IN QUEST OF GODIN QUEST OF GODIN QUEST OF GODIN QUEST OF GODIN QUEST OF GODBy Swami Ramdas

CONTENTS

IntroductionForewordStruggle and InitiationRenunciationAdoption of SannyasSrirangamRameshwaramMaduraChidambaramJourney to TirupapuliyurPondicherry and TiruvannamalaiIn the CaveTirupatiGod Is EverywhereA Kind PolicemanJagannath PuriChrist, a Messenger of GodCalcutta and DakshineshwarTaraknath TempleKashiLove Conquers HateJhansiMeditation the Only WayRam, the Friend of the Poor

God Never PunishesHimalayan JourneyHimalayan Journey (Contd.)Himalayan Journey (Contd.)Mathura, Gokul and BrindabanRaipurAjmerMoney Is the Root of All EvilJunagadhMuchkund Rishi’s Ashram and DwarakaBombayPanchavati and TapovanTrimbakeshwarPandharpur - BijapurSri Siddharudha SwamiIn the CavePoemsLetter to GurudevLetter to Rukmabai (facsimile)MapGlossary

INTRODUCTION

The birth of Swami Ramdas, who wasknown in his pre-Sannyas life as Vittal Rao,took place at Hosdurg, Kanhangad, NorthKerala, on Thursday, the 10th April 1884. Itwas a day of the full moon and it happened tobe Hanuman Jayanti, i.e., the birthday ofHanuman, the greatest devotee of Sri Rama.This happy synchronisation seemed to augurwell in advance for the great future that wasin store for the child born that day to SriBalakrishna Rao and Srimati Lalita Bai. The oneremarkable thing about him, that people whosaw him then observed, was the extraordinarylustre of his eyes.

Vittal was not overfond of his school orhis books, and so came in for a large measureof his teacher’s wrath. He often played truant,but in vain did he hide himself in the bathroomor in the loft of the cow-pen, for his ubiquitousteacher was well aware of the favourite hauntsof his recalcitrant pupil. His High School careertoo was marked by his extreme indifferenceto studies and supreme dislike for his textbooks.Although he refused to be cramped by theSchool curriculum, he became a voracious readerand read all the books of general interest hecould lay his hands upon. His taste for literatureenabled him to acquire even at so early an agea remarkable fineness and facility in his English

style. His intelligence even as a student was ofa high order. Whatever he once read he madehis own. He was even then a goodconversationalist and had inherited from hisfather an unequalled sense of wit and humour.He would, as he does even now, raise roars oflaughter from his listeners by the unique mannerin which he related incidents from his own lifeor observations. The humour always lay morein the narrative of an event than in the eventitself and he knew it. Whatever be the situationhe was placed in for the time being, it was thelighter side of it rather than the serious onethat appealed to his keen sense of the comicand the ludicrous in life.

As could be expected, Vittal laggedbehind in his studies with the result that hecould not get through the Matriculationexamination. He then joined the school of Artsand took a course in drawing and engraving.Though his progress here was remarkable, asthe future prospects that this course held outwere none too bright, he discontinued thecourse and joined the Victoria Jubilee TechnicalInstitute of Bombay and took up the TextileEngineering course. At the end of the three-year course at the V.J.T. Institute, Vittal Raoreceived his diploma in Textile Manufacture.

When he was employed as SpinningMaster in a cotton mill at Gulbarga, he was

married to Rukmabai in the year 1908 and adaughter, Ramabai, was born to him in 1913.

Throughout his life in service, briefperiods of employment were followed by longerperiods of unemployment and idleness. Beforehe had hardly settled down at one place,depending upon the appointment he hadsecured, circumstances so seemed to work upthat he lost the post for no fault of his and hehad once again to embark on a quest of securingsome fresh means of livelihood. Thus, for him,continued domestic felicity was not to be andthe sweet pleasures of a home of his own were,for the greater part of the year, denied tohim.

After a chequered career of severalyears he finally came down to Mangalore in1917 and joined his father-in-Yaw in hisbusiness. It went against his grain to stoop toany of the ‘tricks of the trade’. Inevitably thisled to a clash with his father-in-Yaw and hesoon severed his connection with the businessand started his own business in dyeing fabricsand printing sarees. But he was too good to bea businessman and the financial condition ofthe business was drifting from bad to worse.His domestic life also was none too happy.

Slowly and imperceptibly the externalcircumstances were helping Vittal Rao’s religiousinclination to become deeper and his spirit ofdispassion to gain an added strength and

impetus. Every evening he spent an hour atthe house of his brother, Sitaram Rao, whosechildren would be engaged in Bhajan beforethe image of Sri Krishna. During the Bhajan,Vittal Rao would lose himself in a blissful stateof self-forgetfulness. It was at this time VittalRao started chanting the Lord’s name ‘Ram’and the repetition of the name brought himgreat mental peace and joy. He kept up aceaseless flow of the blessed Name on histongue and its humming would automaticallyissue from his lips even when he was at workor was walking in the streets. He gave up thenight meal and other petty comforts of thebody. His wife got thoroughly frightened at thestrange turn her husband’s life was rapidlytaking now. No persuasion, appeal or protesteither from her or from his child could inducehim to alter the course he was now made tofollow. Because, he felt very strongly that hewas set upon this path by that Highest Powerwhich he was struggling to attain and realize.This critical period in Vittal Rao’s life and thepsychological struggle he was now undergoinghave been beautifully and graphically describedby him in this book.

AnandashramKanhangad, South India

O RAM, THE TRUTH - THE LOVE –THE GOAL OF HUMAN PERFECTION –

ALL HAIL - ALL HAIL!

It was about two years ago (in 1920)that Ram first kindled in the heart of His humbleslave, Ramdas, a keen desire to realise HisInfinite Love. To strive to approach, andunderstand Ram is to recede from the world ofvanishing forms, because Ram is the only Truth- the only Reality. Ram is a subtle and mysteriouspower that pervades and sustains the wholeuniverse. Birthless and deathless is He. He ispresent in all things and in all creatures whoonly appear as separate entities, due their ever-changing forms. To wake up from this illusionof forms is to realise at once the Unity or Loveof Ram. Love of Ram means Love of all beings,all creatures, all things in this world; becauseRam is in all and all is in Ram, and Ram is all inall. To realise this great Truth we, who, throughignorance, feel as separate individuals, shouldsubmit ourselves to the will and working of thatInfinite Power - that Infinite Love - Ram - whois one and all-pervading. By a complete surrenderto the will of Ram, we lose consciousness ofthe body which keeps us aloof from Him, andfind ourselves in a state of completeidentification and union with Ram, who is in usand everywhere around us. In this condition,

hatred which means consciousness of diversity,ceases, and Love, consciousness of Unity, isrealised. This Divine Love can be attained byhumbling ourselves to such a degree as to totallysubdue our egoism, our self-assertion as aseparate individual existence. Having reachedthis stage, we, by the awakened consciousnessof Unity or Love, are naturally prompted tosacrifice all the interests that concern the body,for the welfare of our fellow-men and fellow-creatures who are all manifestations of thesame Ram. This was the great sacrifice ofBuddha, of Jesus Christ and has been ofMahatma Gandhi in our own times. These threegreat men are the fullest manifestations ofRam - the Great Truth - the Infinite Love. OmSri Ram!

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CHAPTER I

STRUGGLE AND INITIATION

FOR nearly a year, Ramdas struggled onin a world full of cares, anxieties and pains. Itwas a period of terrible stress and restlessness- all of his own making. In this utterly helplesscondition, full of misery, “Where is relief? Whereis rest?” this was the heart’s cry of Ramdas.

The cry was heard, and from the Great Voidcame the voice “Despair not! Trust Me and thoushalt be free!” - and this was the voice ofRam. These encouraging words of Ram provedlike a plank thrown towards a man strugglingfor very life in the stormy waves of a ragingsea. The great assurance soothed the achingheart of helpless Ramdas, like gentle rain onthirsting earth. Thenceforward, a part of thetime that was formerly totally devoted toworldly affairs was taken up for the meditationof Ram who, for that period, gave him realpeace and relief. Gradually love for Ram - theGiver of peace - increased. The more Ramdasmeditated on and uttered His name, the greaterthe relief and joy he felt. Nights, which arefree from worldly duties, were, in course oftime, utilised for Rambhajan with scarcely oneor two hours’ rest. His devotion for Ramprogressed by leaps and bounds.

During the day, when cares and anxietieswere besetting him due to monetary and othertroubles, Ram was coming to his aid inunexpected ways. So, whenever free fromworldly duties, be the period ever so small, hewould meditate on Ram and utter His name.Walking in the streets he would be uttering,“Ram, Ram”. Ramdas was now losing attractionfor the objects of the world. Sleep, except forone or two hours in the night, was given up for

the sake of Ram. Fineries in clothes and dresswere replaced by coarse Khaddar. Bed wassubstituted by a bare mat. Food, first, twomeals were reduced to one meal a day andafter sometime this too was given up forplantains and boiled potatoes - chillies and saltwere totally eschewed. No taste but for Ram;meditation of Ram continued apace. Itencroached upon the hours of the day and theso-called worldly duties.

At this stage one day, Ramdas’ fathercame to him, sent by Ram, and calling himaside, gave him the Upadesh of Ram-Mantram- “Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram!” assuringhim that if he repeated this Mantram at alltimes, Ram would give him eternal happiness.This initiation from the father - who hasthereafter been looked upon by Ramdas asGurudev - hastened on the aspirant in hisspiritual progress. Off and on he was promptedby Ram to read the teachings of Sri Krishna -“The Bhagavad Gita”, Buddha - “Light of Asia”,Jesus Christ - “New Testament”, MahatmaGandhi - “Young India” and “Ethical Religion”.The young plant of Bhakti in Ram was thusnurtured in the electric atmosphere created bythe influence of these great men on the mindof humble Ramdas. It was at this time that itslowly dawned upon his mind that Ram was theonly Reality and all else was false. Whilst desires

for the enjoyment of worldly things were fastfalling off, the consideration of ‘me’ and ‘mine’was also wearing out. The sense of possessionand relationship was vanishing. All thought, allmind, all heart, all soul was concentrated onRam, Ram covering up and absorbingeverything.

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CHAPTER II

RENUNCIATION

NOW from the narrow pond of a worldlylife Ram had lifted up his slave to throw himinto the extensive ocean of a Universal Life.But to swim in the wide ocean, Ram knew,Ramdas wanted strength and courage, forgaining which Ram intended to make hisignorant and untrained slave to pass through acourse of severe discipline, and this under Hisdirect guidance and support. So, one night whileengaged in drinking in the sweetness of Hisname, Ramdas was made to think in thefollowing strain:

“O Ram, when Thy slave finds Thee atonce so powerful and so loving, and that hewho trusts Thee can be sure of true peace andhappiness, why should he not throw himselfentirely on Thy mercy, which can only be possible

by giving up everything he called ‘mine’? Thouart all in all to Thy slave. Thou art the soleProtector in the world. Men are deluded whenthey declare, ‘I do this, I do that. This is mine,that is mine’. All, O Ram, is Thine, and allthings are done by Thee alone. Thy slave’s oneprayer to Thee is to take him under Thycomplete guidance and remove his ‘I’-ness.”

This prayer was heard. Ramdas’ heartheaved a deep sigh; a hazy desire to renounceall and wander over the earth in the garb of amendicant - in quest of Ram - wafted over hismind. Now Ram prompted him to open atrandom the book - “Light of Asia” - which wasbefore him at the time. His eyes rested uponthe pages wherein is described the greatrenunciation of Buddha, who says:-

“For now the hour is come when I shouldquit

This golden prison, where my heart livescaged,

To find the Truth; which henceforth Iwill seek,

For all men’s sake, until the truth befound.”

Then Ramdas similarly opened the “NewTestament” and lighted upon the followingdefinite words of Jesus Christ:-

“And everyone that hath forsakenhouses or brethren or sisters or father or

mother or wife or children or lands for myname’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold andshall inherit everlasting life.”

Then again he was actuated in the sameway to refer to the “Bhagavad Gita” - and heread the following Sloka:-

(here insert the Sanskrit Sloka)

Ananyaaschintayanto Maam ye janaahparyupaasate

Teshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaamyogakshemam vahaamyaham

“Abandoning all duties come to Me alonefor shelter, sorrow not, I will liberate Thee fromall sins.”

Ram had thus spoken out through thewords of these three great Avatars - Buddha,Christ and Krishna - and all of them pointed tothe same path - renunciation. At once Ramdasmade up his mind to give up for the sake ofRam, all that he till then hugged to his bosomas his own, and leave the Samsaric world. Duringthis period, he was very simple in his dresswhich consisted of a piece of cloth coveringthe upper part of the body and another woundround the lower part. Next day, he got twoclothes of this kind dyed in Gerrua or red ochre,and the same night wrote two letters - one to

his wife whom Ram had made him look uponfor sometime past as his sister and another toa kind friend whom Ram had brought in touchwith Ramdas for his deliverance from debts.The resolution was made. At five o’ clock inthe morning he bade farewell to a world forwhich he had lost all attraction and in which hecould find nothing to call his own. The body,the mind, the soul - all were laid at the feet ofRam - that Eternal Being, full of love and fullof mercy.

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CHAPTER III

ADOPTION OF SANNYAS

THE morning train carried Ramdas awayfrom Mangalore and dropped him in the eveningat Erode - a railway junction. He had takenwith him a sum of Rs.25 and a few booksincluding the Gita and the New Testament. AtErode he found himself strangely helplesswithout any plans or thought for the future.He did not know where he was being led byRam. He wandered about for some time andwhen darkness fell, he approached a small, lowhut on the roadside and finding at its entrancea middle aged mother, requested her to givehim some food. The kind mother at once

welcomed him into her hut and served him withsome rice and curds. The mother was very kind.With great difficulty could she be induced toaccept some money for the food supplied byher.

On leaving the hut, he proceeded to therailway station. He laid himself down in a cornerin the station and took rest for some time. Hedid not know what to do or where to go. Atmidnight, a bell rang to announce the arrivalof a train. He got up and found near him aTamilian who inquired of him regarding hismovements. Ramdas was unable to say anythingin reply. Ram alone could determine his future.Here this friend promised Ramdas to take himwith him as far as Trichinopoly for which placehe was bound. Money was given him for thepurchase of a ticket for Ramdas, and bothboarded the train. It was evening when thetrain reached Trichinopoly station. Alightingfrom the train, he proceeded to the city. Allthe time, all the way from Mangalore, thedivine Mantram of Sri Ram was on his lips. Hecould never forget it. The utterance of Ram’sname alone sustained and cheered him. Takingrest for the night on the verandah of a houseby the roadside, next morning he started onfoot to Srirangam, about 7 miles from Trichy.He reached the place at about 8 o’clock.

Here Ramdas was first let into the secretof Ram’s purpose in drawing him out from thesphere of his former life and surroundings -and that purpose was to take him on apilgrimage to sacred shrines and holy rivers. AtSrirangam, the beautiful river Kaveri wasflowing in all her purity and majesty. Going upto the river, he bathed in its clear waters. Here,on the banks of the Cauvery, he assumed, byRam’s command, the robe of a Sannyasin. Itwas a momentous step by taking which Ramgave him an entirely new birth. The whiteclothes previously worn by him were offeredup to the Cauvery, who carried them away inher rushing waters. The Gerrua or orange-coloured clothes were put on and the followingprayer went up to the feet of Almighty Ram:

“O Ram! O Love Infinite - Protector ofall the worlds! It is by Thy wish alone that Thyhumble slave has been induced to adoptSannyas. In Thy name alone, O Ram, he hasgiven up Samsara, and cut asunder all bonds,all ties.

“O Ram, bless Thy poor devotee withThy grace. May Ramdas be endued withstrength, courage and faith to carry out in Thyname, Ram, the following vows and bear alltrials and all kinds of privations that may besetthe path of a Sannyasi in his passage throughthe rough and perilous life of a mendicant:-

1. This life be henceforth entirelyconsecrated to meditation and the service ofSri Ram.

2. Strict celibacy be observed, lookingupon all women as mothers.

3. The body be maintained and fed uponthe food procured by Bhiksha or on what wasoffered as alms.”

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CHAPTER IV

SRIRANGAM

THE thrills of a new birth, a new life,with the sweet love of Ram was felt. A peacecame upon Ramdas’ struggling soul. The turmoilceased. Ram’s own hands seemed to havetouched the head of his slave - Ram blessed. Otears, flow on, for the mere joy of adeliverance! Sorrow, pain, anxiety and care -all vanished, never to return. All glory to Thee,Ram. The great blessing came from Ram: “Itake Thee under my guidance and protection -remain ever my devotee - thy name shall beRamdas.”

Yes, Ramdas, what a grand privilege itis to become the Das of Ram who is all love -kindness - all mercy - all forgiveness!

Now, he came up to a Dharmashala,close to the river and found some Sadhus sittingon the floor of the passage leading out to themain road. They were busy performingRambhajan to the accompaniment of cymbalsand Ektar. They were singing the glorious nameof Ram. Ramdas also squatted beside the twoyoung Sannyasis and placed his Lota - procuredat Trichy - in front of him to receive Bhikshafrom the pilgrims, who passed that way aftertheir bath. The Bhajan of the two youngdevotees was really very sweet. Time passedmost pleasantly. It was about 12 noon that theBhajan came to a close. Looking upon the clothspread in front of them the young Sadhusobserved only 3 quarter Anna pieces lying onit, all they had got for the day. (One Anna is 1/16th of a Rupee) With a disappointed look oneof them remarked:

“Since morning we have been singingthe glory of God and He has given us only thismuch. Hunger is pinching the stomach. Howare we to procure food, O God? Is Thy Bhajanfrom morning till now worth only 9 pies?” (Onepie is 1/12th of an Anna)

This question was at once answered byRamdas: “No, young brothers, no value can beset upon your Bhajan. God is always kind andloving. He never forsakes those who depend

upon Him. Ram has sent through His humbleslave money for your food today.”

So saying, he dropped into the hands ofthe Sadhus one rupee out of the amount hewas then carrying with him. The poor Sadhussimply stared at him in amazement. Their eyeswere filled with tears. They exclaimed:

“O God, Thy ways are wonderful -pardon, pardon Thy unworthy slaves; we doubtedThee and Thy love. In future, grant that wemay never blame Thee, but bear all sufferingspatiently in Thy name.”

The Sadhus then left the place. Lookinginto his own Lota Ramdas discovered in it 2Pies. His heart leaped with joy at the sight ofthese tiny coins - the first proceeds of hisBhiksha! Buying two small plantains with thecoins he ate them with all pleasure. At thistime, in the same line in which he was sittingthere was another Sadhu on the right - whilstthe young Sadhus aforementioned were on hisleft. Now, this Sadhu coming forward enquiredas to where Ramdas was proceeding. He couldnot, of course, find a reply to this question.Ram alone could do so. Receiving no reply, theSadhu proposed to take Ramdas with him toRameshwaram whither he was going.

O Ram, Thy kindness is indeed verygreat. To guide Thy helpless slave Thou hast

sent to him this Sadhu - why? He can be takento be none other than Ram Himself.

From time to time Ramdas met Sadhus- who not only led him on the pilgrimage butalso took every care of him. All these Sadhus,shall, by Ram’s will, go by one name,‘Sadhuram’.

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CHAPTER V

RAMESHWARAM

THE guide was at once accepted.Ramdas had then with him about Rs.9, whichamount he handed over to the Sadhuram andfelt much relieved by doing so. To carry moneyis to carry anxiety with you; for it draws yourattention to it now and again. On making overthe money, he suggested to the Sadhuram toget the rupees changed into one Anna coinsand have them all distributed to the poor, whowere begging at the doors of temples, and thisdesire he carried out. Now, Ramdas threwhimself more completely than ever on thesupport of Ram with only two clothes and afew books - all his possessions in the world. Hestarted with the Sadhuram whom Ram had sentas a guide. He led him to the railway stationand both got into a train running to

Rameshwaram. No ticket - Ram was ticket andall in all.

Whilst in the train, Ramdas continuedhis meditation of Ram. The train travelled onuntil it reached a station about 6 miles fromRameshwaram. Here a Ticket Inspector cameinto the compartment in which Ramdas andhis kind guide were seated. After checking thetickets of other passengers, he approached theSadhus and cried, “Tickets, tickets”.

“No tickets, brother, we are Sadhus”,was the reply.

“Without tickets you cannot travel anyfarther. You have to get down here”, said theInspector.

At once getting up, Ramdas told theSadhuram that it was Ram’s wish that theyshould alight at that place. Walking out of thestation they came to the high road. Here theSadhuram grumbled over the action of theInspector. To this Ramdas said:

“Brother, we cannot travel all along toRameshwaram by train. Pilgrimages should bemade on foot. But somehow Ram was kindenough to take us on the train so far. We haveonly to walk a distance of six miles in order toreach Rameshwaram. It is the will of Ram thatthis distance should be covered by foot. Becheerful, brother.”

They started to walk. When theytravelled about two miles Ram brought themin touch with a barber. Till then, since he startedfrom Mangalore, Ramdas had not had a shave.So, here, he first got his beard, moustacheand head all shaved after the manner ofSannyasis. As they were nearing Rameshwaram,they came to a tank by the roadside namedLakshman Kund. After bathing in this tank theypassed by a number of small tanks, bearingdifferent names.

At last Ram directed their steps to thefamous temple of Rameshwaram. The templeis a gigantic structure. One actually loses oneselfin the bewildering passages, corridors, and aislesthat lead to the place of worship. When theSadhus approached the Holy of holies they foundthe door open - the worship of Rameshwarwas going on in all its ceremonial éclat. O Ram!All glory to Thee! The occasion and the placesent thrills of joy into Ramdas’ soul. HereRamdas came in touch with some Mahatmaswho had come there on pilgrimage, of whomone, Swami Govindananda, was very kind tohim. The Swami said that he belonged to theMath of Shri Siddharudha Swami of Hubli andoffered an invitation to Ramdas to attend theShivaratri festival in the Hubli Math, which wasthen shortly to take place.

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CHAPTER VI

MADURA

RAMDAS remained in Rameshwaram for2 days. The Sadhuram, then proposing a move,led him to the railway station. Catching a trainproceeding further south, they reached a placecalled Dhanushkodi. On alighting here, theSadhuram - the guide so kindly provided byRam - walked in the direction of the sea withRamdas at his heels. Ramdas who was alwaysbusy with the meditation of Ram was feelingas though he was moving about in a dream -Ram, his sole Quest, sole Thought, sole Aim. Itwas about two miles’ walk to the spot on theseashore where legend declares Sri Ramachandrabuilt the celebrated Sethu or bridge during Hisexcursion to Lanka. Halfway on the sands itbegan to drizzle. The season was cold, clothingwas scanty, but Ram’s kindness and grace werevery great. Going down to the extreme southof this projecting piece of sandy land, bothbathed in the sea.

Next, the Sadhuram and Ramdas wentto a small temple close by where they had theDarshan of two Sadhus permanently residingthere. A brisk walk back to Dhanushkodi broughtthem to a Dharmashala where the Sadhuramprovided Ramdas and himself with some food.

Ramdas was at this time only on fruit diet orfood without salt and chillies. After a day’s stayhere they started by train for Madura andreached the place in due time. The temple ofMadura was visited. The temple of Meenakshiis a beautiful pile wherein the sculptor hasexhibited all his skill. The life-size symmetricalimages cut in stone seem to be stepping out ofthe broad pillars that support the upperstructure of the temple. The shrine is massivein build and can stand the wear and tear ofages. The sight of it is, in brief, a mostimposing one.

Here Ramdas met again SwamiGovindananda who was so kind to him atRameshwaram. He with two other Saints foundRamdas sitting on one side of the entrance tothe temple. The tired Sadhuram - Ramdas’guide - was sleeping and Ramdas was squattingat his feet. In sleep the Sadhuram’s legshappened to touch Ramdas’ body. SwamiGovindananda remonstrated at this and wasabout to shake up the Sadhuram when Ramdasaddressed the Swami:

“Maharaj, please don’t disturb theSadhu. He is sound asleep.”

“Behold!” cried the Swami, “he iskicking at you. I cannot bear the sight. Iconsider it as nothing short of sacrilege.”

“Swamiji, it is all right, “ repliedRamdas. “His feet are holy. He is Ramdas’Guru. He is Ram - so no harm anyway.”

The Swami said that he could not quiteunderstand Ramdas whom he held in highreverence. Next day, the Sadhuram proposeda move from the place. Before doing so he toldRamdas that his duty, in so far as guiding himto Rameshwaram was concerned, was over andthat he should be permitted to part from himin order to proceed to his Gurustan atRajamannargudi. All along, the Sadhuram hadbeen very kind to him and had looked afterhim very tenderly at all stages of the journey,taking every care of him. At a certain railwayjunction, he left Ramdas. However, beforedoing so, he assured Ramdas that the trainwas carrying him to Chidambaram, a notedshrine.

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CHAPTER VII

CHIDAMBARAM

AT noon, the train steamed intoChidambaram station. Ramdas stepped out onthe platform. He was now without a guide.Ram had made him a child, without plans,without any thought of the next moment, but

with his mind ever fixed in the one thought ofRam, Ram. He found some pilgrims proceedingtowards the city and followed them. At middayhe reached the precincts of the temple ofChidambaram. He went up straight to theentrance of the temple, but could not gainadmission as none was allowed to get in withouta payment of Annas 4 - the entrance fee. Hewas without a single pie which however he didnot at all regret. He wandered for a time amidstthe ruins surrounding the temple and, afterbathing in one of the many tanks, seatedhimself on a long stone in the sun, in a secludedportion of the ruins. It was now about 1 o’clock.Ramdas, who was all the while absorbed in theRam Japa opened his small bundle of booksand taking out the Bhagavad Gita commencedreading it. He had not perused half a dozenverses when he found a stout Tamilian comingtowards him and taking a seat beside him.

“Maharaj,” he inquired, “may I know ifyou have taken any food for the day?”

