18.
THE EKARAT AND THE
PRINCELY BEGGAR

WE go back to 1924. Those were the days of the
newly founded Sri Ramanasramam at the foot of
Arunachala. The Old Hall had not yet come into existence
and Bhagavan sat in the thatched shed of the early days in
front of the Matrubhuteswara Shrine. A small elevated
seat of cement was made there for Him, and He used to
sit on it day and night. It was here that on a certain
Sivaratri He once kept the assembled devotees in perfect
silence and stillness all night, to explain the real meaning
of the Dakshinamurthy Hymn.

      One day at about 10 a.m. a certain princely person
appeared before Bhagavan. We need not mention names,
but it is enough to say that he was very pious and devoted
to the worship of Siva, learned in Tamil and in the
Scriptures. He had great love for saints (sadhus). Having
heard of Sri Bhagavan's greatness, he had long been eager
to pay his respects to Him, and now after several years of
effort had come to Him.

      In his royal robes, he stood in the presence of
Bhagavan for over half an hour; nobody spoke to him or
asked him to be seated. It seemed that he found pleasure
in standing before Bhagavan, and stood motionless like a
statue; Bhagavan was equally still, sitting like a statue.

Page 52
      His glorious eyes were all the time on that devout
personality, blessing him with His Grace. Bhagavan and
he remained without a movement; there was perfect
stillness in the room. It was a wonderful sight to see the
Ekarat (Emperor of Saints) Himself giving and the princely
beggar receiving at His hands. After the half hour, the
Prince prostrated before Bhagavan and left.

      The funny side of this incident is that a sadhu ^[?] who
accompanied the Prince returned with a few hundred rupee
notes and placed them at Sri Bhagavan's feet saying that
the Prince gave the money to help the sadhus there. The
Master remarked: "Look at this! A Prince, finding no
peace or pleasure in his own environment, comes to beg
of this pauper (kaupina-dhari = wearing only a codpiece),
thinking that what is in us is the real thing that life needs,
and you run after him to beg of that beggar! How clever
of you!"

Page 53