SWEET LOTUS FEET

Oh dearest Guru-ji, Great Sri Bhagavan Ramana,
Famous Sage of holy Mountain Arunachala:
To whom your Devotees with reverent obeisance greet,
I place this verse, an offering, at your sweet lotus feet.

I pray that I may come close to your sweet lotus feet,
There waiting for me to hold, deep in my heart replete.
Then I might better follow your sacred teachings true,
And again feel united: my own Self, to be One with you.

If I take firm refuge in your sweet lotus feet so soft,
You're sure to raise my hard pressed errant soul aloft,
Then I feel immense gratitude with deepest love for you,
Oh Guru, you teach soul how to reach its Self so true.

I surrender dark ego mind at your sweet lotus feet,
Whole heartedly, unconditionally, totally complete.
I pray that you will accept this simple gift of mine,
And take my soul to wed with you, oh gracious Self Divine.

-oOo-

*Note


THE SWEET LOTUS FEET OF THE GURU IN THE HEART

The sweet Lotus feet of the Sat-Guru is the point where we can touch his Grace and SURRENDER THE EGOISTIC MIND. It is a beautiful expression echoed by the prostration of the Devotee to touch the soft sweet feet of the Master.

These lotus feet are touched by diving into the spiritual heart through the door way found on the
Rt. Side of chest.

THE SAT GURU NEVER DIES

As absolute pure consciousness –Awareness he is ever present in the heart of his devotees.By Surrendering the mind to his lotus feet we invoke his Grace .

Read the wonderful book Padamalai- ‘The Feet’ by The great Tamil Poet Murugana’s poem recording the advanced teaching of Sri Bhagavan before and after his Self Realisation. Translated into aphorisms with a commentary by Robert Butler and David Godman.

*THE LOTUS FEET

In this world, Sri Guru is the only beauty or asset, wealth. There is nothing else. Carana means feet. Sri-guru-carana-padma the feet of Sri Guru are compared to the lotus. This is also very significant.

Why are his feet compared to the lotus and not to anything else? The lotus flower looks very nice and beautiful, and it also provides very sweet honey, madhu. The bumblebee collects honey from different flowers, but especially from the lotus flower. So what sort of special quality is there in the honey collected from the lotus flower that is not present in the honey collected from other flowers? It is a special type of honey known as padma-madhu. The disciple who is like a bumblebee, who is very hungry and greedy for that honey, relishes it.

Similarly, the jiva who is wandering and wandering through the innumerable universes and through the innumerable species of life of this material world — brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva — gets only more and more suffering, misery, and torture. There is no cooling effect in the material world, which is like a blazing forest fire — samsara-davanala. Nobody starts the forest fire, but automatically by the rubbing of two pieces of wood, the whole forest is burned and the animals that live in the forest are burned to ashes. They feel the burning heat, which is very painful. Similarly, the conditioned souls in this material world feel the burning sensation coming from the three tapas: adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. After wandering through innumerable universes and innumerable species of life, at last the fortunate soul, bhagyavan jiva, comes to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and takes shelter in the cooling shade there.

As the bumblebee sucks honey from the lotus flower, similarly, the guru-pada-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, allow that jiva, who is compared to the bumblebee, to suck the nice honey whereby he gets real nourishment and also premananda, loving happiness.

Similarly, when one takes shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Guru and gets the guru's mercy, the guru allows the surrendered disciple to taste that sweet honey emanating from the guru's lotus feet. That is the medicine whereby his material eyes will be cleansed of all material contamination. He develops transcendental vision.

He may have been blinded by the dense darkness of ignorance, ajnana-andhakara, but that will all be gone now. The darkness is dispelled and he receives the eyes of knowledge— divya-jnana-caksu. Sri Guru imparts tattva-jnana, and by his mercy the disciple develops transcendental vision. With that vision he will be able to see the beautiful form of the Supreme Lord, Syamasundar. This is the honey, or madhu, emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru; it acts in such a wonderful way. Therefore the phrase, "sri-guru-carana-padma" is very significant — the lotus feet of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus. Why is this comparison made and how to explain it?

Wandering Hopeless! If such persons are fortunate, they will come to the lotus feet of Sri Guru. That guru is like a physician, sadhu-vaidya. He knows the perfect and unfailing medicine to cure the material disease, bhava-roga. He knows the cause of the jiva's suffering. There is only one medicine, the honey emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru — guru-pada-padma-madhu. So, as the lotus allows the bumblebee whose wings are torn by the thorns of the ketaki flower to take shelter inside the flower, similarly, the guru allows the disciple to take shelter at his lotus feet.
The guru-pada-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, gives such hopeless wandering souls shelter and allows them to suck honey, whereby they regain their vitality. The suffering jiva gets nourishment and life there. That is why we say, "sri-guru-carana-padma." The lotus feet of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus, and not to anything else. This phrase has very great significance.