Aug 2016

Volume 1, Issue # 2

PERIYAVA Times
Shreyo bhUyAt sakala janAnAm

Guru Bhakti - Deivathin Kural - Part 2

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Gurur - Brahma,
Gurur - Vishnuh,
Guru - devo Maheswarah,
Gurur - sakshat, Param Brahma,
Tasmai Sri Gurave namah

hey say: Ones guru is greater than Iswara - Why? No one has seen Iswara - An individual who is present before
us in person, who is all the time pure of heart and mind, who possesses Jnana and is blameless, an individual
whose mind is not fickle - if we are fortunate to have such a man for a guru, he will give us the same peace of
mind and happiness that we otherwise seek from Iswara. That is the answer to the question.
Gurur-Brahma gurur-Visnuh gurur-dhevo Maheswarah. It is significant that no distinction is made in this verse
between the guru and the Paramathman. Incidentally, there is another important point to be noted in the verse. Siva
and Vishnu are mentioned in it and, if we pay obeisance to the guru, reciting this verse we will learn not to differentiate
between the two gods.
Iswara has many functions like creating and sustaining the universe. The guru does not have these functions. Iswara

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has an office. The guru has none. Instead of bothering someone who has an office we could have our purpose
fulfilled easily by seeking one who has office. All those excellent qualities that belong to Iswara are present in the guru
also. The guru is pure, not addicted to untruth; he has compassion and is a great jnanin. Besides, we see him in person
unlike Bhagwan whom we are unable to see before us. So if we grasp the sacred feet of the guru and become devoted to
him, we will receive all such blessings as are to be gained by becoming devoted to Iswara. That is why devotion to the
guru is extolled.

Thiruvengadu Adishtanam

Sri Sivan SAR experience videos www.kamakoti.org

www.periyavapuranam.org

he Adhistanam of the 57th Peetadhipati of Shri Kanchi

Kamakoti Peetam Sri Paramasivendra Saraswati II is
located in Thiruvenkadu near Sirkazhi in Tanjore district.
Thiruvenkadu is the Tamil Translation of Shwetaranya.
The Acharya attained mukti here on Sukla Dasami in the
month of Sravana of the cyclic year Parthiva (1586 AD).
Inside the serene and green temple, there are Sannadhi for
Shri Mahaganapathy, Shri Balasubramania Swamy, Shri
Bhairavar, Shri Suryan and Shri Dakshinamurthy. The
Acharya was the son of Parameswara, native of a village
on the bank of the river Pampa. Acharya was known as
Sivaramakrishna before Sanyasa. He was the Guru of the
great Brahma Jnani Nerur Sri Sadasiva Brahmendral, the
author of the Gururatna Maalika.
Thiruvenkadu is located at a distance of 12 kms from Sirkazhi, another temple town famous for Thirugnanasambandar.
The great Sidhha Purusha Sri Sivan SAR, the younger brother of Sri MahaPeriyava lived in Thiruvenkadu Adhistanam
for a longer period as ordained by Sri MahaPeriyava. Sri Sivan SAR has created a Nandhavanam in this Adhistanam
and spent most of His time in this place, writing the Magnus Opus Yenipadigalil Mandhargal (YPM) - the law book
of Spirituality.

Sri MahaPeriyava paadha dharisanam

Pala jenmam paapa vimochanam

Sri MahaPeriyava Manimandapam, NJ, USA

Visit us www.mahaperiyava.org

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Sri MahaPeriyavas Jayanthi Mahotsavam

By Gayathri Gurumurthy
Ambhal Flowers
14 LAmour Ct
Dayton, NJ 08810

Thelivu guruvin thirumeni kaandal

Thelivu guruvin thirunaamam cheppal
Thelivu guruvin thiruvaarththai keyttal
Thelivu guruvuru sindhiththal thaaney!
- Thirumoolar Thirumanthiram
What can be more blissful than being around Guru?
What can be more joyful than chanting Guru Naamam?
What can be more sacred than to hear the Guru preach?
What can be more ecstatic than holding onto Gurus feet?
What can give aboslute inner peace other than reminiscing
about Guru?

