Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group III | Mr. God (V.V.Subrahmanyam)

His Holiness
Mr. God (V.V.Subrahmanyam)
Head, Sri Vijaya Durga Peetham
Vedurupaka - 533 345
Rayavaram Mandal, East Godavari District
Tel: 08857-235253

His Holiness, Mr. God (V.V.Subrahmanyam) (69), Head of Sri Vijaya Durga Peetham, Vedurupaka, popularly known as 'Vedurupaka God' and revered as a divine Incarnaton by his devotees, relates the background of his entry into the spiritual arena and explains the purpose of his visit to Prasanthi Nilayam in his own words.

'This was in 1955. Though I was still a student, I got involved in politics. As Secretary of the Youth Congress, I participated in the election campaign that year on behalf of the Congress. In that connection I visited Dharmavaram. Someone suggested to me, 'here is a Swami in Puttaparthi. Would you like to go and see Him?'

I have respect for spiritual persons. But I did not like to go to Puttaparthi at that time. 'If we go there now, it amounts to selfishness of seeking His blessings for our candidates', I told them, 'when our candidates win, people will attribute it to the grace of Swami. We have to win on our own by convincing the electorate on the righteousness of our manifesto and worth of our candidates but not by other means'. I was confident of the victory of our candidates in Anantapur, Kadiri and Putlur, and my expectations came true. We won in all those three constituencies and also in Dharmavaram.

I returned to my place jubilantly and continued to dabble in politics. My brief stint in the Cooperation Department failed to bridle my growing interest in the political field. Gradually my influence in the area increased attracting the eye of the State leadership. Finally a break had come for me in 1972. The stage was set for my filing nomination for a seat in the State Legislative Council. It was to be followed by my inclusion in the State Cabinet of Mr. P.V.Narasimha Rao. After every thing was finalized, I had to rush to my place on an urgent political errand. I completed the work and reached my house late in the night. During that period my mother and my wife used to keep awake and wait for me. But on that day, both of them were asleep unusually. I did not like to disturb their sleep and went to bed, as I was myself tired. This was on August 18, 1972.

When I awoke in the night around 12:42, my wife was seen sleeping on another cot placed by the side of mine. I felt remorse on seeing her tired countenance and felt pity on her. I even felt aversion to politics, which was responsible for causing serious inconvenience to my wife and mother. As I was thinking thus, I heard a bang. My initial reaction was that some of my enemies were throwing bombs at my house. Then I saw a flash of sublime light. I was wide-awake. It was not a dream. Suddenly, I found a lady in green sari by the side of the window riding on a tiger. She was dazzling with divine beauty.

As I was wondering who she could be, she said, 'I am Durga. It is me who inspired your grandmother to name you 'God' within five minutes after your birth, you know'. True. My mother's mother christened me God soon after my birth. She did not know English and was not even aware of the word 'God'. Every one was surprised that she named me in English, without having heard that word even.

'At present, the world is full of selfish people', Goddess Durga continued, 'I have picked you for my work because you hail from a family known for its righteous behaviour, magnanimity and spirit of charity. I will give you my moolamantra of 32 letters along with pooja-vidhanam. Take down and recite. Ease yourself out of politics, but continue to serve people.' She gave me mantra and poojavidhanam and disappeared.

Next day I left for Hyderabad and called on the Chief Minister as per my original programme.

'Come, Mr. Would-be-Minister!' Mr. P.V. received me with warmth.

'It is alright for you to call me thus', I replied laughing, 'when it is no longer possible'.

'What are you talking?' Mr. P.V. asked me in all seriousness, 'why do you say so?'

I related to him all that had happened on August 18. He listened with rapt attention. 'So you see', I said with a voice ringing with finality, 'this, of course, is not my cup of tea'. The moment I concluded, he got up and prostrated before me.

'I had a hunch all the time that you have been growing spiritually inside', Mr. P.V. told me, and 'no matter how intelligently you had tried to cover it up with your casual bearing and flippant talk'.

He displayed very good understanding of my position and did not press me to remain in politics.

'Whom do you want me to put in your place?' he asked me.

'Mrs. Y. Savithri Devi', I replied. He readily agreed. That was the end of it. No one knew the reason for inducting Mrs. Savithri Devi to my exclusion. I did not care to explain to anyone.

Slowly, I began to leave politics behind as my recitation of mantra became more and more intense. I had a yearning to visit all 18 Sakthi Peethas. I made a pilgrimage to all of them beginning with Kashmir. People think that Mahakali of Ujjain is the same that was worshipped by Emperor Vikramarka. It is not so. The original idol of Kali is in the interior of Naimisa forest. I was told that a yogi named Kankaleswara resides there. He is said to be ten feet tall. No one seems to have seen him, save two or three persons. I decided to see him despite the dangers that lurk in the route. I began to trek into the deep forest. This was in 1973. Gradually it began to become dark due to the nightfall. All around, there were eerie noises and weird sounds. I began chanting the moolamantra given by Goddess Durga to subdue fear. Suddenly, I heard a hoary human voice loud and frightening: 'who is that guy that came from Vedurupaka?' Right before me stood a hefty and tall person of 10 feet height. He seemed to have just materialised there.

'Who is this? A man, an apparition or an angel?' I wondered.

'I am Kankaleswara', he told me as if he was answering my unspoken question, 'what do you want?'

I toyed with the idea of requesting him to send me back to Ujjain safely but there was no need for me to say that out. He seemed to have been endowed with power of reading my thoughts and answering in the language that I used.

'Don't be silly', he told me brushing off my proposal to get back, 'follow me'.

We walked for sometime and entered a cave-like thing built with stones. It was quite dark but we could find our way as if looking through a veil.

'It was like a set in the film Patala Bhairavi', I thought.

'What is a set? And, who is Patala Bhairavi?' he asked, 'and by the way, what do you mean by a film?'

'Never mind', I told him, 'since how long have you been here?'

'I have lost count of time', he replied, preparing to lie down on the floor, 'you, too, take rest'.

I looked around in the cave. There was neither a kitchen nor any arrangement to prepare food.

I, too, prepared to lie down. But I was afraid that he would offer me as a sacrifice to Kali the moment I slept.

'I am not a wicked fellow', he told me in reply to my unsaid apprehensions, 'no harm shall come to you. Rest in peace'.

But I could not get a wink of sleep even.

'What is the matter?' he enquired, 'are you still afraid of me?'

'No!' I told him, 'I cannot get sleep because I am hungry'.

'Say so!' he said, got up and went to some altar-like thing. He struck there, and a plate of pooris and curry appeared. He brought me that and said 'eat!'

'Has he poisoned the food or mixed sedation in it?' - I was hesitating to eat.

'No fear', he told me 'eat it'.

I began to eat the pooris. The pooris were hot as if served from oven straight; and, tasty, too.

'Stay with me for a couple of days', he told me as he lay down on the floor, 'you have to do a yajna'.

Next morning, he made me take bath and took me out into the yard.

'Stand here on one leg, bending the other to come over the knee of the erect leg. As I perform yajna, you have to stand thus still. Can you do that?'

'I shall', I replied with confidence. The sun was coming up gathering warmth.

I stood on one leg as he went on chanting mantras for nearly three hours and a half in the hot sun. How could I stand on one leg so long? Had he done anything for that?

At the end of it, he came to me and said 'it is over. Let us go'. But I was so benumbed that I felt as if I was placed in a straight jacket. He saw my plight and waved his hand. I was set free and became normal.

'Open your mouth', he asked me.

I opened; he caught hold of my tongue and pulled it out. Then he drew, with a sharp instrument, some lines on my tongue. Was he, by some tantra, initiating me into khechari-vidya? I had no idea. I did not know what he wrote on my tongue. He let go it.

