Mastan, one of Bhagavan's early devotees, was born in 1878 in Desur, a small village about forty miles
from Tiruvannamalai. He came from a Muslim weaving family but was drawn to Bhagavan by Akhilandamma,
a widow of the village who made regular trips to Tiruvannamalai to see Bhagavan and cook for Him.
When he was young he would spontaneously fall into a Samadhi like state while he was working on the
family loom. His hands and feet, which were plying the machinery of his trade, would stop and he would
become absolutely still. His parents, Hussain and Salubi, thought that he was falling asleep on the job.
Whenever they saw him in this condition, they would hit him, bring him back to his waking state, and tell
him to get on with his work. These episodes seem to have been a recurring feature of his childhood.
Not much more is known about Mastan's life until the day he accompanied Akhilandamma on his first
visit to Tiruvannamalai in 1914. This is how Mastan described the meeting when he spoke to Kunju
Swami:
When I came to Bhagavan, He was seated like a rock...His unwavering gaze was filled with grace,
compassion and steady wisdom. I stood by His side. After giving me a look, He opened the gate
of my Heart and I was also established in His state. I stood like that for eight hours, absolutely without
fatigue, but filled with total absorption and peace. Bhagavan in those days used to open our Heart
with a simple gracious look, and it transformed us. There was no need for any questions since He made
us, by His look, like Himself.
contd.,
Arunachala Siva.