Insights into the Life of Kanchi Maha Swami

Incidents with Kanchi Maha Swami
Part 1
Many years ago, Maha Periava was on His way to having darshan of Sri Nandeeswarar
at Parangimalai. En route He had darshan of Trisulanathar and Triburasundari and then
rested for a while under a fig tree ( as He always walked, what ever be the distance). He
felt thirsty and so called out for one of His sishyas. But, since they were resting at a
distance, none heard it. Then, there appeared a little girl with water in a 'sombu' and
offered it to Him. He drank it and when He wanted to return the sombu, she was not be
seen around any where. He asked every one, but none had even seen her. Then He sat
in meditation for a while and realised that the girl was none other than Ambal herself. He
called the village head and other people and told them to dig the place where He
sat.They found the vigraha of Balambika and Chandikeswari there. He told them to instal
the vigrahas and thus came about the present day Sri Vidya Raja Rajeswari temple at
Nehru Nagar, Pazhavanthaangal, Nanganllur, Chennai.
Part 2
Dr.Anandavalli belongs to Hospet. When Periava was staying at Hampi, she would visit
Him everyday and will talk to Him without any pretentions. She would call Him 'Appa' 50
times in just about 5 mins.She would take the upper hand, as would a daughter with her
aged father, and say ' you can take milk atleast on Ekadesi day, nothing wrong, you
should take fruit juice twice in a day and things of that sort. After she left, the shishyas
would joke about it... Ennappa chandru saaptiappa, Balu nanna thoonginiappa.. But still,
Doctor's 'Appa' was like a sparkling diamond. Then, one day, she came to the camp
after midnight and called out 'Appa.,Appa'. The shishyas told her that ladies should not
come to the camp at night. But she would not listen.'Appa,Appa' The sishyas were now
angry.'Arre you not a Doctor? Don't you understand what we say'. Then Periava's voice
cut through : 'Anga ennada sathaam?' The Doctor immediately prostrated. Then Periava
called her near and the sishyas were taken aback. The Doctor said 'Appa, I was in a
village. A young girl was in a critical stage. However much I tried, I could not save her.
She was gone. Then, crying, I called out 'Appa,Appa' 108 times and she came back to
life !! I could not come and see You during the day. So, I came now. Periava said ' you
should not have come at this time of night. I was awake. If I was not, what would you
have done?'The Doctor, silent for a moment said' I just wanted to see Appa, I never
thought it would not be possible, day or night how does it matter to me to see my Appa?
Periava blessed her. She said she would come back for the morning
Visvaroobadharisanam and left.Promptly she was there at 5am. For the shishyas she
now looked like a devathai!!
Part 3
An elderly couple used to visit Periava every year on his birth day - Anusha Nakshatram.
That year too they were getting ready to leave, so that they would be in Kanchipuram the
next day(Anusham). When the husband went out to get some fruits, the roads were
empty. The 'keeraikari' informed him that there was a bandh and the buses are off the
road and all the shops are closed. He came back to the house and told his wife. They
were sad that they may not be able to make it to Kachipuram for Periava dharisanam
that year. The husband said, everything is in His hands. If He wants us to come, He will
arrage for that. If not, let us take it that it is His will. They sat brooding. Then an
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Ambassador screeched to a halt in front of their house. A middle aged person got out,
came to door and said 'namaskaram. We are coming from far and my wife has got a
headache. Can you please give us some coffee? They were both invited insdie and
offered coffee. Mean while they got talking. The visitor said that they are going to
Kanchipuram to see Periava and asked if they (host) would like to join? The host were
stunned, packed a few things immediately and left with them in the car. Soon after they
both slept. By around midnight the car reached Kanchipuram and the visitor said that he
would like to stay with his friend and so would meet the host at the early morning
dharshan of Periava, dropped them at the gate of the Kachi mutt and left. The night
watchman let them in, they checked in and slept. When they went for the morning
dharshan, Periava asked them 'Oh, so you could not get fruits there? now go out to the
corner of the road where a fruit seller is keeping the shop open and get some fruits. The
man did so and then they offered their obeisance to Periava. After that, they enquired
about the other couple, giving all the references they had said including their friend's
name and the place where he lived, but none knew them. Then they came to the gate
and enquired abou the night watchman. They were told that there never was a night
watchman at the mutt. They both cried, offered their namsakarams from the gate and
left.
Part 4
On an auspicious day many women were having darshan of Maha Periava. One woman
at the back was crying. Periava sent a sishya to bring her to Him. He asked her ' why
are you crying?'.She said,'my husband was serving in the army. Six months ago he was
killed in the war. That he is dead has been confirmed in the newspapers thrice. Now, I
did not get his 'body', so, how am I supposed to do the 'karmas'? Periava said, 'he is
alive. He will come back soon!'. The very next week the man returned home and they
both came back and had darshan of Maha Periava.
Maha Periava asked a sishya to go and ask a particular woman - is she sumangali. The
sishya looked at the woman and his heart skipped a few beats. The woman was a
widow. But, he also realized that Periava would not play such a sick joke on anybody.
Still, with his heart pounding he approached the middle aged woman and asked her 'Are
you sumangali?'. He was ready for both an angry outburst or her crying. But, to his
surprise the woman said smilingly 'yes, how do you know?'. The sishya utterly confused
but marginally at ease now, said 'Periava asked me to ask you that'. The woman said
'oh. Periava, but then how does He know that I am from Sumangali village!!
Part 5
BLOOD CANCER, 2 more weeks. One week goes by. Doctor studies reports and says -
please wait in the reception. I will give you discharge summary.Thats it. The Doc wants
me to go home and be with the family. The end is that near. Doc comes and says, ' its a
medical miracle, you are okay and from now on you can take medicine at home itself!'.
Medical miracle ? Only two days before, both Maha Periava and Shirdi Sai had
appeared in his dream, gently stroked his body and left.
*********

Narayanan looked up. There were two women. An Indian and an Austrian. The Indian
woman says,'her visa is expiring and she must head back to Chennai immediately. So,
can you please arrange for Maha Periava's darshan. Narayanan gets the permission.
Periava is sitting by the side of a well. The Autrian woman keeps looking at Him. No
exchange of words. Periava blesses them and they leave. Narayanan asks the Austrian
woman, if she was satisfied. Satisfied? I have been getting dreams in which Sarva
Alangara Ambal has been appearing and now when I looked at Periava, I saw Ambal
instead of Him. I was in a trance all this time !
Part 6
A devotee comes for darshan of Maha Periava. He asks him, have you seen Tirupathi,
Palani, Thiruvannamalai, Kasi, Kanyakumari ? . 'No' says the devotee. 'yes, you have'
says Periava. The He shows His finger at each one of the person before Him and says,
'this is Tirupathi, this is Palani....' . Everyone around is wonderstruck! (how did He know
all theiir names?)
Part 7
Maha Periava walks through the fileds to visit a Shiva temple. On His way back, a
villager offers Him various vegetables and prostrates before Him. Periava asks His
sishyas to take the vegetables and offer them to Lord Chandramouleswara during the
next day Pooja. Then He keeps talking, a bit childishly and irrelevantly, all the while
turning around 36o degrees. Then as He walks away, looks back at the villager and
asks the shishyas, ' enda, ennaku munnadi namaskaranm panravanuku en mudugu
theriyumo?' . The sishyas say 'no'. Then, what should he do?. He must go around You.
But, if he is not going around me, what should I do so that he can see (darshan) me
completely? the sishyas keep quiet. Then he asks again : If I do 'atma pratakshan' , then
can he see me completely?. The sishyas were speechless. So, all that childish talk and
turning around 360 degrees was to give darshan to the villager !
@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The poor old woman watches people offering costly things to Periava everyday. She is
ashamed that she cannot offer anything like that. One day, she pours out her heart to
Periava. He then says,' they bring all that even without asking me whether i need them, I
am not interested in them , why, I don't even touch them. Now, if I ask you to get me
something, will you do it? The old woman is all attention. Periava continues ' I need pure
cow dung cakes for everyday Homam in the mutt, can you get them?'. The old woman
cries.Billionares are ready to give millions (yeah, not billions) if only He would ask them
and here He is asking for cow dung cakes !
Part 8
The year is 1921. Shri.Subramanya Siva, one of the greatest of freedom fighters, is at
Kumbakonam for Mahamaham. There he comes to know that Maha Periava is camping
at Patteeswaram, near Kumbakonam. He goes for His darshan, but stands away from
the crowd ( almost everyone who had come for Mahamaham has come for Maha
Swami's darshan too) as he is afflicted with leprosy and has thinned down considerably
beacuse of it.Maha Periava notices his presence and sends a sishya to bring him to His

presence. Shri.Subramanya Siva comes before Maha swami and prays for devotion in
the hearts of his fellow country men and for the independence of Bharatam.Maha
Periava blesses him.
( I bow my head to all those freedom fighters. But, unfortunately, we lack awareness, in
almost all aspects)
Part 9
This happened when MGR was the Chief Minister of Tamizh Nadu. He wanted to visit
and pay his obeisance to Maha Periava.' Idhayan Pesugiradu' Manian took him to
Kanchi. They were accompanied by Janaki MGR and Pitchandi, personal secretary of
the Chief Minister. After MGR paid his respects and enquired about Maha Swami's
health, He asked MGR for his promise to do three things. MGR agreed and Maha
Periava said, you should arrange for lighting of the lamps in the temples, arrange for the
'Kumbabishekam' (consecration) of age old temples and ....pardon Nagasamy and
reinstate him in his job! (Shri.Nagasamy is an archaeology reasearcher and, at that time,
he was giving the details of his research directly to the Press without first informing the
Chief Minister. Shri.Nagasamy was recetly honoured for his work on the Big temple -
Rajarajeeswaram). Shri.Nagasamy neither informed Maha Swami about this nor did he
ask MGR anything. This incident highlights the greatness of Maha Preiava - the Jagat
Guru requesting for pardon on behalf of a good person to the ruler, giving due respect to
the post he holds.
Part 10
'Idhayam Pesugiradu' Manian was going on a tour of Mexico and so went to

Kanchipuram to seek the blessings of Maha Periava. Paramacharya said, ' you know
about Paathala logam. Thats Mexico of today. The Mayans used to worship Nagam, Sun
god, Rain God and Mother Nature in general, just like us. You can still find evidence in
the Mayan ruins'. Manian was stunned. He himself was not aware of these facts. Well,
Maha Swami once talked at length about how there was only one religion all over the
world. It was called 'sanadhana dharma' from which branched off many religions. We
have retained most of the values in the Hindu religion , which got its name after
Alexander the Great's entry into our land crossing Indus. Maha Periava has given much
more evidences of Sanadhana Dharma's prevalence all over the world. Well, we will see
about Sahara desert, California, Horse isalnd, Ash Island, Cambodia, Indonesia and
much more.
Part 11
The Legend of Ganga : King Sagara, an ancestor of Lord Rama, wished to do 100
Ashwamedha yagam. He had completed 99 and every time the sacrificial horse went
around the world and came back unchallenged. During the 100th time, Indra became
jealous, thought that Sagara will become more powerful than him and take over his
Indralogam too and so tied the horse near the hermitage of Kapila Muni.Sagara's 60,000
sons searched everywhere and then dug into the nether world. There, they saw the
horse tied near Kapila Muni's hermitage. Thinking the Muni had abducted the horse, they

attacked him. The enraged Muni reduced them to ashes. Then, Bagirathan, son of
Asamanjan and grandson of Sagara, went in search of Sagara's sons and the horse.......
Now, let us see what our Kanchi Muni has to say : Today's Sahara was once an ocean
and probably was known as Sagara ( means ocean) after King Sagara. America which is
at the antipodes can be taken as the nether world and the place where kapila Muni had
his hermitage was known as Kapilaranyam, today's California and we have Horse Island
(after the sacrificial horse which was tied) and Ash Island (Sagara's 60,000sons ashes)
nearby. Well, do you have anything to say?
Mexico too, a part of the nether world, Paathala logam, is also near by and we have
ample proof of Nature and Naga worship from the Mayan ruins. They still have a temple
with a two headed snake.Everything points to the existence of one religion or faith - the
Sanadhana dharma or the vedic religion, all over the world at one point of time.
Part 12
Many years ago,some Russian scholars had come to Chennai for a research on Hindu
culture. Maha Swami was then camping at Mylapore and so they had darshan of Him
and took many photographs of Him. They gave the photographs to the Russian Ancient
Culture Academy in Russia also.In 1987, Russia held a festival of Indian Culture in the
Soviet Cultural Academy in Chennai. Dr.Padma Subramanyam gave a lecture on
Bharatham, Kutchipidi, etc. Then, she was invited to Russia, where she met
Prof.Ribakov, who was the chief of Russian Scientific Academy and Russian Ancient
Culture Institute. She was surprised to see a portrait of Maha Periava in his room. When
asked, he said it was given by a friend who had visited Him in Chennai and he also
wanted to meet Him and clarify a few doubts. Subsequently, he came to Chennai and
Dr.PS accompanied him to Kanchipuram. But, Maha Swami was down with fever and
the sishyas said they cannot meet Him. They were disappointed and didn't know what to
do. Just then another sishya came to them and said that Periava asked them to come in.
They went in, and Prof.Ribakov and Periava kept looking at each other for a while. Then,
Dr.PS asked the Prof to clarify his doubts. But the Prof said that all his doubts have
already been clarified. Now comes the best part. Periava asked 'Russians speak their
language mixed with Sanskrit, but in Northern Russia do they speak the language
without any mix of Sanskrit?' Ribakov was surprised and said 'yes'. Then Periava said, '
you say Russia now. In the ancient times it was known as Rishivarsham.You know why?
That is where Rishis like Yagnavalkiyar were running a Vedic Research Center. Then he
spoke about the history of Russia at length. Then the Prof said that he wanted to
become a Hindu. Periava said 'you already are'.But the Prof insisted on a Hindu name
for him. Periava laughed and said ' he has grey beard like Rishis. So, from now on his
name is Rishi'. Well, that Rishi, runs a branch of Ramakrishna mutt in Moscow now.
Part 13
Maha Periava : Archaeological studies have revealed the existence of vedic relics in
many countries. For instance, in a treaty between Rameses II and Hittites dating back to
14th century BC, vedic gods Mithra & Varuna are mentioned as witnesses to the pact.
In Madagascar, seventy five percent of the names of places have Sanskrit origin.

