1978 - Ma Nithya Lokanayakananda Swami - The Avatar's Biological Mother
Photographs
Lokanayaki and Arunachalam are the biological parents of The Avatar. They entered matrimony on 26 June 1974, blissfully oblivious that Cosmos was executing its most auspicious plan for humanity through their marriage. They entered in utter innocence, with normal human expectations from each other and life. Their simplicity is revered and respected not only by the people of Tiruvannamalai, their hometown but by the disciples and followers of The Avatar today worldwide, and fondly acknowledged by The Avatar Himself, as a tribute to them and a valuable teaching to humanity forever.
Visit this link to explore their marriage album.
1979 | The Avatar with His biological parents in around 1979, a year after His Happening on 2 January, 1978.
Remembrances from Ma Lokanayaki on The Avatar's Birth
In a rare interview, Ma Nithya Lokanayakananda, The Avatar’s biological mother and now His initiated sannyasi disciple, lovingly called ‘Swami Amma’ by His disciples, remembers the details of her pregnancy…a momentous period in the Purana (epic history) of The Avatar!
Question: Did you plan for the second child, Amma?
Swami Amma: We never planned that way. Nowadays people say they want a child, or they don’t want a child. Nothing like that. Just like that, in regular life, I conceived. We never thought we want or we don’t want; it just happened.
My parents were planning to go to Tirupati, so my husband, my first son Senthil (the Avatär’s elder brother), my paatti (grandmother) and some others, all went as a group. We went to seven or eight temples. We went to Kalahasti and Kancheepuram also. It was a one-week trip. We went around the Tirupati hill, and early in the morning, we did angapradakshinam (circumambulating the temple with the entire body, by rolling on the ground). My husband and I also did that. I had bouts of vomiting after that. Then I got a doubt - because I had missed my periods that month. It was confirmed that I had conceived.
Everything was normal. I continued my routine life. It was normal for nine months, and after that I went to the hospital for the delivery.
Question: Can you tell us about your delivery pain and how it started?
Swami Amma: When the pain started, it was a slight pain. The time was evening, around 6.30 p.m. My mother had gone for a condolence visit due to a death in my neighborhood. I neglected my mild pain, and I was cooking rice, making coffee, and distributing to everybody.
When my mother came back, she looked at my face she said, ‘Your face was looking fine when I left, but now it looks different.’ I said, ‘I had mild pain, but I am doing some work.’
In those days, they would not take you to the hospital when you have only a slight pain. They would touch your head to check the heat on the crown of the head, and if you had sweat on your forehead, then they would take you to the hospital! She said, ‘Do not do any work’, and she went in for her bath. Then we went to the hospital around 9.30 or 10.00 p.m.
Question: Who else went with you to the hospital?
Swami Amma: In those days they would say that the mother should not come to the hospital with the pregnant daughter, so two neighbors came with me. After that, my mother, my husband, everybody came immediately. I was in my mother-in-law’s house for eight months of my pregnancy, and in the beginning of the ninth month, I came to my mother’s house.
Question: Was the delivery smooth?
Swami Amma: Yes, the delivery was smooth. The baby was really big! The nurses and doctors asked me, ‘Didn’t you eat anything other than Horlicks?’ The baby was so big! They said that the baby was so chubby, beautiful, fair, and looked like a baby from a healthy family. I had a normal delivery and I was discharged from the hospital in five days. We came home.
I was in my parents’ home for three months. I was doing all the routine work. I never expected anybody else to do my work. I was normal. I would do all the work. My mother used to say that for nine days, I should not do anything, so from the tenth day I started doing work. I would fold clothes, help the children comb their hair, help in cleaning the vegetables, etc. I would help in the cleaning work and my mother would do the kitchen work. Then I went back to my mother-in-law’s house on Tiruvoodal Street.
Question: How was the naming ceremony?
