1. isbn 979-8-88572-266-7

Sri Nithyananda

Yet to be discovered

Sri Nithyananda: Yet to be discovered

Sri Nithyananda

Yet to be discovered

Smt. Vishalla Vairavan

Credits

Title : Sri Nithyananda : Yet to be discovered

Author : Smt. Vishalla Vairavan

Typesetting : Maruthi Business Systems, Chennai - 18

Printer : Nathan & Co., Chennai - 42

Published by : Dhyanapeetam Nithyanandapuri, Kallagopanahalli, Mysore Road, Bidadi - 562 109 Bangalore District, Karnataka. Tel : 080-56703444, 56691844

First Edition : July 2003

Ebook ISBN : 979-8-88572-266-7

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Before and at the time when he entered into this body, he was conscious and completely aware of the events. Recounting this mystifying moment, he says, "The earth was swamped in darkness and silence impregnated the air. It happened so swiftly; I saw this blazing star, followed by an explosion of light, as I consciously entered this body and took birth." The very next scene that he saw was the hill at Thiruvannamalai, may be not through his physical eyes, but with the awareness that he has entered the body.

He does not pay much attention to his birth or age, as he often calls himself" Ageless Spirit, The Timeless in Time." He took this birth a few minutes past midnight on Ashtami on the 1st January 1978 at Thiruvannamalai where his family still lives. He is the second of three sons to his father Arunachalam and mother Lokanayaki. They named him Rajasekaran.

On the tenth day after his birth, as per tradition, an astrologer was summoned to cast his horoscope. After a conscientious evaluation of the stars alignment, (Kanya Rasi, Kanya Lagnam) he predicted that this child would one day renounce the world, in search of enlightenment and become a Raja Sanyasi. Rajasekaran's parents and family were

heartbroken at the thought of his leaving home and becoming

a sanyasi (one who has renounced life or action). They

begged the man for a solution. He said nothing could be done,

but perhaps, if they did not show him the horoscope, his

departure would be delayed. The astrologer with a sense of

total contentment for having had the privilege to have cast this

horoscope furthermore envisaged that he himself would die in

21 days and that this would be the last horoscope he would

cast. The man died as he had predicted.

Rajasekaran's parents, in no way prevented him from

going in search of his quest, nor did they ever question his

actions. Even when he came home long past midnight, they

never said a word in anger or frustration. He acknowledges

with deep gratitude their enduring tolerance and understanding.

Dhanakoti Ammal, his grandmother, bought him his first

idol at the market outside the temple gates. As a young boy

he enjoyed making clay idols of Gods, visiting temples and

decorating the Gods. Even when his grandmother opened

her jewel box he was attracted only to the rudraksha. Very

unusual that the other sparkling gems did not fascinate one so

young.

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Rajasekaran went to a regular school at Thiruvannamalai and was a fairly average student. One day he was late for school and stood outside his classroom waiting for permission to enter. His mathematics master Govindraj was bent over the desk writing. Suddenly, as if struck by a vision, the master turned towards him and saluted him.

After the lessons the master invited him to his house for a meal. It was not unusual, as it was a custom for people to invite to their homes and feed those who had taken the vow to go to Sabarimalai. As Rajasekaran entered the house, the master prostrated at his feet and hailed him his Guru. The master believed he saw Lord Iyyappa in him and decided he would forever be his sishya (disciple). From that day onwards he was lenient towards Rajasekaran, giving him attendance freely. This made it all the more easy for the young man to go about in his search. In due course he did finish his schooling scoring 75% without really attending classes.

At Gudiyatham, in the state of Tamil Nadu, Rajasekaran completed his Polytechnic course with distinction. Life in the hostel was different for him. He never could relate to fellow students and certainly their wavelengths differed. He may

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something in common with them. At home, if ever they missed rice, tamarind, chilly and salt it was certain they were stolen for these sadhus. He gave it to the sadhus, cooked with them and ate with them. Often missing for days as he roamed the place in their company.