In Mexico, when we celebrate Navratri, they celebrate a festival called 'RamaSita'.Aztecs
inhabited the land before Spaniards conquered them. Aztecs must be a distorted form of
'Astikas'. Statues of Ganapathi have been found in large numbers whenever the earth is
dug up here.
In Peru, they used to worship the Sun god. The people were known as 'Incas'. Ina is
Sanskrit means 'Sun'. Don't we call Lord Ram as 'Ina kula Thilakan?'
In the book 'The native tribes of Central Australia' by Spencer Killan p128,129 you can
see photographs of native tribes performing 'Siva dance'. The pictures show a third eye
drawn on their forehead.
In the forests of Borneo, not easily accessible till recently, sacrificial post have been
found with inscriptions on it, the characters of which are similar to Grantha
characters.Researchers have said it is an inscription of King Mulavarman of Kotei.
( more to follow ) ( hey, I have been tagging a few on request. If you don't want to be
tagged or to be tagged, please let me know. If you are reading these notes, please
comment)
Part 14
Humor : The person (Tanjore Santhanaraman) has gone with the owner of Tanjore
Saravana Bhavan for Maha Swami's darshan. Periava asked 'do they conduct Sastra
classes in the Sankara mutt now?' 'No. After Melatur Sastri passed away there is no one
to teach'. Paramacharya said' there was a Dhave who was good in Sastras. What is he
doing now?'. He took Sanyasam and is now in Thirukoilyur. Periava said ' no,
sanyasamum illa onnum illa. You tell him that I said that he must come back and do the
Sastra classes'. Just then the hotel owner came forward and said, 'Dhave likes our
coffee and comes to the hotel at 5am everyday'. Maha Swami said ' take this person
with you. Dhave will come behind him'. Everyone around laughed.
Love : A teacher from a blind school in Poonamallee came for darshan and said he will
bring the children on a particular Sunday and since they cannot see he requested that
Periava should talk to them. He brought the children on the said day but, unfortunately
Periava was on 'Mouna vratham' that day. The teacher cried saying, ' I have
disappointed these children'. Just then Maha Preiava came out, sat by the side of the
well and asked the teacher to bring the children near Him. He then asked them one by
one for their name, the place where they came from, how they became blind, etc.
Everyone around was touched and in tears. The teacher cried again, but now in joy. The
Jagatguru, who had not come out of his mouna vratham when the Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi and the President V.V.Giri visited Him, did so for the blind children. Such is the
grace of Maha Swami. Pranams to the God who walked this Earth.
Part 15
A grand welcome in the palace of King of Varanasi (Banaras). The Pandits felt jealous
and decided to take a dig at Him. One of them said, 'who is that Jagatguru?'. Maha
Swami said 'I am the Jagatguru'. Pandit:'Oh, so you are Guru of the Jagat'.
Maha Periava: 'no, not that way. The Jagat is my Guru. In that way I am Jagatguru'. The
Pandits were speechless.Then Maha Swami showed a sparrow's nest nearby and asked

'what is this?'. A nest. 'Who built it?'. The sparrow. I have two hands, more intelligence
than the sparrow. But still can't build a nest like that. In that sense, the sparrow is my
Guru'. From then on, the Pandits visited Him everyday and offered their Pranams till He
stayed in Kasi.
******************************
Annabhishekam for Gangai Konda Chozhapuram Brahadeeswarar. The Doctor living

opposite to the Kumbakonam madam said,' Its a criminal waste. Instead the poor people
can be give the rice or fed. Go tell Periava that I said this'. Periava said 'apdiya' and
asked a shishya to bring 'The Hindu' newspaper of 3 days back, turned the pages and
showed a news item. It read ' Storm devastates and sand covers several hundred
hectares of rice crop ready for harvest'. Go, show this to the Doctor. Doctor cried ' Paavi,
I said 50, 60 bags of rice is wasted and here a whole crop is lost' and offered his
pranams from there. Next year, he gave donation for Annabhishekam without being
asked.
Part 16
Anger: A person came for Periava's darshan, saw a boy from his village serving in the
mutt and said 'hah, this chap is here. He is a 'waste'. He is a good for nothing fellow. He
was roaming the streets and now he has come here'. That triggered off Periava,'yes he
is a waste and I am the waste bin . All waste get dumped here. But don't forget that from
the waste the creepers, plants grow and give us tasteful vegetables, fruits and flowers.
'Ash gourd, Kurukathi (a flower) Kuppameni (a herb) grows in waste. And when you stir
the waste, out comes insects and worms that harm you and you have done just that'.The
person was shaken by the outburst and offered his apology.
Compassion: A youth started crying on seeing Periava. Maha Swami asked him to stop
crying and tell Him what happened. the youth said, ' I am jobless and I have a sister to
be married off. My father curses me as 'Dhandam'. Periava asked him to sit quietly for a
while and went about His ritualistic routine. As He finished, a Superintendent Engineer
came for His darshan. Periava asked him' what is this that I have with me?'. 'Dhandam'.
He continued,'I keep up the sanyasi dharmam with this. A raja has a Rajadhandam
(Sengol) by which he rules. So, dhandams do have a purpose. I have a youth here who
is a 'dhandam'. Thats how he is called by his own people. Can you make his life
purposeful. Can you please give him a job?'. No need to say that the youth got a job.
Part 17
Every Friday there used to be 'Sadas' (Tharkam) at Kanchi mutt, where learned scholars
will debate on various topics and Periava will give the final verdict. Then he would give
'Sanmaanam' to all the Pandits. During one such day, there was an Iyengar Swamy from
Chinna Kanchipuram. He offered his 'Namaskarams' to Periava and accepted the money
Periava gave him, but his face showed that he was not very happy with it. Periava
noticed it and asked him' Enna, Iyengar Swamigale, ssanthosham dhane?'. The IS
mumbled 'yes' and left. After a few more Pandits, it was the turn of the general public to
offer the pranams to Maha Swami. The first was an advocate with his family. He offered
a plate full of flowers, fruits, cashew, etc and said,'Periava, a request'. Maha Periava
asked him to stay quiet and called a sishya.'Go and bring that IS. He would be on the

bus to Chinna Kanchipuram'. The sishya went and found him on a bus at Gangai kondan
bus stop. He told the IS that Periava has asked him to come back. The IS said, ' I have
taken a 30p ticket and if I get down now, I will lose 30p. The conductor who was
watching this said, ' Iyere, people are coming from far and abroad for His darshan and
He is calling you. You return the ticket and I will give you 30p. Go, see Him, it should be
something important. The IS returned the ticket, took 30p, got down from the bus and
went with the sishya to see Periava. Maha Periava remarked smilingly,'enna, Iyengar
Swamigale, you would not get down from the bus without getting your 30p?. The IS was
stunned. How did He know that? Now,the advocate started again,'Periava, a request'.
Periava said,'wait' and aksed the IS to sit near the advocate. He then asked the
advocate to take the IS's address and told the IS that the next bus is ready at the bus
stop and asked him to leave. The IS left, confused. Now, let us get back to the advocate.
He starated yet again,'Periava....' ''Enna, you wish to give a learned poor brahmin some
money every month, is not that your wish?'. The Advocate, for a moment, was
speechless. Recovering, he said 'yes, Periava'. 'you know, thats the reason I asked you
to take the IS's address. Send him Rs.250/- every month without fail. If you stop after a
few months he will come back here again. He is a nice person, but it is just that he is
poor'. The advocate accepted it. The whole family offered their 'namaskarams' and left.
For the next few months, Periava checked through his sishyas whether the IS was
receiving the money.
Part 18
Periava was camping at a place en route to Satara. A pregnant woman came to have
His darshan, from Bangalore. Periava was worried about her safe return to b'lore. He
gave her plenty of fruits as 'prasadam' (pregnant woman), asked one of His devotees to
drop her at the Rly.Stn, get her the ticket back to B'lore and assure her safe return.
****************
An old man was walking, unaware who Periava was. Maha Swami asked him, where
was he going in the scorching sun. The old man said - to his daughter's house in a
nearby village. Periava's heart melted. He gave plenty of fruits to him, stopped a bus
going that way and requested the conductor and driver to drop the old man in his
daughter's village.
****************
Periava asked Balu (a shishya) to give a blanket to Pattu Patti who was with the mutt.
Blalu forgot and slept. Maha Swami woke him in the middle of night and aksed him
whether he had given the blanket to the Patti. Balu said no and would do it the next day.
Periava said she needs it now, because it is very cold. Balu searched and found where
she was resting for the night and gave it to her.
****************
Balu himself was sleeping on the floor without a blanket to cover himself.
Someone covered him with a shawl. After 4 days Periava said, 'that shawl looks nice.
who gave it you'. Balu said it must be some one from the mutt. Periava smiled and
pointed a finger at Himself.

******************
A shishya's father, an old man, woke up in the middle of the night and called out for his
son. Periava came to him,held out a stick and asked him to hold it, took him for his
nature's call and brought him back.
*****************
Part 19
WHO TOLD YOU TO COME - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar(V.SuryaNarayanan)
1979. My grandfather, 92 years, was very sick. I had put 'Mala' for going to Sabarimala.
My sister's husband was my gurusamy. He asked me to come to Dharwar, where he
was working. I went and stayed with him. Early morning I had a dream. My grnadfather
dies and I am unable to go to Sabarimala. Fear gripped me. When I told this to my
gurusamy he said he can't make the decision and added that we can go and meet
Periava, who was camping at Gokak. We went there, but we could meet only
H.H.Jayendrar. He didn't give us 'theertham' and asked us to go and meet Periava who
was waiting for us in the Siva temple near Gokak falls. When we reached the top of the
hill by an auto we were met by the Managing Director and Manager of Gokak mills
(probably you will all be more familiar with Gokak Patel Volkart a big logistics
company).They said that the food is ready for us. When asked how they knew about our
arrival, they said Maha Swami told them. We had food and went for Periava's darshan.
He came out of his tent and looked like 'Easwara'. Then He asked us, 'who asked you to
come here. Your grandfather is nearing his death'. Then I said he was well and the Docs
have assured that he will recover.Paramacharya said,'Docs can only give medicine &
injections. They cannot stop a soul from leaving the body'.So, we came down the hill and
met Sri Jayendrar once again. He asked us whether we understood what Periava said.
Then, He gave us 'vibuti' and asked us to apply it on my grandfather's forehead and
chest. I said that I will do that on my return from Sabarimala. Sri Jayendrar said that my
grandfather's soul should not be allowed to struggle till then and asked us to return
immediately.When we were to leave, someone said that the last bus would have left.
But, Jayendra Swamigal said that you will get the bus at 7pm. We got the bus like He
said and reached Vizhupuram via Dharwar and Bangalore. My grandfather was in his
final moments. I applied the Vibuti and then he breathed his last. Just before that a patti
had come from a nearby house asking for Periava. When asked, she said that she had a
dream in which Periava and my grandfather were talking with each other in the morning
and asked again to have darshan of Maha Swami.
The questions that arose in me are 1. How did Jayendrar know that Mahaswami had a
message for me? How did Periava know that an Ayyappan would come without having
food? How did Jayendrar say that the bus would come late? How did Periava and
Jayendrar know what would happen the next day? Well, if I know the answers for all
these, I would not be an ordinary mortal!
Part 20
MOOTHER's LETTER - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar - V.Suryanarayanan

15/12/1983. My father, SriVeeraraghava Iyer, passed away on Vikunda Ekadesi day.
Only 'punya' athmas will get Ekadesi maranam Dhuvadesi dhaganam, people used to
say. After 'Varushapthigam', my mother gave me a letter to be handed over to Periava.
She had sealed it. But, I still opened it, as I knew what the contents would be. My mother
wished Periava to give her 'mukthi' as immediately as possible. I cried.Then Ii sealed the
cover once again and when I reached Kanchi, I put the letter at the base of a plate and
covered it with coconut, Thulasi mala, sugar candy, etc for I knew many would have
come to seek the blessings of Mahaswami for auspicious things. When I went in,
Srimadam Balu introudced me. Periava then asked why I had come. Balu said, to seek
Your blessings. Periava said, 'no, his mother has written a letter to me and he has kept it
hidden underneath the coconut. Take that ourt and read it. Then I told Balu the contents
of the letter in a low voice. Balu said to Periava,' his mother too seeks your blessings'.
Periava said,'no, just for that she would not have written one and a half pages. I know
the contents, read it aloud so that everyone will know. Balu read it aloud and there was
pin drop silence. Then Periava laughed out loud and said, ' if I knew the way, I would
not be sitting here not able to see & hear properly. Ask her to sit in a corner like me and
do Rama jabam !' I cried. Here is Periava lowering Himself so much and still showing the
way to my mother. How did he know that I had hidden the letter underneath the coconut,
how did he know that my mother wrote it, how did He know it ran to one and a half
pages, how did He know the cotents of the letter. If we know all that, would be bound by
Maya? All we can do is hold on to His feet. That will give us mukthi.
Part 21
Sirupakkam Kondaiyer - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar - V.suryanarayanan
Once, I took my friend, Shri.gopalakrishnan with me to kanchipuram. He was a telugu

brahmin running a grocery store. Srimadam Balu introduced us to Periava saying
'Vizhupuram Chidambaram Iyer's grandsons'. Periava looked at me and said, 'yes, he is,
but the other person looks like a telugu brahmin'. Gopalakrishnan, surprised by Periava's
observation, said, ' Iam Kondaiyer's grandson'. Then Periava continued, ' which
kondaiyer? the person from Sirupakkam near Thiruvannamalai who sold his land and did
yagams and homams by which he cured the ailments of people? the periavar who did
hada yogam in space and had darshan of Ambal ? he who communicated with Ramana
Maharishi from where he was sitting? he attained samadhi 40 years ago, but you cannot
be his grandson. GK hastened to add, ' no i am not. He is my father's uncle'. Then
Periava asked him ,'how are you financially?'. GK said he was doing well. Periava then
said,'there was a family from Mumbai which was doing aradhana of Kondaiyer, but
stopped it for some reason sometime back.Will you please continue that? your family will
be blessed'.GK wanted to know the 'thithi'. Periava said,'there is person in Luz Corner in
Chennai, by name Radhakrishnan whose address is with the mutt manager. If you
contact him he will get in touch with his periamma Jayamma from whom you can know
the 'thithi'. Do it fast as I believe that the 'thithi' will be coming very soon. Then Periava
left for Kamakshi amman temple. As we were talking a person of about 50 years
approached us and asked whether we are from Vizhupuram. He said that Periava
asked him to get in touch with us and introduced himself as Radhakrishnan from Luz
Corner and Jayamma was his periamma.He said his friend suddenly came to his house
and brought him to Kanchipuram! Like Periava said the' thithi' was within a week's time.
We went with our families to Sirupakkam and restarted the Aradhana of Kondaiyer. What
a big drama Mahaswami played for this !

