As Bhagavan appeared not to have noticed her, and was
reading a book, she waited for a while. As soon as Bhagavan
put the book aside, she got up, approached the sofa and
said without any fear or hesitation, “Swami, I have only one
desire. May I tell you what it is?” “Yes,” said Bhagavan, “What
do you want?” “I want moksha,” she said. “Oh, is that so?”
remarked Bhagavan. “Yes, Swamiji, I do not want anything
else. Is it enough if you give me moksha,” said she. Suppressing
a smile that had almost escaped his lips, Bhagavan said, “Yes,
yes, that is all right; that is good.” “It will not do if you say
that you will give it sometime later. You must give it to me
here and now,” she said. “It is all right,” said Bhagavan.
“Will you give it now? I must be going,” said she. Bhagavan
nodded.
As soon as she left the hall, Bhagavan burst out laughing
and said, turning towards us, “She says that it is enough if
only moksha is given to her. She does not want anything else.”
Subbalakshmamma, who was seated by my side, took up the
thread of the conversation and quietly said, “We have come
and are staying here for the same purpose. We do not want
anything more. It is enough if you give us moksha.” “If you
renounce, and give up everything, what remains is only
moksha. What is there for others to give you? It is there always.
That is,” said Bhagavan. “We do not know all that. Bhagavan
himself must give us moksha.” So saying she left the hall.
Looking at the attendants who were by his side, Bhagavan
remarked, “I should give them moksha, they say. It is enough
if moksha alone is given to them. Is not that itself a desire? If
you give up all the desires that you have, what remains is
only moksha. And you require sadhana to get rid of all those
desires.”
The same bhava (idea) is found in Maharatnamala:
vasnatanv< äü mae] #TyiÉxIyte
It is said that the complete destruction of vasanas is
Brahmam and moksha.
(c) Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai
Prev Next TOC 21. Dharma is Different From Dharma–Sukshma 22. Moksha 23. Worship of the Cow 24. A Pair of Pigeons 25. Baby Cheetahs 26. Medication without Treatment 27. Bhakti’s Taste 28. Brahmasthram (Divine Weapon) 29. That is Play, This is Verse 30. Anger 31. Decorations to Amba (Goddess) 32. Avvaiyar’s Song