I went in search of an astrologer to chart my second daughter’s future but instead took him as my Guru. He revealed, not my daughter's future but my future instead, neither looking into my palm nor my charts nor with any other aid. The words of revelation mystically came out from him as he sat upright in the Padmasana pose on his deerskin, which was spread on the cold cement floor of his humble home in a village known as Nachananthal, eight kilometers away from the town of Tiruvannamalai.
I had come to the end of my pilgrimage to India in 2003. I undertook this pilgrimage on the instructions of the Agathiyar through the Nadi reading. I was to perform atonement for my past Karmas by way of visiting certain temples and submitting my offerings to the deities, the Brahmins, the devotees, the poor and the animals too.
I was told in the Nadi that I would meet my Guru in an unexpected way and in an unexpected place soon. He would guide me with further instructions for spiritual advancement. When I did not meet the said guru on my last leg of the pilgrimage, I consoled myself it may be another moment, and another place; it might even take place back in Malaysia.
Just prior to leaving for India my wife reminded me that we had not charted our daughter’s future and asked that I seek an astrologer in India. When I had completed my worship and girivalam of Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai and would be leaving for Chennai the next day, I asked Deivanthiran, my appointed chauffeur, who was from Chennai, if he knew any astrologer. He told me he had an uncle in a village eight kilometers from Tiruvannamalai and that, he was an astrologer. I was driven over to Nachananthal to meet Supramania Swami.
As I alighted from the white Ambassador and walked into the walled compound, an elderly man who I presumed was the swami approached us from a shed to the left of the entrance. Deivanthiran introduced me as a tourist from Malaysia and told the Swami my intention of coming over and to have my daughter’s astrological chart drawn up. The Swami did not say a word but instead led us to his altar in the prayer room. He lighted camphor and prayed. Then he asked Deivanthiran to place his deerskin outside the home and his son Ramajayam to bring out the Almanac or Panjangam.
We sat outside the house. I prepared myself to listen to the astrological revelation of my daughter’s future. However, what the Swami did was to talk about my future and me!
The first thing he mentioned was, “Now that you have arrived in Tiruvannamalai, all is over for you.” I did not ask what he meant by that. He mentioned this a couple of times. I reckoned he meant that I came back ‘home’ - to the shadows of my Lord after having strayed away for several births and forty-six years of this lifetime.
As I sat there together with this total stranger who was revealing about me, I could not help it but listen in awe. I was spellbound. Supramania Swami revealed new happenings that were about to take place in my life. He could tell a number of intimate things about the life and mission I was to face. I listened attentively. I did not question him. As he was narrating all these happenings to be, I could not help but break down. I cried like a child. I cried for the blessings I had received from God until that very moment. I realized how much God loved me then. Swami made me realize the blessings that I have had. As I wept Supramania Swami added that I would be coming back.
Swami surprised me further when he mentioned that I would build a temple in India and it would be at Tiruvannamalai; and set up a Peedham and that I will have a place there too. I cried aloud again. Agathiyar had told me in the Nadi reading that I would have to assists financially in the construction of temples after which I would have to build one for him. My confusion as to where I should build the temple had been cleared when Supramania Swami told me it was to be in Tiruvannamalai. However, how did he know? I had not mentioned the Nadi to him. Neither did I talk about the contents of the Nadi to Deivanthiran.
Then Swami spoke about himself. He mentioned that he had been going around Arunachala (Girivalam) on full moon days, for the past thirty years now, but could not do it the night before due to ill health. If he had walked the girivalam path, we might have crossed the path. Nevertheless, even though he did not go on girivalam that night, I was brought to him. I realized that seeing him over an astrological chart was only a reason to be with him. He was waiting for me.
When Deivanthiran did mention to Swami that it took me nine hours compared to three hours for others to go around Arunachala hill on girivalam, Swami replied, “Of course it would take that long for he had been stopping over at all the places of worship and ashrams. How did he know I had stopped over at each and every shrine? (I was told there were almost 300)
He mentioned his masters or gurus. He had five of them. Among them was his own father, Jayaraman Pillai. The others were Pundi Mahan (Atru Swami) of Tiruvanamalai, Sathanandha Swami of Salem (author of KANDHAR GURU KAVASAM), Kollimalai Swami and Yogi Ramsuratkumar (Visiri Swami).
