Ganapati Muni Day

Tomorrow, July 25th, Ramana Ashram celebrates Kavya Kanta Ganapati Muni Day. Ramana Maharshi’s prominent devotee, Ganapati Muni, popularly addressed as Nayana, was a mighty spiritual personality in his own right and had a large following of illustrious disciples.

One day assailed by troubles and doubts, Ganapati Muni climbed Arunachala and found the young sage sitting outside Virupaksha cave. Ganapati Muni prostrated and said, "All the scriptures that have to be read, I have read. All the mantras and japa that have to be done, I have done. Still I have no peace. Please save me." The young Swami silently gazed at him and then said:

"If one watches whence the notion 'I' arises, the mind is absorbed in That; that is tapas. When you recite a mantra, watch where the sound is coming from, within you; when you sing a song or prayer, watch where it is emanating from: your Heart. Put your attention on That. That is tyaga, that is Tapasya, that is all.”

Sri Ramana and Ganapati Muni

It was Ganapati Muni that renamed the young sage, whose former name was Venkataraman as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

About a year after his first meeting with Sri Bhagavan, while sitting in meditation in Ganapati Temple of Ganapati at Tiruvottiyur, Ganapati Muni longed intensely for the presence of Bhagavan. At that moment Sri Ramana entered the Temple. Ganapati prostrated himself before him and, as he was about to rise, felt the Maharshi's hand upon his head and a force coursing through his body from the touch. Confirming the astral incident in later years, Sri Ramana Maharshi said:



"One day, some years ago, I was lying down and awake when I distinctly felt my body rise higher and higher. I could see the physical objects below growing smaller and smaller until they disappeared and all around me was a limitless expanse of dazzling light. After some time I felt the body slowly descend and the physical objects below began to appear. I was so fully aware of this incident that I finally concluded that it must be by such means that Sages using the powers of siddhis travel over vast distances in a short time and appear and disappear in such a mysterious manner. While the body thus descended to the ground it occurred to me that I was at Tiruvottiyur though I had never seen the place before. I found myself on a highroad and walked along it. At some distance from the roadside was a temple of Ganapati and I entered it."

To read more about Ganapati Muni go to this link here.