2) ‘The well-established knowledge (the Jnana of the
Jnani)’.
Out of the four verses in this chapter, the first three deal with the conclusion which we have to reach through reading and reflection, and the fourth verse describes the state of unshakeable Self-knowledge of a
Jnani.
447
Because in the perfect Thing – Silence [Self], no thought rises, because place is merely a thought, and because the two other places [second and third persons] rise only after the rising of ‘I’, ‘I’ [the first person] is the first place.
Sadhu Om: In Tamil grammar, (1) ‘I’, the first person, (2) ‘you’, the second person, and (3) ‘he, she, it, or they’, the third person, are called the first place, second place and third place respectively, unlike in most other languages. Those who do deep reflection
[manana] i.e. deep thinkers, can find out that this is a good clue for the spiritual quest. How? Time and place
[space] are the first two conceptions [illusions] born of
maya. In this verse instructions about the nature of ‘place’ are given, whereas in verses 747 and 748 of this work and in verses 15 and 16 of
Ulladu Narpadu the nature of ‘time’ is well described.
Because Self is mere Being, which has no rising, it is to be known that even the first person, which has a rising, is not there. Refer also to the 14th verse of
Ulladu Narpadu which says:: “…When the first person ceases to exist through enquiry into the truth of that first person…”
Ego is thought identifying as ‘I’ a body which is bound by time and space. Therefore, time and place cannot but be found interwoven in every thought that rises from the ego. Though, at first, it may seem to be a wonder to hear that no one can make any thought without time and place, after a little reflection it will be found that it is an undeniable truth. Let us now see this verse once again in the light of this explanation.
Since out of the three places, first, second and third, ‘I’ is the one that rises first, Sri Bhagavan points out that ‘I’ is the foremost among the place conceptions. Further, it is pointed out that, since place is a mere thought, even ‘I’, the first place is merely a thought. Moreover, by pointing out the logical inference: ‘No thought can rise in Self, since the form of Self, the perfect thing, is Silence’, Sri Bhagavan concludes that even the least rising of ‘I’, the ego, is not possible there.
Just as ‘I’, which among the three places
[first, second and third places] is taken for spiritual research stands as the first and the source of all places, so also the ‘present’, which among the three tenses
[past, present and future] is taken for spiritual research, stands as the first and source of all divisions of time. Just as ‘I’, the first place disappears when enquired into, the ‘present’, the first time, also disappears on enquiry, revealing the timeless and placeless
[spaceless] nature of the supreme, Self. Since even the first time, i.e. the ‘present’, is merely a thought, just like the first person it cannot have a rising in Self. Thus, since Self transcends time and space,
Ajata [see the note to verse 100] must be known to be the right conclusive knowledge to be obtained, and this is to be understood to be the aim of this verse.
Finally, from the three reasons given in this verse, we have to draw six conclusions:
1) Self is not a place
2) place does not exist in Self
3) ‘I’ is a thought
4) ‘I’ is the first place
5) Self has no rising
6) Self is not the first place.
448
That which rises as ‘I’ in the body is mind. When an attempt is made to find out wherefrom this thought ‘I’ rises in the body, it [the ‘I’-thought, or mind, which thus searches] reaches the Heart, therefore, it is indeed from Heart [Self] that the mind rises.
Sadhu Om: These are the words of Sri Bhagavan in Who am I? When we wake up the ‘I’-feeling rises from one place in the body and then spreads all over the body; what is described in this verse as ‘first’ is that place. However, Sri Bhagavan here gives us a clue that by so tracing the ‘I’-thought, a place will not be found, but the tracing power, the one who traces, will dissolve into Self.
449
Other than thoughts there is no God, world or soul. In all thoughts, the thought ‘I’ is pervading. This ‘I’-thought is the first of all thoughts. The source from which the ‘I’-thought rises is the Heart.
When in this verse and the previous verse Heart is said to be the source from which the mind rises, Heart should not be taken to be a place. It must be understood to be the thing from which mind emerges. The reason for asserting so is given in the next verse.
