Some collections realted to Kanchi Mahaswamiheritagewiki.org/images/b/b2/Mahaperiyava's_related-English.pdf · spent their life in pooja and in giving alms to ... Lord Dakshinamurthy,

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# Name Birth Attainment of Samadhi

Year of Siddhi

Ponti- ficate Dur.

Years

1 Sri Sankara

Bhagavatpada (Founder)

Kaladi Kanchi 477 B.C. 32

2 Sureswaracharya Kashmir Kanchi 407 B.C. 70

3 Sarvajnatman Tamrabarani Kanchi 364 B.C. 112

4 Satyabodha Amaravathi Tira Kanchi 268

B.C. 63

5 Jnanananda Mangalam near Lalgudi Kanchi 205

B.C. 63

6 Suddhananda Vedaranya Kanchi 124 B.C. 81

7 Anantananda Chera country Sri Saila 55 B.C. 69

8 Kaivalyananda Tirupati Punyarasa Kanchi

28 A.D. 83

9 Krpa Sankara Andhara Desa Vindhya Mountains

69 A.D. 41

10 Sureswara Mahabaleswar Kanchi 127 A.D. 58

11 Sivananda Cidghana Karnataka Vriddha- chala

172 A.D. 45

12 Chandrasekhara I Near Palar Seshachala 235 A.D. 63

13 Satchidghana Near Gadilam Kanchi 273 A.D. 37

14 Vidyaghana Andhra Desa Agastya Parvata

317 A.D. 45

15 Gangadhara I Kanchi Agastya Parvata

329 A.D. 12

16 Ujvala Sankara Tapati Tira Kashmir 367 A.D. 38

17 Sadasiva Kashmir Trayamabak 375 A.D. 10

18 Surendra Maharashtra Ujjain 385 A.D. 10

19 Vidyaghana Maharashtra Godavari Tira

398 A.D. 13

20 Muka Sankara NA Godavari 437 A.D. 35

21 Chandrasekhara II Konkan Kasi 447 A.D. 10

22 Bodhendra I Ratangiri Jagannatha 481 A.D. 34

23 Satchitsukha Srikakulam Jagannatha 512 A.D. 31

24 Chitsukha I Konan Ratangiri 527 A.D. 15

25 Satichidananda- ghana Srimushnam Gokarna 548

A.D. 21

26 Prajnanaghana Pinakini river side Kanchi 564

A.D. 16

27 Chidvilasa Hastigiri Kanchi 577 A.D. 13

28 Mahadeva I Mithila Kanchi 601 A.D. 24

29 Purnabodha I Andhra Desa Kanchi 618 A.D. 17

30 Bodhendra II Andhra Desa Kanchi 655 A.D. 37

31 Chidananda- ghana Andhra Desa Kanchi 672

A.D. 17

32 Satchidananda Andhra Desa Kanchi 692 A.D. 20

33 Chandrasekhara III Vegavati side Kanchi 710 A.D. 18

34 Chitsukha II Vedachala Sahaya Mountains

737 A.D. 27

35 Chitsukhananda Palar side Kanchi NA 757

A.D. 20

36 Vidyaghana NA Chidam- baram

788 A.D. 21

37 Abhinava Sankara Chidambaram, Himalayas

Dattatreya cave

840 A.D. 30

38 Satchidvilasa Maharashtra Kanchi 837 A.D. 32

39 Mahadeva II Karnataka Kanchi 915 A.D. 33

40 Gangadhara II Bhima river side Kanchi 950 A.D. 42

41 Brahamananda- ghana Karnataka Kanchi 978

A.D. 35

42 Anandaghana Tungabhadra Kanchi 1014 A.D. 28

43 Purnabodha I Karnataka Kanchi 1040 A.D. 26

44 Paramasiva I Karnataka Kanchi 1061 A.D. 26

45 Sandrananda- bodha Karnataka Arunachala 1098

A.D. 21

46 Chandrasekhara IV Kundi river side Arunachala 1166

A.D. 37

47 Advaitananda- boodha Pinakini Chidam-

baram1200 A.D. 68

48 Mahadeva III Chayavanam Gadilam 1247 A.D. 34

49 Chandrachuda I NA Gadilam 1297 A.D. 47

50 Vidyatirtha Bilvaranya Himalayas 1385 A.D. 50

51 Sankarananda Madhyarjuna Kanchi 1417 A.D. 88

52 Purnananda Sadasiva Nagarayana Kanchi 1498

A.D. 32

53 Vyasachala Mahadeva Kanchi Vyasachala 1507

A.D. 81

54 Chandrachuda II Asmala Kanchi 1524 A.D. 9

55 Sarvajna Sadasivabodha Pennar side Rames-

waram1539 A.D. 17

56 Paramasiva II Pampatira Svetarayana 1586 A.D. 15

57 Atmabodha Vridhachalam Gadilam 1638 A.D. 47

58 Bhagavannama Bodhendra Kanchi Govinda-

puram1692 A.D. 52

59 Adhyatma Prakasa Vasista river side Ambi 1704 A.D. 54

60 Mahadeva IV NA Tiruvottriyur 1746 A.D. 12

61 Chandrasekhara V NA Tiruvottriyur 1851 A.D. 31

62 Mahadeva (Sudarsana) Madhyarjuna Elaiyattan-

kudi1891 A.D. 37

63 Chandrasekhara VI Udayam- bakkam Kalavai 1908

A.D. 40

64 Mahadeva VI Tiruvisanallur Kalavai 1908 A.D. 7

65 Chandra-

sekharendra Saraswathi

Maha Svamigal VII

Villupuram Kanchi 1994 A.D. 100

66 Jayendra

Saraswathi Svamigal

Irulneeki - - -

67 Sankara

Vijayendra Sarasvathi Svamigal

Thandalam - - -

Sri Adi Sankara http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/print-it.php?content=L21pc2NsL2...

1 of 12 04-Mar-08 2:04 PM

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Sri Adi Sankara

Some events, and an artist's impression:

Lord Shiva, also known as Dhakshinamurthy, who spreads the Universal Truth not by words but by his silence and by his sign of his hand which is held in the form of "Chin Mudra".

About 2500 years ago, when thespiritualisation of the people greatly reduced,all the Gods and the Rishis went to Kailashand pleaded with Lord Shiva to revive theworld. Lord Shiva agreed with their requestand informed that he will be born in thisworld. Lord Brahma, Indra and others alsoagreed to be born in this world to help LordShiva.

In Kaladi, Kerala, a learned brahmin, by the name of Sivaguru, and his wife, Aryambal, spent their life in pooja and in giving alms to poor and in other good deeds. This childless couple went to Trichur and performed puja for 48 days to Lord Vadakkunathan (Lord Shiva) and prayed for a son. Lord Shiva melted in their devotion and appeared before them and told them "I am extremely happy with your devotion and you will get what you want. But tell me whether you want a number of dull children or a son who is extremely intelligent, who will live for a short period only." The couple replied the decision could not be theirs as the Lord knows what is good for them.


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Lord Dakshinamurthy, pleased with the reply, was born to Aryambal under the star "Thiruvaithhirai". As the Lord had already promised that he will be born to do good to this world, the child was named Sankara. Sam means prosperity and Karathi means te giver. All the visitors stood in awe at the divinity of the child and said "This is not an ordinary child".

As Shankara grew up, he attraced everybody with his intelligence and kindness. At the age of three, he was given "Aksharabyas", i.e., the learning of writing and reading. At the age of four, he lost his father. At the age of five, he was initiated in Brahmacharyam i.e., the holy thread ceremony was conducted and he was sent to Gurukul for learning of scriptures. As per the practice the brahmachari has to go from house to house and take alms and submit this to his guru. On a Dwadasi day Sankara happened to go to the house of a very poor lady jand asked for the alms. The lady did not have a single grain of rice in her house to give. However she had kept a single Amla fruit for herself as it was a Dwadasi day. She unhesitatingly gave this Amla fruit to Sankara as she could not send a Brahmachari empty handed. Sankara was moved by her selflessness and the poverty of the lady and prayed to Goddess Lakshmi in a beautiful sloka which is called "Kanaka Dhara Stotram". On completion of this stotram, Goddess Lakshmi appeared in person and showered a rain of golden coins on the poor lady's house.


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One day, the rishis came to him and reminded him of his duty to the land in spreading spiritualism. Sankara agreed it was time to become a Sanyasi and go all over the country to kindle religious ferver.

One day when Sankara was taking bath, acrocodile caught hold of his leg. Sankaracalled out to his mother. Aryambal camerunning and to her horror she found her sonin the grip of the crocodile and she cried thatse did not know how to help her son.

Sri Sankara informed his mother that his lifewas nearing to an end, but if he became aSanyasi, he could start a new life as asannyasi. Thus Sri Sankara obtainedpermission from his mother to become asannyasi.

Sri Sankara went in the search of a Guru to be formally initiated as a Sannyasi. At the banks of the river Narmada, he found the river gushing forth into floods. By using his powers, he encapsulated the river in his Kamandal (a vessel sannyasi's carry) and released it in the banks of the river. Sri Govinda Bagawathpathar, an ascetic who saw this, marvelled at Sri Sankara dn took him on as a Shishya.


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Sri Govinda Bagawathpadar taught various vedas to Sri Sankara. He also taught aboutAdvaita, the principle that every one in this world is the manifestation of God and thatGod and Atman are one and the same. Headvises Sri Sankara to go out in the worldand spread this truth throughout the country.

Sri Sankara went to Kasi and by that time, he had a lot of disciples. One of them,Sanandhyaya, was drying the clothes of his Guru and suddenly Sri Sankara called him to the other bank of the river as he needed the clothes urgently. Sanandhyaya, little realising that he would drown, starts walking into the river. However, the Grace of his Guru resulted in a lotus materialising wherever he was keeping his foot. When asked as to how did he cross the river, he says that when his Guru calls, he is not to worry about anything. Sri Sankara named him as Padma Padar (lotus feet).

Once, in Kasi, when Sri Sankara was goingto the Vishwanath Temple, his path was blocked by an "untouchable" who was accompanied by his wife and 4 dogs. The disciples of Sri Sankara shouted at him to make way, and to keep a distance. The untouchable smiled and said, ""According to your principle of Advaita, which you practice, all the Jivatma are same as God. How do you ask me to go? How am I different from your Paramacharya? What you say is unreasonable. How can I go away from myself?"

Sri Sankara realised that it was not anordinary person and understood that it wasLord Shiva himself who had come along withHis consort and the four Vedas. He


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prostrated before the Lord and sang fiveslokas called "Manisha Panchakam". LordShiva presented himself along withVisalakshi and blessed Sri Sankara.

When Shri Sankara was 16, a very old Brahmin of ill health started arguments with him about Brahmasutra bashyam which Shri Sankara had written. Shri Sankara was astounded by his intelligence and arguments but they continued their discussion. The arguments continued for days together and the more Shri Sankara argued, his ideas crystallised more and more and he understood that the old man was none other than Vyasa Rishi, who was the creator of Brahmasutra. Sri Sankara said that he has done a great disrespect to the sage by entering into an argument. Vyasa Rishi said "I fully agree with your bashyam and I wanted to establish that yours is correct. I bless that you should live another 16 years and you should spread this Advaita throughout the country."

Sri Sankara learnt that there was a great learned person by the name Mandana Mishra who lived in Mahishmati and who followed the Karma Mimaamsa method of devotion. Sri Sankara arrived at his house and found his house was closed and Mandala Mishra was carrying out some rituals inside his house. Sri Sankara entered the house by using his powers and entered the house. Mandala Mishra became very angry and shouted at Sri Sankara. But Sri Sankara smiled and explained the uselessness of such rituals.

However, Mandala Mishra admired theintelligence of Sri Sankara and starteddiscussions with him after completing therituals. Sri Sankara said that there should bea judge to decide the winner and suggestedthat Sarasawani, the wife of Mandala Mishra,to be the judge. Sarasawani, who wasextremely intelligent and learned, realisedthat Sri Sankara was none other than LordShiva, did not want to declare her husband


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as the loser. She suggested that both of themshould wear a garland of flowers andwhichever garland fades first, that personwould be the loser. Naturally, Sri Sankarawon.

As per the original condition, Mandala Mishra became an ascetic and started to leave the house. Unable to bear the separation, Sarasawani stood transfixed and told Sri Sankara that according to our faith, the husband and wife, even though have two bodies, are spiritually one and she would be incomplete without her husband.

Sri Sankara accepted this and starteddiscussion with this lady. Saraswanishowered questions like rain and Sri Sankaragave very beautiful answers and Sarasawaniacknowledged him, and followed Sri Sankaraand her husband's footsteps.

In their travels, they reached Sringeri in Karnataka, which is on the banks of Tungabadra. While Sri Sankara and Mandala Mishra were walking, Sarasawani did not move and stood fixed in the sands of Tungabadra. Sri Sankara turned back and realised by his divine powers that Sarasawani did not want to proceed any further and created a seat for her for spreading the Advaita. This seat is today called the Sharada Peetham or the Seat of Sharada. This was the first Mutt installed by Sri Sankara, with the direction that all the heads of the Mutts will be called Sankaracharayas and they will have a lineage of Shishyas or disciples.


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When Sri Sankara was in Sringeri, he divined by his superior powers that his mother was in her deathbed, and as per his promise while taking Sanyas that he would be by her side while she breathes her last, he reached Kaladi and paid his last respects to the old lady. Aryambal was happy that her son had come back. Sri Sankara prayed to Lord Venkateswara who appeared in person and blessed Aryambal. Sri Sankara did the last rites for his mother but the people of Kaladi said that a Sanyasi does not have the right to do the last rites, but he did not hear that and carried the body of Aryambal and put her in the pyre himself and lit it himself.

After the death of his mother, he went all over the country and converted the people of other faith to Advaita. He revived a number of temples and using his powers, he established a number of Yentras in these temples to spread the blessings of Parasakthi. During his travels, he arrived at Mukambi, a religious place in Karnataka. A poor brahmin came to Sri Sankara with his deaf and dumb son and prostrated before Sri Sankara. Sri Sankara asked the boy, "who are you?". The dumb and deaf child, for the first time, opened his mouth and explained, "The body is not me, it is the Paramatma who is my body." Sri Sankara was pleased with his answer and he gave an amla fruit and named this boy as Hastaaamalakan. (Hastaa means hand and Amalakan means amala). Hastaamalaka became one of the principle disciples of Sri Sankara.


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Sri Sankara, with his three principle disciples, namely, Padmapadar, Sureshwarar (Mandala Mishra) and Hastaamalaka, went from place to place, and preached Advaita. Sri Sankara gave intense training to his disciples. One of the other disciples, Giri, while listening to the discourses, would not ask any doubts, would not open his mouth, and would be silent all the time. Some of the other disciples thought that this Giri was a dumb idiot and did not know anything. One day, all the disciples were ready to listen to Sri Sankara's discourses. Sri Sankara waited for Giri to arrive. Ultimately, Giri turned up but instead of keeping silent on that day, burst forth into eight slokas which had never been heard by the disciples earlier. These were the creation of Giri. On hearing this, all the disciples felt ashamed and praised Giri. These slokas are called "Thotaka ashtakam". Giri was named as Thotakar by Sri Sankara.

Sri Sankara visited Thiruvidaimarudur in Tanjore district of Tamilnadu, which is a great religious place, and the ruling deity in the temple was Lord Shiva. The learned Saivites of the temple informed Sri Sankara that Lord Shiva is the creator and that they are all merely lowly life created by Lord Shiva, and if that was so, how does Sri Sankara say that they were one with the Lord ? They did not agree with the Advaita principle. Sri Sankara asked them to enter the temple. As they reached the Sanctum Santorum of the temple, their was a thunderous statement "Satyam is Advaita". This was repeated thrice and it was also followed by a hand which came out of the Linga which conformed the truth. All the learned persons acknowledged the principle of Advaita and accepted Sri Sankara as their Guru. Even today, there is a Sankara Mutt at Thiruvaimarudur and there is a linga with a hand materialising out of it.


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Sri Sankara visited Thiruvanaikar, near Trichy in Tamilnadu. In this temple, the Goddess Akhilandeswari was having a feirce power and people who went to have her darshan could not stand the fierceness of this Goddess. Sri Sankara created two sets of earrings which are called Tatankam and he presented these to the Goddess. The fierceness of the deity reduced. This tatankam, the earrings, has been maintained over time by the Acharyas of the Kanchi Mutt.

Sri Sankara visited Tirupathi and recited the Sloka "Vishnu pathathi keshanta stotra" which describes the Lord from his foot to the head. He wanted the people to visit the Lord in great numbers and get his blessings, he established an yantra. From that day the number of followers of the temple increased and is increasing day by day.

Arjuna tree is the tree of "Marutha" and the place where Lord Shiva appears as a Linga under this "Martha" tree is called Arjuna Kshetra. The Thiruvadaimaruthur which Sri Sankara visited earlier is called Madhyaarjunam. Srisaila, in Andhra, is called Mallikarjunam as Lord Shiva resides under a Marutha Tree which has also got Jasmine creepers on this tree. Sri Sankara visited this tree and became ecstastic on seeing the linga at the foot of this tree. His happiness flowed like the waves of a flood and became a sloka called Sivanandalahiri.


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Near Srisailam, there is a forest called Hatakeshwaram, that no man enters. Sri Sankara entered this place and did penance for many days. During this time, a Kabalika, by name Kirakashan appeared before him. Kapalikas are a set of people who live in the burial grounds and pray to God by giving human and animal sacrifice. They were against Advaita which preaches love and affection and shuns violence. He asked Sri Sankara that he should give his body as a human sacrifice to Lord Shiva. Sri Sankara was happy to hear this request and agreed. Kirakashan was about to cut off Sri Sankara's head when Lord Narasimha appeared in the form of a lion and killed Kirakashan.

Sri Sankara completed his travels and went to Badrinath. Lord Vishnu appeared before him and told that his sculpture in Alaknanda river should be taken out and a temple should be built for it. This temple is called Badrinarayan temple and is one of the important religious places for Hindus.

Some more Pictures


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50 Divine thoughts by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/print-it.php?content=L21pc2NsL2...

1 of 5 04-Mar-08 2:11 PM

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In the unbroken line of preceptors from Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada, downdards our beacon light in the Santana Vaideeka Marga, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, the 68th Sankaracharya, shone as bright as Adi Shankara. It was the good fortune of his devotees and of this century, that He was the exemplar for prompting peoples' knowledge, faith and interest in the Karma-Bhakti-Jnana marga. For the learned and the layman, He expounded words of wisdom. These run into over 4000 pages and are being published in various languages. Indonesia has been similar to India, in their way of talk, habits, worship and culture. This has been so for ages. It is a true fact that Sri Mahaswami (Sage of Kanchi) had an affection towards the people of Indonesia. This book titled "Divine Nectar 50" has been translated into the Indonesian language by IBA NOOR AND STAFF "REALIA" Indonesian language school, Yogyakarta, Indonesia and published by P.R. Dandapani of P. T. Ispat Indo, Surabaya, Indonesia, while N. Rajan of UCO Bank Madras has been the co-ordinator . we bless the families of IBA NOOR, STAFF of "REALIA" , P.R. Dandapani, and N. Rajan and pray to MAHATRIPURASUNDARI SAMETA SRI CHANDRAMOULEESWARA that all Indonesians should read this book and benefit thereof. May those engaged in this noble task be the recipients of all bounties and we offer our blessings.

The medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows is to develop unshakable faith in God and tolerance is the medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows. Bhakti alone can give us the capacity to put up with sorrows. Temples are the agencies for developing that Bhakti. Hence, the need for temples at all places. All offerings to the deities in the temples are tokens of our gratitude to God.

That which is within all, which is seen as "This" is the source. He who is within and sees as "This" is God. It is the reality. It is in yourself. What is limited is Sadhana; what is unlimited is the end.


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He alone is an Acharya, who, after clearly understanding the conclusive teachings of the Sastras, makes the people of the world gain their welfare by making them stick to the path shown in the Sastras and also himself does everything according to Sastras and remains in that experience.

Many acts relating to God, like building temples, digging tanks are performed. While executing them, there would be many difficulties. There would come also several kinds of dishonour. Not minding any of these, they would complete their tasks with mental one-pointedness removing impurities from their minds and letting the mind wander. By straightening their mind, they acquire mind control and at the end, they realise the Reality that is to be known. Digging tanks, building temples and such otheracts are called poorttam. The performance of sacrifices, etc., is known as ishtam. Combining these two, we have the word Ishtapoortam.

In all that you do, let love be the sole motive. Any need must be with reference to another. Let action be out oflove. Passions such as desire and hatred , anger andmalice must be totally eschewed. If love becomes the grounding principle of all deeds . then most of the ills of the world will vanish.

We know many faults we commit, even if others do not know them. Sometimes we realise we are doing so many evil things and repent bitterly and feel why we should be born . Our duty is to pray to God -"I have committed so many faults. Will you not, 0 God, give methe will power not do like that in future and will you not purify my mind?" We must note down in a diary every night before we go to bed the faults committed by us and pray to God to give us courage and intelligence not to do so. This must be propagated widely.

Parameswara and Sriman Narayana are one and the same in reality. They are not two. This is the conclusive view of all the sastras. Names differ, forms are different, occupations vary, but the reality which is within Them is one and the same.


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What is the purpose of human birth? To earn, to eat, to undergo misery everyday and finally to die? Instead of earning and suffering, can we not die now? The purpose of birth is to avoid re-birth. Except man, all animals grow horizontally. Only man grows vertically. Instead of growing horizontally, it is God's will that he should grow vertically in order to look up. God has given to animals devices for self-protection; to man alone He has given intelligence. By doing nothing, we avoid re-birth; By giving up attachment, we avoid sins.

When any object is consumed by fire, it becomes charred. If that black residue is burnt again, it becomes white ash. White ash continues to remain white even when burnt again. This shows that white is the ultimate and black is proximate to it. Science tells us that diamond and coal are basically one. White and black are not colours. The primary colours get separated from the objects to which they are attached when subjected to the test of fire and ultimately white. Similarly, in the mental and spiritual place, the Ultimate Reality is Siva, who is white and proximate to Him is Parvati, who is dark. When we test everything in the fire of Jnana, or true knowledge, the residue is Siva. Ash in the material plane corresponds to Siva in the spiritual plane. We smear our bodies with the sacred ash to remind ourselves of Siva and the fact that the ultimate goal of life is Siva.

Much is said about the personal God and the impersonal absolute God with attributes and without attributes. It is only when all the colours in the light mix together that we get the colourless rays of the sun. Similarly by the very virtue of being the abode of attributes, God becomes Nirguna, attribute-less.

By education we realise Truth. There are many truths, History is one truth. Geography is one truth, Mathematics is one truth. The content of truth is the greatest in Mathematics. In others, there is an element of imagination. In Geography, we come across names Asia, Africa, Madras, Calcutta, etc. These names were given by us. By imagination, we have given names "plateau" "valley", etc. By a process of gradual elimination of all that is imaginary, when we arrive at truth, that Truth is found to be God. To think of Him with real devotion is the fruit of education.


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What is the use of education? Its first use is to develop humility (vinaya). In olden days, the disciple who went to a guru was called "vineyan" meaning a person of humility which is the hall-mark of Instruction he had from his guru, the fruit of education. Education without humility is no education. Education is the same today as it was before, but methods have changed. The medicine is the same but if the diet is changed, the medicine becomes poison. Education has today become merely the means of livelihood. For true education, the student should go to a guru and follow the guru-kula system.

Right education should make us know that God is the Truth. Knowledge must fill one with goodqualities, through which one can realise the Truth, that is God. Therefore, the goal of knowledge is the understanding of the Ultimate Truth. The first fruit of education must be humility and self control.

The total surrender to the Lord is a means of learning our insignificance and the transcendent grace of the Lord.

If we engage an inquiry into the Atman, at the end of it, it will be clear that God is in us as our very self. When that stage is reached, we have no use for the devas. Then all karmas will fall away from us. But, until then, we must obligatorily do the karmas directing them to the Gods.

Those who are the leaders of a group, society, or state should not neglect the established religious customs and usages. For themselves the may mot be in need of Church ceremonies, for instance, their advance in spirituality may not require them. But if they begin to neglect them, the people for whom the rituals are really helpful, will also start neglecting them. This would be setting a bad example. In the words of the Bhagavad Gita, the wise one should not unsettle the minds of those who are ignorant, and are attached to action: on the contrary, he should encourage them to perform what they should perform, by himself doing the appropriate actions well and with diligence. It is duty cast upon the leaders and those that are at the top to lead the people from where they are, and not to refrain from participation in the traditional ways of worship.


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Of all scriptures, the Gita has acquired a specialty of its own. Like this, there are many other books of wisdom. In the Mahabharata, there are many chapters teaching wisdom. Besides, in the Sivapurana, Vishnupurana, Skandham, etc., there is Jnanopadesa. So also in agamas. But what is the special importance of Gita due to? Not only in our country but in countries like Java, people follow the Gita. My inference is that because it was born in an atmosphere utterly free from attachment - attachment to life, attachment to body, attachment to kith and kin, but out of attachment only to Reality, it has become so famous.

On deep consideration, ahimsa appears to be good as an ideal or forpreaching. But practically speaking, it is difficult to follow fully. First ofall, we must love others. But if we love anyone too much, the end issorrow. Therefore we should love God who always gives happinessand not sorrow. I ask myself if we love God, should we not love anyoneelse in this world? So long as there is false knowledge whichdistinguishes God from the rest of the world, there will be differences. Ifwe attain Jnana that God is all, we will develop the same love for allthat we have for God; This is the sign of Ahimsa.

For the sake of food, clothing and shelter, everyone is toiling and sorrow-stricken. If sorrow is to be banished and if we are to be ever happy, we must dedicate all our actions to God. If we get His grace, then we need not do anything and can be happy. God is a good master. By praising Him always, we cannot please Him. He is indifferent to our praise or dispraise, action or inaction. But all our actions are ordained by Him and are meant only to purify our minds.

Why so many Gods? Is it not enough to have only one? Other religionsspeak of one God only and not many. We are assailed by such doubts.We eat to satisfy hunger, the stomach becomes full, there is no troubleor hunger. Then why can't we take cooked rice alone? Why should weeat so many side dishes? So, if we eat, it is just not to fill the stomach,but we want food tasty to the palate and pleasing to the eyes.Whoever is attracted to a particular God he worships that.

Continued

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50 Divine Thoughts (part 2)

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By multiplying wants, we only increase poverty. What is essential for lifeand honour should be made available to all the people of the country. It isfor this we want plans. Men of means should live like the poor and shouldnot increase their wants beyond necessities. The rich should share theirprosperity with the poor. This is punya, leading to salvation. The more weincrease our wants, to that extent, there will be no peace or comfort and itwill only produce poverty and sorrow.

Vedanta which is the peak of the Vedas teaches the way for the removal ofsorrow. Hatred and desire arise only in respect of the objects other thanus. That desire will not arise if those objects are rendered identical with us,if there is nothing other than us, then desire will not arise. If there is nodesire, there will be no effort and no sin. When there is no sin, there willbe no body and there will be no misery.

We may get many types of sorrow. What seems to be sorrow to all thepeople of a place may not seem sorrowful to us. If we stay always happy,without wanting to attain anything untouched by sorrow like the lotus-leafand the Kalakodi - seed, that is called yoga. "Know that to be indicated asyoga which is separation from being united with sorrow, The removal ofassociation with sorrow."

In order to reach one purport, why should the Veda speak of manymatters? This question may arise in our minds. It is through many mattersthat it is possible to understand that one purport which is Reality - yoga,meditation, austerity, sacrifice, performance of karma; when these areaccomplished, what they indicate is that one Reality. It is that Reality whichis the true purport of the Veda. Other things are of a changing nature.They become woven into a story and then even that story disappears.

What for is the science of medicine? It is for keeping the body strong andhealthy. What if the body is not strong and healthy? The body will besubject to diseases. What if there is disease? One will not be able to

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function properly. He who has given this body is the supreme Self. This isthe truth, we should practice several disciplines. We can practice themonly if the body is well. In order to keep it well, we must prevent it frombecoming a prey to disease. The science of medicine tells us how toprevent diseases. Thus, Ayurveda helps in the realisation of Advaitaexperience.

Savikapla Samadhi: The mind is steady without any distraction,contemplating its object wholly absorbed therein.Nirvikalpa Samadhi: This is the goal of yoga. In this, the mind ceases tofunction and vanishes once and for all, leaving the self to shine forth alone.In Advaita too, the path of meditation is recognised; but here the object ofmeditation is the distinction-less Brahman.Sahaja Samadhi: This is realised through the path of enquiry. It is thenatural state of Self - realisation and one of utter unconcern for the fleetingphenomena.

There is nothing to feel elated about seeing the people worshipping me.But when I reflect that is worship to the God, who they think areapproachable through me, I feel glad that there are so many who believe ina compassionate God who will hear them and remove their misery.

Our religion Hinduism has grown by devotion, meditation and self -purification. The other religions might have grown by propaganda andconflict. The reason for crores of our people remaining within the fold ofHinduism, in spite of powerful propaganda of other religionists, wars, lureof money, etc., is we see a great man (Mahatma) in our midst by whom weare impressed. We develop devotion to him and generate faith in ourreligion. There is a text in the Veda which says that a flowering treeattracts bees automatically. If we examine ourselves and we find one ofuse to be perfect, the world will follow him.

