← Ramana Periya Puranam

Perumal Swami

Perumal Swami was a rough edged ‘boulder’ with a robust body and a tough demeanour. He came to Bhagavan in Virupaksha cave in 1914. He was well known in Tiruvannamalai town and had many wealthy friends. Perumal Swami could have lived very affluently even as a sadhu because his friends would have looked after him very well. The first meeting with Bhagavan left him awestruck. He accepted Bhagavan as his guru and chose to beg for him in the streets of Tiruvannamalai.

He prevented many untoward things from happening to Bhagavan. Once, when he and Palani Swami had gone to town leaving Bhagavan alone in the cave, a group of fierce looking bairagi sadhus arrived with swords and spears. They said, “We are from the Podhigai hills, the kingdom of the siddhars. The head of the siddhars told us that there is a ripe soul in Arunachala who needs the final initiation. He commanded us to bring you there. Whether you accept it or not, we are going to physically remove you to the Podhigai hills.” Bhagavan sat silently, unmoved. Some of the shepherd boys heard the commotion and rushed to report to Perumal Swami. He ran back to Virupaksha cave and in one look sized up the situation. He told the bairagis, “I come from a nearby village. Last night, I had a dream in which the chief siddhar of the Podhigai hills appeared and said, ‘My disciples will be coming to Virupaksha cave tomorrow. Go there and ready a cauldron of oil. Fry them in that cauldron and bring their fried bodies to me.’” Then he ordered the shepherd boys, “Hey! Go and bring the firewood. I will go into town and bring a cauldron and some tins of oil so that we can fry these people.” The bairagis fled and that was the end of the story!

Perumal Swami had the managerial qualities that Palani Swami did not. However, being a forceful man had its drawbacks. When Bhagavan’s mother came to stay at Virupaksha cave, Perumal Swami disliked it and shouted, “Get out! You cannot stay here.” Though deeply hurt, she obeyed. Tucking her one sari or so in a bundle under her arm, she walked out sadly. Bhagavan, who was seated outside, got up, took the bundle from her with tender affection and said, “Come, let us go away from where we are not needed.” Perumal Swami fell at Bhagavan’s feet and requested them to stay.

When Bhagavan went to Skandashram, Perumal Swami also went along. Among Bhagavan’s attendants, there was one Yazhpani from Sri Lanka. (Sri Lanka was also known as Yazhpanam and so he was called Yazhpani.) He was a scrupulously clean person. He would sweep Skandashram daily and keep everything spic and span. His reputation was equally spotless; whenever Bhagavan returned to the Skandashram and leaves were scattered about, he would ask, “Is Yazhpani not here?” Once, Yazhpani spread a paste of cow dung on the rough, soft earth of Skandashram to make the ground smoother and harder. When Perumal Swami who was like the manager of Skandashram came and saw it still wet and slippery, he became livid and shouted, “Yazhpani, get out of Skandashram!” Yazhpani was a very sincere devotee of Bhagavan. He could not leave Bhagavan but also wanted to obey the orders of the manager. Being a clever man, he tried to find a way out. Inside Skandashram was a tall coconut tree that protruded outside its grounds. He quickly climbed to the top of the tree and stayed there. Now, he was technically ‘out’ of Skandashram without leaving it! Everyone pleaded with him to come down but he refused. At lunch, Bhagavan noticed that Yazhpani was missing. The other devotees then related what had happened. Bhagavan got up, went to the coconut tree and gently said, “Yazhpani, why not come down and share the food.” He spoke so softly that this man came down like a child and started eating his food. Another day, Bhagavan was heard saying, “I had a notebook in which I had written some verses. A person from Uttarkashi has taken it but has not returned it. It is several months now. I needed that notebook.” Yazhpani disappeared for many days. He went to Uttarkashi, got the notebook back from that person and presented it to Bhagavan. Bhagavan was very happy. Yazhpani told the other devotees that it had taken him several days without a minute’s rest to fulfill his guru’s wish. That was the one-pointed devotion he had for Bhagavan.

There was another sadhu living at Skandashram called Sepoy Swami. (‘Sepoy’ means soldier and he was called so because he was a retired army man.) He was therefore habituated to military etiquette. Very devoted to Bhagavan, he expressed his devotion by guarding Bhagavan as he felt it was his duty to be Bhagavan’s bodyguard. Whenever Bhagavan was in Skandashram, Sepoy Swami would come with a long stick that was supposed to be his rifle and stand in attention next to Bhagavan. Every minute that Bhagavan was there, he would stand guard silently, not looking at anybody else and completely immersed in meditation! One day, Perumal Swami was vexed with him and shouted, “What are you doing? Are you enacting some drama here? Get out of Skandashram!” This man wanted to obey but could not go away from Bhagavan. Therefore, he stood outside Skandashram, guarding Bhagavan from there just as he had been doing from within its walls. Some days later, he felt that Bhagavan was not being properly honoured. To Sepoy Swami, his master was the sovereign monarch of the whole universe who people were not honouring appropriately. His feeling of veneration led him to decide that Bhagavan must have horses. He went home, sold all his property, bought some horses and brought them to Skandashram. As he did not know how to maintain them, the horses died one after the other in the course of time. If you do not go into the logic of it, you will admire the devotion of poor Sepoy Swami.

Though Perumal Swami disliked Bhagavan’s mother, when she passed away in 1922, he helped carry her body to the present day Ramanasramam. After placing the body down, he went into town and got all the things necessary for building her samadhi. However, when Bhagavan began staying there in a simple, thatched shed built over the tomb of the Mother, Perumal Swami did not like it. He also intensely loathed Bhagavan’s younger brother Niranjanananda Swami (Chinna Swami). When the management of Ramanasramam was handed over to Chinna Swami, he stoutly opposed it. He went to court, filed a suit against Bhagavan and tried to drag him to court. He even created a statue of Bhagavan, started another Ramanasramam in town and proclaimed it the real one. Further, he declared himself the secretary of this institution. However, Chinna Swami was the secretary of the original Ramanasramam. Whenever the mail arrived, there was always a tug of the war in the town post office. Then Bhagavan solved it very simply. He said, “Let all the letters go to Perumal Swami. Whatever he wants to take let him take and whatever he does not want let us take. Where is the need to quarrel?”

When Perumal Swami was thus frustrated and agitated by Bhagavan’s response, Bhagavan sent word through Kunju Swami, “Tell Perumal Swami that he should not swerve from spiritual sadhana.” Perumal Swami did not listen, but Bhagavan never gave up on him. When he lost the court case, he felt humbled and soon fell ill. He sent word to Bhagavan, “Bhagavan, I want to come and apologize. I have committed a sin.” The rest of the people in the ashram said, “No! He is the person who went against you, Bhagavan. He should not be allowed to come inside.” When Bhagavan heard this, he said, “Why do you say so? He may have created trouble … filing court cases and so on, but we should think of old days. He served me so devotedly when I was on the Hill. Let him come.” When Perumal Swami came, everyone looked at him with ‘acid’ eyes. He broke down before Bhagavan and said, “Bhagavan, I have committed a terrible sin. I will surely go to hell.” Bhagavan smiled at him and said, “Will I not be with you even there?”

That was a turning point for Perumal Swami. He chose a small cave near Seshadri Swami Ashram and started living there in meditation and contemplation. Even after Bhagavan dropped the body, he felt he must have prasad from Ramanasramam. So, Kunju Swami used to bring rice and rasam from Ramanasramam for Perumal Swami twice a day. That is how Bhagavan took care of him. He may have been a rough edged rock, but Bhagavan took care of him. We can be sure that he too was absorbed back into Arunachala, the divine stillness.