450
Those who abide firmly in Self will never know any other thing as a base [i.e. as a place] but Self. They, the really
[Sat] shining
[Chit] One, affording a place to all things – as does the screen [in a cinema show] – will make them shine [as if real].
The ajnani feels that he is only the body, and therefore he experiences the universe as outside of himself. That is, he thinks that all things are existing or somewhere in space; in his view, earth or space are the base for all. The
Jnani, on the other hand, does not limit Himself as a body and therefore knows that He is not in the universe but that it is in Him. That is to say, He experiences that His existence is the base on which, or place in which, all other things, including earth and space, exist. He knows that because He is everything seems to exist, and hence they are in Him and He alone is their base.
To the extent that one dives within the Heart, to that extent one experiences that happiness which, though really shining as the unbroken nature of one’s Self, is experienced interruptedly in so many different ways [by means of the sense-objects].
452
If you firmly fix your mind in the Heart, the true knowledge will dawn. Being then drowned in the experience of the joyous peace of
Sada Siva, you will shine as the Sun of true knowledge with the splendour of a thousand rising suns.
Sada Siva is the eternal supreme goodness, i.e. Self.
453
Whenever thoughts [desires] are satisfied, the mind reaches its source [the Heart] and experiences only the happiness of Self. This indeed happens in this life when the liked are obtained, when the dislikes are removed, and during the time of abiding in Self
[samadhi], of swoon and of cherished sleep.
Sadhu Om:Refer to Who am I?
454
In this foolish life of egotistic delusion conceived by the petty mean mind, which is a contracted form of the
chittam, is there anyone who experiences the true happiness of serene clarity which shines forth when the
chittam remains without even the least thinking!
Chittam is the storehouse of the knowledge and the consequent tendencies
(vasanas) gathered from birth to birth.
Even though people enjoy the highest happiness in deep sleep, where no other thing exists, instead of understanding that it is the true happiness and trying to achieve it in life [i.e. instead of finding the means – the
Self-enquiry – to experience it uninterruptedly even in the waking state], craving to obtain other things, sense objects, as if they were the remedies for the miseries that occur in utter foolishness.
456
Ignorance is concerned only with the other objects which are known to the mad ego in the two states other than sleep and swoon [i.e. waking and dream], but is not concerned with Self.
‘the other objects’ are objects other than Self.
457
Terming sleep as a ‘sheath’ [kosha] is only on account of the foolishness of Self-forgetfulness in which the waking state is considered to be a state of knowledge [prajna]. If the concept that the waking state is a worthy and true state of knowledge [prajna] is lost, then the very sleep will shine as the one, non-dual Reality.
Sadhu Om: Since one takes the ego-consciousness [the ‘I’ am the body’
feeling], which exists in waking and dream, to be the real consciousness of one’s existence, a state of unconsciousness and ignorance. But if, by means of enquiry, one realises one’s real state as the pure self-existent consciousness, devoid of the attachment to the body, the ego-consciousness which was experienced in waking and dream as one’s self-existence will be found to be unreal, and the knowledge that the state which was referred to till then as sleep is the perfect, real Self-consciousness will dawn. It is only to make this clear that Sri Bhagavan said in
Maharshi’s Gospel:
“Sleep is not ignorance, it is one’s pure state; wakefulness is not knowledge, it is ignorance. There is full knowledge in sleep, and total ignorance in waking …”
458
That one who, not knowing his real greatness, is deluded into thinking that he was unable to see [or know] anything during sleep is only the fully fattened ego, the root, who was considering himself during the previous two states [waking and dream] to be the seer, [and it is not You, Self]!
Sadhu Om:For Self, which was shining during sleep, there was no delusion of such knowledge and ignorance. All these are only for the ego. It is only the ego, who was absent during sleep, who says after rising in the waking state that he did not know either other things or even himself.
459
When the triads [seer-seen-seeing, knower-known-knowing] disappear due to the destruction of the base, the foolish ego, and when the manyness [the states of waking and dream] is thus completely destroyed, the pure, broad Daylight [Self] that then shines like a hundred suns is the Night of Siva
[Sivarathri].