“No,” replied Ramdas, “but Ramprovides. No fear so far, no thought of it; youremind me, friend.”

“Can you tell me what kind of food youtake?” next asked the friend.

“Plantains, if you please”, Ramdasrejoined.

At once the friend got up anddisappeared, and in a short time returned witha dozen plantains, and laying them in front ofRamdas pressed him to eat. O Ram, Thy waysare wonderful! The repast over, the Tamilian,who was sent by Ram Himself to look after thewants of his humble devotee, next askedRamdas to follow him. At the entrance of thetemple he paid Annas 8, the entrance fee forboth, and took him inside the temple. Afterthe Darshan of the idols, he showed him thewhole interior of the temple. One rarity hereis, the roof of the central building of the templeis covered with sheets of gold. The guidefurnished by Ram was very kind to him. Therewas that night, Puja in the temple in a grandstyle, and also a procession attended bythousands. When all this was over, it was pastmidnight; the Tamilian friend secured forRamdas a place for spending the night. Herehe made Ramdas understand that he was onlya pilgrim come there to attend that night’sPuja and procession from a neighbouring town,and that he intended to return by the earlymorning train, and that he was much blessedby Ramdas’ society for ever so short a time.Ramdas’ heart was too full for words. Ram’skindness was indescribable.

Next morning, along with other pilgrims,Ramdas came to the railway station. But where

to go and by what train, he was entirely in thedark. His imaginative faculty for making plansand seeking information was totally absent.Without a guide he was feeling helpless. Hedepended for all things on Ram whom he wasremembering every moment of his existence.On reaching the station he found a trainstanding, but did not know whence it had comeand whither it was proceeding. He straightawaywent up to the gate and was entering theplatform when the ticket-clerk barred hispassage telling him that he should not enterwithout a ticket. It was all Ram’s will. Ram didnot want that he should travel by this train.Probably it might be running towards a directionwhere Ramdas would come across no places ofpilgrimage. Ram knew best.

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CHAPTER VIII

JOURNEY TO TIRUPAPULIYUR

A little distance from the station undera tree, were piled up some stones. Ramdas,going up to the place, sat down on them andcontinued his meditation of Ram. It was pastmidday when another train arrived. Ramdasleaving the place, got upon the platform, nobodyobstructing him at the gate this time, because

this train was the right one for him to travelin. Here he came in touch with a Sadhu whoimmediately took him up. Ram gave himanother guide. Both entered the carriage. Thenew Sadhuram was very solicitous. He askedhim as to where he intended going. Ramdaswas perplexed at this question. The simple truthwas, he did not know. He replied:

“Ram knows, and since you are sent byRam to guide him, you ought to know wherehe should go next.”

The Sadhuram then said: “Well, I amtaking you to Tirupapuliyur and thence toTiruvannamalai.”

“As you please,” replied Ramdas. “Youare Ram. Ramdas follows wherever you takehim.”

Now the train was running. On the frontseat facing Ramdas were seated two youngHindus - English educated. Both of them staredfor some time at the strange, careless andquaint Sannyasi, that is, Ramdas in front ofthem. Then one of them remarked to the otherin English (they thought that the Sannyasibefore them was ignorant of the Englishlanguage):

“Mark closely the Sadhu facing us. Hebelongs, take my word, to a class of Sannyasiswho are perfect humbugs. The fellow hasadopted this mode of life simply as a means of

eking out his livelihood. This man is a veritableimpostor and a hoax.”

This observation was highly approved ofby the other party who held a similar opinionof poor Ramdas. They spoke something morewhich he could not clearly catch owing to therolling sound of the running train. O Ram, howkind of Thee to put Ramdas in a situation inwhich he is made to hear himself spoken of inthis manner! Instead of feeling annoyed, hesent up a prayer to Ram to bless the youngmen for their frankness. Further, Ramdas couldnot resist the expression of his gratitude tothese friends, and thus addressed them withhands folded in salute:

“O kind friends! It gives Ramdas greatpleasure to confess that he is in full agreementwith the view you have expressed about him.It is perfectly true that he is a fraud. He hassimply put on the robes of a Sannyasi in orderto find a living thereby. But one thing moreyou discover in him and that is, he is mad ofRam and every moment he cries out to Him tomake him pure and only live for Ram’s sake.Besides, it is his humble presumption that Ramis taking him on this pilgrimage to purify him.”

This speech surprised both the friends,not so much on account of its import as theknowledge it brought them that the vagrantSannyasi could understand English and therefore

had grasped the purport of their remarks, whichwere never intended to be known to him. Asudden change came over them and both fellat his feet and sought his pardon for their“thoughtless remarks” as they termed them.Thereafter, they became very solicitous andkind. They inquired if he required anything toeat. This was a reminder to him that he hadnot tasted anything the whole of that day, acircumstance which he had entirely forgotten.He then told the two friends that he was mainlyliving upon fruits, and would gladly accept anyalms from them. After some consultation withthe Sadhuram, the guide, they handed over tohim some money for the purchase of fruits forRamdas. Ram’s ways are indeed inscrutable -He is all love and all kindness!

——

CHAPTER IX

PONDICHERRY AND TIRUVANNAMALAI

IN due course, Tirupapuliyur was reachedand Ramdas was taken by the Sadhuram to thehouse of an old relation of his, where, on theverandah, the night was spent. Next morning,the Sadhuram advised him to go for alms to afew houses pointed out by him.

“Look here, Maharaj,” said the kind-hearted Sadhuram, “money is wanted for yourplantains and milk. Ordinary food can be easilyprocured, but, for your food, money is needed.”He conducted Ramdas to a street, both sidesof which were studded with houses owned byVakils.

“Go from house to house, they mightgive you something. I shall wait for you at theother corner,” suggested the Sadhuram.

Ramdas, who was always at the biddingof his guide, did as directed. Begging at thedoor of about half a dozen houses, he got ahandful of copper and other coins which wereall handed over to the Sadhuram who, oncounting found them to be about 10 Annas.

“Your Ram is really kind,” remarked theSadhuram, smiling. “This sum will do for twodays.”

In the course of the day, there was atalk about Pondicherry which, Ramdas came toknow, lay only at a distance of about 20 milesfrom Tirupapuliyur. A desire sprang up in hismind to visit the place for the Darshan of SriAurobindo - the great Bengalee Saint. The wishwas expressed to the Sadhuram and he agreedto it at once. The following morning, earlybefore sunrise, both started, of course, on footand went towards Pondicherry. At about 2 p.m.the outskirts of the city of Pondicherry were

reached. The peculiarity here was that theentrance to the city was lined on both sides, afew yards from each other, by toddy shops! Onentering the city inquiries were made for thehome or Ashram in which Saint Sri Aurobindolived. After knocking about for some time, thegate of a palatial building was pointed at by afriend, wherein, the Sadhus were told, the saintwas residing. Entering, Ramdas inquired of twoyoung Bengalees, whom he met in one of therooms at the entrance of the building, if SaintSri Aurobindo could be seen then. To this oneof them replied:

“Sir, sorry, since Sri Aurobindo is inretirement, he will not give audience to anybodyfor a year to come.”

Ramdas then begged the favour of amere sight of the great man which would satisfyhim. Even this favour could not be granted. Itwas all Ram’s wish. So he came out andexplained the circumstances to the Sadhuramwho was waiting outside. While this was goingon, a policeman was observed to be approachingthe spot where the Sadhus were standing.Coming up to them, the ubiquitous policemansaid:

“Friends, you are wanted at the policestation. You have to follow me.”

At this, the Sadhuram was immenselyfrightened and pulling Ramdas aside, whispered

to him that most probably the policeman wastaking them to be flogged. Ramdas suggestedthat they might accompany the policeman andleave the future in the hands of Ram. Abouthalf a mile’s walk, and the police station wasreached and the Sadhus found themselvesstanding in front of a tall man of middle agewith fierce looks and a well-curved and twistedmoustache. He spoke something sternly, whichcould not be grasped, for he must have doneso in French. A reply in English was given byRamdas and the man, who seemed to be aPolice Inspector, simply stared in return toindicate that he did not understand what wasspoken. Then, a talk in Tamil ensued betweenhim and the Sadhuram. The import of whatthe Police Inspector said was that only two hourswere allowed for the Sadhus to clear out of thecity. At this, the Sadhuram remonstrated thatafter a walk of 20 miles at a stretch, the tiredpilgrims required some rest and they preferredto remain in the city for the night and leavethe place next morning. This reply not only didnot satisfy the Inspector but also appeared tohave offended him a bit. For now he talkedfast, his eyes glistening and his hands twistinghis moustache furiously.

The allowance of two hours was reducedto one hour, and, if they did not obey the orderspromptly, he warned that they would be made

to pay for it. This time the words he spokewere freely spiced here and there with somefinely selected epithets of abuse. The Sadhuramat once pressed Ramdas to move away swiftlyfrom that place for very life. He was, poorman, both frightened and annoyed at the sharpwords of the Inspector. A few yards off thestation, and the Sadhuram commenced to pourquite a shower of abuse on the Inspector. Noamount of persuasion on the part of Ramdasfor peace would stop the brisk play of his tongue.He was assured, it was all Ram’s wish and sothere was no reason to grumble. Still, hecontinued to give vent to choice epithets ofabuse. He seemed to be quite a master in thatline. For about a mile the Sadhuram’s wrathdid not cool down. Gradually, he became silent,may be, due to exhaustion of his stock ofvocabulary or on account of an empty stomach,or it might have been all a trick of Ram to testRamdas if he would join him in the game seton foot by Him! Ram alone knows and He alonecan judge.

Retracing about four miles from the cityof Pondicherry, the Sadhuram selected theverandah of a shop which was shut, for takingrest for the night. Early following morning, theystarted on their return journey to Tirupapuliyur,which place they reached at 2 o’ clock in theafternoon. Here it should be stated that the

Sadhuram was looking after him so tenderlythat he was a veritable foster-mother to him.Again, it was all Ram’s work, whose ways areat once loving and mysterious. Next day, thetrain carried both the Sadhus to Tiruvannamalai.Here, the Sadhuram conducted him to thehouse of a goldsmith with whom he wasacquainted. The goldsmith was a pious man.He pressed both the Sadhus to remain in hishouse as guests. For some days, Ramdasoccupied a closed verandah in this friend’s housefor his meditation and rest. In the morningsand evenings he, along with the Sadhuram,would go to the huge temple of Mahadev.

One day, the kind Sadhuram took himfor the Darshan of a famous Saint of the place,named Sri Ramana Maharshi. His Ashram wasat the foot of the Tiruvannamalai mountains.It was a thatched shed. Both the visitors enteredthe Ashram, and meeting the Saint, fellprostrate at his holy feet. It was really a blessedplace where that great man lived. He was youngbut there was on his face a calmness, and inhis large eyes a passionless look of tenderness,which cast a spell of peace and joy on all thosewho came to him. Ramdas was informed thatthe Saint knew English. So he addressed himthus:

“Maharaj, here stands before Thee ahumble slave. Have pity on him. His only prayer

to Thee is to give him thy blessing.”The Maharshi, turning his beautiful eyes

towards Ramdas, and looking intently for a fewminutes into his eyes as though he was pouringinto Ramdas his blessing through those orbs,shook his head to say that he had blessed. Athrill of inexpressible joy coursed through theframe of Ramdas, his whole body quivering likea leaf in the breeze. O Ram, what a love isThine! Bidding farewell to the Mahatma theSadhuram and he returned to the goldsmith’sresidence.

——

CHAPTER X

IN THE CAVE

NOW, at the prompting of Ram,Ramdas, desiring to remain in solitude for sometime, placed the matter before the Sadhuram.The Sadhuram was ever ready to fulfil hiswishes. Losing no time, he took Ramdas upthe mountain behind the great temple. Climbinghigh up, he showed him many caves. Of these,one small cave was selected for Ramdas whichhe occupied the next day. In this cave he livedfor nearly a month in deep meditation of Ram.This was the first time he was taken by Raminto solitude for His Bhajan. Now, he felt most

blissful sensations since he could here holdundisturbed communion with Ram. He wasactually rolling in a sea of indescribablehappiness. To fix the mind on that fountain ofbliss - Ram, means to experience pure joy!

Once, during the day, when he was lostin the madness of Ram’s meditation, he cameout of the cave and found a man standing alittle away from the mouth of the cave.Unconsciously, he ran up to him and locked himup in a fast embrace. This action on the partof Ramdas thoroughly frightened the friend whothought that it was a mad man who wasbehaving in this manner and so was afraid ofharm from him. It was true, he was mad -yes, he was mad of Ram, but it was a harmlessmadness which fact the visitor realised later.The irresistible attraction felt by him towardsthis friend was due to the perception of Ramin him. “O Ram, Thou art come, Thou artcome!” - with this thought Ramdas had run upto him. At times, he would feel driven to claspin his arms the very trees and plants growingin the vicinity of the cave. Ram was attractinghim from all directions. Oh, the mad and lovingattraction of Ram! O Ram, Thou art Love, Lightand Bliss. Thus passed his days in that cave.

For food, he would come down in themorning, and going into the city, beg fromdoor to door and receive from the kind mothers

of the place, handfuls of rice in his small Lota.When the Lota was a little over half-full, hewould return to the cave. Collecting some drytwigs, he would light a fire over which he wouldboil the rice in the same Lota. Water was athand. A small stream of pure, crystal waterwas flowing down the hill just in front of thecave, and in this stream it was also mostrefreshing to take the daily bath. This boiledrice was taken to appease hunger, without salt,or anything else, and only once a day. To sharewith him in this simple fare, a number ofsquirrels would visit the cave. Fearlessly, attimes, they would eat from his hands. Theirfellowship was also a source of great joy toRamdas. Everyday, he would wander over thehills amidst the shrubs, trees and rocks - acareless, thoughtless child of Ram! It wasaltogether a simple and happy life that he ledin that mountain retreat. The kind-heartedSadhuram would meet him everyday - eitherup the hill or in the city, when he came downfor Bhiksha. A day came when he receivedRam’s command to leave the place - whereto,Ram alone knew.

——

CHAPTER XI

TIRUPATI

ONE early morning at about 4 a.m.,descending from the mountain, Ramdas walkedstraight to the railway station, and finding atrain waiting, got on to the platform withoutbeing obstructed, and entered a compartment.A few minutes later the train moved. Wherewas the train taking him? It was none of hisconcern to try to know this. Ram never errsand a complete trust in Him means full securityand the best guidance. The train ran up to theKatpadi junction. Here, Ram brought him intouch with a Sadhuram to guide him. Hepromised to take him to Tirupati, in whichdirection the train was running. O Ram, Thyplans are, indeed, always mysteriously workedout. The new Sadhuram and he travelledtogether, and in due course both alighted atthe Tirupati station. After refreshing themselveswith some food prepared by the kind-heartedSadhuram, they directed their steps towardsthe Tirupati hill. Both commenced ascendingthe stone steps of the hill. It was climbing“higher still and higher up the mount of glory!”About 700 steps were covered and the Sadhusreached the top of the hill at about 8 in theevening. Then, they had to walk about three

miles over almost level ground. It was a moonlitnight but the cold up there was intense, while,at the same time, Ram’s grace wascorrespondingly very great.

A little before midnight the temple ofBalaji was reached. At the entrance to thetemple was a fire, around which a number ofpeople were sitting. The shivering Sadhushastened to the spot, pressed themselves inamong these friends and warmed their handsand feet. Ram was indeed kind! A short timelater, the doorkeeper of the temple commandedall at the fire to leave the place and get outsince it was time to close the main door of thetemple. So, all had to give up the fireside mostreluctantly. The Sadhuram requested thewatchman to permit himself and Ramdas tospend the night inside the temple, which requestwas not granted. It was all Ram’s will. To comeout of the temple meant complete exposure tothe strong and extremely cold breeze blowingover the hills. It was dark now and they had tosearch out a place to rest for the night. Therewere some massive buildings - Dharmashalas -all open. However, the Sadhus scrambled intoone of these and settled themselves down. TheSadhuram began to grumble at the cold, andsaid:

“Swami, it is impossible to think of sleepfor the night. The cold will not allow us a winkof sleep”.

“So much the better,” replied Ramdas.“All the time can then be devoted toRambhajan - the Bhajan of that All-powerfuland All-loving Being.”

“That is all right for you,” remarkedthe Sadhuram, “but I should suggest a movefrom this place as soon as the day breaks. Onemore night in this plight shall certainly stiffenus into sheer logs of wood.”

Receiving no reply from Ramdas who wasthen engaged in the meditation of Ram, theSadhuram laid himself down, and twistedhimself into the shape of the figure 8, at thesame time, covering his body with a thin cottoncloth, the only spare cloth he had. This clothwas too small to fully cover him in spite of hisassuming a position, in which his bent kneeswere drawn up to touch his very nose.

“Sleep is quite out of the question,”again said the Sadhuram.

Poor friend, Ram was sorely testing him,all for his good and good alone. The nightpassed. Early morning, when the day wasbreaking, the shivering Sadhu proposed a climbdown the hill. But Ramdas suggested that theymight go farther on about three miles, andvisit the waterfall called “Papanasini”. The

general belief is, that the person who takesbath in this waterfall, will be washed of all hisor her sins; hence the name. The Sadhuramagreeing, both proceeded to this spot andbathed in the waters falling down a rock withgreat force. Since it was broad daylight now,the top of the hill in all directions was seenclearly. The beautiful landscapes and valleys thatmet the eyes were simply entrancing. Bath over,the Sadhuram hastened down the hill, followedby Ramdas, and before evening they reachedthe city below. The same evening, both boardeda train running northwards.

——

CHAPTER XII

GOD IS EVERYWHERE

THEY travelled to Kalahasti. After a day’sstay here, they left for Jagannath Puri. It wasnoon. The Sadhuram and Ramdas were in thetrain. A Ticket Inspector, a Christian, dressedin European fashion, stepped into the carriageat a small station, and coming up to the Sadhusasked for tickets.

“Sadhus carry no tickets, brother, forthey neither possess nor care to possess anymoney,” said Ramdas in English.

The Ticket Inspector replied: “You canspeak English. Educated as you are, you cannottravel without a ticket. I have to ask you bothto get down.”

The Sadhuram and he accordingly gotdown at the bidding of the Inspector. “It is allRam’s will,” assured Ramdas to his guide.

They were now on the platform andthere was still some time for the train to start.The Ticket Inspector, meanwhile, felt aninclination to hold conversation with Ramdaswho, with the Sadhuram, was waiting for thetrain to depart.

“Well,” broke in the Inspector lookingat Ramdas. “May I know with what purposeyou are travelling in this manner?”

“In quest of God,” was his simple reply.“They say God is everywhere,” persisted

the Inspector, “then, where is the fun of yourknocking about in search of Him, while He isat the very place from which you started onthis quest, as you say?”

“Right, brother,” replied Ramdas, “Godis everywhere but he wants to have this factactually proved by going to all places and realisingHis presence everywhere.”

“Well then,” continued the Inspector,“if you are discovering God wherever you go,you must be seeing Him here, on this spot,where you stand.”

“Certainly, brother,” rejoined Ramdas,“He is here at the very place where we stand.”

“Can you tell me where He is?” askedthe Inspector.

“Behold, He is here, standing in frontof me!” exclaimed Ramdas enthusiastically.

“Where, where?” cried the Inspectorimpatiently.

“Here, here!” pointed out Ramdassmiling, and patted on the broad chest of theInspector himself. “In the tall figure standingin front, that is, in yourself, Ramdas clearlysees God who is everywhere.”

For a time, the Inspector lookedconfused. Then he broke into a hearty fit oflaughter. Opening the door of the compartmentfrom which he had asked the Sadhus to getdown, he requested them to get in again, andthey did so, followed by him. He sat in thetrain with the Sadhus for some time.

“I cannot disturb you, friends, I wishyou all success in your quest of God”. Withthese words he left the carriage and the trainrolled onwards. O Ram, Thy name be glorified!

——

CHAPTER XIII

A KIND POLICEMAN

AT noon, next day, Ram, who is theloving Parent of all, seeing that the Sadhus weregoing without food, induced a ticket-clerk toask them to alight at a station betweenBezwada and Jagannath Puri. Ramdas does notremember the name of the station. Comingout of the station, they proceeded towards thecity and procuring some food, refreshedthemselves and, returning in the evening tothe same station, spent the night there. Nextday, they had to catch the train at the samehour at which they were made to alight theprevious day. Well, there was some difficultyto encounter, all, of course, apparent, forRam’s ways are always mysterious. It wasagreed to by both the ticket-clerk and thestation-master not to permit these Sadhus toboard the train. So, on the arrival of the trainwhen the Sadhus were entering the carriage,both these officers, of course, in strict dischargeof their duties, prevented them from doingso, in spite of the entreaties of the Sadhuram.The passengers on the platform had all occupiedthe carriages. The two Sadhus and the railwayofficers were alone on the platform. The clerkand the station-master were keenly watching

the Sadhus lest they should slip into the train.O Ram, how wonderful Thou art! There wasstill some time for the train to start. Now, arailway policeman coming up to the Sadhus,asked them to get into a carriage. But theSadhuram told him that the ticket-clerk wouldnot allow them to go. The policeman then,going to the place where the clerk and thestation-master were standing, placed the caseof the Sadhus before them saying:

“You see, these Sannyasis deserve tobe allowed to get into the train. As regardstickets, they cannot be expected to carrymoney since money is not their quest, as inthe case of worldly people.”

These words did not convince the railwayofficers. They replied rightly of course:

“It is against rules to permit anybody totravel in the train without a ticket. So, it isuseless on your part to plead for them.Moreover, you forget the fact that yoursuggestion is against the very spirit of yourduty as a policeman in the service of the railwaycompany.”

This reply annoyed the policemanconsiderably. He felt strongly that these Sadhusmust, somehow, be allowed to travel by thetrain.

It was now nearly time for the train tostart. The kind policeman was very uneasy. His

eyes flared up and there was a glint of adesperate look in them. He swiftly movedtowards the train and opening the door of thecarriage, beckoned the Sadhus to enter, whichthey did as told. It was all the work of amoment. But this was observed by the ticket-clerk from a distance, and he ran up to theplace at once.

“On what authority did you permit theSadhus to enter the train?” questioned the clerkin an angry tone.

The policeman, who was tall andstalwart, placed himself in front of the closeddoor of the carriage, his back leaning againstit.

“Look here, brother,” he replied in acool but firm voice, “in a matter of this kind,there is no higher authority than the dictatesof one’s own conscience, which are rightlyconsidered as the promptings of God Himself.”

“This action of yours shall be reportedto the higher authorities and you will answerfor it!” warned the ticket-clerk.

“Certainly, friend,” replied thepoliceman, “as a result of your report, even ifI be dismissed from the service, I am fullyprepared to face all consequences. But neitheryou nor anybody on earth, shall prevent theSadhus from travelling by this train.”

The clerk was sorely perplexed at theattitude of the policeman, and was looking forthe station-master, who was then busy givingthe signal for the departure of the train sincethe time was up. The whistle went and thetrain rolled on. The clerk was simply staring atthe carriage occupied by the Sadhus, quitehelpless. O Ram! What can poor Ramdas, Thyslave, understand by this incident? Why, whenThy omnipotent hands are at work, nothingcan stop or obstruct Thee. O kind and lovingProtector of the universe! Thy one touch canchange in a moment the entire face of theuniverse! The very policeman, who is stationedon the railway platform, to prevent passengersfrom breaking the rules of the company,deliberately breaks all such rules himself, andseats two Sadhus in the train, knowing full wellthat they held no tickets, and this too, in faceof bitter opposition and at the risk of losing hisjob! O Ram, it is now beyond any doubt thatThou art seated in the hearts of all, inducingthe whole universe to act and move in strictaccordance with Thy sovereign will. Ram! Thouart indeed the true lover of Thy devotees. Thyslave cannot find words to express Thy greatnessand Thy love! O tears, flow on! And this is theonly way Ramdas can express his feelings.

——

CHAPTER XIV

JAGANNATH PURI

THE train rode on. Jagannath Puri wasreached in the evening. The night was spenton the verandah of a Dharmashala. The coldhere was also very great. Next morning, bothwent up to a large tank, outside the city, andfinishing bath and ablutions directed their stepsto the famous temple of Jagannath, thebeautiful white dome of which was visible highup in the sky from any place in that pious city.Now the Sadhuram and Ramdas foundthemselves at the great door of the temple.But how to gain entrance? The doorway wascompletely blocked up by the rushing crowd ofpilgrims. There was a good deal of elbowing,pushing and kicking in the thick and strugglingmass of humanity. Looking on this state ofthings Ramdas, with hands joined in salutation,spoke thus:

“O Ram! How can Thy poor slave gainaccess in this rush of men and obtain ThyDarshan? There appears to be no chance forhim - a weak and helpless fakir.”

Scarcely were these words uttered,when, from the crowd at the entrance, outcame a tall Brahmin and approaching him, tookhim by the hand, led him to the door and using

all his strength he pressed himself through thethick crowd, and making a passage, conductedthe bewildered Ramdas along with him. It allappeared like a dream! Ramdas had nowbecome unconscious of his body and plungedinto communion with the Almighty Ram. Inabout five minutes, he was standing beforethe big idol of Jagannath. The Brahmin stillholding him by the hand, Ramdas laid his headat the feet of this idol.

This over, the Brahmin took him for around of the temple. ‘O Ram! What words canconvey Thy kindness to Thy slave! All glory toThee!’ All along, while going round, he wasimmersed in a strange ecstasy, tears flowingdown profusely from his eyes. What joyindescribable! Oh! One moment of thatexistence outweighs all the pleasures of theworld. A few minutes later, he and the Brahminguide were out again at the very placewherefrom he had been fetched. Hereprocuring some Prasad, i.e., boiled rice, theBrahmin put it into the mouth of Ramdas.

“Now my work is over,” said he andwas going inside the temple leaving him; butbefore he did so, Ramdas was somehowimpelled to put him a question:

“Brother, how was it you were so kindto a wandering Sadhu whom you took into thetemple for Darshan?”

