Guru Raghavendra Swamy of Mantralayam
We can worship Guru Raghavendra as our Kula Devata, since he contains sufficient powers equivalent to our Kula Devata, and he got those powers, through his staunch devotion, affection and meditation on Lord Rama, and still, day by day, he is gaining tremendous spiritual powers, out of his sincerity on Lord Rama. Those who are not aware about their Kula Devata, can also worship Guru Raghavendra as their Ishta Devata (Beloved Deity), as well as they can worship him as their Kula Devata (Family Deity).
Guru Raghavendra is a blessed saint, who still continuously meditates on Lord Rama from his holy shrine at Mantralayam. Guru Raghavendra can also be called as “MRITIGAI SWARUPA”, the saint who dwells in his holy Mritigai, sacred sand of Mantralayam. “KAVI VASTRA PRIYANE”, the saint who likes wearing Saffron Dhoti, “KAKKUM DEIVAME”, the saint who acts like a guardian god, “ARPUDHA URUVAME”, the saint who looks very beautiful, “SAGALA KALAI VALLAVANE”, the saint who is expert in all kinds of arts, “AMUDHA SURABIYE”, the saint who showers his unlimited grace and shows mercy towards his devotees, “KRISHNA AMSAYA”, the saint who contains the features of Lord Krishna.
Few months ago, while I was talking with an office staff at Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, Triplicane Branch, Chennai, he has expressed his staunch faith on Guru Raghavendra, and he also narrated an incident about Guru Raghavendra. Before fifteen years ago, an aged saint who dressed in Saffron Dhoti had visited his home, smiled at him, and then after cleaning his legs in the bathroom, he went straight to the puja room, and after sometime, he disappeared from that place.The Triplicane Mutt Staff strongly believes that the saint who visited his home was none other than his beloved Guru Sri Raghavendra. As per a famous proverb, “GURUVARUL THIRUVARUL”, which means, only if you get the grace of the guru, you would be able to get the grace of the god.
A proper spiritual guru, like Guru Raghavendra, would never misguide his devotees, at any point of time, and, in fact, they would mould them properly, and they would cleanse the sins of the devotees, and also would grant salvation to them at the appropriate time. Some time back, while I was attending an interview conducted by a person who belongs to Hindu Religion, I have told about my bhakti on Guru Raghavendra, then, he said to me, “Oh! Very Good! You have chosen only the right person to worship! Worship him sincerely, honestly, faithfully and whole-heartedly, in order to get his full grace”.
I have cleared in that Interview, and I have also worked for a few years in that company, and the name of the person who interviewed me, is “RAGHAVENDRA RAO”. During Guru Raghavendra’s period, when his devotee Venkanna had prayed to him and cried for his help, he has got instant help from his Guru, and he has become a talented scholar within a fraction of second, though, by birth, he was a layman.
It is the duty of Hindus to cultivate the habit from Christians, who used to worship only “LORD JESUS CHRIST”, by considering him as their god, guru and guide. Similar to the holy Christ, Guru Raghavendra has got enough powers, and he is also considered to be the son of Lord Narasimha, since Lord Narasimha considered Prahalada as his son, who incarnated as Guru Raghavendra, by the way of crowing him as the king for the kingdom, which only a father would do it for his son. When Prahlada was suffering from the clutches of his father Hiranyakasipu, Ma Lakshmi, the holy consort of Lord Vishnu, used to tell to Lord Vishnu, “Our child Prahlada is suffering from problems. Oh! My Lord! Please go immediately and save him!
Hence by considering the previous birth details of Guru Raghavendra, we can worship him as our Kula Devata, Ishta Devata, Holy Saint, God, Guru, and as Guru Dakshinamurthy and Guru Brihaspati.
In one of his famous works, Guru Raghavendra has described about the significance of ‘RamaNama Japam’, and he advises all of his devotees to recite various names of Lord Rama for several times in their life time, since the great guru considers ‘RamaNama Japam’ as equivalent to drinking the Divine nectar from the heaven (RAMANAMAMRUDHAM).
“OM SRI GURU RAGHAVENDRAYA NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR