Bench Swami's body died

[Guest guest]

I received a call from someone in Tiruvannamalai this morning.

 

One of the things he told me was that Bench Swami had died.

He thinks it happened on Deepam.

 

For those of you who have never heard of Bench Swami

here is something from the book "From here to Nirvana":

 

"BENCH SWAMI: No one knows his full name –

they just named him for the bench that he sits on

in silence, his eyes closed, all day long.

The bench is an enclosed front porch of a little house

belonging to a family who cares for the swami,

who is in his nineties. Locals say that he's been

sitting on that bench for the past twenty-five years

(and on various other benches for many years before that).

If you sit with him long enough,

he may open his eyes and look at you,

which is, in itself, supposed to be a kind of blessing.

 

Originally a postmaster from a nearby town,

Bench Swami met Ramana Maharshi in the 1940's.

When he asked Ramana for permission to return to his work,

Ramana looked at him and said, `Iru'.

This is the Tamil imperative for the verb `to be' and `to stay').

The postmaster promptly went into a trance,

which he has remained in ever since."

 

My primary motivation in passing this information on here

is so that those who are planning a trip to Tiruvannamalai

need not bother the family who used to take care of Bench Swami

by trying to visit him.

 

Hopefully my New Years resolution to do less posting at

discussion groups will work out better than it did today. LOL

 

I forgot to unplug my phone last night before I went to sleep

and so I got the Happy New Year wake up call from Tiruvannamalai

at 6:30 AM.

 

Take care,

 

with Love,

 

sleepy Michael L.