1978 - The Avatar’s biological family

Photos

Biological parents: affectionately called 'Swami amma' and 'Swami appa'

Arunachalam and Lokanayaki, The Avatar's biological parents. Picture taken in ~1988.

Anusuya Ammal

Anusuya Ammal - The Avatar's paternal grandmother in the terrace of The Avatar's home in Tiruvoodal street in Tiruvannamalai. Behind her can be seen one of the nine temple towers of the Arunachaleshwara temple.

She lost her husband very young, and demonstrated how a chaste widow can live powerfully and manifest integrity in all around her. She contributed to The young Avatar's life by taking Him on pilgrimages for several years, and also showed Him a lifestyle of Oneness with animals and birds.

Annamalai Chettiar

Annamalai Chettiar, The Avatar's paternal grandfather. He died very young (~April 1970), even before The Avatar's parents were married.

Kumarasamy Chettiar

Kumarasamy Chettiar, paternal great grandfather of The Avatar, whose son was Annamalai Chettiar, whose son in turn was Arunachalam - The Avatar's father

The Avatar's words on His great grandfather: "He is the start of the family tree, the start of spirituality in the family. He lived like a Paramahamsa (enlightened being). Only because of that he could throw away all his wealth in the Bhoomantha kulam (a large sacred pond in Tiruvannamalai from where water was taken to the Arunachaleshwara temple in the early years every day early morning to wash the entry steps of the main sanctum just after opening the temple doorway) and go to Kasi (Varanasi, spiritual capital of India). He used to wear a big rudraksh kandi (traditional necklace beaded with sacred energy bead - rudraksh). The family had the tradition of wearing it. Somewhere down the line, the family has given up that tradition. His photograph is proof that the family was one of great devotion and tradition. He became a sadhu (ascetic) in Varanasi."

Sami Chettiar

Sami Chettiar and His wife Dhanakoti Ammal. Sami Chettiar is The Avatar's paternal grandfather Annamalai Chettiar's elder brother. He passed away in ~1969. Dhanakoti Ammal lived till a 100 years in the AKS home complex in Tiruvoodal Street - where The Avatar's family resided as a large joint family setup. Inspite of having two daughters-in-law to serve her, she cooked her own food and lived a healthy and active life till her last breath. It was she who opened her jewel box of dazzling jewelry to HDH when He was a baby and out of all the dazzling jewelry, He picked the sacred Rudraksh energy bead.

Dhanakoti Ammal

Dhanakoti Ammal, sister of Annamalai Chettiar - The Avatar's paternal grandfather. She was extremely fond of The Avatar as a child and worshipped Him as Lord Muruga Himself. She would offer Him food before she ate when she was with Him. Even at that young age, she called Him "Jnana Pandita" meaning "Enlightened Scholarly One!" She observed the deep spiritual inclinations in The young Avatar and likened it to that of Kumarasamy Chettiar, her own father, who is known in His birth town Tiruvannamalai for having thrown away his entire wealth in the famous Bhoomanda kulam (lake) and adorned asceticism to merge with the Divine.

Kannammal

Kannammal, sister of Annamalai Chettiar, The Avatar's paternal grandfather. Her family stays in a village called Sirumayilur near Tiruvannamalai, The Avatar's hometown.

Kannamal & Husband

Kannammal and her husband Rajagopal Chettiar. Kannammal is the sister of Annamalai Chettiar, The Avatar's paternal grandfather.

Videos

The Avatar Speaks on Joint-Family System in Hinduism

Transcript

Nithyanandeshwara Samaarambhaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam | Asmath Aachaarya Paryanthaam Vandhey Guru Paramparaam ||

I welcome all of you with my love and respects. Everyone who is sitting with us through Sadhna TV, Nithyananda TV, and two-way video-conferencing, I welcome every one of you with my love and respects.

I will directly enter into the satsangh. So, let us first chant the Shanthi Mantra of Ishavasya Upanishad which I will be expanding, continue to expand.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते || || ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Om Poornamadhah Poornamidham Poornaath Poornam Udhachyathey | Poornasya Poornamaadhaaya Poornamevaavasishyathey || || Om Shanthi Shanthi Shanthih ||

I will continue to expand on the truths I was revealing about “desha” (“देश” ) and “nation”.

