A STORY

A story

This was a story told by Velukudi Krishnan during his lectures on28 April 2008 on the concluding day of Gita Chapter 07. There was man who lived well and earned a lot of resources all by fair means during his life time. He was constantly worried particularly during his last days with mundane thoughts as to how to protect the wealth. He eventually died a peaceful death but with an unfulfilled desire of protecting the wealth. After death, his desires made him take next birth as serpent coiled round the pot of gold, still to protect it.

He came in the dream of his three sons that his assets are in the pot and can be shared by them. But each one thought of outwitting the other two and tried to reach the pot of gold only to be scared away by the snake। Finally when the dead soul appeared in their dream they picked up courage and asked him how to get the gold. The father then guided them to redeem his soul and liberate it and then they can still share the wealth. They sought the help of a monk in the town who said that this can be done by a daily parayana of Gita Chapter 07. This was said by the monk to extol the glory of the Chapter 07. Of course the sons followed his advice and liberated the father soul and enjoyed the gold, wealth etc. lived happily ever after.

The story ends here.

Analogy. Anjan is informed by his school authorities to take part in recitation competition of Chapter 07 of Gita and his father jumped at the idea and taught him the entire chapter and everyone in the family was delighted to hear the young vatu recite with a religious zeal and Padda was no exception. Padda while in Bangalore during his last visit collected a recorded cassette and soon competed with his grandson and started reciting the same verbatim – another instance of his unfailing memory even at that age of 77. Perhaps he relied too heavily on his mental abilities and paid a little less attention to his body which had shown some signs of wear and tear! In the meantime, Velukudi Krishnan had started his discourses on the seventh Chapter in Tamil in podhigai Channel and Padda and vahini were listening to the discourses. He used to call up at the end of it at 06 45 hrs. either to appreciate his way of presentation or summarize what Velukudi had said.

Was it just a coincidence or a cosmic invitation to Anjan, Sekhar, Padda, Vasu Kaka and Velukudi Krishnan to help Padda get his liberation and the dutiful sons to have performed his obsequies to redeem his soul? Science cannot solve this.


VASU KAKA

PS
I hear younger minds asking me about the pot of gold (the story is not of course complete without it) and should I say wait for the implementation of the Pay commission report by the Govt. or Go-Dana or annual ceremonies in March next year? Wait patiently till you are rewarded.

Memories from Tucson-Phoenix 2000

Contributed by Shyam-Prabha

Amma-Bapa's visit to Arizona in 2000

AUDIOVISUAL-ASTROLOGY01

Paddayana - 5 (As narrated by Vasu Kaka)

His Faith & Belief System

Born and brought up in a traditional environment in a small town with orthodox Brahmin background but given a liberal science education, he had to carve out a new way of life without compromising the two apparently opposite points of view. At first, it appears to be an impossible task but he evolved a happy blend of the two. Personally, he believed in myths and mystics but his science background meant he would question them. His faith in God was absolute but the approaches were varied. What was prevalent in Tamil Nadu in those days had influenced him a lot as he was a voracious reader of samskrit literature with a bias towards non-dualistic theism Adi Sankara’s works had become part of him during his childhood. When he started to understand them he was impressed. But the practice of rituals at home was on the lines of dualistic principles. Compounding these differences was the science education which relies on experimental verification of theories and to accept only what was verifiable and to reject the rest as dogmas. Growing up under these environments he found a via media, not the one that will be accepted universally but that gave comfort for a happy living.

Stated simply, while he himself believed in some non-verifiable theories (including some auspicious time etc.) he scrupulously kept it to himself and was vocal against practices which were not part of the verifiable theories when it came to discussions and sharing his ideas. In fact he never imposed his ideas on others including his own children, brothers and sisters but those who closely observed him found out he was leading a sort of double life so to say to avoid confrontations with the purists. Thus when he fell ill with typhoid before his final examination, the family resorted to ayurvedic treatment through Mayura vaidyasala in Trichy for an illness for which allopathic treatment was known even in those days (1951 February) – the germs that caused the enteric fever streptococci and staphylococci were long isolated and drugs like chloromycin and streptomycin were available. This meant prolonged treatment and more prayers and vows to fulfill but the family braced themselves with all the eventualities but the note of unity in the family was at its best with one aim – the recovery of the genius in time for the exam. When he slowly but surely recovered the family had gone through a small transformation believing in Tennyson’s words “More things are wrought by prayers than this world dreams off.”

