My Experiences With A Great Saint - Sri Kodiswami - Part II

Spiritual Lessons

Bhagavan Kodiswamigal did not formulate any kind of particular worship pertaining to any religion. Each one had their own way of worshipping Him. He imparted spiritual lessons and messages through His own activities. He did not resort to verbal teaching or verbal encounters regarding spiritual lessons. Was it because the highest spiritual lessons were imparted through silence and the highest spiritual lesson itself is 'Silence?,' the silence that pervades the form and the mind?

Swami did not utter even once what His name or place of birth was. In those days with absolutely no spiritual exposure and out of curiosity we used to ask for His name. No amount of cajoling or hours of waiting could make Him disclose His name. He was so steeped in the 'true self' that He did not disclose His details pertaining to His body, thereby teaching the highest truth that one is not the body or the mind, but the ultimate reality, which is the 'Self'.

Sri Kodiswamigal was worshipped by the other saints and many others on the spiritual path. Swami Satchidananda and Swami Abeidananda were two among them. Swami Abeidananda after His darshan of Swami acclaimed that He was one of the saints of the highest order. There was no distinction between the saint and the sinner. He was constantly one with all those who came to seek his refuge and blessings despite their merits and demerits silently preaching the truth that the underlying essence was one and the same in every being. He thus exhibited the qualities of equality and tolerance that came on naturally to those who identified themselves with the ultimate identity that was common in all that is created.

Most of the times we could see Swami silently starring into the space. During those moments He did not entertain any conversation. Probably He was immersed in subjectivity. Once some devotees mustered the courage to ask Him what were His activities during midnight. Swami answered in His own childish way "Where is night and day?" He thereby confirmed the truth that night and day was only for those who identified themselves with the body and the mind and not for the one who has lost himself in the divine union.

His all pervasiveness and His oneness with the divine were revealed in many occasions. A devotee once approached Him seeking His permission to go no a pilgrimage to Pazani, one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga or Skanda. Promptly came the reply, " This is Pazani".

Another ardent devotee of Lord Skanda dreamt of her favourite diety bandaged all over. The next day she was intimated with the news that Sri Kodiswamy had fallen down and had hurt Himself. He thus taught the all pervasiveness of the divine. Such instances revealed that He was the supreme divine clad in a human form for the purpose of uplifting the world.

Bhagavan Kodiswamy's traits of enlightenment were portrayed in different occasions to different people. I once tried to shoo away a crow that perched on the nearby table cawing loudly. Swami in a gentle tone said that the crow was also a jnani (an enlightened being). I guess that was the last day I ever shooed a crow or other birds in his precincts or at His Samadhi (Tomb) later!

Swami at times exhibited immense anger. It was impossible for anyone to figure out the reason. At times His anger was such that he threw things down from upstairs and broke them into pieces. At other times He was accustomed to asking for a person's belongings and handing it to a devotee who is totally unrelated. One can discern from the above two instances that he was demonstrating the importance of non-attachment to material things or His dealings with different people and beyond the comprehension of the human mind.

The saint even after shedding His mortal coil is still very active or is more active in taking care of those who appealed to him their afflictions and uplifting those on the spiritual path.

On asked about as how to identify a true Guru, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi said that in whose presence the savage mind recoils into its source (true self) thereby becoming peaceful is a true Jnani or a Guru.

One can still feel peace percolating in the mind at His Samadhi to this day. This subtle yet a very powerful truth finds expression in the increasing number of devotees flocking at His Samadhi.

"Bees of Spiritual minds swarm the flowery feet of the Divine"

I humbly place my head at His Holy Feet for having given me the opportunity to pen down about Him. What can be told about the highest truth that is beyond the grasp of the very mind employed to brief about it, let alone words? Its nature is silence; it is silence, the silent substratum or the base of all that is created.