Over the course of Sri Ramana's lifetime, people from a wide variety of backgrounds, religions, and countries were drawn to him. Some stayed for the rest of their lives (or his) and served him with great devotion, and others came for a single darshan and left, deeply affected by the peace he radiated.
Many other creatures came to him as well and received his love and blessing.Human DevoteesTemple Period (September 1, 1896 - early 1897)
Akhilandamma -- born in 1871 in Desur. First saw Sri Ramana in 1896 when he was living in the Arunachaleswara Temple.
Uddandi Nayanar -- came to Sri Ramana in late 1986. He was the first regular devotee to become attached to Sri Ramana.
Annamalai Tambiran
Gurumurtam Period (early 1897 - )Venkatarama Aiyer
Palaniswami
Pavalakkunru (September 1898 - )
Virupaksha Period (1899-1916) (Mango Tree Cave during summers)
Sivaprakasam Pillai
Gambhiram Seshier
Echammal -- born in Mandakolathur, a village about 20 miles from Arunachala. Came to Sri Ramana in 1906
Ganapati Muni -- met Sri Ramana Nov 18, 1907
M. V. Ramaswami Iyer -- first came to Sri Ramana in 1907 or 1908F.H. Humphreys -- the first Westerner, met Sri Ramana November, 1911.
Ramanatha Brahmachari -- first encountered Sri Ramana in 1912.
Mastan-- born in 1878 in Desur, accompanied Akhilandamma to Tiruvannamalai and saw Sri Ramana for the first time in 1914.
N. R. Krishnamurti Aiyer -- born in 1898 in a village near Tiruchirappalli. First saw Sri Ramana in April, 1914.
Skandasramam Period (1916-1922)
Sri Bhagavan's Mother settled at Skandashram in 1917.
Sri Bhagavan's younger brother Nagasundaram
Kunju Swami -- born 1887, came to Sri Ramana in his teens in 1920 and served him until 1950.
Sadhu Natanananda -- born in 1898. First saw Sri Ramana in 1918.
Swami Viswanatha -- (1904-1979) first had Sri Ramana's darshan in January, 1921.
Mother's Samadhi Site (became Sri Ramanasramam) Period (1922 onwards)
Sri Muruganar-- (1893 - 1973). Came to Sri Ramana in September, 1923.
Shantammal -- first came to Sri Ramana in 1927
Annamalai Swami -- born in Tondankurichi in 1906. Came to Sri Ramana in 1928.
Lakshman Sarma -- came to Sri Ramana in the late 1920's.
Krishna Bhikshu -- came to Sri Ramana in May 1929.
Paul Brunton -- (1898-1981) first saw Sri Ramana in January, 1931.G. V. Subbaramayya -- first came to Sri Ramana 8, 1933.
Sri Janaky Matha (also spelled Sri Janaki Mata) -- born in 1906. Came to Sri Ramana April 20, 1935.
Sundarammal -- came to Sri Ramana in 1935.Santha Rangachary -- came to Bhagavan in 1935
Major Chadwick (Sadhu Arunachala) -- came to Sri Ramana on November 1, 1935
S. S. Cohen -- first saw Sri Ramana February 3, 1936Chalam (1894-1979) -- first saw Sri Ramana in 1936.
Souris -- came to Sri Ramana in May, 1938.
Chhaganlal V. Yogi -- came to Sri Ramana in December, 1939.
Suri Nagamma -- born in a small village in the Guntur District in Andhra Pradesh in August, 1902. Came to Sri Ramana in July, 1941.
Swami Madhavatirtha (1895 - 1960) -- first Darshan of Sri Ramana was 14 August, 1944.
Papaji (H.W.L. Poonja) (1910 - 1997) -- came to Sri Bhagavan in 1944.
Sadhu Om -- born in 1922 in Tamil Nadu. Came to Sri Ramana on June 6, 1946.
Lakshmana Swamy -- Came to Sri Ramana in 1949.
Sri Ramana Maharshi and Children
The Bee StingMy sister was again
left with my aunt at Tiruvannamalai. She would visit Bhagavan daily and play
there. Once there was a cry from the garden and Bhagavan said, "It is
Shantabai's voice," and sent someone to fetch her. My sister was reeling with
pain. She came to Bhagavan crying and said that a bee had stung her hand.
Bhagavan took her hand and caressed it. Immediately the pain of the sting
vanished. Being innocent the child told Bhagavan, "Why did you make me cry so
long? If you had wanted it you could have stopped it then and there." My Aunt
who was there at the time was shocked at the audacity of my sister's complaint.
