Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

“Once a certain sannyasi was anxious to be the head of a
mutt. He had to have disciples, you see. He tried his level best
to secure some. Any one who came, soon found out the limited
knowledge of the person and so went away. No one stayed on.

What could he do? One day he had to go to a city. There he
had to keep up his position, but he had no disciple. ‘No one
must know this’, he thought. His bundle of clothes was on his
head. So, he thought he would place the bundle in some house
unobserved and then pretend to go there afterwards. He
wandered throughout the place. Whenever he tried to step
into a house, he found a number of people in front of it. Poor
chap! What could he do? It was almost evening. He was tired.

At last, he found a house with no one in front. The door was
open. Greatly relieved, he placed the bundle in one corner of
the house and then sat in the verandah. After a while the lady
of the house came out and enquired of him who he was. ‘Me! I
am the head of a mutt in such and such a place. I came to this
city on some work. I heard that you were good householders. I
therefore sent my belongings through my disciple to put them
in your house, thinking that we could put up with you for the
night and go away next morning. Has he done so?’ ‘No one
has come, sir,’ she said. ‘No, please check. I asked him to put
the bundle here, go to the bazar and get some things. Kindly
see if he has put it in any corner,’ he said. When the lady
searched the house, she saw the bundle in one corner.

Thereupon her husband and she welcomed him and gave him
food and a room to sleep in. Rather late in the night, they
asked, ‘How is it, sir, your disciple has not come yet?’ He said,
‘Perhaps that useless fellow has eaten something in the bazar
and is wandering about. You please go to bed. If he comes, I
will open the door for him.’
“That couple had, by then, understood the sannyasi’s
true position. They thought they would see further fun and
so went into the house to lie down. Then the person started
his pretensions. He opened the door and closed it, making a
loud noise so as to be heard by the members of the household.

He then said loudly, ‘Why! What have you been doing so
long? Take care, if you do it again, I shall beat you black and
blue. Be careful henceforth.’ Changing his tone thereafter,
he said in a plaintive voice, ‘Swami, Swami please excuse
me. I shall not do it again.’ Assuming the original tone, he
said, ‘All right. Come here, massage my legs, here; no, there;
please hit lightly with your fists. Yes, a little more.’ So saying,
he massaged his own legs and then said, ‘Enough; it is rather
late, go to bed.’ So saying he went to sleep. There was a hole
in the wall of the room where the couple were staying and
through it they saw the whole farce. In the early morning
the sannyasi again began repeating the evening’s performance,
saying, ‘You lazy fellow! The cocks have begun to crow. Go
to so and so’s house and come back after doing such and
such work.’ So saying, he opened the door, pretended to send
him away and went back to bed. The couple saw this also. In
the morning he bundled up his belongings, put the bundle in a
corner, and went to a tank nearby for bathing, etc. The couple
took the bundle and hid it somewhere. The sannyasi returned
and searched the whole room but the bundle was not found
anywhere. So he asked the lady of the house, ‘Where is my
bundle?’ The couple then replied, ‘Sir, your disciple came here
and took away the bundle saying you wanted him to bring it to
you. It is the same person who massaged your legs last night.

He must be round the corner. Please see, Swami.’ What could
he do then? He kept his mouth shut and started going home.”