[Advaita-l] Incidents from the life of a Mahātmā

[V Subrahmanian]

Glimpses of some of the Striking traits of Acharyal, His Holiness Sri
Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamigal

Ideal Disciple to Accomplished Guru

Shortly after Paramacharyal (His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara
Bharati Mahaswamigal) had attained Mahasamadhi in 1954, a lady from North
India came to Sringeri and had Acharyal’s Darshan. She expressed some of
her religious doubts to Him and also said that she had been unable to get
satisfactory replies to them. Acharyal gave His clarifications in His
inimitable style. The lady joyfully stated that her doubts had been fully
resolved.

Prompted by His innate lack of ego and very great regard for His Guru,
Acharyal said, “Had you come sometime earlier, you could have had the holy
Darshan of My Guru. You had to express your doubts to Me and hear My
replies. But if you had just beheld My Guru, that would have been
sufficient for the answers to have become known to you. Such was His
greatness.”

What He spoke about His Guru was perfectly applicable to Him too. The year
was 1984. Acharyal was scheduled to leave Sringeri for Kalady, via
Bangalore. A Brahmachari from Rishikesh came a little after noon for
Acharyal’s Darshan. Acharyal had already left for His afternoon bath. The
Brahmachari told me, “I have seven questions pertaining to Yoga and Vedanta
which I wish to pose to His Holiness. They are very important to me. I
contacted numerous scholars, practitioners of Yoga and Sannyasis at
Rishikesh, Uttarkashi, Haridwar and Kashi but none was able to satisfy me.
A scholar at Kashi directed me to Sringeri saying, ‘If the Jagadguru of
Sringeri cannot satisfactorily answer you, then there is none in the world
who can.’ That is why I have come most eagerly to Sringeri.”

I told him, “Acharyal will be starting on a tour today. If you wait here,
you can have His Darshan just prior to His departure. However, there is no
time today for you to have a lengthy private session with Him.” He said, “I
will gladly wait to behold Him even if it be for just a moment.” He then
told me one of the questions that he had in mind and requested me to tell
Acharyal about him. I fulfilled his request shortly after Acharyal
completed His Bhiksha.

Acharyal said, “The question that he conveyed to you is good and pertinent.
As there is no time to spare today, he could, if he wishes, meet Me at
Bangalore and pose his queries to Me there. If I happen to know the
answers, I shall tell him. Else, I shall readily admit that I am not in a
position to help him.” In about half an hour, Acharyal came out to the
front veranda of Sacchidananda Vilas, His abode. Some devotees, inclusive
of the Brahmachari, were there.

The Brahmachari prostrated before Acharyal. Acharyal looked at him with
compassion, raised His right hand in a gesture of blessing and said, in
Hindi, “May you be happy.” He then moved on. I quickly conveyed to him what
Acharyal had told me. Almost before I finished, he said, “The answers to
all my questions became fully known to me the moment His Holiness blessed
me.” In the car, of His own accord, Acharyal informed me, “When I saw that
Brahmachari, I was struck with his sincerity. So, I requested Ambal,
‘Please provide him the answers he desires now itself.’ The kind of
sincerity that this spiritual aspirant has deserves to be rewarded.” When I
submitted to Acharyal what the Brahmachari had said, Acharyal joined His
palms and said, “Ambal is so gracious.”

Sadgurum bhaje sadā