Part 22
Polur Ananda - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar ( V.Suryanarayanan)
It was an Ekadesi day and we (my wife and me) were at kanchi mutt. A sishya near Periava
introduced me, like every time, as the grandson of Vizhupuram Chidambaram Iyer (father's
father). But Paramacharya siad 'Polur Ananda's daughter Rukmani's son thane?'. Every time
that I had darshan of Periava He used to say something about my grand mother, though she
had left this earth about 50 years ago., which used to surprise me. But, today I got the answer
for that. Periava continued' Your grandma was a gnani. She stayed in 'samsara' but lived like a
'sanyasi'. She has done wonderful things for the mutt. If i don't say things about her, its a
mistake. In 1938, I was camping at Vizhupuram in Baburao chatram. Your grandfather
Chidambaram Iyer had made all the arrangements. There, your grandma, Polur Ananda, visited
me. She looked very sad. I asked her the reason for that and she said she wanted to unburden
something which was worrying her. I said, there is a huge crowd now, but tomorrow morning at
Visvarooba darisanam there won't be too many people around and she can talk to me freely
then. But, that night at 1am I left vizhupuram for Ulundurpet. Your grandma must have come in
the morning, got disappointed and left for her place. I never saw her again. She left the earth
soon after. I stopped her from saying something which was worrying her. She is gone and I am
still alive'. At that point Periava......STARTED CRYING.
Part 23
'Chinnasamy pillai' - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar (V.Suryanarayanan)
Many years ago, my friend Natarajan and I went for a marriage at Peria Kanchipuram. The
people who were conducting it insisted that we should stay for lunch and only then they would
give us 'taamboolam'.So we decided to visit Maha Periava who was camping at Thenambakkam
near Chinna Kanchipuram. As we were leaving, we met R.S.Natarajan and Amirtharaj. As
Amirtharaj was a Christian we asked Jayaraman alone whether he would be willing to come with
us. But, Amirtharaj intervened and said,' why should we come to see your saamiyar?'. We did
not insist and left. Fifteen minutes after we reached, Jayaraman and Amirtharaj also came
there. Amirtharaj said he was just curious to see the happenings. Then i introduced Jayaraman,
but Amirtharaj stayed away. Periava Himself asked him to come near Him. Mahaswami looked
at him for a few seconds and then asked him' how are you related to Chinnasamy Pillai?'. i
interrupted to say that Amirtharah was a Christian. Periva asked me to keep quiet. Mean while I
heard Amirtharaj saying that CP was his chinna thatha. Then Periava said,'they belong to
traders family. their 'mundi' was on the way to the burial ground near the 4 road jn. His thatha's
father split the property equally between his thatha and chinnathatha. Their family came up but
his chinnathatha spent all the money on liquor. They were originally Hindus but converted to
Christianity later. You know how I am able to say all this? because, i used to play 'marbles' with
Chinnasamy, when I was a small boy. I was awestruck. On the way back, Amirtharaj said 'He is
really great!'
Part 24
A man came to Periava and said,'we have a 'social trust' going and we have proposed to
dissolve it and give the money to 'Vedarakshana trust'. Periava said,'thank you very much for
the wonderful gesture, but, you cannot give it to us and we cannot take it, because there is a
law called "principle of Cepres" which says clearly that when a trust is dissolved the money can
be given to another trust only when the purpose of both the trusts are the same. You may argue

that both trusts have similar purpose, but the law would not see it that way. Please give the
money to another social trust with very nearly the same purpose. Now, coming to 'cepres' it is
spelled similar to 'cyprus' but pronounced as 'ce prey'.'s' is silent here. It means 'very nearly the
same'...... Periava's knowledge of everything under and above the Sun is stunning!
Part 25
'Do you know that Shelley has written about 'adwaitha' in his elegy on Keates?' asked Periava.
Ra.Ganapathy keeps quiet. Then Jagatguru Himself recites the verse:
" The One remains, the many change and pass,
Heaven's light forever shines, earth's shadows fly
Life, like a dome of many colored glass
Stains the white radiance of Eternity"
Can anyone else say better than this about the BRAHMAM and this Prabanjam, the MAYA?
then, after a pause, he adds ' it is the many colored glass that stains the white radiance, but, is it
not rue that it is the white light which shines as many colors too?!
(Hey, whatever I put in these notes about Periava is only the tip of the iceberg. If you are thirsty
for more, let me know)
Part 26
The Mirasudar was at Periava's presence. In his hands he held the 'prasad' of
'Rudrabhishekam' he had organised the previous day at Thiruvidaimarudur Maha Linga Swami
temple. He had come to Kanchi to give the 'Prasad' to Periava.Maha Swami did not touch it. He
asked him 'how many of you organised this?'Mirasudar said ' I alone did. Spent all the money
myself'.Periava smiled at the 'I' and 'myself'.Then, Maha Swami closed His eyes and remained
silent for nearly 15min. Every one was wondering about what was happening. Then, Maha
Swami opened His eyes and asked 'tell me how many Pundits were there and who all?'
Mirasudar said '11.they were....'. Periava cut him short and asked 'Thepperumanallur Venkatesa
Ganabadigal was there?'. Mirasudar checked his list and said 'yes.He was there'. Periava said
'TVG is an old man. He must have found it difficult to render Rudrajapam'. 'Yes Periava,
because of him, the number of chants was less'. Periava continued ' so, you shouted at him, did
you not'. There was a 'pin drop' silence. Mirasudar said 'yes, Periava'. Maha Swami said 'you
are not even the dust under his feet. you know, he has been doing 'Rudrajapam' from the age of
16 and he is 81 today. Rudrajapam is in his veins, it runs in his blood, why, he even breathes it
and because of his age he was not able to recite it in a loud voice and you had the audacity to
shout at him. You have committed an unpardonable sin. And you did not stop there. Tell me,
how much 'Dakshina' you gave the Pundits'. The Mirasudar was by now shaking with fear and
said 'ten rupees'. Periava continued 'No. you did not give everyone ten rupees. To TVG you
gave seven rupees and felt vindicated and he accepted it smilingly'. The entire audience was in
tears by now. Periava said 'now tell me what happened at lunch'. Mirasudar spoke slowly in a
low voice ' I fed them myself'. 'Yes, you did and when everyone of them asked for more of
'Sakkarai Pongal' which tasted very good because of overflowing ghee, cashews and raisins

you served them, but not TVG. You pretended as if you did not hear him. You know what TVG
did after he left? He went to Maha Linga Swami and said ' I have rendered Rudrajapam in front
of You so many times and now because of my age I was not able to say it clearly and so, when I
asked for another serving of Sarkarai Pongal many times the Mirasudar acted as if he did not
hear it. I am ashamed that I could not control my tongue. Now I take a vow. People go to Kasi
and take a vow not to eat a vegetable or a fruit.You are the same Lingam here and I promise to
You that never again I will eat not just Sarkarai Pongal but any sweet. Now, I take leave of You.
So saying he left for his village'. Many in the crowd were sobbing uncontrollably. the Mirasudar
repeatedly pleaded guilty and asked to be pardoned and accept the Prased. Periava said '
Maha Lingam will give me Prasad. you wait'. Just then a person entered, said he was the
'archaga' of Thiruvidaimarudur temple and that his name is Maha Lingam and he has come to
give the Prasad of yesterday's Rudrabhishekam performed there and was about to fall at
Periava's feet. Maha Swami stopped him saying ' you have taken Siva Deekshai'. You should
not fall at anyone's feet'. He accepted the Prasad and offered him the mutt's Prasad in return.
Only then the archaga noticed Mirasudar's presence. he said to Periava that the Miras only
conducted it and took leave of Maha Swami. The mirasudar was now asking Periava for
Prayachitam. Periava said ' you can get that only from TVG, if you have Praptham. So saying,
He retired to His room. The mirasudar left the mutt and went straight to TVG's house. There was
a huge crowd in front of TVG's house. TVG had left for the heavenly abode. The mirasudar
understood what Periava meant by 'Praptham irundal'. Later, he went to Kasi, spent his money
on the mutts in the North and attained the Lord's feet.
Part 27
One mantra for all Gods or Brahmam - Ra.Ganapathy
I had this question in my mind always. One common mantra for all Gods. What would that be?
Om? An old lade came rushing to Periava and said ' Periava, you came in my dream and gave
me a mantra but when I woke up, I for got it. Can you tell me that once again? If you wish, I will
go, have bath and come back again. Periava said ' thats not required. Any body can say this at
any time of the day, wherever they are and no 'accharam' (austerity) needs to be followed. The
mantra is 'Um bhagavaha' . Um is a 'mangala' word and 'bhagavaha' means 'bhagavane'.
Ra.Ganapathy was personally there 36 years ago when Periava gave this mantra to everyone
and he regrets that it took him so long to say it to the world and he adds that, many who he had
personally told it have benefited from it.Well, go ahead
Part 28
Periava asked him what was he doing and he said, ' a thesis on the origins of bharata natya for
his Ph.d'. Have you finished? 'No, there is a missing link, for three centuries at the beginning of
the millennium.' have you gone to Chidambaram temple' 'many times' 'do you always go to
Ambal sannidhi also?' 'no. most of the time i am in a hurry. i just see Nataraja and come
back'.Then Periava kept silent and continued giving darshan to His devotees.The student took
leave of Him and after several months went to Chidambaram temple and suddenly remembered
what Periava had said. He went to Ambal sannidhi and there it was - the sculptures of those
three centuries in the four prakaras. what he could not find answer for, for several years,
Periava divined it in few seconds and even then it took him several months to understand the
hint. Well, needless to say, he got his Ph.d.
************************

The much acclaimed architect was in the presence of Periava and was thinking, 'He looks so
puny and non descript, does He have the knowledge as it is generally believed ?'. he was then
introduced to Maha Swami. 'what are the basic measurements do you use?' 'what a question,he
thought, inch, yard, mile ...' Well what is the distance between the tip of the middle finger and
the forearm called?' 'muzham'. ' That between the tip of the little finger and tip of the
thumb?''jaan'.'and the distance between the tip of the fore finger and the tip of the thumb?'. no
answer. 'coopay, is not it?'. the architect was not sure. the first thing he did after reaching home
the next day was to check the 'Architects' dictionary' and there it was 'coopay!'
Part 29
Music composer K.V.Mahadevan's son was missing for quite some time and Ms.KVM, asked
Vaali whether he can can take her to Maha Swami. Vaali took them both to Thenambakkam
where Periava was camping. Ms.KVM fell at Paramacharya's feet and cried,'will i ever see my
son again?'. Periava looked at her ofr less than a minute and then turned His attention to other
devotees. Ms.KVM was disappointed. Vaali consoled her and they went back to Chennai. At the
gate of their house, the son welcomed them.
Part 30
Dr.Subramanian Swamy: My upbringing, first in an English School and then 10years in USA had
created a distance between me and the traditional Hindu culture. Therefore, I was a modern
Indian, with little concern for spiritual diversions. I first saw the picture of Paramacharya in my
friends room at Harvard. the smiling face got etched in my memory. Six years later, when the
Pan Am flight was about to land in Delhi, i saw his face reappear before me, for no reason. It
was Emergency time and a MISA warrant was pending for my arrest. so, I resolved then that I
would see him after Emergency was lifted. In 1977, Janata party came to power and so i went to
Kanchipuram with my friends. As soon as He saw me, He went inside His cottage. My friends
were embarrassed. We returned to the car. just then a sihsya came and told us that Swami
would like to see me. when, i went back He asked me ' who gave you permission to go?'then
Swami produced a paper cutting and said he was reminded of that when He saw me. the paper
cutting said :' Is the hero of Emergency, Dr.SS, a tamilian?. He spoke t me for a few minutes
and said,'now you can go. in future, you cannot leave till i give you permission'. I left with a
sense of elation and wanted to see Him again. Next time when i went, a sishya surprised me
saying 'Paramacharya is waiting for you'. How did He know? It was on that day He said: 'IN
POLITICS YOU SHOULD NEVER BOTHER ABOUT MONEY OR POWER. YOU SHOULD
NOT BE AFRAID TO STAND ALONE. IF YOU DARE TO THINK OUT GOOD SOLUTIONS
FOR CURRENT PROBLEMS WITHOUT BOTHERING FOR POPULARITY, MONEY AND
POSITION YOU WILL HAVE MY BLESSINGS'.It is this thought, that His blessings will be with
me if I do something sincerely for the good of the people that has seen me through interim
periods of public and media criticism and unpopularity and the courage that even today my
enemies do not deny that i possess.(more to come)
Part 31
Maravakkadu Ramaswamy Iyer - nice man but not well to do.Four daughters and two sons. He
paid his obeisance to Maha Swami and said ' elder daughter is 22 years. I was about to finalize
marriage for her, selling the coconut farm, but my elder brother said he also has right for the
farm, went to court and got a 'stay order'. Periava gave prasad and said nothing else. Did not
even say 'don't worry'. MRI was very disappointed. When he came out he met Rayavaram Balu,
a close sishya of Swami. When he heard what happened he too was disappointed, as he knew

MRI closely. Concealing that, he said, 'don't worry. Periava will take care.you proceed'. Some
time after 'Upanyasa Thilagam' Maargabandu Sastrigal came with his wife. He and his wife
were wearing quite a lot of gold jewelry. Usually, Periava would talk to him for quite sometime.
But, today, He was silent. When told about UTMS waiting for sometime He turned His attention
to him. UTMS said ' i am going to Tirupathi to do Srinivasa kalyanam. Periava must bless me.
Periava suddenly got up and said, ' do Padmavathi kalyanam first'.Everyone around, including
Balu were confused. Doe not Srinivasa kalyanam mean Padmavathi kalyanam?' .
Suddenly,UTMS felt like some one whipping him. TWO MONTHS LATER: MRI prostrates at
Periavas feet and says ' Anna has accepted to bear all the expenses for the marriage. He is
going to bring up my second son as his sishya. I never expected this'. Periava blessed him and
gave him prasad. On the way out, Rayavaram Balu asked him' enna oi, putriku kalyanama, kaila
kalana illenu kannir vittire'. He then opened the invitation. it read 'my younger brother MRI's
elder daughter Padmavathi ......Yours sincerely UTMS!!. RB's whole body chilled. Which
Padmavathi did He mean? How did He know that MRI's elder daughter's name is Padmavathi?
DEVA RAHASYAM. SANKARA !!
Part 32
Month of karthigai. cold morning. One of the sishya is about to light the 'Kottai aduppu'. Periava
calls him and says ' i do not need hot water today. So, don't light the KA'. The sishya thinks 'ok,
but how to make 'naivedhyan?'. Maha Swami says, ' use the 'irumbu aduppu'. Morning 7am.
There is a sound ' miyav'. The sishya is scared that the cat may lick the 'naivedhyam'. He
rushes searching for the cat. He finds it inside the 'kottai aduppu' with 4 kittens.He shudders at
the thought of what would have happened had he lit the KA. Now, he could understand
Periava's order, 'no hot water for me today'. The kittens were unable to bear the cold and so the
cat had put the kittens inside the aduppu'. Ekam Sath. not mere words. uyir thathuvam.
Part 32 a
yes, I have read it. Once, during the consecration of Jalakandeswarar temple, Maha Swami
talked to the professors of IIT. As you may now, IIT campus, used to be a dense forest and
animals like deer, rabbit...could be sighted.Maha Periava saw and began talking in length about
their life style , the design of heir body , eating habits , reproduction , touching up on elehants
and dogs too. The profs were stunned by his knowledge of animals. In the course of the talk he
connectd archeology , puranas . One of the Profs said “ naam ellam perukkuthan aasiriyar.
Perivathan unmaileye Peraasiriyar.
Part 33
during later years, Periava would lie down in a straw mat and take rest for some time in the
afternoon. When He got up, he imprints could be seen on His back. A devotee was very much
affected seeing this. After some days, he brought a soft bed and requested Maha Swami,
'Periava should lie down in this'. Paramaccharya smiled and said, ' do you know what kind of
bed Arjuna gave to Beeshmacharya?' 'yes, Ambu (arrows - spear head) padukkai'. If Beeshmar
had asked for a flower bed Indra would have given him. But, he preferred 'ambu padukkai'.
Now, see that farmer. He is in deep debt and unable to get sleep in the night. Give this bed to
him, get him a couple of pillows and a blanket. Make him at least sleep peacefully. 'Enakku gora
pai thavira mathadu ellam goramana pai'. Periava was the ultimate example and meaning of the
word 'simple'.

