KASARAGOD 425
hundreds of them assembled. But in spite of Janardan Pant's
assiduous attempts to induce Ramdas to start with him on
a tour, he had to turn down his proposal. He had not at
the time the least inclination to respond to his loving
invitation. It was all so willed by God. Janardan Pant's
disappointment was indeed great, and at the time of his
departure he was moved to tears and exclaimed: "What
message can I carry to the devotees of Sholapur who are so
eager to have your darshan?" Ramdas had nothing to say
in reply except to request him to convey to the devotees
his appeal, namely, that they should not cease repeating
the Lord's Name and feeling that Ramdas was ever with
them. Janardan Pant and Sri Krishna Deshpande left.
Among the saints who visited the ashram and gave
Ramdas the joy of their satsang were: Swami Pranavanand,
Swami Anandashram and Dwarkadas.
• Swami Pranavanand, an elderly sannyasi, was a great
and noble soul. At the very sight of Ramdas he conceived
a love for him which can only be compared to the love of a
mother for her child. His stay was very short being only
for a day. In the night he would join Ramdas when he
danced in ecstasy taking the Lord's Name. The swami, at
the request of the devotees of Kasaragod, delivered a
discourse on the tennis ground near the Munsif's court. At
the swami's pressure Ramdas was made to fill the president's
chair. After his discourse Ramdas spoke a few words on
the unity of religions-
Shortly after, Swami Anandashram, the spiritual head
of the Saraswat community, arrived at Kasaragod and took
his residence in the precincts of the Sri Pandurang temple.
Of course, the members of the Saraswat community went
in large numbers for his darshan. At the repeated pressure
of a friend among them, Ramdas was also taken over to
him for darshan. Ramdas was made to take his seat opposite
to him in an arm-chair in a small room on the first-floor
of a house. The elite of the community had also assembled
M