A more testing time of his belief system was the time when he was suspected of jaundice and he got himself admitted in Durgapur Steel Plant Hospital। Left in isolation of the wards of the hospital, he would read and recite Kaliya Mardana Dashakam from Narayaneeyam which describes the cleansing of the pollution (visha) of the river Yamuna. It worked and he recovered with belief in medicine and his faith system in tact. We had several rounds of discussions on the parallel between the river and the blood stream and pollution and Hepatitis infections and the treatment in general meant removal of the pollutant – infection. Would he recommend a Prayer for a treatment than medicines under similar circumstances? No. He had no recommendations but his own faith as guidelines for himself and his own life as a model for those who cared to follow him. Later when Chakkarai was diagnosed with kidney failure (both), he was recommended faith therapy in addition to dialysis weekly-twice and he benefited as he had a new lease of life normally much longer than similar cases of failure of both kidneys.

Another startling experience was his keen interest in learning Astrology through none other than the great Astrologer Shri L Narayana Rao who was our father’s cousin and under his tutelage he mastered the subject while he was in NPL. He memorized almost the entire treatise on Astrology by Varahamihara and that was a great asset as an Astrologer was required to recall all relevant passages to corroborate evidences before the prediction can be made. Astrology has two components – one that dealt with exact mathematical calculations of the positions of planets which corresponded with Astronomy, the modern science and the other intuitive part which dealt with predictive part. Here in the second part interpretations varied from one astrologer to another and it was tricky and subtle business. His science background could accept the former calculative part but doubted the veracity of the other. He went a certain distance and then distanced himself from the predictive part, particularly when it came to predicting the future. His dilemma was evident the way he would avoid the subject.

It was customary in those days when infant mortality was high to invoke the blessings of Goddess Indrakshi and every one of the children born in the family was given the stothra, a baptism to ward off evil spirits and Padda’s children and grand children were also treated with the same slokas. The lullaby in the family was Raasakrida from Narayaneeyam .

In later years, he would read more literature which often meant memorizing first and chew the cud leisurely evolving new ideas. He strongly believed in Madvacharya’s dictum “kuru bhungsvaca karma nijam niyatam Hari Pada vinamradhita satatam” – “Enjoy the wealth / resources you create but with a constant mind to the Giver"

Paddayana - 4 (As narrated by Vasu Kaka)

His Travel Abroad

The three gold medals on account of his University rank were not to be his for long as some burglars broke open his room in his absence for work but the impact it had left on the family was everlasting.. He made waves again in 1956 when Padda, Venkatasubramanian and Thathachary were selected for Assam Oil Scholarship for studies in UK. This time it meant ‘crossing the seven seas’ one of the taboo for an orthodox Brahmin. Soon his maternal grandfather at Mayavaram gave his approval as his brother’s son Sethuram had done so before. The family relented for his studies abroad. But there was one more hurdle to cross. Someone had to stand surety for him for an amount equivalent of the scholarship plus the passage cost. The period was also long and in 1957 ( the departure was delayed by one year) he was already married which meant his young wife had to be left behind for 2 years as scholarship amount of ₤40 was too meager even for one person to maintain himself. Out of this pocket money he would dutifully send ₤3 by British Postal order to his wife for her maintenance (roughly Rs 40 in those days) Our father consulted Rev Fr TN Sequiera who told him that none other than our father would stand surety for Padda. Finally he agreed.

Then the day for an emotional farewell came. He was scheduled to leave by a Streamer called Strathmore. Pandu Kaka was chosen to represent the family at Bombay for his farewell. Just before boarding Padda had recalled to Pandu how Bapa our father used to sense our long hours of play in the sun by touching the head and feeling how hot it was. This Pandu had also experienced and so the tearful farewell meant 22 days of long journey in the high seas. Here a word about the mode of travel. Almost all travel in those days meant long journeys and perhaps it was one strong reason for a taboo from the religious angle as the observance of daily rituals with fresh water, newly cooked food and observance of timely prayers were almost impossible. Air travel was unheard of except for VIPs and lot more expensive than today’s travel. In today’s context who would like to waste 22 days of his life for research in Science!

