21. ECHAMMAL

"How can I describe the good fortune of Sabari?"

— Tyagaraja
LAKSHMI Ammal, usually referred to as Echammmal,
belonged to Mandakolutur about twenty miles away
from Arunachala. At one time she lived at Karedu village in
Nellore district where her husband was posted. Her first
born, a boy, passed away. Later she had a boy and a girl.

      One night, in a dream, a young boy clad in a cod
piece and with a clean shaven head placed something in
her hand and disappeared. He was possibly a sannyasi.
She consulted a person knowledgeable in omens, who
said that the boy was Kumaraswami, the family deity of
her in-laws. She concluded that he gave her a prasadam in
the dream but she had no way of knowing the form of the
prasadam.

      Her husband was transferred to Kandukuru. The same
form once again appeared in Echammal's dream and placed
a letter, written in Sanskrit script, in her hand. She told
him that she could not read that script whereupon the
form indicated to her whom she should consult. That
person was a Sanskrit Pandit living in the same town. She
went to him. He also said that it was Subrahmanya's
prasadam and initiated her in an appropriate mantra.

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Calamities befell her almost all at one stroke. Her
son, daughter and husband passed away one after the other
in quick succession. She bore them stoically and went
back to her place with her last daughter. When the girl
was about ten Echammal fixed up her marriage. A few
days before the wedding the girl developed high fever.
Again in her dream the boy appeared and said "Three
births of yours are over. Viswanatha is asking for you.
Come to the hill." A few days after the dream the girl
passed away.

      Echammal lost her last support and life became
miserable. The village and the cottage where she lived
were full of memories and on that account became
intolerable. The words of consolation offered by her
relatives were unbearable. Thinking that a change of place
would do her good she obtained the permission of her
father to visit pilgrim spots where she could be of service
to sadhus. She stayed at the pilgrim centre of Gokarna on
the western coast and served sadhus. She learned ashtanga yoga
from a guru who came from the north. But her agony
continued to smoulder and she saw no one who could
extinguish it.

      She returned to her place in 1906 in the same mood
as she left. Though she did so, she had a firm belief that
service to a sadhu ^[?] was the only way her grief could subside.
A relative of hers advised her to visit Arunachala where
"Brahmana Swami lives. He is only twenty five and has
extraordinary powers. He will be able to help you in your
distress." The relative also encouraged her saying that even
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if the Swami was silent those who served him with full
faith were bound to benefit from it. Thereupon she left
for Arunagiri. She had relations there but she decided to
stay away from them. Accompanied by a friend she visited
the Swami who was then staying at Virupaksha cave. She
noticed that the form which had appeared in her dreams
three times earlier was of this very Sadguru. She sat in
silence for an hour. The Swami was as usual silent. She
was not inclined to return, it was as if her feet got planted
there. Yet she had to return. On reaching home she told
her friend that the oppressive weight in her heart torturing
her in the recent past had gone.

      From that day she regularly visited the ashram, like
an iron filing attracted to a magnet. She also began serving
food to the Swami. She used the money sent by her father,
and later by her brother, for the service of the Swami and
his disciples. She would prepare food for them and serve
it wherever they went. For a number of Ramana devotees
her house became a lodging place.

      Nobody knew how her tears dried up. Even if
memories of her husband and children arose she would
not be overwhelmed by sorrow as in the earlier days. All
that she knew was that it was due to the guru's prasadam
and grace. The Swami was her mother, father, guru and
God. Her great reward was peace and devotion. She would
accept anything that happened to her as Swami's grace
and would promptly report to him.

      With the permission of the Swami she adopted her
niece, Chellammal, and performed her marriage. She
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named her grandson after Ramana. One day, she received
a telegram from her son-in-law saying that Chellammal
had passed away- which came as a bolt from the blue. It
was as if the old agony would once again overwhelm her
but things were different by then. She had her saviour.
She went to the Swami and showed him the telegram.
The Swami was moved, he shed tears. The Swami was
"one with those in distress!" Echammal attended the final
rites and returned, carrying her grandson Ramana, as a
symbol of her daughter's memory. She placed the infant
in the Swami's lap, as she believed that both for herself
and the child the Swami was the sole refuge. The Swami
who recognised the intensity of Echammal's sorrow, once
again shed tears. Though Echammal's comfort was
shattered by destiny, service-oriented as she was, she did
not have to try hard to overcome her latest shock.

