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Verses on Periyavaal by Ms. Bhuvana who made a film on Him sometime ago

He sits near the door of his humble abode in Kanchipuram all day long

While countless people queue up to have a dharshan of Him

Young and old, weak and strong, haves and the have-nots file past him

And to all he gives his charming smile and listens to their woes with concern.

He gives them all prasadams – ashes, sugar cubes and all

They all leave him blessed and consoled!

He is tireless and He never stops

Every day of his life, day after day,

Our Periyaval as he is fondly called,

Continues to strive for the well being of one and all!

A teacher to a student, a guru to a sishya,

A friend to a friend, a father to a son,

A savior to the suffering, a leader to a follower,

He is compassionate and understanding,

Warm and friendly, witty and vivacious,

He is simple and unassuming.

Left to him, he would have been a solitary monk

But destined to head an instituion such as the Kanchi Mutt

He accepted to live a life amongst people in limelight.

Moved by his compassion for the common people and

His desire to mix with them as much as possible,

In a jet age, he chose to walk the entire length and breadth of India,

Showering his benediction to one and all!

Indefatigable and beaming with smile always,

He radiates an aura of peace and goodwill!

Blessed is this land on which he trod not once but twice,

Covering many a mile through forests and cities,

Plains and mountains, towns and villages, rivers and deserts

There is no place or city in this holy land of India

Where he has not set his foot or left his mark

And wherever he went, people thronged in multitude

Seeking dharshan and receiving solace.

A monk is one, who lives and meditates in an Ashram,

He wanders in the forests yonder in the lap of Nature,

Strict vows and discipline, lost in his own meditation,

A monk strives hard for his own salvation.

But our Periyaval lives among people,

He wanders in cities, towns and villages,

Caring for people and tending even cows,

Always accessing and ever accessible

Our Periyaval is no Monk!

The other quality of our Periyaval is

His detachment to any possessions.

His only possession is his dhand.

Always clad in unstitched saffron (in cotton)

He never ever wears anything else on him.

The other typical symbols of sainthood such as Rudraksha,

He shuns them even, except during Pooja.

He has never touched pen and money,

He is blissfully unaware of all those donations that come in his way,

He lives a simple life, eats just about a meal a day

His choice of vegetables is absolutely Swadeshi,

Shuns even the ones grown underground.

Head of the Kanchi Mutt which had a 25, 00 year history

And a torch bearer for 850 million Hindus all over the world

A Dispeller of Darkness, a saviour of millions,

Bottom-line a friend, philospher and guide,

Our Periyaval is a true leader.

He never cared for power or position,

With his vows of Sanyasam he became closer to people,

Renouncing, sacrificing and caring

He is not only a Sanyasin but a Tyagi too.

Born as Subramaniam in the Southern India in a village called Irulneeki,

Which when translated means Dispeller of Darkness,

Little did his parents realize that their prodigy

Was an enlightened being – an avatar, a grace of God.

True to a Brahminic tradition, if more than one male issue in a family

One was sent to Vedic School to learn Vedas and Agamas.

So went Subramaniam to Vedapatachala,

And his brothers to regular Patachala.

A boy of nineteen that he was, when he took the vows of Sanyasi

Designated by the Destiny , he rededicated himself as Jayendra Saraswathi.

Received a rigorous training he did, under the illustrious Guru – Sri Mahaperiyava,

Became the 69^th Acharya and was fondly called as ‘Pudu Periyava’.

He runs the affairs of the Kanchi Mutt as a one-man-army!

He is no business graduate nor is he a ‘wordly’ man!

Letters pour from far and wide,

No other corporate head receives as many letters as he does.

And his ‘disposal’ of them is quite a delight to watch.

He is busier than the busiest business executive,

His diary of events maintained by his trusted secretary shows that

Today he is in a fisherman’s village in Tuticorin –

A remotest village on the shore of Bay of Bengal and

And just yesterday he returned from Betul,

A tribal village in the deep forests of Madhya Pradesh

And tomorrow he is meeting the Prime Minister of India

Only to return the same day back to his abode in Kanchipuram.

Either he opens a new shrine or peforms Kumbhabhisekham of renovated one,

He dedicates a public health center, he inaugurates school,

He even ‘takes over’ non-functinal hospitals to cater to the needy

From the clutches of financial institutions or impending bankruptcy.

From public address to press conference,

From discourses to discussions

Our Periyaval is thoroughly conversant,

From common man to public figures, from vagabond to VIPs,

From scholars of Philosophy to students of computer sciences,

From Vedic Pandits or Business tycoons,

All are at ease with Periyaval.

A linguist par excellence,

He is a ‘man of masses’, no doubt.

He has changed many a heart

Led many from the path of evil to good

There was this cook who used to go with pilgrims on tour

Who was guile and mischeavous too.

He was an additct to hooka and couldn’t do without it.

He was for ever looking for ‘supplies’

Which he was getting from the so called ‘sadhus’ who were for ever in trance.

He saw our Periyaval in one of his ‘hunt’

And transformed was he from that instant.

No words uttered, no glances exchanged,

The mere sight of Periyaval,

Reformed him!

Our Periyaval is divine in human form

And a human in divine form.

A Karma Yogi and

A Sthitha prajna (Enlightened being)

Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara