SWAMI SRI VEERABRAHMENDRA

A Monograph on Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra Swamy

The Hindu was unhappy. The outcast was not glad. The untouchable was not safe. The common man who comprises all, was a regular sufferer. He was physically and mentally upset. Poverty added insult to injury. The principles of proletariat were at stake. They were all wounded soldiers in the struggle for existence. The physical and mental wounds did not heal up with the normal treatment givenby the socalled social physicians. The situation demanded a surgeon - not an ordinary surgeon -but a spiritual surgeon, whose surgical instruments should be but simple soothing words which should invaria¬bly transform into deeds. In other words he must be a practical philosopher. His practice should never deviate from his precepts. In his view, the Brahmin and Panchama must be one and the same, the Hindu and the Muslim should be similar to each other. He must be above caste and creed. For him, the entire human race should be one. Such spiritual leaders were very much needed in Rayalaseema during the disastrous conditions of the seventeenth century

To cater to the needs of the mankind, Rayalaseema produced two such spiritual leaders. One was Veerabrahmam and the other was Vemana, They were men who properly understood the basic needs of man. From their point of view, the basic needs of man were not mere food and shelter. Even animals do need them. But the human being needs much more i.e., the social and spiritual enlightenment - particularly in times of such a political and social crisis as the Telugu country was confronted with, during the seventeenth century.

Even in the other parts of India, people were not happy during this century. In Maharastra, Shivaji had to face a similar situation. He was quite aware of the fact that the political victory could only be a means but not the end in itself. Eternal peace could be established only through spiritual achievement. His spiritual Gurus, Samartha Ramadasa Swamy and Tuka Brahmananda Swamy came to his rescue by their timely teachings.

It is in this century the altruistic saint-poet Kabir had initiated Kancharle Gopanna (Popularly known as Ramadas of Bhadradri) whose devotional songs and poems consoled the afflicted souls of the Telugu country.