This morning, the young man Natarajan of Tanjore arrived. He brought from Janaki Ammal a walking stick with a silver knob and a pair of wooden slippers with silver gilt for Bhagavan. Bhagavan said, “I shall touch them and give them back. Let her have them in her puja.” So saying, he inspected them and gave them back to the attendant. Later, I asked N. and found out that the allusion in the seventh stanza of his Vetkai (úYhûL) is to the following incident: It seems one morning during his last visit he came into the dining hall late for his lunch, and that all except Bhagavan had risen. It seems then Bhagavan also rose and came and stood by N.’s side and when he tried to get up Bhagavan told him attend to the business for which you have come and walked on. Natarajan now read out before Bhagavan his poem ‘Ï«ùXôÓ á\p’ which he had not read out on his previous visit.
Afternoon
Bhagavan looked into the Tamil Bhakta Vijayam and told Nagamma, “You may begin by saying that when the Brahmins complained to the king against Jnaneswar’s grandfather, that he was spoiling the Brahmin caste, etc., Jnaneswar went to the king and argued with him so ably on behalf of his grandfather, that the king was greatly struck by the boy’s genius and wanted to see what sort of man was the father who gave birth to such a child, and sent Jnaneswar with his own retinue to go to the forest and fetch his father.” Bhagavan also asked me to show Mr.D.S.Śāstṛi (Nagamma’s brother), who arrived this morning, the appendix to Manu Subedar’s Gita (Jnaneswari). Later the talk turned to the proposed journal for our Asramam, on which Mr.D.S.Śāstṛi has been very keen. D.S.Śāstṛi said that the Calcutta gentleman who was equally keen, met him at Madras and talked to him about it. D.S.S. said, “But it won’t do to edit it from Calcutta. There must be someone here who would show everything to Bhagavan and get his approval before it is sent to the press.” I suggested Dr.Anantanarayana Rao’s name, as I felt unequal for any such responsible work. Bhagavan said, “Even today we received a letter from somebody who asks if there is not some journal — some organ of the Asramam.”
Later, on a visitor’s request, Bhagavan said, “Concentrating one’s thoughts solely on the Self will lead to happiness or bliss. Drawing in the thoughts, restraining them and preventing them from going outwards is called vairagya. Fixing them in the Self is sadhana or abhyasa. Concentrating on the Heart is the same as concentrating on the Self. The Heart is another name for the Self.” [1]
This afternoon, I was reading the current Vedanta Kesari which begins with some conversation of Latu Maharaj (Adbhutananda). Then I told Bhagavan that Adbhutananda was Latu, who was wholly illiterate; that such a man was later able to hold such conversations as are recorded in this article was regarded a miracle and so Latu was named Adbhutananda. Bhagavan said, “Is it so?”