Devotion has the eyes to see the things of the Beyond. Incident from Bhagavan Ramana's life.

Very often, I would go to TPR‟s room outside the ashram and wait for him. One day, as he came out of the room, he was murmuring, “The grandfather sowed; the grandson is reaping.” He kept muttering it repeatedly.

                          I asked him, “What are you saying?” He then gave me a beautiful explanation, “One day, a devotee offered a huge bhiksha - a traditional feast given in honour of a saint - to Bhagavan in the ashram. While I was expressing joy to my friend over the feast, Bhagavan walked in. He had heard our exchange. He smiled and then turned in my direction and said, „Thinking about bhiksha? Your grandfather‟s house was the only one I entered to eat after coming to Arunachala. Every day, your grandfather would regularly visit the temple. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Arunachaleswara. A tall and heavy built man, he adorned himself with a rudraksha garland and other beads. In those days, around 1896, I used to stay inside the big temple near the Gopuram Subramanya shrine at the entrance of the Arunachaleswara temple. Every day, your grandfather would sit in front of me for a while without saying anything. I was a young boy of sixteen. He was an elderly person, but he too kept silent when he was with me. He was a well known person in the town and a lot of important people used to be his guests. One day, a very important person came home and arrangements were made for a feast. Even on that day, after your grandfather came to the temple to have the darshan of the Lord, he came to me and sat down. After a while, he got up and then, abandoning his usual silence, said to me, „Get up! We will go to my house, have bhiksha and come back.‟ I was not used to talking in those days. I made signs to indicate my unwillingness. He did not heed me. He was big and strong, while I was thin and weak. He repeated his request. I persisted in signalling „no‟. Since I didn‟t budge even a little, he bent down, linked my arms to his, forced me to get up and follow him. I was thus forced to enter his house. He made me occupy the most important place and spread in front of me a leaf much larger than the other ones. He himself served me. After I finished my meal, he ate. In those days, I never had a bath.

My body would smell, and so nobody would come close to me. Yet, your grandfather used to come unfailingly and sit close in front of me. Many people in town came to see me and then went away. Your grandfather alone realized that though young, what was in this was fullness.‟

” TPR had tears in his eyes when he narrated this. He concluded, “Ganesan, it is solely my grandfather‟s devotion to Bhagavan that is now enabling me to enjoy his holy presence and experience the inner felicity which Bhagavan is showering on me every day.”

Ramana Periya Puranam