Bangalore, the capital of the Karnataka State ofIndia is now on the world map as one of the leading centres ofInformation Technology. It is known as the Silicone Valley of India(which by the way is the country that has produced 30% of the worldcomputer scientists). The city is also part of the old royal state ofMysore, very well known for its cultural riches, patronage ofclassical dances and music, and Yoga. See a book titled 'The YogaTradition of the Mysore Palace', by N.E. Sjoman (Publ. AbhinavPublications, E-3 Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016. 1996). It is a city ofpeople very sophisticated both in science and spirituality. Herethere is no conflict between the two. The Bangalore scientistunhesitatingly prostrates before the priest, monk and the guru.
Swami Rama of the Himalayas first visitedBangalore in 1992 and was received by the crowds of thousands. Here,Shri Pattabhiraman and his wife Jyoti met him and became hisdisciples. For all of this time they had been asking Swami VedaBharati to visit Bangalore but the opportunity never arose. Then camealong another of Swami Rama disciples, a leading industrialist namedShri Madhav Kamath. Shri Kamath is also one of the trustees of DhyanaMandiram Trust, the Trust in-charge of Sadhaka Grama. Swami VedaBharati asked him to organise his first visit to Bangalore. Well, thefirst visit was, as Pandit Usharbudh Arya--in 1968, when he addressedcrowds of thousands in the city; but this in 2003 was the first visitsince Swami Veda met his Gurudeva.
Mr. Kamath approached his other industrialistassociates as well as Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, a well known and veryhighly regarded institution of cultural and secular education. (SwamiVeda has been speaking at the London branch of the same for the lastseveral years and has also lectured at their Mumbai headquarters.)Mr. Kamath had put all of his company's human resources at thedisposal of the event. His graphic designers, PR experts, CEOs,office staff--everyone served day and night because in this case theywere not merely doing the bidding of their employer, but were servinga Swami and felt that they werre receiving a blessing.
Swami Veda Bharati arrived in Bangalore on March20, 2003. At the airport he was first received by Madhav Kamath witha fragrant jasmine garland (which was promptly put by Swami Veda onthe neck of the nearest child, a 4-year old little girl). Outside theairport gate stood a welcome party in a line, each person holding arose which were given to Swami Veda one by one, and some bent downand touched the Swami's feet, taking the 'dust' to their forehead (acommon greeting for an elder in Hindu-Buddhist Asia as well as in thetraditional Africa).
The lectures were held in the spacious hall ofBharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Here again he was greeted at the steps to thehall with the traditional greeting described above. Upon entering thehall he was escorted by three beautifully sari-dressed ladies holdingdeepaks (open flame oil lamps). They walked in a triangular inverse Vformation and led him to the stage. On the stage the traditional tallsix-wick brass lamp was lit by Swami Veda to start the auspiciousoccasion, and then Swamiji sprinkled flower petals on Swami Rama'spicture and bowed (all common daily gestures in India). The theme forthe three lectures (on March 22, 23 and 25, 2003) was 'Spiritualityfor Future Generations'.
Not only that the hall was full, a closed circuitTV screen had to be put in the vestibule outside; yet 300 people hadto be turned away for lack of space. The press was well represented.Swami Veda's entry into the hall and on to the stage was greeted withclassical devotional songs by the well known singer JanakiSubrahmanyam. Today's lecture title was 'IT versus Ancient Wisdom'.This was a theme akin to the lecture given at the World Trade Centre,Rotterdam (Holland) in 2002 ( see www.intuitiveknowledge.com),to an audience not only scientifically advanced, but one alsomaintaining and practising the spiritual wisdom of centuries.
The chief guest for the first day was PadmaBhushan (an honorific title conferred by the President of India toeminent people of high achievement) Prof. B.V. Sreekantan, retireddirector of the prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, agold medalist in science, a visiting professor at M.I.T., Harvard,and so forth. He sat to the right of Swami Veda. Ann Glazier (retiredfrom teaching Sanskrit and Indian philosophy from the School ofOriental and African Studies, University of London, and now givingfull time service to the Rishikesh Ashram), sat on theleft.
Swami Veda Bharati spoke for the best part of oneand half hour on the topic. (Please ask for the cassette or the CD).Prof. Sreekantan gave an hour's paper on the mutual relationship ofIT and Vedanta philosophy.