Sadhu Om: Sivarathri is an auspicious night when all jivas including Brahma and Vishnu, worship Lord Siva. The beauty to be noticed here is that such a night is explained to be pure broad daylight. Why? Since no other thing is known there, it is night; and since the pure consciousness shines there, it is bright daylight.
460
When the beginningless, impure tendencies, which were the cause for waking and dream, are destroyed, then sleep, which was [considered to be] leading to bad results [i.e.
tamas] and which was said to be a void and ridiculed as nescience, will be found to be
Turiyatitam itself.
461
Anandamaya is said to be a sheath [kosha] because of the great desire towards the waking state of the one identifying with the
vijnanamayakosha. But when the strong ego identifying with
vijnanamaya is destroyed, the anandamaya that survives will lose the nature of a sheath
[kosha] and remain as the supreme Bliss.
Sadhu Om:Only because we have desires in the form of subtle tendencies to leave sleep often and to rise and make
pravrittis in the vijnanamaya kosha [the intellect – buddhi], the
sastras describe the blissful state of sleep as a sheath. It is only one’s attachment, the desire to be active in
vijnanamaya, that drags one out of the anandamaya kosha [sleep]. If this attachment is lost, the leaving of the blissful sleep will not happen. Then, the uninterrupted state of bliss
[in sleep], instead of being a mere sheath, will shine as our natural, unending, true state of Bliss.
462
If one achieves the unshakeable state of
Self-attention – one’s Existence-Consciousness – till sleep
overtakes one, one need not be heart-broken, feeling, ‘Ah, the
delusion of ignorant sleep, the forgetfulness, has overcome me!” [i.e.
sleep will never come].
Sadhu Om:Since the knowing of the consciousness ‘I am’ continues even there, it will not be a sleep, but will be experienced as the state of the shining of the Self.
The rope, the true knowledge [Self], into which disappears the wonderful snake, the mind-delusion – which exists so long as it is not enquired into and becomes non-existent when enquired into – alone is the real Thing.
The whole universe, which seems to exist on account of the wonderful illusion, the mind, is not the real Thing. The real Thing is only Self-knowledge, the One, into which the whole universe disappears when mind, its root, merges. Since non-enquiry alone is the reason for the seeming existence of the mind,
Self-enquiry alone is the only way to know the real Thing.
464
The knowledge of the supreme Bliss which shines naturally
[as ‘am’], without any desire and beyond differences, in the well-established Self-abidance [samadhi] is the real Thing.
465
Since at all times and in all places the unmistakable Self [‘I am’] alone shines eternally as the one Thing, except That, all other things at all times and in all places have to dismissed as false.
The pure Bliss of peace will shine within only for those who have lost the sense of doership. For, this foolish sense of doership alone is the poisonous seed that brings forth all evil fruits.
467
Instead of going on, driven by the restless thoughts, performing actions such as ‘I should do this, I should give up that’ as if they were worthy to be done, acting according to how the Grace of God, the Lord of our soul, leads us, is the right form of truly worshipping Him.
468
In ancient days the chaste lady [Draupadi] had her honour saved and her sari lengthened by the Grace of Lord Krishna only when at last, letting go of her own hold on her sari, she lifted up both her hands in complete surrender to Him; and the strong wicked one [Duchasana] who was stripping her fell down abashed.
Sadhu Om: So long as Draupadi was trying to hold her sari by her own hands lest it should be stripped off and was calling Sri Krishna for help, His Grace did not begin to function. But as soon as, having complete faith in His gracious protection, she gave up holding her clothes with her own hands and lifted them above her head, her surrender became complete and hence His Grace began to function by making her sari grow unendingly and by making the wicked Duchasana, who was stripping her, fall down in a swoon. This incident is pointed out there in order to instruct us that we should give up the sense of doership and should thus surrender to God completely and unreservedly.
469
Those who, like a child who does not seek to know what is good for it [but leans upon its parents], purely depend upon the Mother,
Chit-Sakti, the Grace of the Lord, reach His feet and remain naturally in His service [i.e. abide in Self], having lost all actions-done-with-doership, which are caused by the defectful delusion [maya] ‘I am the body’.