Swami Amma: On the ninth day, the priest came and did all the rituals. We both decided on the name of the child. My husband was fond of my father and he wanted to name the child after him. I liked the name Shekar. Since my father’s name is Raja Mudaliar, we combined both the names and gave the name ‘Rajashekar’.
Question: What did the astrologer say?
Swami Amma: My husband’s brother showed him the baby’s horoscope, and the astrologer told that he will become a Swami (a monk).
His Divine Holiness Speaks on His Biological Mother
HDH Speaks on How His Biological Mother Establishes Her Identity Through Contributing
Transcript
I don’t know how much I can make you guys believe, how much I can... how much you guys will be able to believe. I have seen my own Mother, she is still alive. I have... .I am seeing her now for last 37 years. It’s not that she was always only in the high in her life. She was born and brought up to a very decently established family. I can say the. ..her fa... parents are upper middle class people. I heard in those days that was the most organized and largest wedding happened in that whole village. She had that kind of a background. But, my father was not that rich and he could not maintain even the wealth given to him by my grandparents. But throughout last 37 years, I am seeing her. I have not seen her even once trying to establish her identity by throwing tantrum. I just feel blessed that I am carrying her bio memory. Please understand, even now she is literally the Sangha janani. Means, she is the mother of our whole Sangha. She is the Sangha Mata, literally. But I have never seen her establishing her identity, establishing her existence by throwing tantrum. Even now, whatever way she established herself, it is always through contribution. She is the embodiment of this one concept. Establish yourself only by contribution. If not, just lie down. When she is not able to do that, she will just lie down, but never take up the other route of establishing the identity by throwing tantrum or any power game or authority. I don’t know how I will be able to convince all of you. If you lived in the ashram or if you have lived around her, you will know this one idea, she is embodiment of that one idea. I have seen her even from my childhood. Even when family went through the worst poverty, never I have seen her shouting at my father even once. Never I have seen her demanding from my father even once. Asking for something, fighting for something. Even when my father was not in the right mental state of doing some business successfully, even when he was frustrated, she took it up and started running a small grocery shop. I have seen her, she will cook in the morning, run and open the grocery shop, she will manage the grocery shop, in the night she will lock the shop back and again cook. Of course, we had a.....it’s a large joint family. We had grandmother, so many other people also supporting her in cooking, in the jobs of the house. But throughout, she established her identity only by contributing. I have not seen her once fighting with anybody, even though she gets bullied many time. Understand, all these points I am explaining – agitative decisions, trying to establish your identity by throwing tantrum, imaginary background music and edited replay of flashbacks, all these things are directly connected with each other. All these are closely related to this stupid entertainment industry and the ideas it dumps on your head. The way she stood only contributing. I have never seen her throwing tantrum or trying to establish her existence or survival by throwing tantrum. Even now, literally she owns the whole Sangha, but I have never seen her doing anything other than contributing. So many times I have told her to take care of herself, whatever she wants to have and all that, but she will never accept any of my blanket offerings. Just like every ashramite whenever I need, I will come for approval and get it, stop with it. Just like any ashramite, if they want to go to hospital, they will ask the welcome centre ‘I need vehicle. Send me to hospital, give me medical assistance’ or if they want any clothes or any house-keeping necessities, they will go to the welcome centre and tell I want this, this, this and then housekeeping will supply. That is exactly the way she has lived, she lives even now. I will tell, ‘what is this? Why are you going and standing and all there and all, have everything for yourself and do it’. She will say, ‘no, no, no. Whatever is for everyone let me do like that, let me live’. Never I have seen her establishing her identity, even for the small basic things which will not harm the Sangha. See, if she establishes her identity, ‘I am the mother of Swamiji’, for her soap and paste, brush. It is not going to affect the Sangha. Or it is not going to affect the flow of the life for her or her medical care or anything. She won’t assert even in those small, small basic needs. She will not put her foot down or she will not throw tantrum. If you live around her, you will understand whatever I am saying is true. I tell you, wherever you are, establish your identity only by contribution.