At the end, as Swami Veda left the stage, and agroup of singers sang in really mellifluous notes, the volunteers hadto form two human chains so that Swamiji could walk between them, tosave him from the surging crowd that wanted to touch his shawl, touchhis feet, ask for a blessing.
The topic for the second day, March 23, 2003 was'Inner Space to Outer Space and Back'. This day's chief guest was Dr.Jean Letschert, a Belgian-French auther, artist on the theme ofShri-vidya, who has lived with sadhus for decades, walked to Nepalwith them over the Nanda Devi route, has published several books (inFrench) on Indian philosophy and art, one of which is titled 'TheInterior Temple'. He also read a paper on his favourite topic ofYoga, 'Shri-vidya and Indian art'. This day, it was Pattabhiraman'sturn to sit on SVB's left side.
Same scene as on the first day was repeated on thesecond day, but a little less vehemently. The hall was full, but noone was turned away because many stayed home to watch the last day ofthe World Cup Cricket games, the final match between Australia andIndia, being held in South Africa.
The third day, March 24, 2003 a satsang was heldat the home of Mr. Madhav Kamath. As Swami veda arrived, he had totake off his socks and sandals and was asked to stand on a flatwooden stand. There the family washed and dried his feet (also notuncommon throughout India when honouring an elder or a guide or guruor a favourite swami). As he entered the house, the family hadbrought a silver plate filled with water reddened with cinnabar.Swamiji looked at his reflection in it. Then in another silver platehe looked at his reflection in clear water. These were then waved ina circle before his visage, and became a 'prasadam' for others totouch the sanctified water. (Symbolism? Only the feeling itself canexplain the symbolism. What is the symbolism of the Catholic Bishops'finger ring?). If the vessel and the water are not absolutely still,one cannot see one's face in that half-inch depth of water--that isquite a lesson. Then the family performed the full arti (in a silverplate, flowers, sandalwood paste, open flame deepak waved in certaincircular patterns before the visage. Then Swami Veda paid a visit tothe family shrine; and then to the large room where the people weresinging the names of God, waiting for the satsang. Swamiji had beenlate and they had been waiting and singing for an hour.
No one India asks Swami Veda why he accepts allthese honours. No one in India will ask such a question. There issuch tremendous respect and veneration for anything that appearsremotely holy. For example, just before boarding the 'plane in Delhifor Bangalore, Swamiji had 15 kilos overweight. When he went to thecounter to pay, they took one look at his saffron clothes, or may beit was his old age and the walking stick!, the officer, without beingrequested to do so, signed a paper waiving the charges). These aredaily occurrences in the life of a Swami. At Dehradun airport thesecurity does not want to search him; they profoundly apologise fordoing so. In Haridwar-Rishikesh-Dehradun area his car passes withoutpaying toll at the Toll Stations because of the 'Mahamandaleshwara'sign on his car.
Swami Veda jokes that all this is because theymust like the shape of his long nose! Feeling very uncomfortable withall this display of veneration for a simple mortal,-- "I am noMaster, just a disciple of a Master"--he tells everyone to stop themfrom giving all this respect. But no one in India listens. When hefirst began to settle down in India, and people would touch his feet,with his American background of 'equality', he would pull away andthey would feel very hurt. Then, he says, he thought to himself : Iam a worshipper of Devi, Divine Mother; how can I accept this reverseveneration from the Divine Mother (incarnate in all women). So, hemade a practice: if women touched his feet, he would bend down andtouch their feet, and they would recoil in horror. "What sin are youvisiting upon us, Swamiji"--they would loudly protest. But he foundthat because he is a serious heart patient, when he bends down andthen gets up, it cause him angina. So, he says, "I just gave up" andaccepted the traditional culture. But he now rejoices when suchveneration is offered. (Has he suddenly turned proud and arrogant?)He says : he realized that the veneration is not to his person but tothe Guru-shakti, to the power and holiness of the Lineage. So, everytime his feet are touched, or washed, or he is given such rituals ofveneration, he remembers his Guru with the mantra,"Akhanda-mandala…." And passes on the veneration to his Master.This gives him the opportunity to remember his Master that manytimes, and he is happy.
Back to the satsang at the home of Mr. Kamath. Itis a common tradition that everyone present is offered food. It ispart of the bhakti, the tradition of spiritual devotion: you are adevotee of God, worship God in His devotees. A little of the food isfirst offered to the Guru-figure present, and after he has acceptedit, everyone is given dinner (even if there are a thousand people).It is an essential part of all spiritual gatherings. The Kamathfamily followed the same tradition on this evening.
After Swami Veda returned to the guesthouse, anhour later, at about 11.30 p.m., a few people dropped in, includingPattabhiraman, one of the host families, and so forth. Swamiji waspuzzled, but joked and talked and advised. Pattabhi said, "we arehere because of a special occasion today". Swamiji asked if it wastheir initiation anniversary. NO, it wasn't. Wedding anniversary,perhaps? NO, it isn't, but you will know in half an hour what it is.Very puzzled, Swamiji continued with the chats anddiscussions.
At ten minutes after midnight, Pattabhi said : Itis after midnight; what date is it? It is March 24th, Swamiji, it isyour birthday. Only then Swamiji remembered. They all shared icecream etc. Swamiji explained: Most days I do not even know what dateor day of the week it is; I cannot remember what city I am in. Thelife is so occupied with thinking of the people that often there is aday of non-stop 22 hours work. This was going to be a 15-hour dayafter everyone left.
March 25, 2003. Last day of the lecture. Onceagain, a TV screen outside the hall. The gate had to be lockedagainst the surge of the people for whom there was no space. Thechief guest was Mother Manish, a very holy lady who long ago had metH.H. Swami Rama and runs an Institute of Ancient Wisdom, an Ashramfilled with peace and serenity. In the audience were Dr. S.Krishnamurti, the director of the host institution, Bharatiya VidyaBhawan; Dr. Nagendra, the director of one of the three or four Yogaacademic institutions in India--the Vivekananda Kendra--about to be adeemed Yoga University; Justice Venkatachaliah (Retired) ChiefJustice of the Supreme Court of India, and many others.
The topic on this day was 'Spiritual Perspectivefor Humanity'. (Please ask for the cassettes or CDs of the lectures).It was nearly a two-hour lecture (and meditations as usual). Afterthe lecture, by way of acknowledgements, autographed books werepresented to those who had made the greatest contribution to thesuccess of the event. Some special guests were presented large silverplatters, with Swami Rama pictures attached, in a beautiful bluevelvet box; courtesy of Shri Bharat Mehta family, who have silverwaremanufacturing business and have been one of the foremost sponsors forthe event.
Oh, forgot to tell you. Mr. Kamath and associateshad brought out a special little book for the occasion of SVB'sBangalore visit: … A collection of the sayings of Swami Rama andSwami Veda. Thousands of copies were sold over the few days.
A regret on Swamiji's part. A real loss. He failedto meet a 'shataavadhaani' who had been in the audience. What is a'shataavadhaani'? A man of hundred concentrations. That's nothing.There are also 'sahasraavadhaanis', the men of a thousandconcentrations. There is quite a tradition of these in South India.It goes as follows: gather a group of people anywhere. The'shataavadhaani' walks in and takes his seat. Someone asks aquestion. Then someone requests, say, "please compose a verse on"rain" without using the letter 'p' and 'd'," or whatever. Thensomeone rings a bell, and so on. A hundred events take place as theshataavadhaani sits in concentration. After the hundredth event, heresponds to each in the same sequence. And, at this point the bellwas rung 17 times", and here is the verse on rain without using theletters 'p' and 'd'. He goes on sequentially till he has answered all100 questions or requests. Well, how about a World Cup forConcentration Olympics?
March 26, 2003, evening. Swami Veda again had towalk between the two human chains, while the singers sang sonoroussongs. These two chains more or less managed to control the surge ofthe people, but some managed to get across!!
Justice Venkatachaliah had reached the guesthousebefore Swami Veda. When the British had an empire, they never ceasedto marvel how a Chief Justice of a High Court would pay obeisance toa swami by giving a full body prostration on the ground at theSwami's feet. The tradition still continues. Justice Venkatachaliah,himself a great Sanskrit scholar and devotee of a 400-year oldspiritual seat, in addition to the highest position in Law that heheld, received his blessings thus, upon arrival and at leaving. Heexpressed his amazement as to how "the swami held so many people allat once in such stillness", and at the original interpretation ofsome of the verses of the Upanishads and the 'Bhagavad Gita'. Swamijiin turn marvelled at his humility, and complimented him for thesame.
