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A Sadhu's Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi
became dumb and might obtain some thaumaturgic powers, but who wanted them? Speech acted as a safety valve. Naturally after this talk I gave up the idea.
He was also against people taking Sannyasa. If properly kept, it was a useless tie. If not properly kept, it condemned itself. After all, it only made one think ‘now I am a Sannyasin’, instead of ‘now I am in the world.' Thought went on and that was the chief enemy. About retiring to the forest or shutting oneself up in a cave, he expressed exactly the same views. So he obviously endorsed living in the world as itself the necessary environment for helping a person along in his Sadhana. If one could do this, be in the world but not of the world, one had achieved a high state of detachment. It is always better to have some sort of opposition, the tree that is not buffeted by the winds is usually a weakling.
One day someone remarked to Bhagavan, “There are many things that happen here of which Bhagavan cannot approve. Why does he remain here? He has no ties or desires.”
“What can I do?” asked Bhagavan. “If I go off to the forest and try to hide, what will happen? They will soon find me out. Then someone will put up a hut in front of me and another person at the back, and it will not be long before huts will have sprung up on either side. Where can I go? I shall always be a prisoner.”
In this respect the following story is an amusing illustration. One day, years ago, Bhagavan decided to have a day's fast. He intended to wander about the Hill of