A child eats earth. Its hands are tied by the mother. The child gets angryand cries. Is it without reason the mother ties it's hands? We do not knowthe mercy of Universal Mother. The good or harm coming to us has itssource in Her Grace; Suffering - Her Grace for some reason. We mustaccept whatever comes to us, good or bad, as Her Grace. We do not knowwhy she gives it. Our vision is limited. We do not know what precedes it orfollows it. If we are able to look into the past present and future, we will


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know that God does no harm to us. Other than God, there is no kith or kinfor us.

We cannot say that a child or an idiot who keeps quiet without activity likea stone is great. We cannot presume that he has attained jivanmukti. Thisis the result of sin. He is a Yogi or Jnani whose intellect is very subtle andas sharp as a sword. He has to become like a withered tree, an immovableobject with a steady mind. He must understand all that is happeningaround him. His knowledge should be perfect. He should not be affectedby passion or sorrow. He should always be happy. None of us is like thatand Iswara is described as Sat-Chit-Ananda.

If God is the ocean of mercy and if He knows everything, He must knowwhat we want. Why should we appeal to Him to do this or that? Thereasonable answer is that instead of begging useless people at uselessplaces, we plead before the Highest and the Omniscient. Otherwise, wehave no justification to ask Him to give us this or that.

Everything disintegrates on earth and this earth also will vanish one day.The sun will disappear and the whole universe will go. Then there must besome powerful substratum responsible for creation, protection anddestruction. We call it God. We have the faculty of thinking and capacity ofdoing, in smaller or greater measure. This also merges after our death withthe omnipotent. Being, from whom we derive this energy. The stableprinciple which is the cause of creation and destruction of all energy isGod, called by any name.

Mother loves her child but later on, an unfaithful sun causes her sorrow.We know of cases where mother starts litigation against sons or sonsagainst mother. If one loves another, and if one of them dies, thebereavement causes sorrow. The bank helps people who have depositedmoney with them. It is supposed to remove the sorrows of the people intimes of need. But when the bank itself is liquidated or closed, thedepositors weep. Their sorrows once gave sustenance to the bank. Themore we love, the greater the sorrow in consequence. Then, shall wedecide that we should not love anyone at all? The object of this birth is tobestow undivided love on someone. The subject of our love should not bequarrelsome or separable. If we say that we should love only theimperishable God, then the question is: can we hate others? Let us learn


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to love all be realising that God is in all. God is eternal and our love for himshould be eternal.

I am prone to come to the conclusion that there lives none withoutpredominantly selfish motives. But with years rolling on, an impression,that too a superficial one, true to my nature, is dawning upon me that therebreathe on this globe some souls firmly rooted in morals and ethics wholive exclusively for others, voluntarily forsaking not only their material gainsand comforts but also their own sadhana towards their spiritualimprovements.

It is clear to us that there is birth and there is death. Passion is the causeof birth. Time is the cause of death. What is created by passion isdestroyed by time. If passion comes, the seed sprouts. If time comes, thetree dies. Kaalo Jagat Bhakshaka: Even the sun and the moon disintegratewhen time comes. If there is no passion, there is no production. If there isno time then there is no destruction. Therefore we have to conquer Kaalaand Kaama. Iswara burnt Kaama and kicked time. So if we go to Him,there is neither birth nor death for us. Let us therefore pay to the UniversalFather and Mother."Jagatha pitarau Vande Paarvati Parameswarau"

A master has two servants. One always flatters the master, the other justperforms his duties without any love for the master. If the master is a fool,he would love the flattering servant. If the master is too clever, he will notlove either the man working for wages or the flatterer. The master will lovemore the one who does his job as his own out of devotion. So is the casewith the Good Master, God.

Why do we break coconut before Lord Ganesa's idol? He is the Son ofParameswara and asked His Father to sacrifice His head with three eyesbecause only then, he thought any effort would be crowned with successand without any obstacle. So, instead of the head with three eyes, we arebreaking coconut which has three eyes. Ganesa is so powerful as todemand the head of his own father. Whatever is superior to everythingelse must be sacrificed to God. Symbolically, we are sacrificing the three -eyed coconuts created by God, as ordained by Him. When a sannyasinattains Siddhi, this is done. This practice is in vogue only in Tamil Nadu.


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Thinking that God is far away from you, you are wandering in search ofHim. So long as you do not know, He is far away. Though you maywander, you cannot see Him, but he is near you. He is distant, yet near.The story of a girl wanting to marry the highest among men, a king, ended,after all the travels, in the discovery of an ordinary man her parents hadalready selected. The bridegroom was so near. She took a long route toarrive at a point so near.

We see our reflections in a mirror. In a row of mirrors, thousands ofreflections are seen. It is only one person who sees all these reflections.The one who resides within us and who sees all this, is God. The seer isthe cause of all the seen. That cause is knowledge which is the basis ofthis world. Where is that knowledge? Within you, what is macroscopic ismicroscopic in you.

Joy comes in the form of status, money, etc. comes from without. We feelisolated. But it is the smallest fragment of the great joy from within, whichis Ananda. Paramatman, the ananda within is not worried whether any joycomes from outside and mixes with it or not. Waters enter into the sea,which though ever being full, is ever motionless.

If we analyse the teachings of the Gita, there may appear to be manycontradictory matters regarding bhakti, karma and jnana. But the Lordtakes the devotee step by step. We must meditate on the form of God asdescribed in the scriptures. This bhakti will enable us to understand theuniversal nature of God. Spiritual vision will then make it clear that Godwithout form is the Supreme Reality, which hears without ears, moveswithout legs. To worship God at the initial stage, metaphysical knowledgeis not necessary. The more and more we meditate, bhakti grows and weautomatically realise the universal form. There is no distinction betweenthe devotee and the object of devotion.

Our minds should automatically seek and cling to God just as iron filingsare attracted by the magnet; the heart of the chaste wife seeks herhusband; the creeper embraces the tree; the rivers go to the sea.

Philosophical truths and ordinary people have nothing much in common.Therefore outward garb is useless. The representatives of religion musthave real worth, peace - loving nature (shantam), austerity (tapas) and


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unselfish nature. Hinduism, in spite of its vicissitudes, is surviving even tothis day. This is due to the blessings of a succession of saints. If there isone saint among us, the world will prosper.

It is natural that man should seek to satisfy his wants like hunger, thirst,and a place to rest. There are duties which an individual has towardshimself, the social group and the nation. Ordinarily, the performance ofthese duties remains on the level of satisfying the creaturely wants. Butthere is a way of performing these duties which will elevate everyoneconcerned spiritually. That is dharma. And it is the duty of the king or thestate to see that the citizens are provided every opportunity for spiritualgrowth and progress. That is the meaning of saying: "Raja DharmasyaKaaranam".

Upaasana is dhyaana or concentration of meditation. A form is required forconcentration. Reality is always the same and changeless. God, as theUltimate Reality, is Formless. But Upasana of a Form is done with apurpose, namely, the attainment of a given benefit. The purpose to beattained by worshipping or concentrating on a Form differs. The scripturestell you how to meditate and on what all Forms and with what results. ForUpasana, you have to follow the Sastras or Scriptures. The differentupasanas are all aids in the path to the ultimate goal, namely,understanding Reality. Scriptures prescribe Upaasana n order to train themind to concentrate. Upasana is the affair of the individual; there isnothing collective about it.

Neither the raw fruit nor the tree wants to leave each other. But when thefruit becomes ripe, this attachment automatically disappears. Man requiresto experience anger, jealousy, passion, etc. just as the fruit had to undergovarious stages of growth and taste before it became fully ripe so to getautomatically detached from the tree. We cannot overcome theseexperiences in the beginning. But we must ponder over the fact why weundergo these experiences. Otherwise we will be the losers. We willbecome slaves of these experiences and can never achieve fulfillment orcontentment.

When adversities overtake us, we blame God and complain that He is blindto our misfortunes. But if we indulge in a little introspection, we will realisethat our faults are so enormous that we are utterly unworthy of His grace


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and, in spite of that we are able to get food, shelter and clothing. It is dueto the abundant mercy of God. We must consider the difficulties weencounter as a blessing in disguise.

A mother may tie the hands of her child who has the propensity to pick upand eat mud. This seeming cruelty of the mother is for the good of thechild. Similarly troubles are verily God's grace to save us. In the entirepicture of life, troubles form but a tiny spot. In our inability to visualise thepast and the future, we complain when we suffer in the present. A properperspective will enable us to understand our present plight in its propersetting.

Whenever any honour is done to a person the recipient must rememberthe divine source from which he derived the qualifications to receive thathonour, and feel humble and not elated with a feeling of self - importance.

Cultivate Friendly attitude to conquer the minds of men;Look at others as yourself;Give up war; give up jealousy;Don't commit aggression without reason;Mother earth is like Kamadhenu to fulfil wishes;The Lord God is like father showering mercyPeople of the World !Live with discipline;Live with charity;Live with mercy;May all people attain greater well - being

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Namo Namah

Reflections of Paramacharya

Courtesy: Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Satsangam

All of you think of me as a saint and perform namaskara to me. I have alsoa great yearning to perform namaskara to persons who are known to bereal saints. But my position as Jagatguru and Peetadhipathi, and the title ofBhagavatpada, which have come and stuck to me at a young age, withoutany merit on my part for deserving them, have deprived me from thatyoung age itself, of the good fortune of doing namaskara to saints, thegreat ones, moving about before our very eyes. My receiving all yournamaskaras, without my performing namaskaras to any person, makes methink of my janma as empty and in vain.

Our Acharya (Adi Sankara) has done a great good in this regard. What isthat? He has reminded that: "Sannyasis, like us, to whom you performnamaskaras, regarding them as saints, should never think that thenamaskara belongs to us. It belongs only to the one Paramatma andParasakthi which conducts and controls all the affairs of the jagat". Notstopping with that, he has also made a rule for us to follow, in order thatwe make sure of conveying your namaskara to the Paramatma and do notaccept the namaskara ourselves in the thought that it belongs to us. Therule will look very easy to follow, at first sight.

The Acharya (Adi Sankara) has, in his bhashyas, referred to the oneprimordial principle and power (Paramatma and Parasakthi) conductingand controlling the Jagat as NARAYANA. There are many reasons for this.

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I will not go into a discussion on this. I will just take up one point.

Our country is a country where threadbare analysis of and enquiry into thefacts of life (tatva vichara) has been taken to their end and documented inSastras which include Vedanta, Mimamsa, Sankhya, Nyaya, etc. TheAcharya wrote bashyas mainly to help those involved in the devoted studyof sastras. Though it be so

Even though this country is well known for "tatwa vichara", it is even morewell known (good name and bad name both) for giving us a large numberof Gods (deities). Instead of the Absolute being considered as a "dry"abstract principle, the deities which are no different from the Absolute,have form, and appear as the Absolute come to life. The Acharya, in hisbhashyas, could have dealt with the Paramatma as the prapancha karanasakthi, the Absolute, as a dry abstract principle. Instead of doing so, and inorder that the treatment may be appealing to the community which is usedto relating itself to God with Form, he had thought it necessary to refer tothe Absolute at several places by a Name. The question arises aboutwhich Name to choose.

Continued in Namo Namah part 2 of 4


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Though there are many deities, these can be generally considered asfalling under the broad classification of Saiva and Vaishnava. BetweenSiva and Vishnu, he may thought about which to choose. The Acharya washimself an Avatara of Siva. So, he may have thought – why use my ownName. Siva is very dear to Vishnu. And, similarly, Vishnu is very dear toSiva. Therefore, wherever Vedanta refers to Paramatma as Jagat-karana-sakthi, Prapancha-mahasakthi, Saguna-bhramman, Iswaran, with animplicit suggestion of attributed Form, where Murthy Rupa is indicated, theAcharya has used NARAYANA as the name)

In between, I mentioned the word Iswara. Though Iswara is commonlyequated with Siva, in the Vedanta Sastra, Iswara is Sagnuna-brahman.Ramanujacharya and Madhwacharya also have used the word Iswara inthis sense only. The Acharya has composed many stotras on Siva, likeSivananda Lahiri. It may be asked whether in those stotras he was doingstuthi of himself. They are bhakthi stuthis. Different sects andcommunities of people have their own likes and preferences among thedeities. In order to be helpful to one and all in concentrating and steadyingtheir mind in the worship of their preferred God, the Acharya composedstuthis on all the deities. How could he have left the important deity Siva?So, he composed stuthis on Siva also.

The Acharya had no "identity" for himself. He was always "Atma Swarupa".Therefore, it was possible for him to take on, as it were, identities withdifferent mental inclinations and work out appropriate ways for theelevation of people with different mental inclinations and preferences.Water, which is colourless, appears black when passing over black soil,and red when passing over red soil. It is like that. So, for the benefit ofpeople who take to Bhakti marga for self-fulfillment, he made stuthis todifferent deities to suit different preferences. When he made such stotras,he became, as it were, the Bhakta of such deities. In that way, when hemade stotras on Siva, he could become a Siva Bhakta and not remain aSiva Avatara. It would be self – praise only if, remaining a Siva Avatara, hesang in praise of Siva. If he became a Bhatka of Siva and sang his praise,did it not become permissible to him to sing his praise as much as hewanted ?


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It may occur to some that the Acharya gave central place to Siva, asChandramouleeswara, in his Mutts and made the other deities adjuncts.The Mutts are meant for all and so it may be asked why he gave centralplace to Siva in the Mutts. The answer is that the Acharya did not plan thatthis should be so. The Parameswara (God) himself gave to his Avatara fiveSpatika Lingas and commanded him to have them installed in five placesand arrange for the pooja. In carrying out this command, the Acharyainstalled in both his Mutts, here in Kanchi and in Sringeri, two of theSpatika Lingas. Thus the Lingas that Parameswara himself had given andinstalled in these two places for which poojas were arranged became thecentral deities of worship in these Mutts and other deities became parivaradeities. In the remaining Mutts also, for the sake "uniformity", the Acharyahad necessarily to make the pooja arrangement as Siva Panchayatana.

Now you may ask: You said that Acharya, when he wrote Bhashyas whichwere books on Atma Sastra, was only in "Atma Swarupa" and had no"identity"; if he was "Atma Swarupa" , and remained as such, then whyshould he identify with Siva Avatara, and therefore think about "not talkingabout himself" and therefore think about using the NARAYANA name. Iknew such a question can arise. I have my answer ready. I came to talkabout this with a question paper and a answer sheet, all prepared.



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So, what is the answer? The answer is that "Atma Swarupam" will notwrite books. In cat, it does not do anything. It will just be as it is. It will notact or do. The moment he sat down to write, it means that the "AtmaSwarupa" has yielded to place to Avatara. To be correct, the Samadhi stateof Atma Sakshatkara is over, and the thought of having to perform a "duty"for the up-liftment of Dharma in this world for which this Avatara camemakes him to sit down to write. In that movement, the question arises,Avatara means whose Avatara. When you get the reply Siva Avatara, itfollows that Avatara Siva talking about Adhara Siva does not look properand talking about Vishnu appears more graceful, balanced and dignified. Isthat not so?

So it is, in the Bhashya books, the root (moola) of the causal principle ofthe Jagat is referred to by the name Narayana. The supreme centralmeaning of these books is the Oneness (unity) of Paramatma andJivatma, that is Advaita. In this way, the use by Siva Avatara Acharya ofVishnu's name brings in the Hari Hara Advaita - that Siva and Vishnu areone and the same.

Mahavishnu has many names. In fact, there are a thousand names. Thenit may be asked why the Narayana name is chosen. The supremeastakshari mantra of Mahavishnu has the Narayana name in it.

Ayana means path (marga). Ayana also means the end (goal) of the path.In both these senses, Narayana is the Ayana for the Nara (Jivatma).Bhrama Vidya Sastra gives the path to salvation. Narayana is BhramaVidya. When He appears as Krishna Paramatma, he himself says"Adhyatma Vidya Vidhyanam" in the Gita. The final goal of that Vidya isalso He only. Therefore it is that when Bhrahma Vidua Guru Parampara istalked about, it starts with "Narayanam". So it is quite appropriate that inthe Bhashya books, which are Bhrahma Vidya Sastras, the Narayananame is used.

The name Sankara joining with the name Narayana has given rise to aname Sankaranarayanan. In south Pandya country, there is a place wherethe worshipped image (murthy) is the image of Siva and Vishnu in one


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body showing their oneness. That image is known as Sankaranarayanan.The place is called Sankaranarayanan Koil. This is now commonlypronounced as Sankaranainar Koil in usage.

The Acharya himself has used the above name in an important context. Hehas bequeathed to us in a question – answer form a text called"Prasnottara Ratna Malika". In the penultimate sloka of this work, thequestion is: Who is called Bhagwan and Maheswara. Our Acharya doesnot in reply give the names of Siva or Vishnu. Our Advaita Acharya givesthe reply as the one Atma which is a communion of Siva and Vishnu. Eventhere he does not use Siva – Vishnu or Hari – Hara but has usedSankaranarayanan.

Q: Kascha Bhagwan Mahesah?A: Sankara Narayanatmaikah

Therefore it is appropriate that this Sankara also gives a special niche forthe name Narayana.

Thus it is clear that the Acharya has referred to the great causal principleof the Jagat by the name NARAYANA. So, when he intends that thenamaskaras performed to us must be conveyed to the Jagat-Karana-Vastu, he instructs: Convey to Narayana. And to carry out the instruction,he has made a rule, which appears easy on the face of it.

Only that Narayana, who has created all this and has endowed all this withvital energy (sakthi), has the "right" to accept all the namaskaras.Namaskara to any deity goes to Kesava. We recite the sloka: Sarva DevaNamaskara Kesavam Pratigachhati. When namaskaras performed to thedeities go only to HIM, how can namaskaras performed to ordinary peoplebelong to them? All these namaskaras also go to HIM only. It is that wehave been asked to always remember when namakaras are performed tous. In order that we do not "misappropriate" the namaskaras rightfullybelonging to HIM only and make sure that the namaskara is duly redirectedto HIM, the Acharya has most kindly defined a rule for us – a rule, whichas I said earlier, is seemingly easy. The rule is that when someoneperforms a namaskara to us, we should say "Narayana, Narayana".



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If that is done, when the name is uttered, does not the personimmediately come to mind? Here Narayana is that person. The momentHe comes to mind, the thought that all namaskarams belong to HIM andwe should not take away what is HIS right and possession also will cometo mind; and we will convey the namaskara to the right place. That is why,the Acharya prescribed remembering Narayana (Narayana Smaranam).The smaranam is important.

When we utter the word Narayana, it is only speech (vachanam). It is notremembering (smaranam). Smarana means remembering with the mind.Concentratedly remembering. Just speaking it out with the mouth is of nouse. It has to be deeply and concentratedly remembered and spoken withthat consciousness – from that Narayana awareness. What we see inordinary practice is that when as a routine we recite a sloka or mantra, itbecomes only just uttering the words with meaning; it wanders thinkingabout other things and only the mumbling goes on. If that happens here, ifthe Narayana name is spoken without the mind remembering theNarayana, it will be a great crime – Maha Dosham. If misappropriation is acrime between people, is it not a very big crime when what belongs to HIMis misappropriated? Everyday, sannyasi receives namaskara from anumber of people. There is a great risk of his saying Narayana becoming amere routine unless he remains ever vigilant and always awake.Otherwise, he may easily find himself involved in committing Maha-dosha.That is why I said this rule looks easy to follow; it is not actually easy.

A true sannyasi, a hundred percent sannyasi, has no duties. He has noobligations to fulfil. He does not have to think about the well-being orotherwise of another. In that state, if someone performs namaskara tohim, he does not have to think about the welfare of that person. If he startsthinking about that, slowly he will start thinking whether some goodhappened to that person. If his mind gets concerned with the welfare of anumber of people in this fashion, what happens to his Ashrama Dharma,which demands that Atma Vichara be his only work. His supreme and onlyDharma is to be ever immersed in Atma Vichara. If he does not do so, heis not a sannyasi. Because, he is not a sannyasi, no one need performnamaskara to him. So, when a namaskara is performed to a true sannyasi,


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he remembers his own Atma Swarupa in Narayana aspect – the DwaitaLoka Nirvaha aspect – and transfers the person's good and bad to Himalmost as if saying that it is all your (Narayana's) concern: and seversfurther contact with that.

That is how it should be in the case of a true or cent per cent sannyasi. Butin everything, there are good, bad and indifferent types. There are peoplelike us who cannot be called true or hundred percent sannyasis but whomay be called half – sannyasis (Swamiji goes into irrepressible peals oflaughter while saying this3and then reflectively) even half may be toomuch...it will be fifty percent3let us use the word pass marksannyasi3so, can pass-mark sannyasis, like us, act the same way,namely, when one performs namaskara to us, think that they have nothingto do with that and transfer it to Narayana and forget?

Some people may not understand whom I am referring to as half –sannyasis, like us. Let me make it clear. I said sannyasi has no duties. Hisonly duty is Atma Vichara: released from duties to wife and children, hehas no duties to other people either. Therefore he should transmit thenamaskaras also to Narayana and leave it at that.

But we sannyasis, occupying a Gurupeetham, and exercising the positionas head of a Mutt, are the ones that I distinguish from other sannyasis andrefer to pass-mark sannyasis. If you ask me why, the reply is that when wetook, the GURU title, we also took up a host of duties. There is a heavyduty towards people in general, the human community. To consider theentire community as a body of devotees and aspirants, and conduct themto the right path is our big duty. We cannot be indifferent to the good andthe bad that happens around us and to members of the community; if wedid so, it will be a negation of duty, and we will be faulted for failing in ourduty. We have to concern ourselves with bringing the people to the rightpath and with their good and well-being; and we have a duty to performwith this purpose in mind. When this is so, when our devotees andbhakthas, believing that we will do good to them, come and performnamaskara to us, how can we think that we have nothing to do with theirwell – being and tell Narayana that is his business and keep quiet? WillNarayana accept this action?

I ask you for "subscription" for the preservation of Vedas. I ask for money


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for gopuram construction. Daily I receive "biksha" from you. All this istaking from you in the form of "dravya" . I also ask for physical labour. I askfor collection of rice from door to door for distribution. I ask for distributionof prasad from hospital to hospital. I ask for a pond to be dug for water forthe cattle. Like this, everyday, I ask you for money or labour. How will it befair, if I say I have nothing to do with you when you perform namaskara tome?

If, because of that, I give you my blessing for your namaskara, will itactually do some good to you? Does my blessing have that power? Peoplewho are in constant communion with Paramatma have the true power ofpenance only can impart such power to their blessing. In the case ofothers. It can only have a small power to do good in the sense that all goodthoughts have some power of doing good.

The amusing side of this is that the one who has cut off all connectionswith the outside and is immersed in his sadhana of Atma marga, acquiresthe power of Asirvada. Grace, Anugraha, by virtue of his dedication to hissadhana and the (spiritual) experiences he gets in that process. Suchpower comes naturally to him. Even without his knowing and intending, hisAsirvadam reaches the person doing namaskara to him and does good. Itis like a fully ripe fruit bursting and pouring its juice in the mouth of anyonewho opens his mouth below it.

In our case, unlike the other who has Swanubhuti as the only purpose,there is danger of our preoccupation with chores connected with our dutiesin the outside distracting and taking us away from what we should be doingfor Swanubhuti. This is a big risk. How far we are successful in performingthe duties of the Guru without jeopardising the work for Atmalakshaya, inensuring that the two works are not mutually detrimental but work in sucha manner that the sadhana for Atmalakshaya imparts nourishing andvitalising power to our work for loka-kshema and the work for loka-kshemaitself is performed in such a manner that the mind gets increasingly pure(chitta suddhi) and enhances the power or intensity of the sadhana itself, -how far we are thus able to neatly balance both the works and act withinlimits – that will also determine the power of our Asirvadam.

Even then, the real source of power is Narayana only. We should neverforget that. If nothing moves without Him, it means that an Asirvadam also


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can bear fruit only if His Grace is there. So, we can neither "push away"the namaskara (to Narayana) thinking that we have nothing to do with it,nor think that we have "power" to give Asirvadam and bless. Then, whatshould we do? When you lower your body on the floor and prostrate beforeus, we should say "Narayana, Narayana" with the mouth, rememberNarayana, mentally do namaskara to Him, and pray to Him, "Let yourGrace do good to these children".

Look at the problem our position creates for us even in this. We are notable to make even this prayer (prarthana) on your behalf with "anjali" (useof hand). When you perform namaskara to us, we ourselves give"asirvadam". You also expect us to do so. If we say that we also have to donamaskara to another (nr0 and "try to tap" that source for giving theblessing to you, you will be disappointed. One feels comfortable only if theblessing comes immediately from the person to whom the namaskara isdone. So, even though mentally we transmit your namaskara to Narayana,our hand which should be turned in "anjali" to Him, has to turn to you inthe "asirvada" mode.

All these years, you have been coming in numbers everyday andperforming namaskara to me. I, for my part, have been trying to do myutmost by way of mentally praying to Him on your behalf and for your good.Even then, if any of your prayers have borne fruit, more than my effort, it isdue to your faith. I think that the "sincerity" of my prayer on your behalfcannot match your limitless faith in me. That is why I said that even yourthinking that you get the fruit of my blessing is the fruit of your own faith. Inthe ultimate analysis, the only cause for the fulfillment of your prayer isNarayana's compassionate Grace toward you, which is yours without my"vakalat".

Enthroned on a pedestal, and hundreds and thousands of people doingnamaskara, and on top of that, hearing people saying "It is because of yourblessing that such and such good happened; it is miraculous",3.all thismay land us into falsely thinking that we have the "authority" to giveasirvadam, so, it becomes necessary to be very careful not to fall into thetrap.

If we slip up even a wee-bit in this regard, we will be committing themaha-dosha of misappropriating what belongs to Narayana.


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Though outwardly the "Peetham" and "position" are there, in reality we arelike the coolie carrying load. The coolie carries the load (luggage) ofanother. He carries it on his body. Similarly, we are to carry the "load" ofyour namaskara in 9our mind, and add the "weight" of our prayer on yourbehalf, and reach the whole to Narayana. It is doubtful whether the truthwhich is clear to the coolie is equally clear to us. The coolie knows that theluggage he carries does not belong to him; it belongs to another; and hisjob is only to reach it another place. This is the truth I am referring to. If wedo not reach the "luggage" of namaskara to its destined place, namelyNarayana, "He" will give us the "wages" for our crime. Like the cooliefeeling the weight of the load on him, we have also to feel the weight of thenamaskara and not treat it as an honour done to us. Out of our love for ourbhakthas, the weight has to be carried gladly, though temporarily, until it isreached to Him. Even temporarily when it is carried, it is no doubt a weight.But if it is also appropriated, it becomes a permanent big weight of sin onus.

The predicament of the person to whom namaskara is performed isfraught with such risk!

On the other hand, the case of the person performing the namaskaraappears a blessed state. Blessed in which sense? When he lowers hisbody and prostrates before another person whom he considers a saint, healso "pushes" a load off his mind as it were, in the belief that the otherperson will take care of that. Namaha is sometimes itself interpreted as themeaning of "Na Mama" (not mine") – that is pushing away something as"not mine". A true namaskara will always be in this attitude only. Mostpeople do not perform such true namaskaras. As I said earlier, there arecent per cent and pass mark types. Even in a pass-mark namaskara, atleast for that fraction of the moment during the actual performing of thenamaskara, he feels a relief. This is what we notice daily.

I lost this "blessing" to prostrate before another and to enjoy the feeling oflightness and relief in just remaining in the namaskara posture, at a veryyoung age. The position (sthanam) robbed me of the blessing.

Of course, there is no bar in doing namaskara to deities and purvacharyas.But even here, according to the sastras governing us, we are not permittedto lower our body to the ground and to perform namaskara, barring one or


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two exceptions. We are to do namaskara with our "dandam" (staff),swiveling it and touching the ground with it in a particular way, and it iscalled "Danda Vandanam". The namaskara that you do is also called"Dandakara namaskaram". The meaning there is different. Danda therealso means staff. But, there it metaphorically refers to the body. If the staffis held straight, it stands erect. We also refer to people who are nothumble by saying "erect or unbending like a staff". The same staff falls flatto the ground if the grip is taken off. The mind of the Jiva generally "standserect" like the staff. It is because of the hold of ego (Ahambava). If it isreleased from the hold of ego, it becomes humble. In such humble state, itexperiences the highest sukha. Lowering the body in performingnamaskara symbolises the release of the ego-hold on the mind. That iswhy it is called "Danda Namaskaram". If the namaskaram is done withoutunderstanding this central idea, that namaskaram is itself "Dandam" i.e., invain (Dandam in Tamil idiomatically means useless).