Swamiji recalled the day several years back, whenhe had gone to Justice Venkatachaliah's house in New Delhi. He wasintroduced by the Chairman of India's Human Rights Commission, who isnow the Governer of the Uttaranchal State, where Rishikesh issituated. Swamiji recalled that after that first meeting the retiredChief Justice of the Supreme Court had not put on his shoes; he cameout to see Swamiji off at his car just wearing socks. The habit oftaking the shoes off before giving honours to any holy place orperson is still the normal practice in India (Recall, Moses at theBurning Bush in the 'Book of Exodus' in the Bible).
This is not only in India. This is the way of lifeall over Hindu-Buddhist Asia, as well as whole of traditional Africa.One example comes to mind :
Dr. Choe, a true Christian (30% of Korea isChristian; 70% is Buddhist, but culturally both groups areidentical), has recently quit his position as a director of one ofthe largest and most prestigious teaching hospitals in Korea, theWonju Medical College. He and Helen Choe have known Swamiji since1987 (Helen says she had met Swamiji 20 years earlier in a dream).She has developed a very strong group of yoga students around herteaching, and her meditative voice in guiding the yoga sessions isabsolutely captivating. Whenever Dr. Choe is travellinginternationally to attend medical and scientific conferences, and ifhe is within three thousand miles of wherever Swamiji might be, hetakes a diversion to see his spiritual guide. At one time, they werestaying at the Rishikesh Ashram, and were about to leave. They saidthey would come upstairs for final farewell. Swamiji said " Whytrouble yourself. I would come down to say good-bye". So, Swamijicame downstairs and stood on the steps of his cottage. Here were Dr.Choe and Helen, ready to leave; they approached Swamiji, and rightthere on the pebbles of the path, offered their "dandavatpranama"--the form of obeisance in which one lies on the ground headdown, extends the joined hands over the head toward the object ofveneration (all Koreans do this to a monk). Swamiji gave hisblessings and regretted that he had not realised their intention andhad prevented them from coming upstairs, where they could haveoffered their obeisance on a carpet, not on pebbles of the path. Noamount of protestation on the part of the monk would work; humilityis inbred in these cultures as part of childhood training. The Choechildren do the same.
Some day Swamiji hopes to write in detail abouthis experiences in African spirituality. He recalls seeing inNairobi, the capital of Kenya in 1952 : a young man saw his unclewalking on the other side of the street; crossed over and did the"dandavat pranama". Idriss (now director of Environment in theGovernment of Burkina Faso) has created a flourishing yoga group notonly in the capital city, but in all parts of the country; he alsohas his students now teaching yoga in 12 other African countries.Following the African culture, whenever they see Swamiji, they benddown to touch his feet.
In the great Kumbh Mela 2000 at Allahabad, it wasdecided by Swamiji that our group should give some special respect toSwami Chidanandaji (Muniji), without whose kindness Swami VedaBharati could not have managed to participate in the Kumbh Mela. All150 people of our group sat in well ordered rows. People in each rowgot up, walked past the seated swamiji and showered rose petals onthe head of Muniji, and paid obeisance with joined hands. Aftereveryone had paid respects thus, the leaders from various continentswere asked to say a few words. Each one stood and made his/herremarks. Then came the turn of Idriss. He did not stand up; he sat invajra-asana position. He said: in our culture we do not stand toaddress a king lest our head be above that of the king's; these monksin my eyes are greater than kings, so I sit and pay myhomage.
One point to remember : this detail is being givenonly to improve mutual understanding among cultures. When the Westernvisitors see such veneration offered, they sometimes feel that itmight be their duty also to express veneration in this way. Swamijiimmediately stops them with a courteous and loving smile: Be true toyour own culture; do whatever is natural to you--he says.
Now to Pattabhiraman's Ashram. Together with BholaShankar Dabral, director of SRSG Publications; Anne Glazier, theresident philosopher and Sanskrit guide of the Ashram in Rishikesh;Raghavendra Adiga who teaches and runs a Himalayan Yoga MeditationSociety in Guntur, 60 miles from Bangalore; Kwak, a Korean initiatecompleting his Ph.D. in yoga at Delhi University; and another friendand devoted student who is among those silent devotees who take careof Swami Veda's personal and medical needs every second of theday.
After a 15-hour non-stop work, it was at 6 a.m. onMarch 26, 2003 when Swamiji was driven to Pattabhi's Ashram. The carfrom Suttur Math (see below) had arrived the night before, waiting.
