Prof.N.Kasturi - how he got his name

[Guest guest]

Sri Kasturi

How Kasturi received his name

(From the book "Loving God" by Kasturi)

'On the twelfth morning

of my life, a label was attached to me amidst a great deal of religious

noise. My father saw me for the first time only then, when he came to

name me. The name which has stuck to me ever since was an ancient one,

much the brighter, because it was borne by a series of grandfathers.

The rule was that the first son must be named by the father after his

own father. So, I was given by father the name his father bore .... My

first son was named

Narayana by me, because that was the name

my father had .... Father took me from mother's hands and sat on the

floor facing the family shrine with me on his lap. He prayed to God to

bless the name and help me to add some more fragrance to it. The he

raised me by the shoulders to his face and whispered thrice in my right

ear a long string of strange sounds, by which I was to be known

thereafter. It was a nine-syllabled rodomontade (ranting talk). I had

tumbled into the Brahmin caste and so, the last two syllables had to be

Sharma, symbolising that status. The rest of the name,

Kasturiranganatha

indicated, neither the God idolised in my village nor the God installed

on the Seven Hills. It denoted God, as adored by millions in Tamilnadu,

installed in a reclining posture, on a multi-hooded many coiled serpent

and described by that name as "musk-dot adorned". Kasturi means 'musk',

'ranga' means 'stage', and 'natha' means 'director' or 'master'. The

temple of "Ranganatha with the Kasturi dot" is situated on an island,

called Sri Ranga (The Stage), in the Kaveri River, formed by it while

half-way from the Mysore Plateau to the Bay of Bengal.

 

.... The substance called

musk is valued as a precious perfume. Since it is also dark in color, a

dot of musk between the brows serves to ward off the evil eye. It was

preferred by nobles and princesses over cheaper contrivances. The brow

of the idol at Srirangam was marked with the Kasturi dot, for nothing

less could satisfy the devout worshippers. The name "Director of the

Stage" reminds us that 'All the world is a stage'. God directs the

cosmic play, unaffected Himself. he reclines magnificently on terror

and poison, with His head on a pillow of calm. His will achieves and

motivates. The Katha Upanishad declares, "Seated, He journeys; reclining, He is everywhere".

 

Kasturi Ranganatha Sharma

was too long a word to be uttered in full, every time I was spoken of

or to. The caste symbol 'Sharma' could be painlessly amputated. The

rest symbol too had to be curtailed, but, the problem was, head or

tail? My grandfather was accosted and referred to, by all who had to

deal with him, only as Ranganatha, and for the daughter-in-law (my

mother) to mouth the name of the father-in-law was taboo! So, the

second half had to be jettisoned. The result was, I came to be known as

the fragrant animal substance used for 'dotting' the Divine Brow.

 

I could stand with folded

hands in the presence of the "Kasturi Ranganatha" only in my 70th year!

It came about through Baba's Grace. Friends invited me to a town called

Tirupur to speak on Baba, on the 24th day of December. And Baba

directed me to go. But, I longed to spend Christmas Day with Baba,

since it reminded me of my entry into the world stage. I asked

permission to go over from Tirupur to Srirangam and worship Him in the

Ranganatha, reclining on the serpent. The serpent, Baba says, is

symbolic of pollution, poison and death and God is pictured as

overwhelming, quietening and mastering these evil traits. Baba said,

"Yes. Go to Sri Rangam and eat your fill of sweet rice". The reference

to sweet rice did not surprise me. Years previous, when we were

proceeding to Madras, Baba, as was his wont, asked every single person

in the car to sing for Him a song. My genes had no music among their

components but I had to obey, nevertheless. Memory brought up for me a

song I had heard a clown sing during a play I chanced to attend while

at school. it was a prayer to Shiva for a morsel of sweet rice, wrung

out of a hungry onlooker at a feast conspicuously consumed by the rich.

Baba must have discovered that my subconscious had hooked up this

particular lilt, for the reason, that I myself had an unfulfilled

hunger for this dish, deep within me! He decided to remove that pang at

Srirangam on my 70th birthday.

 

I was thrilled when I

stood before the shrine and filled my eyes and heart with the

entrancing vision of the 20 foot idol, stretched on the coils of a

seven-hooded serpent excluding captivating icono-charm. To my eyes, the

Feet, the upraised soles were not of dark green stone as the rest of

the Divine Body was. They were alabaster with a shade of blue. They

were soft, tender, fair, familiar, alive; they were Baba's! I removed

myself away from the portals of the shrine with great reluctance. Sweet

rice was, I believed, the routine offering at Ranganatha shrine but

that day, we were given only laddus and muruks.

We had one more temple to

visit on that holy island - a famous Shiva temple with the sacred Jambu

Tree. When we moved out of that temple, the priest ran behind us, to

announce that it was specially sacred day when "Sweet rice was offered

to the deity." This was welcome news indeed. He insisted on our turning

back into the temple. He made us squat on the clean floor to the right

of the shrine; he spread banana leaves before us and served sizable

heaps of the dish Baba had asked me to 'eat my fill'.'

Reminiscence of Professor Kasturi

Sri Kasturi was born on

Christmas Day 1897. Swami jokingly called him 'the 97 model'. Naming

the year of production was the way antique automobiles were identified.

He passed away on 14 August 1987 and was cremated on the banks of

Chitravathi on the 15th. He was 90. He had made it easy for us to

remember by coming among us on a Christmas Day and leaving us on

India's Independence Day anniversary (India attained Independence at

midnight on 14-15 August 1947). Kasturi served Swami for 40 years and

lived those 40 years in Independent India.