Part 34
Beginning of May, with the Sun at His scorching best.Political meeting opp to Kacchabeswarar
(Kacchabam - tortoise) temple. Atheists. The audience was around 200. The leader swore that
he would demolish all temples, build industries in those places and provide jobs to every one.
Inside the Kanchi mutt, Periava called for the Paatti who used to serve butter milk in front of the
mutt. He told her to make an 'Unda' full of butter milk. He listed the ingredients. asafetida,curry
leaves,green chillies, ginger, mustard (boiled). Sishyas and devotees were surprised at His
knowledge and were also worried because it was an ordinary day and there were not too many
people at the mutt. Meanwhile, the atheists meeting ended, the leader got into the car and drove
away. The crowd walked to the bus stop near the mutt. Then they saw the Paatti serving butter
milk. In hardly 10min the 'unda' was empty. Then, one of them said to another, ' shall we go
and have darshan of Sami?'. Everyone felt the same, but hesitated because they thought others
would curse them. At that moment, Maha Swami came out to go to Gangai Kondan Mandapam
to have darshan of Anjaneyar. The whole crowd prostrated before Him. on the mid-day, May
month, hot sand. Periava stopped before entering GKM, blessed them and asked, ' did all of
you get butter milk?'. There could be limits to Gods' (Shiva, Vishnu...) mercy and not for
Periava's compassion.
Part 35
Periava is walking up the hills to have darshan of Venkat. A Vidyarthi guides Him and whenever
there are steps he cautions 'padi,padi'. Periava says, 'I am old now and my eyesight is poor and
I have 'read' enough. why do you keep saying 'padi,padi'. The Vidyarthi is shaken. He
says,'Periava is Saraswathi swaroopam' Periava must pardon me. Periava asks, ' so, you mean
to say I am not yet Brahma swaroopam'. Vidyarthi is speechless. Periava smiles and says, ' say
Govinda, Govinda'. you will get a lot of punya'. From then on, it is Govinda pravaham all the
way.
Part 36
A devotee brought a bamboo basket full of 'Konrai' flower and offered it for
Chandramouleeswara. Periava asked him,' you brought only the flowers or some ornament
too?'. Confused, the baktha said,'only the flower'. 'take the basket away and turn it upside
down'. The baktha did and a snake came out and quickly disappeared from sight. Periava
remarked, ' next time, bring only the flower, no ornament'. The whole audience burst into
laughter.
Part 37
A woman who works in the fields has brought her daughter who is pregnant. The woman says
they are unable to give her good food. A devotee comes with a large container full of curd.
Periava says, ' give it to the worman'. It changes hands. Another bhaktha comes with two
containers full of sweets and snacks. Again, it changes hands. The third devotee comes and
Periava says, ' give her some money'. the devotee gives her money. 'how much did you give?'
.the devotee hesitates. he knows that there are people who would give lakhs if Periva says a
word. But, Maha Swami looked like He wants an answer. The devotee says, ' i had Rs.4000/-
and odd and i gave her that'.'but, I didn't ask you to give so much money?'. The baktha says
that these days even in Govt hospitals it costs nearly Rs.4000/- for a delivery. Periava looks at
him for a while and says, ' nee verum Raman ille, Dayala Raman'. Raman, the devotee, says, '
enough, this blessing is enough for generations to come'.

Part 38
No hunger, thirst or sleep. If bhakthas were waiting for His darshan, nothing would matter to
Him. But, what about the sishyas? They cannot eat, unless He does 'Bhiksha'.
3.30pm,4.00pm,4.30pm. One of the sishyas said, ' from tomorrow I am going to keep the clock 1
hr ahead in the afternoon. is that okay?'. The rest of the shishyas agreed. it went on like this for
the next 4-5 days. the sishyas were happy that Periava had not taken notice of it. Then, a
devotee came for darshan. He paid his obeisance to Maha Swami and said ' Periava is
Sakshath Parameswaran. Brahma swaroopam....'. Periava cut him short.'Look, I am nothing of
the sort you are talking about. See, that clock is running fast. If only I had the power, I would put
the clock back'. The sishya who had committed the mischief fell at His feet. Periava said very
gracefully,'its okay for me even if the 'bhiksha' gets delayed, but, I should have thought about
you all'. Periava is the finest example of humbleness humility, compassion....
Part 39
Nanjundayya, a Karnataka lingayat came with his wife and daughter for darshan. 'Little child.
she vomits blood quite often and suffers a lot.We have consulted many specialist doctors...'
'Take her to Nanjundeswarar temple at nanjangud and feed her there. Go to Chamundeeswari
temple every day for 48 days'. Eighteen years passed by. Periava was camping at Maharashtra.
Nanjundayya came for His darshan with his daughter again. Periava asks, ' is this the girl who
was vomiting blood? how is she now? Nanjundayya trembled. How could Maha Swami
remember that so completely? he replied,' i did exactly like You said and the vomiting stopped'.
Periava blessed them.
Part 40
1984:Anjalai, is a maintenace worker. She came to know that a 'Samiyar' was camping in her
village and came to see Him. She had darshan and was about to leave when Periava asked her
,'what is our name?' 'Anjalai'. 'Oh, that means you do not fear anything?'. She didn't know what
to say. 'is your second son in Delhi?'. Her 2nd son, about 2years, was by her side, dressed in
torn and worn out shirt and shorts. Again, she didn't react.2008:Periava's aradhanai procession
is passing through the village. She is there and so too her 2nd son, 27 years, now an offficer in
the HRD ministry in Delhi.
1984: The man and is family gets free lunch as long as Periava is camping in the village as
'Annadhanam' goes on everyday, with different sponsors. Poverty, debt and a family of five
drives him to take the extreme step.Suicide. He decides to visit Periava at Kanchi and then end
his life. Periava asks him,'whats your next program?'. No answer. Periava says,' i will ask the
mutt people to give you the bus charge. you go to Paris corner in Madras and from there you go
to your village. The man is confused. His village is near Vellore, a distance of 70km, and
Periava is asking him to go to Chennai (70km) and from there to Vellore (140km).But, he obeys.
At Paris corner, he meets his childhood friend, who takes him to a hotel and feeds him well,
listens to his misery, promises to take charge of the family and pay off the debt. 2008: the man
is there at the aradhanai procession, now doing well. Pays his obeisance with tears in his eyes.

Part 41
It was the 60thyear of Maha Periyava's 'Peedarohanam'. Time for 'mani vizha'. His devotees
from Andhra had collected a substantial sum of money and also had made a 'gold crown'.
Periyava says, 'stop the collection of money now. A Sanyasi should not have money & muscle
power people to back him, he should be alone and doing 'tapas', must be disciplined, should not
have possession of any materialistic worth, should not have a permanent place of residence,
should be a 'desanthri'.... I am a stickler of all these rules. if money with the mutt exceeds
beyond its needs I immediately arrange to spend it in a useful manner. But, I understand your
sentiments. Please keep the money with you. When a purpose arises i wil let you know. you can
give it to me then. Anyway, how much have you collected? They say Rs.60K. '60K for the 60th
year, Ambal has stopped you at the correct time.My belssings to you all'. Then they say they
have made a gold crown 'mani magudam' for Him. Periyava does not want to disappoint them.
During 'every day pradosha' time he wears the Rudraksha crown and over it the gold crown.
After about 15 days, he sends word to the Andhrites to use the money for depicting 'Geetha
upadesa' and 'Geetha Baashya Acharya' in stone. And in 1984, the 1000th year of
RajaRajaChozhan and to Him 'Siva Patha Sekaran' He says ' the crown must adorn the head of
SPS as Shiva's feet is on his head. The then Prime Minister, Indra Gandhi, places the crown of
the great Arul Mozhi Varman's head (statue). How wonderful that Shiva Himself honored the
Maamannan Udayar.
Part 42
by Thanjavur Santhanaraman : I had taken Shri. Venkatachalam iyer, owner of Thanjavur

Saravana bhavan with me for Periyava's darshan. Maha Swami asks me:' Does any one teach
Vedham & Shastram at the Sankara mutt these days? 'No. After Melatur Shastri passed away,
no one is teaching'. Periyava says ' there was one Dhave, a learned man, what is he doing?'. 'I
heard he has taken 'Sanyasam' and is in Thirukovilur now'. ' Sanyasamum illa onnum illa. You
go and tell him that I asked him to be in the mutt itself and teach Vedham and Shastram'. At that
point, VI, the owner of TSB, nudges me and asks ' who is Periyava talking about?'. 'Namma
mela veedhi Dhave patthi kekkara'. ' Oh, he comes every day to the hotel at 5am to have his
coffee. He loves our coffee'. Periyava asks, 'whats going on?'. VI explain to Him. Then, Maha
Swami says, 'see, take him with you.if Dhave sees him, he will come with you'. The audience
bursts into laughter.
Part 42 ( new )
by Thanjavur Santhanaraman: Periyava asked me to collect all details about RajaRajaChozhan.

I did and was reading it out to Him, i was saying 'Uragam' when He stopped me.' Do you know
the place where we are staying now?'. I said 'Kanchipuram' and then 'periya kanchipuram'. But,
Maha Swami was not satisfied. There was an old couple waiting close by for darshan. 'Ask them
where they are from'. They said 'Palakkad'. 'Is there any Kamakshi temple in the
surroundings?'.The man said he was not aware but the woman told her husband 'probaly He is
refering to Uragam Kamakshi' .Periyava asked her to come to His presence. 'what is the
speciality there?'. She said 'Kamakshi is painted on cloth'. Periyava then said that a Namboodri
came to Kanchi with 'Thaazhagnkudai' (not foldable) and was taken by the Power, grace and
beauty of Kamakshi. He then sat down in the sannidhi and drew a power (kalai) from Kamakshi
to the Thaazhangkudai, took it to his village near Palakkad and transfered the 'power' from the
kudai to the painting of Kamakshi on cloth and the place came to be known as 'Uragam' which
is another name of Kanchi. (Uragam.Neeragam,Kaaragam,..another temple, another time)

Part 43
We all kinow that Periava's manimandapam has come in Orikai, 4-5 kms from Kanchi.How did
the place gget its name and why Periyava's manimandapam built here. Well, for that, we must
go back to Kanchi. Thirumazhisai Alwar with his sishya kanikannan were doing service in the
Bhujangasayanar temple and there was an old woman who also did wonderful service.
Thirumazhisai Alwar was impressed with her devotion to Perumal and so made her young and
beautiful. The Pallava kind who came to the temple was taken by the beauty of the woman and
married her. As years went by, he looked older where as the woman remained young. This
disturbed him and he asked Kanikannan to bring Thirumazhisai Alwar to his palace and make
him also young. Kanikannan said that was not possible. then the king asked Kanikannan to sing
in praise of him which also he refused.Enraged, he banished Kanikannan from Kanchi.
Kanikannan went back, told Alwar, and got ready to leave. Alwar too joined him and they went
to the temple. there, Thirumazhisai Alwar told Perumal, we are going, what business do You
have here, get up,roll up Your snake bed and come with us. Perumal did as said and soon
Kanchi was enveloped in darkness. the King realised his folly, went to the place where the three
of them were staying. apologised and asked them to return to Kanchi. Alwar said okay and
asked Perumal to get back to His abode in Kanchi and He obeyed. This time, instead of recling
on the left on His right hand, He lied down on the right (of us) on His left hand just to remind us
of the legend. Well, the place where the 3 of them stayed for a night came to known as orr iravu
irrukai - orikai and since its a fine example of Guru - Sishya relationship, Perumal-Alwar-
Kanikannan, Peiryava observed Chaturmatsya vratham with Jayendrar once in this place. Thats
the reason the place was chosen for Periyava's manimandapam, on the banks of Palar.
Part 44
by Swaminatha Athreyan, Thanjavur 1964-65. (may be it will turn out to be a bit lengthy, but
please read it)
Periyava, is walking along the Music Academy on Cathedral Road, holding on to the rickshaw at
the back (that way, He can close His eyes and do japa and will not hit against anything or
anybody). With Him were P.G.Paul & co Neelakanta iyer, Srimadam Sivarama iyer,
Paanampattu Kannan, Srikandan, Rayapuram Balu and me. There were many other devotees
too. At the junction of gopalapuram, Maha Swami called me and asked me to go the petty shop,
a small distance away, and ask the boy, who was then smoking,whether he knows
Paravaakarai Shrouthigal. I ran across to the shop and asked him that. Immediately he threw
down the 'beedi' that he was smoking and asked ' who are you? why do you ask me?' I told him
that Periyava asked me to ask him that. 'Periyava, where is He?'. I showed him. Immediately he
ran into a side lane and vanished. i told Maha periyava what happened and He walked on
quietly. He was giving darshan in a nearby place, when that boy appered again. There was holy
ash on his forehead, chest, hands. he prostrated before Periyava. Periyava then asked,'who is
he?'. He said,' Iam a grandson of Paravaakarai Shrouthigal and my name is Pranatharthi. 'Don't
say Pranatharthi, that is Swamy's name. Say Pranatharthi Haran or just Haran. He who washed
away the sins of the people who prostrate before Him is Pranatharthi'.Then Periyava asked him
to say a Samam. He stuggled after the first few lines. He said he had forgotten. 'do you have
brothers?'. 'Yes, two elders, both are placed well in their lives'. 'What do you do?'.'I help the
Police'. 'you help the police? in what way?'. they will take me to the court and i will give
evidence. they will give money for that'. 'how did you start smoking?'. 'The police used to give
me'. 'will you say what you saw, in the court'. 'i have never seen anything. They will treach me,

