Profiles

Passion for Rāmāyaṇa

 I have mentioned earlier that VS Srinivasa Sastri’s love and devotion for the Rāmāyaṇa was something he inherited from his forefathers. During one of his long stays in Bangalore, his close friend M. Venkataranga Rao, a native of the Andhra region, happened to visit him. One evening, Srinivasa Sastri, his friend Venkataranga Rao and I set out towards the Nandi Hills in a car. I am going to narrate an incident that took place in this short trip –

The foundational pillar of DVG’s fearless attitude was his characteristic transparency and abstinence from seeking anything. At no point in his life did he use his extraordinary political and social influence for personal benefit.

“On one occasion Vidvān Anantakṛṣṇa Śāstri (a towering scholar of the league of Navīnam Veṅkaṭeśa Śāstri) began to pose a series of questions to him. Lakṣmīnarasiṃha Śāstri answered them all with great conviction, confidence, and mastery. Anantakṛṣṇa Śāstri was visibly impressed—he patted his back and gave his blessings. This brought unbound happiness to the Jagadguru. Scholars present there exclaimed with joy.”

‘Prāktana-vimarśana-vicakṣaṇa’[1] ‘Mahāmahopādhyāya’[2] ‘Rao Bahadur’[3] R Narasimhacharya was a close relative of S G Narasimhacharya. I remember to have first seen him during the period 1914–15. I was familiar with his name, however, about fourteen to fifteen years earlier. At that time, I had read both the volumes of R Narasimhacharya’s Nīti-mañjarī.

There was no dearth of humorous instances during the Sunday study circle. Besides, it was not in DVG’s nature to waste a single opportunity that afforded a humorous element in it.

On one occasion, DVG said in a circumstantial fashion: “If a person is given a name, it has to be appropriate. Look at me for example. It was entirely fitting that I was named Gundappa [in Kananda, Gunda/Gundu literally means ‘round.’].” He pointed to the slim Sri G.N. Joshi, a friend who was present at the gathering and said, “Will it be appropriate if he was named Gundappa?”

“No Anger, please”

Sastri was an advocate of patience and humility. He was, at times, ridiculed by his own friends because of the great emphasis he laid on these traits. In one of his public lectures in Madras, he stressed on the point that anger should be avoided at all costs and one shouldn’t get enraged even under adverse circumstances. The newspapers carried a report on the lecture, the following day. His friends who happened to read the report had the following kind of conversations :

Real-life Examples

He used to give real-life examples to drive home the import of a scriptural tenet. This made his lessons entertaining—a feature common to lessons given by Śrī Hānagal Virūpākṣa Śāstri.

He recalled the following incident while explaining Syādvāda[1]:

I have heard that Chinnaswamy Shetty is the son-in-law of a wealthy landlord of Polepalli^[1]. I may have gotten to know him around 1910-11. I was in need of some loan. I brought it up with my close friend, Dr K. Shesha Iyer.