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Ramana & Indian Wisdom, Tiruvannamalai (2026)

20/01/2026

Day by Day with Bhagavan
16-6-46
G.V.S.: Is it stated in any book that for ultimate and final Self-realization one must ultimately come to the Heart even after reaching sahasrara, and that the Heart is at the right side?

Bhagavan: No. I have not come across this in any book. But in a Malayalam book on medicine I came across a stanza locating the heart on the right side and I have translated it into Tamil in the Supplement to the Forty Verses.

We know nothing about the other centres. We cannot be sure what we arrive at in concentrating on them and realizing them. But as the ‘I’ arises from the Heart it must sink back and merge there for Self-realization.

Later in the day G.V.S. said, “It is said that by repeating his own name a number of times Tennyson used to get into a state in which the world completely disappeared and he realised that it was all illusion.” And a discussion ensued as to where the quotation came from and whether we could find it.

--
"Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world." ~ Bhagavan

19/01/2026

IS IT NOT, RATHER, IGNORANCE to know all else without knowing oneself, the knower?
As soon as one knows the Self, which is the substratum of knowledge and ignorance, knowledge and ignorance perish.

That alone is true Knowledge which is neither knowledge nor ignorance. What is known is not true Knowledge. Since the Self shines with nothing else to know or to make known, It alone is Knowledge. It is not a void.

The Self, which is Knowledge, is the only Reality. Knowledge of multiplicity is false knowledge. This false knowledge, which is really ignorance, cannot exist apart from the Self, which is Knowledge-Reality. The variety of gold ornaments is unreal, since none of them can exist without the gold of which they are all made.

If the first person, I, exists, then the second and third persons, you and he, will also exist. By enquiring into the nature of the I, the I perishes. With it 'you' and 'he' also perish. The resultant state, which shines as Absolute Being, is one's own natural state, the Self.

Only with reference to the present can the past and the future exist. They too, while current, are the present. To try to determine the nature of the past and the future while ignoring the present is like trying to count without the unit.

Apart from us where is time and where is space? If we are bodies, we are involved in time and space, but are we? We are one and identical now, then, and forever, here, and everywhere. Therefore we, timeless, and spaceless Being, alone are.

To those who have not realized the Self, as well as to those who have, the word 'I' refers to the body, but with this difference, that for those who have not realized, the 'I' is confined to the body whereas for those who have realized the Self within the body the 'I' shines as the limitless Self.

To those who have not realized (the Self) as well as to those who have the world is real. But to those who have not realized, Truth is adapted to the measure of the world, whereas to those that have, Truth shines as the Formless Perfection, and as the Substratum of the world. This is all the difference between them.

Only those who have no knowledge of the Source of destiny and free-will dispute as to which of them prevails. They that know the Self as the one Source of destiny and free-will are free from both. Will they again get entangled in them?

He who sees God without seeing the Self sees only a mental image. They say that he who sees the Self sees God. He who, having completely lost the ego, sees the Self, has found God, because the Self does not exist apart from God.

*ULLADU NARPADU / Forty Verses on Reality
By Sri Ramana Maharshi / Page 3

19/01/2026

WHEN TODAY'S MAIL CAME Bhagavan read a postcard and said, “Pichumani Aiyar of Madurai writes that Meenakshi is no more. Only this morning or yesterday I thought of her and now I get this news.”

G.V.S. read out to Bhagavan two stanzas that he had composed on the occasion of his last visit. Their gist was, “On seeing your kindness to all sorts of animals, to squirrels, peacocks, dogs, cows and monkeys, how can one remain unaffected? One’s very bones melt at it. All sorts of birds and beasts approach you, receive your glance and touch, and so attain salvation. Vouchsafe the same to this human animal and save it also.”

In the afternoon Ramaswami Aiyar of Manamadura, a relative of Bhagavan, came and sat in the hall and Bhagavan said to him: “Do you know, Meenakshi is no more. We received this news from Pichu this morning. Only this morning or yesterday I thought of her as my last paternal aunt still surviving, and now she too has passed away.”