The Avatar Speaks on The Quality of Giving Inherent in His Biological Mother
Transcript
See, when I experienced Advaitha, I know for sure, forever and ever I cannot be frightened, I cannot lose my space, because Advaitha is protecting me, Advaitha is the law of life. That one is enough to solve everything, all the problems I have, I am going to have, and I had! As a ten-year old child what problem I had? Maximum my problem is I will ask my mother, ‘I want to go and meet this sadhu and meet that swami. Give me some food, give me some rice, give me some cloth. I wanted to gift him.’ That’s all I will ask. Usually, no sadhu asked me anything. But whenever I see some other people, devotees come and give them something, I will run to my mother and say, ‘Oh, when I was sitting with that sadhu that person brought clothes and gave him. Why don’t you give me also clothes?’ And I had the fortune of amazing mother and father, who were such amazing givers! I tell you guys, it is from my heart I am telling you guys! They were not that rich. My father, that one thing, he is a fool! I can tell very openly, he is a stupid! When it comes to giving, he is such giver, he will borrow and donate! I have seen! I have seen, he will borrow and donate! Economically, you should call him only as ‘stupid’! But still I remember, whenever I want to give anything for the sadhus, it is always given more than what I asked. If I ask my mother, ‘I want to give him the kaavi shawl’, she will get me kaavi dhoti also and give both and say, ‘Give. If you give only shawl, he can cover only the upper body. You should give dhoti also. That is the tradition. Please take it.’ That is always the way she brought me up. And my mother’s father, my mother’s father, he is another one amazing giver, but he is not to the level of stupid giving, like he will earn and give whatever in his earnings. My father is a spendthrift as far as giving comes. Anybody comes and tells, ‘Oh Maama (Uncle), you are the great giver in this village; to who else we can go for any, donation! ’, immediately he will borrow and give! So, that’s all is my problems in those days; nothing much. No other problem.
The Avatar Speaks on The Habit of Serving Food Inherent in His Biological Mother
Transcript
I have seen this in my life. My mother is a typical middle class lady, but I am a extreme guy in anything I take up. Anything I take up, I am fully into it. One day, my grandfather was doing Maheshwari Puja, means feeding the sadhus, and then after doing the Maheshwara Puja he did namaskar, he fell at the feet of all the sadhus. I asked my mother why he is falling at their feet after giving food. My mother said, ‘We will get Shiva Loka.’ That is the, that much only she knows. But she doesn’t know at that age itself I have already studied the scriptures and started listening and I learnt. I think this happened around the age of six or seven. By the time I am already exposed to Raghupathi Yogi and his words. So, she said, ‘We will get Shiva Loka.’ Then I told her, ‘Alright, if that is the case, let us give, every day let us feed all the sadhus who come.’ Then she said, ‘No, no, no, no no,no , no. We should do only this much.’ I could not get a convincing answer from her why we should not do every day with all the money we have and even she never thought about it. I asked her, ‘Why you do not think further? You say, this is good, and even you feel good.’ I have seen her, very sincerely she will do. She will cook and feed. The Annadhana, the quality of feeding people, I learnt from her. Still I am happy about Still I carry one pride: all our ashrams and campuses, without even me telling our sannyasis, have learnt this one idea -if you start ashram you have to start feeding people. Whoever comes, you should make sure they eat and go. When they start an ashram or a temple, whether it is America or Aminjikarai, Kanchipuram or California, they know one thing: Dhyanapeetam means you have to feed, you have to give food; whatever you have, you have to share with the people.
The Avatar How He Used to Sleep in The Same Bed as His Mother
Transcript
Many westerners can’t understand when I say sometimes in my satsanghs and programmes, till I left the house, I used to always sleep in the same bed with my mother. Westerners can’t understand. In India it is a lifestyle! The children always sleep with the mother or the father. Even that word “sleeping with” has been polluted and corrupted. I am telling you, children playing with the father and mother, spending time as much as possible, brings tremendous Completion to the kids and makes them understand what is Completion, how Completion empowers you, makes you strong.
