we were prepared to leave. Sri Sri Anna insisted that we return for Ekadasi celebrations the next day. We did. We witnessed his tireless nature that started at four in the morning and continued unabated until eleven at night! The day included activities of singing, prayer, puja, dancing, and a divine lecture. On that day, an old devotee of Sri Sri Anna had completed reading the great epic Ramayana for the 100^th time. To honour and celebrate it, Sri Sri Anna decorated the idol of Sri Krishna to look like Lord Rama (with bow and arrows in His hands). He observed the whole day as an adoration of Lord Rama. As a special offering to Lord Rama, he delivered an inspiring talk on ‘Rama Hridayam’ – the Sacred Heart of Lord Rama. Every event was scintillating and elevating!

Sri Sri Anna asked me, at the end, “Did you enjoy the decorations and pujas to the Lord, with all its grandeur?” I replied, “I enjoyed only your dedication and devotion to the Lord. In the process, I did not notice Him at all. I was absorbed in looking at you!” Sri Sri Anna blessed me with a gracious smile, “Yes! Do that alone; and, always!” Even after many years, every time I am in his presence, he insists that I sit close to him and be looking at him! A true blessing, indeed!

A few months later, Sri Sri Anna commanded us to follow him on his Sapthaham pilgrimages all over India – Chennai, Kadayanallur, Rameswaram, Tiruppullani, Kanyakumari, Bangalore, Kashi, Haridwar, Sukhatal, Brindavan, Mathura, Delhi, Senganoor, Kumbakonam, Sivakasi, Nava Tirupati (nine Lord Vishnu temples), Govindapuram, etc. Until then, I had not done any such extended pilgrimage. This was a new spiritual experience for me - to go with a Saint to places of religious and spiritual importance and have the greatness of each place expounded and explained by him either through a public talk or in a private conversation. Never had I visited so many pilgrim centres, worshipped at so many old temples, or had dips in so many sacred rivers!

“…..would walk slowly down the street to beg for ‘unchavritti’…..”

EKADASI – 3

Almost every Ekadasi from then on, we went to Paranur to be with Sri Sri Anna. He was exceptionally kind to us and would spend a long time alone with us. On those occasions, Sri Sri Anna would voluntarily narrate to us the spiritual experiences he had during his earlier days. Every time we took leave of him, he would fondly say, “Let us meet often!” [ “அடிக்கடி சந்திப்போம்” ] Only on our first trip, we stayed overnight for Dwadasi and attended all the religious activities.

Dwadasi was always less crowded and since Sri Sri Anna had fasted the whole of the eleventh day, Ekadasi, his lunch was very early. On the morning of Dwadasi, he would walk slowly down the whole street – from house to house – followed by the singers singing his compositions on Lord Krishna, to beg for ‘unchchavritti - food for him and his family’s daily living – rice, dal and a few coins.

We formulated a routine of visits to Paranur either on Ekadasi afternoons for his evening talk or in the early morning on the next day for witnessing the unchchavritti on Dwadasi.

That day, it was a very crowded Ekadasi. So, we could not enjoy the special privilege of free access to Sri Sri Anna. However, we utilised the ‘missed’ opportunity by enjoying a long narration on Sri Sri Anna by his long standing and ardent lawyer-devotee, Kuppuswami Iyer. He freely shared with us some of his early experiences with Sri Sri Anna:

Kuppuswami Iyer

“Pravachanams (discourses) in those days meant seven days of total dedication to Srimad Bhagavatham. Sri Sri Anna was Sage Sukha and all of us were Parikshit. He would do parayanam of Bhagavatham from 7 to 9 in the morning and then, without giving a gap, he would narrate the story and clarify its nuances up to 12 noon. After lunch and a little rest until 3 p.m., he would again continue the pravachanam until 5. After giving a gap of two hours for performing the evening ablutions and having dinner, he would commence his discourse at 7 p.m. and continue until 1 or 2 in the morning. At 5 a.m. he would himself do the puja to the idol of the Lord. That is how he treated his body and also taught others in those days! By the time it all ended on the seventh day, the whole village or town would be so ecstatic with Bhagavatham that they would feel as if they were literally living with Lord Krishna!

“Once, there was a pravachanam at Coimbatore. A mill owner had invited him to give discourses on Bhagavatham. He had also instructed his workmen at the factory to attend the pravachanam for a few minutes, since he wanted some sizeable audience to be present, at least to start with. In the normal course, the workers would not have stayed beyond ten or fifteen minutes. But, they could not move away as they were all literally enchanted by the story of Sri Krishna. The following day, the workers told the mill owner that they would work overtime and compensate the time they attended the pravachanam! Sri Sri Anna could relate to any kind of crowd.

“On the third day, moved by the workers’ love for Sri Sri Anna, the mill owner garlanded him and presented him with a tray of clothes and coins, at the beginning of the narration. Sri Sri Anna did not notice what was in the tray initially. But when he looked pointedly at it, he saw the gold coins. Uncontrollable sadness and anger overpowered Sri Sri Anna. He tried to get over it by reciting dhyana slokas, in addition to five or six verses from the text. But nothing could contain his emotion. He stood up and declared, ‘Today, I have sold my Bhagavatham. As such, it refuses to come out from my Heart!’ Coming down the dais, he told one of his students to continue the narration of the story and then walked out through the back door of the mill, stood in front of a provision shop and begged for money to go back to Paranur. A devotee ran after him, caught up with him, took him to the bus stop and put him on a bus to Paranur. Next day, the mill owner went to Paranur and begged him for forgiveness. Sri Sri Anna smilingly said, ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. My Kitta (Sri Krishna) called me urgently, so I had to come away!’

