22. कोमलस्वान्तसंयुतः Komala-svānta-saṁyutaḥ

One who was well-endowed with tenderness of heart

A verse in the Mahābhārata conveys, “O Bharata prince! Kṛpā, anukampā, kāruṇya, ānṛśaṁsya, ārjava, kṣamā and satya are special qualities. Cultivate them.”⁶³ Nīlakaṇṭha’s gloss explains the different shades of meaning of compassion, epitomised by the words kṛpā, anukampā, kāruṇya and ānṛśaṁsya of this verse, as follows: “Kṛpā is the effort put in for others’ happiness. Anukampā is the sorrow one feels on seeing others’ misery. Kāruṇya is the effort put in to relieve others’ suffering. Ānṛśaṁsya is the abstinence from giving sorrow to others.”⁶⁴

Being komala, tender, implies that one’s heart melts at the sight of another’s misery (anukampā). Moreover, being komala or tender while dealing with others means dealing with them without harshness, that is in such a way that no difficulty is caused to them (ānṛśaṁsya). Though anukampā and ānṛśaṁsya, the two aspects of being komala, are distinct traits, it is worth noticing that the trait of anukampā is subsumed in ānṛśaṁsya. After all, a person whose outlook is such that he is never harsh to anyone, would surely have the basic quality of empathy towards the suffering.

The word svāntaṁ, mind, in this nāma conveys the meaning, ‘One whose mind is tender’. This specific mention of the mind clarifies that it is not as if His Holiness’s tenderness was a mere external display marked by kind words and actions, but that it was something that emanated from His heart. The Veda explains, ‘What the mind contemplates the tongue speaks and that is what the body does,’⁶⁵ implying that if a trait is had at the mental level, it automatically percolates to the instruments of speech and action. Thus the meaning that emerges is that His Holiness’s heart, speech and actions were all endowed with tenderness. By the use of the word yutaḥ, endowed with, the nāma emphasizes that His Holiness was tender at heart by nature.

Further, this quality in His Holiness, even though congenital, did not suffer from the lacunae of diminishing or changing with time or with circumstances or from any possible dichotomy between speech and action due to change of mind. It is to convey precisely this aspect, that the nāma employs the suffix ‘saṁ’, implying fullness, constancy and firmness. Indeed, the saying, “The mind, speech and action are in harmony for a mahātman,”⁶⁶ forms an apt description of His Holiness. Thus, His Holiness’s absolute tenderness of heart, which also translated into tenderness of speech and action, was innate to Him and was steady, undiminishing and uniform. His Holiness naturally and spontaneously felt empathy for others’ pain and would do no harm whatsoever to whoever He dealt with, irrespective of time, person and circumstances. This is exemplified in innumerable instances of His dealings with devotees and Maṭha staff and indeed, all living beings.

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Sri Srinivasa Sastry was playing blind man’s bluff one day at Sringeri with some other vidyārthins. Sri Ramaswamy Avadhani had a cloth tied over his eyes and was the one who was supposed to touch the others who were moving around to evade him. As he came near Sri Srinivasa Sastry, the latter dexterously stepped aside. Ramaswamy struck himself mildly against a pillar there. Infuriated, he loosened the cloth that veiled his vision, struck Sri Srinivasa Sastry a blow and shouted, “You are the cause of this injury.”

His hitting and accusing Sri Srinivasa Sastry were decidedly unjustified. Someone else in Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s place might have chosen to retaliate with sharp words or, if possible, with a blow. He was made of finer stuff. He gave no room to anger. On the contrary, noting that Ramaswamy had injured himself slightly, He patiently pacified him and attended to his injury. Thereby, He won the heart of Ramaswamy, who was able to recollect this incident vividly even after the lapse of over fifty years.

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When His Holiness was once camping at Dharwad, He readily consented to visit an orphanage at the request of its headmistress. The lady showed His Holiness around the place. She then introduced her wards to Him one by one, saying, ‘I found this child abandoned in a railway station at the age of three. This one was picked up from a dustbin...’ As He listened to her and saw the orphans, His heart melted and He was visibly moved.

He later blessed the children whole-heartedly and greatly appreciated the lady who had rescued so many children and was taking care of them as her own. Such was His tenderness of heart and compassion that He could not withstand even listening to tales of suffering.

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One afternoon, a disciple saw His Holiness working alone in the garden in front of Sacchidananda Vilasa, the abode of His Holiness. He was wearing gloves and was holding a pair of shears; near Him was a knife, a can of water and some tape. He noticed the disciple and gestured to him to come. He told the disciple that He was about to graft roses and that He would be using a method called “T-bud”; having said this, He jokingly commented, “By ‘T’, I did not mean the tea that people drink.” He then proceeded with the grafting; as He did so, He explained the steps.

He mentioned that before the disciple had come, He had sterilized the shears and the knife to avoid causing infection. Such was His love for the plants that before cutting, He addressed the rosebushes saying, “Forgive me for causing you pain. I will take good care of you. You will recover soon and be more beautiful than you are now.” The disciple saw tears in His eyes as He said so. He worked quickly but gently and soon the work was complete. His Holiness’s tender heart could not withstand the pain that the rose bush had to go through.

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His Holiness’s tenderness of heart manifested even when punishment had to be meted out to an erring staff. Once, an employee of the Maṭha was extremely careless and this resulted in a substantial loss. Sri Giridhara Sastry, as the Administrator, decided to recover the lost amount in instalments from that person’s salary and fixed the rate of recovery. When he reported the matter to His Holiness, He felt pity for the person and said, “I concede that punishment has to be given but what you have imposed is too much. Care should be taken to ensure that no trouble is caused to his family and to him. You have been recovering some fine until now. That is sufficient. No further recovery need be done.” His orders were duly carried out, though the remission meant that hardly ten percent of the lost amount was recovered.

