mahan seshadri Swamigal - mail forwarded

INTRODUCTION

 

Everyone at some stage in his life, sits up and thinks: Where from he came?

Where is he heading for? What is he doing? And what he should do? He also

ponders as to how to overcome death and how to get salvation. He longs for God -

realisation while still in this body and understands that such god-realisation

is the knowledge that destroys death and grants everlasting bliss and that it is

the paramount need of any man before the body may drop down any moment. Here he

looks for guidance and feels assured that God has not left him in lurch. Such a

search for guidance takes one to Bharath that is India, which has given to the

mankind several Saints, Sages, Rishis, Sidda-purushas from time to time.

 

The aim of life is to make it sublime. It is the Saint who has reached that

stage. He has shown us the path, which we have to tread in this world of

materialism and uncertainty, to reach the goal of life. Books like Upanishads

and Bhagavad-Gita contain the theories on Self-realisation, while the Saints and

their life are the laboratories where you find them to actual form and practice.

One can read an entire library of books and yet not realise the goal of life but

if he gets the contact of a "JIVAN MUKTA (Realised Soul)" and earns HIS

BLESSINGS, he would get it in no time. One such Mahan (great saint) is Sri

Seshadri Swamigal of Thiruvannamalai.

 

 

CHILD-HOOD AND YOUNGER DAYS

 

At Kanchipuram, in the illustrious Kamakoti family, there lived one Sri Kamakoti

Sastri. He was an adept in Sri Vidhya Upasana and had mastered in boyhood itself

vedas, puranas, smritis, tharkam, vyakarana and mimamsa. Besides these he had

another valuable talent- music (gandharva veda). His brother's daughter was

Maragatham. She was born beautiful and had learnt epics, darma, alankara and

music from Sri Kamakoti Sastri. She earned the title "Sahitya Sangeetha

Kalavathi" when she was 12 years old. She was given in marriage to Sri

Varadharaja Joshyar of Kanchipuram who was also a Sri Vidhya Upasaka besides

mastering vedas and astrology. To them - Varadharajar and Margatham- Sri

Seshadri Swamigal was born as elder of the two sons. He was born on 22.1.1870 in

Hastha Nakshatra (Star) at Kanchipuram.

 

When he was four years of age he would sing devotional songs and stotras, taught

by his mother, in melodious voice and everyone regarded the boy as a

Divine-child. An incident at this age of four, gave him the epithet of

Hiranya-bahu--one with the golden touch. The occasion was a festival time at Sri

Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Little Kanchipuram. Among many, one merchant has

brought moulded replicas of Sri Krishna idol. The boy in the lap of his mother

noticing it wanted one and at the instance of merchant, the boy picked up one of

his choice. On the following day, when the mother and boy were passing through

the shop, the merchant came running to them and prostrated before the child and

took the two hands of the child and worshipfully pressed them to his eyes, and

exclaimed that they are "Golden Hands". He narrated that all the idols were sold

away on the previous day when the child picked up one and the normal experience

was that only a few will be sold. This was a forerunner to high-light His Grace

to devotees, even today.

 

When he was 5 years of age, he was sent to school in the traditional and

orthadox manner. At the age of 7, Upanayanam (sacred thread ceremony) was

performed. When he was 14, his father died. By 16 years of age, he completed his

education. He had mastered various texts in Sanskrit and Tamil -- the whole

Vedanta with three primary texts - Gita, Upanishads and Brahma Sutras, besides

Vedas, Nyaya and Vyakarana. He had also mastered music and astrology. When he

was 17, his people tried to marry him off, but astrologers predicting his

horoscope that he will become a Sanyasin (Recluse) and Jivan-mukta (realised

soul), dropped the idea.

 

When his mother was to breath her last, she chanted two slokas keeping her hand

on the chest of Seshadri -- one of Sri Adi Sankara -- (Sat Sangatve - in Baja

Govindam) which meant that the company of the good led one in time to solitude

and thence to emancipation and the other sloka indicated the sacredness of

Arunachala -- how merely by thinking of it, one attained ultimate Bliss.

Repeating the word "Arunachala" in her tongue, she breathed her last on the lap

of Seshadri. He took these two slokas from her mother for guidance in his life.

Arunachala stands for Lord Shiva in Agni (fire) form at Thiruvannamalai. He drew

a picture of Arunachala by instinct. His personal Gods were Goddess Kamakshi of

Kanchipuram and Sri Rama - the divine avatar (God in the form of a person)

depicted in Ramayanam (a great literary work of Bharath written by Valmiki

Maharishi and adopted by several others in other languages). With the pictures

of Arunachala, Rama and Kamakshi his worship was going strong. He had no sleep

and no appetite. He will be seen in Chakrath-Azhwar and Kamakshi temples for

several hours chanting mantras, slokas, etc. His rigorous and exacting religious

practices were viewed with concern by his foster-parents who were taking care of

him. He got immersed in Sri Kamakshi's divine form and regarded himself as

Goddess Parvathi (Sakthi aspect of Brahmam). He began doing his meditations in

Rudrabhoomi (cremation ground) which was resented and questioned by his people.