Yogi Ramsuratkumar had placed Swami under ‘house arrest’ once. Swami was directed to meditate at the Yogi’s residence for five days. Initially, the Yogi had asked him to stay at his (Yogi’s) place but later decided that Swami should be with his family. Why the sudden change of mind on the part of the Yogi?
Swami revealed the greatness of his guru through a miracle that took place after the Yogi had gone into samadhi. The Yogi had appeared at Swami’s doorsteps in his village home of Nachananthal at 11 pm one day to deliver a painting of him (the Yogi) and disappeared into the darkness and out of sight.
Swami pointed out the degree of respect and faith a student should have on the master or guru by narrating the story of Guhai Nama Shivaya and his disciple Guru Namashivaya. When his Guru (Guhai Nama Shivaya) asked that Guru Namashivaya disposes of his vomit in a place out of bounds of human, the dedicated disciple Guru Namashivaya drinks the vomit of his Guru. That is a true guru bhakti or undivided and true devotion to the guru.
I was blessed to receive Guru Upadesam in the form of a Mantra Diksha that beautiful day on my very first visit to India. Swami asked that I chant the Mantra for half an hour each day. “Just as a silversmith polishes his wares we too shall slowly work on IT till we achieve IT,” Swami reminded me. Swami asked me to get a mat made of Tharpai grass for use as a seat during meditation.
Now as I write this post I recall the lyrics from Nakirar's VINAYAGAR THIRU AGAVAL that would appropriately sum up my meeting Supramania Swami. Nakirar sings the following verse,
mona gnana muluthum alitthu
sirparipoorana shivattai kaana
narshiva nitkala naattamum thanthu
guruvum seedanum koodi kalanthu
eruvarum oru tani edam thanil sernthu
thaananthamaagi tarpara veliyil
aanandha pootha arivai kalanthu
esan enaiyadi erutthi manathay
neeye naanaai naane neeyaai
gaayaa puriyai kanavena unarnthu
yellaam un seyalendray unara
nallaa un arul naatham tharuvaai
kaarana guruve karpaga kalire
vaarana mugatthu vallale potri
மோனா ஞான முழுதும் அளித்து
சிற்பரிப் பூரண சிவத்தைக் காண
நற்சிவ நிட்கள நாட்டமுந் தந்து
குருவுஞ் சீடனுங் கூடிக் கலந்து
இருவரும் ஒரு தனியிடந் தனிற் சேர்ந்து
தானந்தமாகித் தற்பர வெளியில்
ஆனந்த போத அறிவைக் கலந்து
ஈசனிைணயடியிருத்தி
மனத்தே நீயே நானாய்
நானே நீயாய்க்
காயா புரியைக் கனவெனவுணா்ந்து
எல்லாமுன் செயலென்ேற உணர
நல்லா உன்னருள் நாட்டந் தருவாய்
காரண குருவே கற்பகத் களிேற
வாரணமுகத்து வள்ளலே போற்றி
“Take Him back with you”, Swami said, referring to Arunachala, as he stood hands together in prayer for me, as I bid him farewell. I had spent five blissful hours with him on that blissful day.
Supramania Swami had cherished a wish. He wanted to build a temple. When my nephew Thayalan Arumugam paid a visit to Supramania Swami on my requests, Swami had mentioned that he wanted to build a temple for Lord Murugan in his village Nachananthal. Later during my correspondence through letters with Swami, he told me he wanted to build the temple in Tiruvannamalai. Swami scouted for a piece of land near his guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar’s Ashram while I gathered the funds required for the purchase of the land and the costs of construction of the temple.
Swami was delirious when he announced to me over the phone that the land was purchased and that work on the temple could start soon. Swami together with his family used to monitor the works by day and return to the village at night. I suggested that Swami build accommodation for himself and move into it while working on the temple. Therefore, Swami put up 11 feet by 30 feet kudil on the piece of land while work was going on, on the temple.
One day, when Swami was alone in his kudil, a stranger appeared at the crossroad in front of Swami’s kudil and called him over. He asked Swami why he (Swami) who was on the path of Wisdom (Gnana) was now stepping back onto the path of Devotion (Bakti). His question made Swami realize that this was no ordinary man. Swami realized there was a message conveyed to him and immediately decided to stop further construction of the temple.