taking me to the spot where a crime was committed and i will repeat that in the court and will
come unscatched in the cross examination. once or twice i committed mistake and was beaten
up by the police'. 'will you wear shirt to the court?'. ' no. the Police would tell me not to wear the
shirt and i must have holy ash on my forehead, chest and hands. the poonul must be washed
with soap and look white'. 'Is it not a sin to give false evidence?'. 'i know. but i have no other
means'. ' I will give you a job. go to Kapaleeswara temple everyday, clean the mela gopura
vaasal and sprinkle water. you will get Rs.10 everyday and also lunch'. 'no.that won't be enough
for me'. 'okay, but just come to the mutt for a couple of days and watch the Chandramouleeswar
pooja. i will arrange for food for you'. 'no. i must go to Egmore court now. otherwise the Police
will break my spinal cord'. Saying that he left. Periyava watched him leave and retired to His
room. Neelakanta iyer and me went with Him. Neelakanta iyer spoke in support of the Police.
The crime is committed in public and many would have seen it. But, fearing court appearances,
none would give evidence. But the Police will know the truth and want to finish the case. So,
they arrange evidences. otherwise, they will be ridiculed and blamed. Periyava said, the crime is
a sin, not giving evidence is a sin and giving false evidence is another sin'. NI said that is the
reality. 'I pity him. he says the Police will beat him up if he doesn't give evidence. But, a Sanyasi
should not have such feelings'. Saying this He went for taking bath. Afternoon 3pm. Melur
Ramachandra iyer, a stickler for discipline and a terror in the mutt called me and asked 'what
happened today?' I said 'nothing'.'No. Something has happened. Periyava did not do Pooja
today. Then I told him the whole thing. Just then Maha Swami came and asked me' what did
Melur Maama say? He did not eat today'.I was in tears. Periyava said,'say, what ever you want
to say'. I said,'Mahan Sreedhara Iyawal has said in a verse that Shiva is so soft hearted that He
will not be able to bear it if His devotees suffer'. Periyava intervened and said ' He said that of
our Chandramouleeswara to whom His Guru Bothendra Swamigal was doing pooja'. I was
about to say something, but controlled it. But i can say it to you all now ' Would Sreedhara
Iyawal known that 350 years later the Shiva would come down to the earth and feel for our
sufferings?'. HARA HARA SANKARA, JAYA JAYA SANKARA.
Part 45
Shri.Robert Walsar, Switzerland, was on his 3rd visit to India, in search of a real Guru. Twice he
had returned with disappointment, but this time he was determined. He was staying in some
place in Northern India. He was out for a walk in the beach one day morning when a South
Indian approached him and said ' the Guru you are seeking is not here. He is in Kanch !i'.
Saying that he left. RW asked everyone about Kanchi, but none gave him proper info. He
decided to give it a try and came to Chennai and from there he went to Trichy. He stayed in the
Railway retiring room. In the middle of the night there was a knock on his door. When he
opened, there was a person who didnot look very decent and he said he is a cabbie and he has
come there to take him to Kanchi Mahan!! RW was thrilled and at the same time was cautious in
his reply. he said 'yes , we will go. but in the morning'. They stared early in the morning and
enroute RW asked him where the Mahan was staying. The cabbie said 'near Pudukkottai, in
Ilayathangudi'. By 10am they reached there. As soon as he got down, RW told the people there
that he wanted to meet the Mahan. they said 'He has been waiting for you !'. RW was stunned.
then they took him to Periyava's presence. he sat before Him and one by one his questions
were answered without either of them opening their mouth. With his heart filled with joy
and soul completely satisified he got up to leave. Periyava said 'think about me at 8 pm when
you get back to your room'. RW did and had Periyava's darshan and blessing in his hotel room
and left india feeling that the purpose of his life had been fulfilled.

Part 46
Periyava's Padukas at Orikai: One day early morning Periyava started the topic of the archakas
and battacharyas of small and medium size temples with His sishyas when Shri.Ramalinga Butt,
a gujarathi brahmin and working as an asst prof in IIt came for His darshan. Maha Swami asked
him ' will you give me your one month's salary?'. Butt was touched. There are qite a few people
you would place millions at His feet and He is asking a month's salary of Rs.4000/-. He was
more than willing to give. That is how the 'Kacchi Mudur Archaga Trust' was started, which,
even today, takes care of the welfare of the archakas of various temples. Well, it was the same
RLB who was waiting to have darshan of Periyava and present Him two pairs of Padukas.
Periyava wore them and gave it back with His blessings. One pair, RLB took with him for doing
pooja in his house and the other was given to the Orikai temple. This pair was taken in a
procession to the house of Prathosham Venkatrama Iyer, who had the habit of having
Periyava's darshan on Prathosham days. They were welcomed with 'poorna kumbum'. PVi did
pooja of the padukas for some time and then it was given to the Orikai temple. i had the
privilege of seeing and prostrating before it in a make shift thatched shed near
manimandapam.
Part 47
Well, I wrote a note on Dr.Subramanian Swamy's meeting with Periyava and what He said to
him. That was only a tip of the iceberg. Here is the full
story.http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/parmacharya-sri-chandrashekhara-
saraswathi-god-in-human-form/
Part 48
SAGE OF KANCHI XVIII : Thiruvaiaru is a 'punya bhoomi' with 5 rivers (hence the name thiru i
aru) flowing through it ( Cauvery, Kudamuruti, Vadavaru, Vennaru and Vettaru )( you can't, but
think of Ponniyin Selvan). 9 km from here is Thirupoonthuruthi and a nearby village is
'Nadukkaveri'. the year is 1942. We are visiting the house of Chinnaswamy Iyer. He has a son,
Ramachandran and his wife is Sita.They have been married for some time and longing for a
child. They are of course devotees of Periyava. Maha Swamy visits the village and is walking
through the length of it with His sishyas and devotees. At Chinnaswamy iyer's house, Sita is
busy doing a 'Kolam'. Periyava walking at a brisk pace suddenly stops near Sita (she is
completely taken by surprise & is speechless. With tears in her eyes she prostrates before
Periyava) and asks her 'where is your Raman'. Saying that He enters the house, looks around
and opens a room (which is actually a dumping place) which has been kept closed for a long
time, dusts off the floor with a 'thundu' and sits on it. By this time Raman and Sita are there. He
looks at Raman and says 'go get milk from the udders of the cow in a sombu'. Raman does as
said. Then He does japa and tells Raman 'go to Kudamuruti river, pour some milk in it and the
rest on the banks of the river. Dig where you poured the milk and you will hit a basement. There,
you build a temple for Vinayaga. You will live happily'. So saying, He gets up and leaves.
Raman does as said and indeed finds the basement and builds a Ganesha temple there. Soon
after Sita delivers a male child and they name him 'Ganesan'. Well, the temple ? It still stands
there in Nadukkaveri - 'Kaveri Prasanna Maha Ganapthi temple'.

Part 49
SAGE OF KANCHI XLIX ; CUTS ACROSS RELIGIONS - Chief Justice M.M.Ismail used to go to
Kanchi, pay his obeisance to Periyava and discuss with Him for hours at an end spiritual
matters of both Hinduism and Islam. On one such occasion it was getting late for Periyava to do
His daily rituals and a sishya informed Him about it very politely. Periyava then said, ' we must
give Prasad for the judge '. Everyone was taken aback. 'What to give? He may not accept it'
was the thought in their minds. Periyava then called a sishya to come close to Him and
whispered something in his ears. The sishya went inside and returned with a 'Velli pezhai'.
Again, everyone thought,' hah, that can't be the Prasad. There must be something inside it' and
they were curious to know. CJ accepted the pezhai and opened it. The fragrance of 'chandan'
filled the air. Periyava then said 'this is the common Prasad for both Hindus and Muslims. You
celebrate 'chandanakoodu' festival and we offer 'chandan' after abishekam..... Periyava was
laughing and there were tears in CJ's eyes.
Part 50
Well, the day must not end without a note on Periyava. So, Sage of Kanchi LI : Once Periyava
asked a sishya to go to Thiru annamalai and bring Yogi Ram Sarat Kumar (Visiri Swamigal) to
kanchi. When the sishya went and told Him, He started immediately (He had a habit. If a
devotee came from kanchi, He would prostrate before him, saying'you had darshan of Periyava.
You are a blessed soul'). When they arrived in Kanchi, He was immediately taken to Periyava's
presence. They sat looking at each other for a long while. Meanwhile, the audience was growing
anxious as they wanted to listen to the conversation between two Mahans. But, no word was
spoken. Suddenly, Periyava gave permission for theYogi to leave. Everyone around was
stunned and confused. Why did Periyava ask Yogi to come here if He was not going to talk to
Him at all? Well, the sishya who had to take the yogi back could not control his curiosity. the
Yogi said they had talked. Talked? what? and how? Then Yogi said ' the reason Periyava asked
me to come here was, He wanted me to shift my abode to govindapuram, near Kumbakonam,
where there is the athistannam of Nama Bothendra Swamigal and since I always do Rama
Nama Japa He thought that would be the ideal place for me as Nama sangeerthan goes on
there continuously. But, this beggar(that is how He used to call Himself) said Thiru annamalai is
enough for Him and Periyava replied 'well, if thats the You feel, be it so'. I replied 'yes' and the
conversation ended and so He asked me to leave. Thats what transpired between us. The
sishya was awestruck that Mahans can talk even through their 'mouna'.
Part 51
The 'Shastri' family was, of course, devotees of Maha Periyava. The eldest, Harihara Shastri
was famous in Mylapore, while the youngest, Chandru Shastri was doing pooja in
Rathnagereswarar temple in Besant Nagar. The middle one, Mani Shastri was associated with
the mutt and he was the one who had become suddenly sick. The Doctor who examined him
gave a letter to V.H.S Hospital and he was immediately admitted. In a few days time, the
Doctors gave up hope, and all but said 'take him home'. H.Shastri who came to visit his brother
was shocked to see him in a state of near coma. His immediate wish was to take him to kanchi.
but, he knew he could not do that. So, he decided to go, on his brother's behalf. Some of the
management committee of the temple also joined him. They took a car by about 11pm. Now,

lets go to Kanchi. The watchman is about to lock the gate of the mutt when he gets a call from
Peiryava. When he meets Him, He says'don't lock the gate. H.S is coming'. The watchman is
surprised but knowing Periyava he does not lock the gate. The car arrives at the mutt after
midnight and some one says 'Periyava would like to see you now'. Now? When they meet Him,
He asks them ' have you taken food? shall I ask the mutt people to make Upuma for you? They
say they had food and thank Him.Then H.S says about his brother. Periyava then gives him a
large plate full of various fruits, Vibhuti, Kungumam as prasad. H.S & others pay their obeisance
and ask permission to leave. Periyava says 'go in the morning. don't worry about Mani'. So, they
wait restlessly for dawn and leave immediately. When they reach V.H.S, everyone in the
hospital touches the plate or its contents as they consider it (Prasad from Periyava) a blessing.
When they finally reach Mani's room they are surprised to see him sitting upright in the bed. H.S
asks him if he is fit to be sitting like that. Mani says, I could not have even thought of it till y'day
night. But, Periyava came here and said,'Mani, you are fine. Sit up' . I woke up and thinking it
must be my imagination i tried to sleep again. This time the voice was clear 'mani there is
nothing wrong with you. you are in perfect health. get up'. That moment all my sickness and ill
health evaporated and I have been fine since then'. H.S and others are dumbfounded. H.S put
the holy ask and kungumam on mani's forehead and gave some of the fruits to eat. all the
Doctors were surprised with the magical recovery of mani. Well, we all know Periyava is the
'MAGIC'.
Part 53
Sage of kanchi LIII : The industry was a partnership business. Lot of money had been pumped
in and when it became sick, one of the two partners stayed out of day to day running of the
factory. The other struggled to continue the business but somehow managed to pay the workers
and keep the wheels moving. But, at a certain point, it became a court case. The man who was
managing the show hired a lawyer. the lawyer and he, were both devotees of Maha Periyava.
The lawyer suggested that they go to Kanchi and take Periyava's blessings. But the client said
he did not wish to disturb Maha Swami for such a petty materialistic thing. the lawyer was
surprised and impressed and said, 'alright, i will conduct the case. We will take His blessing only
to guide us'. The client reluctantly agreed and the next morning they drove down to Kanchi. the
lawyer kept the case files in the back seat and kept the door open. He said,'if periyava's eyes
fall on it, we should take it as His blessing'. That day the mutt was crowded and they waited
near the car patiently. Suddenly they heard the shishya's clearing the way for Periyava to come
out. In a short while He came out and looking at the client and the lawyer He walked straight to
them. They both were frozen.Then He stopped, looked at the case files in the back seat and
walked off as briskly as He had come. it took sometime for the lawyer and the client to recover
from the pleasant shock and they knew they had been blessed. immediately they left for their
place. On reaching the house, the client was surprised to see a smiling wife. She explained that
someone had come with a proposal to buy their factory. The client said' but then my partner
should agree for this'. She said that he had already agreed. Over the next few days the deal
was finalised and both partners made much more money than they had expected. The client
conducted a 'athirudramahahomam' in his village which he knew would please Maha Swamy
immensely.
Part 54
Sage of kanchi LIV : its a divinity destined coincidence that H.H..Chandrasekarendra

Saraswathi (Periyava) was the Acharya of Kanchi mutt and H.H.Chandrasekara Bharathi was

Acharya of Sringeri mutt, almost during the same period. Well, i will put up a few more notes to
show its just not Their names ( even Bharathi & Saraswathi means the same) but even Their
thinking were similar and They were one and the same. But this note is on Periyava's humility.
Well, the bhaktas of Sringeri Acharyas and Kanchi Acharyas always maintained that their
Acharya was superior and one of the devotees of Sringeri Acharya was belittling Periyava in a
magazine continuously. The bhaktas of Maha Swami were getting hurt and our man
Ra.Ganapathy was seething with anger. Periyava laughed and said 'go and read a book by him
on his Acharya'. Ra.Ganapathy read that book and was impressed by the author's guru bhakthi.
Also, at many places, he felt he was reading about Periyava Himself. Well, when he went and
told Maha Swami that, He said 'oh, I was scared that after reading about Sringeri Acharya you
may feel "intha parakku samiyar is getting involved in all worldly matters and is no match for
Sringeri Acharya who is always immersed in Brahmam" and lose faith in Me !! ( yappa samy nee
Periya nadiganappa !!)
Part 55
Sage of Kanchi LV : The man was a school teacher. 'Ennoda ponnu heart la ottai irukunnu
doctors solra'. 'So, you say your daughter is not 'whole' hearted but 'hole' hearted'. he didn't
understand and so Periyava explained to him. 'okay, apart from being a teacher, what else do
you do?'. No way to hide. 'I deal in gold and diamonds'. 'See, many poor people come here
asking for 'Thirumangalyam'. So, what you do, you make 108 thirumangalyams and give it to
Me'. Next month, the man was back with 108 thirumangalyams. Periyava says 'in English, they
say 'good hearted'. you and your daughter are 'good hearted'. what a blessing ! Is there any
need to say that she lead a good life after that.
Part 56
Sage of Kanchi LVI : three broad bands (!) of holy ash across the forehead, Raudraksha &
Spadiga malas adorning the neck, the paatti looked every inch a 'pazham'. She prostrated
before Periyava and He said something in the ears of the sishya. He went in and came back
with a plate full of lemons. Probably more than 100. The paatti was taken aback. One or two
fruits as prasad is okay. But, why more than a hundred? 'Well, you will need them to install
(Aaavahanam) 'dur devata' in them and then you will go around placing them in various homes
and destroy the families' roared periyava. The paatti was shaken. How did He know that she
was a 'soonyakari' ? She fell at His feet again and asked to be pardoned. Periyava said ' go and
tell all those dur devata mantras in the ears of a cow and give them up. keep doing bhagawan
nama smarana'. Paatti agreed and left.
Part 57
Sage of Kanchi LVII: An old man. Would do 'uzhavarapani' and other 'thirupanis' in the teimples
of his and surrounding villages. Had put up 'garbagraha' for many Shivalingams found in fields
and else where. Occasionally, he used to visit the Kanchi muttt. Will have darshan of Periyava,
pay his obeisance and retire to a corner. That day, a rich man came with his wife to the mutt.
Periyava asked him to put a 'silk shawl' and honor the old man. Everyone was surprised, 'cos he
was not a prominent person in the mutt circle. Periyava then asked the rich man 'do you know
him?'. no. 'do you know his address?'. no. 'But, I know, can I tell you? he is 'Shastri, c/o.Shiva
temple. Do you know that he is a great builder too. he has built many houses for Shiva to
reside'. The entire audience was moved to tears. 'He is a Siva pazham. So give him a lot of
Pazhams (fruits). How did He know all these details about the old man? Well, is it difficult for a
cow (Shiva) to identify its calf (baktha) ?!

