← The Gospel of Swami RamdasHis talks, as recorded by Swami Satchidananda

1953-11-11

Chapter 32

Bangalore, November 11, 1953

280. Back in Bangalore

8 p.m. The train arrived at Bangalore station. Sarangapani Mudaliar and his sons, Narasimha Rao Naidu and his family, and a few others were waiting at the platform. After the party had got down and the luggage unloaded, the whole group walked to the car waiting outside.

S: This is a very long plarform.

Papa: Ramdas could not have his usual evening walk. Now he can have it.

Narasimha Rao Naidu: I have a telegram from Hanumayamma to say that she is coming in the night for Papa's darshan.

Papa: Is she coming? Did she get a tenant for her house? She has been sending letters and telegrams for blessings. There is no end to the blessings she asks for.

The party proceeded to Sarangapani Mudaliar's residence where his wife, daughter, son (Ranganathan) and a few other devotees greeted Papa. Papa was happy to see Ranganathan back from the hospital and restored to normal health. He was seriously ill on the day Papa arrived the precious week and Papa had gone to see him at the hospital. When he prostrated before Papa, Papa said, "Ranganathan! Oh, you are so active and smart as if you were never ill!"

November 12, 1953

281. Everything is God's work

5 p.m. Sarangapani Mudaliar's residence. Some devotees had gathered in Papa's room. Subbaiyer, Narasimha Rao Naidu, Ramachandra Rao, Gajendra, S and some others were on one side. Mataji and a few women were on the other side of Papa. Looking at S who was writing something, Subbaiyer asked him what he was writing. Papa then told Subbaiyer, "He is taking down some notes."

Subbaiyer: He is doing God's work.

Papa: What is not God's work.

Subbaiyer: Anything that is done with the remembrance of God and as a dedication to Him is God’s work; and also whatever is done as prompted by God.

Papa: Everything is God’s work, because God alone prompts all actions.

Subbaiyer: But actions of those whose lives are completely dedicated to God are different from those of ordinary men. S is wearing the badge of renunciation, the ochre cloth.

282. Colours – what they signify

A devotee: Papa, what does the ochre colour actually denote?

Papa: Sannyasis put on ochre cloth, Buddhist monks put on yellow cloth. Ochre colour is a mixture of yellow and red, with more of red in it. That is the colour of fire. If a Sannyasi is seen at a distance, from the cloth you make out that the desires of his lower nature are aflame. If a Buddhist monk wearing yellow cloth is coming, you understand that even as the dead body is yellow in colour, the monk is dead to the world, that is his desires are all dead.

A devotee: What does white cloth indicate?

Papa: It indicates purity.

283. Nakedness of the Soul

A devotee: There are some naked sadhus also. Even now there is one at Chidambaram.

Subbaiyer: I have seen one moving about like a child. He must be completely above body-consciousness.

A devotee: Otherwise how can they remain naked?

S: There was a great avadhuta saint near Salem.

Gajendra: Yes, he was called Sendamangalam Swamigal. It is his disciple who is now at Chidambaram.

Papa: Have you heard of one Balasubramaniam? He was a professor in a college; a short, stout and fair-looking young man. He got initiation from Sendamangalam Swamigal and is wandering about naked somewhere. Nakedness must be of the soul, not merely outside. This friend Balasubramaniam wrote to Ramdas that though he was naked outside he had yet to become naked within. He was frank and confessed his condition. Ramdas advised him that having taken to this path he must carry on, not retract. Finally he is sure to have the inner nakedness also.

284. Wait in hope for grace

Subbaiyer: If such people do not realise God, can we, who eat and make merry, attain Him?

Papa: A man attains God when His grade descends on him, wherever he may be and whatever way he lives. Whether he wanders about as a naked sadhu or lives an ordinary life in the world, when God's grace comes, he is liberated.

Subbaiyer: That is the excuse for us all to live this life of comfort and say, 'I will reach Him when His grace comes'.