Supramania Swami was born on 17 July 1943 on Kritigai Natchathiram, a Monday in the Tirutani Murugan temple grounds. His mother was taking a kavadi when she had labor pains and delivered Supramanian. Supramanian’s grandfather Thuraisamy Pillai was a Vaisnavite from Aadi Peedham, Ladavaram near Tiruvannamalai. His grandfather was an accountant (Kanaku Pillai) at Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarer temple. Supramanian’s father Jayaram Pillai was teaching in Reddi Kuppam, Anaikoyil. Supramanian’s uncles were teachers too.
Supramanian’s father who worshipped Vengadasalapathy gave him an initiation or teecha on Lord Murugan.
Supramanian used to follow his father to the woods to chop down the kalli trees. That is when the sap of the tree blinded him. A partially blind Supramanian made his way to Madras (Chennai) hoping to receive treatment at the government hospital. A police officer realizing that Swami was blind and seeing him struggle alone on the streets of Madras called for an ambulance that took him to the hospital. There the local Indian doctors certified that he had to be operated on to remove his eyes. There was no other way to it; any delay would otherwise lead to the poison eventually reaching his brain. One of the doctors, however, sent for an American doctor to get a second opinion. The American doctor said he could save Supramanian’s eyesight and he subsequently performed six operations on Supramanian. The politician MU Karunanidhi who was undergoing treatment for his illness at the hospital took up the cost of operating on Supramanian.
Later Supramanian moved to Thiruchendur where he made a livelihood selling flowers and garlands to support his mother and himself. He used to pull the temple chariot for seven consecutive years wearing sandals with nails on them. He put on the garb resembling Lord Murugan and took part in plays or dramas held at the temple grounds on festival days.
Supramanian was married at the age of 31. That's when he changed. Supramanian started performing miracles. Attired in a banana tree bark, he would grab a handful of sand, which turned to sacred ash (Vibhuti), Kumkum, or Panjamirtham accordingly. This he gave to people, who were then cured of their ailments.
During this period he indicated to the locals the site of a vel that was buried by a Siddha in the hills of Tiruvannamalai. He spent seventeen years atop Tiruvannamalai hill.
Ramana Maharishi says, “Just as a man who is drunk is not conscious whether his upper cloth is on his body or has slipped away from it, the jnani is hardly conscious of his body, and it makes no difference to him whether the body remains or has dropped off.”. Supramanian who was in a similar state of mind went about performing miracles and curing folks.
Supramanian had no memory of what transpired during that period. He only heard about his antics after miraculously gaining his memory back through consuming food prepared by one mysterious stranger woman. Although he became a normal person after consuming the miracle food, his ability or sitti of changing sand and earth to vibhuti prasadham continued for some time and stopped on its own after he had his second daughter.
I recount the last conversations I had with Supramania Swami over the phone before his samadhi.
I could not get through to Supramania Swami for some time now. That evening there was someone trying to call me on my phone numerous times. However, each time I answered the line went dead or disengaged. I then thought if it could be Swami trying to get through to me. When I called his phone, he answered. Finally, I managed to get in touch with him after a long absence. “I have not forgotten you,” he said. “How can I forget you; you have given me a place to stay, referring to the kudil that we had collectively built for him. He blessed me. Then he said, “I am seeing the Jhoti. At times, it stays on for half an hour. My time is nearing. Ask Ramesh (referring to the Nadi Guru I used to frequent) to see when my day will come so that I can send you word and you can be present.” I cried like a child.
He told me he wanted to start a fast of silence (Mauna Virutham) and would survive only on fruits and milk beginning on 31 January 2007 for a forty-eight day period. The day he chose to start the fast would be the eve of the day that Ramalinga Adigal became one with the light Arutperunjhoti.
I called Swami's number on 3 February 2007. Surprisingly Swami answered his phone. When I apologized for calling him and making him break his fast, he replied, “No harm done. I shall talk to you.” He told me he had started the fast on wheat porridge, chapatti, and milk since the last full moon day, 1 February 2007 and would end his fast on Pangguni Utiram day – a fast that would now last 60 days. He did not speak to anyone, only writing out on paper if required. But he made an exception for me. I realize now as I pen these words that that is the grace of the guru.
He told me I am letting loose of my senses. He asks me to meditate and be focused. He asks that I gather some funds from my nephew Thayalan and his father Arumugam so that he could feed a thousand devotees when his fast ends on 1 April 2007.
