Suri Nagamma Recollects Guru Prasadam Given To Her By Guru Ramana

One afternoon in 1945-46, I went to the Ashram late in the afternoon. Devotees assembled there were munching something. When enquired what it was, I was told that some coconuts which were ripe had fallen on the ground, there was ripe copra within which was very nice and so they were eating it.

“Is that so?” I said and went to Bhagavan. He too was eating holding a portion of it in his left hand. As soon as he saw me he said, “There she is. Nagamma has come. Give her also a portion.”

“Ayyo! it is all exhausted,” exclaimed those near him.

Normally if anyone brings something to eat during the afternoons and it is over by the time I go to Bhagavan, it is usual for Bhagavan to offer me a portion of what he has in his hands, but as what he eats is usually very small quantity,I respectfully decline to take it and go to the kitchen and eat. I wanted to do the same thing this time also and looked towards the kitchen.

Noticing it Bhagavan called me and said, “Listen. You won’t get this there, as it is all being consumed here only. Come near. This is very tasty.” When I went there as desired, Bhagavan gave me all that he had in his hands. When I protested against his giving me away all that he had, he said, “Never mind. I have already eaten a lot. Your share only is the leftover.” I accepted it as a mahaprasadam — an invaluable gift — and ate it with great relish. To me it appeared like nectar.

My delight knew no bounds as it was a prasadam received unsolicited from Bhagavan’s own hands. My joy was indescribable.Guroruchistam (the leftover of a Guru) is really this and not what is left over from the guru’s plate or leaf after he eats.This is perhaps what Bhagavan wanted to teach us that day.

While residing on the hill and also during the early days of the Ashram, Bhagavan used to take part in kitchen work and so devotees were at the time receiving prasadam at his hands like this, but since my coming here this has not happened.

So on that day, when I received from Bhagavan’s own hands a portion of what himself was eating, all felt that it was my special good fortune — the result of my past births.

Source: Letters from Sri Ramanasramam VOLUMES I, II & Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam By SURI NAGAMMA Translated by D. S. SASTRI

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Ramana Maharshi Does Not Tolerate If Any Special Attention Is Shown To Him While Eating

Servers in the kitchen usually devote special attention to Bhagavan by serving him something more than they serve to others. He notes such undue discrimination and tries to dissuade them.

Once post master Raja Iyer did so and Bhagavan looked at him disapprovingly but did not say anything at that time; and so Raja Iyer was continuing the practice off and on.

One night palpayasam (milk pudding) was prepared and Chinnaswami finding it particularly delicious, appeared to have hinted to Raja to serve a little more than usual to Bhagavan. So Raja served a little more. Bhagavan could not tolerate it and burst out, “There! Again the same nonsense.

The same monkey tricks. Why do you serve me more than what you serve others? When it comes to serving Bhagavan,the ladle is immersed fully while it is immersed only half when it is served to others. How often have I told you not to do so? No one listens to my words.

When the ladle is in his hands the server thinks he is as powerful as the District Collector and thinks he can do anything without fear. He is the one who serves and we are the people to eat whatever he serves. His hand is above and ours is below.

We must act as he pleases and eat as he decides and then lie low.” And Bhagavan went on talking in that strain, severely rebuking all the people concerned.

Source: Letters from Sri Ramanasramam VOLUMES I, II & Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam By SURI NAGAMMA Translated by D. S. SASTRI

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Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni Says Ramana Maharshi Is A Good Cook

Sometime in 1942, a devotee asked Bhagavan why the slokas in “Chatvarimsat” though they are only forty in number are in different metres. Smilingly Bhagavan said, “Oh that! Nayana wanted to write a “Ramana Satakam” (100 slokas) with each set of ten slokas in different metres and selected the required metres for the purpose.

He then began writing one sloka in each metre and slowly added some more slokas as and when he felt like writing but could not complete the work. By the time he passed away it was found there were only 40 slokas.

These were gathered together by me and named as “Chatvarimsat”. This is being recited every morning before the Upanishad Parayana. What to do? A number of his writings remained incomplete similarly. That was his way of doing things.” “In one or two places there are ten slokas at a stretch in one metre. How come?” asked the devotee.

