Re: guru sat charitam (Paramacharya's Holy Life)
Pages 137-142
After staying in Chennai for nearly one and a half year from the latter part of September 1957 until the former part of March 1959 when SriCharaNargaL started out, in the farewell function given to him many people spoke (on the stage) only about the same Atma chodana mentioned above and said, "At least from now on we must conduct ourselves according to Periyavaa's upadesham."
The AvatarA in his crowning speech at the end showered nectarean compassion as words and asked, "Those who cannot do it (all these days) when I was sitting in the midst of you and advising you daily--how can it be that they be asked to do it after I am gone?" and then spoke with heartfelt {i]anutApa[/i] (remorse) about the difficulty in swimming against the various trends of these days that draw people away from the shAshtrIya life. He followed it with words blossoming from his mouth as premopanishad mahA mantras: "If you don't do it even after I advise you, it is not your fault. It only means that my word does not have the shakti to make you do it. That is, it means that my tapas is not enough. It is not that there are two different things as I and you; only one thing. All of you are only my limbs. Therefore, now you need not feel about any shortfall; need not feel sorrow thinking 'I couldn't do it that way, or this way'. Only I should make myself alright. Then you all would become alright automatially."
It was not the yadArtham (reality) however, only vAchakam (words) uttered out of fullness of love by the paripUrNa puruShA who was all right by more than a hundred percent! It was a vAchakam uttered as a mother sharing the ailment of her child.
What he said on that day as, "Those who cannot do it (all these days) when I was sitting in the midst of you and advising you daily--after I am gone..." stitches in memory today with a deeper meaning.
Let me not finish this essay with the siddhAnta of distrust. "நம்பினோர் கெடுவதில்லை; நான்கு மறை தீர்ப்பு".--"~nambinOr keDuvadillai; ~nAnku maRai tIrppu."--"Those with faith don't go astray is the verdict of the four Vedas." So if we believe in that aDaikka charaNam (refuge of feet) and the abhaya hastam (securing hands), "ஜயமுண்டு பயமில்லை"--"jayamuNDu bayamillai"--"There is only success, no fear"!
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Many an epic can be written, to show the charaNa-hasta mahima (greatness of feet and hands). Just one example.
During the chAturmAsyam of the year 1941, SriCharaNaaL was camping in Nagapattinam. During that time, the ADi pUram festival came up. Usually on that day a grand utsavam (festivity) would be held for NIlAyadAkShi AmbaaL. But then in that year? It was a long time since the place had seen rains. Indescribable water scarcity. The ponds, pools and wells had all gone dry.
So the temple authorities thought of issuing a circular asking the yAtrikAs (pilgrims) not to come over this time. Nevertheless, before issuing it they thought of supplicating to the MahAn who had risen in blessing in their place and came to the SriMaTham camp one morning.
The AruLmUrti listened to their supplication of distress with a deep feeling that can be described as sorrow. He did not say anything opening his mouth. Without any necessity for it, his entire holy frame from head to foot was manifest with compassion. Giving his prasAdam silently, he bid them farewell and then went for his ekAntam (solitude).
When a half hour passed by, he went to the temple pond. Was it like a pond? Except for the hooffuls of water stagnant here and there, the rest of the place was either dry earth or mud.
After much searching, SriCharaNar finally selected a small pit and pressed his tiny SriCharaNas, and water welled up to the extent of sinking those sIrAr chEvaDi (great red-lotus-feet)--only to that extent.
Surprisingly, he did prokShaNam (sprinkled) on his shiras (head) that very water at his feet!
The Munivar returned to the mukhAm (camp). Severe sunshine heated up the atmosphere during the entire daytime. At midday on the next day, he went again to the sacred pond.
Even the hooffuls of water seen on the previous day had dried up either into mud or dry, brittle earth!
Today, with his own dhivya hastam (divine hands) he scratched one of the mud patches there. A few drops of water welled up.
Ayyan sinking the thumb of his right leg on it, it sank only to some extent.
His tiruviral (holy toe) wet in the water, Ayyan raised his head towards the sky with a wet tiruvuLLam (holy mind).
Though white clouds with no moisture in them had closed the sky here and there, the sky remained mostly clear blue. The holy face of SriCharaNargaL looking at the sky was seen as that very sky--as the unveilable space of akaNDa amaidi (breakless peace), though the cloud of karuNA shokam (the very karuNA rasam is itself only shokam!) had covered it!
Tightly holding his daNDam (staff), he did anjali (homage) towards the sky, lifting up both his hands.
With a silence dense with inseparable grace and peace, he returned to the MaTham camp.
Around four o' clock afternoon, the moistureless white clouds had started turning into cool blue. A cool wind started blowing to balance the heat (in the atomosphere).
Within a short time, small drops of drizzle started falling.
Later it began to intensify into an aDai mazhai (incessant, torrential rains)!
It rained the whole night. The whole of the next day. The next day, why even on the fourth day it rained incessantly!
The Nimalan's arUL (grace) urging in the form of a supplication, NIlAyadAkShi took the blue sky as her eyes and showered all her karuNA kaTAkSham (compassionate look) through it.
The words of VAdavUrAr (Manikkavachagar, author of Tiruvachakam),
நந்தம்மை ஆளுடையாள்
தன்னிற் பிரிவிலா எங்கோமான் அன்பர்க்கு
முன்னி அவள் நமக்கு முன்சுரக்கும் இன்னருளே
என்னப் பொழியாய் மழையே!
~na~ntammai ALuDaiyAL
tanniR pirivilA e~gkOmAn anbarkku
munni avaL ~namakku munsurakkum innaruLE
ennap pozhiyAy mazhaiyE!
"One who rules over us all (as the Mother), for the devotees of our God who is not separated from Her, O rain, shower as the sweet grace that She thoughtfully wells up in her breasts!"
became true.
All the ponds, pools and wells were filled up to the brim.
The utsavam too was held with more grandeur than usual, the place and the hearts cooling up. The reason for the more-than-usual-grandeur was nothing but the sprouting of happiness in hearts--that had earlier turned pale--due to the compassion showered by the sky.
ChellammAL (she was a longtime devotee who attained Paramapadam last year--in 1993) who witnessed the sequence of incidents by being present on the spot would narrate it with fondness in this way: "The temple people thought of making an announcement that the yAtrikAs were not to come over. Whereas PeriyavaaL himself sent the invitation to all the people for AmbaaL's Utsava KalyANam through the AkAshaRAjan and the VaruNaBhagavAn! If KrishNa ParamAtmA protected from the torrential rains by lifing up a mountain with his finger, our Guru ParamAtmA pressed the BhUmi with his toe and called up the heavy rains!"
Still, isn't our Parama GurunAthan was one who showed only simplicity like Sri Rama, unlike KaNNan who expressed his deivIka mahima (divine greatness)? Which is why he hid his charaNa mahima, did anjali towards the sky bringing together his hands in simplicity, and showed that he called up the rain (due to his prayer).
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रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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