84. विद्याविनयशोभितः Vidyā-vinaya-śobhitaḥ

One who was adorned with humility born of erudition

That His Holiness was a treasure-trove of vidyā, erudition, has been glimpsed under many nāmas. What is often true is that achievement of even a little erudition is accompanied by haughtiness. However, it is said that vinaya, humility, actually comes from learning,²²⁹ for true learning begets only sāttvika qualities. His Holiness was, by nature, free from even a trace of vanity. He was therefore śobhita, embellished, with humility that was coupled with His profound erudition and indeed born of it.

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One day, Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s mother came to have the darśana of and pay her respects to the Jagadguru Śrī Candraṣekhara Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin and to see her beloved son. After meeting Them briefly in Narasimhavana, she returned to the northern bank of the Tuṅgā at about five in the evening. The Jagadguru then proceeded to the Kālabhairava Temple. On the way, He recited a verse that conveys, “A sow quickly brings forth many luckless piglets. A she-elephant, after long gestation, gives birth to a single calf that is loved by kings.”²³⁰ He then asked the students what, they thought, He had sought to point out through this verse.

While the others were puzzled and remained silent, Sri Srinivasa Sastry stepped forward and remarked, “A big school may give instruction to more than a hundred students. But if they are unable to grasp the substance of the teaching, the instruction will be a useless effort. A small school may have a single student. But if that boy is endowed with brains and takes maximum advantage of the instruction, he will bring fame to the institution. This, I think is the implied meaning of the verse.” The Jagadguru then turned to Vaidyanatha Sastry and asked him his view. Sastry said, “It is given only to some rare lady to give birth to a child who becomes a Jagadguru worshipped by kings. Other mothers do not get this blessing.” The reason for his giving this interpretation was that the Jagadguru had cited the verse just a few minutes after Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s mother had left.

Subsequently, the boys started talking amongst themselves about this. One of them asked Sri Srinivasa Sastry whether it was not apparent that the verse referred to His mother. With His characteristic humility, He replied, “I cannot even imagine giving such an interpretation.”

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About His mode of answering queries of spiritual aspirants, His Holiness has said, “I often give a solution based on personal experience. As I have tried out numerous methods when I was young, I usually do not have any difficulty in appreciating the conditions described by the sādhakas. Sometimes, after giving the questions a thorough hearing and getting additional necessary clarifications from the questioner, I try out what he practises. I then use the resulting experience to shape my reply. On some other occasions, I just feel like prescribing a particular course of action and so do it. I generally do not find it necessary to quiz disciples before giving them suggestions. It is only God’s grace that makes the answers helpful to the seekers.”

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Once a sabhā was held at Bengaluru where paṇḍitas debated whether Bhagavatpāda recognised mūlāvidyā, primordial ignorance that rests in and veils Brahman and is the basis of false knowledge about the Ātman. Traditional Vedāntins, right from the time of Padmapādācārya, have undisputedly held that Bhagavatpāda accepts mūlāvidyā. However, Śrī Saccidānandendra-sarasvatī of the Holenarasipura Math and his followers contended that Bhagavatpāda did not admit the existence of mūlāvidyā; they opined that there is no veil of ignorance in deep sleep and that the only difference between deep sleep and liberation is that the former is temporary. Representatives of both the schools decided to thrash out the issue in a debate and that was why the sabhā had been arranged.

His Holiness witnessed the proceedings with avid interest. A person asked Him why He did not pass a verdict in His capacity as the Jagadguru. His Holiness’s poignant reply was, “I am not sitting here as any Jagadguru. On the contrary, I am seated as one who was taught the Śāstras and am confirming what I have learnt.” He was so unassuming and neutral in spite of His being recognised by scholars all over the nation as an unparalleled exponent of Tarka and Vedānta. [The debate ended in favour of the upholders of the traditional view.]

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His Holiness never forgot any good done for Him. His Guru had personally taught Sri V. S. Ramachandra Sastri and made him a great scholar in Tarka and Vedānta; he also became an authority on Mīmāṁsā. Later, he was assigned the responsibility of expounding the Tarka-śāstra to His Holiness, with His Holiness’s Guru regularly overseeing His studies. These were completed in the late 1930s. Even after becoming a pontiff in 1954, His Holiness held him in high esteem and interacted with him accordingly, through letters as well. In some of His epistles, His Holiness had explicitly addressed Sri Ramachandra Sastri as His ‘upādhyāya (teacher)’ and had written to him with due regards.

From the letters written by Sri Ramachandra Sastri to His Holiness during the course of His Holiness’s first South India tour, it is patent how very appreciative he was of His Holiness’s great efforts for the cause of Sanātana-dharma. He had even written that the events of His Holiness’s tour deserved to be engraved in gold. That he looked upon His Holiness as his Guru was unmistakable. In his letters, he sought His Holiness’s advice on various matters, and His Holiness had readily obliged; in a letter, His Holiness had even recommended the practice of amanaska-yoga, involving mental quietude.

When Sri Ramachandra Sastri was ailing, His Holiness wanted to travel to Bengaluru to visit him and had to be dissuaded from doing so; when he passed away, His Holiness took a special bath at Sringeri even though it was not required as He was a saṁnyāsin.

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Sri S. N. Parameswara once recollected, “His Holiness was once camping at my brother Srithandaveswara’s place. The room He stayed in had an open cupboard that contained some books. I had kept in that cupboard a notebook in which I had written some ślokas in Kannada; I recited these every day. After His bhikṣā, His Holiness glanced at some of the books.

“When I went for His darśana in the evening, He told me, ‘Bring me the notebook.’ When I did so, He said, ‘I went through this notebook in the afternoon when I had some free time. You have written some ślokas in Kannada which you are probably reciting daily. Some of the verses contain spelling mistakes. I have corrected them to the extent that I could. I did so because I did not want you to recite them with mistakes. You may verify their correctness and recite them.’ Saying so, He handed me the notebook.

“For His unparalleled erudition and the seat He was occupying, He could have easily said, ‘I have corrected the mistakes. You may now recite them without error.’ Instead, He only said that He had corrected the mistakes to the extent that He could and that I might verify their correctness. Such was His humility.”

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