Appil uppena venmana gugai
Oppi nindridu maNNalaan;
Appan oppavan annai oppavan
Arpudha poruL aanavan.

Word meaning
appu = water; uppu = salt; en mana = my heart/mind; gugai = cave; oppi = compared to; aNNal = honorific title/chief/lord; appan = father; annai = mother; arpudham = wonderful;

Meaning
My Ramana has dissolved in the cave of my heart like salt in water. He is like my father and my mother. He is a great wonder, our sadguru Ramana.

The salt doll comparison is comes up in Talks No.5, where Bhagavan says, “By constantly keeping one’s attention on Source, the ego is dissolved in the Source like a salt-doll in the sea.” 

And also later:

“Mr. Maurice Frydman remarked on the subject of Grace: ‘A salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof coat.’ It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such. Sri Ramana Maharshi added, ‘The body is the waterproof coat.'”

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa also refers to the analogy, “A salt doll went to measure the size of the Ocean. It went in to look and never came back.” 

This simile is reminiscent of Bhagavan’s plea in Aksharamana malai:
ambuvil aali pol anburuvunil enai
Anbaai karaitharuL Arunachala

Meaning
Just how hail stone, made of water gets its solid form, and melts into its original form of water with heat, dissolve me in your form of love Arunachala.

When we surrender completely or do self enquiry, as Bhagavan has instructed us, He merges in our heart as the Self where all differences and dualities dissolve and disappear, leaving just the Self shining as Arunachala. 

Comparing God to mother and father is found in bhakti literature. Saint Manickavasagar calls Shiva ‘ammaye appa oppila maNiye’ (mother, father, peerless gem) in Siva puranam. Sri MahaPeriyava also says that Shiva and Parvati are our (universal) parents. Bharathiyar, a Tamil poet from the early 1900s, has written poems in praise of Lord Krishna as mother and father. Tirumular, in Tirumandhiram verse 7 says, ‘….thannai appa venil appanumai’ meaning he is Father to those who call him Father, and in verse 8 ‘ …thaayinum nallan thazh sadayan’ meaning ‘kinder than is he, the one with flowing matted locks. 

It is also sentiment expressed in verse 6 and14 of Aksharamana malai:
6 Eendridum annayin peridharuL purivoi 
Idhuvo unadharul Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! You drench your devotees with love that’s greater than that of a mother’s, is this the glory of your grace?

14 Avvai pol enakkun aruLaithandhenai
AaLuvadhun kadan Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! It is your duty to take me over (aaLuvadhu = dominate) with your grace, compassion (which comes so naturally to you), and unconditional love like a mother. Because you are my mother and father to me now that I have surrendered to you.
(And also in the last line of Arunachala NavamaNi malai verse 5 ‘… neranadhundo thaai sisivukaatrum …)​

Here SV considers Bhagavan, who is no different from ardhanareeswara that is Arunachala, as his mother and father.

Chinmaya tharu vir pazhuthidu
Theengani chuvai aaginon;
Thanmaya poruLaaith thanithidu
Sachidhanandam aaginon.

Word meaning
chinmayam (chit mayam)= embodiment of wisdom, full of wisdom; tharu = tree; pazhuthidu = (process of) ripening; theengani = sweetest fruit; suvai = taste; aaginon = (he) became; thanmayam = one’s own nature; thanithu = separate; sachidanandam = sat chit ananda.

Meaning
Our Ramana is like the sweetest fruit on the tree of wisdom, he sits established in his Self. He is one with Self. He is Truth Consciousness Bliss personified.

In Guru Stotra there is a verse that refers to chinmayam (it’s split as chit mayam where chit is wisdom/consciousness and mayam is full of or pervaded with).

Chinmayam Vyapi yat-sarvam trailokyam sacharacharam 
Tatpadam darshitam yena tasmai Shri Gurave Namah

Meaning: My salutations to that glorious Guru, who revealed to me that self-effulgent divinity (the pure unconditioned consciousness) which pervades all the three worlds, with all its movable and immovable objects.
Of all the parts of a tree, it is the ripe fruit that gives us the most happiness and pleasure through its delicious taste. Ripeness is a stage in spiritual development also. It is customary in Saivism to refer to a very ripe bhaktha as ‘Siva Pazham’ literally meaning Siva Fruit. 

