Sankarammal
There are no records of Sankarammal. We know that she was a child widow who became a cook. All child widows in India were advised to think about God, to read about God and to visit temples. Sankarammal was a brilliant girl. She discovered for herself that to seek God meant to seek the truth because although there are innumerable gods, there is only one universal truth. This is what she felt even as a very young girl.
When in her teens, her brother, the only sympathetic and understanding person in her house, introduced her to spiritual texts like Kaivalya Navaneetam and Yoga Vasishta. These texts confirmed her staunch conviction that although there are hundreds of gods and goddesses according to Hindu teachings, there is only one truth. The texts also confirmed her belief that one could have access to truth only with the blessings of a guru. Sankarammal also gained an insight into the Advaitic exposition that truth always exists as awareness. This insight induced her to go within herself to experience it.
Sankarammal visited many temples and holy places. However, she was pining to experience the truth and this she knew would be possible only when she reached the feet of a guru. She was not in a position to communicate this yearning or this knowledge to anyone. However, could her guru Ramana make her struggle any more? Soon, her brother took her to Arunachala to visit the temple of Arunachaleswara. And what happened there? The brother and sister were in the sanctum sanctorum worshipping the Lord in the form of a linga, when a priest, out of the blue, commented, “Oh, so both of you have come to pay homage to Ramana Maharshi.” Sankarammal was hearing the name for the first time in her life. Yet, she felt ecstatic and lost all sense of body consciousness for a few moments. Her brother realized this and took her to Ramanasramam.
When Sankarammal stood before Bhagavan, he looked at her with a gracious smile which seemed to ask, “Did it take you this long to come to me?” Many other old devotees have also confirmed that this was what Bhagavan’s gaze communicated to them. Sankarammal found in Bhagavan all the attributes of a jnani or a realized soul as described in Kaivalya Navaneetam and Yoga Vashishta. With the very first gaze, she knew that this was God in the form of a human being. When Bhagavan smiled at her, she felt certain that he was also her guru. She had longed for a guru in order to experience the truth, and here she was finally in his presence. This kind of ecstasy has been described in Kaivalya Navaneetam and Yoga Vashishta as the highest state of realization, for it is a state in which there are no thoughts - only the thoughts given by the master. Sankarammal decided that she would stay on at the ashram and serve her guru for the rest of her life.
Sankarammal had never asked for anything in her life; she had never asked even her brother for anything. It was at his behest that they visited the various temples and sacred places. She had followed the dictates of Hindu culture, which says that a sister must obey her brother. Now, for the very first time in her life, she felt that she had to ask for something. She told him, “Brother, please leave me here to serve my guru.” Sankarammal’s brother understood her yearning to be with a guru and serve him. He at once went to the ashram office. The sarvadhikari Chinna Swami was there looking rather worried and discussing a serious matter with the members of the ashram staff. They were saying that Santhammal the ashram cook was going away from the ashram for some time. They were wondering who would do the cooking with so many visitors around and with other VIPs also expected. This was Bhagavan’s grace! When Sankarammal’s brother told Chinna Swami that his sister wanted to stay in the ashram, he immediately asked, “Will she cook?” Sankarammal joyously agreed and stayed on at Ramanasramam.
Sankarammal had many chances to remain in the vicinity of Bhagavan because he often visited the kitchen. She was delighted because Bhagavan was the fitting example of a jnani. His every movement was beautiful and perfect - his look, his gait, his gestures, even the way in which he kept down a cup. Sankarammal’s state had always been one of inner felicity, and she kept a low profile. That is why her name is not mentioned in any of the records. When the kitchen assistants were individually interviewed and photographed by Chalam, she didn’t permit him. It is however worth pointing out that she remained in a state of perpetual joy, be it while attending to her work or sitting quietly in a corner in the kitchen. She was always in a state of peace.
After my graduation in 1956, I stayed on in Ramanasramam till I found a job. I was twenty years old at the time; two years went by, and I still did not have a job. Bhagavan made me his apprentice! I was asked to attend on the devotees, the sages and saints who came to the ashram. My school teacher, T. K. Sunderesa Iyer took on himself the task of giving me this training. He not only introduced me to saints and sages, he also introduced me to the old devotees of Bhagavan. It was then that I noticed Sankarammal who was then in her sixties. She was always seated in a corner. She hardly uttered a word. (In fact, she didn’t even speak much with Bhagavan when he was still in the body. There was a reason for this. Bhagavan poured his grace on her by his mere glance, so there was no necessity for words.) Physically unattractive, she was a thin, dark skinned lady with a dour demeanour. As she was not sociable, nobody approached her. In spite of all this and perhaps because of Bhagavan’s grace, I was always attracted towards her. I would sometimes enter the kitchen and sit next to her, but she would remain silent. Finally, one day, I told her, “Tell me about Bhagavan.” I persisted till she ultimately opened up.
