Victoria Doe
K.K.Nambiar
On 19th May 1946 Nambiar travelled to Epsom to meet Mrs.Doe and her daughter, Leena. The encounter moved him deeply. Mrs.Doe had never seen Bhagavan physically, yet her devotion was intense. She had read his teachings, meditated upon him and maintained a long correspondence with the Ashram. Nambiar writes:
Mrs.Doe with shaking hands took from her shelves sheaves of letters received from the Ashram and after kissing them with great reverence handed them over to me for perusal. All those were letters from the Ashram and had been meticulously preserved by her for many years. She had also with her all the English publications of Sri Ramanasramam. She opened one of the books and running her shaky finger along the inscription on the first page “with Gracious Blessings from Sri Bhagavan”, burst into tears of joy and devotion.
When she composed herself, she said “Mr.Nambiar, how lucky you are to have been able to be with him, to see him and hear him speak. Here we treasure these books and letters as representing him. Now he has sent you here. I feel that he is with us now”.
Such love, such devotion to the Sage, so tenderly expressed, moved me to the depths of my being. Verily his kingdom is the Heart of the devotee, and I have always found him there enthroned.
A fortnight later Nambiar returned and found another surprise. A. Bose, also associated with Ramanasramam, had arrived in London and had independently made a point of visiting Mrs.Doe. The two men joined Mrs.Doe and her daughter for tea in the garden and sent a joint letter to the Ashram.
Months later, Bhagavan referred to their meeting in the Hall, joking that Mrs.Doe liked Nambiar because he was quiet.
Nambiar visited Mrs.Doe again in January 1947, and many years later, in 1963, returned with his wife. Mrs.Doe, by then in her nineties, presented Mrs.Nambiar with an old copy of Maharshi’s Gospel that she had treasured for years.
– August 2026, Saranāgatī eMagazine, pp.6,7