" I never dreamt that I would be present among you all like this on the day when my close and intimate associate died and say a few words. We were associated for almost four decades. He had the heart of a little child "

" Even great yogis are not able to understand about life. Not only human beings but even great yogis are unable to comprehend divine plays, divine wish and the role of powerful karma in this world. We say that God is beyond the reach of words and mind. The Vedas defined God as.. "

" Yatho Vacho Nivarthanthe aprapya manasa saha. He is beyond reach of words and mind. The Vedas do not refer to his divine form, they only speak about this cosmic rules and cosmic laws. The Vedas mention that even Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma do not know the ways of the world. I will narrate an incident from the Bhagawata. Bheeshma was lying on the bed of arrows. As his death approached, Krishna and Pandavas stood near him. Krishna said, 'Share the experiences and lessons you learnt in your life with your grand children (the Pandavas) and advise them accordingly. Pass on the essence of your experience to them. 'On hearing this, Bheeshma wept. Arjuna was astonished. He never saw Bheeshma in such a condition earlier. He is not only a scholar and a great yogi but a warrior too! He wondered why such a great person was weeping. "

" Bheeshma is believed to be one among the twelve para bhaktas (highest devotees). Such a great person was shedding tears. That is why, everybody were shocked, particularly Arjuna. 'Grand Father, why are you weeping? ''I am not weeping due to physical or mental discomfort. I am fully aware that Krishna who is standing beside you in none other than God himself. I never understood his divine plays. Even at this moment, When I will die within two or three minutes, I felt amazed that I cannot comprehend his divine plays. That is why, I am weeping.' It is said that God's divinity and all universes are beyond comprehension. "

" The Pandavas are great and righteous. Dharma raju is a man of virtues. Draupadi is unparalleled. All the pandavas are unique. The Kauravas, on the other hand are cruel and unjust. They are mislead and controlled by four evil forces (Duryodhana, Karna, Dushyasana and Sakuni) They resorted to lies, deceit, atrocities and went against dharma. Krishna granted such people wealth and luxuries. At the same time, he showered so many difficulties on the pandavas, who are the epitome of dharma. O God, what is your justice? I lost faith. Strangely, Krishna is accused of favouring the pandavas. He always assures them that ' I am with you' If he is really favouring the pandavas, why did Draupadi face such humiliation. Draupadi is such a pious woman; she is Ayonija, who emerged from the holy fire, who is endowed with great powers, who is eulogised for ardently serving Her husband. What sin did she commit that she was humiliated in front of everybody? Somebody else gambled and she had to reap the consequences. Dharmaraju gambled, he could mortgage himself and even his brothers, but not his wife. Well, even if he mortgaged Her and lost, nobody has the right to drag her by her hair into the court and disgrace her by trying to disrobe her. What a punishment for the wife of Dharmaraju Such an atrocious and heinous act! What was God doing? What were the angels doing? Was Lord Krishna sleeping? How could such injustice be tolerated? Later on, the great warrior Bheema became a cook, powerful draupadi became a maid and served and ordinary man. Arjuna became a eunich and lived among women.. Isn't this a great misfortune? Is there any virtue in this world; are there any principles at all? Is victory only for the unjust? Or is what we think as adharma really dharma? Unable to understand his divine play, I am weeping. "

" God's divine plays cannot be comprehended. It is beyond human understanding. It is inscrutable and inexorable. It cannot be understood by anybody or realized even by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. "

" I have immense respect and devotion for Swami Ramatheertha. At the time of his death, he was all alone. He has innumerable devotees in India and abroad. Even Kings offered to serve him in a huge palace built in the forest but he refused. He stayed alone. Strangely, not even a single devotee was present near him. At sunset time, he went alone to bathe in River Ganga. We don't know what happened, what bhava he had at that time. We cannot even imagine what could have happened. He simply drowned in the water and disappeared, all alone. "