He joined the City and Guilds College and registered for an M Sc in science and Diploma from Imperial College of London. One of his unfulfilled dreams was to do his Ph D in Science but how could he spend more time with his existing family commitments. But his dream for a Ph D came true when his second daughter Nalini could get Doctorate from IIT (Kharagpur). Atmaavaiva Putra Namaasi. – Your children are perhaps extensions of your own personality. At the end of 2 years he was MA (Physics) MSc (Electronics) and DIC.

His home coming was important to many. For our father it meant he was getting out of the bondage for the security of the family. For his wife, it meant a reunion with her husband. For some of us younger lot, it was a relief from responsibility of running the household on a shoe-string budget. Rejoicing was in the air. From Bombay his port of arrival he was booked to go to Delhi with his wife – our Vahini by Frontier Mail a day after his arrival. Her sister Saroja, her parents Lakshman Rao & his wife and our parents all went to Bombay to receive him arriving by Strathanaver which arrived a day late. After a day of the family reunion at the residence of Smt and Sri Dole they all departed for their respective homes cheerfully.

His vilayatati exploits became folklore as his mother used to narrate the stories to her grand children mainly with a view to inspire younger minds. He was still not out of the rut as he continued in NPL as senior scientific assistant while many of his friends and class mates had climbed the ladder much faster. There was always a conflict in his mind as to the financial success and professional achievements and never the twains shall meet. Here again he chose a mid-path and tried to reach heights through Science administration a channel which was offering some perks which a pure scientist could not enjoy. Soon he was selected as a Senior Scientific Officer II in CMERI, Durgapur where he was required to set up laboratory facilities for material testing. This he did to the great satisfaction of his Director Dr Baker another scientist from UK who was heading the nascent new Institute under CSIR. Dr Baker had respect for his basic intelligence and his training in UK and within a span of 4 months raised his status to the next higher grade Senior Scientific Officer I which meant he would now be able to live a life of above-wants. He then raised a family of boys and girls – five of them - all of them getting the best education in the Convent schools in Durgapur. Family-wise this was the golden age as the children got all the attention from the parents in spacious bungalows as Govt. Quarters. For a brief period of a year or so, he was shifted to Madras by the then Director Prof MM Suri who believed in his ability now to raise a new unit MERADO in Chennai which was to become role model for other similar centers in India. The shift proved to be his nemesis in his career as his relations with the Director hit a low and he was reverted to the parent Laboratory CMERI. The unit MERADO flourished perhaps to justify the truth – When the tree grows, the seed disappears! This meant his greater attention to the family and his uncanny knack of spotting talents in them helped the kids to grow into a happy well-knit family.

An important message has to be derived here as observation on his life. Life was tough those days with a few opportunities and options but much less competitive due to lack of awareness of openings. So like his father, Padda too gave his children liberal education and wanted them to flourish on their own skills – a natural way of blossoming. This also meant that they had to face life as is - without much inhibition nor did they develop any great ambitions which kill the joy of living.

Another observation here is also pertinent. He gave all for the studies and education of his children whom he considered as real assets but did not build up material assets such as a house or a car etc. for his or their comforts. His priorities were his children. This had removed from his mind all associated worries, commitments and a freer life which meant that the children too understood the position as they got continued guidance and lease of active life from the parents.

Paddayana - 3 (As narrated by Vasu Kaka)

His Academic Distinction

By nature a shy young boy he would explode into his own while reciting complex and complicated passages in English be it Vincent Smith’s History or Raman effect or Maxwell’s formula or Tamil poems or Sanskrit verses where he could almost reproduce famous Anantarama Dikshitar. He was a true yeka santa graahi - one who repeats verbatim what he has heard once – an ability which his mother had detected long ago during his childhood. The unique feature of memorizing long passages stood him in good stead as his preparations for the exams meant just recalling and copying from memory – a copying practice no invigilator can detect or find fault with. No wonder he stood first in all his class exams. When he finished his school from Municipal High School, Mayavaram in 1946 father got a transfer to Trichy in time for the boy to join the St Joseph’s College famed for producing University ranks in those days. At this cross road, our father had decided he should become a Scientist and chose Science scheme in his Intermediate.

