This Chapter taken from The book ‘Crumbs from His Table’ by Ramanananda Swarnagiri

His Messenger

On Sunday, 14th July, 1935 a gentleman, who is this writer’s immediate superior officer, came to his house with a friend named Anandan (which means in Tamil, experiencer of bliss) and asked him if he could serve this friend as a guide to Sri Ramanasramam. This writer asked to be excused; however his superior was insistent and desired him to think over the matter and give him a final reply next Tuesday. On Tuesday this writer’s superior offered to pay his railway fare to Tiruvannamalai and back, and at the time of the conversation it seemed to this writer that Sri Ramana himself in the person of his superior prompted him to go, to the extent of offering his fare. He therefore had no further hesitation in agreeing to visit Sri Ramanasramam and serve as a guide or rather make serving as a guide to his friend a pretext for visiting Sri Ramana.

He was therefore before Sri Ramana on the morning of Wednesday, 17th July, 1935. On the way, he was thinking that he could ask Bhagavan some questions to get further elucidation, but when he came to the ashram he was too shy and diffident to do so. One thing that frequently upset the tenor of his mind, or so he imagined, was living a married life and yielding room for lustful thoughts and actions. He dared not, however, put this question to Sri Bhagavan for the reason that, if Bhagavan should reply that the remedy lay in quitting his house and cutting off all bonds of worldly life, he was not prepared to adopt it then. Besides this, the question itself seemed to him too immodest to put to such a holy person. Sri Bhagavan was not however to let him go so easily unsatisfied.

A young gentleman very soon came in and placed himself in front of Sri Bhagavan. The very first question he put, kneeling and weeping before Him, was: “You have roused my Kundalini 9The divine shakti (power) supposed to lie dormant in uninitiated and less developed practitioners.)and as a result I have even resigned my job; but in trying to pursue the Atma Vichara (Enquiry into the Self ), which Sri Bhagavan enjoins, I am troubled with what appears to me an obstruction. In my village I am frequently attracted by a young woman, living opposite to my house. I am unable to control my desire. What am I to do?”

Sri Bhagavan calmly asked him, “Who is attracted?” He replied “I am. Whenever I see her, my mind goes out to her and thoughts of being in her company etc., crowd into my mind.” Sri Bhagavan asked him to put the questions: “Who sees and who is attracted? Who is disturbed by lust? In whom do desires arise?” adding that the moment he put these questions he would find all these thoughts taking leave of him.