This and That^[1]

I was born and grew up in a family which was known for its orthodoxy and its devotion to the Sankaracharya Swami of Kanchi. When I came away at a young age to Sri Ramanasramam, leaving the family atmosphere and the ways of the world, and began to tread the Bhagavan Ramana way, my family people were not able to reconcile themselves to it. Though they were displeased, they could not try and dissuade me because I had the sympathy and support of my father who understood my aspirations.

As the members of my family were close devotees of the Sage of Kanchi, they were apt to have talked to him about me. After I moved to Tiruvannamalai, I had visited the Kanchi Acharya several times and had his darshan but he never directly or obliquely, made any critical reference to my chosen way of life.

On the other hand, every time I went to the Acharya for darshan he would make the kindest enquiries and make a benedictory gesture with his hand, with a most benign smile on his face. I took it as his unspoken approval.

I once visited the Sage of Kanchi along with my aged grandmother. It was her deep wish that I should spend some time at Kanchi having frequent darshans of the Acharya and she asked me to stay back with her. However, I did not agree. My grandma talked about this to the Acharya in a plaintive mood and requested him to bid me stay there.

I was overjoyed to hear that Mahatma's reply; looking at me with compassion, he told my grandma: "What difference does it make if she is here or is there?".

What more did I want in life? Deeply moved by his words which clearly conveyed his blessings to me for my way of life, I gazed at the Acharya in gratitude with tears in my eyes.