“Yes, yes. In one dasakam (series of ten slokas) he wrote only two slokas in a lighter vein saying ‘Bhuvana bhupate, bhagavatah krite, bhavasi pachako yamavatam pate,’ (Oh! Lord of Sannyasa! You are like a cook in the services of God). ‘Narapasooniman ahami tadayan,parasivodanam vithanushe pachan’, (You are demolishing the egos of the human animals and cooking meals for Parama Siva).You see, that means I am a good cook.

Nayana has styled me a cook. How strange! Perhaps Arunachaleswara was till then eating human beings uncooked and now he has got in me an expert cook. Nayana means I cook well and tastefully and serve it to the Lord. Good! He can eat the food with great relish. A nice cook indeed,” said Bhagavan with a smile.

Source: Letters from Sri Ramanasramam VOLUMES I, II & Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam By SURI NAGAMMA Translated by D. S. SASTRI

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Ramana Maharshi Says If You Eat Just What Is Necessary, Ailments Will Be Avoided

22nd October, 1947

Bhagavan’s body has become much reduced of late and some of the devotees have been saying that it is due to his not taking enough of nourishing food. Having heard this a Bengali lady brought some pieces of guava sprinkled with salt and chilly powder, and said beseechingly, “Bhagavan, you are getting very thin; it is good to eat fruit like this. Please accept my humble offering.”

Bhagavan said with a smile, “Who is it that is thinner? You or I?”

She said it was Bhagavan.

Bhagavan: “That is nice. Who exactly has grown thin will be known if the weight is taken. If you like, you may eat those fruits every day yourself. Why this for me? It is all right; you have brought them to day, but please do not bring them again.”

So saying, Bhagavan took a few pieces and said to his attendants, “See how lean she is! Please give her several of these pieces and distribute the rest to the others.”

One of those who could venture to talk to Bhagavan more freely said, “Bhagavan, you have recently very much reduced the amount of food you take daily. It’s not good.”

“Oho!” said Bhagavan. “Who told you that? I am taking whatever I require. What good would there be in my taking more food and getting fat? By getting fat, do you know how many ailments one suffers? The more you eat, the greater will grow the strength of the ailment. If you eat just what is necessary, ailments will be avoided.”

“Why have you given up taking even pepper-water and buttermilk?” said another devotee.

“You enquire why?” said Bhagavan. “If you observe what is being done when the meals are served, you yourself will understand. Buttermilk is brought into the dining hall in big buckets with large ladles. When taking out the buttermilk for serving me, the ladle is full, but when the same is served to the very next person, the ladle is only half full. When I saw that, I got disgusted and felt that I myself should not take any more than half a ladleful.”

“Why not at least take fruit juice?” said the devotee.

“So this has started again!” said Bhagavan. “Everyone says the same thing. How will all that be possible for me?”

“What do you mean, Bhagavan? We get quite a lot of fruit. Why say that it is impossible? You yourself have stated that what is offered voluntarily can be accepted.”

“So that is it!” said Bhagavan. “If I did say that such offerings could be accepted, did that mean that the people around could be ignored?”

“True,” said the devotee, “but quite a lot of fruit is received; it can be distributed to the others too.”

“All is very well,” said Bhagavan, “but where have we the wherewithal to give them all? The fruit is shown here to the Swami as an offering, a naivedya, and then taken away. It is kept locked in the store room. The keys are in the charge of the store-keeper. Who will go and ask him? In the same way, the various articles here are in the custody of someone or other; I have none. This is the result of being a spiritual
preceptor!” said Bhagavan smiling.

It seems that some fifteen days back, someone brought some green pepper. Bhagavan had that pepper, some myrobalams, acetic acid, salt and other ingredients mixed,ground and made into little pills. Today Sivanandan came in to enquire whether he could get the pills for Bhagavan, as they are supposed to be good against phlegm and Bhagavan had been using them now and then during the cold weather.

As Sivanandan had not enquired about them all these fifteen days and is doing it only now, Bhagavan said with a laugh,“I see, you have now remembered about them. Yes, yes, you have been waiting to see whether I would ask for them, and thereby test me. Were I to ask, you would say, ‘What is this? Swami has begun to ask about everything and is worrying us’. What am I to do? They feel that if they but salute me once, I should thereafter do everything they want. People say that spiritual preceptorship (swamitvam), is a matter for happiness. But see, this is what it is to be a spiritual preceptor.Would it not be good if a book is written on spiritual preceptorship?”

“Bhagavan is saying something unusual,” said a devotee.

