Chapter 4: Vision of Vāsavāmbika in Kuruvapuram
We three wanted to do meditation in accordance with the instructions of Srī Palaniswami. Srī Palaniswami said, “My dear Madhavā, my dear Shankarā, let all the three of us meditate. We can then discuss about our spiritual experiences felt during meditation. As this is the order of Srīvallabha, we will definitely have the experience of some spiritual turning point in the future. In the future, the Christian calendar will be in use. According to the Christian calendar, today, Friday, May 25, 1336 is a completely propitious day with high
yogic powers. This day will be of special significance in our lives. I will leave my physical body here and go to Kuruvapuram in my subtle body. It is a child’s play for me to roam in four or five places at the same time in my subtle form. We will all remain in the meditation of Srīpāda Srīvallabha. When His permission is granted, I will reach Kuruvapuram in my subtle body.
The way for accessibility of Swamī’s grace
On hearing the words of Palaniswami I wondered and said, “Swamī, Mādhavā saw the divine auspicious form of Srīvallabha. You are always in communion with Srīvallabha in subtle planes, but I know only His name but not His form. How can I meditate upon Him?” Palaniswami smiled and said, “My boy, if you
have devotion for Srīpāda, everything can be achieved. A tortoise protects its offspring with thought waves even if they are left at a very far away place. A cat carries its kitten from one house to another keeping them in its mouth. It will keep them in a place that it considered safe. In the same way at first, He will rule His devotees with the tortoise-offspring justice. After some progress, He will rule them with cat-offspring justice. Later, they will be ruled with monkey-offspring justice initially. Here, there is the necessity of the offspring to hold onto its mother with effort. After some more advancement, the devotees behave like the small fish which roam freely behind their mother wherever it goes. When you sit for meditation, He give dārshan to you. Srīvallabha wanted to take an important decision for the future. So, He wanted me to go over to Kuruvapuram in my subtle body on this momentous day. As soon as I receive His orders during meditation, I will at once proceed to Kuruvapuram. Some important incident is going to take place there. Lord Srī Datta has granted me the unique opportunity of witnessing that event completely with my eyes.” Saying so, he went into meditation. Mādhavā and myself also took to meditation soon after.
Meditation went on like this for ten ghadiyas[1]. All of us became our formal selves curiously at the same time. After meditation, Srī Palaniswami was in very high spirits. Mādhavā and I requested Srī Palaniswami to narrate his experience during meditation. He narrated it with all smiles in the following manner:
The story of Shiva Sarma. The result from contemplation of Srīpāda Srīvallabha
“How fortunate are the people living in this Kali Yuga![2] Kuruvapuram is a small village. A Vedic scholar and pious Brahmin named Shiva Sarma, who recognised the greatness of Srīpāda, was living there along with his wife Ambika. Theirs was the only Brahmin family in Kuruvapuram. Daily he used to cross the river and earn money through acts appropriate for Brahmins to eke out a living. After making some money, he used to return to Kuruvapuram. He belonged to the lineage of Sage Kasyapa. Shiva Sarma was a great scholar, a strict adherent of religious practices and belonged to the Yajurveda[3] sect. All his earlier children died within a very short time after birth. At last, one son survived. Unfortunately, he was a dullard and a blockhead. Shiva Sarma became weak and sick as a skeleton due to the distress caused by the useless child. One day he recited Veda in the presence of Srīvallabha and afterwards stood silent. Srī Srīpāda noticed the sorrow in his mind and with a gentle smile said, ‘Shiva Sarmā! I am a slave to those who forget all worries and constantly meditate upon Me. Tell Me about your desire.’ For that Shiva Sarma said, ‘Swamī, I wished that my son should become a greater scholar and orator than me. All my aspirations became futile. My son became an incorrigible idiot. Being omnipotent, it is not difficult for You to make him a learned and useful person. I leave it to Your kind will.’
“Srīpāda averred, ‘My dear, nobody can escape the fruits of his past deeds. The entire Creation is moving subject to unbreakable laws. A woman gets her husband as the fruit of her worship. She gets children as the fruit of donations made by her. One should always donate to deserving people. Donations made to unworthy persons bring undesirable results. If food is offered to a good-natured person, the donor of food derives some part of the merit accruing from the good deeds performed by the good person. Donation should be made without arrogance. Then only it gives good results. On account of the past karma[4], you got a dull witted one as your son. You couple wanted a child with a long span of life. You did not want a short-lived child. So, I granted you a son with a complete span of life. According to the rule of karma, to make him a suitable scholar by destroying his previous life’s sins, you will have to sacrifice your life. If you are prepared to sacrifice your life, I will make your son a worthy scholar.’ For that Shiva Sarma replied, ‘Swamī, I entered old age. I am ready to sacrifice my life. What more can I wish than my son becomes a great scholar and speaker like Brihaspati[5].’ Then the omnipotent Srīpāda declared, ‘Yes, you will die soon. After death you will remain for some time in the subtle body and undertake penance in an underground cave at the foot of a neem tree[6] in Dhīsila[7] town. Afterwards, you will take birth in the holy land of Maratha[8]. Do not reveal this to your wife under any circumstances.’
