Ramana Maharshi's humorous comparision between relatives and disease

[Guest guest]

20th January, 1946

 

When the personal attendants of Bhagavan were advised by doctors to give him

food containing vitamins to relieve the pain in the legs they began doing so

and were also massaging his legs with some special ointment. They were thus

serving him to the best of their ability. Bhagavan used to say humorously,

“A guest comes to your house. If you are indifferent towards him he will go

away early, but if you show great respect towards him, and are very

attentive he will never go. So is disease. If you attend to the disease in

the manner you are doing now, why should it go? If you take no notice of it,

it will disappear of its own accord.”

 

Sometime ago, a young man set up an establishment about a mile from the

Ashram, on the road round the hill,saying he would cure diseases by giving

vibhuti. People get

mad over such things, don’t they? People who were diseased,possessed and the

like started going in crowds to see that Vibhuti Swami, and on their way,

they used to come to our Ashram also. What is there at this Ashram? No

vibhuti! No magic lockets! They used to have darshan and then go away.On

such occasions, if any attendants happened to be massaging his legs with

medicated oil, Bhagavan used to say in a lighter vein, “Excellent, this is

also good in a way. When these people see me thus, they would say, ‘this

Swami himself is suffering from pains in the legs and is getting massaged by

others. What can he do for us?’ and go away without coming anywhere near me.

So far so good.”

 

Two or three years back when Bhagavan had jaundice,he could not relish his

food and felt a great dislike for food.For about a week or ten days he ate

only popcorns and the like. As Echamma and Mudaliar Patti have a vow that

they will not eat until Bhagavan takes at least a morsel of food cooked by

them he used to take a few grains from the rice brought by these ladies and

mixing them with popcorn,used somehow swallow that food so that their vratam

or deeksha might remain unimpaired.

 

Months passed by; the jaundice persisted. A reputed doctor from Madras was

called. The result was the same. After all had come and gone, and after all

medicines had been tried without success,he cured himself of jaundice in no

time with sonti (dry ginger),pippalu (ipecac) and other Ayurvedic herbal

medicines. Let any one venture to ask him how the disease was cured!

 

Source: Letters from Sri Ramanasramam VOLUMES I, II & Letters from and

Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam By SURI NAGAMMA Translated by D. S. SASTRI

 

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Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram

 

Love And Love Alone