Kanchi Chandrasekhara and Sringeri Chandrasekhar

(Part of an essay published in the Kalki Deepavali Malar, 1992).

The love and respect that prevailed parasparam (mutually) between these two Maha Purushas--it should be labelled as a parama punita amRuta kAvyam. Although in both the PiThams there were Acharyas with mahima who held the titles earlier, sadly, there was no amity prevailing between the two groups of devotees. In such a circumstance, it was a rare and great bhAgyam for the Astika world that these two Chandrasekharas, each realizing the other's greatness right from the beginning, remained united in a connection of love.

Paramahamsa Ramakrishnan would tell a story:
Once Shiva and Vishnu had a personal meating and were conversing in antarangam. At that time the din of a great bustle with loud proclammations was heard from the outside.

Shiva asked, "What could be this uproar about?" Mayavi Paranthaman said, "It's nothing else! People of my parivAram outside proclaim that I am the most supreme among us; people of your parivAram have their own proclammation, resulting in a fight between them!" It cannot be said that today such vIra bhaktas are not there! Yet, both the Chandrasekharas remained united in love like the Sankara Narayana Vigraha. Although they did not meet each other in person, they were united in their hearts.

The two PeriyavargaL who ascended to the throne in the difficult circumstance when the Hindu society stood divided in many ways, with nAstikam, the modern trends and some well-meaning reformations weakening it further, saw that their chief responsibility was to weave this society in the shAstrIya ways, into a single, loving family, so they first stood united among themselves as the main axle and showed the way.

Although Sringeri PeriyavargaL also considered the shAstrIya mempAdu (progress in scriptural and dharmic ways) of the society important, the kAntam of Atma shAntam pulled him to ekAntam. So it was mostly Kanchi PeriyavargaL who undertook the responsibility of drawing social welfare schemes.

It was the custom of Kanchi PeriyavargaL to send his pratinidhis (representatives) to know the opinion of Sringeri PeriyavargaL, whenever he devised a scheme in a large measure.

This essayist has got the pERu (fortune) of getting cooled in the aham by listening to the details given mostly in unison by people who went thus as representatives: K.Balasubramaya Aiyar, L.S.Parthasarathy Aiyar, and Agnihotram Ramanuja Thathacharya SwamigaL who is presently with us.

Even in those times when Sringeri PeriyavargaL was in antarmukham without any connections with the external world, it is said that Kanchi PeriyavartgaL used to send his pratinidhis. Even as he was giving them orders for the trip, those pratinidhi would drag on, "People say that he can't be seen at all since he is totally in antarmukham now!" Maha PeriyavargaL would however send them with the words, "Go and have a try." And it would usually turn out that the other sage had just come out on bahirmukham and would heartily receive these representatives.

And he would first ask with a reference of hitam to Kanchi SwamigaL such as, "Periyavaa chAturmAsyam in Madhyarjunam?" and then only commence the conversation.

As they told him the purpose of their visit and elaborated on the scheme undertaken by Maha PeriyavaaL, he would listen to it very attentively, his tejomukha mandalam getting more prasannam, and express his words of Amodana (rejoicing) in between.

He would say with finality:

"அவாளாலேதான் ஆத்ம நிஷ்டாளாகவும்இருந்துகொண்டு, வெளி லோகத்துக்கும் ஏதேது எப்படிபண்ணணுமோ அப்படி பக்குவமாக யோஜனை செய்து,கிரியாம்சையில் நடத்திக் காட்ட முடிகிறது.சாஸ்திரத்தை விட்டே கொடுக்காமல், அதே ஸமயம்நவீனர்களையும் ஆகர்ஶிக்கிற விதத்தில், ஜனஸமுதாயத்தின் மனஸை சூக்ஷமமாகப்புரின்துகொண்டு திட்டங்கள் போடுகிறார். இங்கே(தம்மைக் குறிப்பிட்டுக் கொள்கிறார்) ’ஆசார்யஸ்தானம் இருக்கே, அதற்கானபடி லோகத்துக்குச்செய்யணுமே’ என்று தெரிந்தாலும், வேறேவிதமாகவே போகிறது. தாஙளாகத் தேடிக் கொண்டுவருகிறவர்களுக்கு ஓரளவுக்குச் சொல்வதற்குத்தான்இங்கே முடிகிறது. அவாதான் தேடிக் கொண்டு போய்நல்லது பண்ணுகிறா. எங்களுக்காகவும் சேர்த்துஅவாளே பண்ணுகிறா. எங்கள் அபிப்ராயம்என்னவென்று அவா கேட்கணுமென்றே இல்லை.செய்ய வேண்டியது அவாளுக்கே தெரியும். அதற்குபரிபூர்ண ஸம்மதம் தவிர இங்கே சொல்ல வேண்டியதுஒன்றுதான்--க்ருதஜ்ஞ்தை (நன்றி)!""