KOLLUR AND KASARAGOD	2!
During the first few days, crowds of visitors gathered
round the rest-house to see him; of these, school-boys
formed the majority. Many earnest devotees of God also
visited him. In the nights he was often taken out to attend
kirtan parties where the popular devotional songs of the
great Indian saints were sung. These songs contained the
essence of the sublime Hindu philosophy. They treated of
devotion, knowledge and renunciation. Their direct mode
of appeal elevated the mind and filled it with divine
fervour. Among the hymns the most popular were those
of Kabir and Tukaram. Indeed their poems were rare gems
of spiritual thought in which were blended perfect rhythm,
lofty idealism and pure emotion.
In the afternoons Ramdas was engaged in reading the
English translation of Tulsidas Ramayana and rendering it
in the vernacular for the benefit of the devotees who
thronged the small room. They were imbibing with avidity
the spiritual nectar provided by Tulsidas in his immortal
work.
One day a young man, weighed down by despondency
and despair, came to Ramdas. He recounted the tale of his
woe. Ramdas advised him to repeat the Ram-rnantram and
assured him that all would be well. The friend would
thereafter visit Ramdas every day, and he was found
immersed in the japa of Ram-nam. A few days passed and
he came to Ramdas with a cheerful face and told him that
the impending calamity that threatened him had passed off
without scathing him in the least. All victory to that
powerful Name! The Name of the Lord has undoubtedly
the power of dispelling ignorance, pain and misery. So
saints all over the world are never tired of glorifying the
Name.
One early morning two old visitors who had retired
from active life came to see Ramdas. They started a cosy
little chat over their domestic worries.
** The thatching season has come," one was saying to the