Once at the Matham, Periyava was giving Darshan and blessings to people who had come. Then a boy of around 7 or eight years came to the front, parting the crowd. He was carrying an autograph book in his hands and he came and stood in front of Periyava.
Though attendants and other elders tried to stop him, he did not heed them at all. He extended his autograph book to Periyava and said, “Periyava, put your autograph in this and give me !”
“Why do you need My autograph?”, asked Periyava
“Look here, I have the autograph of so many people in here. It will be good if you can give me Yours as well”
Periyava appeared to hesitate for a moment.
“Sir, sir, please give me Your autograph!”, pleaded the boy. People there looked on in amusement, not knowing what to do.
Seeing that the boy appeared adamant, Periyava called out to an attendant and said, “Take this boy inside, put the seal of the Shankara Matham in this book, write ‘Narayana Sthuthi’ and put your signature in his book. Sanyasis should not put their signatures anywhere”
The attendant gave the book back to the boy after carrying out Periyava’s orders.
The boy came out screaming in joy, “I have got the autograph !” Everybody looked on in amusement
He came up to Periyava and said, “Thank you Sir” in a dignified fashion and headed out.
Then Periyava said to the boy, “Wait for a minute”
The boy stopped.
“You got what you wanted. Now, I want your autograph. Can you please put your autograph in the officer register?”
“Oh sure, why not !”, said the boy like a big man ! The Matham’s visitor book was brought there and the boy put his signature therein.
The boy again said, “Thank you Sir” and started from there.
Whether it is a boy or a big shot, everybody was treated the same in His Sannidhi
===================================================================================
MahaPeriyava started His All India Yatra. First stop was at Tirupati. After that many places were covered – DivyaKshethrams like Kashi, Gaya were there in that list. That was when the Gaya Shankara Matham was established !
There were 30 attendants who had gone along with Him. It would not be incorrect to say that they were like His shadows. HIS holy feet touched several villages. Famine stricken villages prospered.
HE reached Rameshwaram via Calcutta and Vishakapatnam. Having reached the Ramanatha Swamy temple, He began to do Abhishekam to the Lord with His own hands. Ganges water was transported along with Him. This was used during the Abhishekam.
At this time, the Ramanathapuram king was present there. The Abhishekam went on for 3 hours. After this, everybody including the king were desirous of listening to some Pravachanam from Periyava.
Periyava started his Pravachanam and began to talk at leisure. Suddenly Periyava stopped. HE drank some water from His Kamandalam and suddenly started His Mounam
HE started from there and reached Kumbakonam. HE finished all his Poojas there and came to his starting point – Kanchipuram. The Mounam which started in Rameshwaram lasted 6 months !
Not a word came from the Mahan’s mouth. HIS divine work continued in complete silence. Nobody knows the reason. Nobody had the guts to even ask him the reason.
One day, the Mahan broke his silence on His own ! A few people approached him respectfully and asked Him, “Please tell us what was the reason for Your Mounam?”
He shot back, “Should I observe My vow of Silence only after taking permission from you?”
Nobody said a word.
Periyava continued, “I had been speaking continuously for 20 years. That is why I suddenly chose to go into Mounam”. Everybody could only smile in response!
English translation
Autograph and Misc
https://mahaperiyavaa.blog/2009/03/31/autograph-and-misc/
Once at the Matham, Periyava was giving Darshan and blessings to people who had come. Then a boy of around 7 or eight years came to the front, parting the crowd. He was carrying an autograph book in his hands and he came and stood in front of Periyava.
Though attendants and other elders tried to stop him, he did not heed them at all. He extended his autograph book to Periyava and said, “Periyava, put your autograph in this and give me !”
“Why do you need My autograph?”, asked Periyava
“Look here, I have the autograph of so many people in here. It will be good if you can give me Yours as well”
Periyava appeared to hesitate for a moment.
“Sir, sir, please give me Your autograph!”, pleaded the boy. People there looked on in amusement, not knowing what to do.
Seeing that the boy appeared adamant, Periyava called out to an attendant and said, “Take this boy inside, put the seal of the Shankara Matham in this book, write ‘Narayana Sthuthi’ and put your signature in his book. Sanyasis should not put their signatures anywhere”
The attendant gave the book back to the boy after carrying out Periyava’s orders.
The boy came out screaming in joy, “I have got the autograph !” Everybody looked on in amusement
He came up to Periyava and said, “Thank you Sir” in a dignified fashion and headed out.
Then Periyava said to the boy, “Wait for a minute”
The boy stopped.
“You got what you wanted. Now, I want your autograph. Can you please put your autograph in the officer register?”
“Oh sure, why not !”, said the boy like a big man ! The Matham’s visitor book was brought there and the boy put his signature therein.
The boy again said, “Thank you Sir” and started from there.
Whether it is a boy or a big shot, everybody was treated the same in His Sannidhi
===================================================================================
MahaPeriyava started His All India Yatra. First stop was at Tirupati. After that many places were covered – DivyaKshethrams like Kashi, Gaya were there in that list. That was when the Gaya Shankara Matham was established !
There were 30 attendants who had gone along with Him. It would not be incorrect to say that they were like His shadows. HIS holy feet touched several villages. Famine stricken villages prospered.
HE reached Rameshwaram via Calcutta and Vishakapatnam. Having reached the Ramanatha Swamy temple, He began to do Abhishekam to the Lord with His own hands. Ganges water was transported along with Him. This was used during the Abhishekam.
At this time, the Ramanathapuram king was present there. The Abhishekam went on for 3 hours. After this, everybody including the king were desirous of listening to some Pravachanam from Periyava.
Periyava started his Pravachanam and began to talk at leisure. Suddenly Periyava stopped. HE drank some water from His Kamandalam and suddenly started His Mounam
HE started from there and reached Kumbakonam. HE finished all his Poojas there and came to his starting point – Kanchipuram. The Mounam which started in Rameshwaram lasted 6 months !
Not a word came from the Mahan’s mouth. HIS divine work continued in complete silence. Nobody knows the reason. Nobody had the guts to even ask him the reason.
One day, the Mahan broke his silence on His own ! A few people approached him respectfully and asked Him, “Please tell us what was the reason for Your Mounam?”
He shot back, “Should I observe My vow of Silence only after taking permission from you?”
Nobody said a word.
Periyava continued, “I had been speaking continuously for 20 years. That is why I suddenly chose to go into Mounam”. Everybody could only smile in response!