Bhagavan replying with a smile, said, “What is there unusual about it? It is all true. ‘Swami is seated on a sofa with a soft mattress spread on it. What is there for him to worry about?’ That is what people think. But do they know about our troubles? That is why I say that it would be good for a big book to be written on spiritual preceptorship.

If all the things that have happened here during the last years had been written in the form of a book, it would be as big as the Mahabharatham! Anyone who cares to write it, may do so even now!” he said.

“Who would write all that?” said a devotee.

“Why not?” said Bhagavan. “If a book recording these events is written, all people will then know that spiritual preceptorship consists in saying, ‘Yes, yes,’ and ‘All right, all right’. What is the difficulty in writing about it?”

So saying, Bhagavan looked at me and with a laugh said, “Why? If you like, you can write it!”

Source: Letters from Sri Ramanasramam VOLUMES I, II & Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam By SURI NAGAMMA Translated by D. S. SASTRI

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Ramana Maharshi's Simplicity In Eating Habits

6th March, 1949

One afternoon, the attendants brought in sweetmeats, given in large quantities to the Ashram by devotees, and sought permission of Bhagavan to distribute them amongst the people in the hall as there were lots of them and it would be difficult to dispose of them otherwise.

Just then an old woman arrived,feeling her way with the aid of a walking stick, and brought with her two or three dosais (pancakes) enclosed in a banyanleaf bowl. As soon as she entered the hall, she went straight to Bhagavan and of her own accord said, “Swami,take these dosais. I am sorry, I had nothing better to bring.”

So saying, she tried to hand them over to Bhagavan direct.People nearby tried to prevent her from doing so by saying,“Please put them somewhere else.” She got angry and said,“You had better keep quiet. Who are you to tell me? You have all come here yesterday or the day before. What do you know? Was it not I that got this platform built for Swami and made him sit here? You say I should not go near him.

Enough, enough.” All were taken aback by her authoritative attitude. Bhagavan stretched out his hand and accepted her offerings with the greatest kindness, saying, “Grandma, they are little children, who do not know what is what. Please do not take it otherwise. With what flour did you prepare these dosais? Are none of your brother’s sons looking after you properly? How are you able to maintain yourself? Did you come walking, or in a cart?”

Thus enquiring about her welfare, Bhagavan began eating the dosais. They were not
properly roasted but he ate them with great relish as if they were equal to nectar.

The old woman sat there overwhelmed with joy and unimaginable happiness. Bhagavan afterwards asked for some sweetmeats, took a little of each variety, said that was
enough for him and instructed his attendants to distribute the rest amongst themselves and the people there, giving the rest of his share to the old woman.

She got up, prostrated before Bhagavan, took her share of the sweetmeats as prasadam and left saying, “What does it matter how others look after me, Swami? By your grace I am selling dosais and making a living out of the business. It is enough if I could pass the rest of my life thus.”

After she left, the attendants asked, “Instead of eating those dosais which are not properly roasted, why not give them to us and eat the sweets?” Bhagavan said, “Oh! Those sweets, you think, will be much more tasty than these dosais? If you want, you eat all the sweets. These dosais are enough for me.” The attendants could say no more.

Looking at me, Bhagavan said, “Poor old woman, what can she do? She brought what she had. When I was on the hill, she and her husband used to come to me. She used to
bring me something to eat now and then. After her husband passed away, she lived with her brother. Even he passed away.

As her brother’s sons did not look after her properly and turned her out, she has been staying somewhere else and has been living by selling dosais it seems. It is she that had a platform constructed near Mother’s Samadhi where I used to sit and had it covered by palm leaves.

Till then, I used to sit under a tree. ‘Aye! Swami is sitting on the floor and is
exposed to the sun!’ So saying, she got the platform built. It is her brother’s son that has repaired Draupadamma’s temple.

Having grown old, she does not come here often. See how she has come here all this distance, with great effort, helped by the walking stick!” He ate all the dosais without leaving even a crumb.

Sources:

1) Letters from Sri Ramanasramam VOLUMES I, II & Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam By SURI NAGAMMA Translated by D. S. SASTRI
2) Arunachala's Ramana Volume VIII Book

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Rules For Visitors To Eat Food In Ramana Ashramam

Unless we stay in the Asramam guest house, we are not given breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.There is exception however on special days, like Jayanti, Araddhana and Mahapuja days.Even with this rule, they serve food for about 100 visitors and 100 sadhus everyday.During Jayanti and other special days, they serve food for more than 1000 people.On 1st January 2010,food was given for about 2500 people and the lunch time went upto 2 pm.