Shri Pattabhiraman has been dedicated to masteringand teaching yoga since his early youth. He took training in a numberof leading yoga institutions of India. His wife, Jyoti, is a masterof classical Bharata-Natyam dance form (of that, some other time, inmore detail; suffice it to say that in this dance form, any word fromany dictionary can be danced; the whole of James Joyce can betranslated word for word into gestures of eyes, hands, feet, bodyposition and movement). Being a practitioner of yoga, she has given aspiritual dimension to teaching dance. Pattabhi's total dedication isto yoga and deep meditation. He has indeed opened himself to the Guruand has had some profound experiences, from which he guides hisstudents.
After studying in many institutions andestablishing his own Centre ( known as Sadhana Sangama) in Bangalore,he met his Master, Swami Rama of the Himalayas in 1992. From theMaster he received maturity in his spiritual practices through anumber of initiations and in-depth guidance. He was partlyresponsible for sponsoring Swami Rama's first visit to Bangalore in1992, and thereafter made regular visits to the Rishikesh Ashram,where he and Jyoti met Swami Veda Bharati.
They had been asking Swamiji to visit theBangalore area for the past ten years, but it had not been possible.A wish was fulfilled when Swamiji decided to visit Pattabhiraman'snew Ashram on a beautiful 15-acre piece of land, already covered withtrees, between Bangalore and Mysore. Swami Veda visited this site onMarch 26, 2003.
Those who serve Pattabhi's work, study with himand practice under his guidance, are incredibly humble and gentle.His wife Jyoti is an equal partner in his devotion to the Guru andhis work. Despite Swamiji's protests to the contrary, they keptreferring to him as the Master. Swami Veda likes people to recognizethat he is only one of the disciples of a Master; those who refer tohim otherwise are doing so just out of sheer love and their humility,not conforming to reality--says Swamiji.
Swami Veda made a round of the site, still underconstruction. When completed, it will be a masterpiece of spiritualingenuity. This includes an underground cave for seriouspractitioners. Each pillar symbolically represents someforce.
Swamiji was asked to inaugurate a small shrine,with a pyramid shaped roof, which will be the home of Guru-Chaitanya,the Guru Consciousness. Here a brief worship to the Guru Force and ashort meditation intensified the serene atmosphere. This was followedby a meditation and informal discourse in the new Meditation Hall,that is designed to seat 500 meditators.
Then a two-hour dance drama on the epic Ramayana,produced and choreographed by Jyoti, was presented by her danceschool students in the honour of the visiting Swami. The beauty of itwas the practice of prayatna-shaithilya, relaxation of effort. WhenJatayu, the bird king died, he fell like a feather, like a leaf.There was no stiffness, no endeavour. Swamiji really appreciated thisopportunity to "relax" from his "work" and afterwards gave specialblessings, on the stage as well as privately, to theperformers.
A dinner. A few more flowers. More foot-touching.Many more blessings to be imparted. Do come again. Soon. I indeedshall come. And the party left late night for the royal city ofMysore.
Mysore? Most people know India only by Taj Mahal.India is a subcontinent the size of Europe, with a history twice aslong (minimum 5,000 years). It has more languages than Europe, morevaried styles of food, clothing and so forth, a vast literature inall these languages--much of it yet to be published. How does Indiasolve the language problem? Take a look at a hundred-rupee bill. Thewords "hundred rupees" are written in 15 languages; you can write aletter to a government office in any of these 15 languages.
At the time the British left India in 1947, it wasnot a subcontinent homogenously governed. In addition to the Britishterritories proper, there were 600 'countries'. Some were the size ofLiechtenstein, Andorra and Monaco. Some were size of France orBelgium. Each with its own king, army, postal service; only thedefence and external affairs were in the hands of the British (Ofcourse it was finally the British writ that would prevail in case ofa dispute). Then came August 15, 1947.
Let us go back to the 15th centurypoverty-stricken Europe, plagued by disease and hunger. The Ottomanshad blocked the trade routes to India. Venice (then an independentnation) flourished, because they could keep their trade with Indiaopen through a special treaty with the Ottomans. So, there was a needfor the rest of the restless Europe to find new trade routes toIndia. They ended up finding America, calling the local people of theTurtle Island (the traditional name of America) the "Indians". Vascoda Gama completed the job of Columbus, and actually found (Found? Hewas led by the Arab and Indian guides!) the new route, and theEuropean powers started to do in Asia what they had by then done inSouth America.
Up to the end of 17th century, it is well known tohistorians, that Indian rupee was the strongest currency in theworld, and 24.5 per cent of all the world's production of goods wasin India. All that ended. Shipbuilding by India was banned. Thumbs ofthe muslin weavers of Dhaka (British pronunciation Dacca)--which hadclothed Roman ladies at one time; muslin so fine that 40 yards of itrolled would pass through a finger ring--were cut off. A subcontinentof lenders was reduced to being a subcontinent of beggars--at leastin the world's perception. Three short (short for Indian history)centuries later,India is now working hard to recover its losteconomy, slowly, steadily, against all odds. (The current rate ofgrowth is 7 per cent) .
Back to August 15, 1947. If 600 kings and chiefsof principalities in France were asked to abandon their kingship,they would not have done so without being guillotined. Here, all 600of them abandoned their rights and privileges almost overnight andjoined the democracy. Many of them are now ministers in thegovernment, ambassadors (imagine Marie Antoinette as ambassador ofdemocratic France!) and leaders of industry. The world would havetaken note if there had been a guillotine or two around; who wants toknow of the non-violent (r)evolutions of this massive scale?
Among the 600 was the State of Mysore. The kingsof the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore ruled over a territory 180,000square kilometres (over 69,000 square miles), from 1399 to 1947, witha short break. That included the modern IT centre, Bangalore also.You will soon see pictures of the Mysore palace on this website.Mysore was the first Asian city to be lit by hydroelectric power in1907. Bangalore is now capital of the new state of Karnataka (new? Itis mentioned by that name in 4th century BC); the population ofKarnataka State (one of the 28 states of the Indian Union) is nowapproximately 60 million. Oh, by the way, 51 per cent of theindustrial manufacturing units of Karnataka are owned by women, closeto the contiguous Tamilnadu state where the figure is 50%. This isfar behind the mountain state of Manipur in the Northeast close toBurma (Myanmar), where the figure is 72 per cent.
These kings were patrons of arts, sculpture,architecture, philosophy, Sanskrit, yoga. When one king (of the stateof Travancore) was advised to take one most precious object from oneof his palaces before surrendering the palace to the new democraticgovernment, he chose a Sanskrit manuscript. Nothing replaced theirpatronage and so many of these arts and sciences died overnight. Justto let you know, there is a vast India outside Taj Mahal!!
The party arrived at the one of the Headquartersof the Suttur Matha in Mysore at 11.30 at night. Suttur means sacredcircumambulation; Matha means a monastery. The matha proper is 25miles from here.
Suttur Matha is the Headquarters of theVira-shaiva (brave warriors of Shiva) denomination of the Shivaworshippers. For the last 11 centuries their ascetic teachers andguides have waged a war against the internal human weaknesses, tomake them conquer the internal world of consciousness. Thedenomination has ten to 15 million adherents with 1,500 centres ofworship and learning. Most recently, up to 50% of the members of theKarnataka Legislative Assembly were Vira-shaivas and the last kingwas an initiate.
The eleven-centuries of history cannot bedescribed in 11 lines. Here is the beginning, not of the history ofMysore state, but of the Vira-shaiva tradition, itsmonasteries.
Eleven centuries ago, there was a great yogi, byname Shivaratreeshvara, who sat on a rock in the middle of a meadowto perform his ascetic meditations. (The rock is now in the middle ofthe river Kapila, which has since changed course). A horse used tocircumambulate the yogi in the meadow.
At that time the Chola (who?--Oh, long history)emperor Rajaraja and a smaller king, Rajamalla of the Ganga dynastywere about to wage a war. The emperor was on the march, and campedovernight. In the morning it was found that the horses of his cavalrywere missing. A search began, the horses were found, circumambulatingthe yogi. The emperor, impressed by such spiritual power became adisciple. The opposing king was also summoned by the yogi. They bothchose the discipleship of the same Guru; they listened to the Guru'speaceful advice, the war was averted and the country continued toprosper. One wonders if any of the modern countries at war could beso pacified by a philosopher or a meditation master?
That was the start of the Suttur monastery. Sincethen, innumerable saints and yogis have been born in that tradition.It soon became a social revolution, overthrowing the then persistingcaste system and instituting many other social reforms. Most of theirliterature is in the classical form of Kannada language. Oh, whatrich sources of inspiration.