Here he displayed his remarkable analytical ability to solve complicated problems in Mathematics which was a prerequisite for understanding Physics. When formulated correctly the problems of Physics reduce to solving mathematical equations – differential equations or algebraic equations or complex integration formulae. Here he got some inspirational guides as teachers. He not only learnt the subject from them but also learnt their mannerisms and later tell his children their significance in real life. In particular, he often recalled and quoted Calculus Srinivasan – a genius of a teacher. “Differentiation of a function you can do; be humble when you come to Integration. Only some functions are integrable functions – start saying I do not know and then try”. Isn’t it true that we can so easily differentiate between objects, people, religions, caste, creed, customs etc but integrating them into a uniform concept that they are all Creations of God almighty so difficult? But the long lasting and deep impressions of his teachers created a role model for him to be perfectionist in any form of activity he undertook.

At this time, a look at the economic condition of the family makes a somewhat different picture. They were living in a single room – kitchen flat. The day Padda was to pay the fees tojoin the St Joseph’s College coincided with an auspicious day Kitsamy Kaka‘s wedding day at Kondaian Pettai in Thiruvanikkoil. Soon the new couple joined the household. To Kitsamy Kaka he was the first born and loved him so much till Kaka’s own end. Kisamy would weep when Padda was sick before his final exam and when the results were declared Kitsamy would jump with joy. There was a special bondage for him with father’s children and reciprocally he got the respect as Kaka. Padda has repeatedly remarked that in every meeting with Kitsamy Kaka he would have learnt something new. Our relation with Kitsamy Kaka was always sublime and he gave us more than we could repay in his lifetime.

With Pandu, it was a slightly different one. Padda was his contemporary and hence the intimacy was extended to all the members of the family. Padda was a leader for others to follow and relationships were established by the behaviour of the first born in the family and so Padda was a role model for all others to follow. Needless to say their departure from the mortal world left a big void in Padda’s life. We will revert to Pandu / Padda after we cover his academic excellence. Pandu had yet another pleasant task to perform in announcing the results of his final exam.

Before the final exam, however Padda fell ill with typhoid and the whole family anxiously waited for his recovery with Prayers in their lips. His professor who visited him at home told our father confidently that all Padda had to do was write the exam. and that he would top the University list. This was an extrapolation of his past performance and his ability to remember and recall at will any passages which he had committed to memory. A fortnight before the final exam in March 1951, he came out of the sickness and his memory in tact. And all of us heaved a sigh of relief with a list of vows to fulfill and visits to temples and places of worship due.

Next when he wrote the examination things appeared to be easy but the final verdict on the ranking required ratification by the University Syndicate. This meeting scheduled by Madras University was attended by Prof Savarimuthu of St Joseph’s College. That evening Pandu Kaka visited the Professor at his local home and in the twilight of the day mistaking him as Padda, the Professor greeted him enthusiastically with congratulatory messages on the distinction of the University rank which went in his favor with a huge total. When he came closer the professor realized the mistake, but Pandu Kaka assured him that the result were still confidential. Professor’s pride that his pupil had scored the rank blinded him for a while but who is not so human as not to celebrate when good things happen. Pandu could not contain the result of the success and soon went to the nearest Post Office to break the news by a telegram to the family members. Mayavaram Grand father Tandalam Krishna Rao was one received the news within minutes and joyous scenes broke out at Mayavaram where Padda and all of us had camped for the summer holidays.

The awards were three gold medals instituted by three different luminaries
1. Jagirdar of Arni gold medal for the first Rank in the University of Madras.
2. Professor P E Subramania Iyer Gold medal for the highest aggregate in Atomic Physics
3. Rev. Father Sewell Gold for the Rank at the College level

When the celebrations gradually came down, the Parents started feeling that he was no more to be with them as he had risen to the national level of recognition in Science and the parents were bracing themselves to part with him for a career at the national level of scientific institution. Soon the Raman Institute in Bangalore headed by the Nobel Laureate Prof CV Raman came up with a research career in Physics but Padda had to decline it as the fellowship was too meager - Rs 100 per month for the family to sustain. His English Professor Rev Fr. TN Sequiera whom our father respected most suggested his Pupil to join National Physical Laboratory in Delhi which had just then been inaugurated as a premier Institution in the free India. Others like our Mavasa RG Rao and his friend Achyuthan a lawyer from Triplicane came forward to talk to Prof KS Krishnan, another contemporary and coworker of CV Raman who was heading the NPL as its first Director. Finally he was packed off to Delhi to join NPL a scene which was marked with lot of emotional overtones due to the separation of the darling of the family from his home just as Krishna left Gokula of Nandagopa for Mathura from where he never returned to Brindavan. [ To be continued.

