Monday, March 18, 2013

Perform all tasks as God's grace

The person who has the grace of Ishwara can only understand the true self (adhyatma). Reading books and visiting holy places will not help a person realize the true self. Make all efforts to secure the grace of God/Ishwara. Perform
actions, deeds and talk in a proper manner to please him. Follow the scriptures, and perform all actions accordingly. If there is a rule in Bhagawad Gita that requires a particular work to be done in a method, just follow it. Most of you are
not happy performing a few tasks. Remember here, the mind is not important. Just follow instructions and complete the task. He is a true devotee who performs all tasks without being bothered about the status of the mind.

All perform certain rituals and practice mediation to secure God’s grace. These acts will benefit you only in this life. All the benefits from the rituals are just for the mind, and give you temporary happiness. Your love for money, recognition will never lead you to the path of the real happiness.

For God’s grace, one has to perform all the work without any expectations. To master mathematics, one must be able to grasp the formulas and concepts well. Srinivasa Ramanujam was a great mathematician. You need to be a subject
expert to become a master of it. To achieve something you must have a determination to pursue it. Then only you can master that art or subject.Similarly, perform all tasks with a dedication to receive the grace of God.

"With Sri Nannagaru in London" (By Shakuntala)

If Sri Nannagaru's association is my greatest fortune, his greatest boon to me has been my London trip with him. I carefully treasured those sweet memories of 18 days within my heart. Even today my mind is filled with bliss when I am reminded of those memorable days. Accepting the invitation of 'Ramana Maharishi foundation' of London, Sri Nannagaru boarded the flight to London from Madras along with me and a doctor(a devotee belonging to Narsapur). Sri Nannagaru asked me to sit in the middle so that I am not faced with any kind of hardship. When the flight was about to start, the doctor asked me to put on the belt of Sri Nannagaru. Initially I hesitated. My hands were hesitating to tie up the omnipresent Lord. I was reminded of Mother Yashodha, who being frustrated with the pranks of Lord Krishna tried to tie him up but failed to do so. As Lord Krishna surrendered himself in the end, Sri Nannagaru also very innocently said:" Look Shakuntala, the belt is here. Please tie it." When I heard these words, I tied the belt effortlessly. I couldn't understand whether the flight was floating in the air or my mind was floating in the air. Right from Madras to London, every act of Sri Nannagaru seemed to contain unknown beauties. I felt that both the eyes are not sufficient to view the glory of that beauty.

By the time we reached London, it was 4 O clock in the evening. Sri Nannagaru did not eat anything till then. The owner of the house arranged the food for us. When she served the food, I could not stop my tears. The food was very cold and looked watery. I felt pity for her for she doesn't know our mannerisms. I did not even feel like touching that food. But Sri Nannagaru ate the food very normally as if the food is flawless. I kept watching him thinking that Sri Nannagaru not only preached that one has to maintain one's equanimity in every situation(whether good or bad)but also practically showed me the same.


Sri Nannagaru's sitting used to be held from 2 to 4 everyday. Many devotees from London, France etc., visited him on a daily basis. The hall used to be full with those devotees. Sometimes Sri Nannagaru used to ask the details of the devotees but most of the times he remained Silent. He used to sit on the sofa with folded legs. I felt him to be Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, when I saw him in that posture.

One day a very famous photographer came to take the photos of Sri Nannagaru. However the owner of the house objected for the same. She strongly opposed for it, which disappointed all of us. She expected some miracles from Sri Nannagaru. Unable to tolerate her anymore, doctor(the other devotee) went to Nannagaru and said that the owner may not be quietened until and unless she is given something. Sri Nannagaru replied with a smile:" What do we have to give her? O.K tell her that I will give her at the time of leaving. " The owner calmed down with these words and allowed the photographer to take the photographs. I felt pity for the owner of the house for her ignorance and innocence.

I don't know if my tolerance was being tested that the owner gave a tea kettle and vessels made of special glass in order to cook the food . In that tea kettle itself, I cooked the various food items in turns. There were four stoves for cooking the food. One day it happened that instead of turning off the stove being used for cooking I wrongly turned off some other stove. The food got spoiled in this process. It was the time for Sri Nannagaru's lunch. By that time he asked me twice whether the lunch was ready.With a heavy heart,I served him the spoiled food only. Observing my sadness, Nannagaru, in order to console me, said: " Oh! How good is the food today. Shakuntala, you cooked very well today." I could not bear his Love. I felt: " Does anyone exist in this Universe who can Love us in this manner?"

The owner of the house was very surprised that I came all the way only to cook for Sri Nannagaru. She couldn't understand as to why I needed to do a trivial work like cooking food for Sri Nannagaru when all my children were well settled in U.S.A. How could I convince her that this opportunity of serving Sri Nannagaru is the result of several good deeds of my past births?


'Ramana Maharishi foundation' conducted a three day retreat program in a particular place that took us a 5-6 hrs of journey to reach. Our guest house was surrounded with greenery, mountains and the beauty of the nature resembled the painting of a painter. Therefore it was a totally blissful atmosphere. All the required arrangements for the sake of devotees were made by the foundation itself. However Sri Nannagaru's food was prepared by myself. The program's were conducted from morning till evening. Most of the times Sri Nannagaru remained silent, clarifying the doubts of devotees in between. Unable to withstand the Peace and Bliss that they experienced in the presence of Sri Nannagaru the devotees used to hug each other.

While returning back from London, Sri Nannagaru said," Shakuntala, Our journey has been very comfortable as you accompanied us. " Then he turned towards doctor and said: " There are some people who make a lot of noise and make their presence felt. But Shakuntala has been so quiet that we could not even make out whether she has been with us or not." I remembered Lord Krishna telling in the Gita: " Oh! Arjuna, you just move your hands. I will look after everything." Even here, the entire work was done by Sri Nannagaru but the entire fame was given to me. It is always his grace that drives my life. He caressed me as a Mother; shared my hardships as a father; and preached me as a Guru. I don't have the experience of GOD but have a firm faith in his existence. Oh! My Beloved Father, Sri Nannagaru, bless me that I don't lose this faith till my last breathe.