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CH. XVIII. PARUTTI.K.KOLLAI. 117
washing your liands and feet ; and he seated here." She then
thought to herself like this " What mighty merit must mine
:
have been what austerities must I have done, what gifts must
I liave bestowed, in order that Ramanuja, wlio is Vishnu
Himself incarnate, come on earth to save mankind, should come
to our house. Divine grace has descended upon our undeserving
selves. For the Guru (Saviour) is God Himself, He is the Good-
All our goods, body and soul are His. The true disciple is lie who
thinks and acts thus. So do our Scriptures say. But I have
not a handful of grain in my house, nor a single coin wherewith
to worship the worthy Sannyasin. My husband is out on
begging, but his petty pickings will not suffice for the woi-thy
guests. To honor a guest like Raai3.nuja, I will even sin-
St. Parakala, in the old days, robbed and cheated people in
order to serve God. He ensconced himself in fastnesses,
waj'laid men, stripped them of their goods, and offered them.
to God. Even Lord Ranga Himself was once eased by him of
all his precious jewels ; and with them feasts were given to the
faithful.' Creatures whirl round ihe wheel of Samsdra, but
the Guru comes with his teachings, and extricates them from
this ; and gives them God. To repay the Guru for this is
impossible. Hence I will even sell my :— body and worship him
wherewith. Foi- God Himself has said " If for My sake thou
sinnest, it becometh merit ; all merit without reference to
Me becometh sin." " The Gurn is even greater than God.
Therefore I shall have recourse to the rich merchant of this
place, who has been casting his adulterous eyes on me for
a long time. I shall now let him have his wish, let him feed
on this wormful body. The wealth he will on this account
bestow on me, shall all be used for the entertainment of my
honored guests." So thinking she addressed Bamanuja thus :
" Holy Sire, rest here but a moment. By your grace, you shall
anon see my house filled with articles to feast you and yours
with." So saying, the virtuous lady left the house and hur-
• Read bis life in our Lives of Saints.