The staff that is prescribed for us and which we carry is itself meant for thecontrol of the mind. It is a controlling, subjucating weapon. The namesDandapani, Dandayudhapani are familiar to you. The word "Dandanai" (inTamil) for punishment came from Dandam. Since the important duty of theState is to prevent people from taking to disorderly ways and to checkenemies (of the state and people) from rearing their head, statecraft isitself called Danda-niti. In that way, the Danda is prescribed for us as asymbol for keeping our minds under strict control. It is not merely asymbol. When it is charged with mantra by our Guru and bestowed on us,the Danda gets the power to be a help in the control of mind. Theinventions of science have some spectacular powers in the outer world. Inthe same way, the mantras have miraculous powers in the inner worlds.Can you not touch an electric wire with a stick without receiving a shock?Are not radio waves "caught" by the aerial? Does not a lightning protectorrod catch electricity and save from thunder? This is also like that. In ourcase, the Dandam is a symbol for the mind and its shield; the mind havingbeen entrusted to the Danda. This way of doing namaskara can still notcompare with the other way of doing it by lowering the body and lyingprostrate on the ground. The psychological feeling of humility oneexperiences in lowering the body to the ground and the delight of justremaining like that cannot be matched.

There is another point. That is what I wanted to mainly place before you.


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More than the namaskara performed to the deity, more than thenamaskara performed to the saints and sages of ancient past, it is onlywhen namaskara is performed by prostrating before a living saint, a saintwho is moving about right before our eyes, that the "vinaya bhava" (feelingof deep humility) is even more intensely experienced.

Deities have limitless power. We believe that the sages and saints of yorewere "daivamsas". We cannot think of them except as divinities. We maysay that they really were so luminous and great and that is why we cannotthink of them in any other way. It is no wonder therefore that we lower ourbodies before such giant divinities and prostrate, with consciousness ofour own smallness.

Now, how do we think about the saints who are here, right before oureyes. However much divine or godly we may consider them, we find thatthey are not always acting or working at that level of whatever we consideris divine nature. We find that they perform many actions at human level.Though these may be explained away as "Maya" (appearance and notreality), or "Lila" (divine sport), or divine sporting an appearance for easyreach (soulabhya), the state of mind we have in respect of deities andancient sages about whose divine status questions do not even rise in ourminds, that state of mind does not seem33..I don't have to complete thestatement. That is why we do not revere and worship them for what theypersonally are, as themselves, but a tradition has come down that they arerevered and worshipped as avatara of some deity or of some ancient sageor Acharya. Whatever may be the real reason, we see a difference in ourthinking about the divinity of living saints – whom we have seen and known– and even then, if we lower our bodies before such saints to prostrate, our"vinaya bhava" is particularly well – revealed.

There is another difference in our thinking. It is "different" from thedifference that I earlier talked about. From what I said, you may think thatthe "respect" we show to the deity and the ancient sage would be morethan the "respect" shown to the living saint. What is the reality? Just reflecton what you yourself do. You have no doubt lot of bhakti towards imagesof God. But you do not go before them with "hands crossed on the chestand palm closing the mouth" – in a show of deep submission and respect.It is not that "respect" is absent in your approach. But it is not the mainconstituent. Bhakti itself is something which is very difficult to define and


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delimit. Love in many facets (rasa-bhava) fills bhakthi. We are also notable to exactly define our own "approach" to the deity towards which wehave bhakthi. How we experience Bhakthi towards our deity and how we"approach" the deity seems to be something happening in us which isbeyond our intelligence to grasp. "Respect" may figure in it; or may evennot. In total "swadhina" bhava, have not "ninda-stuthis" been sung (bybhakthas)? (Ninda Stuthi is praise couched in apparently denigratinglanguage).

In the case of sages of yore, such "swadhina bhava" – taking liberties – isnot so much in evidence. Compared to the case of deities, it seems thatthere is more of "respect' (in the bhakthi towards them). But it is not themain constituent; the other rasa – bhavas of bhakthi are also equallyevident.

When we consider the case of the saints of our times, who are right beforeus, "respect" seems to take the main place in our bhakthi towards them. Inour scale of divinity, 3 it is another matter whether such measurementsare correct or not3if we give marks to deities, ancient sages, and saints ofour times, we find that the "respect" in our bhakthi towards them is ininverse proportion to the divinity on the scale. The amsas (parts) of bhakthilike priya, bandhutwa, swadhina are not evidenced in our bhakthi towardsliving saints and perhaps because of that the "respect" amsa of bhakthi isprominently witnessed. Not only in the spiritual or religious field, but inother fields also – like stalwarts in politics, intellectual leaders, eminentartists, wealthy people – everywhere, our "approach" to the big and great inany field is mainly characterised by "respect".

We do not use the word "respect" in regard to deities. "Respected" is neverused with a deity's name. For our ancient sage and Acharyas also, it is thesame story. We may say "adored". Adoration means worship; it includes"respect"; but it has other elements also. In the case of living great or bigpeople only, "respect", "respected", becomes a main attribute.

The divine excellence of the deities is considered by us as natural(swabhavic) to them; we do not consider that as something for whichspecial respect or reverence should be shown. Similarly, in the case ofgreat sages of yore, we consider them as endowed with deivamsa andtheir excellence is attributed to the deivamsa in them. But when we


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consider people like us who have become great or big in spirituality,scholarship, status or wealth, we consciously take note that someonebelonging to our own (human) community has been able to reach greatheights and that realisation, recognition generates special feelings ofrespect. And, in the case of those who have risen to great heights in thespiritual field or connected with religion and God, such special feelings ofrespect spontaneously swell in the heart. Consequently, the namaskaraperformed to such saints – more than the namaskara done to deities andsages of yore – induce and instill a deep feeling of humility and simplicitythat we are but small".

The "bhagya" of experiencing such a feeling of becoming light throughnamaskara was taken away from me at a very early age. When the dignityof a position is weighing me down, how to become light?

In my case (meaningfully he stresses on "my") I got two special "unluckyprizes". What are the two unlucky prizes? There is a general rule that ajunior sannyasi should do namaskara to a sannyasi who is his senior. Thesenior and junior are not determined by age of the person. It is reckonedon the number of vyasa poojas performed. Every sannyasi has to performvyasa pooja in ashada pournami. If supposing one person became asannyasi at age 20, he would have performed 10 vyasa poojas by the timehe reaches the age 30. If another person took sannyasa at 55 when theearlier person was only 25, then he would have performed five vyasapoojas only by the time he is 60 and the earlier person is 30. If they bothmeet at some time, the 30 year old sannyasi with more vyasa poojas willbe the senior and the 60 year old sannyasi will do namaskara to him3.After I became a sannyasi, I have met a number of sannyasis with morevyasa poojas to their credit; even then, I did not do namaskara to them butthe opposite happened. Reason, the title of Jagatguru! Even though Iunderstand the title as meaning that the entire jagat is my guru, incommon practice I have to act according to the law of the mutt whichordains that "the entire jagat is sishyavarga of the Jagatguru andnamaskara to the sishya is not even to be thought of". Therefore, I couldnot do namaskara to sannyasis who were otherwise senior to me.

Still more unlucky, and that applies in my case only, is anothercircumstance. Other sannyasis becoming Jagatgurus would haveperformed namaskaras to their Guru who coronated them with the title.


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They must have done namaskaras in plenty. Here3 (pointing tohimself)3even that bhagya was not to be mine. You may know the storyyourself. (the previous peetadhipathi attained mahasamadhi afternominating the successor but before coronating).

The namaskara bhagya that I could not get, all of you have got. I desirethat you should make full use of the good fortune and blessing that youhave. In addition to performing namaskara to deities in the temples, go insearch of living saints, who move about in front of our eyes, and performnamaskara to them. As I said earlier, it is in the latter that the feeling ofrespect and reverence is prominently and mainly experienced. If you ask:"let it be so. What is so great about it?" There is a lot that is great about it.It is the feeling of respect that brings out the noble qualities of humility andreverence. Namaskara itself can be done only by "bending down". This"bending down" blossoms and shines as reverence, not so much innamaskaras performed to the deities in bhakti bhava, as in namaskarasperformed to saints with intense feeling of respect. When the body islowered to the ground in prostration before the saint, humility as a qualitytakes a concrete shape and you are able to enjoy and delight in thatexperience. Not only that. Namaskara kriya does not only help inconcretising through experience the vinaya bhava but also nurtures itsenhancement in one's being.

All animal life grows horizontally. Man is the only animal growing vertically.His face (head) is the vanguard of vertical (urdhva mukha) growth. Man isconsidered the best among the created species and therefore thisarrangement is considered a matter for pride. But if this "feeling of best"lands him in bloated ego (ahambhava) and conceit, he will find himselfeven below the animals. His thoughts and content of life should not endwith the pleasures of the senses but have to rise above them. He mustknow that God has created us like this for this purpose, make thenecessary efforts in that direction and rise to further heights. He shouldnot fall down because of conceit. Conceit is also called "head-weight". Ifhead weight increases in a horizontally growing animal, it does not matter.It can still manage not to lose its balance. If head weight increases in thevertically growing man,3if top heaviness results, what will happen? Theequilibrium will be disturbed and lost, ending in a crashing fall. If God hascreated the vertically growing man with head on top, he has to protecthimself, save himself from the "crash" by ensuring that the head weight


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does not increase. We use the words "patitan", "patitai" in a verydisparaging sense. The straight meaning of these words is "fallen".

Performing namaskara with humility will save us from such fall. A personwho is standing can fall and get himself hurt. A person who is sitting alsocan tilt and get hurt. A person lowering the body prostrate on the groundcannot either fall and tilt; and cannot get hurt. Is that not so?

As the height increases, the fall becomes more severe. The fate of one inhigh position is also similar. If he does wrong, slips and falls, he is unableto even get up – that is recover to the high position. He is damned by thesnub and ridicule of the world.

Leave alone the snubbing and the praising. What is intrinsically good for aman? By what manner of living does he get an inner contentment, innerpeace? Is there peace if you carry a load or you are off the load? Load isnot merely the troubles and cares of this world – samsara. The biggestload is the ego-sense, the I-sense, the Ahambhava. There is permanentpeace if that load is off you. The namaskara kriya is the best aid for gettingthat load off you. That is how in the namaskara, the head which is at thetop is brought on level with the other parts of the body. It is no more the"head dominating the body" but just one of the many parts of the body. Ifthe head is brought down by others, it is a disgrace. If we bring it downourselves, it is reward, honour. This is vinaya sampath (humility that iswealth itself). It is to get away from "head weight" and mental conceit thatthe namaskara I performed with the head. Appar Swami sings: "Bow down,bow down, O Head!"

In order that this kriya is done with single pointed attention, and one doesnot look to this side and the other, the namaskara is always done with faceto the ground. The indriyas (sense organs) face towards the outer worldwhen we lie flat. But when we are prostrate on the ground with face to theground, they are also turned away from the outer world.

Heights are not wanted. Being humble is what is wanted. If our minds arein this mode, the Grace of the Almighty (kripa varsha) will flow freely andfill us. Just like, water does not remain at altitudes but flows to level groundand fills it. As a symbol of this mental move, the body is lowered prostrateto the ground head to foot.


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This is called "Sashtanga Namaskara". Sashtanga is Sa Ashta Anga, thatis eight parts of the body are in contact with the ground. The eight partsare: forehead, two shoulders, two hands, torso, two legs. You also knowthat women do not do the namaskara in this way. In their case it is called"Panchanga". Panchanga here does not mean the almanac. Leaving outthe two shoulders and the torso, only five angas are in contact with theground in their namaskara. So it is called Panchanga Namaskara. Our rulemakers (makers of sastras) while making the rule that namaskara shouldbe by lowering the body prostrate on the ground, eschewing every thoughtof self importance and finding the lowest level with the ground, they dulythought of the Universal Mother aspect (matrutwam) of Parasakthi (Ambal)which is a distinguishing divine principle in women, and took care not toimply any suggestion of lowering its importance. They ruled that the part ofthe body which sustains the growth of the foetus during pregnancy and thepart that creates within itself the nourishment for the new born and feeds itshould not be allowed to come in contact with the ground. If the torsoshould not touch the ground, then the shoulders have to be excluded sothat the namaskara can conveniently performed. Thus, excluding the threeangas, in their case it becomes panchanga. This also symbolises the needfor women to have a "bending" nature. Bowing down itself means bendingand it seems that the namaskara performed by women is real bowingdown. Men sometimes may use the hand only instead of lowering the bodyfor "bowing" but women always do sarvanga namaskara.

A particular human action intended to express a particular inner feelingand thought, performed in the same fashion generation after generation bymany people gets an inner strength as the inner core of a matured tree.Later on, the action itself begins to reinforce and intensify that inner feelingand thought. Basically, any action done with the right thought and feelingbehind it, in turn, enhances and enriches that experience. Thus, thesashtanga and panchanga namaskaras are a great aid for nurturing andheightening the "tallest" inner quality of utter humility – that is, the "vinayasampath".

In out timeless tradition, "vinaya" finds a very special place. Status, money,learning, beauty, - all these are causes for the ego – sense, I-sense, togrow. Even among all these causes, the conceit born of learning is theworst. Such people talk about everything with contempt and ridicule. Iflearning is inextricably tied to humility, there is scope for escape from


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conceit. This is what our scriptures (sastras) again and again underline.That training for learning (vidya) must always be with training for humility(vinaya). Otherwise, they say, all learning is in vain. Bhagawan Krishna (inthe Gita) also puts vidya and vinaya together – "vidya vinaya sampanna".

Since the Grace of God flows only where vinaya is, yearning for Vinaya,one should perform namaskaras again and again. It used to be taught inthe past that one should go in search of saints and perform namaskaras tothem. Such saints may belong to any type; one who himself gives asirvad,or one who prays to Narayana for asirvad to us, or one who transmits thenamaskara to Narayana without involving himself; we need not think aboutthese things; and prostrate before them all saying "Namo Namah". If we doso, Narayana-kripa will be ours in some form or the other. "Namah" is notsaid once only; it is always repeated, as "namo namah". In ordinary usagealso, we say: "A thousand namaskaras to you; a crore namaskaras to you".In this way, the great legacy of namaskara – kriya to which our traditionhas bequeathed to us should not be allowed to decline and disappear.

With humility, and for the sake of humility, this kriya must be performed.This is very important. If the inner feeling basic to it is absent, namaskarais nothing more than a mere exercise for the body. Dandakara namaskarashould not degenerate into a mere exercise. It is only for man that God hasshown ways of reveling in the inner being through divine perceptions,through atma-anubhava. When that is so, if we seek only to increase theanimal instincts for pleasures, we will be no different from them. Eventhough the ways shown by God are spoken of variously, its central purposeis how to progressively minimise and reduce the strong and staunch holdof ego. Saying "Namo namah" and prostrating at the feet of the saints, whoin human form are present right in front of our eyes, is the only way.

Parameswara (Lord Siva) is described as "abhisheka priya" (pleased byworship though abhisheka); he is also prescribed as "namaskara priya"(pleased by worship through namaskara). In the well – known andcommonly chanted rudra Sukra (in the Vedas), a whole passage called"Namakam" occurs. In that passage, Siva is invoked by several names withplentiful and repeated use of "Namo Namah". The "pancha aksharimantra" of Siva and the "ashta akshari mantra" of Vishnu both start withthe word "Namah". Many will be familiar with the method of worship of theSun through "Surya Namaskara".


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The Taittriya Upanishad proclaims: Think of Paramatma himself asNamaskara and worship Him; all desires will start doing namaskara to you.What is the meaning of this? We Norma perform namaskara for thefulfillment of our desires. Is such complete fulfillment of desires possible?Will the Law of Karma permit that? Even if such a possibility is there, will itgive inner contentment and peace? Desires have no end. Praying for thefulfillment of desires is therefore an endless pursuit. The intelligent courseis to pray for freedom from desire. It is that liberated state that is herereferred to as "desires doing namaskara to you". The devotee hereperforms namaskara not for the fulfillment of any desire; so desire appealsto the devotee not to be ignored so totally; this thought is presented withpoetic beauty in this Upanishadic statement.

In a way it is even foolish to seek fulfillment of any other desire throughnamaskara. Because, namaskara automatically gives, by itself, the greatfruit of "vinaya". That is fulfillment, blessing, wealth, everything. OurAcharya (Adi Sankara) invoked Goddess Lakshmi in a stuti for the blessingof a shower of gold for an extremely indigent, pure couple, but in the samestuti, for himself he sought only namaskara baghya (to fulfil his only desireto do namaskara to the Goddess Lakshmi). So, in Kanakadhara Stuti, hesang: "Twat vandanani mameva mataranisam kalayantu".

Therefore, just as Saint Thiagaraja sang, "Endaro mahanubhavulu,andariki vandanamu", whenever and wherever you come across peoplewho are saints, "andariki", to all of them, do namaskara3. Sashtanga ifmen and panchanga if women. I do not mean that you should fall on thefloor to do namaskara even in crowded places. That will be a nuisance toothers and you run the risk of being trampled upon. Everything has to bedone with reference to time, place and context. In a crowd, the namaskaramay be done mentally. Compensating for the inability to do it with theentire body, make it deeply with the mind. Make the namaskara intomanasakara. In other places, make it with the body to purify the mind.

Whether they are really saints with the power to bless but desist fromgiving asirwad, or whether you thought of them as saints and they werereally not so, this does not matter; because your namaskara begets you itsown fruit. You may ask how can that be. You give an application for a jobto someone thinking that he has the power to give you the job. He turnsout to be the branch manager and he has no power to give the job. Only


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his general manager has that power. All the applications have to go to thegeneral manager and he has to give the job. The branch manager can onlystrongly recommend. Because of that, the general manager may give youa slightly better start in the scale. But, for giving the job, he did not requirethe recommendation by the branch manager. Does that make it clear?

Because it is difficult to catch the "general manager", let us give theapplication to the "branch manager3"

I have dwelt at length on the greatness and importance of Namaskara(Namaskara Mahamityam). You may wonder why I chose this topic to talkon. One respectable person was referring to the sadness to the steadydecline among people in general in the qualities of humility and reverence,in vinaya bhava. I started thinking about it and possible antidote for it. Ithought of placing before you the outcome of that contemplation. It seemsthat ever since loud voices have started being made about equality,freedom, self-respect and so on, decline in the wealth called vinayastarted, leading us to ways of indiscipline and violence. Talking about"rights" and "rights", we are led into "fights". Viewed in the economic andsocial context, it is not as if that these new perceptions are without ajustification. I accept that without any objection. But everything mustoperate within limits. If the new approaches are actualised in practicewithin properly defined limits, things will be in their places, the present daycondition of calls and other social conflicts will ease and conditions forpeace, brotherhood and unity will be created. How to regulate, how to setlimits in these matters? The only way to increase the wealth of "vinaya" inthe whole of society. Will economic wealth alone give fullness to life?Certainly not. We have to seek spiritual wealth and with the help of that,regulate the pursuit for economic wealth. Vinaya is the only route tospiritual wealth. How do you get vinaya? Impelled with the basic desire toseek vinaya, seeking the saints and doing namaskara to them is the onlyway. This kriya will help raise, from what is already "basic"(latent, dormant,underlying) in us, a visible edifice. The timeless and enduring livingtradition of this country has the power to convert and soften the moststubborn conceit and self-arrogation. If a little effort is forthcoming, incourse of time, desirable changes in mentality will be felt.

Spiritual advancement had been the main goal of life in this country.Stricken by the disease of "ahankara", material advancement has come to


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be considered all that matters. I have talked about the only remedy that Iknow of. I considered it proper to place before you the remedy and thereasons why I think it is a remedy. That is why I elaborated on the subject.It seemed to me that, more than anybody else saying it, my saying it willhave a deeper impact. When I say so, does it mean that I am trapped inmy "ahankara"? No, that is not my meaning. It is because of peoplepursuing "seats of power" mindlessly that loud slogans are raised in thename of equality, freedom, self respect and the like, and this din has led towars. In such a context, I thought that a person like me, whom fate(providence) has catapulted into a "seat above which there is no seat andto which there is no equal" and "who does not find fulfillment in thesituation that he does not have to bow before anyone" letting it be known tothe world of his acute sense of a lack due to denial of the opportunity oroccasion to show (and therefore experience what it is to feel) respect andreverence, and therefore pining, "what a janma", may cause people torealise in their inner being the necessity and importance of "vinaya". Thatis why I said all this.

You have the namaskara bhagya, which I did not and cannot get. I pray toNarayana, saying "Namo Namah", that all of you may make full use of thenamaskara bhagya, and receive the highest blessings in life. And I donamaskara to HIM.

OM TAT SAT


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"Dasopadesam"

a.k.a. "The Ten Commandments"

Paramacharya Maha Swamigal

JagadGuru Shri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati

One of our duties as human beings is to avail ourselves of every opportunity

to do good to others. The poor can serve others by their loyal work to the

country and the rich by their wealth to help the poor. Those who are

influential can use their influence to better the condition of the lowly. That

way we can keep alive in our hearts a sense of social service

1.

Man by himself cannot create even a blade of grass. We will be guilty of

gross ingratitude if we do not offer first to God what we eat or wear - only

the best and choicest should be offered to Him.

2.

Life without love is a waste. Everyone should cultivate "Prema" or love

towards all human beings, bird and beast.

3.

Wealth amassed by a person whose heart is closed to charity, is generally

dissipated by the inheritors: but the family of philanthropists will always be

blessed with happiness.

4.

A person who has done a meritorious deed will lose the resulting merit if he

listens to the praise of others or himself boasts of his deeds.

5.

It will do not good to grieve over what has happened. If we learn to

discriminate between good and evil, that will guard us from falling into the

evil again.

6.

We should utilise to good purpose, the days of our life-time. We should

engage ourselves in acts which will contribute to the welfare of others rather

than to our selfish desires.

7.

We should perform duties that have been prescribed for our daily life and

also be filled with devotion to God.

8.

One attains one's goal by performance of one's duties.9.

Jnana is the only solvent of our troubles and sufferings.10.

Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara

At Kamakoti.org http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/print-it.php?content=L21pc2NsL2Rh...

1 of 1 20-Mar-08 6:55 PM

Some collections related to Kanchi Mahaswami’s Greatness

1-You Want to Know the Greatness of mantra siddhi?"

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Oct 6, 2006 Once a brahmachary (bachelor) youth came to have darshan of Kanchi Mahaswami (HH Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati). He prostrated before the sage and got up. Swamiji looked at him keenly and said, "Are you not Kulitalai Sankaran? You are fine?" "With your blessings, yes, Periyavaa", said Sankaran. "Alright, what is your age now?" "Thirty, Periyavaa." Periyavaa laughed: "So you have decided to lead your life as a brahmachari, without any idea of marriage." "Yes, Periyavaa", said Sankaran. "Alright, anything special about your coming here now?" Periyavaa laughed. "And you wouldn't come without a reason!" "Yes, Periyavaa. I have come to get a doubt cleared." "Is it so? Come on, tell me" said Periyavaa. "What is that big doubt you have?" "It is a doubt about mantra japam, Periyavaa", replied Sankaran. Periyavaa asked quickly: "If it is about mantra japam... Are you doing any mantra japam?" "Yes, Periyavaa". "Oho... You have had an upadesam?" "Yes, Periyavaa". "Whoever is that Guru?" "Mysore Yajna Narayana Ganapadigal", said Sankaran.

"Good, very learned; whatever the mantra?" Before Sankaran could open his mouth, Swamiji said, "Wait, wait. You should not tell me the mantra. That should remain with you as a secret. Just tell me which devata (God) it is about." "Hanumat upAsanA paramAna mUla mantra, Periyavaa" said Sankaran. "Alright. What is it that you want to get clarified in this mantra japam?" "It is like this, Periyavaa. I am performing this mantra japam since my twenty-third year which was when I got the upadesam. I am doing it for the last seven years, still I don't know anything." "What do you mean by saying 'I don't know anything'?", asked Swamiji with surprise. "What I mean, Periyavaa, is that I am not able to find out if I have got the siddhi of that mantra" replied Sankaran, his voice echoing his sadness. Swamiji said without hesitation: "What are you going to do by knowing it? Anyway, are you doing the japam for AtmArtam (to know the self) or kAmyArtam (for a specific purpose)?" Sankaran said: "I am doing it only for AtmArtam, Periyavaa. Still, I am at a loss to understand if I have got the mantra siddhi and the grace of the devata. I pray to you to kindly tell me about my progress". As Sankaran said this with all humility, tears started rolling down his eyes. "Only the person who does the japam can understand if he has got the mantra siddhi, by personal experience. There will be a time when the person will experience it, Sankara," said Swamiji with vAtsalyam (affection). Sankaran wasn't satisfied. "No, Periyavaa. I haven't had any personal experience so far. And I don't understand anything about it, though I continue to do the japam, as advised by my Guru, for the last seven years. Sometimes my mind becomes very tired, Periyavaa. You should kindly inform me about any way that I can know it." As he spoke this, Sankaran joined his palms in reverence and prostrated before Swamiji. Acharyal (Swamiji) was quiet for sometime. He understood Sankaran's confusion. He decided to make the disciple understand what he wanted to

know. He asked Sankaran to squat on the floor near him and began talking:

"Many years back, in Sringeri Sri Sarada Peetam, a mahaan named Nrusimha Bharati Swamiji was the peetathipathi (pontiff). One day, a sishya (student) of the matam (hermitage) belonging to that region came to have a darshan of the Swamiji. He did not come for nothing. He bore the same question that you asked me now. "After prostrating, he presented the guava fruits to Swamiji. "'Come, you are fine? Tell me what you want', said Swami Nrusimha Bharati with utmost kindness. The sishya told him politely, 'Swami, I am doing japam of a mantra that was given to me by an upadesam. I am doing the japam for many years now. Still I am not able to know if I have got the mantra siddhi. How do I know it Swami?' "Swamiji said at once, in a bid to persuade him, 'You continue to do the japam in an AtmArta way. That devata itself will bless you with the siddhi phala (fruits of the efforts) eventually.' "The sishya was not satisfied with this reply from the Swamiji. He persisted, 'No, Swami. I need to know if I have got the siddhi of the mantra. You must tell me a way to know it, I pray to you.' "Swamiji understood the sishya's mental state. He called him near and said enthusiasticaly, 'Don't worry, my child. There is a way!" "'Is there a way, then kindly bless me with the knowledge, Swami!' The sishya was in a hurry of excitement. "Nrusimha Bharati Swamiji said laughingly, 'Every day, before you start your japam, spread paddy grains on a wooden seat, and cover it with a vastram (cloth). Sit over the grains and do the japam. Continue in this fashion day after day. On that day when the paddy grains on the seat fry and blossom into flattened rice, you will understand that you have got the mantra siddhi you have been seeking to know. You understand this?' "Even though the sishya understood it, he thought confusedly that if the Swamiji was telling him this way just to satisfy him or if this would really be possible. Suddenly he asked an unexpected question to the Swamiji. "'Gurunathar should excuse me. I pray this to you with an intention to know. I

should not be mistaken for testing a sage in the guru stAnam (the position of a guru). Spreading the paddy grains, covering them with a cloth... and they will fry...' "Before he could finish it, Swamiji laughed and said, 'You want to know if I have had any such experience, right?' He asked for a wooden seat to be brought then and there and placed facing the direction of east. He asked for a lot of paddy grains to be spread over the seat. When this was done, Swamiji placed his vastram (cloth) over the grains, seated himself in padmaasana and closed his eyes. By this time a large crowd had gathered in the place. "Only a few seconds later, there was a continuous noise of the paddy grains getting fried and flattened. There was a little amount of smoke also. Swamiji got up and removed his vastram (cloth) that covered the grains. On the seat were dazzling white flowers of fried and flattened rice! The crowd was amazed. "Nrusimha Bharati Swamiji looked at the sishya who asked the question. The sishya was standing sobbing. No one could speak anything more..." As Kanchi Swamiji finished his narration of this episode, Sankaran was standing amazed, with tears in his eyes. When he started to say something soon after, Swamiji interruped him and said, "What Sankara, are you going to ask me to demonstrate to you?" and laughed heartily. Sankaran fell at Swamiji's feet, his eight limbs touching the floor, and said, "Enough Periyavaa! You have made me understand the mahima (greatness) of mantra siddhi. Kindly bless me, and permit me to return to my place."

2-The Astrologer Who Astonished the Arcot Nawab!