Understand, “desha”, the very concept of “desha” is from the truth of the Vedic Tradition: || अन्नम् बहु कुर्वीत || “Annam Bahu Kurveetha”.

Listen! अन्नम् बहु कुर्वीत (“Annam Bahu Kurveetha”); means, “Let us produce food in large quantities”.

Producing not just food, but everything in large quantity, and making it available to everyone as easily as possible is “desha”.

“Nation” means, even the natural things, making it as complicated as possible, and not letting the common-man have access to it, through this claiming your superiority.

Understand, there is a big difference. In original Vedic Civilization, the concept of “desha” is: “Produce as much as you can and exchange it”. It was not that in Vedic Civilization we did not have business. We had! But there was never a low value for shoes and high value for knowledge, understand? It is the modern civilization which is really caste-oriented. The moment you put low value for shoes and high value for food or knowledge, you have already made a difference between Brahmana and Shudra! There was never valuation between shoes and knowledge. The man who produces shoes, produces in large quantity, and makes it available to his community. The man who makes knowedge, makes it available for everyone. Don’t ever spread the lie that Shudras were not allowed, did not have access to education. No! No!

Drona says very clearly to Karna, ‘Karna, there are a lot of schools which teach for every community. I am not able to teach for every community because I have decided to choose a few people and make them excellent, the masterpieces. So, I am working with kings’ family.’ But, be very clear; read Mahabharata. Karna was not denied education because he was a Shudra. Drona says very clearly.

And Parashurama says very clearly, before even cursing Karna he says, ‘Hey, if you would have told me that you are not a Brahmana, that you are a Kshatriya or Shudra, I would have directed you to the gurus who have my same calibre. I took a vow that I will teach only Brahmanas. So, for my integrity you have become an obstruction. You disturbed my integrity.’ That is what he was angry for.

Understand, the valuation of the products produced by the community started the difference, up and down of the community. And, a teacher always has a right to work with a selected few disciples to produce masterpieces. And Upanishads themselves have so many references where a child of a Court dancer was given education.

The child goes to the rishi. And the rishi asks, ‘My son, what is your father’s name and your gothra, your family tradition? So that, based on that I will start your education.’

The kid says, ‘I don’t know the name. I will run and get back to you.’

He runs to his mother and asks the mother.

The mother says, ‘Please tell your guru I am a Court dancer. So I have relationship with multiple men. So I don’t know to whom you are born. So I don’t know your father’s name. Please go and tell this to your Master.’

The kid comes back and tells the Master, ‘My mother told me she is a Court dancer. She has relationship with multiple men and so she doesn’t know who has fathered me, and who is my father.’

Immediately, the Master hugs the child and says, ‘You are so truthful. Your integrity proves you are of the highest order! Please come and join.’

And during the “Vidyarambha” – the initiation into education – you are supposed to chant your father’s name.

The rishi says, ‘You chant your MOTHER’S name!’

He (the child) became “SATHYAKAAMA JAABAALA”! (“Sathyakaama the son of Jaabaala” - the mother’s name was “Jaabaala”).

Understand, the rishi says, ‘You chant your MOTHER’S name!’

Mother’s name can be used as an initial is not something new. It is as old as the Vedic Tradition!

And, understand, Karna IS a Shudra, I am telling you! Because, he lied for his vested interests! He may be born to Surya (the Sun God), but, the moment he lied to Drona or Parashurama, he IS a Shudra! Whatever he went through, he is worthy of it (he deserved it).