At home he spent time in the backyard in his tent. Unmindful of time he performed pujas (worship) for his Gods. Ringing the bell, burning camphor and insisting all at home attend these rituals. Every one at home was tolerant towards him. Between the age of ten and sixteen was the age of boundless energy and stubbornness; the age when, walking around on wooden slippers fascinated him and probably disturbed all else at home. The childhood years spent within the joint family had their fair share of war and peace.

Annamalai Swamigal, a disciple of Ramana Maharishi, happened to be preaching to some foreigners in the vicinity. Attracted to sages, Rajasekaran rushed to hear him speak. He said, he had no 'body'; he was only an Atman (Spirit). Rajasekaran reflected on this trying to find a reason 'If this is true and if I cut myself, it should not hurt'. To satiate his curiosity he rushed home and with a blade slit his right

thigh. All he felt was pain and all he saw was blood gushing out. Not only had he to put up with the pain, he had also to put up with reprimanding from his mother. Totally disheartened and fuming he went right back to the Yogi. He revealed to him the wound and told him there was no truth in what he spoke. At that stage the yogi's explanation was above his comprehension, but he understood that there was more to this matter than he had the power to understand; he had to look deeper and explore the subject. This may have been his first glimpse into the world of spiritualism, which soon turned into a life-consuming obsession.

Spending a major part of his time in and around the temple, he became acquainted with a sadhu Ragupathi Yogi, who learnt and taught yoga in Burma and Tibet. A sage with immense dexterity in the field of yoga. This yogi asked Rajasekaran to come daily to the temple and willingly imparted to him the nuances of yoga (acquiring knowledge of ultimate reality). He predicted that Rajasekaran would one day become a great sanyasi. This at first frightened the young boy. When he asked for proof of the power of prediction, the yogi clapped his hands and out of nowhere created a shell and gifted it to

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them that they had seen Rajaskaran at the cremation ground, late into the night. When he did return, his parents never demanded any in-depth explanations. A simple answer as "I was there meditating," would suffice. Never once did they raise the issue of why he was doing this or for what was he doing this. This was their uniqueness. May be in their heart they knew that they were merely his guardians, but that's just an assumption. Had they prevented his search, thousands would be at loss today.

It was sometime in 1994 as he was bathing, Rajasekaran heard a knock on the door. He heard the person say, "Are you aware that today is your 16th birthday?" He froze at first in realization that he had not fulfilled his dream of becoming enlightened by the age of 16. Then behind closed doors a river of tears ran in spate for more than two hours. Depression engulfed him and his thoughts shifted between the story of Markandeyan and his unfulfilled dream.

The search for enlightenment continued. Kuppama, an old lady, his paternal grandmother's friend played a significant part in his childhood. She was once blessed with an appearance of Goddess Rajeshwari. More spiritual than

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At first the coldness of the water takes your breath away as you're not ready for that, and then, the scale of everything around you, the silence, and the color of the water, the taste of it - it makes you feel as if you are floating on another planet.

This was his first outer body experience and it happened on Poornima (a full moon night), in the month of Vaikasi, during the period of the star of Visakam.

He says, "I could see myself in everything around me, in the plants, on the rocks, on the earth, on the animals and also on my whole body.

There were images of me everywhere.

I was able to see images behind me too, in fact all around, 360° above and below, left to right."

At this point he realized he could go no deeper into this feeling of "I," nor could he hold on to it for long, it began to dissolve.

Once this emotion vanished he sat motionless while a fever of happiness raged over him for three days.

Then, when this ecstasy also wore off, fear slowly set in, a fear that he may have been possessed.

He was really not prepared for this experience.

He hurried down from the hill to tell Kuppamma that he was possessed for a while, and that they should never go back to that rock for the spirit there may possess them again.

She held his hands and soothed away his fears and explained to him that he was not possessed by any spirit, but by God himself. Empathetic and over protective towards him she feared that his equilibrium may be lost, so she cooked his meals and personally attended to him for three days, till this experience settled down within him.

No matter how much she tried to convince him, he still remained terrified of that rock. She later took a photograph of him sitting on that rock and then built an ashram for him there. Both the picture and the Ashram she gave to him telling him he would one day understand and realize the value of why she had done this. Today this Ashram, serves as a branch of Dhyana Peetam.

