Day by Day with Bhagavan:

[Subramanian.R]

26.01.1946: Afternoon:

continues...

Then Sri Bhagavan in a reminiscent mood, added, 'This Keerai Patti was at the Big Temple even when I first came and was sitting
at the Subrahmanya Temple there.  She used to provide food to Sadhus in the Temple.   Later, she began bringing food to me
from one Kammala (black-smith) lady who used to send it.  After some time that Kammala lady herself began bringing the food to me,
instead of sending it through Keerai Patti.  Then Keerai Patti used to have a big jata (matted locks). When I afterwards came to live
in Virupaksha Cave, she was living in the Guhai Namasivayar Temple and she had then removed all her hair.  She lived in the
mantapam there and used to worship the images of Namasivayar etc., carved on the walls and pillars of the mantapam where she
lived.   The priest would come and worship the images inside.  But she worshipped and offered food to the images on the wall
in the mantapam.  She would get up in the morning, go out for a stroll on the small Hill, proceed towards the place where our
Asramam is now and go round to where Skandasramam is and come down to her place.  By that time, she would have collected
fuel, cow-dung, etc., and bundle them up behind her back.  And in her lap, she would have gathered a lot of green leaves of all sorts
for cooking.  She had only one pot. She would first boil water in that pot and bathe.  In the same pot she would cook rice, make her
sauce, prepare any side dish such as the leaves she had brought, each by turns, offer food to the images on the wall or
or the pillar, bring them to me and then go and have her own meal.  In the evening she would go into the town.  There was not a
house in the town which she did not know.  She would go and ask for various things  and get them.  Coming to me, she would
say, 'A good soul gave me a handful of broken rice.  I have made porridge out of it.'

'But if one went and looked, there would be in her place, various provisions, and a big pot full of broken rice.  That was the sort
of woman she was. She was very fond of me.  I also used to go to her now and then, I would help her sometimes to gather green
leaves, e.g. from a drumstick tree.  I would also help her sometimes in cleaning and plucking the leaves preparatory to their
being cooked.  Sometimes I used to stay there and eat with her.'  I asked Bhagavan, when she died.  He said, 'She died before
we came here (the present Asramam). She was buried only here, opposite the Dakshinamurti Temple under a tamarind tree.'

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.
                     
 

[Subramanian.R]

26.01.1946:  Afternoon:

Continues....

Soon after Parayana was over, about 6.15 pm. the monkeys (seeing the window near Bhagavan at which they used to
come and beg for fruits and nuts was closed) came near the doorway on the same side, and the ladies and children wanted
to go out of the Hall by that doorway were frightened.  In connection with this, Mr. Viswantha Iyer used the word "manthi"
and said it denoted a male monkey.  I said, 'I believe it means the very reverse.  See this from Pillai Perumal Iyengar,
maN moolam thAvenRu manthi kaduvaRkuraipa' - the manthi asked her mate to give her roots from the earth).'  Thereupon
Muruganar said, manthi is used generally to denote bot sexes and especially denote the female sex.  Bhagavan quoted
manthikuRaLai yotthEnillai ( I do not like the little one of a monkey) of Saint Pattinathar and said, 'There evidently it must
refer to mother monkey' and went on to recollect one song from Tiruppugzh and another from Pattinathar's udaR kooRRu
vaNNam in which the word manthi occurs.  These two songs were picked out at once.  The first one is from Pazhani Vahuppu.
The portion referred to in it was read out by Bhagavan and explained to us.  It is in praise of the fertility of Pazhani and says,
'manthi sitting on the areca nut tree sees the flowers on the sandalwood trees nearby and, thinking that they are hoods
of snakes, jumps in fear on to another tree, and the branches so vacated, first bending down and then rising up strike the
fully ripe plantain fruits hanging in bunches in the plantain trees nearby and scattered the plantains, which in their turn fall
on the jack fruits lying underneath and set flowing honey forming in them, so that the same honey released in huge quantities
flows in streams and waters the adjoining forest of shanbaga trees.'  All this was explained by Bhagavan.  On previous
occasions too I have heard Bhagavan give this as an example of our poets exaggerating the fertility of a country.  The other
lines in Pattinathar were also picked out.  They are: varuvathu povathuru mudhu koonu manthi enumbadi kunthi nadanthu,
madhiyum izhanthu sevi thimir vanthu.  Bhagavan read this song right up to the end, reading the same according to the meter.

