A Muslim Devotee

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A Muslim DevoteeDr. 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