Santhammal

Santhammal came to Sri Bhagavan in 1928 and never left Him. Chinna Swami was cooking, though there were then only 7 or 8 residents at the growing up small Ashram. She was the first Lady-Cook! Sri Bhagavan had sent her the books of ‘Upadesa Saram’ and ‘Ulladu Narpadu’ and made her read them. While she was herself a very hard worker in the Kitchen, yet, Sri Bhagavan helped her. But, the greatest help Sri Bhagavan did for her was “to Cook her mind and feed it to the SELF”. He thus prepared her, made her mature so as to drop her body at Holy Arunachala.

Santhammal was very kind and helpful to the sadhus living in Palakottu. They had to cook their own food, so she used to supply them with the things that they could not get, such as pickles and even some of the sweets and other delicacies that were made in the Ashram. She did all of this with Sri Bhagavan’s knowledge. Once, aviyal, a South Indian delicacy with a lot of vegetables, was being served in the ashram. Muruganar was living in Palakottu. Sri Bhagavan called Santhammal aside and told her, “Muruganar loves aviyal. Who will give aviyal to Muruganar?” Santhammal immediately ran to the kitchen to make a parcel of aviyal for Muruganar. With this, she ran to Palakottu, but Muruganar was not there as he had left for town to beg for his food. She caught up with him on the road and told him that Sri Bhagavan had sent aviyal for him. Muruganar wept profusely thinking of this great act of compassion of his Master.

As she became older, Santhammal felt that she could no longer do physical work for the Ashram. Not wanting to be a burden, she wanted to leave. That night, Sri Bhagavan appeared to her in her dream and said, “Where will you go, Santhammal? Who will look after you?” Indirectly, Sri Bhagavan was saying that he would look after her.

Sri Bhagavan did look after Santhammal by having a cottage being built for her opposite to the old Manakkula Vinayakar Temple, by a compassionate devotee.

Thus, Santhammal peacefully lived — spiritually absorbed within — till she got absorbed by Arunachala into Himself!

The point is Sri Bhagavan made her drop her body only within the vicinity of the Holy Soil of Sacred Arunachala — (so that no more birth for her)!

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