Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathachar – A Repository of Knowledge

M.A. Lakshmithathachar was a well known personality. We knew him from our childhood as he used to frequent our house. Our father supported him in all his endeavours. His initials were M.A.L which is pronounced as 'mal'. In today's cities, there are shopping malls and in those malls, all varieties of goods are available. Similarly, was like a mall of information, where one could obtain any and all types of information and knowledge. He was a mall of information.

Once, I approached him, requesting if he would give Bhagavadvishya kalakshepam(Commentary for Nammalwar's Tiruvaimozhiayiram). He said, 'Ok I will tell you.' Referring to himself, he said 'Because of you, now I am the real son of my father'. I asked him what he meant by that? He said 'My father saw P.B.Anangaracharya's house in Kanchipauram. The house had a huge hall. Upon seeing that, he desired to build a similar hall with the desire to give kalakshepam on bhagavadishyam. He built the hall in Melkote as per that wish. He gave kalakshepam to someone in Hindi and then to another person in Tamil. He then told his son to carry on the same –to continue giving Bhagavadishyam kalakshepam.' Lakshmithathachar did not get a chance to do that till age of 76. When I asked him to speak on Bhagavadvishyam, he said, 'Now I am able to carry out my father's desire. He desired that I give kalakshepam on Bhagadvishyam. The Lord has sent you. Because of you, I am now his real son.' He would speak in this way.

After starting the kalakshepam, he mentioned, 'Until now, I did not have the desire to live. Now I have the desire to live and to finish this narration of Bhagavadvishyam with you. Once I finish it, the Lord can take me anytime. My father desired that I do the Bhagavadvishyam and shattomorai after that.' In this way for four years, he took class on this topic.

Even in his 80s he would wake up as early as 2 am and read and study the topic for the day's class. He would also study other related literature. He would read all 5 commentaries of Tiruvaimoli and assimilate the meaning and give class.

Tirukuruhaipiran pillan is known as the jnana putra of Sri Ramanujar. Similarly, Thathachar would say that I was his jnana putra. He would say -'In my 80 years, whatever I have seen and experienced, I will pass on to you.' And he shared everything with me. We recorded everything and his Bhagavadvishyam lectures are there in recorded form. During the classes he would share his knowledge about Alwars and also about animals, plants, birds etc.

The classes would go from 7.30 to 9 am in the morning and again from 7.30 pm – 9 pm in the evening. Due to his old age, he could not sit down properly on the floor. But he wanted to do the class as per the rules of the sampradaya and so with great difficulty he would sit on a seat and give class for such long duration of time. He would sit straight and would not move at all. He would say – 'He said I am sharing everything with you. You have to take further responsibility of this.'

During the 4 years of the kalakshepam, he would get invitations for giving upanyasams. He used to take me with him. To go to Mysuru from Melkote, it generally takes 1 hour. But traveling with Lakshmi Thathachar, the journey would take 2 hours. He would spot a tree and stop the vehicle. He would take me to the tree and explain about it. He would say, this tree is mentioned in such-and-such prayer in the Bhagavadishyam. He would see some animals and birds nearby and explain about them in relation to Bhagavadvishyam. I have all these fond memories. I could understand how we can see the words of sastra through the animals, birds and trees. Just like Vishnu Sharma taught panchatantra to the King's princes, he taught me many things practically.

Because of Bhagavadvishyam Kalakshepam, I could also understand Sribhashyam very nicely. He had told me to do one thing. He asked me to collect the quotations in Bhagavadvishyam and put it in different categories. i.e. he asked me to collect all Ramayana quotations in one place, all Mahabharata quotations in one place etc.

He had another special quality. Today's pundits want to show off their panditya or scholarship. He was not like that. When I was studying my PhD, he would emphasise about the audience target. Whom we are speaking to is very important. He was not concerned with displaying his own knowledge. He was more concerned about whether, what he is saying is reaching his target audience or not. That was his priority. Just like a carpenter makes a box or a compartment and puts a toy inside it to fit nicely, Lakshmithathachar had the ability to make a nice compartment in the mind of the listener and put the information inside it nicely. Whatever may be the topic – alankaara shaastra, philosophy, logic, he could speak that knowledge to a 5 year old, a 15 year old or even a 50 year old. He knew the art of speaking with anyone of any age group. Many speakers sometimes go on speaking, not caring if the listener has fully grasped all information. But Laksmithathachar was not like that. He would always think – 'Will the listener understand what I am saying? Which level suits him best?' and he would speak accordingly. He had another special quality. He could identify the talent in a particular person. Whether in music field or Vedanta field or any other field, he would talk to a person and try to analyse his field of interest. He would think about how to expose that interest and show it to the world. He had the capacity to develop those qualities in that person.

Whatever be the topic, he was capable of seeing it in multiple angles. Usually a person can see a particular thing in only 1, 2 or 3 angles. Laksmithathachar had the capacity to analyse a particular thing in multiple dimensions. Having that capacity, he would try to encourage everyone. He would also show things practically. Even in his 80s, he would get involved in making bricks, incense sticks etc. he would show me – 'This is how it can be done. I am doing this.' He would not waste even one moment of a day.

He loved Horticulture a lot – cows, plants and trees. He would spend a lot of money on land (zameen) and the garden (thotam). I would ask him – 'why are you spending so much money on this?' He would say 'Some people like to gamble and waste money in that way. Some people spend a lot on movies. I like to spend money on cows and land. Hence I will spend in this way.'

I will give another instance. Once, in the Aramane thotam(temple garden), some plants were drying up due to lack of rain. One day, Lakshmithatachar took me there and showed me some flowering plants which I didn't know about. He took some sticks from those plants and grew 10 – 15 plants from that one stick. After a few weeks he showed me – this is the same plant. He did it at the age of 78. I was amazed. Sometimes I feel embarrassed. At this young age, sometimes we sit lazily and waste time. At the age of 78, he was doing all this. He would wake up early and go to the garden, grow some flower plants etc.

More than exposing his own knowledge, he was more interested in how to bring out the best qualities of the other persons. He had that unique talent.

In conclusion I would only say that having the privilage of meeting Lakshmithathachar was not just a nice experience but a transformative experience mentally and spiritually.