PRECEPTORS OF ADVAITA PART 191024 CONTD KR IRS In July 1926, the Āchārya went to Uḍaiyārpālaiyam, a Zamindāri closely associated with the Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha. When the transfer of the headquarters of the Maṭha from Kānchī to Kumbhakoṇam was being made in the eighteenth century, the then chief of the Zamindārī had rendered all assistance to the Sixty-second Āchārya. Since that time the ruling family had been closely associated with Kāñchī and Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha. Hence, it was a great occasion for Uḍaiyārpālaiyam when our Āchārya visited it in 1926. The Zamindar, his family, and the people accorded to the Āchārya a magnificent reception, and valuable presents were made to the Maṭha to mark the occasion.
When the Āchārya was camping at Tiruppādirippuliyūr, an old lady who was a scholar in Tamil, and national worker came for his *darśana.* Achalāmbikai was her name. She had composed a narrative poem on the life of Mahātmā Gāndhi. She had known the Āchārya as a child in his *pūrvāśrama;* and had also studied under the Āchārya’s father. Tears of joy streamed from her eyes when she now beheld the son of her teacher shine as the *Jagadguru.* There is a place called Vaḍavāmbalam on the northern bank of South Peṇṇār where a Pūrva Āchārya of the Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha had his *samādhi.* At our Āchārya’s wish the *samādhi* which had been obliterated was reconstructed, and arrangements were made for regular worship there. At Pondicherry, the officials of the French Government and the people gave the Āchārya a royal welcome. During his stay there, the shocking news of the destruction of the famous temple-car at Tiruvārūr as a result of incendiarism arrived. The *āstikas* of the district of Tañjāvūr rose as one man and resolved to build a new car. The Āchārya blessed the effort; and through his blessing a new car equaling the old in magnificence was built in two years’ time. One Eḻulūr Subbarāya Vādhyār took a leading part in this laudable effort. Later on, he became a *sannyāsin* bearing the name ‘Śrī Nārāyaṇa Brahmānanda’; even as a *sannyāsin* he did great service in renovating old temples and performing *kumbhābhi-shekams.* In March 1927, the Āchārya went to Salem and toured the district. At Erode, a Muslim gentleman offered a few verses in Samskrit which he had composed in praise of the Āchārya. The letters of the verses were written in small squares which together formed the figure of the Śiva-liṅga. In the presence of the Āchārya, the Muslim scholar read out the verses and explained their meaning. When the Āchārya asked him as to how he had mastered the language to such an extent as to be able to compose verses, he replied that his forbears were scholars in Samskrit, and that he himself had studied the language under his own father. The Āchārya complimented him on the proficiency he had attained in Samskrit and advised him to keep up his studies. After visiting Coimbatore in April 1927, the Āchārya, arrived in Pālghāṭ in the first week of May. Kerala which had given birth to Ādi Śaṅkara was now jubilant at the visit of an illustrious successor in whose life and mission the greatness of the Ādi-Guru was luminously reflected. The Āchārya spoke to the śiṣyas in Malayālam. The people who listened to him mistook him for a Keralīya. It was during the Āchārya’s Pālghāṭ visit that Śrī T. M. Kṛṣṇaswami Aiyar, a leading Advocate of Madras who later served as Chief Judge of Travancore, met the Guru with a party of devotees and conducted Tiruppugaḻ Bhajana. The Āchārya was greatly pleased with the devotion and the music, and blessed the leader by conferring on him the title Tiruppugaḻ-maṇi’. In the latter half of 1927, Mahātmā Gāndhi was touring the South. He had heard about the Sage of Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha, and wanted very much to meet him. The meeting took place at Nallicheri in Pālghāt They met in a cattle-shed in the Āchārya’s camp. It was a unique experience for the Mahātmā. Here was an authentic successor of Ādi Śaṅkara, dressed in a piece of ochre cloth made of Khādi, and seated on the floor. The Āchārya too appreciated the occasion provided for getting to know at first hand the leader of the nation who had adopted voluntarily the mode of a simple peasant’s life. The Āchārya conversed in Samskrit, and the Mahātmā in Hindi. The conversation took place in a most cordial atmosphere. On taking leave of the Āchārya, the Mahātmā gave expression to the immense benefit he had derived from this unique meeting. How profoundly he was drawn to the Āchārya will be evident from a small incident that occurred during the interview. It was 5-30 in the evening. Śrī C. Rajagopalachari went inside the cattle-shed and reminded the Mahātmā about his evening meal; for the Mahātmā would not take any food after 6 O’clock. The Mahātmā made this significant observation to Śrī C. Rajagopalachari: “The conversation I am having now with the Āchārya is itself my evening meal for to-day.” The Āchārya visited several places in Kerala, including Guruvāyūr, Tiruchūr, Ernākulam, Quilon, and Trivandrum. The States of Cochin and Travancore accorded to the Āchārya the highest veneration. At Allepy the Āchārya paid a visit to the Śrī Chandraśekharendra Pāṭhaśālā, and blessed the pupils of the school. At Cape Comorin, he worshipped at the Kanyā Kumārī temple after a bath in the confluence of the seas. After completing the Kerala tour, he proceeded northwards again. At Madurai, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru of Allahabad met the Āchārya and sought his blessings for the effort he was making to convene an All Parties’ Conference, in order to impress on the British Government that it should not ignore the demands of the nationalist forces. The Āchārya told Sir Sapru that the urgent need in India was for achieving the good of the people through peaceful means, and that any effort in that direction had his good wishes. In February 1929. The Āchārya began his tour of the South Arcot District. The *chāturmāsya,* that year was observed in Maṇalūrpeṭṭai. For about a month the Āchārya was having a fever. In utter neglect of the state of his body, he performed the daily worship, taking his usual bath. In due course the fever left, relieving the devotees of their great anxiety. During the present tour, the Āchārya was passing through Taṇḍalam village. A cowherd of that place wanted to sell his small holding and give the proceeds as his offering to the Āchārya. The Āchārya dissuaded him from doing so; but the devotee would not go back on his resolve. He actually sold his piece of land to a rich man of the place and made his heart-offering to the Āchārya. The Āchārya, however, did not like that the cowherd should become destitute. He, therefore, arranged through the local Tahsildar for the allotment of sufficient piece of *puramboke* land to the cowherd. In December 1929, the Āchārya went to Tiruvaṇṇāmalai for the *Dīpam* festival. Tiruvaṇṇāmalai is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage. The holy hill Aruṇāchala is itself worshipped as a Śiva-liṅga. According to *Purāṇa* it was here that the Lord Śiva appeared as a column of light whose top and bottom Brahmā and Viṣṇu could not discover. And, it was here that Pārvatī acquired half of Śiva’s body and as a consequence the Lord became Ardhanārīśvara. Saint Aruṇagirināthar had his vision of Subrahmaṇva here, and became the bard who sang the Tiruppugaḻ. The *samādhi* of Iḍaikkāṭṭu Siddhar is said to be within the precincts of the great temple of Aruṇāchaleśvara. In our own time Tiruvaṇṇāmalai became the hallowed residence of Śrī Ramaṇa Maharṣi. Once a year on the full-moon day in the month of Kṛttikā, iust at sun-down, a beacon is lit at the top of the sacred hill signifying that Śiva is worshipped at Tiruvaṇṇāmalai in the form of light and fire. This is known as the *Dipam* festival. Our Āchārya visited the sacred place during this festival in 1929, staying there for about a month, walking round the hill several times, and worshipping at the temple. The next place of importance to be visited was Aḍaiyapalam near Āraṇi. It was here that the famous Appaya Dīkṣita had lived about four centuries earlier. Dīkṣita was a great Advaitin as well as an ardent Śaiva. He was a polymath who wrote several classical works. The Āchārya reminded the people of Aḍaiyapalam of the great service rendered by Dīkṣita to Advaita and Śaivism, and asked them to observe the birth-anniversary of this eminent teacher and to arrange for popularising his works. In December 1930, at Tirukkaḻukkunṟam (Pakṣitīrtham), an address of welcome was presented to the Āchārya on behalf of the All-India Sādhu Mahāsaṅgham. The address referred in glowing terms to the invaluable service that the Āchārya was doing to Hindu *dharma* and society, both through precept and practice, following faithfully the grand tradition of Ādi Śaṅkara. In January 1931, the town of Chingleput had the privilege of receiving the Āchārya — the