*****

Arunachala Siva.                     

[Subramanian.R]

27.01.1946:

Morning:

Krishnaswami returned this morning, as he had promised to do. Bhagavan was making kind inquiries about his trip to see
Gandhiji at Madras.  K. said that there were huge crowds in the train and that he had to stand all the way from here to
Madras, that there again there was a crowd of more than a lakh, that there was an ocean of cars parked at one corner,
that anyhow through the kind offices of some of our friends he sat quite near Mahatma Gandhi with a 6-rupee ticket, that later
all the crowd rushed in breaking the gates, that Gandhiji refused to speak in any language except Hindi, and so on.  Bhagavan
said: 'You have seen Gandhi.  Now you know and have enjoyed the pleasure to be got out of such trips,'  and so saying He
gave back the ticket with the remark, 'Keep it safe. It is worth six rupees.'.  K. also brought a number of photographs, presented
to him by Dr. T.N. K., in which he and Bhagavan are found together. In this connection, Nagamma told Bhagavan that Viswantha
Iyer's mother wanted to see Bhagavan's pictures taken recently at Skandasramam.  He ordered the album o be brought and shown
to the lady and it was done.

K. told Bhagavan, 'Dr. T.N.K. said he would send some medicines through me to Bhagavan, but I had no time even to meet him
again and take them. T.P.R. will bring them.'  Bhagavan said, 'Why medicines?  What is wrong with me now? I am all right. All this
is unnecessary fuss. Why did you go and ask him to send me medicines?.  K. said, "I did not ask.  He himself said that he would             
send them and he is also planning to come and see Bhagavan."

Bhagavan remarked, 'He would have asked you, 'How is Bhagavan?' and you would have said something. Otherwise why should
he send medicines?'  K. said, 'When one is asked like that, how can one keep quiet? We have to speak.'  K. also told Bhagavan,
'Some of our friends wished to suggest to Mahatma Gandhi  that he should visit our Asramam. But when they consulted Mr. O.P.
Ramaswami Reddi, he said, 'Here none of us has any access to Mahatma Gandhi. Rajaji alone has influence.' 

Bhagavan said, 'He won't be allowed to come to such places.'

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.       

[Subramanian.R]

27.01.1946: Morning:

continues....

About a week ego, Bhagavan was mentioning that once the Mahatma came to this place, was near the cattle fair site ( a furlong
from our Asramam), finished his business there in less time than fixed for it, collected a purse and left the place. K. also brought
the news that that Mahatma told people that he was frequently thinking of Sri Bhagavan and had reverence for Him.  Bhagavan
said, 'Yes. Yes. That may be so.  Whenever anybody tells him that he has not peace of mind, he packs them off here, telling them,
'Go and stay at Ramanasramam for a time.' They come and tell us."

Later, after 10 am. Bhagavan was reading Dinamani and, coming across an article there on the temple of Perur (near
Coimbatore), read it out to us and said, 'It is news to me. We do not hear of this in the life of  Sundaramurti Swami or in
the Periyapuranam.  But it may be in the Sthala Puranam.'  This is the story:  On a particular day in the year, the God and the
Goddess are taken out to an adjoining field and the festival of God and Goddess transplanting seedlings on behalf of a devotee
is celebrated.  Sundaramurti Swami entered the temple and found to his dismay that neither God nor Goddess was there and that on
searching for them, he found them in a field working at transplanting for this devotee. a  Harijan.

****


Arunachala Siva.       
   

[Subramanian.R]

28.01.1946:  Morning:

Mr. P.B. Ray, who has been staying here for about a month now, has finished his Bengali Life of Bhagavan.  He read his
dedication, translated into English, before Bhagavan, and said, he had first heard of Bhagavan from somebody in Madras
some years ago, and soon after, he began writing this life and it has taken him four years to complete this.  Bhagavan said
that long ago some Bengali has written a small Life of His in a Bengali journal and that some more articles had also appeared in
some Bengali papers or journals about Him.  Mr. Ray said that he had written the two articles now mentioned by Bhagavan.
Thereupon, Bhagavan searched for the other Bengali article and traced it and gave it to Mr. Ray for perusal.  It was in a journal
called Amrut and published in 1934.  The author of the article was Jagadishananda Swami of the Ramakrishna Mission. Mr. Ray
perused it and told me in the evening that the article touched on all points, but somehow omitted to make any mention of the
experience of Bhagavan from the idea of death and resulting in Self Realization, which happened at Madurai before His coming
here. 