Habitually he walked around the sacred hill at Thiruvannamalai. On one particular evening, engrossed in some verses from a book, he walked on. Instinct declared that something was amiss. He stopped in his tracks and slowly lifted his eyes to see what it was. There was a pack of five hyenas around him, devouring with their eyes the now motionless shell-shocked prey. Hyenas in packs were dreaded killers, leaving no chance for survival. He was mute and frozen.

If he did choose to cry for help the chances of being heard were remote. Unable to think, he stood as if rooted firmly into the soil. From deep within him the word "Arunachala," rose strong and clear. Out of nowhere he heard a loud voice. Turning in that direction he saw an old man rushing towards him club in hand, scaring away the hyenas. The hyenas vanished from the scene. Was this another instance to show that there was more in store for this young man?

So crystal clear is his memory of this exhilarating incident. On one of his usual wandering expeditions, Rajasekaran sat perched upon a rock. It may have been one rock many million years ago, but it had a kind of a split right through with a gap in between, a conformable place to rest. He sat there swinging his legs, enjoying the beauty of nature and taking in breaths of fresh air. The light was low and far away in the horizon, he spotted an old man walking towards him. What was this man doing all alone? He thought to himself. When the man came within ten feet of the rock, he jumped down in front of the man. He wanted to ask him what he was doing here. As his feet touched the ground and he regained his balance, he lifted his eyes. Lo and behold! What he saw took the air out of his

punishment. On hearing that Thich Nhat Hanh, an enlightened Buddhist monk, a practitioner of Zen Buddhism, was in the vicinity, he slipped out to see him. This monk was a guest at the Theosophical Society at Adyar in Chennai. When Swamiji fell at his feet to take his blessings, the monk rose from his seat, lifted Swamiji and embraced him. He then invited him to sit along with the others monks. They were seated according to their years as a monk at the monastery. He asked Swamiji how long he had been a monk and seated him in accordance with that order.

Besides Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Rajasekaran had strong magnetism towards the teachings of saints like Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramana Maharshi. During one of his mendicant wanderings in the north, he saw a tufted, bearded old man passing by, muttering the words Paramahamsa - Nityananda. After he fled by, Swamiji realised it was the venerable Babaji.

He has travelled the length and breath of India, covering a distance of nearly 30,000 kilometers of which 2000 kilometres on foot. From Gangotri (The place where Lord Shiva received Ganga in his locks) to Rameswaram (the

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auspicious meeting point of the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea) he has visited numerous places. Those strong in his memory are Gaumukh ("The Cow's mouth" the source of river Ganga), Tapovan (a peaceful place known for its hot springs which are believed to possess miraculous healing powers), Yamunotri (3293 meters above sea level, the sacred source of the river Yamuna), Manasarovar (Hindus believe that Goddess Parvati has taken the form of the Manasarovar lake and that deliverance is assured for people taking a bath here, a place to see before you die, "It's breath taking" Swamiji says), Badrinath (Known as 'Tapobhoomi' land of meditation and penance) Tapovan (Very close to the Indo-Chinese borders, couched in the scenic locales ofthe Garhwas Himalayas, here the idol of Lord Shiva is in the form of a pyramidal lingam), Benaras (Benaras or Varanasi is sandwiched between the rivers Varuna and Ashi as they join the Ganges, Varanasi takes its name from its location.) It is the cosmic center of the Universe. Mark Twain once wrote, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together") Puri (The abode of Lord Jagannath), Allabhabad (at the

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confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical saraswati river, the point of their mingling known as Sangamam), Hardwar (where the mighty Ganga comes down to the plains of India from the Himalayas) and Almora in Uttaranchal (here is a cave where Swami Vivekananda meditated) Shiva had manifested himself before Swamiji in Kedarnath. On his journey from Tapovan he decided to take a ride in the Army truck. The truck had no cushioned seats, only wooden planks to sit on. One sudden jerk caused a fracture to Swamiji's backbone. The doctor at the camp insisted he be put in a plaster cast. Refusing treatment, Swamiji placed his palm on the area closest to the fracture, healed himself and walked back. At a hospital in Hardwar, he decided to see a doctor, who insisted he take an x-ray. The doctor was obviously surprised to see the results.