Revealing the future birth of Srīpāda Srīvallabha
“Shiva Sarma died soon. Ambika along with her son were begging for food and were living a miserable life. There was no end to the taunts and remarks of ridicule by the neighbours. That Brahmin youth could not bear the derisive remarks of the people. He ran towards the river to commit suicide. His helpless mother also wanted to end her life and she also ran after him. As a fruit of their previous births’ merit, Srīpāda saw them on the way. He dissuaded them from their suicide attempt. With His boundless compassion He converted the foolish boy to an erudite scholar by His mere will. He instructed Ambika to spend the rest of her life worshipping Shiva. He expatiated at length the result obtained from worshipping
Shiva at the time of sunset on Saturdays. He granted her a boon that in her next birth she would be blessed with a son who is equal to Him in all respects. However, as there was no one equal to Him in all the three worlds, He Himself resolved to be born as her son in her ensuing birth.
“My dear, Srī Charan’s incredible līla[9] took place in my presence today i.e., Friday, May 25, 1336.
Vasavī’s manifestation and her story
“Fortuitously, I took a bath in the Krishna River along with Lord Srīpāda. After the bath, Srīpāda created yogagni[10] with His atma shakthi. In that yogagni, Kanyakamba manifested with a wonderful agni-like complexion. For many days I tried to have dārshan of Vasavī Kanyakamba, the sister of Srīpāda Srīvallabha. But for some unknown reason, she was not giving me dārshan. I prostrated myself at the feet of Ambika. A smiling Srīvallabha was looking very pleased. The mother Srī Vasavī resembled exactly Srīvallabha. Anyone who sees them will think that they both are twins.
“In that great Kuravapuram kshetra[11], no one else except Srīpāda, Mother Vasavī and I were there. Srīvallabha’s yoga līlas are endless. I was wondering in my mind where the town of Dhīsila was and how it was possible for the dead Shiva Sharma to do penance with only a subtle body. Srīvallabha said, ‘There is no limit for yoga shakti. The yogic paths of Lord Datta are very strange, ever new, unheard of before and unthinkable.’
“After some time, a couple manifested with divine glow from that yogagni. Srīvallabha told me that they were the father and mother of Mother Srī Vasavī, named Kusuma Sresthi and Kūsumbi. Mother Srī Vasavī was in meditation posture for some time. From the yogic fire generated by Srīpāda Srīvallabha, Srī Nagareswara Swamī manifested. After that, the brother of Srī Vasavī, Virūpaksha, and the gomathas[12] belonging to 102 gotras[13] who did agni pravesham[14], emerged from yogagni. Srīvallabha said pleasingly, ‘Virūpaksha was born with the amsa[15] of Nandiswar[16] and I put My amsa also in him. “‘My maternal grandfather Srī Bapannavadhanulu, who invoked the power from Surya Mandalam[17] into the Srisaila Mallikarjuna lingam, lived in his previous birth in Brihat Sila Nagaram with the name of Bhaskara[18] and was the preceptor to the king. He was born with the amsa of Brahma. On the full moon day in the month of Sravana[19], I will definitely come to Brihat Sila Nagaram. My sister Srī Vasavī Kanyakamba will tie rakhī[20] to my hand. My dear Palanī! My deeds, plays and great events cannot be done by anybody. Nobody can imitate them. Nobody can get My power. As the fruit of your intense penance, you could have the dārshan of Siddha Vaishyas[21], Mother Vasavī and our parents Kusuma Sresthi and Kūsumbi. Now this Kuruvapuram is going to become a big palace, look!’
“Wonderful! Surprising! A great king’s palace was created by mere will. We were all seated in simhasanas[22] studded with diamonds.
