400 IN THE VISION OF GOD
organs of the human body. Directly it was over, he came
to Ramdas and remarked:
"Swamiji, the stomach in our body is after all such a
small bag that I wonder why we stuff it with so much food.
The stomach, judging from its size, needs only a small
quantity of food. We must be overfilling it causing it to
bulge out and produce a pot belly,"
Ramdas laughed, as also the other friends who listened
to his humorous but pertinent observations.
Dr. Mahadevia belonged to the Tilak school of thought.
He had many a discussion with Ramdas on the question of
non-violence.
Ramdas remained in Una for over a week and his
time of departure came. Popatbhai would not agree to travel
by the sea route. So a bullock-cart was engaged to convey
them to Yeraval. They were warned that the road was
very bad. The cart was half-filled with straw on the top of
which was spread a thick mattress with two pillows. The
sides of the carriage were fenced with loose ropes* As the
cart progressed they found it impossible to assume sitting
posture. The stalwart bullocks dragged the cart behind
them ruthlessly over the hard, dry, rocky and uneven
tract. The cart rolled on swaying from side to side, punctu-
ated by sudden thuds and knocks* The occupants of the
cart now and again bumped against each other. They had
to clutch at the loose ropes of the fence for very life* lest
they should be thrown out on to the road through the
wide gaps in them. Sleep and rest were out of question.
For all their efforts they could not retaiti a single position
for more than a minute. They seemed to be a pair of
sardines just out of the sea on the dry sands, fluttering
and leaping over each other!
What with the sudden jumps of the cart and the clash
of the bodies their very bones seemed to rattle iu their
frames. Ramdas laughed and laughed at the unique experi-
ence, and said with a great amount of truth, "Out of the