87. विदिताखिलशास्त्रार्थः Viditākhila-śāstrārthaḥ

One who knew the import of all the Śāstras

Śāstra means domain of knowledge. There are both religious and secular domains of knowledge. The former includes the six darśanas (vide nāma 46) while examples of the latter include the sciences (vide nāma 6) like Bhautika (Physics), Rasāyana (Chemistry), Jīva-śāstra (Life Science), Vāstu-śāstra (Science of Architecture) and Śilpa-śāstra (Sculpture), as also other domains such as Artha-śāstra (Political Science), Alaṅkāra-śāstra (Rhetoric), Kāvya-śāstra (Poetics), Saṅgīta-śāstra (Music) and Nīti-śāstra (Ethics). Śāstrārtha’ means the meaning of the śāstra.

His Holiness is described as One who vidita, knew, akhila-śāstrārtha the import of all Śāstras, be they religious or secular. As a consequence, He could easily connect with people of diverse knowledge backgrounds in a manner that interested and stimulated them. Furthermore, because of the vast spread of His familiarity over domains, He could view an issue in one domain from the perspectives of others and develop insights by linking them. In addition to having an integrated approach, His Holiness was characterized by open-mindedness, curiosity and eagerness to learn, and an uncanny ability to simplify seemingly complex issues. Importantly, he could apply this vast knowledge with remarkable ease to solve problems.

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His Holiness’s approach to any view was characterised by incisive ratiocination free from bigotry and dogma. The openness with which He considered the propositions of science, for instance, was refreshing. He had a thorough grasp of the contributions of ancient India to the fields of mathematics, medicine, engineering, architecture, etc., several of which predated those popularly attributed to the western world. At the same time, He desisted from attributing western contributions to Indian origin. He never shied away from taking contentious issues head-on. He had a knack of advancing arguments at once, with punch and simplicity. He was as much at ease in conversing with those with formal scientific learning and with inquisitive youngsters as He was with traditional scholars of Nyāya and Vedānta. Singularly striking was His uncanny ability to comprehensively answer, without compromising on the teaching of the scripture, the questions of not only believers but also those of non-traditionalists and even iconoclasts.

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On an occasion, there was an urgent need to transcribe the contents of an audio tape contained in a seven-inch-diameter spool. The recording had been done at a speed of 1⅞ inches per second. The Maṭha’s tape recorder that could accommodate a 7-inch spool was capable of playing back only at a speed of 3¾ inches per second. A second tape recorder was available that could play at the required speed of 1⅞ inches per second but, being small, could accommodate only a 5-inch spool. The task of transcribing had been allocated to a disciple who was at a loss as to how to proceed. His Holiness came to his rescue and told him, “Why do you not use to advantage the principle that the receiving spool merely collects the tape that is moved by the spindle? I will show you what I have in mind.” He placed the bigger tape recorder behind the smaller one and used some packing material to ensure that the deck-levels of the two recorders lay in the same horizontal plane. He then fitted the sending and receiving spools on the larger of the two recorders. Instead of taking the tape in front of the head assembly of that recorder, He passed it in front of the head assembly of the smaller recorder.

The recorders were turned on. The tape speed was decided by the spindle rotation of the smaller recorder and as such was 1⅞ inches per second. The larger machine merely sent and collected the tape. Since the head of the smaller recorder was in contact with the tape, its amplifier and speaker units provided the audio output.

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In the 1970s, a disciple had an occasion to design and construct for His Holiness an inverter, working with a 6 volt D.C. secondary storage battery as the source, to supply a power of 20 watts at 230 volts A.C. The disciple was having some problems with the transformer that he was employing in a parallel-inverter circuit. His Holiness asked him how the work was progressing and the disciple explained his difficulty. His Holiness said, “I was given some transformers and they are lying upstairs, unused. You can use one if it suits you.” The disciple decided to go upstairs to see if any one of the available transformers would match his specifications but His Holiness told him to wait. He called His attendant and told him to go upstairs and fetch a particular transformer. “I have a particular specification in my mind. Hence, may I go and select one?” the disciple queried. His Holiness smiled and said, “Wait and see if the one that is brought suits you. If not, you can select another one.” To the disciple’s surprise, the transformer that was brought completely met his requirements. Apparently, His Holiness had intuitively arrived at the specifications the disciple had in his mind.

