[Shortly after Lakshmi’s liberation another devotee asked Bhagavan about the possibility of animals realising the Self. It seems to have been an issue that bothered some of the devotees. It should be noted that when Bhagavan gave the previous answer in 1946, Lakshmi had not yet attained mukti. Her liberation in 1948 provided ample vindication of Bhagavan’s answer.]
One of the devotees who yesterday heard of the verse written by Bhagavan about the deliverance of Lakshmi approached him this morning and said, ‘We ourselves see that animals and birds are getting deliverance [moksha] in your presence; but is it not true that only human beings can get moksha?’
‘Why? It is stated that a mahapurusha [great saint] gave moksha to a thorn bush,’ said Bhagavan with a smile. (Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma, letter dated 21st July 1948)
[Bhagavan then gave a detailed narration of the story, which is to be found in Chidambara Mahatmyam, a history of the great spiritual events that are associated with the Chidambaram Temple.
Lakshmi was buried in the ashram and a samadhi was constructed over her body. Suri Nagamma has given a lengthy description of the event:]
Thinking of Lakshmi all the time today, we had our usual meal and some rest. When at 2.30 p.m. I went to the cowshed, Bhagavan was already there. We went and saw the body of Lakshmi. The face did not show any sign of death. We came back to the hall and sat down. Till evening Bhagavan was telling us stories about Lakshmi and was giving instructions to the people concerned about the arrangements for the burial.
‘It was the same thing in the case of the Mother. Until the abhishekam [ceremonial washing of the body] was done, the lustre of the face did not fade. The body could hardly be seen from under the garlands and camphor that were thrown upon it by people from time to time. There were bhajans, nadaswaram music, etc. all round. We brought the body down at night and kept it under the bodhi tree with the intention of burying it somewhere near the Pali tank before daybreak. There was, however, some delay in bringing bricks and slaked lime for constructing the tomb. Meanwhile many people gathered round and put up a big show. On the tenth day even shops were newly opened. Just see all the things that will happen now.’
Feeling that Bhagavan was giving undue importance to Lakshmi’s burial, one of the devotees, Govindarajula Subbarao, said, ‘We see many instances here of animals getting deliverance more often than human beings. Bhagavan has told us several times that they come here to work out the balance of their karma. It looks as if they are better looked after by Bhagavan than we are.’
Bhagavan remarked, ‘Will it be possible to say so in all instances? Is anybody making all these arrangements deliberately? And do we have the money for all that? When the time comes people spontaneously take up the work and all the required articles come in automatically. The work is done in a trice. Sadasiva Iyer came here the day before yesterday. Perhaps he has come here specially for this purpose. He knows the full details of erecting a tomb. He is there now on the spot giving all the directions. He says he will go away tomorrow. It is individual luck. What can we do? If it were an ordinary animal, the butcher would drag it away. For this Lakshmi a tomb is going to be erected on a scale equal to that of a mahatma. Look at this white peacock. How many peacocks have come and gone? They are different from this one. This one goes about meekly and mixes freely with all people. Where is Baroda [where the peacock came from] and where is Arunachala? It was born there and has come here. Who wanted it?’ said Bhagavan.
[Many devotees believed that this peacock was the reincarnation of Madhava Swami, one of Bhagavan’s long-serving attendants. Annamalai Swami (Living By The Words Of Bhagavan, pp. 89-90) has given some of the reasons why this theory was believed:]
Madhava Swami with Bhagavan
‘There were one or two circumstantial indications which convinced many people that Madhava Swami had indeed been reborn as this peacock. Whenever it came to the hall, the peacock would make a point of inspecting the books on the bookshelves. Looking after the library there was one of Madhava Swami’s daily chores. He also repaired or rebound any books that were damaged. When the peacock came on its inspection tour, it would often peck at the books that Madhava Swami had rebound, but not touch any of the others. Another piece of circumstantial evidence came from the fact that Madhava Swami was something of a misogynist, so much so that he would often make rude remarks when women came into the hall. The peacock retained this trait by refusing to have anything to do with any of the peahens which also lived in the ashram. I have one little story of my own to add to the evidence. When Madhava Swami used to visit my house, he would always sit on a concrete bench near the door. In later years the white peacock also visited me occasionally. Each time it came it would sit in Madhava Swami’s place on the bench.’
