PARAMACHARYA SRI CHANRASEKHARA SARASWATI - Dr.Subramanian Swamy

Parmacharya Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswathi
Dr.Subramanian Swamy

I have bowed before only one sanyasi in my life, and that is Sri
Chandrasekhar Saraswathi, known to the world as the Parmacharya. It is
not that I am arrogant or that I have no respect for sanyasis and
sadhus. In fact I respect many sadhus in this country for their
learning and social services. But my upbringing, first in an English
convent school, and then ten years in USA had created a distance
between me and traditional Hindu culture of bowing and prostrating
before any elder, or anyone in saffron clothes. Therefore, I was the
“modern” Indian, believer in science, and with little concern for
spiritual diversions.
In fact till the age of 30, I had not even heard of a god like human
being called Sri Chandrasekhar Saraswathi. It was a chance meeting
with an Indian student at Harvard in his room in the university
hostel, that I saw a picture of Parmacharya on top of this student’s
TV set. I asked him: “Who is he? And why are you keeping his picture?”
The student just avoided the question. I also forgot about it, except
that Parmacharya shining smiling face in that photograph got etched in
my memory. Six years later, as my Pan American Airways plane was about
to land at Delhi airport during the Emergency, I saw that smiling
Parmacharya’s face reappear before me for a brief second for no reason
at that time. I was coming to Delhi surreptitiously to make my now
famous appearance in Parliament and subsequent disappearance, while a
MISA warrant was pending for my arrest in the Emergency. At that
moment, as the plane landed, I resolved that whenever the Emergency
 gets over, I shall search for Parmacharya and meet him.
In 1977, after the Emergency was over, and the Janata Party in Power I
went to Kanchipuram to see the Parmacharya. It was in sheer curiosity
that I went. Some friends arranged for me to come before him. It was a
hot June evening, and Parmacharya was sitting in a cottage, a few
kilometers outside Kanchipuram. As soon as he saw me, he abruptly got
up, and turned his back on me, and went inside the cottage. My friends
who took me there were greatly embarrassed, and I was puzzled. Since
no body including the other sadhus at that ashram had any idea what
went wrong, I told my friends that we should leave, since Parmacharya
was not interested in giving me “darshan”.
From the cottage, we walked a few hundred yards to where my car, by
which I had come to the ashram, had been parked. Just as I was getting
into the car, a priest came running to me. He said “Parmacharya wants
to see you, so please come back”. Again puzzled, I walked back to the
cottage.
Back at the cottage, a smiling Parmacharya was waiting for me. He
first asked me in Tamil: “Do you understand Tamil?” I nodded. In those
days, I hardly knew much Tamil, but I hoped the Parmacharya would
speak in the simplest Tamil to make it easy to understand.
He then asked me another question: “Who gave you permission to leave
my cottage?” The Tamil word he used for “permission” was of Sanskrit
origin, which I immediately understood. So in my broken Tamil with a
mixture of English words, I replied: “Since you turned your back on me
and went inside the cottage, I thought you did not want to see me.”
This reply greatly irritated the priest standing in attendance on the
Parmacharya.
He said “You cannot talk like this to the Parmacharya”. But
Parmacharya asked him to be silent, and then said that when he saw me,
he was reminded of a press cutting he had been keeping in store inside
the cottage and he had gone inside to fetch it.
“Here it is” he said. “Open it and read it. I opened the folded press
cutting, and with some difficulty, I read the Tamil question answer
piece printed in Dinamani Kadir, a magazine of Indian Express group.
The press cutting had a photograph of me and below it the question
asked by a reader: “Is the hero of the Emergency struggle,
Dr.Subramanian Swamy a Tamilian?” And the answer given was, “Yes he is
a native of Cholavandhan of Madurai District.”
Parmacharya asked me, “Is this your photograph, and is the answer
given to the question correct?” I nodded. Then Parmacharya said: “Now
you may go. But in the future when you come, you cannot leave till I
give you permission to leave.” Everyone around me was naturally very
impressed, that Parmacharya had given so much special attention
especially since in those days, he often went on manuvvat (silence
vow). As I left a sense of elation at the meeting with Parmacharya. I
wanted to come back again. I could not understand why a “modern”
person like me should want to see a sanyasi, but I felt the urge
strongly.
A month later, the Tamilnadu Assembly elections were on, and I was
passing Kanchipuram in the campaign rail. So I told the Janata Party
workers to spare me some time to pay a visit to the Parmacharya.
When I again reached the same cottage, a priest was waiting for me. He
said: “Parmacharya is expecting you.” I asked: “How is this possible,
when I decided at that last minute to come, without appointment?” The
priest replied. “That is a silly thing to ask. Parmacharya is divine.
He knows every thing”.
Sure enough a radiant smiling Parmacharya received me. I thought that
this time too, our meeting would last a few minutes, and after a few
pleasantries, I can continue on my election campaign. But not so.
Parmacharya spoke to me for 1-1 1/2 hours on all important subjects.
He gave me guidelines on how to conduct myself in politics and what
was necessary to protect the national interest of the country.
He told me that in politics, I should never bother about money or
position, because both would follow me whenever an occasion demanded.
But I should not be afraid to stand alone. He told me that all great
persons of India were those who changed the thinking of the people
from a particular set way of thought to a new way of thinking. “That
is the permanent achievement for a politician, not merely becoming
Minister or Prime Minister. Great persons, starting with Adi Shankara,
to Mahatma Gandhi dared to stand alone and change the trend of
people’s thought. But did either hold a government position?” he asked
me.  He said “If you dare to think out fresh solutions for current
problems, without bothering about your popularity, and without caring
for whether a government position comes to you or not, you will have
my blessings.” When he said that I felt a strange sensation of
happiness. I suddenly felt very strong.
During the period since my first meeting with the Parmacharya, I had
thought a lot about him, heard his praise from so many people. From
what I learnt and what I saw of him, I began to feel his divinity.
There was no other human like him. If nothing else, he was one sadhu
who did not bless Indira Gandhi during the Emergency when in the
height of her power and at the height if the nation’s sycophancy, she
came and prostrated before him. And yet when Indira Gandhi was down
during the Janata rule, he received her and gave his blessings to her
after she repented for the Emergency.
It is this thought, every time (that if I do something sincerely, and
for what is for the good of the people) that Parmacharya’s blessings
will be with me and see me through the interim period of public and
media criticism and unpopularity, that has given me this courage that
today even my enemies do not deny that I possess. In such endeavours,
even though in the beginning when most thought that I was doomed, I
came out it successful in the end because of his blessing.
In the next few instalments I shall, without drawing the Parmacharya’s
 name into the controversy, reveal many such initiatives that I took
with his blessings. From 1977 to his day of Samadhi, I met the
Parmacharya so many times and received his oral benediction and
advice. But I never gave it publicity or got myself photographed.
During his life time, I did not boast of my proximity to him either,
although whenever I came to the Kanchi Mutt, always without
appointment, he would see me. If he was asleep, he was awakened by his
close helpers to whom he had obviously given instructions about me.
There may not be another god in human form for another 100 years, but
it was my honour to have known him and received his blessings. He may
not be here today in human form, but because of what he had instructed
me, I know and feel his is around.
Parmacharya – Part II
Subramanian Swamy
After wonderful discourse from Maha Periyawal Sri Chandrashekhara
Saraswathi in 1977, I went to have Parmacharya’s darshan numerous
times. Whenever I had a difficult question that I could not answer, I
would go and ask him for guidance. He gave me audience also in
abundance. I got to see him whenever I came to Kanchipuram, or at
Belgam in Karnataka or at Satara in Maharashtra or wherever else he
was. But I did not publicize these darshan sessions in the newspapers
as some others were doing. This was greatly appreciated by the Mutt
officials and pujaris.
When Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, defeating the Janata
Party, I was upset, and wondered if Emergency would be declared again.
So I went with a group of Janata workers to the Karnataka –
Maharashtra border, where Sri Parmacharya was camping on his walking
tour. When I reached him, he was sitting in a hut almost as if he was
waiting for me. As soon as he saw me, he got up and started briskly
walking to a nearby temple. I just stood there watching him. Soon he
stopped walking and sent someone to ask me to come to him alone.
When I reached where he was standing, he said to me anticipating my
question; “It is a good thing that Indira Gandhi has got an absolute
majority. At this juncture, the country needs a stable government, and
only Indira Gandhi is in a position to give that stability.” “But what
if she declares another Emergency and tries to put us all in jail?” I
asked.
To this question, Parmacharya only smiled and put his hand up in his
known style of bestowing his blessings. I did not realize at that
time, that Indira Gandhi  had before elections, gone to Hubli in
Karnataka where he was camping and  prostrated before the Parmacharya.
On her own, she had vowed to him and had said that if she came back to
power, she will not repeat the mistakes of the past of declaring an
Emergency. Then she asked for his blessings, which the Parmacharya had
given by raising his hand and showing his palm.
As I was leaving, Parmacharya asked me if I could work to unite the
opposition and include the communists in it. “Communists!” I asked in
utter incredulity. I added: “The Soviet Union has just invaded
Afghanistan (December 27, 1979), and are preparing to capture
Pakistan, and then soon they will swallow India. How can we believe
the Communists?”
“Not like that at all” said Parmacharya to me. He clearly gave me a
hint that Communists will never be a danger to India. In fact he gave
me a clear indication that in some years to come the Soviet Union will
not be there at all. I just could not believe what I heard. But eleven
years later, that is exactly what happened. The Soviet Union broke up
in 1991 into 16 countries, a development no human being foresaw.
Parmacharya was above human, a divine soul. He could see it. To this
day I regret that I did not act on his advice because I spent nearly a
decade (ten years 1980 -90) opposing Communism, little realizing that
it was going to collapse of its own weight. I earned the Communists
enmity for nothing. That is the only advice of Parmacharya I did not
act on.  On other occasions, I blindly followed whatever he told me.
Of course, the golden rule with Parmacharya was that he would not on
his own offer any advice, but when I asked him, he showed me
 the way. When my mind was made up on anything, I did not ask him what
I should do. Of course if I did not have his blessings, I rarely
succeeded.
In 1987 for example, I tried to land with some fisherman in the island
of Katchathivu to assert the rights of fisherman under the Indo-Sri
Lanka accord. MGR was Chief Minister then. He had me arrested in
Madurai and put me up in Tamilnadu Hotel instead of Madurai jail. The
then DGP, told me clearly that unless I give up the Katchathivu trip
and agreed to return to Chennai, they would keep me under arrest.
Those days I knew little criminal Law, so I agreed to return to
Chennai not knowing my rights. After arriving in the city I drove to
Kanchipuram and saw the Parmacharya. I told him of my humiliation and
my inability to go to Katchathivu. Parmacharya smiled at me as if I
was a child. He told me: “You go to Delhi and file a case in the
Supreme Court against the arrest, and ask the court to direct the
Tamilnadu government to make arrangements for you to go Katchathivu”.
So I flew that evening to Delhi. My wife is an advocate in the Supreme
Court, so I asked her to draft my writ petition. She was shocked by my
request, “The Supreme Court will laugh at you if you come directly on
a question of arrest. You must first go before Magistrate in Madurai,
then Sessions Court, the High Court, and then only to Supreme Court”
she said.
I insisted that she draft the petition. So finally she said “As an
advocate, I don’t want to look foolish in the Court. So I will draft
your petition but the rest you do. I won’t associate with it.” But my
blind faith in Parmacharya kept me going. With the petition filed, I
appeared in the Court of the Chief Justice Venkataramiah. I arrived in
the Court a few minutes before the Chief Justice took his seat. Many
lawyers who recognized me met me to ask why I had come, they all
laughed. All of them said: “Your Petition will not only be dismissed,
but also the Chief Justice will pass remarks against your stupidity,
and  for wasting the time of the Supreme Court.”
When my Petition came up for hearing, a miracle happened. Chief
Justice Venkataramaiah asked the Tamilnadu Counsel (then Kuldip Singh,
who became a famous Judge himself later) why the Government had
arrested me. Taken by surprise at the Petition not being dismissed,
Kuldip Singh stammered.  “Kuldip Singh went on to explain that a
pro-LTTE mob was against me  going to Katchathivu, and the LTTE had
also issued a threat to finish me. Chief Justice Venkataramaiah then
burst out at Kuldip Singh. He thundered “Are you fit to call yourself
a democratic government? If mob wants to stop Dr.Swamy, you arrest the
mob not Dr.Swamy.”
The Chief Justice then passed an order that the Government should make
all the necessary arrangements for me to go to Katchathivu. No one in
court could believe it. Some asked me: “Are you related to
Venkataramaiah?” I am not only not related, but those days I did not
even know him. But I had the blessings of Parmacharya, and I was doing
as he asked me to.
That was the divine power of Parmacharya ; when he asked you to do
anything, he also took measures to see that the right thing happened.
