NOBLE COW: MUNCHING GRASS LOOKING CURIOUS AND JUST HANGING AROUND
17.
Holy Cow That Received Enlightenment
Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879 – 1950), was a monist yogi who lived in the foothills of Arunchala mountain, west of the pilgrimage town Tiruvannamalai in south India.
Every morning the master used to sit for a silent satsanga, communion. He never talked much, unless asked something. Then too his answer was very short. There was no much explanation in it. His literature is confined to two, three small booklets.
Mostly he practiced silent communion with his disciples. Naturally, not many were attracted to him. But every morning he was sitting, people were sitting, and a cow would come and stand outside, putting her neck through the window, and she would remain standing there while the satsanga session lasted. It must have continued for years. People came and went, new people joined, but the cow remained constant… and at the exact time, never late. And as the satsanga would disperse she would go away.
One day she did not appear, and Sri Raman said, “Today satsanga session cannot be held, because my real audience is absent. I am afraid either the cow is very sick or she has died, and I have to go and look for her.”
The cow belonged to a poor woodcutter who lived near the ashram. Raman went to the woodcutter and asked, “What happened? The cow has not come today for satsanga.”
The woodcutter said, “She is very sick and I am afraid she is dying, but she goes on staring at the door, as if she is waiting for someone.
Perhaps she is waiting for you, to see you for the last time. Perhaps that is why she is staying around a little longer.”
Raman went in and there were tears in the eyes of the cow. And she died happily, putting her head in the lap of the master. Ramana declared that she had attained enlightenment and that his disciples should make a beautiful memorial in her honour.
