Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati Swami (Alangudi Periyavaa) - 2

Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati Swami (Alangudi Periyavaa) - 1

Srimad Bhagavatam is liberation bestowing

Holy Text [Moksha Granta]. Mahans have
opined that mere reading/listening to the
Bhagavatam liberates one. The uniqueness of
this Holy Text is that every letter in it is verily
Lord Krishna! No wonder that mere reading
about/listening to the Lilas of Jnani of all
Jnanis [Lord Sri Krishna] bestows liberation
not only at the end of one's life on earth but
also has the ability to bestow Jivan Mukti state
['realising' one's nature even while living in
the physical body]. This has been illustrated in
the life of Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati Swami, popularly
known as 'Alangudi' Periyava. The youth Ramakrishna attained
Jivan Mukti by merely reading the Bhagavatam.

Here, we bring to you the life history of of the great Mahan

'Alangudi' Periyava whose samadhi is in Mudikondan, a village
near Tiruvaroor, Tamizh Nadu state, S.India. The 'aradana' of the
Mahan was celebrated on 18th May 2008.

A week long Bhagavata Saptaham was performed in this

connection and Sri Sri Swamiji rendered Srimad Bhagavata
discourse.

Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati Swami (Sri Alangudi Periyavaa) - Part

 -1

Narayanar, a poor Brahmin lived in Alangudi, a small village in the fertile

Chozha kingdom. He had completed his Vedic studies and was a highly
virtuous man. He earned his living through priesthood, assisting people
in conducting Vedic rites and scriptural duties. A married man, he lived
as per scriptural injunctions laid down for a householder and was deeply
devoted to Gopala Krishna. After many years of marriage, through the
Grace of Sri Venugopala Krishna swami, he was blessed with a son.
Christening the child Ramakrishna the parents brought him up with

much love and care. The child's 'akshara-abhyas' [learning to write] was
performed at the age of five. When he turned seven the holy thread
ceremony was performed; thereafter, he was left under the care of a
great scholar for education. He learnt the Vedas wholly and became an
adept in 'Sikshai vyakarana' that form part of the Vedas.

The parents desired to find a suitable bride for him. However, Sri
Ramakrishna feared married life, as he felt it to be a block to Hari Bhakti
[devotion to Lord Hari]. He considered married life a camouflaged well.
One should be careful not to fall into this; instead, move into a forest
and take efforts to attain Lord Hari. He felt that this was the essence of
all the Shastras [scriptures]. Feeling that the Grace of a Guru was most
needed to strengthen his Jnana, Bhakti and Vairagya [wisdom, devotion
and dispassion] he was in search of a proper Guru. Sri Balakrishnananda
swami appeared in his dream, imparted Sri Nrisimha Mantra to him and
also gave him Srimad Bhagavatam. After this Sri Ramakrishna's Hari
Bhakti [devotion to Lord Hari] reached its pinnacle. He began to remain
in solitude doing Mantra japa and reading the Bhagavatam. Due to the
Grace of Sri Balakrishnananda, Sri Ramakrishna earned deep love for
Srimad Bhagavatam; and, through reading the Bhagavatam, earned
deep Jnana.

The parents forced Sri Ramakrishna into marriage. Unable to go against

the wishes of the parents he married the virtuous girl that they had
chosen for him. Marriage did not spoil his pristine state. The fortunate
bride was still in her parents home. Sri Ramakrishna was deeply upset
by the new bondage. One night, he had a dream in which he found
himself in a forest and many dacoits trying to bind him. Suddenly, a lion
appeared from nowhere, roaring ferociously. The dacoits threw the rope
down and took to their heels. He realised that Lord Nrisimha would soon
save him from the cruelty of his relatives who were the real dacoits
trying to bind him to the world. The next morning he received the news
of his wife's death.

Mahans feel that the worldly ties are bondages that keep them away
from their spiritual life. In Srimad Bhagavatam, we see how Sage
Narada takes the death of his mother as an 'anugraha'
[blessing] (1:6:10). Sri Periyava had a similar feeling when he heard
this news. He performed the death rites for his wife.

After the death of his wife his dispassion deepened. All worldly comforts
seemed trivial. He spent all his time in meditating on his favourite Deity
Lord Nrisimha who had protected his great Bhakta Prahlada. The
relatives mistook his attitude to be longing for his lost wife and began to
make plans for another marriage. Sri Ramakrishna sensed the danger.
Days passed and suddenly one early morning, like the great Mahan Sri
Sadasiva Brahmendra, he attained the 'unmathha' state. He ran away
from home. He was twenty-eight years of age when he attained 'self-
realisation'.

He had no consciousness of the body and wandered about as an

'avadhoota' [naked sadhu]. Unaware of the world he wandered about
like a madman.
[Srimad Bhagavatam describes the state of a Jnani as 'unmathha,
mookha, jadavat' -- he is like a madman, the dumb and the inert].

His unkept hair hung in knots. The body was frail. The mind, however,
going beyond the differences of man and woman remained pure. Almost
always he was silent or chanting the Divine Names of Lord Narayana.
Filled with the nectar of the Lord's Name he would at times dance, at
times sing, at times shed profuse tears, at times cry out loudly.
Wherever the Lord's stories were recited he would go and listen to it.
But this would push him into ecstacy and he would begin to sing, dance
and cry. He would experience horripilation. He would cry out loudly,
"Narayana! Narayana!" At times he would fall down in a swoon.

During his wanderings he came to the Holy Place Thiruvisanallur. Sri

Ramasubbha Shasri, who was proud of his scholarliness lived here. He
was a thorn in the way of all other learned scholars. Due to the pride of
his learning he held an indifferent attitude to the great Bhagavatam. But
he turned over a new leaf after listening to Srimad Bhagavatam from Sri
Ramakrishna swami, just once! He earned deep faith and taste for
Srimad Bhagavatam!

Suddenly, a deep desire to discourse on the Bhagavatam took hold of

Sri Ramakrishna Swami.

He arrived at the village Kamakshipuram. Sri Panchanata Iyer, a

resident of this village, welcomed him with all reverence. Many others
joined him. But the great renunciate said to them, "I have not come
here for food. I have come here with the deep desire to discourse on the
Bhagavatam. Is anyone interested to listen to it?"

Hearing this, some of them prostrated to the Swami and said to him, "It
is verily our fortune that you have come here to bless us. But some
amongst us feel embarrassed to see you an 'avadhoota' [naked Sadhu].
We do not possess your spiritual maturity; hence, though we all deeply
yearn to hear the Bhagavatam we hesitate to come to your presence on
this account."

The surprised Swami said to them, "If this state of mine proves a block
to giving discourses or listening to the Bhagavatam I will embrace
sanyas and live according to scriptural injunctions."