Author: Sri P.N. Sankara Raman, Kambarasampettai Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Jul 24, 2006 As told by the author: It is several years since the incident I have narrated here happened. At that time, my father P.M. Nataraja Sarma was working as a Sanskrit teacher in the Bishop Heber College, Trichy. He had immense bhakti and respect in Kanchi Mahaswami Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati. Nattham village is located on the north bank of Kaveri in Trichy district. Once Mahaswami was camping there. My father wanted to have darshan of the Sri Tripura Sundari-Sri Chandra Mouleeswararar puja Swamiji was performing there. With three days coming up as holidays, he reached Nattham village on Friday night. The puja was over. Since nobody knew my father there, he was not specifically welcomed. Wearing the vibuti prasadam given by Mahaswami on his front, he lay down to sleep in a corner of the pandal. The next two days passed by in the same manner. My father had an eyeful darshan of pujas and the arAdhanas. The third day was the Vinayaka Chaturti festival day. After the special puja was over, my father went to get the prasadam from Swamiji and told him about going back home. Swamiji raised his head and said, "First take the kozhukkattai (modakam) (a favourite sweet dish of Sri Ganesha) kept in front of Pillaiyar, sit somewhere, eat it leisurely and then come back; we shall discuss about your returning home." My father was amazed. He wanted to take leave but Swamiji asked him to first eat the kozhukkattai and come back! After he ate the prasadam, Swamiji called him. Periyavaa was very happy to learn that my father was the paternal grandson of Pudukkudi Srinivasa Josyar (astrologer). Swamiji reminisced about his grandfather and the incidents that happened at that time. My father was quite surprised! Swamiji continued: "Your grandfather went to Malayala Desam and learnt

Jyotisha systematically. He also took up the upasana of devatas (chanting mantras on demigods). It was an interesting incident how he became an astrologer of Arcot Nawab. At that time, Tiruchirapalli was under the rule of Arcot Nawab. The Nawab had many astrologers. One day the Nawab ordered all the astrologers residing in his region, including those with him to come to his kaccheri (sabha). Many new astrologers assembled. Your grandfather was one among those present. "After the Nawab came to the kaccheri, the Diwan got up and told to the astrologers: 'Nawab is organizing a competition for you people. You should all write down in a piece of palm leaf the name of the gate on the fort wall through which Nawab will go out for hunting today, put it inside a (palm) cover and give it to us. All the palm covers will be sealed and preserved. When Nawab returns, the seals will be broken and the leaves will be read out. Nawab will honour the man who has given the correct answer.' So every astrologer noted down as east or south or west or north as the gate according to his computation and submitted his cover. "Ultimately, on that day, the Nawab did not go out of any primary gate. He demolished the north wall of the west gate (the northern petrol bunk side of today's Main Guard Gate) and got out, travelled some distance towards Woraiyur on the west, then turned north and went up to the Kaveri bank. Then he turned south and moved through the demolished entrance in the North Andar Street (today's name is Puduppadi Lane) to the northern street of Rockfort. Then he turned east and came to the East Andar Street via the slanted rocky path. He came round the Rock from the right and reached his kaccheri which was at today's Town Hall through the Chinnakkadai Street. He did not go for hunting at all. After the Nawab returned, the seals were broken the palm leaves were read out. Only your grandfather's leaf had mentioned about the Nawab's activities accurately. The Nawab was amazed. The others in the kaccheri also were wonder-struck. "Thereafter, the Nawab legally gifted your father 80 acres of land in Pudukkudi. In the street south of the Rockfort, there is a black temple on the western side. Near that temple is a tall house with an iron gate. Opposite that house is a small house with thinnai (sit out). The Nawab also gave these two houses. Your grandfather spent gradually all the 80 acres of land and the two houses near the Rockfort for dharmic activities."

With this reminiscence, Mahaswami blessed my father and bid him farewell. My father used to recite this incident to me often and feel proud about it.

3-"Sleep Near the Serial Furnace!"

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Sep 9, 2006 Many years back, a Cittirai month. The new year's day. Morning hours. A large crowd and a long queue at Sri Kanchi Matam. A sixteen year old boy was among those waiting in the queue, which moved slowly. He reached near the stage where Mahaswamiji was seated, around ten o' clock. Acharyalh keenly looked at him for some time. He prostrated at once before the sage, his eight limbs touching the ground. He did not get up. Swamiji waited for sometime and then said, "Get up, get up my child!" He got up, raised his hands over his head and joined the palms. The stirrings of bhakti hadn't left him yet. Tears were flowing down his eyes. Swamiji called the youth near him. He obeyed, his palms still joined. Swamiji inquired: "Who are you my son? What is your name? From which place you are coming?" With great vinayah the youth brought his right palm before his mouth and replied, "Swami, my name is Balakrishna Joshi. I am a Gujarati Brahmin from Madras. My native place is Gujarat." "Which place in Madras?" "Hanumantrayan Koil Street Swami", replied Joshi. "What have you read up to?" "Up to the eighth Periyavaa", said Joshi, in a low, hesitant voice. "Alright. Since today is the new year's day," Swamiji inquired, "you thought you would have Swami darshan at the temples in this kshetram?" "It is not that Periyavaa. I came for a darshan of Periyavaa." Mahaswamiji said at once: "apacAram, apacAram, shouldn't tell that way. When you go to a place, you should first have darshan of the Shiva, Vishnu temples there. Wherever I go, I first have darshan at the temples there--

only then any job. You understand?" Swamiji laughed. "I have now understood" replied Joshi humbly. "Alright, after you have prasadam from Acharyalh, you must go to the temples here before you board a bus to Madras, understand?" said Swamiji, a little emphatically. Balakrishna Joshi, a little emboldened now, replied: "I understand that well Periyavaa. As you have ordered, I shall have darshan at all the temples here and come back to the matam. For your anugrahah." Swamiji said laughingly, "That's what. I am going to give the prasadam now. Why come back to the matam? Oho... after Swami darshan you have decided to have your lunch in the matam and then board a bus! Good, good," Swamiji gave his consent. Joshi hesitated. There were tears in his eyes. "What is the matter?" inquired Swamiji with kindness. Wiping his tears, Joshi replied: "I wish to stay here for sometime, that's why..." Before he could finish, Swamiji interrupted him: "Here means? I don't understand." "In the matam Periyavaa", said Joshi with humility. "What, in the matam? This is a place for sannyasins. What work is there for young people like you?" Swamiji said with some sternness in his voice. "Have Swami darshan and get back to your place!" Joshi did not move. He again prostrated to the sage. And spilled the beans: "Periyavaa shouldn't say that. My wish is to stay in the matam and serve you for sometime." Swamiji understood the situation. The innocent, plain talk from Joshi attracted him and created in him a special preference for the youth. Without showing it, he said: "Serving me! There are many young people here! Why you as another? You start getting back to Madras." Joshi moved from that place, but not from the matam. He took his lunch in the matam and got himself seated in a corner outside the room where Swamiji used to take rest.

The evening set in. Swamiji came out, finishing his bath. He saw Joshi but hurried past the youth without saying anything. Joshi tried standing within Swamiji's gaze, wherever Swamiji happened to be. For four days he tried with the vairagya of bhakti, but to no avail. The early morning of the fifth day. Mahaswamiji went for his ushas kala bath in the pushkarani of Sri Kamakshi Amman temple. He saw Joshi as he finished his bath and ascended the bank. "You haven't gone to Madras?" he asked obligingly. "No, Periyavaa! I am not returning until my sankalpa is fulfilled," said Joshi with vairagya. "Whatever that sankalpa?" Swamiji asked, as if he did not know. "It is to serve at your lotus feet for sometime, Periyavaa", replied Joshi expectantly. "Shouldn't have a sankalpa which is not a sAdhya." Swamiji walked away. Joshi did not lose heart. After having darshan of Sri Kamakshi Amman he went straight to the matam. He stood before the room of the sage. Swamiji came out for the darshan of his bhaktas. He saw Joshi. His heart softened at the vairagya of Joshi. He called the youth near. "Your father has an employment or a business?" asked Swamiji. "Business only Periyavaa. Buying and selling diamonds," replied Joshi. "For the kind of temperament you have, you will also become a big diamond businessman. At that time, you should strive to get the name of a honest diamond merchant. Alright, as you wish, you stay with the other boys and serve me for sometime." Swamiji had at last showed him the green flag. Joshi joined the four or five youth who were serving the sage. Two days went by in the darshan of Swamiji and doing the tasks he ordered. On those two days Joshi had his bed at night, along with the other boys, in a corner of the room where Swamiji slept. Joshi considered this a great boon. Swamiji called Joshi before he went for bed on the third night. As Joshi prostrated, Swamiji said, "Balakrishna Joshi, you need to do a thing from now. Be with me like the other boys and serve me the whole day. But you shouldn't sleep here in the nights--" Joshi was alarmed. He interrupted the sage and said hastily, "I pray

Periyavaa should not give me such an order. Kindly grant me the privilege of sleeping here like the other boys do." "I am telling you with a reason," Swamiji showed some sternness in his voice. "You should listen to me." Joshi stammered: "Alright, Periyavaa. I shall do what you say." Swamiji laughed and said: "Say that! You go to the kitchen at night. There will be a wooden bench near the serial furnaces (kOttai aduppu). You sleep on that bench conveniently. Get up early morning, finish your chores, have your bath and come here for the service... What, you understand?" Joshi couldn't say anything further. Wiping his eyes, he said, "I shall do as you order, Periyavaa," and moved away. The other boys looked at this happening jocularly. He couldn't find the answer to the question as to why Swamiji wanted him to sleep alone in the kitchen near the serial furnace. As he came out, Joshi saw a mate and asked him inquisitvely if Swamiji had ordered any of them to sleep near the serial furnace. With an expression of disapproval that boy replied, "Never had Periyavaa asked any of us to do such a thing." Joshi felt insulted. It was ten in the night. Sobbing, he entered the deserted kitchen and settled himself on the bench near the serial furnace. He did not eat anything that night. Grief choking his throat, he was awake for a long time before he fell asleep. As the dawn set on the next morning, the matam woke up. Soon after, the vedic chantings and bhajan songs peculiar for a matam came floating in the wind. Joshi awakened. He finished his chores, went and sat down in the sanctum of Sri Kamakshi Amman. It did not occur to him to go for service to Swamiji. He came to the matam in the afternoon, had his lunch, and then went back to the temple sanctum. The usual bed around ten in the night, near the serial furnace. He did not go the sage at all. Two days passed in this manner. It was the morning on the third day. Swamiji called a sevak and aksed him with a worried look: "Two days back a boy named Balakrishna Joshi came here for seva... He is not seen now! Where did he go? Perhaps he has gone back to Madras without informing me?" Hesitatingly the sevak replied, "No, Periyavaa. He is only here in the matam."

"Then why did he not come here for the last two days?" "No idea, Periyavaa." Meantime another sevak boy came that side, and Swamiji asked him about the missing Gujarati boy. He too had no idea. "Alright, check up with Joshi and tell him that I want him here now", ordered Swamji and went inside his room. Joshi stood looking small before Mahaswamiji. "Come, my child. Why, you were not seen here for the last two days! Are you not well?" Swamiji inquired with utmlost kindness. Joshi had no reply. "Any sadness... or anger... with me?" Swamiji asked like a child, happiness writ on his face. Joshi slowly opened his mouth. "No anger and all, Periyavaa! A bit of sadness in my heart though," he stammered. Swamiji looked at him with surprise. "Sadness... with me?" Joshi kept quiet. Swamiji did not stop. "Come on, tell me! Is it not that I should also know about your sadness?" As Swamiji encouraged Joshi to talk, the other boys were standing nearby with folded hands. Prostrating and bringing his palm before his mouth, Joshi began to talk. "Nothing else, Periyavaa. You ordered me to sleep in your room like the other boys for the first two nights, and I was happy. Suddenly you called me and ordered me to go and sleep near the serial furnace! I was saddened with the thought that perhaps since I am only a Gujarati brahman and not a brahmin of this side, you might have ordered me to sleep separately. Please pardon me Periyavaa..." Joshi sobbed and fell at the feet of Swamiji. Swamiji understood the situation. He did not say anything for sometime. Silence prevailed there. Then he asked the other boys to leave him alone, and called Joshi near. With utmost vAtsalyam he spoke: "adAdA... Balakrishna... For my asking you to sleep near the serial furnace you made up this meaning! I did not say that with such thoughts in my mind! You are a small boy, so you have misunderstood me!". With those words, Swamiji asked Joshi to sit before him. Joshi hesitated and sat down on the floor. Swamiji spoke with compassion welling up in his voice: "There was never such a

reason as that you expressed now for my asking you to sleep alone on the wooden bench near the serial furnace. There was only one reason for that, Joshi. Look here!" Swamiji raised his vastram up to his thigh. There were bunches of reddish mosquito bites on Swamiji's rosy thighs! "My child Joshi! You see these bites of the mosquitos I have at night time? I am a sannyasin, so I can withstand them. Being a child you would have immense suffering. I saw you struggling with the mosquito bites on the first two nights. You have a rosy complexion like me! So I wanted that at least you could sleep well in a safe place, which was why asked you to sleep alone. Since the wooden bench is lying near the serial furnace, there would be absolutely no mosquitoes because of the heat from the furnace. And you would sleep well! That was the only reason for my order, but it so happened that you misunderstood me!" As Swamiji said this laughing, Joshi started sobbing loudly. He spoke sobbing, "Periyavaa, please tell me that you have pardoned me! Without understanding your compassion, I blabbered some nonsense!" That compassionate Lord was just laughing, raising his hands and blessing Joshi. "Joshi, you will also become a diamond merchant in future. Sell your wares for a reasonable prize and do a good business." said Swamiji as he blessed Joshi once again. In the later years, Balakrishna Joshi became a dharmic diamond merchant and was a beloved bhakta of Swamiji until the samadhi days of the sage. Some years later, Joshi also gave up his body to reach God's feet. Glossary: apacAram - offense, fault, something which contradicts Acaram or rules of conduct Acharyalh - teacher adAdA - an expression of sympathy anugrahah - blessing Cittirai - April kshetram - holy place matam - ashram, hermitage prasadam - a sample of a holy offering pushkarani - pond belonging to a temple

sankalpa - will, purpose, determination sAdhya - possible, achievable sevak - one who serves Swami darshan - Here Swami means God. ushas kala - dawn time vairagya - dispassion, here firmness vAtsalyam - affection vastram - cloth vinayah – modesty

4-Can a Wife Go on a Pilgrimage Leaving Her Husband at Home?

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Sep 22, 2006 A young vaidik couple prostrated to Paramacharya and rose in SriMatam, Kanchipuram. The young vaidik appeared to be around 25 years, his wife about twenty. The Acharyal, who was conversing with another bhakta, paused it and looked up at the dampati. Happiness spread across his face. He said with enthusiasm, "Are you not Raghunathan, son of Madurai Seshu Ganapatikal? But then, I should address you in such a way! Because you have now become Raghunatha SastrigaL! Like your father, you have become well known in the Madurai region." Paramacharya continued: "Obviously, this is your AmbadaiyaL. She is the grand-daughter of Tiruchirapalli Vaidhyanatha Ganapadigal. The only daughter of Subramanya Vadhyar. Am I right? Last year, your father and father-in-law both came here with your marriage invitation, to seek the blessings of Matam. You also came and prostrated, correct? Alright. Now as dampati you are both cooperative and well?" Swamiji asked with rightful concern. Raghunatha Sastri promptly replied, "We are very well Periyavaa, with your blessings."

Swamiji did not accept that. "You have said it, but your wife doesn't open her mouth!" He laughed as he said this. Gaining her wits, the young wife replied, "My name is Alamelu, Periyavaa. We are happy only... happy." Swamiji took note of the thread of sadness that ran through her acknowledgement. "It is not that Amma! Your tone betrays that you are not all that happy. Come on, tell me more." "Nothing of that sort, Periyavaa", Alamenu tried to get by. "No, no! Your tone is telling me that you have some sadness. Come on, tell me what it is." Alamelu said hesitatingly, "Periyavaa, I am a very God-fearing woman. Have full faith in the shastra and sampradayakah. Before my marriage, I used to go for pilgrimages with our family, relatives, and well wishers. It was very much to my liking! I am married with him for a year now. And we have not gone anywhere Periyavaa, that is the cause of my sadness!" Before she could finish, Swamiji interrupted, "Why...why couldn't you go?" Alamelu hesitated. "After marriage, I cannot go for pilgrimages on my own, isn't it so, Periyavaa? Only if the bharta comes along with me, the fruits of the yAtra will be realized? I asked him twice or thrice, but he did not come!" She started crying as she narrated her woe. Acharyal persuaded her, as he understood the situation. "What Raghunatha SastrigaL, is it proper to let your wife have a drop of tear in her eyes? After all is she not asking you to observe a holy routine? tIrthayAtrA and kshetrAdanam. What is the difficulty in going as she asks you for?" Paramacharya raised his bows. Young Raghunatha Sastry prostrated to the sage once again and said, "What she asks for is reasonable, Periyavaa. But then to visit the northern kshetrAs for at least ten days, and that bimonthly...is it possible for me Periyavaa?" "Why don't you try it and fulfil the affectionate wishes of your wife?" Raghunatha Sastry replied in a poignant voice, "Periyaa knows everything. I have vaidikam for vritti. My father is also not too well, so I have to take care of his assignments in addition to mine. You tell me Periyavaa, how can I go for yAtra once in two months, leaving aside all my vritti?"

Pamaracharya was silent for sometime. Then he said laughingly, "So you both have come to me for madhyastha in this matter," and continued: "What she says is reasonable. She has a taste for going tIrthayAtrA with bhakti. She also knows that after marriage the fruits of any yAtra will be available only if accompanied by the husband. What you say also has reason. Your vritti is vaidikam. You will be busy for all the thirty days in a month. It would be very very difficult to go on tIrthayAtrA with wife, once in two months. So, what can be done?" "Only you can tell us a way Periyavaa", the husband and wife said together. Swamiji sat for sometime, thinking. Everyone was eager to know what he would suggest as a remedy. After sometime, AcharyaL started speaking. "Alamenu! You are determined to go on tIrthayAtrA once in two months. You also are familiar with the dharma shastric rule that the fruits of a yAtra will be realized only if your husband comes with you. Since he has vaidikam as his profession, he says it would be very difficult for him to accompany you. So you do onething..." Before he could proceed, the couple said, "kindly bless us with a solution Periyavaa." Sitting a little more uprightly, Swamiji said: "I shall tell you a way, listen Alamelu! Whenever you start for tIrthayAtrA, before actually stepping out of home, request your husband to stand facing east and prostrate to him! What you do, Raghunatha SastrigAL, place your upper angavastra in the hands of your wife and tell her that her carrying your cloth is equivalent to your accompanying her, and bless her for the yAtra. You both will get the punya of having undertaken the yAtra together. And neither of you will have any uneasiness of mind. What... happy now?", Swamiji asked them mercifully and gave them prasAda. The couple were happy with the solution given by MahaperiyavaaL. With tears of joy, they prostrated to the sage. Everyone around who were witnessing this incident were happy with Paramacharya's tactful handling of the situation. Glossary AcharyaL - teacher

AmbadaiyaL - Tamil word for a brahmin wife. bhakta - devotee bharta - Tamil form of bhartru meaning husband, supporter. dampati - husband and wife kshetrAdanam - visiting holy places madhyastha - mediating sampradayakah - tradition shastra - scriptpures tIrthayAtrA - visiting holy rivers vaidik - related to Vedas vaidikam - Tamil for Vedic rituals and chanting vritti - here occupation, profession. yAtra – pilgrimage

5-MahaperiyavaL's Magical Timepiece!

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Dec 04, 2006 Kanchi Paramacharya was once camping with his entourage in a choultry at Pudukottai, Tamilnadu, on his way to Tirunelveli. After completing the Chandramouleesvara puja on the night he reached there, Swamiji was seated before retiring for the night. He called Nagarajan, a youth who was assisting and told him, "Appa, Nagu! I need to get up at three-thirty early morning tomorrow for my snAna. You remember it!" The youth Nagu with great reverence replied, "As you order, Periyavaa! As you told me now, at exactly three-thirty in the morning, I shall sing the namAvali hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara." Swamiji smiled as he understood Nagu's words. He asked him, "Since it won't be proper to say 'I shall wake you up at three-thirty Periyavaa', you said you will sing hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara!"

Nagu grinned sheepishly. He did not know what to answer. "Alright, do as you please!" Swamiji went to his room. It was eleven in the night. The choultry was steeped in sleep. Swamiji had also retired. Nagu couldn't sleep. Worry caught hold of him. There was not a single wall clock or alarm timepiece in that choultry. What he had was a very old watch presented by his uncle on the occasion of his upanayanam. He was not used to wear it on the wrist as he was with the sage most of the time. The watch was taking refuge in his old trunk. He did not touch it after winding it up every day and setting the time. The apprehension 'How could I wake up Periyavaa, if I wasn't awake at three-thirty?' took hold of him. Coming to a final decision, he went to the store room and retrieved his watch from his trunk. He came silently to the entrance of Swamiji's room and seated himself on the floor. He started chanting Vishnu Sahasranama silently, taking care that no sound escaped from him. Looking at his watch now and then, he was reciting the verses in repeated cycles. When it was 3:30 exactly, Nagu got up, wiped his eyes, folded his hands, looked at Swamiji's room sang the hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara in a low voice. Within moments, the door opened. AcharyaL came out smiling, with the tejas of Lord Shiva himself and gave Nagu his suprapAda darshan. Only Nagu had the blessing to get this darshan on that day. AcharyaL slowly walked up to the entrance of the choultry. Nagu rushed to make arrangements for the sage's bath. The choultry woke up gradually. The next night, and the next, Nagu's pattern of staying awake, singing Vishnu Sahasra Namam and the hara hara sankara namavali continued. On the fourth night when Nagu was doing his routine, tucking his watch at his waist, he fell asleep inadvertently. Suddenly he was awakened by a divine voice singing hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara. Jolted out of sleep, Nagu saw the smiling AcharyaL, his face replete with compassion. Swamiji said with vAtsalya, "My child! It is exactly three-thirty now. Seems

you slept because of tiresomeness. With a full day's service, it is natural you would have the strain." Smiling, Swamiji started walking slowly towards the entrance of the choultry. Nagu confirmed that the time was 3:30 from his watch at his waist. He was wonderstruck and confused at the sage waking up at the right time. The divine voice singing the namavali echoed in his ears repeatedly. He hadn't heard such a song from the sage earlier. It was eleven on the next night. Swamiji had retired. Nagu vowed to himself that he would stay awake at any cost the whole night. He had also brought water in a small brass pot, to wipe his eyes if he was overwhelmed by sleep. The time was 2:30 in the night. Though he had managed until then, Nagu couldn't stay awake any further despite his best efforts, so he folded up sleeping on the floor. The door opened. AcharyaL came out slowly. He saw the sleeping Nagu and the brass water pot on his side. He understood and laughed. "hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara. Appa, Nagu wake up!" Swamiji called softly. Nagu got up, jolted to wakefulness and saw the smiling sage before him. "Nagu, it is exactly three-thirty. Poor boy, you couldn't get up in time today also. Alright, arrange for my bath." Swamiji proceeded to the entrance as he did usually. Nagu wondered as he checked the time. After the afternoon puja, Swamiji was seated alone. Nagu went and prostrated to him and stood nearby meekly without uttering a word. Swamji began the conversation: "Appa Nagu, from your namaskaram it seems that you want to know something from me. What is it, ask me,don't feel shy." Nagu hesitated and tried, "It is nothing, Periyavaa." Swamiji laughed. "I understand what your mind wants to ask me. When you couldn't stay awake with a watch on you, you are confused as to how Periyavaa could get up at the exact time, when he does not have any sort of timepiece! Right?"

Slightly emboldened, Nagu said, "Yes, Periyavaa. In spite of my best efforts, I somehow went sleeping at the time when I should have been awake. And you got up and awakened me at the exact time of three-thirty. I am ashamed Periyavaa. How does Periyavaa know the exact time..." Swamiji interruped him and said, "You have the doubt that some karna yakshini tells me the time!" and laughed loudly. "It was not that Periyavaa. Just a curiosity to know..." Nagu hesitated. Swamiji continued: "No yakshini told the time in my ear. It was a bus that told me the time! The T.V.S. bus of Madurai T.V. Sundaram Iyengar's company. When I came out on the first morning after you awakened me with your namAvali, I noticed a bus pass by the choultry gate. On the next two mornings also a bus got past the choultry gate at three-thirty! On inquiry, I was told that it was the first bus of the T.V.S. company in the morning that arrives at Pudukottai from Madurai. There was not a second of difference in the exact time of three-thirty when the bus passed by the gate, day after day. People used to say that you can adjust your watch using the time of arrival of a T.V.S. bus at a particular place. I understood they were right! From the fourth morning, I got up as I heard the noise of the bus. There is no other secret in this, Nagu!" Swamiji laughed, absorbed in himself. Nagu was just looking intently at the face of Swamiji, as he finished his reply. Glossary karna yakshini - god of the ears snAna - bath namaskaram - the action of prostrating namAvali - a series of God names suprapada darshan - having darshan of a sage when he gets up in the morning tejas - divine splendour upanayanam - the Hindu thread ceremony vAtsalya - affection

6-"For this Sanyasi, perform Thirukalyanam for the Ninth time!"

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Nov 20, 2006 This is an incident that happened some years ago. An evening time. A large crowd in Kanchi SriMatam waiting for a darshan of Maha Swamiji. Periyavar came out of his solitudinous room. He came to the stage where he usually sits and seated himself, leaning on the wall. One by one the people came before him. Prostrated to him. And appealed to him with an earnest prayer to solve their problems. Swamiji gave them suitable replies, blessed them and gave them prasAdam. Eight-thirty in the night. All the people had gone after darshan. Swamiji was about to raise and get back to his solitudinous room. A dampati came hurrying up. Behind them rushed a young girl. All the three of them prostrated to Paramacharya. Then they extracted the articles they had brought from four 'big shopper' bags, spread them out on the large cane plates that were seen near them, and submitted them to the sage. AcharyaL pointedly looked at the cane plates for sometime. They were filled with sugar lumps, cashews, pistachio nuts, almonds, dry grapes, and dates. Surprised, Swamiji looked at the people who brought them, and happiness coursed his face lines. adede! It's our Viswanathan! When did you come from America? Your wife has also come... Besh, besh! Very glad. Everyone is fine? EndAppa, why have you brought such a lot of cashews and dry fruits? Any good news of a marriage? Here, standing by your side, isn't she your daughter? Oho... you have fixed her marriage! Why, Viswanathaa, there is no marriage invitation on any of these plates?" Swamiji asked. That was it. The three of them fell at AcharyaL's feet, sobbing loudly, as if a sluice was released and a flood of water gushed forth. Maha Swamiji could not understand. He checked himself and asked with affection, "Why Viswanatha... did I say something irrelevant? You people are sobbing like children?"

