If previously I had only known the deities whom we traditionally worshipped, which I took up following my parents, it was Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi that introduced me to gurus. I received a copy of this book from an officer in the department who had opted out of the Government service to become a monk at Yogananda's Ranchi Ashram in India in 1994. It was truly an interesting read and an eye-opener. Just as I was interested in reading, listening, and knowing the relationship between the master and his disciple, years later, during my days of mentorship with my gurus, Supramania Swami and Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal, I began to compile and write a book on the wonderful relationship between the masters and their disciples, and uploaded it online at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zrx_4OZnF7ss8754vh6W6r5afD6P_Sew/view?usp=sharing
besides writing about my experiences in meeting my gurus and sitting at their feet on my former websites and this blog postings.
These are only some stories of gurus and their disciples that I came across. There are countless others and their stories not yet told. The right person has to come by to reveal them to the public.
In an online article at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/rajinikanths-spiritual-side-a-look-into-the-jailer-2-stars-spirituality-as-he-keeps-it-above-name-fame-and-money/articleshow/131345345.cms
we come to read how the famed actor Rajinikanth came to worship his guru.
During a very difficult time in his young days, Rajinikanth once thought about ending his life, as the actor recalled during a musical event in Singapore in 1992, according to Cinema Express.
But something unexpected changed his mind. He saw a painting of a holy saint sitting with people around him and doing puja. The picture stayed in his heart even after he left that place. That same night, Rajinikanth saw the same saint in his dream. The old saint, with a long white beard, was sitting near a river and calling him. Rajinikanth later said that in the dream, he did not swim across the river; he simply ran on the water to reach him.
The next day, when he asked about the saint, he learned that it was Sri Raghavendra. Rajinikanth believed that moment changed his life and started his deep spiritual journey.
Rajinikanth later took on the role of Sri Raghavendra in a movie about the life and times of the saint. This movie was so captivating that my brother-in-law, Sundara Arumugam Aiya, took up the worship of Sri Raghavendra after watching it. He came to build the Jegathguru Sri Raghavendra Mritiga Brindavanam Kinta in Ipoh in later years. He has since passed on. He shall be remembered on 4 June as the family comes together in prayer.