All present there were wonderstruck. The Swami at once set out and
received sanyasa, as per Scriptural injunctions, from Sri Panangudi
Swami. Sri Panangudi Swami gave him the 'diksha' name of Swayam
Prakasananda Saraswati [one who shines on his own] because like
Prahlad he had had attained Jnana without a Guru in a human body. Sri
Panangudi Swami comes down in a great lineage of Mahans who were
all Krishna Bhaktas and loved Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sri Ramakrishna swami embraced sanyasa [ascetic life] a s his state of

'avadhoota' was a block to his rendering Srimad Bhagavata discourse.
He desired to give discourse on the Bhagavatam even to the spiritually
immature. Therefore, embracing ascetic life, he began to wear ochre
colour loin cloth, 'gopi chandan' on his forehead and held 'danda-
kamandalu' in his hand and scrupulously followed the various rules and
regulations prescribed for this life. He was ever doing Bhagavata
parayana [reading] and discoursing the Bhagavatam. The Divine Lilas
and 'gunas' of Lord Hari drew the great 'avadhoota' into a life of
scriptural discipline!

Is it not the Divine Lila of the Lord to attract the hearts of Jnanis and
make them sing His glory?

People who listened to the Bhagavatam from 'Alangudi' Periyava, who

wandered about in the same state as Sri Suka, were indeed most
 fortunate. Sri Suka who had 'realised his self' and wandered about like
the inert, dumb, child, took to Srimad Bhagavatam as he felt deeply
attracted to the 'gunas' of the Lord: so too, 'Alangudi' Periyava had for
sometime wandered about in this state and later, due to his deep love
and taste for Srimad Bhagavatam, took to living as per strict scriptural
injunctions and began to visit innumerable villages to give discourses on
the Bhagavatam. He was the very personification of tolerance and
patience. He was totally free from from anger and lust. He followed all
the scriptural injunctions laid down for the ascetic way of life. Of these,
bathing three times a day and food restrictions are very important. At
times he would eat a little grated coconut and remain without food for
months together; at times he would eat bilwa fruit and at times only
milk. Some times he would eat 'sathhuma' [a health gruel].

We bring to you the life history of of the great Mahan 'Alangudi'

Periyava whose samadhi is in Mudikondan, a village near
Tiruvaroor, Tamizh Nadu state, S.India. The 'aradana' of the Mahan
was celebrated on 18th May 2008.

A week long Bhagavata Saptaham was performed in this

connection and Sri Sri Swamiji rendered Srimad Bhagavata
discourse.

Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati Swami (Sri Alangudi Periyavaa) - Part - 2

<<Part-1

'Alangudi' Periyava loved children. He would gather them around and play
with them. If a village did not have a pond, he would gather the youths of
the village and dig a pond. He loved to maintain gardens, conduct 'utsavs'
in Temples. He always stayed in a garden outside the village or in a Mutt or
in a Temple. He wore only a loin cloth. He carefully followed the 'asrama
dharma' as spoken in the Bhagavatam. He never touched money for any
reason.
He would accept an invitation to a village only if
people agreed to conduct Bhagavata saptaham
there. He would refuse to visit for the sake of
'bhiksha' [food]. He used to visit some villages
quite frequently He performed innumerable
Bhagavata saptahams there. Even today one finds
the people of these villages interested in
Bhagavata saptaham and possessing Krishna
Bhakti. Several disciples still recall his
Bhagavatam discourse.

All these villages turned holy due to the stay of

the Swami. All people were great devotees of the
Lord. Due to his association many read the Gita
and the Bhagavatam and many performed
Namakirtan. Even women and children in villages blessed by his visits
knew the Bhagavata slokas by heart. The Swami had great love for the
commentary of the Bhagavatam by Sridhareeya. In his discourses, he
would always quote from it.

'Alangudi' Periyava was also an adept in Ayurveda and Mantra Shastras.

But he did not practice them. When situation demanded it, he would put
this knowledge to use through his disciples. Once, Pattabhirama Iyer, a
disciple of his, was in deep anguish as someone had used black magic
against his family. Learning about this, the deeply compassionate Swami
initiated the victim into Nrisimha Mantra, through his disciple Sri
Kothandarama Iyer. The man was saved from his troubles.

At the end of every 'Saptaham' there would be Namakirtan in which the

Swami would participate. The Namasankirtan would go all through the
night; yet, the Swami would be fresh and give discourse the next day.
Through these unique qualities and Bhakti he was a great solace and
support to the householders.

Once, the Swami conducted Srimad Bhagavata saptaham in Dittacheri

village. Every day Namakirtan was also performed. 'Alangudi' Periyava
always enjoyed rendering Gajendra Moksha and Prahlad charitra. His
discourse on Gajendra Moksha was excellent that day and he said,

"Lord Narayana is the Supreme Godhead. All other gods are in His control.
Gajendra Moksha is a testimony to this. When Gajendra, in seeking refuge
in the Lord, chanted a 'sloka' no deity rushed to his help because, this
sloka calls out to the 'One who is the prime cause of all'. They were well
aware that there was someone else who had created them. Lord Vasudeva
Himself came on His divine vehicle, the Garuda, and saved Gajendra.
Therefore, Lord Hari [Vasudeva, Narayana] is verily the Supreme
Godhead."

There was a Pundit amidst the audience. He said that each Purana spoke of
a different God as the Supreme Godhead. Gajendra Moksham in the
Bhagavatam was a spin story to show Lord Hari as the Supreme Godhead
and that one should not attach any importance to it.

'Alangudi' Periyava was deeply hurt by this. He said to him, "It is difficult
for people like you to earn faith in Srimad Bhagavatam. Only the Grace of
the Lord can clear your confused mind. My explanations will not suffice."

The Pundit retorted, "Why don't you own up your mistake? Being a 'smarta'
[saivite] sanyasi why do you speak like a Vaishnava sanyasi holding Lord
Vasudeva as the Supreme Godhead?"

The Swami said, "I spoke only the words of the Bhagavatam. You can
accuse me of speaking wrongly only if it were my imagination."

The Pundit walked away haughtily.

'Alangudi' Periyava bathed in the river there during the early hours of the
morning. On one such morning the Swami had gone to bathe and a few of
his disciples were with him. While the Swami was bathing a crocodile came
up to him and caught hold of his leg. At once, the Swami lifted both his
hands and cried out, 'Hare! Hare!" and the crocodile immediately let go of
his leg. However, the Swami's leg was badly hurt. The Pundit who had
watched this incident realised the greatness of the Swami and at once fell
at his feet seeking his pardon. He said that his argument that 'Gajendra
Moksha' was a spin story was due to his pride and that it was only to wipe
out his ignorance that 'Yateendra Moksha' had taken place. [Yati means
ascetic].

The Swami said to him, "Why do you beg my pardon? Do not feel envious
if anyone speaks of Srimad Narayana as the Supreme Godhead."

The Pundit became a great devotee of the Swami.

