Sri. Bhagavan’s Love for young children


    By Sri K.V. Ramanan.

Sri K.V. Ramanan is a qualified accountant who has settled in Tiruvannamalai. He is the son of Sri N. R. Krishnamurti Iyer who was a staunch devotee of Bhagavan. Ramanan is a third generation member of his family to be a Ramana devotee. He writes his reminiscences of his childhood days' interactions he had with Bhagavan as child:
When I was about 2-3 years old we had come to Sri Bhagavan's hall. Sri Bhagavan was sitting on his usual cot with tiger skin spread out, the tiger's head protruding in front. My Mother wanted me to go near Sri Bhagavan and prostrate. I was unwilling and said there is a tiger. 

Sri Bhagavan laughed and said, "Touch and see; it is only a tiger's skin." I went near and touched the skin and head of the tiger and chanced to touch the skin of Sri Bhagavan's hand. I prostrated before Sri Bhagavan and came back. 

When I was 6 or 7 years old I had come to Tiruvannamalai and my aunt Smt. Alemelu insisted that we should stay in her house at Thalagiriar Street. Father used to go daily to the ashram in the morning and come back at night. 

One day my aunt's husband started to go to the ashram. I wanted to accompany him, but he rejected the request telling that the ashram is far away and no transport is available and besides I could not walk that far. 

When I insisted, he asked why did I want to go to the ashram? I told him that I wanted to recite the slokas on Sri Bhagavan before him. He then acquiesced, carried me on his shoulders and dropped me in the Bhagavan's hall and told Sri Bhagavan immediately that I wanted to recite slokas on Sri Bhagavan. 

Sri Bhagavan said, "Sollu, sollu" ( recite, recite). I recited two slokas "ateeta guna jaalaaya" from Ganapati Muni's Chatvarimshat and "apaara sachit sukha vaariraashe", the dhyana sloka (invocation) to the ashtottaram on Sri Bhagavan. Sri Bhagavan listened telling "um, um" (hum, hum). 

Once my parents had come with my elder brother and elder sister (possibly at the time when I was a little child in the lap of my mother). My parents wanted to do giri pradakshina. The lady who was to look after my brother and sister dropped out at the last minute and my parents were in a fix and told the group with whom they were to go that they could not go and the group left. 

Sri Bhagavan asked my parents why they did not go and they expressed the problem. Sri Bhagavan said, "you walk fast and join the group. I WILL LOOK AFTER YOUR CHILDREN." Bhagavan took my brother and sister to the kitchen and taught them how to cut vegetables. 

On one occasion my elder brother asked Sri Bhagavan to give him a walking stick similar to one used by Sri Bhagavan. Sri Bhagavan asked him what would he do with it. 

My brother said, "I will place it in the pooja room and worship it". 

Sri Bhagavan immediately asked one of the attendants to bring one of the broken walking sticks. He took it and cut it to size, polished it and gave it to my brother. My brother has kept it in his poojaroom.

Once we two brothers had seen somebody who was called Das and had a beautiful personality. Then my elder brother started telling everybody he met that he was Sethurama Das. I kept him company and would say I was Venkataramana Das. 

Then we went to the ashram and my brother told Sri Bhagavan, "I am Sethurama Das". I then said "I am Venkataramana Das". 

Sri Bhagavan remarked "athenna Dasu?" (what is Dasu?). Next moment we two stopped adding Das after our name.

The lasting impression of Bhagavan was one of him smiling as people came into the old hall and greeted him. He smiled but otherwise kept quiet unless there was a specific question. 

In my fourteenth year myself and two of my cousins had come to Sri Ramanasramam and happened to ask Sri Bhagavan for boons. 

One cousin said, " Sri Bhagavan, I want to see all the temples in Tamil Nadu". He later became HR & CE civil engineer visiting temples on duty with pomp and show. 

The other cousin said, "Sri Bhagavan I want to become an automobile engineer". He became a automobile engineer in Neyveli. 

I said, "Sri Bhagavan I want to be with you". Sri Bhagavan blessed me and I became a qualified accountant and settled in Tiruvannamalai.

 I was too young at the time and I did not know what I felt. Now only I can say what I felt was PEACE. At that time I never felt anything. I did not notice nor question the atmosphere around Bhagavan. I took it all for granted. 

Purpose of Life I used to wonder quite often what is the purpose of my life and why I came to Tiruvannamalai to set up my practice, even though my father kept a house for us to stay at Tirunagar, Madurai. 

Only now do I realise the importance of all that I experienced in Sri Bhagavan's presence. I can now visualise and feel the atmosphere of peace that was present when Sri Bhagavan was in his body.

Source :
The Mountain Path 
2004, April.

Om Namo Bhagavate
 Sri Ramanaya

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