Picture of naked Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra
“Weapons do not cleave this self (Atma), fire does not burn him; waters do not make him wet; nor does the wind make him dry; He is uncleavable, He cannot be burnt, He can neither be wetted nor dried. He is eternal, all pervading, unchanging and immovable. He is the same forever”.
--(Bhagavad Gita 2-23/24)
When devotees see their Master at old age, they wonder how come such a holy soul ‘suffers’ like this. Actually it is our ignorance that makes us think this way. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi ‘’suffered’’ from cancer in the eyes of an ordinary man. But for them,’ it is like casting off worn out garments’. If ink or colour spills on a rich man’s shirt, he is least bothered; he simply wears a new shirt the next minute. But a poor man will react differently. Ramana and Ramakrishna were rich in spiritual wealth, we are poor spiritually. So we see it differently.
Following two stories will illustrate this:
Story of Sadasiva Brahmendra—As told by Paramahamsa Yogananda
“On the way we stopped before a little shrine sacred to the memory of Sadasiva Brahman in whose eighteenth century life story miracles cluster thickly. A larger Sadasiva shrine in Nerur, created by the Raja of Pudukottai, is a pilgrimage spot that has witnessed many divine healings.
Many quaint stories of Sadasiva, a lovable and fully illumined master, are still current among South Indian villagers. Immersed one day in Samadhi on a bank of the Kavery river, Sadasiva was seen to be carried away by a sudden flood. Weeks later he was found buried deep beneath a mound of earth near Kodumudi in Coimbatore District. As the villagers’ shovels struck his body, that saint rose and walked briskly away. (From ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’)
Swami Sivananda adds……….
“More than one hundred and fifty years ago there lived a very famous Yogi-Jnani by name Sadasiva Brahmendra Saraswati in Nerur, near Karur, in the district of Trichinopoly, South India. He is the author of Brahma Sutra Vritti and Atma Vidya Vilas and various other books. He has performed innumerable miracles. One day Sadasiva Brahman who was an Avadhoot entered the zenana (tent) of a Muslim chief naked. The chief was quite enraged at the sage. He cut off one of his arms. Sadasiva Brahman walked away without uttering a word and without showing any sign of pain. The chief was greatly astonished at this strange condition of the sage. He thought that this man must be a Mahatma, a superhuman being. He repented much and followed the sage to apologize. Sadasiva did not even know that his arm was cut off. When the chief narrated to the sage what had happened in the camp, Sadasiva excused the chief and simply touched his maimed arm. Sadasiva Brahman had a fresh arm.
Picture of Sri Ramana Maharishi
These incidents in the life of this sage should convince everyone that there is a sublime divine life independent of objects and the play of the mind and the senses. The sage was quite unconscious of the world. He did not feel a bit when his arm was cut off. He ought to have been absorbed in the Divine Consciousness and become one with the Divine. Ordinary people yell out even when there is a pin prick on their body. The above incidents in the life of Sadasiva Brahman amply prove the existence of God and a divine, eternal life, where all sorrows melt, all desires are satisfied and where one gets supreme bliss, peace and knowledge” (From the book GOD EXISTS by Swami Sivananda).
Picture of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Story of Epictetus—As told by Swami Ramdas of Anandashram
There was a Greek philosopher. His name was Epictetus. He was a slave under the Roman Emperor and he was harshly punished by his master even for slight mistakes. He was almost every day beaten by his master. One day, for no fault of Epictetus, the master beat him so severely that his leg broke and he became lame. After some time, a friend of Epictetus, who lived far away, came to see him and finding him limping, asked him how he became lame. Then Epictetus gave a characteristic reply, “I am not lame, but my leg is lame”. His detachment from the body was so perfect that whatever happened to it, he never thought it had anything to do with his real Self.
(From Stories As Told By Swami Ramdas)