A deep wound had been formed on the Swami's leg due to the bite of the
crocodile. At the request of the disciples the Swami agreed to treat it. He
asked them to collect some herbs and boil it in oil. He then asked them to
pour it hot over the wound! No disciple came forward. The Swami said to
them, "Hey, ignorants! why do you fear? Have not I repeatedly told you all
that the Atma is different from the body? If it were true how would I, the
Atma, suffer? Also, how would the body which is really inert suffer?"
Uttering these words he removed the boiling oil from the oven and poured
it over his wound and laughed loudly! This brought tears to the eyes of the
devoted disciples. The leg healed within a few days.

Once, the Swami gave a discourse in the woods of Koothanur village. The
day was quite hot. A snake suddenly wound its way through the audience
and moved below the Swami's seat.

Some of them requested the Swami to move away. The Swami said, "A
man becomes eligible to embrace the ascetic life only when he earns the
Jnana that all forms are verily the Lord. There is no difference between my
body and that of the snake. It is verily Lord Nrisimha who is the Atma in
both. Why fear? All of you sit quietly and listen to the Lord's story."

But is it possible for the people to forget the presence of the snake and
listen to his discourse? So, the Swami, through his yogic power, held their
attention. The people totally forgot about the snake and were engrossed in
the discourse. At the end of the discourse the Swami asked one of them,
"Where is the snake? See if it is still here?"

The man feared lifting the seat to find out.The Swami laughed and lifted
the seat only to find the snake gone. All were wonderstruck. The Swami
said, "This is not surprising at all. The snake went back the way it came
but all of you were totally engrossed in listening to the Bhagavatam and
did not notice it!"

The people at once prayed to him to bless them so that their minds would
always be engrossed in the Lord's stories in this manner.

The Swami thus passed his days wandering about several villages
conducting hundreds of Bhagavata saptaha yajna and preaching Bhakti to
the people. He became old. He had not spent his life labourig for his family.
Shunning worldly comforts he had spent his days in the thought of the
Lord. The Swami's eye sight failed and the disciples arranged for a surgery.
Dr.Mahalinga Iyer was at first very indifferent towards the Swami. But soon
he realised that the Swami had come to him with the excuse of a
treatment only to bless him. The Swami refused to use anesthesia. He said
that one could lose body consciousness without the anesthesia; and that
when he did so, the doctor could perform his surgery. The Swami then lay
in 'savasana' and lost consciousness of his body in yogic state. The doctor
performed the surgery with deep reverence and devotion. All through the
surgery the Swami lay without any movement. The doctor was simply
amazed. He realised that the physical state of Jnanis were beyond their
medical world, that the surgery he had conducted was only for his own
good and that the diseases of Mahans were only their Lila. The vision of the
Swami was restored and the doctor earned spiritual vision!

The house where Sri Alangudi Periyava lived for nearly one and half years at Mudikondan
village

'Alangudi' Periyava, fully aware of the day whence he would shed his
mortal coil, arrived at Mudikondan village. The fortunate ones there served
him in various ways. The Swami decided to celebrate Lord Nrisimha Jayanti
during Vaikasi month in 'yuva varusha' grandly. He celebrated Nrisimha
Jayanti every year. A Bhagavata Saptaham was arranged in this
connection. He gave discourse on the Bhagavatam in his own unique way.
On the day of Sri Nrisimha Jayanati, celebration of Sri Rukmini Kalyanam
came to an end in the evening. It was the last day of Bhagavata saptaham.
At the end of the discourse, 'Alangudi' Periyava gave a brief discourse on
Prahlada charitra, as it was the day of Lord Nrisimha Jayanti. He was
narrating the scene of Prahalad offering his prayer to Lord Nrisimha.

When the Swami was speaking on the verse that says,

"Oh, one of such great glory! Self-illuminating, verily the Time, holding the
Universe within Thee, Thou shines with splendour without being affected by
'prakriti'. Here am I suffering, being caught in the wheels of life. Hey,
Nrisimha, My Lord! Please take me unto Thy Feet!"

A divine light ['jyoti'] shot out of the top of his head. A few spiritually
evolved people were blessed to witness this. The pure body of 'Alangudi'
Periyava was buried as per scriptural injunction laid down for a sanyasi.

Place where Sri Alangudi Periyava attained Sidhdhi. A a very big hall in those days, the two
side walls were constructed later. Sri Alangudi Periyava attained sidhdhi in the corridor just
before the grill gates seen in the photo

Left: The sanctum sanctorum at Sri Bhagavatha Bhavanam of Sri Alangudi Periyava at Mudikondan village
Right: The sacred Adhisthanam of Sri Alangudi Periyava at Mudikondan Village
Jun 3: Alangudi Periyavaal

3 JUN

The easiest way to Mukti is Mahamantra Kirtan. But we have been given this beautiful human body
and life in order to attain liberation. In addition, we have been blessed with the ‗mind‘ / intellect to
lead us to that goal. The irony is that this very mind is a roadblock in attaining God Realization!
When we are not able to focus the mind and concentrate it, it goes into worldly matters and takes us
away from our goal. It is said that the destruction of the mind is liberation. Use the mind to destroy
the mind, say our scriptures.

Bhagavan Ramana gives the example of ‗pinamchudu thadi‘ – the stick that is used to hit the corpse
burning in the pyre. When a corpse is lit on a pyre in a graveyard, owing to the heat, the corpse
stiffens and rises on its own. The person burning it has a wooden stick in his hand with which he hits
it whenever it rises. At the end, when the corpse has been burnt enough, he throws the stick into the
fire and walks away letting the stick also be consumed by the flames. We should make our
mind/intellect like the stick which we should use to hit ourselves in order to put it in its path.
Eventually, the mind is also to be destroyed / put to the Lord‘s feet.

Adi Sankara speaks of a sharp intellect as well, not to understand the Lord, but to appreciate and
practice discrimination and dispassion in life and eventually offer it to the Lord as well.

Our Guru Maharaj says, when a piece of iron is to be broken, expose it to some wet weather and over
time, this piece of iron transforms itself into rust (without any external chemicals involved). Soon,
the entire piece of iron gets transformed into rust which easily flakes away, accomplishing our
mission very easily. Our mind which is the cause of the problems, should be exposed to the moisture
of Guru Kataksham and Satsangam and over time, it gets transformed / destroyed / dissolved in the
feet of the Guru / God.

That is all we need to do: being in the sanctity and vision of the Guru / Lord awaiting His grace.

Following the introductions, Ramyaji from Bay Area gave the satsang talk.
A Mahatma who was an Avatara Purusha and was an exponent of Srimad Bhagavatham was Swamy
Prakashananda Swamigal. His Aradhana normally coincides on the day of Nrisimha Jayanthi which
was on May 16th of 2011. The satsang reminisced the life-history of this great mahan.
We all know that Srimad Bhagavatam is bestows liberation. It is a Moksha Granta. Mahans have
opined that mere reading/listening to the Bhagavatam liberates one. The uniqueness of this Holy
Text is that every letter in it is verily Lord Krishna! No wonder that mere reading about/listening to
the Lilas of Jnani of all Jnanis [Lord Sri Krishna] bestows liberation not only at the end of one‘s life
on earth but also has the ability to bestow Jivan Mukti state [‗realising‘ one‘s nature even while living
in the physical body]. This has been illustrated in the life of Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati
Swami, popularly known as ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava. He attained Jivan Mukti by merely reading the
Bhagavatam.

