Sri Ramana
Stuti Panchakam

CC No: 1047

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Sri Ramanasramam

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Publisher’s Note

We have great pleasure in bringing out a second edition of this invaluable book of hymns in praise of Sri Bhagavan by Satyamangalam Venkatarama Iyer.

In this edition, the translation has been revised, where found necessary.

Sri Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai ^V.S.RAMANAN 16th May 2001 ^PRESIDENT

Foreword

The author of these songs, Sri Ramana Stuti Panchakam, is Satyamangalam Sri Venkataramier, who came to Bhagavan when he was in the Virupaksha Cave. They are among the earliest hymns in praise of Bhagavan. Apart from that, the hymns themselves have an intrinsic freshness in them – being the outpouring of a soul at the first blossoming of its heart. Even as Saint Kannappar worshipped Siva only for a week and won His grace, so too, the author of these songs, a ripe soul, stayed with the Maharshi just a week, but with such intense love that he earned the grace of Sri Maharshi and danced round him in joy. He sang every day one of these five songs which express so clearly the nature of Bhagavan, his being one with the Universal Heart, Arunachalam, his all-filling transcendence, his being beyond time-space causation, beyond the three states and three bodies and so on. The grace that Sri Maharshi bestowed upon him is well expressed in II-9 in these words:

By his [gracious] look he gave me a slap on the cheek as it were and [seemed to] say, “Oh pious Venkataramana, what is the use of prolonging wasteful speech? See for yourself (that is, experience Realisation!)”

He finds Ramana, the universal being, in the sun, the moon and the stars; in the shining light of the diamond sparkling in the heart; Ramana is the Lord sporting in the merry-go-round of the untainted Vedas; the perfect master leading to Liberation on the Sona Hill. He says Sri Ramana and Arunachala are identical and that Sri Ramana eluded the eager search of Brahma and Vishnu. ‘Him, the devotees from all over the world seek’ (IV - 9), are prophetic words spoken as early as 1910-11 which came later to be fulfilled at Sri Ramanasramam. Sri Maharshi’s impersonality and personality are so beautifully portrayed in Hymn V, Ramana Sat Guru. A reading of it would bring before our delighted heart Sri Maharshi as He is. Of course, no translation can convey in full the soul-stirring utterances of a devotee in his mother tongue. The most striking thing about this great devotee is, that having drunk deep the grace of Bhagavan, he never felt the need to come back to his presence.

— T.K.S.

I

The Dawn Chant (Kalai Pattu)

1. Dawn is rising on Aruna Hill, Sweet Ramana, come! Lord Arunachala, come!

2. In the bush the koel sings, Dear Master Ramana, come! Lord of Knowledge, come!

3. The conch blows, the stars are dim, Sweet Ramana, come! Lord God of gods, come!

4. The cocks crow, the birds chirp, It is already time, come! The dark night has fled, come!

5. The trumpets blow, the drums beat, Gold-bright Ramana, come! Knowledge awake, come!

6. The crows caw, it is morn, Snake-decked Lord, come! Blue-throated Lord, come!

7. Ignorance has fled, the lotuses blossom, Wise Lord Ramana, come! Crown of the Vedas, come!

8. Untainted by qualities, Lord of Liberation, Benevolent Ramana, come! Lord of Peace, come!

9. Sage and Lord, One with Being-Knowledge-Bliss, Lord dancing in joy, come!

10. Love on the summit of knowledge, Beyond pleasure and pain, come! Blissful Silence, come!

II

Roundelay

(Kummi Song*)

Refrain: Girls, the feet of Lord Ramana sing!

Seek, revel and dance in joy!
Join ye all and dance in joy!

1. Leaving Kailasa, his abode, in compassion he came down (on earth) to Tiruchuli; not content to remain even there, eagerly he came to Arunagiri. (Refrain)

2. To the loving devotees who eagerly go to him in Virupaksha cave, he with his look of grace, appears sweet as sugarcane and makes them rejoice. (Refrain)

3. By the grace of God manifesting as light in Sonagiri, he cut off the impurities of individuality, illusion and action, and revels in the bliss of the Self. (Refrain)

4. Shining forth as the all-filling transcendence as well as immanence, with no abode of his own, having realised the state beyond night and day, he revels in it, all by himself. (Refrain)

* Kummi is a dance form in which the dancers are arranged in a circle. They move round and do a slow dance to the tunes of a short song with a refrain. They clap hands to keep the time beat or use short sticks to produce the same effect.

