The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

Gajanan Saraswathi continued his journey and arrived in Shiva Kanchi/today’s Kanchipuram, where he met with one familiar person, he prostrated before Swamiji and recollected that miraculous event took place in Rameshvaram, he revealed his desire to serve Gajananswaraswthi.   He felt once again trapped in the worldly bondage of a devotee, he does not want to discourage the poor Brahmin, and so he decided to stay there for a while.  The Brahmin and his wife sincerely served Gajanansaraswathi, they believed that if Swamiji get pleased at their self-less service, it will remove all the afflictions and worries.  One day Gajananswaraswthi asked what is his purpose of serving an ascetic, poor Bhramin explained his miserable situation at home and their desire to have an offspring, eventually Brahmin blessed with a child and wealth, watching this miracle, rest of the villagers assembled before Gajanansaraswathi with their various requests. It made him leave the village of Shivakanchi, he decided to choose a place where he can contemplate upon Lord without any obstacles, and he extensively traveled through the woods of Nepal.   He settled in a dense wood and continued meditation.    King of Nepal was fond of hunting, once he chased a lion and arrived in the dense wood were Gajanansaraswathi was meditating, where he could see the lion resting close to the feet of Swamiji and he was affectionately patting the lion, seeing the King and his men the lion started roaring.   Swamiji told the King and his men that need not worry about the lion, it will not move an inch until it gets an order from him, he asked the King that he wants to kill this lion but he is scared of it now, Swamiji asked the King, he has no skill to instill life in any creature, therefore why he wants to take away the same, bloodshed is against the Dharma and requested King to return back.  After returning from the Jungle, King of Nepal could not forget the incident and conversation with the Swamiji.  He was surprised to see a noble soul, an ascetic in his Kingdom, he was astonished to see the ascetic whose feet is a shelter - place for an untamed lion.  The next day he returned in search of Swamiji in the woods.

The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

Sri Thrailanga Swamiji after receiving Sanyasa came to know as ‘Gajanan Saraswathi’, eventually he received eight types of Siddhis/supernatural powers, such as Anima/ reducing one’s body to the size of  an atom, Mahima/ expanding one’s body into infinitely large size, Garima/ becoming substantially heavy, Laghima/ becoming too light, Prapthi/ ability to be everywhere, Prakamaya / ability to obtain anything desired, Ishithva / the power of Lordship, Vashithva/ ability to have control over everything including essential elements.  Gajanan Saraswathi remained in the sincere service of his preceptor for another ten years, after Samadhi of his preceptor Gajanansaraswathi continued his spiritual journey at the age of eighty-eight years of old.  In 1695 he started journey from Pushkar by foot, he visited many sacred shrines and finally arrived in Rameshvaram where he could see the union of several saints and holy men from various places, there was an auspicious event in Rameshvarm, he met a few people from the village of Holiya, people were shocked to see Thrailanga in the form of an ascetic, they requested him to come back to his hermitage in the funeral ground, his stepmother was no more and Sridhar became too old.  Gajanan Saraswathi revealed his intention to conduct spiritual trip to various places at the order of his preceptor, therefore it is impossible for him to return to the motherland, saying so he disappeared in the crowd of the ascetic.  There was a huge crowd in Rameshvaram due to Mela, suddenly a crowd dragged the attention of Gajanansaraswathi, there he could see a woman weeping on the death of her husband whose dead body was kept tied in clothe.   Gajanansaraswathi asked the people why they are fastening a lively person into the casket, he took water from his vessel/Kamandalu and sprinkled on the body, immediately it started showing the sign of life.  He came out of the casket and the ropes were removed.  Swamiji instructed the crowd to feed him with the milk.  The miracle of dead man alive spread like the wind  in all over Rameshvarm, those entire crowd were eager to witness Gajanansaraswathi, that night he left the crowd silently.

