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Sundarammal

“Sundarammal belonged to a wealthy Telugu family of Madras. She married young but lost her husband soon after. As a widow she continued to live at home, surrounded by the love of her parents and brothers. She rarely went out, and when she did, it was always with her father.

“One day, her father took her to the neighbouring temple to hear a talk given by a sadhu, who was a devotee of the Maharshi. He narrated to the audience – with religious fervor – details of how the Sage’s spiritual transformation at the tender age of sixteen took place at Madurai, His disappearance from home, His resort to the Mountain of Arunachala and how serene His presence is, showering Peace and Bliss on all who visit his Ashram at the foot of the Holy Hill.

Sundarammal was deeply moved. She begged her father to allow her to accompany some pilgrims to Arunachala. He refused, but promised that he would soon take her there himself.

“But the promise was not fulfilled. Sundarammal passed the time thinking of Sri Ramana and praying to Him. She soon lost her appetite and was unable to sleep. Her father always had some especially urgent work which prevented him from taking her to Tiruvannamalai.

“One afternoon, about four o’clock, she seemed to see Sri Ramana coming down the Mountain and approaching her. ‘Sundarammal, have no fear!’ He said to her. ‘It is I. Enough of this weeping and not eating or sleeping. Come, I am expecting you.’ Her heart was filled with joy. Once more she appealed to her father, and once more he put off the pilgrimage to another day.

“Some weeks later, she was alone one night in her room, weeping and calling on the Maharshi. Then, quite worn out, she fell asleep. Suddenly, she felt a blow on her side and awoke with a startle. It was about three o’clock in the morning. There was the Maharshi standing by the head of her cot.

‘Come,’ was all he said.

“She followed Him downstairs, crossed the hall and came out on the verandah. Hardly had she reached it when to her alarm she found herself alone. The Maharshi had disappeared. She sat down uneasily. Soon, a rickshaw appeared, and the rickshaw-puller asked, ‘Is this Number 12, and are you Sundarammal? An old sadhu told me to come here and take you to the Bus Stand. Get in.’ Sundarammal thought quite simply, ‘It is Sri Bhagavan, the Maharshi,’ and, got into the rickshaw.

“At the Bus Stand, she and the rickshaw-puller were both surprised not to find the old sadhu. However, she asked for the bus going to Tiruvannamalai and got in. Somewhere on the way, her bus passed another one from which someone alighted and then entered the Tiruvannamalai bus. ‘Are you Sundarammal?’ he asked. ‘Yes, I am’ she replied. ‘Good. Sri Bhagavan has sent me to look for you.’

“In the evening, she reached Tiruvannamalai and retired for the night to one of the large halls reserved for pilgrims. She prepared a cake to offer to Sri Bhagavan and fell asleep full of joy. The next morning, she went to the Ashram and fell at the feet of Sri Bhagavan. ‘Here you are at last. Did it take so long to reach me?’ He said to her. Sundarammal felt blessed and was in ecstasy. She was in the immediate Presence of her Sat-Guru Ramana!

“Some days later, her brothers arrived, unable to understand how this child, who, by herself, had never set outside her home, could have managed to reach Tiruvannamalai. But, Sundarammal was so deeply absorbed in Sri Ramana’s Presence that she never even noticed her brothers, either in the Hall or at midday in the dining hall.

Only in the evening were they able to approach her. They told her how upset everyone was at home and begged her to return. If she wanted, they would build her a hermitage in their garden. But nothing moved her, and the brothers even spoke of taking her home by force. ‘If you do, I will throw myself into a well,’ she said.

Her brothers had to yield, but they soon returned with their father. They found her in a cottage near the Ashram and arranged for her continued stay there. During the fifteen years that remained of the Maharshi’s life, Sundarammal never left Tiruvannamalai even for a day.”

Sundarammal in due course, passed away and her Samadhi was raised opposite to the Ashram — in between the road and Ashram’s Morvi Guest House!

Frank Humphreys’s first darshan of SRI BHAGAVAN at Virupakasha Cave in 1911