In the Presence of Divine - Vol 2 - Chapter 6 - Balu Mama (Part 1)

6. Balu Mama (Sri Swaminathendra Swamigal) Part 1 1 SAJJAN GHAT

A Marathi gentleman of the name Apte came to see Periyava in Tenampakkam. “Maharaj must come to Sajjan Ghat.2 It is because of Swami Samarth Ramdas that Sivaji could win over his enemies, that Hindus are still surviving. It is because of him that you are called Śankarācārya and I am called Apte. Maharaj must come there!” “I am so advanced in years,3 My eye-sight is failing and I cannot hear properly. How can I come so far?” “Maharaj is Paramartha incarnate. Maharaj‟s holy feet must be placed on Sajjan ghat” pleaded Apte. Ten years later, Periyava did go to Sajjan Ghat, climbing up the steep mountain. When Periyava reached the outskirts of Satara4, he was not willing to go into the town. Periyava seemed to prefer to perform the caturmasya vrata at a place called Thaneswar, though of course he later agreed to camp in Satara. Induvasan was sent ahead to locate the halt for the camp, those days. It was raining incessantly from Meeraj onwards, day and night without any respite at all. We walked and slept in our wet dhotis. We had two pieces of ahimsa silk5 which we used as a drape for Periyava. We reached Satara and Periyava halted at a Piḷḷayār temple by the wayside. In Satara there is a Śankarācārya Maṭha6, built by one Jereji Swami. He was a learned scholar, extremely well-versed in Sanskrit, a case of the pupil excelling the master. His guru was Hairendde Swami. If Jereji Swami discoursed thousands would throng to hear him, not so for his master. So Hairendde Swami was piqued. So he appointed a learned man, a house-holder and lawyer from Pune as his successor, but the man was of a disappointing character. There was one other Swami there at that time, Karavira Swami, thus three in all, in Satara. Jereji Swami earned a lot and he used it to build a Maṭha. He had only one daughter, whose son was Kasinatha Sastri, who had four sons. Kasinatha Sastri and his sons were all pupils of Sri Rajeswara Sastri of Benares, who was considered the highest authority in tarka. At the end of the day Periyava commanded that the scholars may elucidate vākyārtha. Close to Satara is a place called Vapi. There were many pundits there, about thirty or forty of them and they had all come to Satara. They knew only tarka Śāstra, nothing else. So Periyava himself began to elucidate upon vākyās. Periyava would speak slowly, emphasizing each word distinctly and in a clear voice. It was a joy to hear him speak so fluently in Sanskrit and with such insightful authority. The scholars there had judged Periyava lightly, taking him to be a wandering monk and nothing more. “Mahantaḥ! Mahantaḥ!” they shouted in one voice and literally capered about the place. “Even 1

The narratives by Sri Balu Mama are numerous and episodic. This is the first set of them. A holy place, on the Western ghats, 18 kilometeresfrom Satara city in Satara district, housing the samādhi of the 16th century saint Samarth Ramdas, preceptor of Chatrapati Sivaji. 3 Periyava was then in his late seventies. 4 Periyava camped in Satara till 25-5-1981. 5 Made from silkworm that dies naturally. 6 Sri Mettur Swami refers to „Jere‟ Swami of Sankeshwar Mutt‟ in Satara in his Yātra diary, who probably hailed from Sankeshwar in Belgaum district of Karnataka. 2

