Fwd: Jackie the dog

[Guest guest]

, " Gloria Lee " <glee@c...>

wrote:

posted by David Godman to RamanaMaharshi

 

Jackie the dog, who was eventually buried alongside the deer and the

crow, was

brought to the ashram when he was very young. He never mixed with

other dogs,

nor did he play much. Instead, he lived the life of a sadhu. He

would sit in

front of Bhagavan on an orange cloth that had been provided by a

devotee and

stare intently at Bhagavan's eyes. Because Bhagavan had a lot of

love for him,

and because he always behaved in such an exemplary fashion, he was

always very

well looked after. Ramaswami Pillai in particular took good care of

him. Every

day he would wash Jackie with soap and water and remove any insects

that had

attached themselves to his body. Whenever prasad was distributed,

Jackie would

not eat until Bhagavan began to eat his own portion. On such

occasions he would

watch Bhagavan's face intently. As soon as Bhagavan put a morsel

into his mouth,

Jackie would start to eat his own portion.

 

I remember one incident concerning Jackie that occurred while

Bhagavan was

sitting by the well, surrounded by devotees. Jackie was sitting with

the

devotees, looking intently at Bhagavan, when a stray dog entered the

ashram

through the back gate. Jackie, distracted by the newcomer, began to

bark.

Bhagavan gently chided him by saying, 'You just close your eyes. You

just

close your eyes. You just close your eyes. If you do this you will

not be able

to see the dog.'

Jackie obeyed at once but some of the rest of us continued to look

at the

stray dog.

When I saw what was happening I laughed and remarked, This is a good

teaching. It is not only for Jackie, it is for everyone.'

Jackie lived in the ashram for many years but I cannot remember how

he

finally passed away. It must have happened sometime in the 1930s

while I was

supervising the building works because I remember constructing, at

Bhagavan's

request, the small samadhi shrine that is over his body.

 

I found the following account of Jackie's death in an unpublished

account by

Narasimha Rao:

 

'In the early days of our going to the ashram [early 1930s] there

was a dog

by name Jack. It was then very sick. Bhagavan arranged a soft bed

for it and was

attending it very affectionately, attending to his wants. After a

few days it

grew more weak, and was emitting a bad smell. It made no difference

to

Bhagavan's attention to it. He used to take it in his arms, and

holding it to

himself, caress it lovingly. Finally it expired in his hands. It was

buried in

the ashram precincts with a monument over it. The dog did not show

any sign of

suffering and bore it bravely.'

 

From " Living by the Words of Bhagavan "

--- End forwarded message ---