Alangudi‘ Periyava‘s amadhi is in Mudikondan, a village near Tiruvaroor, Tamizh Nadu state,
S.India.

Narayanar, a poor Brahmin lived in Alangudi, a small village Tamil Nadu. He had completed his
Vedic studies and was a highly virtuous man. He earned his living through priesthood, assisting
people in conducting Vedic rites and scriptural duties. A married man, he lived as per scriptural
injunctions laid down for a householder and was deeply devoted to Gopala Krishna. After many years
of marriage, through the Grace of his worshipping diety Sri Venugopala Krishna swami, he was
blessed with a son. They named the child as Ramakrishna the parents brought him up with much
love and care. The child‘s ‗akshara-abhyas‘ [learning to write] was performed at the age of five. When
he turned seven the holy thread ceremony was performed; thereafter, he was left under the care of a
great scholar for education. He learnt the Vedas wholly and became an adept in ‗Sikshai vyakarana‘
that form part of the Vedas.

The parents desired to find a suitable bride for him. However, Sri Ramakrishna feared married life,
as he felt it to be a block to Hari Bhakti [devotion to Lord Hari]. Feeling that the Grace of a Guru was
most needed to strengthen his Jnana, Bhakti and Vairagya [wisdom, devotion and dispassion] he
was in search of a proper Guru. Sri Balakrishnananda swami appeared in his dream, imparted Sri
Nrisimha Mantra to him and also gave him Srimad Bhagavatam. After this Sri Ramakrishna‘s Hari
Bhakti [devotion to Lord Hari] reached its pinnacle. He began to remain in solitude doing Mantra
japa and reading the Bhagavatam. Due to the Grace of Sri Balakrishnananda, Sri Ramakrishna
earned deep love for Srimad Bhagavatam; and, through reading the Bhagavatam, earned deep Jnana.

The parents forced Sri Ramakrishna into marriage. Unable to go against the wishes of the parents he
married a virtuous girl that they had chosen for him. Marriage did not have any effect on him. Sri
Ramakrishna was deeply upset by the new bondage. One night, he had a dream in which he found
himself in a forest and many dacoits trying to bind him. Suddenly, a lion appeared from nowhere,
roaring ferociously. The dacoits threw the rope down and took to their heels. He realised that Lord
Nrisimha would soon save him from the cruelty of his relatives who were the real dacoits trying to
bind him to the world. The next morning he received the news of his wife‘s death.
Mahans feel that the worldly ties are bondages that keep them away from their spiritual life. In
Srimad Bhagavatam, we see how Sage Narada takes the death of his mother as an ‗anugraha‘
[blessing] (1:6:10). Sri Periyava had a similar feeling when he heard this news. He performed the
death rites for his wife.

After the death of his wife his dispassion deepened. All worldly comforts seemed trivial. He spent all
his time in meditating on his favourite Deity Lord Nrisimha who had protected his great Bhakta
Prahlada. The relatives mistook his attitude to be longing for his lost wife and began to make plans
for another marriage. Sri Ramakrishna sensed the danger. Days passed and suddenly one early
morning, like the great Mahan Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra, he attained the ‗unmathha‘ state. He ran
away from home. He was twenty-eight years of age when he attained ‗self-realisation‘.

He had no consciousness of the body and wandered about as an ‗avadhoota‘ [naked sadhu]. Unaware
of the world he wandered about like a madman.
[Srimad Bhagavatam describes the state of a Jnani as ‗unmathha, mookha, jadavat‘ — he is like a
madman, the dumb and the inert].

His unkept hair hung in knots. The body was frail. The mind, however, going beyond the differences
of man and woman remained pure. Almost always he was silent or chanting the Divine Names of
Lord Narayana. Filled with the nectar of the Lord‘s Name he would at times dance, at times sing, at
times shed profuse tears, at times cry out loudly. Wherever the Lord‘s stories were recited he would
go and listen to it. But this would push him into ecstacy and he would begin to sing, dance and cry.
He would experience horripilation. He would cry out loudly, ―Narayana! Narayana!‖ At times he
would fall down in a swoon.

During his wanderings he came to the Holy Place Thiruvisanallur. Sri Ramasubbha Shasri, who was
proud of his scholarliness lived here. He was a thorn in the way of all other learned scholars. Due to
the pride of his learning he held an indifferent attitude to the great Bhagavatam. But he turned over a
new leaf after listening to Srimad Bhagavatam from Sri Ramakrishna swami, just once! He earned
deep faith and taste for Srimad Bhagavatam!

Suddenly, a deep desire to discourse on the Bhagavatam took hold of Sri Ramakrishna Swami.

He arrived at the village Kamakshipuram. Sri Panchanata Iyer, a resident of this village, welcomed
him with all reverence. Many others joined him. But the great renunciate said to them, ―I have not
come here for food. I have come here with the deep desire to discourse on the Bhagavatam. Is anyone
interested to listen to it?‖

Hearing this, some of them prostrated to the Swami and said to him, ―It is verily our fortune that you
have come here to bless us. But some amongst us feel embarrassed to see you an ‗avadhoota‘ [naked
Sadhu]. We do not possess your spiritual maturity; hence, though we all deeply yearn to hear the
Bhagavatam we hesitate to come to your presence on this account.‖
The surprised Swami said to them, ―If this state of mine proves a block to giving discourses or
listening to the Bhagavatam I will embrace sanyas and live according to scriptural injunctions.‖

All present there were wonderstruck. The Swami at once set out and received sanyasa, as per
Scriptural injunctions, from Sri Panangudi Swami. Sri Panangudi Swami gave him the ‗diksha‘ name
of Swayam Prakasananda Saraswati [one who shines on his own] because like Prahlad he had had
attained Jnana without a Guru in a human body. Sri Panangudi Swami comes down in a great
lineage of Mahans who were all Krishna Bhaktas and loved Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sri Ramakrishna swami embraced sanyasa [ascetic life] a s his state of ‗avadhoota‘ was a block to his
rendering Srimad Bhagavata discourse. He desired to give discourse on the Bhagavatam even to the
spiritually immature. Therefore, embracing ascetic life, he began to wear ochre colour loin cloth,
‗gopi chandan‘ on his forehead and held ‗danda-kamandalu‘ in his hand and scrupulously followed
the various rules and regulations prescribed for this life. He was ever doing Bhagavata parayana
[reading] and discoursing the Bhagavatam. The Divine Lilas and ‗gunas‘ of Lord Hari drew the great
‗avadhoota‘ into a life of scriptural discipline!

