CHAPTER 12 A Unique Bond

In a benedictory address delivered at Madurai in 1958, His Holiness spelt out the qualities of a model disciple. He based His talk on a verse, the import of which is: “The ideal disciple has a pure mind, resorts to the holy, has good conduct, is desirous of knowing the Truth, is intent upon serving (his Guru), is free from vanity, greatly values offering prostrations (to his Guru), waits for an opportune moment to pose his doubts (to his Guru), is of controlled mind, is of regulated senses, is free from envy, has surrendered (to the Guru), is possessed of faith in the śāstras, is successful in tests and is grateful (to His Guru). Such a disciple is fit to be unconditionally taught what is desired.” These attributes found fulfilment in His Holiness even when He was initiated into saṁnyāsa in 1931.

The qualities of a model disciple found fulfilment in His Holiness even when He was initiated into saṁnyāsa in 1931.

He was ever prepared to serve His Guru in every possible way. It was customary in those days to have an extended camp at the Durgāmbā Temple (near Sringeri) for the rathotsava (Chariot Festival) there. During one such camp, the senior Jagadguru, who was somewhat unwell, had retired for the night. Two attendants were sleeping just outside the door of His room. One of them, Rama Sastry, awakened and told his companion, “The cold is chilling my bones. I shall proceed to the boiler room to warm myself.” Saying so, he rolled up his bed and retired to the boiler room, where the flames licking the water vessel diffused warmth throughout the room. He lay down there and fell asleep. However, a short catnap was all that he had, for the thought of the senior Jagadguru’s illness nagged him. He rose to check from his companion whether the senior Jagadguru had been asleep or had asked for anything. Making his way in the darkness, he barely touched the one lying there, when the response, “What is it?” that he heard caused him to freeze in astonishment. The voice was that of His Holiness. Rama Sastry hastened to apologise but was set at ease by His Holiness, who had taken the other attendant’s place to Himself attend to the senior Jagadguru’s needs, if any. To Him, who had the status of a Jagadguru, functioning as an attendant to His Guru was not undignified; it was a sacred privilege.

Once, standing in for His Guru’s attendant, when His Holiness held a large ceremonial umbrella over the senior Jagadguru in the place of an attendant, He stood with one leg off the ground. When later asked about this, He clarified that He stood that way for, otherwise, His foot would have touched His Guru’s shadow that day. Even His Guru’s shadow was sacrosanct for Him. His walk was swift, almost a sprint, and His attendants had a hard time keeping up with Him; the senior Jagadguru’s was sedate. Yet, when accompanying the senior Jagadguru, not once in the over two decades that They were together did He, even inadvertently, overstep His Guru. He once told me, “It is not that I took care not to move ahead of Him; it was impossible and inconceivable for me to do so.” Even before He learnt of them, He spontaneously followed to the letter the injunctions, “The disciple must not cross over his Guru’s shadow,” and, “When the Guru is walking, the disciple should follow him (not move ahead of him).”

The following account of Sri D. S. Subbaramaiya, an intimate disciple of the senior Jagadguru and His Holiness and one led to spiritual consummation by Them, illustrates how very respectfully His Holiness conducted Himself towards His Guru; it also brings out how the senior Guru looked upon His Holiness.

To His Holiness, who had the status of a Jagadguru, functioning as an attendant to the senior Jagadguru was not undignified; it was a sacred privilege.

Even His Guru’s shadow was sacrosanct for Him. Not once in the over two decades that They were together did He, even inadvertently, overstep His Guru.

“In 1946, His Holiness once went to behold the senior Jagadguru, taking me with Him. As He approached the door of the senior Jagadguru’s room from one side, He noticed that His Guru was reading a book. Not only did His Holiness not enter, He did not even want to stand next to the door on the side where He could be seen. Hence, He walked round Sacchidananda Vilas and tiptoed to the other side of the door. He then moved slightly forward, leaned, peeped in and, finding that the senior Jagadguru was still reading, immediately stepped back. Thereafter, He stood motionless and silent. After a few minutes, He again looked inside as before and withdrew. About 15 minutes passed thus before the senior Jagadguru chanced to notice Him on unexpectedly looking up prior to turning a page.

“Immediately, He called His Holiness in. He entered and respectfully submitted that I had come for darśana. The senior Jagadguru rose, walked out of the room and began talking with me. To enable us to converse in private, His Holiness moved out of earshot and waited; the senior Jagadguru was scheduled to take a Vedānta class for His Holiness that day. As He approached after some time to have a necessary word with His Guru about the class, the senior Jagadguru told me, ‘The Guru is coming. Do namaskāra.’ As instructed, I prostrated before His Holiness. The senior Jagadguru and His Holiness then conversed for a few minutes. Thereafter, His Holiness walked backwards till He was out of His Guru’s range of sight; He was unwilling to turn His back towards His Guru. Such was His reverence for His Guru. The senior Jagadguru, on the other hand, declared to me as His Holiness was walking backwards, ‘He is not just a respectable saṁnyāsin. He is God incarnate.’”

His Holiness desired to follow the teaching that the śiṣya should not eat prior to his Guru. Though the senior Jagadguru partook of His bhikṣā late in the afternoon, His Holiness consistently waited for Him to do so. He did this even though a separate kitchen had been arranged for Him, so that the time of His bhikṣā could be independent of that of His Guru. Later, out of concern for His Holiness’s health, the senior Jagadguru cancelled the extra kitchen and Himself started going for bhikṣā earlier than before. Subsequently, the senior Jagadguru noticed one day that His Holiness was mixing up all the food served to Him and then eating the mixture; He was doing so to avoid giving any room for being influenced by taste. The senior Jagadguru told Him that what He was doing was unnecessary and that He should eat His food in the normal fashion. His Holiness obeyed.

He was unwilling to turn His back towards His Guru. Such was His reverence for His Guru. The senior Jagadguru, on the other hand, declared to me as His Holiness was walking backwards, “He is not just a respectable saṁnyāsin. He is God incarnate.”

• Sri Subbaramaiya

He decided upon taking saṁnyāsa that His body should be under His control and not vice versa and that He should be same-sighted towards the pairs of opposites such as heat and cold.

His Holiness greatly valued saṁnyāsa and particularly so since He had been blessed with it by the senior Jagadguru, whom He looked up to as the ideal saṁnyāsin. He told me in May 1975, “Two days before taking saṁnyāsa, I had thought, ‘Dreams are not under my control. Mistakes committed in them do not result in sin. Nevertheless, my renunciation should be so sincere and firm that after being initiated into saṁnyāsa, I should not see myself in any dream as clad in white as I am now. I love chanting the Gāyatrī-mantra. Yet, as Gāyatrī-japa is disallowed for paramahaṁsa-saṁnyāsins, I should not engage in it even in my dreams from the day after tomorrow.’ By God’s grace, till today, this has come to pass.” Upon taking saṁnyāsa, He decided that His body should be under His control and not vice versa and that He should be same-sighted towards the pairs of opposites such as heat and cold. Putting Himself to test, when winter was at its peak in 1931 (the year of His saṁnyāsa), for a few nights, He spread a wet towel on the floor and slept on it wearing just His loincloth. He somehow managed to keep this a secret from even His personal attendant. Thereafter, He repeated this every year for the next four years at Sringeri, one year in Bengaluru, and few years in the 1940s.

His Holiness was accommodated for some time in an independent place in Narasimhavana. One day, numerous ants, which made that their home, bit Him, giving rise to red welts on His legs. He patiently tolerated the bites. This was repeated on the next few days. He did not mention any of this to anybody and took no remedial measures either. So long as the swellings were on His lower limbs and covered by His lower garment, the senior Jagadguru did not notice them. One day, the ants bit His back. The senior Jagadguru noticed the swellings when His Holiness did namaskāra to Him during His morning āhnika; this was because His Holiness had removed His upper garment, put it on the floor and placed His daṇḍa on it, as He had been taught to do. The senior Jagadguru ascertained what had happened, directed His Holiness to take proper care of His body and arranged for Him to move back to Sacchidananda Vilas.

Over the years, the senior Jagadguru almost completely handed over to His Holiness the presiding over of the traditional religious functions in the Maṭha. Yet, as His Holiness had the conviction that His Guru’s presence at any rite would render it extraordinarily hallowed, whenever one was to take place in the Maṭha, He approached His Guru and sought to know whether He would grace it. If the senior Jagadguru agreed to come, His Holiness got ready far in advance and awaited His Guru; He also made all the arrangements for the latter. More often than not, the senior Jagadguru was disinclined to come. His Holiness then submitted, “If I can be of any assistance to Your Holiness, I am ready.” The senior Jagadguru would ask Him to conduct the function and His Holiness would do the needful. Even if His Holiness saw His Guru at a distance and moving in a direction away from Himself, He promptly stood up and waited till the senior Jagadguru passed out of His sight.