Immediately Viswanathan patted his cheeks loudly and said hastily, "Shiva, Shiva! apacAram, apacAram. Nothing of that kind, Periyavaa. The moment you asked, 'Arranged your daughter's wedding, where is the invitation?', the three of us couldn't contain our sorrow, Periyavaa! She is now twenty-five years old. We are trying, since her seventeenth year, coming over from America and staying here for two months. Not a single varan did crop up, Periyavaa! Somehow the chance slips by. She is educated. Has beauty. We have money. With all these things, there is no luck!" He started crying again. It was nine-thirty at night. AcharyaL understood the situation. He thought of easing the tightness that prevailed. "It is alright, don't feel sad. Come and sit here, all the three of you!" He pointed to the floor oppsite him. The three people sat meekly. AcharyaL started speaking: "Viswanatha! I know that you are doing plenty of dhana dharma for temples/ponds and the poor and destitute. Such a mental agony for you! Alright, how many years now since you went and settled in America?" "Twenty years, Periyavaa" replied Viswanathan. Swamiji pointed to the girl. "She is your eka putri?" he asked smilingly, "what is her name?" Closing his mouth, Viswanathan replied, "Her name is Aparna. Yes, my only daughter, Periyavaa." "Did you show her horoscope to the jyotishikahs?" "Checked with a number of astrologers, Periyavaa. Everyone of them talks about some dosha or other. They also suggest remedies. I have done everything they recommended!" "What are the things you did?" asked AcharyaL inquisitively. "I did Pitru dosha pariharah with tila homam at Rameswaram. Then shukra prIti at Kanjanur. Rahu prIti at Tirunageswaram. Guru prIti at Alangudi. Special puja at Tirumananjeri near Kuttalam. Shani prIti at Tirunallar with a bath in the NaLa Tirtham... I did so many of such things, Periyava!" said

Viswanathan. Before he could finish, Swamiji clinched it with the words, "So you say it is a lack of phala prApti." Abruptly Swamiji said to Viswanathan's wife, "You have got the jewels-and-bolts ready for the daughter's marriage?" "Everything is ready, Periyavaa", she replied. "Besh, besh! How many sovereigns (of gold) you give to her?" Viswanathan replied, "Thirty sovereigns for our daughter, Periyavaa. In addition, we have made two separate sets of jewels worth twenty sovereigns each." "What for are those two separate sets of twenty sovereigns?" "It is like this Periyavaa. If Aparana's marriage is fixed, with that marriage, we have decided to perform the marriages of two poor girls, meeting all the expenses. Which is why the two separate sets of jewels. But then Aparna's marriage itself is not getting fixed, Periyavaa!" Viswanathan expressed his longing, tears popping up in his eyes. Swamiji slipped into some serious thinking. It was ten thirty at night. Then he asked Viswanathan, "Within how many days you people should return to America?" "Twenty days more, Periyavaa." "Besh, besh," Swamiji was happy. "You people have finished your dinner?" "Not yet", said Viswanathan. Swamiji sent word for the cook and asked him when he showed up, "What is available?" "Rice uppuma and pumpkin sambar", said the cook. Swamiji asked Viswanathan's family to go the kitchen and have their food. He

waited until they came back. It was eleven in the night then. He looked at Viswanathan affectiontely. "Viswanathaa, you have a noble heart! With your daughter's marriage, you are ready and waiting with jewels for performing dharmic marriages for two other girls. What a broad mind you have! Kamakshi will guard you". Swamiji assuaged him with gentle words and said, "Do one thing. You go to Tiruvaikkaval tomorrow morning with your family. There you perform abhisheka ArAdhanam to Mother Akhilandeswari and Jambukeswarar and pray to Them. What you ask of your daughter Aparana is that... there they would have adorned Mother Akhilandeswari with a shining tATangakah on Her ears. Ask your daughter to have a keen darshan of the ornaments without blinking her eyes and praying 'let me be married soon!'. After doing this--" Viswanathan interruped Swamiji as he said excitedly, "Periyavaa, our family deity herself is Tiruvaikkaval Akhilandeswari!" Swamiji said, "Besh! It is a good thing then. So you go with family tomorrow morning and do this. Then you go straight to Tirupathi. There you perform a Tirukkalyana utsavam to Srinivasa Perumal and pray to Him. Everything will turn out well. All these cashew, dry grapes and suger lumps that you have kept here generously like the endowment rows in a marriage... take all those things and offer them to Akhilandeswari." As he said this, Swamiji got up. Viswanathan's family prostrated to him. Viswanathan looked at Swamiji and said hesitantly, "Periyavaa, since the seventeenth year of my daughter Aparna, every year when I came here, I performed Tirukkalyana utsavam to Tirumali Srinivasa Perumal. So far we have have done it eight times, Periyavaa!" "Alright Viswanathaa! What is there to lose? As this Sanyasi says, perform it for the ninth time!" Swamiji said laughingly and hurried to his room. In the next two days, Viswanathan's family completed the ablution and worship and tATangakah darshan at Tiruvanaikkaval as ordered by Paramacharya and reached Tirupathi. On that day, a number of bhaktas had remitted money to perform Srinivasa

Tirukkalyanam. There was a large crowd in the marriage hall. Viswanathan's family was sitting in a corner in the centre portion of the hall. The vaikanasa bhaTTAcAaryas were conducting the celestial wedding of Lord Srinivasa chanting vaivAhiha mantras in a grand manner. Their intonations reached a peak and vibrated throughout the hall. Viswanathan grieved within his heart thus: 'Appa Srinivasa! Is this your dharma and nyAya? You get your wedding performed every day in such grand manner! What sin did my daughter Aparna commit? Why do you not get her married to a suitable varan?' He started uttering a sob. His wife and daughter began to sob and weep, suffocating in their grief. A family was sitting near Viswanathan. The family head appeared to be fifty or fifty-five years old. He rubbed Viswanathan's back comfortingly. "Sir, my name is Vaidyanathan. Madras. I am watching you for a long time. On this occasion of witnessing the Tirukkalyanam with joy and happiness, it is not proper for you three people to sob and weep," he said tactfully. Viswanathan was moved. Briefly he poured forth his worries to the gentleman who comforted him. Vaidyanathan turned and looked at Aparna. His mind told him that the girl was stately and beautiful. Vaidyanathan asked him: "Your gotra?" "vAthUla gotra", said Viswanathan. "We are Srivatsa. Alright, your daughter's age?" "She is now twenty-five; why do you ask?" Vaidyanathan said, "Let this Tirukkalyanam be over. Then I shall take you and talk to you in detail." Srinivasa Kalyanam came to a completion and everyone was given prasAdam. Vaidyanathan took Viswanathan's family to the quarters where he was staying for the occasion. There he told Viswanathan, "I have only one son. He is twenty-six now. Name

Srinivasan. We belong to Melattur on the Thanjavur side. I am now working in the Defence Accounts in Madras. My son is employed in America in the Ford Motors company with a good salary. He is coming tomorrow to Madras on leave. I have been searching for a suitable alliance for him for the last three years, but nothing settled. We are all devotees of Kanchi Kamoti Matam. Three months back we had darshan of PeriyavaaL and prayed to him with the grievance of our son's marriage being delayed. He said 'Pray to Tirumalai Srinivasa and perform a Tirukkalyana Utsavam, your son will get married immediately.' Only today came the prApta. If that Periyavaa's anugrahah is there, even you daughter can become our daughter-in-law!" They exchanged the horoscopes and showed them to a famous josyar in Tirumalai. What a surprise! The astrologer who examined the horoscopes said that they matched on all the ten aspects perfectly! Both the family were very happy. They returned to Chennai the same night. Srinivasan arrived from America the next day. He found Aparna suitable for him. Aparna also found him suitable for her. Within fifteen days, Viswanathan fixed an auspicious day and booked the Rajeswari Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai. After the arrangements, both the families went to have darshan of the Kanchi Mahaan. Since there was a heavy rush, only around nine in the night could Viswanathan's and Vaiyanathan's family approach the sage. Periyavaa looked at them keenly, his two palms shading his eyebrows. Both the families prostrated to him. Vaidyanathan was standing behind Viswanathan. As before, Viswanathan submitted the generous offerings of suger lump, dry grapes, cashews and so on and stood before the sage, his hands folded across his chest. A divine happiness was seen on Periyavaa's face. After looking at Viswanathan for sometime, he said in a loud voice, "EndAppa Viswanathaa! Immediately after performing the Tirukkalyanam to Srinivasa for the ninth time for this Sanyasi, has not the phala prApti been gained? Besh, besh, your daughter Aparna is indeed lucky!" and uttered a rolling laughter.

Both the families were stunned. No one could raise a tongue. Swamiji continued: "Viswanathaa! You grieved and wept very much the other day. It occurred to my mind that your daughter was having the janmAntriya vivAha prati bandhaka dosha. Only for the nivritti of the dosha I asked for Akhilandeswari's tATangakah darshan and the performance of Srinivasa Tirukkalyanam for the ninth time! You understand now?" Following Swamiji's laughter complete silence prevailed there. Swamiji continued: "Who is going to be your sambandhi? What is his native place?" Vaidyanathan, who was standing behind Viswanathan, came to the front and prostrated to AcharyaL. He said, "It is me, Periyavaa, who is going to be his sambhandi! It's all your anugrahah." Periyavaa placed his finger on his nose. "Who is this? Oh Melattur Vaidyanathan! EndA Vaidyanathaa, three months back you came and told me that no girl's horoscope was found to be matching for your son working in America. I remember having asked you to perform Tirukkalyana Utsavam for Tirumalai Srinivasan and pray to Him. Alright, when did you perform the Tirukkalyana Utsavan?" Vaidnathan said, "Both of us performed the Tirukkalyanam on the same day Periyavaa! We finalised the alliance in Tirumalai itself. All your blessings!" His voice turned husky as he spoke. "Rest in prosperity!" AcharyaL blessed them with a filled heart. It was ten in the night. Swamiji said laughingly, "It is beyond time, Viswanatha! They said that it is the same rice uppuma and pumpkin sambAr in the Matam today. Do have your tiffin here without fail!" He bid them farewell with the compassion of a mother. Glossary apacAram - offense, fault, something which contradicts Acaram or rules of conduct abhishekah - ablution anugrahah - blessing, kindness

ArAdhanam - worship, homage Adede! - (Tamil) an expression of surprise indicating familiarity Besh, besh - an expression of appreciation, popular in the Brahmin community. bhakta - devotee dampati - husband and wife dosha - defect, deficiency, impurity eka putri - only daughter EndAppa - (Tamil) for 'why, my boy!' or a similar expression gotra - literally, a cow-pen; also one of the 49 sub-divisions among brahmins supposed to be sprung from and named after celebrated teachers. Guru prIti - propitiating god Guru (Jupiter) janmAntriya vivAha prati bandhaka dosha - deficiency from previous births that goes against the chances of getting married josyar - (Tamil) astrologer jyotishikah - an astrologist nivritti - satisfaction, disappearance nyAya - justice Periyavar - Holy man, a grammar-friendly Tamil title for a wise man phala prApti - attaining fruits, also success in an endeavour Pitru dosha pariharah - corrective action for deficiency in rituals to ancestors. prApta - attainment, fulfilment prasAdam - a sample of a holy offering Rahu prIti - propitiating god Rahu sambandhi - joined in a relationship Shani prIti - propitiating god Saturn shukra prIti - propitiating god Shukra (Venus) tATangakah - ear ornament tila homam - fire ceremony using sesame Tirukkalyana utsavam - celestial wedding ceremony uppumA - a rice dish, also known as kichadi vaikanasa bhaTTAcAarya - ancient and traditional chief priests in Vaishnava temples of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka vaivAhiha - relating to a wedding ceremony varan - (Tamil) a prospective husband

7-"A Double-Stringed Chain in Eight Sovereigns?"

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Dec 20, 2006 An early morning, many years ago. It was slightly drizzling. Maha Periyavaa was seated in solitude at Kanchi Sri Sankara maTham. After the bhaktas had darshan of him, Swamiji arose to go to his room. Just then an old grandam and a young woman came running and prostrated to the sage. Swamiji sat down again, looking a bit keenly at them. With happiness crawling on his face, Swamiji said, "adede! is it Meenakshi Paatti? What a wonder you have come in the morning time? Who is near you? Your granddaughter? What name?" Meenakshi Paatti said, "Periyavaa! I am coming to the maTham to have your darshan for ever so many years. Till today I haven't informed SwamigaL about me. There was no such opportunity. But then, it has come now. This girl standing by my side is my granddaughter born through my daughter. Since she was born in this town, we named her Kamakshi. I had only one daughter, and she closed her eyes twelve years ago, leaving this girl to my care. Some disease she had. Her husband also died before her due to a heart attack. "Since then I am plodding on alone with this girl. I put her in a school. Study didn't get into her head. So I stopped it with her fifth grade. Now she is fifteen years old. My duty will be over once I give her hand to a man!" AcharyaL listened to her patiently. "I understood when I saw you come here and stand before me in the early morning itself, that you who used to bring pArijAta puS^pam for Chandramouleesvara puja every morning around ten o' clock, have come to me now with a purpose. What is the news?" he said. Hesitating at first, Meenakshi Paatti began: "Nothing, Periyavaa. A suitable alliance has come up for this girl. The boy is also from this place. School teacher. Sixty rupees salary. Good family. No demand-and-take harassments. They say that both the horoscopes match well. Somehow only you should perform this marriage, Periyavaa!" Paatti prostrated to him.

AcharyaL's tone showed some heat as he chided her: "What? I should perform the marriage? What are you talking?" Within moments he cooled down and said, "Alright, what do you expect me to do?" Paatti was happy. "It's like this, Periyavaa! I have somehow managed to save five thousand rupees for her marriage. I can complete the marriage within that amount. But then the boy's mother has said compulsively, 'Paatti, whatever or however you do it, you must present a double-stringed, eight-sovereign gold chain for the neck of your granddaughter!' I couldn't do anything big by way of jewels-and-bolts for her within my income. I have arranged just a bangle of one sovereign each for each hand of this girl. Only that is possible for me. Where can I go for an eight-sovereign double-stringed chain, Periyavaa? Only you--" Before she could finish, Swamiji asked her with some anger: "Tell me, you want me to provide her with a double-stringed chain in eight-sovereigns?" Meenkshi Paatti prostrated to him and rose. Patting her cheeks loudly, she said, "apacAram, apacAram, Periyavaa. I am not coming to say that. A number of rich and big people come for your darshan daily. Could you not gesture to any of them to arrange for the eight-sovereign double-stringed chain?" Paatti asked him longingly. "What? To gesture to the big people who come for a darshan? There is no such practice. If you want, you seek some other alliance where they don't demand eight or ten sovereigns! Only that is better for you." Swamiji got up. Meenakshi Paatti said anxiously, "I pray that Periyavaa shouldn't leave me with such advise! This is a very good alliance, Periyavaa. The boy has a sanguine temperament. They got their own girls married with a gift of an eight-sovereign double-stringed chain each. Therefore they desire that the girl coming as their daughter-in-law should also come with a double-stringed chain. Nothing else, Periyavaa. Only you should provide me with guidance in the matter!" Paatti begged the sage. AcharyaL, who had got up, sat down again. He was immersed in deep thoughts for sometime. Then he started talking with compassion: "Will you do something I suggest now?"

"I will do it definitely. Please tell me what!" Paatti was excited. "Go to the Kamakshi Amman temple tomorrow with your granddaughter. Both of you pray to Her, 'This marriage should take place grandly with the required eight-sovereign double-stringed chain provided. Only You should arrange it, Amma!' and do pradakSiNa of the sannidhi five times. Prostrate before ambAL five times and go home. Pray this way for five days. Kamakshi will arrange the things as you have desired in your mind." AcharyaL blessed them smilingly. As she prostrated and got up, Meenakshi Paatti said, "What is it Periyavaa, you suggest everything five times!" She asked with eagerness, "If I do it that way, AmbaL Kamakshi will surely arrange my granddaughter Kamakshi's marriage?" "I am not suggesting the five-times requirement myself. AmbaL has the adulation panca saMkhyopacAriNi. She grants favours happily when she is worshipped in multiples of five." Swamiji said, "I told you only that, nothing else!" "When do we start this, Periyavaa?" Swamiji smiled. "It has been said shubhasya shIghram. Today is Friday. Why, you start today itself." He said and bid them farewell. With her granddaughter beside her, Paatti walked towards Kamakshi Amman temple. Since it was Friday, there was a heavy rush in the temple. Mother Kamakshi dazzled in full splendour due to special adornments of that day. Both of them closed their eyes and prayed as advised by Periyavaa. Paatti had an arcanA performed in her granddaughter's birth star and secured the prasAdam. Then they both prayed to Amman about the eight-sovereign double-stringed chain and went around the inner courtyard clockwise five times. Then they prostrated to AmabaL five times as Swamiji had suggested. With faith in heart, they went back home.

On Saturday morning, Paatti started from her house with her granddaughter. Collecting the coral-jasmine flowers, she hurried to Sankara maTham. There was a heavy rush in the maTham. Meenakshi Paatti was standing in the queue some twenty or thirty bhaktas behind. She heard what the person before her was telling his neighbour with concern. 'Today is the day of the anushA star. PeriyavaL's birth star. So Swamiji has taken up a vow of silence today. He wouldn't talk to anybody. Only mukha darshan.' Anxiety got hold of Meenakshi Paatti. She worried, 'I thought of reminding Periyavaa about the eight-sovereign double-stringed chain, but it seems that won't be possible now.' When they got near Periyavaa, they prostrated to him. That para brahmaM was sitting with no sign of life in him. Paatti paused, yearning that he would ask something about the chain. Swamiji's assistant told her a bit sternly, "Paatti, move away please! Periyavaa adopts a vow of silence today. He won't talk. See, how many people are waiting behind you!" She made her way towards Kamakshi Amman temple, along with her granddaughter. As advised by Periyavaa, they performed the panca saMkhyopacAra worship on that day and got back home. Maha Swamiji continued the vow of silence on the following two days also. Paatti and her granddaughter could only have a darshan of the sage at the maTham. Paatti started worrying, 'Four out of five days has gone by since Periyavaa's advice but nothing happened! Will Mother Kamakshi open her eyes and bless me or not?' She could only grieve within herself. It dawned on Tuesday. Sri Kanchi maTham was very brisk on that day. A bhajan troupe from Arani was immersing the maTham in bhaktic ecstasy. AcharyaL came and sat in his usual place. There was such a maha tejas in his face! He had dissolved his vow of silence. There was a large crowd waiting for PeriyavaL's darshan. A middle-aged maami in the queue prostrated to Swamiji happily as her turn came. Happiness was writ on her face. She submitted the things she had brought--a large bunch of rastaLi bananas, un-shorn coconuts, sweet lemons, oranges, pumpkins, and chubby raw-bananas--and prostrated again. Swamiji smiled to himself as he glanced at the items kept before him. Then he

narrowed his eyes and looked keenly at the woman. "Aren't you Ambujam, wife of Needamangalam landowner Ganesa Iyer? You came two months back. Told me something, feeling sad. Looking at the way you have come now with a large banana bunch, it seems that your problems would have been solved by the grace of Kamakshi, right?" Ambujam prostrated again and said, "True, Periyavaa. My only daughter Mythili was made to stay away from her husband's home for the last three years. Two months back I came running to you, reported this humiliation and wept. It was you who advised me to do five circumambulations and five prostrations for five days and perform ablution and worship in the Kamakshi Amman temple of this town. I completed them with extreme care, and what a wonder, fifteen days back, my son-in-law Radhakrishnan who works in Jamshedpur Tata Steel Plant came over himself and took his wife Mythili back with him. It's all that Kamakshi's grace and your blessings, Periyavaa!" Tears of joy filled her eyes as she spoke. Swamiji said, "Besh, besh, very glad. Let the dampati rest in prosperity! By the way, where did you get such a big bunch of bananas? Looks massive!" Swamiji's laughter rolled by like thunder. Ambujam said smilingly, "This bunch was harvested from our own banana bed, Periyavaa; which is why it is so big!" She spoke with humility. Showing happiness, Swamiji ordered her, "Alright, only Amma Kamakshi has rejoined your daughter and son-in-law. So you offer this big banana bunch to Her and distribute the fruits to the bhaktas who visit the shrine." Ambujam said, "No no, Periyavaa. Let it remain in this sanctum. I have an identical bunch to offer to AmbaL. Now I seek your leave to have a darshan of AmbaL, complete my prayers and get back here." She prostrated. "BeshA! After completing your prayers you must take food in the maTham and then only should get back to your place. Remember it!" Swamiji gave her his consent to leave him. There was not much crowd in Kamakshi Amman temple on that day. It was eleven in the morning. As it was later than usual, Meenakshi Paatti hurried to

the temple with her granddaughter. She halted at the shop selling arcanA packs, and told her granddaughter, "Hey Kamakshi! Today is the day of completion. So we shall do everything in five numbers as told by AcharyaL. What you do, get five arcanA packs with five coconuts, five bananas, betel leaves, nuts, etc. and come back running!" and gave her the required money. The granddaughter bought the things as ordered. Paatti performed the arcanAs to AmbaL and prayed Her with tearful eyes, 'Amma Kamakshi, I am completely depending on You only! I have no refuge except You and SwamigaL. Only You should arrange for the eight-sovereign double-string chain and complete my granddaughter's marriage in a fitting manner.' As Paatti sobbed, her granddaughter was also moved and wept. Then they started going round the inner couryard from left to right. They were on their fourth round. "Paatti... Paatti... Paattee!" Meekakshi Paatti looked back at the loud call from her granddaughter and chided her angrily, "Why do you cry so loud? What have you lost to raise such a noise?" "Nothing lost Paatti, but something gained! Please come here, I shall show you!" She took her grandma to a corner, opened her right palm and showed her something. It was a severed, double-stringed chain with a front. "Where did you find that?" Paatti asked with surprise. Her granddaughter said, "As I was coming behind you with a bowed head, my eyes chanced on this chain. I took it at once, and no one had noticed me! This chain is severed Paatti. Check if it is original or just a coated one." Paatti took the chain in her hands to guess its weight. She said, "Looks like sovereign, Kamakshi! May be eight or eight-and-a-half sovereigns. This has been granted to us by Kamakshi Herself backed by the blessings of Periyavaa. Alright, let us go out first!" She packed the chain inside the edge of her sari and hurriedly came out, forgetting to complete her fifth circumambulation. It was one in the afternoon. Four or five people were waiting for the darshan of AcharyaL in the maTham. Meenakshi Paatti prostrated to the sage with her granddaughter and got up. Swamiji looked at her and laughed. She was confused whether to tell Swamiji about the chain or not.

Swamiji forestalled her. "Today you should have completed your panca saMkhyopacAra pradakSiNa in order. But then it was not completed because of a vastu that came to the hand of your granddaughter! That sudden delight did not allow you to do more than four pradakSiNas. You came hurriedly, thinking that Kamakshi has given you Her pUrna anugrahah. What, am I right?" Paatti was shocked. She became insensate, and swallowed her words as she spoke: "SwamigaL shouldn't mistake me. Once that (object) came to the hand of my granddaughter, I assumed that AmbaL Herself had dropped it for my granddaughter to take. In that sudden delight I totally fogot that I had to make one more pradakSiNa." Periyavaa said relentlessly, "Only that you forgot. You did not forget to get the vastu weighed at Rangu Patthar's shop. Or get the severed portion melted in the furnace to rejoin." He clinched his talk with the words, "Let it go. When you weighed it, was it exactly eight sovereigns?" Paatti and her granddaughter were stunned. "All you said now is satyam, Periyavaa!" said Paatti. Swamiji asked her calmly, "Tell me in fairness. To whom does that padArthaH belong?" "To AmbaL Kamakshi." "Tell me yourself, can you take it secretly and pack it inside the edge of your sari?" "A mistake... nothing else but a mistake! Should excuse me. I have done it inadvertently." Paatti was genuninely repenting. She placed the double-stringed sovereign chain on the brass plate that was found before Swamiji, her hands shaking. Swamiji laughed. It was now two in the afternoon. Swamiji asked Meenakshi Paatti and her daughter to sit before him. It was at that time that Ambujam AmmaL, wife of Needamangalam Ganesa Iyer, who had taken leave in the morning, came back full of sorrow and prostrated to the sage. Her eyes were shedding tears

profusely. Swamiji saw this and said affectionately, "adAdA, why do you shed tears Amma?" Ambujam Ammal wiped her tears and replied, "It is like this, Periyavaa. Two months ago when I did the five days seva in the Kamakshi Amman temple I prayed to AmbaL earnestly that I would offer Her my eight-sovereign double-stringed chain if she united my daughter and son-in-law, who were then separated. AmbaL has united them. I went to the temple to offer my chain. It slipped from my neck and fell down somewhere. I searched everywhere anxiously but the chain could not be found. What can I do now, Periyavaa?" She started wailing. Swamiji turned his face to Meenakshi Paatti and looked meaningfully. Paatti prostrated to him and got up briskly. She took the double-stringed sovereign chain from the brass plate before the sage in her hand. She turned to Ambujam and said holding up the chain, "Amma Ambujam. Check if this is the double-stringed chain you lost." Ambujam took the chain from her hand and checked. "The same, the same chain, Paatti. How did it come here? Looks very wonderful!" Paatti narrated everything that happened to them in the same breath. Ambujam Ammal hugged Meenakshi Paatti. "Paatti, you don't worry at all! I am informing you this before our AcharyaL. I shall arrange for a new double-stringed chain in eight sovereigns for your granddaughter! Her marriage will be performed grandly. This double-stringed I have prayed to offer to AmbaL. This evening I shall take you and your granddaughter Kamakshi to the jewellery shop in this down and get her an eight-sovereign double-stringed chain. In addition, I shall give you five thousand rupees for the marriage expenses." Swamiji was sitting as the prat^yakSa kAmAkshi, witnessing this scene. Everyone prostrated to AcharyaL. He looked at Meenakshi Paatti and said, "Today you and your granddaughter did not do the five pradakSiNas. Go in the evening, do five pradakSiNas and five prostrations, and have a darshan of AmbaL." Saying this he bid them farewell. It is not possible to narrate in words the happiness and ecstatic shiver that

Meenakshi Paatti and her granddaughter experienced at that time. Glossary: adAdA - (Tamil) an expression of sympathy adede! - (Tamil) an expression of surprise indicating familiarity ambAL - Mother Goddess anugrahah - blessing, kindness apacAram - offense, fault, something which contradicts Acaram or rules of conduct arcanA - worship besh, besh - an expression of appreciation, popular in the Brahmin community. bhajan - hymns praising God bhakta - devotee closed her eyes - (Tamil) died dampati - husband and wife maami - (Tamil) a brahmin housewife mukha - face, countenance panca saMkhyopacArini - pleased by five kinds of service, honour, worship Paatti - (Tamil) grandmother padArthaH - a thing or object para brahmaM - (Tamil) formless God pArijAta puS^pam - flowers of the coral tree pradakSiNa - on the right side, go clockwise prat^yakSa - visible, perceptible pUrna - complete, full, whole rastaLi - a variety of bananas sannidhi - the building where the deity is installed satyam - truth shubhasya shIghram - auspicious things quickly SwamigaL - (Tamil) Swamiji tejas - divine splendour vastu- an article, object (among many other meanings)

8-The Connection Between the Chettiar's Grandson and the maTham

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Oct 21, 2006 An evening in Kanchi SrimaTham. A large crowd in a long queue had gathered to have darshan of Paramacharya. Time was slipping by. Slightly tilting his head, Swamiji glanced at the waiting people and saw a twenty year old youth in the queue. Looking intently at the youth, Swamiji called his assistant Ramu, another youth, who came near him and stood, his hand covering his mouth. "Ramu, you see the person standing as the fifteenth in the queue? A short boy with a slightly blackish complexion. You need to buy a shirt and pant piece that will suit his size", Swamiji ordered. "Get the cash from the office, and buy good quality cloth from the Mudaliar textile shop near the maTham." Ramu was surprised and confused at this sudden command from the sage. He knew that he couldn't ask the reason, so started to proceed on his task. "Ramu, come here!" Swamiji called. "You know about the name of the modern textile variety?" "I know it Periyavaa." "Come on, tell me?" "It is called terry cotton, Periyavaa." "Hm... the same thing. Get a costly piece from that variety." Within fifteen minutes, Ramu appeared before the sage with the cloth. Swamiji was very happy as he looked at the cloth from a distance. "Besh, besh. It is very good da!" Swamiji appreciated Ramu. "You do one thing. Get a bamboo plate and fill it with fruits, purna phalam, and place the cloth on them. Tell the manager that I wanted a sum of six thousand and seven hundred rupees, placed in an envelope, get the money and keep it on the

plate. I shall tell you later about what to do next." With this order to his assitant, Swamiji started conversing to his bhakta nearby. An envelope with the amount ordered was brought. Swamiji gestured that it be placed on the plate. Now the twenty year old boy was standing before Paramacharya, who looked at him head to toe. The youth prostrated to him. Swamiji turned and looked at Ramu, who came near him, running. "Ramu, take that plate in your hands." Ramu did as he was told. Swamiji said with a blossoming face, "Give that plate to the boy and tell him of my bountiful blessings to him and his family." The youth could not understand anything about the offer of cloth and money. He simply blinked at the sage, looked this way and that, and stood without knowing what to do. AchryaL understood his confusion and anxiety. He spoke, "Ramu, ask him not to get confused. Tell him it is the blessing from the maTham to him and his family. Ask him to safely deliver the money in the cover at his home." The youth nodded his head, though he understood nothing. He again prostrated to the sage and moved away with the surprise gift. Fifteen minutes passed. Everyone had left, having a darshan. AcharyaL came to his room and sat. He called Ramu near. "Why Ramu, you did not ask me the reason for my honouring the boy in a special way?" Ramu hesitated and said, "How can I ask Periyavaa about such things? I am here only to carry out your orders." "Alright, you don't have to ask me! I shall tell you the reason myself." Swamiji spoke: "This incident happened many years back. Our maTham at that

time was finding it a little difficult to make ends meet. I decided to undertake a yAtra to the north Indian regions with my retinue. We started at an auspicious time. I came to the entrance of the maTham. There was a small grocery shop opposite the maTham. It belonged to a Chettiar. The maTham had an account for buying groceries from that shop. "As he saw me at the maTham entrance, Chettiar came running. He prostrated, tieing his upper vastram around his waist. I thought that he had come to offer his respect knowing that I was about to go on a yAtra. "'What ChettiarvaL, you are fine? How does your groceries business go?' I inquired him. "He closed his mouth and replied meekly, 'Somewhat alright, Swami, but the going is really difficult. I heard that Swami is going on a yAtra north and would return only after five or six months.' "I told him, 'That's right, ChettiarvaL... might take five or six months to return.' He took his time thinking something, hesitated much and then said, 'It is not that Swami. The maTham has an account with our shop, as Swami knows. There is a balance amount for the four to five months goods supplied that remains to be paid. I too find it difficult, with four months rent for this shop in arrears. I am just submitting my problems to you. You finish your yAtra and come back.' As he said it, Chettiar again prostrated. "I said, 'ChettiarvaL! Immediately after coming back from the yAtra, I shall arrange to clear your dues.' and started on my yAtra. "When I came back finishing the six months yAtra and looked opposite the maTham, the Chettiar's shop was locked. Later when I inquired, I was told that the Chettiar had attained kAla gati three months back suddenly, when he was out of station. Nothing was known about the whereabouts of his relatives! I later inquired about the amount of dues to the Chettiar's shop. It was a sum of eight hundred and seventy five and three-quarters of rupees. I settled the debt with the principal and interest only today! You understand what I am saying? The boy I honoured today was none other than the paternal grandson of the Chettiar. What was due to the grandfather has been settled with the grandson, with principal and interest. No worry henceforth!" Swamiji finished.

Ramu was wonderstruck as he heard the tale. In the meantime another assistant boy came that side. Ramu took leave of the sage and rushed to the entrance of the maTham. The twenty year boy was standing there with the blessed bamboo plate on his hands. Ramu was very happy to see him and tactfully inquired about the matter. The boy said, "Yes, I learnt from my grandmother and father that my grandfather had a grocery shop opposite the maTham a long time ago. I heard that his relatives came to settle in Krishnagiri after the sudden demise of my grandfather, closing down the shop due to mounting debts. "Now my father is running a grocer shop there. I came here touring with my friends from my place. I don't understand why Periyavanga did all these to me. It is very surprising!" Ramu was speechless as he understood the foresight of his walking God. He went inside the maTham, wondering about what he saw and heard. It was around seven in the evening. AcharyaL was sitting alone in his room. He saw Ramu and smiled meaningfully. Ramu did not understand. AcharyaL called him near and said, "You had a doubt about the authenticity of what I told you. So you got it confirmed from the Chettiar's grandson at the maTham entrance!" Paramacharya laughed loudly. Ramu sought his pardon, weeping and saying that he did it out of curiosity only. Paramacharya blessed him with a raised hand, still smiling. Glossary Besh, besh - an expression of appreciation, popular in the Brahmin community. da - a singular Tamil form used with males, to show affection and liberty. kAla gati - expiry of time, death Periyavanga - a form of addressing Paramacharya, generally used by people who are not brahmins. (Brahmins use the term Periyavaa) purna phalam - a coconut which is not shorn from its case. vastram - cloth yAtra – pilgrimage

9-Paramacharya Stuns a Landowner!