Sadhu Om: Rather than upon their own effort
[which is only the sense of doership], devotees or aspirants always depend upon the power of the Grace of the Supreme. This power is personified here as the Mother. She is described as ‘Chit-Sakti’ because Grace shines in everyone in the form of Self-Consciousness – the
sphurana ‘I-I’. Since this is purely on account of the unaccountable mercy of the Lord, such Grace of His is describe here as the Mother.
The correct way of understanding Sri Bhagavan’s instruction here is that aspirants should completely and without doubting cling to the Self-consciousness ‘I-I’. Like a child which, not even trying to know what is good for itself, depends solely upon its mother, if an aspirant, not even trying to know any scriptures, trying to do any yoga, or expecting any help from outside, simply clings to the ‘I’-consciousness, that alone is sufficient and he will easily and surely be saved form all delusion and pitfalls.
Since clinging to the ‘I’-consciousness is merely a ‘being’ and not a ‘doing’, neither does it need doership nor does it turn out to be action
[karma] even. Thus the aspirant naturally ever abides in Self. Sri Bhagavan advises that this Self-abidance alone is the state of one’s remaining the in the service of the Lord.
470
The Lord who has fed you today will ever do so well. Therefore, live carefree, placing all your burden at His feet and having no thought of tomorrow or the future.
471
Know well that even performing tapas and yoga with the intention ‘I should become an instrument in the hands of the Lord Siva’ is a blemish to complete self-surrender, which is the highest form of being in His service.
Sadhu Om: Since even the thought ‘I am instrument in the Lord’s hand’ is a means by which the ego retains its individuality, it is directly opposed to the spirit of complete self-surrender, the ‘I’-lessness. Are there not many good-natured people who engage themselves in prayers, worship, yoga and such virtuous acts with the aim of achieving power
from God and doing good to the world as one divinely commissioned? It is exposed here that even such endeavours are egotistical and hence contrary to self-surrender.
472
One’s thus becoming a slave to the Lord and one’s remaining quiet and
silent, devoid even of the egotistical thought ‘I am His slave’, is Self-abidance, and this is the supreme Knowledge.
Sadhu Om:How the same supreme knowledge which is obtained through the path of
Jnana [Self-enquiry] is obtained even through the path of Bhakti
[self-surrender] is shown in this verse.
473
Seated in the Heart of everyone as Heart, the Lord will ordain everything according to one’s destiny [prarabdha]. Therefore, if we unswervingly abide in Self, our source, all will happen unerringly.
474
Those who have the strong faith, “He who has planted this tree will water it”, will never be distressed. If he [who planted it] sees the tree drying up, let even that pathetic sight be only his burden.
Devotees with great faith in God never feel concern for the needs of their life, because they are so sure that God will never abandon them. Even when it happens that they are not provided with their needs, they do not feel that they are afflicted; they simply endure with it patiently, feeling that it is only God who has to suffer by seeing them troubled. Hence on all occasions they are happy. This verse thus assures that for such devotees there is no misery at all in life.
475
Since God alone is the root, all that is offered to Him will go to the whole banyan tree, the world and souls which sprout out from Him, the root.
Sadhu Om: Submitting oneself to God is like watering a banyan tree at its root. If, rejecting this self-surrender, which is nothing but the state of true knowledge, one engages oneself in the world thinking that one is doing service to the world, it is just like spraying water on the leaves and branches of the banyan tree. On the other hand, if one surrenders oneself to God, truly that alone is the real service to the whole world and all the souls.
Here, some may doubt that this instruction seems to contradict the 5th verse of
Upadesa Undiyar. But in truth it is not so. How? Verse 5 of Upadesa
Undiyar points out that worshipping the universe by imagining it to be God is only a thought-process
[enni vazhipadal], and that its fruit is also only the purification of one’s own mind
[karuttai tirutti – as pointed out in verse 3]; such worship is not for the benefit of the universe. But by surrendering oneself to God, thought or imaginations stop and one attains the state of perfect knowledge. Attaining this supreme knowledge alone is truly helping or serving the world. Hence, the instruction given in verse 5 of
Upadesa Undiyar is for those sadhakas who want to gain purification of mind
[Chitta-suddhi], whereas the instruction given in this present verse is for those
sadhakas who want truly to serve the whole world. Therefore, if we scrutinize in this way, it becomes clear that these two instructions do not contradict each other.
