AVADHUTHA SRI VENKAIAH SWAMY: ORIGIN BY BHAGAVAN SRI BHARADWAJA.
Long time back, Sri Venkaiah Swamy was born to pious couple
Penchalayya and Pichamma in a village Nagavellaturu, Ravuru taluk in Nellore district.
Little is known about his childhood. As a kid, he is lover of
loneliness, so used to meditate in shrubs,staying away from crowd . He never
had any community restrictions, so used to eat at anyone’s house. People called
him mad Venkaiah, as he would wander shouting malolla lokam, jangam lokam, yanadi lokam, dubukku dubukku.
He did penance with
his head downwards and his legs twisted around the beam of the well called Kapila. Sri Sai met his Guru in a forest who gave him
similar sadhana(spiritual practice).
Like this, Sri Swamy
stayed at one village for some time and then went to so many villages like
Kotitirtham, pennabadwelu, Golagamudi, Talupuru, Kalichedu and saved so many devotees.
Sri Swamy had a strange attire. Continuous exposure
to sacred Dhuni, made his skin complexion like a burnt copper vessel. Sri Swamy used
to wear fibre cord around the waist, He had jute sacks or old clothes, date leaves
mat, some old clothes, blanket, two pillows ,Ekatara (Stringed music instrument
made of gourd), an eating vessel (hollowed out of Palmyra Stump) .This
simplicity and his strange acts reminds us Sri Sai.
Sri Swamy used to wander at night times with a fire torch (thick rope lit at the end).
He would write in cryptic language using words like crores,maunds, hood of snake etc on small papers, put His thumb impression on small papers, and sometimes give woollen threads to devotees ,who came for His darshan. When there were serious diseases like cholera, or diseases in cattle ,Sri Swamy would give incense to the devotees. Sri Swamy never cherished on the taste of food and would eat mixing sweet and spicy food. He never went to any one's house nor would sleep there. On rare occasions,He would go to the house of the devotees and lit Dhuni (sacred fire).At that occassion, Sri Swamy would mention about Sri Sai stating that His brother was in North India ,who is also Dhuni worshipper. At one particular occassion, He showed the picture of Sri Sai and said that "He is my Brother."
On 30.9.1980, Sri Swamy came to Vidyanagar.One of the devotees asked Sri Swamy "Is this Mandir good?", He replied "Yes! Here poojas will be performed forever."
Sri Swamy left His physical body on August 24 1982. Sri Swamy's aradhana will be celebrated at Golagamudi. Sri Swamy maintained Dhuni (sacred Fire) throughout His Life and it is still maintained after His Mahasamadhi, just like the power of His miracles.
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PARIPRASNA - ORIGIN BY BHAGAVAN
SRI BHARADWAJA
Q:I did not get Sai Darshan in
my dreams, in spite of doing several poojas and parayanas. Why is he
giving this experience to people who don’t trust him but not me?
A: Sri SAI provides darshan and
fulfills the desires of people who are interested in materialistic things
and come to him for the first time. After fulfilling their desires they
will gradually develop faith in him. We give respect to new visitors when they come to
our house. Similarly, Sai will fulfill the desires of people who visit him for the first time and place them
comfortably. Owing to such experiences, many were drawn into Baba’s fold.
People
who do parayana for spiritual benefit are like family members to him. Why
do we have to give respect and do things promptly for family members? The
main responsibility of this category of devotees is to give 'Shraddha
(faith with love and reverence). 'Saburi (is patience and
perseverance) as Dakshina. Don’t bow and go after every Sadhu you
come across. Read Sai Prabhodamrutham (Sai Baba of Shirdi and
his teachings) regularly. Goddess Parvathi did penance sincerely
so she got married none other than Lord Siva .In the same way we should
do parayana regularly and try to seek the blessings of SAI spiritually rather than seeking materialistic benefits. Then we will have his protection forever.
Hence read “Sri Sai Leelamrutham” and “Sri Guru Charitra” regularly
which is essential to get the blessings of Sri Sai Baba.