Is it not the Divine Lila of the Lord to attract the hearts of Jnanis and make them sing His glory?
People who listened to the Bhagavatam from ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava, who wandered about in the same
state as Sri Suka, were indeed most fortunate. Sri Suka who had ‗realised his self‘ and wandered
about like the inert, dumb, child, took to Srimad Bhagavatam as he felt deeply attracted to the ‗gunas‘
of the Lord: so too, ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava had for sometime wandered about in this state and later, due
to his deep love and taste for Srimad Bhagavatam, took to living as per strict scriptural injunctions
and began to visit innumerable villages to give discourses on the Bhagavatam. He was the very
personification of tolerance and patience. He was totally free from from anger and lust. He followed
all the scriptural injunctions laid down for the ascetic way of life. ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava loved children.
He would gather them around and play with them. If a village did not have a pond, he would gather
the youths of the village and dig a pond. He loved to maintain gardens, conduct ‗utsavs‘ in Temples.
He always stayed in a garden outside the village or in a Mutt or in a Temple. He wore only a loin
cloth. He carefully followed the ‗asrama dharma‘ as spoken in the Bhagavatam. He never touched
money for any reason.
He would accept an invitation to a village only if people agreed to conduct Bhagavata saptaham
there. He would refuse to visit for the sake of ‗bhiksha‘ [food]. He used to visit some villages quite
frequently He performed innumerable Bhagavata saptahams there. Even today one finds the people
of these villages interested in Bhagavata saptaham and possessing Krishna Bhakti. Several disciples
still recall his Bhagavatam discourse.

All these villages turned holy due to the stay of the Swamigal. All people were great devotees of the
Lord. Due to his association many read the Gita and the Bhagavatam and many performed
Namakirtan. Even women and children in villages blessed by his visits knew the Bhagavata slokas by
heart. The Swami had great love for the commentary of the Bhagavatam by Sridhareeya. In his
discourses, he would always quote from it.
At the end of every ‗Saptaham‘ there would be Namakirtan in which the Swami would participate.
The Namasankirtan would go all through the night; yet, the Swami would be fresh and give discourse
the next day. Through these unique qualities and Bhakti he was a great solace and support to the
householders.

Once, the Swami conducted Srimad Bhagavata saptaham in Dittacheri village. Every day Namakirtan
was also performed. ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava always enjoyed rendering Gajendra Moksha and Prahlad
charitra. His discourse on Gajendra Moksha was excellent that day and he said,

―Lord Narayana is the Supreme Godhead. All other gods are in His control. Gajendra Moksha is a
testimony to this. When Gajendra, in seeking refuge in the Lord, chanted a ‗sloka‘ no deity rushed to
his help because, this sloka calls out to the ‗One who is the prime cause of all‘. They were well aware
that there was someone else who had created them. Lord Vasudeva Himself came on His divine
vehicle, the Garuda, and saved Gajendra. Therefore, Lord Hari [Vasudeva, Narayana] is verily the
Supreme Godhead.‖

There was a Pundit amidst the audience. He said that each Purana spoke of a different God as the
Supreme Godhead. Gajendra Moksham in the Bhagavatam was a spin story to show Lord Hari as the
Supreme Godhead and that one should not attach any importance to it.

‗Alangudi‘ Periyava was deeply hurt by this. He said to him, ―It is difficult for people like you to earn
faith in Srimad Bhagavatam. Only the Grace of the Lord can clear your confused mind. My
explanations will not suffice.‖

The Pundit retorted, ―Why don‘t you own up your mistake? Being a ‗smarta‘ [saivite] sanyasi why do
you speak like a Vaishnava sanyasi holding Lord Vasudeva as the Supreme Godhead?‖

The Swami said, ―I spoke only the words of the Bhagavatam. You can accuse me of speaking wrongly
only if it were my imagination.‖

The Pundit walked away haughtily.

‗Alangudi‘ Periyava bathed in the river there during the early hours of the morning. On one such
morning the Swami had gone to bathe and a few of his disciples were with him. While the Swami was
bathing a crocodile came up to him and caught hold of his leg. At once, the Swamigal lifted both his
hands and cried out, ‗Hare! Hare!‖ and the crocodile immediately let go of his leg. However, the
Swami‘s leg was badly hurt. The Pundit who had watched this incident realised the greatness of the
Swami and at once fell at his feet seeking his pardon. He said that his argument that ‗Gajendra
Moksha‘ was a spin story was due to his pride and that it was only to wipe out his ignorance that
‗Yateendra Moksha‘ had taken place. [Yati means ascetic].

The Swami said to him, ―Why do you beg my pardon? Do not feel envious if anyone speaks of Srimad
Narayana as the Supreme Godhead.‖
The Pundit became a great devotee of the Swami.

A deep wound had been formed on the Swami‘s leg due to the bite of the crocodile. At the request of
the disciples the Swami agreed to treat it. He asked them to collect some herbs and boil it in oil. He
then asked them to pour it hot over the wound! No disciple came forward. The Swami said to them,
―Hey, ignorants! why do you fear? Have not I repeatedly told you all that the Atma is different from
the body? If it were true how would I, the Atma, suffer? Also, how would the body which is really
inert suffer?‖ Uttering these words he removed the boiling oil from the oven and poured it over his
wound and laughed loudly! This brought tears to the eyes of the devoted disciples. The leg healed
within a few days.

Once, the Swami gave a discourse in the woods of Koothanur village. The day was quite hot. A snake
suddenly wound its way through the audience and moved below the Swami‘s seat.

Some of them requested the Swami to move away. The Swamigal said, ―A man becomes eligible to
embrace the ascetic life only when he earns the Jnana that all forms are verily the Lord. There is no
difference between my body and that of the snake. It is verily Lord Nrisimha who is the Atma in both.
Why fear? All of you sit quietly and listen to the Lord‘s story.‖

But is it possible for the people to forget the presence of the snake and listen to his discourse? By
sheer grace of Swamigal he held their attention. The people totally forgot about the snake and were
engrossed in the discourse. At the end of the discourse the Swami asked one of them, ―Where is the
snake? See if it is still here?‖

The man feared lifting the seat to find out.The Swamigal laughed and lifted the seat only to find the
snake gone. All were wonderstruck. The Swamigal said, ―This is not surprising at all. The snake went
back the way it came but all of you were totally engrossed in listening to the Bhagavatam and did not
notice it!‖
The people at once prayed to him to bless them so that their minds would always be engrossed in the
Lord‘s stories in this manner.

The Swamigal thus passed his days wandering about several villages conducting hundreds of
Bhagavata saptaha yajna and preaching Bhakti to the people. He became old. He had not spent his
life labourig for his family. Shunning worldly comforts he had spent his days in the thought of the
Lord. The Swami‘s eye sight failed and the disciples arranged for a surgery. Dr.Mahalinga Iyer was at
first very indifferent towards the Swami. But soon he realised that the Swami had come to him with
the excuse of a treatment only to bless him. The Swami refused to use anesthesia. He said that one
could lose body consciousness without the anesthesia; and that when he did so, the doctor could
perform his surgery. The Swami then lay in ‗savasana‘ and lost consciousness of his body in yogic
state. The doctor performed the surgery with deep reverence and devotion. All through the surgery
the Swami lay without any movement. The doctor was simply amazed. He realised that the physical
state of Jnanis were beyond their medical world, that the surgery he had conducted was only for his
own good and that the diseases of Mahans were only their Lila. The vision of the Swami was restored
and the doctor earned spiritual vision!

