Dr. Syed and his wife

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By Voruganti Krishnayya , from www.sentient.org

================================================...............................Dr.

Syed was a Muslim scholar and a great devotee of Bhagavan. His wife

too became a devotee without losing her faith in the ways and

conventions of the Muslim religion. She would not appear before other

men. Stealthily she would come to the Ashrama, hide herself in one of

the rooms and implore her husband to ask Bhagavan to come to see her.

It was a most unusual request, but such was Bhagavan's grace and

compassion that even this was granted. Mrs. Syed would at first keep

silent, rather than talk to Bhagavan through her veil; then later she

would talk to him without a veil. But it took a long time for her to

venture into the Hall without a veil and sit there like everybody

else.Dr. Syed and his wife used to stay in a rented house outside the

Ashrama and cook their own food. One day she felt a very strong desire

to invite Bhagavan to their house for food. She nagged her husband,

but he did not have the courage to request something so unusual.

Meeting his wife outside the Hall was unusual enough, and twice he

had asked Bhagavan to consent to it; that Bhagavan should go to their

house for food seemed unthinkable. But the intrepid lady went on

pressing her husband until he became more afraid of her than of the

enormity of her request and hinted her wish to Bhagavan, who smiled

and kept quiet. She would not give up. She was certain that Bhagavan

would grant her wish if the matter were put before him in the proper

spirit and form. At last, while Bhagavan was going up the hill, Dr.

Syed and his wife stood before him and told him her desire. Bhagavan

just laughed and went up the hill.When they returned home in the

evening, there was quite a row in their house, she accusing him that

he had not asked Bhagavan in the proper way. At last he had enough of

it all and said to her: "How am I responsible? The truth of the matter

is that your devotion is deficient. That is the reason why Bhagavan

refused." These words of his must have touched her deeply and she sat

in meditation throughout the night. She wanted by sheer intensity of

prayer to bring Bhagavan to dinner. During the early hours of the

morning she must have dozed. Bhagavan appeared to her in a dream or

vision and told her: "Why are you so obstinate? How can I leave the

Ashrama and come to your house for food? I must dine along with

others, or they won't eat. Besides, as you know, people are coming

from distant places, facing a lot of trouble to see me and to have

food with me. How can I leave all these guests and come to your

place? Feed three devotees of mine and it will be the same as feeding

me. I shall be fully satisfied." In her vision she saw the three

devotees whom she had to invite. One was Dr. Melkote, the second

Swami Prabuddhananda and the third was myself.She told of her vision

to Dr. Syed, who invited all the three for food in his house, telling

us that we could not possibly refuse. We were astonished and asked him

the reason. Dr. Syed told us the whole story. We were all Brahmins

and, although we were delighted to represent Bhagavan at the feast,

we were afraid of what the Ashrama Brahmins would say. For a Brahmin

to eat in a Muslim's house is a serious breach of convention.Dr.

Melkote was in the guest room near the flower garden. I went to him

and asked him, "What are you thinking about?I am thinking of the

dinner at Syed's place.Are you going ?I wonder. They are

Muslims." ''If we go, we are bound to get into a lot of trouble."

"Yes, they may turn us out of the Ashrama.Then are you going ?I

am going," said Dr. Melkote. "I am taking it as Bhagavan's direct

order. Otherwise, how could Mrs. Syed pick us? How could she know our

names and faces so as to show us to her husband?Prabuddhananda can

go, for he is a sannyasi and can eat anywhere. Besides, he is not

afraid of the Ashrama authorities, for he cooks his own food. But we

are taking serious risks," I said. "Well," said Dr. Melkote, "we are

going, and Bhagavan will attend to the risks."In spite of these brave

words Dr. Melkote was perplexed. We were to dine in a Muslim's house.

Even if the food were vegetarian, what about the kitchen and vessels?

What do Muslims know about the Brahmin rules and habits concerning

cleanliness? How would we explain our going to a Muslim house for

food? Why should we trust the vision of some Muslim lady? Could we

really say that we were merely obeying Bhagavan's orders? Who would

believe us? Surely not the Ashrama Brahmins! And what an assortment

we three made! One was a Kanarese householder, the other an Andhra

bachelor, the third a Bengali sannyasi!The next day when the bell for

dinner was rung, we three went before Bhagavan and bowed. Bhagavan did

not ask us the reason, he merely looked at us. Instead of going to the

dining hall with others we marched out of the Ashrama, passing before

Chinnaswami who-O wonder!-did not ask us why we were going out

without taking food.Mrs. Syed got up early in the morning, swept the

kitchen and washed the vessels carefully herself. She would not allow

the servant girl to enter the kitchen. She had been scolded repeatedly

by her relatives and the Muslim Moulvis for her devotion to a Hindu

saint. She told them that while she used to say her prayers she would

see the Prophet standing by her side. Since she met Bhagavan, the

Prophet had disappeared and Bhagavan was coming to watch her pray. So

great was her devotion!After getting everything quite clean, she

lovingly prepared dish after dish, and when we arrived, we found the

food excellent. After the meal she offered us betel with her own

hands.When we were returning to the Ashrama, Dr. Melkote had tears in

his eyes. He said: "I come from Hyderabad and I know well the Muslim

ways and customs. A Muslim lady will give betel leaves with her own

hands to nobody except her husband or a fakir (a saint). In her eyes

we were fakirs, the forms Bhagavan took to go to her place."When we

returned to the Ashrama we were astonished that nobody enquired why

we had not been present in the dining hall, where we had gone or what

we did in a Muslim's house. How wonderfully does Bhagavan protect

those who obey him!- From Ramana Smrti Souvenir