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UTTAMA SHISHYUDU
The Guru-Shishya relationship
and such tradition is special and ethereal. It is beyond all the worldly
relationships, as in them there exists only attachment. But there is
unlimited love between Guru and Shishya (Disciple). It is but natural to
call a relationship between two persons as ‘Guru- Shishya’ relationship
if there exists unlimited love between them; since it is only this
unlimited love that can bestow spiritual knowledge. The one who bestows
this spirituality is called a ‘Guru’ and the recipient is the disciple
‘Sishya’.
As revealed by
Pujya Sri Masterji in Sri Sai Leelamrutham, it is quite difficult to
obtain a Guru in this present age. At the same time, He also mentioned that
it is equally difficult for a Sadguru to get the right disciple. Hence we
can notice in the biographies of Mahatmas, although lakhs of persons come
in their lives, only a handful are worthy of being known as ‘Disciples’.
Hence our elders have remarked that a Sadguru waits eagerly for the
appearance of the right disciple to readily bestow his entire wealth of
knowledge to him. On reaching the Sannidhi of Samartha Sadguru
Pujya Sri Masterji, Chiranjeevi Ramachandra Chaitanya was fortunate
recipient of His full blessings.
Chi.Chaitanya arrived at Pujya Sri Masterji
house at Ongole at a young age of twenty years. In no time he became one
with the members of the family with his friendly and innocent nature. Yet
till a period of about two years, I did not know much about him since I
was never curious to know anything about anyone as regards to their
nativity, their intent and their duration of stay etc.Later after a
period of time I came to know that he hailed from Rajahmundry, he
belonged to ‘Pulipaka’ family, his native was the village of ‘Mannava’
which also is my native village and that he was related to me from my
mother’s side.Yet we never treated him as a relative, nor did he
expect to be treated as one.
He would fetch the daily
provisions; accompany the children to school, etc. He attended to the
needs of the children. He looked after the printing jobs at press. He
would do the proof reading of the books written by Pujya Sri Masterji
during the stage of their printing, take dictations from Masterji, and
attended several other such jobs. Thus he eased Pujya Sri Masterji’s
work-load to some extent.
Chaitanya attended
to the personal matters of Pujya Sri Masterji with keen interest. He made
arrangements for Masterji’s brushing and bathing. Very often he would
comb Masterji’s hair after applying oil to it. He would massage
Masterji’s feet whenever he got an opportunity to do so. He took special
interest and extreme care of Pujya Sri Masterji’s diet during their stay
at other places. There he would explain about Masterji’s food habits to
the new devotees and thus tried his best to protect Masterji from
encountering health related problems. He realized that Masterji tired
himself with his incessant work, so he paid special attention regarding
Masterji’s rest.
A few remarked, “Why
should Masterji rest?” While others added, ‘For a Mahatma like Masterji,
there is no need to rest!” This hurt him since he felt that people
refused to realize that when Mahatmas don physical bodies like us, they
follow all the rules and need to rest as much as they need to get their
hunger appeased. He could not tolerate anyone thrusting hardships on
Masterji or ignoring needs of Masterji. During such situations he gave
vent to his anger on them and many times he punished himself.
Once a group of devotees
went on a pilgrimage to Shirdi with Pujya Sri Masterji by bus and there
on reaching Shirdi, Pujya Sri Masterji took the trouble to stand in the
queue to book for the accommodation of the pilgrims. He also brought and
arranged mattresses for them to sleep. All this while Chaitanya was not
there as he had left for some other work and he arrived at midnight. On
arriving, he observed that all the pilgrims were sleeping comfortably on
the mattresses and Pujya Sri Masterji was sitting uncomfortably on the
floor in the corner near the feet of some devotee. He did not find any
place to sleep. Infact , there were the very devotees who begged Masterji
to accompany them on his pilgrimage and they did not show the least
courtesy to make decent arrangements for Masterji to sleep. Their
indifferent attitude towards Masterji pained him. He found himself in
helpless situation and he blamed himself as his Guru had to face this
plight even in his presence. For this he punished himself by refusing to
sip even a drop of water during his entire pilgrimage.
