CHAPTER 17 At Home With the Young

Though children and great sages are poles apart since the former are devoid of knowledge while the latter have reached the acme of insight, sages seem to be often attracted towards children, perhaps because of the latter’s innocence. His Holiness was no exception. He readily extended His affection and kindness to them.

Sages seem to be often attracted towards children, perhaps because of the latter’s innocence. His Holiness was no exception. He readily extended His affection and kindness to them.

On an occasion, His Holiness was seated in the front veranda of Sacchidananda Vilas in Narasimhavana giving darśana to the assembled devotees. At the rear end of the gathering stood a young boy and his sister. His Holiness noticed them as they were straining to get a clear view of Him. He quickly beckoned to them to come near Him. Eagerly, the boy and the girl approached Him. His Holiness tenderly enquired their names. The children were thrilled to hear His Holiness speak to them and joyfully gave their names. “Where are your parents?,” His Holiness then asked. “As we wished to see Your Holiness, we crossed the Tuṅgā and came here,” replied the boy. “Our parents have gone to see some of the places on the other side of the river.” His Holiness was pleased with the faith of the children and graciously asked, “What do you wish?” The children sought to be blessed that they progress in their studies. His Holiness readily gave His benediction and prophesied, “You will turn out to be good graduates.” He blessed the children with silver coins of Śāradāmbā, which are normally given only to those who perform pādapūjā. If He found young ones to be sincere enough, He did not even hesitate to bless them with mantropadeśa and initiate them into the spiritual path at a young age itself.

He had, on more than one occasion, given students private interviews, clarified their doubts – material and spiritual – and also solved their problems. His smiling countenance and easy approachability generally put the young questioners totally at ease so that the boys and girls felt at home with Him. In spite of His tight schedule, He normally did not turn down requests from schools for addressing students. In His message to them, He stressed the importance of their duties – sincerity towards studies and inculcating good traits. He exhorted them to cultivate the eight ātmaguṇas listed by sage Gautama. These eight qualities are: Compassion towards all beings, forbearance, freedom from jealousy, purity (physical and mental), freedom from laziness, auspiciousness, absence of stinginess and freedom from attachment. His Holiness’s exposition of these may be seen later in this book in the chapter titled Cogent Elucidations.

His Holiness taught the young that it was important that they should be grateful, respectful and obedient to their parents, elders and teachers. He pointed out that ingratitude was, according to the scripture, unpardonable. Since parents normally accompanied their young wards when the latter were addressed by His Holiness, He reserved some advice for them as well. He said that narrating to their wards good stories from the purāṇas served to strengthen their moral values. For instance, on hearing the story of Hariścandra and of the success he attained in the end, one may feel inclined to speak the truth. His Holiness told the parents that loving their wards and paying suitable attention to them is necessary and they should do what they can to ensure that their children do not go astray.

A certain devotee’s son had no inclination towards religion. Much as the father tried to goad him and put him in the theistic path, he could not succeed. He submitted his plight to His Holiness. His Holiness told him, “While you are the cause of your offspring’s birth, like every child, he has brought with him saṁskāras (impressions and tendencies) from his previous lives. Those tendencies do have an influence on the way he thinks and behaves. For your part, you should persuasively tell him what is good for him and set an example by the way you conduct yourself. That will suffice. Do not be unduly perturbed over this.” It dawned on the devotee that parents have the responsibility to see that their children imbibe good values. However, despite their sincere and repeated efforts, if a child does not assimilate those values owing to strong adverse tendencies of the past, parents have little choice but to remain calm and unperturbed.

When His Holiness was camping at Dharwad, at the request of the Headmistress of an orphanage, He readily consented to visit the school. The Headmistress showed His Holiness around the place. She then introduced her wards to Him one by one, saying, ‘I found this one abandoned in a railway station at the age of three. This one was picked up from a dustbin...’ As He listened to her and saw the orphans, his heart melted and He was visibly moved.

His Holiness taught the young that it was important that they should be grateful, respectful and obedient to their parents, elders and teachers.

“Despite the sincere and repeated efforts of the parents, if a child does not assimilate good values owing to strong adverse tendencies of the past, parents have little choice but to remain calm and unperturbed.”

His Holiness

He was at the Shankara Math, Shankarapura, Bengaluru, for His Cāturmāsya in 1987. One morning, students of Shree Ramana Maharshi Academy for the Blind were brought there; they wanted to sing bhajans in His presence. To fulfil their wish, He, who had finished giving tīrtha-prasāda, continued to sit in the hall. The bhajans commenced. The sheer impact of the chorus was such that in less than a minute, tears swelled in His eyes. He made no attempt to contain them for almost the entire duration of about thirty minutes. After they were done, the children were lined up in a queue to receive His blessings. He blessed them by firmly placing a fruit in the outstretched palms of each and every one of them. He also gave away gifts of clothes to them.

Usha Venkatachalam recalled: “I was a kid of four when in 1964, His Holiness graced our house during His visit to Tirunelveli. He blessed us all with prasāda and got into His car, about to leave. I was happily engrossed in some play inside the house and did not realize that His Holiness was leaving. That was when, from deep inside the lengthy passage of our village house where I was at play, I heard the sound of His car start. I darted from inside screaming, ‘Guru-svāmi is leaving.’ Hearing my shrill shout, His Holiness instructed His driver to stop. It took me a while to cover the long distance to the veranda. He waited for me despite His tight schedule. Once I approached the car, He gave me a fruit and most lovingly blessed me placing His lotus hand on my head.”

