Meandering thoughts - Sita Sreeraman

Hari Om Swami Gurukripananda, GK Mama alias Chami (24.Feb.1927 to 12.Dec.2020) A Shraddanjali  from GK family Compiled by T. S. Jayaraman , s/o Smt. G.K. Anandavalli, (poorvasram) younger sister of GK Swami.   Swami Gurukripananda, Chami Mama attained Samadhi in the dawn of 12 Dec at 4 a.m. At 3.45 am he wanted to get up to go to the bathroom. He could not get up. He called Mahender for help. It was all over in 15 minutes. As per the custom of Sri Sivananda Guru's Divine Life Society all rites were completed on the same day by 9.30 am. Mama's Sodashi is on Dec 27, when the Ashram does Annadanam to the Ashram inmates. Lineage: G K Kailsanatha Iyer, my maternal grand-father was a great Vedantin who lived in Gangaikondan village in Thirunelveli District. An ardent disciple of Sringeri Sri Chandra Sekara Bharati, Thatha himself wanted to live the life of a renunciate (Mama followed this tradition). Swamigal however advised Mama against it and gave Thatha two d

Hinduism, pre-independence and a couple of decades after, was mostly a religion of subtraction. From material wealth to the reduction/subtraction of the six evil tendencies, it was about subtraction.  --- Lust or desire ( Kama), Anger (Krodha), Greed ( Lobha), Attachment (Moha) , Arrogance (Mada), Jealousy (Matsarya)  The four Ashramas/life-stages in life was about subtraction   --- Brahmacharya (student), Grihastha (householder), Vanaprastha (retired) and Sannyasa (renunciate)  A way of life to move from outer experiences to inner! Ostentation was eschewed. Appa used to jokingly remark that silk sarees were worn to create jealousy and want in other women. And how his mother had only 2 silk sarees and she was content with it, though she had the resources to buy more.  Wise words, jokingly said, but so true!  On a serious note, Kanchi Maha Periyava, Jagadguru Chandra Sekara Sarawati and also Sringeri Maha Periyava Chandra Sekara Bharati, Ramana Maharishi are living examples of Gurus we

Ah Spring! Nothing like the fresh greens and explosion of flowers in spring! Mother Earth's bounty, after a few months of winter, the change in landscape is special! Every year, I wait with bated breath as first the snow-drops make their appearance, followed by daffodils, primulas, magnolias, hyacinths and cherry blossoms and then the magic happens - the leaves appear, the green so fresh, so heart-touchingly green, I pause, I keep taking pictures but then they never ever match what the human eye and heart can see and feel! There is something so special about this green against the backdrop of the blue blue skies, probably after months of gray scapes, it fills me with such optimism and joy!

I grew up in my hometown of Trichur, Kerala. Vadukkunathan temple, Kuttangulangara, Sankarangulangara, Paramekavu, Thiruvambady, Punkunnum Shiva Kshetram, Ponganam Ramaswamy temples and the temples in my ancestral village Trikkur were some of the temples we visited quite often. Early in the morning on any monsoon day, with the rain and the accompanying gentle breeze, visiting a temple was something special, something I treasure, especially some of my visits to Vadukkunathan temple and Trikkur temples during this season. Kerala temples with their conical tile structures, burning oil and ghee lamps, the smell of sandal paste, turmeric paste, home grown local flowers and leaves as adornments are special - very earthy and powerful. No artifice is allowed here. One mandatorily has a hair bath before entering the temple. There is such an emphasis on purity(hence local flowers and ingredients) and cleanliness, that one can't help but feel pure and serene. The electric lighting within