How I Came to Bhagavan by V. Ramachandran

--The Mountain Path, July 1982

I had the great privilege of being born in a family which was deeply devoted to Bhagavan Ramana.My grandparents, Sri M. Ramu Setty and Smt.Muniammal, would take me for Sri Bhagavan’s darshan.

Thus I started visiting the Maharshi right from my childhood. Being a native of Tiruvannamaiai,it was my great good fortune that I was able to have Bhagavan’s darshan till His Mahasamadhi in 1950.

When Bhagavan was staying at Virupaksha Cave, devotees would come to town singing
Aksharamanamalai. We would eagerly wait for their arrival to offer them cooked food. Only after such offering would we eat. This continued without a day’s break till Bhagavan’s mother started cooking at Skandashram. Our house was open to devotees
of Bhagavan at all times.

Even while Bhagavan was at Virupaksha Cave, occasionally we used to go there and offer biksha. On one such occasion the leaf-plates we had brought were just enough for the devotees present and there was none for me. Being young, I started crying. Bhagavan called me and coming to know the reason, consoled me by providing me with a leaf. Bhagavan understood a child’s feelings, and He has been gracious to me throughout my life!

It was Bhagavan who introduced me into religious texts. Once Bhagavan wrote the first verse of Dakshinamurti Stotra on a slip of paper and told me to learn it by heart and repeat it on my next visit.Thus I learnt the Dakshinamurti Stotra. I would often forget the first word of a verse and Bhagavan would help me. Then writing down the first word of each verse of Dakshinamurti Stotra, Bhagavan gave me the slip of paper to help remember the sequence.

On the first of each Tamil month I would go round the Hill along with my mother, and on the way we would walk into the Ashram to pay homage to Bhagavan who would receive us with a smile and sometimes ask us to take breakfast. Once, when as usual two iddlies were served on my plate, I asked for one more.

Bhagavan turned to me and said that I could have one more after eating the two. When I had finished eating them, Bhagavan asked whether I would like to have more, and I replied No. Bhagavan, said with a smile: Why did you ask for more even before starting to eat? Thus Bhagavan taught the lesson that one should not be greedy.

When my mother passed away, I went to the Ashram to convey the news to Bhagavan. Bhagavan graciously looked at me and relieved me of my intense grief.Bhagavan smilingly told me that my mother was as old as his stay at Arunachala. With folded hands I prayed to Bhagavan to protect our family, and He graciously nodded His head by way of approval.

Bhagavan was not merely a spiritual Master of the highest order, but our mother, our father and our all!

Source: http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/pdf/Saranagathi_eNewsletter_June_2011.pdf