However, Bhagavan smilingly asked what she had done to the bee before it stung
her? She said that she was pelting stones at the mangoes and one of the stones
disturbed the bee. Bhagavan smilingly said to her, "You see, the stone you threw
hurt the bee and so it stung you. So hereafter never harm anyone." Young as she
was she understood what Bhagavan meant and thereafter never hurt any living
being. Later, whenever she recalled this incident, she felt grateful to Bhagavan
for giving her this lesson on non-violence.~ account by Chakkubai Srinivasan, recorded at Sri Ramanasramam. For full story, please go to Chakkubai Srinivasan's Account
~~~
On Kartika day in 1931, when K. Venkataraman was about 11 years old, he was staying with his grandmother Echammal. Finding her busy with the sraddha ceremonies for her late husband, he took her permission to go to the temple for puja.
Before going into the Sanctum Sanctorum, he decided to have his bath inside the temple compound. He went down the steps and entered the water carefully, as he did not know how to swim, but despite his care, he slipped and went down deep into the water. With great effort he was able to come to the surface several times and shout for help, yet no one took any notice of him.
After his third unsuccessful attempt, he sank deep into the water, without any hope of survival. Suddenly he saw a very bright light inside his head in the midst of which Sri Bhagavan's face shone. This phenomenon came in a flash, and disappeared immediately. A little later he felt something catch his ankles and he experienced a similar flash in exactly the same manner and intensity as before. By then he was unconscious.
When he awoke as if from a deep sleep he found himself on the steps of Siva Ganga tank. After looking around carefully and reassuring himself that he was really alive, he asked people around him how he had come there. He was told that an old man who was doing pradakshina of Kambathu Ilayanar had run down the steps, jumped into the tank, brought him out of the water and laid him down, and then had gone away as swiftly as he had come. Venkataraman then quickly had his puja performed and went straight home, without mentioning a word about it to his grandmother.
The next morning they went together to the Ashram as usual and prostrated before Sri Bhagavan. Bhagavan looked at them and asked how deep Siva Ganga tank was. The lad could not understand the import of question, and ran out of the hall silently. It was only later in life that he realised that his saviour had been none other than Sri Bhagavan himself. It is true that Sri Bhagavan shunned occult powers as an obstacle to pure sadhana but it is also true that Sri Bhagavan is all grace and compassion and never fails his devotees.
Another incident he recalls happened about a year later when he had come from his father's home to stay with Echammal for his school vacation. One morning at the Ashram he noticed that almost everyone had copies of a new book which he found was Suddhananda Bharati's biography of Sri Bhagavan, Sri Ramana Vijayam, fresh from the press, and presented it to all inmates. Disappointed at not getting a copy, he went to Chinnaswamy to ask for one. After Chinnaswamy refused to give him one, he went where Sri Bhagavan was and stood weeping. Bhagavan asked why he was crying and Venkataraman told him what had happened. Bhagavan then sent an attendant to the book stall for a copy of the book. After writing "Ramanan" on the flyleaf, he handed it the boy, who was filled with joy and thanked him for it. Sri Bhagavan then observed: "Oho! You are all joy now and your weeping vanished so soon." Venkataraman then went out of the Hall to tell Chinnaswamy that he had got what he wanted from the hands of Sri Bhagavan himself.
~ from Surpassing Love and Grace
When my brother Adam was about four years old he was sucking a sweet when he came running into the hall to tell Bhagavan something. Bhagavan asked him if he was enjoying his sweet and Adam, without a thought, took it out of his mouth and offered to put it into Bhagavan’s hand. There was a gasp of shock from the orthodox individuals around, but Bhagavan understood the spirit in which the offering was made and smiled at Adam. He said something along the lines of “No, no, you keep it.” Completely unbothered Adam popped the sweet back in his mouth and went on with what he wanted to say ...
Sri Ramana and Adam Osborne
I was a little girl of around eight years of age. I was playing on the hill when Bhagavan came walking down with a number of people around him. Looking at him I was filled with such an overwhelming feeling of love that I burst out with:
“Bhagavan, I love you so much.” There were coos of approval from those around and I thought that they were approving of me without knowing how naughty I could be. I didn’t want unearned praise so I hastily added:
“Of course I love the monkeys too.” Gasps of shock naturally followed. The wonderful thing about being around Bhagavan was that one knew that he could see into our hearts. Bhagavan knew exactly what I meant and he just laughed and walked on.
~ Katya Osborne, from The Mountain Path, Sept 2004
The single most powerful memory of those days in my personal experience of Bhagavan occurred one day when I accompanied my mother to the ashram. I was about 5 years old at the time. Bhagavan was sitting on a small pial (raised platform) in the thatched room adjoining the Old Hall. The place is where Bhagavan's samadhi is now. The platform faced east whereas in the Old Hall Bhagavan faced south. My mother prostrated before Bhagavn in the traditional way and I who was standing next to her, suddenly climbed on her back, and sat there as if riding a horse or an elephant. My mother became very angry and tried to push me down. But Bhagavan, seeing my innocent mischief, smiled and enjoyed the fun. He bade my mother not to scold or push but stay in that prostrated posture for a few seconds more. When I recollect this incident I become enthralled at the memory of his beautiful, smiling countenance. He loved children and their playful mischief.
~ D. Rajaram, The Mountain Path, June, 2003
