Service with a religious bent
The Temple of Shirdi Sai Baba in Gummidipoondi, near Chennai, built by Ezhumalai Swami, is a holy landmark where service to humanity is the goal. MALATHI RANGARAJAN pays a visit ...
LOGS FOR the constantly burning dhuni, oil for the lamps at the temple, electricity charges that amount to more than Rs. 2,000 a month, ghee for deeparadhanai, annadhanam for more than 400 children every week — a nigh impossible task for a man who lives on a pension of a couple of thousands a month! But not for R. Ezhumalai Swami, who has built a temple for Shirdi Sai Baba on his 30-cent plot (Ph: 04119-228899). How does he manage? "I don't ... He does," he says smiling indulgently at the idol of Shirdi Sai Baba. "Why should I worry about expenditure when Baba is here to take care of things?"
His conviction and steadfast devotion see him through every crisis, monetary or otherwise. Life, Ezhumalai Swami believes, is meant for service. He lives in the premises with wife Susheela, his widowed daughter Ekavalli and granddaughters Bhuvaneswari and Sai Preethi. "The family helps me with the cleaning of the temple and in the service activities, though I practise a life of renunciation," he says. Ezhumalai Swami constructed the temple for Shirdi Sai Baba in 1991. The Moolavar idol of Baba in marble faces south, while the idol at the Gurusthanam looks eastward. On the sacred tree next to the dhuni, the swami points out to certain forms that look like impressions of Gods.
The devout man is very sure that Sai Baba of Shirdi can cure men of the most serious of ailments. Staunch belief is what is important. Ezhumalai Swami recalls the case of a young man who never fully recovered from the snakebite he had suffered. Two years passed and no treatment could bring him back to normal, till he came to the Shirdi Sai Temple in Gummidipoondi. "He had heard about this place from a friend ... the ashes (`udhi' as it is called) from the dhuni is all I gave him for daily application. In five weeks time he was himself astounded by the tremendous improvement. Soon he became completely normal and performed annadhanam here," says the swami. He quotes quite a few instances where Baba, he says, had answered the prayers of devotees. "Why ... even my wife suddenly developed pain in her legs and soon couldn't even walk. My sons took her to many doctors, in vain. That's when I told her to stop all medication and start applying the ashes from the dhuni. Without any other treatment, you see her walking now," he says pointing to his wife.
According to Ezhumalai Swami, a tired bullock was walking past this temple, when suddenly it dropped on the ground and refused to budge. The owner tried his best to make it get up, but Ezhumalai who came out realised that the animal was suffering from a wound caused by some poisonous bite. "I told the man to stop flogging the animal to get up, went in, brought a handful of `udhi' and applied it on its wound. And it was just a matter of time before the bullock was up and about ... "
Lunch session on a Thursday ...
Thursday is a very busy day for Ezhumalai Swami and his family. Getting a full meal ready for 400 persons, mostly children, is no ordinary job. "Till recently we were cooking the food ourselves. Of late however, as the crowd seems to be increasing I employ a person to cook lunch on Thursdays and all of us assist. I pay him Rs. 300 for it ... " Feeding so many people week after week, especially when one does not have enough resources to fall back on sounds incredible. "Most of the weeks I would begin the job with hardly any money. But once the time nears somehow I overcome the crunch. Not a Thursday passes without the temple feeding the needy in the area, irrespective of caste or creed. There are times when the rice merchant is kind enough to give me a whole bag for which I pay only later ... " Earlier this retired State Government employee would visit both Shirdi and Puttaparthi often. "But once it struck me that it would be even more useful if I spend that money also in annadhanam, I stopped visiting the places. After all, God is everywhere," he philosophises. Ezhumalai Swami doesn't come across as a highly educated person. But his clarity of vision and profundity of thought are striking.
Every word of Ezhumalai Swami spells optimism, as he takes you round the half built walls of a hall in the backyard of the temple. "This will be Sri Sai Kalyana Mandapam. With the funds I could collect, it has come up this high. The rent we get from letting it out for weddings, I plan to use for annadhanam and the upkeep of the temple. I want to start a free primary school on the first floor and I want to pursue the feeding of sadhus, which I began some time ago ... " You turn your eyes towards the half-built walls and as if understanding your gaze he says, "I'll do it ... I am 76 now and I don't know how much time I have ... but before I go I want to leave everything pucca. Nothing can go wrong in the house of Baba. If one crore devotees give just a rupee each, the mandapam will be complete," smiles Swami.
Dr. Nanjunda Rao, who has guided him in his religious pursuits, is his guru, Ezhumalai says. A few philanthropists and well-meaning people like Srimanthani and Murugesan of Karanodai, offer financial help for his service activities. After Swami's time, Srinivasan, one of Ezhumalai's sons, will shoulder the responsibility of maintaining and continuing the work his father has begun. "All my six children are well settled and they don't need this property," affirms Swami. "And if they need more they'll have to work for it on their own," he says.
Donations (made up to March 2005) to the Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, No.6, Ramjyothi Nagar, Reddambed Road, Pazhaiya Gummidipoondi, Thiruvallur District, are exempt from Income Tax. After Jaya TV featured the temple in one of its morning slots and referred to the place as `Chinna Shirdi,' things have begun to look up, says Swami.
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/09/03/stories/2004090302550600.htmsubhasrini
OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI!!!
Let us pray at the feet of Sai Baba who is the incarnation of all gods and protector of all, to show mercy on us, and increase our devotion towards him.
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