After some further talk Bhagavan said, “Once before, when your wife was ill, I dreamed that I went and sat beside her bed and touched her and she opened her eyes and asked, ‘Who is touching me?’ and when she saw it was I, she said, ‘Is it you? Then you can’. I do not know whether she had any corresponding dream.”

G.V.S. Replied, “I asked about this and learned that Mrs.Ranga Aiyar had a corresponding dream that Bhagavan came and sat beside her and touched her.”

In this connection, G.V.S. Said, “I was once present when Bhagavan’s aunt came here — the one who fed him when he left for Tiruvannamalai — Bhagavan was specially gracious to her. I could not help wondering why Bhagavan was so gracious towards his aunt when he is said to have been harsh

towards his mother. Is it because Bhagavan wanted to help rid her of the natural feeling that Bhagavan was her son?”

Bhagavan kept quiet, and I too said that he must have behaved so deliberately in order to train her to see in him a jnani and not her son. He still did not answer but we gathered from his attitude that our surmise was correct. And then after some time Bhagavan said: “I used to say something harsh to her and she would cry, and then I would say, ‘Go on, cry! The more you cry the better pleased I am’.”

*Day by Day with Bhagavan
26-5-46
--
"Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world." ~ Bhagavan

19/01/2026

Day by Day with Bhagavan
Afternoon

A visitor had given Bhagavan a piece of paper on which he had scribbled in pencil a number of questions. When I went into the hall about 3 p.m., Bhagavan was trying to decipher them and turning round to me said, “Here is a question paper.”

Question 1: How to get rid of credulousness? The visitor’s problem was that he starts with some ideal recommended to him, but when others come and recommend other ideals, he feels inclined to believe them and give up his old ideals.

Bhagavan: Yes. Yes. Our whole trouble is that we are credulous. We believe in everything except the reality. We must give up all our false beliefs, and that is the only thing we have to do. Then the reality will shine by itself.

Question 2: I start with great keenness towards some ideal. But gradually I get slack. What should I do to prevent it, and what is the reason for this happening?

Bhagavan: Just as there must have been a reason for your keenness at one time, there must be a reason for getting slack also later on.

Question 3: There are a number of spiritual teachers, teaching various paths. Whom should one take for one’s Guru?

Bhagavan: Choose that one where you find you get shanti or peace.

Question 4: What is the best way of dealing with desires, with a view to getting rid of them — satisfying them or suppressing them?

Bhagavan: If a desire can be got rid of by satisfying it, there will be no harm in satisfying such a desire. But desires generally are not eradicated by satisfaction. Trying to root them out that way is like pouring spirits to quench fire. At the same time, the proper remedy is not forcible suppression, since such repression is bound to react sooner or later into forceful surging up with undesirable consequences. The proper way to get rid of a desire is to find out “Who gets the desire? What is its source?” When this is found, the desire is rooted out and it will never again emerge or grow. Small desires such as the desire to eat, drink and sleep and attend to calls of nature, though these may also be classed among desires, you can safely satisfy. They will not implant vasanas in your mind, necessitating further birth. Those activities are just necessary to carry on life and are not likely to develop or leave behind vasanas or tendencies. As a general rule, therefore, there is no harm in satisfying a desire where the satisfaction will not lead to further desires by creating vasanas in the mind.

Question 5: What is the meaning of ‘Om’?

Bhagavan: ‘Om’ is everything. It is another name for Brahmam.