'It is over now', he said, 'chant!'

I began chanting Veda-mantras like a tape recorder just switched on. I could feel the command of comprehension of Veda-mantras, and several other mantras of various types.

'Well!' He said with obvious satisfaction, 'what is your programme?'

'I am hungry', I told him frankly.

'What do you want to eat?'

'Pesarattu and upma?'

'What on earth is that?' he wondered.

I tried to explain to him what it is, but in vain.

He contemplated for a while and struck on the altar. Hot pesarattu with upma was there.

I began to munch with relish.

'How does it taste?' he asked. He neither heard of it nor tasted it till then.

'Oh! Excellent!' I replied.

After I finished my food, he said, 'Kanchi people are doing a yajna in Kasi. Go there'.

With the power invested by him, I returned safely to Ujjain in no time. A car was waiting for me there. Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham sent it from Kasi. I went to Varanasi.

'How blessed you are to have darshan of Goddess Kali', Paramacharya said to me, 'I await such grace still'.

He bade me to perform the yajna. I did accordingly.

'You are purified now', Paramacharya told me, 'you can return to your place'.

I returned to my house. On the 12 day of the full moon fortnight in the month of Karthika in 1974, Goddess Durga appeared in our house riding a tiger.

I was reminded of what Kankaleswara had told me earlier.

'Do you know why Goddess Durga appears to you riding a tiger instead of her vehicle lion?' he asked me and, without pausing for my reply, he answered his question himself, 'lions kill their prey only when they are hungry and need a feed. But tiger kills indiscriminately. These are the days when people are indiscriminately violent. You have to pay them in their own coin'.

Goddess Durga left her left footprint in 1974 in my house. 'This is indelible. It will be here for all to worship and get deliverance'.

'I will make you nameless from now lest any wicked tantric should do any abhichara prayoga against you out of hatred or jealousy. Your pravara shall be henceforth thus; 'Brahma, Vishnu, Parama Sivasya Thraya Risheya, Parama Sivasya Gotrasya, Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri Vyaghra Vahini Sri Vijaya Durga Anamadheya Kinkara' She blessed me with Sankhu and Chakra in my palms and feet, and with Srichakra-meru also in my feet.

She then struck me with her club on my ankle. 'That's the place where I shall reside', Goddess told me, 'I fulfil the wishes of all those that pray, touching that place on your ankle'.

Usually, the god-man who heals people or solves their problems has to take over their prarabdha also. But as the Goddess herself is fulfilling the wishes of the devotees, she has absolved me of the burden of the prarabdha of devotees.

I am no longer my original self with a name or family. I am her un-named servant (anamadheya kinkara). So I have severed my links with my family though I am among them outwardly.

His Holiness Sri Abhinava Vidya Thirtha Swami, Head of Sringeri Peetham came to my house in Vedaurupaka and installed Sri Vijaya Durga Peetham there. Daily homas, archanas and recitation of Veda-mantras are conducted in the Peetham un-interrupted. So also is the conduct of Narayana-seva. The Peetham has the unique distinction of performing Devi Nava Rathris at one place for 33 years without break, in my presence.

I came to Prasanthi Nilayam on February 25 for Darshan of Bhagavan, inspired by a common devotee of Bhagavan and mine. After His Darshan, it occurred to me that we should all pray for the day when He walks along normally in good health to the delight of all. For my part, I have decided to conduct Ayush Homa for 40 days from Friday (March 04, 2005) at Vedurupaka for complete health and longevity of Bhagavan.

I don't perform yajnas usually myself. My disciples do it. But, I will do this yajna personally myself to propitiate Mother Goddess for this Selfless, Divine Personality radiating all around Him love, compassion and aura.'

-- His Holiness Vedurupaka God .

(As narrated to Mr. B. Parvatala Rao at Prasanthi Nilayam on 27.02.2005.)