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Nov 05, 2006 A Citra full moon day, many years back. An abhiSekam was performed in a grand manner with mahAnyAsa rudra japam at Sri Mahalingaswami Temple, Tiruvidaimarudur. The person who conducted it with 11 Vedic pundits was the landowner Narayanaswami Iyer of Tiruvarur. The rudrAbhiSekam that started at eight in the morning came to a completion around one in the afternoon. The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer was extremely devoted to Kanchi Maha SwamigaL. He decided 'this rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam should be submitted to Periyavaa somehow.' He reverentially kept the prasAdam on a banana leaf and folded it inside a new silk cloth. That same evening, he boarded the Madurai Madras passenger train at Tiruvidaimarudur railway station. He got down at Chingleput station in the early morning, took a bus and arrived at Kanchipuram. There was a large crowd at the maTham on that day. Finishing his bath and other chores, the landowner waited for Periyavaa's darshan. At about 12 o'clock in the noon, Maha SwamigaL came and sat down, after finishing his Chandramouleesvara puja. The crowd of devotees rushed forward. The landowner couldn't approach SwamigaL. He showed the prasAda bag and begged everyone, "All of you please make way! I have brought Tiruvidaimarudur Mahalingaswamy rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam for Periyavaa. I have to submit it to him." No one seemed to make way. An employee of the maTham who saw the anxiety and haste of the landowner, created a trail for him among the people and brought Narayanaswami Iyer near PeriyavaL. When he saw PeriyavaL, the landowner became insensate, dropped down heavily for a prostration and got up. Maha SwamigaL looked at him raising his head. He raised his brows as if he inquired what the matter was. With his hands shaking, the landowner babbled, unpacking the prasAdam bag, "prasAdam, prasAdu Periyavaa". "What prasAdam?" asked PeriyavaL and looked at him. In the meantime, the landowner managed to extract the

prasAdam. He kept it on the cane plate found there and submitted it to PeriyavaL. On that plate were found in a small banana leaf, vibuti, kuN^kumam, sandal paste together with some bilva dalam, two parts of a broken coconut, and some poovan banana fruits. Maha SwamigaL asked, "All these are prasAdam of which kSetra?" and looked at the landowner once again. The landowner calmed himself and said with humility, "Periyavaa! I performed the rudrAbhiSekam for Mahalingaswami at Tiruvidaimarudur yesterday. It was a large abhiSekam with mahAnyAsa rudra japam. This is that prasAdam. Since Periyavaa would be happy, I have rushed here to bring it, boarding a train; you must receive it and bless me." Looking at that prasAda plate sharply for sometime, Periyavaa asked: "Narayanaswami! You are a big landowner yourself. Even then you performed this rudrAbhiSekam for Swami, teaming up with some other people to meet the expenses?" The landowner replied, "No, Periyavaa! I performed it myself, out of my own expenses," stressing the 'myself' part a little. PeriyavaL smiled to himself. He did not leave it at that. "So you did for for loka kSema at Madhyaarjuna kSetra", he added. The landowner replied with some uncertainty, "No, Periyavaa! For the last two or three years there was no yield in my fields. Some fields were even barren. I checked up with Tiruvidaimarudur Muthu Josyar. He advised me, 'On a Citra full moon day perform rudrAbhiSekam for Mahalingaswami. That will give you an abundant yield!' Only on that belief I performed it, Periyavaa". The prasAda that was kept before the sage remained untouched. AcharyaL did not accept it. Saying, "So it seems that you did not perform this act either for AtmArtam or for loka kSemArtam", he closed his eyes and dropped into meditation. AcharyaL opened his eyes after fifteen minutes. There was such a clarity in his face! And a knowing look of having understood many things within those fifteen minutes. Everyone around was very quiet. SwamigaL continued, "Alright... How many vedic brahmins attended the rudrAbhiSekam?"

"I had arranged for eleven vedic pandits, Periyavaa!" SwamigaL persisted, "Did you know who were the vaidikaLs and which place they belonged to? Was it only you who made all arrangements?" The devotees who were witnessing the scene were surprised at the detailed inquiry Periyavaa was making. They also understood that he wouldn't do anything without a reason. The landowner took a piece of paper that he had tucked in his waist. "I am reading out, Periyavaa. Tiruvidaimarudur Venkatrama SastrigaL, Seenuvasa Ganapadigal, Rajagopala ShrautigaL, Marutthuvakkudi Santhana Vaadyhar, Sundaa SastrigaL, Subramanya SastrigaL, Tirumangalakkudi Venkittu Vaadhyar, and then--" AchargaL interruped him and asked easily, "All experts only, who you have arranged. Alright, check if your list has the name Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL." Seething with happiness, the landowner replied, "It is there, Periyavaa! He also attended the japam", showing surprise in his voice. Though the devotees were taken by surprise at such detailed inquiry about an abhiSekam that was over, no one said anything. Everyone was silent and attentive. SwamigaL said, "Besh, besh! So you had engaged Venkatesa GanapadigaL also for the japam! A very good thing. Maha Veda vid! GanagadigaL is now very aged. Even difficult for him to raise his voice. He would feel it hard to control his breathing and intone the japam." As if he waited for this remark, the landowner replied, his tone raising, "Yes, Periyavaa! What you have said is very correct. He did not chant the rudram well. Sometimes he was siting silent with closed eyes. Often he yawned. All these resulted in the shrinkage of the counting of the japam numbers. He gave much trouble yesterday. I regretted having engaged him for the japam."

SwamigaL swelled with indignation. "What you said... What did you say? So you have the temerity to talk anything because you have the money? What do you know about the yogyatAMsam of Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL? Would you match the dust of the feet of that veda vid? How can you talk such words about him? I have now understood what happened yesterday at the Mahalingaswami Sannidhi! You answer my question now! When the GanapadigaL was sitting quiet with closed eyes at the time of the japam yesterday, did you not shout harshly at him, 'EngaaNum, are you not getting the money, you are sitting still with a shut mouth without doing the japam?' Tell me, did you shout these words to him or not?" The landowner was appalled. The crowd was amazed. Narayanaswami Iyer fell at SwamigaL's feet, his eight limbs touching the ground. SwamigaL did not say anything. The landowner got up himself. He closed his mouth and replied shivering, "My mistake, Periyavaa! It is true that I used the very same words you spoke know to the GanapadigaL in the Swami Sannidhi yesterday. Periyavaa should kindly pardon me." Periyavaa did not stop. "Wait, wait. Did you do that mistake only? You did honour the vaidikaLs with money, right? How much did you give each vaidikaL?" The landowner gulped and said weakly, "I paid ten rupees for each head, Periyavaa." SwamigaL did not leave him with that. "Tell me correctly! I know everything! Did you pay all the vaidikaLs equally with ten-ten rupees each?" The landowner stood silently. But the AcharyaL did not relent. "Listen, I shall tell you what you did yesterday. Perhaps you feel shy to talk it out. You seated the vaidikaLs in a row at the Sannidhi and was giving the sambhAvanA of ten rupees to each of them. When the turn of Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL came, you decided, 'This man did not chant the rudram properly. Why should I give him ten rupees as I did for the others?' and gave him just seven rupees. You had the thought that somehow you had taken revenge on him. Did he care anything about it all? He just accepted what you gave him and tied it to the edge of his vastram." AcharyaL asked him hotly, "Tell me, is not what I am saying correct?"

The devotees were stunned. No one did say anything. They wondered how PeriyavaL came to know what took place in Tiruvidaimarudur temple yesterday. The landowner prostrated to the sage and said, "A gross mistake, Periyavaa! It was out of ignorance that I behaved like that! I won't behave in such a fashion henceforth! Kindly parden me!" Before he finished, PeriyavaaL continued, "Wait, wait! It would have been less worse had it ended there." He asked, "For the japa brahmins, you arranged for the meals at the house of Ramachandra Iyer of Mahadhana street, right?" "Yes, Periyavaa!" "You served sumptuous meals, of course, with a feeling of immense happiness. You had arranged for cooking very tasty sweet pongal, with lots of cashew nuts and raisins added to it, and you served it with your own hands, with ghee dripping from it in the meals session, right?" Narayanaswami Iyer was more and more appalled. He closed his mouth and spoke with uncertainty, "Yes, Periyavaa! In the session I served only the sweet pongal with my own hands." "Alright, does your conscience admit that you did it with the dharma for serving a meal?" SwamigaL asked him sternly. The landowner did not open his mouth. AcharyaL said himself, "You need not tell me, I shall tell you! When you served the sweet pongal, since it was very tasty, the vaidikaLs asked for repeated helpings. And you obliged them. But when Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL, giving up his reticence asked you many times, 'Serve me more of the sweet pongal, it is very tasty...' did you not carry on without serving him more, though you heard him? How many times did he ask you, giving up his normal reticence! And you did not serve him more! You committed the sin of partiality in a meals session! Was it dharma? You insulted a great sadhu!" SwamigaL fell into silence, overwhelmed with distress. The landowner stood with bowed head. The devotees were amazed and speechless. Closing his eyes and folding both his legs behind him, AcharyaL sat

upright. His divine frame looked like the Lord Parameswara Himself. He sat motionless. Fifteen minutes passed by in complete silence. Then AcharyaL opened his eyes. Everyone was silent. AcharyaL continued his talk, looking at Narayanaswami Iyer: "MirasudarvaL! You should know one thing. GanapadigaL is eighty-one years of age now. He had done rudra japam in countless kSetras since his sixteenth year. Sri Rudram is always coursing his veins and nerves and breath. He is such a mahAn. The way you behaved to him is an act of great sin... an act of great sin!" PeriyavaL stopped, unable to continue further, and closed his eyes. He resumed again after sometime: "Your act of partiality in the meals session affected him deeply. You know what he did? I shall tell you, listen. He did not go back to his native place Thepperumaanallur yesterday evening. Instead, he went to Mahalingaswami temple. He did pradakSiNa of the outer courtyard three times. Went straight to Mahalingaswami and stood before Him. You know what he prayed for, joinng his palms?" PeriyavaL couldn't continue. He steadied himself and then resumed his talk. "With tears streaming down his eyes, he spoke to the God, 'Appa, Jyoti Mahalingam! I am your steadfast devotee. Since my early days I have recited mahAnyasa rudra japam countless times in your sannidhi. You have listened to it. I am now eighty-one years old. I have the mental strengh, but that strength is gone in my speech! It can't be that you wouldn't know what happened this afternoon when we were dining. I asked that landowner many times, leaving my shyness aside, for more of that pongal, since it was very very tasty. Though he heard me, the landowner moved away as if he did not hear my request. You know that I have an immense fondness for sweet pongal. Though I asked him out of temptation, I was grieved that he did not serve me more. 'But then only after I had finished my meals, washed my hands and sat on the thinnai it occurred to me whether I could have such a jihvA sabalam at this age. Which is the reason I am now standing before you, Appa Mahalingam! With you as the mediator, I take a vow from this moment. Everyone gives up some favourite edible when they go to Kasi. It is only You who is in Kasi, as well as here. Therefore I take a vow before you that I will not touch the

sweet pongal or any other sweet dish from now on until my soul goes out of the body! This is a promise Mahalingam.' With that vairAgya pramANam he said, 'Appa Jyoti Mahalingam! I take leave of you now," and did shASTaaN^ga namaskaram twelve times. Tears were flowing down GanapadigaL's eyes, as he left for his place. Now, you tell me... What you did was dharma? Will Mahalingaswami agree to it?" Periyavaa stopped. It was then three o' clock in the afternoon. "I don't want any bhikSA today", said SwamigaL. No one moved from there. Not even for their lunch. Total silence prevailed. Tears were seen in everyone's eyes. The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer stood transfixed. He could not raise his tongue to speak. Everyone's wonder was, 'How does Periyavaa narrate everything that happened yesterday at Tiruvidaimarudur as if he witnessed them personally?' Falling down to Periyavaa's feet, the landowner started sobbing vehemently. His tongue slurred as he said, "Periyavaa! What I did was a great sin! I did it out of vanity. Kindly pardon me. Never again shall I behave this way in my life. You should say 'I have pardoned you'!" The landowner patted his cheeks loudly. AcharyaL did not open his mouth. The landowner was persistent. "I pray to you, Periyavaa! You should accept this Mahalingaswami rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam. Kindly pardon me!" He pointed his hands towards the prasAdam plate. AcharyaL said, "Let it be, let it be there. That Mahalingaswami Himself will give me the prasAda anugraham." Before he finishd his words, a voice was heard outside the crowd: "Make way, make way!" Everyone moved to make way. Only a tuft of hair knotted at the end on the head. A bright five-folded dhoti on the waist, with a silky green cloth covering it. A large rudraksha garland on the neck. A noble man who could be around sixty-five years old, arrived near PeriyavaL, carrying piously a brass plate on which was the prasAdam preserved in a silk cloth. He submitted the prasAdam plate reverentially to AcharyaL and said, "My name is Mahalingam. I am the arcakA

of Tiruvidaimarudur Mahalingaswami temple. Yesterday a rudrAbhiSekam was performed for Swami. A landowner conducted it. My eleder sister is given in marriage to this place. I came to submit the prasAdam to AcharyaL and then look her up. Periyavaa should do me the anugraham." SwamigaL prevented him as he proceeded to prostrate. Saying "You people have been given shiva dIkSA, you shouldn't do namaskaram to me", AcharyaL accepted the prasAdams brought and asked the Shivacharya to be given the MaTham's honours in return. Meantime, the SivacharyaL saw the landowner who was standing at some distance. "Periyavaa, it is this man who had conducted the rudrAbhiSekam there yesterday. He has come himself come here!" With these words, Mahalingam Shivacharya left the place, taking leave of the sage. The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer again prostrated AcharyaL and patted his cheeks loudly. He pleaded, "Again and again I pray to you, Periyavaa. It is a great sinful act I have committed. Only you should tell me the remedy for this act." SwamigaL got up briskly. "I cannot tell you the remedy for this. Only Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL can tell you the remedy." "Will the GanapadigaL tell me the remedy for the deed of this paavi, Periyavaa?", the landowner asked with grief. SwamigaL said in a slightly raised voice, "If you have the prAptam, he will certainly tell you!" and hurried inside. He did not come out at all. The landowner waited for a few hours. And then, having come to a decision, he left the place and arrived at Chingleput boarding a bus. He caught a train and arrived at Tiruvidaimarudur on the next morning. He finished his bath in the Kaveri river there and with firmness of heart started walking towards Thepperumaanallur. He walked briskly with the resolution that he would somehow meet Venkatesa GanapadigaL, fall shASTaaN^gam at his feet, ask for his pardon, perform the remedy he would suggest and obtain paapa vimocanam. The landowner entered the Thepperumaanallur agrahAram. He inquired the

first man he came across, the address of the GanapadigaL. The man pointed to a house on the street before which was a crowd of people and said, "You have come to offer your condolences? That is the home of Venkatesa GanapadigaL. Early this morning, he suddenly passed away. A painless, peaceful death. Go and have a look." Narayanaswami Iyer was stunned. He felt as if someone had hit him on the head. The firm words of AcharyaL at the MaTham yesterday seemed to ring in his ears. If you have the prAptam, he will certainly tell you!" He now understood that PeriyavaaL known yesterday itself that the landowner would not have the prAptam. The landowner went to GanapadigaL's house, offered his condolences, and prostrated to the gross body of the GanapadigaL, seeking his pardon mentally. Then he moved away from the place. Later, the landowner met with different kinds of adversities and happened to lose all his wealth. He went North and did service at the temple kitchens, finally arrived at Kasi kSetra and attained his mukti there. Glossary: abhiSekah - ablution agrahAram - royal donation of land to Bra1hmans, land or donation given us. In practical usage, agrahAram refers to the street inhabited by brahmins, which surrounds a temple like a garland up front, hence the name agra + hAram. aMsa - share anugrahaH - blessings, favour, kindness, acceptance arcakA - one who performs a worship ritual bhikSA - alms, offered food bilva - the wood-apple tree, commonly called Bel Citra - the month of April dalam - leaf, petal of a flower, part, division dIkSA - initiation in general, consecration for a religious ceremony EngaaNum - (Tamil) a brahmin usage meaning 'why, you!' or 'hey, you!' jihvA - tongue, tongue of fire (flame) josyar - (Tamil) astrologer kSema - prosperity, ease, welfare

kSetram - holy place kuN^kumam - vermillion, saffron loka - earth, world, subjects, people maTham - ashram, hermitage MirasudarvaL - (Tamil) a respectful address of a landowner mukti - release, liberation, deliverance nyAsaH - gathering, placing, depositing, establishing paavi - (Tamil) pApin - sinner, criminal, wicked pongal - a popular South Indian rice dish poovan - (Tamil) a variety of banana pradakSiNa - on the right side, go clockwise pramANam - size, shape, limit, determined testimony or proof prAptam - (Tamil) prAptiH - fate, luck, interference prasAdam - a sample of a holy offering sabalam - (Tamil) temptation sambhAvanA - paying regard to, respect, thought sannidhiH - nearness, union, presence of shASTaaN^ga namaskaram - prostration with the eight body limbs touching the ground thinnai - (Tamil) a raised sit out at the entrance of a house vaidika - derived from or conformable to the Vedas; vedic vaidikaL - (Tamil) one who performs a vedic ceremony vairAgya - freedom from worldly desires vastram - cloth vibhUtiH - holy ashes, power, valor, omniscience, omnipotence vid - a learned man, conversant vimocanam - liberation, deliverance, unyoking, alighting yogyatA - skill, ability, fitness

10-Shambhu's Murti

Author: Sri JanaardanAnanda Saraswathi (in Sanskrit) Translated by: SriMaTham R. Balakrishna shastri (in Tamil) Source: Maha PeriyavaL - Darisana AnubhavangaL vol. 2, page 221 Publisher: Vanathi Padhippaham ('There is no sAdhu like an avadhAni' thus was praised by Sri Maha SwamigaL, a mahAn who had the title Sri JanaardanAnanda Saraswathi.

Shambhor Murti is a very wonderful literary work he wrote in Sanskrit. Periyavaa's biography is totally written in an adhyAtmika point of view. SriMaTham Balakrishna ShastrigaL has translated in Tamil this work which flows like a stream in Sanskrit. Some passages of the interesting work titled Shambhuvin Murti are given below.) *** *** *** In order to teach AtmavidyA and save the people who are trapped in the jungle of ignorance, and suffering from the intense heat of mundane existence, Shambhu's figure in the form of Sri Sankaracharya passes through this world, renouncing its silence and starting from the base of the banyan tree. *** *** *** It is a regulation that for the mUrtis to which puja is done traditionally at SriMaTham, only a person who takes the title pIThAdhipati can do the puja. When the pundit who knew the regulations of SriMaTham explained to the young ascetic that 'this one was Sri Chandramouleesvara and this Sri Tripura Sundari', they did not seem new to the lad who took over as pIThAdhipati in his twelfth year. It seemed to him that he had a longtime connection with them. When doing an arcanA, the feeling should be 'I remain as God'; there should no such thought as the self being different from the God that is worshipped. -- This was explained by the authorized pundit of SriMaTham. Bala Swami got into some serious thought. 'Is it not that this knowledge of unity should be present ever? If it is said 'at the time of performing a worship' does it mean that the jiva brahma abheda buddhi should be present only at that time?' With this idea in mind he simply asked, "only when doing an arcanA?" SriMaTham disciples were very happy at the revelation that SwamigaL was a jnana vruddha, though he was a lad.

*** *** *** Tiruvanaikkaval Akhilandeswari temple maha kumbhAbhiSekam with tATangakah pratiSTA. The right to conduct this temple ceremony rested with Sri Kamakoti pIThAdhipatis from the ancient times. But then, now Sri Sringeri pIThAdhipatis contended this right. The case went to the court. The judgment that was given was 'only Sri Kamakoti pIThAdhipatis have the right in this matter, Sri Sringeri pIThAdhipatis should not stay in the place, they should go elsewhere.' The news of the judgment was informed to Bala Swami. Sri SwamigaL said: "In the court judgment a feature that is not relevant to the case is told. It was not needed to say it. Isn't it the case about the right of kumbhAbhiSekam? The court should have given judgment that was relevant only to that subject." Sri Sringeri SwamigaL appreciated Sri Kamakoti pIThAdhipati SwamigaL for speaking frankly and clearly on a complicated subject. *** *** *** Looking at his divya rUpam, some people think that he has conquered manmatha by his figure. Listening to the expertise of his words, some people think that he is the sarvajhna who is wearing kalAnidhi on his head as an ornament. Looking at the enticing movements of his limbs, some people, experiencing the amrita rasam-dripping looks that float from the corner of his eye, are happy considering him as Sri Kamakshi, the Lady of the City of Sri Kanchi and the beloved of Ekambaranatha. Since Sri Acharya remains a sarvAtmaka, it is only appropriate that different people are delighted with him in different ways. *** *** *** The actions of men are of two kinds: doing as pleased, doing as decreed in Shastras.

The pravrutti of doing as it pleases is seen the most among people. That does not result in lofty puruSArthas. Only the conduct according to Shastras is capable of giving the four puruSArtha (dharma, artha, kAma, mokSa). But then it has declined. Which is why Arjuna thought that the para dharma shanti was better for him than his own dharma? Bhagavan, who wished his welfare, however, made a person like him stand upright in the conduct as decreed in Shastras. Just as Sri Krishna did, with the intent of obviating the indulgent actions throughout the Bharata Bhumi and establishing the Shastra-decreed actions, and with a purpose to make the people remain in dharmic conduct, yativara (Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswathi SwamigaL) undertook his vijaya yAtra from Rama Sethu to Kasi, the capital of Visveshwara. *** *** *** Just as the terms sarvajhna, Ishvara used with Parameshvara, are not formal usages, (gauNa prayoga), but words that denote the truth, the shabda, jagatguru used to denote Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswathi, the yati shreSTa, is also not a gauNa prayoga, but a satya prayoga. (Calling a courageous person a line cub or a wealthy man a raja are examples of gauNa prayogas or upacAra prayogas.) To call Paramesvaran the One who knows everything, and the One who rules over everything is not a formal usage, but a true usage. In the same way, to call Sri SwamigaL jagatguru is also a satya vacas and not a upacAra prayoga. *** *** *** Upanishads as the end of the Vedas teach many paths--advaita, samkhya, yoga, pasupada, vaishnava. People follow a path they choose. 'Just as the rain that falls on different mountains, gush through differently named rivers and reach the ocean, people who follow different paths all reach You, who is the ultimate destination!' (says the bhakta kavi Pushpadanta in his Shivamahimna Stotram).

Sri CaraNar decided to highlight the truth 'All darshans have a determined goal. There is no hostility about that goal'. Therefore, in the city of Chennai, he arranged for a sammelana called shanmadAcharya parishad. From all over the country sAkta, gANapatya, saura, vaishnava, kaumara, saiva pIThAdhipatis came together, discussed and associated among themselves. This parishad proved that Sri CaraNar was equal to everyone and that he did not like the arguments of separation. *** *** *** Sri CaraNar, who was devoted to the Veda and Vedanta paths, established many sabhas such as Veda Dharma Shastra Paripalana Sabha, Advaita Sabha, and NiyamAdhyayana Parishad. He motivated the Veda adhyApaka and vidyArthin in all places of the Bharata Bhumi, honouring them in many ways and rewarding them. In West Bengal, there were numerous people who belonged to the gautama shAkhA of the Sama Veda, but there was not single person who studied and practiced it. When he came to know this, he established a pAThashAlA in Kolkatta that taught three Vedas, chiefly Sama Veda. He raised the status of the Sama-Shukla Yajur Vedic School in Varanasi city, Uttarpradesh to a Shastra school that also taught NyAya and Vedanta. He founded two schools in Utkala (Orissa) Sri Jagannatha kSetram and arranged for teaching the pippala shAkhA of Atava Veda, and Shukla Yajur Veda. He also founded a large school in Hospet, Karnataka that had facilities to study all the Vedas with their angAs and upAngAs and the Veda bhASyas. In the same manner, he established several schools in the Tamil and Telegu regions. Near Nasik, Maharashtra, there was only one person who had studied the maitrAyaNIya shAkhA of the Yajur Veda. No one came to learn and practice that branch of Veda from him. Similarly, it came to be known that there were no students in Kerala to practice the rANayaNI shAkhA of the Sama Veda. As he came to know this, Sri CaraNar immediately sent suitable students to those regions and gave a new lease of life to the declining shAkhAs. *** *** ***

Although there was always a crowd around him, Sri CaraNar, who always kept his mind engaged in Chandramouleesvara puja and meditation, did never have any anxiety or worry of mind. No paleness of body; no cloudiness or change of color of face; no harshness or anaucitya of speech; though redness was found in his eye, it was not due to anger, but only the mark of maha purushas. With apparently no sankalpa to do anything, he looked like the sky where the autumnal moon (sharad candra) was shining, *** *** *** Although he involves the people in the good things that are to be done, and involves himself in them, he remains with a controlled mind as one who has never smelled the fruits of an action. No worry such as 'Oh it needs to be done' in any matter; no attachment to anything; no grief or confusion in anything. *** *** *** Like Sri Ramachandra Prabhu, he acts with the purpose of setting an example in the path of dharma that he wants to establish in the world. (It is said in Ramatapani Upanishad, dharma margam caritreNa, jnana margam ca nAmadaH) *** *** *** Since the last four or five years, Sri CaraNar's state looks very different. What strict niyamas were observed in snAna, pAnam, sharira shuddhi, pUjA, dhyAna earlier, were now seen to be indifferent to. It is said in Gita that this is a state of brAhmI sthiti (the state of remaining as parabrahman). *** *** *** Just as in Kailash with all its aishvaryas, surrounded by the adhipati of the army of devas and the adhipati of pramada gaNas (viz. Kumaraswamy and GaNanathan), the adhipati of all vidyAs Sri Parameswara is shining, here, in Sri Kamakoti pITham pujya pada Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswathi SwamigaL is shining in the Kanchi kSetra, surrounded by the two yatIndras Sri Jayendra Sarawathi and Sri Vijayendra Sarawathi.

11-PeriyavaaL and We

Author: Kamala Gurusankar (in Tamil) Source: Maha PeriyavaL - Darisana AnubhavangaL vol. 1, pages 217-235 Publisher: Vanathi Padhippaham (The author uses the second person singuar 'nee' in Tamil to refer to Paramacharya. She also switches back and forth in the three tenses in this wonderful narration of her experiences. I have tried to maintain the poetic flow of her thoughts and emotions as much as I can. -- saidevo) jaya jaya shankara -- hara hara shankara jaya jaya shankara -- hara hara shankara kanchi shankara -- kamakshi shankara kaladi shankara -- kamakoti shankara These chantings are heard from some distance. Just the noise with no clear words or meanings initially. Going near, they become clear, and the tiny hairs of the body stand erect. There comes a large crowd, progressing slowly, like an army of ants. No pomp, no decorations, no shouts. People of different castes, speaking different languages, village folks, urbanites, men, women, children--everyone singing a bhajan in their familiar language; different namAvalis back and forth in the same procession. A good sunshine of a four-o'-clock sun. Does the sun play a hide and seek game? A little cloudiness, seen here and there. A small cycle rickshaw in the middle of the crowd. As if it's from a circus. Torn jute blankets on and above it; a mat, an umbrella made of screw pine flowers; plus some sundry items. With someone dragging the vehicle, behind it, holding the vehicle--You! (Nee!--the author uses a singular form of address throughout). As we see you nearby, we fall down and prostrate on the road itself, our hands and body shaking. You do not stop or wait, but bless with your eyes, as you continue to walk. Are they your eyes? No no, they are oceans of mercy! I was thinking for countless years to see you, to have your darshan. That yearning in the heart, whenever I hear about you, or read about you. It

occurred to look for what is written about you, whichever magazine is taken. An apprehension that perhaps it may not be possible to see you. In those times, you were near Kanchi. Countless number of times we have come to Madras. I have requested to come over to Kanchi and see you at least once. I have begged. We are all ordinary people. Trifles. Thinking that only food, sleep, unnecessary pomp and gossip are the primary things. We will go wherever we like to go, spend whatever we like to spend. But then it is not possible to come over and see you. Every day, when I light the Swami lamp and look at your portrait, I would feel the twirl of distress in the mind that it would not be possible to see you with human efforts, unless you called. I never spoke my wish in words. Did you hear it, anyhow? If the child gets hungry, it need not cry to show its hunger The mother would understand it herself. Like that, my pain has been understood by you. Is it because of my yearning that I couldn't see you that you are coming all the way to see me? What do you have, a car or a railway coach? You come walking on this tar road, your feet aching. Worn on those feet, torn rubber slippers, repaired with manji naar. Was it a mile, or two? How long you have walked! Appa! You are coming walking all the way, over thousands of miles. This place we live in, this Hubli city, whatever puNyam it had accumulated, to have your footprints. We never thought even in dream that you would come. But then you are coming, it's a reality. Torn saffron vastram. Some covering over it, made of the fibres of a tree-bark. Rudrakshas on your neck and head. A minute's doubt when we look at you. Is it a human figure? No, no. It is only that Lord Parameswara who is walking on, wearing a tiger-skin! A moment's satisfaction of having had darshan of bhagavan. bhagavan is appearing to us in your figure! That day you took bath several times for your Ashrama dharma. With the result, you had intense cold and fever, people who were with you tell us. If it is just a human body primarily meant to take food, it would necessitate in seeking treatments, care and comforts, lying down.

