Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

When the doctors questioned him on this matter and
challenged his statement that wheat does not suit Bhagavan’s
health, he tried to evade giving a straight answer by saying
that, on that occasion the wheat obtained on the ration was
worm-eaten and if that fact were known to Bhagavan he
would insist on eating that food himself and so he had no
alternative but to have it served to the coolies. Bhagavan
came to know of that after he returned from the cowshed
and, with some bitterness, said, “Oh! Is that so? What a great
service he has done! We should eat all the good food and the
food that is prepared from damaged wheat should be given
to the poor coolies! I suppose they think Bhagavan will be
pleased when he is informed about it. So a noble deed has
been done and all this because of their devotion to Bhagavan.

What greater shame could there be if food that is not fit for
us is given to the coolies in our own presence? That is how
everyone here behaves. Enough of all this nonsense. I do
not want puris or anything of the kind. Give them to the
coolies. If they eat them is it not the same as my eating them?”
Taking up the thread of the conversation, another
devotee said, “Our only anxiety is that Bhagavan’s body
should be healthy.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, that is true. But what is health and
what is happiness? Does happiness consist in eating only?
Take the case of a Maharaja. Everyday he has rich and
delicious food cooked for him. But he is always sick; always
suffers from indigestion. He has no taste for food. He cannot
digest what he eats and suffers from stomachache. He can’t
sleep, even though he has a fine cot, nice silk curtains and
soft cushioned bedding. What is the use? He is always worried
about one thing or another. A coolie is happier than that
king. He eats or drinks whatever he can afford and sleeps
soundly without any worries. As he works with the sweat of
his brow he gets first class appetite. With that appetite he
relishes food like nectar even if he takes only gruel. He has
nothing to lay by for the morrow and so he has no worries
about safeguarding his belongings. He lies down comfortably
under some tree or other and enjoys sound sleep.” That
devotee said, “But then he does not think that he is a happy
man.”
Bhagavan: “That is the trouble with the world. The one
who sleeps under the tree looks at the palaces and mansions
and regrets that he does not have those pleasures. But he is
the really happy man. Once I saw a coolie here. Till noon he
was doing hard labour by digging the earth and throwing it
on the road. He was sweating profusely all the time and was
tired. He became hungry. He washed his legs, hands and
face in the tank, sat on a slab and opened the pot containing
his food. It was full of cooked rice, with a little soup sprinkled
on it. He took out three handfuls of that rice and swallowed
it with evident relish. Nothing was left over. He washed the
pot, drank some water and dozed away under the tree, with
one of his arms serving as a pillow. I then felt that he was
really a happy person. If one eats just to live, everything one
eats gives strength. It is only when you live to eat that you
become sick.”
Devotee: “What Bhagavan said is true, but a Maharaja
regrets that he has not become an Emperor; an Emperor that
he has not become a Devendra (the Lord of the Gods). They
will not have the feeling that a coolie is happier. Is it not?”
Bhagavan: “No. They will not have that feeling. That is
the illusion. If they have the true feeling, they become
realised souls. As I have experienced both of them, I know
the value of that happiness. To tell you the truth, the
happiness I experienced while in the Virupaksha Cave when
I ate only if somebody brought something for me and slept
on the earthen platform without even a cloth on it, I do not
have it now with this luxurious food I now eat. This cot, this
bed, and these pillows — all these are bondages.”