Thanks
for the opportunity to write a few words about The Great Gangadharani. I was a school
boy when I was interacting with him and so those interactions were much
restricted or were relevant to that age only, when I had not grown in spiritual
knowledge, awakening, experience. Whenever I met him, he lovingly enquired
about my studies, asked me to study well, and things like that. By
the time I considered myself as having spiritually grown up a bit, he had
passed away and even now I feel sad for having missed such a sincere child of
our sweet Mother. I would have asked him a few curious questions, based on his
exciting inner journey into the realms of Supermind. Anyway, I grew up
hearing about his great experiences from my father, brother, and my
uncle/mentor (TR Thualsiram who lived and served in Sri Aurobindo Ashram
between 1969-2007); these have been a wonderful source of inspiration and that
is why I consider him as one of my spiritual mentors, who set himself as an
excellent example to emulate.
One
of the great qualities of Gangadharan that deeply touches everyone is his simplicity
and humility. In Tamil language the word "Ayya" is generally
used to address respectable elderly males, but Gangadharan was using this word
to address every male irrespective of his age; he addressed me too this
way and so I remember it. There is one interesting incident about
which I heard quite a number of times from my father. It seems that once
when Gangadharan was interacting with someone who was carrying an infant, he
enquired about that little one, asking like "Ayya eppa vandhaaru?"
The people around him were not sure as to who he was referring to, because he
used the word "Ayya". Little later they all realised that he was
actually enquiring as to when that child was born/came to this world, but the
way he originally asked sounded like "when did this Ayya come?" Well,
this may appear like an ordinary incident but it is very evident that
Gangadharan had this psychic relationship with others and that made him see and
treat everyone around him with due respect, a perfect quality of a true Yogi.
Gangadharan
shared a special friendship with my uncle Thulasiram who has done, as part of
his sadhana, some extensive and intensive supramental researches and further
published his findings. Gangadharan greatly helped Thulasiram for some of the
inner/integral experiments of the latter. With respect to the Mantra
experiments of Thulasiram, he had requested Gangadharan to take it up, chant
and meditate with each Mantra on a different day. It is very interesting
to note that how the Truth of every Mantra/Divine Personality presented
themselves to him and that shows his heights of attainments or plasticity of
surrender, whatever it is.
Let
me present here his experience on the following Mantra of Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother:
Sri Aravinda Sri Aravinda Aravindaya Nama
Sri Aravinda Sri Aravinda Mirra Aravinda Nama
By
chant of this Integral Mantra, Gangadharan felt Light and Omkara Sound
surrounding him, and his ādhāra (the
psychophysical system) blossomed in all the centres (chakras). Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother appeared for a while in their luminous golden Forms of Grace.
Then his deep soul-consciousness joined with the Self and ascended to the
Truth-World, and he felt the Divine Presence everywhere. Even during the
ascent, the Golden Light was seen flowing down from above and spreading
everywhere. On the summit of the Truth-World he experienced vast and pure white
Light of Grace. When he was identified with it, he heard an immortal sound
which made him wake up with open eyes. The vibrations of the experience
continued for a long time, and were tangibly felt in the body.
When
he chanted a Mantra of Lord Krishna, the vision broke out with the scene of
battlefield in which Sri Krishna was seen preaching to Arjuna; then this vision
disappeared and was soon replaced by Sri Aurobindo appearing in His benign
luminous Golden Form. Later, during his ascent to the Truth-World, Sri
Aurobindo was replaced by the Mother (of Sri Aurobindo Ashram), especially at a
stage in the ascent when an obstructing golden Dome was opened by Her with a
stroke of golden hammer and, as a result, Golden Light rushed downwards to the
earth; Gangadharan ascended into the Truth-World receiving the golden light in
his body also.
In
the case of a Mantra of Lord Shiva, he saw the Shiva-Shakti Dance in their
blissful and luminous Truth-Physical Bodies, and also their circum-gyrating
dance in bodily union. (Details can be accessed at http://www.auro-ma-ramalingam.org/yoga.php)
Apart
from the Mantra experiments, Gangadharan also participated in Thulasiram’s ‘the
Mother’s Yoga-of-food’ experiment, a powerful method in which the Mother’s pranām picture is used to charge our
food and thus gather/increase the spiritual-physical power in one’s body. Let
us hear what Gangadharan himself says: "I received from you a pranām picture of the Mother. I felt its
great power by touching it. I am thankful to you for giving me an opportunity
for receiving quite a new kind of spiritual experiences even at the body level,
by doing the food experiment devotionally for three days. On a clean cloth
spread over the well-cleaned dining space of my room, I kept the Mother's
picture (as enclosed in a plastic transparent cover) and over it I placed my
food plate served with Ashram food. I touched the food-plate with both hands,
and remembered her with love for 10 minutes before eating. An indescribable
current of spiritual power, with light and bliss quickly descended into my
body, in all its cells, and reached into the ends of hair. Great peace reigned
in my heart also. The most important and unexpected result of the experiment is
that the light which had descended into my body at the time of food had come to
stay for good in my body, in all its cells. After three days of experiment,
when I touched the picture and then my body I felt a greater power in my body,
but it was felt as equal to the spiritual-physical power of the Mother's eyes
or to Her Satchitananda power. This cannot be explained except by saying that
it happened by Her Grace. When I saw the joint picture of Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother, their figure disappeared at first, but they came back alive in their
physical body, as when I used to see them during Darshan days."