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During His several tours all over India, His Holiness showed avid interest in learning about subjects as diverse as agriculture, engineering, architecture, forestry, horticulture, energy management, etc. In fact, what happened when He was thinking of converting some of the Maṭha-owned land at Sringeri into agricultural land, is a classic example of the practical implementation of His diverse knowledge. Some ill-intentioned ones gave Him misleading advice and this led to some minor setbacks. For instance, repeated rotation of crops was suggested and it was made out that the region was thoroughly unsuitable for developing coconut groves. His Holiness was quick to see through their game. He had picked up too much knowledge of agriculture and horticulture during His tour to be misled any longer. He had already determined that the bane of the region was the haphazard policy of the earlier planners who cultivated a crop and whimsically replaced it with another, hoping that the new crop would fetch enhanced dividends. Examining the soil and keeping the climatic conditions in mind, His Holiness decided what crops it would sustain. He had acquired much knowledge about fertilizers and pesticides, both natural and synthetic, and about how best to attend to various crops and groves. In the face of extreme scepticism, He ordered the planting of coconut saplings. His instructions were carried out to the letter and lo and behold, Sringeri soon got its first coconut grove.

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A tractor was once donated to the Maṭha at Sringeri. His Holiness started asking for details about the working of its various parts. The experienced engineer who had been deputed by the manufacturer to hand over the tractor to the Maṭha, could not give satisfactory replies to all the questions. In fact, he realized that he had learnt much from this interaction with His Holiness. He even said later that he had not learnt in all the 25 years of his experience, what he had learnt from His Holiness in that one interaction. He felt that his experience would have been richer if he had had this opportunity much earlier in his career.

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Sri A. R. Viswanathan, a disciple of His Holiness, developed and maintained a beautiful garden with various types of flowering plants and trees in the compound of his house in Bengaluru. Whenever His Holiness camped in Bengaluru and paid a visit to his house, He viewed and enjoyed the garden. On several occasions, He discussed gardening with him. Once, when Viswanathan went to Sringeri with his friend to have darśana, His Holiness met them in private and conversed for over an hour about gardens, various plants and some of the difficulties in maintaining and nurturing them. Viswanathan’s friend was amazed at His Holiness’s keen interest in and deep knowledge of horticulture and concluded that His Holiness must be a specialist in botany. His Holiness found it amusing when he told Him so.

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His Holiness had superior skills when it came to planning and construction of buildings. He came up with excellent architectural designs that did not compromise on utility of space or economy. His Holiness has said, “I have no formal engineering education but am ever ready to learn by questioning, observation and practice. Initially, I made some mistakes that I had to undo by making small modifications in the buildings; the consequence was some extra cost. However, I learnt from my mistakes and there are no such problems now.”

Since people were put to inconvenience in Sringeri during the rainy season and since there occurred an unfortunate event of boat capsize, His Holiness decided in the early 1980s to put up a permanent bridge across the Tuṅgā river to connect the two campuses of the Maṭha. He meticulously collected details of various bridges in India and abroad. He entrusted the construction of the bridge He had envisioned to Gammon India. When Sri T. N. Subba Rao, the Managing Director of the company, visited His Holiness, he was surprised to find His Holiness speaking knowledgeably about various bridges, such as the Laxman Jhula in Rishikesh, Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He exclaimed to Sri H. S. Nagashwaran, a disciple of His Holiness who had accompanied him (and who reported this in a talk), “I think He has travelled all over the world!” His Holiness expressed His preference to avoid columns in the middle of the river because, as He put it, He did not want the fishes in the river to be disturbed by the construction work. Finally, after taking various factors into consideration, He approved of Gammon India’s proposal to build a bridge with one column in the middle of the river. He regularly watched over the construction.

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His Holiness was well-versed in the use of medicines. This is vouchsafed by doctors like Dr. Subhalakshmi and former Principal of the Davangere Medical College, Dr. A. R. Govinda Rao, both of whom served at the Sharada Dhanwantari Charitable Hospital, Sringeri. On the occasion when the latter submitted to His Holiness a newly published book on Pharmaco-therapeutics that he had authored, he ended up getting many insights on the subject from His Holiness.

