The Real Feet

Sri Annamalai Swami

Bhagavan (Ramana Maharshi) was sitting on a sofa outside the hall and many devotees were coming, prostrating, and then leaving. A Christian priest came into the ashram but he didn't come near B, nor did he attempt to prostrate. He just stood at a distance and watched B with evident curiosity for about forty-five minutes. Finally, just like a tree falling down, he went down on the floor, prostrated full-length and then left. He had obviously had some experience which convinced him of B's greatness but we never found out what it was because he left without saying a word.

After he had gone, B smiled and remarked, 'He couldn't control himself any longer without doing namaskaram.'

A devotee once approached B and asked him if he could prostrate to him and touch his feet.

B replied, 'The real feet of Bhagavan exist only in the heart of the devotee. To hold onto these feet incessantly is true happiness. You will be disappointed if you hold onto my physical feet because one day this physical body will disappear. The greatest worship is worshipping the Guru's feet that exist within oneself.'