Undivided Attention

This afternoon I went to the Ashram at 2-30. Bhagavan was taking some fruit. On seeing me, Bhagavan’s face lit up with a smile. I thought there was some good news for me. After a while, he began saying, “A letter and a photo have been received from South America.

This afternoon I went to the Ashram at 2-30. Bhagavan was taking some fruit. On seeing me, Bhagavan’s face lit up with a smile. I thought there was some good news for me. After a while, he began saying, “A letter and a photo have been received from South America. In that photo, there are six men and one woman. That woman is seated in the middle with a photo of mine on her head. On either side, two men are seated and four men are standing. It seems that they are members of an association which is known as ‘Arunachala Sangam’. In the letter it is written thus: ‘Bhagavan, we cannot go over to your presence We are sending from here only our reverential salutations to you and are doing spiritual practices (sadhana). We want your blessings.’ They sent a prepaid envelope also. Where is South America and where are we?” said Bhagavan.

“Did any of them ever come here?” I asked.

Bhagavan replied: “They do not seem to have come. I remember to have seen that lady some time. How they have heard about me, I do not know. They have written saying that they have read our books and started sadhana. South America is the southern end of America. They have respect for me. Why that is so, I cannot say.”

“Devotion has no bounds of distance, has it?” I asked.

“No, that is so. That lady has kept my photo on her head. How could she have known about me?” said Bhagavan.

“When the sun rises will not the light be seen by the whole world?” I said.

“That is all right. Seven or eight years back, a lady came from Europe to see me. As soon as she landed, she did not

stop anywhere, but came straight here. After sitting in the hall for half an hour, she got up, prostrated before me, took leave, went round the Ashram, and left immediately. She went straight to Colombo and as she got into the steamer there, wrote me a letter: ‘Bhagavan, having heard about you, I had a desire to see you. My desire is fulfilled. I have now no desire to see anyone else in this country. Hence I am taking this steamer.’ That was what she wrote. Rather strange,” said Bhagavan.

I said to Bhagavan, “With a desire to see the form of Brahman, and with the help of the divine sight given by Lord Krishna, Dhritarashtra saw Brahman and when the form disappeared, he told Krishna, ‘After seeing your sacred form, I do not wish to see any other. So please take away the sight you have given me.’ Just like that, this lady did not feel like seeing anything else in India after seeing you. For devotion, there is no difference between men and women, is there?”

“No, there is no difference,” said Bhagavan.