His Holiness regarded the life of His Guru as truly inspiring and any thought of Him as purifying. To enable others too to think of His Guru and derive inspiration from His life, His Holiness spoke about Him in several of His public discourses. The following is culled from a few of His Holiness’s talks in Kannada and in Tamil about His Guru.

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It is said that a saṁnyāsin should not touch any valuable with desire. As for my Guru, He not only did not keep with Himself anything presented to Him, He did not so much as touch it, even without desire. He said, “Were I to touch anything of worldly value made available to me, somebody may wonder whether this saṁnyāsin felt any wish for it. Why should I unnecessarily cause such a disturbance in anyone’s mind?” Not once did He visit the Maṭha’s vault and see the precious objects there. He did not even peruse the book listing the items stored there. He never enquired about the celebrations in the Maṭha. When the officials informed Him, He listened in silence. Only if He was told that His presence was needed for a function, He took part in it. His detachment was so intense that though He was the pontiff of a big Maṭha, He did not even have the idea that He lived there.

“You have all labelled me a great pontiff. Regardless of whether or not I should perform worship and obtain the fruit thereof, what would you say if I were to abstain from worship? ‘Even he does not perform any worship. Why should we engage in what he himself is not interested in carrying out?’ Therefore, I must perform worship.”

• The senior Jagadguru

Though absolutely dispassionate towards all worldly and heavenly enjoyments, He had limitless motherly love towards every one of His disciples. Whenever He went to a temple, He unfailingly prayed to the Lord for the well-being of all and for their acquiring enlightenment and liberation. When it came to religious practices and activities relating to the welfare of the devotees, He acted in accordance with the following words of the Bhagavadgītā: “O Pārtha, there is nothing in the three worlds that I must do; nor is there anything to be attained that has not been attained. Yet, I engage in actions. O Pārtha, if I do not, without laziness, ever engage in action, men would, in all matters, follow My path.” Keeping others in mind, He opined, “You all have labelled me a great pontiff. Regardless of whether or not I should perform worship and obtain the fruit thereof, what would you say if I were to abstain from worship? ‘Even he does not perform any worship. Why should we engage in what he himself is not interested in carrying out?’ Therefore, I must perform worship. You people will then act likewise, thinking, ‘The great one engages in worship. It may or may not be necessary for him but we need it. So we must carry it out.’” That my Guru was a Mahātman (great soul) has been known by experience to those who were His contemporaries and beheld Him.

When the accumulated good tendencies of numerous previous lives bear fruit in a person in a particular life, that person becomes a mahāpuruṣa. Such was the case of my Guru. His introversion did not stem subsequent to His taking saṁnyāsa, studying the śāstras and practising spiritual disciplines. It manifested right from His childhood. The following two incidents testify to this.

As a boy He used to go to the market to make purchases for His parents. Neither was He interested in seeing things in the shops and the street nor did He have the money to purchase more than what was essential. While setting out, He used to mentally chant the Mūkapañcaśatī (five hundred verses on Goddess Kāmākṣī by Mūka-kavi). It even happened that He became so absorbed in the verses and their import that He forgot His surroundings and the purpose of His setting out. By the time He realised where He was, He was outside the limits of Sringeri.

On every pradoṣa, He used to sit in the evening at the base of a pillar in the Vidyāśaṅkara Temple in the Maṭha and perform mental worship of Lord Śiva as described in the Śivamānasapūjā-stotra and the Mṛtyuñjayamānasapūjā-stotra. With an unwavering mind, He used to mentally contemplate on the Lord, invoke Him, offer Him a seat, worship His feet and, duly, go on to feeding the Lord, performing ārati to Him and doing namaskāra.

Since His youth, My Guru had the practice of performing the pārāyaṇa (recital) of the Rāmāyaṇa. A verse to be chanted prior to the reading conveys: “Salute Hanumān, the destroyer of ogres, who remains with His palms joined above His head and with His eyes brimming with tears of joy wherever there is the glorification of Rāma.” All of us have read this verse about Hanumān and know its meaning. Still, we hardly believe that Hanumān comes at the start of our recital and leaves on its completion. On the other hand, the position of my Guru was unique. He reflected, “It is improper that Hanumān should sit on the ground and listen while we sit on a wooden plank and read. He should be offered respect and a seat to occupy.” Having thought thus, my Guru decided, “As I myself sit on a wooden plank, I should place one for Him.” Accordingly, my Guru used to place a wooden plank for Hanumān to occupy and then did the Rāmāyaṇa-pārāyaṇa, with the feeling that Hanumān was actually seated there. What faith He had!

He was intensely devoted to Jagadguru Śrī Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin, His Guru. As a boy, His longing was, “How wonderful it would be if I could somehow have the Guru’s pādukās in my house and worship them!” If we have faith and devotion and God is merciful to us, what we wish automatically becomes fulfilled. Likewise, by virtue of His faith, my Guru obtained the pādukās without any effort on His part.

As a brahmacārin, my Guru had the opportunity to learn Sanskrit as a student of the Maṭha’s pāṭhaśālā. If anything was taught to Him once, it was sufficient; He grasped it. If He heard anything once, He could recall it accurately. In those days, books were hard to come by in Sringeri. My Guru copied down, in excellent handwriting, the contents of several books. He studied with deep sincerity. With His performance, He secured a double promotion every year. After reaching the fourth class of the Maṭha’s pāṭhaśālā, apart from studying, He began to teach students of the lower classes. His teacher used to tell Him, “You must take classes. You teach well.”

“If we have faith and devotion and God is merciful to us, what we wish automatically becomes fulfilled.”

• His Holiness

When my Paramaguru felt that His body had served its purpose, He sent word for my Guru, who was at Bengaluru (having been sent there to study Mīmāṁsā). He made the resolve, “I shall give saṁnyāsa to Him.” My Guru asked no questions. “My Guru has commanded me to come to Sringeri. Hence, I must go” – this was all that He felt. “What about my parents? What will be my future?” – no such thoughts arose in His mind. On the way to Sringeri, He learnt that His Guru had shed the body. Someone else in the place of my Guru might have felt, “He Himself in response to whose command I am being taken is not there. What is the necessity now to proceed to Sringeri for saṁnyāsa?” However, my Guru had no such thoughts about carrying out the directive of His Guru. His mind was as undisturbed as that of a yogin in samādhi.

My Guru did not have the opportunity to be initiated into saṁnyāsa through the actual touch of His Guru’s hand. However, there is mānasa-dīkṣā, or initiation of a disciple by the Guru through just the mind. Bhagavatpāda imparted the fourteen vidyās to His disciple, Giri, just by the thought, “May He get this knowledge.” If the Guru does have the power to so bless and does so, śakti descends on the disciple from the Guru and the disciple obtains knowledge. My Paramaguru had indeed made the resolve to impart saṁnyāsa to My Guru and make Him His successor in the Pīṭha.

After becoming a saṁnyāsin, my Guru arranged for the foremost of Nyāya scholars, Virupaksha Sastry, to take lessons for Him. He learnt Advaita-vedānta in the mornings and the Nyāya-śāstra in the afternoons. He completed His studies of both the śāstras in just three years. In the line of pontiffs of the Sringeri Maṭh, there flowed a torrent of knowledge and austerity and He added to it.

My Guru had the conviction that every single word of Bhagavatpāda is immaculate and significant. He took into consideration every word of Bhagavatpāda and, having analysed it, spelt out its actual purport. He expounded the scripture strictly in accordance with the commentary of Bhagavatpāda. He effortlessly integrated into His teaching of Vedānta, the pertinent points from Nyāya, Mīmāṁsā, and Yoga. One approach to teaching the Vedānta-śāstra is to explain a text line-by-line; another is to expound the lines along with one’s experience. The latter characterised His teaching; it gave great joy.

“My Guru had the conviction that every single word of Bhagavatpāda is immaculate and significant. He took into consideration every word of Bhagavatpāda and, having analysed it, spelt out its actual purport. He expounded the scripture strictly in accordance with the commentary of Bhagavatpāda.”

• His Holiness

Whenever He delineated scriptural intricacies in a vidvat-sadas (assembly of scholars), such as when He expounded the Ānandamayādhikaraṇa of the Brahmasūtras at Mysuru, all the scholars were struck with awe. Even though my Guru was a consummate scholar, He did not have the slightest egoism. During the annual vidvat-sadas, if anyone presented something new, He would be immensely pleased. Even if He saw an iota of knowledge in another, He experienced great happiness.

When my Guru arrived in Tamil Nadu during His tour, He was not familiar with Tamil. Nonetheless, purely out of gracious consideration for the wishes of the devotees, He agreed to address them in Tamil. To the amazement of all, including the Maṭha’s officials who were apprehensive, He straightaway spoke flawlessly and eloquently in chaste Tamil. Thereafter, throughout His tour of Tamil Nadu, He conversed and discoursed freely in Tamil like a native speaker. Moreover, even scholars opined that many of His words and expressions conveyed that He was quite conversant with classical Tamil literature and with the nuances of modern Tamil.

