Natesan

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Natesan

 

Sri Natesan, a staunch old devotee of Sri Bhagavan,

had the unique privilege of shaving Bhagavan for an

uninterrupted period of twenty five years.

 

Sri Natesan is a native of Polur, a small village to the north

of Tiruvannamalai. His father, a staunch devotee of Lord

Arunachaleswara (the deity in the Tiruvannamalai temple) used

to visit Tiruvannamalai, walking the distance of twenty miles

on the first day of each Tamil month in order to do a pradakshina

of Arunachala. After reaching a ripe old age, his father eventually

died during one of his walks around the mountain, and Sri

Natesan considers that it was the merit earned by his father

which eventually earned him the privilege of serving Bhagavan.

 

After his father’s death, Natesan was adopted by his uncle,

Subbarayan. His uncle first saw Bhagavan at Gurumurtam, the

period when he had long matted hair. On seeing Sri Bhagavan,

Subbarayan asked for permission to give him a shave. Bhagavan

remained silent and Subbarayan took this to be a negative

answer, but later, when some of the devotees wanted to give

Bhagavan a shave, he was approached by them and he happily

accepted their invitation. From that time on, he shaved Bhagavan

regularly, and when he became too old to continue the work,

he advised his nephew, Natesan, to continue the service. Natesan

gladly accepted the honour, and he shaved Sri Bhagavan on the

morning of each full-moon day.

 

On the mornings when he was due to shave Bhagavan,

Natesan would first have a bath, smear vibhuti (sacred ash) on

himself and then respectfully approach Bhagavan at exactly

9 a.m. At this time of day, Bhagavan would normally have

just returned from his morning walk, and on seeing Natesan

Bhagavan would apply oil to the rheumatic swelling in his

joints and then slowly walk to the goshala (cow shed). A special

place was set aside in the goshala for shaving and on the days

when Bhagavan had his shave it would be specially cleaned

and decorated with rangoli (floor patterns). Natesan would

prostrate before starting the shave, and then complete the shave

in silence; only when it was completed would he say a few

words to Bhagavan.

 

On one occasion, Sri Niranjanananda Swami called

Natesan and asked him to start the work an hour earlier.

Niranjanananda Swami thought that in the heat of the summer

this would be more convenient for Bhagavan. Natesan turned

up at the newly appointed hour, and in response to Bhagavan’s

questioning gaze, he narrated Niranjanananda Swami’s new

plan. Bhagavan said that the heat was of no importance, and

the former timetable was restored.

 

Natesan also used to play pipe-music for weddings and

other festivities, and once when he was shaving Bhagavan, his

uncle Subbarayan came to see him and told him that he was

required in town to play some music as soon as he had finished

shaving Bhagavan. On hearing this Bhagavan remarked: “It

seems that Natesan has to go to town by noon, and he has not

taken any food since this morning.” His attendants who were

standing nearby took the hint and brought him some lunch

from the kitchen. Barbers are normally treated as outcasts, and

caste Hindus would normally only offer them food after they

themselves had finished eating. Natesan was overwhelmed by

this show of compassion by Bhagavan and felt that only

Bhagavan could love like this. Recalling this incident in later

years, Natesan was moved to tears and pointed out that Bhagavan

always treated devotees equally, and was particular that none

went without food.

 

Natesan considered his service to Bhagavan to be his highest

priority, and never failed to appear for the monthly shave. On

one occasion, on the day before full-moon, Natesan’s brother

who was living in a village nearby, fell sick and his life appeared

to be in danger. Natesan explained his position to his relatives

and they wisely advised him to go at once to Tiruvannamalai

and do his sacred duty.

 

Soon after the shave the following day, one of his relatives

came to inform him that his brother had died and that he was

required immediately for the last rites. Bhagavan heard this

information being passed on and remarked: “It seems that

Natesan’s brother has passed away and he has to go at once to

Polur. He could not have taken his food yet and it is not known

whether he has money to travel.” On hearing this, one of

Bhagavan’s attendants, Ramakrishna Swami went to the kitchen

and brought some food. Natesan had little appetite for food,

but he took three cups of coffee and was given five rupees for

his journey home.

 

Natesan once prostrated to Bhagavan when he met him

walking on the hill. “Why here?” questioned Bhagavan, and

Natesan took this to mean that his prostration in the goshala

was a sufficient expression of devotion and that he need not do

it elsewhere.

 

Natesan always used to spend a few minutes with Bhagavan

after his monthly work had been completed. In those few

minutes he would have Bhagavan’s uninterrupted and undivided

attention. Natesan now considers these short sessions listening

to the compassionate words of Bhagavan to be the happiest

moments of his life.

 

from Surpassing Love and Grace