The white peacock at Ramanasramam
Bhagavan himself occasionally addressed the peacock as ‘Madhava’, although he would never say outright that Madhava Swami had returned in a peacock body. In Sri Ramana Reminiscences, for example, G. V. Subbaramayya reported (p. 166) that when the peacock pecked at the strings of a veena, Bhagavan told the musician who had just used it, ‘Madhava wants you to repeat the song’.
As Bhagavan himself noted, many peacocks came and went, but this particular one stayed and mingled freely with the human devotees, a good indication that it had a destiny to fulfil at the ashram. Suri Nagamma now continues with her account of Lakshmi’s burial:
Towards the hill and near the dispensary the tombs of a deer, a crow and a dog were erected long ago. Now a pit was dug near them and the work for the construction of the tomb was begun.
All was ready by six p.m. People came in large crowds. Some of them even sat on the compound wall. The sarvadhikari brought the body of Lakshmi in a wooden cart. Bhagavan came and sat on a chair. Lakshmi’s body was placed opposite to him. Devotees brought water in pots and poured it over the body of Lakshmi. After that, abhishekam was done with milk, curds, ghee, sugar and rose water. Incense was burnt, a silk cloth was placed over the body, the face was smeared with turmeric powder and vermilion, and the body was covered with flower garlands. Sugar candy was offered and arati was performed. Lakshmi’s face beamed with beauty and charm when she was decorated in this way.
At about 7 p.m. devotees lowered the body of Lakshmi into the grave with cries of ‘Hara Hara Mahadev [one of the names of Siva]!’ Bhagavan was visibly affected. After Bhagavan had touched some holy leaves, they were thrown onto Lakshmi by the sarvadhikari. After that, devotees sprinkled turmeric and vermilion powder camphor, holy ashes, sandal paste, flowers and salt. Finally, earth was thrown in to fill the grave. After the burial was over, Bhagavan came back to the hall and prasad was then distributed. The whole thing ended like a marriage festival. Lakshmi the cow is no longer in the cowshed. She has been freed from the bonds of the body and is now merged in the lustrous Atman of Sri Ramana. (Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, letter 49, 20th July 1948)
Lakshmi’s samadhi, with Bhagavan’s verse behind the statue of Lakshmi
[Later that evening Bhagavan composed an epitaph in Tamil verse that confirmed Lakshmi’s liberation. G. V. Subbaramayya noted, ‘It was a unique honour to the cow. Sri Bhagavan observed that he had not sung like this even at his mother’s demise.’ (Sri Ramana Reminiscences, by G. V. Subbaramayya, p. 178)
The concluding comment after the verse comes from Devaraja Mudaliar.]
On Friday, the 5th of Ani, in the bright fortnight, in Sukla Paksham, on dvadasi in visaka nakshatra in sarvadhari year [that is, on 18th June 1948] the cow Lakshmi attained mukti.
On my next visit to the ashram, after the tomb was finished, I read the stanza and asked Bhagavan whether the use of the word vimukti [liberation] was just conventional, as when we say that someone has attained samadhi, meaning that he has died, or whether it really meant nirvana. He replied that it meant nirvana. (The Cow, Lakshmi, p. 34)
[All the references I have given from Letters from Sri Ramanasramam state that Lakshmi died on 18th July 1948. These are misprints since all the other sources, including Bhagavan’s own verse commemorating Lakshmi’s liberation, state that the date was 18th June 1948.]
This is a talk I posted on Youtube in which I retold most of the incidents that are narrated in this article. The video contains archival footage of Lakshmi and Bhagavan together.
