Sri Kanchi Mahaperiva and My Heartfulness

( This blog is based  on  personal experiences and does not necessarily reflect the views of Sri Kanchi Madam or the Heartfulness System and Practices. )

The other day, I  was  viewing a YouTube video in Tamil language on  Jagadguru Shri Chandrashekararendra Saraswati, who  was the 64^th Jagadguru  of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, a  Hindu Monastery (called Madam in Tamil),  located in the temple town of Kanchipuram  in South India.  He had a long reign as the Head of the Kanchi Madam from 1907 to 1994. Affectionately called   Mahaperiyava (meaning a venerable sage), he was easily one of the most revered, loved, and popular Hindu sages of that period, especially in the South of India.

In this video there is a reference to an Australian Youth who went all over the world to meet various religious heads and sought an answer to the fundamental existential question, “What is the objective/purpose  of human life ?” Apparently  not satisfied with  the replies which he had elicited  from the  heads of religious institutions all over the world, he decided to seek an  answer from Mahaperiyava, and thus came to His presence. Initially, Mahaperiyava asked some of the learned pundits present on the occasion to answer his question, but  seeing their reluctance to give an answer, He decided to satisfy the Youth’s curiosity Himself.

                                                                          

The Sage  made a reference to  the ancient Hindu scripture Shrimad Bhagavatam,  which contains the story of the  child devotee, Prahalada.  This boy patiently endured acute harassment and torture from his father who was a demon King, who tormented him only because he refused to worship any    other than Vishnu as God. Quoting Prahalada, Mahaperiyava told the Australian Youth  that the purpose of life is to shower  unbridled, unconditional Universal  Love to all  His  creation. 

The Sage, who had spoken in Tamil, then asked someone to translate and explain this to the Australian youth in English.  But the  young man did not need any translation. Though he did not understand a word of  Tamil, he  could get the essence of what the Sage was conveying and he  could actually experience  the Love, which he, in turn,   had to give to others.

The incident set me thinking in many directions.  I  remember three significant events in my life.

I had met the Revered Sage on a few occasions in my teens during  my visits to my uncle’s place at Kanchipuram.  Though I never knew why, I always eagerly looked forward to be in His presence. I confess that I can recollect nothing much about those visits, i.e. the occasion, the physical environment  etc., but I remember that the  atmosphere prevailing was indeed something  different and special which pulled  me to go to  the Sage several times.  Few words were spoken, but the  environment  was indeed unique. Now I realize that I was drawn to Him by  the  very Love  about which   He spoke to the Australian Youth in  the abovementioned video.

Thereafter, though I met a few saints and was acquainted with  several religious and  spiritual practices, nothing touched my heart sufficiently to take them up with any seriousness.

However, I do remember another great occasion which I can now connect to the  feelings generated during my interaction with the  Mahaperiyava . This was  on my visit to Kabirwad, near Bharuch  in Gujarat located in an island on the river Narmada. Here was the place where Saint Kabir had spent time and meditated. Again the special element could not be described, but there was a deep desire to visit this place again, which regretfully never materialized.  Later on when I took up practice of Heartfulness Meditation, I learnt that Sant Kabir was highly evolved on the spiritual path.  The atmosphere at Kabirwad which left   a permanent mark in me was another reflection of the same Universal Love.

 The third occasion which I can connect to happened a  few months after I was initiated in  the practice of  Heartfulness Meditation.   I confess that initially  my approach towards this practice of meditation was flippant and causal, with an attitude that nothing could  be possibly achieved by simply sitting with eyes closed  for a few minutes.

But soon after, I had to change my mind.  One day while meditating with a Heartfulness Trainer on a special occasion with a group of other aspirants, I had a profound experience of the effect of Yogic Transmission.  Incidentally, this Yogic Transmission, which can only be experienced and not explained, is a specialty of Heartfulness Meditation¹.

On that occasion, my heart was filed with a tremendous feeling of calmness, peace and unbridled Love which I had never experienced before. It was also surprising to note that in that gathering, though I was surrounded by a group which was culturally, and socially remote to me, yet I felt so much at home that I had no desire to leave the place  or  the company of the aspirants.

To use the  word "Divine" to describe the atmosphere on  the occasion may be  correct, but on observing that the word Divine has been too commonly used to describe people or events ( such as divine person, divine child, divine music, divine figures  etc.),  I hesitate to use that expression.  I will therefore restrain myself and describe the  environment  as something  wondrous, joyful  and unique.

I told myself that this experience was some kind of illusion or a play of my mind, but it returned to bless me ,at odd times and  places, often when I was not meditating.  Notably, the  feelings were experienced invariably in the dirtiest of all places, near foul smelling toilets, railway station and garbage dumps, bring an understanding  that the Love which originates from the Adi or Source can be everywhere.  This necessitated a great unlearning on my part, as I was from a social background  where a lot of emphasis was laid on physical cleanliness, in the approach to the Divine. Surprisingly, once I  took  up   my meditation practice earnestly, this experience disappeared.

Another significant point to be noted was that at that point of time I had not yet  physically met the then  Global Guide  of the system, Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, who had actually channelized the Yogic Transmission ( also called Pranahuti) through  the trainers  to  create  the atmosphere which I have described. Under  the Heartfulness System, it is wondrous to note that  the physical presence of the Global Guide  is not a pre-requisite to feel the effects of Yogic Transmission.

I can now relate that  this third experience gave me a brief exposure to the Ultimate condition,  which is  to be attained by sincere practice of Heartfulness. The state of Universal love is attained naturally, progressively encompassing first the  family and near ones, then the  neighborhood and progressively goes on to cover the entire world, in consonance with the expansion of the consciousness attained  through the practice of  Heartfulness.

 

Now there are more thoughts on the message given to the Australian Youth  by  Mahaperiyava. For  this  please wait for my next article on this blog site.

¹ Heartfulness meditation is a practical technique that can be used in parallel with any other spiritual approach. For  further information on  Heartfulness Meditation log on to www.heartfulness.org.   Find a Heartfulness Trainer near you  at https://heartspots.heartfulness.org.

Please note that all Heartfulness Meditation sessions including those with a Heartfulness Trainer are always free of charge.