16.
THAT HOOMKAR

DR. Venkatarangam, the eye specialist, had come from
Madras. As Chinnaswamy (Sri Maharshi's brother
and the then Sarvadhikari, Sri Niranjanananda Swamy)
remembered that Bhagavan's spectacles needed new lenses,
he requested that they be brought from the Hall and given
to the doctor. The doctor tested these lenses and compared
them with his own; he thought his own spectacles would
suit Bhagavan's eyes, so he sent them through me to
Bhagavan, who put these spectacles on and found they
suited His eyes admirably. The doctor's lenses were both
for distance and for reading, while Sri Bhagavan's were for
reading only; and the latter was in fact what Bhagavan
said He wanted.

      I left Bhagavan's spectacles with him and returned
with the doctor's, reporting that they suited Bhagavan
well. Thereupon Chinnaswamy got the doctor to consent
to leave his own spectacles and take Bhagavan's instead. I
was sent again to Bhagavan to leave the doctor's glasses
with Him and bring His to the doctor.

      Now Bhagavan was not agreeable to this proposal.

      But, remembering how anxious Chinnaswamy was to have
Bhagavan's glasses replaced immediately, I in an unwary
moment pressed upon Him to accept the doctor's and
give His own to be taken by the doctor. I cannot now say
how hot-headed I was to press this upon Bhagavan, while
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knowing full well that He would not agree. Bhagavan
looked at me and said: "Hoom, why do you press on me
what I do not want? I do not want glasses for distance, I
want them only for reading." So I came back with the
doctor's glasses and reported the refusal to Chinnaswamy.

      This happened on the day before a Jayanti; I was
participating in birthday activities and busily engaged in
ever so many affairs. But from the moment I returned
from Bhagavan, a burning fire took hold of me, the
discomfort of which cannot be described. Yet I was going
on with my work while the fire kept burning me.

      The Jayanti day passed. The next morning the fire
increased; it burned and burned and burned, till I could
stand it no longer. Having taken delivery of certain articles
intended for the celebrations, I was returning from the
railway station. I handed over the articles to the stores
clerk and ran into the Hall like a madman in a frenzy.

      The Hall was full of devotees and Bhagavan reposed
in His ceaseless Blissfulness. I fell prostrate and cried, "Oh,
Bhagavan, forgive me! I erred. I should not have pressed
those glasses on you and earned that `Hoomkar'. It burns
me, burns me! I can bear it no longer. I tried to bear it for
three days, night and day, but I can bear no more. Not
that you intended to punish me; my own action brought
it on me. If a pot falls on a rock and breaks, it is not the
fault of the rock that the pot is broken. If an audacious
man does ill to the Wise, it is not the Wise who sends
punishment, it is the man himself who earns it. So,
Bhagavan, pray look at me, and let this burning heat go!"

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Thus I cried before Bhagavan, to the astonishment of
Himself and of those around.

      Bhagavan looked at me and said, "What is all this? I
was never in the least offended. Don't worry. Sit down
and it will be all right." So I sat, a penitent creature, and
wept like a child. In less than ten minutes I became normal.
The burning heat vanished miraculously.

      Good devotees may know that however well-
intentioned they may be, they should not clash with the
wish of Mahatmas and get hurt.

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