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On an occasion, a staff poured ghee from the Maṭha’s kitchen into a vessel that he had brought from home. As he had to attend to some work, he kept the vessel at a particular spot. This was observed and the matter brought to His Holiness’s attention. His Holiness could have very easily exposed the concerned person and put him to shame but He did not wish to do so. He asked another worker of the Maṭha to give the ghee to the kitchen and to replace the vessel at the exact spot where it had been left. When the culprit returned, he must have been in for a shock. He would have known that his theft had been discovered but would have been thankful that it was not made public. At any rate, he was in no position to complain, “I had kept some ghee in my vessel. It is missing now.” His Holiness thus unobtrusively and gently gave the staff an opportunity to mend his ways.

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Dr. Lakshmipathy once reminisced as follows.

“His Holiness had some breathing trouble and was under the treatment of an Āyurveda-vaidya (physician qualified in Āyurveda) in Bengaluru. He told me that the vaidya’s medicine was giving Him great relief. Being an allopath, I felt jealous. When I went to see Him later, He said that His trouble had recurred. I queried, ‘What about the āyurvedic medicine?’ With some satisfaction, I thought that that medicine was ineffective. However, He said, ‘I stopped taking it because the vaidya is aged and has to put up with difficulty to prepare it. Of course, he is quite willing to do it for me but I do not want him troubled. Hence, let me take your medicine. Your medicine is also effective.’ Such was His compassion that He was more concerned about the physician’s strain than His health and was willing to satisfy me in spite of my jealousy.”

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Once during the daily darśana time, His Holiness was, as usual, seated in the forecourt of Sacchidananda Vilasa at Sringeri giving darśana. An old lady among the crowd of devotees came to His Holiness and poured out her tale of woe to Him. His Holiness consoled her and gave her prasāda. The old lady went and sat down among the crowd, but in a few minutes was up on her feet again. She went back to His Holiness and repeated the description of the very same problems. His Holiness listened to her patiently, as if He was hearing it all for the first time, and with words of consolation, gave prasāda to her again. Feeling reassured, the lady went back to her place and sat down. This sequence was repeated several times with His Holiness listening with the same empathy and tenderness of heart that He had in the first instance. Such was His tenderness of heart that He would not even tell the lady that she had already apprised Him of the matter and that He had already given His blessings.

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Hurting dogs with stones is a pastime of many sadists. His Holiness vehemently opposed and prevented such unwarranted cruelty. When He was once addressing a group of school students in Bengaluru, the howl of a dog was heard. It prompted Him to promptly remark, “Someone has pelted a dog with a stone. It is improper and indeed sinful.”

The spontaneity of His reaction bore testimony to His concern for animals and disapproval of people sadistically causing injury to them.

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His Holiness was extremely considerate to people and abhorred causing any kind of disturbance to the public. During a visit to Coimbatore in the early 1970s, His Holiness was set to deliver a benedictory address at a venue, when He noticed that loud speakers had been mounted not only within the hall but also outside, on the sides of the road. His keen power of observation led Him to realize that it would be possible to decouple the speakers outside the venue of the talk without difficulty.

He said, “Please disconnect the loud speakers on the road. It is sufficient and in fact appropriate that my speech be heard only here and not outside. This is because people who are interested are already seated inside. It is not right that people on the road be subjected to the nuisance of having a speech they are not interested in dinned into their ears. Often, during marriages, loud speakers are connected in such a way that music blares into the ears of those on the road. They wonder, ‘What a pain this function is!’ Instead of receiving the good wishes of everyone, the bride and the bridegroom unnecessarily earn the ill-will of some whom they do not even know. Functions, be they weddings or ones such as this, ought not to cause noise pollution.” The organisers were able to easily implement what His Holiness had suggested.

His Holiness’s consideration for the public and His keenness on avoiding noise pollution, a problem that was largely overlooked in India in the early 1970s, unlike now, are noteworthy.

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His Holiness was taken ill a few days before He shed His mortal form on 21^st September 1989. On the 18^th, at about 11:15 p.m., He was observed as having pain in both His arms and it was radiating to His back. He was forced to lie only on His back and was unable to sleep. Dr. Vasudeva Herale of the Sharada Dhanwanthari Hospital at Sringeri was contacted over the phone and informed of His Holiness’s condition. The doctor soon arrived, checked His Holiness’s blood pressure, recorded His ECG and administered an injection of Calmpose. The doctor came again at around 7 o’clock the next morning. He found that His Holiness continued to be in pain. He administered an intramuscular injection of Pethidine.

His Holiness expressed His discomfiture at the doctor having had to come for His sake at night (at 11:30 p.m.) and again in the morning; it did not weigh with Him that it was only a ten-minute’s drive from the doctor’s house to Sacchidananda Vilasa and that between his two visits, the doctor could have slept for over six hours.

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A few nights prior to 21^st September, 1989, Sri Giridhara Sastry slept outside His Holiness’s room to attend to Him if required. As he was entering His Holiness’s bedroom at night to check on Him, His Holiness asked, “Did I disturb you by saying, ‘Nārāyaṇa’ loudly?” When in pain, He used to repeat the name of God, but without any expectation whatsoever. He had done so that night and that was the basis of His question. He was so considerate that He did not want to disturb anybody’s sleep even by voicing the Lord’s name in the privacy of His room and that too, at a time when He was quite unwell and in pain.

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