Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara – Newsletter from Sri Pradosha Mama Gruham. Thanks to Smt CP Vijayalakshmi, our sathsang seva member for the great translation. Ram Ram.
The Greatness of Sri Sri Sri Maha Periyava
19-12-06
Blessings of a benevolent heart
It is our greatest fortune that Sri Parameshwara Himself directly blesses us as Maha Periyava, an Enlightened Soul, like Sri Sukha Brahma. Though he hid his Omniscience behind his humility, it expressed itself on the numerous occasions he blessed his devotees.
Once Sri Periyava was camping at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, to observe Chaturmasya Vratham. Sri Janardhaananda Saraswathi, a Sanyaasi had decided to spend these holy days with Maha Periyava, whom he considered to be none other than Eshwara, the Supreme being. Sri Periyava was informed that the Sanyaasi was coming by foot from Vijayawada and he had already commenced his Padayatra.
Two or three days after the Vijayawada Swami must have left on his padayatra, Maha Periyava instructed Sri Ekambaram and Sri Mettur Raju who were performing service at the matam to take a car and go to Vijayawada. They were also commanded to meet the Pujyasri Vijayawada Swamigal and bring him back in the car.
The devotees around Sri Periyava were taken aback by this turn of events. Maha Periyava never used to ask any Sannyasi to travel in a car and this deviation from Sannyasa dharma , astonished everyone.
The devotees who were sent by Maha Periyava in search of Pujyasri Vijayawada Swamigal did not know how to locate him. Swamiji never planned his journey and there was no possibility of his tour being publicized in newspapers. The travelers reached Guntur and searched for him in and around the place and finally located him at a remote village called Sivapuram.
When Maha Periyava’s emissaries informed Pujyasri Vijayawada Swamigal about Maha Periyava’s instructions the former was stunned. Overwhelmed by wonder and joy, he was moved to exclaim that Maha Periyava was none other than Sri Parameshwara Himself.
Inspired by his eagerness to meet Sri Periyava, Swamiji had been travelling towards Kurnool till the day before. But suddenly a nerve in his leg had got twisted and he was forced to halt at Sivapuram. Deeply distressed, Swamiji had been pondering over the greatness of Maha Periyava- “Kailasanatha had at least an old bull as His divine vehicle but in his incarnation as kKanchinatha or Maha Periyava, Eshwara had chosen to do away even with this divine vehicle and had chosen to travel across this country by foot!”
Even if Pujyasri Vijayawada Swami had chosen to get himself treated and then continued his travel by foot, it would have been the Chaturmasya of the next year before he could reach Maha Periyava at Kurnool. Sensing the Swamiji’s suffering, the Ever-compassionate Sri Periyava had extended a helping hand to him and had sent a car to pick him up. Swamiji was convinced that this was possible only because Sri Periyava was none other than the divine Eshwara Himself.
The deeply moved Vijayawada Swamiji seated himself in the car with great difficulty due to his injury and reached Kurnool and Maha Periyava’s presence. Needless to say, not only was he given the Chaturmaasya vow, but his injury also got treated at Kurnool.
THE ALL POWERFUL
A devotee OF Sri Raghavendra was travelling to Mantralayam by train to have a Darshan at the saint’s Brindavanam. Not fully awake, he got down at the wrong station and the train also left. Only then he looked at the name board and realized he had wrongly got down at Guntakkal. He was feeling helpless. Then Shri Joshi, a staunch devotee of Maha Periyava, who had also got down at Guntakkal by the same train with his friend saw his confusion and enquired about him.
Though the Raghavendra devotee felt a little consoled by Shri Joshi’s inquiries, he was still in an utter state of confusion about bow to proceed further in his travel. He did not know when the next train to Manthralayam would be and how long he would have to wait in the station. When he expressed his bewildered state of mind to Shri Joshi, the latter was unfazed. Being an ardent devotee of Maha Periyava, he assured the Raghavendra devotee that it was divine power which had made him get down at Guntakkal because Maha Periyava was camping at Hakari, which has to be reached from this station. He convinced the devotee to travel with him to meet Maha Periyava and stated that his pilgrimage would definitely be successfully completed due to the blessings of Sri Periyava.
After having darshan of Sri Periyava , Joshi and his friend stood aside. When the turn of the Raghavendra devotee came, Sri Periyava stunned him by accurately asking Joshi” Did you bring him here? He had not wanted to come here”. The devotee became nervous on witnessing the omniscience of Maha Periyava and sorrowfully declared that he was unable to proceed towards Manthralayam , because he had planned to go their directly without meeting Maha Periyava.
Maha Periyava, being the embodiment of Mercy that he was, started talking to the devotee in a very low tone. The devotee was nodding his head and giving his assent to whatever Sri Periyava was saying.
Sri Periyava was enquiring the devotee about the suicide of the latter’s mother, who had fallen into a well and ended her life. Gnawed by guilt, the devotee had been confirming Maha Periyava’s narration of the incident. Sri Periyava advised the devotee to go and perform the final ceremonies for his mother at Gaya so that her soul could rest in peace.
The restless soul of the devotee’s mother must have appealed to Sri Periyava for deliverance and that is the reason, according to Sri Joshi, Sri Periyava’s unimaginable Grace made the son get down at Guntakkal Junction. Why should otherwise Maha Periyava reveal that he knew about the suicide of the devotee’s mother?
The sincere devotion we show to this ever-compassionate Supreme Power called Maha Periyava whose divine presence graces this world and the next, will undoubtedly shower us with prosperity and a happy life. May this eternal fountain of mercy bless us with the blissful experience of total surrender to Him.
The stream of compassion will continue to flow….
You remove the hunger of those who sing your praise, You remove the disease of those who spread your light – Sundara Murthy Swamigal Devaram
Categories: Devotee Experiences
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