How is the true knowledge alone the best service to the world? Let us see. Suppose one dreams in his sleep that his friends are wounded by a tiger. Rather than his supplying medicine to his dream-friends, would not his waking up from his sleep be doing real help to them? No other efforts taken in the dream itself will be a real service to them. So also, realising Self, which is the real awakening alone will be the only proper way of serving
the whole universe.
Since jumping into service of the world with a sense of doership will increase the egoism of an aspirant instead of giving him
chitta-suddhi, the real benefit of karma yogi, Sri Bhagavan, with the intention of saving aspirants form such ruin, gives them proper instruction in this verse.
Whether or not one is performing actions, if the delusion of individuality – the ego, ‘I am the doer of actions’ – is completely annihilated, that is the attainment of
actionlessness.
Sadhu Om:People generally think that the attainment of actionlessness is a state in which one should remain still, giving up all activities. But this is wrong. Sri Bhagavan Ramana proclaims that the loss of doership alone is the right kind of actionlessness, and this alone is
nishkamya karma – action done without any desire for result.
To him who surrenders himself [‘I’ and ‘mine’] to the Lord, the Lord gives Himself here and now. Only such a one who has thus lost himself [in God] and gained the knowledge of
Brahman, remains ever in the experience o the pure supreme Bliss of Siva.
Sri Muruganar and Sadhu Om:Surrendering oneself to God means surrendering the notions ‘I’ and ‘mine’. The Lord’s giving Himself means that, after the loss of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, alone remains. To denote the nature of his shining forth as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, Sri Bhagavan says that ‘such a one gains the Knowledge
[chit] and drowns in Bliss [ananda]’. Since Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, which is one’s own nature, takes no time to shine forth as soon as ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are lost, it is said in this verse that the Lord gives Himself ‘here and now’.
478
When scrutinized well, what results from all the efforts made in
Bhakti-marga is that one’s ego-form dissolves through the strength of intense meditation on the Feet of the Lord, and the individuality is lost at His Feet by self-surrender.
How does the ego-form dissolve through the strength of intense meditation on the Feet of the Lord? Intense meditation on His Feet is possible only when there is intense love towards Him. Because of such intense love for Him, the aspirant does not care for his own body and its needs. Thus he loses interest in his own individuality and hence his ego-form is dissolved. It is to be noted here, however, that mere concentration without love cannot bring forth
egolessness.
479
Erase your individuality, which cannot have a stand separate from the Lord, who shines as everything. The right definition of supreme devotion, where the blissful peace prevails, is the surrender of the evil fickle ego-self.
480
“Offer the self to the Lord”, they say. Then whose else is it but His already? Therefore, it is one’s duty to repent for one’s having stolen His possession [as ‘I’ and ‘mine’] and to restore it back to His lotus Feet.
Sri Muruganar: Those who say “We should surrender ourself to the Lord” do not have an accurate insight into devotion
[pra-bhakti]. Self-surrender would become an endeavour [tapas] only if there were a separate freedom for the
jiva to do; is it not so? But since the so-called jivatma is ever the possession of the Lord, having no freedom of his own, his foremost duty is that being ashamed of his act of stealing by rising as an independent entity, ‘I’, he should merged back into Him once for all and should become non-existent.
481
There will be no cause for fear for one whose mind abides by the will of the Lord praying, “O Lord, let nothing happen according to my wish; let only Thy will be done”.
482
Not giving the least room in one’s heart – which is having a great love towards attending towards Self, the true form of
God – to any thought raised by
vasanas is the right way of offering oneself to the Lord.
Sadhu Om: These are the words of Grace given by Sri Bhagavan in
Who am I?: “Giving no room at all to the rising of thoughts other than the thought of Self
[Atma-chintanai – i.e. Self-attention] and being firmly established in Self is surrendering oneself to the Lord”. Refer also to verse 1189.