" Whenever he gave a lecture in America, people flocked in crowds to listen to him. What did God do in his case? Well, did he lack devotion? When he went to America for the first time, he did not get down the ship yet. An American was intently watching this swami clad in saffron clothes. While everybody were gathering their luggage to disembark from the ship, Swamiji was calmly standing alone. 'Swamiji, where is your luggage? Why don't you bring your luggage down?' 'I don't need any luggage.' 'Okay, atleast you would have a handbag or purse with your money?''Why do I need money?' The American was astonished by Swami Ramtheertha's reply. 'Swamiji, do you realize that you are now in America?' You must walk on dollars here. You need money here. You cannot live with mere words. How can you say that you don't need money? Are you crazy? Then what do you need?' 'Man needs divine love, not money or relatives or devotees'. I have that love. It is enough for me' 'Well, what did your divine love decide for you?' 'To whose house will it take you from here?' 'It has made all arrangements. My people have come. I am ready to leave.''Who are they?' 'The person who is standing there.' Swamiji went near an American standing nearby and patted at his back. 'This is my man' that person swooned in ecstasy and took Swamiji with him. He lived there for two and half years! "

" Swami Ramatheertha who was filled with such divine love drowned in the river, all alone. How strange. Nobody knows what really happened.As Bheeshma said, Karma affecting pandavas is beyond human understanding. However, it is a fact that there is no adharma or ignorance in this world. We may not be able to understand his divine plays. The Vedas proclaim 'Dharmo Vaivishnuhu', Vishnu is the personification of dharma. That is why whenever dharma is endangered in any age, he protects dharma. 'Paritranaya Sadhunam Vinasaya cha dushkrutham, Dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yoge' Just as man tries to save his life when he faces danger, God comes down to protect dharma because his life is dharma! We may feel how such adharma can exist in the kingdom of God who is dharma himself. Yet, there is no adharma. It is always Dharma, only we cannot understand. That is the whole issue. It is beyond human understanding. "

" The Valhikam mentions one peculiar point. When Rama came to know that Kaikeyi ordered that his coronation ceremony should be stopped and he must leave the kingdom immediately and live in the forest for fourteen years, he went along with Lakshmana to meet her. Lakshmana became furious and shouted at her 'You devil! Kaikeyi, What harm did Rama do? In what way, did he trouble you? Rama cannot harm even a tiny ant. Infact he is every ready to give everything that belongs to him. Then why did you give such a big punishment to him? If you want the kingdom for your own son Bharata, let it be so. You can stop the coronation ceremony but why are you sending him to the forest? This is huge injustice and big crime. It is such an auspicious occasion when all the kings are coming to attend the ceremony. The coronation ceremony is scheduled to begin anytime now. All of sudden, why this problem came up? How could you hide such deceit within you for so long. It is so strange. It will not be a sin even if I kill you right now.' He raised his sword to kill her but Rama stopped him. 'Lakshmana, Mother Kaikeyi is not wicked, you are cruel. What are you doing? Do you have any idea about what you are doing? Develop the habit to pause and think for a moment before you act. Do you know the relationship between Kaikeyi and me? Whenever she prepared sweets, she never gave her son, Bharata first. She would call me, make me sit in her lap and feed me personally. Then only she would give Bharata. This is the unique love she has for me. What else do I want? I also reciprocated her love. On every festival, I would greet her first even before my mother. She is so loving. She always embraced me and kissed on my forehead. I can never forget her love. If Kaikeyi gave me this harsh punishment, it is certainly not by herself. 'Buddhi Karmanusarini' Mind follows the powerful karma. We cannot imagine the reason for that karma. It is the karma accumulated over the years. Kaikeyi is innocent, don't blame her. You made a mistake by shouting at her. If you utter another word, you will not see me anymore. Our relationship will end. Lakshmana became silent. He did not utter another word. Bent his head in shame and silently stood near Rama. "

" The Vedas also mention about Gargi, a great yogini who is a descendent of marashi family. She was blessed with one son. She was well versed in mantras and even possessed some divine powers. The Vedas portray the role of karma through her life. When her only son died of snake bite, his dead body was brought before her. 'How did my son die?''He was bitten by a Snake.' 'Bring that snake before me' The snake walked towards her and stood in front of her. 'O Snake, did my son harm you? You have no link with him. Then why did you bite him?' 'O Mother, Gargi I am innocent. There is no use even if you punish me towards your son forcefully. I was not aware of that. I did not even know that I bite him. Infact, I don't know your son at all. I agree that I bite your son and he died. But I did not do it intentionally. If you feel I am lying, you can confirm with the Goddess of Death. "