“Jagannath alone can answer yourquestion,” replied the Brahmin. “No sooner didI see you, than a strange and sudden desireseized me to take you in and get you theDarshan of Jagannath. Why I did all this I cannotexplain - it was all the work of God.” CertainlyRam’s work!

——

CHAPTER XV

CHRIST, A MESSENGER OF GOD

THE same evening, the Sadhuram ledthe way to the railway station where theyboarded a train. The train travelled onwardnorth, carrying the two Sadhus until it reachedthe station before the great Howrah station.It is the rule of the railway company at thisstation to collect tickets from all passengers.Accordingly, an Anglo-Indian friend, a ticketcollector, entered the carriage and demandedof the Sadhus their tickets. The Sadhus had,of course, to confess that they possessed notickets. At this the strict ticket collector askedthe Sadhus to alight since, he said, it wasagainst rules to travel by train without tickets.This order was promptly obeyed by both theSadhus. It was all Ram’s wish. The time wasabout 8 o’clock in the night, and the station

was a small one. They were made to standnear the gate until the train departed, whenthe attention of the Anglo-Indian friend wasdrawn to the Sadhus again. Coming to them,he ordered them to sit down. At once the Sadhussat down.

“No, not there,” said the friend andpointed his finger a few yards to his left. TheSadhus instantly got up and, going to the placeindicated, sat there.

“Not there, not there,” cried again theChristian friend, who seemed to possess a senseof humour. “This side,” and pointing to hisright, said, “get up, quick, and sit here.”

The Sadhus did as they were bid andoccupied the new place pointed out to them.Again, for the third time, a command camefrom the friend for a move to another place,which was also immediately obeyed. Both theSadhus were moving about in perfectagreement. When they sat down at the lastmentioned place indicated by the Anglo-Indianfriend, the Sadhuram grumbling remarked toRamdas:

“Swami, this is a strange man dealingwith us. His only intention seems to be to teaseus.”

“No, brother, you mistake the kindnessof this friend,” replied Ramdas. “We had beenso long sitting in the train and, as a result, our

legs had become benumbed. To remove thestiffness and to induce brisker circulation ofblood, the kind friend makes us walk this sideand that, and asks us to sit and stand. It is allfor good. Ram be praised for His goodness andlove.”

This reply did not seem to satisfy theSadhuram who said: “Your philosophy is veryhard for a poor Sadhu like myself to properlyunderstand.”

During this conversation, the Christianfriend had disappeared. Now, he returned witha bull’s eye lantern and holding it straighttowards the Sadhus, made the light fall firston the faces of the Sadhus, one after the other,and then, all over them and around them. Bythe help of the light he made the discovery ofthe bag and brass pot of the Sadhuram and asmall bundle of books and a tiny aluminium potof Ramdas.

“Now, I will have this,” saying thus, thefriend took the brass pot of the Sadhuram andplaced it beside him at which action the poorSadhuram turned quite pale.

Next, the friend pulled his bag towardshim and, opening it, examined its contents but,finding nothing worth taking, handed it back.

“Next, what have you got?” he asked,his attention now directed towards Ramdas.

Meanwhile, Ramdas had placed his potand the parcel of books in front of the Christianfriend.

“Brother,” answered Ramdas “these twoarticles are yours. You are quite welcome tohave them since Ramdas never owned them ashis at any time; they belong to anyone whodemands them.”

“This small pot is not wanted,” heremarked, “the brass one is more suitable. Nowwhat is this you have in this parcel?”

On uncovering it his sight fell upon thepocket-sized New Testament on the very topof the packet. Pulling it out he looked on thetitle in gilt letters - “New Testament”. Hequestioned Ramdas:

“What have you to do with this book?”“Everything, brother,” replied Ramdas.“Do you believe in Christ?” asked he.“Why not? Christ is also a messenger of

God, come for the salvation of mankind.”This reply at once touched the heart of

the friend. Coming close to Ramdas, he said:“Master, kindly pardon your servant who

gave you a good deal of trouble without knowingyou.”

Saying thus, he led both inside thestation and offering two chairs made them siton them. The brass pot was, of course, returnedto the Sadhuram which brought colour and light

back to his sorrowful face. O! Christ be praised.The Anglo-Indian friend became very kind andoffered to get them tea, etc., all of whichRamdas declined with thanks.

“Look here, Master, another train is duein about half an hour. On her arrival, I shall seethat both of you are comfortably seated in it,and then you can proceed to Howrah. Again,your servant regrets very much the treatmentmeted out to you and sues for your pardon.”

‘O Ram, O Christ, Thou hast a strangeway of testing Thy humble slave. O Ram, Thouart a mystery, but Thou art Love - kindnessitself. He who trusts Thee, O Ram, is sure ofThy entire support. This is all one can know ofThee and that is sufficient. To understand Thyways is not only impossible but also unnecessaryfor Thy humble devotees. To bask in thesunshine of Thy infinite love is in itself thehighest happiness. The child asks for the loveof the mother and gets it and is satisfied.Where is then room to ask for anything morethan this?’

In due time the train arrived, and theChristian friend, according to his promise,secured comfortable seats for the Sadhus in acompartment. The train started and reachedHowrah station at about 10 p.m.

——

CHAPTER XVI

CALCUTTA AND DAKSHINESHWAR

BOTH the Sadhus launched out in thedarkness and coming upon the banks of theGanges crossed the huge bridge over it. Thecold was very great. Reaching the other side,and turning to the left, they descended somesteps and came to a place, where a portion ofa temple, close to the Ganges, is used by theBrahmins to attend spiritually upon the pilgrimsafter bath in the sacred river. Here, the Sadhusfound a plank on which they rested for thenight. Next day, early morning, they mountedup and proceeded to Calcutta. Making enquiriesabout the temple of Kali they were directedtowards Kalighat about seven miles from theplace. In due course, they reached Kalighat andwent straight up to the temple and stood infront of the big image of Kali in black stone - alarge red tongue lolling out of Her widenedmouth.

“O Mother of the Universe,” prayedRamdas, “bless Thy weak and helpless child -may Thy humble slave look upon all womankindas mothers, representing Thy divine form.”Here again Ramdas experienced a feeling ofinexpressible joy and complete resignation tothe divine will. Tears flowed profusely from hiseyes. It was all due to the Mother’s grace. The

Sadhus stayed in the Dharmashala at this placefor two days.

Retracing their steps back to Calcutta,the Sadhus again arrived at the banks of theGanges. As prompted by Ram, Ramdas thenproposed to go to Dakshineshwar, andaccordingly they boarded a steamboat - a kindfriend having furnished them with tickets -which carried them on the breast of theGanges, on the banks of which they alighted, along distance away from Calcutta. This was 10o’clock in the night. The night was dark. Withsome friends on the road they inquired for theway leading to Dakshineshwar, and as directedthey walked on from lane to lane, and thenthrough fields losing their way at places forwant of a guide. It was all Ram’s work whowas testing his devotees. However, by Hisgrace, the Sadhus reached at last the entranceto the famous temple at midnight. They foundthe big massive front door shut at which theyknocked. The door opened and a voice in ahigh key demanded.

“Who is there?”“Two wandering Sadhus come for the

Darshan of Kali,” replied Ramdas.“That is all right, you cannot come in

now, you may do so tomorrow morning.”So saying the friend was about to close

the door in the face of the Sadhus, but both ofthem quietly got in, in spite of his

remonstrances, and he was found later to bethe night-watchman. Both the Sadhus walkedinto the large square of the temple, fullyresolved not to turn back until they obtainedthe Darshan of Kali. The kind watchman whogot wild at first softened, and told the pilgrimsthat they could get the Darshan of Kali, butthey must not think of staying in the templefor the night, as it was against rules to do so.

“That is Kali’s affair - none of ours tothink of at present, “ replied Ramdas.

They walked to the place whence a lightwas proceeding, and found themselves standingin front of the image of Kali. A thrill of joycoursed through Ramdas’ frame at the sightof the figure of Kali - the beau ideal of SriRamakrishna Paramahamsa - that well-knownSaint of Dakshineshwar. While they werestanding with folded hands before the idol, afriend issued out of the temple and finding theSadhus, gave them some of Kali’s Prasad toeat. Ramdas then questioned if it was the wishof Mother Kali to grant them refuge for thenight in the temple. The Pujari - this kind friendwas such - hesitated and said:

“According to the rules of the temple,no outsiders are allowed to sleep during nightsinside the temple precincts. However, since itis nearly midnight now, it would be hard indeedto send you out in the darkness and cold.”

‘O Ram! No rules, no regulations arebinding upon Thy Bhaktas. To utter Thy gloriousname means to be at once free from all bonds,all ties, all rules and all fetters.’ Then the kindPujari friend led the Sadhus to an openDharmashala on the banks of the Ganges. Heagain provided them with some eatables andpressed them to eat. Ram’s kindness knows nobounds. In the place occupied by the Sadhussleep was out of question. Not only was thecold very severe due to the chill breeze blowingfrom the river but also quite a host ofmosquitoes commenced attacking the Sadhusin grim earnest.

“This is a terrible state of things,” criedout the Sadhuram. “In Tirupati, there was onlycold which was comparatively tolerable, buthere, it is coupled with the sharp stings ofmosquitoes.”

“It is all right, friend,” replied Ramdas.“Ram’s kindness cannot be sufficiently praised.He has found a most efficient method to keepRamdas awake to enable him to performRambhajan without sleep encroaching upon itin the least.”

“Well, well,” was all that the Sadhu saidwho was now busy driving away the wingedguests by waving to and fro the piece of clothwith which he covered his body. The Sadhuspent a very disturbed night, complaining,fretting and grumbling while Ramdas was

struggling to bear it all by absorbing his mindin the meditation of Ram, who in a short timemade him unconscious of his body, in whichstate he remained most of the night.

The day was just breaking when theSadhuram got up and asked Ramdas to followhim out of the place. He did not know whereto go. But one thing, he wanted to be awayfrom the place at the earliest opportunity. TheSadhus had not proceeded half a furlong fromthe temple when they met the Pujari, who hadbeen so hospitable to them the previous night,coming up in front of them.

“Where are you going so early?” hailedthe kind-hearted friend. “You should not goaway unless you take the midday meal, thePrasad of Kali. Pray, get back to the temple.”

This invitation had to be accepted, andboth returned to the temple. Ram’s ways aremysterious indeed!

“Wash yourselves and your clothes in theGanges,” suggested the Pujari. “In due time,you will be invited for dinner.”

As suggested by him, both descended anumber of steps leading to the sacred river inwhich they bathed and also washed theirclothes. Coming up to the temple courtyard,they spread the wet clothes in the sun for dryingand sat there warming themselves from thesame source of heat. The following thoughtsthen crossed Ramdas’ mind:

‘O Ram, Thou hast brought Thyunworthy slave to this temple, because of thegreatness of the Saint Sri Ramakrishna, whoflourished here at one time and whose teachingshave spread all over the world. Somehow, Thouhast prevented Thy slave from leaving the placein the morning. After the midday meal he hasto bid farewell to the place. But before doingso, would it not be well, O Ram, to acquaintThy slave with the spot where the great Saintlived and performed his austerities andmeditation?’

Scarcely five minutes had passed sincethese thoughts were working in his mind, whena young and tall Sannyasi dressed in a coatreaching nearly to his feet and his foreheadsmeared with stripes of Chandan, i.e., sandalpaste, walked up to where Ramdas was sitting,and sat beside him. After an exchange ofsalutes, he spoke:

“Brother, have you not heard of thegreat Saint of Dakshineshwar, Sri RamakrishnaParamahamsa, who lived here some years ago?”

“Yes, friend, Ram has brought his Dashere for that very reason,” replied Ramdas whowas then wondering at the inscrutable ways ofRam.

“Well then,” said the Bengalee Sadhu,for he was a Bengalee, “come along with me, Ishall show you all the places connected with hislife here.”

‘O Ram, in what words shall Thy pooruntutored slave measure the depths of thefountain of Thy love for Thy Das? No soonerdoes he speak out his wish than it is fulfilled!’The Bengalee Sadhu led the humble Ramdas(the Sadhuram did not accompany him) into aroom forming a part of the rows of buildingsthat surrounded the square yard of the temple.The room was locked! The kind Sadhu calledfor the key and opening the door, let in Ramdas.Oh, the joy of it all! Inside was found a cot onwhich there were a bed and two cushions usedby Sri Ramakrishna, preserved in his memory.Ramdas, approaching them, reverently laid hishead on them by turns. By this time he wasbeginning to feel the electric influence of thevery air inside that room. Thrill after thrill ofjoy passed through him. He then laid himselfflat on the floor of the room and began to rollall over the place, feeling all the while, aninexpressible ecstasy of bliss. O Ram, the floorwas blessed by the tread of the sacred feet ofthat holy man. About half an hour passed thusand he was still rolling on the floor, his facebeaming with a strange light of infinite joy.

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CHAPTER XVII

TARAKNATH TEMPLE

THE Bengalee Sadhu was standing simplystaring at the spectacle. At last, coming tohimself, he suggested they might go out of theroom, as other spots had also to be visited.Most reluctantly, Ramdas got up and came outof that heavenly place. Next, the Sadhu guidedhim - and he was in a state of completedreaminess at the time - to a garden behindthe room, and pointed to a cluster of five treescalled Panchavati, around which a circularplatform of earth and stones was raised.

“Here, the Paramahamsa used to sitfrequently and offer Upadesh to his disciples,”explained the Sadhu.

Then he led the way to a small hutwherein, he said, the Saint used to sit inSamadhi or deep meditation of his favouriteideal - Mother Kali. O Ramdas, thy eyes areindeed blessed by these sights; flow on tears,warm with the glow of supreme happiness.Now, the Bengalee Sadhu proposed to take himon a visit to a young Sannyasi - a disciple of SriRamakrishna. Agreeing, he was escorted andled away from the temple site for about a mile,where two Sannyasis were found busy

worshipping in front of the pictures of theParamahamsa and Kali, placed in a smallMandir. Ramdas and the Sadhu, on prostratingbefore the Sannyasis, were invited to sit insidethe temple. The Puja over, they were givensome Prasad, on partaking of which they soughtpermission to depart. Coming back to the Kalitemple, the Bengalee Sannyasi led the twoSadhus to the banks of the Ganges where thesteamboat jetty was situated. From this placethe Sannyasi pointed out the place called BelurMath, on the other side of the Ganges. Heprocured tickets for Ramdas and the Sadhuramand conducted them to the steamboat, whichthey duly boarded. But before leaving, hesuggested that when travelling onwards by railthey might make a halt at a shrine calledTaraknath or Tarakeshwar, a place worthvisiting. This suggestion was kept in mind sinceit came from Ram Himself whose kindness wasfelt at every step of this most marvellous andmemorable pilgrimage.

In due course both the Sadhus landedon the opposite side of the Ganges. A walk ofabout two furlongs brought them to a smalltemple where there resided a number of youngmen belonging to different parts of India. Oneof them took the Sadhus inside the temple inwhich a painting of the Paramahamsa wasplaced for daily worship. On enquiry, it was

found that the temple was erected over theashes of Sri Ramakrishna. Then the Sadhusvisited the beautiful Samadhis raised over theremains of Swami Vivekananda and the HolyMother (wife of Sri Ramakrishna). Ramdas,wishing to spend a night at the Math, expressedhis desire to the friends of the place, but wastold that as there was no accommodation itwas not possible to accede to his request. Itwas all the wish of Ram who does everythingfor good.

Thence they proceeded to the nearestrailway station and got into a train going west,and one morning, they found themselves atthe Tarakeshwar station where they alighted.They proceeded straight to the famous templeof Taraknath, in which it is said a Shivaling hadits spontaneous birth breaking up the roots ofa palmyrah tree - hence the name Taraknath.After bath and Darshan, the Sadhus went outto the city. Making enquiries, they learnt thatsome liberal Rajah was feeding 40 to 50 Sadhusevery day with a sumptuous dinner. Coming tothe place they waited, along with many others,outside the Dharmashala.

About 11 o’ clock, an old friend, themanager of the Kshetra, called in the Sadhuscounting the number required, and let themin, one by one. On a long verandah, in tworows, facing each other, all the Sadhus sat down

and leafy plates were placed before them.When the food was being served, a new Sadhu,of middle age, came in and demanded food.The manager of the Kshetra at first refused totake him as the number to be fed was complete.But at the mention of the fact by the Sadhuthat he had not had meals for two days past,he was also offered a leaf and he sat down at aplace which happened to be just opposite toRamdas. The dinner consisted of wheat Pureespretty thick and about 16" in diameter, someBhajee or curry, and sweets. At first, each wasserved with two Purees and sweets, etc. ThePurees having been prepared out of mill-mademixed wheat-flour, were flexible like rubber.Ramdas was wanting in teeth - in all he hadnot half a dozen in his mouth. Even those whohad the full complement had to struggle hardwith the Purees before they could be thrustdown the throat. Ramdas’ case was henceunique.

Now the Sadhu, the latest arrival forthe dinner, sitting in front, was observed tohave finished his share in less than two minutes.He was served again with four Purees whichalso disappeared in a trice. Again four more,and they met with the same fate! The Sadhuwas looking up for more! At this juncture, theold friend ordered the cook to fetch out the

whole stock of Purees from the kitchen. Thenhe approached the Sadhu and said:

“Maharaj, you may take as many as youlike,” and he served one, two, three, four andso on and on until he counted twenty.

Still the Sadhu would not stop. Four moreand the friend stopped, assuring the Sadhu thathe shall have some more after finishing thosealready served. At this stage, the attention ofall Sadhus was directed towards this voraciouseater. All commenced to watch his eatingprocess. But, for himself the Sadhu was calmand determined. Puree after Pureedisappeared. It mattered not for him what wasgoing on around him. At every four or fivePurees he was drinking water out of a big brasspot he had by his side. Most of the Sadhuspresent there could not eat more than foureach. The record with some did not exceed sixPurees. But the phenomenal Sadhu had beenserved in all 34 Purees. He was also servedmore Bhajee or curry and sweets. He ate themall, with one potful of water into the bargain.

The affair is narrated here, not out ofany disrespect to the Sadhu, but to apprise thereader of the case of a man who had atremendous appetite, showing forth thewonderful Maya of Ram. After 2 days’ stay atthe shrine, Ramdas and the Sadhuram left thestation and came to Gaya, where they obtained

Darshan in the temple and had a bath in theholy river Phalguni. The next day they started,and reached the famous shrine of the North -Kashi (Benares).

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CHAPTER XVIII

KASHI

THE city of Kashi is a city of magnificenttemples, the domes and turrets of which, whenviewed from a height, lend a charm to thescene on the banks of the holy river Ganges.The whole of India rightly recognises that Kashiis one of the most important shrines ofHindustan. Everyday, pilgrims by thousands arepouring into the place from all parts of India.As Ram took Ramdas on this pilgrimage inwinter, the cold was very great here, and theSadhuram and he had not sufficient clothing,and sleeping as they were in an open place onthe bank of the river, the cold was felt veryacutely - especially by the Sadhuram. TheSadhuram was getting impatient everyday. Hismain object of travelling in the North seemedto have been fulfilled after visiting Kashi. Nowhe wanted to return to South India. Ram’s will.Nothing happens in this world but subject toHis divine will. Ram’s ways are inscrutable.

Next day, the train carried theSadhuram and Ramdas to Ayodhya, the placewhere Sri Ramachandra lived and reigned. Itwas night when the pilgrims reached the place.They rested for the night in the open passenger-shed outside the station. The cold was intense.The Sadhuram suggested that both should liedown back to back, the backs touching eachother. This device was adopted in order toexchange one another’s heat of the body formutual warmth. Really an original idea! Thuspassed the night. Early next day, both proceededto the city and then to the Sarayu river. Washingthe hands and feet, the Sadhuram suggestedthat no bath need be taken as the cold wasvery great. So, returning from the holy river,they visited various Mandirs of Sri Ramachandraand Hanumanji, secured food at a Kshetra andthat very night caught a train going downtowards Bombay.

Now, the Sadhuram had once and for alldecided to close the northern India pilgrimageand hence the journey towards Bombay. ‘ORam, Thy will is supreme. Although Ramdashas yet to visit more shrines of north India it isbeyond Thy humble slave to know the reasonfor Thy taking him to Bombay. Every move Thougivest to the situation of Thy Das is consideredby him to be for the best.’ The train travelledtaking the Sadhus south and south. Station after

station was passed. At a small station, whilethe Sadhuram was dozing, some passenger whohad not perhaps any pot with him, took away,while alighting, the brass pot of the Sadhuramwho woke up and discovered his loss after thetrain had left that station. He began to fretover the loss a great deal - in fact he weptbitterly over it like a child.

The next station was Jhansi which wasduly reached. Here the ticket inspection wasvery strict. So the ticket-clerk pulled down theseSadhus as well as many others from othercarriages, and led them all near the gate, leadingout of the station. There were in all about tenSadhus. The ticket-clerk made all of them standin a line on one side of the entrance or exit - itwas both. The passengers were now going outof the station and the clerk was collecting ticketsat the gate, his back turned against the Sadhus,who were made to stand only at arm’s lengthfrom the clerk. The first in the line of theSadhus was a young Sannyasi with a Jatah ortuft of matted hair. Whenever the ticket-clerkhad a momentary respite from the collectionof tickets, he would turn round and clutchingthe Jatah of the young Sadhu, who was nearestto him, shake his head violently. The nextmoment he had to attend to ticket collection.When the stream of passengers thinned andthere was some break, he would again handle

the head of the Sadhu and give it a shake orinflict blows upon it with his fist. While thiswas going on, by a look at the face of theSadhu, who was next to him in the line, Ramdasmade out that there was a happy smile on theface of the young Sadhu.

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CHAPTER XIX

LOVE CONQUERS HATE

THE Sadhu seemed to enjoy thetreatment. He was calm and contented.Ramdas, wishing also to taste the pleasure,requested the Sadhu to exchange places withhim and thus offer him also the uniqueopportunity of receiving the attention of theticket-clerk. But the Sadhu would not bepersuaded to abandon his enviable position. Offand on, the clerk was meting out this treatmentto the willing Sadhu. This continued for nearlyhalf an hour. The ticket collection work at laststopped. Now the clerk was totally free fromwork, and he turned right towards the Sadhus.He approached the other Sadhus, of whomRamdas was the second, with the object ofhandling them roughly one by one. Ramdas feltmuch relieved to see that his turn had at lastcome. The clerk coming up, caught his hand in

a firm grasp and looked on his face in which hediscovered a most welcome smile, bright andbeaming. At once he let go his hand and drawinghimself back a few steps seemed to have givenhimself to some thinking. It was Ram who wasat work. For, next instant, he asked all theSadhus to go out of the station. Accordingly allthe Sadhus left the station one by one.

‘O Ram! When Thy invincible armprotects Thy slave where was fear for him?One thing was proved incontestably and beyondany doubt and that was - Thou disarmest theevil intentions of an adversary when heapproaches you in a violent mood by meetinghim with a smile instead of with fear or hatred.’Love can surely conquer hate. Love is asovereign antidote for all the ills of the world.After all, the whole occurrence might be onlyRam testing the Sadhus to see if they wouldlose their self-control under provocation. All thatRam does is for the best.

Now the time was about 2 o’clock pastmidnight. It was pitch dark. So the Sadhussought for a place on the station for takingrest for the night. But conditions for this werefar from favourable. The station was full tooverflowing, as it were, with passengers. Everyavailable nook and corner of that portion ofthe station intended for passengers wasoccupied, and they were all scattered on the

floor sleeping in fantastic postures - all spacefilled up. However, Ramdas and his guide, theSadhuram, crept near a pillar where there wasfound room for both to sit on their legs. Thecold here also was very severe. The Sadhus satup close to and pressing each other, so muchso, that they seemed almost moulded into onepiece. Rambhajan was going on. Ramdasbecame unconscious and dozed away where hesat and did not wake up until he was roused bya strong and shrill voice asking all passengersto take to their feet and walk out of the station.This was the order of the railway police.

Ramdas opened his eyes and instantlybecame conscious of his body which wasdiscovered to be in a peculiar condition - thelegs had turned so stiff with cold that they hadstuck fast at the bend of the knee-joint, andon a look at them he further made out thatfrom the knee downwards both the legs hadswollen, and also the feet, as though they werestricken with elephantiasis. However by rubbingthem briskly by both hands for about fiveminutes, he could unlock the stiffened joints.Slowly rising up, he hobbled along for somedistance. As he walked on, the stiffnessdisappeared. About 8 a.m. they reached thecity of Jhansi about four miles from the station.

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CHAPTER XX

JHANSI

MAKING enquiries, they straightawaywent to a Dharmashala, and resting here forsometime, at the suggestion of the Sadhuram,directed their steps to the bazaar and obtainingsome flour, etc. from a charitable merchant,the Sadhuram prepared a few Rotis and DalCurry. After finishing dinner they remained inthe Dharmashala till evening. Then theSadhuram proposed a move towards the stationwhich was reached before dark. The sameticket-clerk, whom Ram had brought in touchwith the previous night, was found at the gate.Ramdas went to him and requested him to allowthem to proceed to Bombay by the night train.Although at first he consented to do so, whenthe train arrived at 2 a.m. he refused themadmission to the platform. It was all Ram’swish. So they had to spend another night inthe station, which meant cold, stiffening andswelling of the limbs for a second time.

Next morning, they retraced their stepsagain to the city. The state of the Sadhuram’smind at this time was most miserable. Comingto the same Dharmashala, they met two TeluguSadhus. The Sadhuram after a short talk with

these Sadhus at once made up his mind to giveup the company of Ramdas and join them. Itwas again all Ram’s making. His ways are alwaysinscrutable. Total submission to Him means noanxiety, no fear, no pain and all assurance.About half an hour later Ramdas was left alonein the company of Ram whose name he wasuttering without cessation. The new Sadhusand the Sadhuram - who was so long his guideand foster-mother, as it were - departed fromthe Dharmashala. Ramdas was meditating onRam unconcerned at the severance of theSadhuram’s company; for complete resignationto the will of Ram had deprived him of all senseof anxiety and cares for the future. Thus, timewas passing in Rambhajan when two friendscoming up to him dropped into his hands twoone Anna pieces, suggesting that he mightpurchase some eatables from the bazaar andbreak his fast. Accordingly, he directed his stepsto the bazaar. Here, while purchasing someeatables from a sweetmeat shop, he felt at hiselbow somebody pulling him. He had nowreceived the eatables. Turning round he heardthe friend address him:

“Maharaj, a Seth desires you to go overto him.”