483
Giving up all one’s wishes through the attitude “Thy wish alone is mine” is the state of complete surrender, in which the evil ego, the original veiling, the first-rising one, is annihilated. Thus should you know.
484
When inwardly enquired, where can the thief exist who has with attachment and desire grabbed as ‘I’ and ‘mine’ the possessions [the soul, body, world and so on] of the supreme infinite Lord?
Sadhu Om: Since the mind, body and world rise from Self
[God], they are described as the possessions of God.
This verse and the next explain how Self-enquiry and self-surrender result in each other, the result being
egolessness.
485
When the ego, losing all its mischievousness, dies in Self-abidance
[nishtha] by being a prey to the power of Siva [Siva-Sakti] and becomes inert like a log, since the Bliss ending all miseries is experienced there, only then is self-surrender true.
486
Offering oneself with great devotion to the Lord, who shines as pure Self, is just like breaking the toe off the idol of
Ganapathi made of sweet jaggery and offering it to the idol itself.
Sri Muruganar and Sadhu Om:
Refer to the footnote in
The Path of Sri Ramana Part II, part 93, for the story of the jaggery
Ganapathi.
When even self-surrender, which is so much glorified in dualism as the highest and final form of devotion to God, is thus exposed by Sri Bhagavan in this
Upadesa to be meaningless, we should consider of what avail all other forms of worship will be!
Therefore, remaining quiet, abiding in Self, giving no room to the rising of ‘I’, which is the sin of usurping God’s possession, is the best of all worships.
487
Unconditionally place your mind at the Feet of the Lord who has
Sakti on His left. Then, since the tricky ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are dead, the glorious, blissful Supreme Self will shine triumphantly.
‘The Lord who has
Sakti on His left’ this is a traditional way of referring to Lord Siva.
Good people [aspirants] should not with dejection hate enemies even a little, however bad they may be. For even hatred, like desire, is fit to be hated.
Sadhu Om: This verse gives the same
upadesa given by Sri Bhagavan in
Who am I?: “One should not dislike others, no matter how bad they are. It is both likes likes and dislikes that are to be disliked.”
489
Since that [this body, and the ego, the form of which is ‘I am the body’] which is rejected by an aspirant as ‘not I’ is the same as that which is ridiculed by his enemies, for an aspirant who wants to destroy the ego [himself], the various insults from his enemies are just like an anvil to the goldsmith.
Sadhu Om:An aspirant means one who truly wants to destroy his ego-sense. He and his ego-sense are one and the same. Through the paths of both self-surrender and
Self-enquiry, what he rejects or hates is the ego or himself. Since those
[his enemies] who hate or scold him are also doing the same, they are pointed out here to be great helpers in his project. This is explained by the example of a goldsmith and his anvil. Because the anvil is resisting from below each of his hammer-blows, the goldsmith is able to shape his metal properly. If the anvil is soft, all the efforts of the goldsmith will be in vain. Similarly, the more appreciation an aspirant receives, the less will be the subsidence of his ego. Thus, rather than his appreciators, his enemies are helping the aspirant in his
sadhana.
490
Only that mighty one who has the great valour to conquer hatred by love is a true Sage
[muni].
Sadhu Om:“Hatred cannot end hatred” was the teaching of Buddha. However, even some spiritual aspirants, on seeing atrocities and thinking that it is their duty to attack the wrong-doers, jump into the matter with anger. To point out that it is not proper for them to do so, this instruction was given.
If some men of abundant wealth were to give up willingly a few of their luxurious modes of living, millions of pitifully suffering poor could live.
492
Since the gracious Lord produces the needful food for all creatures only in the needed quantity, if one consumes more than what is needed to sustain life, it is a sin of stealing violently other’s food. Thus should you know.
Although this verse mentions only food, it is applicable to all the necessities of life. Whatever one heaps more than necessary is nothing but heaping sins. This is well confirmed by the next verse.
