A devotee who had suddenly lost his only son came to Bhagavan in a state of acute grief, seeking relief. He asked a few questions in which his grief was evident. Bhagavan, as usual, asked him to enquire into the Self and find out who is grieving. The devotee was not satisfied. Bhagavan then said, “All right. I will tell you a story from Vichara Sagaram. Listen”.
Swami, you are evidently supremely happy. May we know what is the secret of such happiness and from which guru you learnt it?
“That person alone who has gained the immortality of the body, by the favour of Siva and consumption of gulikas (medicinal herbs), will never die. Therefore one who had not gained such immortality dies.”
“Lord! Because of my immaturity, I doubted the correctness of the scriptural text. I now realise every letter of it is true.”
Sri Bhagavan became transformed while relating incidents from his vast collection of stories and tales. On one occasion while describing Gautama’s joy at Goddess Parvati’s coming to his Ashram, Sri Bhagavan could not go on, for tears filled his eyes and emotion choked his voice.