Ramdas instantly followed the friendwho led him into a shop, wherein were piled upwheat bags. As he entered the place, a friend

came up from inside the shop and fell prostrateat the feet of Ramdas - the mendicant. Risingup with folded hands, the friend requested himto accept Bhiksha at his house that day. Thisfriend was the merchant who had sent for him.He was then asked to sit on a thick whitemattress - called Gadi - with cushions to leanagainst. But Ramdas was a humble slave ofRam. So he preferred to sit on the floor. Hereagain he was offered a gunny bag on which hesat. After dinner the kind-hearted merchantsat beside him and put him some questions inregard to his movements, etc. - which were allduly answered in terms of Ram’s will, whichwas alone his sole guide. He further told theSeth of Ram’s kindness and love for his Bhaktasand how he who trusts Ram knows no sorrowand can be happy under all circumstances.

To have Ram’s name on the lips meansjoy - pure joy - nothing but joy. The merchantwas visibly affected to hear these words for hewas himself a great Rama-Bhakta. “Sitaram,Sitaram,” was always on his tongue. After afew minutes’ talk, the Seth entreated Ramdasto remain with him for some days. He saidthat Ramdas’ body, which was then in a mostneglected condition, required to be taken careof and that Ram had specially sent Ramdas tohim with this sole object. It must be relatedhere that the clothes in which he was clad were

all rags. Mahadev Prasad - such was the nameof the merchant in whose care he was placedby Ram, - provided him with new clothes dyedin Gerrua, and every care was taken of him bythis kind host. Mahadev became extremely fondof him. At nights, in spite of remonstrances,Mahadev Prasad would sit beside the sleepingRamdas and press his feet. O, the kindness heshowered on poor and humble Ramdas wasunbounded. ‘O Ram, it was Thee who was doingit all through that friend. O Ram, how good,how loving Thou art!’ Weep on - weep onRamdas - in silence, weep on - weep not insorrow but in joy, because Ram’s grace is uponyou.

For a month he was detained by Mahadevwith him. Throughout the day and night hewould not give up the company of Ramdas. Athis request Ramdas was explaining to him themeaning of some Slokas from the BhagavadGita with the help of the small understandingwith which he was gifted by Ram, and Mahadevin return would read out and explain thatmonumental work of Tulsidas - the HindiRamayan. All people in his house were also veryhospitable and kind to Ramdas. To prevent anycold affecting the heart of frail-bodied Ramdas,Mahadev got a tight woolen jacket made forhim. ‘O Ram, how kind of Thee! When Thouart out to show Thy fondness and love for thy

slave, Thou shameth the very human motherwho gave birth to Ramdas’ body. Such is Thyunlimited love.’

During Ramdas’ stay at Jhansi, MahadevPrasad took him on a visit to two MohammedanSaints. The first was an aged Saint namedMirzaji. He might have been over 60 years ofage, lean and bent. He would not speak, butthere was a cheerful twinkle in his eyes. Inshort, he was a mere baby - simple, innocentand free. Mahadev Prasad had brought someeatables with him which he thrust into theSaint’s mouth bit by bit. There was not a singletooth in the Saint’s mouth. The eatables weresoft sweets. He chewed and swallowed themunconcernedly. He seemed to recognize nobody.His eyes had an absent and vacant look, thoughbright. He was visited twice. On the secondoccasion, he was found sitting on the groundoutside his cottage, quietly tearing to bits straypieces of paper scattered around him.

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CHAPTER XXI

MEDITATION - THE ONLY WAY

THE other Saint whose name was Pirjeewas comparatively a younger man than Mirzaji.He would speak and reply to questions put to

him. Mahadev asked Pirjee whether happinesscould be found in the Samsaric life in which hewas placed. At this question, Pirjee seemed tohave roused himself a little. His voice was firmand decisive.

“Well brother, as I have told you severaltimes, there is only one remedy and that is,give up, give up the miserable life of the worldand, going up to a solitary place, meditate uponGod who alone can give you the happiness youare after. This is the only way and no other.”

‘O Ram, Thou hast brought Thy slave intouch with these Saints in order to confirm hisfaith in Thee. The first Saint teaches the stateof one who reached Thee. The second teacheshow to reach Thee.’ The kind Mahadev wastaking him in the nights to various Bhajanparties in the city. When Ramdas told him oneday that it seemed to be Ram’s wish that heshould make a move, he was quite unwilling topart from Ramdas. To avoid an immediatecontingency of a departure, he escorted himto a village called Oorcha which was about sixmiles from the city. The place is famous forthe temple of Sri Ramachandra. Leaving himat this place, and after arranging for his foodwith a mother living near the temple, MahadevPrasad returned to the city. His parting wordswere:

“You may remain here as long as youlike or as long as Ram wishes you to remain.When He desires you to leave the place, kindlycome back to me at Jhansi.”

When left alone in contemplation of theDivine Guide, Protector and Mother Ram,Ramdas wandered on the bank of the beautifulriver of the place. On walking for about twomiles he came upon a number of Samadhis ortombs - some very old and dilapidated overwhich were erected tall conical turrets that shothigh up into the air. He understood, on enquiryin the village later, that they were the gravesof women who performed Sati - a customprevailing in olden days. This place is now usedas a cremation ground. The site is full of treesand a beautiful calm reigns over the place. Hedecided - as prompted by Ram - to occupy oneof the tombs for a retreat. For eight days heremained at this place. Only for about an hourat midday he would go to the temple and receivethe rations prepared by the old mother, whichconsisted of a few saltless Rotis and boiledpotatoes.

The whole night he would sit up forRambhajan in that tomb. Nights were spent inecstasy. Ram’s presence was felt in the veryair he was breathing. In the mornings when hewas repeating aloud the charming Mantram -“Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram!” - the birds

of the air, small and big, and squirrels wouldalight on the parapet wall and would listeneagerly and with rapt attention to the soundof the great Pranava - Om! In the evening thesame sound “Om” would work like magic uponthe goats and bullocks that came near the tombfor grazing. They would raise their headspricking up their ears, stand still and drink inthe sound. ‘O Ram, it is proved beyond anydoubt that Thou resideth in the hearts of allcreatures.’ The sleeping souls of the birds ofthe air and the beasts of the plains areawakened at the call of Ram’s glorious voice!

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CHAPTER XXII

RAM, THE FRIEND OF THE POOR

DURING his visits to the village, thevillagers tried to dissuade Ramdas from stayingin that jungle at nights as they warned him oftigers and other wild animals, because the placeoccupied by him formed part of a dense andextensive forest. But when the all-powerful Ramwas there to save him, where was fear for himand from whom? Ram is pervading everywhere- in all things, in all beings, in all creatures. Hecontinued there for eight days, when hereceived the command from Ram to move on.

A small incident which took place herehas to be chronicled at this stage. One day,when he was passing the small bazaar of thisplace with his Lota in hand, he felt thirsty. Henow approached, as he walked on, a numberof small low huts on one side of the road. Goingup to one of them, at its entrance he found anold mother sitting. He begged of her to givehim some water in his Lota. The old mothershook her head and said: “Maharaj, you cannottake water at my hands.”

“May Ramdas know the reason for thisobjection?” inquired Ramdas.

“The simple reason is”, put in themother, “I belong to a very low caste - to bebrief - I am a barber woman.”

“What of that?” said Ramdas, not theleast surprised. “You are Ramdas’ mother allthe same - kindly satisfy the thirst of your son.”

She was highly pleased at this reply, andgoing in brought out a seat for him and herwater vessel out of which she poured somewater into his Lota. He quenched his thirstoccupying the seat so kindly offered by her.Now the old mother said that she was utterlymiserable. Left alone in the world, she spentall her days and nights in pain, fear and anxiety.Ramdas then assured her:

“O mother, there is no cause for fearand anxiety or for a feeling of loneliness when

there is Ram to protect us all - Ram is alwaysnear us.”

“But a poor, weak-minded woman likemyself does not possess any faith in Ram,because I am a sinner.” So saying the motherburst into tears.

“You shall have faith, kind mother, bythe grace of Ram. Don’t despair, Ram is alwaysthe friend of the poor and the humble,” saidRamdas.

“Then show me the way,” asked the oldmother.

“Repeat the one name ‘Ram’ at all timesof the day and at nights when you are awake.You may be sure that you will not feel lonely ormiserable as long as you are uttering thatglorious name. Where this name is sounded, ormeditated upon, there resides no sorrow, noanxiety - nay, not even death.”

Saying thus, Ramdas started to go, whenshe begged him to visit her again the next day.As desired by her, he went to her hut again thefollowing day at about the same time.

“Well mother, how do you do?” was hisquestion.

There was a cheerful smile on the faceof the mother. She said that she had actedupon his advice and was finding herself muchrelieved from fear and cares. Then she offered

him some Ladoos which she said she had gotfrom the sweet-meat shop.

“Mother, this is not what Ramdas wants,he wants something prepared by your ownhands,” said he.

At this she went in and got for him, apiece of Roti or bread made by her which heate with no small amount of pleasure. Later,he saw her once again, when she was busyuttering “Ram, Ram!”

——

CHAPTER XXIII

GOD NEVER PUNISHES

BY Ram’s command Ramdas came backto Jhansi, where Mahadev Prasad welcomed himmost heartily, and pressed him to spend a fewmore days with him. At this time Ram broughthim into contact with more than a dozen friendsat Jhansi, who were all very kind and hospitableto him. Of these, one young friend namedRamkinker was extremely kind. One day, inthe course of a conversation, he heard that onthe Himalayas there were two shrines -Kedarnath and Badrinath - and the path leadingto these places was very difficult, and also thecold there was very intense. O Ram, it was allyour suggestion. For him there was always a

fascination for dangerous journeys and perilousplaces. Kedarnath - he had read of in thesplendid writings of that great Mahatma SwamiRama Tirtha. His mind was made up. Ramprompted and the resolution was sealed thathe should visit these shrines, however difficultthe path that led to them. He expressed Ram’swish to his friends. Mahadev and others, whovalued his frail body so dearly, did not at firstappreciate the idea. They said that the journeywas a terrible one and it would prove soespecially to Ramdas whose body was so weakand emaciated. He replied:

“Ram has given his fiat and Ramdasobeys, placing full trust in Him. The burden ison Ram to see that he is taken care of; even ifhis body were to drop off at the will of Ram,he would not grumble. He will then be Ram’sentirely - go he must.”

At once Ramkinker, the young friend,proposed to follow him on his journey toKedarnath and Badrinath. So, he had to remainat Jhansi for some days more at the request ofthese friends, which gave Ramkinker sufficienttime to make his preparations for the journey.

Some other incidents in connection withhis stay at Jhansi have to be narrated herebefore he describes his pilgrimage to theHimalayas. After the resolution was made, hewas taken over by Ramkinker, who kept him in

a Ram Mandir near his own house and carefullylooked after his personal wants. In this Mandirthere was a Pujari known as Pandaji. OPandaji! How very kind you were too. Atmidday, everyday, Ramdas would saunter outin the hot sun and walk in the streets of Jhansifor two or three hours. The heat of the sun atmidday in that season was very severe; but hewould not mind it. Observing this one day,Pandaji, who was treating him as a child,warned him thus:

“Look here, Maharaj, you are everydaygoing out at midday and wandering about inthe hot sun. Your head, which is clean-shaven,is always uncovered. If you are obstinate, Ishall have to lock you up in the temple before Igo out.”

With this threat - an indication of hisgreat love for Ramdas - he would press him tosleep in the afternoon and would not leave theMandir for midday meals until he saw Ramdasasleep. O Ram, how kind Thou art!

One day, during his midday walks,Ramdas got thirsty and he discovered on theway a well at which some mothers were drawingwater. He went up to the place and requestedone of them to give him some water to quenchhis thirst. In reply, the mother who was askedfor water said:

“Maharaj, I am a Mohammedan and youbeing a Hindu monk, it is not proper that youshould accept water at my hands.”

“O mother!” replied he, “Ramdas knowsno caste distinctions. He finds in you thatUniversal Mother, Sita, as he finds in all women.Therefore, do not hesitate to provide your sonwith some water.”

The mother was strangely surprised atthis reply, washed the water-pot thoroughly anddrawing water afresh, poured it out in thehollow of his hands and he drank as much wateras he wanted. Then he continued his walk. Forabout ten days he was staying in the RamMandir, and during evenings a number of friendsof the city would come and put him variousquestions about Ram, and he would try tosatisfy them by such replies as were promptedhim by Ram Himself. On one occasion a certainfriend came up specially to have a discussionwith him on a religious point.

His first question was: “Who are you?”“I am Ramdas,” was his simple reply.“No, you speak a lie there,” retorted

the friend. “You are Ram Himself. When youdeclare you are Ramdas, you do not know whatyou say. God is everywhere and in everything.He is in you and so you are He. Confess it rightaway,”

“True, dear friend, God is everywhere,”replied Ramdas. “But at the same time, it mustbe noted that God is one, and when He is inyou and everywhere around you, may I humblyask to whom you are putting this question?”

After reflecting for a time, the friendwas driven to say: “Well, I have put the questionto myself.”

This reply was given as a desperateattempt to reconcile his first contention. If hewould say that the question was put to Ramdas,there was a clear sense of duality accepted bythe disputant himself - “I” and “you.”

“As a matter of fact,” put in Ramdas,“Ram does not speak - the moment he speakshe is not Ram. Speech creates always a senseof duality -the speaker and the man spokento. Ram is one and indivisible. It is sheerignorance for a man - whose ego is a greatobstruction for his complete realisation of theoneness of God - to say that he is God.”

The friend persisted for some time moreto uphold his argument and eventually gave itup. At the desire of Ramdas, who liked to stayfor some days in a retired place, the friends atJhansi took him to a garden about a mile awayfrom the city, where there was a small shed.Here he lived for some days, visited everyevening by a number of friends.

Here again a schoolmaster came for adiscussion. He belonged to the Arya Samajstarted by that great Saint, Swami DayanandaSaraswati. This friend, in the course of a talk,became very hot and excited. The point wasabout the Shuddhi movement set on foot bySwami Shraddhanandji. Ramdas was clearlyopposed to this movement as he is, in fact,opposed to every effort on the part of anybodyto create differences in religious faiths. Thatall faiths lead to the same goal is a mostbeautiful and convincing truth. At the close ofthe discussion, the friend exceeded the limitsof decent talk. However, Ramdas was cool andcollected by the grace of Ram. At parting, heassured the friend that he loved him most dearlyin spite of any objectionable words used byhim. Next day, about the same time, this friendcame again in a great hurry. He could scarcelytalk. He could only whisper; his throat waschoked up. His condition was pitiable.

“O Maharaj,” he exclaimed falling atthe feet of Ramdas: “God has punished yourslave for having used rough words to youyesterday. See how my throat is choked and Ican’t speak out properly”.

“O friend, Ramdas is really sorry to hearthis, but be assured of this - God never punishes.God is love and is always kind. Our own doubts

are our enemies and create a lot of mischief.The so-called evil is of our own making,”

At once, pulling out Ramdas’ right handthe friend rubbed the palm on his throat and,strange to say, his throat cleared and he beganto talk more clearly and in a few minutes hewas all right!

“Behold! Maharaj, how powerful youare!” he cried exultantly.

“You make a mistake, dear friend,”replied Ramdas. “Ramdas is a poor slave ofRam, possessing no powers at all. Your faithalone has cured you and nothing else,”

From this time onwards the friendbecame very much attached to him and wasvery kind. O Ram, Thy ways are so wonderfulthat Ramdas gets utterly bewildered at times.

The friends at Jhansi, whom he metdaily in that city, were all very charitable indisposition - especially were they kind andhospitable to Sadhus. When he was living withMahadev Prasad, he found this friend a patternof charity and humility. Mahadev would neversend away a hungry man from his door withoutfeeding him. He would forego his own meal tosatisfy a hungry man. His heart was so softand so tender. Mahadev’s humility wasexemplary. Ram certainly gave Ramdas thesociety of this friend so that he might knowwhat true charity and humility meant in actual

practice. Ramkinker - the young friend whoaccompanied him on his pilgrimage to theHimalayas - made it a rule to utilise about 10per cent of his salary for charity. This is reallya beautiful hint for all. While speaking ofcharity, the ideal of charity followed by thehouseholder of northern India is indeed verynoble and lofty, the ideal of the ancients, viz.that the householder has no right to exist assuch if he does not share his food everydaywith a hungry man of no means, such as abeggar or a Sadhu. In fact, it is declared thata man assumes Grihasthashrama with thespecific object of carrying out this noble ideal.There are found some Grihasthas who wouldnot wait for a guest to turn up but would goseeking for one in the streets, in temples or,Dharmashalas. Such is the piety of thehouseholders. Ramdas’ experience in southernIndia was also full of incidents in which charityplayed a most laudable part. In fact, the wholeof India is a great land of charity.

——

CHAPTER XXIV

HIMALAYAN JOURNEY

THE friends in Jhansi provided Ramdaswith all the necessaries for the journey to the

Himalayas, and the day for departure came.Many came as far as the railway station to bidfarewell to humble Ramdas and Ramkinker.Both parties parted after mutual exchange ofgood wishes. In due time Hardwar was reached.Hardwar, as the name suggests, is the gatewayto the great shrines of the Himalayas. Herethe pilgrims stayed for two days. It is mostdelightful to visit the bank of the Ganga, wherecongregate Sannyasins, Sannyasinis, Sadhus,Bhaktas, Brahmins, pious mothers - all busywith baths, ablutions, Sandhya, prayers andworship. O Ram, Thou art clearly manifest atthis holy place!

Now the journey on the Himalayascommenced. Up and up, Ramdas andRamkinker mounted and reached the placecalled Rishikesh. Rishikesh is a very beautifulplace. The scenes on the banks of the holyGanga are simply charming. Here the loftypeaks of mountains are dimly visible at adistance, covered over with white mist, kissingas they do the rolling waves of clouds that hangabove them. A nearer gaze presents to the eyehigh gigantic rocks with dense forests, amixture of green, yellow and red hues of leaves,foliage and blossoms. A still nearer view showsthe crystal water of the holy Ganga that flowsin all calmness and majesty, disclosing in herbosom huge pieces of rocks which her rushing

torrent had pulled down in days of yore, andmade round and smooth. O Ram, Thou artsublime!

On one side of the great river are seena number of small thatched huts, neat and clean- Ashrams of Sannyasis. Ramkinker tookRamdas into one of these huts. The interior ofthe hut was fitted with the simplest furniture -a bamboo cot, two posts of which formed thepillars of the hut itself, on which was spread adeer-skin, and a Kambal or blanket lying infolds at the foot of it. A venerable old Sannayasiwas squatting upon the deer-skin. On a pegwas hanging his Kamandal made of a blackshell. Except a small piece of cloth and a spareKaupin which were drying in the sun outside,he had no other clothing. On the sandy floor ofthe hut was a bamboo-mat, and in a cornerwere two black stones, one big and the othersmall, for crushing almonds and such other hardeatables having shells to break. There was acalm and peaceful look upon the countenanceof the Saint. He welcomed Ramkinker andRamdas with a cheerful smile, and they seatedthemselves on the mat after prostrating at thefeet of the Mahatma. He offered somecardamoms to the guests and had a simple andchild-like talk with them about Saints who wouldbe found in the thick forests on the oppositebank of the Ganges, unexplored by ordinary

man, where for a number of years they mightbe performing Tapasya.

His beautiful advice to Ramdas was toremain as long as possible for his Sadhana insolitude, than which there is no better meansfor control of the mind. He was kind, affable,engaging and good. O Ram, it was Thyself inall Thy glory that Ramdas met under that simpleroof. One thing more, this Saint was very fondof birds. He would not miss to share his foodwith them everyday. They would wait for theirshare on the trees outside the hut. He talkedvery lovingly of them. After coming outRamkinker and Ramdas wandered on the bankof Mother Ganga, where they saw a number ofSannyasis clad in orange robes, their facesbeaming with a cheerful light. They had all comeout for their usual morning bath in the holywaters. Ramdas, during his stay in Rishikesh,had occupied the mud-platform around abanyan tree on the bank of the river close tothe hut of a Mahatma. This Saint was also verykind to Ramdas. His hobby was to feed cowsand monkeys who would always be crowdinground his hut. In order to feed them he wouldbe a-begging in the bazaar and secure foodstuffsand grass. He was finding a peculiar pleasurein childishly dancing with monkeys, running afterthem, making strange noises, all in glee andsport. His face was bright and his greenish eyes

would twinkle always with a watery tenderness.Under the same three there was also a blindSadhu who had a good voice, which he maderight use of by singing the glory of Ram.

Three days were spent here in all peaceand happiness. Ramkinker was kind enough toattend to Ramdas’ food. There are two bigAnnakshetras in Rishikesh which daily furnishfood to all the Sannyasis. Of these Kshetras,one was started by a great Mahatma by nameKalikamblibaba who is now in Mahasamadhi.On these mountains and among Sadhus hisblessed name is on the lips of all. With hisinfluence he has induced the wealthy merchantsof Bombay and other places to open at every10 to 15 miles on the hills a Dharmashala inwhich Sadavart or food-stuffs are distributedfree to all Sadhu-pilgrims who hold Chits withwhich they are provided at Rishikesh. Ramkinkersecured these Chits for Ramdas at Rishikesh.

——

CHAPTER XXV

HIMALAYAN JOURNEY (Contd.)

ON the fourth day, they started on theirjourney higher on the hills. As they climbedhigher and higher, the scenes and landscapesthey saw were found to be simply enchanting.

On the right the sacred Ganga was rushingdownhill in all her glory, and on the left, highrocky hills, full of foliage and trees, presentedat once a thrilling and absorbing sight. Thevery air there was charged with the divinepresence of Ram. The far-off hills and valleys,the varied-hued sky in which the white fleecyclouds assumed fantastic shapes, the snow-capped mountains, hundreds of miles away up,dazzling in the rays of the sun as though theywere covered with sheets of silver: all theseconstituted indeed, an imposing sight! O, thecharm of the scenes! O Ram! Poor Ramdascannot find adequate words to describe thegrandeur, the beauty, the wonderful glory ofthe sights that met his bewildering gaze.

As he walked on, he drank deeper anddeeper of the splendour of Ram’s infinity andwas lost, lost, lost in the intoxication of it all.O Ram, Thy kindness to Thy slave is reallyunbounded. From day to day both Ramkinkerand Ramdas walked on at a high speed. Ramdasfelt no fatigue, no pain, no discomfort of anykind. He was as fresh as ever. It was all due toRam’s grace whose name was always on hislips. Thus mountain after mountain wastraversed and as they climbed on, grander andnewer scenes presented themselves before theirwondering sight. It was a journey in the landof enchantment. It was all a bewitching dream

full of the glory and greatness of Ram. ThereRam exhibits His marvellous powers. He is amighty conjurer. Vision after vision dances andflits before your eyes, and unconsciously youfall under the subtle charm and spell of thisgreat Magician. You forget what you are andwhere you are. You are simply absorbed andlost in the surroundings - like a wisp of smokein a hurricane.

Ramdas was walking at high speed - nay,he was veritably flying. Even the difficult ascentswere scaled in no time. Most of the time, hewas unconscious of his body. His mind wasentirely merged in Ram who alone appeared tohim in those enchanting scenes. Higher andhigher climbed the indefatigable pilgrims.Ramkinker, who had a heavy bundle to carry,complained of Ramdas’ running speed, sincehe could not keep pace with him. But Ramdaswas not his own master. Ram was his master.At a certain place they missed each other,causing anxiety to both; but, however, Rambrought them together at a stage calledRudraprayag. Thousands of pilgrims are everyyear ascending these hills and during this season,i.e. from March to June, a regular stream ofpeople is going up and coming down the hills.All the pilgrims, Sadhus and others whomRamdas met on the way were very kind tohim. Some rich merchants from cities like

Bombay were very solicitous. Because Ram iskind, all are kind, and Ram is in all.

The mountains are peopled by hill-tribes- a fair complexioned and well-built race. Theylive by cultivation and cattle and goat-breeding.Naturally their lives and ways are simple. Theirfaith in God is very great. “Ram, Ram,” isalways on their lips. If you talk to them theytell you with a glow of pride that they are thedescendants of the Rishis that lived in thosehills. Their clothing is wholly made of wool.Males wear long woollen coats and drawers anda black cap, and women, rough blankets inplace of Sarees. These blankets are preparedthere out of the wool yielded by the sheep theytend. So the food-stuffs and clothing - the twoessentials of life - are the produce of their ownlabour. Even while walking from place to place,every man and woman carries a quantity ofwool which he or she is spinning on the way.They have simple pit looms on which they weavethe yarn into cloth. Since their mode of life isfree from the baneful touch of moderncivilization, they live simple, pure, honest andpious lives.

At different stages of the journey overthe hills, under trees or in small huts or caves,are seen Sadhus engaged in austerities. To seektheir company and remain there, for ever sosmall a period, is a great privilege. The society

of a Sadhu is a much needed bath for the mind.The pure atmosphere he creates around himby his meditations is the river in which themind bathes and is purged of evil thoughts andimpressions. Upon these sacred hills are theAshrams of such famous Saints as Narada andAgastya Muni. There is also a place calledPandukeshar where the Pandavas are said tohave halted for some time during their journeyto Kailas. There is a temple here and some oldinscriptions, upon plates of copper. The firstplace visited by Ramdas and Ramkinker on theheights was Trijugnarain. The ascent to thisspot was sharp and steep, and it was a plateausurrounded by hills covered with snow. Hencethe cold here was intense. The pilgrimsremained here for one day.