After the Supreme Court verdict, I met Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in
Parliament House. Kuldip Singh had already informed him of the court
verdict. So he told me: “Why did you not speak to me first? I would
have told MGR to allow you. In any case, when you plan to go to
Katchathivu, the navy and air force will give you cover. But the
fishing boat on which you travel has to be provided by you.”
On May 8, 1988, I landed on Katchathivu and planted the Janata Party’s
saffron and green flag, and prayed at the St.Anthony Church there. As
I  approached the island, there were navel patrol boats on either side
of my fishing vessel  which I had taken on hire. Two air force planes
were flying over me. I felt grand like a king. My salutations went to
the Parmacharya. He made the impossible possible. From being arrested
in Madurai to being royally escorted to Katchathivu, only Parmacharya
could arrange.
Parmacharya- Part III
Subramanian Swamy
In 1981, I became successful in persuading the Chinese government in
re-opening for Hindu pilgrims the route to Kailash and Manasarovar.
After 3 years of persuading the Chinese, in April 1981 the Chinese
strongman Deng Xiao Ping invited me to China to meet him. In that
meeting, he told me that as a “special favour to me and my efforts and
in recognition of my steady advocacy of improved Sino-Indian relations
[ he used the term "lao peng yeou" 'meeting old friend' ] he was
asking the officials to meet Indian counter parts to work out the
arrangements for pilgrims to visit Kailash. Deng had in jest asked me
“But you must go first”. He had said it jokingly, but I was keen to
see Kailash and Manasarovar. So when I met Mrs. Gandhi in Delhi to
tell her of my meeting with Deng, I told her that I will lead the
first batch of pilgrims and that she should agree. She laughed and
said “of course. I wish I could go too.”
The opening of Kailash and Manasarovar had been considered impossible
by our Foreign Ministry officials. China is a communist country and
Kailash and Manasarovar is in the most sensitive area of Tibet.
Therefore how could China allow Indians, even if as Pilgrims, to walk
into Tibet? But the impossible happened because throughout the three
years of talks with the Chinese, Parmacharya not only gave his
blessings to me for this venture but encouraged me. “We must be
friends with China and Israel” he would keep telling me whenever I
came to him for darshan and anugraha (blessings).
When the Kailash and Manasarovar re-opening was announced, the first
batch consisting of 20 pilgrims was slated to go in the end of August.
That meant in 30 days of walking from the end of August to late
September. By the time, we return, it would be end of September. At
those heights in the Himalayas, September meant snow and ice cold
temperatures, and that we would have to walk! Foreign ministry
officials told me that since the route had not been in use for nearly
25 years, it would be a rough walk. We would have to clear bushes on
the way, and perhaps encounter animals and snakes!
To make matters worse, Inderjit Gupta, then a CPI Lok Sabha MP, and
good friend of many years, asked my wife to prevent me from going on
this trip since I would not return. “It requires mountaineers to trek
this route, not people like us” he told her. Others told me that I
should think of my family (of two daughters then age 11 and  and not
venture on such foolishness. In fact one BJP MP, perhaps more out of
jealousy than concern, told me that it is punya (blessing) to die on
the route to Kailash. If that were so, I wondered, why not a single
BJP or RSS leader has ever gone on a pilgrimage to Kailash? Perhaps
because there are no Muslims there, nor a Masjid to demolish! BJP is
anti-Muslim but not pro -Hindu, so Kailash means nothing of political
value to them.
But the net result of all this was that a scare was created in my
family and social circles. Many urged me to forget going to Kailash. I
had done my duty, they said, in getting the route opened, but it is
not necessary to go there. My daughters reminded me of my promise made
the previous year that I would be with them on my birthday, which fell
on September 15th. The previous year I had to be away to address a
meeting in Bihar. If I went to Kailash I would again not be in Delhi
on my birthday. This troubled me.
So anguished and confused by all this I flew to Bangalore, and drove
down to where Parmacharya was camping. He was reading a book when I
saw him. He put down his book and glasses, and asked me what brought
me to him. “Kailash and Manasarovar route has been opened with your
blessings. I have been asked by our Government to lead the first batch
of pilgrims. But all my colleagues in Parliament are scaring me with
stories of what can go wrong with me on this hazardous trip”.
Parmacharya  said in a comforting voice “Nothing will happen. You go
and come. The opening of Kailash route is a great achievement for our
country”
“I have only regret. That I will not be able to be with my daughters
in Delhi on my birthday” I added. “When is your birthday?” He asked.
“September 15th. But the journey back will not be completed before
September 30th.” Parmacharya only smiled. He puts his palm in blessing
and merely said: “you go and come”. I left on September 1st on my
journey.
My journey to Manasarovar lake and then for a darshan of Kailash went
very smoothly thanks to Parmacharya’s blessings. I returned to the
Tibet-India border on September 13th, and camped that night at
Kalapani, a military cantonment on the Indian side. That night,
faraway from Delhi on the Himalayas, I could not help thinking of my
daughters and my promise to them to be with them on my birthday. It
would be another 15 days of walking before I could reach the plains
and then Delhi.
Next morning at breakfast, the camp commandant came to me with a telex
from Delhi. It said that on Prime Minister’s instruction, an air force
helicopter would be coming that morning at 10 AM from Bareilly to pick
me up and take me back to Bareilly, from where I will be taken by car
to Delhi. I was thrilled. This meant that I would be in Delhi on
September 14th evening, and be with my family on the next day for my
birthday! What a miracle!
I was that time just an MP, and that too from the opposition. And yet
this privilege was extended to me. The only reason for this was the
blessing of Parmacharya. With this blessing, any miracle could happen.
I was honoured to witness it. I prayed to Lord Shiva and Durga at the
Kalapani temple at 18,000 feet above sea level, with snow all around.
I said a special thanks to Parmacharya. When I returned to Delhi, and
thereafter went to see Parmacharya, I explained all that happened. He
merely smiled.
In 1986, I was passing Kanchipuram, so I made a detour and went to the
Kanchi Mutt. Parmacharya was there giving Darshan to hundreds of
people. I also stood in the crowd. But the pujaris saw me and
whispered to the Parmacharya that I had come. So he asked me to come
close and sit before him. After the crowds had left, he looked at me
as if to ask me why I had come. The Babri Masjid issue then was
hotting up, and so I said Parmacharya that I was planning to visit
Ayodhya to study the situation. I asked the Mahaswami what stand
should I take.
Parmacharya looked at me very sternly and said “you are a politician.
Why do you have to take a stand on a religious issue? You stay out of
it. You spend your energies on improving our economy or our relations
with China and Israel.” I was taken aback by his stern remarks. But I
persisted and said “At least the Government will have to take a
stand”. He said: “Let the government make it possible for the
religious leaders of both religions to come together and work out a
compromise. But you stay out of it.
I then told Parmacharya that my friend, and leading Babri Masjid
agitator Mr.Syed Shahabuddin wanted to see his holiness, and whether I
could do bring him next time. The pujaris around the Parmacharya
protested. They said that Shahabuddin was anti-Hindu, and he should
not be allowed inside the Mutt.
The Parmacharya waved away their objections. He gave me permission to
bring him to the Mutt. Then he said to the Pujaris. “Only Subramanian
Swamy knows the art of befriending Americans, Chinese and Israelis at
the same time. He can also be a friend of Shahabuddin.” Then turning
to me, he said: “Keep this quality. Never be afraid of making friends
with anyone.” I have followed this advice despite heavy criticism from
the media. I have made friends with Morarji, Chandrasekhar and Indira
Gandhi after terrific quarrels with them. Sometimes one needs to
quarrel to come to an understanding of each other’s strength.
Generally, I love to oppose those in authority because for a strong
democracy, opposition is necessary. But Indian society being feudal,
those in power underestimate who oppose them. And in my case, people
in power have always underestimated me because they think I am alone.
But they don’t realize I have friends everywhere, in all
 political parties and in all important countries. That is why I have
won all my battles against Government. Because I have never betrayed
anyone, these friendships remain for a long time. In 1990, I could
have betrayed Chandrasekhar and fallen for temptation offered by Rajiv
Gandhi to become PM. But when I discouraged this idea, Rajv Gandhi’s
esteem of me and trust in me went sky high. Because of the trust I
develop my friends from all over the world confide in me. People ask
me often “How do you get so much accurate information”. This is the
answer. I have secret friends and open enemies. Most other people have
the opposite: secret enemies and open friends.
Thus Shahabuddin trusted me to bring him to the Mutt with honour. In
early 1987, I brought Shahabuddin to see Parmacharya.
Parmacharya -Part IV
Subramanian Swamy
I brought the fierce Muslims-rights agitator Mr.Syed Shahabuddin to
Kanchipuram to have a darshan of the Parmacharya. Shahabuddin had told
me many a times that he had a urge to see the Parmacharya. He never
explained why. Nor I asked him why since I assumed everyone would like
to see a living God on earth.
Although Shahabuddin is a strict Muslim, he accepted two fundamental
points defining a patriotic Indian Muslim. The first point, a patriot
would accept that though he is a Muslim, his ancestors are Hindus
since 99.9 percent of Muslims of India are descendents of converts.
Muslims who think that their ancestors are Persians or Arabs or from
Tajikistan, can never be patriotic Indians, because they live in a
myth. They are psychologically uprooted from India. The second point
is that although the present day Indian culture is composite, in which
all communities and religions have contributed, the core of this
culture is Hindu in character and substance. Hence even if one changes
one religion, it need not lead to a change of culture. Religion is
personal, culture belongs to the nation.
Shahabuddin had accepted the two points and that is why I defended him
against the charge that he was communal. But the RSS [which is not
pro-Hindu, but merely anti-Muslim], saw in Shahabuddin a convenient
hate figure, and dubbed him a “second Jinnah”. Naturally bigots of the
RSS protested when they came to know that I was bringing Shahabuddin
to meet Parmacharya. When we arrived at the Kanchi Mutt, the
Mutt-Pujaris told me that Parmacharya had wanted me to bring
Shahabuddin right into the inner part of the Mutt where he was
staying. We were made to sit before a shut door, and told Parmacharya
would come soon.
The door was opened by Parmacharya himself. When Shahabuddin saw him,
he started to weep, with tears rolling down his cheeks. He folded his
hands in a ‘namaste’ and said “Oh my Lord Parmacharya, please save my
community and save the nation”. I was taken aback [Much later when we
were back on our way to Chennai, I asked Shahabuddin why he broke down
, before the Parmacharya. He simply said that he could not control
himself when he saw the radiant face of the Parmacharya.]
Parmacharya asked Shahabuddin what troubled him. He said “The Babri
Masjid has been shut to Muslims by a Court Order and I pray to you to
help us open it to us”. [At that time, 1988 there was no talk of its
demolition by RSS]. Parmacharya told him that Hindus and Muslims
should work out a compromise. He suggested a number of proposals, such
as joint prayers, or Hindu Prayers on Monday-Wednesday-Friday and
Muslims Namaz on other days with Sunday being denied to both. All
these compromise proposals, Shahabuddin said, would be unacceptable to
devout Muslims.
I added in my proposal.  Koran prohibits Namaz in constructions built
by demolishing other religions holy places : therefore if it can be
proved that a temple was demolished by Babar’s men to build the mosque
in Ayodhya, and then the Muslims themselves should agree to the Babri
Masjid demolition.
Parmacharya looked at me with a benign smile. He had earlier warned me
to stay away from this issue, instead asked me to concentrate on
political and economic issues. But Shahabuddin quickly agreed that
Koran prohibited reading namaz in such places, but contested that
Babri Masjid was built on a temple site. He said he had construction
blue prints to prove his point.  Two hours of discussion had taken
place, and therefore the Mutt pujaris were getting impatient. A big
crowd was waiting for the Parmacharya’s darshan. So Parmacharya closed
his discussion by asking Shahabuddin to bring his blue prints and come
again. Surprisingly, again Shahabuddin prostrated before him, and then
we both left.
Shahabuddin never came back again. But two years later, I became the
Law Minister. I confronted the Muslim organizations with a proposal
that the Government would appoint a Supreme Court Judge in a one man
Commission of inquiry to determine whether or not there was a temple
before the Babri Masjid was built. And if the conclusion was that
there was a temple, then Muslims must agree to give up the Masjid. If
not, then the Hindus would vacate the masjid.
Surprisingly, while all the Muslim organisations agreed to my
proposal, the fanatic Hindu organizations refused to agree. Our
government did not last long enough for me to go ahead with the
Commission of Inquiry anyway disregarding the fanatics. Nor could I
persuade the successor Narasimha Rao Government to follow my proposal.
It would have amicably resolved the issue. But alas, Babri Masjid was
finally demolished in bitterness.
Perhaps Parmacharya was telling me not to get involved from the
beginning because he foresaw that it would be demolished as a part of
destiny. If Babar’s violence was undone 450 years later, then RSS
violence on December 6, 1992 could also be undone someday, but I hope,
by understanding and love. Otherwise the cycle of violence will
continue in the country, with the Hindus and Muslims  not reconciled
to each other.

