Echammal
Echammal lived with her children and husband not far away from Tiruvannamalai. One night, she had a dream in which a young ascetic with a loin cloth and clean shaven head said something which she could not understand. Within a few days after the dream, she lost her husband, her son and one of her two daughters. A few days later, the same boy appeared again in her dream and recited a Sanskrit mantra which she could not follow. When she went to dream interpreters, all they would say was, “God is blessing you.” Feeling utterly lost, she wanted to go back to the village of her childhood with her only remaining daughter. When she was leaving, the third dream came. In the third dream, this same boy said, “Please return to the hill and disappear. You have lived your lives. Your three lives are over.” Even before she came to him, Bhagavan cleared Echammal’s three apparent births through these three dreams!
After she went to her village, her second daughter who was ten or eleven also died. She could no longer bear the burden of her sorrow. Some of her relatives advised her to go on a yatra - a pilgrimage. Searching for solace, she left for North India. There she met sadhus, served them and gave them food. One of the sadhus initiated her into ashtanga yoga. He gave her a mantra and told her to concentrate on the tip of her nose. However, none of these worked. She still felt burdened with sorrow. When she returned to her village, a relative said, “At Arunachala, there is a young ascetic. He may not speak, but by serving him and being in his proximity you will receive his grace.” The very next day, she went to Tiruvannamalai. It was 1906 and Bhagavan was in Virupaksha cave. She went to have his darshan and Bhagavan looked at her for nearly an hour. She stood in front of Bhagavan with tears rolling down from her eyes. He had tears streaming down his own face as well. Not a single word transpired between them, but she felt an immense power, a mysterious force that seemed to keep her immobilized. Miraculously, there was not a drop of sorrow left in her. She felt the grace and took a vow that she would feed this ascetic all her life.
Every day, without fail, she served Bhagavan. However, she still had a little worldly attachment. She wanted to bring up a girl, and with Bhagavan’s permission she adopted a girl named Chellammal. Echammal would often send Chellammal to deliver food to Bhagavan. One day, when taking food to Bhagavan, Chellammal found a piece of printed paper with something written in Sanskrit. She took it to Bhagavan. When it was time to eat she refused her meal, saying, “No, no! I will not eat today. I am observing ekadashi vrata (a vow for Hindus). My mother said none of us should eat.” Bhagavan, without reacting, casually asked her, “What do you have in your hand?” She gave him the paper which had a sloka in Sanskrit from Srimad Bhagavatam. Translated, it meant: “When one has learnt to love the company of sages - satsang - why follow all these rules of discipline? When the cool, southern breeze is blowing, what need is there for a fan? When you are in satsang, no ritualistic injunctions need to be followed.” Explaining the verse to her, Bhagavan coaxed Chellammal to eat. As time went by, Chellammal got married and had a son she named Ramana. When the child was born, Echammal placed him on Bhagavan’s lap and sought his blessings. Unfortunately, Chellammal passed away sometime later. Though deeply affected, Echammal had by now steadied herself through her association with Bhagavan.
One day, Bhagavan told her, “Just meditate.” She was following the meditation of ashtanga yoga and told Bhagavan, “When I meditate, I see lights.” In response, Bhagavan gave her these instructions: “The objective lights that you see are not your real goal. You should aim at realizing your Self and nothing short of it.” From that day on, Echammal started taking to Self Enquiry and meditating under Bhagavan’s guidance. Nevertheless, her vasanas were difficult to renounce. Once, she took a vow to pluck one hundred thousand leaves from a bilva tree and offer them to Bhagavan’s picture. Able to pluck only fifty thousand leaves, she complained to Bhagavan, “I wanted to complete this ritual but I could only manage to find fifty thousand leaves.” “Did you try all the trees?” asked Bhagavan. “Yes Bhagavan, I tried all the trees but I could pluck only fifty thousand leaves.” Bhagavan’s face changed, “Then why don’t you pinch your body and offer that instead?” Echammal thought Bhagavan was joking. She said, “How can I pinch my own body? It will hurt.” Bhagavan then turned to her, “You are plucking leaves from the tree. Will it not hurt the tree?” “How could I know that?” she replied. Bhagavan retorted, “When you knew pinching your own body is painful, why did you not recognize that the tree will be equally pained if you rob it of its leaves? Do I have to tell you that?” Bhagavan’s strong words went home and Echammal changed herself.
She continued to feed Bhagavan in Ramanasramam as well. One day, when Echammal brought food for Bhagavan, she was informed that her services were not needed anymore. Feeling deeply disappointed, she said, “Bhagavan, I have grown grey. I have given everything of mine to serve you. Is this the reward I get? Like Arunachala, have you too turned into stone? What can I do but go back?” Saying this, she went back to her home. Back at the ashram, they rang the bell for lunch. Bhagavan was on the sofa as usual. Everyone waited for him to get up and go to the dining hall - five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes - but he did not get up for lunch. Bhagavan sat smiling and then one of the intelligent attendants understood. He informed the office and they rushed to Echammal, begging her to forgive them. When she refused to come with them, they pleaded that without her Bhagavan would not eat. Hearing this made her rush back to Bhagavan immediately! Another day, Echammal sent food for Bhagavan through someone else as she was unable to go herself. It was kept in the kitchen and they forgot to serve it to Bhagavan. In the dining hall, it was the custom to serve everyone first and Bhagavan last. Then Bhagavan would nod his head, and the others would begin eating. As usual, everyone was served including Bhagavan. Bhagavan kept sitting quietly. As he did not give the customary nod, the intelligent attendant asked the cooks, “Have you served Echammal’s food?” They said, “No, we forgot!” Only after Echammal’s food was served, did Bhagavan begin to eat.
Towards the end of her life, Echammal was unconscious for two days. The first day when she was struggling to breathe, Bhagavan sat for five hours like a rock on his sofa, deep in samadhi. Many remarked that they had never seen Bhagavan sit like that. Later on, they came to know that at that time Echammal was struggling. According to the doctors, she went into coma after that. No doubt she was already absorbed into inner felicity by the grace of Bhagavan. The next day, when she was to drop the body, some women around her wanted to test her. In a loud voice, one of them said, “It appears that food has not reached Bhagavan.” Suddenly, Echammal opened her eyes wide. She could not speak, but with the expression of her eyes asked, “What happened?” They replied, “No, no! We were joking. The food has already gone to Bhagavan.” Hearing this, she closed her eyes and dropped her body with a peaceful smile. When Bhagavan was informed, he commented, “Echammal has shed her whole load, but my load is still remaining.”
Sri Bhagavan seated in old dining hall after his meal