The Seven Sapthahas

The first Sapthaha commenced from Margashira Sukla Astami of Yuva naama Samvatsara. A well was dug in the premises of Ashram. Siddaganga was brought from Ramagiri and installed in the well which supplied sufficient water. A big pendal was constructed

Saptaha is one week of Aradhana or Bhajan On the first day Ganga was worshipped and brought to pendal and installed there. Rudrabhisheka was performed to Gurupaduka and Dattatreya. Tiffin was supplied at 9 AM. The puja and parayana (reading according to the tradition) of Sri Gurucharitra commenced in the morning. Lunch was served at 2 P.M. In the evening nithya Bhajan was sung. Gurupadukas and Chidambareshwar were taken in a procession round the Ashram after Bhajan. Recitation and interpretation of Kumaravyasa Bharaata and Jaimini Bharatha was a regular feature. Appa neither took food nor slept throughout the saptaha. Some twenty to thirty sishyas worked continuously round the clock during all the seven days.

On the afternoon of the seventh day, Appa went round the village(Nulenur). The Bhajan Party sung and danced during the procession improvising a traditional song.

Sister, get up

Shiva has come to your threshold

Behold him sister and give Bhiksha.

None is there handsome than him

Give him Bhiksha and be liberated

Fill the vessel of Knowledge

Give it to him and your difficulties vanish and he is satisfied.

After the procession Aradhana was performed.

Some people grew jealous and complained to Jagadguru Sri Sri Chandrashekara Bharathi Swamiji of Sringeri, to which he retorted

"Nulenur Swamiji is the embodiment of Sanatana dharma. Go to him and tell him what happened here apologise"

The second saptaha also went on in the same fervour. Thousands of people came to Nulenur. One day during the saptaha Appa came to the middle of the pendal and said loudly "I have no attachment to my body. Those who want to cut it down may come here and do so. But they wont gain anything."

On hearing this the tantrics who had conspired to do so, disappeared from Nulenur.

During the third saptaha Chandi Homa was performed. After this Saptaha Sri Narayan Maharaj of Harihar came and requested to help him to perform a Saptaha.

The location was fixed at Lokikere, where a relative of Srinivasa Rao, who took Sanyasa owned a land and reserved it for spiritual purposes.

Appa went to Davangere, On the banks of Haridravathi (locally called Shyagale Halla) where a grand pendal was constructed. Two Akhanda Bhajana were arranged.

(1) Digambara Guru Digambara Sripadavallabha Digambara

(2) Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram Pathitha Pavana Sitaram

More than five thousand people dined daily on the site. Chandi Homa was performed. Many marriages and Upanayana were arranged.

On a certain day during Saptaha, Appa simply touched Srinivasa Rao on his head. Srinivasa Rao attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi for many hours. Later Appa released him from that state.

During the Saptaha Lakhs of people came and took the darshan of Appa.

After Saptaha Narayan Maharaj said "I have arranged for nearly a hundred saptahas, but none of them was as grand as this and none was as complete as this. The greatness of Guru manifested entirely on this occasion due to Appa.

Prior to first saptaha, Mahakali manifested on Appa and said(1935) "I am hungry. The earth has dried-up. It will be wetted by a world was. He forecast the events of second World war (which were the same as the events of the world war II)

Appa used to teach throughout this period. He used to say "Paramathma manifests himself as Guru in order to satisfy his devotees. Siva who is Chidambara (clothed in the sky of pure knowledge) was born as Siva Chidambara. He again came as Sheshala. His devotee was Shankara Bhagavan who was like a Kalpavriksha(a divine tree which grants any boon one asks for) That Shankara is now ShankaraLinga.

"Both Guru and sishya are God in two different forms. There is nothing greater than Guru. But if there is no bhakta what is the use of Guru. Hence Bhaktas are greater than Guru. Let the dust of Bhaktas feet be on my head.

"A house holder is always under some duress or other. But he must have faith in Guru. He must serve Guru by body, mind and money.

"Those who cannot serve with money (have not enough money to give) may serve by toiling with their body. If he is not able bodied let him remember Guru. Guru will accept it as service."

