PARAM PUJYA SREE SIVANESAN SWAMIJI JAYANTHI DAY

[Guest guest]

PARAM PUJYA GURUDEV, SREE SIVANESAN SWAMIJI

(He who dwelt near the Boughs of the Neem tree at Shirdi)

Parma Pujya Sree Sivanesan Swamiji was born as the third and last child of Smt.

Alamelu and Shri. Muthaiah on 12th April 1927. It was the holy day of Sree

Ramnavami. His birthplace was Nayakkan Palayam in Coimbatore District of

Tamilnadu, the then Madras State. It was the sound of the ringing temple bells,

celebrating the day of Lord Ram’s birth that greeted him.

It is said that the babe already had two front teeth and a ‘jata’

(small tuft of hair at the back of the head) when he was born. Astrologers

foretold that he would not lead the life of householder but would become an

ascetic or sanyasi.

During his childhood, he showed early signs of withdrawing from mundane world.

He was aloof, quiet, calm and meditative, retreating into solitary places

– often forgetting about his food, which he ate alone, as he often not

present at mealtimes, to join the family. He had very fond memories of his

maternal grandmother at whose home he spent some happy times; and also of his

paternal uncle who had a good collection of books, which greatly interested

young Sivanesan.

His formal education was only up to the eighth standard. This was not due to any

paucity of family funds; but because he was not interested in the pursuit of

bookish knowledge. His family was of good standing, cultured and of comfortable

means. Later in life, his brother held a position of status in a textile mill in

south India.

Sivanesan Swamiji worked in his youth as a Record Room Assistant at the High

Court of Madras, on a temporary basis, for a short time. This seemed to leave a

strong mark on him because he could marshal his facts more ably than a brilliant

lawyer could. He also had a phenomenal memory.

In Coimbatore, he worked as a helper in the Electricity Department, on daily

wages, for some time. Actually, he was too young to hold any such position and

had to hide in the fields, when there was a visit from the Inspector of the

Department.

Out of all the short-term occupations, he loved his position as a sales

assistant in a bookshop, which he undertook because of his love for books. But

as he showed a keener interest in reading the books, rather than in selling

them, he lost that job.

After the death of his mother, he left his home never to return, due to his

spiritual leaning. He reached Bombay, after his wanderings, during the Navy

Bandh month of 1944, at a tender age of seventeen. He did many jobs for his

livelihood; such as, at an art silk weaving unit, selling bananas etc., He

always lost his job or made losses in his small business ventures. He even

worked as a railway porter at Sion railway station. He sometimes became

roadside scribe, outside Matunga Post Office, earning the odd four annas

(present day twenty five paise) for his daily needs.

The friendships he struck up in Bombay were only with those who showed interest

in the pursuit of the Self. Some of those persons disappointed him by leaving

the Path and opting for worldly lives. Also, he befriended those who were in

need, providing them with cheer and food of which he had very little himself.

Matunga, Mahim, Sion were his haunts; and the seashore was a place for his

meditation.

But in Sree Muthaiah Swami, who hailed from Vallanadu Village of Coimbatore

District, he met his MENTOR. Though Sree Muthaiah was a householder, he really

considered him as his GURU, par excellence; and made spiritual progress under

him, learning much about the Self, Meditation, Vedanta etc.,

Bombay was not to be Sivanesan Swamiji’s home for a long time. Again he

wandered, spending some time in the ‘math’ of Sree Nityanand

Swamiji at Vajreshwari. He deeply venerated Nityanand Swamiji and had the good

fortune of being in His Divine Presence, drinking deeply of the Knowledge he

imparted.

The desire to find and meet the Divinity he saw in his meditation again uprooted

him. There was a Divine Call, which he could not deny. So, he moved on

Tryambakeshwar, in Nasik District, became his next halting place. He grew very

close to Mauni Baba there, who was not observing ‘moun’ or silence,

then. After a very congenial stay, he left for Shirdi, with a great wrench for

both of them. He put his feet on the sacred soil of Shirdi in 1953, around Sree

Ramnavami time, to be with the Jagathguru Sainath Maharaj, the Divinity since

his early years and his Master.

Shirdi was home. After reaching Shirdi, he never crossed the borders of Shirdi,

except on some special occasions. In fact, in his latter years, he did not even

leave the temple complex. He was hospitalized once a private clinic; and on one

occasion he crossed the main road to go to the Sainath Hospital to meet a

patient. There was a panic among those who beheld that scene, as they feared

that he was leaving Shirdi. In the early years, his Guru came to Shirdi to tend

him through a severe illness. And in his last days, he refused to be treated at

Bombay for cancer, as he could not think of leaving Shirdi.

