RETURN JOURNEY 281
"Ramji," Ramdas asked, "will you please show Ramdas
the way that leads to Swargashram?"
The kindly old man stopped his work and looking up at
him, said: 4lSwargashram is far, far away. There is no
beaten track or cut-out path. You have to go from stage to
stage, making enquiries on the way. Darkness is already at
hand. So yon cannot think of starting on your long journey
now. You go by the path I am showing you. A mile uphill
you will discover two houses, surrounded by cornfields.
You take refuge in one of them. The people over there will
gladly give you shelter for the night. Tomorrow morning
you may start on your journey."
He pointed at a thin zigzag foot-path, going up the
hills in the midst of a dense growth of trees. He climbed
up and, on ascending about a mile, found himself on a vast
area of green fields, the mountain rising still higher in the
background. He noticed two small houses, about forty
yards from each other, standing in the midst of the fields.
He passed through the fields towards one of them. In front
of the house there was a raised platform of wooden planks
supported by stout stumps of trees. He got upon it. Beside
two lads, a middle-aged man and an old man were squatt-
ing upon it. The latter two were busy mending a torn
blanket. When they saw him the middle-aged man rose,
and procuriDg from the house a black rug, spread it on the
floor and beckoned him to sit on it. He sat down. He
asked where Ramdas was coming from and whither he
was bound. Ramdas replied that he was hailing from
Vasishtashram and was on his way to Swargashram.
The middle-aged man: "You must have then met the
sadhu who lives in the cave. He does not let any other
sadhu stay at the place. He makes it a point to drive him
away.^ He is harsh and cruel."
Ramdas said: "Externally he may appear to be harsh,
but he has a soft heart. God's lila is wonderful I He plays in
various ways. The sadhn fed Ramdas with dal and roti
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