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Swami enlightens all, from children to old people with his attractive words

   Another unique nature of Swami is that he enlightens all, from children to old people with his attractive words. He will converse with them on topics of their interest and by doing so, he will attract them like a magnet towards him. Then he will advise them accordingly and mould them. It is really amazing to watch even babies go near him without any fear and play with him. Whenever great scholars, vedic pundits, academicians and yogis come to see him, he will have scholarly discussions with them and direct them with divine directions and captivate them in a stream of divine conversation.

   He never orders anyone to come and worship him or pray to Devi alone. He always advises them to continue worship of their personal god and guides them to improve their worship regimen. He never asks anyone to go and visit the Bagavathi Siddhar Peetam. He never demands that funds be donated for the development of the peetam. He never attributes any glory to himself. On the contrary, he humbly tells everyone that it is Devi's grace which he is transmitting to us and it is Her divine command which he is only following.

   Swami is always quick to crack good natured jokes and laugh wholeheartedly with devotees as he makes humour with the interplay of words in Tamil and Malayalam. He would narrate several incidents in his life all the while making puns with words having different meanings in different languages. He makes all of us to laugh with his jokes and gets the rapt attention of all. He transmits his divine power by his divine vision. On many occasions I have had the feeling of his look passing through my eyes, into my veins as we make eye contact. I have experienced my eyes brimming with spontaneous tears of joy at a mere look from him.

   Swami practices what he preaches. With the divine grace of Devi and Gurunathar Gnananandar, he tries to fulfill the desires of different devotees and make them happy. There is nothing which he cannot accomplish with his siddhis. Once when my husband and I had a chance to go with him to his Kumbakonam residence, we were wonderstruck seeing him and his family members living a very simple and austere lifestyle. I literally broke down with tears as I realized that Swami truly practices the simplicity he preaches unlike other holy men who are given to pomp and extravagance.

   I would like to relate some delightful divine experiences with Swami that my family and I cherish dearly. For us, these experiences were harbingers of the undeniable truth that Swami is divine and none other than the embodiment of Chothanikkara Devi, a unique avathar indeed! I feel that because of some good deeds in our earlier birth, we are blessed to be in close contact with Swami. One can relish the sweetness of sugar cane only after tasting it. Mere hearsay about the sugarcane's sweetness is not enough for someone to truly experience the same happy feeling. In the same manner, when I talk and describe Swami and his powers, it may sound like a story, often far­fetched to a skeptical listener but if the same person had a chance to meet Swami, he would experience the bliss almost instantly. My attempts to describe Swami's leela is at best modest, and often even hopelessly inadequate. Yet, I try!

   It was the year 1992. Though I had many occasions to be with Swami, to be very frank, I was not fully convinced of his divinity and miraculous powers. It's my nature to be skeptical unless otherwise convinced. I cannot accept a third person s opinion about anybody. After working as a scientist at Bhaba Atomic Research Center for 12 years and teaching physics at a city college in Bombay for 12 years, my thinking had developed a scientific bent and I disliked holy men who claimed to possess siddhis. I was of the firm opinion that only those who lack self confidence and harbour unwarranted fears, flock to such godly persons and seek their help in handling their troubled lives. I was critical in my reasoning and question why such great souls cannot work their magic to wipe out poverty in a country like India. Such was my state of mind at the time, though I often went with my husband to meet Swami. Numerous enlightening experiences later, after coming to know Swami very closely, I understood from him that the reason for one's happiness and sorrow in life, a trivial matter in the greater scheme of things, is merely the action and the reaction of a particular individual and his or her karmic actions.

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