37. Bapu : "Well, that is just like Ba!"

When Shri Ramanarayan Chaudhary came first to the Ashram in Sabarmati, he was suffering from some skin trouble. So Bapu began to treat him. One day he suggested to the patient that he should daily take some raisins in his food. For this purpose he sent him to Ba. But hardly had he gone a few steps, when Bapu called him back and said, "You will do well to go there prepared for some unpleasant experience."

Now Ba did not know Ramanarayanbhai well enough. So when he saw her and he asked her for some raisins, Ba, pointing to him, asked Pyarelalji, "Do you know this gentleman? Who is he? He has come to take some raisins from those kept for Bapu's use."

But before Pyarelalji could reply, Ramanarayanbhai, who had already gone prepared for Ba's plain-spokenness, said, "Ba, I am a newcomer here. I have not been keeping well. So Bapu sent me here to ask you for some raisins, in spite of my own disinclination to do so."

At this Ba's heart melted with sympathy and she replied, "That is all right. I had a goodly stock of raisins before. But now it is almost exhausted, because Bapu gave away much of it to those who were ill. However, I had kept back some for Bapu. But it appears your need is greater. So here are the raisins."

When Ramanarayanji heard that the raisins, intended for Bapu's use, were being given to him, he felt still further disinclined to take them. But Ba persuaded him to accept them and afterwards affectionately began to ask him questions about himself and his family. Then he went back to Bapu. Seeing him smiling, instead of with a sad-looking face, Bapu was rather surprised. However, when he heard the whole story he said, "Well, that is just like Ba. She loses her temper at times, specially whenever anything has to be given away to someone else from anything kept for me. But her heart is like the ocean, full of sympathy. No sooner does she hear of another's suffering than she is all sympathy. Then she forgets even her overmuch fondness for me and also keen attentiveness to my needs."