PREFACE

An oft quoted stanza from the Vishnu Purana proclaims that Brahman being the Highest Good is the most auspicious thing to be ever remembered, for the mere recalling it to our memory dispels immediately everything bad in us and induces in us all that is good.

But it is given to a very few to concentrate even for a moment on Brahman, either in its transcendent aspect as the Formless Absolute Reality or in its relative aspect as God the Ruler of the Universe, for either of these aspects is too immense to be grasped by ordinary minds. We have necessarily therefore to content ourselves with having before our minds’ eye some formful manifestation of that Brahman. The Upanishad says that the Knower of Brahman is verily Brahman itself. This statement is a practical hint to us that, when we are unable to contemplate on Brahman, we may contemplate on a Knower of Brahman.

The figures of even Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and other Avataras of God have long ago faded from sketch of His Holiness Sri Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Swaminah of Sringeri who demonstrated by His life and attitude the highest ideal preached by our sacred religion. But it must be remembered that, even if a river is in floods, it is not possible for anybody to divert it into his own house much less to retain it there. He must be content to store the water to the extent which he can do. It will be silly to take a pot to the river bank and expect the pot to take in all the water. It may be given to a Sage Jahnu or to a Sri Sankaracharya to perform such feats but ordinary people cannot aspire to imitate either of them; they must be content with what their pots can hold. It is impossible therefore to comprehend by our very limited minds the immense greatness of great souls like His Holiness.

Further, the aspects in which He can be viewed are infinite; His physical appearance may appeal to some; His being the head of the premier Advaita mutt will itself be sufficient for many; the Mutt paraphernalia may appeal to some; His learning may be admired by some; His power of dialectics may impress others; His loving kindness will endear Him to many; His conversation may be relished by some; His inspiring silence itself will be sufficient for others; and so on. It will be impracticable to enumerate these aspects or to exhaust the instances which will illustrate each one of them. My jottings are necessarily very limited and scrappy and quite out of all proportion to the greatness of His Holiness. I have neither the learning nor the capacity to appreciate and understand His spiritual stature. Nor can I claim to have had any special opportunities of coming into close contact with Him. Even on the few occasions when I approached Him, I have always realised the vast distance that separated me from Him and respected it to my utmost, so that it will be impertinent on my part if I claimed any intimacy with Him. It is therefore not possible for me to recount any incident which may show off the depth of His learning, the clearness of His intellect, His spiritual attainments and such other matters which are all far above my level. I can deal only with some external incidents which even by themselves are quite enough to give an idea, ever so scanty, of His real greatness. I have incorporated some of them here. For some other equally educative incidents, the reader is referred to ‘ Sparks from a Divine Anvil”.

I am aware that some portion of this book may sound ‘Autobiographical’ but I see no justification for withholding them when they also reflect the kindness and greatness of His Holiness. I hope that even the most lay reader will find the book on the whole interesting and instructive.

I deem it a great privilege to bring out this edition on the eve of the Kumbhabhishekam of the magnificent shrine erected at the place of Samadi of His Holiness.

I am greatly indebted to my esteemed friend Sri K. Sankaranaraya Iyer, retired District Judge and President of Sri Sankara Seva Samiti, for his valuable Foreword.

I am thankful also to Sri Ramakrishna Press, Madurai for the neat printing and get up.

25th Febry. 1963, } R. KRISHNASWAMI AIYAR Sringeri. }

Sparks from a Divine Anvil

Dialogues with the Guru

The call of the Jagadguru

Outlines of the Vedanta

Thoughts from the Gita

The Great Equation.