Legend Behind Bhagavan Ramana's Upadesa Saram

There is a legend that a group of rishis once lived in the Daruka forest together, practising rites by which they acquired supernatural powers. By the same means they
hoped to attain final liberation. In this, however, they were mistaken, for action can only result in action, not in the cessation of action; rites can produce powers but not the peace of liberation which is beyond rites and powers and all forms of action. Siva determined to convince them of their error and therefore appeared before them as a wandering sadhu.

Together with him came Vishnu in the form of a beautiful lady. All the rishis were smitten with love for this lady and thereby their equilibrium was disturbed and their rites and powers were adversely affected. Moreover their wives, who were also living with them in the forest, all fell in love with the strange sadhu.

Incensed at this, they conjured up an elephant and a tiger by magic rites and sent them against him. Siva, however,slew them easily and took the elephant’s skin for a robe and the tiger’s for a wrap. The rishis then realized that they were up against one more powerful than themselves and they bowed down to him and asked him for instruction.

He then explained to them that it is not by action but by renunciation of action that one attains liberation.

The poet Muruganar wanted to write a hundred verses on this theme but he could not readily proceed beyond seventy verses. It then occurred to him that Bhagavan was the proper person to write the verses relating to Siva’s instructions. He therefore begged Bhagavan to compose them and Bhagavan accordingly composed thirty Tamil verses.

He himself later rendered them into Sanskrit. These thirty verses were subsequently translated by Bhagavan into Telugu under the name of Anubhuti Saram first, and Upadesa Saram afterwards.Bhagavan likewise rendered them into Malayalam. The
Sanskrit version, Upadesa Saram, was chanted before him daily together with the Vedas and continues to be chanted before his shrine; that is to say, it is treated as a scripture. He refers to the various paths to liberation, grading them in order
of efficiency and excellence, and showing that the best is Self-enquiry.

Source : Collected Works Of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi