Post No. 10,360
Date uploaded in London – – 20 NOVEMBER 2021
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
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tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
Swamiji Krishna of Ayakkudi near Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu is our family Guru. He did give Mantra upadesa to our family members. He gave full one hour Mantra Upadesa to Sri S Venkataraman (Senior Sub Editor Dinamani, Madurai; SV). My brother S Srinivasan and my father V Santanam (News Editor, Dinamani) were given simplified version of Ganapathi Homam. Every day they must do Homam before sunrise. They put Ashta Dravyas / Eight Ingredients into Havan fire and do some Naivedaya (food offering). Of the three, my brother only developed thought reading and face reading powers like Swamiji (Krishna).
Before I go into the details of our association with Swamiji, I want to tell a few things about Mr S V (Senior Sub Editor, Dinamani, probably later made as Deputy News Editor; because BBC recruited me in 1987, I did not remember much about Dinamani, that happened after 1987)
In addition to his (S V ) Daily Homam, he did Aubasanam which every married Brahmin should do. Recently he passed away. I have seen only one person in my whole life who did the mid day prayer at noon. A brahmin as Brahmachari (bachelor) should do Samidhaa dhaanam in fire in the morning and three times a day Sandhya Vandanam (Sun Worship with the most powerful Gayatri mantra found in Four Vedas). This Sandhavandan is common to all Brahmins whether you are married or not. Mr S V. who my dad calls affectionately as ‘Hey Dhhadi’ ( Mr Beard) because he grew Dhaadi/beard as a saint in course of time. He used to go out halfway through his work at 12 noon to the three taps outside our big building and open the tap to do Mid Day Sun Worship (Maadhyaanhikam). All the workers who use the same taps at lunch time will stand away till he finishes the ritual. I have never seen anyone in my life who did this right on time. I know a few others who couple it with Morning Sun Worship.
In London I do only two times a day cutting the mid day worship. I just recite the most famous mantra in it every day. It runs like this (roughly translated; from Yajur and Atharvan Veda)
Give me 100 years of life to see you, to hear good things, to speak good things, to live healthily, to live happily , to enjoy etc and then look at the SUN with handmade telescope; fingers in two hands made , crossed you get a small hole through which you have to see the sun). Mr S V did it every day in front of us and workers. He never bothered about anything or any one.
This is not the only reason I am writing about him. He is also one of my Little Gurus. I will tell you one interesting anecdote in my life. I joined Dinamani on February 1, 1971 . So it should have happened at least 40 years ago. I was allocated an MIG flat in Madurai Ellisnagar under Journalist quota just like that. Only two flats were allocated to journalists. Myself and AN Sivaraman’s (Editor Dinamani) son were the two applied and so both of us got them just like that. Ellisnagar was once a grave yard cum crematorium.
On the day I did Grahapravesam, 100 yards away there was a big fire. My mother asked me what was it. I did not say one of the dead bodies was being burnt there. This we witnessed for decades and then my brother and others who also got further allotments fought against powerful politicians and changed it. We won at the end.
After moving to my new flat in Eliis Nagar, my eldest son developed severe diarrhoea, uncontrolled for several days. We took him to allopathy, Mumbo Jumbo, abracadabra magicians (Mantriks), temples with neem leaves and yet the diarrhoea continued. I went to see Dhaadi S V. He did give me all practical advice and said it should stop. And told me “Look you have moved to a new place and so you must expect some teething problems”. I was so disappointed I plainly told him, Sir I came to you to get some Hindu Short Cuts to cure the problem magically, divinely; but you talk about this like ordinary men.
He smiled and said t me, OK OK, I will teach you one mantra ;Do it 11 times a day after the bath with full concentration; your problems will disappear. I did it sincerely and the problem disappeared, and my son became healthy after a few days. Years later , perhaps decades later, I came to know that is the first stanza in Durga Suktam. Even today I do it after my shower every morning. Whenever I went to India I used to give him a box of sweets and new Dhoti as Guru Dakshina. This is the reason I wrote about him.
His father was quite opposite to him. Even Swamiji (Krishna) used to call him ‘Duryodhana’. He would say What? Immediately Swamiji used to say you are as rich as Duryodhana! (the real meaning is he cant see or say anything good in his life)
I will tell you one more interesting thing. He knew that I had been allocated a flat in Ellisnagar , Madurai. Whenever I go to his house to see his on S.V, he would deliberately call me, How is your house in the crematorium? During first few occasions I was upset. Later I retorted Oh My House! Everybody says I am lucky to get a house in the Shiva Bhumi ( all Hindus know that Shiva lives in crematorium; and of course , every where including Kailash!)
One last thing about my Little Guru SV, my house and his house used to alternate Saturday Bhajans. In Goplala Krishna Bhagavathar Pathadi/style.
Whenever Sri Gopalakrishna Bhagavathar of Pudukkottai comes, there will be an all night bhajan at my house or SV’s house or in the house of one Mr Lakshmana Iyer; very near my house)
Xxx
Now let me start with some miracles done by Swamiji Krishna:
One day he did his Ganapathi Homam in S.V.s house. After the homam he was going through the house. We were all following him. Suddenly he asked us to do Namaskaram (prostrating on the ground as a token of saluting God or elders) pointing to some vacant space. Then he told us that a saintly person visited on the day (probably because Swamiji did Ganapathi Homam). Then Mr Duryodhana (S V ‘s father) told us that his great grand father was a saint and he took us to the place where his picture was hung on the wall.
Everytime Swamiji visits Madurai, we used to see an elephant going in front of our car (Madurai has many temple elephants; the mahouts take them on city rounds to get money for himself and food for elephants)
Sorry, Excuse me for One side titbit!
We used to invite the elephant man to our house and give him four annas (later 25 paisa) and jaggery and raw rice to the pachyderm. The elephant would eat it and then we provide one jar of water to it. It would take water in its trunk and blow on us. It is considered auspicious and medicinal. If we give him four annas more, he would command the elephant to bend and then we would be lifted up on to the elephant and we would enjoy a Kingly ride for 100 yards. When we do it for our children in the house they would cry out of fear. An enjoyable scene for their parents!
As soon as the elephant poo on the road, every one , young and old, would run and jump on the elephant poo. It is considered medicinal. If the elderly people see it urinating they would run to the back of the elephant and take the urine in their hands and sprinkle on their heads. Anything that is coming out of cow and elephant are considered anti bacterial and medicinal; every big temple and every Shankara Mutt do Elephant Puja and Cow Puja in the morning even today (Gaja Puja and Go Puja). As children, we would watch the cows climbing steps, 20 to 30 feet high in Madurai Krishnan Kovil/temple at North Masi Street).
Coming back to miracles again…..
Decades ago there was a manager in Madurai Indian Express. He had no issue. That was his big worry in life. My father, circulation manger and others at top, go on tours to different places covered by Madurai Dinamani Edition. We covered 8 districts out of 12 at that time. Madras Edition covered 4 districts and Pondichery only. So my father V Santanam is known as Editor Dinamani than the actual Editor A N Sivaraman; he was from Ambur of Tirunelveli district. He used to joke with my father, Hey Santhaaaaanam; I went to temples in Tirunelvli and introduced myself as Dinamani Editor. They told me ‘No, we know Dinamani Editor in Madurai very well’. (As if ANS is a fraud). My father never replied to criticism or appreciation. His usual style of replying is Just a Smile!)
Coming back to Miracles
So as part of circulation drive, my father, Manager MR J S M decided to go to Tenkasi area because it was Courtallam season time (Kutraalam on the Western Ghats has beautiful water falls; ‘season’ means the three month period when the water is in full flow in the falls; millions would visit the place and enjoy bathing until it becomes very dark.)