Talking about Kasturi, I

told V.K. Narasimhan (Kasturi's deputy editor and later the editor of

Sanathana Sarathi) that Kasturi was Swami's Hanuman. VKN corrected me,

'No. No. You are wrong. Kasturi was Swami's Vyasa'. VKN told me that

Swami asked him to write a tribute on Kasturi in SS (see below) - a

rare expression of Swami's Grace. Apart from Swami rushing to Kasturi's

hospital bedside at the time of his last moments and giving him

vibhuthi, another rare blessing was Swami getting Kasturi to write his

autobiography 'Loving God' and Swami launching it on Christmas Day

1982, in his presence, on his 85th birthday, 5 years before his death .

On that occasion, without prior notice, Swami had asked VKN to speak on

Kasturi. VKN spoke for 5 minutes, after that Swami had whispered into

VKN's ears, 'Very good, very good'. In that day's Christmas discourse

Swami said, "Whom does God seek? He looks for a sincere, selfless,

steady devotee. Besides, He seeks an ideal son who can be held before

mankind as an example and an inspiration. Such persons have become

extremely rare nowadays" (SSS vol. XV, ch. 59). I like to think that

Swami found that 'rare person' in Kasturi.

'Loving God' is not only

Kasturi's life story. It is the story of God and jiva, Guru and

sadhaka, the story of Swami making Kasturi an exemplary instrument in

His avataric mission, an inspiration to humankind. It is a message for

all. That is probably why Swami got Kasturi to write it.

In my monologues with

Swami, I thanked Him several times for Kasturi's multi-facetted seva,

for Him and for us. Today again, I join GR to think kindly of Kasturi.

May he be Well and Happy, at His Feet or wherever he is! Loka(s)

Samastha(s) Sukhino Bhavanthu! - May all the beings in all the worlds

be happy.

 

Please

see his photo taken by GR and posted in the Files area of Sai

Discourses. Swami also took Kasturi's photo once. It is a very funny

story and one, as is usual with Swami, with a very profound spiritual

message. I leave you to read it in Kasturi's own inimitable language in

'Loving God' and learn/re-learn the message that Swami conveyed to us

at Kasturi's expense. Before that see the Appreciation written by late

V.K. Narasimhan (Editor) and published in Sanathana Sarathi, September

1987, p. 260.

Unto Sai a Witness

"Death is the denouement

of the drama of life," wrote Prof. Kasturi in 1981. That denouement

came to him on August 14 at noon, a few minutes after Bhagavan Baba saw

him in the Sathya Sai Hospital at Prasanthi Nilayam. He was 90.

Bhagavan Baba, who was

overseeing a students' rehearsal in the College Auditorium, abruptly

stopped it at 11.30 a.m. and went straight to the Hospital. Reaching

the bedside of Prof. Kasturi, Swami called him: "Kasturi!". Prof.

Kasturi opened his eyes for a moment and looked at the Lord. Bhagavan

materialized vibhuti and placed it in Kasturi's mouth. Kasturi closed

his eyes and a serene peace enveloped him. Swami told those at the

bedside to do Namasmarana. An hour later his spirit merged in the Lotus

Feet of the Lord. Streams of devotees paid their last respects to him

at the hospital.

The next morning his mortal remains were cremated on the bed of the Chitravathi river.

For over forty years he

rendered devoted service to Bhagavan as writer, editor, companion and

tireless propagator of Swami's life and message. Millions of devotees

all over the world got acquainted with Bhagavan's life and teachings

through the four volumes of "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" (on the life of

Bhagavan) and the 11 volumes of "Sathya Sai Speaks", besides the Vahini

series.

Prof. Kasturi was a

witness to the innumerable miracles of Swami and he could bear

authentic testimony to the glory and magnificence of the Avatar as few

others could. He had traveled with Bhagavan all over India. Vivid

accounts of his intimate experiences with Swami are given in his

autobiography, "Loving God," which was released by Swami on Christmas

day in 1982.

Kasturi continued to work

right upto his last illness, giving of his best to "Sanathana Sarathi,"

which Swami launched in 1957 with Kasturi as Editor.

After 1982 Kasturi

brought out two books, one on the Lord's mother "Easwaramma," and the

other on the essence of Swami's message in a book entitled "Prasanthi".

It could be truly said of Kasturi: "Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven". - Editor.

August 14 to be understood as August 14, 1987.

 

 

Collection of photo's gathered by N. Kasturi

out of his book "Loving God" - Eighty five years under the Watchful Eye of The Lord

 

 

'My Mother at 75'

 

 

'Myself and Wife Anointing Avatar on Advent Day'

 

 

'Carrying Sunshade over 'Sun' '

 

 

'With the Lord on Kashmir Hills'

 

 

'Holding beholding Vibhuthi Wonder'

 

 

'Holding beholding Vibhuthi Wonder'

 

 

'The Translator stands corrected'

 

 

'Sand as Srî Krishna'

 

 

'Bhâgavatam Recital - Kerala'

 

 

'Portrait Unveiling' - at Bukkapatnam'

 

 

'Each hair can bear a nation's woe' - Poet's Meet - 1964

I'm reading the above line'

 

 

'Toward Badrinath - 1961'

 

 

'When He first drew me to Himself - 1948'

 

 

'He looks at His own Portrait - 1967

 

 

'He clicked at His empty chair'