In the Presence of the Divine

2 Rajeswara Sastri cannot speak like this” they said. We had no facilities, so there was no question of taping Periyava‟s words. Kasinatha Sastri‟s son, Krishna Sastri is the only one now in Satara. If you go to Satara and ask him he will tell you what Periyava spoke that day. None of us had the knowledge to grasp anything. After his exposition, Periyava wanted to honour the scholars and commanded us, the attendants, to get things ready. We had no resources, not one meal a day, what could we put together? C.S.Ramachandraiyer arrived at the camp that day. We requested him to get some shawls. Each scholar was honoured with a shawl and two hundred and fifty rupees. Kasinatha Sastri and others prostrated to Periyava and entreated him to go into Satara, to the Sankaracharya Maṭha. In spite of their entreaties, Periyava did not consent. The next morning, Periyava was up by three o‟ clock. He completed his ablutions and all other routine and got ready to set off to Sajjan ghat. The place was rocky with tunnel-like apertures. One has to crawl through these apertures. It was pouring heavily. Induvasan had gone ahead to look at the next possible halt for the camp. Sivakumar who officiated as priest in the Thanjavur Kamakshi temple had come for darśan. A young gentleman from Dharwar had also come. Srikantan and I were with Periyava, just the two of us. No one else, neither Vedapuri nor anyone else. I do not even know how to ride a cycle and had no expertise in managing the cycle-rickshaw. I would probably have pushed the vehicle down. Sivakumar and the young man pulled the cycle-rickshaw. The hill was steep. It was not as if one could go around and negotiate the climb. One had to go up the steep. I could not manage at all. At eighty-six Periyava climbed up steadily. Though he did not go to the Samarth Ramadas samadhi, walking eleven kilometers in the ghats, and taking a short cut, he reached a cave on Sajjan ghat and halted7. It was a cave-temple dedicated to Ambal. He declared that we were to bathe and halt there for the day and told us to go and find ourselves something to eat. It was ekadasi when Periyava would fast totally, so he would take nothing that day, not even a drop of water. There was the Ramadas Maṭha there. Some bearded gentleman were there, called Anna Bhuva and another Amma Bhuva, it seems. They offered us fruits. What fruits could we eat in that cold, in such rain? Roti was offered. Srikantan was famished. “I cannot bear this anymore” he said and took some rotis. I refused because roti does not agree with me and preferred to go hungry. That night Periyava halted there. The next morning Periyava got up at about half past three and completed his ablutions. Mettur arrived, Mettur Swamigal. Periyava called him and asked him, “Shall we climb down and go back?” “I am ready” said Mettur, “but what about these people?”

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Periyava visited Sajjan Ghat on 24-6-1980. The following is an excerpt from the last part of Sri Mettur Swami‟s Yātra diary: 23.6.80. Mon.: Ganapathi Mandir on outskirts of Satara (8 km). 24.6.80. Tue.: Sajjanagad (11 km) – Ekadasi – heavy rain throughout the trek; stay at Angalayee Amman Mandir. H.H. did not go up to the Ram Mandir because of the existence of the Samadhi of Samartha Ramadass. 25.6.80. Wed.: Dwadasi. Returned to Satara Sankar Math for Pradosham (12 km). Because of fever, dropped the idea of going to Nasik forChaturmasyam. H.H. acceded to the request of Pandit Kasinatha Sastry to stay at Satara itself.

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“We will drop dead if we take one step forward” we said in one voice. I had not eaten anything for more than a day, then. “Call Balu here” said Periyava. I presented myself. “Do you remember Apte, what he said?” “Yes,” I replied, “that Periyava must place his holy feet at Sajjan ghat!‟ The day being dwadasi, Periyava accepted a little puffed rice-grain soaked in milk for the day‟s meal and went towards the shrine dedicated to Samarth Ramadas. He did not enter it, but looked at it from outside, from a distance. Then we turned back and began climbing down. “Do you know why I did not enter the shrine? The Marathas have consigned Samarth Ramadas‟ mortal remains to the flames. The codes of Dharma do not permit me to enter a crematorium, that is why I did not go in” he said. As we went down, Periyava began to shake with fever. We could do nothing, not even offer to stop the rickshaw or hold a stick and request him to hold the other end and steady himself. Even if we slowed the rickshaw a little, he would flare up. When we reached the foothills I said, “Periyava must go into Satara town. There is a Maṭha there and we could halt. Periyava is running high fever!” “That Maṭha houses the brindavan of its founder, and the Dharma Śāstra does not permit it” I stopped for a minute. “The Dharma Śāstra states that the place were saints and ascetics are buried are sacred and should be considered holy. The Upanisad Maṭha has fifty such adiṣṭānams, Maratha swami‟s and so on. A place that houses the remains of a saint or ascetic is holy and pure. So Periyava may camp there.” So Induvasan was ahead of us sent to see and assess its suitability. Luckily for us the one who had built the place had named it Śrī Śankarācārya Maṭha. That was a strong point for us! Next, we needed a well to draw water from. There was a Gujarati family close by who had a large well in their compound. They were willing to hand over their premises to us. So the problem of water was also solved. Later Periyava sent for me and in my presence told the scholars who gathered there, “Balu is a young man, but how well he explained the Dharma Śāstra. He defines the place where ascetics and saints are buried as holy and pure!” Periyava was in Satara for ten months. Every day vākyārtha sabha would be held and these scholars - all pupils of Rajeswara Sastri - would participate. They did not know anything except tarka, neither grammar nor mimāmsa8 and they had not studied Vedānta at all. Krishna Sastri, a bit of a madcap. He said “Periyava must expound the Vedanta.” The next morning, Periyava got up at three o‟ clock. He finished his ablutions and completed his one hour japa. “Fetch the scholars” he said. They were all asleep. I woke them up and hurried them to bathe and ready themselves and then presented them to Periyava. From that day onwards, for the next forty-five days, every morning from about half-past five or six up to twelve noon or even one o‟ clock, Periyava would expound the prastanatrayi.9 Periyava did not spare himself, the lesson would go on for five, six even seven hours at a stretch. Periyava would discourse in a loud and clear voice. We were, his attendants, after all nirakṣarakukṣi10 and never knew how to appreciate Periyava. We could not, however bear to see Periyava, in such advanced years, going through this regimen day after day. He was always awake 8