Another
magnanimous experience of Gangadharan was personally shared by him to my father,
between 1980-85. This is like Aswapati’s
ascension (as traveller of various worlds) in Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri. It seems that Gangadharan used
to lock his room during meditation and lie down on the floor. He then would leave
his body and travel/ascend through various planes and different worlds and,
after reaching the summits, return to his body. He has also told about the
risks involved in this adventurous sadhana, especially because of the fact that
there was only a hair-thin connection between his body and his soul and if
someone would come and disturb his body during such journeys then it might even
lead to death. I am not sure how long he had been experimenting this way,
whether he shared such experiences in writing.
These
are some of his wonderful experiences that he has compassionately expressed, and
must be for the benefit of others. We do not know what kind of other higher
experiences he had, experiences he kept to himself.
In
the book Among the Not So Great by
Prabhakar (Batti) we read that, once when Gangadharan was sitting in his room
and simply wondering as to what the Supermind is all about, immediately he saw
the place around him was bathed in gold, even the water he poured out of the
kuja (jug) flowed out like liquid gold.
I
also remember reading an interesting story about him in a popular book-series How they came to Sri Aurobindo and The
Mother.
Sri
Aurobindo has written a number of letters to Gangadharan. My brother had the
blessed opportunity to see these letters which were lovingly shown to him by
Gangadharan. It will be nice if that correspondence can get published, but I
have no idea who has been treasuring them.
I
had the good opportunity to visit his Samadhi (in its yester-location) in early
2008, which was located in Veerampatinam village, 6 km from the
There
is something uniquely great about his Samadhi-shrine, as aspirants have
experienced in different ways. One could concretely feel Mother’s immense
Presence there, and the other experience Integral Consciousness that comes
penetrating from below the feet.
Shall
we say that he/his life matches the matchless words of The Mother: ““Greatest
victories are least noisy.”
Gangadharan’s
Samadhi
In
1978 Gangadharan had a rare vision of the dematerialisation of Swami
Ramalingam's body; the Swami had locked himself in his room on 30 January 1874
and left the body. It is a coincidence that this tribute to Gangadharan is
appearing on the Mirror of Tomorrow on
the eve of this significant date. Synchronicity is striking.
“Swami
Ramalingam locked this door on 30 January 1874 to dematerialize his triple
deathless body in order to enter into all the bodies and permeate and pervade
the entire universe and the farther pure worlds of Consciousness beyond.”
It
was by a rare virtue (Punya) that on the first day of Tamil month Thai (14
January 1978), I had a continuous Vision between 2 am and 3 am in my usual
meditation in the night. The vision of dematerialization of the physical body
of Swami Ramalingam into and as the Truth-Light of Supreme Grace which contains
or possesses in itself Supreme Compassion and Bliss of Grace.
Though
I have had occasions to ascend into and remain for sometime in the Truth-World
of Grace-Light wherefrom I could see the earth as part of the universe, the
said Vision came to me when my consciousness was on the earth itself, though
aware of the Truth-World and the Beyond.
To
begin with I sensed an ineffable Silence and Peace (Para Shanta Mauna)
prevailing everywhere and I heard continuously Para Nada. The mysterious divine
Sound in that Supreme Silence and Peace. Then the Vision broke out.
A
small village was seen in its simple and beautiful surroundings, though not
endowed with a rich beauty of nature. There was the concrete Presence of the
Supreme and Universal Divine with the beautiful Truth-Light of Grace and
Fragrance, which enriched the place all the more and enraptured my heart with
ever increasing aspiration for Grace. At the center of the village was seen a
small house in its purity and peace. Sweet Fragrance of Grace radiated
everywhere from the house.
Vallalar
(Swami Ramalingam), the Great Munificent, was seen entering the house. His face
was calm and peaceful. He was seen as the very embodiment of Compassion and his
body was filled with the Fire of Tapas of Truth-Consciousness as of the Purity
of the Supreme Divine (Suddha Sivam). His whole body was radiating the Light of
Grace. Besides, his body was of silken or light golden shining colour. He
entered into the verandah and kindled the wick of a burning oil-lamp and it
began to burn more brightly. Then he stepped into his room and closed the doors
and bolted inside. At that time there was the Concrete Presence of the Supreme
and Universal Divine in the room. The Presence could be sensed even physically
and even by the born-blind. There was also Silence, Peace, Fragrance and the
Light of Grace due to the Presence.
Vallalar
sat on the white cloth spread on a low wooden plank and began to concentrate.
In that poise he was seen as a Mountain of Truth-Knowledge with the Truth
-Light of Grace and Peace and Fire of Tapas. He was verily a supreme form of
the Divine. Flood of Light was radiating from his pure and luminous body into
all the directions.