But then in your 86th year of age, without proper food or any sort of comforts, you are walking on with fever. That is the strength of your tapas. Solid power. You appear as a mixture of man and God. Human body, divine energy. Goddess Shakti is residing in you. That is why you appear as God, as Shiva. People say that on that day you had already walked for eighteen kilometers, so you should not strain further. It is only we who strain you. We invite you to come here and there and everywhere. As the sun had started going down, you are received in a roadside village, to a garden, near a cattle shed, in a small hut, its roof woven with straw. Like a small child, sometimes you too listen to everybody and give your consent. Did not you feel tired, walking so much distance? Did not you have thirst and hunger? At this hour, when the light is fading, you are sitting in a small hut, not knowing any fatigue, giving darshan to thousands of people; isn't it a great thing? Only when a king is sitting in his palace, he has thousands of worries. Here, before a pauper, is sitting on the sand and dust, the Maharaja of Sandur, with his family--and so much joy in his mind! On the next day, since you wanted to go on pattina prevesam, we prostrate and take leave of you and unwillingly leave you at the village border and get back. My husband is given the responsibility to repair the crystal garland of yours that got severed. What puNyam did we do, to have in our hands the garland that adorned your body? We repeatedly touch and see it with excitement. You won't eat anything. You have no hunger or thirst. No fatigue. But then aren't your assistants just ordinary people? They have their hunger and thirst. On that night they say that they do not have the strength even to prepare their food. But you wouldn't let them go to sleep with hunger and thirst. You would demand to be shown at least some uppuma (kitchadi) or rava porridge. I say that I will send them some food. And they say that they would prepare a little of uppuma and show it to you. What to do? To satisfy you, they need to sometimes deceive you. It was a Saturday. The entire city is abuzz, since you are arriving there on the next day. We know that you wouldn't enter houses. Still, festoons in every house; Kolam designs on the floor, made with flour. We have decorated

everything with flowers. The look and feel of a wedding ceremony everywhere. Everyone is excited. Happy. Immense joy in everybody's heart. Our home is full of holy articles and grocery. Why so much joy and happiness on your arrival? Are you a king, or a big politician? A millionaire? Or a cinema or drama actor? You are just a pauper with nothing on hand. A sanyAsin. A sanyAsin of sanyAsins. At least a sanyAsin will have a maTham. You don't have even that. Such a bhAgyaM for us? We were considering where to house you when you consented to visit us. The worry was that we did not have a river bed, a pond or a well that is required for you. By chance, we had dug a well in our garden, and it was full of water. The remaining work on the well was completed in haste and a holy worship was performed to it. A small hut was built, touching the fence of our house and a shed was erected near it. Vacating the outhouses of our home, it was arranged to house your people and facilitate their cooking. Henceforth, no mention as 'you'; only 'Periyavaa'! On the next day, a Sunday, on 13-5-79, it is the 86th jayanti of PeriyavaaL. We have the fortune to celebrate it in Hubli. Under his (Gurusankar, my husband) leadership a committee comprising the people of Dharwar assembled. The VIPs held counsel among them and collected money from the people. Everyone was given a specific job in the arrangements to receive PeriyavaaL and celebrate his jayanti. The arrangements were made under the supervision of Sri Balachandra Sastri, a vedic pundit in Dharwar. Whenever we think about the name mentioned above, we remember what PeriyavaaL said: "You shoud pronounce the name as Phalachandra, not Balachandra. It means one with a forehead that resembled the moon." On the Sunday morning, after having our bath, with pUrna kumbhA and holy music we all go at the time of dawn, to the place where PeriyavaaL was staying, to receive him and get his blessings. PeriyavaaL is brought into the city in a procession along the Gadag Road, with bhajans, namAvalis and nAdaswara music. Some of us leave the procession, come back home and wait at the gate to receive PeriyavaaL with Arati. The cottage meant for PeriyavaaL has been erected in the golf course near our compound wall. Green

grounds as far as eye can see. A railway line on the opposite side of the cottage. Beyond that the Udipi Krishnan temple and the Raghavendra Brindavan. Since it was a large ground we thought we could manage the crowd, but we faced much difficulties as the crowd that assembled was far larger. At some distance from our home, say about three kilometers away, the jayanti arrangements have been made in a Hanuman temple. AyuSya Homa, Navagraha Homa and many others, done by 121 brahmins with the chanting of mantras was a sight that eyes could not accommodate. As requested by the city notables, my husband and I acted as kArya kartAs, maintaining ceremonial purity (madi) and observing the dharmic and vaidik regulations, and went to the Hanuman temple to honour PerivaaL. We haven't seen such arrangements and divine presence so far. Shastrokta puja and vaidik acts are begun. Vaidikas from different parts of the South have assembled. The homas begun in the morning go up to nearly three in the afternoon. PeriyavaaL is brought in a procession to the Hanuman temple. A heavy rush of people. PeriyavaaL is sitting on a small stage opposite the homa gundam. The buzz of people everywhere. In the vasodara homam performed, my husband and I pour ghee during pUrNAhutI. PeriyavaaL sitting opposite us. After the homa is completed, we take the prasAda and tIrtha, go to PeriyavaaL, and prostrate, with the rush of people surging behind us. PeriyavaaL accepts the prasAda. Somebody gives a bilva garland to my husband asking him to offer it to PeriyavaaL, who accepts the garland taking it from my husband's hands and wearing it himself. This same garland is given back to us as prasAda. I could not control the tears of joy and my body is shaking. Such a bhAgyaM for us! Whose puNya is this? Ordinarily, one gets countless fortunes in life. But then the bhAgyaM of honourng a mahAn to whose feet the world prostrates--how can I term it? Only the fruits of earlier births. It only occurs to us to pray 'Hey bhagavan! Make us the best people in this life and give us this same fortune, birth after birth!' As soon as we got PeriyavaaL's prasAda, the women there touched our feet and said one after another we were so much fortunate. I went very emotional and cried. And then, saris and blouses were distributed to 27 sumangalis, and skirts to spinster girls who sat for the kanyA girls' puja. It was nearly five o'

clock when everything was over and we took our food. By then PeriyavaaL had started from there, and walking a dirty way we thought he should not happen to walk through, reached his cottage. *** *** *** When we see the news that PeriyavaaL is staying in a place called Hagari near Bellary, we couldn't contain our joy. This is an episode of 14 or 15 months back before he arrived at Hubli. At that time my mother-in-law, father-in-law and sisters-in-law have all come over to our home at Hubli. We all start and go to the river banks of Hagari where we are presently sitting. PeriyavaaL is in his japa inside the cottage. Suddenly a flame of light at the entrance to the cottage. As if there is no difference between the tender morning sunlight and his saffron clothes, everything looking the same color, as a flame of light, he gives us a sudden darshan. Then was our first darshan of PeriyavaaL. We look at him, filling our eyes with the sight, as if it was a vindication of this birth of ours. But then they say that PeriyavaaL observes kASTa maunam on that day. We also remain there till evening and then get back. Like cats that have tasted milk, we go back to him for darshan, again and again. It was evening when we went to Hagari the next time. PeriyavaaL is sitting in a new Shiva temple whose construction is in progress. It is more or less dark. A standing brass lamp and a hurricane lamp are burning steadily. We prostrate to him with our children. When my husband told him his name (Gurusankar) he asked, "Who gave you this name? And what for did they give you this name?" My husband said that it was his grandfather who gave the name and that he did not know the reason for this particular name. PeriyavaaL called an assistant and asked him to write down the name on the floor and show him. He then inquired about our native place and family and asked if the names Vedic School Krishnaiyer and Divan Seshaiyer had ever fell on our ears. We said no. (Later, when we made inquiries, it was known that they were our ancestors). He asked if we had come by the Railway First Class or Saloon. And he told my husband, "Till this date, electrical engineers have not been posted in this railway post? How did you get it? Mostly, only those from the operating department are posted as D.S." PeriyavaaL inquired my husband about the extent of his jurisdiction. He asked,

"Do you know that a road goes parallel to the railway line from Raichur to Poona?" This man (ivar) said that he did not know. He asked about Poly Vaidhyanath. We were then worrying that our son Sankar was not able to secure a seat of admission in any of the colleges. I thought within my mind that he should get an admission and come up well in life. I did not even tell this to PeriyavaaL. But my son got a seat in a college due to PeriyavaaL's grace and also studied well. He had PeriyavaaL's anugraham in many respects. I have narrated this episode to tell how PeriyavaaL asked us about our ancestors. Nearly a year after this happened, did he come to Hubli. He stayed at Hampi and Hospet for a long time. Let us now continue PeriyavaaL's jayanti at Hubli. About ten o' clock in the night after the jayanti vaibhavam was over. We were all with PeriyavaaL. On that day, devotees continued to arrive from different parts of India. They came in special buses and cars. Since we had no accommodation even in that large hourse of ours, we made arrangements for them to sleep in the portico, car shed and other such places. PeriyavaaL is sitting in the light of the standing brass lamp. The hut is otherwise dark. Even people who were standing were not properly visible. He called us inside suddenly and asked, "Here, the one who is standing, isn't she your relative?" We couldn't understand instantly who or what. The woman's voice from behind replied, "Yes, yes." When we came to know it, it was Parvathi, who was standing then, the daughter of Mysore Chottappa's elder brother. Only then was it known that she was a relative. Periyavaa asked again, "On that day I asked you about Krishnaiyer, Seshaiyer. You said you did not know them. So later on you asked someone to know about them. Whom did you ask? May be you asked some elder person in the home," and replied to his question himself. He also asked us about the children's education. Then he inquired about the arrangements made on that day for the jayanti including details such as how many persons dined. Then he started narrating himself that on that day someone brought Ganga jalam for his bath, that a mango fruit he had in his hand slipped and fell in the water pot and that later when he tasted the water it was very sweet. Chuckling to himself like a child he said that he himself couldn't understand, 'Did Ganga become sweet because of the mango fruit? Or, because of Ganaga

the mango fruit became sweet?' and laughed. He ate a little of that mango fruit and sent the remaining fruit to us. We also received the Ganga jalam. Both were very sweet. The reason why Ganga tasted as if suger was added to it was not clear. At eleven o' clock in the night, some people came in a car from Kanchipuram, carrying the prasAdams of the puja done for PeriyavaaL. We made way for them and came out. Those who arrived slipped a large garland around PeriyavaaL's neck as Kamakshi's prasAdam. And they tied Kamakhsi's rose-coloured silk vastram as a holy scarf around PeriyavaaL's head (parivattam). Periyavaa asked, pointing to his head, "Is there a golden lace in this?" They replied in the affirmative. He asked, "The lace is a dotted one?" They said yes. He touched the cloth and asked, "Is this silk or fibrous silk? It feels like silk to touch." "Yes, silk only." "O they have brought and tied silk to my head!" In two coconut halves were Kamakshi's prasAdams: the arcanA kuN^kumam and homa bhasmam. He took both of them and applied them profusely to his forehead. It was a sight that our eyes couldn't accommodate. Then as he started talking to those who had come, about the MaTham and such things, we left the room and were standing outside. Soon he asked, "Where is she? Gurusankar's bhAryA? Call her." We were somewhat apprehensive as he called us all of a sudden. We both go inside and prostrate. He took both the coconut halves along with the prasAdams and dropped them in my hands. Nothing was immediately intelligible to me. The greatness of the act was understood only when we were told, "what amount of puNya should you have accumulated to receive Kamakshi prasAdam from Periyavaa's hands!" In this manner, PeriyavaaL darshan for four days and nights. Days of happiness. Inexpressible joy. The most puNya-filled days of our life. House full of people. What name? What place? What ancestry? What status? Nothing we knew. Everyone looks very close to us. Seems we can talk to everyone in an AtmArta way. All seem to be part of a large family. Everyone of the PeriyavaaL family, which was filled only with devotion and love. We met different kinds of people; and were delighted sharing the experiences of each other.

Fourth day. Suddenly he comes out of his cottage and checks the air in the rickshaw tyres by pressing them. Does he hint at his departure from here? The disciples confirm it. "Periayavaa knows that after many days we are comfortable in your house, so he would leave now" they say. We prostrate to him that night and tell him that it was our wish that Periyavaa should come to our garden and sit for sometime. He does not reply. A long silence. The people around us jeer at us. 'Must be fortunate to have Periyavaa come such a long distance. Still is he needed to come inside the garden?" they laugh. We go to PeriyavaaL early the next morning. We are taken aback at the news he tells us. Periyavaa says that he went round our garden at two in the night and we did not see him as we were fast asleep! An inexpressible sadness and disappointment in our hearts. We stand in silence, with tears in our eyes. We do not know if our asking him to come inside was right or wrong. PeriyavaaL is doing japam. Suddenly he got up and looked around, his japam disturbed. As he suddenly ascended the stairs to our garden and slowly went round our house, one of his wooden sandals broke. Just the knob was found between the digits of his toe. He did not stop because of that. Wearing a sandal on one foot and just a knob on the other he started walking. His assistants ran and brought another pair of sandals. What a compassion! Knowing that the moment we learned about his night trip to our garden we would feel immensely distressed, for our peace and joy, to make another trip to our house in our presence--what to tell of that mercy? What to compare it with? Only an ocean of mercy. His sudden departure for another place gave us pains. Everyone started following PeriyavaaL from our house. Suddenly the house became empty. It was like a theatre after the play was over. It seemed that all relatives have left us in a single day. But then Periyavaa, who is everyone's relative, coming and staying with us, blessing us and giving measureless anugraham -- it is something to reminisce repeatedly with joy throughout this birth. After we had darshan of PeriyavaaL, the anugraham and anubhavam we got can't be expressed in words. He has made us happy telling things like a grandfather, a close relative, a mother would tell us. To say that suger is sweet is not enough; only when we put it in our mouth could we know about its

taste. In the same way, it might be difficult for others to understand the extent of our experiences with PeriyavaaL if we talk or write about them. The greatness and rarity of it could be known only when a person actually experiences it in an AtmArta manner.

12-Maha PeriyavaaL's Story About the Value of annadhAnam

Author: Sri S. Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Jan 18, 2007 It was the time when Kanchi Maha SwamigaL was staying in Kalavai, many years before. It was a Sunday. A large crowd had gathered for darshan. One by one the devotees prostrated to the sage, received his blessings and moved away. A middle-aged couple prostrated to AcharyaL and stood up with folded palms. Keenly looking at them, SwamigaL said, "adede... who (is this)... Palur Gopalan! You came a year back. That time you spoke about some problems. Aren't you fine now?" and laughed. That Palur Gopalan replied, "We are very fine Periyavaa. As directed by you, from the time we started feeding an atithi in the noon time everyday, only good things are happening, Periyavaa! Good harvest in (my) fields. The cows don't die as before! The money that dripped out of hands without control for expenses stays in hands now. All that is (due to) the greatness of the atithi bhojana you have asked us to do, by your anugraha. I am doing it daily. Nothing else (is the reason for the prosperity)." Tears filled his eyes as he spoke. His wife who was standing by his side was also in tears of joy. AcharyaL said, "besh, besh. It is fine if you have understood that good things happen due to the act of atithi bhojana. Alright. Today both of you have come over here. There in Palur--who will do the atithi bhojana?" AcharyaL inquired worriedly. Gopalan's wife replied promptly, "We have made alternative arrangements for that Periyavaa. atithi bhojana will not be missed even for a day." Maha SwamigaL was very happy to hear it. "That's the way you should do it. You must have a resolution to feed the hungry. Doing atithi upacAra will give

such an anugraha and safeguard the family! One day [i]sAkSAt Parameshvara himself will come in the form of an atithi, will sit and eat, you know that?" SwamigaL was talking with kutUhala. To listen to these anugraha words, the people standing in the queue surrounded him. He asked everyone to sit down on the floor. The crowd of devotees sat down. A devotee asked SwamigaL: "Is there such greatness in doing atithi bhojana, Swamy?" SwamigaL replied immediately. "Yes yes! It is a maha puNya dharma that could lead to mokSa! It has benefited a number of people! Only when you ask people like this Gopalan who have experienced it, they will tell you. Such a lofty dharma is this one!" A devotee got up and prostrated to the sage. He said with humility, "My name is RamaSethu. Tiruvannamalai is my native place. We all pray together to AcharyaL. We desire to listen more elaborately about the greatness of this atithi bhojana in a way we can understand it. Periyavaa should take mercy on us!" SwamigaL asked him to be seated. The devotee complied. Everyone was watching the walking God in silence. That parabrahmam started talking after sometime. "My memory is that it was (the year) thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight or thirty-nine. SriSankara MaTham was doing its administration from KummoNam (Kumbakonam). I am going to tell (you about) an incident that happened at that time. If you listen to it devotedly, the greatness that lies in this (incident) can be understood! I shall tell you (now), listen (carefully)." Swamigal stopped for a brief while and then continued: "There was a large house on the western bank of the Kummonam Maamaanga (Mahamaha) kulam. A grocer by name Kumaresan Chettiar was living in that house. I remember very well... The name of his dharma patni was Sivakami Achi. They belonged to Pallathur near Karaikudi. That couple had no children. They had brought a dependable boy from their native place and kept him with them for taking care of the grocery shop.

"At that time, the age of Kumaresan Chettiar was perhaps fifty or fifty-five. That Achi's (age was) perhaps within fifty. At all times only the nama smaraNa 'Shiva Shiva... Shiva Shiva' would be issuing out of the mouth of those two people. There was no other talk! Chettiar had in his house a single-bullock cart. Seating Achi in the cart, Chettiar himself would drive! Every day both them would arrive in their cart at the banks of Kaveri to take bath. Finishing (their) bath, they would come to our MaTham, prostrate, receive the blessings and go back. They were such an intimate couple. About them, I am going to tell (you now) something that will overshadow all these, look (listen)!" He took to silence to keep them in suspense for sometime. The devotees were waiting with eager expectations. AcharyaL started speaking again: "You know what work that couple had been doing for many years? To serve and feed the atithis! Don't be surprised! They would entertain the Shiva disciples with food, every day at noon in the hall of their house, without shrinking a face, whatever the number of disciples they received as guest. They would seat the disciple in the thinnai at the entrance (of their house), wash his feet with water, wipe with a cloth, apply sandal paste and vermillion to them and lead them to the hall and seat them there. "They did not have any cook in their house! That amma would cook with her own hands, whatever number be the guests of Shiva disciples! Another important thing--if you ask what it is--is that they would inquire from the Shiva disciples the details of the vegetables and dishes they like, go and get them, cook and serve them! Such an elevated mind! Do you think how SwamigaL knew about all these things... There is no sort of secrecy about it. (One Sri) Sundaram Iyer, who was close to the MaTham, was looking after the accounts of Kumaresan Chettiar. Only he would tell me these things when he was free. Understand now?" AcharyaL stopped for sometime and relaxed. None of the seated moved an inch. They were all looking with fixed eyes at Maha SwamigaL. That walking God continued: "One day it was raining very well. (It was) noon time. Kumaresan Chettiar came to the entrance (of his house) and looked (here and there). No atithi was in sight! Holding an umbrella, he descended the steps of the Mahamaham pond and surveyed the scene. A Shiva disciple was seated after bath in a small building there, wearing vibhUti (all over his body).

Chettiar prayed to him and brought him for dining (at his home). He seemed somewhat like a well-read Shiva disciple. He came singing Thevaaram. Washing his feet, Chettiar led him to his hall and seated him. The couple prostrated to the Shiva disciple. Chettiar's dharma patni went to the disciple and asked, 'What vegetables are the favourite of Swamy? Please tell me, so I can go to the shop, get and serve them after cooking.' "It seemed that the Shiva disciple was in good hunger. He got up and went to the backyard and looked around. He saw sprouts of tender spinach there. He came inside, called the mother and said that he needed nothing except the tender spinach in koottu and their stems in sambar and that it would be sufficient for him. Chettiar went to pluck the spinach with a bamboo plate in his hand. The rain had stopped by then. Since it was becoming late, the Shiva disciple who was very hungry, decided to give a helping hand for plucking the spinach, so he asked for a bamboo plate and went to the backyard. "Sivakami Achi was standing at the backyard entrance, watching the two men pluck the spinach. Both of them placed their plates inside the house after enough spinach was plucked. You know what that amma did immediately? She washed the two spinach plates separately. She lit two furnaces, kept the spinach in two separate pans on the furnaces and started cooking. The Shiva disciple who was looking at her act was surprised! He was confused: 'What is this? Both the plates has the same spinach sprouts. Without using a single vessel to cook them why this mother lights two furnaces and cooks them separately?' "After sometime, that amma took the pans out of the furnaces, took the disciple's spinach only to the puja room and offered it as nivedana to Swami. The disciple who was watching it was pleased with immense pride! Know what he had thought? He decided, 'I am a big Shiva bhakta. Sannyasi. So this mother has understood that Lord Shiva would accept only the spinach I plucked and offers it as nivedana. Still I would ask the mother herself after my meal about the offering.'" Stopping here briefly, SwamigaL watched the devotees sitting opposite him. Nobody lowered a jaw. He continued: "The Shiva disciple, who had finished his dining, asked that Achi about his doubt. You know what reply did the Achi give? (She said 'Ayya, when the spinach was plucked in the backyard, I was

watching. My husband chanted the name 'Shiva Shiva...' and plucked the spinach. So it became ShivArpaNa then and there. There was no need to offer it again. You plucked (the spinach) without chanting any name. That is why, I lit a furnace, cooked your spinach separately and offered it to the Lord.' The disciple was embarrassed to hear this. The couple then prostrated to the disciple. He appreciated the Achi's bhakti and wisdom and started on his way. They were a couple who served annam in such a way..." AcharyaL stopped. The crowd of devotees was sitting with amazement. Nobody lowered a jaw. SwamigaL continued: "You know what was the phala prApti that was given to them for such incessant atithi bhojana? Some years later, they celebrated their shashti apta pUrti (completion of 60 years of age). On a Maha Shivaratri day they sat for darshan of the four sessions of puja in the Kumbeswarar temple. When they returned home, that amma, who sat in the puja room complaining of exhaustion, stretched out and breathed her last. Shocked, the Chettiar called her by name and went inside, but he too fell down and breathed his last. That was all. On that very day of Maha Shivaratri both of them attained the Shiva sAyujya together. Did you see the position that couple attained because of their act of incessant atithi bhojana? Even now, on every Maha Shivaratri day, I would remember the couple. They are the couple who served food in such a lofty manner." AcharyaL finished. Tears seeped from the eyes of those who heard the story. The walking God stood up and said, "Seems it is almost two o' clock. Everyone will be hungry. Go inside and dine well", and bade them farewell with compassion. Glossary: arpaNa - offering , delivering , consigning , entrusting atithi - guest, a person entitled to hospitality (from a-tithi: one who has no fixed day for coming) bhojana - feeding, enjoying, eating kulam - pond, usually near or in the precincts of a temple kutUhala - curiosity , interest in any extra-ordinary matter mokSa - emancipation, liberation, deliverance, release from sAkSAt - before one's eyes, in person, in bodily form, visibily sAyujy - intimate union, communion with smaraNa - the act of remembering or calling to mind, calling upon the name of

a god, a rosary of beads held in hand, not worn as a necklace. upacAra - service, act of civility, polite behavior

13-The bhakta parAdhIna and the Paattiamma

devotee:...... A very old woman (Paatti) author:....... Raa. Ganapathi source:....... KaruNaikkadalil sila alaigaL, pages 77-80 publisher:.... Divya Vidya Padhippaham (Jun. 2005 Edition) type:......... book, Tamil It is not clear to my mind if this incident happened at the SriMaTham camp in Trichy National College High School campus, or Madurai Sethupathi High School campus. The darshan queue was stopped from moving because of some important deliberation that was going on inside the SriMaTham camp. An old woman was standing in the queue. She can be described as the old woman of old women! She could have been over a hundred years old, standing bent at a right-angle, a staff in her hand that she was holding shakily. She was crying with all the tiredness of her soul: "Sankara, my Sankara! I was agitated if I would see you, or leave this world without seeing you. You came seeking this place! Since you have come, I came to have your darshan, but you have stopped me (nirutthi vecchu-tiyedaa) Sankara!" Sri Sambha Murthi SastrigaL was going inside the camp, passing the old woman on his way. He was the pUrvAshrama younger brother of Maha PeriyavaL. He was of a kind heart, true to the family blood that coursed his veins. No sooner he heard the old woman's wail of yearning than he hastened his steps towards the interior. As he entered, he told Sri CaraNar who was immersed in an important delibration, "Outside--a Paatti--of a hundred or hundred and twenty or whatever age. Stands yearning and wailing for Periyavaa's darshan."

Before the last words were out of his mouth, PeriyavaaL stormed outside! "Why have you stopped me, Sankara?" The Paatti was wailing repeatedly. He went to her, stood very near to her and said, "PaattI, here your Sankaran has come. Look! Without knowing that you have come, I was busy with something inside. And as I came to know it, here I have come running." The Ruler of Grace spoke the words of nectar, which came up as the essence of his love. "Vanduttiya, Sankara (so you have come, Sankara)!", said Paatti and held his hands tightly! The hands that were held by his mother Mahalakshmi AmmaL, were held today by another person, after a span of about 55 years! As she raised her face and looked at the holy visage of Sri CaraNar, the vRiddhAmbikA (the good old mother) said, "Though you have come running for my sake and stand before me, I cannot look at you properly with my dim eyesight! ennappA (my son), only you should give me some good sight for a good darshan." It was the time of a hot sun. There was a narrow, thatched roof over the heads of the people in the queue. At Paatti's words, the bhakta parAdhIna jumped aside the shelter of the roof and stood in the hot son, barefooted! "Is the vision better now, Paatti?" he said. "It shows up very well ennappA, it shows very well!" Paatti patted her cheeks loudly. PeriyavaaL gave her a complete darshan of his person, letting sunlight fall well on his face, tilting it, lifting it, and turning it in many angles, even turning his whole body giving her a darshan of his back. In a torrent of emotion, without knowing what she spoke, the old woman stuttered and lisped, cried profusely and was very happy! Sri CaraNar came near her again and said, "Have you seen me well Paatti! Can I go?"

"Yes, I have seen you very well (PAtthuNtempa), my son! Even for this anAmadeyam (nonentity), KaruNAmurti, you have given your darshan. I was holding my soul just to see you. I have seen you know. Take me now my son, take me!" The parama bhakta prayed to him. "PaattI! When the time comes, let us take it. I shall ask you now to be dropped in your place. Go there and remain in Swami smaraNa (remembrance of God). Don't come running again to see me! I shall always be with you without leaving you aside for a moment!" The kRupA varSA (shower of compassion) gave her his words. Is there anything that matches the bhAgyam of the Paatti who received such words of assurance from Sri CaraNar who out of his modesty uses words only sparingly when he gives his abhayam to the bhaktas? Glossary: ambikA - mother, good woman kRpA - tenderness, compassion parAdhIna - entirely engaged in or intent upon or devoted to pUrvAshrama - of an earlier ashram or stage, before the sanyAsa stage smaraNa - remembrance, reminiscence, recollection varSa - rain, shower vR^iddhA - old woman

14-"Where did you learn?"

As narrated by Sri D.Sivasubramanian, Dy. Director Handloom (Retd.) TN Govt. now doing seva at Sri MaTham Office, with thanks to him for his permission to post his recollection in KF: As an ardent devotee of Kanchi MahaswamigaL, I have great pleasure to read articles appearing in magaziness, souvenirs etc. about MahaswamigaL and I am used to preserve them in my library. On one such occasion I was thrilled by an article written by Dr. C.R. Swaminathan, former Deputy Educational advisor to Govt. of India. given to a

souvenir. I reproduce a gist of the article, the message of which, I feel, should be spread among the present generation. This happened in the year 1956-57, when H.H. Sri Kanchi MahaswamigaL was camping at the Madras Sanskrit College, Mylapore, Madras. One evening, MahaswamigaL was about to address a huge gathering in which great personalities like Rajaji were present. He was contemplating about the topic he should speak on. Suddenly, he called late Prof. Sankaranarayana Iyer, who was standing by the side of the dais and recited two lines of a Sanskrit verse. He asked the Professor if he remembered the remaining two lines of that verse. The Professor pleaded ignorance and got down from the dais. This conversation took place before the mike, so audience gathered could easily hear its details. Dr. C. R. Swaminathan, the author of the article on Mahaperiyava, heard the beginning of the Sanskrit verse that Periyavaa recited. Since he happened to know the other two lines of the verse, he went to Prof. Sankaranarayana Iyer and told him those two lines. The Professor went up the dais again and recited the lines before MahaswamigaL. Mahaperiyava asked him, "You said you did not know the lines. How come you know them now?" The professor replied "Someone in the audience remembered it and told me." Mahaperiyavaa inquired who was the person and told the Profession to call Dr. Swaminathan to the dais. When he came, Paramacharya inquired about his name and occupation. Then the sage asked, "Where did you study?" Thinking that the question was about his academic education, Dr. Swaminathan replied that he studied in the Presidency College, Madras. "Not that. Where did you learn this verse?" Dr. C.R. said that his grandfather taught him the verse when he was a child.