See Part 12, Chapters 1 to 12 in Hindu Dharma. Denotes the commentaries on the Upanisads, The Bhagavad Gīta and the Brahma Sūtras collectively, or simply as Bhāsya or commentary; refers to Śrī Ādi Śankara‟s commentaries whenever used by Periyava. 10 Lit. „alphabetless-belly‟/a colloquial way of describing one who is illiterate; those without learning 9

In the Presence of the Divine

4 by three or so, completed his ablutions and began to discourse for hours at a stretch without the slightest trace of fatigue or discomfort. The pundits could not sit still and give their attention to the discourse for hours on end. Some were bothered by the calls of nature. When the sessions ended after forty-five days, they fell down in prostration before Periyava. “Periyava surely is none other than the embodiment of Dakṣināmūrti, he truly is Adi Śeṣa” they said in one voice. They were so shaken after what they had seen of Periyava.

LEHYAM

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Periyava would get pain in the chest, often. When he suffered from this, he would not be able to eat anything at all. So I told Venkataramaiyer, the lawyer, about it. He would consult his Homeopathy books and give some medicine. In a day or two Periyava would be relieved of the pain. Venkataramaiyer was no Homoeopathy doctor, but he practiced relying on his books. Then after a while, we thought of seeking Ayurvedic remedy. So I went to Venkata Subbachar and told him about Periyava‟s suffering from frequent chest pain. He said “I am working in Venkataramana pharmacy and can give a good medicine. But I do not wish to give Periyava something that is already on the shelf and being sold. His body is sacred and immaculate. Give me a few days, get me the things I want and I will make it afresh and have it ready. He gave me a list of things he needed, about forty or so roots and herbs. I got him everything. When I took to him, he said, “What about the ghee?” “You did not tell me to get it” I replied. So I got the clarified butter and honey too, which he wanted. Four days later I went back and Venkata Subbachar handed over two glass jars of the lehyam to me. I brought it to Periyava. “What is it?” “Lehyam . . . prepared by Venkatasubbachar, for Periyava, for relief from pain in the chest.” “Put it aside carefully!” So I put it away with care. Sometime later, Nagamuthu, who looked after the cows came to Periyava. One of the cows had not taken the feed, did not chew the cud or drink water, and he was worried. Periyava told him to fetch the cow. It was brought and made to stand in front of Periyava. Periyava told me to put the lehyam on a piece of banana leaf and give it to the cow. So I scooped out the lehyam, placed it in on banana leaves and fed the cow. The cow was led away and later in the day, Nagamuthu reported that the cow was back to normal. “Are you unhappy?” asked Periyava, because he had not taken the cure himself. “Not at all. What Periyava wills, I am happy to accept . . .” Periyava said, “Had I taken it, that would have brought merit only to you, because you have arranged for the medicine for your guru. But now, look. . . the thirty three crores of divine beings dwell in the body of the cow. By curing the cow and you, I and the whole world is blessed!” 11

Medicinal paste made from natural ingredients such as herbs and extracts, cured in clarified butter and honey.

Vol. II/ Article 6, Part One-Balu Mama 5 THE COW THAT WAS LOST AND FOUND

In Tiruvisainallur there was this black cow, Karāmpaśu12, that came for Gow puja every morning. It was a huge and healthy cow, like a small elephant, pitch black and beautiful. It had come from Tippirajapuram. Every morning Periyava would go to the Gow puja, and touch the arathi to his eyes before he came back for his morning routine. One day another cow was brought for the Gow puja. “Where is the Karāmpaśu? Some kind of an evasive reply was given to Periyava. He was told that the cow was ailing and so on. Later that morning, Periyava set out, no one knew where to, and began walking through Tiruvisainalllur, entering into every little lane. No sooner did he enter the lane where peasants lived, the black cow mooed loudly on sighting Periyava. Periyava told the Kārvar13, “Our cow is there. Fetch it!” Meanwhile, the peasant, his wife and children came running out and begged pardon in many ways for taking away the cow that belonged to the Maṭha. The peasant and his family, all began to weep in remorse. “It grazed on my fields. That is why I brought it home and tied it up” said the peasant. “How much of your land did it graze on?” asked Periyava. The peasant defined the area. Periyava then asked him, “How much of grain would the crop there have yielded?” “One sack full of grain . . .” Periyava told the Kārvar “Send two bags of grain to this peasant and then fetch the cow back!”

