BOOK SUMMARY

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BOOK SUMMARY: The Life of Lakshmi the Cow, Sri Ramanasramam, 2004,

pages 90, price Rs. 110.

 

This beautifully brought out book on quality art paper has a large

number of captivating photographs of Bhagavan with Cow Lakshmi,

which was donated to the Ashram by Arunachala Pillai in 1926. He was

a villager from the Tamil town of Kumaramaglam, and was directed to

do so in a dream.

 

When the cow with its female calf, which was later named Lakshmi

by Bhagavan, was brought to the Ashram, Bhagavan declined to have

them in the absence of appropriate accommodation and the required

attention needed for them. It was at the insistence of Ramanatha

Brahamchari, a devotee, who promised to take the responsibility,

that Pillai's dream got fulfilled. However, after a few months the

cow and the calf had to be shifted to the town in the care of

Pasupati Iyer, who owned a dairy. But Lakshmi, who got closely

attached to Bhagavan from day one, continued to visit the Ashram

regularly and was eventually accepted as a resident in 1930.

 

It is believed that the cow brought a lot of luck and prosperity to

the Ashram, a fact which was noted by Bhagavan himself.

 

Being Bhagavan's favourite, the cow enjoyed every privilege and was

at liberty to roam about where she pleased. If she unwittingly

encroached on an area that was off limit like the kitchen garden,

she could count on Bhagavan's support. When going for Bhagavan's

darshan in the hall, she moved at vigorous pace, leaving it to

others to make way for her as she passed.

Lakshmi would walk into the hall from her shed a few minutes after

the birth of her new calf and stand mutely before Maharshi, who

would then address her: " Lakshmi you have come to tell me that you

have a new baby. I will come to the shed and see your new child. "

 

Many old timers at the Ashram believed that Lakshmi was a

reincarnation of an old lady by the name Keeraipatti, who had known

Sri Ramana from her earliest days in Tiruvannamalai and had

occasionally prepared food for him almost up to her death in 1921.

Bhagavan himself had indirectly admitted this fact.

 

Once Kunjuswani , Bhagavan's attendant, remarked that it was

auspicious that the cow has delivered a calf on Bhagavan's birthday,

Bhagavan interrupted him to say, " Correct yourself Kunju, my

birthday celebrations are taking place on the day Lakshmi has

calved. "

 

Maharshi would visit the cow shed every day. On the day of Lakshmi's

death, Maharshi sat beside her, took her head into his arms and

gently stroked her neck. He fixed his gracious gaze on her. She

passed away peacefully, and was given a ceremonial burial in the

Ashram premises. A samadhi shrine is built over the grave and a true-

to-life statute, though of a smaller size, is worshipped by the

devotees to this day. An epitaph written by Maharshi in Tamil verse

confirms her nirvana. A devotee asked Maharshi whether the use of

the word vimukti in the epitaph was conventional or whether it

really meant nirvana, and Maharshi replied that it meant nirvana.

 

The book has four valuable appendices one of which has a long verse

on Lakashmim the cow by Suri Nagamma.

 

The book is available at the Kendram's bookstore.

 

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.