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SKETCHES
121 composed five hymns to Arunachala. Sankaracharya's Vivekcudamani and Atmabodha were rendered into Tamil by him. He wrote in Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu and Malayalam. The teachings of Ramana Maharshi are the same as those of Advaita Vedanta. It has for its aim self-realization. The inquiry into the nature of Self, the content of the notion 'l' is taught to the devotees. (A) Portrait:
Dilip Roy came to know about Ramana Maharshi when he read Paul Brunton's book. According to Brunton, Ramana Maharshi was "a heaven-sent boon-giver who could communicate peace by his mere proximity."99 Roy had also heard about Ramana Maharshi's greatness from his friend, Duraswami. So he paid two visits to Ramana ashrama during his stay at Pondicherry as the disciple of Sri Aurobindo. Dilip Roy, at that time, discovered that the charm of Ramana Maharshi's personality was irresistible. Even though it was not easy to portray what he exactly witnessed or experienced during these two visits, he tried to give the verbal form of his impressions in two of his books, Pilgrims of the Stars and Six Illuminates of Modern India.
Ramana Maharshi as Roy noted, was extremely simple in his behaviour. He always dressed himself in a bare Koupin or loin-cloth. He took his food daily with his disciples and visitors. He never appreciated any extra attention paid to him while the food was being served. He appeared to be indifferent towards the whole world. He sat in the Hall on his dais from morning till evening with only about an hour's rest in the afternoon. The disciples would come and go. They would ask questions. He gave answers if he felt like answering, if not, he made as if he had not heard. He kept gazing at the sky often with unseeing eyes. Sometimes he fixed his eyes just for a few moments on a visitor who prostrated himself before him.
But, he could not be criticized for his indifference and isolation because he stood for an ideal of liberation-jivanmukti. He was in human form and yet he was alien to all that was earthly. So, he appeared to Roy like Shiva, the great God of compassion and detachment. When Dilip Roy saw him sitting on his oblong dias, Roy found him “sat ensconced in a regal peace and egoless bliss, giving us a glimpse of another "mode of living."100
Even kings went to Ramana Maharshi offering rich gifts, but he, without accepting their offerings, simply blessed them. Pointing at the golden temple, being built in his honour by his disciples, he said: "Just fancy, they insist on erecting this for me when all I need is the shade of a tree under which to sit and be."101 On one occasion, somebody suggested to Maharshi that he should put on a vest and a coat as it was getting cold. He smiled and replied:
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