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Sree Guru Charitra
Index
Chapter 12
As Siddha went on thus recounting the divine acts of Sree Guru,
Namadharaka Sharma, who was listening attentively, asked: ‘Sir,
you have said that Sree Guru left the banks of river Krishna for
the banks of river Bheema. Yet you say that he abides on the banks
of former river as invisible Spirit, answering the prayers of the
devout! Has anyone experienced the truth of this claim? If so, I
long to hear at least one instance of it’.
Siddha began: ‘Oh Namadharaka, the Supreme Spirit of Self does not
have anything like movement from place to place, location or any
particular state of existence. What seems so is but the divine
play of the Lord. He will be experienced as per one’s own attitude
to him. Now listen: In course of time, people came to know from
Ganganuja how the Lord blessed the Yoginis and assured of his
presence there in spirit. So they worshipped the padukas
with due reverence. Indeed, all their wishes were fulfilled. I
shall recount one incident.
There was a Brahmin lady living in that area. All her children
died immediately after. In desperation, she revealed her plight to
a pious and learned Brahmin priest. The latter was divinely
inspired to tell her thus: ‘Madam, there can be several karmic
causes, belonging to one’s previous lives, for the loss of one’s
children in the present life. It can be the consequence of killing
cows, Brahmins, dogs, snakes and children, or of stealing other’s
wealth. In your previous life, you unfairly appropriated the
wealth of a Brahmin of the Sounaka Gotra. He has become a
vengeful spirit and has been killing all your children. One is
obliged to reap the consequences of one’s misdeeds of a former
life. There is no other way to workout one’s past karma.
You too shall do so’.
The lady could not bear these words. She prostrated to his feet
and begged him to teach her a way out of her pitiable plight. The
latter replied, ‘Madam, perform the religious rites necessary for
the elevation of the Brahmin’s soul to higher realms of existence,
along with the special rites of absolution and repentance. Observe
such religious vows for a full month. Then take a holy dip in the
Ashtateertha and worship the sacred padukas and the
fig tree. Then feed Brahmins and give away gifts of money
plentifully to a pious Brahmin of Sounaka Gotra.’ The lady
submitted, ‘I do not have a plentiful store of money. I shall
certainly observe the monthly vows and worship the padukas’.
Subsequently, the Brahmin lady started observing the vow along
with her husband. On the third night, the spirit that was killing
her offspring appeared in her dream. She immediately ran to Sree
Guru who was seated under the fig tree and sought his refuge. Sree
Guru consoled her and sternly reprimanded the spirit, ‘You mean
spirit! How dare you threaten a helpless woman?’ The latter
replied, ‘Lord it is not proper for you to be partial to her. She
misappropriated my money in her previous life. In order to win it
back by tormenting her, I have assumed this form’. Sree Guru said,
‘By assuming this form and frightening her like this, you will not
achieve your salvation. I shall teach you the means of attaining
higher realms of being. Listen: it was in a previous life that she
deprived you of your wealth. In this life she is poor and has no
means of paying you back. I shall see that she scrupulously
performs religious rites which will secure higher states of
existence for you and I shall make her offer as much money as she
can manage, to a man of your Gotra. Besides, I shall secure
liberation for you. If this satisfies you, it is well. If it
doesn’t, do what you can, but I shall certainly protect her!’ The
spirit submitted, ‘Lord, at the very sight of you, I am freed from
the thrall of my evil tendencies. You may do as you please and I
shall be satisfied.’ Sree Guru turned to the lady and said, ‘My
dear, did you hear what he said? You do accordingly that shall be
liberated. Thereby, your offspring will prosper’. And the Lord
disappeared.
The lady woke up and informed her husband about the dream and
acted accordingly. Thereby, she was freed soon from the cursed
torment and from the fruits of her former misdeed. Later, Sree
Guru again appeared in her dream, gave her two fruits and said,
‘My dear, feed Brahmins and eat these fruits!’ When she woke up,
she found the fruits by her side and did as she was told. Soon she
conceived and, in course of time, she was blessed with handsome
twins. The happy couple performed all the rites enjoined by the
Sastras and brought up the children with love and tenderness.
In their eight year, they made all the arrangements necessary to
invest the first child with the sacred thread. To their amazement,
the boy was laid up for few days with typhoid and died. The mother
could not withstand the calamity. She beat her breast and lamented
loudly saying, ‘My son! Where have you gone? How long will you
sleep? Wake up! It’s time for lunch. Take your food and play in
the front yard. Your playmates are awaiting you. I cannot live
without you. Of the five children born to me, you are my very
life. At your birth, all the grief caused by the loss of earlier
children was wiped clean from my heart. Leaving me in the ocean of
grief, where did you go? It’s cruel on your part to do so. Who
will support us in our old age?’
The people who gathered there tried to console her saying, ‘Lady,
your lamentation will not revive the child. Do not weep. Death
does not spare even god, seers and demons. Think upon this truth:
Even avatars like Rama and Krishna had to pass away’. She was
disconsolate and said, ‘The fruit that was given to me by the Lord
and which has saved me from the wrath of the spirit has now proved
fruitless. Henceforth, who can trust His promises? I shall take
this news with me to the worlds beyond death!’
Then a sage emerged from the crowd, approached her and said, ‘My
child, why do you lament the death of a son? It does not deserve
to be lamented. Think: Is he the body, or the soul? If he is the
body, even now he is before your very eyes with all his flesh,
bones and skin, as before. If he is the soul, then he is ever
birth less and immortal. Whom do you lament then? This world which
has originated from Time, karma and the three modes of
manifestation (Gunas) is like a magic show. How can it be
trusted as real? All relationships like mother and son are self
conceived and transcient. It is coincidental as the coming
together of two logs of wood, drifting down a flowing river. Who
was your husband in your previous birth and who was your son? Can
you tell me? Birth and death are subject to time. Like day and
night, both these are inevitable. Just as youth succeeds boy-hood,
death also confronts the embodied soul. This delusion can be
overcome only through the grace of the guru. One who is born is
bound to die. So, do not weep. The dead cannot be brought back to
life by grief, lamentation or by any other means.’
The lady interrupted him saying, ‘Sir, your metaphysical teaching
does not appeal to me at the moment. How can I ever trust the Lord
who has given the fruits, but failed to keep his promise?’
The sage replied, ‘Then my child, go to him from whom you have
received the blessing.’
The lady took up the corpse and quickly reached the hermitage of
Sree Guru. There she furiously knocked her head against the holy
padukas. Even at sunset, she refused to give away the dead
body for the performance of the last rites. All the people went
away, leaving the poor couple. That night, Sree Guru appeared in
her dream and said, ‘My child! How have I wronged you? I have even
blessed you! The vital force had already left the body of your
son, but I have brought it back’. So saying, the Guru disappeared.
When she woke up, she could not contain her joy at the sight of
her son who was alive. She showed him to her husband. The blessed
pair was immensely happy. With redoubled faith, they paced around
the fig tree thrice and prostrated to the padukas. The
Brahmins of the village cam to know of the miracle and glorified
Sree Guru. The Brahmin pair had a dip at the confluence of the
sacred rivers, worshipped Sree Guru, fed Brahmins and returned
home. Their son grew up to be a youth of great learning and suave
manners. He lived up to a ripe old age in wealth and prosperity.
Similarly, many have achieved the objects of their wishes in that
holy place. In this age of Kali, Sree Nrisimha Saraswathi is very
much alive in spirit. He responds to every call of his devotees,
ever ready to bless them. Whoever serves him with faith and
devotion shall prosper, even like the Brahmin lady.”
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