Paramacharya

It was again another Chitra Pournami in 1989. I had gone to Kanchpuram and wanted to have the darshan of the Paramacharya. It was dusk and getting dark. The Paramacharya had gone to the Sri Kanchhapeswarar temple and was seated in the prakaram, when I reached there. There was a handful of devotees around Him.

As I prostrated before Him, the sage enquired about me. A personal attendant of the Acharya explained the question to me. When I gave the details, He asked about our actual place of birth. I told Him that my father was from Trichur and mother from Kodungallur in Kerala. On hearing the places, His face lit up and He remarked “Bhagawathi Ksethram”. 

At this point, I told the personal attendant that the Mahaswami had visited these places. The Acharya enquired from the attendant what I was telling and, after a few seconds, remarked “It was many years ago…before you were born”.

It was correct. The visit had taken place three years before my birth. I was stunned. It suddenly occurred to me as to whether I had committed an apacharm by speaking on my own to the attendant in the divine presence. Trembling I immediately fell at His feet to atone for the lapse, And when I got up, the Karunamurthy was in a posture with one arm raised, blessing me.

Our family is just one of the countless ordinary devotees of the Paramacharya, with no special connection with the Mutt. And yet how did He know about the time of my birth?