Bhagavan mentions ripeness of fruit in Aksharamana malai:
61 naindhazhi kanıyal nalanilai padhathil
naadi utkoL nalam Arunachala
Meaning
Fruit that’s too ripe will be rotten, there’s no use in eating it. Eat the fruit when it’s at just the ripe stage and enjoy Arunachala!

All of us seek out the sweetness of the ripest fruit, which could explain why SV compares Bhagavan to a ripe fruit on the tree of wisdom (chinmayam is also Consciousness). It is the fragrance from such ripeness that is still attracting devotees from around the world. Not just the material world, as Bhagavan has often said that Siddhas came to visit him as dogs, birds, snakes, (there was even a mongoose) and other animal forms.

Established as the Self, he embodies pure sat chit ananda, bliss consciousness. Countless devotees have described Bhagavan’s statue-like appearance radiating waves of peace and bliss when he was looking at his beloved Arunachala through the window of the Old Hall, and when he was listening to Veda parayana and on many other occasions such as his jayanti day.

Once a devotee asked Bhagavan what was the difference between Bhagavan of now and Bhagavan of Virupaksha Cave days, to which Bhagavan replied, ‘Nothing. I used to keep my eyes closed then, now I keep them open’*.  In another answer explaining being in the Self, Bhagavan said, ‘Thannai thaan kaaNbavanukku anniyamai edhuvum kaaNapadadhu’*, meaning to one who has ‘seen’ himself, there won’t be anything outside to see. It is this state that Bhagavan was always in and was guiding devotees according to the state they were in.
* From Kadidhangal by Suri Nagamma

 Turiyame vadivaagi thooveLi
Yaada ranga madhaginoan;
Kariyadhai chagam ezhod andam
Kalandhu nindra kalapilan.

Word meaning
Turiyam = 4th state (after waking, sleeping, dreaming); vadivu = shape, form; thooveLi = pure space; aada arangam = dance/play stage; adhu aaginoan = (he) became that; ariyadhai = rare; chagam (jagam) = world; ezhu = seven; andam = universe; kalandhu = mix, mingle, fuse; kalapu ilan = without flaw.

Meaning
Our Ramana is the form of Turiya state, he is the stage on which the Pure Space of divinity plays. Even though he is fused with the seven worlds and the universes, he remains blemishless.

There are 14 lokas (worlds) according to Hinduism, seven above the earth and seven below. Above are satya loka, tapa loka, jana loka, mahar loka, svar loka, bhuvar loka, bhur loka which are above the earth and seven others below, which are, atala loka, vitala loka, sutala loka, talatala loka, mahatala loka, rasatala loka and patala loka.

In Guru Vachaka Kovai we see in verse 20: 
When viewed from the standpoint of the eternally self-existent Cause, even the three, seven or twenty-one worlds will appear to be real. But when one sees only the names and forms of the world as real, then even Brahman, their cause, will appear will appear to be absolutely non-existent or void [sunya].

Turiya is explained clearly in Ellam Ondre (one of the books recommended by Bhagavan) Chapter 2 verse 6:

If you ask what that is, it is called turiya, which means the fourth state. Why is this name used? This name is proper because it seems to say the three states of your experience-waking, dream and deep sleep-are foreign to you and your true state is the fourth, which is different from these three. Should the three states, waking, dream and deep sleep, be taken to form one long dream, the fourth state represents the waking from this dream. Thus it is more withdrawn than deep sleep, also more wakeful than the waking state.
(Ch 2 Verse 9)
There is nothing beyond this state. The words, ‘inward’ and ‘outward’ have no meaning for him. All is one. His body, speech and mind cannot function selfishly. Their workings will be grace for the good of all. The fragmentary “I” is lost forever. His ego can never revive. Therefore he is 
said to be liberated here and now. He does not live because his body
lives, nor does he die because his body dies. He is eternal. There is
nothing other than he. You are He.

From above verses we can see that Bhagavan was and is the form of Turiya.

Vedha naayagan veda bhushanan
 Vedhamae uruvaa yavan;
Kaadhlaai para vaazhvinir kadi
Dhaeri nindru kaLiththavan.

