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However many times I tell you that I am not the body, it never goes into your head. - Bhagavan Ramana :P
AS YOU FEED ME SWEETS, SO THEY HAVE FED ME BLOWS AND I HAVE RECEIVED THEM TOO
Mastan swami, a devotee of Bhagavan was present in Ramanasramam, along
with a small number of other devotees, on a famous occasion in 1924 when
Bhagavan was attacked by a gang of robbers who were under the mistaken
impression that a large amount of money was kept there.
Bhagavan received a severe blow on his leg during the robbery, but in a
characteristic response he told the robbers, ‘If you are not satisfied,
you may strike the other leg also’.
Ramakrishna Swami, one of the devotees present, was so outraged by the
assault on Bhagavan’s person, he took up an iron bar with the intention
of attacking the intruders.
Bhagavan restrained him, saying,
‘Let these robbers play their role. We shall stick to ours. Let them do
what they like. It is for us to bear and forbear. Let us not interfere
with them.’
Mastan appeared to follow Bhagavan’s advice during
this attack since there is no record of him reacting in any way to the
violent invasion. In one of his rare recorded statements, Mastan is
reported to have said, ‘Even if the sky falls on your head, or even if a
sword is firmly driven through your chest, do not slip from your true
state.’ (See verse five of the concluding poem.) The final clause, which
can equally well be translated as ‘do not get agitated’, seems to sum
up Mastan’s response to this event.
Akhilandamma rushed to Tiruvannamalai when she heard the news. This is her report of how Bhagavan reacted to the assault:
What one could not imagine had happened: Bhagavan was beaten up by
thieves. The news took wing and many like me ran to the ashram in great
anxiety.
Seeing me Bhagavan expressed surprise and said, ‘Oh,
Desuramma, you have come as well. Kunju Swami is telling the story over
there. Go and listen.’
It was as though Bhagavan had directed
some children to go and listen to a story that was being told some
distance away. I learned that Bhagavan had appointed Kunju Swami to
relate all the incidents surrounding the robbery. From his reaction I
gathered that the persistent questioning by devotees annoyed Bhagavan
more than even the beatings of the thieves.
Sitting at the feet
of Bhagavan and stroking the wounded leg, I expressed surprise and
sorrow, saying, ‘How unjust! What injustice!’
Bhagavan
contradicted me. ‘What injustice is there in this? As you feed me
sweets, so they have fed me blows, and I have received them too. However
many times I tell you that I am not the body, it never goes into your
head.’ (‘My Reminiscences’ by Akhilandamma, Arunachala Ramana, June
1982, pp. 23-4)
When Bhagavan described the incident, he
sometimes said that he had received poosai from the thieves, a Tamil
term that denotes both beating and worship.
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