A DAY WITH BHAGAVAN
By P. L. N. Sharma
IN 1932 I had the good fortune to attend a conference of coop-
erative organisations which was held at Tiruvannamalai. It
enabled me to see the holy Arunachala hill and also pay a
visit to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. When I saw him he
was in his hall, reclining on a couch. The hall was clean and
cool and the sofa was well covered with coloured shawls and
a tiger's skin, but Bhagavan himself had only a loin cloth on
his body and nothing more. In the subdued light of the hall
his body shone like burnished gold and his eyes were
luminous, full of flashes of some very intense inner life. The
more I looked at him, the more his face seemed to be radiating
a mysterious light, the source of which was somewhere deep
within. I found myself unable to guess his mental state. I could
not make out whether he was aware of the world or not,
whether he saw me or not, whether he was in some yogic
trance or in contemplation of something quite beyond my
vision and knowledge.
The hall was full of silence, serenity and peace. About
twenty people sat on the ground, apparently in deep
meditation. When the bell rang for the midday meal, he invited
us all with a nod of his head and we followed him to the
dining hall. After food I was asked to clean the spot where I
had eaten and take away the banana leaf which was used as a
plate. Anywhere else I would have taken it as a sign of
disrespect; but I told myself that it may have been a necessary
lesson and swallowed my pride.
The next morning I went again to the Ashram and sat near
the door facing Bhagavan. Some government officer,
accompanied by a retinue of peons, entered the hall and at
once started telling Bhagavan how corrupt the government
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servants were, how they abused and misused their positions,
how they quarrelled and fought among themselves making
the administration inefficient and unreliable, how he had been
entrusted with the task of cleaning up the government
machinery and how he was busy fighting against all the evils
of the world. He complained that in his loyalty to his superiors,
who had given him their confidence, and in his anxiety to
make a success of himself, he had lost his peace of mind and
had come to ask Bhagavan to make him calm and contented.
It was clear that he thought himself to be a very important
person whose request must be promptly met. After he had
finished talking he looked expectantly at Bhagavan, as if
saying, "Now it is your turn to show what you can do".
Bhagavan did not even look at him. The clock was striking
hours, but Bhagavan was completely silent. The officer lost
patience, got up and said, "You are silent, Bhagavan. Does it
mean that you want me to be silent too"? "Yes, yes", said
Bhagavan, and that was all.
On the last day of our conference all the delegates went in
a body to Ramanasramam and sat in the hall before Bhagavan.
Sri Veruvarupu Ramdas, the President of the conference,
addressed him, "Bhagavan, we are all social workers and
disciples of Mahatma Gandhi. We have all sworn our lives to
work for the removal of untouchability from our religion and
customs. Be gracious to tell us what your views are on the
subject". Again there was no reply from Bhagavan. One could
not even make out whether he had heard the question. Time
was passing. The delegates were getting tired of sitting quietly
and began whispering to each other. The situation grew
embarrassing. Sri Yagnanarayana Iyer, the principal of
Pachayappa College in Madras, got up and said, "Bhagavan,
our question concerns worldly life. Perhaps it was improper
to put it to you. Kindly forgive us". "There is nothing to
forgive", said Bhagavan quite readily, and with a bright smile.
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"When the ocean is surging and carrying away everything
before it, who cares what are your views or mine"? The
delegates could not find much sense in the answer. Only the
great events a decade later gave meaning to it.
On the fourth day of the conference I went to the Ashram all
alone, with the intention of asking Bhagavan a personal
question. I was told by others that in Bhagavan's presence
doubts get cleared spontaneously, without the need of questions
or answers. Nothing of the kind happened to me. On the three
previous days I tried to catch his eye, but could not. Several
times I got up to ask a question, but was not encouraged and sat
down again. On the fourth day I managed to address him, while
he seemed to be looking into some infinity of space. "Bhagavan,
my mind does not obey me. It wanders as it likes and lands me
into trouble. Be merciful to me and tell me clearly how to bring
it under control". Even before I completed the question
Bhagavan turned to me and looked at me affectionately. He
spoke to me most kindly and his words sparkled with meaning:
All religious and spiritual practices have no other purpose
than getting the mind under control. The three paths of
knowledge, devotion and duty aim at this and this alone.
By immersing yourself in your work you forget your mind
as separate from your work and the problem of controlling
the mind ceases. In devotion your mind is merged in the
God you love and ceases to exist as separate from Him.
He guides your mind step by step and no control is needed.
In knowledge you find that there is no such thing as mind,
no control, controller, or controlled. The path of devotion
is the easiest of all. Meditate on God or on some mental or
material image of Him. This will slow down your mind
and it will get controlled of its own accord.
Somehow I felt satisfied and there was deep peace in me
when I looked at him for the last time.
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