An ashram in Almora was home for a while to Swamiji. The rooms of the inmates were spaced out. One late evening as they sat outside studying, they heard a fellow student shouting out a warning. A tiger was on the prowl; so they rushed into their respective rooms and bolted the doors. It was nothing unusual; tigers were known to roam freely in this

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part of the land. Not a soul dared to come out till dawn arrived. When morning came, one of the inmates was missing.

Unnerved and terrified at the thought of what could have happened they rushed to his room. The door was locked.

On knocking they were relieved to know he was very much alive, just unable to come out. Apparently his door had no bolt and in that state of panic he had lifted a large object and

placed it against the door to hold it in place. Now he was powerless to move the same object out of the way. Six of the

others got in through the window and were astonished to see the object; it was a solid grinding stone. It took the efforts of

all six collectively to shift, what this one man had lifted in the state of panic. Swamiji uses this as an example to explain that

we are capable of much more than we think.

North Indian Railways charged nothing to transport Sadhus. They could board at any station and disembark any

place without being asked to show the ticket. Swamiji would get on to any train anywhere, look out the window and get off

wherever his heart told him to. Then he would walk in any direction that he chose to. When he grew tired he would walk

to the closet station and get on to any train. It never mattered

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to him to ask what was its destination, as he would once again get off wherever the birds beckoned him. On one of these directionless journeys he came to the banks of the River Narmada. He clings to the memory of the Narmada as she danced in a frolicking state. Further on in the valley of the Vindhya Range, he saw something unimaginable. At a visible height, a honeycomb stretched from one mountain to another, a distance of almost 200 feet, forming a sort of bridge like link. The honeycomb belonged to a swarm of huge bees, the size of a man's palm.

The experience at the Kasi cremation ground, Manirgatta, was pole apart from any other that he had. As he stood watching the bodies burning, he thought to himself 'what is it like to die?' He got on to watchtower on the right and decided that he would get up from his meditation only after experiencing death. He sat in Padmasana for two and a half days, oblivious to his surroundings, without sleep or food. He sat meditating on death. After two and half days he felt something, he experienced his own death. He felt his body die, a feeling of losing contact. He began to see himself as a non-form. There was no more fear of death; the feeling

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had simply disappeared. It took him two hours to come back to a normal state. He was floating in a plane of elation, a feeling that he was performing abhisheka for Kasi Viswanatha, the reigning deity of Benaras. The cremation ghat contractor, a member of Harichandra's family spread the word about this sadhu who was deep in mediation. Hearing about him, some came with sweet and food offerings. This experience was a base for enlightment.

For days he attempted different techniques of tapas in pursuit of 'attaining oneness with God', but was not successful. He had done everything there was to do. Completely disillusioned he thought to himself that all the so called great enlightened masters were fellacious. In his fury he flung the picture of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, chipping a corner. His resolve not to be beaten down by life's disappointments was crumbling. The more fervently he went in pursuit of his goal he more evasive it got. He then gave up convincing himelf that he did not need to become enlightened.

Unexpectedly on the seventh day when he least expected it, he was enlightened. This was an exhilarating moment of joy, as a fever of contentment swept over him. These great

masters he amusingly says, had included him in their conspiracy. Enlightenment was like a song he didn't even know he knew. Now Rajasekaran had a profound spiritual experience that provided important insights into the spiritual nature of life and health, truths that he had been seeking for many years. The divine energy had penetrated into him like a shaft of light. This was the death of Rajasekaran and the birth of Nithyananda.

After being enlightened his basic body biochemistry vanished, he felt his body disappear. This fever took months to subside. He spent the next few months living under trees and inside caves meditating and pursuing spiritual purification. He sat still for days and nights in a village near Acharapakkam unmindful of what went on around him. He was in deep meditation, so involved that he never noticed the snake that lay close to him.

Word went around about this Sadhu who never spoke. People flocked around this young Swamiji more out of curiosity. A twenty-year-old girl was brought to him. A spirit had possessed her for nearly four years. The parents had tried every possible way to drive it away. Unaware of his powers he thought, "How am I to drive this spirit away?"