One Gokul Bhai who was here recently, has written that he tried to bring Gandhiji here, he found that Gandhiji promptly ordered
that nothing at all should be added to his programme which was already too crowded.  Bhagavan added: 'They can't find time for
all this.'

*****

Arunachala Siva.
         

[Subramanian.R]

29.01.1946: Afternoon:

Bhagavan took up the new edition of Ramana Leela (Telugu - Life of Sri Bhagavan) and, casually opening it came across
odd verses composed by Him, like those about drinking water before, during, and after meals, and also about those who
run after siddhis being even worse then the magician, and expressed surprise, 'He has added all these in this edition.  I have
not seen it so far.   When did he take all this and add it in this edition?'

While Bhagavan was still looking into this new edition, a visitor asked," I came here about a year ago and ever since I
have been trying to follow Bhagavan's instructions.  I am not however succeeding very well.  I try to look at all women as
mothers.  But I don't succeed.'

Bhagavan did not reply.  And the visitor continued, 'While I am at home, it is all right. But when I go out and see women,
I am not able to control my mind and am swept off my feet.  What should I do?'  He also added, 'I want Atma Sakshatkaram;
what should I do? I pray for Bhagavan's blessings.' 

After a pause, Bhagavan replied, 'You say you are all right when at home,. Be at home, at home in the mind.  Don't allow it
to go outwards, but turn it inwards and keep it at home there.  Then all will be well.  And you will have Atma Sakshatkaram.
The trouble is that we think we are the mind.  See if we are the mind.'

The visitor said, 'I am a grahastha.  Still I want to practice brahmacharya even with my wife.   But I am unable to succeed.
What should I do?'

Bhagavan replied: That is because of the age-long vasanas.  The sankalpas are so powerful because they have existed
so long.  But they will go.'

****

Arunachala Siva.                     

[Subramanian.R]

30.01.1946:  Afternoon:

Bhagavan was reading a letter from Mr.  Appu Sastri, who had visited one Haridayal Maharaj, living in a boat on the Ganga at
Kasi.  The Maharaj (Swami) is reputed to be two hundred years old!  In this connection, Bhagavan said, 'When I was at
Gurumurtham my nails had grown about an inch long and I had a long flowing jata (matted hair) and people used to talk I
was very old in years, though so young in appearance, and that I had existed like that for centuries!'

The visitor (referred to in the last entry) told Bhagavan, 'I am going back to my place this night.  I have mentioned my difficulties.'

Bhagavan: Yes. They will go gradually. 

Visitor: I pray for Bhagavan's kripa drishti.

Bhagavan did not reply. Only a few minutes before this, Colombo Ramachandra's two small girls had finished singing and almost
the last song (composed by their father, an ardent long standing devotee) contained the lines:

kaNNAle pArthavargal kavalakaRRi kathi kAttum

Annamalai Ramana aruL guruvAyiruppavaRku,

Mangalam Mangalame!

He who remains at Annamalai as the gracious Guru who casts His glance on them, dissipates their sorrows and directs them
to salvation.


****

Arunachala Siva.         

[Subramanian.R]

30.01.1946:  Night:

A visitor, Ananda Swami, brought a reprint from The Hindu of some date in 1940, in which Maurice Frydman ( a devotee of Bhagavan
for the last ten years) gives an account of how, under circumstances beyond suspicion of fraud, two women prayed, went into a
sort of trance, and then got into their hands, mysteriously and from nowhere some sugar candy and almonds.  The Swami also
mentioned that he had seen other instances himself like this where people received fruits etc., and asked Bhagavan what could
be the explanation of such occurrences.  Bhagavan replied: We hear of so many things.  There are certain sects which work for
such things.   They may see or get such things.  But who sees or gets them? You must see that.  In the Periyapuranam also  is
mentioned  a similar occurrence.  A merchant sent his wife two mangoes saying he would eat them later during his meal.  Before
he returned from his business, a sadhu came saying that he was very hungry and the wife, pitying him, gave him some rice, and as
he she had nothing else ready to give with the rice, one of the mangoes.  She hoped that her husband would be satisfied with only
one mango.  The husband returned later and during the meal, asked for the mangoes, finished one and finding it very sweet,
asked for the other one also.  The wife was in a fix, dreaded her husband's fury and went into the room where she had kept the
two fruits before and prayed to God for help in this situation.  And lo! One more fruit lay where she had kept the two fruits, and so
she brought it and gave it to her husband.  He ate it and found it much more delicious and giving him an ecstasy and shanti, which
he had never before known.  So he pressed the wife to tell the truth about this fruit and got it out of her.  In wonder and still
a little incredulous, he asked his wife to pray for and get another fruit.  The wife said she would try, and by God's grace, got
another fruit also.  Then it dawned on him she was a saint and he prostrated himself before her and thinking it was sacrilege
for him to treat her further as his wife, left the village, and went and lived in some other village.  The wife after some time traced
him out and thinking that, as he was her Lord, it was her duty to go to him, and it was for him to do what he liked with her, she went
towards that village.  The husband, getting scent of it, told the villagers there, 'A great saint is coming. We must receive her with
due respect, ceremony and pomp, taking out a palanquin and music with drums, etc.'  Thus he organized a big welcome and marching
at the head of of the reception party prostrated himself first before his wife.

