Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

I said, “She told me that she was living in the same
street when Bhagavan ran away from his house in Madurai;
that Bhagavan showed even then, by his conduct, glimpses
of his feelings of equality with all human beings and that
there were several incidents at the time to indicate it.”
“What are they?” asked Bhagavan.

I said, “It seems that there was not sufficient supply of
water in the house in which Bhagavan lived and so water
had to be brought from the opposite house; that sometimes
Bhagavan used to help his aunt by bringing water and by
doing several odds and ends of the household work.”
Bhagavan said, “Yes. Auntie could not lift any big vessel.

The water she brought in a small vessel was at times found
insufficient for the household. So I used to fetch water in a
big vessel. So what?”
I said, “It seems that your mother felt a little annoyed
when she heard of this and is reported to have remarked
that her son was being made to carry heavy things. When
she came to Madurai once, she too had to fetch water. She
could not lift the big vessel and requested Bhagavan to fetch
water in the big vessel. While bringing it, Bhagavan is said
to have remarked, ‘You found fault with auntie. What have
you done now?’ Is that all true?”
Laughing, Bhagavan said, “Yes, yes. But what of it? There
are municipal taps now. But in those days there was a lot of
difficulty about water. The Vaigai River is at a long distance
from Chokkanatha Street. It used to be very near to the house
where we first stayed. When we were there, we used to bathe
in the Vaigai River every day. As summer advanced, the water
in the river would dry up. We then used to go there in the
evenings and excavate enough sand in the riverbed so that a
big vessel could be dipped into it. Subsequently we played
about in the sands. By the time we finished our games, the
sand ditch would be filled with water. We would bathe in that
water and return home. The ditches that we excavated every
day were very useful for other people also.”
I said, “It seems even the playthings of Mahatmas serve
as useful things for others.”
Bhagavan said, “That’s all right. But tell me, you have
gone to the temple of Varadaraja Perumal, haven’t you? You
must have noticed that there are three parapet walls for each
of the three storeys. Very often, all of us boys used to go to
the third storey and play hide-and-seek and other games. A
big tank could be seen from the window of the third storey.

We used to go to that tank off and on and have competitions
in swimming. I invariably used to win in the competitions.

That tank is on the way leading to Tirupparankundram.”
I said, “I read in Ramana Leela about a feast that
Bhagavan had with other boys in Tirupparankundram. It
was however not possible for us to go there.”
Bhagavan said, “That is on the way to Tiruchuli. Only
you have to take a little diversion. There are similar places
around Madurai like Pasumalai, Nagamalai, Enugamalai and
several others. We used to go there sometimes. Their
greatness could be found in Halasyamahatmyam.”
I asked, “Is it a fact that you were going to Alagar Koil
also?”
Bhagavan replied, “Yes, yes. That is about twelve miles
from Madurai. The temple is a very big one. There, everyday
Sarkarai Pongal is offered twice to the Lord. It was excellent.

Once when I went there I was given a little of it along with
others. I wished I could have more of it. I felt, however, shy
to ask for more. So I kept quiet. You know what happened
when I went there another time? The children of one of the
archakas were going home for the holidays. I accompanied
them and stayed with them for a whole day. On that day, it
was their turn for archana. Their house was about two
furlongs from the temple. After the night puja was over they
got a big plateful of pongal as their share. On seeing me,
they felt that I was a sturdy fellow and could easily carry it
and so they put the plate on my head and went ahead
chitchatting amongst themselves. You know how heavy it
was! All the muscles of my neck began to ache. It was night
time. It was also dark. The plate must not fall down because
it contained God’s prasadam. What could I do? I felt that it
was a punishment for my wanting to have some more pongal
when I came last, and so I somehow carried it until I reached
the house.”
I said, “Did not any one of them offer to carry it for a
little distance?”
Bhagavan replied, “No. They were walking and were
completely absorbed in their discussions about some of their
own affairs. How would they think about me?”
I said, “Perhaps, Bhagavan did not say that it was heavy
and he could not carry it?”
Bhagavan remarked, “How could I do that? It was
preordained that I should carry it and so I carried it.

Subsequently, they gave me a big lump of the pongal on a
leaf. When I ate some of it, I got a feeling of aversion to it. It
was however prasadam, and as it could not be thrown away, I
somehow managed to eat it. None of the others touched it
even. They gave it away to the servant next morning. It is
the same with everything. If there is ample supply, no one
wants it.”
I remarked, “So Bhagavan carried the plate with the
same feelings as Jada Bharata* had when he carried the
palanquin.”
Bhagavan said, “What of that? They merely felt that I
was robust and could easily carry it. What else did they
know?” So saying, he changed the topic and began telling us
about wrestling bouts, playing with balls and other boyhood
games. All those things have been mentioned in Ramana Leela.