By this time, Rajashekhara Sastry son of Shankarappa brother of Appa, Krishnamurthy(Kittanna) of Vittalapur, Naganna brother of Kittanna, had been serving him in Ashrama and during his tours. Yallappa, son of Kolkunte Ramanna came to Nulenur to be with Appa.

His brother Chandranna was a teacher. But he lost his eyesight completely. But he miraculously got it back by the grace of Appa.

Appa used to say:

Guru has nothing to gain from sishyas. But in order to castoff his karma, a shishya has to serve his Guru.

One way of dhyana is to concentrate on the form of God whose statue they worship. This statue may be of stone, wood or metal. But Nirakara(formless) Brahma has come in Chaitanyan rupa of Guru. Hence his form is to be meditated upon. In a letter he wrote "remembering Sri Guru itself is dhyana"

If one offers money to Guru it destroys the sins of sishyas and goes back to him as prasada.

On certain occasion he used to say "My sishyas need not indulge themselves in any sadhana let them believe in me and follow my words. They will be liberated. When one is in the presence of the Guru there is neither Vidhi nor Nishadha (dos & don'ts). When they come to Guru they should be satisfied with what prasada they get. They must not expect anything nor they need fear that they wont get something else.

We have not come here to preach anything new. Nor are we showing any new path for there is nothing new. There is only one thing that is ageless (sanatana) and that is Brahma.

Once one Govindappa the Patel of nearby village came to Nulenur. He had four of five children and his wife had been stricken with some unknown disease. Some thing threatened him that it was the work of some Ghost.

Appa said "Govindanna, Sri Gurunatha is quite powerful your wife will be cured before you go back to your place. He went inside the ashrama, brought something, packed it in a piece of paper and gave it to him and told "Don't see back while you go out of the premises". Apply the thing in this packet on the forehead of your wife. She will be completely cured."

So saying he pronounced "OM" in a loud voice. Govindappas wife had gotten up and was working at home by the time he reached home. He went in and applied the dust like thing on her forehead. She was completely cured.

A sishya asked Appa "what did you give him." Appa said "dust of sishyas "feet". ( Paada dhooli)

In 1939 Sitarama Rao of Lokikere who was at Coimbatore came to Nulenur. He was accompanied by Smt. Bhagirathamma who became an Antaranga devotee. Appas teaching are in the letters written to her.

Here are some excerpts from one of his letters:

Dear Guruputri,

..........Mind which is Hridayakamala should be fully blown, the "Is ness'(sath) should be installed there. You should cast away your mental imagination, experience (Ananda) bliss. Wherever your mind goes the form of Guru is there, (only you should be able to concentrate upon it)

There is no difference between name and form (nama and rupa). Your chitta (a form of mind) should experience Ananda (bliss) wherever it wanders. You are pure awareness and I bless you to experience it, and it brings you bliss.....

Blessings from Rama,

Servant of GuruBhaktas (Bhakta Kinkara)

Shankaralinga Bhagavan

In September 1939, Appa handed over the responsibilities of Dattashrama Nulenur to Srimurthy a sishya of Ajja.

After the Lokikere Saptaha Appa told Srinivasa Rao "we are going to Nulenur and Malenahalli. You construct an Ashrama here." He asked K. N. Narayanamurthy of Miyapur to give a cart, two bullocks and a servant to bring stones for the Asrama building. The Ashrama was completed on 12-2-40. It was named Anandasrama . A well was dug behind the asrama which yielded (and still yields) plenty of water.

In 1940 (Shravana Bahula Dwithiya of Prmathi samwatsara), the shastyabdi purthi of Appa was celebrated in Anandasrama. Many sishyas attended it. A special feature of the celebration of Appas Jayanti was, an arti song which began by about 9 A. M and was continuously sung upto about 3 A. M. Such was the Ananda experienced, that no one knew how it happened and everyone was happy throughout next day.