“Year after year, the same mill owner without fail arranges for the pravachanam. Sri Sri Anna obliges unhesitatingly and all the labourers still listen to his ‘Kitta’s’ story!”

When Sri Sri Anna agreed to expound Srimad Bhagavatham in Chennai for the first time, perhaps in 1972, the organisers arranged it in a big hall and invited the then High Court Judges. Chairs were provided for those eight or nine V.I.Ps. Behind them sat the rest of the audience. When Sri Sri Anna came, and took the dais, he saw the arrangements and could not proceed further than uttering a few dhyana slokas. He said, “I have committed the crime of taking the holy Bhagavatham to the market”. Then, he abruptly got up and went inside. Mrs. Soundaram Kailasam, wife of Justice Mr.Kailasam, and a great scholar and an orator in Tamil, confronted him about why he should give room for the thought that the expounder alone be given a raised seat and not the listeners.

Sri Sri Anna calmly replied, “I mingle with everyone. Krishna Premi is an ordinary man. He is equal to everyone else. But, Srimad Bhagavatham is above all of us. Deep respect should be shown to the sacredness of the Scripture. To make my point clearer, I will tell you what happened in my own life some years back. A Muslim friend wanted me to explain to him a passage in the Quran. Some Christians too used to approach me in those days for clearing their doubts in the Bible. Since this Muslim friend had to go immediately, I told him that I would visit him and explain to him in a day or two. In those days, I used to walk from village to village and would not take any conveyance. On my way to Kumbakonam a few days later, I went to his house. He received me and made me sit with him in the hall. He had kept a copy of the Quran reverentially on an ornate, X-shaped altar. Suddenly, his youngest son picked up the holy book and started walking away with it. My friend went up to him, washed his feet and hands, prostrated to the child, took the Holy Book from his hand and placed it back on the altar. I was watching all this with great admiration. He then came back to me, apologised for the delay and started talking. Please note, he prostrated to his own child for just carrying the Holy Book in his hand! Should we not place a person who carries the whole text in his Heart in a higher place? So, the respect demanded was not for me but for the holy Srimad Bhagavatham!”

EKADASI – 4

In January, 1998, Anu Ma, Srividhya Ma and I went to Paranur. Sri Sri Anna was very cheerful, though he looked tired, as he had just rushed to Paranur for Ekadasi from Chennai, where he was giving a series of talks on the eleventh chapter of Srimad Bhagavatham, which highlights pure Jnana Marga from the Uddava Gita, among other things. He himself started talking about how well the discourses turned out to be - almost to the extent of making us feel guilty for having missed them. Sri Sri Anna, however, gave us a gist of all that he had spoken in Chennai: “It is wonderful how everything came out, especially the part on Guru Kripa, Guru’s Grace.”

“….. who carries in his Heart the whole ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’…..”

When I expressed my sincere regret for having missed that great opportunity, Sri Sri Anna looked at me sternly, though compassionately and advised, “Do not move out from ‘Ananda Ramana’, your home. You need not even go to the Ashram if you do not feel like it. If you do not like meeting with people, refrain from doing so. Just be with yourself! I will come and see you.” After a pause, he gave a glance of grace and added, “Yes! ‘Smaranath Arunachalam’, say the ancient texts. It is enough if you merely think of Arunachala.

Sri Sri Anna and Manni at ‘Ananda Ramana’ (my residence)

“One need not do anything else. Wherever you are placed spatially, it is enough just to think of Arunachala and He will fill you with His presence! That is the true greatness of holy Arunachala!”

So rejuvenated did he seem by the very ‘thought’ of Arunachala that he started narrating to us some interesting reminiscences with enthusiasm, “From boyhood, I have been expounding Srimad Bhagavatham. Even in those days, great scholars would wonder how I could do it at such a tender age. I used to look normal and play with other children of my age on the streets. But, the moment I sat for giving discourses, spiritual matters of the highest order would flow through me! Once, Vaidhyanatha Sastri of Sri Ramanasramam came to the village, on coming to know that a youth was expounding on Srimad Bhagavatham. He arrived in a bullock cart. At that moment, I was chewing fresh sugar cane by the road along with the other children of the village. He enquired about the youth who was expounding Bhagavatham. The other children pointed me out. When the time came, I went and sat on the platform and started narrating the chapter on ‘Jadabharata’. I started elaborating on the various nuances of Jnana Marga with effortless ease. After the exposition, Sastri gave me a big hug and told the audience that the youth was not an ordinary pouranika (expounder), but a great Jnani !”

