Rama, Rama, Sitaram. A devotee has given the Madman a room in the bazar. The Madman has put up a board in bold letters ‘Raam Naam Charitable Dispensary’.

The name of Rama is written on all the walls. Tulsi is planted outside. The Madman is chanting the name of Rama.

A woman comes in and asks, ‘O father, is it the dispensary of the Mad father’?

Madman: Yes, Rama, Rama. What ails you?

Woman: A bad headache.

Madman: Only chant the name of Rama. At dawn, drink water through the nose. Bathe three times in the day. Eat less. Always chant the name of Rama. Your disease will be cured.

Woman: Mad father, will I be cured?

Madman: Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama. Surely it will be cured. Say, ‘Rama, Rama, Rama’ (The woman bows and goes away chanting the name of Rama).

(An old man enters and bows).

Old man: Save me father.

Madman: What ails you? Rama, Rama.

Old man: I am suffering from asthma.

Madman: Rama, Rama. Make a garden of Tulsi plants and try to live in it as much as possible. Eat what is easily digestible. And always chant the name of Rama. Chant the name of Rama regularly in the morning, noon and evening.

Old man: Baba, will I be cured? Madman: There is no ailment in this world which cannot be cured by chanting the name of Rama. Say, Rama, Rama. (The old man goes away uttering the name of Rama)

(A Youngman enters and bows)

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. What ails you? Rama, Rama.

Y. Man: I am afflicted by phthisis.

Madman: Rama, Rama. Is there any river near your house?

Y. Man: Yes, I live just on the bank of the Ganga.

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Have you any garden? Rama, Rama.

Y. Man: Yes.

Madman: Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama. Create a garden of Tulsi plants on one or two grounds of land. Make a cottage in it and write the name of Rama on its walls. Live inside the cottage during sunshine and rain. Spend the rest of the time in the Tulsi garden, chanting the name of Rama.

Y. Man: Will I be cured?

Madman: I have seen people live as well as die chanting the name of Rama. Who can save the person, whose time of death has come? Chant the name of Rama. Regularly perform Japa in the morning, noon and evening. Write the name of Rama.

Y. Man: What should be my diet?

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Eat sundried rice, plantain, dal made of peas, sugarcane jaggery, sea salt and cow’s milk. Eat only as much as you can digest. And utter the name of Rama. He dwells in your heart. Beg his pardon for offences committed previously.

Y. Man: What offence have I committed?

Madman: Men are attacked with diseases because of undisciplined living. Rama, Rama. You have committed many irregularities and excess on your body. Rama, Rama.

Y. Man: True, I did not observe discipline in my life.

Madman: Rama, Rama. What has happened can’t be helped. Only chant the name of Rama. He is within you. Till He responds and till He calls you, go on chanting the name His name.

Y. Man: My mind is very restless.

Madman: Rama, Rama. Let it be so. If you go on chanting the name of Rama the mind will become steady. Rama, Rama. Phthisis is an infectious disease. Don’t allow anybody to come near you. Bury your sputum and phlegm under the earth. Rama, Rama. Drink at least two and a half litres of water every day. Light, water and air are good in the countryside. Always live in a ventilated place. Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama. You also say, ‘Rama RamaRama.’ (The Youngman bows and goes away uttering the name of Rama.)

(A boy enters).

Madman: Rama, Rama. What ails you? Rama, Rama.

Boy: I have the problem of bed-wetting and I am unable to commit my lessons to memory.

Madman: Rama, Rama. Bow before your father, mother and other elders, daily in the morning, noon and evening. Drink the juice of Tulsi leaves. Always chant the name of Rama. Chant the name of Rama ten thousand times in the morning and in the evening. Do not eat rice at night. Do not drink water in the night. Lie on a hard bed. Sit on the bed and say the name of Rama, five thousand times. Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama. Say ‘Rama Rama’.

Boy: How shall I keep count?

Madman: With the garland of Tulsi beads. Rama, Rama. Turn the beads this way (shows the method) and keep the count. Rama, Rama, Rama. (The boy bows and goes away repeating the name of Rama)

(A young man enters)

Madman: Sitaram, what ails you?

Y. Man: I have a great pain in my stomach. I cannot digest anything.

Madman: Rama, Rama. Do you observe any rules about chanting? Do you eat anywhere and from the hands of everybody?

Y. man: Yes.

Madman: Rama, Rama. You have invited pain. It is sure to cause you suffering. Everything depends on food. Those who eat pure food are not attacked by diseases. They always hear the call of God. Are you addicted to any intoxicating drug? How many cups of tea do you drink? Jai Sitaram.

Y. Man: I smoke twenty-five bidis, drink eight cups of tea and consume small quantities of opium.

Madman: Rama, Rama, Rama. Your disease is incurable. If you want to be cured, you must become peaceful. Drinking tea and smoking bidis is the same as taking poison. Rama, Rama, Rama. You must give up your addiction.

