anecdotes of Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamin

*Source: Illuminating Interactions*

 

*The book deals with the anecdotes of Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamin*

 

5. A man visited His Holiness just as He arrived at a city.

 

He: Swamiji, You aim to preach Advaita, the culmination of which eradicates all our miseries, is it not?

 

H.H : Yes.

 

He: Then, why not encourage everyone to adopt it right away? Why do you advise ways such as 'Karma', 'devotion' etc?

 

H.H: Well, what do you do for a living?

 

He: I work as an executive.

 

H.H: How did you get this job?

 

He: I possessed the necessary qualification to meet the job's requirements.

 

H.H: Where did you obtain this qualification?

 

He: At a university.

 

H.H: Did you take up university studies directly? 

 

He: It is impossible to join the post-graduate course directly. I had to start from elementary school.

 

H.H: If the post-graduate course is the criteria to land a job, in turn earn money and appease your appetite, what is the necessity for elementary school?

 

He: (Laughing) How will any one acquire the competence to do a post-graduate course without the ones that form the foundation for it?

 

H.H: Well said. Similarly, Advaita is the final level in realising the goal that rids you of all miseries. It has to be followed from the basics. The performance of Veda ordained Karma-s with a sense of dedication to God purifies your mind. A pure mind understands the Truth as It is when taught by a competent Guru.

 

He: I see the point in Your approach, Swamiji.