In April 1990, I received an urgent summons from Parmacharya to come
to Kanchipuram. So I rushed. When I saw him, he merely smiled, put up
his palm in blessing and then waved me on to go away! I was puzzled.
Why was I asked to rush to the Kanchi Mutt from Delhi, merely to be
sent away? The Mutt pujaris told me that on Parmacharya’s instructions
the Mutt had decided that I was to share the dais with Rajiv Gandhi on
the occasion of Parmacharya’s 97th birthday in May that year, to be
celebrated in Kanchipuram. It turned out that no other politician
except Rajiv and myself were to share the platform. It was a great
honour, not only that I would be with Rajiv, but more that it was on
Parmacharya’s instructions. But why did he so honour me?
That May meeting turned out to be crucial for me, because it created a
rapport with Rajiv which I did not have before. Rajiv too had great
regard for the Parmacharya and therefore his selection of me to pair
with Rajiv, meant for Rajiv that I could be trusted. From that date
onwards, Rajiv trusted me blindly with no reservations.
Parmacharya thus not only altered my outlook, but he also ensured from
time to time that I came on the right path. Once for example, in 1992,
the two junior swamis, Jayendra Saraswati and Vijendra Saraswati had
asked me to collect some funds for a Ghatikasthanam library that they
wanted to build in honour of the Parmacharya. They even printed letter
heads to make me the “Patron” of the project, but insisted on a
donation.
With great difficulty, I collected Rs.15 lakhs and gave it to them as
Janata Party’s gift. When Parmacharya came to know about it, he sent
me a query: “Why should you donate to the Mutt when you are yourself
begging for funds from the people to run your party? Please do not do
it in the future”. Since then I have stopped giving donations to any
cause. Beggars cannot donate.
Naturally, when Parmacharya attained samadhi in 1994, I felt like an
orphan in public life. HE was always there when I had a dilemma to set
things right. But I had the God’s grace to see him, a living divinity,
for 17 years. Many of his opinions and directions I can never reveal,
because he said them knowing fully well that I will keep it to myself.
But by guided  and listening to him, I have become so strong  mentally
as a person, that I feel that no one can cow me down or demoralize me
no matter how bad a situation I am in.
Parmacharya taught me that the easiest way to finish an enemy is to
make him a friend. He had urged me not to hate the sin, but the
sinner. Of course, sometimes the easiest way is not available because
of ego clash, and so the sinner has to fought to be made to realize
the sin. But one has to keep in mind that there is a God’s scheme,
redemption for the sinner what we call as prayaschitam. The ultimate
revenge belongs to the divine. As human beings we have no right to
revenge; only self-defence and righteous struggle. As Hindus, this is
easy to understand because we believe in the law of Karma. People who
see me fighting fiercely with Indira Gandhi, Chandrasekhar and
Jayalalitha and then working with them get confused or even disgusted
at what they perceive as my opportunism. I do not make up with those I
quarrel with at height of their power, but when they cease to be in
office. The reason for this flexibility in making friends out of
enemies of
 yester year is the advice that Parmacharya once gave me in 1977:
“India is plagued by divisions, and the egos of our rajas had played
havoc with our national security, making it easy for foreigners to
conquer us. Therefore, never hesitate to create unity, without of
course compromising on the fundamental concepts of morality. India has
never forgotten those who unite the nation.” I have defined three such
fundamental moral principles.
These three fundamental concepts of morality are
I shall not speak lie, even if I withhold   truth.
I shall practice what I shall preach.
What I do will be transparent for all to see. I consider myself
therefore free to plan my political strategy as I see best, without
regard to criticism from my political opponents, but within these
three moral limits.

