Tuesday, August 8, 2000
After the evening interview, in the Ganesh Portico…
Swami : (To a student) When are you going home?
Student : Swami, 7th October.
Swami : Holidays! When will you come back?
Student : Swami, 22nd October.
Swami : Good. Don’t go anywhere, be with your parents.
Student : Yes, Swami, I won’t go anywhere.
Swami : Do you have any old friends?
Student : No, Swami. I won’t meet them.
Swami : (Pointing to another student) He is also not your friend. I am the only friend to you. (Swami went inside and came back again at 5.00 pm. To Prof. Anil Kumar)
You had your share (tiffin)?
Prof. A. K. : I had little Swami. After going home, I will have little more.
Swami : (To students) What is the tiffin (snacks) in your Hostel?
Student : Swami, Mirchi Bajji.
Swami : (Jokingly) There will be no Bajji, only Mirchi. (Swami called the Hostel kitchen in-charge, Sri K. Venkatachalam.) What is the size of the Bajji, big or small?
Sri K. V. : Swami, medium size.
Swami : What is the tiffin in School?
Students : Swami, Kharam Puri.
Swami : Good, good. What was breakfast?
Student : Swami, Pulihora and Bunpatti.
Swami : What is Bunpatti?
Student : Swami, inside the bun, they will put potato curry.
Swami : (To the Institute students) What did you all have?
Students : Three Rava Idlis and Parothas.
Swami : What was yesterday’s tiffin?
Students : Swami, puffed rice.
Swami : (Opening a letter) Red ink! Handwriting is good. (Pointing to a Seva Dal) Delhi Seva Dals are very good. They work sincerely and nicely. Isn’t it?
Student : Yes, Swami.
Swami : (To Prof. Anil Kumar) Do you know who is in-charge of Delhi Seva Dal?
Prof. A. K. : I don’t know Swami.
Swami : Nanda.
Prof. A. K. : Oh! Nanda, our security in-charge.
Swami : Not this Nanda. (Swami mentioned three names who held high posts in the three forces, i.e. Army, Navy and Air Force.) Once, these three called Me for breakfast at 8.00 am. The traffic was fully blocked at Golf Links (a part of Delhi) for Darshan. He told, “Swami, I will arrange military forces”. I told, “No, you should not do like that”. Finally at 10.00 am, I went for breakfast, which was supposed to be at 8.00 am. (To a student) Who is Ravana?
Student : Swami, Kumbhakarna’s brother.
Swami : His other brother?
Student : Swami, Vibhishana.
Swami : Who is the eldest brother of Ravana?
Student : I don’t know Swami.
Swami : Kubera is the eldest brother of Ravana.
(To Prof. Anil Kumar) You also didn’t know till now?
Prof. A. K. : No, Swami.
Swami : Ravana defeated Kubera and took his kingdom and the Pushpaka Vimana. It also belonged to Kubera. (Pushpaka Vimana is the celestial chariot which could fly at the owner’s will. It was originally made for Lord Brahma by Vishwakarma, the celestial architect. Later, Lord Brahma gifted it to Kubera, the presiding deity of wealth. Later, it was stolen along with Lanka, by his half-brother, the demon king Ravana.)
Prof. A. K. : Swami, some say that Lord Venkateshwara took money at interest from Kubera and He is still repaying it. Is it the same Kubera?
(Lord Venkateshwara is the presiding deity of the temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The name Venkateshwara stems from Sanskrit where ‘Vem’ translates to ‘sin’, ‘Kata’ translates to ‘destruction’, and ‘Ishwara’ translates to ‘Supreme Lord’. He is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.)
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| Lord Srinivasa's Marriage with Devi Padmavati |
Swami : When the marriage took place, only Srinivasa’s (the other name for Lord Venkateshwara) mother, Vakuladevi, and Padmavati’s (the consort of Lord Venkateshwara) parents were present. No one else was there. Then how can He spend so much? (Smiling) If He is still paying the interest, when will He pay the real amount?
Swami then went inside the interview room.
Very interesting talk between Swami and the students and Anil Kumar. I miss all those moments I could see for myself the times I was in Prashanti Nilayam. Jai Sai Ram!
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