PEERLESS SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE OF DOCTOR KARAMCHANDANI, WHO ATTENDED ON THE MAHAR

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PEERLESS SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE OF DOCTOR KARAMCHANDANI, WHO ATTENDED

ON THE MAHARSHI

 

Dr. Lt. Col. P. V. Karamchandani was District Medical Officer, North

Arcot District. Tiruvannamalai fell in his jurisdiction. He writes:

 

One night, in February 1949 at Vellore, I could not sleep and kept

tossing in bed. That was something very unusual. At 1 a.m. a

telephone call came from Tiruvannamalai, a place 55 miles away,

asking me to reach there by 8 a.m. as Sri Ramana was very ill.

 

Having received the call, I fell sound asleep. I reached

Tiruvannamalai without any emotion. My only thought was that I was

on a professional mission of attending on a patient. The sainthood

of Sri Ramana had no significance for me.

 

I had conducted my examination in a strictly professional manner. I

carried no spiritual feelings for him. Nor did he speak a word with

me. But he had directed a momentary gaze of grace at me, which kept

stirring me deeply. Involuntarily I felt a new vista of spiritual

consciousness open out before me.

 

That wondrous gaze of Sri Ramana seemed to envelop me with an aura

of bliss. The spiritual pull from him felt was so irresistible that

after a few days I myself arranged a visit to Tiruvannamalai just

for the sake of having his darshan. I took my wife with me.

We visited Sri Ramana with a sense of curiosity and an indefinable

sense of expectation. We made our obeisance and sat by his feet.

We did not speak a word; nor did he speak. No speech seemed

necessary. So surcharged with spirituality was he, that his

spirituality wafted out to us, completely enveloping us. Serenity

seeped into us. Our minds attained a state of blissful, ecstatic

meditation.

 

The tumor that Sri Ramana was bearing must have given him the most

excruciating, nerve-wracking pain. Such writhing pain would make

the toughest man wince and moan. But his godly face did not bear

the slightest sign of agony. It reflected only joy and peace. He

seemed to have switched off his mind from the body to the divine.

The next occasion when I was summoned Sri Ramana had developed

anuria. I now went to his Ashram not with the all-important feeling

of a District Medical Officer going to visit his patient. I went in

the spirit of a humble devotee going to serve a saint of colossal

spiritual magnitude. My ministrations were to be coupled with the

devotion of a disciple. I was told that for the past 24 hours he

had not taken any food, not even a drop of water; that the

disciples' implorations in this behalf had failed. I was entreated

to persuade him to eat something.

 

On examination I found that it was imperative that Bhagavan should

take some fluid. Ordering him in my capacity as a doctor seemed to

be out of question. I felt like asking him as a boon to accept my

prayer. I prayed inwardly and held a glass of buttermilk before

him. He gazed at me for a second, took the buttermilk in shaking

hands and drank it. My joy knew no bounds. There was relief and

jubilation all around. I was thanked profusely. But I felt

infinitely grateful for Bhagavan's overwhelming grace. He had heard

my silent prayer and granted my boon. Wonderful was the spiritual

exhilaration I experienced in his holy presence.

 

I was called again at midnight. As I entered his room, four

disciples were there. Bhagavan wanted them to leave the room.

After they left, I was alone with Bhagavan. As usual, he did not

speak with me. I was also silent. But the vibrations that emanated

from him were celestial. His body must have been in terrific,

mortal pain. But his heavenly spirituality was unaffected by it. A

rapturous thrill electrified my entire being.

 

I had an intense desire to worship this illumined soul. I had learnt that

Bhagavan did not allow devotees to touch his feet. But

I felt a deep urge not only to touch his blessed feet but also to

press them lovingly. I took courage in both my hands and pressed

them. The wonder of wonders! He let me do so! His grace was

abounding. I considered myself in the seventh heaven. I glorify

those few minutes of my life.

 

Next time I was summoned was about three hours after midnight. Pain

must have been torturing his body. Still, he was sound asleep.

Holy silence filled the room. It was the ambrosial hour of the

dawn. I did not wish to disturb him. I sat quietly by his feet.

Suddenly he opened his eyes. His gracious gaze fell on me. He

softly muttered, `D.M.O.' The peculiar tone in which he mentioned me

indicated that I had been in his sacred thoughts and that he was

expecting me. I felt myself blessed. I silently worshipped him.

My whole being seemed to vibrate with ecstasy.

 

At that time I had been feeling restless about promotion as Surgeon-

General, being the senior-most I.M.S. officer in the Province of

Madras. However I tried to banish the idea of that coveted promotion

from my mind and said to myself, " Why am I fretting unnecessarily?

The next time I visit Bhagavan, I shall request him to grant me

promotion! "

 

On my next visit, I went before him with my mind resolutely set on

requesting him for that boon. But a marvel happened. As soon as I

saw him, my mind melted, the resolution evaporated, and I felt

filled with strange contentment. A request did formulate itself

within me, but it was an entirely different request. I inwardly

prayed, `Bhagavan, free me from my craving for this promotion. I

don't want anything mundane. Instead, grant me my soul's

evolution.' My prayer seemed to be instantly granted. Effulgent

joy flooded the very depths of my being. I reverently bowed before

him and he gazed at me benevolently.

 

My last visit was on the day Bhagavan attained nirvana. On visiting

him, I found that his body would not last beyond that day; how I

silently prayed that he might retain his body till I brought my wife

from Vellore as she had always been anxious to witness a great

saint's last moments of life. How she brought orange juice for him;

how he would not accept any drink at all; how once again inwardly, I

implored him to drink the orange juice to save my wife from deep

disappointment; how he accepted my unspoken prayer and asked for

orange juice, to the transcendental delight of my wife and myself;

and how, shortly afterwards, in utter tranquility, he passed on.

 

During my two months' contact with Bhagavan, I did not speak a

single word with him. But, what wonderful grace he poured into me

through his benign, benevolent gaze! A peerless spiritual

experience indeed.(Source: Fragrant Patals, Sri Ramanasramam. 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.