'The wife did not know what to do.  She shed her mortal body and lived in the astral body and eventually reached heaven
taking her husband also there.  The woman saint is Karaikkal Ammaiyar, whose story is found in Periyapuranam.'

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.

                             

[Subramanian.R]

30.01.1946 - Night:

continues...

We also recalled an incident similar to that narrated by Frydman and this Ananda Swami, which occurred in Bhagavan's
Hall only a few months back, and which has been recorded in this diary.  Then a Gujarati lady got sugar candy in her palm
after praying.  At Balaram's request, the earlier volume of this diary was brought out and Mr. B. read out the entry about
the above incident as it took place, along with the name and address of the lady who worked this miracle.  Mr. Ramaswami
Pillai, an old inmate of the Asramam condemned giving importance to such occurrences. He said: 'I have seen more wonderful
things, such as a person put inside a box and sawn under, and coming out whole.  From such miracles, all that I have learnt
is that we should not trust our eyes, that we should never believe a thing to be real, simply because our eyes say so.'

Bhagavan also added: 'We see so many wonderful things done. The juggler puts a girl, tied fast, into a gunny bag and leaves
it under a basket and the girl comes up from somewhere  else when he calls her.  There is such a thing called magic.

By this time it was time for our Tamizh Parayana. We began with the 29th Verse of Sri Ramana Deva Malai (of Sivapraksam
Pillai) and by an odd coincidence it says, 'Intellect or buddhi does not see reality on account of maya.'  and Bhagavan added,
in continuation of our discourse, ' EllAm mAyaiyin seyale'  - All is the work of Maya, quoting Sivaprakasam Pillai's words.

****

Arunachala 'Siva.           

[Subramanian.R]

31.01.1946:  Morning:

About 8.30 am. i.e nearly half an hour after Dr. S. Rao had finished massaging Bhagavan's legs,  Bhagavan said. 'It looks as
if he is massaging.  But when I look for the man, there is none.'

About 11.00 am. a visitor asked, 'Bhagavan told me this morning, 'Unless one knows the reality, (yathartham), one cannot
get peace (shanti). What is that reality?'

Bhagavan: That which always is, is the Reality.  It is peace. Peace is another name for it.

Visitor: How to reach it or how to get peace?

Bhagavan: As I said already, that which is, is peace. All that we need do is to keep quiet.  Peace is our real nature.  We
spoil it. What is required is that we cease to spoil it.  We are not going to create peace anew.  There is space in the Hall,
for instance.  We fill up the place, with various articles. If we want space, all that we need do is to remove all those articles,
and we get space.  Similarly if we remove all that rubbish, all the thoughts, from our minds, the peace will become manifest.             
That which is obstructing the peace has to be removed. Peace is the only reality.

****

Arunachala Siva. 

[Subramanian.R]

31.01.1946:  Afternoon:

Bhagavan was going through the new edition of Ramana Leela. He feels many errors have been allowed to creep in, in this
edition.  Some are due to the proofs not having been properly looked into, Mr. Venkatakrishnaiah having been at that time
suffering from bad eyesight.  But some others are due to insufficient care in verifying facts.  Bhagavan was trying to correct
these, e.g. He corrected 15 years into 5 years, in connection with Bhagavan's horoscope given in the book. He found the direction
and location of the river Papahara nadi not accurate.  Such mistakes go against Bhagavan's grain and so He patiently goes through
the whole book to discover them.  It is too much of a strain for Him too, especially with His bad eyesight.

****


Arunachala Siva.