The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

Thrailangadhar continued meditation for hours and hours, even though he did not achieve the fruit of his penance, he was waiting for his Preceptor.   One day an ascetic appeared before the hermitage of Thrailangadhar, he called ‘Shivram’, he was astonished to hear him, his mother used to call him affectionately, none of the family members or people of the village used to address him like that, everyone calls him ’Thrailangdhar’.  He came out f the hermitage and found an ascetic standing before the doorsteps, he had divine effulgence and full of bliss.   Thrailangdhar immediately prostrated before him, he remembered the dream he had a few days back, instantly he made up his mind this is the ascetic should be sent by God as his preceptor, he repeatedly prostrated before the ascetic.  They engaged in long conversation for hours within that time meal arrived from Sridhar’s house and they had a meal together.  The ascetic was Sri Bhageerathswamiji who was residing in Patiala; he followed the divine order of Lord and arrived at the doorsteps of Thrailanga. He revealed his intentions to visit holy shrines and rivers of South, after spending a few days in south his plans to leave to sacred Pushkar in Gujarat.  Thrailanga said ‘Maharaj, if you do not mind, please take me with you. I want to spend the rest of my life in your service.’  Bhageerathswamiji took Thrailangar with him to various shrines and finally they have reached in Pushkar by foot.  During this period of time, Bhageerath Swamiji well understood the spiritual strength of Thrailanga who needs to be channelized; otherwise, he was well versed with the practice of spirituality.  Later, Thrailanga learned all the Yogic practices from Bhageerathswamiji. They took nearly six years by foot to arrive in Pushkar, by the time Thrailanga was 77 years of old.   Finally, that auspicious day arrived; Thrailanga received formal initiation to spirituality from his preceptor Bhageerathswamiji.  Thrailanga took a holy dip in Pushkar and seated in a sanctified place at the order of his preceptor, after proper initiation Swamiji pronounced sacred syllables in his ears, in this way he officially received Dheeksha from Bhageerathswamiji .  Swamiji advised Thrailanga ‘I have advised all those Yogic practices, giving you the sacred syllables of Beejakshara, keep meditating upon it, I have received from my preceptor, this is the process of initiation to Sanyasa, you will be known as ‘Gajanan Saraswathi’ from today onwards.’

The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

Vidhyavathi was terrified at the sight of the venomous serpent with sparkling hood behind Shivram who was meditating upon the Lord.  She screamed for help and one of the servants rushed to Shivram and soon he returned saying that he did not see any serpent, he said only Baba was sitting eyes closed.  Vidhyavathi enquired Thrailanga about this incident but he remained silent. She informed her husband that Shivram is not an ordinary human being; he is divine personified on Earth.  But Narasimhdhar was not willing to believe any of these, instead he decided to keep an eye on him, soon he also witnessed the same sight Vidhyavathi was foretold him, he was extremely frightened at the sight, after this incident he did not encourage any argument with Thrailanga, he firmly believed that Thrailanga is not an ordinary human, he is divine personified.  Years passed, Sridhar took great care of family business and prosperities, Thrailanga as usual engaged in the veneration of Lord with his mother and spend hours and hours in meditation.  During this time, Nrisimhdhar passed away leaving his two wives and family, Thrailanga had little change in his behavior, he spends most of the time in the service of his two mothers and worship of Lord. Vidhyavathi passed away after ten years of the death of Nrisimhdhar.  Thrailanga abandoned all the relationship with his stepbrother and mother after the death of his mother, all these years he was tirelessly serving his mother after the death of his father, after mother’s death he felt no next of kin and he has no desire to take hold of the properties left behind by his father.  He started living in the funeral ground where his mother’s funeral pyre was performed; he smeared sacred ashes all over the body from the funeral pyre and sit for meditation for hours and hours.  Sridhar felt very sad for his brother, his stepmother requested Thrailanga to come back home, but he was not willing.  He advised his brother to keep all the properties with him, he has no desire for wealth or money which has fleeting nature, Thrailanga revealed his intention to pursue self-realization and God-realization which could provide everything that is impossible for an ordinary human.  He asked his brother to forget about him and enjoy living with the comforts left behind by his father.  Sridhar was deeply disappointed at the secluded nature of his elder brother, finally, Thrailanga asked his brother to build a hermitage in the funeral ground, and arrange to serve meals for the needy, after this incident, Thrailanga adopted funeral ground as his abode like Lord Shankara.

The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

Years pass by Nrisimhdhar felt the need to perform marriage for Shivaram.   Nrisimhdhar was  too old to take care of family business so he thought if Shivram get married he would show some interest in the family business and come back to normalcy, he discussed this matter with Vidhyavathi and the couple began to search for a bride for Shivram.  Soon, Shivram got to know the news of the search for a bride, he told his father that he is not interested to get married, therefore do not waste his good energies in search for a bride, he decided to remain unmarried in whole life, he does not like to get involved in worldly matters.  Nrisimhdhar was shocked at the response of his elder son, he discussed the matter with Vidhyavathi, and she said she will put all effort to persuade Shivram, within a few days she found that it is impossible to influence Shivram who was too firm in his decision, she told her husband that Shivram is unyielding and therefore it is impossible to do anything without his consent.  She requested her husband not to put pressure on him, and she revealed that she has strong faith in Lord Mahadev, He will do well for him. Nrisimhdhar worriedly responded that someone has to take care of the properties of the family and possession; someone has to carry out the spiritual and religious rites, who will do all these in his absence?  Vidhyavathi said to proceed with the wedding of Sridhar who is younger to Shivram, in the meantime Shivram will come back to worldly living.   Nrisimhdhar asked her why she is not against performing the marriage of stepson, Vidhyavathi said that she is keenly watching Shivram from childhood days, he is too different from others, he sits long hours in meditation with her as if he was copying her, she said once she noticed brilliant rays initiated from the idol of Lord Shiva and merged in the body of Shivram.  After this incident Vidhyavathi was meticulously following Shivram in all his activities, several times she has seen through the window of their house that Shivram sits under the Peepal tree hours and hours  contemplating upon supreme Lord, one day she saw a venomous snake with a sparkling hood behind Shivram who was immersed in meditation.  Narsimhdhar was gone into great astonishment after listening from his wife.