Sringeri and the nearby regions did not have any hospital. Hence, Sri K. S. Natarajan mooted to His Holiness the idea of establishing a hospital and Sri Vaidyasubramanya Iyer threw in his full support. A hill belonging to the Maṭha at the entrance to Sringeri was made available by His Holiness for the hospital. Apart from providing land, His Holiness donated many lakhs of rupees and, in His time, the medical facility grew from a small out-patient unit to a full-fledged hospital in the early 1980s, with sophisticated medical equipment and a full-fledged lab. Dr. V. Parameshvara, a leading cardiologist of Bengaluru, served as the hospital’s Chairman, and Natarajan functioned as its Secretary. His Holiness frequently visited the hospital and cheered and blessed the sick ones. With full knowledge of the role of His Holiness, Natarajan reported, “His Holiness is indeed everything to the hospital, and it is nothing without Him.” A Scientific Research Academy with His Holiness as its trustee engaged in the conduct of medical research.

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His Holiness not only had a keen ear for classical music, both South Indian and North Indian, but was also quite familiar with its nuances such as rāgas. Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, He used to sing rather than chant not only the customary maṅgala-śloka, but also the other verses that He would quote in the course of his benedictory discourses. He would spontaneously set the verses to specific rāgas, invariably adhering to the rules of the rāga He chose, thus delivering a pure rendition that would touch the listeners’ hearts. When renowned musicians performed during the Candramaulīśvara-pūjā that He did in public view every night, He would sometimes even choose the rāga for the next piece.

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His Holiness was an astute administrator who dealt with the Maṭha administration with a 360-degree-perspective. Many were the challenges He faced starting with the regaining of control of the Maṭha administration from the State Government. He solved every problem and spearheaded all-round development of the Maṭha with His characteristic wisdom, swiftness, dexterity and compassion.

His immaculate intuition and razor-sharp intellect contributed to His unerringly evaluating situations and how they would unfold. While He was easily and willingly swayed by a person’s purity of heart and very accommodative of incompetent but sincere persons, He quickly sensed hypocrisy, insincerity and the buttressing of data to camouflage underperformance. He could comfortably manage even with staff who, as far as others could discern, were brainless and obdurate too. He gave all the Maṭha staff, regardless of the person’s rank, age or experience, a patient hearing and considerately and promptly took steps to mitigate grievances. He gladly accepted and implemented any good suggestion from anybody. His Holiness was extremely just in His dealings and was unwilling to allow any deliberate misinterpretation of the facts.

To the extent feasible, His Holiness resorted to skill-based allocation of jobs and gave officials and supervisors considerable freedom to function in their respective departments. The norm was that He did not bypass any hierarchical order of control that He had established or allowed. He frequently made enquiries about the welfare of all the labourers, whether permanent or temporary, personally interacted with them and did whatever was possible for their well-being. However, when it came to giving orders, He directed them through the person in charge.

He would say, “Suppose a big log has to be lifted. Several people need to put in effort together to lift it. On the other hand, this approach will not do if a needle is to be picked up. For this, a single person needs to take the initiative. In the same way, sometimes people may need to work together as equals to accomplish a task and sometimes may need to work with someone taking the initiative and leading.”

He held that confrontation and threats seldom generate satisfactory solutions. In the main, He effectively defused tensions and animosity through soft words, impeccable logic, tackling of emotions and bringing to the fore a person’s sense of morality. He had the knack of subtly nudging groups that did not see eye to eye, to get together for a common cause.

His Holiness had the knack of dexterously handling even complex situations. At times, He had to do something on the spur of the moment in order to avert impropriety but without giving rise to any misgiving in those present. His Holiness could handle even embarrassing situations in an impeccable manner and with consummate ease. Not being obdurate, egoistic or prestige-conscious, His Holiness did not hesitate to modify or even reverse His instructions when additional facts necessitated this.

Being a light sleeper and capable of making do with only four hours of sleep, He used to wake up once or twice at night, call out to see if the watchman was vigilant and, off and on, go round Narasimhavana, checking even whether the cows and elephants were doing well and ensuring that everything was as it should be, such as that just the required lights were turned on and that too at the appropriate places only.

All these qualities contributed to making His Holiness an administrator par excellence.

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