Many approached my Guru to have their sufferings quelled. At times, some failed to voice their wishes and left with the thought, “I was unable to put across my problem.” Yet, by the time they left for home, they found that their suffering had ceased. Such was the direct experience of relief of even those who did not state their problems to Him. Often, my Guru gave fitting replies to disciples even before they posed any query or request to Him. One day, after He had given clarifications thus and permitted the devotees to leave, I, who was then a young boy, asked Him, “How is it, O Mahāsvāmin, that when people come to You to seek clarifications, You provide the answers even before they present their requests?” He replied, “There is nothing to it. God is the one who impels me and I respond in accordance with His wishes. Such being the case, whatever is in His mind automatically comes to my mouth. I need to make no effort.” He was a mahātman who had attained such perfection. He never took credit for the benefits experienced by devotees. He invariably maintained that the grace of God was what was responsible.

If anyone approached Him seeking knowledge, My Guru imparted knowledge to that person. He even had the capacity to straightaway confer the direct realisation of the Supreme on a duly competent disciple. Enlightened mahātmans too came to pay their respects to Him. He looked upon them as non-different from Himself. His knowledge, qualities such as mind control, establishment in the Ātman and compassion to beings serve as ideals. He led His life in such a way that there accrued the welfare of the world.

“His knowledge, qualities such as mind control, establishment in the Ātman and compassion to beings serve as ideals. He led His life in such a way that there accrued the welfare of the world.”

• His Holiness

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His Holiness told me, “My Guru used to apply some dry vibhūti on His forehead even before He went for His morning bath. Never have I known Him to remove or adjust His upper garment even if it was very hot and He was seated in private. He never moved out of His normal position to near the window to get some breeze on a sultry day. ‘I shall remain where I am. If the wind blows here let it. Else let it not,’ He remarked.”

In response to a query as to how Bhagavatpāda arrived at and selected Sringeri for His Maṭha, the senior Jagadguru said, “Does not the Lord know the locations of the places He has created?” Years later, when the same question was posed by someone else to His Holiness, He replied, “Bhagavatpāda must have been travelling freely. There would have been some forest path leading to Sringeri and so He could have come here. Having come, He felt impressed with the place and chose it to establish a Maṭha.” This did not mean that He did not give great weightage to His Guru’s views. It was, in fact, the senior Jagadguru who encouraged His Holiness to take a free and independent line of thinking in keeping with the need to cater to a changing and less orthodox society. To His Holiness, every single word of His Guru was significant. He even felt that it may be years before He could fully appreciate some statements of the senior Jagadguru.

His Holiness devotedly and impeccably served His Guru not only in normal circumstances but also in extremely trying ones, where patience, dexterity and tact were a sine qua non.

His Holiness devotedly and impeccably served His Guru not only in normal circumstances but also in extremely trying ones, where patience, dexterity and tact were a sine qua non. After 1928, the senior Jagadguru entered now and then, for varying durations, a state that has been referred to in some books on Him as ‘antarmukha-avasthā (inward-turned condition).’ During these periods, His behaviour was unpredictable. Punctilious as He used to be in all His actions and habits, this change to an uncommon state was quite beyond the comprehension of many. There was no regularity in His bath or meals. Time did not count with Him and the ordinary rules of conduct, worldly or spiritual, were no more for Him. It would happen that for days together He remained without bath, food or sleep but the lack of these did not seem to affect Him, for He was ever beaming with spiritual lustre; His body, however, showed signs of emaciation. Though otherwise very polite, He could be brutally outspoken at these times; His innate compassion and preternatural insight did manifest when called for. The following extract from R. Krishnaswami Iyer’s Saint of Sringeri is germane:

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As His plane of experience was beyond the grasp of the common men, various rumours became afloat about him. A high personage at Mysore (Mysuru), hearing them, desired to know the exact truth and deputed a doctor to go to Sringeri for this purpose. The doctor accordingly went to Sringeri, was observing His Holiness (the senior Jagadguru) every morning and evening and was writing to Mysore daily. It so happened that I also went to Sringeri at that time and stayed in the same building as the doctor and we became slightly acquainted with each other. One afternoon, he said, “I think of making His Holiness speak today.”

K: Did His Holiness then not speak to you all these days?

Doctor: No.

K: You are posting letters to Mysore daily.

Doctor: Yes. I have been asked to do so.

K: If His Holiness had not even spoken to you, what can you possibly write about?

Doctor: I have been writing, “His Holiness continues in the same state.”

K: If you say “same state,” you must have described it at least in your first letter.

Doctor: No doubt so. But what I stated in my first letter was only this, “I am not able to understand His Holiness’s state.” In my subsequent letters I am simply referring to the “same state.”

K: You intend to make His Holiness talk today and find out the exact nature of His state?

Doctor: I hope to.

K: Is there any objection to my accompanying you?

Doctor: Nothing. You may come. I have asked the local doctor also to come.

Accordingly, all the three of us went to the other side of the river. The building was open. We entered and found His Holiness sitting in his usual posture. His eyes were certainly open but he did not seem to be seeing anything. Just when we entered he signed to us to sit down and then relapsed into his mood. The doctor had no mind to disturb him. We sat on like this for a fairly long time and finally realising that the sun was about to set, we stood up. His Holiness looked up. Availing himself of this opportunity, the doctor began to speak.

Doctor: I think of returning home tomorrow.

H.H.: Is your business here finished?

It was a very simple question. But if the doctor had given an answer, “Yes,” it would not have been true, for he did not succeed at all in the mission that took him to Sringeri; if he had said, “No,” he must necessarily assign some other justification for his leaving Sringeri. Thus this question placed him in a dilemma.

Doctor: It is long since I left my home. I desire to return.

H.H.: Yes. You may do so.

Then we all prostrated and just when we were coming out, His Holiness asked the doctor, “Is your mother in good health?” The doctor said, “Yes.” Then His Holiness nodded His head and we all came out. It is no doubt true that the doctor did make His Holiness talk but I was unable to gauge what exactly the doctor learned from that talk about the nature of His Holiness’s state. We were on our way back to our lodgings.

Doctor: Did you notice how mischievous His Holiness was?

I did not only not understand his question but thought it highly improper. But as our acquaintance was only slight, I kept down my resentment and coolly replied to him.

K: I did not notice any mischief.

Doctor: Have I no wife, no children, no brothers and sisters? He did not enquire till now about the welfare of any of them and today he asks only about my mother. Is it not mischievous?

K: I do not see anything mischievous in it. Evidently he asked about the oldest member of your family.

Doctor: Four or five years back my mother was suffering from some abdominal trouble. I myself treated her and had her treated by eminent doctors but without any effect. I had to go to Sringeri just about that time and my mother said, “Now that you are going to Sringeri, can you not mention my ailment to His Holiness and get from him relief for me?” When I came here I told this to His Holiness and He was pleased to give me a small packet of Vibhuti and asked me to mix it with tepid water and smear it on her stomach. As soon as I returned home, I had it done and since then she is free from that trouble.

K: It is just because of this past incident His Holiness asked you about your mother. What is wrong with it?

Doctor: I do not say that there is anything wrong in the remark by itself. From the very question whether my business has been finished, it is quite apparent that His Holiness is aware of the nature of the business which has brought me here. This can be inferred also from the fact that He has not till now asked me why I have come here. The real import of his question is this, “Your mother had abdominal trouble. Though you were a doctor, you could not cure her. You took from me Vibhuti for her. Now you have come here to treat me. Is it not so?”

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The following is extracted from S. A. Karthik’s English translation of S. K. Ramachandra Rao’s Kannada book ‘Śaradā-pīṭhada-māṇikya (The Ruby of the Sharada Peetham)’ on Jagadguru Śrī Candraśekhara Bhāratī Mahasvāmin.

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Among those extremely concerned about the apparent deterioration in the health of the Jagadguru was then Maharaja of Mysore, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar. After a lot of thought and deliberation, He instructed the then Diwan, Mirza Ismail, to investigate the matter and take necessary steps, if any, required. The Diwan wrote to the Chief Medical Officer of the Government Mental Hospital (which later came to be known as National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences - NIMHANS) ordering that a competent doctor should immediately proceed to Sringeri, check on the health of the senior Jagadguru and submit a report. Renowned Psychologist Dr. M. V. Govindaswamy, who was the Chief Administrative Officer of the Hospital, along with Dr. C. K. Vasudeva Rao, then Head of the Dept. of Psychology, went to Sringeri to examine the health of the senior Jagadguru and advise suitable remedy. The two doctors made several trips to Sringeri and submitted reports to the Government. They faced difficulty in directly contacting the senior Jagadguru or examining Him from close quarters, since the Jagadguru was in ‘antarmukha’. They had to observe Him from a distance, talk to Math officials, His attendants and close acquaintances to gather as much information as they could to identify the ‘disease’ and any remedy that was there. Another difficulty they had was in giving some ‘curative’ medicines since the Jagadguru was not accessible by anybody. Even mixing the medicines in His food did not work since if any medicine were to be mixed with the food, the Jagadguru would not take any food for several days. Hence, the doctors had several challenges in assessing the nature of the ‘disease’ and provide any medication.

