Bhagavan's companions: the monkeys
"Between 1899 and 1922 Bhagavan lived on various caves on the Arunachala hill. The hill abounded in monkeys. Bhagavan would refer to the hill as their kingdom and humans as the intruders. Bhagavan was very intimate with the monkeys. He watched them closely, with love and sympathy. He was a jnani, a sarvajna (the omniscient). Therefore, the love he had for all beings was natural. He was a keen observer too. He moved closely with monkeys, understood their crys, their conduct, and knew the life stories of most of them. He observed that they had their own code of conduct...He would tell the visitors that the monkeys recognized him as one of their community, and was accepted as an arbitrator in their disputes. Whenever there was a misunderstanding or quarrel, the monkeys would come to Bhagavan, and he would find a solution to pacify them and stop their quarreling. He knew about their ways of life, their attitudes, priorities, and their pranks, too!"
On the way up the hill to visit Skanda Ashram, one of the caves in which Bhagavan lived for close to 6 years, we encountered many many monkeys along the path. They seemed just as curious about us, as we did, about them. They allowed me to photograph them at quite close range, and were of course appreciative, when we offered them some bananas we had happened to carry along.
There are also many monkeys right in front of our guest house and up in the trees above us...
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