ELEPHANT

Again in Tiruvisainallur, the elephant got into a huge pond, to the middle of it. The Mahout14 did everything he could think of, even flung stones at the animal. It just would not budge. The matter was reported to Periyava. Periyava went to the pond, and standing on its banks, looked at the elephant and said “Come on, my boy” and the animal walked back out of the pond, following Periyava to the camp. The animal had suffered slight injury, from some incidental fire and had treated itself to the cool water and slush of the pond. Periyava explained this to us. 12

Lit. dark beast/cow; a cow that is fully black, without a spot of another colour; its milk is considered auspicious for ritualistic use in worship 13 Colloquial form of Kāriyakkār, literally „work-man‟; one who co-ordinates and supervises the work men 14 The one who trains and takes care of the elephant; its constant companion

In the Presence of the Divine

6 MANGOES AND MONKEYS

Periyava had flung away the seeds of two mangoes after eating the fruit, during a camp in Andhra. The seeds sprouted, grew into fine trees and yield plenty of fruit every year. It comes regularly, even now. One day four gentleman from Vijayawada brought two large baskets of fruit from these two trees and placed them before Periyava. One tree was of the Rasālu15 variety and another Banganapalli16. Periyava was preparing for his „One-hour japa‟. He had besmeared himself with vibhūti, completed the sankalpa17, ācamana and so on. A big Banganapalli fruit was on Periyava‟s lap. Once Periyava sat for praṇava japa18 nothing would disturb him. He would remain involved in a state of samādhi19, untouched by the world around. I picked out one big mango fruit and gently placed it on Periyava‟s lap, as he sat in samadhi. Four ladies had come for darśan –Neyveli Balam, Pudukottai Jayam, Nagalakshmi and one more. One of them, Jayam, called me, and said “Balu, that mango fruit on Periyava‟s lap. You must give it to us!” I said “But you are four ladies. If I give it Jayam, Balam will quarrel with me, if I give it Nagalakshmi, another will quarrel . . . you will quarrel with each other. No!” “No,no! We will not quarrel. Give us that fruit. It is placed on Periyava‟s feet and he is in japa. What a wonderful prasāda. You must give it to us, don‟t refuse.” Finally I agreed. The japa ended at about three in the morning. Periyava at once picked up the copy of Hanuman Chalisa that was nearby and began to read it. Suddenly, at that time of the day, impossible as it was, literally out the dark – for monkeys never stir out till it bright sunlight- a big monkey appeared from where we do not know, sauntered up to Periyava, picked up the fruit from his lap, turned around and went away as swiftly as it came!

During the course of the long yatra, we walked from Anantapur to Dharmavaram in a day. All along the way we saw only mango fruit, not a single banana anywhere. Devotees would offer mango and more mango! The fruit was tied up in four or five sacks, we had so much of it. When we reached Dharmavaram, we halted under a huge banyan tree. Periyava said, “Get me the mango fruit.” I brought a few and placed it in front of Periyava. “Bring all the fruit” said Periyava. 15

Lit. „Juicy‟; a famous and small variety of mango that is gently squeezed and the juicy pulp drunk from a small aperture made on the peel. 16 Named after its place of origin; known for its large size, fragrance and sweetness 17 Lit.Resolve; made before any religious ritual or spiritual practice; the year, day and date, locale and purpose are all pronounced formally in the sankalpa. Periyava‟s spiritual practices and the ritualistic worship done thrice a day, at the Śrī Maṭha, is resolved for the good of all in the world. 18 japa of Om 19 To be established in equipoise in one‟s own consciousness, without the interference of the activities of the mind; perfect involution into one‟s self.

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I brought all the sacks and piled them in front of Periyava. Periyava said “Pour out all the fruit!” I poured out all the sacks of fruit, in a big heap, beneath the tree. In a moment, from above our head, from the branches of the banyan tree, all around, it rained monkeys, so many of them! They grabbed the fruit, stuffed it into their mouth, stuffed one inside each cheek, clutched one in each hand and ran about in wild excitement. It was a riot! Periyava had noticed the band of monkeys hidden in the thick foliage of the top branches and so halted there to play this game. Periyava said, “Have you ever seen such a sight? Can you ever? So many monkeys enjoying so much of fruit! ” Such joy there was! Periyava told us once, “Monkeys cannot see in the dark, do you know? The monkey-catcher will put some tit-bits inside a dark room and when the monkey goes in groping for it, would catch it in a gunny bag.”