The Jagadguru himself broke the silence and with a smile, said, “So are you done with examining me? Is this an illness which falls within your medical specialization?” As if answering Himself, He continued, “This is my fate and I have to experience this. After all what can one do? You may please leave; may God bless you” and gave phala-mantrākṣta.

In one of the trips, Dr. Govindaswamy had stayed for a week in Sringeri. Since the Jagadguru was in ‘antarmukha’ for the last several days, he could not get direct access to the Jagadguru. On the eve of his return to Bangalore, quite unexpectedly, the Jagadguru came out of his seclusion and became ‘normal’. Dr. Govindaswamy attempted to have the darśana posing as any other devotee. Being an atheist and not wanting to give away his real intent and identity, the doctor perfunctorily stood there with folded palms. The doctor submitted, “I shall be leaving for Bangalore tomorrow with Your permission.” Looking at him, the senior Jagadguru queried, “Why? Have you finished your work here?” The tone of His enquiry suggested that the Jagadguru knew the purpose of his visit. The doctor was in a quandary. Answering ‘Yes’ would imply that he knew the nature of the ‘disease’. By ‘No’ it would mean that he was leaving without finishing his work. Undecided about the answer, the doctor remained silent. The Jagadguru Himself broke the silence and, with a smile, said, “So are you done with examining me? Is this an illness which falls within your medical specialization?” As if answering Himself, He continued, “This is my fate and I have to experience this. After all, what can one do? You may please leave. May God bless you” and gave phala-mantrākṣata. On hearing this, both the doctor and the Maṭha staff there were flabbergasted. Only a few people knew of the presence of the doctor and the purpose of his visit and none of them had informed this to the Jagadguru.

Subsequently, over the next few days, the doctor stayed at Sringeri and had several opportunities to have the darśana of the senior Jagadguru. The doctor did not notice anything strange in the behaviour or any incoherence in the speech of the senior Jagadguru. He could not find any evidence to support the claim of some that the Jagadguru was mentally afflicted.

In connection with that particular interaction with the Jagadguru, there was another aspect that Dr. Govindaswamy alluded to. To remain inconspicuous, the doctor had applied ‘vibhūti’ on his forehead, since most of the devotees were wearing them and he thought that wearing vibhūti would please the Jagadguru. While giving ‘phala-mantrākṣata’, the Jagadguru asked, “Why have you applied vibhūti? Are you not a mādhva (belonging to a Vaiṣṇava sect)?” For this too, Dr. Govindaswamy remained silent. The Jagadguru said, “You should not give up your practices to please others. I am pleased only when you remain true to your practices.”

Returning from Sringeri, the doctor submitted a detailed report on his findings and concluded that the senior Jagadguru had no symptoms of mental affliction and that the science of psychology had not yet developed to the extent of assessing the state of mind of such an exalted being. The doctor who till then had no religious and spiritual inclinations, impressed by the divine presence of the Jagadguru, turned a new leaf. Having no knowledge of Sanskrit so far, directed by the Svāmin, he started studying Sanskrit and gained sufficient proficiency to be able read the Gītā and Upaniṣads in Sanskrit texts and comprehend their import. He added the missing spiritual dimension to his life, solely due to the blessings and guidance of the Jagadguru.

{When Ramachandra Rao, the author of ‘Śāradā-pīṭhada-māṇikya, was the Head of the Department of Clinical Psychology at what is currently known as NIMHANS, Bengaluru, he got access to the medical reports that were submitted by Dr. Govindaswamy. He also obtained several details that were not in the reports directly from Dr. Govindaswamy. From the above account, it is clear that apart from Dr. Govindaswamy, Dr. C. K. Vasudeva Rao, then Head of the Dept. of Psychology, was deputed to examine the senior Jagadguru and report to Mysuru. Vasudeva Rao must have been the unnamed doctor referred to in R. Krishnaswami Iyer’s Saint of Sringeri.}

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The senior Jagadguru’s love for His Holiness was so intense that even during His moods of seclusion, He spoke to His Holiness if His Holiness sought any essential clarification from Him. His Holiness told me, “He did not take exception to my meeting Him occasionally during His periods of seclusion and even spoke to me. However, His words were few and He did not permit any prolonged conversation.” The senior Jagadguru sometimes foretold the dawn of His unusual state. For instance, on an occasion, He told a disciple that His classes would not continue the next day. In fact they did not, for He had become withdrawn. During His state of withdrawal from normalcy, the senior Jagadguru had to be particularly cared for. In general, the Maṭha staff feared to approach Him since His reactions were unpredictable. Sometimes, He used to go away to the river bank and people feared that He might accidentally drown Himself or move away into the forest. None dared to approach Him, for He would drive them away. It was only His Holiness who was able to bring His Guru back to the safe interior of Sacchidananda Vilas. His Holiness told me how He did so once when His Guru was walking away into the forest.

The senior Jagadguru (observing His Holiness approaching Him): Why have you come?

His Holiness: To request Your Holiness to come back to Sacchidananda Vilas.

The senior Jagadguru: Why should I come back?

His Holiness: I feel lonely without Your Holiness.

The senior Jagadguru: Why? Others are there.

His Holiness: I feel thoroughly comfortable only with Your Holiness.

The senior Jagadguru: Very well.

The senior Jagadguru’s love for His Holiness was so intense that even during His moods of seclusion He spoke to His Holiness if His Holiness sought any essential clarification from Him. His Holiness told me, “He did not take exception to my meeting Him occasionally during His periods of seclusion and even spoke to me. However, His words were few and He did not permit any prolonged conversation.”

Saying so, He accompanied His Holiness back to Sacchidananda Vilas. His Holiness concluded His account by telling me, ‘Since He responded to my requests to return, some humorously remarked that I was like a she-elephant that could calm down a tusker in rut.”

There were even times when the senior Jagadguru’s transition from the normal to the other state took place rather abruptly. One hot day, when He was crossing the temporary wooden bridge across the Tuṅgā to proceed to Goddess Śāradā’s temple, He started casting off His clothes, and walked on, naked and nonchalant. As soon as His Holiness learnt of this, He picked up spare clothes for His Guru and also the senior Jagadguru’s pādukās (wooden sandals) and ran behind Him. By the time He caught up with His Guru, the latter had rapidly traversed much of the main street of Sringeri. On seeing Him, the senior Jagadguru’s first words were, “Why are you not wearing pādukās?” He was unaware that He was naked but could not brook His Holiness’s bare feet treading the hot path! His Holiness told Him, “How could I wear them when Your Holiness is walking barefoot?” The senior Jagadguru then acceded to His Holiness’s request and donned the clothes that His Holiness gave Him and wore His pādukās. By this time, an attendant came running with His Holiness’s pādukās. Insisting that His Holiness wear them pronto, the senior Jagadguru returned to Sacchidananda Vilas with His dear disciple. There, He again became indifferent to His body and surroundings and remained so for days, but in the confines of a room. I learnt all this from His Holiness. He firmly opined that as the senior Jagadguru was a jīvanmukta par excellence, neither His normal behaviour nor His abnormal state affected His steady abidance in the Supreme Brahman in any way.

His Holiness firmly opined that as the senior Jagadguru was a jīvanmukta par excellence, neither His normal behaviour nor His abnormal state affected His steady abidance in the Supreme Brahman in any way.

The senior Jagadguru disapproved of devotees preferring to have His darśana to that of His Holiness. Hence, when they came to have His darśana, He would ask, “Have you had the Guru’s darśana?” If they replied in the negative or equivocally, He promptly directed them to His Holiness. Quite often, He instructed them to take mantrākṣata also from His Holiness. Some Maṭha staff and disciples have reliably reported that the senior Jagadguru said that His Holiness was divine and that He often found some reason or the other to stand up when His Holiness came or even to open a door to let His Holiness pass.

In 1936 it was decided, at Srikanta Sastry’s instance, that His Holiness proceed to Bengaluru and stay there for some time, concentrating on His study of Tarka under Ramachandra Sastry. His Holiness travelled to Bengaluru by car, with a day’s halt en route. At Bengaluru, as recalled by Ramappaiah who was His Holiness’s cook at that time, His Holiness used to be up around 4:30 in the morning and, after performing āsanas and prāṇāyāma and taking a bath, performed āhnika and meditation till 9:00 a.m. Thereafter, He used to engage Himself assiduously in His studies till His afternoon bath, anuṣthāna and bhikṣā at 1:00 p.m. Then He used to again refer to His books till evening when He used to go for a stroll in the grounds of the Shankara Math. He used to take a bath after that and perform His evening āhnika. He did pūjā in private twice to a Śiva-liṅga made of crystal. Ramachandra Sastry took classes for Him every day.