Part 58
Periyava is walking along Nungambakkam. The devotees request Him to visit their houses and
Periyava concedes. A poor boy of about 12 years is watching all this. He realizes that He must
be great person and pleads repeatedly 'Sir, please visit our house also'. The sishyas keep
brushig him aside. At the end of the road, the boy is a bit nervous, for, he thinks that He may
turn to the right, as his house is on the left. At that moment Periyava says to Paanampattu
Kannan, ' Kanna, sir oda veedu engeynu visarichittu va'.Periya visits the boy's house and
blesses him. I wonder what heights the boy might have reached !
Part 59
Sage of kanchi LVII : They wanted a Ganesha idol as the one in the village had been stolen.
Periyava asked them :'is there a lake in your village' 'amam samy'. 'is there any water in it?' 'Illa
samy. Thoor vaaranum'. 'Okay, go ahead and do it'. The village folks were disappointed, but
since 'Samy' had said they went about cleaning the lake. 'tung' 'anne ennamo sattham kekudu'.
A Vinayaga idol ! 'tung' this time it is Shiva. Then Nandi, Ambal, Balipeedam, Durgai, Murugan.
They ran back to kannchi. 'Samy oru sela kettom, oru koile kedachiruku'. 'Put up a thatched
shed and install the idols inside. Velaku ethi vaingo. Pazham nivedhyam pannungo'. 'koil,
Samy'. 'Pillayar has come, He will take care'. They left happily.
Part 60
Sage of Kanchi LIX ; It was a Sankara Jayanthi day. The 'Jaladharanga' artist was to play
'Vadtapi Ganapathim', but the Sruthi harmony kept eluding him however much he tried. He was
feeling sad that it was happening in the presence of Periyava. Paramachary understood his
discomfort and called a sishya and sent word to the Vidwan to remove an ounce of water from
the fifth cup. The artist did that and the Sruthi was in perfect harmony. He fell at Periyava's feet
and said in an apologetic voice' Periyavaluku epdi therinchuthu, ennake theriyalaye'. Well, is
anyone surprised ?
Part 61
Sage of Kanchi LX : SivaSri Jagadeesa Sivachariyar, Pandanainallur : Devotees came running

to me and said that tears were rolling down from the eyes of Vishnu Durgai of Pandadu Nayagi
udanurai Pasupathynatha Swamy temple, where I was performing pooja. It was 19th Feb 1986.
I asked a girl child to sit as Vishnu Durgai and did Navakshari mantra japam and pooja. Then I
asked Her 'what have we done to make you cry?' .She said 'a girl child in a green long skirt
(paavadai) said "unburden me" and disappeared'.then we did special abhishekam and
aradhaani and the tears stopped. But, we did not know what was the 'burden' she mentioned.
So, naturally, we approached Periyava. He gave us 25litres of Ganga water, asked us to instill a
lakh Navakshari mantra in it, do abhishekam with it and asked us to come back and see Him.
Four months after, after doing what He had asked us to do, we went to see Him at Orikai. We
told Him that tears have stopped, but wanted to know what was the burden? Periyava thought
for a while and asked 'Is the mandapam hitting the siras (head) of Durgai?'. I was doing pooja
everyday , but could not answer Him immediately. I said that I will verify and come back to Him.
When I returned to the temple, I was stunned to see the ceiling touching the head of Durgai, as
it had caved in due to cracks in walls. We went back and told Periyava about it.
Periyava said,'take out Durgai, make a hole in the mandap above where Her Siras would be,

reinstall Her and do 'kumbabhishekam'. We went back to Him again with the prasad, after doing
everything He had said (Jan- Feb 1987, Kumbabhishekam) and He accepted it with joy. Then
He said 'your village people are blessed. She cried to bless you all'.
At that moment, a rich Gujarati businessman came for His darshan. He turned towards us and
asked 'how much money you will be spending on coming here and going back to your village?'
We said 'Rs.300/-'. Then He asked the businessman to give us each Rs.300/- which he gave
very gladly. He had great concern for us Sivachariyars who do pooja in temples. Periyava
unburdened not only Durgai but us also.
Well, you too can pray to Him to unburden you.
Part 62
Sage of kanchi LXI : A devotee brings a big bundle of veshtis. 'what are these for?' 'to give to
those who work for the mutt'. 'keep 6 pieces aside - 2 for Anjaneyar, 2 for me and 2 for
Jayendrar. We also work for the mutt'. Just imagine listening to this in person. Sankaraaa.
Part 63
Sage of kanchi LXII : Satara camp. Radha Ramamurthy, Pudukottai: Rajammal has made a
'nagabarana kreedam', from 'vetti ver' lacing 'chandan beeds'.. Periyava says ' place it on the
Shiva lingam'. Rajammal says quickly ' Periyava should put this on His head'. Periyava points at
Shiva lingam and says ' He and Me are not different. I am Him. He is Me. For a split second we
see a brightness, like lightning. Enna Bagyam. We are chilled to the bones and speechless.
Part 64
Sage of kanchi LXIII : Radha Ramamurthy, Pudukottai : My bro-in-law's daughter and me made
'arugampul malai' folded it in a piece of paper and presented it to Periyava. Even without seeing
what was inside, He brushed it aside. Some time later a woman came with a 'velli kavasam',
which she had made for the Pillayar of their village temple, for His blessing. Periyava asked
some one to open the 'pottalam', took the 'arugampul malai' and placed it on the Kavasam. It
fitted exactly. Then.....He placed it on His chest and gave darshan to all devotees, in all
directions, repeatedly. The woman who had brought the Kavasam was in tears. We, well, He
showed to us that He is Ganapathi Himself !!
Part 65
Sage of Kanchi LXIV : She was a great devotee of Periyava. One day she wanted to do
'haarathi' for Him, but He wouldn't show His full face at all. Just as she thought that she had Him
looking in her direction and began the 'haarathi', He stood up and went inside. She was in tears.
But, controlling herself, she did the 'haarathi' for 'Thiripurasundari' in the mandap and began to
leave. Then, a sishya came running to her and said 'Periyava utharavu ayiruku' (Periyava is
calling you). When she went inside, Periyva said 'So, you wanted to do Haarathi for me, but did
it for Ambal. Well, do it for Me now'. She did for Periyavaaaaaaaaaambal !! . So, this time, He
showed that He is Ambal Herself !!

Part 66
Sage of Kanchi LXV : Radha Ramamurty, Pudukottai : I used to write 'hymns' on Periyava and
submit them to Him. Some times He will read it Himself, some times it will be Srimadam Balu,
but now it was Brahmashree (Shri.Vedapuri) As he was reading, Periyava suddenly asked him
to stop. There was silence around and we could hear the the sound of the bells from the
madam. For every ringing of the bell, Periyava said 'Om'. When the ringing stopped, He asked
Brahmashree to start reading again. The first line he read was ' Om, Om enru manigal olithida'
(as the bells ring Om, Om). Everyone around was stunned. Periyava was smiling at me. It said 'I
made you to write. It was my blessing'.
Part 67
Sage of Kanchi LXVI : Radha Ramamurthy, Pudukottai : A relative from Bangalore gave me a
Sri Rama Jayam note book and Rs.10/- with it and asked me to submit it to Periyava saying that
Shri.Kuppuswamy Iyer of Bangalore had asked that it be submitted to Him. But, that day, there
was a huge crowd at the mutt and so I kept the note book and the money on the top of fruits in a
plate which was being submitted to Him by someone else. Periyava took the note book, raised
it, and asked 'who submitted this, is it some one from Bangalore?' For a moment, i trembled.
Then I apologized and told Him the details. Periyava just smiled.
Part 68
Sage of Kanchi LXVII: Radha Ramamurthy,Pudukottai : My daughter Jana had made an

'iswarya kolam' with glass pieces and had stuck a picture of Maha Lakshmi in the middle.
Periyava liked it very much and said 'where should i keep Mahalakshmi, in my chest' - so saying
He kept it in His chest and gave darshan to everyone in all directions. So, He showed now that
He is Narayanan Hmself.
Like wise, Subbulakshmi ammal from Trichy once said 'Periyava, today is Somawara
Ammavasya' and i forgot to 'arasa mara prathakshanam'. 'so, what?, do prathakshan of me 108
times. thats enough'. Aswath Narayanan !
Part 69
Sage of kanchi XLVIII: K.Rajaram, Minister in MGR's cabinet : I had just been given the
agriculture ministry. The previous monsoon had been a failure and the earth's surface was
cracking up. I went to Kanchi immediately. A sishya came and told me that Periyava has been
waiting for me ! 'so, what brought you here?'. 'no rains. how can i get a good name as an agri
minister if there is no rain. people say that if You conduct a Yaagam, it will rain'. Periyava was in
dhyana for a while and said 'okay. I will arrange for the yaagam from tomo in Kamakshi Amman
temple. I bowed to Him and left for Chengalpat to attend a meeting. In the evening, when I was
returning to Sriperumpudur, the car seemed to be making too many twists and turns and I could
not sleep. I sat up and could not believe my eyes. it was raining in buckets !!
Part 70
Sage of Kanchi LXIX : Echangudi Ganesa Iyer's wife was suffering from stomach cancer.
Doctors said she must undergo an operation, as survival would be difficult otherwise. Ganesan,
naturally, came to Periyava. 'no need for operation. Near Thiruthuraipoondi there is
Thirunellikkaval railway stn. Get down there and walk west for a km. You will see a water course

(streamlet). On the banks of it, there is a tree by name 'kanagal'. Ask her to eat the 'illai kambu'
(petiole, midrib or vein, i am not sure) of it. She will be cured'. She ate it for a few days and
doctors were stunned not to see even a trace of cancer. She lived on to see Periyava's
Kanagabhishekam.
Part 71
Sage of Kanchi LXX : Once, a beautiful Lotus was presented to Him. Every one was taken by
the radiance of it and a girl child (Ambal?) came forward, close to Periyava, and said 'it looks
like Periyava's face' . All eyes were on Periyava. Immediately He turned and said to someone,
'Saatanur Sastrigal vandare, kelambitara?'. No Sastri from Saatanur visited the mutt that day.
(He did not want the focus to be on Him. So, he just created 'Saatanur Sastrigal'. I will put up
one more now on the same lines and then you will get it much more clearly.)
Part 72
Sage of Kanchi LXXI : Vilvam became very scarce, but it was essential for
Chnadramouleeswara puja. Periyava asked one of his sishyas to go to Prathosham mama's (if i
remember right) house and ask him where to get 'vilvam' from. Prathosham mama was
surprised but suddenly remembered that one day when he was sitting in the park he saw a vilva
tree nearby. He took the sishya there and showed him the tree. when he returned home his wife
asked him 'how did Periyava know that you know where the tree is? in that case, He himself
would have known of it and could have sent the sishya there directly, why did He not do it? PM
said, if He had said it Himself the word would go around and the focus would be on Him. He did
not want to take any credit. So, He covered Himself and I got the appreciation. Thats the way of
Periyava.
Part 73
Sage of Kanch LXXII : S.Venkatraman, Mayiladudurai ; Aanatandavapuram camp : My job was

to procure milk from various sources for Chandramouleeswara puja. One day, when Periyava
was in 'padithurai' some one came there and kept some milk. A boy, who was my friend, took it
and started walking. That really set me off and I was cursing him all the way back. Suddenly
Periyava stopped and said His Paadugas were hurting Him and so removed them and gave it to
me. I carried them still saying to the boy 'va, unna paathukaren'. After reaching the camp I beat
him up. In the evening, Periyava who usually gave a discourse now called for a debate on the
topic 'Paala Paadugaiya'. Then He went on to say that Bharathan carried Rama's Paadugas on
his head, kept them on the throne and did Paal abishekam at Nandi gramam. Now tell me Paal
osathiya, Paaduga osathiya?. I felt as if I was slapped. To this day, whenever I think about this
incident, I have tears in my eyes.
Part 74
Sage of Kanchi XXIII : Sankara Iyer, Thiruvaadaanai, Sivagangai, lost both his eyes during 'quit
India' movement and lived in exile for a couple of years. In 1950 he came with Devakottai
Jamindar for Periyava's darshan. Periyava said to him 'Sankara, you have been chosen by God
to do service. keep doing that. you will not have any difficulties'.
From then on, Sankaran started learning various scriptures and taught them to children. He
went from place to place and did Bhajans. A relative girl married him. Whenever he came to