      It is assumed by some that though jnanis may be
endowed with a kind heart they do not sympathise with
the sorrows of the common people. For one who was the
manifestation of Easwara could sympathy and affection
towards his children be unusual?

The Swami dispelled Echammal's sorrow first and then
gave her his upadesa. Earlier she had practised concentration
on the nose and meditating on the brilliant light emanating
there. She spent hours and days in a state of ectasy because
of that. On one occasion when she was thus seated, totally
oblivious of the outer world, the owners of the house mistook
her to be dead and ran to the Swami to inform him. He
heard the news and kept quiet. Later she told the Swami
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how she practised yoga. The Swami said, "The brilliant
light is a vision, it is not the atma realising which is your
goal. Why do you go after lesser things?" Thus he taught
her, diverted her from the yoga marga and put her on the
path of self enquiry. She had full faith in him and followed
his upadesa. The Swami showed her his grace in several
ways. Here are a couple of such instances.

      One day while Echammal was climbing the hill
carrying food for the Swami there was a heavy downpour.
She took shelter at a particular place and looked at the
Swami who was not far away. She observed that the area
surrounding him was absolutely dry whereas at a little
distance from him it was raining heavily!

On another occasion, a Pandit from the North visited
the Swami at Virupaksha cave and was discussing some
subtle points with the Swami. When Echammal reached
the cave as usual she was astonished at what she saw. She
began trembling when the Swami asked her the reason.
She narrated her experience thus: On reaching the Sadguru
Swami cave on her way, she felt that there were two persons
- one of whom was the Swami and the other the visitor
close by. Without halting she moved along. As she was
doing so a voice said "Why climb when he is here?" When
she turned back she could see nobody at the spot or
nearabouts. She trembled with fear at this experience and
somehow reached Virupaksha cave. The Sastry then said to
the Swami. "You have been speaking to me here but appeared
before her at a different place! You have not blessed me
with your grace similarly."

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      The Swami merely said that because Echammal was
constantly thinking of him she saw his form elsewhere.
But the question still remained as to why she should see
the visitor also!

Another day as Echammal was going towards the
cave of the Swami she noticed on the top of a tree a crow
poking a parrot . As the parrot fell to the ground Echammal
picked it up and took it to the Swami. Despite careful
nursing by the Swami the parrot died after a few days.
The Swami arranged for the burial of the parrot and
pronounced that a building would rise at the spot. Just as
he said, subsequently, a building arose close by. The cave
adjacent to it got the name Kili guha (Parrot cave).

      The Swami never subscribed to the view that women
were not fit for self-enquiry. Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni's
wife Visalakshi once asked Bhagavan about this. He replied
that women who abided in the Self could become renunciates
too and that upon death their bodies should be buried. This
point is referred to in Sri Ramana Gita (Chapter 13).

      Echammal was a sattvic devotee. With all her devotion
to the Swami she never ignored other great souls. She had
great devotion for Seshadri Swami also who was pleased
with her goodness and devotion. Seshadri Swami who
neither allowed others to come near him nor go to others,
would visit Echammal's house. He escorted her back home
a number of times when she returned from the ashram, if
it was dark by then. One day, a Pandit was reciting a
Purana and explaining it in Echammal's house. Suddenly
Seshadri Swami appeared there. The Pandit
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contemptuously said of him, "Will people of this type
ever obtain jnana ^[?] even in a thousand births?" Echammal
felt bad and thought within herself that it would be fitting
if Seshadri Swami gave a discourse to vanquish the Pandit's
pride. On his own, Seshadri Swami gave a discourse
without the aid of any book for about an hour and
mesmerised the audience with his scholarship.

      On another occasion, Seshadri Swami visited her
when Echammal was performing her pooja and asked her
what she was doing. She replied that she was worshipping
the pictures of Seshadri Swami and Ramana. Seshadri
Swami asked her why she did not meditate. Echammal
knew about meditation but in order to elicit it from
Seshadri Swami asked him to teach her how meditation
was to be done. At once, Seshadri Swami sat there in
padmasana and demonstrated how to meditate. He also
fell into samadhi and stayed in that state for about four
hours at the end of which he merely said "Have you
noticed?" And went his way. Those who knew his nature
could easily guess what a great blessing it all was.

      The Swami rid Sivaprakasam Pillai of worldly desires
and put him on the path of enquiry. He did the same for
Echammal also. But for the Swami's grace how could a
person immersed in sorrow because of worldly affairs, get
on to the path of self-enquiry?