Worldly Duties
Bhagavan has expressed his views not only about Vedadhyayana and similar matters but also about Lowkika Dharma — that is, worldly duties.
Bhagavan has expressed his views not only about Vedadhyayana and similar matters but also about Lowkika Dharma — that is, worldly duties. A young lady, by name Rajamma, the daughter of Thiruppapuliyur Krishnaswami Iyer, a devotee
who has been coming to the Ashram off and on, came here recently, rented a house in Ramananagar and began staying all alone in that house. It seems there were differences between herself and her husband and, as they had no children, she came away in 1945, saying that she would remain permanently in Bhagavan’s presence. She was the only daughter of her parents. Perhaps because they were too old, or because of some other reason, the parents could not come to stay here permanently. As they felt it was not proper to allow their middle- aged daughter to stay all alone here, they were writing letters to her saying that she should stay either with her husband or with them. They had no objection to her going to Bhagavan for darshan now and then but they were unwilling to let her stay here permanently. She used to inform Bhagavan about all this and say that she did not feel like going back.
For some time Bhagavan kept quiet as if he had not heard her properly. At last one day he said, “Look here. You have elders who want you there, but you insist on staying here. You may do as you please. Stay if you like or go if you want to. Why tell me all this? Your parents have been visiting this place for a very long time. If they come here and ask me, ‘Swami, what is this?’, what can I tell them?” She was upset by what Bhagavan said and went out. Immediately after that, Bhagavan looked at Ramachandra Iyer and said, “When the parents advise her either to stay with her husband or with themselves, what is the use of her coming and telling me all this? What can I do? Will they not think that instead of advising her properly, Swami has kept her near himself? Both the parents are old. She is the only child. Whoever asked her to discard her duties and stay alone here? Whoever asked her to come here?”
You know, during the early days of my stay here I used to go over to your place whenever you had any domestic
difficulty and come back in due course. In 1945, you wrote to me about my sister-in-law’s sickness and the troubles you were experiencing, but you did not ask me to come. You did, however, say that my sister-in-law, in her sickness was always expressing a desire to see me. I read out the contents of that letter to Bhagavan and told him that I would write to you again and go over to your place after receiving a reply. That was because you had not written to me to come. Bhagavan however felt displeased and told me to do as I liked best. Noticing it, I said immediately that I was starting that same night. Then Bhagavan replied saying, “Yes. That’s good.” Meanwhile, Rajagopala Iyer came into the hall and enquired whether it was a fact that I was going away to my brother’s place. Bhagavan said, “Yes. They will be satisfied if she goes there. It is good that she should go. When a person is suffering from illness and keeps on asking for her sister- in-law, should she not go?”
Sometime back a young man, closely related to Sundaram Iyer (Bhagavan’s father) argued with his parents saying that he did not wish to marry and that was the reason why he came here. It did not matter if he came but even in the very beginning he went and sat for food in the place where non- Brahmins eat. The Sarvadhikari did not like it and asked him to come to the place reserved for Brahmins. He did not do so. Instead, he said that there was no need for caste distinctions in Bhagavan’s presence. The Sarvadhikari tried to give him proper advice by saying, “It is all right for Bhagavan as he has renounced everything. How can you take up that stand? If your parents hear of this, what will they say?” He did not, however, heed that advice and began to argue. There was a heated exchange of words. Bhagavan was silently observing the whole thing unconcernedly. The young man could not contain himself and so, approaching Bhagavan, said, “Should
not caste distinctions be discarded when one comes to Bhagavan’s presence?’
“Oho! Is it the only thing that has remained for you? Does it mean that everything else has been discarded? If so, this also could be discarded. Where is the question of discarding? It disappears of its own accord. What do you say? Have all other differences been discarded by you?” enquired Bhagavan. Thereupon that young man went to the place reserved for Brahmins and sat there without uttering another word. Later on he married, got children, began doing a job and comes here now and then for Bhagavan’s darshan.
Is it not clear from this that Bhagavan wants everyone to perform worldly duties so long as one has the feeling of ego and also the feeling of love and hatred?