A Saga of Yoga as Compassion

Man is motivated by the search for happiness in the external world, and many are the worldly possessions in which happiness is sought – material possessions, power, fame etc. Ironically, none of these things affords lasting happiness which resides within the self only. At some stage or the other, man becomes concerned about the purpose of life which lies in self-realization, or discovery of the self, achieved through controlling one’s mind.

The human personality has three aspects – body, mind and intellect – each one instrumental in discovering one’s essential nature, the self (Atman) within. The paths of action, devotion, and knowledge correspond to body, mind, and intellect, respectively.

According to Patanjali, the father of Indian Yoga philosophy, “yoga is the control of thought waves in the mind”. The mind (Citta) has three components – manas, buddhi and ahankara. Since the manas receives all impressions gathered by the senses from the external world, aspirants of spiritual knowledge have to discriminate the impressions and shed ahankara, or the ego-sense, in order to realize the essential being, the self. And one who realizes the self is a yogi.

Though many are the paths to become a yogi, thereby to achieve liberation from the bonds of worldly existence and salvation, ultimately, the paths – karma, bhakti, and gyana – are only apparently exclusive. There are hundreds of yogis who have imbibed a holistic approach to yoga to become yogis, or Siddha Purushas, and realized the fruit of their spiritual knowledge in service to mankind, transforming their powers into compassion for the poor, destitute, disease-ridden, the hapless and helpless lot of human society.

Prof. B Ramaraju’s Andhra Yogulu, a monumental and deeply researched work on the yogis of Andhra in 4 volumes chronicles the lives of about 200 yogis of Andhra spanning over seven centuries.

A translation in English of the biographies of 35 out of the 50 saints of the first volume entitled Telugu Saints and Sages by prof. M Sivaramakrishna, was released on 11th May, 2005.

The saints and sages chronicled in the book all bound by the Upanishadic norm of perceiving Reality as “experienced truth”. “Kavi sees, saint/sage sees through the Reality that creates, sustains and dissolves all aspects of the world as an enacted leela of the Lord”, to quote Prof. Sivaramakrishna. The unique attribute of these saints however, is that while a yogi is entitled to, and, therefore, prone to limit his yogic accomplishments to his withdrawal from the world and secure his own salvation, the saints covered in this book are all karma yogis who embraced the world of “weariness, fever and fret” to redeem it through their gyana and all-encompassing love for the lord manifested in their acts of redemption of mankind. Hence, the holistic vision of their yoga.

These saints and sages are a part of the recorded history spanning the period from the 13th to the 20th century. That way the reader has a shared ethos with theirs, more and more in the case of those who are contemporaneous.

Another significant feature of some of them is their ‘folk ethos’ distanced from that of the classical and mythological rishis. These saints belonged to the sublime of the ordinary and the mundane, and established through their miracles, that the natural and the supernatural are mutually inclusive. They recognized the sacred in the profane.

The account of the galaxy of saints and sages commences with that of Sri Vidyaranya (1296-1386) a blend of a Vedavyasa, a Sankaracharya, a Chanakya and a Chandragupta, of wisdom, penance, will and action. He translated his Vedantic knowledge and the spirit of renunciation into activism for establishing a great empire and the spiritual regeneration of the country.

Sripada Srivallabha (1323-1344), considered to be a reincarnation of Sri Dattatreya – the son of sage Atri and Anasuya – is the supreme example of an ascetic who renounced the love of his own embodiment and lived as a Siddhayogi, an Avadhuta, after mastering all the scriptures. Sripada became Sripada Srivallabha since his concort was the spiritual Yogasri Herself. His yoga manifested itself in his miracles which revived the dead and redeemed many by injecting faith and devotion in them.

Vemana’s stature among yogis is unique. He was a ‘paragon of Vedanta’, a Nathayogi and a philosopher. Yet he was a rationalist and a humanist. He renounced the world after a life of sensory pleasures (Kama), only to expose the weaknesses and follies of human beings through his universal and timeless creative message enshrined in his ‘Vemana Satakam’ – a yogi who belonged and belongs to the multitude.

Since yoga is the quest (sadhana) for the experience of realization of and union with Brahman, through various forms of yoga – Sri Pothuluri Veera Brahmendra Swami (1608-1693) a contemporary of yogi Vemana, achieved Mahayoga, the greatest blend of all forms of yoga. He was a seer of all times at a time, and like Vemana, he preached the universal message.