‗Alangudi‘ Periyava, fully aware of the day whence he would shed his mortal coil, arrived at
Mudikondan village. The fortunate ones there served him in various ways. The Swami decided to
celebrate Lord Nrisimha Jayanti during Vaikasi month in ‗yuva varusha‘ grandly. He celebrated
Nrisimha Jayanti every year. A Bhagavata Saptaham was arranged in this connection. He gave
discourse on the Bhagavatam in his own unique way. On the day of Sri Nrisimha Jayanati,
celebration of Sri Rukmini Kalyanam came to an end in the evening. It was the last day of Bhagavata
saptaham. At the end of the discourse, ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava gave a brief discourse on Prahlada
charitra, as it was the day of Lord Nrisimha Jayanti. He was narrating the scene of Prahalad offering
his prayer to Lord Nrisimha.

A divine light [‗jyoti‘] shot out of the top of his head. A few spiritually evolved people were blessed to
witness this. The pure body of ‗Alangudi‘ Periyava was buried as per scriptural injunction laid down
for a sanyasi in Mudikondan.

The satsang ended with prayers and Namasankirtan.

Bhagawata Saptaham and Aaradhanai of Sri Alangudi

Swamigal
It is a spiritual truth that whatever you get is according to the will of God. Without His
will nothing comes to you. So, when an invitation for the Bhagawata Saptaham and
the 80th Aaradhanai (observance of the anniversary of a sanyasi’s mortal shedding) of
Sri Alangudi Swamigal was handed over to brother Janakiraman at Chennai which he
communicated to me, I did not think twice before grabbing the opportunity. The
events were to be held at Mudikondaan village 25 kms from Mayiladuthurai in
Tamilnadu from 25 May to 1 June 2015. The Saptaha Bhagawata Utsavam included
Bhagawata Moola parayanam and pravachanam. On the last day ie. 1st June was the
Swamigal‟s Aaradhanai day, shukla chaturdasi thithi in the Tamil month Vaikasi.
Sri Alangudi Swamigal, a brief introduction
Alangudi Sri Swayamprakasananda Saraswati Swamigal is considered to be the pioneer in
the Bhagawata saptaha pravachanam in the mid 19th century in the spiritually and
otherwise also fertile Mayuram (now Mayiladuthurai), Nannilam, Tiruvarur,
Kumbakonam and adjacent areas. Born on 25 October 1862, Swamigal left his native
village at the age of around 18-19 years, to avoid getting entangled
in Grahastasramam, as an avadoot, and later took to sanyas ashramam keeping in
view the requirements to do Bhagawata Saptaha pravachanam for the welfare of the
people in nearby villages. He would go village after village looking for people
interested in listening to Bhagawatam. Thus, he spent his entire life in the cause of
propagation of Bhagawatam and creating awareness of the Mahapuranam among the
people.
It was, therefore, not surprising that Swamigal, a great devotee of Shri
Nrisimhamurthy, left his mortal body in 1935 on Nrisimha Jayanthi day while doing
Saptaha Bhagawata pravachanam on Bhakta Prahlada (Nrisimha avataram) charitram.
Such great souls though leave their physical bodies, ever remain in their subtle
manifestation and bless the devotees. Visit to samadhis of suchsanyasis infuses
spiritual energy and bestows guidance to the devotees in their quest for achieving
spiritual progress. Some incidents in his life lend insight into the greatness of the
Swamigal. Once when he was taking bath in a river near his village with his disciples,
a crocodile grabbed his leg, as in the Gajendra moksham episode. Swamigal then
folded his hands and looked at the sky calling “Hare, Hare…” Those who witnessed
the incident were surprised to see that the crocodile released its grasp and disappeared
into the river. At another time, at nearby Koothanur village, when he was doing
saptaha pravachanam in a jungle like surrounding, a snake came under the seat where
he was sitting and doing pravachanam. Those who were listening to
the pravachanam got scared, but Swamigal told them that there is no difference
between the manifestation of Lord Nrisimha as the soul in himself and that in the
snake. He, therefore, asked them to remain calm and listen to the pravachanam.
Swamigal, by his spiritual power, made them forget about the snake and listen to the
pravachanam undisturbed. At the end, when they remembered about the snake and
looked at where he was sitting, the snake was not there. Swamigal told them that it
had left while they were attentively listening to the pravachanam. Sengalipuram
Bhramasri Anantharama Dikshitar heard of this from his father who, along with his
brother, was present at the pravachanam and witnessed the incident. Swamigal is also
reported to have undergone an eye surgery without the use of any anesthesia by going
into a state of samadhi until the operation was over. The Doctor who did the surgery
was astonished at this feat of the Swamigal.
1000 Bhagawata Saptahams
Shri Krishnapremiji (Sri Sri Anna) Swamigal has been associated with the various
activities of theSri Alangudi Swamigal Aradhana Sabha Trust, guiding and assisting it
in various ways. Bhagawata saptaham and Aaradhanai are being conducted regularly
under his guidance. Kanchi Maha Periyaval has instructed the trustees that
Swamigal‟s Aaradhanai should be conducted as long as the Prapancham (Universe)
exists. As per the wishes of Sri Sri Krishna Premi Swamigal, the Trust has planned to
conduct 1000 Bhagawata Saptahams. So far, it has conducted over 400 saptahams and
efforts are being continued to achieve the target. They have sought liberal
contributions from bhaktas to fulfill this target, as well as in the conduct of other
activities of the Trust, details of which are available on their
website srialangudiswamigal.org/Contact.html Contact details: Sri Alangudi Swamigal
Aradhana Sabha Trust 619, West Street, Mudikondan Post, Mayiladuthurai RMS,
Pin: 609502, Tiruvarur Dist. Phone : +91-4366-230142.
Bhagawata puranam, a Unique Holy Scripture
Bhagawata puranam, is one of the very important Puranams forming part of the
18 Maha Puranams of the Hindu Dharmic scriptures. It is believed that a life without
having read or listened to a pravachanam of Bhagawatam is a wasted one. A book of
Bhagawatam is considered to be so sacred that one should revere it as one would
revere Bhagawan Shri Krishna. Every letter in this Holy book is considered verily as
Lord Krishna Himself. It is somewhat more significant than the well known
“Bhagawad Gita” – the conversation between Lord Krishna and the devotee Arjuna –
outlining the essence of the philosophy of Karma Yoga, Gyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.
This is because, Bhagawatam in a unique way is a complete compendium of
philosophies such as Kapiladeva‟s Upadesam on Sankhya Yoga, Bhakti Marga, Ashtanga
Yoga Vidhi in the form of Kapiladeva‟s (avatar of Lord Vishnu) conversation with His
mother devotee Devahuti, Uddhava Gita (in the form of Lord Krishna‟s conversations
with Uddhava on Bhakti, Gyana and Karma Yoga, Satsanga Mahima, Dhyana Yoga
and Kriya Yoga, etc,.); Avadhuta Upaakyanam; and Navayogi Upadesam. It also
covers matters on the knowledge about creation; the existence and description of the
fourteen worlds; the description of the various avatars of the Lord; the
famous Samudra Matanam (Churning of the Milky Ocean) apart from
the charitrams of ancient kings and others who have been
exemplary bhaktas (devotees) of Lord Vishnu – Dhruva charitram, Prahlada
charitram, Ambarisha charitram, Rishabha Yogi charitram, Jadabharata Upaakyanam
besides Gajendra Moksham (the episode on how an elephant successfully called the
Lord for redemption at his time of distress). Above all, the entire history of Lord
Krishna‟s life and times in great detail has been narrated so profusely in Bhagawatam,
that it is, perhaps, the only authentic source forUpanyasakas to describe child
Krishna‟s Leela, His various adventures, the killing of several demon kings (that form
part of ‘dhushta nigraha sishta paripalanam’- His avatara objective), establishment
of His Rajadhani (capital) at Dwaraka, besides the episodes on Rukmini Kalyanam,
Kuchela Upaakyanam (Sudama charitram), and His final departure to Vaikuntham
(the abode of the Lord).
Visit to Mudikondaan for Bhagawata Saptaham and
Swamigal’s Aaradhanai – a Memorable Experience
So, no wonder, the invitation to the Bhagawata Saptaham in conjunction with
the Aaradhanai of the great saint – who was reverentially called “Periyava” (great
soul) by none other than the GreatKanchi Maha Periyaval – in the serene village
surroundings of Mudikondaan, was considered by me and brother Janakiraman as a
God sent opportunity not to be missed. And, it turned out to be so in many ways,
fortuitous.
I boarded the Tamilnadu Express at Delhi and arrived at Chennai on 25th (May)
morning and reached my brother‟s residence. After taking a quick lunch, around 11.30
hrs we left in his Nano for Mudikondaan, after packing for a week‟s spiritual retreat at
the village. We had to hurry in order to reach in time for the 7 pm pravachanam on
Bhagawata Mahatmyam that day. There was excitement about the unique experience
that we would be having,
After an hour‟s drive, we stopped at a highway restaurant offering “Kumbakonam
Filter Coffee.” Such restaurants are quite common in this part of the country. After
savouring good filter coffee, we purchased some spiritual books that were on sale at
this restaurant. The girls who were managing the small outlet were very nice. It was a
hot summer day, and after some drive, we had some tender coconut water that was on
offer at the highway. We passed through Pondicherry and Cuddalore towns and
bypassed Chidambaram and Sirkazhi towns on the way.
It was around 5 o‟clock in the evening that we were nearing Vaitheeswaran Koil. We
had some tiffin and coffee in a restaurant at the outskirts of this temple town. We
reached the temple around 5.30 in the evening, stopping to have darshan at the temple.
Incidentally, Vaitheeswaran Koil is ourKuladeivam and our parents would take us to
this temple quite often for the first „mottai‟ (mundan/head tonsure) or to fulfil any
prayer that they may have made when we would fall ill. After completing darshan that
took almost an hour, we resumed driving, for Mudikondaan which is now about
40kms from this temple town. We drove through Mayiladuthurai and reached
Mudikondaan around 8 pm.
The Pravachana Mandapam, the venue, was at the southern end of the Mela
Veedhi (West street)Agraharam. We joined the Bhagavata Pravachanam that was
already on from 7 pm. After thepravachanam, we had dinner and then joined the Divya
Nama Sankirtan that followed the Pravachanam. During our interactions with Shri
Shankaranarayana Iyer, who is an important and active functionary of the Trust, and
his wife, we found that the latter is a close relative of thePattaamaniar (a local level
revenue authority) in our native town of Kuttalam which is about 32 kms from this
village on the Mayiladuthurai to Kumbakonam route. After exchanging notes with
them, we called it a day and went to sleep in the big hall on the first floor of the
Pravachana Mandapam. A Korai paai which is a plain mat was all that we had to
sleep on. This is the traditional way people sleep in this part of the country.

