Sri BV Narasimha Swamiji (1874-1956) was born in Bhavani in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India graduated with a Bachelor of Law from the University of Madras, where he practised as a lawyer and associated with politics in the local legislative council, as well as having participated in a movement founded by Annie Besant, the “All India Home Rule League”, an organization dedicated to the ideal of self-government, called “Home Rule”, whose intention was to ensure the status of autonomous rule within the countries of the British Commonwealth, where each member country would not be subordinate to the other in any aspect of its domestic and international interests.
In 1921, a family tragedy profoundly affected Narasimha's life when two of his children accidentally fell into a well and drowned. The impact of this shock brought him back to spiritual consciousness; he interrupted his family responsibilities, abandoned his legal practice and political career.
In 1925, still devastated by the tragedy and searching for the meaning of existence, he headed to Tiruvannamalai, where he met Ramana Maharshi. In the presence of the sage, he began meditation exercises and, while in conviviality with him, wrote a book about his impressions of the Hindu master, which greatly contributed to making Ramana Maharshi known worldwide. The book Self Realization was first published in 1931.
Below, a brief excerpt of the content of the edition:
“Many respond to the clarion call of Maharshi, this living monument of spiritual glory, but few are those who make a genuine attempt to realise what this sage has attained.
His evolution is so far ahead of the average humanity of today that he dwells in the transcendent sphere of spiritual consciousness, his physical body and senses being no impediment to the realization of his true inner Self. To him, the illusion of the physical world is no longer a veil to hide the substratum of all phenomena. It has been a transparent medium for him. The mind, the arch-juggler, is to him a docile and faithful servant. His favourite sermon is “Retreat ever within thine own self: seek the source whence the restless mind spins out an unceasing web of thoughts; brush aside the springing thoughts; concentrate at the root of the thought, and take repose in that stillness and quietude. So much is thy effort, and what next is one for experience and inner realisation, and does not admit of exposition in words.”
Few have reached this abode of bliss.
Another gem of spiritual truth with this holy sage places for our gaze is: “Happiness is really an inner attitude, or a subjective realization of the mind, though many are under the misapprehension that it depends upon external conditions only.” The outer quest for happiness, he would say, will only be the game of “Hide and Seek.” He used to say that by a wise adaptation of the attitude to changing events and environments, it is in our power to preserve a state of unruffled mentality. Much of the sorrow, misery and depression, can be averted by the practice of such adaptation, which is, of course, based on wise discrimination. Real happiness does not depend upon anything external to one’s self. It is unconditioned bliss and, therefore, permanent.
Know the “I”. That is how he would ask us to tackle the problem of life. The words are simple, but their conception has baffled many a brilliant intellect. Here again, he would say, the mere intellectual disquisitions are hardly enough, but success lies in unflinching practice, with a sincere yearning to attain the true purpose of life. Many a sceptic who scoffs at such great spiritual personages as visionary and unpractical would begin to doubt his own scepticism if only he would visit the sage and remain within the ambit of his spiritual aura for an appreciable length of time.”
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