B. R. Vidyashankar was eleven when he had this memorable encounter with Him: “In December 1976, I tagged along with my grandparents to Panaji where His Holiness was then camping. It was about six in the morning. While all others were up and about by then, I was still fast sleep. His Holiness came out to behold the ārati of the dhanur-māsa-pūjā to Candramaulīśvara. I was then woken up by my grandparents; I later learnt that He had indicated to my grandparents to let me be. Still sleepy, I stood there rubbing my eyes as He was on His way inside. Prodded by my grandmother, I prostrated before Him. I was unmindful of having been in my shorts and shirt. He beckoned me to follow Him and led me to His room on the fourth floor. ‘How do you find Goa? Are you having a nice time?’ He asked me. I was fully awake by then, thanks to the little walk. ‘Yes, having a good time,’ I replied. He stood at the big open window that overlooked the harbour and asked me to come near. It was dark outside on that winter morning.

In the lights of the ships and boats there, I could see the harbour and the Mandovi River. What a beautiful sight it was! He made it all the more memorable for me as He pointed out, ‘Look at that large ship over there at a distance. Do you also see the Mandovi River that is meeting the sea? See how beautiful the scene is!’ After that, He did not send me empty-handed. He blessed me with a pack of dates. What a way to be woken up at the start of a day! By His grace, I can relive every bit of that fascinating experience to this day.”

The following was recalled by Ramanatha Sastry: “I went with Vaarini, my two-year old daughter to His Holiness’s Coimbatore camp for His darśana. As we were about to take leave, He pointed to the tray of fruits in front of Him to Vaarini and asked her to indicate her favourite one. She looked at the collection for a while and refused to choose any. She mumbled something; I clarified that she liked biscuits and that was what she did not find there. He promptly despatched one of His attendants to get a packet of biscuits. On seeing the packet brought, her face lit in delight. But not all was so smooth. He handed to her two biscuits from the packet. Vaarini refused to take the bait. She wanted all of the packet and remonstrated right there. After a few moments of harmless teasing, seeing her unrelenting, He put those couple of biscuits back in the packet and now held it forth for her. Her anger turned to glee in a trice and she snatched the pack from His hands. With a smile, He remarked, ‘Look at her self-esteem at this tender age. She is just about two and is so assertive and demanding!’”

His Holiness knew of seven-year-old Rajalakshmi’s fondness for pomegranates. He asked her to pick her choice from the tray of fruits in front of Him. Unable to find any pomegranates there, she settled for an apple and picked it. He then pulled out a large bright red pomegranate that He had concealed behind Him. She wanted that. “You have made your choice already. Why ask for this now?” He teased. After some pleading, she had both from Him.

His Holiness was in Kalady in 1980 for Śaṅkara-jayantī and an Atirudra-mahāyajña. Young Viswanath went there with his grandparents. Having helped himself to a sumptuous lunch at Thekke Madom, he went to sleep in the shade of a tree in the garden. By about 3 p.m., His Holiness came to Thekke Madom on His rounds. He was accompanied by Ramaswamy and Mahabala, His personal attendants. Seeing Viswanath sleeping there, Ramaswamy tried to shake him out of his slumber, saying, “Get up, get up! His Holiness is on His way here.” With his eyes still shut, Viswanath summarily dismissed the intrusion. “Don’t lie! His Holiness is in Kalady; I am in Bangalore (Bengaluru),” He muttered and quietly went back to sleep. Watching all this from a distance, His Holiness was amused. He instructed that the boy not be disturbed and walked on. Around 5 p.m., Ramaswamy informed Viswanath of what had transpired a couple of hours back. The next morning, when His Holiness was blessing the devotees with tīrtha-prasāda at the usual hour, guilt and shame tormented Viswanath, holding him back from approaching His Holiness. Eventually, he joined the queue. When his turn came, he extended his hand in front of His Holiness, taking care to avoid eye contact. Slowly pouring tīrtha into his cupped palm, His Holiness queried, “Oh! When did you arrive from Bengaluru? Who all have come with you?” His Holiness knew very well that he had been there for a few days by then. Viswanath silently scampered away and sipped the tīrtha. Fully eased out of his shame and tension by His Holiness’s gentle teasing, he grinned sheepishly to himself. He even relished reliving the event again and again.

A child asked His Holiness, “Did a crocodile grasp Your foot when You were young?” “No,” He responded, “that happened in the case of Śaṅkara-bhagavatpāda.” The child asked, “Then who are You?” “Oh, I am just someone who is getting along because of Him,” responded His Holiness, to the amusement of all present there.

He had a knack of making every child feel that He singled him or her out to shower His singular love. Invariably, all of them felt dearest to Him.

Almost every child who had the good fortune of beholding His Holiness would have one or the other cherished memory associated with Him. He had a knack of making every child feel that He singled him or her out to shower His singular love. Invariably, all of them felt dearest to Him.