Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

After finishing my bath, etc., I took the bundle of books
and went to the Ashram office, but the Sarvadhikari was not
there.

So I thought I could as well show them to Bhagavan
and then bring them back and so went into the hall. I did go
into the office first, in accordance with the rules, to give books
there, but the desire to show them to Bhagavan first was
dominant in my mind. Whatever it be, taking advantage of
the absence of the Sarvadhikari from the office, I went to the
hall first. Bhagavan was reading the newspaper and appeared
not to notice me. Afraid of giving the books into his hands,
I placed them on the stool nearby. In dedicating a book, it is
usual to honour the person to whom it is dedicated by
offering him fruits, flowers and presents according to the
author’s ability. But you know the proverb: “For a God as
big as a mountain, can you offer flowers, etc., mountain-
high?” For Bhagavan, what is it that we could offer for
worship? Even so, if I wanted to offer any of the classical
puja articles such as patram (sacred green leaves), pushpam
(flowers), phalam (fruits), thoyam (water), I was afraid Bhagavan
would again scold me as he had done recently. So I merely
folded my hands to salute him. You know what a nice thing
happened then? As I bent down to prostrate, a devotee came
there with a group of Brahmins and with a plate full of
flowers, fruits, agarbathies (incense sticks), arecanuts, betel-
leaves, etc. and placed it by the side of the books. When
I got up and saw them, I felt extremely happy at the
coincidence. All of them stood in a group and chanted the
vedic hymn beginning with ‘nakarmana naprajaya dhanena’.

After the chanting was over, we all got up after bowing before
Bhagavan. Krishnaswamy sent them away after giving
prasadam. Bhagavan put the paper away and said to me
leisurely, “Today it is Shashtiabdhapurthi for him, it seems.”
“Is it so?” said I. Whatever it is, I was satisfied that though
I never brought anything, unexpectedly someone else had
brought flowers and fruits to make up for the omission.

Krishnaswamy left the books there. So I myself handed
them over to Bhagavan. Turning them over this side and
that Bhagavan said, “Give them to the office, let them come
to me with the office stamp.” I opened a copy and showed
Bhagavan that under his photo the press people had
forgotten to print the name. “Oh! A mistake has been made.

It doesn’t matter. The namam (name) has merged in the rupam
(form). Give them to the office,” said Bhagavan. I took them
to the office and came back after handing them over to Sri
Niranjanananda Swamy, the Sarvadhikari. After 9 a.m.

Mounaswamy brought two copies of the book and gave them
to Bhagavan. Bhagavan saw them and enquiring if one was
for him and one for Nagamma, he told a devotee nearby,
“Please give the copy to her. She wrote it and her brother
got it printed. She herself brought and gave us some copies
and from out of them we are giving her a copy. It is just like
making an idol of Pillaiar (Lord Ganesa) with jaggery and,
after puja, pinching a little of that jaggery and using it for
naivedyam. When fruits are brought and given to us, do we
not give prasadam?”