Papa: Otherwise what do you expect an aspirant to do? He struggles hard and does not realise Him. Let him not kick against the pricks, but wait, calm and serene, for His grace to transform him once for all. Why should he fret and fume? Ramdas does not say that he must entirely give up effort to attain God. He must make intense effort, but his dissatisfaction and internal fight must stop. If he goes on struggling, God does not come. We churn the curd for some time and then leave it to settle down for butter to form. In the same way, he must learn to wait patiently. God comes in good time. By grumbling he puts off His coming. Grumblers cannot have Him; in other words, He is far away from grumblers.

You have heard the story of Sabari. She knew Rama would come to her, but did not know when. Everyday she was busy preparing to receive Him and what a joy she had in the very expectation of Rama's arrival! Though Rama did not come for years, hope kept her throughout in a state of joy. If this type of joy is not there in the expectation of God's coming, life becomes simply unbearable.

285. Have Ananya Bhakti

Papa continued: "Do you know why Sabari could do it? Because she was not learned. Our fault is that we are learned and so we are like 'Doubting Thomas'."

Subbaiyer: Papa, does He not know that we are thinking of Him constantly?

Papa: Where is that man who is thinking of Him constantly? Let Ramdas see him.

Subbaiyer: I am, Papa.

Papa: If you have been thinking of Him always, you must have become one with Him. There cannot be any doubt about it. The thinker and the thought become one. To think continuously of Him means to be rid of the ego-sense. The sloka "Ananyaschintayanato mam..." means that we should accept Him completely and entertain no other thought. This exclusive thought of God grants one always great joy. Such a one deserves to attain Him and gets Him.

286. An Initiation

A young man in the group, who was so far sitting quietly, came near Papa and said, "Swamiji, will you kindly give me mantropadesa?"

Papa: Why do you want initiation?

Young man: Because I want peace. You gave initiation to a teacher this morning and what he told Papa is the same that I have to say.

Papa: That teacher has become the mouthpiece of thousands. Are you keen on having the Mantra?

Young man: Very keen on having it from Ramdas himself.

Papa: Where is Ramdas?

Young man: Sitting before me.

Papa: Is he simply Ramdas or Swami Ramdas?

(No reply)

Young man: You had asked me to lead a righteous life. And by taking initiation of the Mantra, I am sure I will be better.

Papa: All right, come near. Repeat what Ramdas says.

Papa then uttered Ram Nam thrice and the young man repeated it.

Gajendra: Papa, he is good musician.

Papa: Go on singing Ram Nam in a fine tune for yourself and also for others.

A devotee: Should the Guru Mantra be kept a secret?

Papa: You need not make a secret of it.

Subbaiyer: When Papa repeats the Mantra, there is no humour or smile seen in Papa's face. At other times Papa is smiling. Papa is serene at the time of repeating the Mantra.

Papa: Ramdas does not know. When he gives Mantra initiation to anybody next time, please keep a mirror before him so that he can see how he looks.

The new friend who got initiation started singing a song.

Papa: No songs. Sing only ‘Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’ now in a good tune.

287. A devotee's confession

Unlike the previous night a large number of devotees kept pouring in. Bhajan continued and devotees were not leaving though it was past nine at night. Narasimha Rao Naidu prostrated before Papa, saying, "Papa, we are going. We shall come early in the morning. We may not be able to come to the aerodrome as it is too chill."

Papa: All right. Go soon. Your health is not very good.

Narasimha Rao Naidu went out and, in a few minutes, came back, and stood before Papa. Papa saw him and said, "You just went out. How is it you have come back?'

Narasimha Rao Naidu: The thought of your departure tomorrow is weighing on our mind. We have been only enjoying good meals and other comforts. We cannot honestly say that we are following Papa's teachings and are advancing on the path. I know, Papa, that we are giving you a lot of trouble. Of course, Sri Ramakrishna told one of his devotees that he had not come only to eat rasagullas and live comfortably. So also we know, in your infinite compassion and love for us, you won't mind our bothering you, but we do feel sometimes that we give you little rest.

November 13, 1953

288. A bright future awaits India

Papa got up at 4.45 a.m. as the party had to be ready to leave Sarangapani Mudaliar's house by 6.15. Packing had to be done and it took a little time. At about 5.30, Narasimha Rao Naidu and his family and a few other devotees came and were with Papa.

