EXPERIENCES WITH THE JAGADGURU       Frequently Asked Questions

                                                            -- By Yamuna Ekambaram

                               

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SRI CHANDRASEKARENDRA SARASVATI SVAMIGAL of Kanchi was not only a great spiritual leader but also a source of inspiration and hope to many.  He has touched many of us in personal ways and I count myself as one of those fortunate beings whose life has been enriched by some amazing instances, unmistakably brought about by him.

 

My first encounter with the Acharya dates back to my childhood when I attended Siva pooja in Chennai.  I was awestruck by the godliness of the man when he offered the “Mahadheeparadhanai”.

 

Every time I paid homage along with a thousand others, he would cast his eyes around.  All of us felt as if he had personally communicated with each one of us and a sense of inner peace descended upon us.  Each encounter strengthened my belief in him that he was a divine medium.  On some occasions, when certain miraculous events happened in my life, I believe they were guided by him.

 

My late father-in-law was an ardent devotee of Chandrasekarendra Swami and I was told that he had approached the Acharya for guidance in selecting me as a daughter-in-law.  Apparently, he had identified me as the daughter of so-and-so (my father was also a devotee of the Acharya), and urged my father-in-law to proceed with the alliance.  I believe the Acharya had some reason for having helped select me, which became manifest later when my son (whom we believe is a re-incarnation of my father-in-law) and later my daughter were born.

 

When we made a trip to India in 1990 to celebrate my son’s upanayanam, I had wanted to pay homage to the Acharya, as I believed I would not get this opportunity again.  We went to Kancheepuram the day before my return to the United States.  At Kanchi, we gathered in the courtyard in front of Chandrasekarendra Swamigal’s small hermitage (or prayer room), trying desperately to get a glimpse of the small, shrivelled figure crouched silently in meditation.  A disciple announced to the large throng of devotees of different nationalities and backgrounds, that the Acharya had just begun his afternoon prayers and that it would be quite a while before he could be with us.  Imagine my agony and frustration when I realised that we had to head back to Bangalore in a couple of hours as my children and I had to board the flight the next morning.  I was very disappointed and my children, who had not quite recovered from gastro-enteritis and fever since the day we arrived in India, too were impatient.  I prayed silently to the Paramathma.  Within a few minutes, the disciple announced that the Acharya had decided to interrupt his prayers as he felt he needed to bless his devotees, “especially the ones who have come from afar”.  During the next 30 minutes, we felt an inner peace and happiness.  My family was standing on the far side.  After a brief introduction, he enquired whether “Rajappa” was present.  This came as a complete surprise to us, as the Acharya no doubt recalled my father-in-law, who was known as “Rajappa”.  As my son, Raja, prostrated before him, he gently smiled at him and then closed his eyes and offered a fruit as a blessing.  My daughter followed suit and she too, received a mango fruit, which we all shared.  While the Acharya was answering questions and offering his blessings, I ventured to the back of the crowd, hoping to get a final look at him.  As I craned my neck and tried, the Acharya asked his disciple to request the men in front of him to move aside “so that he may have a look at the lady standing at the back”.  Imagine my surprise as all eyes turned towards me.  We looked at each other silently for a few minutes and during that time, I was completely engrossed.  The “man-god” raised his right hand in blessing as if he were telling me that he was aware of my devotion to him and that he would always guide me.

 

There are quite a few other similar experiences, but I wish to share the most unforgettable of them all.

 

On the most auspicious afternoon when the Jagadguru attained his “mahasamadhi”, it was during the early hours of the morning in the U.S. and I was suddenly awoken by a dream.  I saw the image of the Paramathma clearly adorned with garlands of flowers and where he raised his right hand as if he were blessing me.  It so happened that instead of smiling I was overcome by uncontrollable sobbing.  I woke up with a start and it became impossible to fall asleep thereafter as his image kept coming up repeatedly in my dreams.  The answer came next morning when my mother-in-law called me from Oklahoma and informed me that she had just got the news from India that Sri Chandrasekarendra Swamigal had attained “mahasamadhi” at around 2 p.m. local time, the previous day.

 

To this day, whenever I think of this dream and the Acharya, to whom I continue to pray every day, it humbles me, but at the same time flatters me, to think that I was one of the fortunate devotees who got his “darshan” before his samadhi, even though I was many miles away.  I am sure there are others who might have had similar experiences and I do know of a gentleman in Bangalore who had been actually touched and blessed by the Acharya just before his samadhi.

 

I would like to add a personal experience that the mother of a friend of mine had.  Once when the lady had gone to pay homage to the Paramathma and receive his blessings for a special pooja that she was going to perform for Ambal by donating a gold mangalasutra, she was amazed when the Acharya beckoned to her from the throng and requested her to hand it over to a poor lady who was standing nearby.  She was stunned that the Acharya had sensed that she had a mangalsutra, and she, therefore, willingly parted with the chain.

 

It is no exaggeration to say that writing this has been a very emotional experience, and as said earlier, I have been overcome with tears of joy while doing so.  It is of interest to note that when I started to write this piece, I unconsciously was writing in the present tense, forgetting that the Acharya is no longer physically among us.  But then I reminded myself that he is very much alive in our memories.  He has left behind a legacy for posterity and each one of us who knew him, personally or otherwise or even remotely heard of him, have been very fortunate to have been blessed by him.