Y. Man: I try but I am not able to.

Madman: Only chant the name of Rama. You have been born as a man; you must find God. One addicted to intoxication cannot find God. He for whom the world has any fascination is far away from God. Day and night, utter the name of Rama at all times. Your addiction will go. Eat light food. Fill one-half of your stomach with food, one fourth with water and keep one-fourth empty for air. You must give up taking your meals from the hands of everyone and everywhere. Rama, Rama. Will you be able to do so?

Y. Man: I can do so.

Madman: Only chant the name of Rama. Your disease will be cured. Pray three times a day. (The Youngman bows and goes away muttering the name of Rama).

Madman: Rama, Rama, Rama. Sitaram, Sitaram.

(A middle-aged man enters.)

Madman: Rama, Rama, what ails you?

Man: I cannot sleep at night.

Madman: Rama, Rama, Rama. Eat pure food. Utter the name of Rama in every breath. At dawn, drink at least a quart of water through your nose. In the afternoon sit on the bank of some river and watch the water for at least an hour. And utter the name of Rama. Drink the juice of Tulsi leaves. Rama, Rama, Rama.

Man: Will this disease be cured simply if I utter the name of Rama?

Madman: It is an ordinary disease! Sitaram, if one utters the name of Rama the disease of existence is cured. There remains nothing to see or hear except God. There is no cause of worry. Go on repeating the name of Rama. (The middle-aged man goes away repeating the name of Rama).

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Jai Jai Rama, Sitaram.

(A young man enters).

Madman: What is the matter with you?

Y. Man: There is a great want in the family. Diseases visit us often. I think of being good, of remaining restrained but I cannot. I commit wrong.

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Always chant the name of Rama and everything will be set right. Pure food is the best medicine for the body and mind. The mind is purified only by the purification of body. The person, who eats fish, meat, nonvegetarian things and drinks honey on Sunday, becomes a patient for seven lives and poor in every birth. He goes to the Suryaloka. Neem and ginger also are forbidden for Sunday. Those who want to keep their body healthy should follow the path shown by the scriptures. Do you know which kinds of food should not be eaten on certain tithis? Jai Sitaram.

Y. Man: No.

Madman: Know it and take care in the matter of food.

Y. Man: What have ailments to do with tithis?

Madman: Rama, Rama. Do you know that rheumatism, hydrocele etc give pain on the New Moon and Full Moon Tithis?

Y. Man: I know.

Madman: Whatever concerns man depends on the Sun. The Sun preserves every living being as life. The external life of everybody is the Sun. The blood is polluted on the New Moon and Full Moon. According to the movement of the Sun, rheumatism, and such other diseases get the upper hand on these days. On the Pratipada (the first lunar day), the movement of the Sun affects the gourd and it gets contaminated; eating it can cause illness. On the eighth lunar day, the movement of the Sun pollutes the coconut, which perverts the intellect. So, if a man eats the coconut on the eighth lunar day, he becomes foolish. On the thirteenth lunar day, the movement of the Sun affects the brinjal and semen-polluting germs appear. So, the eating brinjal on this Tithi prevents or causes loss of progeny. Rama, Rama, Sitaram.

Y. Man: I do not understand these things.

Madman: Rama, Rama. You have not done anything to help you understand them. You have only finished your body by unregulated diet. Judge Woodroff cut open a brinjal at the end of the twelfth lunar day and examined it through the microscope. He said that as soon as the thirteenth day set in, the brinjal was filled with tiny germs. Again, on the fourteenth day, he said that there were no more germs. Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Everything depends on the Sun. Utter the name of Rama. Bow to the Sun. Eat pure food and chant the name of Rama.

Y. Man: Will my poverty be removed if I chant the name of Rama?

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. God will have mercy on you. He says, ‘I take away the poverty of that man whom I favour.’ Only chant the name of Rama. He will take your entire burden and set your anxiety completely at rest. He has promised, ‘I bring to them who meditates on me with undivided attention, what they do not have and I protect what they have.’ Do not worry. Not a single name will go in vain. There is hope for you however sinning, however feeble, however unrestrained you may be. Only go on chanting the name of Rama and the torture of disease, grief, want, lust and such other things will vanish. (The Youngman goes away chanting the name of Rama.)

(A ‘Babu’ enters).

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram.

Babu: Hello, Baba! What’s your design here?

Madman: A charitable dispensary of the name of Rama.

Babu: Which diseases are cured by your name of Rama?

Madman: There is no disease in the world but is cured by the name of Rama. There is no problem but is solved by the name of Rama. This is said loudly in all the Shastras.

Babu: Mad father, it is the age of science. Nobody will now accept what is said in the rotten Shastras by all those Rishis.

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Jai Jai Rama, Sitaram. It is because Shastrik injunctions are not accepted that there are so many diseases, needing hospitals in every village. All are proclaiming the victory of science. Its noise is drowning out the cry of millions for food. Science has brought merely the message of enjoyment and has increased the suffering. Rama, Rama. Peace does not dwell outside; it dwells inside. The spell for entering inside is to chant the name of Rama.

