304 IN THE VISION OF GOD
to Swargashrain. That evening he was detained at the
ashram. Eamdas enjoyed the perfect solitude of the cave in
the night. Next day, at dusk, Ramcharandas tottered into
the cave with a heavy burden on his head. He was
carrying an enormous gunny bag bulging out with its
contents and had also two big earthen pots hanging at
his back.
He lowered the sack and released the pots and rolled on
the floor of the cave through ntter exhaustion. For full ten
minutes he was unable to speak. He was just panting for
breath. Then he slowly opened the bag and took out bundle
after bundle of rice, dal, wheat-flour, potatoes, jaggery,
ghee, sugar and what not. The provisions would have
sufficed for over a month/
"What a wonderful fellow you are! Why so much?"
Ramdas asked.
"So much? why, we need it all," he exclaimed. "It saves
my going down frequently; for a month at least we can
remain here quietly without any anxiety about food."
Ram, you seem to trust more in these food-stuffs than
in God!" Ramdas remarked.
Ramcharandas was not inclined to talk. The inner
cavity in the cave was at once converted into a store-room
and the bundles were nicely arranged inside it and Ramdas
helped him in the work.
On the succeeding day, the fuel not being quite dry,
Ramcharandas experienced great difficulty in cooking.
Moreover, as the cooking had to be done in the open air,
the strong breezes prevented the fire burning steadily. So
that day's roties were underbaked and the dal half-boiled.
Ramdas was lacking in teeth. Somehow he managed to
swallow down the raw food. Even the meals prepared on
the previous days had not been well-cooked as they had
told upon Raindas' digestion. Ramcharandag was still a
sadhaka in this line as well! The cumulative effect of the
mdofferently cooked food affected Ramdas and he got a