Within a few months of His Holiness’s return (in 1937), the senior Jagadguru had to proceed, in 1938, to Bengaluru for performing the kumbhābhiṣeka of the temple for Goddess Śāradā in the Shankara Math there. His Holiness travelled to Bengaluru, attended the consecration and returned to Sringeri shortly thereafter. The senior Jagadguru proceeded to Kalady and observed the cāturmāsya of 1939 there and returned to Sringeri in 1940. He did not undertake any tour thereafter. In the periods when His Holiness was at Bengaluru and the senior Jagadguru at Sringeri and when His Holiness was at Sringeri and His Guru was on tour, They exchanged letters frequently; in all, His Holiness penned 27 missives and the senior Jagadguru, 22. Here are the scanned versions and the English translations of some of them. All the letters were penned in the Sanskrit language; the senior Jagadguru used the Telugu script, while His Holiness used the devanāgarī script or the Kannada script.

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1. The following letter was penned by His Holiness on 25^th July 1937 at Bengaluru; the senior Jagadguru was at Sringeri.

Oṁ namaḥ

25.7.1937: Kalyāṇa-nagara (Bengaluru)

(Verse:) I daily prostrate with devotion before the pre-eminent Guru’s feet, which are merciful to devotees and an infinitesimal exposure to the lustre of which always destroys the entire darkness (of ignorance) of the mind.

I am keeping good health. To the extent that time permits and to the best of my ability, I am revising the texts studied earlier. In deference to the directive of Your Holiness, I am learning the Mīmāṁsā work Āpadevī (Nyāya-prakāśa of Āpadeva), from Mahāmahopādhyāya Vaidyanatha Sastry. I experienced extreme delight on hearing about the greatly improved physical condition of Your glorious Holiness. On the full moon day of āṣāḍha (24^th July, 1937), I took, in keeping with tradition, the cāturmāsya-saṅkalpa (the resolve to stay in a place for the duration of the cāturmāsya) at the temple of Śaṅkara-bhagavatpāda. Offering my salutations many times, I humbly and repeatedly submit that I may be enabled to have the darśana of Your exalted Holiness even before Navarātri. All is well here by the grace of the Lord of the universe. I request Your venerable Holiness to kindly pen an epistle about Your Holiness’s cāturmāsya.

(Verse:) By means of numerous unassailable arguments destructive of opposing schools of thought, He drove away all the Buddhists, who had internal divisions and had taken possession of the earth, coveted by the asuras, and restored it to its pristine state. May He, our pre-eminent preceptor of Advaita, Śaṅkara, who is the sun to the lotuses of the Vedas and is of the image of Dakṣiṇāmūrti, confer happiness on those who are in dread of saṁsāra.

Everything is propitious.

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2. The following letter was written by the senior Jagadguru from Sringeri to His Holiness who was at Bengaluru.

Salutations to the glorious Guru.

May the recollections made of the glorious Nārāyaṇa, preceded by cogitation of the unity between the inner Self and Brahman manifest well with regard to the glorious young king of ascetics. My heart rejoiced on knowing from your letter about your good physical health, your exposition of the import of the text ‘Śatakoṭi’ in the Vidvat-sadas and your having got your disciple to talk on ‘avacchedakatā’. There is no doubt that this year’s sabhā shall progress well. The gathering of scholars does serve to engender interest in the study of the śāstras. Usually, many congregate. I bless that by the grace of Śrī-Śāradā-Candramaulīśvara, you have the proficiency to make all the assembled scholars experience incomparable delight (by your exposition). By the grace of the Guru (the 33^rd pontiff), I am well here. Thus is one’s own good.

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3. The following letter was penned by His Holiness on 21^st September, 1938 at Sringeri; the senior Jagadguru was then in Bengaluru.

Om

Bhādrapada-kṛṣṇa-ekādaśī (Sringeri)

(Verse:) My salutation to the ascetic whose mind is absorbed in consciousness and the lustre of whose feet destroys the blinding darkness of avidyā.

Having seen the epistle graced by the worshipful Ācārya (Preceptor, the senior Jagadguru), my mind decidedly became profusely joyful. The Gaṇapati-(Vākyārtha-Vidvat-)Sadas was greatly enjoyed by the scholars. I eagerly beseech directives from Your Worshipful Holiness about the observances to be followed by me during the Navarātri festivities. I deem myself to be well by the grace of the foremost Ācārya. I await an epistle with Your Holiness’s instructions.

Everything is propitious.

One having the feet of the pre-eminent Ācārya as refuge.

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4. The following letter was penned by the senior Jagadguru in Bengaluru and was His reply to the above-mentioned letter of His Holiness.

Salutations to the glorious Guru.

May the recollections made of the glorious Nārāyaṇa preceded by cogitation of the unity between the inner Self and Brahman manifest well with regard to the glorious young king of ascetics. Presently, having known from your letter and that of the scholar Ramachandra Sastry regarding your exposition of the import of the śāstra in the sabhā, I am extremely pleased.

In the Navarātri festival which is at hand, conduct yourself in such a way that there is not even an iota of strain on your body, by taking recourse, without laxity, to food, sleep, etc., at the appropriate times. As done last year, having completed the Śiva-pūjā, etc., by 8:30 in the morning, entering the temple of the holy Goddess and worshipping there till 10 o’clock, proceeding to the river and worshipping the same followed by darśana of the Gurus at the samādhis and completing the afternoon anuṣṭhāna, you must complete bhikṣā by 1 o’clock. This year, let there not be excessive japa and the like. As before, proceeding to the temple at 8:30 in the night and completing dīpārādhanā by 10 o’clock, you should quickly resort to comfortable sleep. At this age (of yours), this much is sufficient.

People who have assembled there attain undiminishing good by being devoted to the mother, father and the Guru and acting in accordance with injunctions, such as, “Revere the mother as a god.” What need is there to write more in this regard to you who, by the performance of appropriate anuṣṭhāna, are devoutly resolved in conferring higher good upon all?

At the time of having darśana at the samādhis, chant the Guruparamparā-stuti, the ten peace invocations and also the Dakṣiṇāmūrti-stotra.

All is auspicious.

(Verse:) O Goddess! O Ocean of mercy! Give firm belief in the performance of the appropriate sva-dharma and the necessary physical strength for achieving that end. Further, confer long life, fame, total disinterest in the path of sin, the company of the holy and the hearing of holy stories. Having given these, O beloved of Brahmā, quickly give knowledge and a pure mind.

Salutations to the glorious Mother, Śāradā.

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5. The following letter was penned by His Holiness on 1^st February, 1939 at Sringeri; the senior Jagadguru was then in Bengaluru:

Om

Māgha-śuddha-ekādaśī (Sringeri)

Om.

(Verse:) Bowing low with humility, the disciple-bee gently touches, with constant faith, the celebrated Guru’s feet that are lotuses with the nectar of mercy.

All is well. By Your Holiness’s grace, I am well here. I received, a few days back, the epistle graced by Your glorious Holiness. Having read it, and coming to know of the tidings, I felt very happy. Having accorded focus to the study of the śāstra and to the duties ordained for a saṁnyāsin, I am decidedly profusely happy and free from mental and physical discomforts. The study of (the Nyāya work) Śakti-vāda will be concluding soon. Learning of the indisposition of his mother, Veda-brahma- Śrī Ramachandra Sastry has gone to his native village to attend to her medical treatment. Currently, I have with me one pair of spectacles, prescribed to ward off the discomfort in my eyes. Noting that managing with just this pair of (dark) power glasses all the time is difficult, I have written to Veda-brahma-śrī Srikanta Sastry about my requiring another pair of glasses too.

One desirous of beholding the worshipful Ācārya and having the feet of the pre-eminent Ācārya as refuge.

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6. The following letter was penned by His Holiness on 21^st February, 1939 at Sringeri; the senior Jagadguru was then in Bengaluru.

Om

Phālguṇa-śuddha-pratipat (Sringeri)

Om. Having performed sāṣṭāṅga- namaskāra (full prostration) at the lotus feet of the pre-eminent Ācārya, I humbly submit as follows:

All is well. By the grace of the pre-eminent Ācārya, as of today, I am in good health and of contented mind. Veda-brahma- śrī Ramachandra Sastry arrived here on dvādaśī (16^th February). I am looking into the ‘Savyabhichāra’ and ‘Sāmānya-nirukti’ texts (of the Nyāya-śāstra) with the scholars. On śivarātri (that was on 18^th February 1939), I worshipped Lord Mallikārjuna on the hill (that is, the liṅga at the Malahānikareśvara Temple) dedicatedly in the morning as per the tradition and, at night, I performed śata-rudra-abhiṣeka (abhiṣeka with the chanting of the Vedic Śrī-Rudra a hundred times) to the liṅga that I worship daily. The chariot-festival (of Malahānikareśvara, conducted that year on 19^th February) also went on well, as per procedure.