1. He is in the five elements; he cut off the five sheaths; he swallowed up the five primordial principles; he mastered the five senses. (Refrain)

2. He grew unmindful of the three bodies (gross, subtle and causal), surpassed the three states (waking, dream and deep sleep), went beyond the three qualities (sattva, rajas and tamas) and transcended the three attainments (salokya, sarupya and samipya). (Refrain)

3. Girls, finding nothing more to do, he stays as the sole Being, that is, Siva with the lustrous crescent; and he pervades all beings as their self, himself remaining as the Supreme Self. (Refrain)

4. Holding the individual self (jiva) and the Supreme Self together and uniting them, he lost his individuality. He remains as the Supreme Being, the ripe fruit. (Refrain)

5. By his [gracious] look he gave me a slap on the cheek, as it were and [seemed to] say, ‘Oh, pious Venkataramana, what is the use of prolonging wasteful speech? See for yourself’ (i.e. experience Realisation!) (Refrain)

6. Certainly Ramana is my kind master, guide and lord. Wise girls, let us surrender to him, fall at his feet and dance in rapture.

Girls, the feet of Lord Ramana sing!
Seek revel and dance in joy!
Join ye all and dance in joy!

Gold-bright (Ponnolir Pattu)

1. Of gold-bright form, full-blown lotus-faced one! Personification of rare realisation, spreading fragrance all over the earth! Having heard of your fame, poor as I am, I looked for you throughout the world and reached you here, my gracious Lord! Wise Ramana! Hill of Light!

2. O Brahmin who dwells in Virupaksha Cave on the sacred Hill of Light called Sonagiri! O primordial, eternal treasure, O Ramana, the pure! Make me your own without testing me. You are indeed the Supreme Being!

3. Life of supreme consciousness-bliss, honey of the Bliss of Siva, thick syrup of rare bliss, unbroken one, O Ramana! Considering you as the celestial tree to fulfil my wish, eagerly I ran to you. Knowledge incarnate, pure Being, save me by your glance of grace.

4. Let me place your soft holy feet on my head, at the very moment, to gain the life free from pain and be cured of the disease of recurring births! Ramana, reborn in Self, living silent in Arunachala, unknown even to the Gods, tell me when I shall attain you, O pupil of my eyes!

1. Poor me! I know how to praise you – as the pupil [of my eye]. I know nothing else. Can you be unaware, how by your side, I cry in anguish? Put down the spectre of my

2. ego and strike it with the axe of knowledge, so that it may leave me here and now! Hail Sundara Ramana!
5. Certainly Ramana is the universe with the sun, the moon and the stars! Ramana is the diamond flame of light shining in the heart! Ramana is the Lord sporting in the merry-go-round of the unstained Vedas! Ramana is the beatific Lord of Knowledge!

6. Moon-crested Ramana! You can in a trice efface the mind once stilled, and fix it at the holy feet of [Arunachaleswara] which were not known even to Brahma and Vishnu who were anxious to find them in days of yore. Allay my intense grief. O Sole Reality! Life of Yoga!

7. Ramana of profound yoga-knowledge! Unrivalled beauty! You hold within yourself the Fire of the Look of Wisdom, which wipes away the names and forms of the vast universe. Spreading flame! Hail, Holy Lord on Sonagiri!

8. Lord Ramana! I sought your holy feet. You are knowledge untiring, silence and the supreme thing beyond thought. Your heart is the centre that unifies the individual and the supreme. You are the ultimate reality that endures beyond birth and death.

9. Long live Ramana, ever abiding on Sonagiri! Hail Siva with Ganga betwixt his matted hair and the Virupaksha cave! Long live this golden hymn of Venkataramana, which rids one of all ills!

IV

Like Gold

(Ponnaiyotta Pattu)

1. They will forget themselves, who on golden Sonagiri, have found the mother-like master, Ramana, the true brahmin, shining forth as lightning.

2. The primeval brahmin incarnated as Love! Lord who came down to Sona[giri] the great Hill of Light! Gracious Master Ramana! Untainted one! Whisper in my ear the way to liberation!

3. The Pure One whom the five elements could not contain softly settled down at the cloud-crested Virupaksha Cave. He is the divine master, Ramana, whose words are so sweet.

4. Permeating earth, air, fire, water and ether, and transcending number, limit, and all doubt, is Ramana, my beloved, my eye, my very life!

5. [He is the] gracious God shining forth like a never-setting but rising sun, the Perfect Master, who leads one to liberation. Such is [Ramana], the Lord Eternal dwelling on the Aruna Hill!

6. Ramana not only sports and mingles cheerfully on the Hill of Light which formerly eluded the vigorous search of Brahma and Vishnu, but also fills the hearts of all beings!

7. He grants the prayers of anyone who, with humility beseeches, “Welcome, welcome, Ramana Maharshi! grant me, grant me thy grace!” He showers his grace abundantly.