He was wandering in the streets of Kanchipuram, when he met a Gouda Sanyasi, Sri

Balaji Paramahamsa, who finding him worthy and fit, gave him sanyasa (the fourth

stage of asrama in one's life). On the due date, Seshadri's father's annual

ceremony was performed. To give him his father's blessings, he was brought home

forcibly and kept locked in a room. At a stage, when the room was opened his

relatives noticed that Seshadri had disappeared from the locked room and then

only realised his greatness and attainment. He was 19 years of age then. After

sometime he was noticed in the temple precincts of Sri Mukteswara at

Kaveripakkam, 20 miles away from Kanchipuram.

 

One day, in the temple, a big serpent came out; Seshadri beckoned it and it came

and coiled over his body and held its hood over his head. Those who witnessed

were awe-struck. Seshadri now "Seshadri Swami" was unperturbed. His act showed

that all creations of Almighty are alike and is all pervasive. When pleaded, he

refused to go back home and was heading for Thiruvannamalai - keeping his

mother's direction and guidance - and passed through various towns, villages,

hills; At the age of 19, in the year 1889 AD, he reached Thiruvannamalai and

never left its outskirts, till HE dropped his mortal-coil on 4.1.1929 AD. His

Holy-body was interred in a Samadhi, witnessed by Sri Ramana Maharishi and

several devotees, at Thiruvannamalai - Tamil Nadu (South India) and is

worshipped daily.

 

 

SPIRITUAL LIFE IN THIRUVANNAMALAI

 

His 40 years of spiritual life in Thiruvannamalai showed that Swamigal was God

himself. Speaking and walking among People, he was Sanchara-Dakshinamurthi (God

as man on the move). His biography vividly shows that he was a Jivan-mukta (a

realised soul while in body). He did not have body-consciousness and was in ever

communion with his Atman (Soul). He saw atman in everything-animate and

inanimate. He was seen going round and round a stone pillar and doing pranams

(offering his worship) and saying that he was seeing God in it. Similarly he

used to worship animals-buffalo, donkeys--seeing God in them. Sometimes he would

embrace people on the road including ladies and say that he saw para-sakthi

(mother aspect of Brahmam) in them. He did not have any fixed abode. He was

always on the move. He will be seen at many places within a few minutes. He will

be in rags and dirty clothes. He will enter any shop on the roads and pull out

anything from them. The shopkeepers revered him and considered his visit and

touch as a great blessing. If anyone gives him a new cloth, he will wear it for

a while and give it to someone. Sometimes he will be seen going half-shaven. He

appeared without a bath and his hairs matted and hung pell-mell round his neck.

There was always a heavenly-smile in his face. Eyes always remained half-closed

and turned inward in eternal contemplation. When opened they looked beautiful

and slightly orange-tinged like a full moon. If at all he sat, he was in Swastik

Asana, with his ankles crossed and the rest of his body poised over and out of

contact with the ground. There was a devotee by name Manikkam. He will beg in

the streets and collect some food and offer it to Swamigal. If Swamigal does not

eat, he too would not eat. The stale food would remain for days and Swamigal may

some times take it not minding its foul smell. So was his detachment from the

body and things of the world. All were alike to him; None is a known one or

unknown one. He was a saint of advanced spirituality. He possessed supernal

powers and Godly possession. There was total abdication. Sthitha-pragna state

spoken in chapter II of Bhagavad-Gita and Mano-nasam (control of mind) mentioned

in various scriptures including Bruhadarinya Upanishad are the "states" the

Swamigal attained. He did not get entangled in siddies (Spiritual powers)

attained by him. Sri Swamigal was one of the greatest saints of our land and

whose holiness has few parallels.

 

One Vitoba Swamigal was at Polur, 10 miles away from Thiruvannamalai. When he

passed away, Sri Seshadri Swamigal was running in the streets of Thiruvannamalai

shouting that Vitoba was ascending to Heaven. His power of clairvoyance was

astonishing. The news from Polur reached Thiruvannamalai much later.

 

When Sri Ramana Maharishi was in his younger days doing meditation in Pathala

Linga cave of Arunachala Temple, it was Sri Seshadri Swamigal who gave him

protection from urchins and brought him to the notice of the world that there

was a great soul in Sri Ramana. Ramana, younger in age used to be called

Chinna-Seshadri (Little Seshadri). Sri Seshadri was called Mother Parvathi and

Sri Ramana as Skanda (Lord Subramanya). There were instances when devotees have

experienced that Seshadri was Ramana and Ramana was Seshadri. They were

contemporaries and each knew the greatness of the other. Sri Ramana's presence,

when Sri Seshadri's body was interred and Sri Ramana's personal reading and

approval of script of Seshadri's Biography showed Ramana's reverence for this

great Mahan. Many were his beneficiaries. Sri Vallimalai Swamigal, Kavyakanta

Ganapathi Muni and Bhanu Kavi are to cite a few. Even men of ordinary walk of

life had their several ills-mental and physical cured. Several had initiation in

mantras according to their eligibility.

 

Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi, Maha Periyaval of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam

was reported to have said once "will I become like Seshadri Swamigal". Such was

the greatness of Sri Seshadri Swamigal.

 

 

 

 

 

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