Trailanga Swami

This is the story of the life of Trailinga Swami, an Indian Saint who did tremendous sadhana for over 250 years and attained to the heights of spiritual knowledge. Even during his life, many realized him to e an in!arnation of Shiva. Shree "aa has had an intuitive sense of him for many years of her life, and would like to share his life with all of us as a sour!e of inspiration for perseveran!e in our sadhana. Trailinga Swami#s father, $arasingh %ao, was a leader of his village in &ndra 'radesh, and eing a virtuouus and truthful man, he was respe!ted y all his !ommunity. (is mother, )idaya ati, faithfully supported her hus and, performed servi!e to others, and did her own sadhana along with him. The !ouple remained !hildless for many years, ut desired a son to !arry on the family#s lineage. *ne day )idaya ati, in her most sin!ere desire to fulfill her hus and#s wishes for a son, asked him to take a se!ond wife, y whom he may have a !hild. Eventually he a!!epted her suggestion and married again, while she in!reased her devotion and sadhana to +ord Shiva. &t one point during her sadhana, she dreamt of Shiva#s arrival with a son. The dream soon !ame to fruition, when she e!ame pregnant. &t an auspi!ious astrologi!al !onfiguration, she gave irth to a eautiful son, whom they !alled Shivaram, later known as Trailinga Swami. &fter one year had passed following Shivaram#s irth, $arsingh#s se!ond wife gave irth to a son whose name as given as Shridhar. The two sons were raised together in a very happy and harmonious household. *ne day during )idaya ati#s meditation on +ord Shiva, the young Shivaram fell asleep in front of the Shiva +ingam. ,pon rising from her meditation, )idaya ati saw a light emanating from the Shiva +ingam she had een worshipping, and moving dire!tly in front of her son, Shivaram. Shivaram was always a profound and seriously introspe!tive !hild. -or the most part he avoided regular !hildhood past times, preferring instead to spend his time in solitude. (e was .uite indifferent to the demands of the so!iety around him. %ather his great /oy was to listen to religious stories told y his mother. (is father wanted him to marry of !ourse, e!ause without marraige he would not e entitle to parti!ipate in 0edi! rites of worship or in !ommunity affairs, ut Shivaram adamantly refused. (e viewed it as an impediment to his spiritual growth. ,ltimately the father e!ame resigned to his son#s tena!ity of purpose, and $arasingh instru!ted his younger son, Shridhar, instead to marry and !arry on the family name. 1hen Shivaram was 20 years old, his father died. (e had a great desire to leave the world and take up the life of a religious mendi!ant, ut his "other re.uested him to remain with her so long as she maintained her ody. She promised him that if he would stay with her until her death, he would find the highest lessings and the ultimate li eration. (e agreed, and remained in the family home. 1hen his mother died twelve years later, he was freed from the de ts of family karma, and eing a!!ounta le to no one, he moved off to live the life of a wandering sadhu. (e started his sadhana in the lo!al !remation grounds, where he remained seeking wisdom for 20 years. &n order from 3od led him on a sear!h for his 3uru, 4ogi %attananda Saraswati. Together they made a spiritual pilgrimage on foot a!ross the $orth and South of India, and ultimately !ame to 'ushkar +ake. It was here that the yogi initiated Shivaram into sannyas dharma, and gave him the name 3anapati Saraswati. Shortly after the initiation, his guru left his ody and 3anapati remained there and performed spiritual pra!ti!es for 50 years more. &fter the !ompletion of this sadhana, he walked to %ameshwaram in South India. It is here that the first of a num er of powerful mira!les !ertified the depth of his yogi! powers. The story is told that he stopped and lessed the !orpse of a young !hild amidst a large funeral pro!ession. "u!h to the surprise of all the thousand or so mourners, the oy suddenly !ame to life. 1ithout a word the saint disappeared.

3anapati !ontinued his pilgrimages throughout India and !ame to pra!ti!e sadhana in $epal#s deep forests. & $epalese story tells of a 6ing who was on a hunting safari in that region, and how, although a gifted marksman, !ould not seem to shoot a tiger. 7espite repeated misses, the 6ing insisted on getting the tiger and pursued it with all his might. The tiger !hase rought the 6ing to a yogi sitting amia ly with the roaring east. The yogi gently stroked the frightened animal, while the 6ing looked on in amazement. 4ogi 3anapati e!koned the 6ing !loser to give him this marvelous advi!e, 83ive up your fear, *h 6ing, for the tiger will not harm you. 3od has !reated everything. 3ive love, and (e will give you love. &lways remem er this.8 3anapati revealed the power of love in his simple yet heroi! gesture. +ater, the 6ing returned to 6athmandu spreading news of the Saint and the tiger. "any people aroused with devotion traveled to the /ungle for his lessings and 3anapati#s fame egan to spread. *ne weeping widow dropped her dead !hild at the feet of the saint. "oved y !ompassion, 3anapati tou!hed the !orpse and revived it. &gain, 3anapati disappeared without a tra!e. *ne day Trailinga Swami was sitting outside the 'ashupatinath Temple of +ord Shiva in 6athmandu, $epal. The 6ing#s daughter had prepared a spe!ial garden of flowers with whi!h to worship Shiva in a spe!ial pu/a for her marriage. 1ith great devotion she performed the pu/a and put the garland on the Shiva lingam. 1hen she !ame out from the temple, she saw a naked sadhu wearing the same flower mala. 84ou should marry me98 he !alled to her, showing that he was wearing her mala. She was a ashed. 8That !razy sadhu has stolen the flowers from my pu/a98 she !alled. 83o in and see for yourself,8 replied the Swami. She went into the temple only to find the offered garland was still draped over the Shiva lingam. :oming outside again, she saw that it was around the sadhu#s ne!k. It was in two pla!es at the same time9 )oth on the Shiva lingam and on the sadhu#s ne!k9 (ow !ould that e; 83o, go,8 he said in enedi!tion. 8I a!!ept your offering of worship. 4ou#ll find a good hus and.8 %eturning to her home at the pala!e, she told her father of the e<traordinary e<perien!e she had at the temple. 8It must have een Trailinga Swami,8 replied the 6ing. 8=ust while you were praying in the temple, we re!eived a proposal for your marriage from a most worthy prin!e.8 The prin!ess was married and en/oyed a most lessed life. &t the "arkendeya &shram in $orthern India, 3anapati did his sadhana along the anks of the $armada %iver. There he en!ountered a powerful Saint of the region, known as 6aki )a a. *ne day 6aki )a a saw a eautiful s!ene> &ll the river?s water was milk, and the newly arrived Swami was drinking it. 6aki )a a understood the vision meant that 3anapati, now known as Trailinga Swami, had the power to drink the milk of the river, and that "other $armada provided this milk for Trailinga Swami. &lso wishing to partake of the prasad, 6aki )a a went to the river ank to drink, only to find the milk was /ust plain water. The eloved Trailinga Swami stayed there for @ years performing his sadhana in the area. Trailinga Swami used to sit outside during the worst storms, despite persistent pleas from his dis!iples. :ontinually he would tell them, 87on#t worry a out me.8 *ne day he went out into the river to res!ue a sinking oat single handedly. Trailinga Swami knew that every one had the same potential to do anything, ut sadhana enlivened that potential. (e said> 8Those who forget their own nature, their 3odly essen!e, forget the power within themselves. *ur real nature most often is mistaken y others. They prefer to elieve in a mira!le of the supernatural, rather than the inner strength of the powers that all of us possess.8 -or him, the oat res!ue was merely another proof of the power of the 3od within.

Trailinga Swami#s ne<t move was to 6ashi in )enaras, where he stayed for more than 550 years. -rom 6ashi !ome many wonderful a!!ounts of Trailing Swami#s !ompassionate and truthful !hara!ter. *ne su!h story is a out a leper for whom Trailinga sang stutis ASanskrit hymns of 'raiseB and offered )ilvapatra, a leaf asso!iated with the worship of +ord Shiva. &fter his worship of this man, Trailinga Swami re.uested him to shower at the +olark 6und, always keeping the ilvapatra on his head. $ow the +olark 6und is spe!ial for its auspi!ious waters, and when the leper washed as per the instru!tions of the Swami, his leprosy was !ured. &nother story took pla!e at the (anuman 3hat. & lo!al woman performed Shiva 'u/a there every day. *ne time, seeing a naked man there, she !ursed his nudity and asked him why he didn#t live in the /ungle with the other animals. The man simply ignored her and !ontinued pea!efully on his path. That night, Shiva revealed in a dream that e!ause of her insults to him earlier in the day, her worship would not ear any fruit. -urthermore, only that naked man, Trailinga Swami, would e the one who granted her the fruit for whi!h she was worshipping. (er purpose for doing the pu/a was to find a !ure for her hus and#s stoma!h ul!ers. In the morning she sear!hed and sear!hed for the Saint, and when she finally found him, she asked for his forgiveness. Trailing Swami happily lessed her, and gave her some ashes for her hus and#s !ure. &pplying the ashes to her ewildered hus and, she found that he was !ured immediately. The story is told of an angry ti!ket !olle!tor who told the naked sadhu to get down from the train. 