 

The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

Nrisimhdhar sternly warned Vidhyavathi that if any arguments or conflicts take place in the family after the second marriage, Vidhyavathi should take complete responsibility for it.   Thus, Nrisimhdhar got married for the second time, Vidhyavathi happily offered all the responsibilities of the family to the new bride, she promised the new bride that she will always be on her side to perform the duties and responsibilities of the house, afterward Vidhyavathi spend her large part of her life in the veneration of supreme Lord Shiva.  After some time there was a miracle happened in the year 1607, on the Shuklapaksha Ekadashi day, Vidhyavathi gave birth to a beautiful child with the birth star Rohini.  There are two occasions men reach the state of ecstasy; one at the time of marriage and another one is the birth of a child.  Nrisimhdhar’s happiness has no bound, that too after several years of marriage he became father, therefore the whole village went into festive mood, sweets were distributed in the whole village, debts of the peasants were written off, the entire village wholeheartedly participated in the happiness of Nrisimhdhar and Vidhyavathi, who attained child after several years of worship of Lord Shiva. They named the child ‘Shivram’ followed by the traditional name ‘Thrailangadhar’.  After some time, Nrisimhdhar’s second wife gave birth to a child; he was named ‘Sridhar’.  These two children were brought up with all the happiness and comforts in the family, even though these two children had entirely different nature, Sridhar was too handful, revealed his presence in the entire house and always immersed in childhood pranks, but Shivram was quite an aloof, he will keep himself distant from childhood mates, he does not like crowd or noises.  His one of the pastime is when his mother Vidhyavathi performs veneration of Lord Shiva, young Shivaram sits close to his mother and immerses in meditation.  Nrisimhdhar was worried about the aloofness of Shivaram who is too young to contemplate upon Lord and spend hours in silence, he wants to see him like any other child of his age, as the elder son of the family Shivram has to undertake the family occupation and wealth, he has to take care of agricultural and farming, he has to collect tax from peasants and to be with them in their happiness and difficulties.  Whenever Nrisimhdhar explains about family business to Shivram, he pays less attention, it often irritates his father, Shivram leaves home silently.  Later, Nrisimhdhar realized that Shivram is not going to take care of his business, he has no interest in worldly matters, hence Nrisimhdhar stopped to discuss any family business with him.

The walking Lord of Varanasi – Sri Thrailanga Swamiji

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swamiji!

The sacred land Varanasi has been the ultimate asylum of Mahayogis, Siddha Purusha, ascetics, and numerous enlightened souls for several decades; they are elevated souls who had attained perfect unison with the Bramham, they are void of passion, worldly desires, worldly bondage and impurities, they required nothing for their existence on the Earth, a complete renounced soul.   They represent supreme bliss, they do not require necessities of life like ordinary people, and they have achieved that supreme state with the several years of tireless meditation, Yoga and contemplation upon the supreme spirit.  Thrailanga Swamiji was born to a pious Bhramin couple Sri Nrisimhdhar and Smt.Vidhyavathi, in the Holiya village, Vishakhapattinam, Andhrapradhesh.  Sri Nrisimhdhar was a Zamindar in the Holiya village, he was well respected in the whole village, people were treated him as the deity, he was a noble-minded, kind, generous, and always look for the welfare of the people of the village, he sincerely followed all the spiritual and religious rites of a Bhramin, he performed various charitable work.  Smt.Vidhyavathi was a chaste woman engages in household duties, worship of God, reading and reciting scriptures, undertake strict austerities.  Nrisimhdhar was anxious about his wife who spends most of the time in the veneration of Lord and observing vows, they had all the comforts, there was nothing missing in their life other than a child after ten years of married life.  Whenever Vidhyavathi see her husband with a gloomy face, she equally felt distressed and continued to undertake numerous vows, she spends more time in the shrines praying to Lord for a child, so that it will remove the stains in their life as a childless couple and she sincerely prayed for the continuation of lineage.  She apologized to her husband saying that she is unfortunate to give him a child, and requested him to marry one more time, so that he can have a child to carry out the religious rites, Nrisimhdhar was shocked at her request, he made her understand that bringing another woman in the family will create unnecessary chaos and arguments, he explained her that he is extremely happy with the peace and serenity at home, even though there is a lack of a child in their life.  He flatly refused to perform another marriage; she tried to persuade him saying that this second marriage might present them with a child, Nrisimhdhar discouraged her saying that it is all her fruitless hopes, and warned her never repeat the request again, if she wants he is willing to adopt a child for her happiness, he sincerely does not want to take away her happiness and rights in the family.  Vidhyavathi did not leave her hope, she put forward her request whenever she finds a suitable time, they have constant arguments regarding this matter, finally, Nrisimhdhar was agreed for second marriage.