GOD OF BEGGARS AND GOD AMONG BEGGARS

A temple was being built in Guvahati, Assam,Ramakrishna Math.The devotees formed into groups and went to several villages to collect money. Two or three devotees went to a small village called Palaswadi 30kms from Guwahati. Devotees went there for 8 or 10 days. Once by the time they reached a small hut they were very thirsty ,so they knocked softly.
An old woman, aged more than 80, came out. She wore torn clothes.They conveyed that they wanted water by their action. She went inside and brought water in a broken glass and also in a brass vessel.
Then she spread a mat and fanned with an old hand fan. She was a beggar woman. She had no one of her of her own. Devotees wanted to give her money. She did not take it. She showed a piece of paper. It was an old torn photograph of Sri Ramakrishna. They asked her “Do you recognize him?” She got this photograph on the road. She saw the shining face and kept it in her hut.She used to do puja daily. She did not know about the picture. But she had the firm belief that this was God. Daily she used to do Pranam to the photo and go for begging. Then came back, took bath and did naivedya with her bhikshanna and ate the bhikshanna as Prasad.That was her daily routine.
Palaswadi was on the bank of Brahmaputhra. Devotees asked her how she could stay in that little hut at the time of heavy rain, because floods in Brahmaputra would take away the small hut in no time. She said that no flood has done her any harm because this Bhagavan is protecting her. Devotees were wonderstruck.They came and told the story to the then President Swami Ijyanandaji Maharaj.
Next Sunday Maharaj went to see her. She was not there. After some time she returned. She was excited to see Swamiji. She spoke to him as an old acquaintance. She took his hand in her own hands and called him Baba . “I know you Maharaj but you came to me only today? She never asked where they were living etc. Maharaj wanted to see the photo, so she brought the photograph. Maharaj asked her “Do you know whose photo is this?” She did not want to know, to her He was the Bhagavan who always protected her. Maharaj gave her prasadi sari, sweets, fruits etc. Then he told her about Sri Ramakrishna and the Math. He wanted to take her to the Math for the birthday festival of Guru Maharaj. The devotees were collecting money for the temple. Then she laughed showing her broken teeth. She went into the hut brought a tied small cloth. She gave it to Maharaj. It contained old notes and coins from 15 years of begging. Maharaj could not hold back his tears. When they counted it had Rs 11223. Maharaj took both her hands kept on his chest and wept.

-From Udbodhan