Paramacharaya inquired about his native place, his grandfather's name and his family details. The entire conversation was held before the mike, so the audience heard every bit of it. The verse in question was the following: arthathuranam na gurur na bandhu kSudhAthuranam na ruciki na pakvam vidyathurANAm, na sukham, na nidhrA kamathuranam na bhayam na lajja One who pursues wealth knows no guru or relations. One who is hungry knows not taste or if the food was cooked well. One who pursues knowledge knows neither comfort nor sleep. One who has desires knows no fear or shame. Later in the discourse, Paramacharya dealt with the Kenopanishad and explained how Goddess Parvati came as a teacher to enlighten the celestials about the supreme Brahmin. When concluding the discourse, he referred to the earlier incident and said: "Before I started delivering my discourse, I called a young man to the stage to know where from he learnt the subhashita verse, of which I recited the first half. I knew who he was. What I wanted him to tell you about his reciting the other two lines this moral verse was that he had learnt it, not from his school or college, but from his grand-father, and that during his childhood days. It was to impress upon you all that children should get moral education at home from elders because they cannot get it from the modern schools and colleges". Dr. Swaminathan concluded his article with these words: "I am recalling this incident to show that an insignificant person like myself, extremely nervous, while standing before H.H. on the dais, noticed by about thousands of people forming the audience, could be utilisied by the Acharya to drive home to the audience that (a) a joint family system with elderly parents and grand parents can serve as a valuable supplement to the school education

of young children (b) the elders can usefully spend their time by narrating such stories and morals to the children and (c) such teaching can be retained in one's memory only if imparted at the formative age." The above incident happened 50 years before, but the message holds good even today and will stand for years to come.

15-Sita Rescued...The Boy's Voice Got Restored!

Author: Sri S. Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Mar 18, 2007 An evening time many years ago. A large crowd in Kanchi Sri Sankara MaTham to have darshan of Maha SwamigaL. Coming out of his room, SwamigaL stood for a while looking keenly at the devotees crowd and then sat down leaning against a wall. The devotees came in a line one at a time, prostrated to the sage, spoke about their problems, received remedial advice and moved away. A middle-aged man was standing in the queue holding tightly to a boy's hand. Tears flooded his eyes and poured out in a stream. The boy stood motionless, looking bewildered. When he moved to stand before PeriyavaaL, he did a shASTaaN^ga namaskaram (prostrated with eight limbs touching the ground). The boy also prostrated. Maha SwamigaL looked at him with narrowed eyes and inquired comfortingly, "Endaappaa! Aren't you the Mylapore Auditor SankaraNarayanan? Why do you stand with such soggy eyes? What is your problem?" His grief swell with Periyavaa's words of comfort. He began to sob and said, "Yes Periyavaa! An unbearable misery has fallen on me now. Don't know what to do. You are my God, somehow only you should remedy it for me. There is no other go!" He prostrated to the sage once again. Understanding the situation, Periyavaa said with vAtsalyam (affection), "Sankara, don't get worked up! You sit there for sometime. I shall call you after these people have spoken to me and gone!" The sage pointed to a place opposite him.

"As per your orders Periyaa... I shall do it." The Auditor sat opposite the sage, at a distance. Within a half hour, the devotees had their darshan of AcharyaaL and left. There were none there except SwamigaL's two assistants. SwamigaL gestured to Auditor SankaraNarayanan to come to him. The Auditor came and prostrated. Looking at him affectionately, AcharyaaL said, "Sankara, is the practice going on (well)? You are the 'leading' auditor, so what to speak about the practice? Alright, your father Panchapakesa Aiyer is in Thajavaur (right)? He is well (I hope)?" Wiping away his tears, the Auditor said, "The practice is going on well, Periyavaa. My father and mother had gone to stay with my younger brother in Bombay. It's two months now. Only for me a duHkham (distress) has happened Periyavaa! I can't bear it... only you should get it rectified Periyavaa!" Saying this, he hugged the boy nearby and started sobbing. That walking God understood instantly that something related to the boy had affected the Auditor Sankaranarayan's mind very much. SwamigaL told him, "Shouldn't cry Sankara... Whatever it is, puruSa (men) shouldn't let their eyes get soggy! Alright, who is this puLLaiyAndAn (boy), your putra (child)?" "Yes, Periyavaa! This is my son. Name Chandramouli. It was only for him Periyavaa, suddenly..." SankaraNarayanan was unable to speak further, grief choking his throat. With a worried face, AcharyaaL asked him, "Sankara! What happened to him suddenly? Chandramouli is studying in school?" and said comfortingly, "Why don't you tell me in detail, without getting upset?" Wiping his eyes SankaraNarayanan said, "Periyavaa, the boy Chandramouli is studying in his seventh standard in the P.S. High School, Mylapore. He is eleven now. Very shrewd in his studies. Stands first in the class. Twenty days ago, suddenly his speech was gone, Periyavaa! When asked, he gestures that he cannot talk. He has not gone to the school from that day. Takes his meals and tiffin as usual, sleeps well, those things are alright Periyavaa, but then he is not able to talk, what can I do? Only you should show mercy and make him

talk!" Tears rolled down his eyes as he prayed to the sage. SwamigaL kept silent for sometime. Then he asked the Auditor, "You have the custom of going to temples with the boy? Chandramouli has bhakti (devotion) towards God?" "He has it in plenty, Periyavaa. He would start for the school daily only after he takes bath and recites the Kanda Shasti Kavacham and the shlokas on Anjaneya and Rama. There is a large portrait of KothandaRamar in our house Periyavaa; a Thanjavur portrait from my grandfather's days. This boy would daily prostrate to it morninig and evening and would touch the feet of Sita and Rama several times and then dab his eyes (with the fingers that touched the feet). He would often say, 'I like Sita and Rama very much.' Two or three days in a week he would go with his mother to Kapaliswara, Mundaka Kanni Amman and Luz Anjaneya temples and have darshan. For such a good child, this has come about Periyavaa..." Unable to control his grief, SankaraNarayanan started sobbing again. AcharyaaL pacified him and asked, after contemplating for sometime: "You have the custom of taking him to the upanyAsas that take place in Mylapore?" "I do Periyavaa! Sometimes I would take him personally. Even the previous day before his speech had stopped, I had taken him for a Ramayana upanyAsa at Rasika Ranjana Sabha. He listened to it with shraddhA (eagerness and trust). And this happened on the next day!" AcharyaaL laughed and said, "You mean to tell me that this happened due to his listening to Ramayana?" The Auditor patted his cheeks loudly. "Rama, Rama! Not that way Periyavaa! I just wanted to tell you that it was from the next day (that he couldn't talk)." "Aright. Whoever did the upanyAsa?" "Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma, Periyavaa." "Besh, besh. Somadeva Sarma's son; a good lineage; well read. Let it go, Sankara. Did you show him to a doctor?"

"I did, Periyavaa." "Who was the doctor?" "Doctor Sanjivi." "What does he say?" "He did all the tests and said, 'Two nerves in his larynx are affected. He may be alright with an operation.'" "Did he not say that the boy would surely be alright (after the operation)?" "He did not give that assurance, Periyavaa. Somehow, only you should make him to regain his speech. Only you should save us!" AcharyaaL talked after keeping silent for sometime. "You do one thing, Sankara. You take the boy and visit all the temples in this city, have darshan and pray. Take food in the MaTham and stay here for the night. You meet me at ten in the morning, finishing your bath and any anuSTAnam (religious routine) that you might have." AcharyaaL's words were very comforting. Prostrating to Periyavaa, both of them went away for temple darshans. It was ten o' clock on the next morning. The walking God had come earlier and was sitting. There was not much crowd, only five or six people were waiting. Everyone of them had darshan and left. Prostrating to AcharyaaL, SankaraNarayanan stood before him with hands folded on his chest. SwamigaL looked at him penetratingly for a while and said: "Sankara, do one thing. Take the boy to Mylapore Sri Kapaliswara temple, do a pUrNAbhiSekam (an elaborate ablution) to Swami and AmbaaL and make the boy have darshan of them. Thereafter what you do, keep looking for the news of the same Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma holding a complete discourse on Srimad Ramayana. If he holds the discourse in a temple or in a sabha (auditorium), do one thing, from the Sundara Kaandam until Sri SitaRama PattaabhiSeka vaibhava (glory), take Chandramouli and make him do shravaNa (listening)! What you do on the

day of completion with Sri SitaRama PattaabhiSeka, buy some good hill-grown banana fruits, hand them over to paurANika (discourser), and both of you do shASTaaN^ga namaskaram to him. You pray within your mind to that PattaabhiSeka Sri SitaRama and the paurANika. That Pattabiraman will save you... do not at all worry... good bye!" The Parabrahmam bade them farewell with this advice. The Auditor started checking daily for any news about Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma's Ramayana pravacana (discourse) in Chennai. One day, he saw the happy news that Sri Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma's Srimad Ramayana upanyAsa will take place as navAham (for nine days) at Mylai Sri Shirdi Sai Baba temple. That was the day of starting the Sundara Kandam. SankaraNarayanan went to Sri Sai Baba temple with Chandramouli. It was a moving upanyAsa and Chandramouli listened to it forgetting all about himself. Sometimes tears started issuing from his eyes. At those times, SankaraNarayanan caressed his back and comforted him. It was the day of completion of Srimad Ramayana upanyAsa. A 'good' crowd in Mylai Sai Baba temple. At 10:30 hours in the night, Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma finished the Sri SitaRama PattaabhiSeka narration and ended his discourse telling the audience about the fruits of listening to a Ramayana discourse. One by one, the people from the audience prostrated to him and moved away. After both of them prostrated to him, SankaraNarayanan gave the bunch of a dozen hill-grown banana fruits to Chandramouli, asking him to submit them to the discourser and prostrate to him again. He did as his father told him. The discourser took the banana bunch happily and gestured them as arpaNa (offering) to the holy portraits of Sri Rama PattaabhiSekam and Sri Shirdi Sai Baba behind him. Then he plucked two fruits from the bunch, gave them to Chandramouli and said, "Kozhandhe! (my child!) You will remain in prosperity. You eat both these fruits," and blessed him. As they came out of the temple, Chandramouli ate the two bananas. A miracle took place on the next morning. After he brushed his teeth in the bath room and came to the hall, Chandramouli gave voice loudly to his mother, "Amma, is the coffee ready?" Astonished, his father who was reading the newspaper and his mother who was in the kitchen came running to the hall.

Chandramouli was standing there smiling. "Was it you who gave the voice inquiring about the coffee, Chandramouli!" His mother hugged and kissed him, happiness overwhelming her. SankaraNarayanan took the boy on his shoulders and danced! Chandramouli started talking fluently as before. All the familiar people came over and were happy witnessing this change. It was 5:30 hours in the evening on the same day. Maha SwamigaL was sitting in ekAnta (alone). There was not much crowd. Auditor SankaraNarayanan came in a van with ten to fifteen people. The Auditor prostrated to the sage with Chandramouli and got up. AcharyaaL's first question was, "Chandramouli, you are able to talk now fluently? Besh, besh! It is all the grace of that SitaRama!" Chandramouli immediately chanted loudly, "Hara hara Sankara... Jaya jaya Sankara." Everyone stood in ecstasy. That Parabrahmam talked after sometime. "Sankara, I shall tell you now, listen! There was no other reason for this sudden happening to Chandramouli. By nature he had abundant priya and bhakti (love and devotion) towards Sita Devi and Sri Rama. He could not withstand if they came to any distress. When he first listened to the upanyAsa, Jayarama Sarma should have been narrating about the part where Ravana abducted Sita Praatti. Am I right, Sankara?" The Auditor who stood amazed opened his mouth to affirm. "The same thing Periyavaa, the same thing! On that day, he talked very movingly only about that part." SwamigaL continued: "The moment he heard that a rAkSasa (demon) was abducting Sita Mata, towards whom he had abundant love and devotion, he suffered from a condition of mental pressure inwardly that resulted in helplessness and stoppage of the faculty of speech. It was nothing else. What was the only remedy, way out for this? It occurred to me that if heard with his own ears from the same paurANika's words that Mother Sita had been rescued without any distress to her, that would ease the pressure in his mind

and speech. It was for that reason that I asked you to do what I advised you. Now everything has concluded well with the grace of SitaRama. Chandramouli, you will remain parama kSema (in complete prosperity)!" Everyone who heard the words of that walking God, stood transfixed! Glossary: ekAnta - a lonely or retired or secret place paurANika - versed in ancient legends and stories, a mythologist puruSa - a man, human being, male, person shravaNaH - ear, listening to, hypotenuse of a triangle

17-Periya Doctor... (The Great Doctor)

author:...... V. MeenakshiSundaram, Secretary, Hindu Dharma Manram, Chennai-33 compiler:... T.S. Kothandarama Sarma book:......... Maha PeriyavaL - Darisana AnubhavangaL vol. 1, pages 197-205 publisher:.. Vanathi Padhippaham (Aug 2006 Edition) My memory is that it was the year 1957. Kanchi Maha SwamigaL and Sri Jayendra Saraswathi SwamigaL were camping in a house in Rameswaram Road, T. Nagar (Chennai). I was living with my parents in the northern end of the same street. My age then was twenty-two. I was studying in a Secondary Grade Teachers Training School. Sometimes Maha PeriyavargaL used to pass through my house, either during the morning or the evening hours. I had often seen Sri SwamigaL cross my house on the street. My mother at those times would be waiting at the entrance with a camphor plate, after having drawn a kolam in front of our house. It became her custom to show the lighted camphor before Sri Maha PeriyavargaL when he came in front of our house, and prostrate to him. The progressive thoughts in my mind, a sense of defiance, the nerve of youth, the lack of maturity to distinguish between good and bad--all these came together when I chided my mother, "This man is some sanyAsi. Why do you prostrate to him? What do you gain by that act? You are thus prostrating to

him in an uncivilized way continually, is he going to save you? Don't do such wrong things hereafter." Hearing my indecent words my mother said, "Podaa, po!" ("mind your business!") and went inside. Years rolled by. I started working as a teacher in the P.S. High School, Mylapore, Chennai in the year 1959. A few years later, my mother started suffering from a severe setback in her health, her B.P. shooting up. The V.H.S. hospital at Taramani, Chennai had just then been established. I admitted my other there for treatment. At that time I was taking tuition at their home for the two sons of Mani Aiyer, proprietor of Kalyani Hotel (the hotel is no longer there now) near Mylapore Kapali temple. His family was very devoted and loyal to Sri Maha SwamigaL. They would often go to Kanchipuram and have darshan. They would consider doing service to his holy feet as their most enduring happiness. Mani Aiyer was residing in a house in Mandaveli near Mylapore. In the small puja room opposite the hall of their house, an adorned holy picture of Sri Maha PeriyavaaL was kept. A lamp would always be burning by the side of the picture. I would be sitting on the swing in the hall and taking class for the two boys. Since the puja room was always kept open, when Sri PeriyavaaL's picture came under my glance, a prickling sensation would arise in me. I would get down, go and close the puja room doors and then continue my teaching. It has happened several times this way. As I mentioned earlier, I was worrying over my mother's health condition and was teaching the lessons somewhat for the name of it. Tears would fill my eyes. The worry and fear that my mother would pass away leaving me alone would surge through my mind. One day when the teaching was going on, Tiru. Mani Aiyer who was just back home asked me, "What Sir! You are worried, your eyes have turned red! What is the matter?" Wiping my eyes I said, "Nothing of that sort Mani Aiyer! My mother's health is not alright. Hypertension. I have admitted her in the V.H.S. That is the cause of my worry." Mani Aiyer: You showed him to a good doctor?

Myself: I told you already that I have admitted her in the V.H.S. Mani Aiyer: What did they say? Myself: They said that she will be alright, no cause to worry. But I am not satisfied with their words. Mani Aiyer: Sir! Let your worries go. I shall take you to a big doctor. Your mother will become alright if she just looks at him. Myself: Is that so? Who is that doctor, my mother would be cured if she is shown to him? Where does that big doctor reside? When can I see him? Shall I bring my mother right now? There was anxiety in my reply; also haste and enthusiam; much anticipation; because my mother should get well completely soon. Mani Aiyer: Your mother need not come. It is enough if only you come. Myself: Mani Aiyer! The disease is not for me, but my mother! If I come how can my mother become alright? Shoud not that big doctor test my mother? Mani Aiyer: Not necessary. If that big doctor just looks at you, your mother will become alright. Myself: (with some distrust) If I am seen my mother would become alright? Such a kind of doctor? Alright. If that is the case I shall come right now. Come on, let us go and see him. Mani Aiyer: You cannot see him just like that. He is not here. He is in Kanchipuram. Myself: In Kanchipuram? Why should such a big doctor reside in that place? Who is he? M.B.B.S. or M.D.? Mani Aiyer: He is beyond those degrees. He is the doctor of the doctors. (Pointing to Periyavar's picture in the puja room) He is the doctor I referred to.

Myself: (laughing loudly without being aware of it) What Mani Aiyer! This man, doctor? He is the doctor of doctors? What do you babble? How can a sanyAsi become a doctor? If it is a question of some puja or rituals I can believe it. But then you talk of this man as a big doctor! Hmm.. would it be possible for this sanyAsi to cure my mother? This is just your imagination... (The words came out of the edge of my sorrow). Mani Aiyer: What, MeenakshiSundaram! You who is born in the brahmin community talk this way? Myself: What then Sir! After saying that you would take me to a big doctor, you now say that you would take me to a sanyAsi! How can it be possible, this kind of an action? Mani Aiyer: MeenakshiSundarm, your mother should become alright for you. Only that, right? I am responsible for it. We go to Kanchipuram tomorrow itself, alright? Myself: (with klesha) Mani Aiyer, if we go to him will my mother really get well? Mani Aiyer: Certainly. Enough if you have darshan of him and just speak about your mother. Your mother will certainly get well. You can also remain in peace. Myself: In that case I shall come to Kanchipuram. But when we are there you should not compel me to remove my shirt, take bath, wear vibhUti-kunkumam, or do namaskAram. I shall come; see him; tell him about my mother; that's all. (The torsion of the young blood was not gone yet). Mani Aiyer: What ayyaa, would you not take bath daily? Would you not remove your shirt occasionally? Not wear vibhUti-kunkumam even rarely? Do those things just once tomorrow! What, will that drown your lineage? Without knowing why, I did not object but agreed to those words of him. On the next day, the three of us--Mani Aiyer, myself and Tiru. Venkataraman who worked with me--started and reached Kanchipuram in the morning hours. Taking bath in the Sarva Tirta KuLam and wearing vibhUti and dhoti, I

reached the gates of Kanchi SriMaTham for the first time in my life. And yes! There was a feeling of something like an electric vibration in my body. We enter the MaTham. Kanchi MahaSwamigaL in the front hall! Yes, the big doctor! He was sitting, leaning on a rice bag. Fruit plates and garlands of flowers are seen before him. Also a queue for his darshan. We too tucked ourselves in that queue. A bamboo plate in my hand. In the plate are fruits, spinach and some vegetables. My glance falls on the ascetic king seated there. Without any efforts, tears start to flow from my eyes. Yes, I weep without my knowing it. I don't understand the reason. Why should I weep? His keen look that has divine light falls on me. Raising his head, that god gestures me to come to him. He might have known my sorrow with his prevision. Again that talking god beckons me with a raised hand. I walked slowly and peacefully to him, placed the bamboo plate in my hand before him and prostrated to him unknowingly. "You are ashtasahasram (a sub sect)?" "Yes." "What relationship do Seshadri, Kunju in Karukudi have with you?" (Karukudi is a hamlet near Tiruvaiyaru). "They are relatives of my aunt." "Your grandfather was the Palace Receiver in Thanjavur! Was he before or after Sundaram Aiyer?" I nodded head that I did not know it. Silence prevailed for sometime. Raising his head, "You have admitted your mother in the hospital? How is she now?"

What! That god asks me the same question that I came to him with, seeking remedy. For this too, I just stand sobbing, with no reply from me. "Don't worry! Your mother will get well and return home." Yes, that big doctor had given a new lease of life to my mother! That mahaan looked sharply at me for sometime. Then, giving me prasAdam, he blessed, "Give this to your mother. She will get back home well." To this date, I heartily bow and adore that "great doctor" who vanquished the demon of ignorance in my mind and put me on the right path. As foretold by that "great doctor", my mother got well and arrived home safely. The big doctor has saved my mother's life. He is taking care of us till this day.

18-The 54 Lives Saved by Annai! (Mahima of Sringeri Sri SharadambaL)

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil) Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Oct 10, 2007 Series: Wonders Witnessed by this Adiyavan This happened several years ago. We decided on a yAtra (pilgrimage) to the kSetras (holy places) in Karnataka, more than fifty devotees of us teaming up for the tour. We started our journey in a large tourist bus. It was our custom to first go to Kanchi, have darshan of PeriyavaaL and then continue our journey. Around 4 o' clock in the afternoon of that day we stood up after prostrating to Maha SwamigaL in SriMaTham. Giving us his blessings, laughing and raising both his hands SwamigaL asked, "You people have come as a large ghoSTi... well, what's the matter?" Forthwith I elaborated on the details of our Karnataka Yatra to SwamigaL. Feeling happy he asked, raising his eyebrows, "What is the uddesha (motive)

about the first place to go?" I said, "It is our uddesha, Periyavaa, that on reaching Mangalore, we would first go to Talakkaveri, do our saMkalpa snAnam (bath and prayer) there and then go to Sringeri. After that we have decided to have darshan at SubrahmaNya, Dharmasthala, Udipi, Kollur Mukambika, Kateel Durga Parameswari... in this order." Before I could finish SwamigaL interrupted me. "Wait, wait... In the list you have mentioned, you have missed an important place..." Looking at us who were all standing with a question mark on our faces, and smiling, Periyavaa advised us, "What, you don't understand? I shall tell you... Horanadu kSetra! Mother is staying there as Annapurani, giving her anugraham. A very special place. Must have darshan!" He continued: "You people do as I tell you now. First go to Sringeri kSetram from Mangalore. There, do your snAnam in Tunga, first have Guru Darshan, get prasAdam from them, then have darshan of SharadambaL and start from there (to other places). After this, you may go to the places in your order of preference. Let one thing be kept in mind though. Anyday you go to Sringeri, as far as possible, reach the place before sAyarakSai (evening)." All of us nodded our heads in affirmation, prostrated and got up. That Walking God ordered distribution of anugraha prasAdam to us all. The driver and conductor of the bus were called and the prasAdam given to them too. We started thereafter. On the next morning, our journey from Bangalore to Mangalore. We stayed in a Kalyana Mandapam in Mangalore at night. On the morning the next day we got ready to move after taking bath. A man named Ramanathan who accompanied us came to me and said persuadingly, "We shall first go to Talakkaveri from here. After doing our saMkalpa snAnam there, why not go to Sringeri later?" I did not agree to that. "Whatever uttaravu (direction) Kanchi Periyavaa has given, we should only follow that!", I said. It was not acceptable to them. "First we should go to Talakkaveri only!" they compelled me, as if having discussed it already among them. However much I pleaded with them, nobody was prepared to lend me ears.

The bus travelled towards Talakkaveri. Staying there for a day and after finishing our saMkalpa snAnam, we started our journey towards Sringeri. It was 8:00 o' clock in the night. Both the front tyres of the bus that was going on the mountain road to Sringeri got punctured and the bus stopped. It was pitch dark outside. In the light from a torch light, Driver and Conductor started working on removing the wheels with the punctured tyres and fixing the Stepney wheels in their place. Hunger pinched our stomach; our last meal was at noon in Bagamandala. Somehow the bus started moving at 10 o' clock. Suddenly it started drizzling. It was 11 o' clock and yet there was no sight of Sringeri. Only then we had the doubt whether we were going on the right road! As God-given, we sighted a man coming in the distance. We stopped the bus near him and inquired. He patted on his head and said, "This road leads to another place. 15 km before you should have turned on the road that branched to the right." It gave us a shock! So the bus needed to be turned towards the direction we came. Driver got down and had a look. A narrow road, with valleys on both sides. Climbing onto his seat, Driver said with a falsely assured courage, "You people don't worry. I shall back up little by little with sharp turns on the steering wheel and somehow move the bus to an about turn!" and got on the task. Sitting with fear, we started chanting Rama Namam. Somehow having managed to turn the bus ninety degrees, Driver said in a loud voice, suddenly worried, "Sir, sir... Howevermuch I step on the brake, the bus starts slipping behind! Raise an even louder ghoSaNam (proclammation) in the name of God... Only He should save us all now!" His words had the effect of dissolving tamarind inside our belly. We too felt the bus slipping behind. All of us with tears welling up in our eyes started wailing, "Sringeri Sharadambaa, save us Ma! Sringeri Maha Sannidhaname, save us! Kanchi PeriyavaaLe, Ramachandra Murtiye, save us, save us...!" Suddently Driver said, "Sir, I have now taken my leg from the brake! The vehicle is not slipping behind! As if a hundred people are supporting it from behind, the vehicle stands intact! Now no worry at all. Shall turn the bus in a few moments" and started on his efforts. We did not stop the nAma ghoSaNam. appAda! (At last) the driver managed to turn the bus. All of us breathed a sigh of peace! It was exactly 12:00 hours midnight. Exactly at one-thirty we

reached the entrance to Sringeri Samasthanam. A GanapadigaL who was standing at the entrance to receive us (it is my recollection that it was Nageswara GanapadigaL!) said with a laugh, "Vaango, vaango! You are all coming from Madras, right? First wash your hand and feet and come have some food. You would be hungry. Rice Uppuma and Bringal Gotsu are ready!" "How do you know, ShastrigaaL that we are coming? We did not even write to you?" I asked him. He said laughing, "It is vAstavam (true) that your coming will not be known to people who are like us. Maha Sannidhanam, dIrgha darshigaL (with foresight) will be knowing everything, you see? It was only Maha Sannidhanam who called me around eleven o' clock and gave orders, 'To have darshan of Sharada, 54 Bhaktas from Madras are coming in a bus. They all come with great hunger! So ask our people to prepare Rice Uppuma and Gotsu and keep the food ready. In addition, for them to stay, arrange a large hall.' After arranging all that I have come to stand here and receive you all!" He sunk us in surprise. Seeing the dIrgha dharsanam and karuNa (compassion) of SriSriSri Abhinava Vidyatheertha SwamigaL, Adiyen (I) wondered. Tears rushed to my eyes. Seeing that ShastrigaL said, "You are amazed at this thing... I am going to tell you another thing in the morning; you would then be really stunned!" and led us on. Hot Uppuma and Gotsu were served ready in 54 nuni (top) banana leaves. We ate the food filling up our stomach. The next morning. Finishing our snAnam in the Tunga river, we started to have darsh of Maha Sannidhanam SriSriSri Abhinava Vidyatheertha SwamigaL. The ShastrigaL we met last night was seen by us. To him I asked joining my palms, "You said you would tell us some vishayam (news) in the morning. I pray that you please tell it now." ShastrigaL started talking: "Would have been around 12 o' clock last night. Sitting in his ekAnta (private) room, Maha Sannidhanam was examining some Shastra books. I was sitting in the outer hall. Suddenly coming out, Maha Sannidhanam kept both his hand pressed hard to the wall and started murmurming some mantra. I too got up. From the posture of Maha Sannidhanam it seemed as if he was supporting the wall from falling. I did not understand anything. Five minutes later, taking his hands off the wall, Maha

Sannidhanam came to me and said, 'You witnessed and wondered why I kept my hands against the wall in that pose and did some Japam. It is nothing else. The bus wherein came those people from Madras to have darshan of SharadambaL missed its way. Later when they realized the mistake and turned the bus, the brakes did not apply... bus started moving behind on its own. The Bhaktas in them wailed, 'save us, save us!' calling aloud the name of Amma Sharada. So I supported the bus from slipping behind by resting my hands on the walls. Now everything is alright, and the bus is coming towards Sringeri! You go and make the arrangements as I told you', and went inside his room. I stood stunned!" Listening to this, all of us wept. We started to have darshan of that Walking SharambaL. Looking at this Adiyen who prostrated and got up, SriSriSri Maha Sannidhanam said laughingly, "Should always listen to what the Mahaans say. And follow it. If you make a change in it everything that happens would be changed too. What, you understand?" With these words he did anugraha of prasAdam. This Adiyen then realized that Maha Sannidhanam only informed in sUcaka (by indicating) to the fact of our not following what Sri Kanchi Periyavaa ordered for us! Glossary: sUcaka - indicating, betraying, informer, sign, omen ghoSTi - group, gathering

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Some collections realted to Kanchi Mahaswamiheritagewiki.org/images/b/b2/Mahaperiyava's_related-English.pdf · spent their life in pooja and in giving alms to ... Lord Dakshinamurthy,