Supramania Swami went into samadhi at 10.20 am, on Wednesday, 7 February 2007, four days after I spoke to him, at his kudil in Tiruvannamalai. He was 65. When I was with him in 2005, he mentioned that his lifespan was only 65. Ramajayam tells me he found Swami’s diary after his samadhi. Strangely, Swami had written the exact date and time of his departure. This entry was dated 23 May 2005. He had also written down on how to attend to his body once he passes away.
Although he did not have a following, mysteriously a Swamiji to whom Ramajayam served as a driver then in Tiruvannamalai sent twenty of his followers or sadhus from his movement to take care of Swami’s last rites.
Supramania Swami was laid to rest the same day within eight hours of his passing away as requested by him (Swami). When I was with him in 2005, he had indicated the spot where he was to be buried at his kudil to me. That was his wish. I was saddened that he was laid to rest elsewhere. But it happens to be that although he had mentioned that he was to be laid to rest at the kudil, the Lord and his messengers decided to provide a better place of rest for their deserving disciple. Agathiyar, on 10 February 2007, told me in my Nadi reading that Swami had gone into Samadhi at the right moment; he had been laid at the right spot and that his samadhi shall gain fame.
On 24 July 2007, Agathiyar again mentions Supramania Swami telling me that he was the first guru I went searching for and that he was a true guru. Agathiyar asked that I chant Swami’s name and miracles shall take place in my home. True to his word, Supramania Swami appears in my home in Malaysia after going into samadhi. Just as his guru Yogi Ramsuratkumar appeared and chanted with us after going into samadhi, Supramania Swami too showed his presence at my home after his samadhi. This miracle took place at my home, just as Agathiyar had said. Although we could not see him, the signs that Supramania Swami appeared in my home were there.
The day was 17 September 2007. It had been some time now that Supramania Swami went into samadhi. As I sat with my wife in the living room of our home that day after prayer, there was a distinct smell of tobacco in the room. We had just completed our daily prayers for the evening. The smell of jasmine, sandalwood or sandanam, sacred ash or vibhuti, frankincense, and other fragrances always lingers in my home during prayers. However, on that day, peculiarly there was the strong aroma of tobacco in the air. The thought of Supramania Swami immediately came to my mind. Was Swami at my home in Malaysia?
For some reason, Supramania Swami came to my mind. Was he at my home, I asked myself? It was usual to find the aroma of fragrance or sacred ash (vibhuti) or incense sticks (uthupathi) lingering in the air, at this hour but not tobacco.
Almost immediately, my handphone rang but stopped immediately. On picking up the phone there was a miss call from an earlier number that belonged to Supramania Swami! Nevertheless, I knew that number was no more in use. Swami had taken up another number that was now used by his son after Swami’s samadhi.
I had to be assured that Swami did actually materialize in my home. I called up Swami’s number a few days later. A man answered. He asked me who I was and to whom I wanted to talk to. I introduced myself and I asked if he had called me a couple of days before. However, he answered that he had not made any calls to Malaysia. Then I asked if Supramania Swami was around. He answered that he did not know of any Supramania Swami. I enquired about his location. He mentions it was Coimbatore. Then I ask if Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal was there. The reply was no and he did not know Tavayogi either.
Several days later, I called my nephew Thayalan and explained what had transpired. Upon ending my call, I realized there was a miss call while I was on the phone with Thayalan. Again to my amazement, the same number appeared. Not satisfied, I called Swami’s son, Ramajayam. He confirms that the number his father used had been terminated. Later Agathiyar reveals in the Nadi that the miracle did take place indeed. Supramania Swami had come that day!
I have come to realize that God works in mysterious ways. When I arrived in India Deivanthiran, who came to fetch me at the airport at Chennai told me that he had taken over the task of chauffeuring me around since Raji was assigned to me earlier came down with a high fever. Was that a coincidence or was it the work of fate or God's mysterious doing that Raji should suddenly take ill? Was it a coincidence or was it the work of fate or God's wish that Deivanthiran should take me to meet Supramania Swami?
I am forever grateful and indebted to Supramania Swami who opened my eyes to devotion (Bakti) towards God and Guru by his exemplary lifestyle.
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| Supramania Swami's Samadhi on the girivalam path at Tiruvanamalai. Photo courtesy of Suren, Malaysia. Contact Ramajayam at 91 90470 45103. |