92. शारदेन्दुसमद्युतिः Śāradendu-sama-dyutiḥ

One who was lustrous like the autumnal moon

The indu, moon, during the season of śarad, autumn, appears brighter than in other seasons, and is hence especially beautiful then. It engenders peace and joy in the beholder. The Mother Goddess is described as ‘śaraccandra-nibhānanā (One whose face is like the autumnal moon’).²³⁶ Similarly, His Holiness was One whose dyuti, lustre, was sama, equal to, that of śāradendu, the autumnal moon. He ever radiated tranquility and joy.

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Sri H. L. Chandrasekhar of Mysuru recollected, “The spiritual splendour of His Holiness is wonderful. An experience of mine particularly convinced me in this regard. In 1975, I once beheld His Holiness coming for pūjā after finishing His evening bath and āhnika. An orange-hued glow enveloped Him. I could see the surroundings and so was in no trance. He sat for the pūjā. The halo continued to be visible to my naked eyes. When the Vedic chanting was going on, I saw a ray of light emanating from Him and penetrating me. I felt suffused with true peace and joy.”

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The following episode appeared in the Kannada book ‘Jagadguru’, as narrated by Sri Janaki Tanaya of Mysuru.

“Sri Avinashi Chetty of Muduku Thorai and a worshipper of Lord Sūrya, was a gentleman with very orthodox habits. He used to come to my house whenever he visited Mysuru. On one particular occasion when he came by, I had gone to the Shankara Math to witness the Candramaulīśvara-pūjā performed by His Holiness who happened to be camping at Mysuru at that time. So my wife directed him to the Maṭha. That particular evening, during the Candramaulīśvara-pūjā, the whole building was suddenly plunged into darkness. The pūjā, however, was performed with oil lamps. After that, His Holiness went to the temple of Jagadguru Śrī Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin. When He was about to enter the temple, lights went off there, but came on in the hall in which the pūjā was conducted.

“Avinashi Chetty later told me, ‘I entered the pūjā hall in search of you. I was not concerned with the pūjā but since you were sitting in the front row, I did not want to disturb you. Suddenly, I had some passing thoughts. Why are so much pomp and paraphernalia needed for a saṁnyāsin? Can He not do the pūjā in private? Why not use ordinary oil lamps for illumination instead of these decorated electric lamps? When I was thinking on these lines, all the lights went off, and I saw that His Holiness was not at all affected by this. I was a bit confused. When the pūjā was over and His Holiness was about to enter the temple, lights went off there also. This, in fact, added to my confusion and thrill. Then His Holiness turned towards me. I saw a bright jyotis (light) coming from His eyes, making a circle, and then subsiding back into them. In one eye of His Holiness I beheld Lord Sūrya and in the other, Goddess Śāradāmbā. I was not able to think of anything at that moment. I cannot adequately describe the nature of my experience with mere words.’”

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