Word meaning
vedham = the four vedas (hindu scriptures Rg, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana); bhushanan = one who wears (something); uru = form, shape; avan = he, him; para vaazhvu = literally, Supreme life;  kadidhu = quickly; aeru = climb; kaLi = to enjoy;

Meaning
Our Ramana is the chief of the four vedas, he is the form of the vedas and he wears the vedas as ornaments. Quickly he ascended to the Supreme state (para vaazhvu) where he remains firmly established and enjoys the bliss (of self realisation).
In Aksharamana malai Bhagavan says, “vedanthathe vaer ara viLangum vedha poruL aruL arunachala” [meaning from TRK: In the Upanishads, which come at the end of the Vedas, there are instructions for various sects of people according to their role in the material plane of existence, which implies a nondual nature (teacher and student). When the state that differentiates from the Brahman is destroyed, what remans is the ‘paramartha swarupam’ (form of god/Absolute) which shines as One. That part of the vedas which explicitly explain the self realisation is called upanishads. Since they appear at the end of the vedas (antham is end, Vedanta is at the end of Vedas), these wisdom-sections (gnana kaandam or upanishads) are called Vedantas. This is what Bhagavan points out as ‘vedanthathe vaer Ara vilangum’ - that which shines as not separate from vedanta. 

Since it is difficult to understand Vedas without a guru, Bhagavan pleads for Arunachala’s grace to reach that stage (mentioned in the Vedanta]. 

In Arunachala Nava maNi Malai, verse 2, it is stated that the letters ‘a, ru and Na’ in aruNachala signify, tat vam asi, one of the Vedic mahavakyas meaning You are that.

Tirumular, one of the earliest saints revered in Saiva Sidhantha, says in his work Tirumandiram in Kadavul Vaazthu on Shiva:
ஒன்றவன் தானே இரண்டவன் இன்னருள்
நின்றனன் மூன்றினுள் நான்குணர்ந் தான்ஐந்து
வென்றனன் ஆறு விரிந்தனன் ஏழும்பர்ச்
சென்றனன் தானிருந் தான்உணர்ந் தெட்டே. 

Ondravan thaane irandavan innaruL
Nindranan moondrinuL naanguNardhan aindhu
Vendranan aura virindhanan ezhu umbar
Chendranan thaanirundhan thaan uNarndhitte

Meaning
The One is He, the Two His sweet Grace, 
In Three He stood, in all the Four witnessed, 
The Five He conquered, the Six He filled, 
The Seven Worlds pervades, manifests the Eight 
And so remains.
Since Bhagavan and Arunachala  (who is the veda pour or the meaning of Vedas) are one and the same, here SV compares Bhagavan to the form of Vedas and as ‘One who wears Vedas as ornaments’. 

The second part of the verse refers to Bhagavan’s direct self realisation experience when he was just a 16 year old boy. What is said to take lifetimes to achieve, took Bhagavan but a moment. He didn’t even know what that state was called until much later when he was reading about such states in books.

Dhevar yaavarum vandhu nindru
Thudhithidum padha vaibhavan;
Kaavalaagi mei gnana naat ara
Saagi nindridu kaaraNan.

Word meaning
dhevar = celestials; thudhi = to worship; vaibhava = grandeur; kaaval = to guard, protect; mei gnanam = truth knowledge; arasu = kingdom, domain; kaaraNam = cause.

Meaning
Our Ramana has many great attributes that draw even the celestials to come and worship him. He is the guardian of his devotees. He is the ruler of the kingdom of Truth, he is also the root cause of it.

Bhagavan’s divinity has been vouchsafed by many devotees who saw their favourite deities in him and also were blessed with the darshan of Formlessness. Ganapati Muni records two incidents when he was with Bhagavan which serve to corroborate what SV states in the first line.

(from At the Feet of Bhagavan)
Sri Bhagavan was in the Virupaksha Cave on the Hill. One evening after 7 p.m., they were all coming down  the Hill to go round Arunachala. The other devotees had all gone in advance; only Sri Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni was in the company of Sri Maharshi, and they were slowly climbing down the steps from the cave. When they had walked a few steps, all of a sudden Sri Maharshi stopped, and with Him Sri Kavyakanta as well. The full moon was shining bright in the starry sky. Pointing to the moon and the beautiful sky, Sri Bhagavan said: “Nayana! if the moon, and all the stars have their being in ME, and the sun himself goes round My hip with his satellites, who am I? Who am I?”

And on another occasion:
Early one morning he (Ganapati Muni) saw a bright light appear and touch Bhagavan’s forehead. The light enveloped Bhagavan, and within that glowing effulgence Ganapati Muni discerned six stars of different colours which eventually merged into a single light.

