Rm26. Mother Azhagammal's Stay Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

RAMANA MAHARISHI

When mother Azhagammal stayed,
Some people from outside criticized.
Besides this, Nagasundaram
His younger brother joined him.

Mangalam, his wife, died
After the birth of her child,
From the time he lost his wife,
He was fed up with the family life.

Then he became a sanyasi.
He took up his new name,
As Niranjananda Swami,
And managed the Ashram.

Even the great Seshadri Swamigal
Told his follower, "Go to the hill,
You'll find there a family man,
Who gives sweets to everyone."

True, Azhagammal prepared food,
That was so nice and good,
Leaving aside sanyasi's rules,
That one must beg for raw grains.

Perhaps, as an exception
God allowed this union
Of a family under one roof
To spend their renounced life,

For Ramana, it was like a lotus,
Floating o'er the water-surface,
But untouched by the water,
To stay with his mother and brother.

His mother was very strict,
In observing widow's rights,
And privileges of those days,
But he criticized her for this.

So liberal minded he was then,
As it was his main intention,
For them to slowly learn
How to take up renunciation?

The rules of renunciation,
One must ultimately learn,
Step by step, in the long run,
When that knowledge they gain.

His way of approach was one,
That any individual can learn,
More by his inward experience,
Than by blindly following rules.