During the forthcoming Durgāmbā-festival (the chariot-festival at the Durgā Temple near Sringeri, due that year on 28^th February, 1939), should I go to the Durgā Temple or not? If I should go, when should I go and, having gone there, what all should I do? In this matter, the revered Ācārya is the authority. I am looking forward to an epistle (of Your Holiness) with directives. The above-mentioned is my humble submission. Everything is propitious.

One desirous of beholding the worshipful Ācārya and having the feet of the pre-eminent Ācārya as refuge.

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7. The following letter written by the senior Jagadguru on 7.7.1939 at Kalady; His Holiness was at Sringeri.

Salutations to the glorious Guru.

(Verse:) I salute the lineage of Gurus commencing with Sadāśiva, having Śaṅkarācārya in the middle and ending with my Guru.

(Verse:) I repeatedly bow to the divinities Keśava and Śaṅkara who appeared as Bādarāyaṇa and Śaṅkarācārya and authored the Brahma-sūtras and the commentary thereon.

May the recollections made of the glorious Nārāyaṇa, preceded by cogitation of the unity between the inner Self and Brahman manifest well with regard to the glorious young king of ascetics.

Presently, by the compassion of the glorious Guru (the 33^rd pontiff), I am well. Unimpeded joy is being experienced by me having known from the previous two epistles written by you and by the letter of Brahmaśrī (Ramachandra) Sastry that your body is healthy and that studies are going on without obstacles. I presume that the text ‘Satpratipakṣa’ is completed. Since the vyāvahārika portion is somewhat difficult, it must be repeatedly cogitated upon.

This year, due to the additional month of śrāvaṇa, the cāturmāsya vow must be observed for three months. You should pray daily in Śāradāmbā’s presence that all people should resort to proper practices and perform virtuous deeds and, by this means, attain knowledge of the Truth and become happy. For your happiness, I am sending herewith mantrākṣatas (rice grains mixed with turmeric powder), the holy prasāda of Vyāsa.

All is auspicious.

7.7.1939

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His Holiness’s studies in Tarka were as yet incomplete when a Tarka scholar from North India came to Sringeri to seek some clarifications from the senior Jagadguru. The senior Jagadguru directed the paṇḍita to His Holiness but the scholar was hesitant and sought help from the senior Jagadguru Himself. “Let him give the necessary explanation. If your doubts are still not dispelled, I shall clarify,” said the senior Jagadguru. Unconvinced, but not in a position to say anything, the scholar settled down to hear what he presupposed would be the inept mumblings of a novice. He was taken aback when he heard a torrential flow of intricate points from His Holiness; all his doubts were resolved. He realised his folly in underestimating His Holiness’s expertise and, after due apology, returned home satiated and wiser in more ways than one.

Unconvinced but not in a position to say anything, the scholar settled down to hear what he presupposed would be the inept mumblings of a novice. He was taken aback when he heard a torrential flow of intricate points from His Holiness; all his doubts were resolved.

On another occasion, a scholar came to the senior Jagadguru for philosophical discussions. He too was directed to His Holiness who provided all the necessary clarifications. On beholding the senior Jagadguru seated with His teenaged disciple, a scholar well-versed in the Sāma-veda thought, “How difficult it must be for Him to train such a young disciple. Indeed, it must be a burden on Him.” Abruptly, the senior Jagadguru asked the preoccupied Vedic scholar to chant the Sāma-veda. The man stood up but found words failing him. He had mastered the Sāma-veda in its entirety but in spite of his best efforts nothing was forthcoming. Addressing him, the senior Jagadguru said, “Śāradāmbā is there to take care of things and everything goes on as per Her wish. She is His (His Holiness’s) guardian.” The Veda-paṇḍita realised his folly in presuming that His Holiness was an ordinary teenager, training whom would be a nuisance. It was only after the senior Jagadguru’s return from Kalady and His Holiness had become an authority on the Nyāya-śāstra that, in the 1940s, His Holiness was formally taught Vedānta by His Guru. His Holiness told me that His Guru personally taught Him, with sub-commentaries, the Bhagavadgītā-bhāṣya, Taittīrīya-upaniṣad-bhāṣya and the Brahmasūtra-bhāṣya, and then the Iśāvāsya-upaniṣad-bhāṣya, Kena-upaniṣad-bhāṣya and Kaṭha-upaniṣad-bhāṣya. I did not ask Him whether the senior Jagadguru taught Him texts other than the bhāṣyas. His Holiness told me on different occasions how wonderful His Guru’s teaching was. Even decades later, He clearly recalled what His Guru had taught Him and even exactly reproduced His words with ease.

His Holiness told me on different occasions how wonderful His Guru’s teaching was. Even decades later, He clearly recalled what His Guru had taught Him and even reproduced His exact words comfortably.

When He first came to Sringeri in 1930, He did not know swimming but gradually mastered it to the extent that He was as much at home in water as on land. He swam with the grace of a fish and the more torrential the current, the greater was His affinity to the flow. Years later, when He went on tours as the pontiff, He did not let slip the opportunity to swim in various mighty rivers, such as the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Narmadā, and Kāverī, and the ocean, in many places.

The 33^rd pontiff was an expert swimmer. Any stretch of water, dangerous though it be, was an irresistible invitation to Him. He had the ability to hold His breath for a protracted period of time and, on occasions, used to frighten His attendants by diving under water and remaining there for a long time. The senior Jagadguru, on the contrary, was thoroughly unfamiliar with swimming and was never given to frolic. His Holiness, for His part, was like His Paramaguru (Guru’s Guru). When He first came to Sringeri in 1930, He did not know swimming but gradually mastered it to the extent that He was as much at home in water as on land. He swam with the grace of a fish and the more torrential the current, the greater was His affinity to the flow. He began jumping into the Tuṅgā from high trees and swam long distances even when the river was swollen because of rains. Years later, when He went on tours as the pontiff, He did not let slip the opportunity to swim in various mighty rivers, such as the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Narmadā and Kāverī, and the ocean, in many places. Trying His hand at rowing a wooden boat used to ferry people across the river in Sringeri, He soon became a fine oarsman. Perhaps because of His ignorance of swimming and His intense love for His Holiness, the senior Jagadguru used to become jittery whenever His Holiness plunged into the river. He did not expressly forbid His pupil from having the Tuṅgā for His companion but was heard remarking when His Holiness swam in the swollen Tuṅgā, “Oh! What is he up to? How dangerous all this is. I really hope nothing untoward happens.”

Full of life, His Holiness walked far into the forests and along the banks of the river Tuṅgā. Nageswara Sastry recalled that on an occasion, His Holiness asked him to accompany Him and kept walking for so long that it became dark, making return difficult. Sri Subbaramaiya recalled that His Holiness once asked him whether he would be able to accompany Him to a waterfall a few miles away. He readily agreed. It was late before they were able to return. As they neared Sacchidananda Vilas, His Holiness remarked, “I will slip in through the back door.” Sri Subbaramaiya went to the front of the building. The senior Jagadguru was there and gently enquired about the trip.

The senior Jagadguru had such intense love for His Holiness that when His disciple set out for a walk in the evening, He kept gazing at the receding form of His Holiness till He was out of sight. Now and then, He used to accompany His Holiness to a maṇḍapa, which was once situated about 100 metres to the east of Sacchidananda Vilas. He then sat there till His Holiness went out of sight. If it became late for His Holiness to return, the senior Jagadguru would become visibly restless and start pacing. Shortly thereafter, He would begin making enquiries and then send a person with a lamp to fetch Him. He never reprimanded His Holiness for coming late, though He advised Him not to stay out well after dark.

The senior Jagadguru had such intense love for His Holiness that when His disciple set out for a walk in the evening, He kept gazing at the receding form of His Holiness till He was out of sight. Now and then, He used to accompany His Holiness to a maṇḍapa, which was once situated about 100 metres to the east of Sacchidananda Vilas.

His Holiness told me, “Barring three things, I do not remember having done, even in a dream, on even one occasion, anything that did not meet with my Guru’s approval. The three things were swimming, climbing trees and going for long walks in the forests.” He also remarked that He had on two occasions requested His Guru in person to kindly forgive Him for these three irresistible transgressions and had sought forgiveness once in writing, referring to these three acts of His implicitly. I asked Him, “How did the senior Jagadguru respond?” His Holiness said, “The first time I sought His forgiveness was in the early part of 1936, before I went to Bengaluru. He just smiled and patted me on the cheek. I did so the second time in a letter from Bengaluru. He did not write back anything about this point. The second time I apologised in person was a year after His return from Kalady (that is, in 1941). In response to this, He told me, ‘I cannot even imagine them to be transgressions, for these are exactly the three things my Guru Himself could not resist. Hence, what is there to forgive? Just as fire cannot give up its heat, you cannot give up these, at least for the present. Therefore, it is I who must learn not to worry about what cannot be changed.’ I did not apologise to Him about these thereafter.”