“Srī Charana said, ‘Gomathas belong to 714 gotras. The couples who entered agni along with Ambika belonged to only 102 gotras. During the times of Swarochisha Manu[23], there were eighteen towns devoted to Lord Ishvara, the most important one being Brihat Sila Nagaram. If anyone of you who are devotees of Datta, has dārshan of Ambika, Nagareswar[24] and other gods in Brihat Sila Nagaram, you will get special merit. Wherever Datta’s name is chanted, Mother Vasavī will live there incognito. She will fulfill the desires. Wherever Vasavī Kanyakamba’s name is remembered, there Datta will live incognito. With small effort great merit is granted. In Krita Yuga[25], people were following the truth and were siddhas. In Treta Yuga[26] sacrifices like yagnas and yagas were in vogue. In Dwāpara Yuga[27], mantra shastra[28] was prevalent. In this Kali Yuga, tantra shastra[29] is given special importance. Tantra means spreading the chaitanyam[30]. The root cause of this entire Creation is Myself. All the thirty-three crores[31] of gods, all the living beings, and endless millions of worlds are within Me and because of Myself they become dynamic and because of My presence will have different kinds of powers. The ultimate refuge of all the rivers is the ocean. Whichever god is worshipped, the worship reaches Me. If I am worshipped, one will get the fruit of worshipping all gods. The worlds that manifest coming out of My Parabrahma tatwam[32] are My images only. The thing coming out of My Parabrahma tatwam as the universe is My image only. There is no difference between Me and My image. The thing in the form of Adi Parashakti[33] is Myself only. The Paratatwam is beyond the male and female forms. When I am in the form of a man, I am called Datta. When I am in the form of a woman, I am called Adi Parashakti. That is why the Vedic scholars said, ‘Srī Krishna Syamala Devi and Srī Ramo Lalithambika1.’ The rays emanating from My gross form will make the places where I move to be sacred. My subtle body will be pervading the whole earth. My causal body will be pervading millions and millions of universes. My maha causal body is in the form of sat-chit-ananda2. It remains in rest immersed in Brahmananda. In all these four states, My consciousness works simutaneously. No one can get Me through any type of japa3 or tapa4 or yogic practices or any other method. One can get Me only through My special grace. Even those sacred people who had merged in Me will have to take birth with gross bodies on different occasions according to My will and perform My tasks.
Word References
[1] An Indian unit of time equalling to 24 minutes; thus, the meditation went on for four hours.
[2] Dark age
[3] One of the four Vedas, contains mantras for sacrifices
[4] Acts and their effects from previous lives
[5] The Lord of prayer and devotion; the guru of the gods
[6] Tree native to India and Burma widely used as a medicinal plant
[7] Dhīsila Nagaram: the later Shirdi
[8] The Marathi-speaking region, mainly in the Indian state Maharashtra
[9] Sportive play
[10] Yogic fire
[11] Sacred place
[12] Normally, the cow as a mother symbol; here, the 102 Ārya Vaishya women who sacrificed themselves by immolation in fire rather than being captured by the king
[13] Lineages
[14] Self-sacrif Victory unto ice by burning oneself to uphold an ideal or dharma, the divine Law
[15] Part, a part of God that has descended and taken to form; an avatar is a complete descent
[16] Nandi, the bull, the vehicle of Shiva, his guardian and servant; Nandiswar: Nandi and Ishvara together as a unit
[17] Srī Bapannavadhanulu was a reputed man of science and religion who had earlier channelled the energy of the Sun and a group of other stars (Surya Mandala) with a special ritual into a Shiva linga at Srisailam called Srī Saila Mallikarjuna lingam making it a powerful deity in that area.
[18] The spiritual guru of the Ārya Vaishya community in the Brihat Sila Kingdom
[19] 5th month of the Indian year, beginning at the end of July and ending in the 3rd week of August
[20] Friendship thread
[21] Persons of the Arya Vaishya community who have attained the sublime state of a holy person with super-natural powers (siddhis)
[22] A royal throne
[23] The second of the Manus, the head of the second aeon (manvantara)
[24] Name of Shiva
[25] The first of the four ages, the Golden Age
[26] The second of the four yugas
[27] The third of the four ages
[28] Science of sound and the use of mantras
[29] Practices for experiencing the concrete manifestation of divine energy through rituals
[30] Dynamism; consciousness; the energy called ‘Kundalini’ in the body is chaitanyam outside
[31] Indian number; a crore corresponds to ten millions
[32] Highest divine essence
[33] Highest original power; also Paratatwam
Video of Part 1 Chapter 4 of Vision of Vāsavāmbika in Kuruvapuram – Sripada Srivallabha Charitramrutam (English)
Video of Part 1 Chapter 4 of Vision of Vāsavāmbika in Kuruvapuram – Sripada Srivallabha Charitramrutam (Kannada) – Coming soon
Video of Part 1 Chapter 4 of Vision of Vāsavāmbika in Kuruvapuram – Sripada Srivallabha Charitramrutam – Coming soon
Video of Part 1 Chapter 4 of Vision of Vāsavāmbika in Kuruvapuram – Sripada Srivallabha Charitramrutam – Coming soon
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