The plane carrying Papa, Mataji and S to Hyderabad took off from the Bangalore airport at 7 a.m.

Hyderabad, November 13, 1953

Rani Lalitha Devi and a number of other devotees were awaiting the arrival of Papa and party at the Hyderabad aerodrome. The plane landed at 9 a.m. When they came out of the plane, Papa and Mataji were profusely garlanded by the devotees. After sitting in the waiting room for a few minutes, the party drove to the residence of Rani Lalitha Devi at Khairatabad.

A few minutes before 2 p.m., Sri Baldoon Dhingra, an officer of the Education Department of the UNESCO, came with a friend. There were none else in Papa's room except S. He explained to Papa how the UNESCO was useful to the world and so on.

Papa: Has it been successful in bringing about peace and harmony in the world?

Dhingra: I cannot say how far it has contributed towards bringing about peace and harmony. That you must know better. It is working for the furtherance of science and education all over the world and of cultural relations among different nations.

Papa: It is doing splendid work, though it has not yet achieved what we expected of it.

Dhingra: My problem now is whether I should continue there or serve in India itself.

Papa: You must continue where you now are. God has placed you in that position. A really good man in an organisation can influence all the rest.

Dhingra: Who is to decide whether I am good or not?

Papa: Ramdas sees good only in everything. If everyone in the world sends forth a good thought, there will be such peace and harmony that there will be no possibility of a war. And India has an important part to play in this great task.

Dhingra: Then why is it, Swamiji, that people are feeling a sense of frustration in India now?

Papa: Because this is the transition period. Ramdas envisages a bright future for India.

Dhingra: I am still thinking why I should not do my work in India.

Papa: You carry on with your work there. But if you think you will be able to serve India better by leaving your present work in UNESCO, you will, of course, be justified in leaving it.

289. Why they had come to see Ramdas

As many devotees were waiting, Papa got up from his seat. The friends took leave of him, but came again in the evening with Papa's books ‘The Divine Life’, ‘In Quest of God’ and ‘The Sayings of Ramdas’, and wanted Papa's autograph. The friend who accompanied Sri Dhingra told Papa that he was sending the latter two books to a friend of his, a judge at Amsterdam, as he had enquired of Papa and his writings when they met at Amsterdam.

After Sri Dhingra and his friend had left, Papa remarked: "Do you know why these people come here? When they go to Europe and other places abroad, some people ask them if they have heard of Ramdas. Now they can say they have seen him in flesh and blood and have also read his books."

S: Exactly so. The friend who came with Dhingra told me that when he was in Europe last, some of his friends asked him if he had seen Swami Ramdas. He was ashamed to reply that he had not even heard of him. That was why he was anxious to get some books and read them.

290. Wherefrom the honey?

Around 6 p.m., Prof. Krishna Rao and some others were sitting before Papa. Shivmohanlal and Ratnam (of Ramanashram) and another young man with a long beard came in. Shivmohanlal, with his characteristic smile, rushed forward to Papa, prostrated and remained in that position with his head at Papa's feet. Seeing this, Rani Lalitha Devi remarked to Prof. Krishna Rao, "Swamiji's favourite devotee has come."

Krishna Rao: Who is not Papa's favourite devotee? Everybody is a favourite.

Lalitha Devi: No. He is a favourite devotee. See how long he prostrates before Papa. I do not do like that.

After Shivmohanlal got up, he introduced to Papa the bearded friend who had accompanied him: "Papa, this saint is from Raichur. He had been to the Himalayas in search of God. He stays in a village near Raichur. He has come on some work to Hyderabad. He stays with me and gives me the joy of his company."

Papa: You are honey and bees rush to you.

Hearing this, Shivmohanlal fell at Papa's feet again with bubbling joy.

Papa: How did you get filled with honey? Where did you get it all from?

Shivmohanlal (again falling at Papa's feet and touching his toes): This is the place I get all the honey from.

Saying this he kissed the toes again and again.