Then after descending some distanceanother chain of hills was mounted. Here thepath was narrow, rugged and dangerous - frail,rickety bridges had to be crossed, at threeplaces large tracts of snow had to be traversed.On account of the perilous nature of the path,every year many pilgrims are reported to haveslipped down the cliffs and been washed away,in the rushing torrents of the river, manyhundreds of feet below. One instance of anarrow escape may be mentioned here.

At a certain stage in the middle of anascent, Ramdas was sitting on the path awaiting

Ramkinker. This was the edge of a high cliffand the river was flowing far below. The pathwas very narrow. A girl of about 16 years, fullof energy and activity, was coming down onher return journey. It was a sharp descent.Her pace was rapid and the sharp downhill pathonly accelerated her speed, and in spite ofherself she was running down at uncontrollablevelocity. Down, down she came. She wasexcited, her face was flushed and she knewshe was being drawn down automatically, andit was beyond her power to control herself.Instead of running towards the hill-side, shewas staggering down to the edge of the path -the very brow of a precipice.

Ramdas watched the scene withbreathless suspense. He was silently calling uponRam to save her. Ram alone could and noneelse. Now she came up to the edge, and with asuperhuman effort controlled herself. She hadcome to the very brink. Part of her left footwas out of the edge. O Ram, how terrible acondition! Ram, Thy name be glorified. Ramdaslooks and sees the girl falling on the path rightacross uttering ‘Ram, Ram’. Saved, saved! Ramsaved her! She got up; did not wait a minute,but continued her walk further down. Dauntlessgirl! What a marvellous faith in Ram is thine!

The other was the case of an old womanwho gave up her body in the basket in which

she was being carried by a sturdy mountaineerwho was specially engaged for the purpose. Atcertain stages in the journey this carrier wouldlower down his burden for relief, and the lasttime he did so, it happened to be near theplace where Ramkinker and Ramdas wereresting on the roadside. The bearer, as usualwith him, lowered the basket on a rock andasked the old mother to step out of the basketfor some time. But receiving no reply, the hillmanpeeped into the basket and a cry of surpriseand pain started from him.

“The poor woman is gone”, heexclaimed.

O Ram, Thy will is done. Then walkinghigher and higher, Ramdas and his kind guideeventually reached Kedarnath. This was indeeda grand place. It was plain land in the midst ofhigh towering mountains covered with snow.The cold here was extremely severe. O Ram,Thy kindness to Thy slave was so great thatThou hadst made him almost proof against cold.

——

CHAPTER XXVI

HIMALAYAN JOURNEY (Contd.)

IN Kedarnath Ramdas performed a mostdifficult feat - all by Ram’s grace. He ascended

one of the surrounding high rocks covered withsnow. Of course, Ramkinker followed him. Whilegoing up they had to do so by holding the roughgrass that grew on the hill. It was a steepascent. For nearly half the way Ramkinkeraccompanied him and then he refused to gohigher up with Ramdas, both on account ofcold and the danger of slipping down.Meanwhile, Ramdas, who had surrenderedhimself into the hands of Ram, mounted higherand higher until he reached the summit of thehill, and touched its narrow conical peak. As hetouched the top he gave a cry of triumph inthe name of Sri Ram. He uttered at the top ofhis voice: “Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram!”O Ram, what a glorious Being Thou art!

Now descent was most perilous, anunguarded step or a slight slip meant a headlongfall, and certain destruction of the body.However, when Ram guides where is the fear?What danger cannot be faced boldly? He slowlycrept down, nay, slipped down the hill. Whiledoing so, it began to rain white solid globulesof snow. He had ascended without any warmclothing. But by Ram’s grace he felt neithercold nor fear. At last, Ram brought him safelyto the base of the rock. It took five hours toaccomplish this ascent; the height of the hillmight have been over a mile. Going to thesource of the river, Mandakini, which starts at

this place, where the snow melts and flowsdown, he took his bath; the water was, ofcourse, very, very cold, but what cold can affecthim when Ram protects!

In Kedarnath there is a temple, someshops and residences. A day’s stay, and he, onthe advice of Ramkinker, travelled onwards.After descending for some miles, the pilgrimscommenced to walk up another chain ofmountains. Higher and higher again theyclimbed. Again glorious enchanting landscapesand scenes met their eyes. At the foot of a hillthey came upon a resting place where therewas a small tank called Gauri Kund, whereinhot water through a spring is collected. Therewas also another tank in which the water wasyellow in colour. From there he and Ramkinkerstarted on their upward journey, miles and milesof ascents were traversed. The pathway nowwas not so bad as that which led to Kedarnath.For days and days they walked on and at lastneared the place called Badrinath orBadrinarayan. While they were yet about halfa mile from the place, they sat down on thepath and looked at the Badrinath mountains.The sight was bewitching.

To describe the scene the poor pen ofRamdas is quite inadequate and unfit. As hegazed on, he for a time lost body-consciousnessand became one with the tall mountains in the

midst of which he was sitting. Badrinath is thesource of the river Alaknanda. While going upthese heights, at 3 or 4 places, the pilgrimshad to cross wide tracts of snow. He travelledover them with naked feet. These tracts ofsnow are glaciers. Below the surface of thesevast cakes of snow is flowing water in heavytorrents downhill to meet the river below. It issaid that many pilgrims, while walking on theirsurface, have been sucked down by the torrent,some thin layer of snow giving way beneaththeir feet. The story is current that a wealthymerchant of Bombay, while being carried on aDoli or cradle-like conveyance by four strongmen, was drowned and lost in the swift currentbelow.

Badrinath was reached - it was a flatvalley surrounded on all sides by high mountainslike Kedarnath - and here stands the temple ofBadrinarayan in white marble. At this place alsothere was a tank containing hot water, receivedfrom a hot spring running down the hills. Allthe pilgrims bathed in this tank. The cold wasvery intense. But Ram was kind and graciousat the same time. So Ramdas did not feel therigour of the cold very much. He had somedifficulty in gaining entrance to the temple forthe Darshan of Badrinarayan, as there was aheavy rush of pilgrims at the front door. Butsome sickly people were permitted to get in by

a narrow side-door at which two Pandas orBrahmins were set to watch. He soughtentrance here. One of the Pandas said:

“If you are sick, you can come in,”“No, Ramdas is not sick,” replied

Ramdas.“Well, pretend that you are sick, if you

are not,” suggested the Pandaji.“Never,” returned Ramdas, “he does

not want the Darshan of Badrinath by telling alie. It is against the command of Ram.”

Saying thus, he turned away from theplace. But the kind Pandaji at once graspinghis hand took him inside and getting him theDarshan of Badrinath gave him also somePrasad. O Ram! Thou art testing Thy slave invarious ways. Remaining in Badrinath for a day,the Sadhus started on their return journey.After several days’ walk they came to a placecalled Ramnagar whence the railway-line startsrunning southward. In all, the distance travelledover the Himalayas was 400 miles, and the timetaken from Hardwar to Ramnagar was 40 days.

Ramnagar, as the name suggests, is ablessed place. Charity is the ideal of the peoplethere. Near the railway station there was adispensary, worked by the Congress volunteersfor the benefit of ailing pilgrims. Hundreds ofpilgrims are everyday receiving aid from thisdispensary. Arrangements by well-to-do citizens

are made for feeding Sadhus and poor pilgrims.The people of the place are kind and hospitable.For his part, Ramdas must say the same withregard to all parts of India wherever hetravelled. Ram was uniformly kind to him in allhis travels, because he had started on his travelsat the bidding of Ram alone.

At Ramnagar, he and Ramkinker got intothe train proceeding to Mathura, which theyreached in due time. Here Ramkinker who wastaken ill proposed to return to Jhansi. Duringall the time he was with Ramdas, Ramkinkerwas more than a mother to him. He took everycare of him. It was all Ram’s wish that such afriend should leave him. Accordingly Ramkinkerleft Mathura for Jhansi. Ramdas was now aloneonly for a few minutes, for Ram had anotherSadhu ready at the Dharmashala, where theywere halting, to take him up.

——

CHAPTER XXVII

MATHURA, GOKUL AND BRINDABAN

MATHURA is the birthplace of that greatincarnation - Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna is theveritable personification of Love itself. Hisimperishable name lives still green and in all itspristine glory in the minds of all people in India.

The Bhagavad Gita stands unrivalled in the depthof its philosophy pointing out the one Goal whichall human endeavour should aim at, as theultimate accomplishment of all life andexistence. Mathura still remembers vividly thechild Krishna and his charmed life, which isproved by the variety of Mandirs in the placein which he is worshipped daily in the form ofgaudily dressed idols. On the day of Ramdas’arrival at Mathura - Ramkinker being laid upwith fever - Ramdas, before he came in touchwith the new Sadhuram, went to the city inquest of the holy river Jamuna. Ram, who wasever ready to offer help to him, now broughthim in touch with a Brahmin going towardsthe river. He came of his own accord towardshim and proposed to lead him to the river.

Having reached the holy Jamuna,Ramdas first washed his clothes and thendescended into the river for a bath. But beforedoing so, he placed his small Lota on one ofthe stone steps into which he also put hisspectacles. Finishing bath he was returning tothe spot where he had placed the Lota, and hewas only a moment too late, because a monkeycoming up carried off the spectacles. Nowwithout spectacles he could not clearly seeobjects at a distance. The Brahmin guide, seeingthis, was annoyed. But Ramdas, unperturbed,said:

“It was all Ram’s wish,” and thoughtwithin himself that perhaps Ram meant torestore his failing sight.

But the Brahmin would not rest content.He requested two boys standing nearby to runafter the monkey for the pair of spectacles.The monkey, meanwhile, was jumping fromone turret of the temple to the other closelyfollowed by a number of other monkeys whothought the first one had got some eatable inits grasp. However, in about a quarter of anhour, the boys returned bringing with them thepair of spectacles in a sound condition. It wasafter all a test of Ram on his humble slave.After visiting some temples of Sri Krishna bythe kindness of this Brahmin guide, heproceeded next day to Govardhan, in thecompany of the new Sadhuram.

Govardhan was situated at a distanceof 14 miles from Mathura. They reached thisplace at midday. Here was the famous hill ofGovardhan which is said to have been lifted upby Sri Krishna and supported on the tip of hislittle finger to protect the cows and cowherds- his playmates - from the heavy torrents ofrain sent down by the angry god Indra. But thishill is fast diminishing and has come down almostto the level of the surrounding land. The stonescut out from the hill have been for the mostpart used in the erection of houses at the place.

However to represent the hill, a piece of rockfrom it is preserved, enclosed by an iron fenceand with a top roof. Upon this rock pilgrimspour Ghee, milk, curds, etc. and offer Puja.Even from this rock, bits are knocked off bythe pilgrims and carried as mementos. Aftersecuring food at a Dharmashala, Ramdas andthe Sadhuram rested for a while in theafternoon.

In the evening, both the Sadhuram andhe were out on the road going about the townwhen they heard from a distance the sound ofBhajan. Thither Ram led him and theSadhuram. Shortly after this, they foundthemselves in a small Ram Mandir, and in frontof the images about half a dozen Saints weresitting and singing to the accompaniment ofcymbals, Tambourine and Mridang, the gloriousname of Ram. The words were “Hare Ram,Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare! Hare Krishna,Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare!”

This Bhajan was sung repeatedly in avariety of tunes producing in the atmospherean electric influence full of peace. In this placehe remained for nearly four hours fully absorbedin the charming sound of Ram’s name. Nextday, he and his guide started back for Mathuraand after a short stay there, Ramdas, whomissed the Sadhuram, proceeded alone to Gokullying at a distance of about 5 miles. Ah! Gokul

is the place where Sri Krishna grew up as achild, played his games and exhibited hisextraordinary powers! Here also the blessedJamuna flows. It was here in this river, perhaps,that Sri Krishna rode and danced on the hoodof the venomous serpent Kaliya. After a day’sstay here, he returned to Mathura, whence heproceeded to Brindaban about six miles off.

Brindaban is a very delightful place. Herethe same Jamuna flows in all her tameness andpurity. There are beautiful natural gardens ofNeem and other trees on the banks of the river.To sit under their cool shade, when the freshbreeze is blowing over the place from the bosomof mother Jamuna, is to enjoy heaven itself.He was charmed with the place and stayed onthe banks of the river for a fortnight, madethe dry sand his bed and seat for the night,and the shade of the trees a little above, hisresting place for the day. Moonlit nights herewere all-bewitching. The very air seemed tobe charged with the presence of that Loveincarnate Sri Krishna - and when soft breezeswere blowing they seemed to be carrying intoRamdas’ ears the maddening music of SriKrishna’s flute, and the silvery sound of thetinkling tiny bells of his blessed dancing feet.Now and again, a deep, soft and resonant voicewould travel in the air - “Radheshyam,Radheshyam.” Ramdas lived there in a state

of complete ecstasy and rapture. Days passedby unconsciously. The whole stay seemed to beone long-drawn, sweet and pleasant dream.

At Brindaban, he visited many Krishna-Mandirs of which the Ranganath-Mandir is ahuge and picturesque structure. It resembles afortress enclosed by high massive walls. Thegateway and interior building and roofs are allmade of stone artistically carved. The commandcame at last from Ram to quit. Returning toMathura, he got into a train directed by thefriends of the place.

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CHAPTER XXVIII

RAIPUR

THE train carried him to Raipur. Ram’sways are mysterious. So he did not know whyRam had brought him to Raipur since it is nota place of pilgrimage. After taking his middaymeal in the company of a Sadhu kindly providedby Ram, at the suggestion of the Sadhuram,they went to a beautiful garden of the place.Here after bathing in the water of a canal,Ramdas spread a small deer-skin he was carryingwith him (presented by a kind friend at Jhansi,of course, supplied by Ram) under the shadeof a tree and laying himself down upon it, had

hardly closed his eyes, when someone lightlyshook him by the shoulders. Opening his eyeshe discovered a young Mohammedan besidehim.

“Excuse the disturbance, sir,” said theyoung friend in Hindustani.

Ramdas now sat up and enquired whathe wanted.

“I have come to have a chat with you. Iwant to know if you have faith in Mohammed,”inquired the young friend.

“Why not? He is one of the greatestprophets of God,” replied Ramdas.

“Why do you say one of the prophets?Why not the only one?” put in the Muslim friend.

“Young brother, although Mohammed isa world teacher, there are others also who areas great teachers - for instance, Buddha, JesusChrist and Krishna - and in our days, MahatmaGandhi. If you would try to understand themessage they deliver to the world, you wouldfind that in the essentials they all agree andhold out the same goal to mankind.”

The words produced a deep impressionupon the mind of the Muslim friend. Theconversation continued for some time withregard to Ramdas’ experiences, etc. The youngfriend became very fond of him so much sothat he made up his mind to follow Ramdaswherever he went. It was a sudden impulse.

Ramdas told him that he should not do so as hehad no orders from Ram to take him with him.After some persuasion he was induced to giveup the idea. But he wanted something fromRamdas as a memento. Ramdas told him thathe was quite willing to give him anything hehad with him - that he had only to ask forwhat he wanted. The kind friend then askedfor the deer-skin and it was at once handedover to him. He said, while receiving it:

“My object in having this skin is toperform my Namaz, i.e., prayers to Allah sittingupon it; and it will also remind me of you everytime.”

At parting he asked Ramdas where hewas going next. He replied that Ram intendedto take him to Ajmer.

“Well, that is good,” said the friend,“when you are there, please don’t fail to pay avisit to the famous Muslim shrine, the KhajaPir. Any Mussulman can show you the way toit.”

These were prophetic words. In duecourse he reached Ajmer. It was night. Whilehe was resting in the station a policemaninterfered and drove him away. Knocking aboutalong with some other Sadhus, who had alsoarrived by the same train, the railway policeobjected and asked all of them to go out. Hesought a place under a tree in front of the

station, within the compound. But here againthe policeman interfered and drove him away.Knocking about for some time, he saw at lasta spot under another tree in a far-off cornerof the railway compound. As he had nothing tospread on the floor, he lay himself down on thebare ground. When his nose came in closeproximity with the ground he felt the strongsmell of urine. O Ram, how kind you are; youmake your humble slave pass through everykind of experience - all for his good.

This condition taught him further stillwhat a folly it was to make much of thisperishable body, and it also tended greatly tomake him find his true level, which is indeedvery, very low. To afford him the benefit ofthis experience, O Ram, Thou alone appearedas the policeman and brought about thiscircumstance. Here Ramdas, the child of Ram,slept soundly till morning in the loving embraceof that all-powerful Being - Ram.

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CHAPTER XXIX

AJMER

AT daybreak, he directed his stepstowards the city. When he was going throughthe thickly populated streets of Ajmer, knowing

not where he was being led - he was alwaysengaged in the contemplation of Ram - a talland stout Mohammedan stopped Ramdas andmade a sign to follow him. He had no choice insuch matters. He always thinks that all callsare from Ram. So, without any hesitation heobeyed the Mohammedan guide, not knowing,nor caring to know, where the friend was takinghim. They walked through the streets for nearlya mile and at last stopped at an arched gate.The friend entered closely followed by him. Afterpassing through a courtyard, and on descendingsome flight of steps and then going through adoorway, a beautiful Masjid came into view.Going in here, he found himself in front of ahuge silver Mandap or Tabooth, domed andcarved picturesquely.

“This is Khaja Pir,” exclaimed the Muslimfriend, “Kneel down here and enlist yourself asthe Chela of Mohammed.”

At once Ramdas knelt as bidden by him,in all reverence. Then looking up to the kindfriend, he said:

“Brother, there is no need of his enlistinghimself here as Mohammed’s Chela, becausehe has already been a Chela of Mohammed.”

O Ram O Mohammed! How wonderfulare Thy ways! In fulfilment of the fervent wishof that young Muslim friend of Raipur, Thouhadst brought Ramdas on a visit to the sacred

shrine of the Mohammedans. All glory to Thee,O Ram - O Mohammed!

Leading him out of this holy place, theMuslim friend left him on the main road. Soonafter this, he was taken up by a Sannyasi namedSwami Ramchandra - a man of pure and tenderheart. He became greatly attached to Ramdasand undertook to look after him in everyway.O Ram! How can Thy ignorant slave understandThy ways! He knows only this much - Thou artall kindness, all love. First the Swamiji inquiredin the bazaar for an Annakshetra, and havingreceived the information and got two meal-Chits, took him there; and after finishingmeals, led him to a rest-house where he sharedhis meagre bedding with Ramdas in spite of hisremonstrances. His kindness to the poor slaveof Ram was indeed unbounded.

O Ram - it is Thyself who appearest inthe form of these guides to lead, feed, andtake care of Thy slave. Why, for that matter,Ramdas has now come to look upon all humanbeings, all creatures, all life, all things as nothingbut the manifestation of the Divine Ram, whomhe is meditating upon day and night. TheSwamiji and he remained in Ajmer for threedays, and then left for Pushkar Raj. Travellingon the hill for about five miles, they reached alarge natural reservoir of water, on one side ofwhich were erected temples and Dharmashalas.

The Swamiji and he occupied one of them.Here Ramdas spent five days in Bhajan of SriRam. Swami Ramchandra had to stay in PushkarRaj for some days more.

So Ramdas, at Ram’s command, left theplace alone for Ajmer, where he secured thecompany of a Sadhu. Prevented from travellingby train by Ram’s will, they walked for about16 miles and then got into a train. TheSadhuram who was complaining of indigestionat Ajmer recovered his health completely bythis walk of 16 miles, receiving on the wayvery little food. Ram does everything for thebest. At a junction named Mehsana, the Sadhusmet another Sannyasi at whose suggestion theyaccompanied him to a station calledDharmapuri, where, alighting, they walkedstraight to the Ashram of a Sadhu residing nearthe Mandir of Mahadev. The Sadhu gave ahearty welcome to the guests and providedthem with accommodation, food, etc.

Ramdas was pressed to remain in thatAshram for some days. But, as the Sadhuramcould not do so, he left the place after a stayof two days and proceeded on his journey. Aweek passed in this Ashram when two Sannyasisfrom a neighbouring village came there on avisit, and took him to their Ashram which wasin a jungle. He remained in this jungle whichhe found best suited for Rambhajan. The

Sannyasis were very kind to him. In this junglethere was a small Mandir of Narahari. Theinterior of this Mandir was a perfect square -the sides corresponding exactly to Ramdas’height. Except for one or two hours of sleep inthe night, he was repeating the whole nightthe glorious Mantram of Sri Ram. Here, heproved for himself beyond all doubt that Ramprotects with the greatest care the devoteeswho entirely trust Him and solely depend uponHim.

The jungle was infested with wild pigs,serpents, scorpions and other venomouscreatures. Every night a herd of about 20 to30 wild pigs would surround the Mandir, thedoor of which was always open. The wild animalswould come to dig out roots with their snoutsfrom the marshy land surrounding the Mandir,for these roots were their food. Ramdas wasfreely going out in the nights when they wereabout. But by Ram’s grace they never harmedhim. The villagers who were coming there duringthe day would warn him of the ferocious natureof these wild beasts. But complete trust in Rammeans full protection and no fear. Moreoverday and night the Mandir was freely visited bylong black serpents, none of which, however,molested him. Again every morning when helifted up the gunny or sack piece spread forhim by the kind Sannyasis as Asan or seat -

which Ramdas would use also for a bed at night- he would discover beneath it a number ofreddish yellow scorpions. But none of thesestung him.

O Ram! When Thy loving arm is everready to protect Thy humble slave, who couldharm him? Thou art - O Ram – everywhere - inall creatures - the whole universe and all in it isThy own manifestation. O Ram - all glory toThee! Ramdas, by Ram’s command, remainedin this jungle for about a month and a half.The afternoons were mostly spent in the societyof cowherd boys who would come to this forestfor grazing cattle. They would play upon flutesand give him the pleasure of listening to theirsweet music. These boys appeared to him asso many cheerful, active, little Krishnas. ByRam’s grace the stay there proved altogethera most delightful one.

On one occasion, the kind Sannyasifriend took him on a visit to a village, severalstations away from Dharmapuri - the name ofwhich is Yadavpur. Here, there was a greatcongregation of Sadhus. There were in all about200 in number. It was a feast of Satsang; thebeauty of it all was to observe the unstintedhospitality of the villagers. Every article ofcomfort which they possessed was at thedisposal of the Sadhus. One day Ram’scommand came to Ramdas to move on.

Accordingly he left the jungle against the wishesof the Sannyasis, who wanted him to remainfor some months more. Ram passed him on tothe care of a merchant at the railway station,who undertook to escort him as far as themerchant travelled. An incident that took placehere requires to be related now.

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CHAPTER XXX

MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

WHEN the merchant and Ramdas wereentering the train, there was a heavy rush ofpassengers and so the merchant had to pushhis way in the thick of the crowd in order toget into a carriage, which he did, followed byRamdas. He had scarcely settled himself downon a seat when the merchant friend came tohim and informed:

“Maharaj, somebody has robbed me ofmy leather purse containing fifteen rupees andthe railway ticket.”

And he showed his waistcoat pocket,the inside lining of which was found to havebeen neatly cut out for the removal of thepurse. It must all have been the work of a fewseconds. The merchant continued to say:

“Now, what shall I do? I have neitherticket nor money. May I report the matter tothe railway police?” The train was about tostart.

“Since you ask for his advice,” saidRamdas, “he requests you to keep mum overthe affair. No good fretting or making a fussover the matter. As regards the ticket, youmay travel to your destination without one. Onthe way or at the alighting station, if the ticketis demanded of you by the railway officers,you can explain to them the way how you lostthe purse and the ticket. As a proof of this,you may show them the torn vest pocket.”

This advice of humble Ramdas did notsatisfy the merchant. He could not rest contentuntil he reported the matter to the railwaypolice. Now a police officer came to thecompartment and commenced teasing manypoorly dressed and unassuming Sadhus,compelling them to hand over their bags andbundles for inspection. Not finding anything withthem, the policeman’s attention was nextdirected towards a group of simple dressedvillagers whose big turbans were all pulled downand their coats and clothing rummaged. Onthe person of one of them was at lengthdiscovered a sum of Rs.20. This man was nowasked by the police a number of sharp andsuspicious questions as to how he came in

possession of the money. He explained that hewas only a keeper of the amount belonging toall the friends of that group. By this time, themerchant-friend who was looking upon theinquiry set on foot by him, had got disgustedwith it all and was in a penitent mood, becausehe saw that many innocent people were beingharassed for the sake of his loss. The moneyfound upon the villagers and their tickets alsowere wrested from them and kept by the police,and were only returned to the owners afterthey had passed several stations. Meanwhile,the incident caused a great deal of annoyanceand anxiety. Now the merchant came toRamdas, and giving him a Namaskar, said:

“Maharaj, fool that I was not to havelistened to your golden advice. Behold, what amess I have made of the whole matter. To howmany innocent men I have caused pain. Pardonthy slave.”

“Pray, sue pardon of Ram, O friend,”was Ramdas’ only reply. By this occurrence Ramtaught Ramdas a beautiful moral that he shouldnot commit at any time the blunder of carryingor owning money which means nothing buttrouble and mischief. Rightly it is said: “Moneyis the root of all evil.”

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CHAPTER XXXI

JUNAGADH

NOW the train carried Ramdas to theJunagadh station. It was midday. He waswithout a guide. At the city gate he inquiredof a policeman if there was a Ram Mandir inthat place. He replied that there was a RamMandir about two miles from the gate and hepointed out the way leading to it. Ramdaswalked on, making frequent inquiries on theway. At last, he reached the high gateway ofthe Ram Mandir. Entering, he was welcomedby the Mahant of the Ashram, with whom heremained for about a week. Here he had thebenefit of the society of six other Sadhus whowere also there as the guests of the kind-hearted Mahant. All of them were very kind toRamdas.

