CHAPTER XII TRUE SERVICE.

It is a well-known fact that Sri Sastri by his devotion and capacity had earned the fullest confidence of the previous Acharya also. As an instance of that confidence, an interesting incident may be mentioned. All the arrangements for the Kumbhabhishekam at Kaladi in 1910 had been perfected. On the evening previous to the date of Kumbhabhishekam, Sri Sastri was proceeding along a foot-path leading to the river in the back of the Mutt building. Evidently he did not notice a serpent lying on the way and trod upon it. It immediately wound itself round his leg and Sri Sastri with great force shook his leg and the serpent fell at some distance from him. He dropped the idea of going to the river and returned to the Mutt. This untoward incident greatly disturbed him physically and mentally and he was in trepidation. In this state he went to His Holiness who had just then sat down for His evening ablutions, prostrated before Him and told Him about this incident.

Sastri: On my way to the river a serpent encircled my leg. I shook it off and by Your Holiness’ grace I have come here alive. To-morrow the Kumbhabhishekam has to be performed and it will certainly be duly performed, thanks to Your Holiness’ blessings. Still, in as much as the major portion of the responsibility of attending to the secular side of the function is entrusted to myself, this incident of a serpent catching hold of my leg has depressed me a great deal. It seems to me to be very inauspicious and to portend some evil. I pray that Your Holiness will be pleased to prescribe any expiatory rites which may have to be done to ward it off. It does not seem proper to go on with the Kumbhabhishekam without performing such expiatory rites. How can we ignore such a patently serious portent?

H. H: What is there inauspicious in it?

Sastri: Is not the encirclint of one’s leg by a serpent inauspicious?

H. H: It is not so. On the other hand, it is an auspicious omen. It only shows that I have in Srikantha Sastri a bold devotee who will kick off anything even though it be capable of mortal injury. There is no need therefore for any expiation. Let the function proceed without the least anxiety.

On the day previous to the previous Acharya attaining Videhamukti, Sri Sastri naturally felt very anxious about the state of His health.He went to the divine presence of Sri Saradamba and prayed for His restoration to health and, to assure himself that his prayers had been heard, he wrote out on two slips of paper “There is no fear for life” in one and “There is fear for life” in the other, and placed them before the Goddess and asked a young girl standing nearby to take out one of them. The slip that she took out said “There is no fear for life” and this greatly relieved and gladdened the heart of Sri Sastri He immediately went to His Holiness.

Sastri: Somehow, I was very anxious to-day and I sought the decision of our Goddess and I got in answer “There is no fear for life”. Then alone I got relief.

H. H: Her words are ever true and never fail. Certainly there is no fear for life.

Sastri: I am gladder still to have this assurance from Your Holiness also.

H. H: Life or Breath is only a modification of Air and is consequently only inert matter. How can it fear anything? It is therefore quite correct to say that Life has no fear. Suppose the Soul has to go to some other region of experience, even then the life principle must necessarily accompany it even there; so the soul also has no reason to fear that it will be separated from life. Further as all beings have the greatest attachment to life, they are never afraid of life. If it so happens that there is no need to go to other regions of experience and absolute disembodiment is had here itself, the life principle and other factors get dissolved even here and merge in their casual subtle elements and in that case there is absolutely no ground for fear either for life or about life. Thus, in whatever aspect the words of the Mother are considered, they are certainly true.

This kind of commentary greatly dispirited Sri Sastri. He realised however its truth when the Acharya passed away the next day seated as He was in Yogasana. His Holiness was sure that He would the next day be free from embodiment and evidently He was reluctant to afford Sri Sastri any occasion for thinking that the words of the Goddess were untrue.

Some years after Sri Sastri retired from the active service of the Mutt, the Government of His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore took upon itself the burden of managing the properties of the Mutt and conducting its secular affairs. Though the Government prepared the budget every year, it added, out of respect to His Holiness, a note that any of the items might be altered at the will of His Holiness. Sri Sastri when he went to Sringeri felt very glad at this consideration shown to His Holiness’ wishes and had a talk with the officer then in charge.

Sastri: I note that it has been provided in the budget that any item may be altered by His Holiness as He likes. Has He at any time done so?

Officer: No.

Sastri: Have you informed His Holiness that there is such a provision?

Officer: Certainly, I have told Him several times.

Sastri: What did He say?

Officer: He would not say anything. Sometimes He would simply say “You may do whatever is proper.”

Sastri: Why don’t you ask Him, what is proper.

Officer. I have asked Him. Even then the reply has been the same. If I pressed for more definite directions He would say “The budget itself is alright. You may act according to it.” I realised therefore that it was no use troubling Him and for some time past I have given up asking Him.

In the evening, Sri Sastri went to His Holiness.

Sastri: I was very glad to see that in the Government budget it had been provided that Your Holiness might alter any item at Your will. Have You ever thought of altering it?

H. H: Why? Everything is going on properly. Where is the need for my intervention?

Sastri: I do not ask about the need. There may be some kind of expenditure which Your Holiness may deem it proper to incur though it is not provided for in the budget.

H. H: Why should I mention any new kind of expenditure?

Sastri: I did not mean even that. During all these years, did not any thought ever come to You that some item of expenditure not provided for in the routine budget might be properly incurred?

H. H: As you are so particular, I shall answer you. Some months back a thought did occur to me that it would be well to have special Abhisheka to Sri Chandramoulisvara with Ekadasa Rudra Parayana and to feed not less than a hundred Brahmanas on the occasion.

Sastri: Was this mentioned to the officer?

H. H: Why should I mention it?

Sastri: If You had mentioned it, he would have carried it out.

H. H: That is just the reason why I did not mention it.

Sastri: I do not understand this logic. What is wrong in asking the officer to carry out a good idea that comes to Your mind?

H. H: The wrong is not in the asking but in the idea coming into the mind.

Sastri: Is it wrong to entertain an idea to do a good thing?

H. H: It is.

Sastri: How can it be when the idea is a good one?

H. H: There is nothing wrong in the idea. The entertaining it is not right.

Sastri: How is that?

H. H: Any kind of mental activity which leads to external activity is necessarily wrong.

Sastri: Even if it is useful? Is it so?

H. H: Yes. The arising of a thought is by itself wrong. Further when it is our object to minimise our mind impulses, it is not proper to give room for fresh impulses. If I had asked the officer to carry out this idea, he would certainly have carried it out. Immediately another idea would crop up demanding its fulfillment. In this way the ideas will go on increasing and the desire to have them carried out will also go on increasing leading to ever increasing external activities. If however we effectively curb the very first impulse, the further stages will be eliminated. That is why I did not think it proper to entertain the idea that came into my mind and curbed it.

Sri Sastri was very much surprised at the mental attitude of His Holiness. At the same time, he felt impelled to carry out His Holiness’ idea. He had a talk with the officer and learnt that in a particular item there was some unspent balance.

Sastri: There is such a balance unspent. What do you propose to do with it?

Officer: What can I do with it? It is there.

Sastri: You may mention to His Holiness that such a balance is available under this head and ask him as to its disposal.

Officer: What is the use of asking Him? He will not say anything.

Sastri: Whether He says anything or not, is it not your duty to inform Him about it?

Officer: I shall certainly mention it to His Holiness and try.

He then went to His Holiness.

Officer: There is a provision of so much amount for this particular head of expenditure in the budget prepared by the Government But only this much had to be actually spent and there is a substantial balance. I pray for Your Holiness’ directions as to what to do with it.

H. H: You may do as you think proper.

Officer: I do not know what is proper. Hence my troubling Your Holiness.

H. H: You may think it over again and do as you decide.

Officer: I have thought over it more than once but I got no solution and this not a matter in which I can consult anybody else.

H. H: I suppose the balance may be kept unspent.

Officer: No doubt so. But it will certainly be better to spend it away in some good purpose on your Holiness directions.

H. H: What good purpose?

Officer: I do not know. That is why I ask.

H. H: Sri Sastri has come. He has had a long experience in the mutt. If you think it necessary, you may consult him and act according to his advice.

The officer accordingly approached Sri Sastri himself for advice and Sri Sastri thought it proper to advise him to arrange for a special Abhisheka to Sri Chandramoulisvara and for the attendant Brahmana Santarpana. The function was duly performed and His Holiness was informed about it. When His Holiness met Sri Sastri later on, He said:

“Out of great affection for me, you have chosen to carry out an idea which came into my mind long ago. On hearing of it, I felt in spite of myself a wave of pleasant satisfaction in my mind. I realised from this that I have not yet learned to be completely detached in mind. I must thank you, for giving me this opportunity to know that my mind was still weak.”

Sri Sastri was quite astonished at this remark of His Holiness.

It may be stated without any fear of contradiction that after Sri Sastri, there has been nobody in the Mutt who could read His Holiness’ mind with such deep devotion and carry out His unexpressed wishes also.

• • • •

When Sri Sastri was about 80 years old, he one day keenly felt that he might not survive for more than a few days and suddenly without any previous arrangements pronounced the sacred Mantras leading to the stage of Sannyasa.

In view of the urgency that he felt, he dispensed with the preliminary ceremonies and rites. Though the Sastras allowed such a lattitude in urgent cases, they insisted upon proper initiation by a competent Guru later on if he survived the emergency. On hearing about this sudden action of Sri Sastri, a friend of mine and myself went to Mysore and learnt from him the details.

K: Now that you are fairly alright, what arrangements are you making to get proper initiation into the Mahavakyas?

Sastri: I joined the Mutt early in the time of the previous Acharya Himself and spent my lifetime in His service. I asked Him once for permission to take Sannyasa. He said that I would get it later on. Now that He is not before our mortal eyes, it is my earnest desire to go to Sringeri and have Upadesa in front of His sacred Samadhi from the present Acharya Himself if possible or, if that is not possible, from anybody chosen by the present Acharya for that purpose. I can then feel that I am having the Upadesa directly from the previous Acharya Himself. I have written accordingly to Sringeri and I am expecting a reply.

K: But will the condition of your body allow you to undertake a journey to far off Sringeri?

Sastri: As I am very keen upon having the Upadesa in the Samadhi, I think of going there direct in a motor car with adequate help.

K: As this is likely to be delayed, will it not be better to have the Upadesa immediately from a Sannyasi who may be near by?

Sastri: The idea is no doubt good But you know my temperament. I am now 80. If I have to accept with all my heart any person as my Guru and prostrate before him, I shall expect him to be older than myself, to be a very learned scholar, to be deeply devoted to our Mutt and to have closely moved with the previous Acharya.

K: It will certainly be difficult to find out a person with such qualifications.

Sastri: Not necessarily so. I have thought over it and there is such a person in Sri Sankarananda now at Krishnarajapuram in the Tiruchirapalli District.

K: If you will permit me, I shall myself go and bring him here in a car.

Sastri: Don’t be in a hurry. Let the answer from Sringeri come. If it is not favourable, we shall consider about this. Further, it will not be proper at all to bring him down here for giving me the Mahavakya Upadesa. It is I that must go to him and request him for the initiation. If it becomes necessary, I shall myself go to him in a car as soon as my health permits it and get the initiation from him.

It so happened however that his letter to Sringeri was not properly understood by the people there and so he did not get the necessary sanction to go there for the Upadesa. Even if he had got the sanction, it would have been impossible for him to go there as his physical condition began to deteriorate and he became extremely emaciated. He could not move out of Mysore at all and passed away in 1950. His body was interred in a corner of the open space in front of his bungalow at Kalhalli about 15 miles from Mysore and 3 miles from Nanjangud his native village. His Holiness felt this loss very keenly.

As he had served the Mutt for over 40 years with phenomenal devotion and capacity and had endeared himself and had made himself indispensable to His Holiness and to His illustrious predecessor and as everything that was done by them or the Mutt was really done by Sri Sastri, it will be no exaggeration to say that his life history is verily the history of the Mutt itself. It is impossible to adequately assess the value of the services, secular and religious, which he has rendered to the Mutt. In private life also, he was known to be very kind, affable and generous. It will be well if any intimate relation of his takes up the work of writing his biography in all the aspects of his varied life. I am sure that it will be not only interesting but very instructive.