Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

After the preliminary enquiries about his welfare, Bhagavan
told us that it was this Sastry who started the Jayanthi
celebrations. A devotee asked, “Is he the person who got
frightened, and hid himself when a tiger appeared?” “Yes.

It is he,” Bhagavan replied. “During our stay in Virupaksha
Cave, we were all seated on the front verandah one night
when a tiger appeared in the valley below. We put a lantern
outside the railings of the verandah as we thought that the
tiger would not approach us because of the light. Sastry
however was very afraid. He therefore crept into the cave
and asked us also to do likewise; but we refused. After
entering the cave, he bolted the iron-barred door and from
there tried to frighten the tiger, like a great warrior, saying,
‘Look! If you come this way, take care. Take care of what I’ll
do. Yes! What do you think! Bhagavan is here! Take care.’
All these heroics were from inside the cave and were like
those of Uttarakumara (in the Mahabharata story). The story
is, Uttarakumara, son of the ruling king Virata, started out
with Arjuna, boasting of his prowess but took to heel when
he faced the enemy. Arjuna finally won the battle. The tiger
loitered about for a while and then went its own way. Sastry
then ventured to come out — a very brave man indeed,”
said Bhagavan.

Sastry took up the thread of the conversation and said,
“That was not the only occasion. Another time, in broad
daylight, Swamiji and I were seated on a rock outside the
cave. In the valley below, a tiger and a leopard were playing
with each other and Bhagavan was smiling as he watched
the friendly movements of the two animals. I was however
in a terrible fright and requested Bhagavan to come into the
cave. He was adamant and sat there motionless. As for myself,
I sought the shelter of the cave. The two animals played
about for a while, looked at Swamiji, in the same way as pets
do, and without any fear or expression of anger, went their
own way, one going up the hill and the other down. When I
came out of the cave and asked, ‘Swamiji, weren’t you afraid
when the two animals were playing about so close to you?’
Bhagavan said with a smile, ‘Why have fear? I knew as I saw
them that, after a while, one of them would go up the hill
and the other down. And they did. If we get frightened and
say, ‘Oh! A tiger!’ they will also get frightened and say, ‘Oh! A
man!’ and will rush forward to kill us. If we do not have that
fear, they too will not have any fear, and will then move about
freely and peacefully.” “In spite of all that Bhagavan had
said,” Sastry added, “my fear never left me.”
“It was Sastry who embraced me and wept when my
heart stopped beating,” said Bhagavan and narrated the
incident thus: “One day I went to the tank in front of
Pachiamman Koil with Vasu and others for a bath, and we
were returning by a short cut, when, as we approached the
tortoise rock, I felt tired and giddy and so sat down on the
rock. My experience at that time has been recorded in my
biography,* as you all know,” said Bhagavan. Taking up the
thread of the conversation, Sastry said: “Yes. While all else
stood at a distance weeping, I suddenly embraced him. I

* “Suddenly the view of natural scenery in front of me disappeared
and a bright white curtain was drawn across the line of my vision
and shut out the view of nature. I could distinctly see the gradual
process. At one stage I could see a part of nature clear, and the
rest was being covered by the advancing curtain. It was just like
drawing a slide across one’s view in the stereoscope. On
experiencing this I stopped walking lest I should fall. When it
cleared, I walked on. When darkness and a fainting feeling overtook
me a second time, I leaned against a rock until it cleared. And
again for the third time I felt it safer to sit, so I sat near the rock.

Then the bright white curtain had completely shut out my vision,
my head was swimming, and my blood circulation and breathing
stopped. The skin turned a livid blue. It was the regular death-
like hue and it got darker and darker. Vasudeva Sastri took me in
fact to be dead, held me in his embrace and began to weep aloud
and lament my death. His body was shivering. I could at that
time distinctly feel his clasp and his shivering, hear his lamentation
and understand the meaning. I also saw the discolouration of my
skin and I felt the stoppage of my heart beat and respiration, and

was a bachelor at the time and had the liberty to do so. No
one else used to touch Swami’s body. He was in that state for
about ten minutes, I think, and then gained consciousness. I
jumped about with joy. ‘Why this weeping? You thought I
was dead? If I am to die, will I not tell you beforehand?’
Bhagavan said, consoling us.”

the increased chilliness of the extremities of my body. Yet my
usual current of “Self-effulgence” (Atma-sphurana, Self-awareness).

was continuing as usual in that state also. I was not afraid in the
least, nor felt any sadness at the condition of my body. I had
closed my eyes as soon as I sat near the rock in my usual padmasana
posture but was not leaning against it. The body which had no
circulation nor respiration maintained that position. This state
continued for some ten or fifteen minutes. Then I felt a shock
passing suddenly through the body, circulation revived with
enormous force, as also respiration; and there was profuse
perspiration all over the body from every pore. The colour of life
reappeared on the skin. I then opened my eyes, got up casually
and said, ‘Let us go.’ We reached Virupaksha Cave without further
trouble. That was the only occasion on which both my blood
circulation and respiration stopped.” Then the Maharshi added,
to correct some wrong accounts that had been obtained currently
about the incident, “I did not bring on the fit purposely, nor did
I wish to see what this body would look like at death. Nor did I
say that I will not leave this body without warning others. It was
one of those fits that I used to get occasionally. Only it assumed a
very serious aspect in this instance.”