ABSTRACT
Today I noticed, near to the column opposite Maharshi’s couch, two wooden boxes covered with coloured Indian rugs. Two men dressed in North Indian fashion were sitting near them. The librarian of the Ashram, an elderly Brahmin, with whom I had long conversations during his office hours in the Library, informed me that in the afternoon there was to be a recital of religious music in the presence of Maharshi, and that the newcomers were well-known artists who would play on small harmoniums of their own construction. The temple hall was full that afternoon, as rarely happened. The musicians, after the usual prostration before the Sage, began their programme. One led on a larger instrument, giving the melody, and the other accompanied him. It was a strange mixture of classical motifs with purely Eastern interpolations, somewhat like the songs which were sung during the night meditation by the pupils of the Master.
