The Forest Ranger, his anger and 33rd Sringeri Acharya!

It was a time when the 33rd Shankaracharya of Sringeri HH Shivabhinava Mahaswamiji was the Jagatguru of the Sringeri Peetham. He was a Trikala Gnani. On seeing a person, He would know the qualities of that Person. 

At one time, he was travelling on an aranya margam (through a forest). When it becomes saayankaalam Evening wherever they are, They will stop there itself and do Chandramoulishwara puja, at the Sringeri matham, that is the sampradayam. 

When they put up the goodaaram (mandapam like) and were doing the puja, a forest ranger came by that way. 

It was a forest…, there was no one there, so the Peetadhipathi's darsan was attained very easily.

He did namaskaram and got up. Immediately the Peetadhipathi looked at him and said, "I will tell you three qualities. Tell me to which you belong. "

"Please tell”, the Ranger said.

“1) The moment you get an Abhipraayam (opinion, impression) in your mind, is it your swabhaavam (nature) that even without enquiring for any details from the person with whom are interacting, you will start yelling and screaming at them, or

2) You will make enquiries with that person first and then get mad or

3) There is no question of making any enquiries, getting angry is my aishwaryam (my right)... is this your swabhavam?”, thus asked the Swamiji.

Why He asked so, Only He knows and the listener knows.

The Ranger said, "I belong to the first category. When I get angry, I will immediately assume the other person has done the mistake. I will not enquire why he did such and such a thing. I will at once  assume the worst and give any kind of consequence, even very great ones, I have no habit of enquiring at all."

Mahaswamiji said, "You have come for my darshan, is it not?. There is only one gift I am giving you, you change to the second state. From now, when you get angry, stop for a bit, enquire, "why did you do so?", then you will understand how many mistakes you have committed till now in your life."

The Ranger left for home after the pooja at the Camp. It was late in the night. 9.30 -10.00 p.m. He reached home and told his cook, "I'm very hungry, serve food."

Without even a few pieces of boiled vegetables, the cook, brought two very thin small phulka rotis and kept it on the plate, trembling in fear.

The Ranger got very wild with anger. He normally eats 7-8 rotis with atleast 2 types of vegetables. But now only two thin rotis for him....

The Ranger thought, assuming I  will not be coming, this cook has done this. Getting up immediately, he went to bash him up.

 He immediately remembered the Peetadhipathi's words, "You're used to doling out sentences (consequences) without even enquiring about the reasons for an action right? Atleast come up to the second state." 

He thought, “Let us change today”, and asked, "why did you bring only 2 rotis?"

The cook replied, “Since we were out of supplies, I sent the Attendant in the morning itself to buy them from the village, so that I could cook in the afternoon itself, but for what reason I do not know,  but that attendant didn't come back with the supplies, he never ever does so.”

The cook continued, “I did not eat even lunch. (The ranger had had lunch.) Even though my tummy was rumbling in hunger, thinking that you might come home without eating anything, and eating without leaving anything for the master, is a mahapapam a big sin, I searched and found a little bit of flour and made 2 rotis with it and kept it for you.”

“But I did not eat anything and I do not know anything. I'm awaiting the attendant. Please forgive my fault of having kept only 2 rotis."

Tears welled up quickly in the eyes of The Ranger! He thought to himself, “What if I had beaten him up first, then the cook would not have said anything, since this is my habit of getting angry, listening has never been a part of my life. I have beaten up so many people, given so many punishments, in this manner.”

"Just this one time I have listened and learnt, with such difficulty. This man has kept back 2 rotis only for me, and I was about to beat him up!"

"Certainly, that Mahanubhaavaa , enquiring which group of these 3 I belonged to, asked me to try and move from the first to the second group, and went away."

"Just moving from the first to the 2nd group.,, I can find so many faults in me, I, keeping this anger near me, living without listening to anybody, how many people have I beaten up, how many sacks of sins have I earned….”, lamented the Ranger in regret. Ashamed with his actions, and crying, he made the cook eat those two rotis that day."

Chaganti Garu says, "The reason I am pleading with you thus is, You can yourself discern Your faults. 

You don't need anybody as an x-ray machine in front of you, to know your shortcomings. You should analyse and become aware or your faults yourself. When you start rectifying your faults, the service you do to society is so great, you will become  a huge mahavruksham a big banyan tree useful to the community.

Please click on the above 5.25 minute video, which is narrated by Shri Chaganti Koteswara Rao in Telugu. This is a lovely translation of that video.