privilege to which the people of the town had been looking forward for a long time. A notable event that look place during the Āchārya’s sojourn in Chingleput was the visit of Mr Paul Brunton, a noted British writer, journalist, and spiritual seeker. Mr Brunton was on an extensive tour of India looking out for contacts with mystics, yogins, and spiritual leaders. It was the desire for *A Search in Secret India*[3] <https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/preceptors-of-advaita/d/doc62924.html#note-e-32988> that had brought him to this country from far off England. While in Madras, he met Śrī K. S. Venkataramani, the talented author in English of essays and novels on village life. It was Śrī Venkataramani that took Mr Brunton to Chingleput for an interview with the Āchārya. Through his personal representation to the Āchārya, he succeeded in securing for the English visitor an audience with the Āchārya. The beatific face and the glowing eyes of the Sage produced at once an experience of exaltation in the visiting aspirant. Mr Brunton looked at the Achārya in silence, and was struck with what he saw. Referring to this memorable meeting, he wrote later in his book, “His noble face, pictured in grey and brown, takes an honoured place in the long portrait gallery of my memory. That elusive element which the French aptly term *spirituel* is present in his face. His expression is modest and mild, the large dark eyes being extraordinarily tranquil and beautiful. The nose is short, straight and classically regular. There is a rugged little beard on his chin, and the gravity of his mouth is most noticeable. Such a face might have belonged to one of the saints who graced the Christian Church during the Middle Ages, except that this one possesses the added quality of intellectuality. I suppose we of the practical West would say that he has the eyes of a dreamer. Somehow, I feel in an inexplicable way that there is something more than mere dreams behind those heavy lids.” Mr Brunton put to the Āchārya questions about the world, the improvement of its political and economic conditions, disarmament, etc. In his own characteristic way, the Āchārya probed behind the questions and explained how the inward transformation of man was the precondition of a better world. “If you scrap your battleships and let your cannons rust, that will not stop war. People will continue to fight, even if they have to use sticks!” “Nothing but spiritual understanding between one nation and another, and between rich and poor, will produce goodwill and thus bring real peace and prosperity” The Indian attitude towards life and the world, according to the critics, is one of pessimism. But that this view is utterly wrong is borne out by the answer which the Āchārya gave to one of Mr Brunton’s questions. Mr Brunton: “Is it your opinion, then, that men are becoming more degraded?”. The Āchārya: “No, I do not think so. There is an indwelling divine soul in man which, in the end, must bring him back to God. Do not blame people so much as the environments into which they are born. Their surroundings and circumstances force them to become worse than they really are. That is true of both the East and West. Society must be brought’ into tune with a higher note.” Mr Brunton does not fail to make a note of the universalistic and catholic vision of the Āchārya. “I am quick to notice,” he writes, “that Shri Shankara does not decry the West in order to exalt the East, as so many in his land do. He admits that each half of the globe possesses its own set of virtues and vices, and that in this way they are roughly equal! He hopes that a wiser generation will fuse the best points of Asiatic and European civilizations into a higher and balanced social scheme.” Adverting to the purpose for which he had come to India, Mr Brunton asked if the Āchārya would recommend anyone who could serve as his spiritual preceptor, or if the Āchārya himself would be his guide. “I am at the head of a public institution”, said the Āchārya, “a man whose time no longer belongs to himself. My activities demand almost all my time. For years I have spent only three hours in sleep each night. How can I take personal pupils? You must find a master who devotes his time to them,” It was as directed by the Āchārya that Mr Brunton went to Tiruvaṇṇāmalai and found the Master he had been in quest of, in Śrī Ramaṇa Maharshi. Already a devotee of the Maharshi had told Mr Brunton in Madras about the Sage of Aruṇāchala. Mr Brunton was not keen then, because