I was looking into the January issue of Vision and came across a story about Kulasekhara Alwar. Having heard during a kalakshepam that Ravana had taken away Sita, Kulasekhara identified himself so much with the situation in the story that he thought it was his duty as a worshipper of Rama at once to hasten to Lanka and release Sita, that he ran up and had entered the sea to cross over to Lanka, that then Rama appeared with Sita and Lakshmana showered His grace on him. I remembered another version, that Kulasekhara started on a campaign with his army to succour Rama, that meanwhile the Bhagavatar doing the kalakshepam, sensing the situation, passed on at once to Rama emerging victoriously from the battle, killing all his enemies, etc. Bhagavan also thought the version I had in mind was the correct one and that the matter referred to Rama’s battle with Khara and Dushana and not with Ravana for Sita. Bhagavan looked up a history of the Alwars and told us that both incidents are found in Kulasekhara’s life. This led me to make the following remark, “Some Maratha Saint also did a similar thing. He leaped up to the roof, I think.” Thereupon, Dr. S. Rao asked Bhagavan, “I don’t know that story. What is that story?” Thereupon Bhagavan said, “Ekanath was writing the Ramayana and when he came to the portion in which he was graphically describing that Hanuman jumped across the ocean to Lanka, he so identified himself with his hero Hanuman, that unconsciously he leaped into the air and landed on the roof of his neighbour. This neighbour had always a poor opinion of Ekanath, taking him for a humbug and religious hypocrite. He heard a thud on his roof and, coming out to see what it was, discovered Ekanath lying down on the roof with the cadjan leaf in one hand and his iron stile in the other, and the cadjan leaf had verses describing how Hanuman leapt across the sea. This incident proved to the neighbour what a genuine bhakta Ekanath was and he became his disciple.”

After a pause, Bhagavan also related, “God appeared in a dream to Ekanath and asked him to go and repair the tomb of Jnaneswar. When Ekanath went there accordingly, he found a contractor ready to do all the work and take payment at the end. The contractor opened a big account, in which all expenses were entered, with the names of all the workmen and wages paid to them. Everything went on systematically and when the work of repairs having been completed, the accounts had to be looked into and the contractor paid his dues, the contractor and his big account book totally disappeared. Then alone Ekanath came to know God was his contractor and did the work. Such things have happened.”

--
"Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world." ~ Bhagavan

18/01/2026

SADHAKAS
The variety of way God or the Self brings men to Him is amazing to watch. NO ONE IS FORGOTTEN. NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND. And no one is totally annihilated as a 'lost soul' for whatever wickedness one has at one time or other been guilty of. The creed of lost souls is not that of the Vedanta. It does not fit in with its teaching of the single Substance, single Existence.

Arunachala Siva.
Subramanian.R: CONCLUSION:

Those who are already Sadhakas are on the highway to Release. To them there is nothing more to say. They are already safe. Nor is there anything more to say to those who are on the brink. These need a little push -- a gentle push --- and they will be soon squatting at the feet of the Guru, appealing for light. The more sluggish ones need a more forcible push to make them fall into line with the former. To these one would suggest. Do not wait for the known down. You are almost a renouncer. Start your march towards your destined goal right now, as start you will some day, somehow. Change your outlook on life and your values of the things in which you have reposed your trust for happiness. For none can give you true happiness, neither man, woman nor even God Himself, but the spiritual strength derived from self restraint, self discovery, and aspirations for Truth.
Arunachala Siva.

18/01/2026

Day by Day with Bhagavan
1-3-46 Morning
Mr. Osborne said, “Bhagavan, last evening Nuna (i.e. his daughter about four years old) told us, ‘Dr. Syed is my best friend in the world.’ Thereupon we asked her, ‘What about Bhagavan? and she replied, ‘Bhagavan is not in the world’.”

Bhagavan was surprised at this remark of the child and involuntarily his finger rose to his nose and, holding it there, he said, “What a sage remark for a child to make! Even great men cannot understand what that remark means. They ought to have asked her, ‘Where else is Bhagavan, if not in the world’?” Thereupon Mr. Osborne said, “Yes. We did ask her. She said, ‘Bhagavan is out of the world’.”

Dr. Syed asked Bhagavan, “Does not total or complete surrender require that one should not have left in him the desire even for liberation or God?”