Ram here performed two wonderfulmiracles - one of these Sadhus had an attackof fever from a fortnight and in spite of variouskinds of treatment, he was as bad as ever. Hewas bedridden, emaciated and pale. Besides,he was disheartened and was fretting over hisillness. Seeing his condition Ramdas could notresist going to his bed, and, sitting near himand offering himself for his service, began

pressing his legs lightly. Coming to know of thisthe ailing Sadhu sat up and remonstrated, sayingthat he was quite unworthy to receive suchattention from him. He only asked for a blessingfrom Ramdas that he should be all right by thefollowing day. Ramdas said that he was only ahumble slave of Ram and had no right to blessanybody.

“Do bless in the name of Ram,” heappealed.

“Well, brother,” said Ramdas, “may SriRam - the Protector of all - bless you with healthby tomorrow morning.”

That night Ram was perhaps busy settingthe Sadhu right, for next morning he wasentirely free from fever and was moving aboutin good cheer and health. This marvellous cureby Ram, for working which he had made humbleRamdas his tool, made quite a sensation in theAshram. So he became the object ofconsiderable attention and love from all in theAshram. About three or four days later, anotherSadhu fell ill. He too asked Ramdas to blesshim in the same way as he had done the otherone. Ramdas prayed again to Ram as requested.O Ram, what a powerful being Thou art! Thesecond Sadhu also recovered by the followingmorning. All glory to Thee, Ram!

Ramdas was not made to remain in thisAshram long. He met one day the same

Sannyasi who had guided him to Dharmapuri.He had evinced a great liking for Ramdas. Nowhe took him up and brought him to anotherAshram, belonging to a well-known Sannyasiof Junagadh, Kashigirji by name. In this Ashramor Akhada, as it was called, Ramdas was lovedby all Sannyasis - there were about fifteen ofthem. Ram’s intention in taking him toJunagadh was to enable him to scale the heightsof the famous hill of Girnar - the seat of GuruDattatreya and Mother Ambaji. He expressedthis wish to Kashigirji who proposed also toaccompany him on his climb. Ram’s kindness isindeed very great. A day was fixed and onenight he mounted the steps of Girnar withKashigirji and six other Sannyasis who werealso in the party. The total number of steps tobe mounted in order to reach the summit ofthe hills was about 9000. 6000 steps werecovered, and they reached, at about three aftermidnight, the Ashram of a Sannyasi whose namewas Shankargirji.

Here a halt was made for the night.Cold on the hill was severe. Ram was kind andhis Bhajan was so sweet. Next morning, theparty climbed further up and reached first thetemple of Mother Ambaji and thence ascendinga flight of steps mounted again the highestpeak among those hills. While nearing this peak,the steps were irregular and slippery, but Ram

led all up safely. Here on the summit are thefootprints of Guru Dattatreya. Hundreds ofpilgrims are everyday ascending these hills forthe Darshan of these holy footprints. To sit onthe edge of this peak and to have a sweepinglook all around is to present to the gaze a mostenthralling sight. The charming landscapes onall sides - the distant hills painted with greenand yellow - the vast blue expanse of the skyoverhead, and the thin silvery streaks ofsparkling water streaming down the smoothand shining sides of rocks - are all scenes thatelevate the looker on to regions at once mysticand celestial.

On getting down this hill - half-way -the party visited some caves occupied byMahatmas, and had the uncommon pleasure oftheir society. Then were visited the variousreservoirs of water on the slopes of the hills.At length they returned at noon to the hospitableAshram of Shankargirji. After dinner the partystarted on their downward journey and reachedJunagadh in the evening. Next day all theSannyasis of the party were complaining ofstiffness and pain in their limbs. Some of them,for two or three days, could only hobble along.But Ram was so kind to Ramdas that he didnot feel any pain or stiffness in his legs. NowRam made him acquainted with two youngfriends, Maganlal and Kantilal, both of whom

conceived a great love for him. In their companyhe spent a few very happy days. They wouldtake him every evening for walks in the publicgardens and among groves of trees.

Once in their company Ramdas ascendeda small hill called Lakshman Tekri. They alsointroduced him to some Muslim friends of theplace who were all very kind to him. A visit waspaid to the Datar Mosque at the foot of theDatar hills. Maganlal made him acquainted withseveral friends of Junagadh who were alluniformly kind to Ramdas. Maganlal arrangedfor his journey to Somnath, a noted shrine ofgreat historical importance. Ramdas dulyproceeded to this shrine in the company of aGujarati friend who met him at the Railwaystation by the grace of Ram.

This friend, on reaching Veraval station,as arranged by Maganlal, took him to the houseof a rich merchant of the place - a relation ofMaganlal. But when Ramdas visited him, hewas laid up with high fever and his wholehousehold was in a state of acute anxiety overhis illness. He sat near the sick friend and,touching him on the arm, felt the hightemperature. Before leaving the room, Ramdaswas asked by his relatives present, as well asby the friends who escorted him to the place,to bless the patient with health. Accordingly

Ramdas said that by the grace of almighty Ramhe would be all right next morning.

Ram manifested His power here as well!The patient was entirely free from all fevernext morning. He was having the attack offever for five days past without intermission.By Ram’s grace, now the fever having left him,he was able to walk out to his place of business.Ramdas was staying in the topmost storey ofhis shop - a huge building. Here too all werekind to him. He duly visited the ruins and thetemple of Somnath. The underground cave, inwhich there is the huge image of Somnath,was entered and he stood before the idol. Hereagain he felt thrills of ecstasy in the presenceof Somnath. He bathed in the river a little awayfrom the temple. Returning to Veraval, Ramdasexpressed to the merchant-friend, as promptedby Ram, his wish to visit Prachi and MuddiGoraknath, and said that he would go on footearly next morning.

“No, Swamiji,” said the kind merchant,“you should not go on foot. I shall engage abullock cart for you, for the road leading tothese places is so rugged and rough that evena horse carriage cannot be driven over there.Moreover, you have to cover a distance of 16miles which is a long distance for a weak manlike you to walk through.”

Although Ramdas was against theproposal, he was prevailed upon by the friendto sit in a cart along with some other friendswho were also bound for Prachi. The kind frienddropped into his pocket a small kerchief towhich were tied Rs.2 for cart-hire to and fromPrachi. The cart started before daybreak. Theyhad not travelled half a mile, when Ramdassaw the driver beating the bullocks with a heavystick. He, of course, could not bear the sight.He felt as if the blows were delivered on hisown back. He appealed to the driver not toinflict injury on the bullock. He replied thatthe bullocks would not go if they were notchastised. Ram now commanded Ramdas togive up the cart at once. After paying Re.1, hishire, he got down and walked the distance andreached Prachi about midday.

As he was proceeding, he happened topass close to a poorly dressed man with a bundleon his back. Seeing Ramdas he quickly movedout of the way and began walking at the otherend of the road. Proceeding a little further, hemet another man coming from the oppositedirection, and both greeted each other with‘Ram, Ram’. After going a little furtherRamdas questioned him why he was moving sofar away from him, to which he replied thathe was a Pariah.

“O, but you are Ramdas’ brother, allthe same.” So saying, Ramdas approached himand took him by the hand. He stared at Ramdasin confusion.

“I am a Dhed by caste,” he again said.“Ramdas is your brother,” repeated

Ramdas. “A man who has the name of Ram onhis lips is superior to a Brahmin - in the eyes ofRam, all are equal.”

Until he parted, Ramdas went on talkingto him about the glory of Ram. Now he took asidetrack and separated from Ramdas who thenfell into the company of a Mohammedan frienddriving a horse, loaded with some merchandise.This friend, whose nature was simple and child-like, gave him much pleasure by his societyuntil Ramdas reached Prachi. Bathing in thelarge tank into which a river was flowing hevisited several Mandirs, met two Sadhus of theplace, and then started on his return journey,and reached in the evening the shrine calledMuddi Goraknath. Here he remained for a nightin the society of the Sadhus of the temple,which is also a cave, entrance to which canonly be gained by descending a number of stonesteps.

Starting from there early next morninghe reached Veraval in the forenoon. The firstthing he did was to return the balance of Re.1to the merchant. He had walked all the way

with enthusiasm, repeating, according to hiswont, the sacred Ram-Mantram . The followingday he went back by train to Junagadh. Maganlaland Kantilal heartily welcomed him back. Theypressed him to remain in Junagadh for somedays more. He agreed to do so, by Ram’s will,provided he was allowed to remain in solitudewhere he could spend his days in entire devotionto and meditation of Ram. Accordingly RamHimself pitched upon a place called MuchkundRishi’s Ashram. This is situated right in themidst of a dense jungle over a hill, on the wayto Girnar, about 4 miles from Junagadh. Thereis a temple here in ruins, besides a number ofSamadhis in a neglected condition. The placehas consequently a weird appearance.

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CHAPTER XXXII

MUCHKUND RISHI’S ASHRAM AND DWARKA

RAMDAS occupied this Ashram andremained in it for 10 days. He would light asmall fire and squatting before it performRambhajan all the night. The place was full ofbats and doves. Since it was a deserted andfrightful place, the people of the town andSadhus were considering it a privilege to visitthe Sannyasi dwelling in such a place. Some of

these well-intentioned friends at first apprisedhim of the supposed fears of the place. Theywere all told that when the all-powerful Ramprotects, there was no room for any fear. HereMaganlal and Kantilal were paying him visitsdaily. They procured for him from Muslim friendsan excellent translation of the Holy Quran inEnglish by a well-known Moulvi of Lahore. TheQuran is indeed a grand work. Ramdas derivedgreat benefit by a study of these teachings ofthe great Prophet Mohammed.

Then Ramdas received the commandfrom Ram to leave the place. Accordingly heleft Junagadh by the midnight train and, aftera change at some junction, reached the stationof Porbandar. From the station he went to thecity of Sudamapuri. The blessed Saint Sudama,the great Bhakta of Sri Krishna, had lived hereand hence the name Sudamapuri. Here he wasreminded now and again of Sudama’s humbleoffer of beaten rice to Krishna and the lovingacceptance of it by Him, and also how SriKrishna on one occasion washed the feet ofSudama, which brought to Ramdas’ mind thefamous line of Swami Rama Tirtha: “A slave isa slave because he is free.”

In the company of two Sadhus, he visitedthe temple of Sri Krishna, said to have beenerected at the spot where Sudama’s cottageonce stood. The same evening he and the two

Sadhus, who were joined later by two more, inall forming a party of five, started on foottowards Dwarka. It was quite a jolly party ofwhom an old bearded Sadhu - with a big turbanon his head, a thick Kambal on his back, a pairof wooden sandals in one hand and a brokenbrass pot in the other, a wooden arm-resthanging by the shoulder, a quilt jacket on hisbody, and a Kaupin round his loins - was chosenthe leader of the company. He was a simple,unassuming good-natured and harmless oldSaint. Merrily the Sadhus walked mile after mile,each narrating to the other some bits ofexperiences. Ramdas was all the time engagedeither in listening to the stories or repeatingRam’s sweet name. A halt was made for thenight in a small wayside village, the residentsof which treated the Sadhus with greathospitality.

Next morning, very early, theSadhuram, the leader, gave the call for a start.Shaking off sleep, the Sadhus rose andshouldering their respective bundles set forthon their journey. Thus they travelled on,breaking journey at midday and at night invillages until they reached the old shrine calledMuladwarka, covering in all a distance of 20miles from Sudamapuri. Here, there was anAshram of a Sadhu in which was found alwaysan assembly of twenty to thirty itinerant

Sadhus. Here the new arrivals mingled withthe Sadhus of the Ashram in happy association,and then visited the old temple. It is said SriKrishna had made his first stay at this placebefore he changed to Dwarka proper, or BetDwarka, as it is called.

After travelling a little further the partyreached Gomati Dwarka. This shrine is alsoconsidered an important place of pilgrimageon account of the sacred river Gomati whichflowed here at one time but has since driedup. Now remains, in place of it, a tank in whichpilgrims consider it a great merit to bathe.After obtaining Darshan in the big temple ofthis place and spending a day there in the societyof many other travelling Sadhus, who visit inhundreds everyday, the party strode on underthe orders and lead of the venerable Sadhuram.Arriving at the railway station, they got into atrain which was already fully occupied by otherSadhus. This carriage was called “Sitaram”carriage. It was really generous of the railwaycompany to permit Sadhus to travel on thisline free of charge. It was an uncommonblessing of Ram to have secured for Ramdasthe company of nearly forty Sadhus, all mixingwith each other in perfect amity and innocencelike small children at play. Each Sadhu was busyopening his bundle or bag to exhibit to hisneighbour Sadhu his articles of curios, such as

conches, shells, Rudraksha, small framedpictures of gods of various shrines, all collectedduring his pilgrimage all over India.

At last the train carried them to therailway terminus - a small station. Alightinghere, they proceeded to the seashore wherethey were allowed to board two steamboatsbelonging to a Mohammedan. When thepermission was granted by the boat-owner,there was a cry from all Sadhus in one voice -“Mohammed Ki Jai!” The gulf was duly crossedand the Sadhus reached the island of Dwarka.It was night, when they arrived. Resting in aDharmashala for the night, the next morningthe party visited the famous temple ofDwarkanath. An indescribable feeling of raptureand joy was experienced by Ramdas, when hestood in front of the idol of Sri Krishna. Heremained inside the temple for nearly two hoursin a state of complete and blissful abstraction.He next wandered on the seashore, jumpingfrom rock to rock, all the time absorbed in themeditation of Ram. The party of Sadhus stayedhere for two days. On the third day, at thecommand of the Sadhuram, the companystarted on their return journey.

Now, an incident occurred which mustbe noted down. The party as usual stopped ata certain village for the night and at thecommand of the leader all started before

daybreak. The Sadhuram awoke rather tooearly. It was still dark - and the Sadhus grumbledthat they could not properly see their way. Therewere also two more Sadhus who had joinedthe party at the village. These were young men- one of them totally blind led by the other whowas blind in one eye. The Sadhuram assuredthe party that the sun would rise soon. But fornearly two hours they walked on in the dark,stumbling, grumbling and missing the way nowand again - still daybreak was as far off asever. They all took the leader severely to task,but the old Sadhuram was silently treading thepath and did not vouchsafe any reply to theadverse criticism passed by his friends. He washimself groping in the dark with great difficultyand was at every step becoming more and moreconscious of the fact that he had lost the way,and that he was leading all in an unknowndirection.

On and on the party went. Now theycame upon wet ground, then on muddy soil.Farther and farther they went and at last foundthemselves in mud, knee-deep. Now there wasa furious cry of halt from all. It was yet pitchdark. Everyone was straining his eyes - exceptof course the poor blind Sadhu - towards thehorizon in expectation of signs of the risingsun. But the sun was still a long way off. Againsome of the Sadhus grumbled and asked the

Sadhuram as to what they should do next. TheSadhuram never replied. After fruitlessdiscussion for some time, they arrived at theunanimous conclusion that they should waitthere until daybreak for, to attempt to movemight invite a worse fate - perhaps a fall intoa ditch or a deeper descent into mud.

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CHAPTER XXXIII

BOMBAY

SO about an hour was spent standing inthat morass in severe cold. At length, theflaming chariot of the Sun-god came speedingup the horizon, heralding a day of hope andjoy. Most of the Sadhus of the party were nowdetermined to abandon the leadership of theSadhuram, and forming groups of two amongstthemselves moved away from the place. ButRamdas who was all through as silent as a top -busy with the repetition of Ram’s name - clungfast to the Sadhuram, helped him in carryinghis sandals and Lota and followed him. Althoughfor a time the Sadhus were separated, they allmet again at the nearest railway station. Hereall of them got into the train going northward.At Viramgam, a change had to be made. Inthe rush of passengers, Ramdas and the

Sadhuram missed each other and did not meetagain. Probably the Sadhuram who wanted toproceed to Mathura must have boarded a traintravelling still northward. Ramdas with someother Sadhus got into a train going towardsBombay. Ram’s kindness was so great that thetrain he sat in happened to be one that travelleddirectly to Bombay without requiring any changeon the way.

The train had almost neared Ahmedabadwhen, at a certain station, a ticket inspectorcame in to check tickets. He found about halfa dozen Sadhus in the carriage without tickets,of whom Ramdas was, of course, one. He gavean order that all Sadhus should get down.Accordingly, one by one, the Sadhus droppeddown from the carriage. Now Ramdas also roseup, but the ticket inspector who was standingquite close to him, placing his hand on theshoulder of Ramdas, pressed him to sit againsaying:

“Maharaj, you need not alight. What Isaid was not meant for you.”

O Ram, why this preference for Ramdas?No, he has no right to question Thee. Thy slaveis ever bound to Thy holy feet - O Ram - andthat is all. After passing Ahmedabad, somefriends in the carriage provided him with fruits,etc. He found later that all passengers aroundhim in the carriage were very kind to him -

although he was all along silent, but onlyrepeating Ram’s name under breath. About 8o’clock in the evening, the train reached theGrant Road station in Bombay. Here, comingout of the station, Ramdas, as prompted byRam, proceeded directly to Bhuleshwar. For theway he had to make enquiries now and again,as he walked on. Now arriving at the temple,he rested for the night on one of the stonesteps of the inner temple. Here, close to thetemple, there was a big storeyed Dharmashalainstituted in the name of a generous mother -Janakibai.

The Dharmashala was always full. Itcould accommodate two to three hundredSadhus. About 4 o’clock in the morningRamdas, who was asleep, woke up to listen toa most rapturous song issuing from theDharmashala The subject of the song wasRadha-Krishna. The manner in which the twodevout mothers were singing was full of pathos,and the voice filled the air with a sweetfascinating charm. Krishna’s own love seemedto have mingled with the music of their voice.Ramdas felt himself raised to heights of ecstasyand was lost in it as long as the singing lasted.

The day broke. Finishing his bath at thewater-tap, Ramdas had just returned to hisseat when he was presented by a friend with a

Chit or ticket and was asked to accompany sixother Sadhus who held similar Chits.

“You are all invited by a merchant fordinner at his residence,” he said.

So all the seven Sadhus followed this guidewho led them through several streets until theywere brought to the entrance of the host’shouse. Since there was still time for dinner,the Sadhus sat down under the shade of thetrees in the compound. Ramdas had just satdown on a log of wood when a Sadhuapproaching him said:

“Swamiji, the ticket which was givento me is lost on the way. I have been goingwithout food for two days. Shall I be able tosecure dinner without a ticket?”

The only response which Ram madeRamdas to give at the time was to silently andcheerfully hand over to him his own Chit andinstantly walk out of the place. He nowwandered in the sun like a mad man - why saylike a mad man? He was really mad - mad ofRam. He walked and walked. Unconsciously hedirected his steps to the Fort and wanderedfrom one street to another. At a certain turningon the footpath, a grief-stricken man of middleage saluted Ramdas and offered him a Pie.Returning the salute, he said that he would notaccept money but would take fruits. At handthere was a mother selling plantains. The friend

bought one plantain for the Pie and handed itto Ramdas.

Now he made Ramdas sit on the path,and narrated his story. He said that he hadonly one son who was a veritable jewel. Hewas so intelligent, so mild, so good in character,so promising, so affectionate and loving andalso so handsome in features - such a model ofperfection - and this son was carried away byplague about a month ago. Ever since this heavyloss, he had been stricken mad over the sadblow. He therefore begged Ramdas to find away for him to bear this calamity. Ramdas thenreplied:

“Brother, to sorrow over the loss of yourson is to hug delusion. To be free from thissorrow means to know the Reality. There isonly one way to wake up to this Reality andthat is to meditate upon God.”

“How can I do it? I cannot control themind,” put in the friend.

“Well now, begin here to repeat theMantram which Ramdas is bidden by Ram togive you and see the immediate effect.”

Saying thus, he gave him the Upadeshof Ram-Mantram and made him repeat it thenand there for about 15 minutes withoutstopping. While he was doing this, a sense ofrelief came to him. Then he rose and salutingRamdas said that he had secured the right key

to unlock the gates of peace. He furtheradmitted that since repeating the Mantram hehad been experiencing calmness and he wouldnot give up repeating it always. Then he leftthe place. Ramdas continued his mad walk.

Now he passed through the broad roadadjoining the Port Trust Buildings and Docks.He went on and on - now going into a maze ofstreets and lanes - then passing over bridgesand railway crossings. At last he found himselfabout 3 p.m. in front of a building which wasfamiliar to him. Looking up, he discovered thesign board of brother Ramakrishna Rao -portrait painter by profession. Ram promptedhim to get up the staircase and in a few minuteshe was in the front room occupied by the artist-brother. He was welcomed by the brother mostheartily. With this brother he remained for fourdays. The members of his household were alsovery kind to him.

During his stay here, Ramdas wasutilizing the morning for visiting the varioustemples of Bombay and the Sadhus residing nearthe temples. He spent one night on thefootsteps of the large tank of the Walkeshwartemple, keeping awake almost the whole nightin Rambhajan. By Ram’s command, then, heproposed to start. The kind brotherRamakrishna Rao escorted him as far as therailway station, and, getting him a ticket for

Nasik, saw him sit in the night train.Ramakrishna Rao’s anxiety for his comforts wasso great that he pressed him to take a smallpacket containing plantains, oranges and somesweets. The train started. Ram now got Ramdasthe company of another friend who was sittingbeside him on the same bench. He travelledwith Ramdas as far as two stations this side ofNasik. All the way he was talking of nothingelse but Ram. Now and again he would singabout Ram composing songs extempore. Infact, he was more mad of Ram than Ramdashimself. Here Ram was teaching Ramdas howto become really mad of Him. It was a perfectdelight to enjoy his talk and songs of Ram. Itwas all Ram’s pre-ordained plan and Ram isalways kind. Before alighting, this friendrequested another passenger (who was closeto him and who too was bound for Nasik) toguide and take care of Ramdas.

In due time Nasik was reached. The newfriend guided him out of the station. Herefinding a motor-tram waiting, the friend gotinto it beckoning to him, and Ramdas followedsuit. Soon the tram was full of passengers andthe bell sounding, it started. The tramconductor, after clipping tickets for otherpassengers, came to Ramdas and demandedfee for the ticket. Ramdas had, of course, nomoney and so nothing to say in reply; while a

number of passengers sitting near him in almostone voice told the conductor not to bother theSadhu, as he was not supposed to possessmoney, and that he should be allowed to sit inthe car. Of course, the conductor yielded totheir appeal on behalf of Ramdas.

About 3 miles were passed when a TicketInspector got in. He was an elderly man withwhiskers. Coming to Ramdas he asked forticket, but Ramdas having no ticket, theInspector began to fret and worry over it sayingthat the Sadhu could not be allowed to travelfree. When he was thus complaining, the samefriends who had pleaded for Ramdas with theconductor again spoke for him, but couldproduce no impression on the Inspector. So theonly course open for Ramdas was to get down.Accordingly, standing up, he requested theInspector to stop the car so that he mightalight. Here again, Ram’s power prevailed. Theattitude of the Inspector now suddenly changed.He told him not to trouble himself and that hemight continue the journey in the tram. Ram’stests are at all times coming unawares. Oneshould always be prepared for them and faceall vicissitudes calmly and in complete resignationto His will. Then there is no sorrow, nodisappointment, no fear of any kind.

——

CHAPTER XXXIV

PANCHAVATI AND TAPOVAN

PANCHAVATI was reached. Ramdas sawthe beautiful river Godavari, on the banks ofwhich there are a number of Kshetras forfeeding Sadhus, Brahmins and poor pilgrims.To one of these he directed his steps. On theverandah of a Kshetra he found a number ofBairagis, mendicant mothers and children. Herehe, as prompted by Ram, opened the parcel offruits, etc. given to him by brotherRamakrishna Rao, and emptied the cloth inwhich they were tied by distributing them allamongst the small children in that place. Thisrelieved him of a pretty heavy burden. Ram’sorder is always not to worry about food andclothing. Then Ramdas, going up to the holyriver, washed his clothes and after bath satdown on the bank for meditation of Ram. Timepassed and it was past midday when he roseand proceeded towards a Dharmashala andfound, on entering, a number of Sadhus andothers coming out of the front door, to washtheir hands after dinner. Ramdas quietly satoutside all the time, busy with the repetitionof Ram’s name. Now a rough-looking manapproached him and sitting beside him, asked

Ramdas if he had his meal, to which he, ofcourse, replied in the negative.

“Well, come on,” he said, “I shall takeyou to a place where you can get a meal.”

And then taking Ramdas by the hand,he conducted him a short distance away on thesame road, and entered a high building wherehe made enquiries if it was possible to givefood to a Sadhu. The friend who was askedthis question on the verandah of the house wentin to ascertain the matter. Meanwhile, the guidewho took Ramdas there said:

“Look here, Maharaj, you need haveno anxiety about food. I shall see that you getmeal without fail even if it is not availablehere.”

“When Rambhajan is on the lips ofRamdas, he is always far from such anxieties,”replied Ramdas.

Later, meals were offered at thisKshetra. Ram takes care at every step. Hisconcern for his devotees is a thousand timesmore keen and lively than that of the motherfor her new-born baby. Ram now handedRamdas into the hands of a retired merchantstaying in the Dharmashala, who became verymuch attached to him. At midnight, withouthis knowledge, this kind friend would coverRamdas with a blanket, since he would notaccept a Kambal when offered. The cold on

the banks of the Godavari at this time wasextreme. At the pressure of this merchant-friend, Ramdas remained with him for two days.During the second night, the friend questionedhim if he had cultivated powers of inducingdreams. Ramdas replied that he was quiteignorant of that Sadhana and he only knewhow to utter the name of Ram.

“You can do it if you only wish, Guruji,”said the friend. “Just, for instance, desireintensely to know from Ram the winningnumbers of the next Derby Sweep, and thenumber will be made known to you in a dream.”

“Ramdas requires none and nothing elsebut Ram,” replied Ramdas.

“You see, the amount that might bewon is not for selfish purposes, but for feedingSadhus,” suggested the friend.

“Ram sees to the feeding of theSadhus,” returned Ramdas.

The friend then became silent. This wasagain a test of Ram to find out if Ramdascould be tempted to wish for wealth.

