Champaklal Speaks

Paul Richard and Champaklal

When Paul Richard¹ visited Gujarat [in 1921], he made our ashram in Patan his headquarters. He visited other places from there. He became like one of our family.

The first thing he would ask us when we met him in the morning was, “Did you have a good sleep? Did you have good dreams?” He asked us to keep a notebook and pencil at hand when going to bed so that whatever happened in sleep could be noted down. Today I find this suggestion quite appropriate. Interesting experiences occur in the night which one thinks of writing down in the morning, but much is lost in the process.

He loved us very much. He would sit crosslegged and make me and Kanti lie on either side with our heads in his lap and caress our heads simultaneously.

He was a lover of beauty. He took us out to enjoy the sunset and meditate. Since then, sunset has become my favourite sight and I never miss any opportunity to watch it.

He also put great emphasis on cleanliness. He carried a small but powerful magnifying glass. Holding it over our palms he would say, “You see how difficult it is to keep the hands clean?” He insisted that food should not be touched by the hands.

Once he was very angry on seeing the black marks made by a washerman on his clothes. After some time he laughed and said, “This has⁶ happened because there must be a black mark in me.” He did not know that washermen make such marks in order to distinguish clothes belonging to different customers.

He took me and Kanti along when he visited Palanpur and from there we went to Balarama Mahadev. We were also with him when he went to the Sahitya Parishad in Ahmedabad.

Later he went away to the Himalayas. When he learnt that our ashram in Patan was closed, he wrote two letters to me calling me to join him. I was to wire to him if I wished to go. Though I wanted to live in the Himalayas, it never materialised because I was destined to come to Pondicherry. Just as Paul Richard invited me to the Himalayas, Sri Aurobindo asked me to come to him. Pondicherry is not Himalayas, but for me it is the best place in the world. By Sri Aurobindo's infinite Grace I was fortunate to come here.