Vijaya Stores Book Sellers

24 South Mada Street
Mylapore, Chennai - 600004

uch is the glory of a Guru! While it is true for any

Guru, it is a Boundless Bliss when Lord Parameswara Himself Ascended as our Guru in Human Form in the
name of Sri MahaPeriyava.
While the thoughts and teachings of a Guru are ennobling, there can be no greater bliss than taking part in the Jayanthi
(Birthday) celebrations of the Guru Himself. Likewise, our Jadgadguru Sankaracharya Of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam The Sage of Kanchi - His Holiness Sri Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigals 123rd Jayanthi was celebrated on
May 21st 2016 all over the world.
Sri MahaPeriyavas Jayanthi Mahotsavam on behalf of Sri MahaPeriyava Manimandapam, NJ USA has been a celestial
festive with devotees participating from all around many states of USA. It was a day full of events which started
with Gho Pooja, Ganapathi Homam, Aavahanthi homam, followed by an elaborate Rudra Abhishekam and Trisathi
to Periyavas Padhuka and Vighraham. Following that was the Kanya Pooja, Suvaasini Pooja, Thambathi pooja and
Vaduga Pooja.
The afternoon program started with Mr.Lou Damiani (Disciple of Paul Brunton - Wisdoms Goldenrod) sharing his
experience with Sri MahaPeriyava followed by Thiruppugazh and Guru Namasankeertanam. After this, the Anugraha
Bhashanam of Sri Bala Periyava - His Holiness Sri Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal was telecasted to the devotees.
The most scintillating part of the days celebrations, the crest jewel on the crown was the Samashti MahaPeriyava
Ashtothra Archanai by 150+ children. Just to hear those kids voices chant Jaya Jaya Shankara, Hara Hara Shankara,
moved everyone present and reverberated the whole atmosphere with His presence. The Thiruveedi Ula of Sri
MahaPeriyava in Rishabha Vaaganum with Nadaswaram, Veda Parayanam, Sahasranama Parayanam and Thirupugazh
was another vibrating moment.
Thus the whole day was filled with Bhakthi and Bhojanam being served to all the devotees. It is indeed befitting to say
that all of us felt Kanchipuram in North America.

Jayanthi Around the World

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Paramacharya CEO: Attend to detail; without losing the

Upcoming
Important Dates: panoramic view - By Abilash Sridharan
August 12th - Anusham
August 15th Pradosham
August 17th - Avani Avittam
August 29th Pradosham
September 4th - Vinayagar
Chathurthi
September 8th - Anusham
September 14th - Pradosham
September 27th - Pradosham
October 1st - Navarathri

To a great mind, nothing is little Sherlock Holmes

(A Study in Scarlet)
In our professional careers, we hear our managers and
colleagues mention several times, dont waste time
dotting your is and crossing your ts, no one attends to
minutiae. But legendary CEOs do. They attend to every
detail, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant!
Take Apple, both the worlds most valued company and
brand. A key driver of Apples brand equity is its perception
of perfection. Steve Jobs, the legendary founder of Apple
Inc, and his obsession to details had a huge role to play
in building the brand. He believed that, for an object to
resonate with consumers, every piece of it had to be right
- even those the consumer couldnt see. He personally got
involved with how many screws were there in a laptop
case and instructed his engineers to redesign the Macs
motherboard because it looked inelegant Sounds intense?
But its the attention to detail that laid the foundation for
Apples success.
And that is the first lesson on leadership that one
can learn from Paramacharya also. One underlying,

recurring theme that cuts across all his actions,

interactions and teachings, is his colossal
attention to detail! Any individual who reads

Periyava Talks
The following is an excerpt from
an intervew between A.S. Raman
(Editor, The Illustrated Weekly) and
Sri MahaPeriyava.

Q: What will be according to your

Holiness, the impact of the recent
spectacular achievements of science
on Mans faith in religion?
Periyava says :
Science and spirituality are coming
close together. Today the scientist
tells that all matter can be reduced
to energy which I call parasakthi.
He thus finds himself unconsciously
in the company of advaithins. His
conviction that energy is absolute
power despite the multiplicity
of manifestations such as heat,
electricity and so on is bound to
lead him to shankaras religion
philosophy. The perceiver that is
the soul and the perceivable will
eventually become one. Science in
its destructive aspect is of course a
different matter.

through even a few chapters of Deivathin Kural, would

experience this first hand. His backing of arguments
with thorough facts, relevant anecdotes and historical
references is hypnotizing. Be it a casual conversation with
a devotee while blessing their family, or a deep technical
discussion with a pre-eminent politician, bureaucrat, poet
or professional, he never dealt with a subject ordinarily.
Let me take two diverse anecdotes to make the above
point.
The first anecdote is a casual conversation with
a close devotee (Mr. Ramanan, courtesy: www.
mahaperiyavapuranam.org), who wanted Paramacharyas
anugraham before purchasing a house. Paramacharya
could have simply blessed the devotee and sent him away.
But he wouldnt do that. He asked him detailed questions
on what the living area and the price per square feet of the
house were?, what his monthly income, other expenses
and savings were?, how he was planning to repay his
mortgage? (even reeling out the precise 4-digit monthly
amount that he would have to pay) and finally rendered
his Anugraham to the devotee (and the devotee mentions