" Gargi summoned the Goddess of death before her. 'What harm did my son do to you?' 'why did you inspire the snake to bite him ?''I am innocent. I don't know anything. You cannot blame me. Every man is bound by the power of time and karma. The Gods of Karma warn me about impending death of a man. This world is a strange government. I can only follow orders. I have no independent role. When I received their orders, I instructed the snake accordingly. You must talk to Goddess of karma and Gods who control karma.' "

" Gargi summoned the Goddess of karma and asked why her son was killed. 'Mother Gargi, I cannot do anything in this world on my own. Unless Time and I join together, no work can be accomplished. Unless the time fructifies, I cannot do anything. So please speak to Goddess of time also. "

" Gargi summoned the Goddess of time before her. No wonder time and karma are always together. The Goddess of time explained what actually happened. 'Mother Gargi, Let me show you what happened in your son's life eleven births ago. This same boy was a wild brat. He is holding a stick in his hand, smoking tobacco. An innocent is passing by on its own. He is deliberatingly stopping it in its way and hitting it with the stick. The snake escaped but he is chasing it and hitting it again and again. The poor snake died. You are a great yogini. Could you see what happened ' 'Yes' See how strange Karma rules are! It is very difficult for man to understand some incident would happen in previous life and result would come back some time later, in some form or other. "

" We must not see present state. We must observe what protects him. I know what happens after a man dies. His wife goes till the end of the street. His sons go to the grave yard to perform the last rites. Then everybody leaves. His physical body perishes and the astral body moves on. Now who accompanies this astral body? Whatever penance he does, good or bad, the rays emanating from the power of his penance follow his astral body, birth after birth. This is what we must understand. This physical body and related issues are minor. What really matters is the state of jeeva when it leaves the physical body. That is why karma is so important. There is no use of weeping here. Generally, I don't participate in such ceremonies but he is a pious man who did great penance. 'Santham tapas, maranam tapas' There are five types of penance. Calmness is the first among them. True to his name is a personification of calmness and serenity. You cannot even imagine anger on his face. That is his penance. He always helped others and never harmed anybody or hated anybody. "

" Sometime back, he came to our Guntur Ashram along with Kalyanakka. We chatted for almost two hours. He is like a little child. I jested 'Babaji I don't know whether to address you as Babaji or little child. Babaji indicates age but your behavior is child like. He did not reply. He only said 'Nannagaru . 'His heart, his life is pure like a child. His form encompasses the simplicity of a child. That is why we need not think of his state after death. He did yeoman service, selfless service throughout his life. For 60-70 years, he has been associated with some divine talks or other, be it Gayathri or something else. He did extraordinary penance. Even his workplace was such that there is no place for any disloyalty or bribes. He is such a principled and clean mahatma. So there is no need to worry about him. "

" Let me tell you an important point which may give you all some relief. It is my duty to enlighten you about this. Except a paramahamsa or a siddha purusha, an ordinary human being will not even know that he died till 24 hours. This is not only a scientific fact but my experience also. Most of you may not be aware of this fact. Man would remain in a state of unconsciousness, in a coma state. He will wake up gradually; he would not know immediately that he died. After he loses the physical body, his astral body remains. The astral body floats in the air. The physical body cannot experience this. Then he realizes that he died and thinks of his dear ones. So nobody really knows when he died exactly. The Coma state is strangest stage in nature. This Coma stage is present so that human being, the jeeva does not face the pain of death. God is so benevolent. Though Man suffers so much before death, he finally goes into Coma. That is Nature's chloroform. "

" One Mahatma in Brindavan who was immensely wealthy, made a typical note in his will. He wrote that his sons should tie his dead body and drop it in Yamuna. His sons reluctantly complied to his wish. People have various desires regarding their body. Nehru wanted his body to be burnt and the ashes sprinkled all over India, in the fields, rivers, everywhere. So each one is free to have any ideas about this trivial body. It is not surprising at all. So many people in Brindavan have such a Bhava. "

" I never felt any sorrow on Sanataram garu's death because he is endowed with power of penance. He will certainly attain an elevated state. I don't feel sorrow even when I see the dead body. I did not come here alone. I came along with Santaram garu. I will leave at 12 noon. He has the wealth of penance and tattwa. All his relatives loved him. He is leaving with the fruit of his penance. It is not right to weep for him "