Further the Asramam does not ask for any donation unless people give it voluntarily. Even those who stay in the guesthouses are not asked to give donation.

This information was told to me by my spiritual friend Mr. Subramanian.R Garu.

Readers interested are requested to read below articles as well regarding food

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2010/01/bhagavan-ramana-maharshis-simplicity-in.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramana-maharshi-supports-mixing.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramana-maharshi-does-not-offer-costly.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramana-maharshi-says-food-mixed-with.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/08/ramana-maharshi-suggests-to-eat-without.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/03/ramana-maharshi-suggests-eating-strict.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/04/ramana-maharshi-about-regulating.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2010/02/ramana-maharshi-answers-why-does-he.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/08/ramana-maharshi-suggets-to-have-any.html

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Few Lessons From Bhagavan Ramana's Life

K.R.K. Murthy writes in Arunachala's Ramana, Boundless Ocean of Grace, Volume 6:

1. Once there was a discussion about the foodstuffs such as onions, drumsticks, carrots etc., which orthodox people avoid.Bhagavan Ramana remarked that they may do good to the body but not to the mind. They may purify the blood and benefit the body but they rouse passions and are not helpful for the purification of the mind, chiddasuddhi.

2.Giving up certain fruits, nuts or other foodstuff dear to one,during the pilgrimages to holy places like Kasi, is one of the practices prevalent among the religious people. One day Bhagavan noticed a devotee avoiding a mango on this ground and commented that a better form of 'tyaga' - renunciation would be to accept whatever one happens to get and not to crave for which that is not available.

3. Once Bhagavan Ramana also told that one may avoid things that do not agree with one's constitution and take necessary quantities of suitable ones that do him good. But maintenance of body and health should not occupy much attention as it is not our chief pursuit in life.

4. Bhagavan never used to compromise with equality in serving meals.He never agreed to accept anything which is not equally shared by His fellow diners.He was satisfied only when He was served in the end, after everyone was served.Even under exceptional situations, He was not willing to take the food of superior quality unless it was distributed to all.

5. Bhagavan made people of different tongues in South India quite at home by speaking or writing in their respective languages.It requires a great effort to cross the narrow linguistic barriers and shed the unjustifable prejudices against other languages and appreciate good works in them. Only one who studies one or two languages in addition to his mother tongue and moves and lives with others has ample opportunities of broadening his outlook and also reaching others' hearts.The initial linguistic affinities do not last long and after all, people of the same mentality flock togetherm whatever their mother tonuge is.Bhagavan Ramana is particularly adored because He had taken a lot of pains to master several languages and write His works in the same for the benefit of devotees from various parts.His glorious example will continue to influence generations of devotees to put forth their best efforts in this direction and to come closer by understanding one another better.

Source: Arunachala's Ramana, Boundless Ocean of Grace, Volume 6

Readers are requested to read below articles also

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2010/01/personal-habits-of-ramana-maharshi.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/08/some-anecdotes-on-bhagavan-ramana.html

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Ramana Maharshi answers Why does he take milk, but not eggs?

4th February, 1935

Talk 24.

Mrs. Piggott: Why do you take milk, but not eggs?

Maharshi: The domesticated cows yield more milk than necessary for their calves and they find it a pleasure to be relieved of the milk.

Devotee: But the hen cannot contain the eggs?

M.: But there are potential lives in them.

D.: Why then the restrictions of food given for such?

M.: Your present experience is due to the influence of the atmosphere you are in. Can you have it outside this atmosphere? The experience is spasmodic. Until it becomes permanent practice is necessary.Restrictions of food are aids for such experience to be repeated. After one gets established in truth the restrictions drop away naturally. Moreover, food influences the mind and it must be kept pure.

Source: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Volume I Book

Readers interested are requested to read below article also

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2010/01/bhagavan-ramana-maharshis-simplicity-in.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramana-maharshi-supports-mixing.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramana-maharshi-does-not-offer-costly.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramana-maharshi-says-food-mixed-with.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/08/ramana-maharshi-suggests-to-eat-without.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/03/ramana-maharshi-suggests-eating-strict.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/04/ramana-maharshi-about-regulating.html

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/08/ramana-maharshi-suggets-to-have-any.html

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