My mother had a friend in Puttaparthi, who had come from Kerala. In spite of seeing so many miracles and mahimas of Swami, she was not convinced that Swami was God. She was doing the chores of preparing breakfast for Swami and arranging the food brought by others to be offered to Swami. She did her job well with sincerity. She was the wife of a high ranking official based in Madras (now Chennai). She had a son and a daughter. Her son went abroad and settled there. Her daughter was also married. She owned a big bungalow constructed on a huge site in Madras. Once in a while, Swami would stay in her house, during His visits to Madras.

Once, Swami had been to her house to attend the marriage of one of her relatives. The next day, Swami got up and told her to get ready to leave for Puttaparthi. She wanted a little time to get ready and so, she asked Swami to give her some time to attend to the urgent matters at home. Swami did not tell anything. He left for Puttaparthi without her. The next day, she came to Puttaparthi after finishing all her work at home. Swami ordered not to allow her into the Mandira. She waited with all her belongings under a tree in front of the Mandira. Swami neither looked at her, nor spoke to her. She waited for a long time and then, returned to Madras. After sometime, she again came to Puttaparthi. Swami told her, “When I ask you to leave immediately, you ask for time. Can you do the same, when yama calls you?” (Swami expects strict obedience from devotees.)

Shortly afterwards, to her luck, Swami took her along with other devotees on His tour of Badrinath, in 1961. In a place called Brahmakapala, Swami asked those people, who did not have children, to perform their own last rites (as is the practice there). Swami told her also to do it. She said that she had a son, who would perform her last rites. Swami forced her to do it by telling her that her son would never care to do such things; only He had to do it for her. As ordered by Swami, she performed those rites in Badrinath.

Some devotees asked Swami why they were not able to see the ṛiṣhis doing penance in Himalayas. Swami said, “The ṛishis still do penance here. But, if you people see them, would you leave them in peace? So, they are meditating after turning themselves into hima.”

She was interested in meditation and other spiritual sādhana right from her young age. She prayed to Swami to let her have darśhan of a ṛishi meditating in Badri. On the penultimate day of their stay in Badri, as usual, she went behind the temple and sat there for meditation. She was sad that Swami had not fulfilled her desire. She then found Swami standing next to her and asking her to follow Him. She followed Him for some distance. Swami pointed out and said, “Look there.” She could see a dilapidated hut with the door slightly open. She went closer to the hut and peeped inside. She could see a ṛishi sitting in samādhi. The ṛishi had very long hair, beard, and two slightly protruding teeth. The nails of his hands and legs had grown very long and they were buried in the earth. She saw this and was frightened. Swami said that he was sage Vasiṣṭha. After coming back to Puttaparthi, she narrated this incident to my mother.

After a few days, she fell ill. One day, she felt like garlanding Swami and doing pādanamaskāra. With great difficulty, she climbed up the stairs of the Mandir and went to Swami’s room. She garlanded Swami and as she bent down to take pādanamaskār, she felt giddy and vomited on Swami’s Feet. Swami held a vessel for her to vomit. He then told devotees to take her downstairs and make her sleep in her room. At 1 p.m., she breathed her last. This was, perhaps, the reason why Swami had forced her to perform her own last rites at Badrinath. Swami knows everything about everybody.