By the crime of excess, even the nectar will become poison. By the crime of excess, many are the evils. Hence once should realize the crime of excess and remove it.
Sri Muruganar: Though it is said that fasting and non-sleep are in a way an aid to spiritual progress, excess of them is certainly harmful.
Bhagavad Gita points out: “For he who sleeps more or utterly restrains sleep, and for he who eats more or fasts more, there is no success in yoga.” Sri Bhagavan also used to say that more than fasting,
sattvic food in moderate quantities is the proper aid for sadhana.
One’s greatness increases to the extent one becomes humble. The reason why God is Supreme to such an extent that the whole universe bows to Him, is His sublime state of humility in which the deluded ego never rises unknowingly.
495
For a wise aspirant who seeks to gain true greatness, it is best to pay his homage
[namaskarams] to others until complete egolessness is achieved. On the other hand, it is indeed dangerous for him to accept homage from others.
Sadhu Om: The wise aspirant mentioned here is only he who aims at
Self-realization. Since the ego subsides by doing
namaskarams to others, it is pointed out to be ‘best’, and since the ego waxes by accepting
namaskarams from others, it is pointed out to be ‘indeed dangerous’.
496
Is it not on account of His behaving so humbly, like one willingly ever in the service of every creature, that God stands worthy of all the glorious worships ever performed by all the worlds?
497
By His seeing Himself in all, by His being humble even to His devotees who bow to everyone, and by His naturally remaining at such a pinnacle of meekness that nothing can be meeker than Himself, the state of being Supreme has come to the Lord.
Sadhu Om: Through verses 494, 496 and 497, Sri Bhagavan reveals a unique and surprising truth, that is, He explains how God stands worthy of being worshipped by all the worlds. Sri Bhagavan points out here that it is because God is naturally and lovingly humble to everyone in all His own creation. The following incident will prove that Bhagavan Sri Ramana, for this same reason, is none but God Himself.
A devotee asked Sri Bhagavan, “What is your feeling when hundreds of people come and do
pranams to you?” Without hesitation, Sri Bhagavan replied: “First I do my
namaskarams to each one of them as soon as they enter this room, and then only they do so. Subsiding one’s ego is the right and real form of doing
namaskarams. Do I not have more chances each day to do such namaskarams than anyone who comes here?”
This reply of His contains a lot of secret and deep meaning to ponder over. The essence of the instruction given here is that being ever humble, without allowing the rising of the ego, is the only way to achieve greatness.
498
Since mind itself is both the minutest [anu] and the biggest
[mahat], Self, the Reality which is beyond the mind, is transcendent
[atitam]. Besides, Self is bigger than all that is known as biggest and minuter than all that is know as minutest.
Sadhu Om: Refer to the 5th stanza of
Atma Vidya Kirtanam (The Song on the Science of Self), in which Sri Bhagavan says that Self is the Space containing the mind-space (which in turn contains the physical space).
499
The hollow and flimsy straw floats high on the surface of the sea, while the heavy pearl lies low at the bottom of the sea. Likewise, though the worthless one is positioned above, he is really low, and though the great one is positioned below, he is never low.
The last two lines of this verse are verse 973 of
Tirukkural, the 3rd verse in the chapter entitled ‘Greatness’.
One day, some devotees contrived to send away form the presence of Sri Bhagavan a person who adamantly wanted a seat no less high than that of Sri Bhagavan. Guessing what had happened, Sri Bhagavan at once remarked, pointing his finger above his head, “Oh, you are very happy in driving him away; but what will you do with this one?” Just above the head of Sri Bhagavan, there was a monkey sitting on the branch of a tree stretching its tail towards him! The devotees felt repentant for their mistake. Is not this incident a direct and practical explanation of this verse?
Worthy to be done is Self-enquiry; worthy to be gained is the glory of Self; worthy to be given up is the ego-sense; worthy to be merged into is one’s own source, so that cares and anxieties dies.
501
Worthy to be achieved is true knowledge; worthy to be contemplated by the mind are the Feet of the Lord; surely worthy to be joined is the company of Sages
[satsang]; worthy to have welling up in the heart is Bliss.