[Chaturamnaya] Sri Ramana Gita as a Dialogue - 5

[S Jayanarayanan]

(Continued from previous post)

CHAPTER III

The Chief Aim of Life

7-7-1917

The year 1917 was full of philosophical interest to the disciples at the Ashram.
Kavyakantha had now come back to Tiruvannamalai after his trips and was anxious to use
this opportunity to place before the Maharshi doubts and difficulties often experienced
by the disciples in their effort to understand the scriptures and to elicit the exact
drift of his teachings. He invited leading disciples to come forward and place all their
difficulties before the Maharshi, so that he might gather all the replies into one volume
of Sanskrit verse and name it 'Sri Ramana Gita'. As each set of these questions was put
and replies elicited, Kavyakantha took them down first in 'sutra' form (i.e., as aphorisms),
and almost immediately rendered them into Sanskrit verse. The Sri Ramana Gita was thus
ready before the end of 1917 and it was translated into Telugu and Tamil by Vellore
S.Narasimhayya, now known (i.e., since his adoption of sannyasa in 1927) as Pranavananda.
These translations were printed and published only in 1923.

On the 7th of July of that year, the questions were begun by one Ganjanana¹, a young man
full of fervid devotion. He hailed from North Kanara District of the Bombay Presidency and
was well versed in Sanskrit. Srimad Bhagavatam and Maharatta and Canarese songs relating to
Sri Krishna and Sri Rama were the delight of his heart. He was here at Arunachala for a
few months and attached himself to Kavyakantha and the Maharshi, and composed a
"Vibhaktijashtaka" of eight stanzas in praise of the latter. He lived on begged food,
leading an austere life of a bhikshu. When Maharshi and the disciples started on their
Giripradakshinam (circumambulating the Arunachala Hill on foot), Gajanana would be a
very prominent figure, as he would sing devotional songs and dance frequently in ecstasy.
He used his opportunities of being near the Maharshi to remove his own doubts as to the
Jnana Vichara Marga, i.e. the path of Self-enquiry, leading to Self-realization.

His first question to Sri Ramana Maharshi (reminiscent of the central question in
Srimad Bhagavatam by King Parikshit to Sri Suka Maharshi) was: "In this samsara, or
whirl of births and deaths undergone by the jiva (the soul), what is the chief thing a
man has to do?"

Maharshi: Well, your question is what you as a man should do in regard to your
karma, action; and it asks about the most important duty. You wish to arrange duties
in the order of their importance, and this importance is based on the value, to you,
of the fruits of each karma. So, in short, you are inquiring into your appropriate karma
and the value of its fruits. Now, does not the karma and its importance depend plainly
on the individual who is to perform the karma and reap the fruit? If so, then, as a
preliminary to this investigation, first inquire who is the person who does the karma
and tastes the fruit. In other words, start the inquiry "Who am I?" for yourself: i.e.,
the inquiry into yourself which, almost immediately becomes the inquiry into the Self,
with a view to attain Self-knowledge or Self-realization.

This is therefore man's chief duty.

Gajanana: Again, Revered Sir, what briefly are the means to attain this Self-realization;
and as for the means already suggested, namely the inward inquiry, or the grand pratyagdrishti,
how are we to attain that?

Maharshi: Well, briefly put, the means to attain Self-realization are these: First, the mind
should be withdrawn from its objects; the objective vision of the world must cease.
Secondly, the mind's internal operations also must be put an end to. Thirdly, the mind must
thereby be rendered characterless (nirupadhika) and must continue characterless firmly;
and lastly, it must rest in pure vichara, contemplation or realization of its nature,
i.e. itself. This is the means for pratyagdrishti or darsana, also termed antarmukham,
the inward vision or inquiry.

Gajanana: How long has one to go on with his niyama, disciplinary regulation (such as regulation
in quantity and quality of food, sleep, exertion, etc.)? Is he to adhere to them till he attains
Yoga Siddhi (i.e. till he achieves success in his yoga)? And do they prove useful right up to
the end of the course?

Maharshi: Yes, the spiritual aspirant in his onward career of yoga is helped by such disciplinary
regulations. Once he attains success and reaches his goal, the regulations drop off by 
themselves.

Gajanana (adverting to the answer to his first question, asked again): Revered Sir, as for the
goal that is attained by firm, characterless vichara mentioned just now, cannot the same goal
be attained by mantra japa, repetition of mantras (sacred syllables)?

Maharshi: Yes. If the mantra japa is unbroken and performed with an undeflected current of
attention and with due faith, equal success is achieved. Even the mere Pranava² Japa would
suffice. You see that by such a japa (of either the Pranava or other mantras) the mind is
deflected from its operations regarding the objective world; and then, by identifying oneself
with the mantra, one attains the (nature of) Atman. 


Footnotes:
1. Described as Daivarata in Sri Ramana Gita.
2. Pranava is the short monosyllable OM and almost invariably forms part of every mantra.


(To be continued)