Understand, never, never education was denied based on community. And we had the great system of specialization. Please understand, because we need to make everything available to the whole community, because we need to make everything available to the whole community, we were functioning on mass production for which the specialization skill was needed. That is the reason we chose that the son will do the same profession as the father so that the specialization happens, understand? Updation and specialization happens when more and more number of years you spend on that particular responsibility and skill. In my experience I am telling you – we are working in the field of Temple and Temple Arts, making deities, making the vessels required for temples, everything – in my experience, the kids who learn this art from their father, they are the most skilled and passionate about what they are doing. The kids who learnt from their parents never get tired! Even at the time of night 11:30 or 12:30 – they would have started their work morning six o’clock – even at the time of 11:30 pm, drawing the eyebrows (of the deities), they will be so sincere! I may start my morning class at five o’clock or 6 o’clock, or seven o’clock; even in the night 11:30 or 12:30 when I end the session, I will not reduce one word because time is up! I will not reduce a single word which I wanted to convey because time is up. No! That is what is “perfection”! Perfection means: “not letting your tiredness or boredom enter into your passion to deliver”. I have seen this perfection only from the kids who learnt it from their father, whatever profession he is in. Because, they see the dedication of their father! I am telling you!

“Desha” – produce in large quantity and exchange. Fortunately, I was able to have a glimpse of this lifestyle in my nearby villages where I was born and brought up. When the harvesting happens, the temple priest – one share, the village barber – one share, the village doctor – one share, the village house-cleaner – one share. Please understand, the temple priest, house-cleaner, all of them get the SAME share! In villages, in those days, it used to be like the human excreta will be manually removed. That guy who does that work, and the guy who does the temple maintenance, both of them get equal share! It is a myth spread among us that the Brahmanas get more. No! I still remember the teachers were not given salary; they were given only the share based on the harvest. If it is one acre land, in that there is a measurement. So, after the harvesting, outside the house that old lady will sit and sit with the sixteen shares, sixteen measurement. All the sixteen people will come and collect their share and go. Understand, mass production and sharing was “desha”.

And, our whole structure, this Bharata Desha was so beautifully divided into small units economically, connected as one “desha” ideologically. Please understand, the mantra chanted in Rameshwaram, and the mantra chanted in Kedarnath will be the same. The visualization done in Rameshwaram, and the visualization done in Kedarnath is the same. The visualization done in Gangasagar, and the visualization done in Somnath Temple is the same. So, ideologically centred, economically independent! It was such a powerful, beautiful, unimaginable, inimitable system!

When you value the product of a teacher higher than the product of a Shudra, you create community difference. And, don’t believe the interpolations! I am not saying that there was no time degradation happened. There was a time when a little dilution and degradation happened. But those fault lines are too much used by the anti-Hindu forces to destroy our whole civilization, understand? In which society there was no higher and lower divisions? Get into the aircraft and walk through the Business Class and go to Economy; how the Business Class people look at you? And, in the modern-day city also, in all apartment complexes there will be “A” Class, “B” Class, “C” Class, like 1-BHK, 2-BHK, 3-BHK apartments! What do you call them? One Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen, Two Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen, Three Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen! Just see how the 3-BHK people relate with 1-BHK people, then you will know! Then you will know!

Human beings are social animals. They will have differences, higher and lower. The best minimum way it can be maintained is “Varnashrama Dharma” of Vedic Tradition. Understand, I am not superstitious, or any other fanatic, stupid theory supporter. After studying human minds in such large numbers – fully activated brains, most cunning brains, brainless brains, brain is there but not activated, and brain is not even there – all kinds of human beings I have studied in my last thirty-seven years on the Planet Earth. And I always had the fortune of living with a large number of people. I am born in a joint family, large joint family, and grew up among a large number of sadhus and sannyasis and spiritual seekers, devotees. All the time I will be with at least fifty to hundred people only. There was no such thing as “aloneness” in my life other than the little time I spent in meditation and Samadhi. And even my decision for “parivrajaka yatra” (spiritual wandering), actually I decided to do the “parivrajaka yatra” because my guru ordered, saying that, ‘Now you are perfect. Start going around and initiating people.’