Ranga, another devotee, recollects (from ‘Devotees’ book): 
Once, while he was reading the Ribhu Gita, he looked up and remarked, ‘The trimurtis [the three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva] stand before the jnanis with folded hands, saying, “I am at your service”. The trimurtis have the work of uplifting the world, but jnanis do not even have that responsibility.’

Bhagavan once gave us an example of the Gods serving jnanis when he told us about an encounter he had on the hill. He had been wandering aimlessly on the mountain, without food, when an old woman brought some rice gruel in a pot and gave it to him.
Bhagavan, who could easily discern spiritual greatness in the most ordinary-looking people, told us, ‘I thought that she must have been Mother Parvati herself.’

About a mongoose that came to Skandashram, Bhagavan said to Mastan Swami: “This was a sage of Arunachala who took on this form to come and visit me. He wanted to pay his respects to me. How many times have I told you that sages come to see me in various forms?”

There are many incidents where Bhagavan has protected his devotees from various types of dangers. 

Ranga, again, had been predicted to have a very rough year in 1921, and Bhagavan gave him strict orders on his movement which was very unusual. After spending a year in Bhagavan’s presence, he went back home. 

Another incident involves Sampurnamma, an ashram cook and another ashram kitchen worker, who felt unsafe going back home from the ashram as it was surrounded by the jungle. She says:

“After walking a while, we saw a strange, blue light in front of us. It was uncanny and we thought it was a ghost, but it led us along the path. When we realised it was guiding us, we felt safe with it. It left us at dawn.Another time the the two of us were walking around the hill early in the morning and chattering about our homes and relatives. We noticed a man following us at a distance. We had to pass through a stretch of lonely forest, so we stopped to let him pass and go ahead. He too stopped. When we walked, he also walked. We got quite alarmed, and started praying aloud, ‘Lord Arunachala! Only you can help us, only you can save us!’ The man caught up with us and remarked, ‘Yes, Arunachala is our only refuge. Keep your mind on him constantly”

​

Aadhi kaaraNa kaariyangal
Arindha sinmaya pooraNan;
Vaadhi ya mala maayai thannai
Vadhaithu veesidu maraNan.

Word meaning
aadhi = beginning; kaarana(m) = cause; kaariyam = work; sinmaya (chinmaya) = knowledeg of consciousness; pooraNan = one who is whole; mala(m) = impurities; maayai = illusion; vadhaithidu = to destroy; veesu = to throw out/away; 

Meaning
Sri Ramana, the all-knowing Sadguru knows the First Cause and the consequent ‘work’. He is the whole one (pooraNan). He destroys  (and throws away) the misery-causing illusion. He is the lord of death for the illusory world.

Bhagavan always maintained that the wrong identification with the body is the root cause of all problems and pains. All our questions, doubts and problems arise after the ‘I’ rises. “Thaan ezhundhal vaiyagam ezhum, thaan adanginal vaiyagam adangum” he used to say, meaning when ‘I’ rises, the world arises, and ‘I’ subsides, the world subsides’. 

To a question on why there should be suffering, Bhagavan said:
You say the mind and body suffer. But do they ask the questions? Who is
the questioner? Is it not the one that is beyond both mind and body?
You say the body suffers in this life; the cause of this is the previous
life: its cause is the one before it, and so on. So, like the case of the
seed and the sprout, there is no end to the causal series. 
It has to be said that all the lives have their first cause in ignorance. That
same ignorance is present even now, framing this question. That ignorance
must be removed by jnanam. 
“Why and to whom did this suffering come?” If you question
thus you will find that the ‘I’ is separate from the mind and body, that
the Self is the only eternal being, and that It is eternal bliss. That is
jnanam.
By turning the questioner’s attention inwards, Sri Bhagavan guides us to find the Self that is beyond body-mind phenomena and thus destroys the attendant impurities.In Aksharamana malai verse 44, Bhagavan says:

Thirumbi agamthanai dhinam agak kaNN kaaNN
Theriyum endranti en Arunachala

Meaning
Arunachala! When I prayed to you to show me your real form, you graced me with the instruction to turn inwards and look inside with determination (vairagya) constantly, how strange is that? Because when ‘I’ remains as One, what can it know outside of it? What is the secret of your upadesa (instruction)?​

Explanation
Ego stands in the way of self realisation (atma saatshatkaram).  Self enquiry is the only way yo destroy the ego and achieve one’s real state/form. A sadhaka (spiritual practioner) has to constantly, every day, do self enquiry till the darkness of ignorance created by the ego is wiped out and the Self shines. This is what he means by ‘dhinam agak Kann kaNN, literally, daily inwards eye see = look inward every single day).