An incident involving The Kanchi Paramacharya - Never ridicule or disrespect the pious

Paramacharya Stuns a Landowner!This article by Sri Ramani Anna appeared in Tamil in the Shakti Vikatan dated 5th November 2006

A Citra full moon day, many years back. An abhiSekam was performed in a grand manner with mahAnyAsa rudra japam at Sri Mahalingaswami Temple, Tiruvidaimarudur. The person who conducted it with 11 Vedic pundits was the landowner Narayanaswami Iyer of Tiruvarur. The rudrAbhiSekam that started at eight in the morning came to a completion around one in the afternoon.

The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer was extremely devoted to Kanchi Maha SwamigaL. He decided 'this rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam should be submitted to Periyavaa somehow.' He reverentially kept the prasAdam on a banana leaf and folded it inside a new silk cloth. That same evening, he boarded the Madurai Madras passenger train at Tiruvidaimarudur railway station. He got down at Chingleput station in the early morning, took a bus and arrived at Kanchipuram.

There was a large crowd at the maTham on that day. Finishing his bath and other chores, the landowner waited for Periyavaa's darshan. At about 12 o'clock in the noon, Maha SwamigaL came and sat down, after finishing his Chandramouleesvara puja. The crowd of devotees rushed forward. The landowner couldn't approach SwamigaL. He showed the prasAda bag and begged everyone, "All of you please make way! I have brought Tiruvidaimarudur Mahalingaswamy rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam for Periyavaa. I have to submit it to him."

No one seemed to make way. An employee of the maTham who saw the anxiety and haste of the landowner, created a trail for him among the people and brought Narayanaswami Iyer near PeriyavaL. When he saw PeriyavaL, the landowner became insensate, dropped down heavily for a prostration and got up. Maha SwamigaL looked at him raising his head. He raised his brows as if he inquired what the matter was.

With his hands shaking, the landowner babbled, unpacking the prasAdam bag, "prasAdam, prasAdu Periyavaa". "What prasAdam?" asked PeriyavaL and looked at him. In the meantime, the landowner managed to extract the prasAdam. He kept it on the cane plate found there and submitted it to PeriyavaL. On that plate were found in a small banana leaf, vibuti, kuN^kumam, sandal paste together with some bilva dalam, two parts of a broken coconut, and some poovan banana fruits.