November 14, 1953

291. Mataji's severe admonition

There were pressing requests from many devotees that Papa should make it convenient to go to their houses. Papa's health did not however permit of his visiting houses as he used to do on his earlier visits. They were, hence, disappointed at Papa's refusal, especially after they knew that Papa had agreed to visit the house of Rani Barkat Rai during the ‘Gita’ recitations on Sunday, and also the residence of Swami Govinda Tirtha (Dattar Swami), who was ill and so could not come to Papa.

Mataji was having breakfast in the company of Prof. Krishna Rao, Mrs Krishna Rao, Mrs Damodar Rao, Vasudev Rao Biderkar, MG Krishna Rao, Veeraraghavan and a few others. MG Krishna Rao, who was one of those disappointed, talked in Kanarese to Prof. Krishna Rao holding him responsible for Papa's refusal to visit their houses and for accepting the invitation from Rani Barkat Rai and for agreeing to go to see Dattar Swami. MG Krishna Rao appeared to have lost his temper as he spoke on the subject.

Then the talks turned to Veeraraghavan's sorrow for not receiving a detailed reply from Papa to his long letter in which he had asked for clarification of his doubts.

When MG Krishna Rao was talking, Mataji wished to give him a suitable reply, but kept quiet. When Veeraraghavan's point came, she lost her temper and asked Veeraraghavan in particular and others in general: "You say you did not get a long and detailed letter from Papa. But have you so far tried to live up to one word of what Papa has written in his innumerable letters to you or told you in his talks with you?"

She then said as a hit at MG Krishna Rao: "You people worry Papa to come to your house and do not have any consideration for his health. You charge Prof. Krishna Rao with persuading Papa to go to Rani Barkat Rai's house and not to yours. Are you all still entertaining such petty ideas? What is the benefit that you aim at getting by Papa's contact? You wish only to make the best of his stay here for your material ends; to have a car, to flourish in your business and so on. As Papa's health would not permit, he did not go to Hindupur and Penukonda where thousands were anxious to see him. Some of them had to come to Anantapur for his darshan. Papa has come to your place. Instead of taking the real benefit of his stay here, you try to pick faults and magnify them. If you all behave like this, it will be better that next time we omit Hyderabad from our programme. You will fare better if we keep away from you."

All those present were surprised at the way Mataji talked, and Mrs Damodar Rao started weeping. Mataji saw that the situation was tense and thought that she might talk more if she continued sitting there. So she went away, and told Papa of what she talked. Papa was in the adjacent room. When others also finished breakfast and came near Papa, Prof. Krishna Rao told Papa how furious Mataji was.

Papa: Hyderabad devotees are still rajasic. Because they were rajasic, Ramdas asked them to write fourteen lakhs of Ram Nam. Even after writing so much they have not become much better.

292. Women remain loyal to saints

S (to Mataji): Papa is to go this evening to Balwantrao Ghate's place. Do they prepare rotis all right for Papa?

Mataji: I have told them that we would bring rotis.

S: Why should we prepare rotis so early and carry them from here? Is it not enough if we prepare them after going there? We shall, if necessary, take some wheat-flour with us.

Mataji: That will be better. As soon as we go there, I shall come with you to the kitchen and you can prepare the rotis in no time.

S: When I go to the kitchen in different places to prepare rotis for Papa, I am surrounded by women everywhere and I have to move with them and talk with them as if I am one among them. I feel I would do well to mingle with them, wearing a saree!

Mataji: Yes, you have to move closely with them. Perhaps this has come to you as a sadhana. If you move closely with women, you will gradually develop their character.

S: Why do you prefer woman's character to man's?

Mataji: Women have naturally more love and an attitude of easy surrender. If they come across anything disagreeable or meet with opposition, they easily give in without much of self-assertion. Men assert themselves, and they are so by nature. By this 'giving in' quality of women, they are able to remain loyal to saints to the very last, accepting or ignoring minor differences. I am afraid to stay in the company of men for a long time lest I should develop their qualities.

In the evening Papa was with Balwantrao Ghate, Sessions Judge, in his house at Secunderabad. There was quite a long bhajan. It was arranged at Ghate's place for the convenience of the devotees of the locality. Papa and other devotees had their dinner at Ghate's.