Sunday, August 2, 2020

"The First travel with Nanna" - (By Dr.Usha Garu)

I met Nannagaru after some time at a marriage reception. I came to know that he was going to SriSailam. I asked him eagerly whether I could come. He nodded and gave his permission happily.

I went with him to SriSailam and spent 3 days in absolute bliss. I would accompany him wherever he went and he too was loving and caring towards me. We were taken around to the temple & other places of significance there too.

I remember that he was very particular about Vruddha Mallikarjuna Swamy temple in SriSailam. Whenever he went to this place he would spend a lot of time sitting near the sanctum sanctorum. The idol of Shiva here was a linga that bore the destruction of the Muslim invasion. The Linga was a special attraction to Nannagaru.



He would sit near it and one day he said: "I like this Old Man very very much." He would be in a different mood whenever he was with the Linga (Vruddha Mallikarjuna). He looked like he transcended to an unknown realm which was difficult for our minds to comprehend.

The first day when we were having meals at a restaurant & since he would give me a seat next to him most times, I was sitting beside him & having my food. But since too much was served and I was unable to complete, I was wondering if I should leave the remaining food. none

Nanna looked at me and asked if I was heavy and couldn’t eat more. When I nodded assertively, he said we should never waste food (Annam Parabrahma Swarupam)

“If you feel you can’t eat much, you have to tell prior to being served that you require a lesser amount & eat completely whatever is served”. He told this with a lot of affection & in a loving manner which made me eat the whole food that was served even though it was difficult. There are so many instances where he would address even minute details on how one should live, behave & carry oneself too, for these were foundation stones for true spirituality

The day we went to Srisailam, all of us (devotees) along with Nanna got accommodated in a big guest house. That evening when he relaxed & sat in a chair in the hall, I asked him if I could take a picture of him so that I could place it on my study table (in Chidambaram where I would be studying the next 5 years). He stretched his legs, adjusted himself for the picture to be taken & asked if I could get a full view of him. I moved a little far and captured him for the first time. I got this particular picture framed & kept it on my table. Daily I would touch his holy feet and leave for college.

Talking about holy places Nanna would say that they are charging places where you can get re-charged spiritually. So occasionally it’s good to visit them. But more profound & fetching is the presence of self-realized saints because the merit of visiting holy places, bathing in holy rivers, learning sacred books, and so on, cannot be equal to the presence of a realized master. It is said that to meet such a master, one can travel & go to the edges of the world if required. His presence alone would wash our ego & pave the way to enlightenment.

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