The Sense Of Humour In The Arunachala Saint,Ramana Maharshi-Part II

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Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, the saint of Thiruvannamalai, not only exhibited His sense of humour spontaneously when the situation arose, He also heartily enjoyed the humour of others.

An incident about a little child is worth mentioning. A little girl of about ten, named Rukmini used to sit still in Bhagavan's presence for meditation. There were also other children around who tried to poke fun at her. They always tried to disturb her by tickling her. Bhagavan watched it all silently with amusement. One day when the girl sat for meditation after her bath, a little boy who had not had his bath tried to tease saying, “I am going to touch you Rukmini"

The girl replied, “No one can touch me!" She then turned to Bhagavan and said, “Yes, none can touch me, they can only touch my body. How can anyone touch ME?" (Surpassing Love And Grace, p 138)

Bhagavan's face spontaneously expressed wonder and appreciation at the depth of her understanding. It is only too natural that Ramana's teachings were infectious and it was not surprising for even a child like Rukmini to talk about it.

On another occasion, Bhagavan was suffering from repeated hiccups. It was later subdued by a special remedy that the kitchen staff prepared according to Bhagavan's instructions. Bhagavan then mentioned in the hall about Seshu Iyer's prayer for the subsidence of the hiccups. He said, that Seshu Iyer had prayed for His (Bhagavan) recovery. But the most striking aspect of the prayer was that it was directed to none other than Bhagavan Himself! This provoked a guffaw from within the gathered devotees.

Once Bhagavan was circumambulating the Hill of Arunachala with His devotees as it was customary of Him to do so. There was also a little boy in the group who used to go around the sacred Hill. When all the others sang and chanted along their way around the Hill, the little boy walked silently. Once while going around the Hill, when all the others had completed their singing, Bhagavan enquired the little boy as to why he did not sing while the others sang. Prompt came the reply from the little boy which made Bhagavan shake with laughter. “Do Jivanmuktas ever sing?"( Surpassing Love And Grace, p 137)

Thus humour was casually cast in the court of Bhagavan. It was only too spontaneous and natural for the one who was the manifestation of totality.