God Never Punishes

BY Ram’s command Ramdas came back to Jhansi, where Mahadev Prasad welcomed him most heartily, and pressed him to spend a few more days with him. At this time Ram brought him into contact with more than a dozen friends at Jhansi, who were all very kind and hospitable to him. Of these, one young friend named Ramkinker was extremely kind. One day, in the course of a conversation, he heard that on the Himalayas there were two shrines – Kedarnath and Badrinath – and the path leading to these places was very difficult, and also the cold there was very intense. O Ram, it was all your suggestion. For him there was always a fascination for dangerous journeys and perilous places. Kedarnath – he had read of in the splendid writings of that great Mahatma Swami Rama Tirtha. His mind was made up. Ram prompted and the resolution was sealed that he should visit these shrines, however difficult the path that led to them. He expressed Ram’s wish to his friends. Mahadev and others, who valued his frail body so dearly, did not at first appreciate the idea. They said that the journey was a terrible one and it would prove so especially to Ramdas whose body was so weak and emaciated. He replied:

“Ram has given his fiat and Ramdas obeys, placing full trust in Him. The burden is on Ram to see that he is taken care of; even if his body were to drop off at the will of Ram, he would not grumble. He will then be Ram’s entirely – go he must.”

At once Ramkinker, the young friend, proposed to follow him on his journey to Kedarnath and Badrinath. So, he had to remain at Jhansi for some days more at the request of these friends, which gave Ramkinker sufficient time to make his preparations for the journey.

Some other incidents in connection with his stay at Jhansi have to be narrated here before he describes his pilgrimage to the Himalayas. After the resolution was made, he was taken over by Ramkinker, who kept him in a Ram Mandir near his own house and carefully looked after his personal wants. In this Mandir there was a Pujari known as Pandaji. O Pandaji! How very kind you were too. At midday, everyday, Ramdas would saunter out in the hot sun and walk in the streets of Jhansi for two or three hours. The heat of the sun at midday in that season was very severe; but he would not mind it. Observing this one day, Pandaji, who was treating him as a child, warned him thus:

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

With this threat – an indication of his great love for Ramdas – he would press him to sleep in the afternoon and would not leave the Mandir for midday meals until he saw Ramdas asleep. O Ram, how kind Thou art!

One day, during his midday walks, Ramdas got thirsty and he discovered on the way a well at which some mothers were drawing water. He went up to the place and requested one of them to give him some water to quench his thirst. In reply, the mother who was asked for water said:

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

“O mother!” replied he, “Ramdas knows no caste distinctions. He finds in you that Universal Mother, Sita, as he finds in all women. Therefore, do not hesitate to provide your son with some water.”

The mother was strangely surprised at this reply, washed the water-pot thoroughly and drawing water afresh, poured it out in the hollow of his hands and he drank as much water as he wanted. Then he continued his walk. For about ten days he was staying in the Ram Mandir, and during evenings a number of friends of the city would come and put him various questions about Ram, and he would try to satisfy them by such replies as were prompted him by Ram Himself. On one occasion a certain friend came up specially to have a discussion with 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 you declare you are Ramdas, you do not know what you say. God is everywhere and in everything. He is in you and so you are He. Confess it right away,”

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

After reflecting for a time, the friend was driven to say: “Well, I have put the question to myself.”

This reply was given as a desperate attempt to reconcile his first contention. If he would say that the question was put to Ramdas, there was a clear sense of duality accepted by the disputant himself – “I” and “you.”

“As a matter of fact,” put in Ramdas, “Ram does not speak – the moment he speaks he is not Ram. Speech creates always a sense of duality – the speaker and the man spoken to. Ram is one and indivisible. It is sheer ignorance for a man – whose ego is a great obstruction for his complete realisation of the oneness of God – to say that he is God.”

The friend persisted for some time more to uphold his argument and eventually gave it up. At the desire of Ramdas, who liked to stay for some days in a retired place, the friends at Jhansi took him to a garden about a mile away from the city, where there was a small shed. Here he lived for some days, visited every evening by a number of friends.

Here again a schoolmaster came for a discussion. He belonged to the Arya Samaj started by that great Saint, Swami Dayananda Saraswati. This friend, in the course of a talk, became very hot and excited. The point was about the Shuddhi movement set on foot by Swami Shraddhanandji. Ramdas was clearly opposed to this movement as he is, in fact, opposed to every effort on the part of anybody to create differences in religious faiths. That all faiths lead to the same goal is a most beautiful and convincing truth. At the close of the discussion, the friend exceeded the limits of decent talk. However, Ramdas was cool and collected by the grace of Ram. At parting, he assured the friend that he loved him most dearly in spite of any objectionable words used by him. Next day, about the same time, this friend came again in a great hurry. He could scarcely talk. He could only whisper; his throat was choked up. His condition was pitiable.

“O Maharaj,” he exclaimed falling at the feet of Ramdas: “God has punished your slave for having used rough words to you yesterday. See how my throat is choked and I can’t speak out properly”.

“O friend, Ramdas is really sorry to hear this, 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 hand the friend rubbed the palm on his throat and, strange to say, his throat cleared and he began to talk more clearly and in a few minutes he was all right!

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

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

From this time onwards the friend became very much attached to him and was very kind. O Ram, Thy ways are so wonderful that Ramdas gets utterly bewildered at times.

The friends at Jhansi, whom he met daily in that city, were all very charitable in disposition – especially were they kind and hospitable to Sadhus. When he was living with Mahadev Prasad, he found this friend a pattern of charity and humility. Mahadev would never send away a hungry man from his door without feeding him. He would forego his own meal to satisfy a hungry man. His heart was so soft and so tender. Mahadev’s humility was exemplary. Ram certainly gave Ramdas the society of this friend so that he might know what true charity and humility meant in actual practice. Ramkinker – the young friend who accompanied him on his pilgrimage to the Himalayas – made it a rule to utilise about 10 per cent of his salary for charity. This is really a beautiful hint for all. While speaking of charity, the ideal of charity followed by the householder of northern India is indeed very noble and lofty, the ideal of the ancients, viz. that the householder has no right to exist as such if he does not share his food everyday with a hungry man of no means, such as a beggar or a Sadhu. In fact, it is declared that a man assumes Grihasthashrama with the specific object of carrying out this noble ideal. There are found some Grihasthas who would not wait for a guest to turn up but would go seeking for one in the streets, in temples or, Dharmashalas. Such is the piety of the householders. Ramdas’ experience in southern India was also full of incidents in which charity played a most laudable part. In fact, the whole of India is a great land of charity.