have darshan of Periyava they would talk about Devaram, Thiruvasagam, Thirukkural...He used
to say who else is there who knows Tamizh so much. when he was 70, he refused treatment
which may have brought back his sight saying 'with Periyava's blessing i am happy, what for do
i need eyesight now?'.
In 1958, when he came with the Jamindar for Periyava's early morning Visvaroopa darshan, He
was observing 'Kaashta mounam'. But, Periyava talked to him and said 'come Sankara, have a
seat here'. Everyone around was surprised. in the evening, after Deepa Namasakaram, He
explained 'you are all surprised that i did not observe 'kaashta mounam' strictly and spoke to
Sankaran. Well, you all see Me and feel happy. But, Sankaran cannot see Me. So, I thought, let
him be happy hearing My voice at least'.
Part 75
Sage of Kanchi LXXIV:1964. Karaikudi camp. Shri.M.Bakthavatchalam, CM came for Periyava's

darshan.' Near Rameswaram there is Danushkodi shetram. Have you heard about it? issue an
order immediately asking the people to evacuate at once. Move all your govt machinery to a far
away place'. The CM did not ask why. Within a short period the cyclonic storm struck
Dansuhkodi, which went under the Sea.
Part 76
Sage of Kanchi LXXV : Dr.Alladi Ramakrishnan and his wife lalitha were leaving for U.S. They
came to have darshan of Periyava and sought his blessings. 'When do you have to leave?'.
'12th'. He kept looking upwards for sometime and then said 'postpone the trip by 15 days'. The
flight from Chennai to U.S ended its journey at Mumbai, leaving no survivors.
Part 77
Sage of Kanchi LXXVI: 1940,. Peiryava was visiting Vishnupuram. A well known person was
talking to Periyava and said 'Samynatha Sastrigal'. Immediately, Periyava interrupted and said
'what did you say, what did you say, how dare you say his name. what do you know about him.
He has taught me and not once I have said his name. I used to refer him always as
'Vishnupuram Sastrigal'. Thats the kind of respect He had for His Gurus.
Part 78
Sage of Kanchi LXXVII : The farmer came running to the Kumbakonam mutt. When his son was
eating a snake had passed on him. The father was not sure whether the snake had bitten him.
What do to now? Periyava gave the father 'vibhuti' and asked him to apply on the boy's
forehead. He continued ' vaila koncham arappu podu. kasakarathu nu thuppinanna Paambu
kadikala, inikarathu nu sonnanna Paambu kadichiruku. He must be treated immediately. The
boy spat out the arappu, saying it tasted sour. In the evening both the father & son came for
Periyava's darshan.
Now, where did He learn all this? or where did He have to go to learn all this !

Part 79
Sage of kanchi LXXVIII : S.Ramaswamy, Secunderabad. I was waiting for more than 2hrs for
his darshan, but it was getting late for work. So, I bowed to Him from a distance and left. After
sometime a person from the mutt came to the Satara rly stn to where i had come on inspection
and said Periyava had asked me to come. When i went to the camp, i started offering apology,
but Periyava cut me short. 'What do you want?'. 'My daughter's marriage is getting delayed. I
want to conduct her wedding asap. Periya said 'I WILL CONDUCT THE MARRIAGE'. Stupidly, I
asked Him 'do you mean it really?'. He just smiled. Sometime after, i got my daughter married.
Now, the camp was at Kurnool. More than 2 years had gone by. My daughter now had a child
and we left the child close to Periyava so that the child would be blessed by His divine grace.
After we paid our obeisance we started to leave. Periyava called us back 'How do you think I
can look after the child in the mutt'. Everyone around laughed. My daughter went back to take
the child. Periyava said 'ask Ramaswamy if he is happy now?'. i did not understand. Periyava
then asked me 'what is your daughter's name?' 'Uma'.' her husband's name?' 'Sadasivam'. '
Don't find fault with Me. The names match. Okay?'. I cried.
What an amazing memory !! ( well, this is just a couple of years. there are instances where He
had connected to someone having His darshan or praying to Him 5 decades ago)
Part 80
Sage of kanchi LXXIX, S.Ramaswamy, Secunderabad ; 1085. Kanchi mutt. I paid my

obeisance. 'Is that Hubli Ramasamy? Are you coming from Madras?' 'No. I am coming from
Vijayawada'. 'No, you are coming from Madras'. 'yes, from Vijayawada i am coming via Madras'
'No. you are coming from Madras'. I did want to argue any further. I came back to Chennai and
rang up my boss. 'Ramasamay, a bombshell, you have been transfered to Madras !!'.
Part 81
Sage of kanchi LXXX:Annapoorani temple, Chinthamani mut, Hospet. At about 2pm Periyava
said 'vacate the "madapalli" immediately. There will be a cat with kittens in the kitchen. Drive
them out too'. Half an hour later the building collapsed.
Part 82
Sage of Kanchi LXXXI : Pandarpur camp. T.N.Subramani, West Mambalam, chennai : Getting
down from the bus, we had to cross 'Chandrabaaga river'. it was 8pm and drizzling. The
boatman refused and said we can go in the morning. Then we said we have come for Periyava
darshan. 'Oh, Sankar guruji, He is like Vittal to us. Come on board. i will take you'. When we
reached the other bank we wanted to pay him but he refused saying that when He talks its like
Pandarinathan Himself is talking to them.Sankaraaaa.
Part 83
Sage of Kanchi LXXXII; Saraswathi Puja, Navrathri : Periyava was doing Saraswathi Puja and a
Vaidheegar was reading the 'Ashthoram'. 'Om Brahma Jayayai Namaha'. The right hand holding
the flower stopped in mid air. he kept reading the same and Periyava's hand stood still. A

vidwan nearby said ' its not jayayai it is Jaayayai'. The first means 'brahmanai jaithaval' and the
second means ' brahma's pathni'. So, He, after all, was not doing Puja mechanically, like most
of us. Whatever be the 'padham' and the meaning, lets not worry about it. We will just hold on to
His 'Paadam'.
Part 84
Sage of Kanchi LXXXIII :They used to call me 'thithuvai (stammerer) and 'rickshaw driver'. One
day i was sent to the next place where we would be staying to oversee the arrangements, from
Miraj camp. When I came back, Srikandan mama said 'Periyava has not eaten anything from
y'day night. You are a small boy. if you request Him to take food He may agree. I went and
submitted the fruits people had given me, to Periyava. He asked me 'have you taken food'. I
said 'no'. 'Then go and have food'. "I will eat if Periyava agrees to eat'. As Periyava pressed me
to eat, I told Him I will eat later and left the place. Within 5 minutes, Peiryava called me. he
asked me to pick one fruit from each variety, gave me half of each and said taste them and tell
me. I tasted them one after another and then Periyava asked me ' ippo pasi adangiduthaa?'.
There was no sarcasm - see, i fooled me. It was a very affectionate motherly concern. i cried.
then I told Him what Srikandan mama had told me. He said 'see, y'day was Sunday. forgetting
that i ate fruits and drank milk in the night. Now, as a 'Prayachittaham' I am not doing bhiksha.
But, today being Prathosham, I will do bhiksha after doing prathosha puja'. He was saying all
this to me, a small boy.
Well, Periyava doing Prayachittham !! looking after a little boy very kindly and respecting him !!
Lessons to learn ?!
Part 85
Sage of Kanchi LXXXIV : Sabesan's family was ready to leave and were waiting for Periyava's
permission. they received prasadam and started towards the car when Pieryava called them
back. He showed the 'Karungal jalli' and said 'pack them in a sack and take it'. Everyone around
was surprised, but no one asked Him why. Sabesan did as told and left. As they were going
through the ghat road a group of miscreants way laid the car. they asked everyone to get down
and searched the car. Suddenly one of them said 'here is the sack'. All of them lifted the sack,
put it down and said ' go, go'. Sabesan drove the car fast and stopped at the next village.
Everyone in the car was getting their breath back and said how lucky they were. Then, they all
turned and bowed in the direction of Periyava.
Part 86
Sage of Kanchi LXXXV : he belonged to the Royal family of Spain. Periyava could have asked
him about the political scenario, their leader, the climate/culture/heritage etc. But, He chose to
ask this ' do you have the old wing and the new wing in your place?'. 'Yes'. 'Where do you
live?'.' in the new wing'. 'do you have all facilities there ?'. 'yes, of course'. 'then, why don't you
demolish the old wing and make it into a garden?'. The person was stunned. How did He know
such details, Has He ever visited Spain?'. Even before it was translated to Him, Periyava drew a
circle (SARVAVYABHI) with His finger and smiled.
Part 87
Sage of Kanchi LXXXVI : A cow and a calf were gifted to the mutt, but Periyava said 'return
them'. Everyone was surprised. Maha Swami explained 'see, the cow and the calf don't belong

to each other. the cow is not licking the calf with love and the calf does not go near the cow,
leave alone taking milk from its udders. The person who donated took them back to the seller
and he agreed that the cow and calf are different. The cow's calf and the calf's cow had both
died and he had put them together. Next day, a cow and its calf were presented and Periyava
accepted them.
Part 88
Sage of Kanchi LXXXVII : The old man's leg was broken and he was sitting outside the mutt.
Periyava asked a devotee 'will you do me a favor?'. The man had goosebumps. 'yes'. 'go get
vettala and seeval for eight annas and give them to the old man. The devotee ran to the nearest
petty shop, got and gave them to the aged man. The old man smiled showing all his teeth.
'thankyou. i have been longing for this since morning. you will live like a maharaja and your
children will come up in life well'. The devotee went inside the mutt and reported to Periyava.
'so, he blessed that you will live like a maharaja, what a blessing'. The devotee was wonder
struck. How on earth did Periyava know that the old man wanted vettala and seeval?'. Well, ....
Part 89
Sage of Kanchi LXXXVIII : They were from a village near Thanjavur. They hated each other and
the enmity was raging. But, destiny brought them to the darshan of Periyava at the same time.
'So, you came together?'. They swallowed their saliva and said 'yes'. then Periyava talked to
them about their family, marriage, education, sathbhish...ekam, etc. When they were about to
leave, He asked them 'will you both please go to Mannargudi Sreenivasa Iyengar's house and
give him the Prasad?'. They could not refuse. Kanchi to Mannargudi. They talked and by the
time they reached MSI's house the enmity was gone. MSI was surprised 'Periyava will usually
send the prasad through a sishya. why did he choose you both this time?'. Well, they knew why.
Part 90
Sage of Kanchi LXXXIX : Periyava was suffering from severe cold, cough and fever. One
woman devotee who used to have His darshan every day brought a native medicine (warmed
up kungumapoo mix) and said 'Periyava should apply this on His forehead (patthu)'. Periyava
kept it aside and said 'Kamakshi veedhi ula vara, poi paaru'. As the devotee was leaving, a poor
woman came in with her child. ' kozhandaiku jalpu samy, marunthu vaanga mudiyala. thunnuru
kudu samy'. Periyava gave the native medicine to her and immediately made a mix of Kamakshi
kungumam with water and applied on His forehead. The devotee came back after Kamakshi
darshan and was happy to see that Periyava had applied 'patthu'. Periyava said 'nee kudutha
kungumapoovala kabam koranchuthu' (whose?!)
Part 91
Sage of Kanchi XC : Scorching Sun, mid summer. Periyava was camping at a village. A poor
family was begging at every door, but no one seemed to give anything. Have they all become
misers? No. If it was money, grocery or vegetables they would have given, but the family was
asking for water and it was scarce. Periyava asked them to be brought to His presence and
gave off all the water kept for His 'anushtanam' and was looking at them as they drank the water
with both hands. As they were leaving, Periyava said loudly ' I am also a beggar like them'.

Part 92
Sage of Kanchi XCI : The old man suffered paralytic attack, recovered to a certain extent with
medicine, but lost his memory and speech. His wife came for Periyava's darshan. Periyava said'
will you do as I say?' 'certainly'. 'keep 2 packs of playing cards near him. He will recover his
speech and consciousness slowly'. the woman was wonder struck. How did He know that her
husband was mad about playing cards?. She kept the packs near her husband and the old man
started playing with his grandchildren. ' you stupid. you should not have put 4 diamond, you
should have taken that 7 hearts, ....' Well the memory and the speech came back. What kind of
a treatment is this ?! Intha Sankaran periya kinkaran.
Part 93
Sage of Kanchi XCII : The man said ' i am very poor'. Periyava asked 'does your wife and
children love you'. The man said 'yes. they adore me'. Periyava asked him to sit in a corner.
Soon, a rich man came in and said' i have all the money i want, but can't eat most of the stuff as
i am a diabetic,... also, both my children are wayward and are addicted to drugs and have
various other bad habits. they don't respect me. I have huge debts........'. Periyava looked at the
earlier visitor. He got up, paid his obeisance to Maha Swami and left.
Part 94
Sage of Kanchi XCIII : All that the paatti owned was a couple of worn out sarees. Periyava gave
her 'arisi kurunai and vellam' and said 'feed the ants'. Paatti was very happy and did it
religiously. Next, Periyava gave her wicks and oil and asked her to get 'akal vilaku' and lit them
in as many small temples as possible. She accomplis...hed that task too. A few days after that, a
rich man came to the mutt and said to Periyava 'i have done sahasra bhojanam and lit laksha
deepam '. he was clearly boasting. Periyava said 'there is a person here who has fed lakhs and
lit laksha deepam personally' and asked for paatti to be brought to His presence. The man
expected a very rich person to turn up but was stunned to see a paatti clad in a torn and worn
out saree. He was humbled, realized his mistake and fell at Periyava's feet.
Part 95
Sage of Kanchi XCIV : nettila patte, kazhuthula rudraksha kotte (Mannan - Vijayasanthi on
Rajni), ucchu kudumi and clad in saffron - Brahmashree Vedapure and Srimadam Balu were
coming out of the mutt as the limousine came to a smooth halt. they were stinking rich and they
chuckled and made derogatory comments - beggars, uncivilized,dirty people....then they went
inside the mutt. A group of young children from Paul Brunton's Mission ( Periyva guided him to
Ramana Maharishi and he wrote the famous book 'Self realization') were sitting before Maha
Swami quietly. they were meditating and so was Periyava. the Indian children who had made
the drastic comments slowly started talking to the children from the mission. Those children said
'the time that we spend here will energize our soul for the rest of our lives.its a great blessing'.
the Indian children realized their folly and just then Periyava opened His eyes, talked to them
and blessed them too. As they were coming out, Brahmashree and Balu were coming in. they
said 'sorry uncle'.