Maha SwamigaL asked, "All these are prasAdam of which kSetra?" and looked at the landowner once again. The landowner calmed himself and said with humility, "Periyavaa! I performed the rudrAbhiSekam for Mahalingaswami at Tiruvidaimarudur yesterday. It was a large abhiSekam with mahAnyAsa rudra japam. This is that prasAdam. Since Periyavaa would be happy, I have rushed here to bring it, boarding a train; you must receive it and bless me."

Looking at that prasAda plate sharply for sometime, Periyavaa asked: "Narayanaswami! You are a big landowner yourself. Even then you performed this rudrAbhiSekam for Swami, teaming up with some other people to meet the expenses?"

The landowner replied, "No, Periyavaa! I performed it myself, out of my own expenses," stressing the 'myself' part a little.

PeriyavaL smiled to himself. He did not leave it at that. "So you did for for loka kSema at Madhyaarjuna kSetra", he added.

The landowner replied with some uncertainty, "No, Periyavaa! For the last two or three years there was no yield in my fields. Some fields were even barren. I checked up with Tiruvidaimarudur Muthu Josyar. He advised me, 'On a Citra full moon day perform rudrAbhiSekam for Mahalingaswami. That will give you an abundant yield!' Only on that belief I performed it, Periyavaa".

The prasAda that was kept before the sage remained untouched. AcharyaL did not accept it. Saying, "So it seems that you did not perform this act either for AtmArtam or for loka kSemArtam", he closed his eyes and dropped into meditation.

AcharyaL opened his eyes after fifteen minutes. There was such a clarity in his face! And a knowing look of having understood many things within those fifteen minutes. Everyone around was very quiet. SwamigaL continued, "Alright... How many vedic brahmins attended the rudrAbhiSekam?"

"I had arranged for eleven vedic pandits, Periyavaa!"

SwamigaL persisted, "Did you know who were the vaidikaLs and which place they belonged to? Was it only you who made all arrangements?"

The devotees who were witnessing the scene were surprised at the detailed inquiry Periyavaa was making. They also understood that he wouldn't do anything without a reason. The landowner took a piece of paper that he had tucked in his waist.

"I am reading out, Periyavaa. Tiruvidaimarudur Venkatrama SastrigaL, Seenuvasa Ganapadigal, Rajagopala ShrautigaL, Marutthuvakkudi Santhana Vaadyhar, Sundaa SastrigaL, Subramanya SastrigaL, Tirumangalakkudi Venkittu Vaadhyar, and then--"

AchargaL interruped him and asked easily, "All experts only, who you have arranged. Alright, check if your list has the name Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL."

Seething with happiness, the landowner replied, "It is there, Periyavaa! He also attended the japam", showing surprise in his voice.

Though the devotees were taken by surprise at such detailed inquiry about an abhiSekam that was over, no one said anything. Everyone was silent and attentive.

SwamigaL said, "Besh, besh! So you had engaged Venkatesa GanapadigaL also for the japam! A very good thing. Maha Veda vid! GanagadigaL is now very aged. Even difficult for him to raise his voice. He would feel it hard to control his breathing and intone the japam."

As if he waited for this remark, the landowner replied, his tone raising, "Yes, Periyavaa! What you have said is very correct. He did not chant the rudram well. Sometimes he was siting silent with closed eyes. Often he yawned. All these resulted in the shrinkage of the counting of the japam numbers. He gave much trouble yesterday. I regretted having engaged him for the japam."

SwamigaL swelled with indignation. "What you said... What did you say? So you have the temerity to talk anything because you have the money? What do you know about the yogyatAMsam of Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL? Would you match the dust of the feet of that veda vid? How can you talk such words about him? I have now understood what happened yesterday at the Mahalingaswami Sannidhi! You answer my question now! When the GanapadigaL was sitting quiet with closed eyes at the time of the japam yesterday, did you not shout harshly at him, 'EngaaNum, are you not getting the money, you are sitting still with a shut mouth without doing the japam?' Tell me, did you shout these words to him or not?" The landowner was appalled. The crowd was amazed.

Narayanaswami Iyer fell at SwamigaL's feet, his eight limbs touching the ground. SwamigaL did not say anything. The landowner got up himself. He closed his mouth and replied shivering, "My mistake, Periyavaa! It is true that I used the very same words you spoke know to the GanapadigaL in the Swami Sannidhi yesterday. Periyavaa should kindly pardon me."

Periyavaa did not stop. "Wait, wait. Did you do that mistake only? You did honour the vaidikaLs with money, right? How much did you give each vaidikaL?"

The landowner gulped and said weakly, "I paid ten rupees for each head, Periyavaa."

SwamigaL did not leave him with that. "Tell me correctly! I know everything! Did you pay all the vaidikaLs equally with ten-ten rupees each?"

The landowner stood silently. But the AcharyaL did not relent. "Listen, I shall tell you what you did yesterday. Perhaps you feel shy to talk it out. You seated the vaidikaLs in a row at the Sannidhi and was giving the sambhAvanA of ten rupees to each of them. When the turn of Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL came, you decided, 'This man did not chant the rudram properly. Why should I give him ten rupees as I did for the others?' and gave him just seven rupees. You had the thought that somehow you had taken revenge on him. Did he care anything about it all? He just accepted what you gave him and tied it to the edge of his vastram." AcharyaL asked him hotly, "Tell me, is not what I am saying correct?"

The devotees were stunned. No one did say anything. They wondered how PeriyavaL came to know what took place in Tiruvidaimarudur temple yesterday.

The landowner prostrated to the sage and said, "A gross mistake, Periyavaa! It was out of ignorance that I behaved like that! I won't behave in such a fashion henceforth! Kindly parden me!"

Before he finished, PeriyavaaL continued, "Wait, wait! It would have been less worse had it ended there." He asked, "For the japa brahmins, you arranged for the meals at the house of Ramachandra Iyer of Mahadhana street, right?"

"Yes, Periyavaa!"

"You served sumptuous meals, of course, with a feeling of immense happiness. You had arranged for cooking very tasty sweet pongal, with lots of cashew nuts and raisins added to it, and you served it with your own hands, with ghee dripping from it in the meals session, right?"

Narayanaswami Iyer was more and more appalled. He closed his mouth and spoke with uncertainty, "Yes, Periyavaa! In the session I served only the sweet pongal with my own hands."

"Alright, does your conscience admit that you did it with the dharma for serving a meal?" SwamigaL asked him sternly.

The landowner did not open his mouth. AcharyaL said himself, "You need not tell me, I shall tell you! When you served the sweet pongal, since it was very tasty, the vaidikaLs asked for repeated helpings. And you obliged them. But when Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL, giving up his reticence asked you many times, 'Serve me more of the sweet pongal, it is very tasty...' did you not carry on without serving him more, though you heard him? How many times did he ask you, giving up his normal reticence! And you did not serve him more! You committed the sin of partiality in a meals session! Was it dharma? You insulted a great sadhu!" SwamigaL fell into silence, overwhelmed with distress.

The landowner stood with bowed head. The devotees were amazed and speechless. Closing his eyes and folding both his legs behind him, AcharyaL sat upright. His divine frame looked like the Lord Parameswara Himself. He sat motionless.

Fifteen minutes passed by in complete silence. Then AcharyaL opened his eyes. Everyone was silent. AcharyaL continued his talk, looking at Narayanaswami Iyer: "MirasudarvaL! You should know one thing. GanapadigaL is eighty-one years of age now. He had done rudra japam in countless kSetras since his sixteenth year. Sri Rudram is always coursing his veins and nerves and breath. He is such a mahAn. The way you behaved to him is an act of great sin... an act of great sin!" PeriyavaL stopped, unable to continue further, and closed his eyes.

He resumed again after sometime: "Your act of partiality in the meals session affected him deeply. You know what he did? I shall tell you, listen. He did not go back to his native place Thepperumaanallur yesterday evening. Instead, he went to Mahalingaswami temple. He did pradakSiNa of the outer courtyard three times. Went straight to Mahalingaswami and stood before Him. You know what he prayed for, joinng his palms?" PeriyavaL couldn't continue. He steadied himself and then resumed his talk.

