SWAMI SRI VEERABRAHMENDRA

A Monograph on Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra Swamy

After agreeing to do this work on the Swami, I then realized how tough a job it would be.

If this book were to be successfully completed this would be the first of its kind in English on the Swami of course, Sri Veerabrahmendra Mission of Anandasramam of Cuddapah District has published a number of pamphlets and folders in English on the Swami. Quite a good number of books on the Swami are, no doubt, available in Telugu, but most of them are either fantastic myths or fanciful poetry. It is quite natural that a common man who rises to the stature of a great Saint by his self-realization is sure to become, in no time, a legendary figure or at least a hero of descriptive poetry. Did it not happen in the case of Mahatma Gandhi? It happened so in the case of Brahmam also. No doubt they reveal the basic truth about the Swami, but covered with a mask of devotional ecastacy and poetic exaggeration.

I found it very difficult to collect basic material for writing this book. I was constrained to pave my way through the labyrinth of legends. A few learned scholars, like Dr. K. V. Raghavacharya, K. Lakshminarayana and M. Kodandarama Reddi have done some time ago, an extensive research work on the life of the Swami and published books and articles. In recent times, Dr. K. Rajamallachari, Dr. N. Gopi and Dr. E. Vedavyas have furnished further information. A good deal of the biographical details arranged in chronological order has yet to be provided. A thorough probe into the details still remains an everlasting research project,

Now the crux of the problem is non-availability of most of the Swami’s sayings and writings. Except a few of his mystic folk songs and maxims of Kaalajnaana, none of his teachings were, properly recorded. Since most of his teachings were intended to enlighten the common man, mostly in the oral tradition, they gained publicity among common men as mystic folklore and finally disappeared into thin air. Fortunately some are still sung by a few mendicants and “bairagees” most melodiously conveying the message of Swami. By recording their sweet voices too, I could collect some of the basic material for this book.

Here a word is to be added about the writings of Veerabrahmam in contrast with that of Vemana the well known saint poet roughly of the same period. While Brahmam wrote in pure spoken Telugu, Vemana wrote in conventional poetry observing the norms of native metre-namely the ‘Ataveladi’. This is one of the reasons for Vemana’s poems being preserved by the traditional scholars, thanks to the untiring efforts of the great foreign lovers of Telugu literature like C.P. Brown and a few others. From a literary point of view, the pure logic, the subtle wit and humour in the native tongue with which Vemana attacked the social and re¬ligious hypocrites attracted many western minds, They wrote a number of articles on Vemana. “My Discovery of Vemana’’ by CP. Brown, “Vemana : A Rebel poet’’ by Major R.M. Mac Donald, “Popular Poet” by C. V. Gover, “Far in Advance of His Age” by Henry Bowers, The One Great Poet of the People” by W. H. Campbell. “Teacher and a Preacher” by L.D. Baranett vouchsafe the fact that Vemana very much lured the western mind. These articles have carefully been edited and introduced to the public by V.R. Narla, the vetaran Journalist and litterateur.