Sri Sri Anna continued enthusiastically, “Once, I wrote to the elders in the same village expressing my willingness to conduct the Bhagavatha Sapthaham there. A reply came from them stating that they would all be busy since it was harvest time and that I was welcome to conduct it after that. The same day, I received an invitation signed by all the children of the village urging me to go over there and expound Srimad Bhagavatham to them. I was very much moved. I went and told the children that they alone should come for the pravachanam and, no elders were permitted. The joy of the children knew no bounds. I did not stay or eat in any of the houses. The children brought food in a tiffin carrier and we all ate it together. The women folk too used to bring lots of eatables in many containers. We used to share everything, laugh, dance, sing bhajans – we had a wonderful time! No elders could come in as we used to lock our room from inside. The children enjoyed listening to the discourses, as I was very careful not to miss the essence while making the heavier and more difficult portions lighter. The children refused to let me go. They became very fond of me and my expositions! Before I left, the elders apologised profusely to me. I explained to them that I was not angry with them. Instead, I got the opportunity to test whether Srimad Bhagavatham could be made understandable even to little children. I was happy I could succeed by His Grace! The elders then said that thenceforth I could come at any time of my choice and conduct Bhagavatha Sapthaham in their village!” Sri Sri Anna happily concluded, “So, see! I could rejoice giving expositions equally - both in the presence of learned scholars and innocent children!”

We all prostrated to Sri Sri Anna!

EKADASI – 5

It was a lovely, rainy day! We met Sri Sri Anna at Tirukoilur and asked him if we could come to Paranur the next day. He answered, “Come after two days. Due to rains, all roads to Paranur are heavily water logged. A little sunshine will dry them up.” An American couple, Somnath and Soma Devi, staunch devotees of Sri Bhagavan and Poonjaji, were with us. They had expressed their desire to meet with Sri Sri Anna after hearing about him from us.

When we reached Paranur, Sri Sri Anna was inside the temple listening to Srimad Bhagavatham being recited by others. He was very serene, silent and solemn. After some time, he gestured to us to follow him to his room. We introduced the couple to him. Anu Ma said, “They are staunch devotees of Poonjaji. Once, Somnath wrote to Poonjaji, saying, ‘I hold you, Papaji, as my only Beloved. I feel I am unable to adore you as my guru, teacher, master or friend. My heart melts with the bhava that I am your Gopi. Reveal thyself to me as my most precious Beloved.’ Papaji too admired it very much and gave his approval with a welcoming smile.”

Listening to this, Sri Sri Anna became very happy and addressed Somnath in Tamil through me: “The highest expression of even Jnana is only as between the beloveds - the mathura bhava. Bhagavan Ramana too, gave his outpouring, Aksharamanamalai, assuming himself to be the bride and his Guru – Arunachala -- as his bridegroom. The highest order in Jnana is Unity. This is effortlessly reached through mathura bhava’.” From that moment, Somnath became his focus of attention until we left Paranur in the afternoon. He presented him with two volumes of Srimad Bhagavatham in English and two more English books – one on his teaching and the other containing his Sanskrit outpourings (with English translation) on the Sages and Saints of India.

Referring to the name Somnath, Sri Sri Anna continued, “Somnath is the name of one of the twelve Jyothir Lingas in North India. It is near the other Jyothir Linga Kshetra, Omkarnath. Many decades back, when I was not known, I went and did intense tapas in Omkarnath. It is situated on the banks of River Narmada. I stayed in a choultry. In the night between 10 and 2, I used to go upstairs and get totally absorbed in meditation. Those were glorious days of ‘solitude’. I used to notice that even before I went upstairs, a Westerner was there in deep meditation. He would be seated there before I reached and would vanish by the time I opened my eyes! One day, I deliberately stayed alert and caught him. The Westerner knew a little Hindi and so I succeeded in conversing with him. In reply to my specific question about how he was attracted to Omkarnath, he replied, ‘The spiritual thirst came to me more than fifteen years ago - I chose to quench it in India. I toured all over India, visiting ashrams and holy places. During that time, I was fortunate to be blessed with the darshan of a Jyothi at this very spot! The brilliance of that Jyothi gave me complete spiritual fulfilment. From then on, whenever I had enough money to travel, I come to Omkarnath. I don’t go anywhere else in the world. Since then, I have been repeatedly blessed by this Jyothi. Omkarnath is truly a great punya bhoomi (sacred place)!’

“In fact, all over the world, in every country, such sacred places still exist. But in other countries, there are no Saints to pinpoint those places and glorify them. In India, Mahatmas identify them and encourage true aspirants to live there and have genuine spiritual experiences which will lead them to spiritual fulfilment. Westerners do have perseverance and one-pointedness. Indians should imbibe this trait from them! Tell Somnath and Soma Devi that I am very happy and pleased to have met them.”

At Paranur : ( l to r) Anuradha,Manni,Sri Sri Anna,Ganesan,Somnath,Soma Devi

After some time of silence, he turned again to me and said, “You don’t like crowds around you, while I rejoice in their midst! But, both are the same. I too immersed myself in complete ‘solitude’ years back. Once, circumstances demanded that I be confined to a room for a long period without anyone else. I was completely absorbed in silence! I gradually came out of this phase by slowly familiarising myself to speaking little by little. As far as I am concerned, the essence of experience in ‘solitude’ or in a ‘crowd’ is identical. In the former, one is established all the time in inner poise and in the latter, one revels in outer equilibrium. Thus, in the highest experiential sense, the Jnana of the Jnani and the pure bhakti of the bhakta are identical!”

Anu Ma then interjected, “Bhagavan calls, Bhakti as the mother of Jnana – Jnana Mata!” Sri Sri Anna appreciated this. I was, however, in my own way, reminded of J. Krishnamurti’s emphasis on the need for both solitude within and relationship with others, outwardly.

