47. निगमागमतत्त्वज्ञः Nigamāgama-tattva-jñaḥ

One who knew the essence of the methods of Vedic worship

‘Nigama’ means the Veda. The Bhāgavata-purāṇa states, “Having obtained the grace of and understood well the import of the āgama from a preceptor, a person should worship the Lord in an image of his choice.”¹²⁵ Here, the word āgama means ‘method of worship’. The various yajñas, pūjas and other rites performed accompanied by chanting of Veda-mantras constitute nigamāgama, the methods of Vedic worship. His Holiness was a past master of these. His meticulous performance of pūjā accompanied by Vedic chanting every day, the pūjās He performed on special occasions like

132 47. Nigamāgama-tattva-jñaḥ Śivarātri and Navarātri, and the various vratas (vows) He undertook during cāturmāsya bore testimony to this.

Numerous are the specific forms of worship and meditation prescribed by the Vedas for those who seek worldly benefits as well as for those who desire liberation. The essence of even the former, however, is to eventually lead the individual to liberation through the realisation of Brahman. As the Upaniṣad says, “I will tell you succinctly about that attainment, which is proclaimed by all the Vedas and spoken of by all austerities, and desiring which people practice celibacy. It is this – Om.”¹²⁶ His Holiness was a tattva-jña or a knower of this essence too of the nigamāgama.

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[In His benedictory discourses, His Holiness would often stress on the importance of performing karma in accordance with the Vedic injunctions. Here are a few extracts from some of His discourses.]

People ask, “Why are veda-vidhis (Vedic injunctions) so insistent on the time of doing karmas? The Vedas are too strict and do not allow for any relaxation in the rules – in today’s world how can we follow all the rules to the fullest? Isn’t it enough to do sandhyā-vandana whenever possible? Why insist that it be done at a specific time? Similarly, it is said that during an eclipse one must have a bath and perform anuṣṭhāna such as japa and have another bath after the eclipse ends. At winter time, how inconvenient it is to have a bath in the middle of the night! In summer we can even have multiple baths!”

Veda-vidhis have to be followed strictly. It is said, “What is done at the wrong time is as good as not done.”¹²⁷ When people are able to take out time for other activities like watching plays in the evenings, why are they not able to spare a few minutes to do sandhyā-vandana? The reason is only that they do not give it the importance they give to other activities. Similar is the case of naimittika-karma such as those that are to be performed during an eclipse; these are as important as nitya-karma such as sandhyā-vandana. The Veda teaches us like a mother, and hence it is in our own supreme interests to follow Vedic injunctions sincerely to the best of our ability.

Some may feel, “So long as sandhyā-vandana is performed, what does it matter whether the scripturally-prescribed procedures relating to cleanliness and the like are observed or not?” The following example reveals the need to do things the way they are required to be done. A person has to use the prescribed application form to apply for a Government job; only then is one’s job-application considered. We may choose to reject the prescribed form and prepare one using paper of better quality. However, the authorities will not accept it; they will insist that we use the standard printed form. If we keep stressing the superiority of our form, the authorities may tell us, “Keep your fine paper with you; we will keep our ordinary forms with us!”

Just as applications for Government jobs have to be made in the specified mode, if a procedure is prescribed by the Vedas and we transgress it and do something else, Īśvara will not accept our religious observance. We may claim, “Our hymns are superior to those of the Vedas.” However, while people may find our poetic utterances delightful, such words will not yield puṇya, unlike the Vedic utterances.

Just because the import of a rite is not obvious to someone, it does not follow that the rite is without significance. The following example illustrates this. When one goes to a hospital, one has to scrub one’s hands before touching the surgical instruments there. Washing one’s hands with ordinary water is insufficient; one has to use a disinfectant. One may ask, “Why should I do so?” The answer is, “To avoid causing infection.” Suppose one were to argue, “I fail to see how I would infect the surgical patient. So, I refuse to disinfect my hands.” The response of the surgeon would be, “Get out.” There is a fixed procedure to be followed. Therefore, merely because one does not readily recognise the significance of Vedic rituals, it does not follow that they do not have any.

The Lord has said, “Following this dharma even to a small extent saves one from great sin.”¹²⁸ We should never be shortsighted in our views. Just because accepting bribes has become a common affair, are we justified in enacting legislation to permit it? That would only help its intensification. We should, likewise, not seek to modify the Śāstras. Consideration of changes in our ways of living is inherent in our Śāstras. “Follow to the utmost extent possible” is what they command. We, in our present condition, should abide by them to the maximum extent possible.

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His Holiness once said about the efficacy of Veda-mantras, “The chanting of Veda-mantras (by those who are qualified to do so) itself brings great puṇya to the ones who chant. But over and above all else, veda-mantras have great śakti. Some of them have the power to cure ailments too.

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The following episodes, narrated by Smt. Kalpagam Sundaresan who was a resident of Nanganallur, Chennai, are examples of instances in which His Holiness prescribed Vedic rituals to cure ailments.

“Once, my eldest son accidentally cut his thumb rather severely. The doctors were considering amputating the finger, because my son was a diabetic.

“Anxious that my son would lose his thumb, I wrote a letter to His Holiness submitting the matter and asking Him what is to be done. His Holiness advised me to perform Rudrābhiṣeka to Lord Śiva in a temple, daily, for a period of forty days. There was no Śiva temple nearby. Moreover, I found it

134 48. Nitya-santuṣṭa-mānasaḥ difficult to follow His instructions due to other unavoidable personal reasons. So, I wrote another letter to Him seeking His advice if it would be possible for the Maṭha to arrange for the abhiṣeka in a Śiva temple at Sringeri itself if I sent the required sum of money towards the cost of this forty-day abhiṣeka. His Holiness promptly arranged for the abhiṣeka to be performed for Śrī Malahānikareśvara at Sringeri itself. In addition to this, as per His instruction, the prasāda was also posted to me everyday without fail. My son’s thumb came back to normalcy without the need for amputation.

“On another occasion, my youngest son was suffering in various ways, and we came to know that it was because somebody had performed black magic on him. I immediately took him with me to Sringeri. Submitting the matter to His Holiness, I prayed for His grace.

“His Holiness told us to stay in Sringeri for a few days. He then summoned an Atharva-veda paṇḍita of the Maṭha and instructed him to perform certain rituals for my son. He also directed him to perform japa of a specific Atharva-veda mantra for the purpose.

“The paṇḍita did as instructed by His Holiness. Once all the prescribed rituals were completed at Sringeri, my son and I returned to Chennai with the permission of His Holiness. All the problems that my son had been facing, simply vanished without a trace.”

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