Jackie the dog...

posted by David Godman to RamanaMaharshi

Jackie the dog, who was eventually buried alongside the deer and the crow, was
brought to the ashram when he was very young. He never mixed with other dogs,
nor did he play much. Instead, he lived the life of a sadhu. He would sit in
front of Bhagavan on an orange cloth that had been provided by a devotee and
stare intently at Bhagavan's eyes. Because Bhagavan had a lot of love for him,
and because he always behaved in such an exemplary fashion, he was always very
well looked after. Ramaswami Pillai in particular took good care of him. Every
day he would wash Jackie with soap and water and remove any insects that had
attached themselves to his body. Whenever prasad was distributed, Jackie would
not eat until Bhagavan began to eat his own portion. On such occasions he would
watch Bhagavan's face intently. As soon as Bhagavan put a morsel into his mouth,
Jackie would start to eat his own portion.

I remember one incident concerning Jackie that occurred while Bhagavan was
sitting by the well, surrounded by devotees. Jackie was sitting with the
devotees, looking intently at Bhagavan, when a stray dog entered the ashram
through the back gate. Jackie, distracted by the newcomer, began to bark.
Bhagavan gently chided him by saying, 'You just close your eyes. You just
close your eyes. You just close your eyes. If you do this you will not be able
to see the dog.'
Jackie obeyed at once but some of the rest of us continued to look at the
stray dog.
When I saw what was happening I laughed and remarked, This is a good
teaching. It is not only for Jackie, it is for everyone.'
Jackie lived in the ashram for many years but I cannot remember how he
finally passed away. It must have happened sometime in the 1930s while I was
supervising the building works because I remember constructing, at Bhagavan's
request, the small samadhi shrine that is over his body.

I found the following account of Jackie's death in an unpublished account by
Narasimha Rao:

'In the early days of our going to the ashram [early 1930s] there was a dog
by name Jack. It was then very sick. Bhagavan arranged a soft bed for it and was
attending it very affectionately, attending to his wants. After a few days it
grew more weak, and was emitting a bad smell. It made no difference to
Bhagavan's attention to it. He used to take it in his arms, and holding it to
himself, caress it lovingly. Finally it expired in his hands. It was buried in
the ashram precincts with a monument over it. The dog did not show any sign of
suffering and bore it bravely.'

From "Living by the Words of Bhagavan"