Another incident was this. In theDharmashala there was a sick girl ailing fromfever for about 4 months. Ramdas was askedby the mother of the girl to pray to Ram forher welfare. Accordingly, going up to her bed,and, finding her in high fever, he appealed toRam to bless her with health. Ram’s ways are

always inscrutable. The girl-mother seemed tohave improved for about two days, but againfell ill. Ram alone knows the why and thewherefore.

Next day, at noon, Ramdas walked about3 miles and reached a place called Tapovan.This is said to have been the spot whereLakshmana, brother of Sri Ramachandra, cutthe nose of the she-monster Surpanakha.Tapovan is a charming place. Here the clearwater of the Godavari is flowing at the foot oflow hills. To sit on one of these hills is to view amost attractive scene all around. Here, on alarge rock, are cut out a number of rectangularcaves side by side. About 10 feet from thebottom of the rock at which the water of theriver is rushing along, Ramdas fixed upon acave for a night’s Bhajan and accordingly, afterbath in the river, climbed up and occupied it.The night was intensely cold. So he had nothad a wink of sleep. He sat up the whole nightrepeating the sacred name of Ram. In Tapovanhe had occasion to meet several Sadhus. Nextmorning he returned to Panchavati andremained here for a day.

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CHAPTER XXXV

TRIMBAKESHWAR

EARLY the following morning, Ramdasstarted for Trimbakeshwar, 16 miles fromPanchavati. He reached the place about 3 inthe afternoon. First, the temple ofTrimbakeshwar was visited. This place remindedhim of Kedarnath and Badrinath. The plateauon which the town and the temple are built issurrounded on three sides with high mountains.He scaled these mountains one after the other.First to ascend was the small hill of Ambajee,next the hill of Ganga Dwar, and then the stillhigher hill, Brahmagiri. The climbing ofBrahmagiri was a memorable one. Ramdas wentup alone with Ram on his lips. Ascending thetop of the hill, he got down the slope. On theother side he came upon a small tank and aMandir of Shanker in which there was a Sadhu.Ramdas was received by the Sadhu veryhospitably. He narrated the story of Gautama’sTapasya on those hills in ancient times. TheSadhu lives here alone in the company of anumber of monkeys that ran about on the roofof the temple. After sharing with Ramdas hisfrugal fare, the Sadhu pointed to him a thinfootpath on the hill which he said would leadhim to a place called Jatahshanker.

Accordingly Ramdas started,accompanied also by a Brahmin pilgrim. Butthe Brahmin was with him only for a shortdistance, for when they had to walk amongstbrambles, and high grown grass and reeds, theymissed each other, both having lost their way.Ramdas now found a long line of steps cut intothe bosom of the hills. Here he climbed down,and, finding below a small opening, crept outof it on the other side and found himself onanother hill. Again walking some distance, hecame upon another similar passage and goingdown here as well, he came upon the otherside to a different hill. Here again he proceededfurther still, now through thorny shrubs andthick growth of reeds. At last he came to theend of the summit. Here appeared on theextreme edge of the slope, something like abeaten track.

Now Ramdas was standing on the browof a tremendous precipice. The bottom of thehill could be seen from this place straight downvertically, many hundreds of feet below. Anyattempt to walk upon the slope was a verydangerous experiment. But a strangefascination seemed to have seized Ramdas. Hecrept slowly upon the slope. His hold was thindried-up grass that grew on the hill. Both hishands were engaged in this task. He was nowon the slope. It was a condition in which every

moment had to be counted; but he was carelessand fearless. Suddenly, the dried grass in hisleft hand gave way and his left foot slipped.Ramdas was even now calm and unperturbed -his lips uttering Ram’s name aloud.

It was rather a very severe test on Ram’spowers of protection. But nothing is impossiblefor the all-powerful Ram. Ramdas’ other handwas then grasping a stone which was also alittle shaky. By a concentration of all strengthat this point he recovered his balance and drewup the leg that had slipped. This became allpossible by the aid of Ram alone. It was Ramalone who pulled him up. A few minutes laterhe was again on the same path that led him tothe precipice. While returning he came acrossa small tank full of pure spring-water. Here hemet again the Brahmin pilgrim whom he hadmissed. Jatahshanker could not be found. Soboth retraced their steps to the Mandir and,finding the way downhill before evening,reached Trimbakeshwar.

That night Ramdas could not helpthinking again and again of the wonderfulmanner in which Ram saved him while he wasabout to fall down the precipice. That sameevening he mounted up a small hillock and spentsome time in the Ashram of a Maratha Saint.During his stay in the Dharmashala, he hadalso the unique privilege of having the Darshan

of an old learned Sannyasi permanently residingin the Dharmashala. In the course of his talkwith Ramdas the venerable Saint condemned,in no uncertain terms, the use of silk byBrahmins as a sacred cloth. His contention wasthat cotton cloth is the best suited and of thepurest material since it is made from a plant’sflower, whereas silk is produced by destroyingthousands of innocent silk-worms. So heconsidered that, instead of silk cloth being holy,it was the most sinful article for wear and mustbe totally eschewed. Further he said that croresof rupees/ worth of silk was every year beingimported from China, Japan and othercountries, which meant an enormous drain uponthe poor and diminishing wealth and resourcesof India.

The old Saint spoke with greatearnestness and asked Ramdas if he agreedwith him. Ramdas at once gave his humble andunqualified approval of his diatribe upon theevil. The Sannyasi was so zealous upon thissubject that he was busy circulating notices,getting them pasted on the walls of templesand Dharmashalas, writing to newspapers andcalling upon all devout people to give up, oncefor all, the use of silk which he described asnothing short of a most sinful luxury. Heexplained that the wearing of silk was unknownto the ancients of India, since no mention of it

could be found anywhere in the Vedas, and itsuse has not been enjoined by any religiousauthority.

The Sannyasi was kind to Ramdas anddesired that he should remain in Trimbakeshwarfor some days more. But Ram’s command hadalready come. So, next morning, Ramdas leftthe place for Panchavati, which he reached inthe afternoon. He visited the Sri RamachandraMandir of Panchavati and had the Darshan ofseveral Sadhus on the banks of the Godavari.The following day, walking up to the railwaystation, he started by the night train, and,travelling via Manmad and Kurduwadi, came toPandharpur.

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CHAPTER XXXVI

PANDHARPUR - BIJAPUR

PANDHARPUR Vithoba is indeed a mostpopular deity. He is visited by pilgrims from allparts of India. Hundreds of them are everydaycoming to Pandharpur with this object. It issaid that on important festival days thousandsof people are pouring into the place. Here flowsthe beautiful river Chandrabhaga. A little awayfrom the banks of this river is situated thetemple of Vithoba. To go inside this temple is

to merge oneself in an atmosphere full ofspiritual fervour. On one side, a group is busyperforming Bhajan ringing cymbals; on anotherside, a saintly figure is preaching the greatnessof Bhakti giving now and again a sweet songor an apt illustration. Again at another place,some saints with the Tambourine in hand aresinging Abhangas of Tukaram. Some are sittingnear the massive pillars of the temple deeplyabsorbed in meditation. Still others are foundoccupying the verandahs reading religiousbooks. Some again are dancing, only repeatingVithal, Vithal! O, it was a scene in whichRamdas lost himself every time he entered thetemple. There is always a huge rush of pilgrimsfor the Darshan of Vithoba.

Ramdas remained in Pandharpur for 5days occupying a small Mandir of Shanker onthe banks of the holy river, in the company oftwo Sadhus. Ram is very kind. Ramdas herecame to know that Mangalvedha lay only 12miles from Pandharpur. One morning he walkedthis distance and reached Mangalvedha atmidday. In the town a kind merchant servedhim with food. It appeared as though themerchant was looking forward to Ramdas’arrival. Ram’s plans are always so when manleaves everything to Him without interference.Mangalvedha is a small town where about 400years ago the great Saint Damaji Pant

flourished. The ancient and worn-out fortressin which Damaji was holding office for managingpublic affairs under the Badshah of Bijapur isstill there.

Damaji was a great devotee of Vithobaof Pandharpur. The way how he came to therelief of thousands of starving, famine-strickenfellowmen by a loving and fearless act of charity,and how God Vithoba saved his Bhakta byassuming the form of a Pariah, form the themeof a well-known story in this great Saint’s life.The memory of the Saint is still dear and sacredto everyone of this blessed town even to thisday. On the Samadhi of this Saint there is nowa temple containing three idols, viz. of Vithoba,Rukhmayi and Damaji. Bhajan, Puja andreading of religious books are going on in thistemple throughout the day and a great part ofthe night. There is also a Sadhu residing here.Ramdas remained in the society of the Sadhufor five days. They were indeed, by the graceof Ram, very happy days.

The Sadhu was a simple and child-likeman - a true Shishya of Damaji. He was rearinga white cow of which he was very fond. Hecalled her Krishnabai. He has written somebeautiful verses in Marathi upon the Gomata.Truly, the cow represents the Mother of theuniverse and is a grand ideal of all that is gentle,pure, self-sacrificing and innocent. The Gomata

yields milk, out of which curds, butter and Gheeare made for the use of man. And again, she isthe mother of the bullocks that plough the fieldsfor growing corn that provide food grains forthe use of man. Even her dung is of great useas manure and fuel. In Kathiawar, where thereare no trees and forests close by, the commonfuel is only cowdung cakes. Then again, afterdeath, various useful articles are made out ofher skin and bones. O Mother, thou art indeedKamadhenu!

Ramdas now started by Ram’s commandon foot for Bijapur which is 40 miles fromMangalvedha. He came across, on the way, anumber of villages and in almost all the villageshe was welcomed by the resident Sadhus ofthe place. In some places, the villagers prevailedupon Ramdas to stay with them for two orthree days. So the journey proved, by the graceof Ram, a most delightful one. At last hereached Bijapur in the evening. He went straightto a Ram Mandir and receiving some Prasadafter Puja, took rest for the night in a smallshed attached to the temple.

Next morning, Ram prompted him togo about enquiring for any generous-heartedmerchant who supplied foodstuffs to Sadhus.For, every town or city contains such charitableBhaktas. Ramdas had given up doing this kindof thing independently; for, in fact, foodstuffs

were of no use to him since he did not cook. Iffood was given, he would take, otherwise not.But in this particular instance, it was all theprompting of Ram. At last, knocking about for2 or 3 hours from one bazaar to the other,from one lane to the other, from one shop tothe other, he was directed to a place where hewas given some wheat flour, Dal and one Annafor sundries. These things Ramdas tied up in apiece of cloth and was passing in the crowdedstreets without knowing where to go. When hewas in the middle of the street, he was detainedby a call from a young man who approachedhim from a high storeyed building.

“Will you deign, Maharaj, to acceptBhiksha at my house to-day?” he asked. “Ifyou can do so, you may come to this house at12 o’ clock.”

It was then about 10 o’clock. Ramdas,accepting the invitation, proceeded onwardsand eventually sat down on the outer verandahof a shop which was shut. Ten minutes had notelapsed when he descried, at a short distance,an old man with a rosary of large Rudrakshaaround his neck, standing in front of a housefor alms in the hot sun. Now Ramdas clappedhis hands and beckoned the old Bhikshu to theplace where he was sitting. He came. Aftermutual salutations, he took his seat besideRamdas. Ramdas now handed over to him, as

prompted by Ram, the bundle containing wheatflour, etc. as also the Anna piece. No soonerhad Ramdas made this offer than he stared atRamdas with a solemn, uncertain and vacantgaze. Then, falling at the feet of Ramdas andclasping his feet, he looked up and said:

“At last, God has shown Himself to me!You are none else but God to whom I waspraying and praying all these years.” Then againhe cried out, “Am I dreaming, or is this areality?”

Now Ramdas was utterly bewildered andwas quite unable to understand the cause ofhis strange behaviour.

“What ails you, O brother?” askedRamdas.

“The fact is, Maharaj,” he replied,“from morning I have been wandering for alms.I could get till now only half an Anna (here heshowed two quarter Anna pieces). At homethere is an old sickly wife, besides two children,to be fed. To go home empty-handed meansthe starvation of these innocent children. I waspraying to God in all humility, but I was almostlosing hope, when you - whom I look upon asGod Himself - called me and offered me food.”

O Ram, what a deplorable tale! O Ram,how many are there in the world who are alwayson the verge of starvation! This occurrence isnarrated here in detail to show the acuteness

of the misery of starvation that exists amongthe poor, down-trodden lower classes. O richbrothers, O rich mothers, O Ram!

Now parting from the old friend,Ramdas came to the house of the merchant-friend who had invited him. Here both themerchant and his wife treated poor Ramdasmost kindly. They pressed him to remain attheir house for two days. During this time hevisited the vast and imposing pile - the JummaMasjid; climbed the turret and ascended thegallery of that gigantic structure - Golgumata.The masterly architecture of this building isindeed wonderful. The hollow dome of thebuilding reverberates the slightest sound insideseven times. The sound is also magnified. Aman standing near this huge leviathan structureappears like an ant in comparison. Ram showedRamdas all these marvellous things.

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CHAPTER XXXVII

SRI SIDDHARUDHA SWAMI

NOW, Ramdas, catching a train goingstill southward reached Hubli at last. The ideaof going to Hubli was put into his head bybrother Ramakrishna Rao of Bombay who is agreat Bhakta of the famous Saint of Hubli - Sri

Siddharudha Swami. Ram took him here toobtain for him the Darshan of this great Sage.It was past midday when he reached the Mathof Sri Siddharudha which is about three milesdistant from the railway station. The Mathconsisted of three sets of buildings. The firstone in the line was a solid block of granite overwhich was erected a tall conical Gopura. Thistemple was intended to serve as a repositoryof the remains of the Swami after he hadentered Mahasamadhi. The other two wereextensive buildings constructed in such a wayas to leave a large square yard in the interior.Of these, the second one was a Dharmashalawherein reside Sannyasis, Bhaktas and pilgrims.Facing the Math there were two beautiful tanks.On the other side of the tanks there was agrove of trees yielding cool shade. The Mathwas situated in very charming and healthysurroundings.

Ramdas, entering the Math, was,through the kindness of friends there, dulyintroduced to Sri Siddharudha at whose feet heprostrated himself most reverently. Here hespent about 10 days most happily. In themornings and evenings there were reading andexposition of religious texts. Ramdas listenedto, nay, drank in the words of wisdom that fellfrom the lips of the learned Sage. Ram had soarranged matters for him that the Upadesh

the Swami gave during those days happened tobe just what would lead him further in hisspiritual progress. At other times, he wouldwander about in the fields behind the Mathand remain mostly at the tomb or Samadhi ofthe late Kabirdas, the great Muslim Saint ofthat place. Ramdas was clearly able toexperience a spiritual atmosphere charged withpeace and calmness inside the Math andDharmashala, especially at the time of thepresence of the great Swami. Sri Siddharudhawas a great Yogi of an advanced age. He waskind, affable, hospitable and full of tranquillity.

Now, news reached Mangalore thatRamdas was staying at the Math at Hubli. Hisformer wife, but present mother (as all womenare mothers to Ramdas) and his child camethere to fetch him. Sri Siddharudha Swami wasappealed to by them in the matter and thekind-hearted Saint advised him to go with themto Mangalore. Ramdas submitted to the order,feeling that it came from Ram Himself. Ramalways means well and He does everything forthe best. The mother (i.e., Ramdas’ formerwife) proposed to him to return to Samsara,to which he replied:

“O mother, it is all the work of Ram.Ram alone has freed humble Ramdas from thebonds of Samsaric life, and he resides now atRam’s holy feet. He is now the slave of Ram

and prays to Him always to keep him as such.To trust and acknowledge His supreme powersof protection over all, and believe that He aloneis the doer of all actions and possessor of allthings is the only way to be rid of the miseriesof life. Therefore, O mother, throw off yourburden of cares and anxieties and, approachingthe divine feet of Ram, live there always inpeace and happiness. This is all poor Ramdascan ask you to do.”

Now, under the kind care and escort ofthe mother, he started by train and reachingMormugoa embarked upon a steamboat whichtook them in due course to Mangalore. As theparty came up to the Bunder, Ramdas, as bidby Ram, walking in advance, directed his stepsstraight to the Kadri hills, where he remainedfor the night. Next day, by Ram’s will, he visitedthe house of brother Sitaram Rao - a brotherby the old relation and a great Bhakta of Ram.A few days later, he had the happiness of theDarshan of his Gurudev (father by oldrelationship) who had given him the Upadeshof the divine Ram-Mantram . Now (this was in1923), Ramdas stays by Ram’s command in acave called “Panch Pandav Cave” on the Kadrihill, and lives there a serene life, devoting hiswhole time in talking about, writing of andmeditating on that all-loving and glorious Ram.

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram!——

APPENDIX

IN THE CAVE(Heart-pourings when Ramdas

resided in the cave)

O Ram, Thou art father, mother,brother, friend, preceptor, knowledge, fame,wealth and all. Sole refuge Thou art, make Thyslave merge always in Thee - in Thee alone.

O Ram, what Thy slave Ramdas shoulddo or should not do must be determined byThee alone. He is bewildered. He is helpless;make him resign all to Thee. Let him live, moveand have his being in Thee. Let him eat, drink,sleep, move, sit, stand, talk, think, look, hear,smell, touch, do everything in Thy name andfor Thy sake only. O Ram, O Divine Mother,Ramdas is Thine totally, completely - heart,soul, body, mind, everything, everything.

O Ram, Thy slave cannot know what tothink of Thy infinite love. Shall he weep overit? Shall he smile over it? Shall he cry over it?Shall he laugh over it? Thy love is at times sogrand, majestic, vast and gushing like themighty ocean and its roaring waves. At timesit is so soft, tender, gentle, silent, like the

mild flow of a tiny stream and her musicalripples.

O Ram, keep Thy slave always absorbedin Thee. He is at once Thy slave and Thy child.He is willing to serve Thee in every wayaccording to the wisdom Thou givest him. Heis Thy innocent child looking always for Thyguidance and security. Never allow him to leaveThy holy feet. O Ram, never put him in asituation in which he would forget Thee.

O Ram, O Mother, save, save, save Thyhumble slave - Thy ignorant child.

O Love infinite, infuse into the aridheart of this child at least a small measure ofThy love.

O Ramdas, drink, drink, always thesweet nectar of Ram’s love.

O Ram, make Ramdas mad of Thee -mad - mad, stark mad. He wants nothingbesides this. Let him talk like a fool only ofThee, O Ram. Let the world declare him, amad man, yes, mad of Thee, Ram.

Ramdas cares not for the opinion of thisman or that. He is not to be bound. O Ram,

see that he is not bound. Let him be boundonly by Thy shackles. Those are the shackles ofThy love. But Thy love is free. So where arethe shackles? It is an enchanting freedom infetters. O Ram, the madness of Thy love, howsweet, how intoxicating, how charming!

O Ram, purify the mind of Thy slave.Let him not see evil anywhere. Let him not seefaults in others but only good. O Ram, havemercy on Thy slave. Fill his mind with Thy grace.Thou art the sole refuge of Thy slave. OProtector! Loving Parent of the whole universe,lift Thy slave up from the consciousness of anarrow life in a perishable body. Make him realiseThy infinite love. O Ramdas, rise, rise abovethe narrow limitations of your own making.Ram asks you in all love and kindness: “Speedup my child, come up; here is My hand, graspit and rise out of the bondage in which youare.” O Love, O life Universal, O Mother, ORam, how glorious it is always to bask in thesunshine of Thy loving influence!

O Ramdas, you are in Ram and out ofHim. You are everywhere along with Him; Heis everywhere along with you. He cannot leaveyou; you cannot leave Him. He is tied to youand you are tied to Him. You are in His custody;He is in your custody. He cannot do without

you; you cannot do without Him. He lives inyou and you live in Him. Still, you are His slaveand He is your protector. O Ram, Thou arttwo; but Thou art one. The lover and the lovedin fast embrace become one. Two become oneand one remains everlasting, infinite, eternalLove. O Love, O Ram! Rave on, mind, chargedwith the madness of Ram’s love.

O Ram, destroy Ramdas’ desires. Crushthem out of him. Take him on and find himeternal abode in Thee. O madness of Ram, OLove, let harshness, wrath and desire leaveRamdas entirely. Pure, pure be his mind by Thygrace. Ram, save him, save him. O Ram, Thouart Love pervading everywhere; Ram, Ram,Ram everywhere; in, out, in all directions, up,below, in the air, trees, earth, water, sky,space, in all, in all is Ram - is Love. O Love, ORam, let thrill after thrill of the joy of Thy lovepass through the soul of Ramdas. O Ram, OJoy, O Love, O Ecstasy, O Madness, O Goodness,no rest, no sleep, no food, no enjoyment butThy divine love, divine light. O Joy, Ramdas,remain steeped in the nectar of Ram’s infinitelove. O Light, dazzle on. O flashes of lightning,O Ram’s glory - flash on, flash on! O supremehappiness, O Bliss! O Joy! Come on, O Ram,Ramdas is lost in Thee. Lost, lost - in joy - inbliss untold - indescribable - lost in Thy

effulgence - in Thy light - flash - flash - flash -everywhere flash. Love, love, love, everywherelove!

Fame, name, wealth, relations, friends,all - mirage, nothing real, nothing true there.Mind fixed on Ram derives infinite peace,infinite bliss, for Ram is love, Ram is kindness,Ram is joy.

Let the body go, let the mind go. Letthe senses disappear. Let the worlds vanish.Let all that appears pass out of their phantom-existence. Ram - the love eternal - the blisseternal - lives, endures, is pure, undefiled,serene, peaceful. All hail Ram, all hail!

Madness of Ram, Madness of Ram’s love.Come on, take possession of Ramdas and makehim swim for ever and ever in the ocean ofThy unfathomable love.

Sweet madness, cool madness, mildmadness, peace madness, because it istempered with Ram’s elixir of love.

Away all joys of this fleeting world! Thesun of Ram’s bliss is up, rising in all his glory,shedding resplendent rays of peace and love allaround, dispelling the darkness of misery - nay,

paling down the very stars and moon - the fadingpleasures of a transient world. Away!

The bird has flown away from the cageand is soaring high up in the air, losing itself inthe vast space, lost in Ram - a drop in theocean.

O mind, be always firm and fixed onRam. Every other occupation for you is utterlyuseless. In your pursuit after Ram let no opinionof the world disturb you. When Ram is thine,you do not want anything. Keep Ram’s companyalways. Then your talk, your actions, yourthoughts are all His. Ramdas, wake up, shakeup, never wax slow in your progress. Go, leap,leap - pluck the golden fruit - enjoy eternalbliss! O, how sweet the fruit - the taste isintoxicating with the soft love of Ram!

You are nothing, Ramdas. You have noworth, Ramdas. If any good comes from you,it is all Ram’s. You are only a piece of stinkingclay, away with your vanity!

Ramdas, you are now mad, completelymad, O sweet madness, madness, madness! OLove, O Love! Ramdas, you are really mad.Now, Ram is the theme of your madness. Youare stark mad, Ramdas. Drink, drink Ram’s

love, Ram’s nectar. Ram’s light dazzleseverywhere.

Ramdas, you are free, nothing bindsyou. You are free like air. Soar high and high inthe heavens until you spread everywhere andpervade the whole universe. Become one withRam. All Ram! All Ram! What a grand spectacleto see the dazzling light of Ram everywhere!Flash, Flash, Flash - lightning flashes! OGrandeur! O Divinity, O Love, O Ram! Ramdas,your madness is worth everything that is andthat is not in the world. Fling away wisdom,who wants it? Wisdom is poison - madness isnectar, madness of Ram, mind you, Ramdas.Ramdas, you have no separate existence.Ramdas, who are you? A phantom of your owncreation. Break off and abide in Ram - thatocean of Love, Bliss and Light. The dew dropslips into the shining sea.’

Child-like nature, madness of Ram andsupreme wisdom mean one and the same thing.

O Ram, thy slave Ramdas is Thinecompletely. His life is totally consecrated to Thyservice. Let the sweetness of Thy infinite loveenter the soul of Ramdas; give strength to Thyslave to withstand all the temptations of a mostunreal world. Let him always live in Thee!

O Ram, Thy slave cries to Theerepeatedly to make him mad of Thee, but Thoudost not listen to his heart-felt prayers. Thoubringest on the madness only for a short time.Why not always? Let his mind think of nothingelse but Thee, Thee and Thee alone - that isthe madness he craves for. Have pity on him!

Let Ramdas’ mind be filled with Theewhen awake, in sleep, in dreams. O Ram, OMother, O Protector, have mercy on Thy childand Thy slave!

Start Ramdas on his mission - O Ram!Let him go out into the world, toil, suffer, diefor Thy sake. Let him face contempt,persecution, nay, death for Thy rule of Love,Bliss and Light. In the fire of this ordeal, letRamdas purify his lethargic soul. Height ofmisery is height of happiness. To rise aboveboth is true bliss - true peace. O Ram, give thecall! Let thy stern command come. If not,make this body - worthless stuff - wither andperish. Let every minute of its existence beutilised for Thy service, Ram.

The lull has passed. The storm is ahead.Ramdas feels waves on waves rising in him,mighty waves of a surging ocean. O Ram, guard

Thy slave, give him energy, give him strength -give him Thy wisdom, and make him sacrificehimself at the altar of Truth - at the shrine ofLove - in the flame of Light. All Ram, Ram,Ram, Ram! O save, save, save! Ramdas isThine, life, body, soul, all, all!

Make Ramdas mad of Thee. Quick - notime to lose. Quick! Quick! Have mercy on him.Om Sriram!

Rise, rise, O despair of hope! Rise, rise,O Joyous misery! Rise, rise, O light of darkness!O Rise, rise, lovely dream of an eternal life!Rise, rise, O Bliss, Grandeur - whatindescribable happiness to cry, to weep, tosmile, to laugh, to live, to die for Ram’s love,Ram’s grace. Ram’s light! Om Sriram!

Peace, Peace, Peace!Ram, Ram, Ram!

