71. मधुरालापचतुरः Madhurālāpa-caturaḥ

One who was adept at sweet conversation

Given His Holiness’s steadfastness in non-injury, boundless compassion, command over various languages, intelligence, vastness of knowledge in various domains, humility and evergreen curiosity, together with His deep understanding of the psyche and needs of people of all ages and backgrounds, His ālāpa, conversations, were madhura, sweet, both immediately (priya or pleasing) as well as in the long run (hita or beneficial).

❧

Jagadguru Śrī Bhāratī Tīrtha Mahāsvāmin has this to say about what His Holiness taught Him about speaking with devotees: “His Holiness narrated His experiences and advised me about how I should conduct myself, the traditions of the Maṭha and how to treat devotees. He often said, ‘Whatever be the attitude of the visitor, we, for our part, should show affection to all. We should not forget this. None should feel that his presence is not liked.’”

❧

Sri Niranjan Kumar recounts, “I was once driving His Holiness in His car, when a car came up from behind us, unnecessarily honking repeatedly and trying to force us to slow down in order to overtake us. Irritated by these uncalled-for antics of that driver, I stepped on the accelerator, refusing to allow that car to overtake us. This competition of sorts went on for a while. At a point, His Holiness softly told me, with His characteristic touch of humour, ‘Perhaps that man is in a hurry to proceed towards mokṣa. Why don’t you just allow him to go?’

“I broke into a laugh. The irritation inside me had built up greatly over the past minutes, but on hearing His Holiness’s words my mind became light instantly, and I just gave way for that car. His Holiness had the uncanny knack of using just a few words at the right juncture to change a stressful scenario into a pleasant one.”

❧

An old lady started sobbing when she came to His Holiness for darśana at Chennai in 1986. He asked her what her problem was. Amidst sobs, she managed to say, “I heard that Your Holiness had a heart-problem. Though I do not know what the problem was, I am unable to bear the suffering of Your Holiness.”

His Holiness asked, “Have you seen a big tanker transporting diesel?” “Yes,” she replied. “While the tanker is able to transport much diesel, it too needs diesel to run. Likewise, the heart pumps much blood but it too needs blood for its functioning. If the tube supplying diesel to the engine of the tanker gets partially clogged, the engine will not be able to run properly. In the same way, if a tube supplying blood to the heart gets partially clogged, there is a problem, pain. That is all that happened in my case. I am alright now. Do not worry.” She largely calmed down.

“How could such a thing have happened to Your Holiness?” she asked, perhaps rhetorically. “Āñjaneya is fond of me. May be that is why He sent His mother, Añjanā, to be with me for some time. Thus, I had Añjanā,” remarked His Holiness, punning on the word ‘angina (chest pain / discomfort

190 72. Mati-nirjita-gīṣpatiḥ caused by reduced flow of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle).’ She broke into laughter. He blessed her with a fruit and she moved on.

❧