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16 A Sadhu's Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi old lady, seeing this, was so shocked at his unkempt appearance that she brought a bucket of water and soap and proceeded to wash his head as if he were some idol made of stone. He remained quiet though he was quite conscious of what was happening. He told me that it was a remarkable thing but she had no trouble disentangling it; the hair shook apart and was ready for the comb immediately she had soaped it.
He was equally indifferent as to what he ate. At one time some Sadhus were giving him a cupful of the Abishekam contents after it had been washed off Lord Subramaniam's image, consisting of turmeric, plantains, milk and soap-nut. He was quite satisfied with this. In later years, however, it almost seemed as though he had preferences in diet, though he himself declared that all food tasted exactly the same. And this must be so, because for a Jnani the body has no reality since he does not associate himself with it. He knows of it, of course, but only as a part of the total dream that does not belong exclusively to him. We call it Bhagavan and think it is he. And it is a blessing to us that, as our Guru, we are able to see him and be near him and receive through this form his Grace.
The second book he told me to read was Self-realization, by B. V. Narasimhaswamy. In spite of its amateurish style and the way it is written, this is the standard and principal text book on the life and teachings of Bhagavan. B. V. N. took infinite pains to collect as many facts and details of Bhagavan's life as possible and record them; nobody else
