Sri Chakra Amma.  -  Nanganallur J K SIVAN   

I am aware that, many of my reader friends,  may not have heard or known about  Sarkkarai Amma.  

Let me   briefly  introduce her to you in English  so that  our  non-Tamil knowing  friends and spiritual minded may also be benefited to  know about this great soul.  I usually write in Tamil  mostly  covering  various  spiritual topics.

Anandamba, was different from normal children of her age.  Born in 1854 , nearly 170 years ago, at  Devikapuram   a small hamlet near Polur  in Thiruvannamalai District, Tamilnadu (India),   She liked to spend most of her time in solitude  at a corner in the western corridor of the famous Sri Bruhannayaki temple in her village.  It was facing the sanctum sanctorum of the principal deity, ambal.  She  always preferred to sit  there conveniently viewing the goddess. She was too young to know meditation but was able to concentrate  enjoying the beauty of the goodess before her.  Devika's temple is at the centre of the village and it is named after her as Devikapuram. I visited this  temple  and enjoyed the serene quiet environment and atmosphere still prevalent there.

Anandamba's father  Sesha Gurukkal was the priest of the temple. So she frequented the temple to  sit in meditation that came to her naturally. She  learnt byheart  ''Shiva sthuthi''  taught by her father and chanted it.  She experienced inexplicable joy and peace within her.  She never mingled with children fo her age as a result and was enjoying  the quiet  meditation.

As was the custom , Anandamba was married at 9 years . Sambasivan  her husband was 24 years old, already a widower.   He was head of the   small mutt in   Komaleeswaranpet, Chennai (Madras). This locality is now known as Pudupet. now a busy thoroughfare connecting  Annasalai with Egmore. I lived in this small town Komaleeswaranpet for a few  years and  remember the happy days I spent there.  Now  it is crowded with scraps and used automobile spare parts dealers most of them being muslims.  The former name   Komaleeswaran pet has disappeared.  Lord Siva of the beautiful temple there is named Komaleeswaran.

As a matured girl, Anandamba was sent to Komaleeswaranpet to live with her husband. The monastery  had  a room for Sambasivan to live.  Unfortuntely he was indifferent toward her, treating her totally like a servant  maid, seeking pleasures elsewhere.   It is in fact a  blessing in disguise for Anandamba. Right from her tender age, she was not inclined to normal family life, her mind always immersed in spirituality.

Therefore  Anandamba  used to go to Komaleeswaran Temple and spend her time after attending to household chorus. At home, there was a raised platform in a corner of the terrace that served as the seat of meditation.

Sambasiva, because of his reckless lifestyle, died early and Anandamba  was widowed at  20 yrs. The relatives cried and wept for her misfortune but  instead it gave her immense relief and freedom from family life.  She could now devote her full time in meditating on Shiva.

Sesha Gurukkal took his young widowed daughter Anandamba to Devikapuram.  She walked to Polur, to live with her brother.  It was there that  Anandamba  blossomed into a fully matured spiritual soul.  It gave her the opporutnity to meet  Nakshatra Gunamba, a  saintly  woman  who lived in a hillock called Nakshatra Kunru (The Star Hillock) near Polur.  Another  saint  Sri  Vitoba Swami, the silent mendicant, also lived there.  She communicated with him and certain other spiritual souls as well.  Polur is  nearThiruvannamalai, the centre of saints and mystics  such as Ramana Maharishi, Seshadri  Swamigal,  Visiri swamigal et al.

Anandamba was drawn so close to  Nakshatra Gunamba  and became her disciple. The saint treated her as her own daughter.  

'Amma, I have to go back shortly to Komaleeswaranpet, Madras,  but how can be  separate and  away from you.''