Our daily routine started at around 4 O‟ Clock in the morning. After taking bath and
doing our morning prayers, we started off by 5.45 am for the day‟s packed schedule.
There is a daily ‘Gow Puja’ done by the devotee who is incharge of the Pravachana
Mandapam. Shri Raghupathy Iyer who is a devotee of Alangudi Swamigal is said to
be closely associated with Shri Krishna Premi Swamigal for several years, and is also
in charge of this spiritual and holy place that includes theAdhishtanam (Samadhi) of
the Swamigal. Shri Iyer is a retired Tehsildar from a nearby village. After the Gow
Puja and Gow darshan and a cup of hot filter coffee at the adjoining dining hall, we
left for the Swamigal‟s Adhishtanam which is about 200 meters at the southern most
end of the Mela Veedhi Agraharam. It is located adjacent to the Shiva temple. On the
way, we come across a Ganapathy temple, a village pond (a water reservoir) and
a Peepal tree.

Peepal tree and the village pond

The Adhishtanam of the Swamigal includes the samadhi of three other sanyasis who
hailed from nearby villages. The samadhi is represented by a ‘Bilwa tree’ and a ‘Shiva
Linga’. The Bhagawata Parayanam starts daily at 6.30 am preceded by puja to the
Swamigal‟s samadhi conducted by Shri Raghupathy Iyer. The Bhagawatam Holy
books used by the devotees for parayanam are kept in the puja, offered flowers and
then handed over to each devotee.

Adhistanam (left) and Shivan Koil

There were around a dozen devotees who were doing parayanam within the samadhi
precincts which included four ladies well versed in Bhagawata moola
parayanam. The parayanakartas had come from various places, namely Chennai,
Srirangam, Bangalore, Palghat and Pune. Shri Thyagaraja Sarma who had come from
Chennai was the main conductor of the Parayanam. Daily parayanam went for about
five hours non-stop. It culminated with Abhishekam and puja to the Swamigal‟s
samadhi and the other three samadhis followed by Deeparadhanai and
prasadaviniyogam (distribution). There was also simultaneous recitation of Veda
Parayanam along with Bhagawata Moola Parayanam, by Krishna Yajur, Shukla
Yajur and Samaveda students who had come from places such as Chennai and
Tirupathi. In the beginning, a sankalpam was performed for those who had opted for
it.

Bhagawata Moola Parayanam

Everyday around 12.30 noon, lunch is served at the Dining Hall.