The Guru of the current 'maha-swamiji'('pontiff'--if you will), Shri Shivaratreeshvara RajendraMaha-swamiji, was also a highly social minded spiritual leader. Heestablished a vast network of educational institutions. TheDenomination now runs 7 creches, 13 nursery schools, 16 primaryschools, 6 teacher training colleges, 52 high schools, 6 highersecondary schools, 15 Junior Colleges, 8 Degree Colleges, 14 SanskritColleges, 2 Hindi teaching institutions, 12 technical colleges andpolytechnics, 1 international management school, 8 medical colleges,5 hospitals, one law college, 5 other training schools, 3 destitutehomes, 29 student hostels, 14 orphanages, 14 other art and cultureestablishments--and there are yet more to count, and new onesspringing up all the time.
The present 'pontiff' Shri ShivaratreeshvaraDeshikendra Swami is the CEO of the entire network. Soft spoken,humble, unassuming, maintaining the monk's daily schedule ofprayer--and missing out on no detail. Without exaggeration, truly, Ihave not seen such an efficient, and at the same time devotionalenvironment in any part of the so-called "developed" world. Want tolearn of Spirituality in Business and Management? Come and see thelive demonstration on this massive scale.
There was a plan to establish also aninternational school for the well to do children. The hub of theschool was built. And the present Maha-swamiji decided, NO. It wouldbe devoted to taking care of the education of poor children. TheInstitution now houses, feeds, clothes and educates 3000 children wholive in 32 large dormitories. We were amazed to see the wellness andthe happy faces of the children.
Resources? The devotees and adherents who give acertain percentage of their income regularly.
Knowing this to be the largest private educationalnetwork in the country, our Gurudeva Swami Rama of the Himalayas hadvisited this Institution. He had sent also a number of administratorsof HIHT to learn from here. In turn the Maha-swamiji paid returnvisits to HIHT. He also came for the first Swami Rama maha-samadhi(leaving the body) anniversary at HIHT in 1997. At that time it hadbeen Swami Veda's delight and honour to welcome him at the RishikeshAshram. Since then Mahaswamiji had been asking Swami Veda to pay avisit to Mysore and Suttur, which was now realised.
On March 26, 2003 at night, Swami Veda arrived atthe Mysore city Headquarters and the entire party stayed in the mostcomfortable guest house next to the residence. Maha-swamiji hadstayed awake, and came over to greet Swamiji. Next day, March 27, inthe afternoon, opportunity was taken to meet scholars, in thepresence of Mahaswamiji, and Swami Veda asked some detailed and deepquestions about the philosophy and practices of the tradition; it wasa mutual admiration club; his grasp of the tradition was admired; thedenomination interlocutors' grasp of the other philosophical systemswas impressive.
On May 27, 2003 in the evening Swami Vedaaddressed a full hall in the public discourse organised by the SutturMaha-swamiji. By the traditional protocol, the host 'pontiff' wouldhave sat not lower than this visitor, but the ever humble Mahaswamijichose to sit among the audience. Greatness alone breedshumility.
The guided meditation led by Swami Veda conformedto the belief systems of the Vira-shaivas and there was notransgression of any of the tenets; this was later confirmed by thescholars. (This grasp of the various streams of meditative systemsis what Swami Veda now wishes to pass on to trainees at the newGurukulam and needs help).
Same night, Swami Veda was driven to Suttur, themonastery seat proper. Next day, March 28, 2003 was one of therichest ever. First a visit was paid to the temple that is on thesite where the first, the Adi-shivaratreeshvara Yogi, had chosen toleave his body. When his life's spiritual work was finished, and thelegacy of social change was also passed on, he left his body. Thevibration in the sanctum sanctorum (which can be entered only by thepriests and by the Mahaswamiji) exceptionally intense. Swami Veda,because of his spiritual position as well as the maha-mandaleshwaratitle, was able to enter the sanctum and meditate there. Others satfacing the sanctum and enjoyed the bliss of meditation.
There were a number of statues of the previousswamis of this Lineage. There is a very strong tradition in India towrite the name of the Deity or the personal mantra millions of timesover and over. It must be done lovingly, beautifully, methodically,patiently, in the best possible handwriting, without amistake--again, lovingly, adoringly. It is a form of japa. One of theswamis (the grandmaster of the current mahaswamiji) had written themantra 80 million times; in beautiful well organised columns. We wereable to see one of the well bound volumes of this dedication ofloving labour, so impeccably written, and we felt graced by suchbhakti.