THE PET-DOG AND OTHER ANIMALS

One morning, when it was barely six, a lady arrived, weeping, followed by her husband leaning on a stick and their children. All of them were in tears. I told the lady, “You must not weep in Periyava‟s presence. What is it, at this time of the day? Stop crying and tell us what it is.” The lady had a strange petition to make. “We have a dog, which we have brought up since it was a new-born pup. I did not even know its mother. Somehow all of us in our family have grown to be very fond of the dog. For the past four days the dog has not taken its meal, nor a drop of water. It does not open its mouth and bark either. We have brought it to Periyava. It is in the van which we have parked outside!” “You must not bring up dogs, being a Brahmin. You cannot so much as say „This is my dog.‟ One must not eat one‟s meal with a dog watching one do so . . .” I stepped in and prostrated to Periyava. “Periyava must forgive my presumption. This is not the time to quote the Dharma Śāstra. A creature is to be saved and this lady is petitioning in tears. Periyava must be gracious.‟ Periyava said “Why! You have spoken boldly!” At once he got up and went out to take a look at the dog. Periyava‟s compassion for all creatures is boundless and unique. The dog was more like a cow, so huge. It was brought down from the van. It could hardly move. Periyava instructed me, “Bring two measures of boiled, sweetened and cooled milk and a pair

In the Presence of the Divine

8 of footwear! Go and ask Ramakrishna for it, the one in the Santarpana.20” I came back with both items, sweetened, cooled milk and a pair of Periyava‟s padukas. “Not this . . . go and fetch a pair of leather slippers” said Periyava. So I went in and came back with a pair of leather footwear. “No put the milk down and place the footwear beside it!” No sooner did I do so, the dog got up and lapped up all the milk in a few seconds. Then again Periyava said, “The dog must be hungry. The cooking must be done by now. Go and get some food.” I mixed some rice with curd and placed it before the dog. The dog gobbled up the meal. Not just that. It looked up at Periyava and barked! The devotees left happily with their pet. Later on Periyava said “Balu, thieves know mantras that will tie up a dog‟s mouth. It is made of just two syllables, just as Rāma nāma is made of two mantras. Then a six syllable mantra has to be used to dispel that. Leather footwear I asked for because, dark forces run away from a place where leather footwear is placed. Then there are similar mantras to undo the poison of scorpion-bite, snake-bite and so on. Come on, I will teach you these . . .” I prostrated to Periyava and said, “Periayava is all in all for me. I do not want to learn all this.” Periyava called me repeatedly to learn these mantras and I refused firmly. He would tease us like this!

In Gulbarga I learnt the strange truth that horses were more loyal towards their master than dogs were. I had always thought that dogs were the most animals. A gentleman there told me, “Horses are the most loyal of all animals. They recognize who the master is and neigh in a special way when he comes. They will not do that for anyone else.”

When Periyava was in Tenampakkam – he was on the other side of the well, and there was a counter through which we passed whatever we had to. One day when Periyava sat for his „One-hour japa‟ – it was known as „One-hour japa‟ but at times it would go on for two or even three hours. Nothing would move him out of samādhi. A huge cobra got into his room and was swaying majestically, its hood wide-open. I was terrified. What if it went near Periyava? It must have been around half-past two before dawn, the time when Periyava usually sat for japa after ablutions. Photo Kannan21 was fast asleep in another room. He had good presence of mind, was intelligent and could handle such situations well, though he was at times a little short-tempered. I went and woke him up. He was irritated being disturbed at that hour. “Wake up” I said “A snake has got in . . . “ 20 21

Where devotees are given a meal Has since accepted sanyas; travelled with Periyava during the yātra and took hundreds of photographs of him.

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“Snake!” He sat up. He came and took a look. Then at once he went out and came back with the huge brass cauldron in which we heated water for bath and managed to put it over the snake, trapping it inside the vessel turned upside down. We did not want to take any chances. We heaved and shifted the flat grinding stone. A number of centipedes were crawling beneath it when we moved it. We swept them away, out of the place. We carried the grinding stone and managed to put it on top of the upturned vessel. Only then were we relieved. After his japa was done, when Periyava came out of samādhi he looked at the arrangement front of him. “What‟s‟ all this?” “A cobra got in, so . . .” “Remove these things and let it off!” We removed the grinding stone and then very cautiously lifted up the cauldron. The snake slid away quietly, out of the room to the far end of the open space outside the building and slid into a hole. “Don‟t do this again. That snake comes here to this room every day. It rests beside me, at night. Don‟t restrict its movement. It has been coming here a long time now!” said Periyava calmly.