You are not weak, Ramdas, you are all-powerful. Ram has infused into you His divineeffulgence. You are the infinite seed. Ram hasthrown a flood of light into you. Wake up! Youare strong, you can conquer everything by thepower of Ram’s love. Don’t grovel, don’t feelweak. From hill-tops - from house-tops - soundthe trumpet of Ram’s glory, Ram’s love. Be

bold, forward - march! Brave the storm. Destinyis your slave. Keep her under foot. What fearhave you when Ram is your ally? Leave offnarrow limitations. Rise and soar and graspthe whole globe in one embrace of love. Yourdwelling place is the whole universe which isyour body. You live in it as love. There is noughtbut love, love supreme. Every leaf, every bladeof grass, every particle of dust, every tiniestlife sings aloud of Thy love, O Ram. Everymoonbeam, every sun’s ray, every twinkle ofthe stars radiates Thy love, O Ram. Every tear,every smile, every ripple, every sweet whisperof joy is pregnant with Thy love, O Ram!

O Ramdas, rise to the very height ofrenunciation and there sit on its crest and viewthe transient nature of the whole show aroundyou. Everywhere you see birth, growth, death.All, all are running finally along the same roadto destruction. What a terrible state of despairwould have faced man in the midst of this vastcremation ground - this vast graveyard whereall objects are ultimately reduced to dust andashes - had there not been that sweet andeternal influence - that divine ambrosia calledLove - which is a veritable lustrous reality thatruns through the vanishing forms that makeup this wild, varied and grand structure of the

universe. Love is Happiness, Love is God, Loveis Ram.

O Ram! Fill, fill, fill Ramdas with Thynectar-like love. Let no thought of evil, nothought of difference, cross his mind. Makehim look upon all with the light of Love.

O Ram! It is Thou that weepest in thesorrows of the world. It is Thou that smilest inthe happiness of the world. Still Thou art aboveall happiness and above all sorrow.

Ram! Thou art an eternal love-baby.Ramdas is ever bent upon catching Thy tendersmiles, but they elude his grasp.

Love sheds her cooling light. Ramdasopens his lips to drink of it, but the light slipsaway.

Ramdas at last catches the smiles - somany lustrous nothings that beam upon hisface.

Ramdas at last drinks deep the light oflove and softly floats upon the sea of peace.

O Love, O Ram, envelop everything inthe soft glare of Thy radiance. O Love, let all

vibrations be rhythmical and true. Let theinexpressible sweetness of bliss reigneverywhere.

O Ram, make Ramdas mad of Thee.Let him not talk of anything else but Thee. Lethim think of nothing else but Thee. Thou artso merciful, Thou art so loving. O Love, O Mercy- make Ramdas completely Thine!

Whatever Thou dost Ram, Thou dost forthe best: Ramdas is entirely Thine. Thou dostmake him walk, talk, think, act, all as Thouwilt. He has not to feel sorry or regret foranything. He dwells in Thee always. He can seeThee, Ram, everywhere. Thou alone hast takenthe form of this universe - this vast,picturesque, varied group of worlds. O, what agrand display is Thine! O, what a sublimemanifestation! The vast sheets of water - themighty oceans that dazzle in the sunlight likemolten silver - bearing in their bosom a varietyof animal lives of their own creation - artThyself. O extensive Sky, what a magnificentstructure is Thine! A limitless blue domepictured here and there with fantastic shapedwhite fleecy clouds, sustaining in her mightyembrace innumerable creatures of her ownmaking. O Earth, whose unseen circumferencevainly attempts to measure the bounds of the

sky that appears to clasp Thee! What anindescribable scene Thou dost present to thewondrous gaze of the sun, moon and stars thatare never tired of viewing Thy beauties at everchanging altitudes. Thy valleys are full of greenverdure - sparkling water running through themall. Thy high mountains are shooting up intothe sky - those gigantic guardians of Thy peace.The widespread forests, green and yellow-hued,form Thy beautiful garment, in the loving foldsof which Thou bringest into being untold varietyof lives.

Who brought this gorgeous show intobeing? It is all the work of Ram - the work ofLove - Ram himself manifested in all Hisgrandeur of love.

O Ramdas, you have nothing in theworld to call your own. All belong to Ram,including yourself. Ram does everything for thebest. Ram is the doer. Ramdas, live always intune with Him. O Ram, see that this prayer isgranted. Thou art all in all to Thy slave. Hewants Thee and nothing else. O Ram, purifyRamdas’ mind. Let no evil thought enter there.

O Ram, Thou art everywhere,O Ramdas, Thou art nowhere,O Ram, Thy will alone is supreme.

O Ramdas, Thou hast no will.O Ram, Thou art the only reality,O Ramdas, thou hast no existence.O Ram - O infinite Love, let Ramdas

lose himself in Thee.

O Ram, Thy Love pervades everywhere.Thy Light shines everywhere. Thy Bliss absorbseverything. Ram, Thou art Light, Love andBliss. Ramdas, thou livest in this Light, in thisLove, in this Bliss. Ramdas, thou hast noseparate existence. Thou art free - as free asLove, as free as Light, as free as Bliss. Loveall, shed Light on all, share Bliss with all. Thouart all and all Thyself. Thou and all make Ram,that glorious Ram. Ram is one. Ram appearsas many. One is real. Many is false. One - Oneeverywhere, and that is Ram. Ramdas, thy willis the will of Ram. Live only for the sake ofRam. Ram has made you mad of Him. Blessedare you, Ramdas. Ram’s madness meanseverything for you, for that matter - meanseverything for everybody. In this madness thereis no pain, no perplexity, no ignorance, noweakness, no sorrow, no hate, no evil of anykind. It is purely made up of Love, Light, Bliss,Strength, Power, Wisdom, every good of everykind.

Ramdas, all praise, all honour, all respectis for Ram, because your speech, your act,your thought is all in the name of Ram - forthe sake of Ram - prompted by Ram - acted byRam - thought by Ram - listened to by Ram. Allin Ram, by Ram, through Ram, on Ram, aboutRam, for Ram. All Ram, Ram, nothing but Ram!Om Sri Ram! Om, Om, Om! Ram, Ram Ram!This is madness of Ram. It is a grand madness- Blissful, Lightful, Loveful, Ramful. No thoughtbut of Ram. No work but of Ram. No talk butof Ram. Talk in Ram, work in Ram, thought inRam, silence in Ram, sleep in Ram, dream inRam. Ram is in everything. Everything is inRam. Ram is everything. Everything is Ram.Om Sriram!

Ram is form, Ram has assumed form.Ram is with form. Ram is without form. Ramis being. Ram is non-being. Ram appears, Ramdisappears. Ram knows - Ram knows not. Loveand hate is in Ram. Light and darkness is inRam. Bliss and pain is in Ram. Wisdom andmadness is in Ram. Strength and weakness isin Ram, still Ram is beyond all these, free fromLove and hate, Light and darkness, Bliss andpain, Wisdom and madness, Strength andweakness. Om, Om, Om! Ram, Ram, Ram!Peace, Peace, Peace! O Ram, Thou art the pointwhere Love and hate meet, Light and darkness

meet, Bliss and pain meet, Wisdom andmadness meet, Strength and weakness meet.Om Sriram - Thou art Peace, stillness -unchangeable, unshakable, eternal, infinite -all-powerful, inconceivable, incomprehensible.Om, Om, Om!

There are two ladders - Love and hate -projecting from Thee. O Ram, to reach Theei.e., to climb up - the ladder of Love is used.To quit Thee, i.e., to climb down - the ladderof hate is used. Love leads to unity. Hate leadsto diversity. Unity is happiness. Diversity ismisery. Therefore, O Ramdas, select the upwardcourse of Love that takes you to ultimate Peace- everlasting and eternal - which is Ram. Whenyou quit Ram, hate leads you down to whereyou sink into pain, fear and death. Om Sriram!

Ramdas, don’t be proud. Consider thatnone is inferior to you in the world. All deserveto be treated with respect and love.

Let your mind - O Ramdas - turn alwaysthe Charka of Ram-Smaran and in due courseyou will make the mind wear the white Khaddarof Purity.

O Ram, Ramdas is Thy slave, Thy entireslave. He implores Thee to strictly watch every

act he performs, every word that falls from hislips and every thought that comes into his mind.O Ram, see that nothing unworthy of Thee orunacceptable to Thee be done, talked orthought of by Thy slave. Let Ramdas’ actionsbe always right and good. Let his speech bealways wise and gentle. Let his thoughts bealways holy and pure. In short, let Ramdas’acts, words and thoughts emanate directly fromthe meditation of Thy Divine Self. Om Sriram!

O Ram, what a glorious being Thou art.Ramdas lays his head at Thy holy feet. Deignto shed Thy full lustre on Thy slave. Make himThine, Thine totally. Ramdas has no refuge butThee - no parent but Thee - no guide but Thee- no master but Thee - no higher ideal thanThee. Have mercy on him, O Ram, have mercy.Above all, O Ram, see that he does not forgetThee. To forget Thee means for him utter ruin.Ramdas cannot bear the very thought of it. ORam, Ramdas has full trust in Thee. He knowsthat what Ramdas begs, Thou grantest at once.Let him always live in Thee, in Thee alone. OmSriram!

O Ram, save, save Thy child, Thy slave.Let every fibre of his being thrill to the musicof Thy madness; the very blood of his veinsrush impelled by the fury of Thy madness; his

very bones tatter and shatter in their seats bythe repeated blows inflicted by Thy madness;his whole frame quiver, tremble and shake byletting fall on him an avalanche of Thy madness.Om Sriram!

Rise, rise, O Ramdas - fly above all,soar in the heavens, mingle in the flood oflight poured down by the glorious sun. Let thepure, rarefied air above encircle you all round.Let space itself swallow you up. Where are youthen, Ramdas? Ramdas is nowhere. Ramdas isnow mere madness, an airy nothing. Truth -the Great Truth, Ram, hath devoured you -and you are no more, no more, no more! OmSriram!

O Ramdas, become one with thegreenness of the leaves. Be absorbed in thesplendour of light. Mix with the mists of thehills. Be the breath of the wind - the blue ofthe sky - the golden hues of the dawn - thestillness of the night. Om Sriram!

O Ram, Thou art kindness. Thou artlove. Thou art the great Truth. Let Ramdascling to Thee fast. Let him not lose his hold onThee. Let him always clasp Thee firmly. Lethim always live with Thee - in Thee. Let himnot be separated from Thee. Let him always

remain in Thy embrace. O Ram, enfold Thyslave always in Thy arms and never let him go.Make him fearless, bold and firm - firm in hisvows - firm in his faith in Thee. Let contactwith the world not affect him. Ramdas, alwaysremember that you are alone in the world inthe company of Ram.

Ramdas, in spite of Ram’s unboundedgrace upon you, you are still weak. Ramdas,you are still small and insignificant - full ofimperfections - full of defects. Cry, cry; Weep,weep. O Ramdas, cry and weep. Take off, ORam, all his egoism.

O Ram, raise a great conflagration - amighty deluge of fire - and burn up in itsdevouring flames all the evils that are inRamdas. The fire is lit, the flames are rising -red tongues of flame - waving, hissing anddancing. Throw in now - by Ram’s command -O Ramdas, first, Ahankar, then Kama, Krodha,Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya in quicksuccession. Right, they are now all in. Fan theflames, O Ram. All the evils are burning,burning, burning. Now they fly as smoke. Nowthey fall as ashes. All glory to Thee, O Ram!Now the fire ceases and then a calm prevails -stillness of heavenly repose, filled with theenchantment of Love and Peace, filled with

the sweetness of Ram. Freedom, Freedom, OFreedom, Mukti is Thy name. Om Sriram!

O Ram, Thy slave is under Thy protectioncompletely. Thou art his sole refuge. He looksto Thee for everything. At all times let Thysweet name be in his thoughts. O Ram, purifyRamdas’ mind - purge it off from all evil andunworthy thoughts. O Ram, Ramdas is Thine.Bear in mind, Ramdas, you live only for Ram.You do not live for anything else, or for anybodyelse. Ram is the end and aim of your existence.Your very life is bound up with Ram. O Ram,make Ramdas’ faith in Thee ever unshakable,ever firm, permanently fixed. Let all Ramdas’thoughts, acts and words proceed directly fromThee - at Thy bidding - in Thy name and forThy sake only. Let Ramdas’ personality mergeitself in Thee. Make him Thy abode - or makeThee his abode, one in the other alwaysintermingled. Let there not be a moment’sseparation - blended, welded together for everand for ever. Powerful as Thou art, O Ram,Love as Thou art, Light as Thou art, Bliss asThou art, the great and only Truth as Thouart, Thy slave prays to Thee, begs Thee,implores Thee, cries to Thee, weeps to Thee,prostrates before Thee - O Ram, have pity onThy slave, make him Thine altogether. Ram,bless, bless Thy slave. To bless Thy slave is to

bless the world. To love Thy slave is to love theworld. O Ram, O Love infinite, enter into thevery being of Ramdas and live there and spreadThy Light, Love and Bliss. Om Sriram.

O Ram, there is a dawn - a brilliantdawn in the heart of Ramdas. There is in it aflood of Light - a flash of Love - a rush of Bliss.Purity dwells where Ram is. He enters, all evilsflee. The sun rises, all darkness vanishes. ORam, how glorious Thou art! The moment Thouart appealed to, Thou listeneth and granteth.O Mother, how kind of Thee. How beautiful isThy Love, how tender, how soft, how gracious,how true, how bracing, how cooling, how good,O how lasting! O Ram, Thine, Thine is Thyslave - Thine - Thine is this Thy child for ever,for ever, for ever. Om, Om, Om Sriram!

Higher and higher the thought rises untilit is lost in the incomprehensible. Deeper anddeeper the thought runs down until it is lost inthe unfathomable. Wider and wider the thoughtspreads out until it is lost in the unexplorable.Narrower and narrower the thought contractsuntil it is lost in the unthinkable. Om Sriram!

Love expands the heart and hatecontracts it. There is nothing sweeter thanLove. There is nothing more bitter than hate.

Love is natural. Hate is unnatural. Love makesand hate destroys. Love is a charming andcooling landscape. Hate is an arid and cheerlessdesert. Love is harmony. Hate is chaos. Love islight. Hate is darkness. Love is bliss. Hate ismisery. Love is life. Hate is death. Love ispurity. Hate is impurity. Love combines. Hatebreaks up. Love is beauty. Hate is ugliness.Love is health. Hate is disease. Love is sweetmusic. Hate is discordant noise. Love is wisdom.Hate is ignorance. Love is activity. Hate isdullness. Love is heaven. Hate is hell. Love isGod. Hate is illusion. Om Sriram!

O man,Where is sweetness - it is in thee.Where is bitterness - it is in thee.Where is happiness - it is in thee.Where is misery - it is in thee.Where is light - it is in thee.Where is darkness - it is in thee.Where is love - it is in thee.Where is hate - it is in thee.Where is heat - it is in thee.Where is cold - it is in thee.Where is good - it is in thee.Where is evil - it is in thee.Where is truth - it is in thee.Where is untruth - it is in thee.Where is wisdom - it is in thee.

Where is ignorance - it is in thee.Where is heaven - it is in thee.Where is hell - it is in thee.Where is God - it is in thee.Where is illusion - it is in thee. Om

Sriram!

Ram is a reservoir of nectar composedof Light, Love and Bliss. O Ramdas, dive intothis well of ambrosia - sink, swim, dance, nay,drown Thyself in it. Om Sriram!

Ram is a volume of fragrance made upof Light, Love and Bliss. O Ramdas, merge intothis wave of aroma; dive, play, gambol - nay,lose thyself in it. Om Sriram!

Ram is a rainbow of colours formed ofLight, Love and Bliss. O Ramdas, gaze into thisheaven of tints; link, soak, blend - nay, feelthyself one with it. Om Sriram!

Ram is a music of tunes filled with Light,Love and Bliss. O Ramdas, drink at this fountainof thrills; reel, shake, wake - nay, die in theintoxication of it. Om Sriram!

POEMS

OM SRIRAM

Love softly laid her head,Light nimbly danced around,Bliss made a joyous sound,Peace comes to bless them all.

Love gently oped her eyes,Light slowly waved the fan,Bliss leapt and flit and ran,Peace smiles upon them all.

Love sang her sweetest song,Light tuned her charming rays,Bliss laughs and rings and plays.Peace smiles over them all.

Ram - the blithesome love,Ram - the shining light,Ram - the blissful height,Ram - the peace over all.

THE SOLE REFUGE

O Ram, I take refuge in Thee,Thou art my love, my life, my lead,I am in Thee, Thou art in me,Thou art my father, mother, indeed

Thou art the life that pervades all.In Thee all things and lives reside,Thou art the life in great and small,In Thee my friend and brother abide.

Thy lotus feet my constant thought,Thy light divine my only dream,To serve Thee is my pleasing lot,Thou art my wealth, name and fame.

O Ram, how charming is that sound,O lips, utter Ram RamO mind, meditate Ram Ram,Forget thyself in Him - in Him.

RAM

O Ram, I see Thy form on every side;In all the worlds Thy lightand glory abide.O Ram, Thou art the sunthat shines on high;Thou art the moonand stars that deck the sky.

O Ram, Thou art the lifethat fills all space,And sets the whirling universein its race.O Ram, I see in hills Thy form divine,

In waters vast that flowand wave and shine.

O Ram, I see Thy lightin jungles wild,In trees and plants and verdure mild.O Ram, all life reflects Thy godly lightThou art all in all -Love, Bliss and Might.

-OM-

Katosan1923

To

GurudevOm Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai RamGuru Maharaj,

A thousand salutations at thy holy feet.Sri Ram’s kindness to me has been so greatthat after freeing me from the toils of SamsaraHe has taken me completely under His Divineguidance and support. O! Ram, Thou art mysole refuge. Thou hast been treating me asThy helpless child ever taking tender care ofme. Glory to Thee, O! Ram. Thy kindness andlove is infinite. May I be never tired of uttering

Thy sweet name, sweeter than nectar. My heartis full with the joy which Sri Ram gives me andI must talk of Him and His love, to whom? O!Ram, to whom? To thee, my brother, mySatguru. Sri Ram is showing me all the wondersof His Maya. Sri Ram took me round all thesacred shrines from the south of India to theuttermost north. He guided the footsteps ofHis humble servant over the blessed Himalayas.The very air over there breathes Sri Ram’sDivine presence. The never ending chains ofmountains clothed with thick forests are eternalwitnesses of Ram’s greatness. The Holy Gangaflowing down these Hills - giving life andsustenance to millions - is singing Ram’s glory.Indeed my sight was blessed with enchantingscenes and landscapes - that kept mespellbound. O! Ram, Thou are Grand! 400 milesI walked over the mountains and I never feltany fatigue because Sri Ram was kind to me.He gave me strength and peace. At certainplaces the ascents were so steep and path sorugged and narrow that a slight slip would pulla man down headlong into the bosom of Ganga- hundreds of feet below. When Sri Ram wasmy guide, what fear have I? He took me upand up and I walked on fearlessly in full joychanting His sweet name. Kedarnath was thefirst place Sri Ram made me visit - about 160miles from Hardwar. The path to Kedarnath is

really dangerous. Many pilgrims have slippeddown from the rocks and have been washedaway in the torrents of Ganga. Mandakini, atributary of the Ganges, starts from Kedarnath.The place is covered with snow and cold here isextreme. While ascending to Kedarnath onehas to tread upon snow. Who protected mefrom cold? O! It is Thou. A temple is foundedhere surrounded on all sides by high rocks fullycovered with snow. I ascended one of theserocks which none venture. I first thought itwas not so high. I crawled up two hours, (nearly)still I could not reach the top. My hold whileascending was rough grass that peeps here andthere through snow. It took me nearly 3 hoursto travel up to the top of the rock. The distancetraversed might be about a mile. To ascendwas difficult enough but to descend wasextremely perilous. I had simply to slip down 2or 3 yards at a time and then grip the grass.Further it began to rain not water but big whiteglobules of snow. O! Ram, who protected mehere again - it is Thou and Thou alone. Afternearly five hours I reached the bottom of therock. I went to the source of the riverMandakini where the snow melts and flowsdown. Here I bathed in the ice cold water. O!Ram, it is by They grace I could do all thesethings. All glory to Thee. I stayed in Kedarnathfor one day, then coming down about 40 miles

ascended again another chain of hills, the pathhere was not so bad as the one leading toKedarnath. But I had to walk over snow atseveral places and to cover a distance of about81 miles (milestones are on the way) in orderto reach the source of the river Alaknanda,another tributary of the Ganges. This place iscalled Badrinath or Badrinarayan. Here also thecold is very great. There is a wonder here.From one of the rocks surrounding the templeof Narayan flows down hot fuming water whichis collected in a tank in which pilgrims bathe. Iremained here also for a day and then camedown. Thousands of pilgrims are every yearascending these hills for the Darshan ofKedarnath and Badrinath.

Through over exertion many old menand women give up their bodies on the way.Ram’s kindness to me during this journey wasso great, that I never felt hungry on the way.The pilgrims here were very kind to me. Theyused to vie with each other in serving my wantswhich consisted of 2 or 3 rotees without saltand boiled potatoes. Some veritably worshippedRam’s humble das. Hardwar is the starting pointfor this Himalayan pilgrimage. About 15 milesup the hills is situated the place called Rishikesh,where about a hundred Mahatmas reside intheir respective Ashrams, thatched huts on the

bank of the Ganges. The place is simplyenchanting - for a time I thought of settlingdown here once for all, even without proceedingfurther on the hills. Even now I wish Sri Ramshould take me to this place again so that Imight spend the rest of my life in the companyof these Sannyasis, but I do not know what Hiswish is. I remained in Rishikesh for 3 days. Inmy wanderings on the hills, I visited the Ashramsof Agastyamuni, Narad and Pandavas. It tookme 40 days to complete this pilgrimage. Thesemountains are peopled by hill tribes who live bycultivation. They are so simple and so pure,uncontaminated by the touch of moderncivilisation. Ram Nam is on the lips of all ofthem. They are a fair complexioned race, cladin clothing made of thick blankets. Even womenuse thick rugs for sarees. They are also rearingcattle and sheep; the latter yield wool whichthey spin and weave into blankets for theirclothing. Wonderful are Thy works O! Ram.Returning from the Himalayas, Ram directedme towards Mathura, the birthplace of thatlove incarnate Bhagwan Sri Krishna, wherefromI visited Gokul, Govardhan and Brindaban. Ispent about 10 days on the banks of the holyJamuna in Brindaban. Brindaban is a delightfulplace. From Mathura, Sri Ram made me traveldown to Raipur, Ajmer (where I visited KhajaPir, a famous Shrine of Mohammedans and

thence ascended the hill of Pushkar Raj,remained there for 5 days. Then came downfurther this side. Ram wants me shortly to visitDwarka and Girnar. Girnar is the stand or seatof Dattatreya. After visiting these places andPandharpur, Ram seems to be wishing to closemy itinerant life. At present I am staying inthe Ashram of a Mahatma of Gujarat. ThisAshram is situated in a jungle, quite solitary,where I can perform Rambhajan with greatpleasure. I am praying Ram to point out andlead me to a place where I can spend theremainder of my life in meditation of Him, inuttering His sweet name. The charming musicof the sound Ram has sustained me all alongand will certainly fill me with His grace till theend. But what He intends to make of me is notknown yet. My prostrations at the holy feet ofmy Gurudev, our father who gave me that DivineRam Mantram and at thy feet also. I crave forthy blessings. May Sri Ram keep you all blessedwith His grace is the fervent prayer of Hishumble Ramdas. I may, by Ram’s Will, remainhere for about 10 days before going to Dwarka.

Love and Namaskars.

RAMDAS

On the eve of Swami Ramdas’ departure fromMangalore on 27-12-1922, this letter waswritten to Smt P Rukma Bai, wife of Sri SwamiRamdas in his Grihasthashrama.

Transcription of the facsimile:

ToSmt Rukmabai

Dear Sister,

You are to me only a sister infuture. Sriram at whose feet Ihave surrendered myselfentirely has called me awayfrom the past sphere of mylife. I go forth a beggar in thewide world chanting the sweetname of Sriram. You know Ihave no ambition in life exceptto struggle for the attainmentof Sriram’s Grace and Love. Tothat aim alone I dedicate therest of my life and suffer for it- suffer to any extent. We maynot meet again - at least ashusband and wife. Walk always

in the path of God and Truthand make Rame do the same.

Don’t give up the spinningwheel. It will give you peaceand happiness. Let Rame alsowork it.

Sriram’s blessings on you andRame - He protects you both.

Yours affectionately

Sd/ P Vittal Rao27.12.22

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

(Back Cover)

Swami Ramdas, who was known as PVittal Rao during his pre-Sannyas days, wasleading an ordinary life till God’s gracedescended on him in or about the year 1920.Then he was made to think deeply on the futilityof worldly pursuits and the necessity of pursuingthe divine path and realizing one’s identity withthe Supreme Being, which alone can lead oneto ‘Peace-eternal’. He placed himself totally at

the altar of God. At this time his father initiatedhim with the holy and all-powerful Name ofGod – Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram. He took toceaseless chanting of the holy Name. When theprompting came from within to renounce theworldly life, he took to a wandering mendicant’slife. Fiery aspiration coupled with intensepractice to attain the Highest, hastened hisspiritual progress and, in a short time, he couldbehold his Beloved - God - everywhere, bothwithin and without. He thus showed how absolutesurrender to God, arising from His constantremembrance by chanting of His name, couldlead to ultimate Realization quickly and gettingestablished in unending Bliss.

Having thus attained spiritual liberationand God-vision, he started on his mission toawaken mankind to the awareness of God. In1931 he and Mother Krishnabai, his foremostdisciple and a Self-realized soul, foundedAnandashram with the object of propagatingthe ideal of Universal Love and Service. Thisspiritual centre offers every kind of facility forspiritual regeneration of the soul so that it mayrealize its pristine divine nature.

Swami Ramdas attained Maha Nirvanain July 1963 and Mother Krishnabai in February1989.

The books authored by Swami Ramdaswhich come from the deep of Reality continueto inspire innumerable devotees both inside andoutside India.

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