''Dont worry my child,  I shall provide you with invisible  wings to fly anytime you like to visit me here from Madras''

>

> It is one of the  eight  siththis,  yoga achievements,  known as ''Lahima''  , the power to become thin like air and move about  at will. Thus  the Yogini  Nakshatra Gunamba , attached  so much toward Anandamba ,  transformed all her spiritual prowess to Anandamaba before the Yogini left this world. which she knew would be very soon. In fact Anandamba had within her the Yogini Nakshatra Gunamba from then on.

The Yogini  initiated Anandambaa into  Sri Chakra Upasana which is an intense spiritual practice of observing Godliness in the female form.

After returning to Komaleeswaranpet, Madras, Anandamba continued her meditation at the terrace of her residence.  She forgot all her worldly obligations, even foregoing food and water.  The relatives around thought she had become mentally deranged  after losing husband at the age of 20.  She stayed at the terrace permanently  and visited the Komaleeswaran temple  in between sitting at the entrance of the temple.  She spent most of her time  following the intense spiritual practice of Sri Chakra Upasana chanting.

The day of attainment of bliss arrived one fine day as predicted by Nakshatra Gunamba, when Anandamba was in deep meditation. She was suddenly flooded by blinding rays of a very bright circular light, leaving her with the feeling that she herself had been lit and was shining.  She started laughing hysterically and since then the laughter became a permanent feature of her. People engrossed in their mundane activities, took her to be lunatic.

Doctor M.C. Nanjunda Rao a famous physician and a devotee of Swami Veivekananda used to visit Komaleeswaranpet and  happened to meet Anandamba.  He was a philanthropist also treating the poor  patients without any fee.

He donated  cash and kind  for all good causes taking active part in varied social services.

Anandamba’s brother Arunachalam  who stayed with her at the mutt, fell ill and Dr. Nanjunda Rao was  called to attend to him.  It is then that  Dr  Rao  came to know about his sister Anandamba hearing the  loud laughter of Anandamba from the upstairs  and wondered who was it. The relatives introduced Anandamba as a mad woman staying upstairs  Dr. Rao became curious and  observing the behaviour of Anandamba  and noticed her sitting at the entrance of Komaleeswara Temple. He  went near her and asked  ''why are you laughing uninterrupted?''

“My son,” she said looking at  Dr Rao,  “The inherent nature of the soul is experiencing happiness always. The pleasure and sorrow affect the physical structure of the body only. You are not the body. You are in a body; that’s all. And that is, what all happen to the body that is your temporary cage do not relate to you that is the atman, the inner self. The inner self is destined to be happy always. And you know a happy person always enjoys and laughs in amusement at watching things around. Those who are ignorant about this fact would only weep or be happy that relate to the body!”

 Dr. Nanjunda Rao, a spiritually minded person, was shaken, as it hit  by a powerful lightning. He could immediately identify her as a spiritually advanced person and not an insane woman as others  branded her.

Dr Rao  started interacting with Anandamba,  regularly and  became her disciple.   He observed her as a staunch  Sri Chakra Upasaka  and began referring to her as  ''Sri Chkkarathamma''  which in course of time became  ''Sakkaraiamma"

Dr Rao took his guru Sri Sakkarai Amma  to Varanasi, and Thiruvannamalai also once.  She met  Sri Seshadri Swami and Sri Ramana, the two spiritual giants of the day. When she asked the blessings of Sri Ramana, he said she was already a blessed soul.

Sarkarai amma  was seen flying  above like a bird going places.   Sri Thiru.Vi. Kalyana  Sundara Mudaliyar, a great Tamil scholar and social activist of yesteryears  had recorded in his book “Ulloli” (The Inner Light) that he had once seen Sri  Sakkarai Amma gliding like a huge bird and hopping on the parapet wall of the hostel terrace.  He further states that she was subjected to various scientific tests under Dr Edgar Thurston, CIE, the then curator of Madras Museum to find out Sri Sakkarai Amma’s mysterious feat of flying like a bird.  He then concluded that some humans rarely possess inbuilt mechanism of wings and Sri Sakkarai Amma was one bestowed with that kind of mechanism!

