14.
THE PONTIFF AND SRI BHAGAVAN

ABOUT the year 1948 the Ashram received a letter
from His Holiness Sri Sankaracharya of Puri
(Govardhana Mutt), expressing his desire to pay a visit to
Bhagavan and to get certain doubts cleared. Incidentally,
the letter categorically mentioned the doubts and asked
that they might be solved in a reply letter. The chief of
these referred to certain Agamic texts: "Hara Gauri
Samyogat ... avacchayah yogaha" and the Teacher asked
what this `avacchayah yogaha' is.

      I placed this letter at the feet of Bhagavan, and asked
what answer should be sent to him. Bhagavan simply
laughed and said that the questioner knew it all himself
and needed no fresh light, but that he would know it
better when he came in person. A reply was accordingly
sent on these lines.

      After some days the Acharya visited the Ashram.

      Bhagavan gave instructions for him to be received and
attended to with all care and respect for his exalted
position; the Ashramites spared no pains in arranging for
his reception and accommodation.

      Sri Bhagavan was seated in the Golden Jubilee Hall
on the granite sofa; and eager spectators had gathered in
their hundreds. Quite near to Bhagavan's sofa a small dais
was arranged, with a deer's skin for the Pontiff to sit on,
and then he was escorted to the presence of Bhagavan.

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      On coming before the Maharshi, the Teacher greeted Him
with his staff, as is the custom of sannyasis, and was shown
the seat arranged for him. He was surprised that so
prominent a seat had been allotted; he asked the dais to
be removed, spread the deer's skin on the ground, and sat
on that.

      After a little preliminary talk, the Teacher repeated
the main question of his letter and asked Bhagavan to
enlighten him on the meaning of this phrase. Bhagavan
gave him His look of Grace and was silent, and the Teacher
was all receptive. No words were exchanged between them.
Thus over half an hour passed.

      Then Bhagavan smiled and remarked: "What is there
to explain? You know it already; this text represents only
the very essence of Divine Knowledge -- when Nature
unites with the Person, then the visible becomes all
shadows. It is as meaningful as pictures on the cinema
screen, and then will be experienced the state of All-Self
as seen... The one Being-Consciousness which projects
all this out of Itself, sustains and then withdraws it again
into Itself. Having swallowed all the shadows of this world,
Itself dances as the Ocean of Bliss, the Reality or Substratum
of all that is, was and shall be. And then It is `I-I'."

      The Teacher seemed to have received new Light
and Life; he was all joy. He said that in all his wandering
through the country he had tried to be enlightened
upon this mystery; but it was only here that he got the
secret and the truth of Light as explained in the texts
of the Vedanta.

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      So overwhelmed with joy was he that he repeated his
visit to Bhagavan when the Matrubhuteswara Shrine was
consecrated, and he personally supervised all the rituals in
the Yagasalas (sacrifice halls) and saw to it that everything
went off all right.

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