Devotee’s Discomfiture - Suri Nagamma Letters

After writing all that Bhagavan had said about the banyan tree, I was wondering whom to ask amongst the devotees that had gone out to locate the banyan tree, when unexpectedly Kunjuswami came to see me this morning. I told him all that had happened in Bhagavan’s presence and said, “I don’t know why Bhagavan asked me to enquire and find out from others the required details. Please let me have them.” Taken by surprise he exclaimed, “Ayyo! That (affair). Why ask? God alone knows what troubles we experienced.” “That is why I want to hear them from you,” I said. “All right. You hear me and write down what I say. It will be a good lesson to others so that no one would attempt to do such things in the future.” So saying he related the incident as follows:

“It must have happened some five or six years ago. That year quite a number of devotees came for Jayanti. The Jayanti was celebrated as usual. After the bustle of the celebrations,

we all thought of visiting the summit of the Arunachala Hill. About twenty-five of the devotees expressed their readiness to start. So the previous night we informed Bhagavan about our intention.

“While telling us about the route and the facilities available, Bhagavan casually made a mention of the banyan tree where Arunagiri Yogi lived and told us all in the same way as he told you, about the stinging of the bees while he was walking along that side. After hearing that, Munagala Venkataramayya and myself felt very eager to see the place. We didn’t, however, tell Bhagavan anything about it. After we returned to Palakothu, Venkataramayya and myself started for the journey. We conferred with Muruganar, Kalyanasundaramayya, a European by name Thomas and his friend, a Zamindar youth and two other new people, without telling anything about the plan to the rest of the party. We all started early taking with us the necessary food. By morning we reached the side where there were steps leading to the town. Our party of eight stopped there and told the others that they should go ahead as one or two others were yet to come. Sending them ahead on that pretext we sneaked away from there and started climbing the hill by a short cut on the side of Pachiamman Temple. The Zamindar youth brought a camera as we wanted to take a photo of the banyan tree and show it to Bhagavan. We climbed up and up in search of the tree but could not locate it. We could not even get up to the summit for that was not visible. Unable to know whether to go up or down, we went round and round, felt tired and ultimately got stuck at one place. Down below there was a deep valley. There was no level ground even to sit and there was nothing even to lean against. The scorching sun was beating on us as it was 12 o’clock. Venkataramayya suddenly began to have a palpitation of his heart and so lay

down on the grass. Muruganar could not be seen anywhere. Wondering what had happened to him, we searched and found him crawling up behind us. He had no strength left even to walk. We were half dead and had no energy left even to speak to one another. I began to feel worried and anxious because we had done all this without telling Bhagavan. How could I go to Bhagavan’s presence if anything happened to any one of us? Instead of facing him, I thought I would go straight up to northern India on a pilgrimage, abstain from taking food and water, and thus give up my life. I had never till then prayed to Bhagavan for the fulfilment of any of my desires but on that occasion I prayed to him from the depth of my heart to save all these people from danger.

“Immediately thereafter the sound of someone chopping wood was heard. Looking towards the side from where the sound was coming, we saw a woodcutter a long way off. As our voices would not reach him, one of us waved his upper cloth indicating our presence to him. As one or two in our group were wearing pants and coats he mistook us for forest officers, and began to run away. Then I waved our ochre robes which showed him that we were Ashramites and assured him that he need not be afraid of us. Thereupon he believed us and came to us. By that time, we had given up all hopes of locating the banyan tree and so requested him to take us either to the summit of the hill or to the seven streams. He told us that there was no path to reach the summit of the hill and that he could take us only to the seven streams, but that there were three deep streams in between which would be very difficult to cross. Even so, he began taking us one by one by the hand and helped us to cross the three streams. By the time he finished helping all of us to cross the streams, and seated us on the other side we

were completely exhausted and unable to move. At that stage, through Bhagavan’s grace, there was a slight drizzle. That shower gave us great relief and we felt very much refreshed. We could see from the seven streams the people who had gone earlier up the hill. They could not see us. After eating something, they began searching for us, worrying themselves about our safety. Ultimately they caught sight of us in our sorry plight. They shouted. We responded. The wood cutter somehow managed to take us to them.

“We were a sight to see with our torn clothes and bruised bodies. They first gave us fruit and then after finding out what had happened and seeing the camera and the thermos flask, remarked, ‘It does not matter if you have drunk all the curd from the flask, but have you at least taken a photo of the place?’ Only then did we realise that we had a camera. We had completely forgotten its very existence.

“We rested for a while and then came down to the Virupaksha Cave. As we felt we should not go to Bhagavan’s presence in that untidy state, our group stayed on until sunset and then came down. I went to Palakothu with the intention of bathing and then going to Bhagavan. The Zamindar youth and Venkataramayya however went straight to Bhagavan and prostrated themselves before him from a distance. As they were leaving the place, Bhagavan noted their dishevelled condition and remarked to the devotees sitting near by him, ‘Look at them. See their condition. Something unexpected appears to have happened.’

“At that moment I went there. As soon as I got up after prostrating, Bhagavan asked me anxiously, ‘What happened? From what I see of those two people they are in a frightful state, with blood sprinkled all over their bodies and with clothes torn.’ I related respectfully all that had happened. Scolding me for what I had done Bhagavan said, ‘Is it proper

for you to do such things? If you had asked me beforehand, I would have told you not to go. Is it not a wrong thing to pry into the secret places where Mahatmas stay? Bees stung me violently even though I stepped into that place unintentionally. It never occurred to me afterwards to go that way again. It was a mistake of mine to have told you at all about those places.’ With folded hands and in a penitent mood I said, ‘Bhagavan, it was a mistake. I used to feel curious to see and investigate all the places whenever Bhagavan was relating to us about the great and interesting things connected with the hill. Now that desire has vanished. I have also been suitably punished for going there without informing Bhagavan. I shall never do such silly things hereafter.’ That is how I sought Bhagavan’s pardon,” said Kunjuswami.