He had
staunch faith in his Guru. But it was not blind faith. He would keenly
observe every act of Pujya Sri Masterji, notice every word with critical
view and analyze. In case he was not convinced about anything, he would
get it clarified by Pujya Sri Masterji. The more he observed Pujya Sri
Masterji, the more his faith in Him increased. Thus he slowly could
realize Masterji’s divinity. This further deepened his faith and finally
it became deep rooted .For him nothing else existed in this world except
his Guru. So he became careless towards his personal needs. He would eat
anything at times he did not eat at all. He would never bathe regularly.
He never bothered about his clothes which were soiled most of the time.
He felt that he did not have any relations to be called as his own
including his parents. The ‘Guru –Bandhus’ were his sole relations and
the persons loved by his Guru were his only friends.
He gives
vent to his anger but not on persons, accusing him. He shows intolerance
only if any one underestimates his Guru and shows disrespect towards his
Guru. He expresses his anger on persons failing to take care of his
Guru’s needs, those who display carelessness towards his Guru and in events
where his Guru is misunderstood. He shows impatience towards persons who
create inconvenience to his Guru and unnecessarily accuse his Guru.
Pujya
Sri Masterji said, “Every one is able to follow me only up to a certain
stage. They believe that they are following my preaching exactly as I
expect them. But they are unable to follow during important critical
situations in real life”. But Chaitanya is able to follow dutifully all
the principles laid down by Pujya Sri Masterji. He is able to abide by
them happily even in adverse circumstances. He has ultimately conquered
‘likes and dislikes’.
He
constantly thought only of Pujya Sri Masterji. He regularly monitored his
Guru’s immediate needs. The moment his Guru called out to him, he would
appear instantaneously, unmindful of the situation he was in .Anything
desired by his Guru would be brought spontaneously, with the speed of
lightening. This showed his concern!
During early
days of his arrival he did not display signs of his true serious nature.
But who could clearly read his inner mind and know his true nature? This
was possible only by the omnipresent Pujya Sri Masterji.That is why He
invited and allowed him to stay in His house. He blessed him with many
extraordinary experiences, ordered him to do difficult sadhanas, and
tested him. All the instructions given by Pujya Sri Masterji were put
into practice by Him! And precisely for these reasons he became the
recipient of Pujya Sri Masterji’s full blessings.
Why will not the
Guru shower his love on such a disciple? That is why Pujya Sri Masterji
endearingly addressed him as, “Orreh! Ramayya, Ramu,
Rami,Ramiga”. Masterji confided in him in many matters.
He endowed
with a melodious voice. But he did not use it to earn fame, name, or
money. HE used his voice to sing “Sai Mandiram” and other songs before
the beginning of the discourses by Pujya Sri Masterji. These songs were
filled with devotion and would emanate from the depth of his heart; the
sweetness of his voice would force his listeners to listen in rapt
silence and experience heavenly bliss. They would forget themselves and
feel the presence of Sai. At times when he was all alone, he had the
habit of singing for hours together at a stretch with intense devotion,
even being unmindful of whether it was day or night. Everyone enjoyed
this soulful singing and the moment he stopped, they wished that he would
continue it for some more time.
He attracted
everyone with his gift of speech, jocular manner, intelligence,
friendliness and most important of all, his Guru Bhakthi. His behavior
towards all was the same, right from the maid servant of the house to the
professor of a University visiting the house. He was not status
conscious. Hence he was liked by everyone. His absence was felt by each
and everyone.
He would tell each and
everyone whom he met about Pujya Sri Masterji; they could be an
extraordinary important and rich person or could be the ordinary sweeper
and the rickshaw puller; and then bring them for His darshan. This he is
continuing even now.
He would make
everyone laugh with his jocular exploits. He would mimic everyone and
with his mimicry make everyone split with laughter. At times he would
mimic the speech and actions of Pujya Sri Masterji and mine.
He is
endowed with an extraordinary memory. He could recall the time and place
and the person who met Pujya Sri Masterji with exact accuracy and had the
talent to narrate verbatim the matter of their conversation with Pujya
Sri Masterji.He knows by heart, even till today, every single word in the
first discourse of Pujya Sri Masterji which he heard!