Bhagavan: Complete surrender does require that you have no desire of your own, that God’s desire alone is your desire and that you have no desire of your own.

Dr. Syed: Now that I am satisfied on that point, I want to know what are the steps by which I could achieve surrender.

Bhagavan: There are two ways; one is looking into the source of ‘I’ and merging into that source. The other is feeling “I am helpless by myself, God alone is all-powerful and except throwing myself completely on him, there is no other means of safety for me,” and thus gradually developing the conviction that God alone exists and the ego does not count. Both methods lead to the same goal. Complete surrender is another name for jnana or liberation.

--
"Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world." ~ Bhagavan

18/01/2026

RAMANA MAHARSHI ABOUT COMPLETE SURRENDER TO GOD.
D.: What is unconditional surrender?

B.: If one surrenders completely, there will be no one left to ask questions or to be considered. Either the thoughts are eliminated by holding on to the root thought, or one surrenders unconditionally to the Higher Power. These are the only two ways to Realisation.

B.: There are only two ways to conquer destiny or to be independent of it. One is to enquire whose this destiny is and to discover that only the ego is bound by it and not the Self, and that the ego is non-existent. The other way is to kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, realising ones helplessness and saying all the time: Not I, but Thou, oh Lord! giving up all sense of and mine and leaving it to the Lord to do what he likes with you. Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord. True surrender is the love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of salvation. In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through Self-enquiry or through bhakti-marga.

The spark of spiritual knowledge (Jnana) will consume all creation like a mountain-heap of cotton. Since all the countless worlds are built upon the weak or non-existent foundations of the ego, they all disintegrate when the atom-bomb of knowledge falls on them. All talk of surrender is like stealing sugar from a sugar image of Ganesha and then offering it to the same Ganesha. You say that you offer up your body and soul and all your possessions to God, but were they yours to offer? At best you can say: I wrongly imagined till now that all these, which are Yours, were mine. Now I realise that they are Yours and I shall no longer act as though they were mine. And this knowledge that there is nothing but God or the Self, that I and mine do not exist and that only the Self exists, is Jnana.

It is enough that one surrenders oneself. Surrender is giving oneself up to the original cause of ones being. Do not delude yourself by imagining this source to be some God outside you. Ones source is within oneself. Give yourself up to it. That means that you should seek the source and merge in it. Because you imagine yourself to be out of it, you raise the question, Where is the source? Some contend that just as sugar cannot taste its own sweetness for there must be someone to taste and enjoy it, so an individual cannot both be the Supreme and also enjoy the Bliss of that State; therefore the individuality must be maintained separate from the Godhead in order to make enjoyment possible. But is God insentient like sugar? How can one surrender oneself and yet retain ones individuality for supreme enjoyment? Furthermore they also say that the soul, on reaching the divine region and remaining there, serves the supreme Being. Can the sound of the word service deceive the Lord? Does He not know? Is He waiting for these peoples services? Would He not cure Consciousness ask in turn: Who are you apart from Me that presume to serve Me?

As often as one tries to surrender, the ego raises its head and one has to try to suppress it. Surrender is not an easy thing. Killing the ego is not an easy thing. It is only when God Himself by His Grace draws the mind inwards that complete surrender can be achieved.

Dr. Syed asked Bhagavan: Does total or complete surrender imply that even desire for liberation or God should be given up?

B.: Complete surrender does imply that you should have no desire of your own, that Gods will alone is your will and you have no will of your own.

Dr. S.: Now that I am satisfied on that point, I want to know what are the steps by which I can achieve surrender?

B.: There are two ways; one is looking into the source of the I and merging into that source; the other is feeling I am helpless by myself. God alone is all-powerful and except for throwing myself completely on Him there is no other means of safety for me, and thus gradually developing the conviction that God alone exists and the ego does not count. Both methods lead to the same goal. Complete surrender is another name for Jnana or Liberation.

D.: I find surrender impossible.

B.: Complete surrender is impossible in the beginning but partial surrender is possible for all. In course of time that will lead to complete surrender.