MukkuNa thadai atravan mudha 
Laaya dheva niramayan;
Pakku vaththavar vandhu nindru
PaNindhidum padha sevayaan.


Word meaning
mukkunam (muk guNam) = three gunas, sattva, rajas, tamas; thadai = obstacles; atravan = one without (those obstacles); mudhal = first; niramayan = one without blemish, disease; pakkuvam = mature, ripe; paNindhidum = worshipped.


Meaning
My Ramana has shattered the obstacles created by the three gunas, namely, sativa, rajas and tamas. He is blemishes, pure and without any disease. He is the First God. His holy feet are worshipped and served by mature devotees whose minds are ripened by devotion. 


Since Bhagavan is not limited to the body, he is beyond all that afflicts the physical plane of existence. He is beyond the play of the three gunas which represent goodness, action and ignorance respectively. All material beings are ruled by a combination of these three guNas. In the Gita, (ch 14 Verse 5), Bhagavan Krishna says:
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥ
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam


Material nature consists of the three modes-goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes.


Sine he transcends all the limitations of mortal beings, Ramana is blemishes, says SV, who calls Bhagavan ‘muzhu mudhar poruL’ (literally, Full First Object/Thing) which is what Shiva Sidhantha calls Lord Shiva. To the feet of such a pure being come devotees and disciples whose minds are ripe and matured, to serve Bhagavan. 


We can see the evidence of this statement from the hundreds of devotees who were drawn to him from around the world to be by his side and serve him during his time in Arunachala. However it is not limited to those who came to Bhagavan the he was in his physical frame. It is equally applicable to those are drawn to the ashram even today. T.R.Kanakammal said in a interview that while it was understandable for people to come when Bhagavan was in his body, the more fortunate are the ones who are still attracted like needle to magnet (gaandham irumbu pol,  as Bhagavan says in Aksharamana malai) even after Bhagavan’s nirvana.

Pancha boodha niraindhu nindravan
Pancha kosam adhatravan;
Anjalithidum anbar thunba
Mozhikku gnana vidhayagan.


Word meaning
pancha boodham = the five elements; pancha kosas = the five sheaths; atravan = doesn’t have; anjali = worship with folded hands; thunbam = sorrow; mozhi = language (here what is said by devotees).


Meaning
My Ramana is saturated in all the five elements (air, wind, water, fire and space). He has transcended the five dosas (annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vignanamaya and anandamaya kosas). He removes the sorrow of those who approach him with folded hands in prayer (anjali) and bestows wisdom (gnana).


Time and again, Bhagavan has declared that a guru is not someone confined to a geographical place and a historical time. When a devotee bidding a tearful farewell said, “How can I leave you and go Bhagavan?”, he replied, “Where are you going? Can you go away from Bhagavan? Bhagavan is always with you. In fact, you are Bhagavan.” To another devotee expressing similar sentiments, Bhagavan laughingly said, “Look, he says he is going where I am not!” Ramana Bhagavan is everywhere and around us. He is in the elements and beyond as well. To the elderly couple who took an arduous journey on a steamer from Peru to see him, Bhagavan said, “You could have just prayed to the picture of me in your house.”


Since Bhagavan transcends time and space and all the limitations thus imposed on the mortal coil, he does not have the five sheaths either. This finds a parallel in ‘Kummi paattu’ verse 5:


Pancha bhoothangaLil thaanirundhaan avan
Pancha kosanagaLai thaan aruththan;
Pancha thanmaathirai thaan kudithaan avan
Pancha vindhiyathai than jeyithaan. 
(Refrain: ramana guru padham)


Word meaning
Pancha = five; boothangaL = elements; aruthaan = (he) cut; kosangaL (koshas) = sheaths; tanmatras = subtle elements, like touch; jeyithan = won over


Meaning 
Ramana, who is in the form of the five elements, is present everywhere (like the elements). But he has cut the five sheaths covering the body. He has swallowed the five subtle elements called tanmatras, and has won over the five sense organs.


Ramana removes the sorrow of those approaching him in prayer, not through magic but by turning the questioner inwards and asking them, who is it that suffers? This answer, known as ‘brahmastra’ (a weapon from Puranic ages which has no equal hence deadly) by his devotees, turns the person’s attention inwards and finally understand that it is the body and mind that suffer, and since you are not either, suffering is not for the Self.