"With tears streaming down his eyes, he spoke to the God, 'Appa, Jyoti Mahalingam! I am your steadfast devotee. Since my early days I have recited mahAnyasa rudra japam countless times in your sannidhi. You have listened to it. I am now eighty-one years old. I have the mental strengh, but that strength is gone in my speech! It can't be that you wouldn't know what happened this afternoon when we were dining. I asked that landowner many times, leaving my shyness aside, for more of that pongal, since it was very very tasty. Though he heard me, the landowner moved away as if he did not hear my request. You know that I have an immense fondness for sweet pongal. Though I asked him out of temptation, I was grieved that he did not serve me more.

'But then only after I had finished my meals, washed my hands and sat on the thinnai it occurred to me whether I could have such a jihvA sabalam at this age. Which is the reason I am now standing before you, Appa Mahalingam! With you as the mediator, I take a vow from this moment. Everyone gives up some favourite edible when they go to Kasi. It is only You who is in Kasi, as well as here. Therefore I take a vow before you that I will not touch the sweet pongal or any other sweet dish from now on until my soul goes out of the body! This is a promise Mahalingam.' With that vairAgya pramANam he said, 'Appa Jyoti Mahalingam! I take leave of you now," and did shASTaaN^ga namaskaram twelve times. Tears were flowing down GanapadigaL's eyes, as he left for his place. Now, you tell me... What you did was dharma? Will Mahalingaswami agree to it?"

Periyavaa stopped. It was then three o' clock in the afternoon. "I don't want any bhikSA today", said SwamigaL. No one moved from there. Not even for their lunch. Total silence prevailed. Tears were seen in everyone's eyes. The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer stood transfixed. He could not raise his tongue to speak. Everyone's wonder was, 'How does Periyavaa narrate everything that happened yesterday at Tiruvidaimarudur as if he witnessed them personally?'

Falling down to Periyavaa's feet, the landowner started sobbing vehemently. His tongue slurred as he said, "Periyavaa! What I did was a great sin! I did it out of vanity. Kindly pardon me. Never again shall I behave this way in my life. You should say 'I have pardoned you'!" The landowner patted his cheeks loudly.

AcharyaL did not open his mouth. The landowner was persistent. "I pray to you, Periyavaa! You should accept this Mahalingaswami rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam. Kindly pardon me!" He pointed his hands towards the prasAdam plate.

AcharyaL said, "Let it be, let it be there. That Mahalingaswami Himself will give me the prasAda anugraham."

Before he finishd his words, a voice was heard outside the crowd: "Make way, make way!" Everyone moved to make way.

Only a tuft of hair knotted at the end on the head. A bright five-folded dhoti on the waist, with a silky green cloth covering it. A large rudraksha garland on the neck. A noble man who could be around sixty-five years old, arrived near PeriyavaL, carrying piously a brass plate on which was the prasAdam preserved in a silk cloth. He submitted the prasAdam plate reverentially to AcharyaL and said, "My name is Mahalingam. I am the arcakA of Tiruvidaimarudur Mahalingaswami temple. Yesterday a rudrAbhiSekam was performed for Swami. A landowner conducted it. My eleder sister is given in marriage to this place. I came to submit the prasAdam to AcharyaL and then look her up. Periyavaa should do me the anugraham." SwamigaL prevented him as he proceeded to prostrate.

Saying "You people have been given shiva dIkSA, you shouldn't do namaskaram to me", AcharyaL accepted the prasAdams brought and asked the Shivacharya to be given the MaTham's honours in return. Meantime, the SivacharyaL saw the landowner who was standing at some distance. "Periyavaa, it is this man who had conducted the rudrAbhiSekam there yesterday. He has come himself come here!" With these words, Mahalingam Shivacharya left the place, taking leave of the sage.

The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer again prostrated AcharyaL and patted his cheeks loudly. He pleaded, "Again and again I pray to you, Periyavaa. It is a great sinful act I have committed. Only you should tell me the remedy for this act."

SwamigaL got up briskly. "I cannot tell you the remedy for this. Only Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL can tell you the remedy."

"Will the GanapadigaL tell me the remedy for the deed of this paavi, Periyavaa?", the landowner asked with grief.

SwamigaL said in a slightly raised voice, "If you have the prAptam, he will certainly tell you!" and hurried inside. He did not come out at all.

The landowner waited for a few hours. And then, having come to a decision, he left the place and arrived at Chingleput boarding a bus. He caught a train and arrived at Tiruvidaimarudur on the next morning. He finished his bath in the Kaveri river there and with firmness of heart started walking towards Thepperumaanallur. He walked briskly with the resolution that he would somehow meet Venkatesa GanapadigaL, fall shASTaaN^gam at his feet, ask for his pardon, perform the remedy he would suggest and obtain paapa vimocanam.

The landowner entered the Thepperumaanallur agrahAram. He inquired the first man he came across, the address of the GanapadigaL. The man pointed to a house on the street before which was a crowd of people and said, "You have come to offer your condolences? That is the home of Venkatesa GanapadigaL. Early this morning, he suddenly passed away. A painless, peaceful death. Go and have a look."

Narayanaswami Iyer was stunned. He felt as if someone had hit him on the head. The firm words of AcharyaL at the MaTham yesterday seemed to ring in his ears. If you have the prAptam, he will certainly tell you!" He now understood that PeriyavaaL known yesterday itself that the landowner would not have the prAptam.

The landowner went to GanapadigaL's house, offered his condolences, and prostrated to the gross body of the GanapadigaL, seeking his pardon mentally. Then he moved away from the place.

Later, the landowner met with different kinds of adversities and happened to lose all his wealth. He went North and did service at the temple kitchens, finally arrived at Kasi kSetra and attained his mukti there.

PATTINATHAR

Pattinathar also called Pattinathu Chetty, was born in an affluent Nagarathar (trading community of Tamilnadu – Natukotai Chettiars) family. His orignal name was Swetharanyan.  The people called him Thiuvengkaadar. His parents were Sivanesan Chettiar and Gnanakalai Aachi. He had an elder sister. At the time, it was the privilege of the most affluent community to conduct the coronation of Kings who ascended to the throne. And for three generations or more, Pattinathar's ancestors have crowned the Kings in the Chera, Chola, Pandya and the Pallava Kingdoms. That gives us an understanding of how wealthy their family should have been. They owned ships that sailed to various countries for trading.

 
Swetharanyan, born in the lineage of traders, instinctively had the skills for trade and over the years, he became very successful and became the wealthiest trader in Kaveripoompattinam. Thereafter, due to his eminence, his proximity to the King and his generosity he was referred to as Pattinathu Chetty or Pattinathar, as the people hesitated to address him by his given name due to the respect & fear that he commanded in society. He was married at the age of 16 to a girl named Sivakalai, the daughter of Sivachidambara Chettiar & Sivakami Achi. The couple did not beget a child even 15 years after marriage. They were worried as there was no heir to their wealth. They visited a lot of temples but still were not blessed with a child. Pattinathar's mother even suggested that he marry another girl. In those days, it was normal for a man to have more than one wife. However he was not willing to think of any other girl as his wife. His mother, honoured his wish and did not pursue this suggestion.

Pattinathar had a dream one night in which He saw an elderly couple near Thiruvidaimarudhur, with a young infant. They were in despair as they were very poor and were unable to feed themselves, and could not provide for the infant. Pattinathar heard a divine voice asking him to travel to Thiruvidai Marudhur. He woke up from his dream and the next day Pattinathar and Sivakalai headed to Thiruvidai Marudhur. And when he reached Thiruvidai Marudhur, he saw the same elderly couple that he saw his in dreams. They told him that they were poor and the child was born at a very late age, and now they were weak and unable to feed themselves. They were Sivasarumar & his wife. He exhausted all his wealth in feeding the devotees of Lord Shiva. When all his wealth was spent he sold his wife's nuptial chain (thali) and fed the devotees of Lord Siva. Once in his dream, Lord Siva appeared and told him, he would find Him (Lord Siva) as a baby at a certain spot. "Hand over the baby boy to Thiruvengkadar. He would give gold equal to the weight of the baby”.