The Avatar Speaks on Western and Hindu Cultures and How They See Widowed Women
Transcript
Understand one example: when my father passed away after that I went to US (United States) for a trip. One of our Western devotee with lot of concern and love asked "Swamiji when will your mother remarry?" I was shocked because in India we don't - even the very idea does not exist. I can see my mother laughing now. Really but that person is not able to understand. She's after all less than 50 actually and my father died. She is below 50. She is only- not even 50. Half of the life is there why will she not remarry? This is what is called "jaati", where you are born and brought up- forget about considering- nobody will even think at least the from the place where I was born and brought up. I know hundreds of widows even at the age of 31 husband dies, after 30 they do not remarry. I know from the family where I was born and brought up, there are even if the woman is 30,whole life she believes she will live alone. Ramakrishna says if he is given a one more opportunity to take one more birth he says "I should be born and get married in a very engaged before even I see my husband he should die. I should live as young widow" because in the Hindu tradition the Indian community the young widow is protected and kept as-kept respected and nobody tries to intrude in her life. He says"I should have a small place where I am growing my own food and whole day I should be thinking remembering living with Krishna. Krishna as my husband and I should live in that ecstasy. That is my fantasy" Ramakrishna says this idea, says very clearly-if you are a young widow the very idea after getting remarried does not exist.
The Avatar Elaborates on His Relationship with His Biological Mother
Trascript
when I see some of my Gurukul kids parents allow the so-called freedom of the
kid and take their kid away. I feel, Oh God, I am so grateful to my parents who did
not do that. It is not that I did not come back to my mom and dad and complained
about the torturous training I have to go through with both my mentors. It’s not
that I was that stable with Raghupathi Yogi or Kuppammal. But I tell you, my
mother will just have a deaf ears whenever I say anything about them. My father
will not listen and he will say, ‘Ay Saami, today you will complain about them;
tomorrow you will only be going and sitting with them. I am not coming in the
drama.’
Actually, parents should be little insensitive. You should not be too possessive and
sensitive about the whims and fancies of your kids. How can kids have right whims
and fancies? You need to spend little time even for them to get the right whims and
fantasies. Till then you need to leave them to settle down with stability.
Unimaginable Innocence and Unimaginable Understanding of The Avatar's Biological Mother
Transcript
Unimaginable innocence and unimaginable understanding put together is My mother. It is she all single handedly provided Me the vatavarna to whom I can crib and will never support My powerlessness. This Raghupati Yogi will literally torture me. No, he will tell morning, sunrise, “start the Surya Namaskar and do it till I come back” and he will go. I thought he is going for one-two-three and coming back; and never to be seen till the sunset. And by the time he comes back I will literally feel all My joints are separate - independent intelligence. And if at all I have a possibility to just remove them and drop them separate, separate, I will be really happy. And he will come back and tell – “hey why you stopped 3 minutes in between… in the noon time.” I will ask, “Where were you?” “I was sitting above the rock”…☺ just 50 feet away from Me. And then he will put the gunny bag - that is the joint pain reliever. Nowadays what do you call? Crepe bandage or whatever. In the village we use gunny bag, that jute, that gunny bag is the….