Again at Tenampakkam, there were several wooden pots of water lined up inside Periyava‟s room. Birds would go in freely and take a drink. Squirrels would come to peep into the pots, drink their fill and run around the room in play. It was the height of summer. Rats would sometimes come for a refreshing drink of cool water. “Let me change the water,” I would say if I saw rats drinking from these pots. I was worried about rats coming in freely and enjoying the hospitality because they are harmful to our health. “Look how it scorches outside” Periyava would retort,“All the well and ponds are dry but we have water here. Leave them alone.” For hours these creatures would play about freely near Periyava, enjoying the shade and water. We could not interfere at all. Strangely, once a cat began to visit the camp. Periyava had a kind of fear of cats. But this cat came regularly. Periyava told Brahmacāri Ramakrishnan, “Fetch some water for the cat.” “But cats drink milk, not water” he protested. “Never mind . . .” So Ramakrishnan put out a coconut shell bowl with water in it. The cat lapped up the water in a trice! “Now give it some milk!” Ramakrishan filled milk into the bowl and once again the cat lapped it up in seconds and then left.

In the Presence of the Divine

10 At Pandaripur a cat made its home inside Periyava‟s room. Krishna Sastri gave me a „mangoshawl‟ and said “Balu, pure silver and gold have been used in this shawl. I got this specially made for Periyava. Keep it carefully. See that it is not given away to someone!” 22

If shawls were asked for to honour scholars we would fetch them from our stock and give it to Periyava. I put away the shawl carefully. Periyava never draped a shawl around his chest. He never covered himself with a shawl even in bitter cold. Someone said one day that sanyasis must not use a drape and since that moment Periyava gave up the use of shawls. It was an impertinent old hag who said that just as another old woman once remarked that Periyava‟s bhikṣa must not have coconut used to flavor it- and that was when Periyava was much younger and accepted a little rice- he gave up that since then. For years Periyava had only been covering his chest with the upper end of his ochre handloom cloth. The cold in Pandaripur was terrible. That place is not like any other place. The cold is not like that of Nagpur or elsewhere. It is extraordinary. We would pump up water and heat it Periyava‟s bath, on the sly. He never reprimanded us for doing so and let it pass, acknowledging our concern for him. One day the cat that lived in Periyava‟s room littered kittens there. Periyava called me and said “You have put away a particular shawl. Bring it.” When I fetched the „mango-shawl‟ he instructed me to cover the cat and its litter with it. “Cats cannot bear cold. Besides this one has laid a litter. It needs to be warm.”

COFFEE

I once said “Periyava , I wish to ask you something.” “Ask me, I am not a lion or tiger. I am not going to eat you up.” “Why do you say that we must not drink coffee?” “I wanted to answer that question before I passed away. You have asked me boldly. I will tell you.” No one had the courage event to mention the word „coffee‟ in his presence. “Coffee is black, milk is white. The two must not be mixed. Drink coffee or tea decoction separately but do not mix the two and drink it. Mixing black and white is forbidden in the Dharma Śāstra. To say that it is an intoxicating or harmful stimulant is not acceptable. The Śāstra forbids it.”

A THOUSAND AND MORE

One day Periyava called an old lady who lived in the protection of the Matha. She was very poor and her possessions consisted of a couple of tattered sarees. A devotee had offered a sack of broken rice grain. Periyava told the old lady, “Take this grain and drop some into every ant hill you see in Kanchipuram!”

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A special and most expensive variety of hand-woven shawl with traditional designs of mango, embroidered in silver thread and polished with pure gold; offered as a sign of great honour.

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“But I cannot carry this weight” said the lady. So Periyava sent a boy to help her. The two of them searched out all the anti-hills in Kanchipuram and dropped all the grain in the bag into them. That was over that day. The next day another old lady came and told Periyava “Today in Bharani Dīpam23. So it is good that three hundred and sixty five lamps are lit to mark each one of the days of the year. We need three hundred and sixty five wicks. . .” “Why! Must we light only three hundred and sixty five lamps!” Periyava turned to an attendant and told him to fetch all the wicks in the lamp. The attendant brought a huge sack full of wick thread. “Cut this into pieces for lamp-wicks!” Thousands and thousands of lamp wicks were ready after by afternoon. “Now take a tin of oil and light lamps in every temple in Kanchipuram, till the tins of oil and wicks are exhausted!” The old lady got several clay lamps and began this work. In about a week‟s time, the wicks and oil were all completely exhausted. Some days later a well-to-do gentleman arrived in a great fuss, with a lot of offerings. “Tell Periyava I have come” he instructed one of the attendants. He stood before Periyava and pompously elaborated upon his acts of charity in Kasi. “I offered sahasra bhojanam24 and lit sahasra dīpam25 in Kasi on the occasion of my śaṣitabdapūrtī26” said the gentleman with a flourish. “Is that so?” Periyava sent an attendant to call the two old ladies. The two old ladies hurried in bewilderment, fidgeting with their tattered sarees, quite visibly frightened at being commanded to Periyava‟s presence suddenly. “Look” said Periyava to the gentleman. “This lady has fed one crore lives and the other has lit one crore of lamps in Kanchipuram!” The gentleman was taken aback. He then learnt about the humble service rendered by the two devotees. Only Periyava could cure a person of ego. I told the gentleman, “One does not talk like that in Periyava‟s presence boastfully. One must rather say “It was by Periyava‟s grace that all these activities were possible . . . “ Periyava wanted the gentleman to know that it was divine grace that makes all things possible and also not to evaluate deeds of grace as big or small. Periyava gave the remorseful gentleman his blessings.