he thought that the Maharshi might turn out to be another Yogi like the ones he had met earlier in this country. But now, it was different. The Āchārya himself had asked him not to leave South India before he had met the Maharṣi, After the interview at Chingleput, Mr Brunton returned to his residence in Madras. That night he saw the Āchārya in a vision. There was a sudden awakening. The room was totally dark. He became conscious of some bright object. He immediately sat up and looked straight at it. This is what he writes: “My astounded gaze meets the face and form of His Holiness Shri Shankara. It is clearly and unmistakably visible. He does not appear to be some ethereal ghost, but rather a solid human being. There is a mysterious luminosity around the figure which separates it from the surrounding darkness. “Surely the vision is an impossible one? Have I not left him at Chingleput? I dose my eyes tightly in an effort to test the matter. There is no difference and I still see him quite plainly! “Let it suffice that 1 receive the sense of a benign and friendly presence. I open my eyes and regard the kindly figure in the loose yellow robe. The face alters, for the lips smile and seem to say: “Be humble and then you shall find what you seek!” “The vision disappears as mysteriously as it has come. It leaves one feeling exalted, happy and unperturbed by its supernormal nature. Shall I dismiss it as a dream? What matters it?"[5] <https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/preceptors-of-advaita/d/doc62924.html#note-e-32990> >From Chingleput, the Āchārya went to Kāñchī, the seat of the Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha. This was his first visit after he had assumed the headship of the Pīṭha. The ceremonial entry into the holy city was made on Sunday the 25th of January, 1931. The city wore a festive appearance that day, the citizens offered to the Āchārya a reverential and enthusiastic welcome. Kāñchī is the city of temples par excellence. The temple of Śrī Kāmākṣī occupies the central place. Ādi Śaṅkara installed the Śrī Chakra in this temple. In the inner *prākāra,* there is a shrine for Śaṅkara with a life-size image. Tradition has it that he ascended the *Sarvajña Pīṭha* and attained *siddhi* in Kāñchī. There are sculptured representations of Śaṅkara in many of the temples including those of Śrī Ekāmreśvara and Śrī Varadarāja. For several centuries past the management of the Kāmākṣī temple was being carried on under the general supervision of the Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha. In 1840 the Sixty-fourth Āchārya, Śrī Chandraśekharendra Sarasvatī, performed the *kumbhābhiṣekam.* The very next year, the British Government in India arranged for the taking over of the direct management of the Temple by the Maṭha itself. During our Āchārya’s stay in Kāñchī in 1931, he made arrangements for the renovation of the temple and for the proper and regular conduct of the daily worship. Leaving Kāñchī towards the end of April 1931, the Āchārya visited Uttiramērūr which is a place of historical importance as there are inscriptions there regarding the ancient democratic institutions. Another great place in Chingleput district to which the Āchārya went was Śrīperumbūdūr, the birth-place of Śrī Rāmānu-jāchāryā. In a discourse which he gave at the Śrī Ādikesava Perumāḷ Temple, he explained the significance of the verse in Puṣpadanta’s *Śiva-mahimna-stotra* in which the various religious paths are compared to the different rivers joining the same ocean and the differences in approach to God are attributed to the differences in taste. The *chāturmāsya* in 1931 was in Chittoor. After that the tour was resumed. While the Āchārya was camping in Āraṇi, a party of about two hundred volunteers of the Indian National Congress wanted to have his *darśana* . Those were the peak days of the struggle for freedom. The British Government would come down upon anyone who showed any hospitality to the volunteers. Therefore, the officials of the Maṭha were hesitant in the matter of receiving the volunteers. When the Āchārya was informed of the intention of the volunteers, he immediately asked the officials to admit them and arrange for their hospitality. He made individual enquiries of the members of the party and gave to each one of them *vibhūti-prasāda.* In March 1932, the Āchārya went to Kālahasti for the *Maha-Śiva-rātrī.