In Sri Raghavendra Swami (1596-1671) of Mantralayam, we find yet one more saint in whom self-realization, transcendence, divine experience and compassionate service to society through gnana, bhakti and karma yogas attained an ideal blend. The uplift of the downtrodden and the illiterate fills every moment of the saga of this king of yogis, and an author of thirty three works. It is like the chanting of the Vishnusahasranamam.

Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra Saraswati (1560-1750) and Sri Narayana Tirtha (1580-1680) belonged to the gnana, bhakti, vairagya yoga systems, however, with their stress on the bhakti aspect which they propogated through their Sankirtanams and Tarangams, respectively.

A phenomenon in this galaxy is Trailinga Swamy (1607-1887), praised by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as the Moving Viswanath of Kasi. Extolled by Paramahamsa Sri Yogananda (1893-1952) in his Autobiography of a Yogi, Sri Trailinga Swamy is the epitome of all the ashtasiddhis mentioned in the ‘Vibhuti Pada’ of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The purpose-oriented miracles were just a part of his mission as a messaiah.

Another evolved soul whose religion was truth, compassion and selfless service to others was Sorakayala Swami who sanctified the earth he walked on for 202 years (1700-1902). He was so named because he carried hollow bottlegourds for holding water and food. Thoroughly involved in the lives of the poor and the despised, this yogi utilized his yogic powers, through his innumerable miracles, to wipe their tears and initiate them into faith and devotion.

That sainthood is not the exclusive prerogative of men is proved by the immortal names such as Tarigonda Venkamma (1730-1817), Machilipatnam Dontulamma (1807-1932), and Adoni Tikka Lakshmamma (1815-1933).

Their uniqueness lies in their state of Jeevan Mukti (liberation in the here and now) attained through bhakti, flawless and unshakeable. Like Prahlada, they enshrined the Lord in their hearts and lived in meditating upon Him only, against all trials, and tribulations.

Tarigonda Venkamma or Venkamamba has become a part of the Seven Hills of Lord Venkateswara. Venkamma was a nonconformist. She weathered many a storm of tradition, convention and the way of living imposed by them upon a woman. She was a dauntless spiritual lone ranger whose devotion to the Lord was unshakeable. She transcended the physical and mental spheres of human existence and attained the spiritual communion with Him.

Tikka Lakshmamma, a haggard looking woman, a butt of ridicule and ill-treatment, had an oracle-like tongue capable of foretelling the auspicious and the in-auspicious events in one’s life. She roamed the streets of Adoni as a mad woman with a spiritual mission, till she attained salvation.

Mention has to be made of Poodota Lingavadbuta (17th century), Kesavaswami Bhaganagarkar (1610-1683) whose shrine is situated in Hyderabad, Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval (1635-1720), Guntur Nana Mastan (1685-1892), Sattenapalli Phiroji Maharshi (1829-1889), Pudukkota Judge Swami (1850-1915), Kurtalam Mouna Swami (1868-1943), Kottalanka Syed Ahmedalishaw Khadar Ali (1868-1948), Tandur Abdul Karim Shah Vali (1870-1947), Prakasananda Swami (1871-­1962), Kavyakantha Vasishta Ganapathi Muni (1885-1962) and Vadrevu Lalithananda Saraswati (1886-1951).          

That paths are different but the Parmatman is the same is evidenced in sages such as Khadar Vali whose following covers a large number of Hindus too – the beneficiaries of the preachings and miracles of a great Siddha Master.

Hatha yogis such as Prakasananda Swami were compassionate towards all beings. They suffered when people suffered; their principle exemplified the prescription for being a Vaishnava as the one who is sensitive to the suffering of others that was dear to Mahatma Gandhiji.

A multifaceted personality, a yogi, who was also a social revolutionary was Ganapati Muni.

All these yogis practised the essence of the Bhagavadgita. They were a blend of Gnana Yoga and Karma Yoga. Such yogis are interested in the well-being of all.

In all these yogis the greatest virtue was compassion. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa says, “A holy man is freed from all samskaras, but the thought-wave of compassion stays with him to the last moment of his life”. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad concludes with the thunder of the storm cloud saying, “Da! Da! Da! – Be self-controlled! Be charitable! Be compassionate!”

The lives of all these siddhas constitute an epitome of compassion, the ultimate human virtue, a theological, religious and spiritual inclusiveness. Their lives amount to the renaissance of a new-consciousness, desired and deserved particularly, by the suffering man of our times, who is in need of a spirit of universal consciousness against mindless materialism.

Gratefully acknowledging

1) Prof. B. Rama Raju
2) Prof. M. Sivarama Krishna
3) Dr. Poranki Dakshinamurthy.