Sri Sivan SAR

in an interview that his family comfortably purchased the

house and repaid the loan well ahead of the actual tenure).
The second anecdote involves Kannadasan, the great
Tamil poet and an ardent devotee of Paramacharya who
inspired him to pen his literary magnum opus, Arthamulla
Hindu Matham (Meaningful Hinduism). During his first
visit to Kanchipuram, he had mentioned to Paramacharya
that he was writing a novel titled Cheraman Kadhali. And
Paramacharya asked him about whether the city Palani
belonged to the Chera kingdom, as per the time period of
his story. The great litterateur didnt know the answer and
couldnt understand why Paramacharya was asking the
question. And then Paramacharya went on to explain in
detail on how Palani as a city was a disputed territory that
shuttled between the Chera and Chola kingdoms through
the course of a few centuries. The poet was dumbfounded
at Paramacharyas grasp of the details! It was probably his
way of rendering an anugraham on the poet, who went on
to win the Sahitya Academy award for this novel!
All his devotees firmly believe that hes an incarnation
of Lord Shiva himself, and therefore a storehouse of
knowledge. However, it is the time and energy that he
invested in attending to the minutest of details even in
the most of trivial of issues that created an indelible mark
in the minds of everyone who came in contact with him.
And this is a lesson for every modern day business leader
invest time and energy, and attend to detail, to earn
credibility from every stakeholder.

(Sivan SAR Jayanthi Sunday 25th September 2016)

haratha desham - an Eternal Punya Bhoomi, has got many Siddha

Purusha at various points of time. However, we mortals seldom identify
them as these Purusha abhorred pomp, show and fame. One among
such great Siddha Purusha is Sadguru Sri Sivan Sar.
Hailing from the glorious lineage of Govinda Deekshithar, Sri Sar was
the poorvashrama younger brother of Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetam HH Sri MahaPeriyava. Sri Sadasiva Sastry alias Sivan Sar
took birth on October 3rd 1904 in Eechangudi near Thiruvaiyaaru on the banks
of the holy river Kaveri in the month of Purattasi and star Pushya. Sri Sar, who
was in gruhasthasramaa for a brief period, was a renowned photographer and
artist in His younger days. Like how young Sadasivan renounced everything
in a flash of a moment and became Sri Sadasiva Brahmam, same way, one day
Sri Sadasiva Sastry also renounced worldly activities in a jiffy and the world
saw in him a Mutrilum Thurandha Thuraivi and started to fondly rever him
as Sri Sivan Sar.
Sri Sar stayed for extended periods of time at Kumbakonam and at Sri
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetathipathi Sri Paramasivendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya
Swami Adhishtanam in Thiruvengadu before moving to Chennai. During
this period, He spent time in creating Nandavanam at many temples while
writing the glorious spiritual treasure Magnus Opus Yenipadigalil Maanthargal. With a thin saffron robe on a slender
frail frame, Sri Sar was an Ekaagra Siddhar who had chakra Rekha in all his ten fingers, a sign of great Chakravarthi.
It is usually observed that Sages and monks intake at least a fistful of rice, fruits and water every day. But Sri Sar had
only rice measurable with 3 fingers (Chitigai in Tamil). He completely abstained from taking water. Sri Sar avoided
all worldly pleasures and sanctified the period he lived with us.
Sri Sar attained Mahasamadhi at Chennai on March 7th 1996 in his 91st age on a Phalguna Krishna Paksha Dvithiya
Thithi. Knowing about Sri Sar the Sidhha Purusha who renounced Himself is a bliss. Daily Recital of Yenipadigalil
Maanthargal is indeed a supreme spiritual exercise. This book is a treasure trove of ocean of universal knowledge
and essence of Vedic philosophies given in a succinct form. Easily comprehendible by even the common layman, this
spiritual odyssey is often referred to as the Law book of spirituality by His devotees. It explains pristine rules of
what and what-nots one should follow in life. The Dos and Donts of living a day to day life cannot be more pointedly
prescribed than as given by Sri Sar. Indeed following the simple tenets in Yenipadigalil Maanthargal is enough to
evolve in ones life and attain Mukthi from the cycle of life and death.
In the ocean of gnana, Sri Sar is an immeasurable divine Pearl we mortals were blessed upon.
HIS Silaa Vigraham and few things used by Sri Sar is being worshipped at Siva Saagaram : SF-1,E Block, Sri
Jayendra Colony, OMR Road, Kandanchavadi, Chennai - 96.
Let us follow the Golden words of Sri Sivan Sar sincerely and pray to Him to evolve in life:
*To Conduct Oneself Without Wounding Others heart
* To Lead a simple and honest family life
* A mouth that doesnt utter lies *
Join FB Group: Sadguru Sri Sivan SAR

Sri MahaPeriyava Manimandapam, NJ, USA

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Periyava Times churns up
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is the article for which I am
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Times - Shantha V.

FROM THE EDITORIAL

TEAM
Dear Readers,
We are deeply humbled by your
feedback and well wishes. Periyava
Times is our samarpanam to the
lotus feet of Sri MahaPeriyava
and our Acharyas. We seek his
blessings to guide us in this effort
and make Periyava Times grow
by leaps and bounds.
We look forward to hearing
more from you. Write to us at
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significant verse in the Svetasvatara Upanishad says:

yasya deve para bhaktih yatha deve tatha gurau,
tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah
If one has supreme devotion to God and the same kind of
devotion to his guru, then to him, the essence, the subtle
truths of the scriptures become revealed. The greater the
growth of devotion for the guru, the greater is the inflow
of the gurus grace. Guru bhakti will make possible all that
is impossible; the unattainable can also be attained by guru
bhakti.
When one thinks about Guru Bhakthi and Periyava, we
remember Pradosham Sri Venkatarama Iyer, fondly referred
as Pradosham Mama, titled as *64th Nayanmar* by Sri
Sri Maha Periyava Himself, who built Manimandapam in
Orikkai for his Guru, Maha Periyava, with just Gurus grace.
Mama was employed in railways and after retirement, as
per Periyavas orders, he came and settled in Kanchipuram.
During his service, without saving a single penny for
himself and his family, he spent all money for Periyava like
monthly anusham, annual anusham and Periyava Jayanthi
celebrations. He was always reminiscing about Periyavas
grace.
Sri Periyava bought mama a house in Bangaru Kamakshi
Thottam in Kanchipuram, which mama aptly named as
Sri Maha Periyava Gruham. Following is an incident
which highlights Mamas Guru Bhakti. Sri Ganesa Sarma
Anna, who is interested in doing alankarams, for one of
the Pradoshams, did alankaram to Periyava, which turned
out to look like Sri Kamakshi. Annas joy knew no bounds
as Periyava chose to give darshan like Sri Kamakshi on
that day. Immediately, he wanted to share this happiness
with Pradosham Mama. Mama after doing namaskarams,
observed Periyava and told Anna, You are an Ambal
Upasaka. Thats why you wanted to see Periyava as Ambal
and Sri Kamakshi.
Now, Anna thought that Mama wanted to see Periyava
as Parameshwara, who is none other saakshat Kailasapathi.
So, for next Pradosham, Anna went prepared with all
the ornaments like half-moon to be kept on the head and
other necessary ones. After abishekham, he patiently did
alankaram to Periyava vigraham and Periyava looked

Childrens Corner
Color your Periyava

exactly like Kailasavaasi Parameshwara.

Mama came, offered namaskarams to Periyava and
did not say anything about the alankaram. So, Anna was
thinking if he missed out any details and wanted to ask
Mama about this thoughts. When he went to Mama, he
immediately told, Adei! Because I told you that you were
Ambal Upasaka, you wanted to see Periyava as Ambal the
other day; today did you do alankaram as Parameshwara
as I consider Periyava as Pratyaksha Parameshwara? But,
even if Parameshwara Himself comes before me, unless He

comes like my Periyava, with a dandam in His hand,

wearing Kashaya vasthra and a shaven head, I would
not accept Him.

We all have read in history that Eknath told his Guru

Janardhana Swami when Dattatreya Swami appeared
before him in human form that his Guru was everything to
him and that he was happy to see this form of God rather
than God in human form. Now, when Pradosham Mama
said this statement on similar lines, his bhakthi towards
his Guru, Sri Sri Maha Periyava was clearly evident. Mama
considered Periyava as his everything as mentioned in the
verse Gurur-pitaa gurur-maataa, gurur-daivam, gururgatih.

Art of the day - Umeshs Ummachi

By Umesh Sadasivam, (Hyderabad, India)

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