* During his stay there, he walked round the Kailāsa hill, a distance of about thirty miles along difficult forest paths. From Kālahasti, the Āchārya proceeded to Tirupati and Tirumalai; vast concourses of people listened to his daily discourses in chaste Telugu. Among other places in Chittoor District, the Āchārya visited Venkaṭagiri and Nagari. In Nagari, the Āchārya was presiding over a discussion on Vedānta among scholars, one day. The Manager of the Maṭha received a telegram from Kumbhakoṇam carrying the sad news of the passing away of the Āchārya’s Mother on the 14th of June 1932. As the Manager was approaching the Āchārya with the telegram in his hand, the Āchārya enquired if it had come from Kumbhakoṇam, to which the Manager replied ‘Yes’. The Āchārya made no further enquiry, but asked the Manager to get back. He remained silent for some time,[6] <https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/preceptors-of-advaita/d/doc62924.html#note-e-32991> and then asked the assembled scholars: “What should a *sannyāsin* do when he hears of the passing away of his mother?” Guessing what had happened, the scholars were deeply distressed and could not say anything. The Āchārya got up and walked to a water-falls at a distance of two miles followed by a great number of people chanting the Lord’s name. He took his bath, the others too did the same. The passing away of the Mother of the *Jagad-guru* was felt as a personal loss by everyone of the *śiṣyas.* There is a spot of natural beauty near Kagan, called Buggā. In the same temple, here, there are the shrines of Kāśī Viśvanātha and Prayāga Mādhava. A perennial river flows by the temple; and five streams feed the river. Commencing from the 17th of July 1932, the Āchārya observed the *chāturmāsya* at this fascinating place. During his stay there, the temple was renovated and *kumbhābhiṣekam* was performed on a grand scale. A large number of devotees from Madras went to Buggā and invited the Āchārya to the Presidency City. *En route* to Madras the Āchārya visited Tiruttaṇi and the famous Subrahmaṇya shrine there. Before we follow the Āchārya to Madras, let us record here the epic of a faithful and devoted dog. Since 1927, a dog was following the retinue of the Maṭha. It was a strange dog — an intelligent animal without the least trace of uncleanliness. It would keep watch over the camp during the nights. It would eat only the food given to it from the Maṭha. The Āchārya would therefore enquire every evening if the dog had been fed. When the camp moved from one place to another, the dog would follow, walking underneath the palanquin, and when the entourage stopped so that the devotees of the wayside villages could pay their homage, it would run to a distance and watch devoutly from there, only to rejoin the retinue when it was on the move again. One day, a small boy hit the dog; and the dog was about to retaliate, when the officials of the Maṭha, in fear, caused the dog to be taken to a distance of twenty-five miles blindfolded and left there in a village. But strange as it may seem, the dog returned to where the Āchārya was even before the person who had taken it away could return. >From that day onwards the dog would not eat without the Āchārya’s *darśana,* and stayed till the end of its life with the Maṭha. The citizens of Madras had the great privilege of receiving the Āchārya on the 28th of September, 1932. During the four months’ stay of the Āchārya in the city, the people felt in their life a visible change for the better. In their crowds they flocked to the camp at the Madras Samskrit College and later in the different parts of the city, and drank deep of the elevating presence and the soul-moving speeches of the Āchārya. On the first night, there was a huge and colourful procession terminating at the Samskrit College. Seated in a decorated palanquin, the Āchārya showered his blessings on the people. Śrī K. Bālasubrahmanya Aiyar and other devotees had made all arrangements for the Āchārya’s stay at the Samskrit College, founded by Śrī Bālasubrahmaṇya Aiyar’s revered father, Justice Śrī V. Krishnaswami Aiyar. A discourse-hall for studying the Śāṅkara-bhāṣya on the Vijayadaśami day was built, for which the Āchārya himself gave the name, Bhāṣya-vijaya-maṇṭapa. The Corporation of Madras wanted very much to present the Āchārya with an address of welcome. Śrī T. S. Ramaswami Aiyar was then the Mayor. Moving the resolution to present an address, Śrī A. Ramaswami Mudaliyār referred to the fact that that was the first occasion when the Corporation would be presenting an Address to a religious leader, paid his tribute to the Āchārya, saying that