8. His rhymes overflow with bliss. Undoubtedly he is the sage enlightening the world! Lord Ramana before us is the very incarnation of Siva, with the ever-flowing Ganga.

9. Him the devotees from all over the world seek, call out and worship as “Lord! Master!” They run up to pay homage to this living, liberated, blissful, silent Ramana, as the Supreme Being-Knowledge!

10. Long live, long live, Ramana, the Great Master!
    Long live, long live, Aruna, the Great Hill!
    Long live the songs of Venkata!
    Long endure His earnest devotees!
    

V

Ramana Sadguru

Refrain: Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, my Lord! Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, my Lord!

1. Gracious Lord who was born at the sacred place the glorious gods of heaven are delighted to praise, famous Tiruchuli. (Refrain)

2. The sea of nectar, the dweller in Arunachala was born of the love of Alagu and Sundara.* Out of love, the formless One took human form. (Refrain)

3. Untainted knowledge flowed as the sea of love to the fine Virupaksha cave on Aruna Hill and took form as this pure being. (Refrain)

4. He threw down and stood with his feet on illusion, the challenger; he did away with the deceitful senses and the mass of past karma. (Refrain)

5. He who was taken up and embraced by Lord Arunachala, my Lord and Master – he is Grace which took form and stood as the wish-fulfilling tree. (Refrain)

* Ramana’s mother and father. Alagu in Tamil and Sundara in Sanskrit mean beauty.

1. He clean forgot the three bodies and lived through the three pure states, without delighting in the transitory worldly life. (Refrain)

1. Seeing the soul of the body to be the Oversoul of the Universe, remaining still and growing ripe, his Heart became one with the Self. He revels in Its Bliss.

2. (Refrain)
2. He who had as his guru, the golden-hued Siva of great fame with his beautiful matted hair – he became one with Him. (Refrain)

3. He pervades the five elements. He is not limited by the five sheaths. He removes the troubles of his devotees, and grants them jnana. (Refrain)

4. The three gunas do not bar his way. He is the primal God free from taint. Men of merit seek, serve and fall at his feet. (Refrain)

5. He is the perfect Awareness fully aware of the primal cause and its effects. He is the destroyer and scatterer of Illusion, the challenger. (Refrain)

1. His Feet have the glory of being praised by all the gods who stand round him in humble devotion. As the Way, the Door and the King of Pure Knowledge stands he.

2. (Refrain)
6. The Lord of the Veda, the Jewel of the Veda, he is the Veda incarnate. He swiftly seared to the state of (Pure) Love and (Supreme) Bliss. (Refrain)

7. He is the Turiya state, the pure expanse, the stage for the world-play. The Witness pervading the seven worlds and the whole universe, himself remaining unstained, transcendental is he. (Refrain)

8. He is the juice of the sweet fruit ripened in the tree of Awareness. At one with That, he remains all by himself as Being-Knowledge-Bliss. (Refrain)

9. He is the dear Lord, dweller in the cavity of my heart in unison with me like salt in water. He is like father and mother. He is the wonderful Reality Itself. (Refrain)

10. Free from the limitations of the waking, dream and deep sleep states, he stands as the state of fullness beyond the reach of speech, as the very meaning of the mahavakya ‘That Thou art’. (Refrain)

11. The ever-existent Reality is this Brahmin beyond caste and creed, beginningless, untainted Lord of knowledge, the Light revealed in Pure Love. (Refrain)

12. He is the ocean of goodness beyond all characteristics, the righteous one in the eyes of wise men. He is the syrup of sweetness rare. His form is Pure Existence uniting the individual self and the Supreme Self. (Refrain)

1. For devotees bowing down in devotion, He grants the knowledge that reveals [leads to] the shore of liberation, the raiser of the flag of victory announcing it, is he.

2. (Refrain)
13. Make me your own by over powering the spectre of my mind struggling in the open jaws of the cunning senses with their evil propensities. (Refrain)

14. With the sword of pure knowledge strike down the cruel demon of ignorance now ruling as ego in the body, O! Self-effulgent Gem! (Refrain)

15. Sri Rama, the delight of the Solar Race, illustrious Brahma on the lotus, Siva with His deer and spear, Kumaradeva of great tapas – all these are he (Ramana)! (Refrain)

16. Hail, Blessed Being within the sanctuary of my Heart! Hail, your face! Hail, your heart! Hail, your feet! Hail, the one with the sacred body! (Refrain)

17. Pray, place your feet on the head of Venkata Ramana, who stands praying fervently before you, praising you with your Name tasting nectar-sweet on his tongue. (Refrain)

Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, my Lord! Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, Ramana Sadguru, my Lord!