Sri Sri Anna was so taken up by Somnath’s sincerity that he permitted him to take as many pictures of himself as Somnath wanted! He showed genuine concern that we all should return to Arunachala before heavy rains broke out again. Somnath and Soma Devi felt totally humbled by the simplicity, spiritual magnitude, munificence, and grandeur of Sri Sri Anna!

EKADASI – 6

As usual, myself and Anu Ma were in the presence of Sri Sri Anna at Paranur on an Ekadasi day. It is an extraordinary privilege to be alone with him in his room. He has always been kind to us by inviting us to his room, every time. That day, Sri Sri Anna was surging with grace and joy.

He said, “Rejoice in being conscious of Awareness. This is the essence and meaning of the Vedic statement, ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’ Existence—Consciousness—Bliss”! The Scriptures say that the unmoved all-powerful ‘Brahman’ expresses Itself as ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’. What does it mean? Since the ‘Whole’ – the ‘Brahman’ – permeates all that exists, nothing is left out without containing these three spiritual aspects of the ultimate Truth.

“How? Let us take a simple, everyday example. When one is attracted to an object, how exactly does the act of attraction to the object take place? Let us view a laddu (a sweet) as the object. The laddu is there. It exists. You recognise it as a laddu. You are conscious of it. And, you like it immensely. You enjoy the bliss of eating it. So, even in an inert object, like the laddu, Sat-Chit-Ananda is explicitly experienced! It exists (Sat), you are conscious of it (Chit), and you enjoy eating it (Ananda).

“Thus, in many aspects of daily life too, the experience of Sat-Chit-Ananda is revealed. With this understanding, let us go deeper within and rejoice in Sat-Chit-Ananda. You are always soaked in Sat-Chit-Ananda. If you fully grasp this simple fact, you would have taken the first step to being established in the Truth!”

We both looked at him with intense reverence. Sayings of Sages and Scriptural statements abound with the Truth. They are not ‘statements’ but ‘states’ to be directly experienced by the aspiring seeker.

On another day, too, Sri Sri Anna clarified, “Even serious spiritual aspirants have one doubt: How did the all-pervading ‘Whole’, the Brahman, get caught up as an individual soul (jiva) within a human body? The explanation is very simple:

“Consider : There is a large, clean wall. You draw a small circle on it with a coloured chalk. Having drawn it, you wonder, ‘How did the wall come inside the circle?’

“Firstly, you defiled the clean wall by drawing a circle on it. This is the same as taking your body to be your Self. The wall was already there. It did not come into the circle. The superimposed demarcation of limiting yourself as the body has caused all the confusion.

“Actually, there is no room for any confusion, as the ‘Self’ has always existed - the ‘Self’ alone exists and the ‘Self’ alone will ever exist ! Fully cognise that whenever you are not conscious of the body – as in deep sleep -- you continue to exist as the Self. The Self is the only continuous Truth. All the rest are partial truths. It is like the example of you and your shadow. Both exist, but with this difference - you are existence itself, whereas the shadow ‘appears’ to exist. ‘You’ are the Truth and your ‘shadow’ is only a partial truth ! ”

“Pay full attention to the I AM and not to ‘I am this name’ and ‘I am this form.’ Give up your identification with the ‘body’ and all problems are instantly solved. You will then be constantly established in the Self. Sri Bhagavan firmly declares that ‘Awareness alone is the I AM. Experience IT by remaining as the ‘Self’ all the time. Give up the ‘I-am-the-body’ idea.”

EKADASI – 7

Our regular pilgrimages to Paranur – either on Ekadasi or Dwadasi – gave both of us true inner joy! On such occasions, we would mostly stay until evening, listen to the chanting of Vishnu Sahasranamam in the presence of Sri Sri Anna. And, when we took leave of him, he would occasionally ask us whether we have seen Ulagalandha Perumal. In course of time, we also became intensely devoted to Ulagalandha Perumal and having his darshan.

The temple archaka (priest) got used to our visits. An additional reason for him to be attached to us, was that one of the boys he knew was studying in Sri Ramanasramam Veda Pathasala. Once, the priest exclaimed the true greatness of the Perumal. His right foot is lifted towards the heaven, while His left foot is rooted on the earth.

A drop of water from the big toe of His right foot being worshipped by the celestial beings in Heaven, formed the huge River Ganga. Ganga once flowed only in heaven - delighting the celestial beings. It was King Bhageeratha who brought Ganga from heaven to earth. Since we both are deeply devoted to Ganga Mata, this imposing standing idol of Ulagalandha Perumal (a 20-foot wooden Idol) became the focus of our devout attention!

On one such visit to this temple, when we entered the sanctum sanctorum, the priest came to me after taking the aarti. Usually, he would only talk to Anu Ma. On that day, quite unusually, he addressed me: “They have planned to cover the entire form of Perumal in pure gold. The devotees have voluntarily undertaken to take up the cost of gold to cover the entire form, except the lifted foot. In fact, many are ready to take it up also. But, Perumal has instructed me to ask ‘you’ alone for that gold. So, take up that kainkarya (donation) and get blessed by Perumal.”

Ulagalandha Perumal (Lord’s Right Foot reaching the Heaven)

When I stood still unable to answer either way, noticing my predicament, Anu Ma offered her gold bangles. But the priest refused to accept them and firmly reiterated, “The gold must come only from him,” and pointed his finger directly at me! We returned home without a clue about what to do, as we both knew very well that I did not have any gold!