Actually, before my gurus left the body – both of them left the body together; means, just within a few days gap – both of them decided. And they have given a beautiful farewell for me. And both of them didn’t want me to see their body after they left the body. They said, ‘No, we can’t see you seeing our dead body, because we will be available! We will be there!’ So, both of them didn’t want me to see. And, finally, I could not see both their bodies. I only did all the “Linga Prathishta”, all the ceremonies for Vibhootananda Puri (Matha Kuppammal). Now I had the fortune of building Samadhi for both of them. We have built a beautiful Samadhi for both of them – Yogananda Puri (Raghupathi Yogi) and Vibhootananda Puri (Matha Kuppammal) both – in Tiruvannamalai. For quite a long time I wanted to build. Somehow it was getting postponed, postponed. Now we have built it!

Both of them were very clear, ‘You achieved what you want to achieve, what you have to achieve, what you need to achieve. Now go around. Start initiating people, blessing people, gracing people.’ But that process of going around and sharing has enriched me so much, taught me so much, I feel that time also was training period. As far as my gurus are concerned, they said, ‘Now your training is over. Go around and start teaching.’ But I classify that period also as training period, because I felt so much I have been enriched by that! Because I could have the ground reality of....ground reality experience of Vedic Civilization – how we were, how we are, where we went wrong, or where we went right. Unfortunately, you have been told again and again that the Vedic Civilization is responsible for all the bad things we have – our poverty, our suffering, and everything. I tell you, Vedic Civilization is responsible for all the good things still remaining!

All the good things we have still remaining, Vedic Civilization is responsible for that. There was a little dilution in Varnashrama Dharma, no doubt; but that does not mean that, that needs to be replaced or that needs to be thrown out. This is the best system to keep the differences minimum. And, the division was always based on your Integrity, Authenticity, Responsibility, Enriching, not based on the money you swindle and hide under your bed, or possess. Understand, we were neither money-centric, nor power-centric, or confusion-centric. We were always a knowledge-centric, enlightenment-centric, conscious-centric civilization. Understand, we are a conscious-centric civilization! The Brahmanas, priests, teachers, they shared whatever they had. The agriculturists, they shared whatever they had. The carpenter, he shared whatever he had. Whether you shave your head once, twice, or five people are there in your house shaving their head weekly once, or only one person is there in your house shaving the head only once in a year, it doesn’t matter. If you own land, you give a share! It was such an amazing life! And the same barber only will be the musician! And even the local doctor..... Usually the teacher himself will be the temple priest, and he himself will be the local doctor or local healer, he himself will be astrologer.

The idea of poverty, the idea of richness inserted into our brain now in the modern day is completely wrong, please understand. When you bring Completion into your being, you will see the right idea of wealth, right idea of richness, right idea of health, right idea of peace, right idea of devotion, right idea of joy, right idea of pleasure, right idea of enlightenment. And, I tell you, having the right cognition about all this is “Living Advaitha”.

I am opening my doors to anybody who wants to live the life of Vedic Tradition in any of our campuses. Only if you are a threat to any person or the Sangha, we can deny entry. Otherwise, even we don’t have the right to deny entry. I really wanted, this is my vision, a large number of people living as communities all over the world, living the Vedic Tradition. Living the Vedic Tradition! I am so happy, around the Los Angeles Temple, slowly that kind of community is evolving. In Bidadi it is already evolving beautifully! We just need more and more leaders who are soaked in the consciousness of Completion, without fear and greed, who take decision without fear and greed, who are soaked in the space of Completion. I could see clearly, one person soaked in the space of Completion, can create such a beautiful community around them. I have seen it happening successfully. The community Vishweshwara (Mahant Sri Visweshwara – Priya Poojitha’s dad, Anand Singh) created in New York, or Snehamayi (Srimahant Ma Snehamayi) created in San Jose, or Anupama (Mahant Ma Nithya Anupamananda) created in Singapore, or Sathyadevan created in Salem! Just one person, their Completion! I am seeing it so beautifully happening! If community is not happening around you, and if I have not taken your name, don’t blame me; work on more Completion; work on more Completion; and work on accommodating more beings in your inner-space.