Paddayana - 2 (As narrated by Vasu Kaka)

The Young Man

Growing up in the type of environment has its own problems. He had to break the shackles that bind him to the earth through lower middle class surroundings to rise up and counter the force of gravity to fly in the sky. He had also to overcome orthodoxy and myths and beliefs; Associated with the rise was the fear of fall which led to a sense of insecurity at the top. His father perhaps like any other possessive parent wanted to protect this precocious child from the evil eyes of other parents and started giving him private attention by isolating him from the rest of the crowd by ruthlessly removing some bad elements which might pollute this young mind. This had twin effects on the young lad –the boy himself resisting the loneliness it created and the other that the parent was expecting higher performance levels. Both these characteristics developed into specific personality traits which in later years proved somewhat of a handicap in his career as he would not fit into a team although individually a brilliant performer in any given area of work. The self belief that he can do anything spurred to great heights almost to the extent of believing that he alone can do it, .but it was labeled by peers, superiors and the subordinates alike as arrogance –Yes one of his primary school teacher had once remarked the initial A in his name stood for Ahambhaava. The other effect was from lesser endowed people, sheer jealousy about which he himself could not do anything except to under-perform but how long and for whose sake! But the parent had subconsciously not prepared the young boy for management of such difficult management issues to crop up in later years.
Yet another factor was his moving from the mediocre levels in a vertical unidirectional line – excellence in scholastics. Scholarships, awards, degrees were all his but he was not much inclined to out door games and sports. In later years, he would try his hand on Tennis and thereto he measured up well – volleying and serving well but soon would retire due to fatigue and rigorous physical standards expected by a player of his age. But where is the Mayavaram Municipal High School where he studied and the expensive sport like Tennis. But the short stint he had, helped to shape up to a more rounded personality. Probably such games and sports should have started in his early childhood and so in his old age, he enjoyed the sight of Anjan and Akshi doing dive board exercises, perhaps his unfulfilled dreams of childhood materializing in the next-to-next generation
We move on to analyze the development of his charming romantic personality of the boy from his early childhood to the adolescent age. As a infant he was the darling of the household and as he grew up, he had a few fans mostly girls from the family and the small neighborhood because of his fair compulsion, sharp nose and sparkling eyes. His obsession with studies and the strict parental controls had kept his flair under check for a while and he really blossomed into a most-eligible-bachelor when he finished his studies. And he had moved to Delhi for a job in N P L. In Delhi away from the prying eyes of his elders he would extend his charm on quite a few sophisticated girls. Some had their eyes riveted on his charming personality and tried to talk to him often with a captivating smile and words like ‘excuse me’ etc. Here too his father was quick to act and lined up a few girls from South India and from our own community. He obliged the parents but would settle for anyone until one day he visited a Radiologist of repute in RS Puram, Coimbatore. In the early hours of one morning there was knock on his door and after a while a young girl in Pavadai & Davani – Petticoat with frills and Pallu a half sari to cover the upper portion opened the door and retreated into the spacious house thinking he was one of those medical representatives with dark trouser and white shirt with a tie and brief case. She went school in the morning and returning for lunch noticed the Medical Representative stull sitting in the bench talking to her father. What other business he has than giving free samples of medicines; isn’t he attractive? – she thought. Her father soon came inside and proclaimed to the household and this boy had come to see his friend’s daughter for a marriage alliance but due to some technical hitch it could not proceed and some good Samaritan had directed him to their house. This chance visit soon became a boy-meets-the girl interview. The boy asked a few questions in English and the girl replied them in Tamil. Then he asked ”Can you sing?”. She blushed for a while and started a Tamil song “Pannaga Sayanane Unadhu .. “ in praise of Ananta Padmanabha of Thiruvanatapuram in the Raga Kambhodi. He was pleased with a reference to him indirectly and in a raga which he liked most and the needless to say he was bowled over. Listen to the music by the girl