Supreme
Grace, Supreme Compassion and the Light of Grace are expressive of the secret
truth that they hold the key for transformation of physical body into the
deathless physical body of Grace in its eternal youthfulness. One has to live
in the depth of the ocean of blissful Grace-light for getting transformed into
the divine nature and as the divinised body.
The
intensity of the flood of Light that radiated from his whole body was very
powerful and one shall have the strength and capacity to bear and receive it.
My whole body vibrated with a joy and pleasantness because of the Vision of
Light of his body.
After
sometime of concentration, he rose up and saw the physical sky. Full moon was
shedding its blissful cool rays over the earth. A little distance away from the
moon was seen a very bright and concentrated Splendour of Light. It appeared
like a bright dazzling star of Light. The Swami poured his concentrated gaze at
it for sometime. He became enraptured with blissful joy in the heart, which
radiated on his face. A little time thereafter, he again sat on the white seat
of the plank and entered into deep concentration.
Though
the Swami was inside the closed and bolted room, he could see clearly the whole
universe (Vishwa Prapancha) with It's tiers of many worlds of mind; life and
the physical including the physical earth and sky with its moon, stars and
clouds.
When
he was thus absorbed in deep concentration, an effulgent Truth-Light of Grace
broke out from his heart and with it's unique Heat began to burn his radiant
physical body very slowly, as if at a snail's speed, and that in an upward
direction, from the heart towards the head. The burning of the body may be
somewhat likened to that of an incense-stick which however burns downwards by its
inner heat of fire, forming ash-covering but without the falling down of the
ash-form.
When
the upper part of his radiant body was burnt completely from heart to head,
there was left in its place a form of pure white substance, which also radiated
its light of Consciousness. The burnt part, however, showed all it's features
intact and clearly and even the burnt hair of his head was seen distinctly as
luminous white hair. Then the Heat of the pure Light of Grace descended to burn
the lower part.
After
the whole body was thus burnt, the Swami was seen as a bodily form of pure
white substance from head to foot, radiating it's Light. Even the blood had
changed into a white luminous Substance. The form white kept intact all the
different kinds of cells of his body and all the distinctive features and
formations of his interior and exterior body. His bodily form did not shrink in
size after the burning. I saw no visible flame nor sensed its heat during the
burning of his living body, nor smoke, nor any bad smell as of burnt tissues,
nor heard any cracking noise as of burnt bones. But instead, there was a sweet
Fragrance since the time his body began to burn and it spread everywhere. I
sensed in my heart an ineffable Calmness and Silence, which gave me in turn a
state of Bliss.
Now
a second stage of burning began. The unique Heat of Grace-Light began to burn
slowly the Swami's luminous Form of white Substance from head to foot
downwards. When his white Substance-Form full of it's radiating Light, was thus
burnt completely, the white Substance became very fine sub-atomic consciousness
particles which permeated and pervaded the entire universe and the farther pure
worlds of consciousness beyond. The fine, white and conscious particles with its
radiating Light also entered into and got distributed everywhere in the earth
and even in matter and in the Inconscient. After the universal pervasive
distribution of the particles, they could be seen no more and disappeared from
my sight. But now there pervaded everywhere the sweet, soft and fine Fragrance
of Camphor which gave my body a blissful sensation and enraptured my heart as
well.
Then
I had the rare vision of the Swami's universal luminous golden Form. As a
matter of fact the immensity of his golden form contained in it the whole
universe (Vishwa Prapancha). This form too disappeared from my view and was
replaced by another vision in which I saw the Golden Light of Truth-knowledge
and Grace entering into all the directions more speedily than the lightning. It
permeated and pervaded the whole universe and the farther pure worlds of
Consciousness. It entered into our earth and all it's crores of the physical
forms of beings and objects and in the apparently insensible matter (Jada) and
even in the very dark realm of the vast Inconscient. All the forms that were
permeated by the Golden Light of Truth changed into golden forms of beings and
objects. The golden Light entered into my whole adhara including the physical
body. My body felt in all the cells vibrations of ease and pleasantness.
Then
I heard some words of Grace, but they were indistinctly heard and could not be
deciphered, as I was absorbed in a rapture of Bliss due to the sublime vision
and experiences. Thus the Vision lasted an hour of time and came to an end.
The
visible physical light is the concrete symbol of the Vast truth-Light of Grace
which is the source of all lights. Camphor is verily a solid form or symbol of
that light. The Swami's soul is inseparable from the conscious white particles
of Substance which he has become and pervadingly distributed everywhere. When
the Supreme Truth- Consciousness manifests in the physical world, it becomes
the golden Light of Grace. The Will of the Supreme Divine in the Vast
Truth-Light of Grace shall be fulfilled on the earth. The Golden Light of Grace
will purify and transform man and the physical body too will become deathless
physical Truth-Body, and the Sanmarga of Truth, Purity and Goodness shall
prevail on the earth. As Anma (soul) realizes the pure Spirit, the body too
shall realize its truth as the true body of the Spirit.
1-
2-1978 (Sd) Gangadharan