Thiru Vi.Ka, the great Tamil scholar's writing is reproduced here:

 ’உள்ளொளி’ (மணிவாசகர் பதிப்பகம், தமிழ் மண் பதிப்பகம்) என்ற நூலில் கீழ்கண்டவாறு குறிப்பிட்டிருக்கிறார் தமிழ்த் தென்றல் திரு.வி.க.

“சென்னை கோமளீசுவரன் பேட்டையில் ஓர் அம்மையார் இருந்தார். அவர் காலஞ்சென்ற டாக்டர் நஞ்சுண்டராவின் குரு என்று உலகம் சொல்லும். அவ்வம்மையார் பறவையைப் போல வானத்தில் பறப்பர். ஒருமுறை யான் வசித்த கல்லூரியின் மேல்  மாடியில் பறந்து வந்து நின்றனர். மானுடம் பறக்கிறதெனில் உலகம் அதை எப்படி வியக்குமென்று சொல்ல வேண்டுவதில்லை. அக்காலத்தில் சென்னையில் வதிந்த விஞ்ஞானியர் பலர் சூழ்ந்து சூழ்ந்து அம்மையார் நிலையை ஆராய்வர். அப்பொழுது சென்னை மியூஸியத் தலைவராயிருந்த ஓர் ஐரோப்பியரால் பறவையார் நிலை பெரிதும் ஆராயப்பட்டது. அம்மையார் பறவை இனத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவரென்றும், அவரிடம் பறவைக் குரிய கருவி கரண அமைப்புகள் சில உள்ளன என்றும், கூர்தல் (Evolution) அறப்படி அத்தகையப் பிறவி இயற்கையில் அமைதல் கூடும் என்றும் அவரால் விளக்கப்பட்டன. அவர் விளக்கம் மற்றவரால் ஏற்றுக் கொள்ளப்படவில்லை. யான் ‘தேசபக்தன்’ ஆசிரியனாகியபோது டாக்டர் நஞ்சுண்டராவிடம் நெருங்கிப் பழகுதல் நேர்ந்தது. பறவையாரைப் பற்றி அவரை நான் விசாரித்தேன். அவர், ‘அம்மையார் சித்தரினத்தில் சேர்ந்தவர்’ என்று கூறினர். பறவை நாயகியார் நிலை மனோ தத்துவத்துக்கு எட்டுவதா? உன்னிப் பாருங்கள்”.

பரிபக்குவம் பெற்ற ஞானிகள், சித்தர்கள் இருந்த இடத்திலிருந்தே அனைத்து இடங்களுக்கும் செல்ல முடியும். அந்த வகையில் தான் பெற்ற ‘இலகிமா’ என்ற சித்தின் மூலம், தனது உடல் எடையைக் காற்றை விட எடைகுறைந்ததாய் மாற்றிக் கொண்டு, வானத்தில் பறந்திருக்கிறார் அம்மா என்றே நாம் அனுமானிக்க முடிகிறது.

In  1901 Dr  Nanjundarao took  Sarkkarai Amma  to Marundheeswarar (Shiva) temple in Thiruvanmiyur situated at the south east end of Chennai (Madras).  where she prayed for the blessings on all her disciples. While returning from the temple, Sri Sakkarai Amma pointed out a casuarinas grove on the way and told Dr. Rao that she would soon put aside her mortal remains and it should be buried there. Rao felt sad to hear that but nodded silently.

“My Samadhi will be scarcely noticed by people, leave alone revering it. But it will become a centre of immense spiritual power, comforting whoever comes there to pray. The spot will be a TEMPLE OF PEACE,” Sri Sakkarai Amma said.  As predicted, Sri Sakkarai Amma left her physical frame on February 28, 1901. Her mortal remains were taken in a procession and buried in the spot identified by her. Dr. Rao had already bought the land  and built a Samadhi over the spot and also constructed a small temple.  Anyone  visiting Thiruvanmiyur may visit the  temple and samadhi of Sri Chakra Amma.