Five cooks from nearby Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam were manning the kitchen.
The food was prepared in the traditional ‘madi’ fashion and served with religious
rituals that are generally associated with it. After food, it was rest time till 3.30 pm
when evening coffee was served with light snacks. Sri Premisataka sankeertanam was
also performed, between 2 and 4 pm, mainly by ladies and a few gents who are well
versed in it.
The first session of the Bhagawata Pravachanam by Shri Neelabala Sarma starts
around 4 pm in the main hall and goes on till 6 pm. After break for Sandhya
vandanam and dinner, the Pravachanam resumed around 7.45 pm and went on till 9
pm. Divya Nama bhajan by gents and ladies went on till around 10.30 to 11 pm after
which Krishna and His consorts in the puja are set to sleep with
traditional ‘thaalattu’ and other rituals.

Pravachanam at the Hall

Pravachanam by Sri Neelabala Sarma

Visits to Temples Around Mudikondaan

The daily routine continued precisely on the same pattern on all the days. Taking
advantage of the gap between the two sessions of pravachanam in the evening, on the
second day, we went out to nearby Polagam and Thirukannapuram in our Nano. Shri
Neelabala Sarma and his wife also accompanied us in our car while some more
devotees hired another vehicle. At Polagam is the samadhi of Shri Vijaya Gopala
Swamigal who was a pioneer in the lyrical composition of Divya Nama Bhajans of
theBhagawata Sampradayam. We were told that Shri Krishna Premi swamigal had
taken efforts to locate his samadhi and build an „adhishtanam‟. Polagam is also known
for another well known carnatic music lyricist Shri Papanasam Sivan who belonged to
this village. Our next stop was at Thirukannapuram, a well known Vaishnavite Temple
town. The Lord is known as “Sowriraja Perumal” and His consort as “Kannapura
Nayaki”. It is one of the “108 Divya Desams” and is also known as „Sapta Punya
Kshetram‟. There is a big temple tank adjacent to this temple which has a large
reservoir of water. After darshan of the Lord and His consort, we returned to
Mudikondaan around 8 pm. The pravachanam started a bit late due to this outing.
On another day, we visited the house where Swamigal lived in Alangudi, a nearby
village about 2 kms from Mudikondaan. The house has been renovated. Shri
Neelabala Sarma accompanied us along with Shri Dhandapani Iyer another important
trustee who also hails from Alangudi. Shri Sarma made a 10 minute brief
pravachanam on “Pritu Charitram” from the Bhagavata puranam, to honour the
Swamigal‟s passion for Bhagawata Pravachanam.
On the intervening Friday, we went out on a similar trip to Tirumeeyachur Shri Lalita
Parameswaritemple about 6-7 kms from Mudikondaan. It is said that Sri Lalita
Sahasranamam slokam had its origin in this deity. The Lord in this temple is Sri
Meghanadha Swami.
We also visited the temple in Thilatharpanapuri which is a kilometre away
from Koothanur village, famous for the Saraswathi temple. It is believed that Lord
Rama had performed ‘thilatharpanam” in this place and worshipped the Lord here. It
is said that people come here and do “thilatharpanam” for their ancestors. Another
significant adjunct of this temple is the ‘Adi Ganesar’ deity, ie. Ganesha in his
original human face before he got the “elephant face”. It is located in a separate
temple outside the main temple precincts.
Since we had taken our own vehicle, we could make effective use of the short time
gaps available for visiting the nearby important temples.
Since Pravachanakarta Shri Sarma had to leave two days earlier to attend to his other
prior engagements, on the sixth day, a youngster of around 25 – 28 years who is
working as an Asst. Professor in an engineering college did sangeeta upanyasam.
On the seventh day, which is also the Aaradhana day of the Swamigal, after the usual
parayanam, abhishekam and the Puja at the Adhishtanam, with Vedic chants, a brief
upanyasam was made on “Prahlada Charitram” by another young Upanyasakar who
had come from Chennai. The upanyasam was very crisp and informative. Bhramana
Bhojanam to invited Vedic pundits and offer of sambhavanai (dakshina) was also
performed in the traditional manner in which 16 Vedic pundits participated. After
receiving blessings of the bhrammanal, food was served to other participants. In the
evening, a procession of Swamigal‟s portrait had also been scheduled. Thus, an 8 day
programme came to a conclusion that proved to be a unique experience to us. It
provided us an opportunity to interact with Bhagawata devotees from various places
and exchange notes. While it was our first visit to this annual event, some of the
participants have been attending it regularly.
High Points of this Spiritual Retreat
Thengudi Mariamman temple is just 3 kms from Mudikondaan village. Our mother,
whose native Kazhanivasal is about 6 kms from this temple. would always pray to
the Mariamman, herIshtadeivam, whenever we were unwell, in our childhood. So, we
had a lingering feeling of incompleteness when we could not make it to this temple,
which was so near, till the last day. But,Mariamman perhaps knew our intention and
did call us to her precincts for a dasrshan. Around 1 o‟clock in the afternoon on the
last day, the Pujari of the temple whom we had spoken to earlier, called us to the
temple. We had an exclusive darshan of Goddess Mariamman
with archanai anddeepa harati.
I could not miss the fact that our journey started with a darshan at our Kula
Deivam Vaitheeswaran koil and concluded with a darshan at our Mother‟s Ishta
deivam Thengudi Mariamman Koil interspersed with visits to so many other temples,
including the local Shiva temple, Kasi Viswanathar temple and Sri Ram temple.
We realized how blessed we were when one of the participants (from Palghat) offered
to us a soft copy of the entire Bhagawata moola parayanam rendition in a melodious
voice. We could see the hand of God in it and expressed our gratitude to Lord Krishna
without whose blessings we would not have got it.
We also met a family hailing from our native town Kuttalam, a childhood
acquaintance whom we were meeting after almost four decades. He remembered
nostalgically and gratefully how his family has been protected till date by the effect of
the series of “Devi Mahatmya Parayanam” that our father would perform at their
house.
Smt. and Shri Kamakshi Srinivasan, a couple who have taken VRS from their bank
jobs have been very humble participants at the Bhagawata parayanam and the
Aaradhanai. It was the will of Lord Krishna and blessings of the Swamigal that their
posting in a branch in a nearby village drew them to this village where they stayed for
more than three years. Divine destiny has established an umbilical cord between them
and this village with their close association with the activities of the Trust. The couple
have made considerable financial contribution in acquiring the land in Alangudi
where Swamigal lived, as well as in donating the land adjacent to the Pravachana
Mandapam at Mudikondaan in which the Dining Hall has been constructed with
further support from another devotee.
Return Home
After bidding farewell to all our new acquaintances there, we left Mudikondaan
around 4.30 pm. After having a cup of hot filter coffee at the same restaurant on the
outskirts of Vaitheeswaran Koil, we returned to Chennai around 10.30 pm with our
spiritual batteries completely recharged, to last till our next planned retreat in
Guruvayur in July.
…………….
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