CHAPTER VI SACREDNESS OF VOWS

A disciple who was suffering from acute skin trouble approached His Holiness for relief. His Holiness prescribed that for one full year he must go to the Temple of God Subrahmanya at Tiruchendur in the Tirunelveli District every Shashti (6th day of lunar fortnight), perform Archana to the Deity if convenient and in any case do so many prostrations before the Deity. He accordingly went to the Temple for some Shashtis; but after the lapse of a few months he found it necessary to go to Madras on some urgent business and feared that he might have to miss a Shashti at Tiruchendur. In this dilemma he again sought His Holiness.

D. As ordained by your Holiness, I have been going to the Tiruchendur Temple all these months. Now I find I have to go to Madras and may not be back in time for the next Shashti. May I know what I am to do?

H. H. Is the matter so urgent?

D. Yes.

H. H. Then start from Tiruchendur on the night of the Shashti, go to Madras and return to Tiruchendur before the next Shashti. You have a fortnight’s interval to transact your business at Madras.

D: I fear my business at Madras may require my presence there for a longer time.

H. H. Is that so? In that case. you may start from Tiruchendur the night of the next Shashti also, go to Madras, finish your business and then return in time for the Shashti next after that.

D. I fear my continuous presence at Madras will be necessary and it will not be possible for me to go from there to Tiruchendur in the interval;

H. H. Then what do you want me to do?

D. I desire to know whether the Shashti left out by my stay at Madras cannot be compensated by extending the period of vow by one more Shashti so that the total number of twenty-four Shashtis may have been fully observed.

H. H. There is certainly no harm in your observing a Shashti after the termination of the year of vow, but it cannot certainly be counted as included in that period.

D. Then your Holiness means that all the twentyfour shashtis must be within the year of vow?

H. H. Was not that exactly your vow?

D. It was.

H. H. Why, then. any doubt in the matter?

D. If it is imperative that I must observe all the twenty-four Shashtis within that year and if I find it impossible to observe one of them owing to the urgency of the business that takes me to Madras, I am placed in a difficult position. I crave your Holiness to find me a way out.

H H. I have asked you to take two trips to Madras.

D. But that again is not possible.

H. H. Then what else can I do?

D. I have heard that there is a famous shrine of God Subrahmanya at Tiruttani (Thanikachala) near Madras. May I go to that Temple on the Shashti I have to be at Madras?

H. H. Certainly. But with what purpose?

D. As an alternative to my going to Tiruchendur on that day.

H. H. We are quite incompetent to discuss about the relative merits of the sacred images of the God Subrahmanya at Tiruchendur and at Tiruttani. Much less are we competent to decide on such matters. It is quite sufficient for our purpose that going to Tiruttani is not included in your vow. In cases of vows where definite benefit is expected, no alternative or substitute is permissible.

D. If my going to Tiruttani as an alternative is not to be thought of, what am I to do for that Shashti?

H. H. That is for you to decide.

D. Your Holiness will not allow me to add another Shashti at the end. Your Holiness will not allow me either to go to another shrine of God Subrahmanya. What am I to do?

H. H. I am very sorry. But remember that it is not I that will not allow you to do those things but only the terms of your vow.

D. But, if the terms are so inviolable, what am I to do when I find myself compelled, by circumstances beyond my control, to violate them?

H. H. I quite agree. If the circumstances are so beyond your control, you can certainly do nothing. You must tamely submit to fate which places such insurmountable obstacles in your way.

D. But if I submit to that fate as inevitable, what becomes of my vow?

H. H. It is no longer kept. That is all.

D. If so, what is to become of my disease?

H. H. It will run its due course as there is nothing now to restrain it.

D. Does your Holiness mean that, if the vow is not punctiliously performed in all its details, it will be ineffective altogether?

H. H. That is just the case with all vows.

D. God forbid. Then I shall take your Holiness’ first suggestion and go to Madras twice, if necessary, without detriment to the Tiruchendur Shashti.

H. H. Do so.

I may add that at the end of the year’s course the disciple was completely cured of the skin trouble and also that the prescription of His Holiness was given at a time long anterior to His own visiting the Tiruchendur Temple.

A disciple who was on a visit to His Holiness desired to leave for his home on a Friday afternoon. As it was well known that His Holiness used to perform special Pujas on Fridays to Sri Rajarajeswari in the Sri Chakra, the disciple wanted to take with him a small quantity of Kunkuma used for the worship and asked the Puja attendant to give it to him. The attendant, however, declined to do so and said that it could be got only after the completion of the Puja at night. The disciple said: “I do not want you to touch the Sri-Chakra now at all. It will be quite sufficient if you give me the Kunkuma which is sprinkled on the floor on all sides of the Sri-Chakra-Pitha.” The attendant still declined saying, “Nothing can be disturbed till after the night Puja. Even if I take the Kunkuma from the floor only, His Holiness will know it.’ The disciple said, ‘‘ Then I shall ask His Holiness Himself. I suppose you will give it if He asks you to do it.” The attendant replied, “Certainly. But He will never ask me to do it’’.

The disciple was some-what vexed at the persistence (unreasonable to him) in declining to take the Kunkuma which was after all not on the Sri-Chakra, but only sprinkled on the floor below the seat. He went to His Holiness.

