Letters from & Recollections of
Sri Ramanasramam

At 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon an elderly lady came to Bhagavan along with her children, grandsons, granddaughters and others. On seeing them, Bhagavan said with a smile, “Oh Kanthi! Is that you? I thought it was somebody else.” She went to Bhagavan with some familiarity, showed him all her progeny, prostrated before him and came back to sit with the ladies. Looking at me Bhagavan asked, “Do you know who she is?” On my replying in the negative, he told us:

“There is in the town a gentleman called Seshachala Iyer. She is his daughter. This lady, Echamma’s niece, Chellamma, Rameswara Iyer’s daughter, Rajamma and some others are all of about the same age. They were all quite young when I was on the hill. They used to climb up the hill and come to me very often. Sometimes they used even to bring their dolls and perform the dolls’ marriages. At other times they used to bring rice, dhal, etc., cook and eat and give me also something from their preparations.”

“I take it, Bhagavan used to play with them?” I said. “Yes. They used to come up whenever they felt like it. They were all very young, you see, and so they were independent. Now she has a big family and so she cannot come whenever she wants to. As it is a long time since she came last, I was wondering who it was,” said Bhagavan. “Not only did you play marbles with the little boys but you played Gaccha Kayalu (children’s game) with the little girls. They were all born lucky,” I said. Nodding his head in affirmation, Bhagavan related an incident that had occurred at that time.

“It was in those days that Chellamma came to me with a paper in her hand. When I looked at it out of curiosity, I found written on it the following sloka:

सजननसद्गे संप्राप्ते समस्तनियमेरलम् ।
तालवृन्तेन किं कायं लव्धे मलयमारुते ॥

sajananasadge saṃprāpte samastaniyameralam |
tālavṛntena kiṃ kāyaṃ lavdhe malayamārute ||

If association with sages is obtained,
to what purpose are the various methods of self-discipline?
Tell me, of what use is a fan
when the cool, gentle south wind is blowing?

“I translated it into Tamil in verse form beginning with ‘Sadhu sangathal’. Subsequently it was included in the supplement to the “Forty Verses” (verse 3). You have it in prose, have you not?” asked Bhagavan, and I replied in the affirmative.

I asked, “How did Chellamma get that paper and why did she bring it to you?” Bhagavan replied, “Echamma used to fast every now and then, saying it was Ekadasi or it was Krithikai and the like. Chellamma too started to fast with Echamma. But then Chellamma was very young and used to suffer a lot in consequence. Echamma usually sent food for me through her. On a Krithikai day she brought me food even though she was fasting that day. How could I eat when she was not taking any food? I told her that she should not indulge in such fasts being young, and somehow prevailed upon her to eat. Next day while she was coming up the hill with food she found that paper. It appeared to contain some sloka and so she brought it with her to show it to me. When I saw that, I found it contained this sloka. I said, ‘Look. It contains the same thing I told you about yesterday.’ She asked me what its meaning was and so I translated it into a verse in Tamil and explained the meaning to her. Thereafter she gave up her fasts. She had great faith in me. Even after she attained age she never would write anything on paper without the words ‘Sri Ramana’ to begin with. Those children used to recite before me all the songs and verses they learnt. When Chellamma passed away all of them felt as if they lost their own sister,” said Bhagavan.

One devotee said, “It is stated in the Biography that when the news of her death was announced, Bhagavan was visibly moved and expressed sorrow. Is that a fact?” Bhagavan said that it was a fact and was silent. You know, Bhagavan has said several times that a Jnani weeps with those who weep and laughs with those who laugh.