Vedic Civilization is not based on ruling; it is based on administering. Not based on ruling, but based on administering! Produce more, share more! Everyone is involved in everyone’s life. I have seen! The person who cleans toilets, when he comes to take his share, and the temple priest when he comes to take his share, they will be sitting and chatting! I have never seen untouchability in my life! I have nicely seen this Brahmin, temple priest, sitting and chatting with the toilet cleaner and his family! And these toilet cleaners will show their hand to have some astrological prediction or palmistry-reading, and this priest will nicely hold the hand and look into the hand with the big mirror (magnifying glass) and read the lines and tell, advice, based on his palm lines. Both of them get the same share! Of course, now, human-beings cleaning human excreta is banned in this country. It is good. I really wanted that to be banned, and it is really good. Now, after all, we have evolved so many methods and systems; no need for human-beings to work with it.

I am telling you, our biggest problem now is nothing to do with poverty; straight we need to bring more and more Completion. We already have large quantity of whatever we need. We just need to make sure it is available for everyone.....it is available for everyone. Planet Earth has more resources than number of human-beings living. It is a few people holding, controlling, not making it available to everyone (that is the problem). I am not at all interested in believing that resources are less. No! Arrey, understand, Nature is so powerful and beautiful, it knows how many human-beings it is producing, and it simply creates, produces whatever it wants to support the human-beings! It is our stupidity. Just if non-vegetarian lifestyle is given up, that is enough; the whole world will have food! Because, the amount of land required for a vegetarian person and a non-vegetarian person.....a non-vegetarian person requires thirty times more land for his food! Because, thirty pounds rice or agricultural products which we can directly consume needs to be spent to get one pound flesh! I am talking from the statistics. Thirty pound food, vegetarian food, which we can directly consume, needs to be spent to get one pound of flesh! And still I am not able to understand, how will you kill a life for your snack?!!!! How will you kill a life for your snack?!!!!

People ask me, ‘From where do you get your protein?’

I said, ‘From where elephant gets, I get from the same source!’

Where do elephants get their protein?

And I also wanted to make it very clear, from the Akashic Records I am revealing this truth: The Vedic Civilization was PURE VEGETARIAN! They were not non-vegetarian civilization. They were not non-vegetarian civilization. There were a few animal sacrifices in a few rituals, but that is like in a whole, one year, may be some hundred animals will be sacrificed. Now, every year, billions of animals are killed for food! Billions!

This one truth of Completion can change completely the way we think and perceive. I am really telling you! Even in our Sangha, whoever works, I always see, only the people who work from the space of Completion are able to make a big impact, even if they do a small work! And the people who work out of incompletion, even if they are working the whole day, large quantity, nothing happens, nothing moves. I was wondering, ‘I have so much of love for my gurus, even when I remember, I just get filled with them! Then, why I was not able to build their Samadhi for the last so many years?’ Because, from 2003, the moment I started the Sangha and people started giving me donations, I was planning that I should build their Samadhi, I should build their Samadhis. I have done Linga Prathishta, but it is in a small way. I wanted to make a beautiful stone mandapam for them. Because, both of them are “Jeeva Samadhis”; means, they left the body, but they are still available to the world through their body, through that space. So, both Samadhis are worthy of worship and maintenance. Finally, once both the Samadhis got completed, I asked them directly. They said, ‘We were waiting for somebody to give money from the space of Completion. And some of the best devotee to give the money. That is when we decided we will accept.’ And, you will be shocked, exactly it happened! My one devotee, I have seen in my life, never had any expectations! Only gave, gave, gave, gave! And never even thought she is giving! And, actually, finally that is what has happened. I was thinking, ‘Oh, God! Till then this whole thing has to be in waiting!’ But, now, it has happened beautifully! She is not there; that is why I am praising her. Usually I don’t praise when people are there. I feel shy. When people are there in front of my face, I will only train them. Only when they are not there, I will praise them, or I will tell exactly how I feel about them. Because, I know! The disciple’s first responsibility is building the Guru’s Samadhi if the Guru has left the body. Because, my Guru, Vibhootananda Puri, how she struggled, but built her guru’s Samadhi! Just like that! Isakki Swamigal’s (Vibhootananda Puri’s guru) Samadhi, even now you can see when you go around Arunachala Hill. She sold whatever she had, went house to house and begged personally, and finished building his Samadhi within two months! A disciple’s first responsibility is building the Guru’s Samadhi. I was feeling, ‘Oh God, how did I miss in my responsibility and commitment? Why was it getting continuously delayed?’ But, finally, it happened! Now I know the reason! It is not that people from Completion did not give money; many have given. May be these two were waiting for her! And it happened!