D. I shall be very thankful if your Holiness will ask the attendant to give me some Sri-Chakra Kunkuma.

H. H. If I remember right, you intend starting for home this afternoon itself.

D. Yes. That is why I make this special request now.

H: H. All right. I shall see that the Kunkuma is despatched to you by tomorrow‘s post.

D. Having come here personally, I prefer to take it myself.

H. H. So much the better, as you can attend the night Puja also. The disciple had necessarily to stay on for the night before he could have the Kunkuma.

A lawyer disciple once approached His Holiness for initiation into Siva Panchakshari-Mantra.

H. H. Are you not a lawyer ?

D. Yes.

H. H. I have heard that lawyers have no time even to perform their daily Sandhya. Why do you want another Mantra?

D. That is not correct. We have certainly ample time for our daily ablutions.

H. H. But certainly there are lawyers who plead want of time as an excuse for neglecting Sandhya.

D. It is really a vain excuse.

H. H. Whatever it be, when your profession does not allow you much time for even necessary religious observances, why do you want to multiply them ? You will be only increasing the risk of not performing them.

D. I promise not to neglect the Mantra, if your Holiness is pleased to initiate me into it.

H. H. It will be easy to make a promise; but will your exacting profession allow you to keep it?

D. I shall take care to repeat the Mantra daily without fail.

H. H. This is no doubt your resolve now. But can you stick to it successfully?

D. I sincerely and solemnly promise to do so.

H. H. Please do not think that I am exacting any promise from you as a condition of your initiation. The Sastras say in unmistakable terms that, if an initiated disciple neglects the Mantra given to him by a Guru, the resultant sin devolves on the Guru himself for giving the initiation to a disciple unable to respect it. That is why I have to be very careful before I initiate anybody.

D. I quite realise the responsibility. I shall take care to see that no such contingency ever arises.

His Holiness was once approached by a disciple for initiation into a Devi-Mantra.

H. H. Devi-Mantra? What ˌfor? Are you performing your daily Sandhya properly ?

D. Yes.

H. H : Have you, then, more time at your disposal for more Mantras ?

D : Yes.

H. H. : If so, why don’t you spend that time in repeating the Gayatri a thousand times ?

D : I occasionally do that also.

H. H : It is curious; you perform your Sandhya properly, you repeat the Gayatri a thousand times occasionally. And yet you want some other Mantra. Don’t you know that Gayatri is Herself a Devi ?

D : Yes.

H. H : ʻThen why do you want another Devi-Mantra ?

D : I thought it was only proper to have it.

H. H: Evidently you feel that the Gayatri, being so familiar, is not enough and you want some variety. But you must know that the Gayatri is the Mother of all Mantras and that no other Mantra can ever equal Her in efficacy.

D : There is a Bala-Devi Yantra in my house; my father was daily worshipping it with a Devi-Mantra. I thought it was necessary that I should also have some Devi-Mantra to carry on the worship properly.

H. H: You can equally efficaciously carry on the worship using the Gayatri Itself. But as the idea that some other Mantra is necessary has entered your mind, I have no objection to give it to you.

D : I am immensely beholden to your Holiness.

H. H: But tomorrow is Purnima; the day after is Prathama; the next day the Nakshatra is not auspicious. I see that there is no auspicious date at all nearer than ten days from now. I do not think it proper to detain you here till then. You may return home tomorrow as already decided and come here again at your leisure for your initiation.

D : I do not mind the delay. I shall stay on here till your Holiness is pleased to initiate me.

H. H: Even if it is more than ten days?

D: Yes.

H. H: You are determined, then, to stay on?

D: Yes. I do not want to miss this sacred opportunity of getting the blessings of Your Holiness.

H. H: If so, I shall somehow find time tomorrow morning itself; for after all the initiation may not take more than a few minutes. Come, then, tomorrow morning. You need not disturb your original programme of starting for home tomorrow.

A disciple who had some knowledge of our Sastras approached His Holiness for clearing a doubt.

D: The daily Sandhya is a Nitya Karma, an obligatory rite, and its non-performance leads to sin. But the daily Parayana of the Ramayana is not a Nitya Karma. So, I suppose, the omission to read it on any day cannot be sinful ?

H. H : You are quite right. Not being an obligatory religious duty, you are not bound to do it. You may even deliberately refrain from it, for its non-performance cannot be sinful.

D : Is it even so ? My doubt was really in relation to accidental omissions by forgetfulness or other pre-occupations. Your Holiness now tells me that even a deliberate omission is not sinful.

H. H : Certainly, for it is only a Kamya Karma. On the day you had the initiation, were you not told that the daily reading was undertaken to secure you the grace of Sri Ramachandra and are you not daily repeating the formula that you are doing it for securing the grace of Sri Ramachandra ? So it must be clear to you that your object in doing so is to secure that grace and that your action is therefore only Kamya (desireful). It is not therefore an obligatory duty all.

D : Is that so, then ?

H. H : Certainly. You are at perfect liberty to drop reading the Ramayana on any day on which you think you do not need that grace and may well get on without it.

D: How can I on any day be bold enough to say that I can do without that grace ?

H. H: If you cannot do so, you cannot certainly omit the reading at any time.

D: It seems to me now that it is as much obligatory as the daily Sandhya.

H. H: Unless you are prepared to dispense with the grace of Sri Ramachandra.

D: How can I at any time dispense with it ?

H. H: It is for you to decide. If you cannot dispense with and do want that grace, you are bound by your initiation and must have the daily Parayana.