In Shirdi, at the outset, there was no place for him to lay his head, not any

sustenance for him. He learnt to live with nature, eating a variety of

‘Jaswanti flowers and living on the rare cup of tea that was offered to

him. His Guru had impose a rule on him, never to beg. So, he starved, rather

than breaks the rule.

At last, a certain Chandbhai gave him refuge in the Kanifnath Mandir near Post

Office. Also, Sai Baba responded his prayer to somehow provide him with the

wherewithal for one square meal daily. The few books that he had brought with

him were his most precious belongings, and he keenly felt their loss if they

were stolen or borrowed and not returned. He always treasured books and

reading.

Once he was in Shirdi, the abode of the Divinity appearing in his meditation

from an early age, he abided at His Feet. He spent his time in

‘seva’ or selfless service, wherever or whenever he could be it in

the Kanifnath Mandir, or the Maruti Mandir, the Ganapati – Shani –

Shankar temples, the Ashta Mahalaxmi Temple, or at the Dwarakamayi, Chavadi and

Lendi Baugh. The rest of his time he spent in long and austere meditation, from

which it was difficult to arouse him, even by mischievous children’s

pranks. He had visions; but it was very difficult to make him speak about them.

It is however known that he once saw Sai Baba and Nityanand Swamiji together at

Lendi Baugh.

Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan was under the control of the Court Receiver for some

years. When the incumbent Court receiver observed the sincere and selfless

services of Swamiji for some time, he entrusted some duties to him, such as

lighting the evening lamps in various places. Swamiji recalled that there were

thirteen in all. More particularly, Swamiji as asked to look after the Chavadi

on Thursdays. (In those days the Chavadi was kept open for devotees, only on

Thursdays) Of course, Dwarakamayee was also a scene of his activity and he

tended the Dhuni with great love. His clothes became full of soot, but he did

not care for his appearance.

Swamiji performed all his tasks to the utmost satisfaction of the Receiver. He

undertook the cleaning of Dwarakamayi, Gurusthan and even the Nanda Deep and

Dutta Mandir in the Lendi Baugh. The sandalwood ‘tilak’ was applied

by him on Baba’s photos and many deities before the aratis and the evening

lamps were lit in various places. In return for his dedicated services, he was

allowed to sleep in a room adjoining the Dwarakamayi.

When it was learnt that he knew several languages, including English, Marathi

and many South Indian languages, Swami was entrusted with the work of writing

names and addresses on the envelopes used for sending UDI as

‘prasad’ to the devotees who sent money orders. Then, the Sansthan

gave him Rs. 15/- per month as honorarium. The money was well utilized by him

for the needs of others. At a later stage, the Sansthan also provided food for

him. When his duties made him very weary, he began curtailing some of them and

exclusively attended to the Chavadi after it was kept open on a daily basis. He

decorated the Chavadi especially for the ‘Palki’ procession on

Thursdays. Those who had the privilege to witness that can never forget the

scene.

It was second nature to him to serve Baba, through His devotee. As the surge of

devotees increased, Swamiji fulfilled their needs and guided them so that they

could take full spiritual advantage of their visit to Shirdi. He bought books

in different languages and presented them to the devotees. That is how he used

a large proportion of the ‘Dakshina’ that was offered to him, if

any. By setting an example himself, he taught the importance of

‘seva’ to all – especially to the sick, the lepers and the

needy. He encouraged devotees to set up Sai Baba temples in their own towns and

villages in India and abroad. A sine qua of Sai Baba Temples had to be

‘Akhand Deep’ and ‘Akhand Dhuni’ – perpetual

light and fire.

He began to have a vast following because of his innate humanity, good nature,

sense of humour, patience and deep knowledge of Shirdi lore. He read

voraciously and made the fullest use of the Sansthan library, delving into the

old issued of the Sai Leela Magazines, in Marathi, to learn more about Sainath.

He encouraged devotees to write about Sai Baba, providing them with rich

material, garnered by him from his readings and his talks with the old

residents of Shirdi. Acharya Bharatwaja and others were helped by him in

writing their books on Sainath. He also encouraged devotees to undertake

translations from Marathi into English, Hindi, Kanada, Tamil, Malayalam, so

that Sai Baba would be known in every corner of India and all parts of the

world.

(to be continued)

Source: Shri Sai Leela, July-August 1998)

Author: Zarine (Uma), Shirdi and Mumbai

Our thanks to: Sairam MSR Jagadesan, West Mambalam, Chennai 600 033