LAKSHMI
The other samadhi in that line belongs to Lakshmi. Her story has been told in many books, so I shall not bother to repeat it here. Instead, I shall just mention one or two incidents about her which I think have not been recorded.
Whenever Lakshmi came for darshan she would walk very fast, not caring about anyone who stood in the way. It was left to the devotees to decide whether they wanted to get out of the way or be trampled on. When she reached Bhagavan's couch she would often stand in front of Bhagavan and put her head on his feet. If she came a little closer he would gently caress her head and neck. Often, they would be so close together that Lakshmi's saliva would fall on Bhagavan's body. If any special food was cooked in the ashram, Bhagavan would serve some to Lakshmi in the hall itself.
I have seen him serving her iddlies, payasam and vadai, all on a banana leaf, just as if she were a human being. Sometimes he would take the food directly to the cowshed and serve her there. On one occasion, when there was very little grass in the ashram, Bhagavan noticed that Lakshmi was not getting enough to eat. That day when he went to the dining room he refused to eat the meal that had been served to him. Instead, he asked the servers to give it to Lakshmi. When news of this strange gesture reached the cowshed, the workers there realized that he was indirectly protesting against the maltreatment of Lakshmi. Some fodder was brought from the bazaar, enabling both Bhagavan and Lakshmi to resume their normal meals.
It has been widely reported that Lakshmi often gave birth to a calf on Bhagavan's birthday. I once saw one of these calves, pure white in color, sitting in front of Bhagavan in the hall. Because of its color and position it looked just like Nandi [the vahana or mount of Siva]. At that time Bhagavan was sitting on a tiger skin, Valli the deer was sitting nearby, the kumutti was burning in front of the sofa, and there was a silver cobra nearby which was being used as an incense holder. With all these accoutrements of the mythical Siva in evidence, it looked like a scene from Mount Kailas [the mountain in the Himalayas where Siva is said to reside].
This reminds me of another small incident, not at all connected with animals, which occurred in the hall. A devotee had brought an album of religious pictures, all of them painted by the great artist Ravi Varma. Bhagavan was showing them to us, one by one, in the hall. When he came to a picture of Lord Siva meditating with closed eyes, I mentioned that it looked very nice.
Bhagavan's only comment was: 'Siva! If you sit with closed eyes like this, who will look after all the activities in the world?'
Many devotees believed that Lakshmi was a reincarnation of Keeraipatti, a woman who had served Bhagavan with food while he was living on the hill. Bhagavan never confirmed this, nor did he ever deny it.
- LWB
The other samadhi in that line belongs to Lakshmi. Her story has been told in many books, so I shall not bother to repeat it here. Instead, I shall just mention one or two incidents about her which I think have not been recorded.
Whenever Lakshmi came for darshan she would walk very fast, not caring about anyone who stood in the way. It was left to the devotees to decide whether they wanted to get out of the way or be trampled on. When she reached Bhagavan's couch she would often stand in front of Bhagavan and put her head on his feet. If she came a little closer he would gently caress her head and neck. Often, they would be so close together that Lakshmi's saliva would fall on Bhagavan's body. If any special food was cooked in the ashram, Bhagavan would serve some to Lakshmi in the hall itself.
I have seen him serving her iddlies, payasam and vadai, all on a banana leaf, just as if she were a human being. Sometimes he would take the food directly to the cowshed and serve her there. On one occasion, when there was very little grass in the ashram, Bhagavan noticed that Lakshmi was not getting enough to eat. That day when he went to the dining room he refused to eat the meal that had been served to him. Instead, he asked the servers to give it to Lakshmi. When news of this strange gesture reached the cowshed, the workers there realized that he was indirectly protesting against the maltreatment of Lakshmi. Some fodder was brought from the bazaar, enabling both Bhagavan and Lakshmi to resume their normal meals.
It has been widely reported that Lakshmi often gave birth to a calf on Bhagavan's birthday. I once saw one of these calves, pure white in color, sitting in front of Bhagavan in the hall. Because of its color and position it looked just like Nandi [the vahana or mount of Siva]. At that time Bhagavan was sitting on a tiger skin, Valli the deer was sitting nearby, the kumutti was burning in front of the sofa, and there was a silver cobra nearby which was being used as an incense holder. With all these accoutrements of the mythical Siva in evidence, it looked like a scene from Mount Kailas [the mountain in the Himalayas where Siva is said to reside].
This reminds me of another small incident, not at all connected with animals, which occurred in the hall. A devotee had brought an album of religious pictures, all of them painted by the great artist Ravi Varma. Bhagavan was showing them to us, one by one, in the hall. When he came to a picture of Lord Siva meditating with closed eyes, I mentioned that it looked very nice.
Bhagavan's only comment was: 'Siva! If you sit with closed eyes like this, who will look after all the activities in the world?'
Many devotees believed that Lakshmi was a reincarnation of Keeraipatti, a woman who had served Bhagavan with food while he was living on the hill. Bhagavan never confirmed this, nor did he ever deny it.
- LWB