23

The day before Karthika deepam, the festival of lights in the month of Karthika (November-December); feeding one thousand people as a ritual of worship, envisioning the Lord in each person 25 one thousand lamps 26 Traditional celebration of one‟s sixtieth birthday 24

In the Presence of the Divine

12 PERIYAVA‟S FOREWORD FOR A BOOK!

There was an old lady of the name Parvati. She was very poor. She made her living by selling Kolam 27books. She had drawn many different kinds of kolam, printed it all in a little book and went from door to door selling it, priced it at fifty paise. She made a rupee or two everyday and managed somehow. She was among those that put up in thatched huts near Periyava‟s camp. She did not compromise with her orthodoxy. She would follow the camp. A cluster of huts would come up near the camp and such devotees would stay on near the camp for Periyava‟s darśan. Every day she was given a small quantity of rice grain and along with a brinjal or a handful of green vegetable which she procured, she would cook herself one frugal meal. She came to give a copy of her book to my younger sister who was then living in Sarangapani Street in T.Nagar. In the course of the talk my sister told the lady, “My elder brother serves Periyava from close quarters and renders personal service.” The old lady said “If Periyava gives a Śrīmukham 28 for my look, it will sell well. My difficulties will all come to an end.” So she came running to me, “My child, you must do this for me, my child . . . you can do this . . . you are always with Periyava” and so on repeatedly. So, unable to refuse, I took a copy of her Kolam book and left for Rajahmundry where Periyava was camping in. When I reached the camp and prostrated to Periyava after my ablutions and so on, Periyava asked me, what brought you here?” I submitted the reason of my visit. “Bring the book here, let us see . . .” I placed the book in front of Periyava. Periyava turned the pages one by one and looked at all the kolams one by one. They were quite beautiful and included kolams of the lamp and so on. Periyava nodded his approval and asked for the learned scholar Sri Ramakrishna Sastrigal, an exponent of the Dharma Śāstra the āsthana vidvān 29of the Matha. Periyava commanded Ramakrishna Sastrigal to write a Śrīmukham for the book. It was written out formally and placed before Periyava. It said that Parvathiamma was doing a good service by presenting all the traditional kolams, which all could draw in their puja altars and be blessed– it was along these lines, ending with „Narayanasmrithi30‟. I took it back to the old lady who felt immensely blessed and thrilled. But it did not stop there. She printed a thousand copies of the book, took the books to Kapāliśwar temple at Mylapore, sat there and repeatedly called out to every passer-by that her book had been blessed by Periyava with a Śrīmukham and so on. Now who not want such an auspicious thing in their home? Her book sold out quickly and needless to say, she was relieved of her difficulties. 27

Traditional designs drawn at the threshold with rice-powder every day at dawn. Lit.‟auspicious face‟; refers to a benedictory message. 29 scholar/artist/musician in residence a king‟s court, in recognition ofhis extraordinary learning or talent, here at the Maṭha 30 Invoking Narayana/ in the name of Narayana 28

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Seeing all this, another old lady thought of writing a book and seeking Periyava‟s Srīmukham to tide over her difficulties. Sometime later she came to me, with the manuscript notebook of AmbāḷKummi Songs 31. She made repeated requests urging me to get her a Srīmukham. “You must do this, my child. You are Periyava‟s child. I am in such difficulty” and so on. I could not refuse, but I did not even have money for train-fare. My salary was then one hundred and ten rupees. We lived in a small rented place and my aged parents needed to be taken care of. So I went to Gopalapuram Mani‟s father and asked for some money. He said he would not spare more than ten or twenty rupees. So I went to Mylapore V.G.Pal.Neelakantaiyer. No sooner did he see me, he exclaimed, “Why, my boy . . . What is it?” I explained my difficulty to him and asked for hundred rupees. “But I will be able to return only ten rupees a money,” I confessed. “Even if you did not return the money, it does not matter. You are going for Periyava‟s darśan, that is all that matters.” So taking the note-book I left for Rajahmundry. When I reached the camp Periyava was getting ready to go the Godavari. “Come with me” he said. After my bath and anuṣṭāna, when Periyava had some leisure I went and prostrated to him. “You were here last week. You are now back within a few days. You have parents to care for. You have a job. Where did you manage the money? How is it you are back here again?” I submitted the purpose of my visit. I brought the note book. When Periyava had purified himself for anuṣṭāna and japa, he would not touch paper or books. “Open it . . . “ I opened the note-book at random. “Read what is there.” I did. “Onion sāmbār! Recipe for onion sāmbār!” “So I am to give a Śrīmukham to this!” I was a young man then. I could not bear Periyava‟s question. I burst into tears. “Why do you weep, my boy? It is not your fault. You have only carried the note-book.” Then as if to console me Periyava said, “It is good that you have come. Sethuraman has left. You can stay on and serve me bhiksha.” So I stayed on for about two months. Then when Seppu Ramamurthi returned, Periyava called me and said, “You had better go back. Your parents need to be taken care of. Get back to your job.” Periyava did not forget the old lady‟s request. “Go to the office and find how much it will cost to print this book” he said.

31

A traditional folkdance performed by girls and women, singing and clapping to keep the beat and forming patterns in movement; the songs expand the glories of deities and are in a colloquial style.

In the Presence of the Divine

14 I went and made enquiries and learnt that it would cost about three hundred rupees to print a thousand copies. I came back and reported to Periyava. “Take that money and another three hundred, six hundred rupees, from the Manager and hand it over to the old lady!” I went back to the office. It was Friday evening. Once the cash, the khazāna was closed, it would not be opened again. Even as I was explaining the matter Periyava himself came there and commanded the Manager to give me the money. “Go and get two „narmadi‟ sarees32 for the old lady. The money alone is not sufficient.” I did not know where I could get those sarees which old women like that lady wore. “I don‟t know anything about these sarees . . .” I said. “Go to Gowri paati in the Matha and ask her to give you a pair. Take the money and the sarees and give it to the old lady. She has written well. I only mentioned the onion sambār part of it, but she has written about Ambal, kummi songs, the description Śrī Nagara33 in songs, Meeknakshi Kalyanam34, all these are so well written. It is not necessary that you mention the onion sambār . . .” Periyava asked me if I had money for my train fare‟. I said “Yes”. I left the camp and collecting the pair of sarees from Gowri patti in the Sri Matha went to Madras. I handed over the money and the sarees to the old lady. “Did not Periyava give a Śrīmukham? Why! Is there no Śrīmukham from Periyava?” “Periyava has given you so much! Look! Six hundred rupees to print the book and for you, a pair of sarees. Why! You will be even better off then Parvati paati” I said. The lady left in such joy!

There was this scholar called Rama Sastri. He was considered the greatest scholar in Tarka and Nyāya. None could match his scholarship. He came to Periyava with the manuscript, bound up like a book,seeking a Śrīmukham for it. Kannan and I were there. Periyava was lying down, resting for a while. We could not of course call him or wake him if he was lying down to rest. So we walked up and down that way several times. Periyava asked, “What is it?” “This gentleman, Tarka Sastrigal has brought a book and prays for a Śrīmukham from Periyava.” The gentleman has joined us. “Aah!! Śrīmukham from me! He is a great scholar, so learned!”

32

Lit. jute-fibre spun cloth; traditionally worn by widows; later replaced by coarse, sand coloured handloom cloth. Abode of the Divine Mother 34 Songs describing the wedding of Goddess Meenakshi with Sundareswara Siva. 33

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It was well known that the scholar never contained his view that Periyava was not as learned as he was, since he had studied for many years, whereas Periyava‟ s period of study was very brief at Mahendramangalam35. “What am I! I hardly know a thing. He is an IAS , I am at the level of alphabets. I am not learned at all. My giving a Śrīmukham for his book! How can that be!” The gentleman began to sob. We felt sorry for him. After a while Kannan said, “Balu, it is enough that you come along with me. I shall do the rest.Come on.” We went in. Kannan prostrated to Periyava and said “Periyava must be gracious. A scholar has come to Periyava seeking his blessings. The scholar must not weep. After all it is human nature to err . . . to speak egoistically. Periyava must not disappoint the Sastri. None must weep in Periyava presence.” “Call him” said Periyava, “Fetch the book!” The Sastri came with the book. Periyava opened a page at random. “Read!” There were six grammatical errors in that one page! “Correct all the mistakes in your book and bring it. I will give you the Śrīmukham.” The gentleman left with tears of joy streaming down his face. End of Part One

35

From four years from 1911 to 1914.