84ou !an#t avail the train servi!e without a ti!ket98 (e was told. The train was stopped etween two stations waiting for a !learan!e from a !rossing guard, when the Swami got down. (e stomped off in agitated mood in the dire!tion of the ne<t train. *ne !rippled man !alled to him from the ne<t !ompartment, 8(ey, )a a/i9 Take me with you98 1ith seemingly great anger, Swami ki!ked the lame man, and !ontinued on towards the ne<t station, a few miles from there. 1hen the lame man got up from the ground, mu!h to his amazement, he was a le to walk. (e threw down his !rut!h with a shout of triumph and ran after the Swami, shouting with /oy at his re!overy. The Swami rea!hed the station, and took his seat underneath a large tree. "eanwhile the !rossing guard gave the signal, ut the train refused to move. 'eople started to walk to the station, rather than sit in the hot sun waiting for the train. 1hen they rea!hed the station, they saw the Swami !omforta ly reposed under a tree, and they all wondered how he knew the train wouldn#t e a le to move, and that everyone would have to walk to the station. The engineers worked on the train all afternoon, ut they !ouldn#t find out any diffi!ulty. The me!hani!s !ame from the station, ut they, too, were mystified y the train#s failure. Even when the master me!hani!s and engineers arrived from the nearest !ity, all of them were ewildered with the train?s ina ility to move. $o one !ould even offer an e<planation. Then the !rippled man, who had een !ured from the swift ki!k of Trailinga Swami, told everyone that the train won?t run e!ause of the insult shown to that great saint. &fter he was thrown off the train, the ma!hine refused to run. C=ust ask the Swami to !ome again on oard, and you?ll see if the train won?t go.D C1ell,D reasoned all the offi!ials, C1e?ve tried everything else. $o one has a etter e<planation. 3o, !all him to !ome.D $o sooner did Trailinga Swami oard the train, than the engine started up, and the train moved off swiftly towards the station. &t a !ertain 6ing?s pala!e on the 3anges, a Eueen was athing in the 3anges %iver, when she saw the naked Trailinga Swami. She s!reamed in alarm. The 6ing ordered the soldiers to !apture the sadhu so he !ould punish him appropriately. 1hen Trailinga Swami was !aught, the townsFpeople, knowing of his spiritual powers, warned the 6ing, ut the warnings went unheeded. The 6ing?s de!ision was that the whole town would !urse the man repeatedly. That night the 6ing had a dream of +ord Shiva. Shiva !omplained of the 6ing?s a use and demanded that he leave 6ashi and never return again. In the morning an agitated and fearful 6ing looked for the a used Saint and egged for forgiveness, whi!h the Saint readily gave without !ondition. In many stories of Trailinga Swami, it was not usual for him to float atop the waters of the 3anges, and then suddenly disappear, avoiding the overzealous !rowds, only to resurfa!e at some other lo!ation downstream. *n!e the 6ing of

,/ain visited )enares, and when leaving y oat, he noti!ed a naked man floating on the top of the water. The man floated towards the oat and was rought on oard. The naked man was none other than Trailinga Swami. Trailinga Swami asked to see the king?s sword and after admiring it, he simply threw it in the 3anges with the levity of a small !hild. The 6ing e!ame very angry and de!ided to punish this !razy man. Then Trailinga Swami /umped in the waters, and pulling out two identi!al swords from the water asked the king, C*h 6ing, whi!h one is yours;D The 6ing stood there meekly una le to see any differen!e etween the two swords, to whi!h Trailinga Swami retorted, C-oolish 6ing, you thought your sword was so important, ut still you !an?t tell the differen!e from another one. 4ou are a !ontainer full of delusion and ego. That sword is not yours foreverG you !annot take it with you. )ut your karma will go with you everywhere. Then why are you so angry a out this sword; 1hy other yourself with anger;D Trailing Swami gave the 6ing his sword and threw the other one a!k into the water. The upset 6ing asked forgiveness from Trailinga Swami, and without a se!ond?s hesitation, Trailinga Swami granted it, and then he again /umped into the river. *n!e at &si 3hat, Trailinga Swami saw a woman weeping for her hus and who had died of snake ite. &s was the tradition for death from snake ites, the funeral group attempted to throw the whole ody into the 3anges, rather than to !remate it. Trailinga Swami approa!hed the ody, applied some !lay to the wound, and .ui!kly /umped into the 3anges. The dead man slowly !ame to life and the talk at the 3hat for weeks was stri!tly a out Swami/i?s mira!les. The )ritish offi!ers saw Trailinga Swami?s nudity as a so!ial disgra!e, and fre.uently !omplained to the magistrate, who finally arrested him. The poli!emen, who tried to ring him efore the magistrate, told a tale that seemed highly impossi le. Trailing Swami simply disappeared efore their very eyes9 & huge sear!h party was summoned to sear!h