Part 96
Sage of Kanchi XCV : A village near Thanjavur. Periyava entered the house of a local heavy
weight without prior notice and walked through thaazhvaram, koodam, mutram,...and stood
outside a door which was locked. The lch (local heavy weight) came running to Him and He
asked for the door to be opened. the lch was hesitant, but Periyava sat down on the floor and so
he had to open it. Out came the cook, crying and fell at Periyava's feet. 'i did not steal anything
and did nothing wrong, but they are punishing me'. Periyava asked the lch what was the charge.
The lch said he had stolen some rice, some tamarind, some....Periyava asked the mutt
assistants to give whatever the lch said. Then He looked at the lch and said ' never do this
again'. The lch fell at His feet.
Part 97
Sage of Kanchi XCVI : There was a new(to the mutt) bureau in the mutt. Periyava asked 'ethu
intha bureau?'. 'Thiruvaalangadu Thirumurthy brought it'. 'where is he?'. 'standing outside'. 'ask
him to come in'. 'where did you buy this wooden bureau? did you apply polish?'. 'I bought this in
an auction'. 'intha bureau madathuku vendam'. everyone was shocked.'this actually belonged to
a devotees. He had a huge debt and the court ordered for 'japti' and 'auction'. he had it made
very passionately and 'cos of his bad period it came for auction. avaroda manasu evvalavu
vedhana patrukum. mana vedhanayoda vantha porul madathuku vendame' .
(Beware. He knows what you are doing right now)
Part 98
Sage of Kanchi XCVII : camp at Hosur Amman temple. A 'lambadi' woman brought her husband
by a bullock cart. he had high fever, vomiting, diarrhea,..and on the verge of collapse..She
thought that if 'thevudu' blessed he would recover. She carried him to Periyava's presence. She
prayed to Him in their language. Periyava said to shishyas 'enna pathi bhakthi paaru. She has
brought him here all alone . We have read Sathiyavan - Savithri kathai in Puranas. She is just
like Savithri, aana naan.....' A sishya interrupted 'yaman ille, yamanuku yaman, Kaala Kaalan'.
Periyava gave her an orange as prasad.Next day they were back again happily walking
together. they fell at Periyava's feet. She did 'namaskaram' repeatedly saying 'thevudu,
thevudu'.Was that orange an 'amirtha kani?'. May be the lambadi woman knows.
Part 99
Sage of Kanchi XCVIII : She got down from the bus with her 10 year old daughter. She was
worried whether there will be a huge crowd at the mutt and will she be able to get Periyava's
darshan peacefully. Just as she was at the entrance of the mutt she realized that her daughter
was not with her.She was gripped with fear. She went into the mutt and straight to Periyava.
Periyava closed His eyes and was in meditation for a while. Then He said 'go to Kaligambal
temple. write in a piece of paper that your daughter is missing and ask Her to find your child and
return her to you. put one rupee as kaanikai'. She went as fast as she could praying 'Kali, Kali'
all the time and ......there she was, the daughter, standing at the entrance of the temple crying !
She was back in the mutt with her daughter. Periyava asked ' cheetu ezhudi pottaya?'. 'Potten.
there in the garbagraha i saw Periyava and here i see Kaligambal !!'. Periyava Kaliya?
Kamakshiya?....SAKALAM.

Part 100
Sage of kanchi XCIX : Periyava asked : 'whats that commotion all about ?' 'A man has vomited
blood'. 'Ask him what his native place is and where is he coming from now'. 'He is from a village
near Trichy and he is coming from Chidambaram now'. In the meanwhile a doctor examined the
person and said ' could be hemorrhage. admit him in a hospital'. 'nothing of that sort. it is just
heat. I think his 'kuladeivam' must be Siruvacchur Kali and he has not cared about Her. Get him
prasadam from Kaligambal temple. Also, he has come from Chidambaram without having
darshan of Thillai Kali and he has Kali puja at home. he must go to Chidambaram and have
darshan when he recovers. (then backing Doc's views) high B.P. so less salt, etc'. Kanchi
Kaligambal Kungumam was applied to his fore head and he was laid down in the mutt hall. He
slept well in the night. In the morning he was alright, recd prasad from Periyava, thanked the
mutt manager and left. After some time he wrote to the manager saying that he was perfectly
okay now and asked him to inform Periyava that he will never again forget Kuladeivam. He
added ' but it beats me how Periyva knew that i came to kanchi without having darshan of Thillai
Kali'. Well, it beats us too
Part 101
Sage of Kanchi 100 !! : The foreigner wanted to go to Mumbai from Delhi but didn't get the
ticket. he took the next flight to Chennai. When he came out of the airport he asked a cabbie 'is
there any religious leader nearby?' 'yes. in kanchi'. 'take me to Him'. Periyava was in Orikai at
that time. 'Please wait. Swamiji is taking rest'. Peiryava did aasamanam, applied vibuthi and
kept asking 'has he come?'. The sishyas did not understand but said 'yes, there is a foreigner
waiting to see you'. 'Yes. I was asking about him only'. The man came inside and sat very close
to Peiryava. The sishyas were about to raise objection but Peiryava said 'its okay, let him sit
here'. As the man sat looking at Periyava his face became glowing. The sishyas asked him 'why
are you so happy?'. 'Dont you see the light there?, is He the Sankaracharya referred by Paul
Brunton, my God'. he sat for about 45 mins. Then Periyava said 'the purpose of your visit to
India is over. your goal is achieved. you may go now'. 'I would like to stay here for a few more
days'. 'no.start immediately'. Periyava gave him prasad and he left. The sishyas then asked
Periyava 'you are blessing a foreigner and he says he has seen God, but we are with you all the
time and You are not giving us the Gnana'. Periyava smiled and said 'if I give you gnana, who
will do all the work here ?!!'
Part 102
Sage of Kanchi 101 : The Maha Maha Pandit was from Kaasi. Just a look at him revealed that
things had gone to his head. He did 'namaskaram' to Periyava and said 'a doubt in Bhagawat
Gita' (the tone was like 'let me see whether You can ans this). Periyava called out to His sishyas
' everyone do 3 prathakshan of this Pandit'. The Pandit was taken by surprise. ' Why are you
asking them to do this?'. 'See, in Bhagawat gita,for every word there is a variety of meanings
and interpretations. but, you have just one doubt. you must be a very learned man. unga
paandityam enna, gnanam enna, adada, that is why I asked them to do prathakshan'. Sammati
adi. His head dropped and he asked very politely for clarification of his doubt and Periyava gave
a long explanation. He said 'Dhanyosmi' and did 'ashtaanga namaskaram'. Periyava gave him
prasad and blessed him.

Part 103
Sage of Kanchi 102 : the bride's & groom's families had come together about a couple of weeks
ago and had Periyava's blessings. Yet, the bride had 'fits' and fainted. There was a lot of talk
going around and utter confusion. Suddenly, the Shasrigal said 'see, there is still a lot of time for
the lagnam. lets inform Periyava and we will abide by whatever He says'. That was agreeable to
everyone. Immediately the mutt manager was contacted over phone. Periyava thought for a
while and said ' Maha Mayi is the Kuladeivam for the bride's family. Ask them to pray to Her and
keep a 'veppila kothu' in the girl's head. In all probability she will be alright'. the moment ' veppila
kothu' was brought near her, she sat up. After 'sesha homam' they all went to have darshan of
Periyava. ' Periyava anugrahathnale kalyanam nalla badiya nadanthuthu'. ' Maha Mayi
anugrahathnale nu sollungo'. 'fits.....'. 'fit nu sollungo'. 'fits' vandathuthu poorva janma palan. 'fit'
anathu Periyava anugraham.
Part 104
Sage of Kanchi 103 : Sivasankaran had been treated badly by a sishya. He put that across to
Periyava in a subtle way. Periyava laughed and said ' this is nothing new to me. if 1000 people
work in a factory or govt office, not everyone is efficient, well behaved and sincere, but they
continue to function. All you have to see is whether the leadership is good. thats the best
possible. do you know Parameswaran?'. Sivasankaran said he knew quite a few of them.
Periyava continued ' I mean Kailasapathi Parameswaran. He has Cobra around His neck, 'agni'
in His hand, 'abhasmaram' under His feet and His Rudraganas are Pretha, Paisasangal. With all
this He goes around dancing. None of these can be let free. His greatness is in keeping all
these with Him and carrying on with His work'. Sivasankaran was awe struck. Periyava had
clearly indicated how to live life.
Part 105
Sage of Kanchi 104 : Madurai Sethupathy High School Camp. thousands had gathered to have
darshan of Periyava. At a distance from where He was sitting there was a 'vettalai' lying on the
floor. Peiryava asked a sishya to pick it up (understandable as it is a mangala porul) and keep it
safely (why?).some where in the crowd was a woman, struggling to move forward to have His
darshan, but could not. Periyava got up and started moving into the crowd and immediately
people moved back to make way for Him. He went straight to the woman, stopped and signaled
to the sishya. the sishya asked for her name?'.'Chinna ponnu' Periyava lifted His hand and
blessed her. Then again He looked at the sishya and he gave her the 'vettalai'. She put that into
her mouth and started chewing. Periyava started walking back as the woman stood with tears in
her eyes. She was pregnant and it was time for her delivery. She was caught in the crowd, was
finding it difficult to breathe and felt like vomiting. All she needed was a 'vettalai' and there were
several plates around her, with different kinds of fruits and flowers and not a single vettalai and
........Periyava gave it to her !!
Part 106
Sage of Kanchi 105 : Thanjavur camp. A small boy approached Periyava. ' We have a small
wooden box in which my father would keep the sila moorthangal after puja. But, he used to do
puja for that box too. I never asked about that when he was alive.But, i would like to know
now'.Periyava asked him to bring the box. He caressed the box as would a mother her child.
Then He spoke. 'during the time of Maratha rulers of Thanjavur there was a person by name
'Sedhubhava'. He was either the Captain or a Ministerr. He was a Panduranga baktha. He used

to keep the Salagram, vigrahas of Vittal and Rugmayi in this box. I heard some time back that
the Salagram and Vigrahas are in the palace now. Because they were kept in this box, this too
came to be revered'. The boy ran back to his house and asked his paatti about it and she said
'yes. un thatha apdithan solli irukkar'.
How did the Thondai mandala thuravi know about the Chozha nattu rahasyam?. Well, its just
one ray of His 'Sarvagnam'.
Part 107
Sage of Kanchi 106 :'I am not a mantrvathi. I know nothing about it. there is no point in telling
Me your troubles'. Jayaraman was disappointed and dejected that what he had been telling
Periyava for nearly 10min, with tears rolling down from his eyes, did not have the expected
response from Maha swami. But, the family was determined to get His blessings, 'cos such was
the trouble in the house. 'dhurdevathaikal attakasam' (i don't wish to describe that). for the next
3 days Peiryava observed 'Kaashta mounam'. On the fourth day, when Periyava went to take
bath in the river, the whole Jayaraman family prostrated before Him. 'we have only You to turn
to and if You wash Your hands off us, we have nowhere to go'. Periyava lifted His hand and
blessed.
Then He gave Jayaraman a big nail and said 'unga veetu sovathula adikanam. oru ala
seiyanum. dhairyama irukanum. bayangara satham kettalum bayapadakudathu'. Jayaraman
was scared and so he sent another person with the nail and hammer into his house. As the man
started hitting the nail, chairs, tables, etc rolled down, vessels flew in the kitchen and there were
deafening sounds every where. this went on for the next 10 min. then a coconut tree fell
uprooted at the back of the house. After a few minutes all sounds stopped.
Jayaraman's wife swept the house, mopped the floor with cow dung, put Kolam, lit deepam,
offered naivaedhyam and did deepa arathanai and they started living in the house, now
peacefully. Next week, they were at the mutt to have Peiryava's darshan. 'ippo sowkiyama
irrukom'. Periyava blessed them.
(well, i know this note is very different and a bit scary too, thought i have cut it off totally. there
are quite a few of such kind of incidents in the book. would you like me to put them up? I am
able to see only the positive side of it, which is - holding on to Periyava's feet or surrendering
totally to Him, whatever our troubles may be. Well, what have you got to say?)
Part 108
Sage of Kanchi 107 : The VIP was from Pattukottai. 'i have bought a car and since then met
with accidents very frequently. i have done pariharam as said by astrologers, but no use'.
Peiryava was quiet for a while. ' Is Kanya Kurichi village near your place?'. The VIP did not
know. 'in that village there is a temple for Maha Maya (Mariamman). She is very powerful. Send
Rs.50/- towards abhishekam. Write 'Kanya Kuruchi Amman Thunai' in the front windshield of the
car'. The VIP was stunned. 'She is our Kuladeivam. My father and mother used to go there and
do abhishekam every year. Some how I forgot. I will certainly do as You said'. From then on, no
accidents. How will it happen, when Maha Maya is offering protection?

Part 109
Sage of Kanchi 108 : Sangaa dosham. The sisters were possessed by some dhur deevathai.
They very nearly brought down the thatched shed under which Peiryava was doing His puja,
unperturbed.the mutt manager came running to Him 'ivaloda attakasam thaanga mudiyala.
Periyava ethavadu sencha thevala'. Periyava sprinkled water from the wooden sombu with
which He had been doing Puja.The sisters screamed 'Poren' Poren' and ran out. A poovarasa
maram fell uprooted and a branch of Puliya (tamarind) maram broke. Signs of dhur devathai
scampering away. Later, they came for Periyava's darshan very quietly.

Insights into the Life of Kanchi Maha Swami

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Incidents with Kanchi Maha Swami

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'Idhayam Pesugiradu' Manian was going on a tour of Mexico and so went to

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Annabhishekam for Gangai Konda Chozhapuram Brahadeeswarar. The Doctor living

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WHO TOLD YOU TO COME - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar(V.SuryaNarayanan)

MOOTHER's LETTER - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar - V.Suryanarayanan

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Sirupakkam Kondaiyer - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar - V.suryanarayanan

Once, I took my friend, Shri.gopalakrishnan with me to kanchipuram. He was a telugu

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Polur Ananda - Vizhupuram Ravi Bagavathar ( V.Suryanarayanan)

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" The One remains, the many change and pass,

Heaven's light forever shines, earth's shadows fly

Life, like a dome of many colored glass

Stains the white radiance of Eternity"

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One mantra for all Gods or Brahmam - Ra.Ganapathy

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by Thanjavur Santhanaraman : I had taken Shri. Venkatachalam iyer, owner of Thanjavur

by Thanjavur Santhanaraman: Periyava asked me to collect all details about RajaRajaChozhan.

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Sage of kanchi LIV : its a divinity destined coincidence that H.H..Chandrasekarendra

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Sage of Kanchi LX : SivaSri Jagadeesa Sivachariyar, Pandanainallur : Devotees came running

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Well, you too can pray to Him to unburden you.

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Sage of Kanchi LXVII: Radha Ramamurthy,Pudukottai : My daughter Jana had made an

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Sage of Kanch LXXII : S.Venkatraman, Mayiladudurai ; Aanatandavapuram camp : My job was

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Sage of Kanchi LXXIV:1964. Karaikudi camp. Shri.M.Bakthavatchalam, CM came for Periyava's

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Sage of kanchi LXXIX, S.Ramaswamy, Secunderabad ; 1085. Kanchi mutt. I paid my

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(Beware. He knows what you are doing right now)

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