From ‘Fruit Gathering’ by
Rabindranath Tagore
“Far below flowed the Jumna,
swift and clear, above frowned the jutting bank.
Hills dark with the woods and
scarred with the torrents were gathered around.
Govinda, the great Sikh
teacher, sat on the rock reading scriptures, when
Raghunath, his disciple,
proud of his wealth, came and bowed to him and said, “I have brought my poor
present unworthy of your acceptance.”
Thus saying he displayed before
the teacher a pair of gold bangles wrought with costly stones.
The master took up one of them,
twirling it round his finger, and the diamonds darted shafts of light.
Suddenly it slipped from his
hand and rolled down the bank into the water.
”Alas,” screamed Raghunath, and
jumped into the stream.
The teacher set his eyes upon
his book, and the water held and hid what it stole and went its way.
The daylight faded when
Raghunath came back to the teacher tired and dripping.
He panted and said, “I can
still get it back if you show me where it fell.”
The teacher took up the
remaining bangle and throwing it into the water said, “It is there.”
*****
One would think whether such
behaviour is possible.
We read in the life of people
like Sri Ramakrishna where money or wealth or any other entanglements were
anathema. Jesus cried, ‘either mammon or God’. He again emphasised, ‘the camel
could go through the eye of a needle, but the rich cannot reach heaven’. Still,
we consider that these are impractical.
In the life of Sri Ramana
Maharshi, there is an incident, reported somewhere, I do not remember where.
A person comes to the Maharshi
saying that he has brought a walking stick made out of sandal wood, to be given
to the Maharshi.
Maharshi says that there was
nothing called his in the ashram and hence asks the person to keep it himself.
The person insists that he has
brought it for the Maharshi.
The Maharshi once again tells
him that he does not keep any belongings there and the person who has brought
it for his (Maharshi’s) exclusive use may feel dejected if someone else takes
it.
The person does not still
understand the import. He also does not
say, no matter whoever uses it he will leave it with the Maharshi. He again
insists that he has brought it for the Maharshi.
While reading this I thought
that Maharshi will snap at him saying, don’t you understand?
But Maharshi, still says, ‘since
you have brought it for me you may feel sorry if someone else takes it. So please keep it with you’.
Then the person who has brought
it makes a request that Maharshi should at least receive it and bless it.
Maharshi takes it in his hand
with a smile, smells it, says ‘it is good’ (nanna irukku) and returns it to
that person.
What a compassion!