When we heard they were going to Courtallam, my self and my elder brother jumped onto the car. We all finished bathing and eating and buying forest grown fruits in the place and about to leave for Madurai 100 miles away. My told Mr JS M, hey JSM, there is one Swamiji living in this area. He has been writing to me to visit him. MR J S M was the driver of the car as well. So he could have told my father,’No Sir I am very tired’. But his good times. He said ‘YES’. We all drove into the tiny village, Ayakkudi. One good or bad habit of Agraharam people (Brahmin Streets are called Agraharam; probably that was the first street immediately after the river or that was the street of High Caste Hindus. Agra in Sanskrit mean –First, foremost, chief, best, prominent, principal, pre-eminent)
All the people residing in the street would come out and stare at you. This happened to us whenever we visited our uncle in Mayuram Mahadhaana Street as well (as our Kula Deivam is Sri Vadhyanatha Swami at Vaitheeswaran Koil, we used to go there every year).
So the whole Ayakkudi brahmins were looking at us as if we are strange and rare animals . As soon as we walked into a little house of Swamiji, he welcomed us as if we were already known to him. He immediately saw Mr J S M and said this gentle man is suffering because of lack of issue/child. No worries; you are going to get a baby very soon. This surprised everyone of us. Neither my dad nor JS M opened the topic at all. After a year that came true as well. From that day we stuck on to that Swamiji till his Samadhi day.
I think Swamiji Krishna died before he became 60. He was a serious diabetic which even hospitalised him in Madurai for a month or so. The Government Hospital became a Five Star Hotel because of him, where top police officers including I G of Police Dr SM Diaz, Achuthan Nair SP used to visit him. Irrespective of religion, even Muslims used to visit him.
Swamiji himself told us the story of a Muslim millionaire who visited a prostitute and lost his diamond ring. While he was looking for it in the rubbish nearby in the dark so that no one would notice him, Swamiji called him and told him where to find it. When he got it he fell at the feet of Swamiji and asked Swamiji How can I reciprocate your kind gesture? Swamiji told him please provide me all the necessary things for Ganpati Homam before sun rise. I don’t know the place now. Was it somewhere in Karnataka? The millionaire Muslim made open the shops at mid night and brought all the Ashta Dravyas and baskets full fruits and what not, all before sun rise.
Swamiji used to tell us (boast to us) brothers , all these stories whenever he remembered, most of these in Madurai General Hospital!! He used to tell us, “Look at me , a Ganpathi Upsakar; but yet I am in hospital; it is all Rahu Disa. I pray to Ganpathi that none of you should be hospitalised for at any time in your life.
He would eat food from only two houses including ours. Rich people used to send him some dishes to hospital, he would bless them, but the food would go to the nurses there! He knew who were pure in Thought Word and Deed (Tri Karana Suddhi- Mano Vak, Kaya) My mother’s food was accepted by Swami Shanthananda of Pudukkottai, Swamiji Krishna, Sambamurthy Satrigal, Kanchi Parmacharya’s brother, Mr Ramamurthy of Mayuram, Kanchi Mutt representative for Tiruppavai work, Sri Gopalakrishna Bhagavathar, Rama Gopalan of RSS (later Hindu Munnani) and 100 others.
As I told you before Swamiji did teach us Mantra at various levels. He took me to all the Ayyappa Temples except Sabarimalai. I visited Achankoil, Kulaththupuza, Aryankavu and Chenganoor Bhagavathy Temple with him. At Thazaman Mutt he gave me the Mantra. There he introduced to me Sri Sankararu Kandararu, Chief of Sabarimala Temple. Wherever he goes there will be a motor cade following him sometimes with police security.
I will tell you about more miracles in the next part
To be continued……………………….
tags– Swamiji Krishna, S Venkatraman, Ellisnagar MIG flat, miracles
Tamil and Vedas 