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It’s all in your mind

If you had any doubt that youngsters were getting 'spiritual', all you have to do is silently tip-toe into the house of K N Chary and just merge with one of the walls and look and listen.

The youngsters keep trooping in and out to do meditation, to discuss their exam prospects, to exult over a 'vision' they had, or merely to find a way to have a happy ending to their love affair.

"My house is open to everyone. We have an open mind," smiles Chary with impishness as people sit around discussing their intimate problems and solutions.

The colonial house, inherited from his father Krishnama Chary, a businessman, is in itself a legacy to be proud of. It was bought from Sir C V Raman in 1967 and is situated on Lloyds Road. The porch, verandah, wooden doors with louvres, high ceiling and a huge old picture of K N Chary's parents transport one to another world.

But Chary also has other methods to accomplish this: transport one to another world. This is through the art of 'meditation'.

It is hard to believe that this man, in dhoti and shirt, with a top knot and salt and pepper beard, with rows of malas and rudraksha around his neck and rings with different gems on every finger, was once a jet-setting executive of a corporate firm.

He explains that he was spiritually inclined from his school days in Sri Ramakrishna Mission Boys High School in T Nagar. "We had to recite the Samkshepa Ramayana (abridged version of the epic) everyday and this led me to spirituality."

At the age of 16 he took diksha in Kundalini Yoga from his guru Vedathiri, who "spread Kundalini Yoga in an unprecedented way in Tamil Nadu and south India". Vedathiri’s 'Vazhga Valamudan' mantra has been inscribed in many hearts in India and abroad.

Chary began training under Vedathiri when he was teaching in Vyasa Rao Street, T Nagar. He also acknowledges the contribution of C K Sivaramakrishnan (a colleague of Vedathiri) in his spiritual growth.

What is even more interesting is that Chary got interested in astrology even before this and picked up the science from his father's accountant Subramanian. He can read palms, give advice on gems, numerology and help out in Vaastu matters - all self-taught.

"It was providence that made me decide that I must devote my life to yoga and meditation and I gave up my corporate life just like that on June 22, 1988."

So you think he just gave up one lucrative career for another? You could not be more wrong.

Yes, he does put his knowledge of various subjects to good use. You could take your horoscope to him and ask him about anything related to your life. He would do it for FREE. But he would fix you with those piercing, powerful, unwavering eyes and put a special price on it.

You have to meditate - oh and it sounds so sweet when he uses the Tamizh word for it, "Thavam Seyyanum". That is the price he puts on any advice he doles out and it is a price most people consider a blessing and are willing to pay.

Depending upon the spiritual capability, he decides on whether to train them himself or send them to centres opened by his gurus. Assessing their "psychic capabilities, I give them extra training and then they undergo transforming experiences", says Chary. The youngsters sitting around concur.

One of the young meditators, Arjun, has a sister, Durga, who is doing her plus-two. She had a backward slant while writing. "But six months ago, under the power of her own meditation, she was able to change her handwriting to forward slant in three days' time," exults Chary.

Okay. Fine, Mr Chary. What is in it for you? You refuse a fee, you do not even advertise your existence...what gives?

"I am doing this for the sake of universal law:

• Universal law of accountability

• Universal law of retribution

• Universal law of averages

"All these laws work in our lives. But there are pariharas to set things right," he explains.

Token payment to evade punishment? "No. Parihara is not token payment. If the parihara is done in full conformity with what is prescribed in the scriptures, it is a full and final settlement."

His eldest son, Srikanth, who is a Sanskrit scholar at the tender age of 18, helps him find the relevant parihara. (His other son, Sainath, is studying Vedas at the Gurukulam of V G Subrahmanya Ghanapaati in Chennai).

Another interesting aspect of Chary’s life is that he observes silence (mouna viratham) every Sunday (what with all the interaction right through the week with scores and people, his throat and mind definitely need a break!). He also observes silence during Vasantha Navarathri, Navarathri and Mahalya Paksham.

"This period of silence, which I began practising in 1989, helps me get life in the right perspective and boosts my psychic power. I do not distant healing with this psychic power but I do not practise Reiki," he says. He attributes these spells of silence to his father-in-law who was a disciplinarian.

To all those who come to him, his first solution is, "Thavam Pannu." This great guru of Kundalini Yoga believes it is meditation that can solve everyday problems and lift human beings to a higher level of consciousness. His whole life is dedicated to it and revolves around it. And this, in turn, makes the lives of several human beings, most of them youngsters, revolve around him.

Surely, the incongruous board hung at the entrance to the main hall of his house, which says, 'Mounam Kakkavum', (please observe silence) is not hanging there as an ornamental piece. Shhh...

S Chitra