Ravi Ramanan

On reaching home, Anu Ma suddenly remembered that two years back, my brother’s son, Ravi, had gifted me a piece of gold on his return from abroad. He put it in a corner of my puja shelf. I had totally forgotten about it. Fortunately, Anu Ma found it after searching for it.

We both went to Paranur and narrated the whole incident to Sri Sri Anna. He seemed very pleased. He joyously exclaimed, “In the Vaishnava tradition, it is said that Perumal talks through the archaka. You are fortunate. You have been chosen. If you have brought that piece of gold with you, come, let us all go to Tirukoilur and hand it over to the ‘Jeer’ Swami who has undertaken this huge task. He is the right authority to receive it.” We all went to the residence of the ‘Jeer’ Swami and Sri Sri Anna handed over the gold piece to him. The Swami offered us dinner and noted down our address.

The next Ekadasi was Vaikunta Ekadasi. We knew that there would be a very huge crowd both at the temple and at Paranur. Hence, we went to Paranur the previous evening itself. Sri Sri Anna received us with extra-jubilation, saying, “Come! We all will go to Ulagalandha Perumal. They have adorned Him entirely with gold. Ganesa! Your contribution of gold on His lifted, right foot, glows. Tomorrow, it will be very difficult to enter the temple and have darshan. So, let us go now itself and have an exclusive darshan of Perumal.” Saying this, Sri Sri Anna, got into the taxi, in which we had come from Arunachala, like an excited child!

How can I describe that glorious event of being exclusively in the presence of Ulagalandha Perumal who was adorned in gold! That too, with only the three of us standing in front of Him and receiving His blessings in abundance! On that sacred spot, I offered prayers on behalf of Ravi without whose gift we could not have had this tremendously exhilarating spiritual experience! For the three of us, that previous night itself was Vaikunta Ekadasi!

While writing this at this distance of time, I again offer my prayers that Ravi who departed from us three years ago, be blessed to reside in ‘Vaikunta’ -- the abode of Lord Vishnu in Heaven !

Sri Krishna’s instruction to Uddava : “ I AM in the ‘Hearts’ of My devotees”

EKADASI – 8

Sukhatal must be the most unspoilt village in India. Except for loud-speakers blaring constantly, nothing modern has invaded the place. The narration of Srimad Bhagavatham in different languages fills its air. The sacred river Ganga Mata that encircles Sukhatal, flows slowly and softly as if lingering to listen to the Great Epic! There is also a huge 30-foot statue of Hanuman standing and looking at the village from the banks of Ganga Mata. One wonders when the illustrious Hanuman started listening to Srimad Bhagavatham! This is the holy place where the original Srimad Bhagavatham took place - Sage Sukha is said to have narrated Srimad Bhagavatham to King Parikshit who was cursed to die in seven days. The King’s non-stop, attentive listening to the narration, made him an immortal hero of Hindu mythology!

It was in this sacred place that Sri Sri Anna was discoursing on the Srimad Bhagavatham from sunrise to sunset. Pundits would chant its verses for an hour and Sri Sri Anna would then explain, almost line by line, ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’ and its rich contents.

On the last day, upon my request, Sri Sri Anna went into detail about Uddava and the efficacy of Lord Krishna’s upadesa to Uddava, in ‘Uddava Gita’. He drew as many similarities between Hanuman, the devotee of Sri Rama and Uddava, the devotee of Sri Krishna. Both, Hanuman and Uddava, spent their whole lives serving their Masters. The former was sent as a trusted messenger to Sita and the latter to Radha. Both were Jnanis and both were also left behind to spread the dharma.

Uddava asked Sri Krishna, “When you depart from this mortal coil, Oh Lord, where will I find you? Where will I seek for Thee?” The Lord replied, “Go to my temples, Oh Uddava! I will be residing there. And, if you are in any doubt as to where ‘My temples’ are, they are in the ‘Hearts’ of My devotees. Therefore, go to where My devotees are, seek Me in them, for, through them will I ever manifest Myself in this world!”

The ‘Bhagavatha Yagna’ ended with what the ‘Bhagavathas’ call the ‘Avabrutha Snaan’, where the main idol (Sri Krishna) which sat listening to the ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’ for seven days, was carried by the narrator to the Ganga Mata for a holy bath.

Three hundred devotees walked in front and behind Sri Sri Anna, singing, “Radhe Shyam, Radhe Shyam”, at the top of their voices. Sri Sri Anna became God-intoxicated and started dancing with the idol placed in his hands. The devotees also went into ecstasy at this sight and started dancing while walking backwards facing Sri Sri Anna and the idol towards the Ganga Mata.

Sri Sri Anna in ecstasy (in Chaitanya bhava)

I went very close to Sri Sri Anna to look at the idol, for the first time in seven days! He was in the form that Srimad Bhagavatham describes as having appeared in front of Mother Devaki – a small baby with four arms. He had a very sweet smile, as if he was enjoying the whole situation! Despite the countless sapthahams of Srimad Bhagavatham that must have taken place in Sukhatal, I am sure, the village would not have seen such a madly ecstatic procession as this!

Sri Sri Anna was in a divine trance when he placed the idol on the bank of Ganga Mata and bathed Him first. Then, placing Him on his head, with both his hands clasping the idol he walked into the Ganga Mata, and dipped himself three times in the holy river with the idol on his head. Every one got into the Ganga Mata with their attires on.

