Would you like to have a camera
that takes pictures of your dreams
while you dream of Arunachala?

All day you could do Arunachala-ish things
like listen to the Aksharamanamalai.

At night your mother could come up
while you are sleeping
and think: he looks kind of peaceful,
and set the camera up near your ear.

Lord Siva's all-transcending holy love within my heart

And He it is that fitting established
That rare ambrosial essence of Lord Siva's
All-transcending holy love within my heart.

~ Bathing in the Divine Presence

Ramana, the greatest Book

If a man were to write the greatest book in the world and come and lay it as an offering before the Sage he would realise that the Sage was a greater Book, which is written from day to day, not with the medium of pen, ink and paper, without intermediation, and even without any conscious effort, in the inner being of all who care to come and read it.

~ Sadhu Ekarasa, Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi

If future generations will ask what was
The special note of Ramana the Sage,
I shall reply: If any, it is certainty;
The certain safety of a Rock, unmoved,
Unchallenged in a storm-swept sea,
The immovable solidity of a mountain
In an ever-wandering world of doctrines and philosophies,
Yea, truly thou art the Sage of 'Arunachala'!

~ Sadhu Ekarasa

Bhagavan, the light

His look is cool with grace,

But burns the ego hot.


~ Bathing in the Divine Presence, concept and selection by A. R. Natarajan

dripping with bliss

Will you scoot me
into the heart
so there is not a big world
to go around in?

~a

Bhagavan's beloved Lakshmi

One day a gentleman enters the Ashram with a large cluster of hill bananas to offer Bhagavan. Not noticing Lakshmi nearby planning her assault, he is suddenly ambushed from the rear by Lakshmi who snatches the bananas from his hands and begins gulping them down ...

Devotee: (Indignant and alarmed) Hey you! How ungracious! Somebody ... this unruly cow has stolen Bhagavan's bananas. Hoe! Hie! What? Help! It's charging me!

Ramanathan: (Rushing out) What's going on?

Devotee: See what's happened. This cow has taken the bananas I brought for Bhagavan. Please drive it away.

Ramanathan: Drive it away? Do you know who this is? This is Bhagavan's beloved Lakshmi!

Ashramite: (Standing nearby, humoured by the scene.) Yes, indeed! This is Lakshmi who is fed by Bhagavan's own hands. I have seen Bhagavan serve her iddlies, payasam and vadai, all on a banana leaf, just as if she were a human person!

Ramanathan: Yes, Lakshmi is offered first. Others only come afterward.

Meanwhile, polishing off the last of her banana loot, Lakshmi is flattered that she should be the subject of so much discussion. The others continue ...

Ramanathan: You came here to offer fruit for Bhagavan, didn't you? Offering them to Lakshmi is the same as offering them to Bhagavan.

Ashramite: Yes. Even if you offer the fruit to Bhagavan he will simply give it to Lakshmi!

~ Sri Ramana, Friend of Animals: The Life of Lakshmi the Cow, a story adapted from Prani Mitra Bhagavan Ramanar