The  Saivaite devotees found the baby and took him to Thiruvenkadar who was also known as Pattinathar (town resident) or 'Pattinathar Chetty' trader from the town. Pattinathar and Sivakalai were in tears. They considered that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi themselves came as the elderly couple and blessed them with the child and they took the child in adoption

Pattinathar's sister, who had assumed that her family would automatically inherit Pattinathar’s wealth, as he had no heir, had her dreams shattered by the adoption of this child. She argued and quarrelled with his brother. But Pattinathar made a firm decision that he is going to adopt that child and that child will be his heir. The child was adopted in a grand ceremony and was named - Marudhavanan. They considered Marudhavanan as their own child and showed him a great love and affection.

Marudhavanan grew up like a prince. While still young, Marudhavanan expressed his interest to set sail across the oceans to where Pattinathaar's ships travelled.

Pattinathaar, pleased that his son evinced interest in business, made necessary preparations and Marudhavanan set sail on the ocean to far off countries where his father had business interests promising his father that he would return with wealth that his father had never seen. On its return, the ship that carried Marudhavanan was caught in a terrible storm and there was danger of the son losing his life. The father prayed fervently for the safe return of his son. He prayed that his son’s life may be spared and that he was not mindful of the loss of any wealth. Marduvanan returned safely to Kaveripoompattinam. Pattinathaar was overjoyed upon receiving the news that his son was back safe and unharmed. He went to receive his son back home. Marudhavanan hugged Pattinathaar and happily exclaimed that he has brought all the treasures he promised. He asked his father to order the workers to unload the treasures he brought with him and ran out saying that he is going to meet Grandmother. Pattinathaar ordered his men to unload the treasure. The men unloaded many sacks. Pattinathaar was surprised because, precious gems and gold were not tied up in sacks. They would be locked up securely in boxes. He opened one of the sacks and all he found was dried cow dung cakes (Varatti) and husk.

Pattinathaar grew furious and asked one of his men to carry a sack, went home angrily and shouted for Marudhavanan. His mother came out and was surprised to see her son angry, asked why he was angry. Pattinathaar said with great asperity, "See what your grandson has got?" and kicked the sack down. The sack fell open and to his surprise the dried cow dung shattered into precious gems and the husk was nothing but strands of gold. Pattinathaar's joy knew no bounds and was very happy that his son Marudhavanan had brought in such enormous wealth. By then, his mother came near him, gave him a box and told that Marudhavanan asked her to give Pattinathaar this box. She also told Marudhavanan is a very playful kid and that after giving the box He ran away saying that no one needed to search for him. Pattinathaar opened the box and found a needle with a broken eyelet and a small palm leaf with something written on it. It read,

"Kaadhatra Oosiyum Vaaraadhu Kaan Kadaivazhikkae"

meaning, even this useless needle with a broken eyelet (actually kadu means ear) will not accompany you in your final journey (after death).

Pattinathaar was dazed upon reading these words. He found everything to be an illusion before him. He realised that he went sought wealth that is ephemeral in nature. At that moment, His mother appeared to him as Goddess Shakti (Lord Shiva's consort) and Marudhavanan as Lord Kandhan (Lord Murugan). He realised that everything in life is just an illusion and that we are all trapped in such an inescapable illusion. He realised that he was caught in the whirl of bonding and affection. Then & there he decided to renounce such worldly life and become a sanyasi. He met his mother and told her. His mother said that she was not surprised, but she expected this. Pattinathaar went inside one of the rooms in the house and came out dressed in the loin cloth. Then his mother instructed Himto get the blessings and diksha from the Guru from whom his grandfather got sanyasam. Before he left, his mother tied a small cloth pouch to his hip and told Him that he should meet her if the pack unties, because that will signify her end.

Pattinathaar went to the Gurukulam for the first time in his life, though it was the Gurukulam established by one of his ancestors and their family were the patrons of that Gurukulam over the ages,  Pattinathaar never ventured there before. He went in and got the blessings and diksha from the Guru. When he came out of the Gurukulam, he was given the beggar's shell (Thiruvodu). Sanyasis are expected to beg and eat their daily meal as they have renounced everything in life and nothing belongs to them. Hence even the food for their living has to be given by others, symbolising that everything in this world, including one's soul is the alms given by God.

Pattinathaar, with his Thiruvodu, went to meet his mother as the first alms for a sanyasi should be from his mother. That's when he pondered thus:


Veedirukka Thaayirukka Vendu Manayaal Irukka
Peedu Irukka Oon Irukka Pillaigalum Thaanirukka
Maadirukka Kandrirukka Vaitha Porulirukka
Koodirukka Nee Pona Kolamenna Kolamae

meaning  "You have your home, You have your mother, You have a wife. You have the fame, You have good healthy body, You even have children. You have the cow, And the cow has its calf, you even have the wealth for generations. While body is still alive, look what you have been – (a Sanyasi)"

Then he walks straight to his home to get the first alms from his mother. He called his mother from the gates. His mother came out with an empty hand and asked "My dear son, are you still rich?" Pattinathaar was puzzled at his mother's question. He wondered why his mother asked this question when he had renounced everything and was begging for alms. His mother replied:

veedu unakku anniyam aagivittathu aanaal Oodu unakku sontham aagivittathae appa!
 

meaning "Though home is now alien to you, but now you own the tiruvodu my son!

Pattinathaar realised that even the Thiruvodu was an asset that was to be forsaken. He had a much better realisation now that He was a sanyasin not a beggar; he was about to throw away his thiruvodu, but his mother stopped him and said. "Use it my son, but if you lose it don't search as if you have lost your property". Then she gave the first alms to Pattinathaar, he moved on. Then he came across his elder sister's house, she saw him and invited him into her home and provided him a feast. When Pattinathaar obliged and sat for the meal, his sister asked about transferring the right to Pattinathaar's property in writing. Pattinathaar immediately left the house without eating and made up his mind never to come to that house. But his sister went behind him always, she sent spies to look where he was going. Finally one day, she sent her children to meet their maternal uncle. She asked the children to give their uncle the Appam (see recipies) she had prepared. The children sprang up in love on Pattinathaar when they saw him. He had a lot of affection for those kids, so he picked them up in his arms and talked to them. They gave him the Appam that their mother had asked to give him and they left. When Pattinathaar was about to eat it he realised that the appam was poisoned. He realised that his sister had tried to kill him. He went straight to his sister's house and threw the appam on roof top and went away singing these two lines

than vinai thannai sudum , Ottappam vittai sudum!

meaning, As one gets burnt by his sin, so shall the appam on the tiled roof top burn the house.

The entire house was engulfed in flames. Upon witnessing this miracle, his relatives and others recognised that he was no ordinary mortal now but a Siddha purusha and began revering Him as Pattinathadigal.

From then on Pattinathaar went on to the temples in the nearby towns and sang in praise of Lord Shiva in those temples. One day when he was in Thiruvidaimarudhur, the small pack that his mother tied to his hips untied itself indicating the his mother was her deathbed. He rushed to see his mother and as he was praying while he rushed, his mother held her life in her hands until Pattinathaar reached. Then his mother passed away in his hands. Pattinathaar wept profusely remembering how his mother had brought him up from a baby to a man. The funeral pyre was made ready. Pattinathar covered the body with fresh plantain stems & leaves and lamented by singing 10 verses in utter sorrow. When these verses were uttered, the pyre caught fire on its own. These verses even now move devotees to tears, when read.