She said, “Bhagavan’s silence was his direct teaching. He taught Self Enquiry to those who could not comprehend his silence; so Self Enquiry actually takes a secondary place as far as his teaching is concerned. He imparted his teaching of silence by his mere grace filled glance. This is the look that Muruganar and others refer to as his glance of grace. There was never a need to talk to Bhagavan. He made me mature gradually and steadily. All of Bhagavan’s devotees extol Bhagavan’s look of grace; however, even that look was an external expression of his inner silence. Silence was the state of Bhagavan and his direct teaching was only through silence. Those who received his message of silence had no need whatsoever to talk to him, much less a need for his instructions. How can I possibly express in words the mysterious working of Bhagavan through silence?”
I was not prepared to leave her in peace. I was drawn towards her like an iron filing to a magnet. I noticed that she was always tranquil and quiet. She did a meticulous job in the kitchen and never stirred out of it. I was insistent in my questioning. I always asked her, “What state are you in? You are not in a state of samadhi because you are very active. You are open eyed, yet in a state of silence. What is that state? Will you please tell me?” Sankarammal was not only astute, but stern. She was totally lost in her work. She did her work with great care and focus. She was never found talking to anyone. These made others avoid her, but it had the reverse effect on me. I was strongly drawn towards her. The more I became acquainted with her, the more I came to hold her in high esteem. I was convinced that she was an extraordinary person, and therefore I requested her to tell me the secret of her perfect equipoise. After several persistent efforts, she finally relented. She revealed, “I was myself puzzled at this inner felicity that I have and which is extolled in our scriptures. I was doubtful about this state because you see I am an ordinary woman. The scriptures state that even sages and saints perform penance for years before attaining this blissful state. I wondered, am I really in that state?” Bogged down by such doubts, but unsure of whom to ask, she waited for the opportune moment. One day, after breakfast, she found herself alone with Bhagavan. She was pondering on how to find out from him whether she was genuinely in that extraordinary, tranquil state. But, how does one ask? A truly realized soul will not put forth questions like, ‘Am I in that state of realization?’ As Sankarammal prostrated before Bhagavan, she felt a verse of Kaivalya Navaneetam spring from within her. The verse was the one in which the guru asks his disciple to come out with what he has understood. The disciple addresses the guru with folded hands thus: “O Lord! You are the reality, the truth, remaining as my very innermost Self, ruling me during all my countless births. Glory to you, who have taken a human form to redeem me through your teaching and grant me this perfect state of inner felicity. I do not see how I can repay your grace for helping to liberate me. Glory, glory, more glory, to your holy feet!”
When she recited this verse, Bhagavan looked at her with compassion and said, “What is there to doubt?” and then continued, “Yes! Yes! The reply is in the very next verse.” The next verse says that the guru was ecstatic after listening to the explanation of the disciple. The guru bid him to come near and embraced the disciple and said, “To stay fixed in the Self, in the state of this inner felicity without experiencing the three obstacles of ignorance, uncertainty and wrong knowledge is the highest recompense you can pay me.” (There is a translation of this book in English. I would strongly recommend that everyone read this dialogue between the guru and the disciple. This small book is in two parts. The first part describes the guru giving instructions to the disciple about the ‘I AM’ experience, and the disciple grasping it. In the second part, the guru asks the disciple to explain to him what he has understood. The explanation given is not an intellectual one, but an experiential one. That is why Kaivalya Navaneetam is so important.) Sankarammal looked at Bhagavan, and Bhagavan again looked at her steadily for a few minutes. Sankarammal’s eyes were teeming with tears as she repeatedly prostrated before him. She told me, “Ever since, I have been in that state. There are no thoughts.”
No matter how much we read - whether it is about the teachings of Jesus Christ, or the Buddha or Ramana Maharshi - we always maintain a distance from the teachings because we think that it is not possible for us to follow the teachings. This is the intellectual limitation of human beings. We tell ourselves, “It is possible for Jesus Christ, the Buddha and Ramana to be so, but do I stand any chance?” I had the good fortune of being in the proximity of Sankarammal till her end, so I was able to imbibe much from her. She lived the truth, and therefore I received a lot of clarity from her.
Once, I requested Sankarammal to select some significant verses composed by Bhagavan to help me in my sadhana. Instantly, she sang two verses in Tamil from Bhagavan’s Marital Garland of Letters: (v.79) “Let me not like a ship without a captain flounder in the storm. Guard me with your grace, O Arunachala!” (v.81) “Don’t be a mirror held in front of a noseless person. Lift me up and embrace me, O Arunachala!” Even before I could ask her about their significance, she explained, “Initially, seekers feel two deficiencies in themselves. One becomes conscious of the lack of perfection in oneself, and secondly, one doesn’t understand how to overcome the insurmountable obstacles one faces while doing sadhana. Both plunge the seeker into desperation. With these two verses, Bhagavan removes such apparent fears. Total surrender to the higher power is the only panacea for all spiritual illnesses. If wisdom is compared to pure milk or nectar, surrender is the vessel which holds it, preserves it and makes it one’s own. Surrender helps one plunge into one’s inner being.”
Sankarammal was fully conscious when she died. She closed her eyes and gave up her body with a smile! Death did not terrify her. When she was asked to give her blessings, she smiled and said, “What is this talk of giving and receiving? Remain in the state of inner felicity that you already are, and always are in.”