Among other reminders of the sages of the Lineagewas one reproduction of an anthill forming a hidden cavity in which ayogi sat in deep meditation. A cow stands above the hills, andthrough a hole in the top pours her milk down for the yogi to drink.That was his only nourishment. There are hundreds of stories indiverse parts of India about cows, attuned to holiness that they are,that pour the milk from their udders onto a buried icon or sacredobject or a temple; this was the first one we heard where sheactually fed a yogi in this way.
One could go on and on about the stories of thetradition, about the great names like Basavanna, who had quit as aminister of the king--back in the 10th century, and dedicated therest of his life to teaching and writing and reforming the society.Or Allama Prabhu--Swami Veda has told a very famous story about hisencounter with Gorakhnath. Or Mahadevi Akka ('Akka' means bigsister)--one of the greatest of the lady saints.
A visit to the Museum was an eye-opener. Somepictures from it will be posted on the webpage.
Part of the 3000 children being educated wereassembled in the School's assembly hall and Swami Veda spoke to thechildren at their level of understanding, humorously and in such amanner that they would feel loved. The garland placed around his neckwas promptly thrown to a child in the front row. Swamiji spoke of hisGuru's love for the Mother and Father of the Universe, Parvati andShiva. He recited the verse that the Swamis use as part of the Gracebefore the meals :
My father is Shiva the great Lord.
My kinsmen and relatives are the devotees ofGod,
And my country is--the threeuniverses.
Swamiji spoke of the Himalayan mountains which, tothe children this far South, are a legend. He told them the real nameof Mount Everest, Sagar-matha in Nepal. He spoke of the Gauri-Shankarpeak, one of the tallest mountains in the same Nepal Himalayas range.The name means the same, Parvati and Shiva. He reminisced how SwamiRama would sit on an easy chair in his Nepal Ashram which was on asmall mountain. He would gaze in the distance at the Gauri-shankartwin peaks. "Swamiji, what are you gazing at ?"--Swami Veda asked.Baba (Gurudeva) replied, "My Master had said, when I am no morearound, these are your father and mother. I sit here and gaze at myfather and mother". Swami Veda said to the 200 orphan children : "Wholoves you ? Mahaswamiji (of Suttur) loves you; Shiva and Parvati loveyou. When you are going to bed at night, think of the Mother andFather of the Universe, Shiva and Parvati, coming and tucking youlovingly into bed, and you will have a very happy sleep." At thethought of being tucked into bed by Mother and Father of theUniverse, the children simply smiled and beamed; they were reallymade happy.
A shrine was visited, and pictures taken with thenovice monks. Many centuries back, one of the swamis of the traditionhad resided there. At that time the monastery's rule was that themonks should make their own living while carrying on spiritualpractices. We saw the millstones on which he would grind grain tomake a living. They must a weigh half a ton! It is said that he wouldget lost in his meditations, and the grindstones would keep runningof their own accord. One hears such stories in India in every villageand in every town.
We also visited a store room that houses suchimplements as the solid silver palanquin and other insignia of the'pontiff', which are used by him on the occasion of specialprocession. The current mahaswamiji has refused to accept suchhonours.
On the drive back to Mysore, the opportunity wastaken to stop on a bridge on the river Kapila and from there, about250 metres (yards away) were the holy rocks on which the great yogi,around whom the royal horses circumambulated, had sat 11 centuriesago. What was then a meadow, is now the bed of the river that changedits course in due time.
Later in the evening there was another lecture inthe same hall as before. Full house, again. The meditation this timewas a more advanced step, in accordance with the Vira-shaivatradition. Afterwards it became almost impossible for Swami Veda toget to his car because of the rush of the people trying to meet him,touch him, to seek his autograph, or 'please place your hand on myhead'.
In the morning of March 29, 2003 a short visit wasmade to the royal palace. Because of the special position ofMahaswamiji, it was possible to see what is not commonly open toall--but the time was too short.
The Ashram elephants were fed bananas by SwamiVeda, Anne and others. The party then left for Bangalore airport. AsSuttur Mahaswamiji was also going there, Swami Veda Bharati accepteda ride in his car--which, because of Mahaswamiji's specialposition--is always escorted by the Karnataka police car clearing theway; so the passage was smooth and fast.
45 minutes rest at the Suttur Math's guesthouse inBangalore; a delicious lunch; and then Bangalore airport to Mumbaiand onwards to Europe.
Copyright 2003 West-Art, Prometheus88/2003