On 13-2-41 Appa accompanied by about 25 sishyas started on a pilgrimage to On the way they visited Venkatapur, Banashankari, and Sitimani. They stayed at Ganagapur . for five days. They visited Gondavali, Sajjangad. They sang Bhajans in front of the place where Ramdas lived and arranged a santarpane(feeding). Appa gave a pravachana there in Marathi and kannada. After the pravachana a young boy who belonged to Ramdas lineage came, sat on the lap of Appa and asked for a cup of milk. Appa offered it to that boy.

Starting from there the party visited Naukara, Karhad, Panchgani, and Bilvadi and reached Audumbara, continuing the journey they visited Narasobavadi and Kohlapur. From Cheaper they went to Savadatti, took darshan of Renukambaa and went to Murgod. They stayed there for three days. They returned to Nulenur and performed yathra samaradhana.

While staying at Anandasrama Appa visited Thumbigere twice . His sishyas repaired Sri Brahmananda's Samadi Mandir and the gateway to the Asrama.

We may not here certain aspects of Appa's affection for his sishyas. We have already seen how he considered his Bhakta's greater than him.

When ever one of his dear sishyas remembered him and offered him coffee or food from a far-off place Appa received it and he never even touched coffee or food prepared for him in Asrama. Whenever a bhakta was in real distress, he did not even drink a drop of water. There are scores of instances and here we briefly narrate one.

When Appa was in Anandasrama Lokikere, on a certain day he refused to take anything. He didn't even take bath. He repeatedly said "we do not know why, but we are feeling an acute distress in the body. On the same day Gundappa of Bharamasagara was facing a dilemma. He was a landlord. But he could not clear his debts. The sales price of the produced he grew in his fields and garden had touched rock bottom. There was only one-way to get out of this : It was to sell his garden. If he did so it was as good as being socially dead. His wife had passed away long ago. And his three sons were young. He prepared food for them, asked them to eat and proceeded to Lokikere. It was a hot summer day and he started from the bus stand to Anandasrama, which is about 2kms away. The heat was unbearable. In the middle of the road, he saw Appa coming towards him. He fell at his feet and cried. Appa took him to Asrama gave him phala mantrakshakte and asked him to go back to Bharamasagar immediately. It was strange indeed. Appa never sent anybody from his asrama without giving something to eat.

Gundappa returned and could reach Bharamasagara next morning. As he went home, a government official was waiting to grant him enough funds for development. |Gundappa heaved a sigh of relief.

Whenever his disciples thought that the guru had forgotten them, their troubles were resolved.

As Appa has written in one of his letters " As Guru is pure knowledge, how can he ever forget his disciples. The great Datta will always ward away the troubles of his sishyas. A Gurubhakta will never suffer, as guru protects them".

The seventh Aradhana saptaha was nearing. Appa handed over the responsibilities of Anandasrama to Srinivasa rao, and started his journey to Nulenur. On the way he diverted his route went to hadadi when one of his sishyas was in his deathbed. Appa had promised that he would give darshan just before his death. He gave darshan, continued his journey and reached Nulenur.

As directed by Ajja, Appa took on the mantle of Guru and engaged himself in Loka sangraha (directing his sishyas to mukthi). When his sishyas faced untimely death, Appa the Mrithyunjaya saved them. Although he had no relation with anybody or anything, due to compassion towards Jeevas he took all sishyas as his family.

If Vedic dictum is not followed one tends to nourish thamasa Ahankara and hence sins. So he advised his followers to follow the path prescribed in the Veda. He was father, mother, of his followers and made them experience his thuryananda. Although Omnipotent, he did not go against nature which is his shakti. He was a shantatma, he fed his followers with bounty. He taught them the secrets of Atma Bhoda. He used to say "you are sat-chith-ananda, which is in you. You need not hurry to experience it.

Your first boundenduty is to always remember Sri Guru and obey his words. In Ramavathara, one person was redeemed. In Krishnavathara three. Now ten followers will be redeemed. I also save those who hate me and just look at me once at random.

Every gushing bliss, Bhakti as oneness with guru, following the path of Vedas and compassion towards all living beings were the natural dharma of the great Gurusarvabhowma Sri Shankaralinga.