26-10-45 Morning

Bhagavan told me that one morning, when he was
sitting on the verandah in Virupakshi Cave, the words L?|V??Xu{ V?iP ? came to him very insistently, but he took no special notice of them. It seems the same thing happened the following morning also. Then Bhagavan composed the first stanza of `@??NX T?Lm' (Eleven Verses to Sri Arunachala). The next morning the words beginning the second stanza similarly came to him and he composed the second stanza; and so it went on every day, until the last two stanzas were composed on one day. On that day, after composing the two last
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stanzas Bhagavan, it seems, started for giripradakshina (going round the hill). One of his disciples, Aiyaswami, brought a piece of paper and pencil and told another disciple who was going with Bhagavan, "Bhagavan has been composing one stanza every morning for some days now, and today he has composed two stanzas. More may come to him today. In case they do, have this paper and pencil with you, so that the same may be recorded." And on the way round the hill Bhagavan actually composed the first six stanzas of the Arunachala Ashtakam (Eight Stanzas to Sri Arunachala). It seems Echamma first got the `@bW UQU?~' (The Marital Garland of Letters) published and later Narayana Reddi. This Narayana Reddi came to know of the Padhikam and Ashtakam soon afterwards, and wanted to publish them. Then Bhagavan composed two more stanzas for completing the Ashtakam; and the Padhikam and Ashtakam were published by Narayana Reddi. This is how the Padhikam and Ashtakam in the Five Hymns to Arunachala came to be composed.

I asked Bhagavan: "I know that in the Madura house itself,
Bhagavan had the dawn of jnana ^[?] and that ever since then, Bhagavan had no `?RL?jU ?j?' (I-am-this-body consciousness). I know also that Bhagavan had a `R?Tm' (a burning sensation) in the body which did not cease until he arrived at the temple here and reported His arrival to God Arunachala. But I don't believe this was the `?u?]?' mentioned in Marital Garland ; I also think that Bhagavan has gone through the severe pain or physical ordeal which I have read most Saints had to go through when the knot between body and spirit is sundered. I wish to know when this happened in Bhagavan's life. I know this information is not needed for my improvement. But for Bhagavan's history I think it is necessary."

Bhagavan kept quiet and only smiled. But after a time,
he said the Marital Garland was written about 1914-1915. By that Bhagavan apparently meant to tell me that the knot was sundered long before that, about 1896 itself.

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Afternoon

For some days now Bhagavan's rheumatic troubles have
been pretty bad and so his legs are being occasionally massaged with some medicated oils. For about ten days now there has been in the town some Swami who professes to be able to cure with his vibhuti ^[?] all kinds of diseases; and people from various villages have been flocking to see him and most of them also peep in at the Asramam to see Bhagavan. So Bhagavan said, "If all these people come and see I have all these physical ills myself and need to be massaged with medicated oils, they will know I am no good and won't come anymore. So this massaging is good in one way."