Draft:Sri Sivan SAR

Sadashivam was born on the auspicious evening of October 3, 1904, at 10:20 PM in the village of Echangudi on the banks of River Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, India. According to Hindu almanac it was Pushya nakshatra, 18th day of Tamil Purattasi month, Shukla paksha Navami of Tamil Krodhi year. He was the fifth child of the devout couple Brahmasri Subrahmanyam Shastri and Madhuri Mahalakshmi Ammal.^[2]

His father Brahmasri Subrahmanyam Shastri, was a Rig Vedi of Haritha gotra from Aasvalayana sutra and a Hoysala Kannada Brahmin working as an officer in the Education Department. Young Sadashivam, affectionately called 'Saachu' by his family displayed spiritual inclinations even in childhood. When Saachu was two and half years old, his elder brother, Swaminathan, the 2nd second son of the same couple, ascended as the 68th peetadhipathi of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam with the sannyasa name "Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi" at the young age of thirteen. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi is reverentially referred as "Sri Maha Periyava and many consider him to be "Nadamaadum Deivam" (Walking God). However, Sri Maha Periyava has referred to his purvashrama younger brother Saachu as, "Nadamaadaadha Deivam" (The Non-walking God).

At an assembly of vedic pandits at Kumbakonam Sri madam, when Sri Maha Periyava initiated a philosophical discussion, "What is this 'I'? Whom am 'I'?" Saachu, who was not more than ten year old at that time, stood up and questioned, "Which 'I'? The 'I' that is the body, or the one within?" To the Vedic scholars who were startled at the philosophical depth of the young child, Sri Maha Periyava remarked, "My brother Saachu is a Mahaan by birth".^[3]

Saachu completed his schooling upto 11th standard at Town High School in Kumbakonam and later joined the School for Arts and Crafts on Ayyan street. He was endowed with exceptional skill in photography and painting which led him to establish 'Sivan Arts and Photo Studio' in Kumbakonam. He has captured multiple rare photographs of Sri Maha Periyava including the one where Sri Maha Periyava is seen sitting along with a hundred vedic scholars facing the Kaveri River and Saachu took the photograph braving the Kaveri current with his tripod.

Despite being successful photographer, Sadashivam was unattached to worldly achievements and after a brief marriage he was drawn into complete renunciation. So, in his early years he walked out of his photo studio leaving it open with equipments worth thousands of rupees. When someone came running with key after locking the studio, Sadashivam remarked with profound detachment, "When elephant isn't mine, what use is the goad?"^[4]

As a Thannaiyum Thurandha Thuravi, Sri Sivan SAR never owned any property or ashram, ate food like a medicine, never drank plain water and was completely oblivious to any worldly comforts. He always appeared in a lean frame, wearing a simple knee-length ochre dhoti with an upper towel and adorned a sacred thread, indicating no formal sannyasa. When asked about his insistence to not drink water, he said, "I didn't give it up, It gave me up". He has been seen wearing a sweater in the hot and humid peak summer of Chennai, Tamil Nadu nearing 40 degree centigrade - but he never had perspiration.

When a devotee asked about origin of the name 'SAR', he explained: "I am neither an orthodox Vedic scholar, nor a materialist and I cannot be called a Shastri as well. Hence out of necessity, my high class devotees started calling my SAR (Tamil pronunciation of English word Sir). And so the name 'SAR'". At a later time, he once quipped, "In future, SAR will refer only to Sivan SAR."

Sri Sivan SAR experienced the entire universe as Maya, nothing was a miracle for him. Once a young veda patashala student cajoled SAR to have bath, as a bet with other students. Finally Sivan SAR agreed on the condition that he will take bath provided his instructions were followed. He asked the children to bring chilli powder and boiling water hot enough to cook rice. The children, too young to know what was about to happen, brought the requested items. Sivan SAR emptied the chilli powder on his head and asked the children to pour boiling hot water on his head. The children apologised profusely for their insistence. But Sivan SAR insisted sternly, "As I am fulfilling your request, you should obey my instructions". The children unable to refuse Sivan SAR, were in tears as they poured the boiling water. But Sivan SAR's body received it like flower receiving the rain!

On January 8, 1994, he proclaimed, "The world will lose a Mahapurusha" to two different people at the same time in the afternoon namely at the home of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam and to Sri Sundarakumar at the residence of 'Nalli' Sri Kuppuswami Chettiar. Precisely at 2:58 PM that day, his elder brother, the Sri Maha Periyava attained Mahasamadhi, and in much later years when the devotees exchanged the news of Sivan SAR being at their place when the event occurred it was understood that in fact Sivan SAR was at two houses at the same time.^[5]

Initially although Sivan SAR stayed at Kumbakonam, he later moved to Thiruvenkadu near Paramasivendra adhistanam. Around 1970's-80's he came to Chennai. Even when he was in Chennai he often visited Thiruvenkadu by train. Over the decades when he stayed in Thiruvenkadu he wrote into twenty plus diaries covering profound spiritual wisdom along with many other topics like education, astronomy, astrology, history, archaeology etc. all in the light of spiritual wisdom. These original manuscripts contain epitome of spiritual knowledge, essence of Vedantic philosophy, practical dicta for everyday life , all written in a clear understandable language that is easy even for a commoner to grasp.

In 1986, his spiritual writings from 20+ diaries were distilled by Sri SAR himself and were published as a Tamil book Yeni Padigalil Maandhargal (Gradations in Human Levels). The book is a unique contribution to humanity and provides a practical framework for self-assessment for a Sadhaka in his spiritual journey. Sivan SAR has proclaimed that his writings were divinely inspired, stating, "I just held the pen; Bhagavan told me all this."

The eleven levels described in the work are:^[6]

Two years later, on March 7, 1996 (the year Yuva, Phalguna Krishna-paksha Dvithiyai), Sri Sivan SAR attained Mahasamadhi. On the previous day, a devotee named Kannan had a vivid dream of Sri Maha Periyava ordering Sri SAR to "leave."

Following Vedic traditions, the cremation was performed at Kannammapettai Crematorium. Two months before his passing, Sri Sivan SAR had arranged for a cheque of 43,324/- rupees to be paid to 'Nalli' Sri Kuppuswami Chettiar. Chettiyar's accountant had a separate account for Sivan SAR in which he added all of Sivan SAR' expense along with the expenditure incurred for his final rites. About a month after Mahasamdhi, a devotee handed the cheque to Chettiar who asked his accountant where to add this new amount. The accountant informed he was maintaining a separate account for the expenses of Sivan SAR. When they totalled the expenses, they found the figure to be exactly 43,324/- rupees - the same amount Sivan SAR had given a cheque two months ago.^[4]

For two decades after his Mahasamadhi, an apartment in Kandanchavadi known as Siva Saagaram run by Siva Saagaram Trust served as the gathering point for his devotees in Chennai. On February 2, 2025, a dedicated temple called "Sri Sivan SAR Yoga Sabhai" was consecrated in Nanganallur, Chennai by the trust.^[7] The Governor of Tamil Nadu had visited the Yoga Sabhai for its first Navarathri celebration^[8]. The temple features a unique idol of Sri Sivan SAR in his characteristic folded-legs posture made of Banalingam from River Narmada, first of its kind.^[9]

Sri Sivan SAR Samasthanam: A temple is currently under development near the Sri Paramasivendra Adhistanam in Thiruvenkadu.^[10]