"Do not all of you come to me to relate your troubles?"

[Guest guest]

One morning in January 1947, at about 9 a.m., Lakshmi the cow, entered

the hall hurriedly with her legs,

body and tail full of mud, with blood oozing out of her nose and with

a half-severed rope round her neck.

She went straight to the sofa where Bhagavan sat.

The attendants began saying with some disgust that she had come in with mud on her body.

Bhagavan, however, said with affection, "Let her come. Let her come.

What does it matter how she comes?"

Addressing the cow, he said, "Come, my dear. Please come near."

So saying he passed his hand over the body lightly, patted her on the

neck and looking at the face and said.

"What is this? Some blood is oozing!"

One of the attendants said, "Recently they had put a rope throught her nose."

 

"Oho! Is that the reason? That is why she has come here to complain to me about it.

Is it not very painful for her? Unable to bear the pain, she has come

here running to complain to me

without even washing her body. What to do? Give her some iddly or something," said Bhagavan,

evincing great solicitute for her welfare.

The attendants gave her some plaintains and thus managed to send her out.

I went to the kitchen, brought some iddlies and gave them to her. She

was satisfied and went away to her

usual place.

 

After all of us returned to the hall and sat down, Bhagavan remarked, looking at the attendants,

"Do not all of you come to me to relate your troubles? She too has done the same thing.

Why then you are vexed with her for coming here with mud on her? When we have troubles,

do we consider whether our clothes are all right and our hair is properly brushed?"

 

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Nagamma: Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam

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