Experiences with Maha Periyava

The following incident was related to me by a very learned Vedic scholar from Kasi. He had gone to the Mutt to have darshan of Maha Periyava and took with him some coconuts and fruits to be placed before Maha Periyava at the time of doing namaskarams. In the long queue there was a “Siddar” magician who was empty handed. The Vedic scholar asked him if he had brought any coconuts or fruits. The magician replied, “Wait and see”. When his turn came to perform namaskarams to the Paramacharya, he waved his hands and produced a basket of fruits. Maha Periyava smiled at him and asked him how long he had practiced this art. The magician replied that he had done this for many years and saying this produced some flowers also out of the thin air! Maha Periyava smiled again and looked at the fruits and flowers. Immediately they changed form and crumbled to dust. Try as he might, the magician could not succeed. Then Maha Periyava advised him to concentrate on learning something which would be really useful to the people.
Another very moving incident was recounted to me by a doctor in 1956 when I was working in Stanley Hospital. He was a medical officer in the Indian Army fighting in Burma against the invading Japanese forces. He was wounded in the battle field and fell down, unconscious. The next thing he remembered was regaining his consciousness in the base hospital a few miles away. He asked his attendants what had happened to him. His orderly, an uneducated soldier who was accompanying the doctor said: “Sir, I was dazed when you fell down after being hit by gunfire. Suddenly a sadhu appeared in saffron clothes and asked me why are you standing doing nothing? Lift the doctor, put him on your shoulder and run to the base hospital”. So I carried you along for three miles and brought you here”.
The doctor recovered and a few months later, after the end of the war, the doctor came to have darshan of Maha Periyava and told Him that he was wounded in the battle field. Before the doctor could continue with the story, Maha Periyava told him, “I came there, did you not see me?”
I could still see the doctor’s face with tears streaming down his face as he related to me this story of how Maha Periyava saved his life.
Author: Prof S.Kalyanaraman, Neurosurgeon, Chennai