[Chaturamnaya] His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Sacchidananda Sivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati - 15

[S Jayanarayanan]

 http://svbf.org/journal/vol8no1/2006_10_swamigal.pdf
 
 
Visit of the Prince
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Towards the close of 1898, the Dewan of
Mysore wrote to the Agent of the matha that the
prince of Mysore was on a visit to all parts of the
State along with his tutor, Mr. Fraser, as a
preparation for taking over the reins of
administration and the Sringeri matha would be
the first stop.
 
When this was made known to the Swami,
and the Agent solicited instructions in the matter,
the Swami said: "You are there to receive the
prince and his tutor in a manner befitting the
prince’s exalted rank. Make all suitable
arrangements and receive the prince according to
the precedent of the matha. I shall myself stay in
my hermitage and send the prince my greetings
and blessings."
 
On December 7, 1898 the prince came to
Sringeri, was received with due honours, and
stayed in the building set apart for his
accommodation. With the European gentlemen
who accompanied him, he crossed the river and
came to the hermitage of the Swami and paid his
respects to him.
 
In the evening, Mr. Fraser sought a private
interview with the Swami and conversed with him
through an interpreter for over four hours. The
simple habits of the gentle-mannered Swami, the
genial smile that ever hovered about his lips, the
melody of his words, rich with holy thoughts,
bewitched the tutor and he forgot the passing of
time. He expressed his great admiration for the
guru in his subsequent letters to him wherein he
touched on the guru’s simplicity of manner
equalled only by the immensity of his
learning.
 
Great princes used to come to him, wealthy
noblemen with large sums of money for the
matha, which they respectfully laid at his feet;
poor people also came to him in great numbers
for help; also people who, or whose children, were
suffering from maladies sought his aid, as well as
those who came to showcase their learning and
get rewards.
 
All alike he received with the same smile
and kindness, showed equal solicitude for the
proper entertainment of the rich or the relief of
the distressed; not one went away without feeling
that it was he who had been foremost in the
thoughts of the guru. To little children, especially,
who approached him, he had a more than
ordinary fondness, like another great teacher who
had said "suffer little children to come unto me."
With great scholars, yogis and jnanis he could
speak on the most abstruse questions of ontology
with ease. With children, he became a little child
himself delighting in their ingenious prattle and
pleasing them with fruits and things they valued
most.
 
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