Hail to Thee, Part 7

Hail to Thee! O'Arunachala!

Verses 1-9
Verses 10-20
Verses 21-31
Verses 32-50
Verses 51-70
Verses 71-91

Concluding verses to this devotional poem:

92. Good it is to chant the Holy Sound
Better it is to whisper it around
Greater still is the mental chant
Yet supreme is it to Be the Chant

93. Seeking the sound of the chanted mantra
Using Self Inquiry's method as the tantra
Ask whence from the chanter springs forth
Rejecting all mental forms as of little worth

94. Diligently seek thee the source within
And on finding it, do subside therein
Only by such effort shall true Tapas reign
So promises Ramana of Virupaksha fame

95. All scriptures are but maps of the way
into the state of Being lying in thee within
Erudite fools argue and contest the map
While the simple sage drinks Being's sap

96. The scholar lost in libraries under the sun
Spends his days relearning the number one
His years of erudite effort rank not above
A single moment of self-dissolving Love

97. Varna's, ashrama's, castes and creed
Are but divisions of the mental breed
On knowing Brahman a Brahmin is he
Knowing all else a Chandaala he be

98. Yet without a teacher's Grace
Impossible it is to see His Face
Verily the teacher as the Guru
Is the Self known as "Ulluru"

99. But for the ardent seeker struggling with fate
The Guru will arrive and guide him to His State
This is an incontestable Truth, have faith my son
Indeed the Guru and the Self are but one

100. Pushing him from without as the Self pulls him in
Never doubt the Guru is the Self's inseparable twin
Ego's destruction is assured in the Guru's maw
As the fate of the prey caught in the tiger's jaw

101. Blessed is he on whom falls the Guru's Gaze
He has received the key out of Maya's maze
Surrender your all at the Sat Guru's Feet
Hurry my son, reclaim your Heavenly Seat

102. Gentler by far than the mother that bore me
Is my Guru Ramana standing before me
Radiant as a million suns, cooler than the full moon
His Gaze has stolen my heart, my ego's in a swoon

103. Having crazed me with love He sends me to roam
In lands of the lost and blind far from home
Cloaked in a healer's garb, I now stand at the post
While residing beneath, it is He who heals the host

104. Who but Ramana of Patala Linga fame
Residing at Arunachala in Guha's name
Speaks today in me in the English tongue
As this verse bubbling forth to be sung

105. O' Lord perfumed by Vaachakar's lilting prose
Wreathed by the garlands of Muruganar's verse
I offer Thee this crazed rant with heartfelt devotion
O' Wearer of Kannappan's spittle as a body lotion

106. Praise be the Blessed Feet of Guru Ramana
That crowns my head, standing as Vaamana
Praise be the Holy Hill of Arunachala
Hope's Eternal Beacon called Sonachala

107. Praise be Mother Allagama's holy shrine
At the feet of Aruna Hill, forever Thine
Praise the Divine Effulgence of Karthikai's Beacon
The Eternal Light that to all seekers does beckon

108. To Thee I offer humbly my faltering praise
With trembling voice and tears on my face
Fathered by the sun, this moon child stands
As Ravichandran bowing with folded hands