Babu: I will listen neither to your rotten Shastras nor to a fraud! Can you tell me which educated respectable man in this age has spoken of your name of Rama and has said that diseases are cured by the name of Rama?

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Have you heard of the name of Mahatma Gandhi?

Babu: Who is there in the world who has not heard his name?

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Do you follow what he says?

Babu: I follow him a million times.

Madman: Rama, Rama. He says in Ramnama Ki Mahima, ‘Today my sole physician is my Rama. As I go on singing hymns during prayer, Rama dispels all physical, mental and moral ailments. He who has the name of Rama in his heart stands in no need of any residence. The worshipper of Rama has no need of anything in the earth or water.’

Babu: Has Mahatmaji said these things?

Madman: He not only said them in the secret but also wrote them in books. He says, ‘Similarly, he who seeks refuge in the name of Rama in unrest wins.’ It was not only Tulsidasji who sang the glory of the name of Rama. I also find it in the Bible. In the Romans 10.13 it is said that he who will take the name of God will be delivered. We are saved much trouble if we look upon the diseases in this manner and understand that Rama is the sole Vaidya, who can cure them all.

Babu: Which of his books contains these things?

Madman: Rama, Rama. Some devotee of his collected his messages from many of his books and from The Harijan and published them in a book called Ramanama Ki Mahima. Would you like to hear more on this?

Babu: Will I not listen? I will listen to Bapuji as long as I live.

Madman: There is nothing equal to the golden rule of saying the name of Rama in conquering matter. If there is any violation of the vow during sleep, the expiation for it is generally greater caution and the uttering of the name of Rama whenever one wakes up. An unfailing way for being saved from perverted thinking is the name of Rama. If a man is attacked by a disease, it must be cured by taking name of Rama with sincerity. The name of Rama is the same as Ishwar, Khuda, Allah and God. Is not the name of Rama the central point in naturopathy? Rama and I have nothing to do with the occult. The real physician is Rama. Man becomes well protected by the name of Rama. The only condition is that the name of Rama must come from within. Did you hear, Sitaram, what Mahatmaji says?

Babu: He has laid emphasis on the words coming from the heart. Nothing will come of repeating the name orally like a parrot.

Madman: It is quite true that if the name of Rama is uttered with undivided attention by establishing harmony between the mind and the Prana, immediate result can be had. But for those who cannot do so, the Shastras say ‘Whether by slighting or by reverence, with devotion or without devotion, if a man hears or utters the name of Rama by any means, he becomes successful.’ A great man has said, ‘If one is not able to involve one’s body or mind, one can pray only by words. Bhajan has such powers that everything becomes divine.’ Rama, Rama.

Babu: O Mad baba! I find your words very good. Let me ask you a question, ’A man in need may utter the name of Rama to get rid of illness and necessity; why will, he who does not suffer from any disease, has no need and unrest, labour in vain?’

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. There is no man without a physical or mental disease or need. So, all should utter the name of Rama. The name of Rama means God’s name. If anybody utters the name given by his preceptor, he will be able to reach his destination.

Babu: Where is the destination? Man is born, lives for some time and then dies. He suffers from anxiety and troubles. What can give him peace? What can he do to live in peace in this world?

Madman: Man becomes successful if he discovers the ‘I’. What men call the ‘I’ is not the real ‘I’ but the cage of ‘I’.

Babu: Who is ‘I’? Where is that ‘I’?

Madman: ‘I’ is a part of God. ‘I’ is the Bindu, the light. ‘I’ resides in the heart. Pure food in a small quantity, good company, worship of God at all times, Japa and Dhyana lead to the Darshan of Pranava full of light, with Nada as its soul. Rama, Rama, Rama.

Babu: Then is light the Soul?

Madman: Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Yes. It is said in the Annapurna and RudrahridayaUpanishads, ‘Paramarthikam is Pashupata Brahma. Those whose faults have worn away can see this Light in their own bodies. Those who are blind-folded by illusion cannot see it.’ Tattva Samagita says, ‘Light is the Supreme Brahma. Light is the Supreme beatitude. Light is the highest peace. Light is the highest state.’

Babu: What is fault?

Madman: Rama, Rama. According to Mandala Brahmana Upanishad lust, anger, breath, fear, sleep; are faults.

Babu: How can they be removed?

Madman: By giving up, resolution, forgiveness, light meals, freedom from mistakes and wisdom.

Babu: What is he to do, who cannot do these things?

Madman: All can be achieved by chanting the name of Rama. Man is sure to get what he wants by uttering the name of Rama. There is no medicine for diseases greater than pure meals, good company and the name of Rama in the world.

Babu: I have become a slave to desires. It is not possible for me to have pure food and get good company. How am I to be saved?

Madman: Chant the name of Rama at all times. By your calling, the mad woman will wake up. If she begins to sing, it is done. She herself will drag you to the very ocean of Joy and keep you immersed in it for ever. Rama, Rama, Sitaram. Jai Jai Rama, Sitaram. Sing the name of Rama, say the name of Rama and meditate on Rama. Rama, Rama, Rama.