THE ONLY ACTIVITY
Bhagavan is Arunachala in human garb. In 1911, when Frank Humphreys saw him seated on a rock at Virupaksha cave, he saw him as God and spontaneously uttered, “God radiated from his body terrifically!” Arthur Osborne declared that Bhagavan by his immaculate existence in Arunachala as Arunachala, the Self, proved Jesus Christ’s statement, “My Father and I are one”. The greatness of Bhagavan however, lies more squarely in his declaring that the Truth in which he was effortlessly established is the true state already existing in each one of us.
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For this truth to become explicit, the only requirement essential is one–pointed attention to oneself. This practice is essential, not for attaining the Truth in which, one is already rooted. It is for giving up the only obstacle for such realisation, viz., the wrong notion that, “I am in bondage.”
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Panilenivaadu, one without any work. This second scribbling of Bhagavan, comes in handy to complete the three tier move. Staying in Arunachala has two dimensions: (i) staying within the radius of thirty miles of the hill, Arunachala, and (ii) staying within one’s Heart all the time, wherever one may be geographically located. Either way, one has to awaken oneself to the awareness that one IS, and thus, ever in Arunachala. Arunachala = Aruna + achala = Being + Unmoving.
Those who are fortunate to be able stay within the radius of 30 miles, around Arunachala, will have to fall in line with the second injunction, Panilenivaadu, one without work. Any involvement in any form of activity pulls our mind outward, thus plunging us into an endless chain of commitment to activity. In the fourth verse of Upadesa Saram, Bhagavan clearly declares, “But action leaves behind the seed of further action, leading to an endless ocean of action; not at all to liberation”.
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In Letters From Sri Ramanasramam, Bhagavan comes out with a most beautiful statement, which many may not have noticed. “You want to know what Bhagavan would like best? What Bhagavan likes best, is to remain silent without doing anything. What I like is to know who I am and to remain as ‘I AM’ with the knowledge that what is to happen will happen, and what is not to happen will not happen. Is that not right? Do you known understand what Bhagavan likes best?”
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Meditate, contemplate, go within and be in silence. For a resident of Arunachala, this is the only activity to be engaged in. As T.K. Sundaresa Iyer put it, “A resident of Arunachala should plunge within, be in the silence imposed by the Self and not indulge in self-imposed silence”! Bhagavan calls such inner silence, “continuous activity”. To remain in such inner silence, like a flame in a windless space, a lot of spiritual energy is needed.
So, pray, be an Arunachalavaasi ! Be a panilenivaadu !
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