102. श्रीनृसिंहपदार्चकः Śrīnṛsiṁha-padārcakaḥ

One who worshipped the feet of Lord Narasiṁha

Lord Narasiṁha was the iṣṭa-devata (favourite God) of His Holiness, who is described here as ‘arcaka’, One who worshipped, the ‘pada’, feet, of ‘Śrī-nṛsiṁha’, the glorious Narasiṁha.

A few days after His saṁnyāsa, His Guru initiated Him into the mantrarāja of Lord Narasiṁha. During the process of the initiation, as is described in the sequel, He had a magnificent experience. At the end of the initiation, His Guru told Him, “Dedicate everything to Narasiṁha.” In later years, His Holiness once told a disciple, “From the time of initiation, Narasiṁha became very dear to me. As I have said on several occasions, He takes care of me like a child, guides me, provides clarifications and sets right all the foolish things I say and do.” As can be seen from this statement of His Holiness, He ever bore Lord Narasiṁha in His heart. He has also been seen conversing with the Lord and has even been photographed while doing so.

During Narasiṁha-jayantī every year He devoutly performed pūjā to Lakṣmī-narasiṁha. At the end of the pūjā, while reading the portion from the Bhāgavata-purāṇa that deals with the avatāra of Narasiṁha and the soul-stirring devotion of Prahlāda, His voice would choke with emotion and His eyes would well up with tears.

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Recalling what happened when His Guru initiated Him into the Narasiṁha-mantra, His Holiness once said to a disciple, “During the initiation, when my Guru was about to start voicing the dhyāna-śloka, I found myself spontaneously visualising Narasiṁha in my heart. As I heard and repeated the dhyāna-śloka, I realised with surprise and happiness that the form of Narasiṁha described therein and the one I was seeing matched.

“The words relating to the ‘pañcopacāra-pūjā (worship with five offerings, done after saying the dhyāna-śloka)’ took only some seconds for my Guru to utter and for me to repeat. Yet, I experienced no shortage of time in elaborately worshipping the Lord mentally in my heart with offerings of sandal paste, flowers, incense, lamp, food and so on. I can attribute only to divine grace the irresistible urge that led me to begin the worship. During naivedya, I served the Lord a variety of dishes in a jewel-studded golden plate, put a little food into His mouth, waited for Him to masticate and swallow and only thereafter offered another morsel. It was as if the several seconds miraculously became extended to over half an hour from my perspective. Even while performing the worship with concentration and dedication, I was able to see my Guru and repeat His words without delay.

“When my Guru started to utter the Narasiṁha-mantra (after the pañcopacāra-pūjā), He placed His right palm on my head. This was not usual. The moment my Guru chanted the mantra once and, following Him, I too did so, an amazing event occurred. He abruptly withdrew His hand from my head, joined His palms and gazed at me silently with deep reverence. My breathing stopped. The form of Lakṣmī-nṛsiṁha that I was seeing within me vanished. However, I began to experience the Lord as my Antaryāmin (Inner Controller), refuge and intimate wellwisher as clearly as one can see a fruit in one’s open palm. I ceased to regard the body, prāṇa, organs, mind and intellect as mine; everything was just His. I do not know how long I remained thus, motionless and immersed in bliss. All along, I did see my Guru keeping His palms joined and looking in my direction.

“The form of Narasiṁha then reappeared and my breathing resumed. My mental state reverted to what it had been during my chanting of the mantra but with the difference that I now felt extremely intimate with Narasiṁha. At the same time, my Guru lowered His hands. He then recited the mantra two more times, giving me time to repeat His words.

“After completing the initiation, my Guru said, ‘After you had said the mantra once, I saw just Narasiṁha in your place. That is why I jerked back my hand from your head and offered my salutation to Him. When His form disappeared and you reappeared, I proceeded with the initiation.’”

[The short-term and long-term impacts of these experiences as narrated by His Holiness Himself, have been included under nāma 44.]

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