Ramaujar came into his vision and he heard him say, only a Brahmagnani (one who has knowledge of the Vedas) could do this. The spirit now begged him for diksa (salvation).

The spirit wanted him to do the last rites so it could attain enlightenment. he went to the seashore at Chennai and performed the rites. Immediately the spirit left the girl in peace. In his days that had seemed like a barren landscape so far, here was his first miracle, 10 months after the enlightenment.

For a while he lived in a cave at Perukararai, a hilly area near Acharappakkam in Tamil Nadu. He spent all his days absorbed in ecstasy, never searching for his meals. He remained mute and hardly possessed any proper clothing, but there was this aura about him then; he even had this extra glow in his eyes. Every day Padhmanabha Reddiar a local in the area would religiously bring him 'Kanji' (old rice with water) in a mud pot, his only intake for the day.

Swamiji then settled for a while at Salem, travelled to Erode and other nearby places to educate and heal people. He now spends his time between the Ashram at Bidadi (on the outskirts of Bangalore, 27 km from the city) and the City

Healing Centre. There is a constant line of people entering everyday to be healed. His concentration is now focused totally towards the meditation programs and to the healing work at both places. Everyday he strives to show us the path to spitituality and to teach us how meditation can transform our lives; how to able to heal ourselves both mentally and physically. He has something extraordinary in his ordinariness.

It was a damp and cloudy day when Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda Swamigal decided that a trip to the Bidadi Ashram was necessary. So off we drove, unaware of what spurred the trip and totally unprepared for what we were about to witness.

As we got down and walked along, there was such a loud commotion, one could not ignore it. A cow, while grazing, had accidentally got trapped in a slushy area, which once must have been a lakebed. The loose wet soil was making matters worse for the cow and it was unable to move. A crowd of no less than forty villagers had gathered around the cow. They tied ropes around and tried in every possible manner to rescue this pregnant cow. The cow was unable to lift her, totally exhausted body from the mud.

Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda Swamigal stopped at a distance of twenty feet from this scene. He instructed the people to stop the pushing and pulling. Just looked at the cow right into her eyes, clapped his hands and then signalled her to come out. He called for two men to help the cow as she tries to come out onto firm land. Having said this he simply turned and walked towards the ashram not waiting to see the result. We both stood rooted there unable to follow Swamiji, curious to see what would happen.

The cow got up and out of the slush with the help of those two men. It was really no struggle. She moved on to the bank with such ease. By this time Swamiji had walked a fair distance so we hurried to him with questions pouring out of every pore. His unambiguous answer was, "I did not perform any miracle, I just connected to the cow's intelligence which had gone totally haywire by all these people who had brain washed it into thinking that it would not be able to come out on its own. The moment the cow realized her capacity to save herself, she came out of the slush purely by her own effort." This is what Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda Swamigal is here for, "to guide us out of troubled waters."

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For his divyadrishti (divine vision) had already spotted, far away in Karnataka, the perfect place. A sprawling 20 acre site, in Bidadi on the outskirts of Bangalore, blessed with all the sacred signs that a centre of spirituality must possess - most important among these being a 600 - year - old banyan tree, the abode of the Muneeshwara ('lord of sages') residing on the land. On Swamiji's advice, his disciples hastened to Bidadi and found the holy site at that very spot, exactly like the one predicted by him over a year ago. All were overjoyed.

The owner of the land, however, was reluctant to sell.

"It will happen." smiled Swamiji.

And it did. One night, it is said, the Muneeshwara appeared to the owner in a dream and opened his eyes to the supreme honour that he was turning down in his ignorance. The very next day, in Swamiji's divine presence, the owner, now turned devotee, donated the land free of cost and the ashram was inaugurated on 1st January 2003. The Rs. 15 crore project is expected to be complete by the end of 2004.

Upon completion, it will include a divine healing centre, a vast meditation hall with a giant energised lingam, a gurukul,

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Athyanapeetam

Nithyanandapuri, Kallagopanahalli,

Mysore Road, Bidadi - 562 109

Bangalore District, Karnataka.

Tel: 080-56703444, 566918444.

Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88572-266-7