Once in the 1940s, I was sitting outside the hall with many devotees. Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was reclining on a couch. A group of learned pandits was discussing passages from the Upanishads with great enthusiasm and profundity.
– Sivanandalahari by Adi Shankaracharya
All, including Bhagavan, appeared to be attentively listening to the interesting discussion when, all of a sudden, Bhagavan rose from the couch, walked some distance and stood before a villager who was standing looking lowly with palms joined. All eyes turned to Bhagavan and the villager who was standing at a distance.
They appeared to be conversing. Soon Bhagavan returned to his couch and the discussion was resumed. Being curious to know why Bhagavan had to go out to meet a villager, I slipped away from the discussion and caught up with the villager before he left the Ashram. He told me that Bhagavan was asking why I was standing so far and also asked my name, about my village, what I did, and about my family etc.
I enquired, “Did you ask him anything?” The villager replied, “When I asked him how I could earn his blessings, he asked whether there was a temple in my village and the name of the temple deity. When I told him the deity’s name, he said, go on repeating the name of the deity and you would receive all the blessings needed.”
I came back to Bhagavan’s presence, but lost all interest in the discussions. I felt that the simple humility and devotion of a peasant had evoked a far greater response from our Master than any amount of learning. I then decided that though a scholar by profession, I should always remain a humble, ignorant peasant at heart and pray for Bhagavan’s grace and blessings.
Moral: The sincere bhakti of an illiterate person is far more valuable to the Divine, than the bookish knowledge of the scriptures that many priests pride in. These priests may have scriptural knowledge but if this knowledge has not led to any opening of love and compassion in their heart, then it is entirely useless.
The above incident has been excerpted from the book Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi.