he was held in great esteem not only by the Hindus but also by the followers of other religions, and hoped that the resolution would be passed unanimously. The resolution was passed with acclaim by the entire House. But when the invitation was conveyed to the Āchārya, he politely declined as it would not be proper for him to associate himself directly with a secular function at the Corporation Buildings. The *navarātrī* in 1932 was celebrated at the Samskrit College. During this pujā-festival, the Āchārya fasts and observes silence on all the nine days. Women are honoured with offerings of gifts, as they are manifestations of Parā Śakti (the Great Mother of the World). And, ceremonial *pūjā* is performed to girls, commencing with a two-year old on the first day and ending with a ten-year old on the last day. This is what is known as Along with recitation of the *Vedas* , *pārāyaṇam* of the *Devī-bhāga-vata,* the *Rāmāyana,* the *Gītā* and other texts, the Chaṇḍī and Śrī-Vidyā homas are performed during the festival. Thousands of people participated in the *navarātrī* festival at the Samskrit College and received the Āchārya’s benedictions. After the *navarātrī,* the Āchārya delivered discourses every evening after the *pūjā.* Thousands of people listened to these in pin-drop silence. Seated on the *siṃhāsana,* the Āchārya would remain silent for some- time. Then, slowly he would commence to speak. It was not mere speech; it was a message from the heart, each day. With homely examples, in an engaging manner, he would exhort the audience to lead a clean, simple, unselfish and godly life. The essentials of Hindu *dharma* , the obligatory duties, the supreme duty of being devoted to God, the harmony of the Hindu cults, the significance of the Hindu festivals and institutions, the cultivation of virtues, and the grandeur of Advaita, formed some of the themes of these discourses.[7] <https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/preceptors-of-advaita/d/doc62924.html#note-e-32992> Those who were not able to listen to these speeches had the benefit of reading reports of them every day in “The Hindu” and “The Swadesamitran.” The Āchārya’s teachings enabled the listeners and readers to gain the experience of inward elevation. During his stay in the city, the Āchārya visitēd some of the educational institutions such as the Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home, *t* he P. S., Hindu, and Theological High Schools. He advised both teachers and students to be devoted to the sacred task of educating and learning respectively. Before leaving the city, he blessed some of the eminent scholars and devoted leaders by the award of titles: Mahāmahopādhyāya S. Kuppuswami Sastri received the title *Darśana-Kalānidhi,* Śrī K. Balasubrahmanya Aiyar, *Dharma-rakṣāmaṇi,* and Sri A. Krishnaswami Aiyar, *Paropakāra-chintāmaṇi.* Tiruvoṟṟivūr near Madras, is a most sacred place. It has been for centuries the favoured resort of *mahātmās.* The temple of Tvāgeśa and Tripurasundarī is an ancient one. Ādi Śaṅkara installed the *Śrī-chakra* in this temple. Even to this dav the *archakas* that officiate at the shrine of Tripurasundarī are Nambūdiris. There is an image of Śaṅkara in the inner *prākāra* of the temple. Several of the heads of the Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha chose to live at least for some time at Tiruvoṟṟyūr. In the Śaṅkara Maṭha there, the *adhiṣṭhānas* of two Āchāryas of the Kāmakoṭi Pītha are to be seen. Our Āchārya visited Tiruvoṟṟyūr and made the holy place holier. Leaving Madras, the Āchārya went to the South a sain in order to participate in the *Mahāmakham* festival at Kurabhakoṇam in March 1933. Since the *vijayā-yātrā* was still in progress, he did not enter the Maṭha at Kumbhakoṇam; the camp was set up in Tiruviḍaimarudūr. From there, he went to Kumbhakoṇam on the festival day and took the ceremonial bath in the Tank. About six lakhs of people thronged to Kumbhakoṇam that dav to participate in the festival that comes once in twelve years. After the *Mahāmakham* the Āchārya continued to stay for some months at the Śaṅkara Maṭha in Tiruviḍaimarudūr. According to tradition, when Ādi Śaṅkara visited this holy place and had *darśana* of Śrī Mahāliṅga-svāmī in the temple, there appeared Śiva’s form from the Liṅga, raised the right hand declared three times that “Advaita alone is the truth”, and disappeared. In 1933, our Āchārya celebrated the Śaṅkara Jayantī at Tiruviḍaimarudūr. 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