B.: Whoever objects to his having a separate God to worship so long as he needs one? Through devotion he develops until he comes to feel that God alone exists, and that he himself does not count. He comes to a stage when he says. Not I but Thou; not my will, but Thine. When that stage is reached, which is called complete surrender in bhakti marga, one finds that effacement of the ego is the attainment of the Self. We need not quarrel whether there are two entities or more or only one. Even according to dualists and according to bhakti marga, complete surrender is necessary. Do that first and then see for yourself whether the one Self alone exists or whether there are two or more.

Source: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in His Own Word

16/01/2026

EVERY LIVING BEING LONGS TO BE HAPPY, untainted by sorrow; and everyone has the greatest love for himself, which is solely due to the fact that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order to realize that inherent and untainted happiness, which indeed he daily experiences when the mind is subdued in deep sleep, it is essential that he should know himself. For obtaining such knowledge the inquiry ‘WHO AM I?’ in quest of the Self is the best means.”

15/01/2026

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Talk 278.
10th November, 1936
Miss W. Umadevi, a Polish lady, convert to Hinduism, had travelled in Kashmir and brought views from Kashmir at which we were looking.
Sri Bhagavan humorously, remarked, “We have seen those places without the trouble of travel.”
D.: I wish to go to Kailas.
M.: One can see these places only if destined. Not otherwise. After seeing all, there will still remain more - if not in this hemisphere,
maybe in the other. Knowledge implies ignorance of what lies beyond what is known. Knowledge is always limited.
After some time Sri Bhagavan continued: Appar was decrepit and old and yet began to travel to Kailas.
Another old man appeared on the way and tried to dissuade him from the attempt, saying that it was so difficult to reach there. Appar was however obdurate and said that he would risk his life in the attempt. The stranger asked him to dip himself in a tank close by.
Appar did so and found Kailas then and there.
Where did all this happen? In Tiruvayyar, nine miles from Tanjore. Where is Kailas then? Is it within the mind or outside it?
If Tiruvayyar be truly Kailas, it must appear to others as well. But Appar alone found it so.
Similarly it is said of other places of pilgrimage in the South, that they
are the abodes of Siva, and devotees found them so. This was true from
their standpoint. Everything is within.
--
"Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render to the world.

15/01/2026

“HAPPY MAKAR SANKRANTI" to all friends and visitors of the page of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. On this auspicious day, as the Sun moves into the northern hemisphere, let us offer our gratitude for the light of knowledge, the warmth of love, and the guidance of the Self. 💗

Sankranti marks the triumph of light over darkness, and as the Rig Veda reminds us:
‘तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय’ (Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya) – Lead me from darkness to light.💗

May the blessings of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi guide you towards inner awakening, peace, and eternal joy. Let us honor this sacred day with devotion, gratitude, and the spirit of dharma 💗

06/01/2026

SPIRITUAL STORIES
AS TOLD BY
RAMANA MAHARSHI

THE SADHU AND THE THREE STONES

In 1949 the inauguration of Mother’s Temple took place, and the dedicated labour of ten years was consecrated in Sri Bhagavan’s presence. In front of the Matrubhuteswara Shrine, the Jubilee Hall was built to accommodate the ever-increasing number of devotees. A large granite couch was installed with elaborate carvings, spread with a silken mattress for Bhagavan’s comfort. As a big pillow was placed on one side for Bhagavan to keep his arms, another behind him to lean against and a third one at his feet, the actual seating space was considerably reduced.

One day when Suri Nagamma entered the hall Sri Bhagavan said, looking at his attendants, “See how this mattress slips from one side to another! People think that it will be comfortable for Bhagavan if there is a costly mattress. It is, however, not possible to sit on this restfully. Why this? It would be much more comfortable if I sat on the stone seat itself. As told in the story about the sadhu, people think that Swami is undergoing great hardship when he lives in a thatched shed and lies on a stone bench, and so they make a fuss. It will perhaps be better if, like that sadhu in the story, I gather some stones similar to those I had in the Virupaksha Cave, take them to whichever place I go, and spread them on a mattress like this.”