I too took a dip, with the prayer that I one day taste at least a drop of Sri Sri Anna’s devotion!

EKADASI – 9

Brindavan Ekadasi is the most auspicious and fervently observed Ekadasi in Brindavan. The incident of protecting the King Ambarish, from the wrath of Sage Dhurvasa by the Lord’s chakra (discus) took place in Brindavan on that day.

That day at 3 o’clock, when Sri Sri Anna started Srimad Bhagavatham, he gave strict instructions that everyone should have a copy of Srimad Bhagavatham and follow it as it was chanted. I was quite worried about this condition. The paramount book in my life had always been The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi in Tamil -- “Sri Ramana Nool Thirattu”. I didn’t want to add another book to it. He repeated this instruction three times during his discourse that day.

After the discourse, Sri Sri Anna announced that he was going for darshan of Sri Krishna in all the temples and that all were welcome to follow him. But there was one condition – they all should chant ‘Radhe Shyam’ all the time to the exclusion of any other talk or sound! He then proceeded to walk majestically like a lion through the main streets of Brindavan, accompanied by the thundering reverberation of ‘Radhe Shyam’, drawing the onlooker’s wonder struck attention.

It was very different from that of Sukhatal. There, he himself was not there. Here, he was fully there - dancing with wrist movements, catching everyone’s attention with his eyes and drawing them to him! All the three temples that he went to, received him ceremoniously. In every temple, he made Manni along with her twenty students sing the song composed by the saint of that temple to its deity. The temples’ traditional managers were very moved to hear the almost forgotten compositions!

Elder son Sri Hari with Sri Sri Anna in ecstasy

Younger son Sri Rangan devoutly following his father

Paranur Village

Sri Sri Anna’s 80^th Birthday celebrations

It was an unusual scene when Sri Sri Anna started at 7 the next morning – the audience stood up in the hall for a sankalpam (an undertaking) that each one of them would read the Srimad Bhagavatham regularly. Sri Sri Anna took the book from each person, blessed it and gave it back. Some, even got their copy signed by him. I did not go anywhere near him and sat as far away as possible, leaning on the wall.

When the whole crowd settled and the reading started, he beckoned me with his eyes and put out his hand for my book. I gave it – The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi. He went through it, very slowly, making me stand like a bad student in a class room! After leafing through the whole book, asked me for a pen. I looked helplessly around. Fortunately, someone lent me one. Sri Sri Anna wrote in it, “May Sri Bhagavan’s Amrita-like (nectar like) words ever remain sweet in your Heart !” I felt most blessed!

Next day, Sri Sri Anna called me again and browsing through my book, said, “There is Srimad Bhagavatham in this!” I replied, “Yes! In Ulladu Narpadu Anubhandham, Sri Bhagavan has taken two verses from Srimad Bhagavatham and translated them into Tamil verses.” I then recited them, softly to him:

“That which is the Support, the Self, the Source, the Purpose and the Power of all this world, the Reality behind all these appearances, That indeed exists. Let that, the Truth, abide in our Heart.”

- Invocation: Reality in Forty Verses – Supplement

* * * * *

“Holy rivers – which are only water; and, idols – which are made of stone and clay are not as mighty as the Sages are. For, while they make one pure in the course of countless days, the Sages’ eyes by a mere glance purify at once.”

- Reality in Forty Verses – Supplement, v.3

EKADASI – 10

The fourth day after Brindavan Ekadasi, was the Raasa Leela festival. Sri Sri Anna’s narrations on Sri Krishna’s Gokula and Brindavan leelas (sport) brought Lord Krishna alive before every one’s eyes! The next day was the celebration of the most sacred Raasa Leela - Sri Krishna’s dance with all the gopis.

There was a lot of expectation in the air that night! Hundreds of devotees had come from all over. Brijavaasis (local girls) – from the age of 8 to 16 years -- were dressed up as Gopis, with the ashta sakhis and a very beautiful Radha standing calmly in their midst. Their costumes and make-up had been personally overseen by Manni.

Sri Sri Anna started singing Saint Jayadeva’s Ashtapati, which describes the rapturous scene – the full moon, the gentle, slightly chilly breeze blowing on the creepers, the jasmine buds just blossoming, the river Yamuna reflecting the whole scene and Sri Krishna playing on His flute! Standing behind the idol of Sri Krishna, Sri Sri Anna beckoned the little girls, who danced and sang from Ashtapati. When they were supposed to hold each other’s hands and dance in a circle, Sri Sri Anna went and joined them. He became joyful like a little boy!