Understand, when I look at everything happening in the world, whether a small ant taking rice and storing it for himself, or the Sun and the Moon moving from the space of Completion, I feel everything is happening beautifully in the space of Completion, towards the space of Completion, into the space of Completion. Nowhere incompletion! There is nothing called “incompletion”. It is all Completion moving into Completion, settling into Completion.

पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||

Poornamadhah Poornamidham Poornaath Poornam Udhachyathey | Poornasya Poornamaadhaaya Poornamevaavasishyathey ||

Even the incompletions I perceive in the human society, human mind, may be factual, but not real; because, human society has to get back to Completion naturally, and naturally we ARE evolving towards Completion. We are coming from Completion, going towards Completion. Incompletion is in-between imagination, factual, but not real.

I will help you to apply this one sacred secret more and more in your life in more and more dimensions. Shiva Linga is the visual representation of Completion. Our whole civilization is centred on that Shiva Linga. I tell you, when a child is born, we take the kid to temple. Our business is based on temple. Our entertainment is based on temple, temple-based entertainments. Our administration is based on temples. Whether you are born or dead, you will be taken only into temple: if you are dead, you will be taken around the temple; if you are born, you will be taken into the temple; that’s all. Reviving temple-based civilization is reviving Vedic Civilization. Education based on temple, arts based on temple, science based on temple, thinking-style based on temple, social gatherings, partying, everything based on temple. I tell you, reviving temple-based civilization, reviving Vedic Civilization, reviving Completion-based civilization, is the purpose of our life. That is the purpose of our life. Let us revive, revive, revive!

Grading based on community should be stopped. Differences based on community should not be allowed. But, community system itself should not be destroyed. It is one of the oldest, strongest, social fabrics which is keeping our civilization alive for the last thousands of years.

Tomorrow I will continue to expand. Sorry, may be tomorrow we will be having NKY (Nithya Kriya Yoga program). So I am completing with you all. Yes.....even if there is NKY, we will have live satsangh. Live satsangh will not be cancelled. Live satsangh will be there. May be, the Day-3 or 4 (of NKY), we may not have. But Day-1, for them (the NKY program participants) to come and settle down....they won’t be able to settle down in these early hours. So we will have, we will continue to have satsangh as usual. If you are not having, I will send you guys a message. Most probably we will have. I will see the timings of the program and then send message to you guys. If we don’t have I will send message. If we have, we will have it.

And, with this, I bless you all! Let everyone radiate with Integrity, Authenticity, Responsibility, Enriching, Causing Living Advaitha, eternal bliss, Nithyananda! Thank you! Be blissful!

The Avatar Speaks on The Secret of Stable Family

Transcript

let us enter into today's satsangh bhagavad-gita first chapter 40 verse

Arjuna is giving his predictions. Arjuna is giving his predictions. To whom Krishna that is the most funny thing. See if he is talking all these to anybody else all of them will make meaning and Arjuna would have became author of Gita. Only thing unfortunately he is talking to Krishna. See all these things are amazing dharma the logic with which he is putting the words with which he is putting unimaginable with the destruction of the dynasty the age-old family traditions die and virtue having been lost vice overtakes the entire race yes everybody will agree. Even I will agree completely with this as a promoter of stable family and join family concept I always feel with a stable family and join families you have less suffering less depression more inner but to be a stable family and a giant family you need so much of understanding and intelligence oh god it's almost like a you need a group of enlightened beings it is a huge effort especially giant family it does so much for the inner growth I checked tested scanned all types of lifestyles so from my research for a common man the best lifestyle will be join families either blood-related join families like a our brothers living together like India we had this system the father has five sons all the five sons even after the marriage will leave us a large join family so this one type are ideological join families all of you feel connected vibrant with certain ideology certain concept and RF you gather and live together