A devotee asked, “What is that story of the sadhu which Bhagavan has now mentioned?” Whereupon Bhagavan began relating the following story.

A great Mahatma was living as a sadhu under a tree in a forest. He always used to keep with him three stones. While sleeping, he used to keep one of them under the head, another under the waist and the third under the legs and cover himself with a sheet. When it rained, the body used to be on the stones and so the water would flow underneath, and the water that fell on the sheet too, would flow down. So there was no disturbance to his sleep; he used to sleep soundly. When sitting, he used to keep the three stones together like a hearth and sit upon them comfortably. Hence snakes and other reptiles did not trouble him nor did he trouble them, for they used to crawl through the slits under the stones. Somebody used to bring him food and he would eat it. And so, there was nothing for him to worry about.

A king, who came to that forest for hunting, saw this sadhu and felt, “What a pity! How much must he be suffering by having to adjust his body suitably to those stones and sleep thereon. I will take him home and keep him with me for at least one or two days and make him feel comfortable.” So thinking, he went home and sent two of his soldiers with a palanquin and bearers, with instructions to invite the sadhu respectfully and bring him to his palace. He also said that if they did not succeed in bringing the sadhu, they would be punished. They came and saw the sadhu and told him that the king had ordered them to bring him to the palace and that he should come. When he showed disinclination to go with them, they said that they would be punished if they returned without him. So they begged of him to come, if only to save them from trouble. As he did not want them to get into trouble on his account, he agreed to go with them.

What was there for him to pack up? A kaupeenam, a sheet and those three stones. He folded and kept the kaupeenam in that sheet, kept those three stones also in the sheet and tied them together. “What is this? This Swami is bringing with him some stones when he is going to a Raja’s palace! Is he mad or what?” thought those soldiers. Anyway, he got into the palanquin with his bundle and came to the king. The Raja saw the bundle, and thinking it contained some personal effects, took him into the palace with due respect, feasted him properly and arranged a tape cot with a mattress of silk cotton to sleep upon. The sadhu opened his bundle, took out the three stones, spread them on the bed, covered himself with the sheet and slept as usual.

The next morning the king came, bowed to him with respect and asked, “Swami, is it comfortable for you here?”
Swami: “Yes. What is there wanting here? I am always happy.”
King: “That is not it, Swami. You were experiencing hardships in the forest by having to sleep on those stones. Here this bed and this house must be giving you happiness. That is why I am asking.”
Swami: “The bed that was there is here also. The bed that is here is there also. So I have the same happiness everywhere. There is nothing wanting at any time, either in regard to my sleep or to my happiness.”

The king was puzzled and looked at the cot. He saw that the three stones were on it. Whereupon, the king immediately prostrated himself before the sadhu and said, “Oh great man! Without knowing your greatness I brought you here with the intention of making you happy. I did not know that you are always in a state of happiness, and so I behaved in this foolish manner. Please excuse me and bless me.” After making up for his mistake in this way, he allowed the sadhu to go his way. This is the story of the sadhu.

“So, in the eyes of Mahatmas, the free life is the real happy life?” asked that devotee. “What else? Life in big buildings like this is like prison life. Only I may be an ‘A’ class prisoner. When I sit on mattresses like these, I feel that I am sitting on prickly pears. Where is peace and comfort?” said Bhagavan.

Next day that mattress was taken away and the usual mattress was spread on the couch. Even so, several people thought that it might be better to leave Bhagavan to a free life like that of the sadhu. But Bhagavan had to stay there alone, like a parrot in the cage of the devotees, because the devotees never leave him free.

04/01/2026

THE WISE KNOW that the apparent meaning of prajnana is mind and its true meaning is the Heart. The Supreme is not other than the Heart.💗

Ramana Gita, v. 5.18

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