Kanchi Paramacharya

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Namaste.

 

While going through an article on Kanchi Paramacharya entitled ‘The Sage of Kanchi’ by T.M.P. Mahadevan, a renowned scholar in Vedanta, I came across the following passages which are very instructive.

 

1.  Mr. (Paul) Brunton does not fail to make a note of the universalistic and catholic vision of the Acharya. “I am quick to notice”, he writes, “that Shri Shankara (meaning the Kanchi Paramacharya) does not decry the West in order to exalt the East, as so many in this land do. He admits that each half of the globe possesses its own set of virtues and vices, and that in this way they are roughly equal! He hopes that a wiser generation will fuse the best points of Asiatic and European civilizations into a higher and balanced social scheme”.

 

2. On another occasion speaking on the same theme, the Acharya observed:   “Because two people worship different manifestations of One Supreme Being, there is no warrant for their quarrelling  with each other. How can there be a higher or lower, superior or inferior when in reality there are not two, but it is only One God manifesting differently? We must not forget that there are works which proclaim the oneness of shiva and viShNu, of Hara and Hari. It has been declared that the enemies of shiva are the enemies of viShNu too, and vice versa. 

 

3. An incident which occurred in 1926 deserves special mention. The Acharya was proceeding to Pattukkottai from Karambakkudi. Among the people who saw the Acharya off at the latter place there were some Muslims also. One of the Muslims followed the party, touching the palanquin with his hands as a mark of respect. After about three miles of the journey, the Acharya stopped, and called for the Muslim gentleman and made kind enquiries. The Muslim placed before the Acharya some personal matters for his advice and guidance, and then offered some verses of praise he had composed along with flowers and fruit. At the command of the Acharya, the Muslim read out those verses and explained their meaning also. When taking leave he expressed his joy in these words: “To my eyes the Acharya appears as the embodiment of Allah Himself. The Acharya’s darshana is enough for a man who wants to get liberation from worldly bondage”.

 

Pranams

S.N.Sastri