50:31 See in gunny bag there are varieties. The gunny bag in which the tamarind gets packed and comes, the gunny bag in which the rice gets packed and comes; in the villages there are variety of gunny bags where things gets packed and comes to this wholesale shops. The tamarind gunny bag will be very thick; because tamarind will not fall apart. But the rice gunny bag will be very thin, soft, because rice may fall. So the rice gunny bag will be very thin and soft. That is the crepe bandage. So he will put for both the knees and wherever it is unbearable and tell Me, “Now go and rest”. So I will be lying in the house and using all the bad words I learnt from school towards him and then talking to My mother saying, “This fellow I don’t know what I am going to do doing so much of yoga like this.” And nothing will be plural or I can’t even tell in the satsang!! It will all be… anyhow. My mother will listen so compassionately. So I will be so happy. abbahhh from tomorrow she is not going to send Me back to him. I will be so happy because I will see her having tears in her eyes, and trying to do everything possible. And in those days no cell phone, only that dial phone… she will dial and talk to somebody and get even the kashayams to relieve pain. And she will make that kashayam and give. I used to think “oh god wow…such wonderful thing”. And just next day morning 4.30 – “kannu, swami vanduruchu kannu.” Means, she will wake Me up saying, the Guru has come, he is standing down ☺ nethuthane phone ellam panni, Kasayam ellam panni kodutha Means, yesterday only you spoke to somebody and made kashayam and all to relieve the pain. “No to him only I spoke.” She spoke to him only and got the kashayam recipe. Adappavi… “Sami, sami vanduruchu, enthirichiko time achu” Then she will tell, “No, no, he has come, it is time, get up, get up. Let’s go.”
Absolute innocence and absolute understanding. She is My vatavarana. She was My vatavarana. If she had even one trace of stupid, this cheap, normal so-called supporting powerlessness as love, that streak, neither I will be here nor you will be here today. It is her - absolute innocence and absolute understanding. Absolute innocence and absolute understanding; that provided the vatavarana. Not only she did not have any so called personal attachment, she had a guts to risk My life which no mother will have. All mothers will have guts to risk their life. But she is the one she had the guts to risk her life and My life both. The vatavarana, the person to whom you crib when you are demanded matters. What you eat matters; whether it is a hit or ‘shhh….’ If the person to whom you are cribbing pushes you back to the Master and Integrity, it is a hit. Otherwise, it is ‘ssssh…’
Ability to go through this intensity of feeling empowered and feeling overwhelmingly demanded…. understand, the life he infuses into Me by that understanding… of Him, and that overwhelmingly demanding by His words to Me… literally sucking life out of the body and mind.
Sangha, right sangha is required… so you can crib to the right person and get only hit and not ….. !! Whoever got the right sangha won the game, winning the game.
The Avatar Narrates How His Biological Parents Reacted When He Announced He is Leaving Home
Transcript
Understand, in that way I am very fortunate. When I
went and told my mother,it was late night, still I remember, late night around 11’o clock. I
went to temple and spent some time and usually that is the time when I come back. When I
come back,I had my own key,I’ll open and come inside. I used to wear the wooden sandals
so that will create a big noise and wake up the whole house. The house was stone, granite
floor. Those days the Indian houses are all built with the granite and teak wood. My
Grandmother used to say that house was 300 years old. 300 years old, something like 10-11
generations, they are living in the same house. Of course a huge house. Whenever I enter with
wooden sandals it will make such a big sound tatak tatak tatak and they will wake up. She
will wake up and prepare the food I want to eat. If I had finished eating in the temple itself
then I’ll say good night that’s all. She got up and she was about to prepare the food. I called
her and said “See I have decided that I am going to go for sanyas. So you can give me food
tonight, even though I’ve finished eating, you can give this food. I’ll eat because from
tomorrow I’m not going to be here. I am going for Sanyas.” It was a very casual
announcement to her. Of course surely she had a shock and she did not tell anything and
another one thing all of them knew from the beginning talking, convincing or nothing will
work with me. All they knew is, before telling I’ll be very clear. But when I say, it means it’s
going to be done, that’s all. And then she just started pouring, the tears were rolling from her
eyes. I looked at her and asked “What do you mean? Do you mean to say that I should not
go?” She just moved her head saying no. “No I did not say that. All I think is, all I am crying
because I am not able to control, accept. That’s all. But I can’t say you cannot go” Because
she knows one day it will happen. The beauty is never said no. Not only never said you
cannot go, she told my father, he’s telling that. My father started thinking she shouted at me
and created some problem, that’s why I am telling. “Why did you shout at him? Why did
you crate any problem? And you know how he is” And my mother said “No I did not shout
or anything. He just came and told and everything”. Then my father understood that the
situation was not fight and anything. It was straight, simple declaration. My father came to
me and he sat and asked me. One funny thing, you know in those days they used to call me as Swami. Even in those days- the title of Swami. He asked me “What Swami, what are you
telling. I heard that your mother was telling something” I said “ Yes. I’ve decided I want to
take Sanyas and I want to become enlightened.” And it was a shock to him. But he saw that I
am very clear, balanced, cool, relaxed. Then he made only one statement. “If you fall sick
just tell us that. We want to take care of you” That’s all. He said “ If at all you fall sick
anywhere during your travel, please inform us. We want to take care of you. That is the only
thing we want, nothing else. You do what you want” Never stood in between. Understand
only the parent, any relationship, when they are ready to allow the next phase, only then it’s
a healthy relationship. I have seen, thousands of youngsters who are really inspired, bold
enough, courageous to take up this path, seeking bud did not even had a chance to explore
because of the parents. What they have done, by marrying? And they have lived all their
lives and they want to make their kids also just the same, like the buffaloes. Tha’s what they
did. No it’s a lesson, whoever listens, let it be in record, that’s why I am talking. It’s forever.
The future. Understand very rarely few souls get the inspiration to explore. If at all you see I
am not saying train your kids or force you kids to become Swamis. No!. If at all they
discover, that click, do not stand in between. You will be blessed if you don’t stand
in between. Stop from all you attachments.
The Avatar's Biological Mother Does Rope Yoga at Age 65!
Transcript
Somebody was asking me permission, “Swamiji, instead of Shiva Stambha Yoga, can I go for morning walk?” What a fool you are!! You already gave up your life!! Get into the Shiva Stambha, not only learn, decide to become a teacher for others! I was extremely happy, when I saw my mother on the rope - Kundalini Rajju. Not only she has become an ideal, due to her innocence, now she is becoming ideal by being active. When I saw that photograph, first thing, the disciples who were around Me, “Swamiji, Swamiji, stop her, stop her, tell her not to do all this.” I said, “No, let her do, I’ll protect her.” It’s not that I am just going to be so unattentive, that she will fall or fracture herself or have any difficulty. No. What is there? We have enough of protection mechanisms, let her start.
Understand, Will persistence to start new, new things in your life, means you are youth and young. The day you stop doing new, new things, you are old, dead, waiting to be buried. As long as you are doing new, new things and you have will persistence to start new, new things, you are young. Array, create records!! Decide when you are 90- 95, you will be performing Shiva Stambha and decide you will be in the body as long as Swamiji is in the body - cchatagm samāḥ (Isavasya Upanishad verse 2) – Lets live for 100s of years. Let’s live for 100s of years. Understand… a community like us, keeps you relevant. Community like us keeps you relevant. [Photo of Swami Amma trying the Kundalini Rajju is projected]. I don’t know whether she went above...up the rope, but she has tried. That itself, I am very happy. No, I am really happy she tried. See now, she is setting an example, for many people who are thinking they are already old… and they can’t do anything
Age is a stupid number, brainwashing you. If you allow the age to brain wash you,
you don’t have brain even to wash.
The Avatar Initiates His Biological Mother as His Divya Sareera, His own Extension
Transcript
Yesterday when I was initiating everyone, the divya shariris (initiated disciples of HDH who are blessed to live as His own extension and initiate others into the powers of Third eye).. Paramashiva himself revealed my mother’s name…she never asks anything, goes on working, working whatever she can do…then she'll rest. She will not even ask to meet me. Many people have asked "can I cook for Swamiji?" I've not even seen my mother asking the desire to cook for me…she will not even demand to express her love for me, even those opportunities she will not demand…even Paramashiva very clear, He Himself revealed her name.
Ma Lokanayaki Receiving the Sanyas Deeksha from The Avatar on Guru Poornima, 11 July 2006