JW AL & JEE- P ATH ANKOT 315
Doctor pressed on Ramdas a couple of rupees for expenses
on the way. Rcimdas declined the offer with thanks, but
when it was presented to Ramcharandas he accepted the
gift in spite of Ramdas' remonstrances.
Leaving Kangra behind, they continued their journey
and took their position for the night on the raised plat-
form, beneath a tree at the brink of a well on the outskirts
of a village. Here Ramdas proposed to Ramcharandas a
separation between them.
"Ram, yon may go your own way and gather experi-
ence. Ramdas will also go alone. Remember we are both
bound for Kashmir. We shall meet in that place."
At first Ramcharandas refused point-blank to accept,
the proposition. He gnimbled, fretted and wept. But Ram-
das brought home to him the absolute necessity for such a
course, as it would be to his own benefit. Through
independence alone does a sadhu learn the secrets of life
and Truth. Hanging on always to an external prop in
spiritual matters hampers his progress, because his vision
lacks then the flexibility for expansion and universa-
lization. The centre of interest becomes cramped and loca-
lised, while Ms aim should be to comprehend and realize
the infinite nature of Truth.
(iii) God in the form of a serpent
Early at four o'clock, next morning, Ramcharandas
parted from Ramdas and proceeded on his way, while
Ramdas started three hours later. At midday Ramdas came
to a temple in a village and rested on a verandah. Here
again, a pious householder* who visited the temple, took
Ramdas to his house and fed him with rice and cnrds. The
same evening he reached another village, where he spent
the night beneath a banyan tree. There was a terrible
storm in the night and a countless host of night-flies beset
the place where he rested. He watched silently the whole
40*