Sri Bhagavan’s breathing became gradually slower and slower and exactly at 8-47 p.m. subsided quietly. At that very moment, as is well known, devotees who were outside saw a big, bright meteor in the sky.
when he was no longer bodily with us, I turned to his teaching; and then I found that the Grace of his Presence had prepared me for it. I had been attracted to him as a child is to its mother, without knowing why I had derived sustenance from him as a child does from its mother. I was glad afterwards that I had enjoyed his presence when he was bodily with us. The following little incident shows how he himself approved of people worshipping the physical form assumed by the Divine.
All eyes were fixed on the Maharshi; every soul was raised to a high spiritual level by the nearness and influence of his great personality. I intensely reflected on the unique phenomenon and tried hard to find an answer to this unheard of event. I wanted to know how and by what irresistible force it had been possible for persons – young and old, rich and poor, wise and simple, belonging to different races and religions – to gather at the feet of this great Yogi.
desire begins with self-interest. Prolonged practical work for the goal gradually widens the outlook so that the individual becomes merged in the country. Such merging of the individual is desirable and the karma is nishkama.
The third operation was done in the dispensary room. Bhagavan took some time to get out of the anaesthesia. Visitors were prohibited. Dr. T. N. Krishnaswami alone remained with Bhagavan. Crowds of devotees gathered outside and filled the open space in front. They were all anxious to see Bhagavan and know his condition.