At that time, I did not ask His Holiness further about His apology in writing. After having been blessed with the opportunity to peruse His Holiness’s letters to His Guru, I understood that the written apology was in the form of a verse in the letter penned by Him on 19^th September, 1937. That letter begins with a verse and ends with two verses, all composed by His Holiness; the apology is in the second verse. The meanings of the three verses are: “(First verse:) I seek refuge in the lustrous preceptor, whose lotus feet are embellished by (glorified by) the Upaniṣads and who eradicates the sorrows of those who pay obeisance to Him. (Second verse:) Because of childishness or fickleness, I have, knowingly or unknowingly, committed transgressions. May the revered Guru deign to forgive them. (Third verse:) I yearn to behold the Guru who is the divine antidote for the malady of transmigration and on beholding whom, one attains peace.”

The senior Jagadguru gave His Holiness a crystal liṅga for His private worship. He gradually handed over the performance of the Candramaulīśvara-pūjā to His Holiness on most days and contented Himself with the praises He heard of His Holiness’s concentration and devout performance of the pūjā.

The senior Jagadguru had conveyed to the Government that His Holiness’s views may be taken as His own. Though this empowered His Holiness to freely take decisions within the framework of government control, His Holiness was particular that nothing should be done that would not meet with the approval of His Guru. Whenever His Holiness strongly felt that His Guru’s explicit directive was urgently needed, the senior Jagadguru did give it even when He was in a secluded state. An instance of this was narrated to me by S. G. Narasimhaiyya. The government submitted a panel of names from which the pontiff of Sringeri was requested to select one as the head of the Sivaganga Math, a branch of the Sringeri Math. Narasimhaiyya took the matter to His Holiness for a decision. His Holiness could have chosen a person Himself but He keenly felt that His Guru’s view on this was imperative. He asked Narasimhaiyya to proceed to the senior Jagadguru and ascertain His choice. Much to Narasimhaiyya’s surprise, the senior Jagadguru did choose a person from the list, even though before and after doing so He was in a world of His own and non-communicative.

Whenever His Holiness took a decision, He did it so well that not only was the senior Jagadguru saved from problems but was also fully satisfied. For instance, in the 1950s, a labour problem brewed, with the ryots of the Maṭha’s Jahagirs forming a committee and demanding parity with those in the lands belonging to the Mysore State (now Karnataka). The senior Jagadguru was inaccessible at that time. His Holiness took the initiative to meet the committee members and gave them a patient hearing. This pleased them. He then sent them a written message through the Private Secretary, S. G. Narasimhaiyya. A rendering of that Kannada message into English is as follows:

“Your letter dated Thursday, the 11^th was submitted to Śrī Sannidhānam (as His Holiness was referred to, with the senior Jagadguru being referred to as Śrī Mahāsannidhānam) and as per His command, following is the reply that is to be given to you:

“We are happy to learn that you, the God-fearing devotees of the Guru, have come forward to form a committee in the interests of the general public. We are happy that you will be serving the public and for this we pray to Śrī-Śāradā-Candramaulīśvara.

“We are aware that the ryots of the Maṭha should be helped in their efforts for betterment in all spheres. But as you know, the villages which were under the Maṭha have been, for the past 18 years, taken over by the government. Hence, the matter raised in your representation should be decided by the government, which has to go into the matter.

“We also feel that the ryots of the Maṭha should enjoy the same facilities as those enjoyed by the other villages that come under the Mysore Government and that the Maṭha ryots should not have anything to complain about.

“We are happy that devoted people like you are coming forward to take up the charitable work in the tradition of the Maṭha. I pray to Parameśvara to grant all of you good health and long life.

“May all beings be happy.”

As can be seen, the reply reveals His Holiness’s concern for the welfare of the ryots as also His tact in the face of a situation where the possibility of abolition of the Jahagirs was looming large and the key to granting or not granting the parity the ryots desired lay in the hands of the State Government. Importantly, the committee members and the ryots were satisfied with His Holiness’s response.

His Holiness never hesitated to issue any instruction as per the senior Jagadguru’s bidding as also to modify or reverse it one or more times subsequently if that is what His Guru merely felt or obliquely hinted should be done. In all circumstances, He saw to it that credit alone went to His Guru and He shouldered any discredit. The following dialogue that I had with His Holiness in 1982 throws light on His high regard for the senior Jagadguru and His unquestioning obedience to His Guru.

I: Has Your Holiness ever felt hurt that the senior Jagadguru dismissed any view or feeling of Your Holiness?

His Holiness: Never.

As He spoke, He grew visibly excited and, with a face flushed with emotion, continued, “I cannot even imagine feeling dissatisfied that my Guru dismissed any view or sentiment of mine. Who indeed was I to even imagine so? He was everything to me and whatever He said or did was perfectly right as far as I was concerned. Had it occurred to me even once that my Guru had insulted me or had not been fair to me, then I would have been the vilest of human beings, fit to be ostracized.” At this juncture, His Holiness’s voice choked with emotion.

“I cannot even imagine feeling dissatisfied that my Guru dismissed any view or sentiment of mine. Who indeed was I to even imagine so? He was everything to me and whatever He said or did was perfectly right as far as I was concerned. Had it occurred to me even once that my Guru had insulted me or had not been fair to me, then I would have been the vilest of human beings, fit to be ostracized.”

• His Holiness

When the senior Jagadguru was entering the 60th year of His earthly life, some ardent disciples conceived the idea of celebrating it in a fitting manner, but He did not accord permission for this. However, when He found that they did not intend to make the celebration a secular affair and that they wanted to arrange for a Sahasra-caṇḍī-mahāyāga for the welfare of all, He consented. The functions were scheduled to be performed in the middle of 1953, months after His Ṣaṣṭyabdapūrti. However, the well-known trait of the senior Jagadguru retiring into Himself and avoiding publicity of any sort came to the fore and He abstained from taking part in the religious functions, though He kept Himself acquainted with the same. It was His Holiness who made arrangements not only for the conduct of Sahasra-caṇḍī but also for the feeding and stay of the large number of people who visited Sringeri on the occasion. He presided over the rites and actively sustained the enthusiasm of the people that would have otherwise waned because of the senior Jagadguru’s absence. In the course of a speech in 1977 at Chennai, His Holiness recounted, “I requested my Guru to grace the pūrṇāhuti. He said, ‘If the Lord is pleased, He will make it rain.’ When the pūrṇāhuti commenced, the sky was completely clear, without any cloud of even the size of a one-rupee coin visible. However, as the pūrṇāhuti progressed, dark clouds gathered and there was a downpour.”

“I requested my Guru to grace the pūrṇāhuti. He said, ‘If the Lord is pleased, He will make it rain.’ When the pūrṇāhuti commenced, the sky was completely clear, without any cloud of even the size of a one-rupee coin visible. However, as the pūrṇāhuti progressed, dark clouds gathered and there was a downpour.”

• His Holiness

In August 1954, the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, visited Sringeri. Seeing the silver palanquin being readied to receive the head of State, the senior Jagadguru directed his Private Secretary, S. G. Narasimhaiyya, to send the golden palanquin instead. On seeing it, Rajendra Prasad asked who used that. On learning that the senior Jagadguru had occupied it in the past, He refused outright to sit in it and, saying that it was worthy of salutations, paid respects to it. He hesitated to stay in Chandramouleshwara Thotti because it was the building occupied at times by the senior Jagadguru, but consented to do so only when he was told that that was what the senior Jagadguru specifically wanted him to do. The meeting between the senior Jagadguru and the President took place in Goddess Śāradāmbā’s temple. His Holiness, who was present, translated into Sanskrit for His Guru what Rajendra Prasad said in Hindi and translated for him into chaste Hindi what the senior Jagadguru spoke in Sanskrit. The President was highly impressed and the senior Jagadguru was pleased. Rajendra Prasad was scheduled to leave in the afternoon but wished to stay longer; some more discussions were also pending. Dexterously handling the situation, His Holiness told the President at the close of the meeting, “We can meet again in the afternoon.” This settled the issue to the visible delight of the President. His Holiness supervised the arrangements for the President’s stay and ensured that he was shown around without delays. He had the President taken to the various shrines in the Maṭha; as per His instructions, when the President approached a shrine, maṅgalārati was promptly performed and the President was briefly told about that shrine. The students and staff of the pāṭhaśālā had been asked to assemble at Bhagavatpāda’s temple and chant one verse per class when the President came there.

