Sri Ramana Reminiscences

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Publisher's Note

Sri G. V. Subbaramayya, the Author of this long awaited Sri Ramana Reminiscences does not need any introduction to the devotees of Sri Bhagavan. He was one of the privileged few who moved with Sri Bhagavan with childlike familiarity and had His Grace in full measure. Originally written in Telugu as Sri Ramana Smaranamrutam (now out of print) was translated into English by him and printed in 1967 which unfortunately came out very crudely printed full of printing mistakes. This has now been thoroughly revised and presented to our readers in a new garb. We hope the devotees of Sri Bhagavan will welcome this book and take it to their heart.
The Author passed away in May, 1970.

T. N. Venkataraman,
President,
Board of Trustees,
Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.

20th May, 1979,
Maha Puja Day.

G. V. Subbaramayya an educationist, professor and poet was one of the older devotees whose approach to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was exceptionally spontaneous. It was a pleasure to listen to their talk so free of constraint. There were some who trembled before Sri Bhagavan when speaking to Him. Such was His majesty.

The turning point and the greatest influence was of course the coming into his life of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. Let's quote what he himself has to say about it : "The pole star of my life is of course my gurudev Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. At a time of distress in 1933 I was drawn to Him and the very first darshan plunged me into the ocean of peace and bliss. Ever since He has been the light of my life. He is my mother, father, guru and goal. He is my all-in-all ; and in Him my little self and all its moorings were consummated and sublimated. In a word He is the embodiment of grace. At every step in the least incidents of my life I have come to feel with a growing consciousness the guiding hand of that Divine Grace that is Sri Ramana".

A keen student of English literature he took his degree in 1922 and became a lecturer and later on Principal of the P.B.N. College at Nidubrolu. Proficient in his own mother tongue, Telugu and in Sanskrit, as much as in English, his writings included a poetical rendering of Kalidasa's great lyric Megha-Duta in Telugu verse and a collection of his English poems in two volumes. A good conversationalist, he used to draw Sri Bhagavan spontaneously into talks over a variety of topics. He has translated Sri Bhagavan's teachings into English notably the Ramana Gita in verse. By virtue of his association with Sri Bhagavan and the teaching he imbibed he became a familiar figure in Andhra Pradesh where, in his retirement he was spreading Sri Bhagavan's Gospel in various places. After 1963 he set himself the task of rendering The Andhra Maha Bharatam into English verse and has almost completed it receiving the blessings of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Sankaracharya and the eminent scholar and statesman, Sri C. Rajagopalachari.

G. V. Subbaramayya has recorded in Sri Ramana Reminiscences how a sthitaprajna or Jnani like Sri Bhagavan appears to react to the happenings of the relative world of phenomena that we see and experience and how a Jnani could appreciate love and devotion such as G. V. Subbaramayya evinced towards Sri Bhagavan. "Self-realization", Sri Bhagavan used to tell his devotees "is not a new acquisition but only a removal of the clouds that hide the Reality that we always are by the extinction of the super-imposed non-real ego, that makes us see and experience diversity in the one Universal Self, through the process of Self-Enquiry".

A few days before the Mahasamadhi of Sri Bhagavan, G. V. Subbaramayya went to see Sri Bhagavan and implored Him for grace ; Bhagavan, Abhayam Yeevala (Bhagavan, you must give me protection) and quick came the reply Yichanu (I have given it) !