Paddayana - 1 (As narrated by Vasu Kaka)

Some thought Padda was a product of the times – He was born when the country was under the rule of the British with a set of people admiring it with Laws and Legislations in English and therefore admittedly appreciating everything ‘foreign’ and another, a set of nationalists who believed in everything which is ‘indigenous’ and opposed anything imported. It was also the times when dogmatic religious belief was slowly giving way to ‘modern’ scientific thoughts and outlook. It was the time when gurukula, system of education was giving way to formal class rooms producing graduates with standard degrees. It was also the time when formal awards for excellence was standardized and made more objective and transparent. There were thus pulls and pressures for a child born in a middle class family to prove oneself with what is ‘recognized’ than what one actually is.
A male child born on 11 Oct 1930 under the star ‘Krittika’ was the pride of theYasaka family with a fair complexion, dark hair and dark blue eyes. His near relatives enjoyed the very look of him and Ram Kaka once taunted his wife (Sitabi Kaki) on seeing the baby that she would not have seen such a beautiful child with lotus-like red feet in all her life time. The parents soon did the jata-karana casting his horoscope and to their delight found a couple of planets exalted and the debilitation of bad planet resulting in Neecha-Bhanga Raja Yoga, an indication to them that the child would grow up into a Ruler of sorts. Later Padda learnt Astrology from the great Guru (Appusamy, our father’s cousin) Shri L Narayana Rao. Earlier under the advice of the Astrologer Appusamy, the Parents had visited the shrine of Ananta Padmanabha at Thiruvanantapuram also known as Anantasayanam and sought His blessings for a child and later after a year when the child was born they christened him after the Lord of Thiruvanantapuram. The boy was called Ananta Padmanabha or Padda for short, a nick name which stuck to him for life..
Our father Raghavendra Rao soon recognized talents and skills in his prodigious son. Father would sing Sanskrit slokas as lullabies and soon the child started repeating the lines with the parent and sometimes the lines ahead to show his memory. - This practice of singing lullabies of Sanskrit slokas continues as a tradition in the family even today.- This was normal for a bright child but what puzzled our father was the child’s ability to compose his own short lines. Once when he was singing marathi song
Me.. tujaa.. padaa.. (Oh lord, I am at your feet)
the child would continue the next line
Tu.. majha.. baapa.. (you are my father). The father was perplexed if he was referring to him or to the Lord !. Father taught him longer poems. The boy was keen to observe his mother doing Paaraayana (daily readings from Shankaracharya’s Arya shatakam, Mooka Panchshati Soundarya lahari, Anada lahari and started reciting them to her surprise. She soon started telling him mythological stories which practice she continued with her all children and grand children and earned the nick name ‘The story teller’. This then formed the traditional backdrop of a middle class joint family. The family noted with pride his intelligence and memory.
Father was keen to test the lad in his analytical skills. He would collect a few children from the neighborhood which included Vittal and Pandu and give mathematical puzzles and simple arithmetics to develop analytical skills. Padda usually outscores others and set new benchmarks for himself. Father then dreamt of his son going to a college, a privilege to a few elitists in those days that too the St Joseph’s College at Trichy. Nothin less than Physics Honors – the Science honors.
The father dreamt of Scientists and as first step starting chanting the mantra Gold Medals and other laurels for excellence in science education. Encouraged by the parental ‘demands’ for high standards and amidst chanting and cheering from other elders to win, the young boy measured up and came up with ‘ace’ in his Physics B Sc (honors) of the then Madras presidency. The vision and dream of the elders was matched by exacting and rigorous standards the boy set for himself in his studies living in a typical lower middle class Brahmin joint family in South India with 10-12 adults and a few children living ia single room ‘store’ : a name for a dormitory type of small apartment with common facilities for bath, open air lavatory, water source and recreation. He invented ingenious ways of memorizing acronyms like ‘R-square sine theta de-theta de-or de-fie’ which soon the children of the family started chanting little knowing the significance of the unit volume in integration formula used in polar co-ordinates. His enthusiasm soon caught up with the imaginations of the younger ones and they learnt simultaneously mythological stories and parables from Mahabharatha often reciting Sanskrit verses. He set standards for himself and let others to outshine him, a challenge in a healthy way!