CHAPTER II FIRMNESS

To say that His Holiness will not censure anybody does not mean that He will tolerate, countenance or overlook any deviation from the strict path of Dharma but only that His method of correction will be quite a different one, mild and at the same time firm and uncompromising. A few examples will make this clear.

When I had practically ceased to practise as a lawyer, I offered to stay at Sringeri itself if His Holiness would permit me but He said: “You have your mother to look after.” When I mentioned that there were other sons who would attend to her, He said: “ That does not absolve you from your duty.” I had perforce to drop the idea. It so happened that when she died five years later, I was the only son that was present at her death-bed. One of my brothers had predeceased her and the others were able to come only two days after the cremation. Evidently His Holiness foresaw this contingency.

A retired officer once approached His Holiness for permission to take Sannyasa and said : “My wife died several years ago and my son is grown up and well provided for. I have no family responsibilities now and I desire to spend my old age in study and contemplation and lead a secluded life. I pray that Your Holiness will permit me to take holy orders.” His Holiness looked up at him and said : “You are not free from attachment to money, You must get over it before you take up Sannyasa.” The gentleman hung his head and accepted the verdict. It appeared that he could not reconcile himself to take Biksha at the hands of others and so had planned to arrange for his meals out of his pension. It was only after His Holiness’ remark that he realised that it was not proper to draw any pension after taking Sannyasa.

A person well known to His Holiness went somewhere and took Sannyasa and then came to Sringeri. When he prostrated, His Holiness, to my great surprise, completely ignored him and proceeded on. I met that gentleman and asked him as to when he took Sannyasa. He told me : “ Every year I had to perform six Sraddhas, for my father, mother maternal grandfather and grandmother and also two wives. Every time I have to trouble some body to arrange for the same. A friend suggested to me that if 1 took Sannyasa I shall be rid of this responsibility and so I became a Sannyasi two months ago when I had gone to my native district.” I realised that His Holiness’ not acknowledging such a Sannyasi was quite justifiable.

When His Holiness was. camping in a village, a Sannyasi who was put up in a lodging near by was loudly repeating the Taittiriya Upanishad. But it was so full of mistakes that it disturbed His Holiness. It is well known that the slightest variation in the syllables or in the accent is highly harmful to the reciter. His Holiness accordingly sent word to him to repeat the name of Sri Rama instead. That Sannyasi readily obeyed but in the evening came to His Holiness and asked for a japamala to keep count of the repetitions of the name of Sri Rama. His Holiness said : “ It is not necessary. Let the repetition be countless.” It must be noted that His Holiness did not point out that the Upanishad recital was all wrong but only suggested to him a harmless and proper substitute. It seemed to me that He did not want him to finish the Rama Nama Japa and to revert to the Upanishad recital.

In the village of Kottaram in the Tirunelveli District, there was a rich landlord Sri Swaminatha Sastry by name. He was not only a profound scholar in Sanskrit, particularly in the Agama Sastras, but was an expert musician as well. When His Holiness visited his house, he was asked to expound Sri Rukmani Kalyanam in true Harikatha Kalakshepam style· He did it very well and earned the appreciation of His Holiness. While so expounding, he mentioned : “ Under the orders of Sri Krishna, His charioteer Daruka harnessed and yoked to the chariot the four horses Saibya, Balahaka etc “, evidently not recollecting at that moment the names of the other two horses. His Holiness interjected “Sugriva and Meghapushpa.” This effectively dispersed from the mind of that gentleman any possible idea that His Holiness would not be quite conversant with Puranic literature. He proceeded and said “ The four horses were all very fast runners. For speed, it is usual to refer to the wind, Garuda and the mind as illustrations but, as there is a fourth horse here, its speed may be compared to the speed with which the Sandhyavandanam is being done in these days.”

This remark immediately elicited a gust of laughter from those there. But His Holiness turned a stern face towards them and said : “He is ridiculing what you are doing. You must hang your heads down in shame. How can you laugh?” This remark stunned the audience to instant silence. Then He said to the Sastrigal also : “This is not a matter for laughter. If your object is to make people perform Sandhya properly, this is hardly the way to do so”.

A Dikshita who had performed many a yaga came once to His Holiness and in the course of the conversation His Holiness asked him about a particular rite in a particular yaga. The Dikshita gave out how it was done. His Holiness then asked whether the Srauta Sutras warranted such a procedure. He replied, “There is no Sutra on the point but we have the authority of time-honoured tradition in support of it.” His Holiness immediately said : “Why do you say so? There seems to be a Sutra which is just the other way” and mentioned it. The Dikshita was a little nonplussed and said : “No doubt so but we are performing it only in this way.” His Holiness remarked “ Those who may not know the Sutra may be guided by custom but will it justify such as you who know them?” The Dikshita admitted that the procedure must conform to the Sutras and was really surprised at the intimate knowledge of His Holiness about yagas when He had not even witnessed any.

A disciple sent to the Mutt a set of Sanskrit stanzas for submission to His Holiness. The official who received it passed it on to somebody else for doing so. But the latter evidently forgot all about it for, when he left the place two months later, the slip of paper containing the stanzas was lying in the window sill of the room which he was occupying. When His Holiness went into that room, He saw the paper and read the stanzas. When this came to the knowledge of the official, he felt keenly that he must have himself handed it over to His Holiness immediately it was received or at least ascertained whether it did reach His Holiness’ hands. He hastened to apologise to His Holiness for this remissness. His Holiness replied, “It does not matter. The person for whom it was intended has somehow got it now.” These soft words were a more effective reprimand than any direct censure.