Later, Rajendra Prasad called on His Holiness in 1960 at Chennai and on that occasion, His Holiness blessed him with the title ‘Rāṣṭra- ratna (A gem of the nation).’

In those days, discourses delivered at Sringeri by the senior Jagadguru were few and far between. Hence, it was only about a year after His saṁnyāsa that His Holiness gave His first public discourse. He told me, “It was on a Śaṅkara-jayantī that my Guru directed me to speak. I had not addressed a general audience before and was a little ill at ease to do so. Anyway, I just obeyed. Solely on account of His grace, I experienced no difficulty and the discourse was well received. My Guru subsequently told me that He was delighted with it.”

His Holiness’s intense faith in the senior Jagadguru was readily discernible by devotees in various situations. Once, when the senior Jagadguru was touring South India, a devotee prayed to Him for relief from some problems that he was facing. The senior Jagadguru blessed him and gave him a mango as prasāda. “If I consume it, only I shall be purified. Were I to sow it, it will sprout and grow into a big tree yielding many a fruit by which numerous persons will stand to gain,” he thought and planted the seed. Sure enough, a big mango tree grew from that seed but, unfortunately, it yielded no fruits. The devotee was at a loss as to what he should do and so sought His Holiness’s intervention when He was camping at his village and was to visit his house the next day.

His Holiness: Have you been taking care of the tree?

Devotee: I have done all I could and I have also consulted others who know about trees.

His Holiness: Have you invoked the services of a horticulturist?

Devotee: Yes, but even his endeavours were in vain.

His Holiness: I shall look into the matter tomorrow.

The next day, having finished His morning anuṣthāna, His Holiness had the tīrtha-prasāda of Lord Candramaulīśvara taken with Him and proceeded to the devotee’s abode. As scheduled, the devotee performed pādapūjā. At the end of it, he stood before His Holiness with joined palms. “Where is the mango tree?” asked His Holiness, “I desire to see it.” The devotee led Him to the tree. Placing His hand on the tree, He closed His eyes for a moment and declared, “The fruit given by my Guru cannot be unproductive. By His grace, this tree will bear mangoes in the very next season.” Following this unequivocal assertion, He gently stroked the tree with His hands and poured the tīrtha brought by Him at its base. In the very next season, the tree stood adorned with flowers and subsequently with delicious mangoes. When the devotee reported this to His Holiness and submitted some mangoes from that tree, He told him, “Our Guru’s grace is on us. Distribute these fruits.”

When any major development or function took place, He credited it to the grace of His Guru and God. On some occasions, His Holiness said, “My Guru would have been pleased to see the present state of affairs wherein there are funds and scope for the performance of many dhārmika activities.”

When any major development or function took place, He credited it to the grace of His Guru and God. For instance, a large number of coconuts were reaped from the groves in Narasimhavana and Narasimhapura and, later, a big heap of coconut coir was temporarily housed in a corridor of Sacchidananda Vilas. On seeing it, His Holiness’s first reaction was, “My Guru would have been happy to see this.” On some occasions, His Holiness said, “My Guru would have been pleased to see the present state of affairs wherein there are funds and scope for the performance of many dhārmika activities.”

His Holiness personally typed the handwritten text of His Guru’s detailed commentary on the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, gave the material to Ramachandra Sastry to edit and had the book published. In His Śrīmukha to that book, He has mentioned inter alia, “Our revered Ācārya, who is renowned by the name ‘Śrī Candraśekhara Bhāratī’, which ought to be remembered at the start of each day, had performed austerities, was beyond the confines of all schools of thought, was the foremost adept in the performance of what is prescribed in the śāstras, had directly realised the Reality that is the Ātman and was a jīvanmukta.” In His benedictory preface to Śrī-jagadguru-caritāmṛta, a biography of the senior Jagadguru by Bhāṣya-svāmin, He wrote, “Our revered Preceptor was ever focused on Brahman, held Brahman as the ultimate and was a jīvanmukta; His life was an ideal for all āstikas.”

The English rendering of the verses composed by His Holiness on His Guru and included in His letters but not cited so far is as follows:

To those in the darkness of ignorance, He is the sun that is in the sky as also in the space within (the heart). To the multitude of drooping lilies that are the hearts of scholars, He is the moon. To those trapped in the forest of sense objects and without a friend in the path to the Supreme, He is the flaming torch that lights the way. Victorious is the luminous Guru who confers joy on all.

I prostrate before the greatest Guru, who is a kalpavṛkṣa (wish-fulfilling tree) to those who bow, who is worthy of being saluted by pre-eminent knowers of the Truth, who is the fresh sprout of bliss and who is the ocean of the śāstras (or, in other words, is fully conversant with the śāstras).

I pay obeisance to the cloud-like Guru, who abides in (the sky that is) the Supreme Brahman, pours forth the nectar of Vedānta and terminates the sufferings of people.

I salute the glorious, foremost Guru, who is highly gracious to those who pay obeisance and a wee bit of the kindness of whose feet is itself the saviour in the forest of saṁsāra.

I place as a crown on my head Your - my Preceptor’s - pair of pādukā-s, the remembrance of which certainly terminates the mental darkness of mankind.

I prostrate before the lotus-like feet of the glorious King of preceptors by paying obeisance to whom even a dullard becomes akin to the Guru.

Before His Holiness left for Bengaluru in 1936, the senior Jagadguru referred to His extraordinary vision of Śiva (on 5^th December, 1935) and enlightenment (on 12^th December, 1935) and told Him, in private, “I know that you are God Himself and ever perfect. Your engaging in sādhanā and apparently attaining enlightenment were only a part of your divine sport. Your vision of Śiva and your receiving His blessings and instruction a few days before your taking your sādhanā to its culmination were on the same footing as the vision, blessings and instruction of Śiva obtained by Kṛṣṇa (described in the Droṇa-parvan of the Mahābhārata.)”

“I know that you are God Himself and ever perfect. Your engaging in sādhanā and apparently attaining enlightenment were only a part of your divine sport. Your vision of Śiva and your receiving His blessings and instruction a few days before your taking your sādhanā to its culmination were on the same footing as the vision, blessings and instruction of Śiva obtained by Kṛṣṇa.”

• The senior Jagadguru

He even composed eight verses about His Holiness. The first of these was written by Him on the back of a letter that was addressed to Him and penned by His Holiness in Bengaluru on 25^th July, 1937. Its import in English is: “O, Candramaulīśvara, comprehensively protect Abhinava Vidyātīrtha, whose moral principles are ever exquisite and conduct virtuous at all times, by conferring on him good health and a strong physique.” The remaining seven verses were written by the senior Jagadguru on a sheet of paper and given to His Holiness. He noted on that sheet that the month was āśvina and the year was Subhānu; this corresponds to the period 30^th September, 1943 to 29^th October, 1943. The meaning of these seven verses is:

1. O Wise people! Hold in the heart-lotus the Guru, Vidyātīrtha, the young one with a tranquil mind, who is exceedingly compassionate, who destroys the mountain of impediments by His extremely pure glances, who is skilled in protecting everybody, who is known by means of the praṇava (om) and who is the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman.

2. Various good works have been done by the revered Guru (the 33^rd pontiff) for facilitating scriptural learning. O revered one of controlled mind, the protection of what has been done is dependent on your glorious self.

3. Numerous rites and festivals relating to the Gurus and the Divinities have been created to purify the body, the organs and the mind. Your body is their fruit.

4. May Goddess Śāradā, the Destroyer of death Lord Candramaulīśvara (Śiva), the great Hari (Viśṇu) and Goddess Rājarājeśvarī (the consort of Śiva) guard you, the foremost Guru.

5. May Brahmā (the Creator), the sages headed by Vasiṣṭha, my exalted Ācārya (the 33^rd pontiff) and the chaste ladies such as Lopāmudrā (the spouse of Sage Agastya) guard you, the foremost Guru.

6. May Vāṇī, Lakṣmī and Gaurī guard you, the foremost Guru, while you sleep, sit, stand and walk.

7. May you ever protect the casket of Candramaulīśvara, who is all-pervasive (The reference is to the casket in which the Candramaulīśvara-liṅga is kept). Being protected thus by you, may Śiva (literally, the father of Gaṇapati) constantly protect you.

“O Wise people! Hold in the heart-lotus the Guru, Vidyātīrtha, the young one with a tranquil mind, who is exceedingly compassionate, who destroys the mountain of impediments by His extremely pure glances, who is skilled in protecting everybody, who is known by means of the praṇava (om) and who is the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman.”

• The senior Jagadguru

Giving these verses to His Holiness, the senior Jagadguru said, “I have written only what I definitely know to be true about you. There is no exaggerated praise here.” What an extraordinary Guru-Śiṣya relationship!