He then beckoned Manni with his eyes. Both stood in the centre and nodded invitingly at the older Brijvaasi women. About 25 of them made the second circle around the little girls and started singing their local Raasa Leela songs. The Tamil devotees, getting jealous and excited, commented, “This is quite an unusual Raasa Leela. Anna has never permitted older women to dance with him!” When the song was about to be over, Manni nodded to all her kitchen assistants and older friends to join. About forty of them made the third circle. Amidst them, was a famous Abhang singer, who takes care of the Panduranga temple in Chennai. (She is the only person that I have come across, whose voice is ten times louder than that of Anu Ma’s!) Sri Sri Anna signalled to her and she started singing one of the most unusual Tamil folk songs:

“Upon waking, Baby Krishna’s eyes shone – ‘Pala Pala’ Crawling sleepily searching for His mother, His side-bun moved – ‘Saanju Saanju’ His bangles hit against each other that sounded – ‘Kinu Kinu’ His anklets of the feet dragging on the floor went – ‘Jilu Jilu’ The pendant of His chain swinging upon His chest dangled – ‘Minu Minu’ Finding His mother churning the butter – ‘Chala Chala’ He held on to the churning rod for His milk with a pretentious cry Getting mad at her with rod broke the pot – ‘Pada Pada’ Stealing some butter, running away from mother – ‘Gudu Gudu’ Seeing the atrocities, the heavy mother chasing behind Him – ‘Dabu Dabu’ Bound to the grinding stone He crawled along effortlessly through the two trees, breaking them – ‘Mada Mada’ Liberating the arrogant gandharvas Upon singing and dancing on Him, may He Liberate us too!

“…..stealing some butter,running away from mother…..”

She sang and made the others repeat every line after her. The childlike narration of the story made everyone drop their inhibitions. Soon, the fourth and the fifth circles of dancers formed without even being invited! The first circle went around clockwise, the second anti-clock-wise, the third clockwise and so on.

Manni got into the bhava (mood) of Sri Krishna, picked up the Idol, held it in front of her face, and started running around Sri Sri Anna – Gudu Gudu! One, Kamakshi Maami, the sarvadhikari of the dining hall, assumed Yasoda’s role and started chasing Manni around Sri Sri Anna. The singer not wanting to stop the singing amidst such mirth and joy, went on singing the lines again and again, until it was lingering in every cell of everyone’s body. The dancers were so perfectly co-ordinated that it seemed as if they had rehearsed together for years!

In the centre, Sri Sri Anna intoxicated with the rhyme of the singing and the rhythm of the dancing, moved to the bhava of Saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, with his palms thrown up towards the sky, head tilted upward, ecstasy expressing itself through every pore of his body! In response to this, the 200 ladies dancing around him seemed none other than the gopis!

“…..Sri Sri Anna seemed like the very Creative Force…..”

The formation resembled a huge lotus flower with multi-coloured petals made up of gaily dressed women. Sri Sri Anna seemed like the very Creative Force around which everything – animate and inanimate – revolved. The men were trying to peep at the spectacle from every nook and corner like the celestial beings of the mythological Krishna Leela!

It was sheer joy all through! It enabled me to understand, perhaps for the first time, the meaning of Sri Bhagavan’s sacred words: “In the inner core of everyone’s Heart, Arunachala, the ‘Presence’, dances in stillness!”

A sense of abounding joy gushed through my whole being! A state of pure Ananda prevailed throughout my stay at Brindavan!

VANAMALI *

Oh! Vanamali! Wilt Thou dance with me? Wilt Thou walk beside me on the Shore of Infinity? Wilt Thou partner me in the Dance of Eternity? Oh! Vanamali! Wilt Thou hold my hand on stony paths and thorns? Wilt Thou teach me to play the game of the soul? Oh! Vanamali! In the ‘Raasa Leela’ of Life, wilt Thou dance with me? My former-partner! My sole support, my only Friend, Oh! Vanamali! Wilt Thou guide me through the tragedy of Life? Through the comedy of Death? Into the Deathless Realm, Where game and players merge into ONE…Into Thee, Oh! Vanamali! My only Love! ^*Wilt Thou dance with me?

^* Sri Krishna

Vidya and Sankar (newly married) being blessed by the ‘presence’ of Sri Sri Anna and Manni at ‘Ananda Vana’ (Anu Ma’s residence)

EKADASI – 11

In 1995, I left Sri Ramanasramam, whose noble seva I had committed myself to do from 1960. Stumbling out of that safe and protective world of mine, I travelled to scores of pilgrim centres and took dips in holy waters of India – mostly in the holy company of Sri Sri Anna. This continued for seven years until after my heart surgery ( in 2003 ).

Previously, Yogi Ramsuratkumar protected me, stayed in my life for ‘seven years’, thus saving me from intense suffering. Yogiji even guided me during that period to go away from Arunachala to holy Kashi for a year! I would run to Yogiji almost every day, carrying my intense mental agony like a child running towards its mother. He too, like a true mother, graciously took me under the cool shade of his gracious umbrella, until all my problems were totally resolved! What love, what compassion, what blessing!

While Yogi Ramsuratkumar was soft like a mother, Sri Sri Anna was stern and majestic like a father! Yogiji would ask me what he could do for me. Sri Sri Anna, on the other hand, would warn me, “You should not give importance to the vagaries of the mind and the demands of the body.”

Once, Sri Sri Anna visited us. Seated in Anu Ma’s swing at her house, ‘Savithri’, he requested her to do the evening parayanam there itself, saying, “This too is the Ashram!” Kanakamma, Srividya, Jnanasundari and Parvathamma were also there. Anu Ma started reciting ‘Bhagavad Gita Saram’ – 42 verses, selected and translated by Sri Bhagavan into Tamil.

After listening with keen attention and reverence, Sri Sri Anna gave an absorbing and scintillating talk based on the selected verses, using Sri Bhagavan’s own Tamil words. It was a sheer blessing to hear it.

