Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Complete ... - BrahminVoice.org

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Tiruvannamalai in his seventeenth year. Sri Bhagavan did not then
know that the place was sanctified by the feet of Tirujnanasambandar
some fifteen centuries ago.)
When the ancient sage was staying in Ariyanainallur an old man
who carried a flower-basket came to him. The young sage asked the
old man who he was. The latter replied that he was a servitor of Sri
Arunachala the God residing as the Hill here.
Sage: How far is it from here?
The old man: I walk every day from there to here collecting flowers
for daily worship. So it is only near.
Sage: Then I shall go with you to that place.
The old man: A rare pleasure, indeed, for me!
They went together, with a large crowd following the Sage. After walking
some distance the Sage wanted to ask how much further the place was.
But the old man had disappeared in the meantime. Soon after, a gang of
dacoits waylaid the pilgrims who surrendered all that they had with them.
They plodded their way and reached their destination. The young Sage
fell into contemplation. God appeared and said that the dacoits were only
His followers and that his needs would be met. Accordingly, the group
of pilgrims found all their wants. The Sage had sung hymns in praise of
Sri Arunachala. In one of the stanzas, he says:
“You are a dense mass of jnana, capable of removing the ‘I-am-thebody’
idea from Your devotees! Herds of gazelles, of boars and of
bears come down Your slopes in the night to search for food on the
plains. Herds of elephants go from the plains to Your slopes where
they may rest. So different herds of animals meet on Your slopes.”
Sri Bhagavan continued: So this Hill must have been a dense forest
1,500 years ago. It has since been denuded of the forests by the woodcutters,
etc., through these several centuries.
The account of Sri Arunachala given by the mysterious old man to
Jnanasambandar is contained in 300 slokas in Upamanyu’s Bhakta
Charita. One of the Archakas of the temple had it with him and showed
it to Sri Bhagavan on the occasion of the temple suit within the last
few months. Sri Bhagavan copied the slokas.
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