Eka Sloki of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

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Foreword

Bhagavan Ramana was once speaking about the great merits of Bhagavad Gita. At that time a devotee complained that it was very difficult to memorise all the seven hundred verses and asked Bhagavan whether there was a single verse that could be meditated upon. Bhagavan then chose verse 20 of chapter X which states 'I am the Self, o Gudakesha, dwelling in the heart of every being, I am the beginning and the middle and also the end of all beings'.

Bhagavan's focus is ever unwaveringly on the Self and the Self alone. It does not surprise us therefore that he has chosen this verse as the essence of the Gita. The only verse that Bhagavan himself has composed in the more than three hundred verses of Ramana Gita also naturally takes our attention directly to the source, the Self. Here too, one may say that this single sloka or verse is the essence, not only of the Ramana Gita but of the entire scriptures. It starts with the term 'Heart' as Bhagavan lovingly addresses the Self. In thus giving the name 'Heart' to the Self Bhagavan immediately shifts our attention away from the body-centre to the Self-centre or the source. He also indicates that it is the very embodiment of all that is dear and itself the fount of that he has chosen this verse as the essence of the Gita. The only verse that Bhagavan himself has composed in the more than three hundred verses of Ramana Gita also naturally takes our attention directly to the source, the Self. Here too, one may say that this single sloka or verse is the essence, not only of the Ramana Gita but of the entire scriptures. It starts with the term 'Heart' as Bhagavan lovingly addresses the Self. In thus giving the name 'Heart' to the Self Bhagavan immediately shifts our attention away from the body-centre to the Self-centre or the source. He also indicates that it is the very embodiment of all that is dear and itself the fount of
boundless love. One of the most significant chapters of ' Raman a Gita' is the 'Science of the Heart'.

The beauty of this verse of Bhagavan is that it not only describes the Absolute state but also delineates the practice, giving with the stamp of simplicity so typical of Bhagavan the path to be re-established in that state by 'entering' the Heart. While there are some differences among devotees and scholars as to whether Bhagavan has specified two or three paths and which of these he has really recommended, the import of the practice section of the verse appears to be an exhortation from Bhagavan 'Stop weighing this and that.

Never mind, take any path, but for heavens sake abide in the Self, don't fail to do so'.

This little booklet 'Eka Sloki' is therefore of great import to our practise of the Ramana Way of self-enquiry and Sri C. Sudarsanam has made this invaluable contribution in his own inimitable manner. Sri Sudarasanam was an intense devotee of Bhagavan Ramana who after his retirement had dedicated himself totally to 'Ramana service' in the Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning. In the short span of a few years of earthly life that Bhagavan gave him thereafter, he prepared this book 'Eka Sloki'. He also began a verse biography of Bhagavan in the most chaste and lilting Telugu which is so sweet that one almost forgets it has not been completed. He laid an unshakeable foundation for the children's wing of our Centre, the 'Ramana Bala Kendra' and gave invaluable guidance for the lines along which the plays and ballets on Bhagavan Ramana produced by the Centre should be composed. It is a matter of joy that the Centre is able to re-print this book as a homage to Sri Sudarsanam as well.

The introduction to this book by Sri A.R. Natarajan is a masterly summary of Bhagavan's teachings and would surely be of help to every aspirant on the Ramana Way.

Our thanks to Sri Pandurang of Aridra Printers for taking up the printing of this little gem and completing it both in a short time and beautiful manner. Thanks also to Sri K. Shivaji whose initiative it has been to revive this book that has been out of print for nearly two decades now.

Introduction

There are more than three hundred verses in 'Ramana Gita'. Of these, only one verse, the second verse of Chapter two was written in Sanskrit, by Bhagavan Ramana. The other verses are Kavyakanta Ganapathi Muni's record of questions by earnest seekers of truth on different subjects and Bhagavan's reply to them. Some verses are the product of Muni's divine vision of the glory of Sri Ramana as the latest incarnation of Subrahmanya. The English translation of this verse reads :

"In the interior of the heart-cave Brahman alone shines in the form of the Atman with direct immediacy as '1', '1'. Enter into the heart with questing mind or by diving deep within or through control of breath, and abide in the Atman".

This single verse composed by Bhagavan contains the essence of Ramana Gita. It also states, in a capsule form, what constitutes Self-awareness and the way to have that experience.

The scriptures are replete with the description of the Atman, or the Self, that it is eternal, blissful and ever-free. But what that experience is and the methodology for attaining such experience is perhaps stated nowhere else as clearly as in this verse. It is therefore necessary to examine the verse in depth. This would be easy if one understands it in the light of the teachings of Bhagavan for He shows us step by step the way to Self knowledge. To begin with one has to recognize that an understanding of the nature of the mind alone can give us a natural control over its ceaseless movement. It may be mentioned here that the terms 'mind' and 'ego' are interchangeable. When one enquires thus, it would be seen that the mind is only a bundle of thoughts centred round the 'parent' 'I' thought. For convenience therefore one may term the 'I' thought as the mind. Since thoughts are absent in deep sleep, and start on waking, the mind must have a source from which it rises and into which it sets every day. This source is consciousness within which is called as the heart, Brahman and Atman. If one examines while awake the source of the mind or the ego, it subsides into the source. A new dimension of functioning comes about when one acts from the Heart free from distracting thought.

The "Eka Sloki", this verse, has really two distinct halves. In the first portion of the verse what the experiencing of the Self means is stated and in the second half, the way to have that experience is spelt out. Bhagavan says that in the Heart, Consciousness shines, resplendent. It is continuous throb, an incessant feeling of I. The feeling is one of completeness, and bliss. Elsewhere in the 'Forty Verses on Reality', Bhagavan states that "the ego falls, crestfallen, when one enquires, 'whence am I?', and enters the Heart. Then, 'I', 'I' will throb by itself. It is not the ego but the Self itself, the whole".' We would become aware that'!, is not limited to the body as we have taken it to be by the long habit but that it is the feeling of a ceaseless throbbing of consciousness. The true import of ‘I’ is thus revealed This is ‘Atmanubhaya’, the experiencing of the bliss of the Self.