Then, Sri Sri Anna turned pointedly to me and said, “Do not accept namaskarams (prostrations), adorations and praises of admiration from anyone. They will keep you in bondage to them. You are ever free from any form of binding and bondage. Be free! Be like a thief! Hide away from attention of people. You are the Self. Abide in the Heart, wherein Sri Bhagavan resides as the ‘Inner Guru’. Surrender yourself only to the ‘Inner Guru’, who is guiding you from within, all the time. Be the Self!”

I went into a deep and joy filled silence!

Another day, we both were at Paranur. That was truly a sacred day. I went into the room of Sri Sri Anna along with Anuradha. The ‘Saint of Paranur’ was glowing with the brilliance of Jnana, Bhakthi, Yoga and Karma. We were both filled with peace and bliss. We deeply felt that we had had a remarkably wonderful session of spiritual clarity! When the time came for us to take leave and return to holy Arunachala, he rose from his easy-chair and gave us prasad of fruits. Before receiving it, I prostrated – filled with spiritual fervour.

Though he permitted it to happen, Sri Sri Anna compassionately chided me, “Are you cheating me or cheating yourself? Why all these prostrations? Are we ‘two’? Is there anything else other than the ‘Oneness’, the ‘Whole’, the ‘Purna’ ? You and I are never different - ever! When you come here and stand along with others in the crowd, I feel insulted. I call you, make you sit next to me so that you feel there is no separation between us. ‘You’ and ‘I’ are ‘ONE’ !”

Then, in a state of ecstatic benediction, Sri Sri Anna quoted Sri Bhagavan’s Tamil verses 4 to 10 from Bhagavad Gita Saram:

“I am the Self, O Gudakesa, dwelling in the Hearts of all beings. I am the beginning and the middle and the end of all beings.” (x:20)

“For to him who is born, death is indeed certain; and, to him who dies, birth is certain. Therefore, you should not grieve for the inevitable.” (ii:27)

“Bhagavad Gita: Sri Krishna instructing Arjuna in the battlefield”

“Invulnerable He is, not to be burnt, not to be drenched or dried. He is eternal, all-pervading, changeless, motionless, enduring.” (ii:24)

“Know that which pervades all this to be indestructible. That immutable none can destroy.” (ii:27)

“The unreal has no being, the Real has no non-being. These two facts the Truth-Seers perceive.” (ii:16)

“Just as the all-pervading ether, being subtle, is not affected, (tainted or contaminated) (by anything), even so, the Self pervading the whole body is not tainted.” (xiii:33)

Listening to Sri Sri Anna’s exemplary talk on that day and being in his Grace-filled presence, elevated each one of us to a spiritual state of ecstasy.

How fortunate I am, and for that matter, every one of us, that Grace guides us, in the form of Sages and Saints!

Following, adhering to the sacred words of Sri Bhagavan, let us abide in and as the Self:

“What IS, is only Grace. Abide in the Self.”

“…..in the spiritual presence of the powerful Sage…..”

After a few days, we went again to Paranur, to be with and to soak ourselves in the spiritual presence of this powerful Sage! The previous evening, I had gone around the Holy Hill Arunachala and while crossing ‘Panchamukha Darshana’, the following two verses gushed forth from my Heart! On return to “Ananda Ramana”, I wrote them down.

When we reached Paranur and entered his room, Sri Sri Anna extended his hands as if demanding something from me, with a broad smile and a Heart brimming with Love, Grace and Compassion. I placed these verses in his sacred palm.

“இன்று இங்கு இப்போதே இருப்பாய் இருந்து ஆழ் உள் ஆனந்தத்துள் என்று பணித்திடும் பகவான் ரமணர் பரனே -- பற்றிடு! நீ கன்றுக் குரங்கு நல் தாய்ப் பூனை ஞான நாதன் ரமணனே நன்று நில் பூரணனாய் அருள் உற்று”

(“Bhagavan Ramana, now commands you to dive within into the Ocean of Bliss by remaining ever as the ‘Awareness per se’ - HERE and NOW - consciously, as ‘IT’ alone is the Eternal Truth! ‘It’ alone is God Himself.

“To successfully abide by His commandment, you have to necessarily make the effort of ‘clinging' like the baby monkey to Him. On His part, He assures you that like the ‘mother cat’ He will complete the process of your Perfection by taking you to Self-Realisation - the Truth of Wholeness.” )

“என் உடல் உள்ளத்துள் உணவூட்டுஞ் சீரோங்கு தோன்றலே என் உயிருக்கு ஒளிசேர் களி பொழிக் -- களஞ்சியமே உன் உயிருக்குப் பிறப்புண்டோ உளத்திற்கேதான் இறப்புமுண்டோ உன் உயிரின் உயிரே ஆத்ம அழகே அன்பே வாழியவே ! ”

( "You, who hail from a Culture Supreme, have been energizing my body and my soul! You, who are yourself a ‘Rich Treasure’, have been enriching my Heart, with bliss and lustrous glory, awake! Can there be birth for the soul given to me? Neither can there be any ‘trace of death’ for the Heart given me by You? You truly are the ‘Life Force’ of your ‘Life Being’ ! Oh! Beauty of Self! Oh! Fullness of Love! YOU ever live as BEING!" )

He read them, kept them with himself; and, said :

“They are the Truth showered on us by Lord Arunachala! ”

Panchamukha-darshan (divine view of ‘Five Faces’ of Arunachala) -- an important landmark on ‘Arunachala giripradakshina’