Ponniran thavazh maeni yaanpuga
Zhongu senchadai vaeNiyan;
Thaanarun guru vaaga vaaithidu
Tattuva poruL aanavan.

Word meaning
pon niram = golden colour; thavazh = crawl (like a baby); mane = body; pugazhongu = fame increased; sen chadai (jadai) = red matted locks; vaeNiyan = Siva; arunguru = rare (hard to find) guru; poruL = meaning;

Meaning
My sadhguru Ramanan is golden-hued.  He is also the celebrated, famous Lord Shiva. He also happened to be the rarest, great Guru who is the meaning of the maha vakya, Tat Tvam Asi (You are that).

Many devotees and first time visitors have seen Bhagavan’s golden radiance, a fitting description of the personification of ‘sonagiri’ (golden hill). 
Siva Prakasam Pillai, one of Bhagavan’s earliest devotees records this:
The next evening [on 5th May 1913] I had another vision while sitting before you. Can this ignorant one describe it? All around you I saw an incomparable effulgence like the splendour of many full moons. Your divine body shone with the light of the sun, belittling the lustre of shining gold.”


T.K.Sundaresa Iyer in At The Feet of Bhagavan, says: “All of a sudden an aura was visible around the head of Bhagavan. It was like the glory with clusters of evenly arranged flames, just as we see round the
deities in our temple processions. Bhagavan’s face shone with beaming smiles.”
A Buddisht Lama, Angarika Govinda, says: The dark complexion of his body transformed itself slowly into white. This white body became more and more luminous, as if lit up from within, and began to radiate.I saw him sitting on the tiger-skin as a luminous form.” 
“He appeared like a linga spreading rays of burnished gold.” says Shuddhananada Bharathi.
‘thavazh’ is usually referred to the way a small baby moves, on his hands and feet. It is used when talking about a lovely smile or, as in this case, light playing on Bhagavan’s features.
SV calls Ramana Bhagavan as ‘arum guru’ where ‘arum’ is short for ‘arumai’ which means rare and also great/superb. In a world of dishonest and fake gurus, it is indeed hard to find one like Bhagavan.
Bhagavan is the meaning of the maha vakya ‘Tat Van Asi’ (You are that) says SV, reflecting a verse from Aksharamana malai.

43
Thaane thaane thattuvam idhanai
thaane kaatuvai Arunachala

Meaning
The ‘I’ that shines as I am is the meaning of (all) philosophy (thattuvam means philosophy). Since you are that I Arunachala, show me your resplendent form. 
Here thathuvam also means tat vam asi. Since Bhagavan is Arunachala himself, it applies to both.

Pinda meviya naadhane pira
Manda meviya naadhanai;
Kandu nindru kanindhu Legame
Kaatchi yayikaLi kondavan.


Word meaning
pindam = body made of flesh; naadhan = lord; annam = universe; kanindhu = ripe, with compassion; egam = oneness; kaatchi = sight; kaLi = enjoy;

Meaning
Even though our sadhguru Sri Ramana took the form of flesh-body, he has transcended the universal forms and stands as para swarupa. As that God form, he, with compassion, sees everything as One and is established in that blissful state.

In Tamil Siddha outlook, what is in the universe is in the human body as well, ‘andathil uLLadhe pindam, pindathil uLladhe andam’ they have said (andam is universe and pindam in body), meaning what is in the universe is in the body and what is in the body is in the universe. Made up of the same elements, one is seen as microcosm and the other as macrocosm. 

Since his death experience as a boy, Bhagavan knew in an instant that he was not the body with its limitations and lived established and delighted in the Self (as atmaraman). To Bhagavan, there was no other. He once told Krishnaswami, the attendant, that he cannot see the difference between man and woman. “A living guru does not mean somebody living in a body at a historical time and in a given geographical place’, he observed. And, “The guru is always timeless, to talk of the guru in time, you bring birth, death, living, all this.” Although he has given darshan as the deities that the devotees wanted to see, when someone prayed to see his real swarupa, Bhagavan’s physical form disappeared and the devotee saw just space, which slowly dissolved back to his physical form after a while (from Ramaswami’s account). And as that form of formless divinity, he showered and still showers us with infinite and unconditional compassion (avyaja karuna murthy).