Ramana Maharishi -Interviews of Devotees-Part I

These are interviews of Bhagawan's Devotees who saw him while still in body.

Sri Ramananda Saraswathi , Sri Munugala  S. Venkataramaiah (poorvasharamam), son of Naga sundaram  Ayyar Bhagawan's  younger brother, was a government offcial before moving to ashramam in Arunachalam and acted as a translator  to many devotees for Bhagawan.He also translated many advatic texts like Atma Prabhoda Deepika , Kaivalya Navaneetham and Tripura Rahasya into English.He compiled a book of dialogues between Bhagawan and other devotees under the title Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi. 

Prof K. Swaminathan : K.Swaminathan studied in Madras and oxford before teaching english at Sri Meenakshi college in Chidambaram.He worked at Presidency college Madras and was also the Principal of GovernmentArts college.He was given the monumental task of editing Complete Works of Mahatma Ghandi and was aswared with Padma bhushan. In 1940 Swaminathan came to Bhagawan which turned his life.He spent many Sundays inthe Ashram. He was the associate editor and then Chief Editor of Mountain path for many year in 1980s.He translated 1254 verses of Guru Vachaka Kovai of Murugunar in to english under the title The Garland of Guru's Sayings.He wrote Bhagawan's biography which was published by National Bok trust Delhi.He left his mortal body at the age of 98. 

Rajapalayam Ramani Ammal : Ramani Ammal was an ardient devotee of Sri Ramana.She was the cousin of chief minister of Madras Kumaraswami Raja ,who send her a copy of Bharati's Biography of Bhagawan Ramana , Ramana vijayam in 1946. She was a devotee of Lord Krishna since childhood and once she has a vision of a sage ,whom she realised to be Sri Ramana later on. Influenced by Bhagawan's biography she reached Arunachalam with the help of her brother. She was devoted to Bhagawan throughout her life. When Bhagawan left his body ,she decided to fast until death. Then she had vision of Bhagawan in a cave of Arunachala surroiunded by rishis, Bhagawan offered her prasad , an indication to stop the fast.

N.R. Krishnamurthy Iyer, a Professor of American College, Madurai, was a devotee of Bhagavan Ramana, right from his early days. He had a see-saw relationship with Bhagavan Ramana, sometime believing Him, sometime distrusting Him!  He was suddenly bedridden in 1933-34 with multiple ailments, of tonsilitis, dysentery, asthma and vomiting phelgm and blood.  One evening, he felt that he would not live even for the next two days.  He told this to his wife, Subbulakshmi, who started crying.  Suddenly that evening, Vilacheri Mani Iyer came to his house.  He had brought vibhuti and kumkum from Asram.  He rubbed the holy ashes on NRK's forehead and pierced the midbrow with kumkum.  Suddenly NRK felt a thrill of joy which shook his entire frame and he strong felt that Bhagavan Ramana had infused vigorous health into him!  Needlesss to say that he felt better from that day, and got completely cured within weeks thereafter!

(Source:  Arunachala's Ramana, Boundless Ocean of Grace. Volume 2.
Sri Ramansramam, Tiruvannamalai.)

T.R Kanakammal, a great devotee of Bhagavan and student of Muruganar Swamigal merged into Bhagavan on Ist January,2010, on the Jayanthi day of Bhagavan while she went around the shrine of Bhagavan at Sri Ramanashram, Tiruvannamalai. Her greatest contribution was her commentaries in Tamil on the complete poems of Bhagavan's Nool Thirattu. She has also written a book on reminescences  of Bhagavan. Like Meera merging with Lord Krishna in Dwaraka Temple,yet another miracle of a woman devotee absorbed in Bhagavan Ramana in his shrine at Sri Ramanashram. (Source arunachala-ramana.org).

THESE VIDEOS HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM OTHER SOURCES ON INTERNET THESE WILL BE REMOVED IF IT BREACHES THE COPY RIGHT ACT.

A Visit to Arunachala

THE HOLY HILL OF ARUNACHALA

MATRUBHUTESWARA ALAYAM AND BHAGAWAN ADISHTANAM TEMPLE

BHAGAWAN'S ROOM

LAXMI THE COW

JACKIE THE DOG

CROW BLESSED BY BHAGAWAN

VALLI THE DEER BLESSED BY BHAGAWAN

ARUNACHALA TEMPLE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE HOLY HILL

BHAGAWAN RAMNANA MAHARISHI'S ADISHTANAM

DEVOTEES DOING PARAYANA

BHAGAWAN SEATED IN THE HALL

ARUNACHALA MAIN TEMPLE SHIKARAM

VIEW OF NANDI FROM ONE ANGLE ON THE TOP OF THE HOLY HILL

CLOSE UP SHOT OF NANDI ON THE HOLY HILL

I was very fortunate to visit Bhagawan's Arunachala in 2009.These are some of the photographs from the visit.

Guru Ramana -Significance of Guru

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi:

I have not said that a Guru is not necessary. But a Guru need not always be in human form. First a person thinks that he is inferior and that there is a superior, all-knowing, all powerful God who controls his own and the world's destiny and worships him or does bhakti. When he reaches a certain stage and becomes fit for enlightenment, the same God whom he was worshipping comes as Guru and leads him onward. That Guru comes only to tell him, `That God is within yourself. Dive within and realize'. God, Guru and the Self are the same.

Realization is the result of the Master's (Guru's) grace, more than teachings, lectures, meditations, etc. They are only secondary aids, whereas the former is the primary and essential cause.

Guru's grace is always there. You imagine it to be something somewhere high up in the sky, far away and which has to descend. It is really inside you in your Heart, and the moment, by any of the methods, you effect subsidence or merger of the mind into its source, the grace rushes forth,
spouting as from a spring from within you.

Contact with jnanis is good. They will work through silence. A Guru is not the physical form. Hence His contact remains even after the physical form of the Guru vanishes.

After your bhakti to God has matured you, God comes in the shape of a Guru and from outside pushes your mind inside, while being inside as Self He draws you there from within. Such a Guru is needed generally, though not for very rare and advanced souls.

One can go to another Guru after one's Guru passes away.

But after all, Gurus are one, as none of them are the form. Mental contact is always the best.

Satsangh means association with Sat or Reality. One who knows or has realized Sat is also regarded as Sat. Such association is absolutely necessary for all. Sankara has said, "In all the three worlds there is no boat like satsangh to carry one safely across the ocean of births and deaths."

Guru not being physical, His contact will continue after His form vanishes. If one Jnani exists in the world, His influence will be felt by or benefit all people in the world, and not simply His immediate disciples. As described in Vedanta Chudamani, all the people in the world can be put
under four categories: The Guru's disciples, bhaktas, those who are indifferent to Him and those who are hostile to Him. All these will be benefited by the existence of the Jnani — each in his own way and to various degrees.

From the book, Divine Grace Through Total Self-Surrender by D.C. Desai

BHAGAWAN'S HOLY FEET