Pattinaththar was wandered throughout the land.On one such a soujourn, he came to Tiruvarur. He found a small old Ganapati temple there. There was a small porchlike mandapam hall in the front of the smaller garbhagriham of the temple. There, he soon went into a deep meditation and attained Nirvikalpa samadhi. Nearby was a beautiful big pond. On that particular day, the queen was bathing there. Even though there were armed guards everywhere, a thief sneaked into the tent, where the valuable jewellery of the queen were kept and he stole the royal pearl necklace. The guards immediately spotted him and they gave chase. The thief ran as fast as he could. But he soon realised that he could not outmatch the guards as they were converging from every direction. He passed the small temple. He saw Pattinaththaar there, sitting with closed eyes and he threw the pearl necklace around the neck of the silent figure of Pattinaththaar. Since he did not have anything incriminating the guards let him go but they found Pattinaththaar in the temple, with the royal necklace around his neck. The soldiers and imprisoned him. The news reached the king, King Bhardragiri by name (a king of a province near present day Thanjavur in the 9^th century, not to be confused with King Bhartrahari of Ujjainof the 7^th century). When he was told that the necklace was stolen and was recovered and the thief has been caught with the necklace around his neck, he immediately ordered the miscreant to be impaled upon the kalzu.  The kalzu is a very cruel and painful form of death penalty. It was a pike of wood or iron. One end was very very sharp. It was planted in the ground vertically, with the sharp end pointing upward. The tip was well-oiled with castor oil which served as a lubricant. The sentenced victim would be stripped naked and hoisted up onto the tip of the stake. He would then be placed with his anal orifice resting on the tip. Then he would be pressed down. The body by its own weight would slide downward with the lubricated pike going up through his anus until it came to a stop somewhere within the body or came out through some soft part of the body. The death would be a lingering and painful one, unless the pike, by some unseen stroke of  mercy, injured some vital organ like the heart.

This was the punishment that King Bhradragiri pronounced on the  innocent Pattinaththaar who was lost in meditation and was blissfully unaware  of what was going on. When Pattinaththaar was brought to the kalzu maram and when he realised what was happening. He realised that it is the will of Lord Shiva and sang the following Aram (Truth) song:

"Enn Seyal Aavadhu Yaadhondrum Illai Ini Dheivamae
Unn Seyal Endru Unarappetraen Indha Oon Eduthu
Pin Seidha Theevinai Yaadhondrum Illai Pirappadharkku Munn Seidha Theevinaiyo Innaganae Vandhu Moondadhuvae"

meaning, `There is nothing I did or can do to this. I now realize that it is your will my God. I haven't committed any sin after being born into this body. But the sins that accumulated over my previous births now stand before me to end this life’

With those words, the kalzu maram went up in flames and was burnt to a cinder. The guards ran to the king and reported the matter to him. The King, Bhadragiri ran to meet Pattinaththar, realising that he had sentenced an innocent man on the word of his guards, without even seeing him or questioning him. The King Bhadragiri came in search of him and found Him in the cremation grounds. He asked Pattinathar, Why are you in such a pathetic condition, on the ashes. The Sithar answered, Nan amara, nee nirka  meaning, "Don't you see? We beggars sit while you a king stand before us - What more evidence do you need?" The king pondered over these words and the incident about the stake going up in flames upon this saint merely uttering a few phrases. Appreciating the high state of the mendicant, He renounced his royal life and became Pattinathar's disciple. He realised the folly of kingship and realised the power of the Siddha that was the truest power. Before such power, all others were in vain and worthless. He shed his regal crown, attire, ornaments etc, and wore a kovanam( loin cloth), left his kingdom and followed Pattinaththaar in His sojourns to the Holy Kshetras. But wherever they went, he lamented about the futilities of the vainglorious material life all the time; lamented about the reality that was so elusive. He longed for the eternal peace and freedom from births and deaths. About all these he lamented. Thus was born another Siddha - Bharathragiriyar and of course, his Lamentations, ' Bharathragiriyar Pulambal'.
 
One day, Badhragiri found a Thiruvodu and he picked it up. Pattinathaar told him that a Sanyasi owns nothing, so he told Badhragiri to leave that Thiruvodu where he found it. Badhragiri justified saying that they don't get food quite often and the Thiruvodu is the vessel used by Sanyasis, even Lord Shiva used it. Pattinathaar said, "do as you please". Then they proceeded, later Badhragiri found a small bag, he took and looked at Pattinathaar, again Pattinathaar told "See you have started gathering your assets". Badhragiri argued, "it's of no use to others, why not we use it". Pattinathaar again said, "do as you please" and proceeded.

And on another day, he found a puppy stranded in the road. It was very weak and appeared as if it hadn't eaten for a few days. Badhragiri took pity on the puppy, fed it well and took it with him. Pattinathaar reminded Badhragiri that he was a Sanyasi and he is going back into his family bonding by taking the puppy with him. Again, Badhragiri argued that being a sanyasi does not mean that we should ignore the poor and hapless creatures. As usual, Pattinathaar said, "It's your wish" and proceeded.

A few days passed, then one day, both of them did not get any food for the day and they reached Thiruvidaimarudur and decided to rest for the night. Pattinathaar lay down to rest in one place and Badhragiri in another keeping all his possessions and the puppy nearby. Sometime later in the night, a beggar came near Pattinathaar and begged for food. Pattinathaar told the beggar that he is a Sanyasi however the man near the eastern Gopuram was a family man and he might have something.

Badhragiri realised that Pattinathaar was referring to his attachment to the various things he had collected. At the same time, he got angry because he had renounced everything to become a Sanyasi, yet his own Guru called him a family man. Immediately he threw away his possessions and flung the puppy so forcefully against the wall that it died after having a last gaze at Badhragiri. Badhragiri did not understand the meaning of that gaze the puppy gave him. Then the beggar revealed Who He was, He was Lord Shiva Himself. At that moment, Badhragiriyar attained Moksham/ mukti salvation and He merged with the Lord. Pattinathar despaired that His disciple was granted salvation before Him. He wandered about lamenting. These lamentations are the Meigyaana pulambal (the lamentations of true enlightenment). While wandering thus, A celestial voice (asireeri) told Him that He will attain Mukti (salvation) in the place where He could find Peyarumbu (wild sugarcane – see glossary of terms) that was sweet. Pattinathaar set off on foot to various Kshetras  (holy pilgrim centers) of Lord Shiva seeking this. He eventually reached Thiruvottriyur. There He found Peykarumbu growing wild and He tasted it and found it to be sweet indicating that this was the place where He would attain samadhi. He walked along the seashore by the near the Vadivudaiamman temple. Fisher boys were playing by the shore. He called them to play a game. Pattinathar asked them to bury him and then call for him. After they had covered him completely, they called him and he appeared from the opposite direction and greeted them. They buried him in the sand again. He walked towards them from another direction. They buried him for the third time. They called and they called. He never came back. On digging up the place they had buried him they found nothing but Shivalinga (see glossary of Terms). Pattinathar visited this temple in 9 A.D. Pattinathar has composed several poems on Otriyur’s God, Sri Thiagarajaswamy. His shrine called Pattinathar Samadhi still stands by the shores of Tiruvotriyur (location available on Google maps).
This is the life history of the saint Pattinathaar who was born as a wealthy man, but renounced everything on realisation that nothing in this world is permanent. He has left us his life experiences and his realisations as songs that will serve as a reminder that one should not be attached to the materialistic possessions in this world. His works include Koyinaan Manimaalai, Thirukazhumala, Mummanikkovai, Thiruvidai Marudhur Mummanikkovai, Thiruvegambamudaiyar Thiruvandhaadhi, Thiruvottriyur Orupa Orupadhu.

Naapilakka Poiuraiththu Navanidhiyam Thaedi
Nalanondrum Ariyadha Naariyarai Koodi
Poopilakka Varugindra Puttreesal Pola
Pulapulena Kalakalavena Pudhalvargalai Peruveer
Kaapadharkkum Vagai Ariyeer Kaividavum Maateer
Kavarpilandha Maraththulaiyil Kaalnuzhaithu Kondae
Aapadhanai Asaithuvitta Kurangadhanai Pola
Agappatteerae Kidanthuzhala Agapatteerae

meaning, `You gather all the nine kinds of wealth by uttering lies until your tongue gets split. You marry women who don't even know what is good and what is bad. And like the termites that fly out cracking up the earth, you beget a lot of children. You don't know how to save them, you won't leave them and go away. This act is like that of the monkey that inserts its leg in the gap of a tree branch split up by a wedge gets stuck there’

(Pattinathaar sang the above song at a marriage)