for him, ut while they were out looking, he returned alone. (e was laughing hilariously. Someone informed the magistrate that Trailing Swami was no ordinary human, and that in his spiritual greatness, he saw everything as e.ual. &pprised of this information that the Swami regarded everything as e.ual, the !lever magistrate asked if the Swami would eat his food. (e knew fully well that meat was for idden to a (indu Saint. The Saint without any hesitation, responded affirmatively and added that the magistrate should eat his food also. &greeing to the e<!hange, the magistrate served a plate of meat, whi!h the Swami ate with gusto. &fter eating his meat, Trailing Swami s.uatted and defe!ated into the palm of his hand> the CfoodD for the magistrate. The magistrate egan to swear and !urse in offensive tones, when he o served that the offering had totally e!ome sandal paste. :onvin!ed of Trailinga?s spiritual power, the magistrate prote!ted him from that time onwards, and is reported to have given him prote!tion throughout the distri!t. 1hen the magistrate was transferred to another distri!t, a new magistrate !ame, who also rea!ted to Trailinga Swami#s nakedness y arresting and /ailing him. The following day, the magistrate visited the prisoner. "u!h to his surprise, the magistrate found the prisoner outside the /ail. (e !ould not find out who let this man out of the !ell. &ngered, the magistrate demanded that Trailing Swami tell him how he had es!aped. In a simple, effortless way, Trailinga Swami said, 8Early in the morning, I had the desire to urinate.8 This infuriated the magistrate and he lo!ked Trailinga Swami up again, ut this time even more se!urely. Trailinga Swami managed to follow the magistrate outside, even despite e<tra se!urity attempts. Trailinga Swami told the magistrate, 8Sir, you are .uite guilty of ignoran!e. This world has infinite possi ilities and allFpervasive !ons!iousness, things a out whi!h you know nothing. 4ou !an#t ind anyone who has rea!hed the heights of yoga. 1hy do you distur me, if you !an#t do anything to me; 1here is your power now;8 Enlightened y the prisoner#s words, the magistrate re!ognized the power and depth of this man, and ordered that all the offi!ials of the town respe!t Trailinga Swami wherever he goes, and to leave him alone. Trailinga Swami spent the last of his life at 'an!ha 3anga 3hat in 6ashi, now !alled )enares. (is !aretaker was "angal )hatt. Trailinga Swami spent his last years in silen!e ne<t to 6ali and Shiva deities !arved from stone with his own hands. (e sat at his altar writing Sanskrit shlokas and giving advi!e to others. 1hen Saints visited him, he often spoke in his own version of sign language. The famous )engali Saint, %amakrishna, visited Trailinga Swami and said that although he had taken a ody, Trailinga Swami was truly +ord Shiva and the em odiment of 1isdom. )oth of them were so happy to e with one

another, and yet few words were e<!hanged. They !ommuni!ated at the level of the heart. %amakrishna re!ognized all of the signs that indi!ated Trailinga Swami#s saintliness. Trailinga Swami also was most respe!tful. *ne .uestion that %amakrishna asked was whether 3od was one or many; Trailinga Swami answered in sign language. 8In samadhi, you will know that 3od is one. &nd when you have a taste for the world, 3od is many.8 *ne day %amakrishna wished to feed Trailinga Swami pudding and gave him 25 pounds of sweet ri!e oiled in milk. Trailinga Swami ate the entire offering in one sitting. Trailinga Swami was known to eat very little, often o serving long fasts. & group of wi!ked men wanted to test his truthfulness and poisoned him with lime water, a !on!o!tion that looks like milk. The wi!ked men followed him to find out his rea!tion, whi!h was not as they had e<pe!ted. (e urinated. %i!h visitors liked to de!orate him with gold and gems. &ttired like this he would lose !ons!iousness and thieves would remove the /ewels. -or him, it was as if someone was giving and someone was taking. &n in!ident o!!urred in whi!h a 6ing had e!koned him with eautiful /ewels and ro ers took away everything. 1hen the ro ers were rought to Trailinga Swami, he dismissed the whole in!ident saying, 8I am still the same with or without the /ewels.8 "any Saints met him in his lifetime. *ne day he announ!ed to his dis!iples that he would like to leave this world. The distressed dis!iples !ried that they had no statue of him. (e promised his dis!iples a memoir, a statue of himself prior to his departure, whi!h they made. Then efore leaving, he advised his devotees to make a sandalwood !offin and to put his ody within, and then to throw it into the 3anges. (e entered in to meditative samadhi and !ons!iously e<ited from the ody on the 55th day of the full moon. -ollowing his dire!tions, they pla!ed his ody in the sandalwood !offin, !ir!umam ulated 6ashi, and then lowered the !offin into the 3anges, eside whi!h he had resided for so many years. The !offin sank to the ottom, ut after some time floated to the surfa!e. 1hen the dis!iples opened the lid, they found that the o< was filled with flowers, and there was no sign of the ody. Those are some of the details of the life of Trailinga Swami, who !ontinues to remain an inspiration to saints and sadhus of all walks of life.