Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

I told him all that had happened in Bhagavan’s presence
and said, “I don’t know why Bhagavan asked me to enquire
and find out from others the required details. Please let
me have them.” Taken by surprise he exclaimed, “Ayyo!
That (affair). Why ask? God alone knows what troubles
we experienced.” “That is why I want to hear them from
you,” I said. “All right. You hear me and write down what
I say. It will be a good lesson to others so that no one
would attempt to do such things in the future.” So saying
he related the incident as follows:
“It must have happened some five or six years ago. That
year quite a number of devotees came for Jayanti. The Jayanti
was celebrated as usual. After the bustle of the celebrations,
we all thought of visiting the summit of the Arunachala Hill.

About twenty-five of the devotees expressed their readiness
to start. So the previous night we informed Bhagavan about
our intention.

“While telling us about the route and the facilities
available, Bhagavan casually made a mention of the banyan
tree where Arunagiri Yogi lived and told us all in the same
way as he told you, about the stinging of the bees while he
was walking along that side. After hearing that, Munagala
Venkataramayya and myself felt very eager to see the place.

We didn’t, however, tell Bhagavan anything about it. After
we returned to Palakothu, Venkataramayya and myself
started for the journey. We conferred with Muruganar,
Kalyanasundaramayya, a European by name Thomas and
his friend, a Zamindar youth and two other new people,
without telling anything about the plan to the rest of the
party. We all started early taking with us the necessary food.

By morning we reached the side where there were steps
leading to the town. Our party of eight stopped there and
told the others that they should go ahead as one or two others
were yet to come. Sending them ahead on that pretext we
sneaked away from there and started climbing the hill by a
short cut on the side of Pachiamman Temple. The Zamindar
youth brought a camera as we wanted to take a photo of the
banyan tree and show it to Bhagavan. We climbed up and
up in search of the tree but could not locate it. We could not
even get up to the summit for that was not visible. Unable to
know whether to go up or down, we went round and round,
felt tired and ultimately got stuck at one place. Down below
there was a deep valley. There was no level ground even to
sit and there was nothing even to lean against. The scorching
sun was beating on us as it was 12 o’clock. Venkataramayya
suddenly began to have a palpitation of his heart and so lay
down on the grass. Muruganar could not be seen anywhere.

Wondering what had happened to him, we searched and
found him crawling up behind us. He had no strength left
even to walk. We were half dead and had no energy left
even to speak to one another. I began to feel worried and
anxious because we had done all this without telling
Bhagavan. How could I go to Bhagavan’s presence if
anything happened to any one of us? Instead of facing him,
I thought I would go straight up to northern India on a
pilgrimage, abstain from taking food and water, and thus
give up my life. I had never till then prayed to Bhagavan for
the fulfilment of any of my desires but on that occasion I
prayed to him from the depth of my heart to save all these
people from danger.

“Immediately thereafter the sound of someone
chopping wood was heard. Looking towards the side from
where the sound was coming, we saw a woodcutter a long
way off. As our voices would not reach him, one of us waved
his upper cloth indicating our presence to him. As one or
two in our group were wearing pants and coats he mistook
us for forest officers, and began to run away. Then I waved
our ochre robes which showed him that we were Ashramites
and assured him that he need not be afraid of us. Thereupon
he believed us and came to us. By that time, we had given
up all hopes of locating the banyan tree and so requested
him to take us either to the summit of the hill or to the seven
streams. He told us that there was no path to reach the
summit of the hill and that he could take us only to the
seven streams, but that there were three deep streams in
between which would be very difficult to cross. Even so, he
began taking us one by one by the hand and helped us to
cross the three streams. By the time he finished helping all
of us to cross the streams, and seated us on the other side we
were completely exhausted and unable to move. At that
stage, through Bhagavan’s grace, there was a slight drizzle.

That shower gave us great relief and we felt very much
refreshed. We could see from the seven streams the people
who had gone earlier up the hill. They could not see us.

After eating something, they began searching for us, worrying
themselves about our safety. Ultimately they caught sight of
us in our sorry plight. They shouted. We responded. The
wood cutter somehow managed to take us to them.

“We were a sight to see with our torn clothes and bruised
bodies. They first gave us fruit and then after finding out
what had happened and seeing the camera and the thermos
flask, remarked, ‘It does not matter if you have drunk all
the curd from the flask, but have you at least taken a photo
of the place?’ Only then did we realise that we had a camera.

We had completely forgotten its very existence.

“We rested for a while and then came down to the
Virupaksha Cave. As we felt we should not go to Bhagavan’s
presence in that untidy state, our group stayed on until sunset
and then came down. I went to Palakothu with the intention
of bathing and then going to Bhagavan. The Zamindar youth
and Venkataramayya however went straight to Bhagavan and
prostrated themselves before him from a distance. As they
were leaving the place, Bhagavan noted their dishevelled
condition and remarked to the devotees sitting near by him,
‘Look at them. See their condition. Something unexpected
appears to have happened.’
“At that moment I went there. As soon as I got up after
prostrating, Bhagavan asked me anxiously, ‘What happened?
From what I see of those two people they are in a frightful
state, with blood sprinkled all over their bodies and with
clothes torn.’ I related respectfully all that had happened.

Scolding me for what I had done Bhagavan said, ‘Is it proper
for you to do such things? If you had asked me beforehand,
I would have told you not to go. Is it not a wrong thing to
pry into the secret places where Mahatmas stay? Bees stung
me violently even though I stepped into that place
unintentionally. It never occurred to me afterwards to go
that way again. It was a mistake of mine to have told you at
all about those places.’ With folded hands and in a penitent
mood I said, ‘Bhagavan, it was a mistake. I used to feel curious
to see and investigate all the places whenever Bhagavan was
relating to us about the great and interesting things connected
with the hill. Now that desire has vanished. I have also been
suitably punished for going there without informing
Bhagavan. I shall never do such silly things hereafter.’ That
is how I sought Bhagavan’s pardon,” said Kunjuswami.