After Pujya
Sri Masterji attained Samadhi, the questions that made him anxious were,
“what is the future of our family?” “How could the education of the
children be continued and Vedavathi’s marriage be performed?” His
thoughts were always focused on them. Moreover at that time the financial
situation was far from satisfactory.
Everyone
will volunteer Seva but no one will dare to come forward to shoulder
responsibility. But he shouldered the responsibility as his minimum right
and considered it as his duty, although none asked him to shoulder it. He
accepted willingly the responsibility of his Guru’s family and carried it
with pleasure. He faced many conflicting situations while fulfilling his
responsibility. He continuously monitored the house hold needs on a day
to day basis. He was only twenty-six years of age when he shouldered
these responsibilities.
As Chi.Vedavathi
grew up, so did his anxiety regarding her marriage. “How should her
marriage be performed?” This question made him anxious he spent many
sleepless nights thinking about the ways and means to mobilize the large
amount of money needed for Vedavathi’s marriage, as he felt that
performing her marriage was an extraordinary task! However, he carried
out this onusresponsibility quite successfully.
The responsibility of
the Mission was thrust on him next. He worked incessantly for bringing
out the magazine, for the printing of the publications of the several
books and for the different activities of the Mission. This left him with
hardly any time to think about his food and rest. This had a heavy toll
on his indifferent health. Yet he single-handedly continues to strive
diligently even now.
It
is quite natural for a person to be a target of criticisms while carrying
out his responsibilities but he ignored them. His primary wish is
certainly only to do as much Guru Seva as possible.
One of the most admirable qualities in
Chaitanya is self-criticism. To err is but human. But to identify and
rectify it is quite difficult. People do not realize their mistakes. They
feel that either they are invincible or that they are above committing
mistakes. But it is not so with Chaitanya who is quick to realize his
mistakes and rectifies them the instant he realizes them and accepts them
without any ego. That is why he earned Pujya Sri Masterji’s affection.
He
spends every moment of his life in constant thinking about his Guru. His
ultimate aim in life is his Guru Seva. He is unmindful of his goal. His
aspiration is to serve his Guru till his last breath. He lives in this
continuous effort. It is the Guru’s responsibility to make him realize
his goal.
To
sum it up, he is the living example of “Disciple”.
Then why will not that Guru
accept such a responsibility? That is why Pujya Sri Masterji is guiding
him on the right spiritual path. On one side Pujya Sri Masterji is using
him as a main pawn for His programmes on Sai propaganda and on the other
side , he is teaching him sadhanas for his spiritual enrichment and
personal development. He is blessing him many divine experiences. He is
seeking blessings of several Mahatmas for him. He is uplifting him to the
highest spiritual state. All these are proved by his life. He is
indifferent to both praise and criticism. He knows neither to hate his
critics nor to love his admirers. If anyone praises his Seva he answers,“What
am I doing? It is due to Pujya Sri Masterji’s grace that I got such an
opportunity. What I am doing is surely very insignificant. Inspite of me
continuing to do in this manner throughout this life and many more lives
to come, still I may not be able to repay my debt to Him”.This is his
“Samskara.”
He possesses nothing and wants nothing.
Any material offering made to him for his comforts are not accepted by
him for his personal use but utilized by him for his Guru Seva.
IN THESE
MODERN TIMES,WHEN CHILDREN FEEL THAT THEIR OWN PARENTS ARE A
BURDEN,CHI .CHAITANYA IS LOOKING AFER US MUCH BETTER THAN ONE’S OWN KIN
BY FULFILLING EVERY NEED OF OURS,EARLIER IN THE PAST AND NOW IN THE
PRESENT AND HENCE ,FOR US,HE IS OUR “DATTAPUTRA.”
Every person, irrespective of
his stature, has to face praise and criticism and he is no exception.
However, only time will reveal the real truth!
I sincerely pray to both
Sri Sainath and Pujya Sri Masterji to shower their full blessings to such
a person as Chi.Chaitanya…………………….
E. Alivelu Manga Thayaru
9/9/2005
 
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