Driven by the Divine: A Seven-Year Journey with Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya

By Chris Jackson and Frances Kozlowski

In Driven by the Divine you will

Meet Guru-preceptor and mystic, Shivalinga Swamy

Witness miraculous healings, miracles and interventions

Discover the world of Jyotish and Vedic Astrology

Learn about the planetary deities/Navagrahas

Step into the world of supernatural powers and siddhis

Journey to Arunachala, Lord Shiva's mountain in the South

Climb Mount Sabarimala and learn about Lord Ayyappan/Dharma Shasta

Learn Shivalinga Swamy's recipe for Happy Tea

Dance with Vinnuacharya at a Coorgi wedding in Mysore

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Aug 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781452578934

Chris Jackson

Chris Jackson is a writer, beer lover, sports fanatic and metalhead living in his hometown of Albuquerque. He has worked as a freelance writer for the Albuquerque Journal, the Sports Xchange, MiLB.com, Lindy's Magazine and more. Jackson is one of the founders of the NM Dark Side Brew Crew, an online community of beer-loving writers chronicling the explosive growth of the breweries in Albuquerque and the surrounding area.

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Gurus and Their Shishyas

Two Saints from Shishunala

Shivalinga Swamy and the Number Three

Kissed by a Cow in Banavasi

The Bird Who Hitched a Ride

Vinnuacharya’s Divine Experience at Arunachala

Sayings and Quotations From Shivalinga Swamy

2 Vinnuacharya

I Know You—You Are a True Friend

Two Teachers, One Intervention

No Place to Run and No Place to Hide

The Beat Goes On

Better Than All the Doctors in the World

The Wisdom of Vinnuacharya

3 Gifts Great and Small

How Did You Like Shiva Today, Frances?

The Toy Violin

May This Soul Receive ______

OM, Niagara Falls and the KRS Dam

I Will Send You Vinay

Dhana Lakshmi and Daughter Katie

A Bottle of Milk for Gaja, and Some Happy Tea for Me

4 Siddhis and Supernatural Powers

Are You Thinking About Your Husband?

Don’t Use That Door

Guruji Gives Me Sai Baba’s Amrita

Rashmi’s Misadventure in Hosur

A Carefully Orchestrated Series of Gifts

Who Gave You That Bracelet?

The Turquoise Ring

5 Healings

A Divine Intervention for Raju

Solving Family Problems

Shivalinga Swamy Heals My Foot

Guruji Takes the Sting

Guruji Will Pull the Tooth

6 Chris’s Stories

No More Sadness

Guruji Gets Me a Job

My Shaktipat Experience

I Experience the Light of Ayyappan

An Intervention for Mantra

Guruji Takes the Fire

A Car Crash Intervention

7 A Gift of Incomparable Magnitude

The Story of Lord Ayyappan, Dharma Shasta

Shivalinga Swamy’s First Pilgrimage to Sabarimala

The Knower of Brahman Becomes Brahman

108 Names of Lord Ayyappan

Soaked in Love Are the Eyes of Ayyappan

A God Who Holds His Devotees

Riding on a Tiger with Ayyappa

8 My Discovery of the Planetary Deities

Astrology, Amulets and Gemstones

Navagraha Pujas

Surya – God Incarnate in Solar Form

Surya—Teacher of Gratitude

Chandra – God in Lunar Form

The White Light Eyes of Chandra

Golden Gleaming Drop up in the Sky

Guru Brihaspati – Kind-Hearted,

Merciful, Learned and Wise

Budha/Mercury – A God Whose Face is Kind

Venus/Shukracharya – Lord Shiva’s Son

Lord Saturn – Shaneeshwara Bhagavan

Rahu – Maker of Eclipses

Ketu and the Golden-Eyed Dog

9 108 Names of Shivalinga Swamy

Glossary of Terms

For my teachers, Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya

Acknowledgments

Stephen Kozlowski, whose financial support made this book possible.

Erika Jackson, who patiently proofread and edited each story, revision after revision, typeset the book and designed its cover.

Ramachandra Bellur, who proofread the book and translated it into Kannada.

Rashmi Swamy, who told me the story of her misadventure in Hosur, and supplied me with correct names and spellings of towns and temples in South India.

Virginia Williams, Harvey M. Haeberle and John Otis Minor, who enthusiastically offered me their advice and support as each story was born.

Introduction

Guru-Bhakti Yoga is the best known form of the Guru-Shishya (disciple/student) relationship, and it is the type that I experienced with Shiva-linga Swami and Vinnuacharya for about seven years (2003-2010). Vinnuacharya, Shivalinga Swamy’s most trusted student, taught me in America, while Shivalinga Swamy taught me in India. My relationship with Guruji did not end when he left his body. He continued to teach me and heal me through dreams and pujas. Most of his visits occurred on Thursdays - Guru’s day. Vinnuacharya also kept in touch with me. The stories in this collection came about because of Shivalinga Swamy’s continuing contact. He actually wrote the stories while I observed and participated in the process.

Shivalinga Swamy once told me, There are many boats on the water, meaning that he had many students at different points in their sadhana, all sailing on the ocean of their own personal samsara to the shore of eternal wisdom and bliss - moksha. For me, he designed a speedboat, then he let me ride the waves. I covered a lot of distance in a short amount of time, and it was quite a ride.

My seven-year spiritual journey took me from Southern Michigan

(Kalamazoo) to Southern India (Bangalore). As I wrote about the events that took place during those years I noticed that there was a common thread that united them all. Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya were always trying to take me out of the limiting world of exclusion (the I) into the expansive world of inclusion (the We). My co-author, Chris, a fellow student from Michigan, submitted eight stories. His experiences are found in Chapter 6. Shivalinga Swamy performed several healings and interventions for him and his family.

Chapter 1 contains information concerning Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya’s previous births, plus some astrological data about Shiva-linga Swamy. The Bird Who Hitched a Ride is an especially sweet story about a pigeon who came to visit Guruji for the day. How Lord Shiva revealed himself to Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya at Arunachala (Shiva’s mountain in South India), is an amazing account. The chapter ends with some of Shivalinga Swamy’s sayings.

Chapter 2 is about my experiences with Vinnuacharya. It concludes with some of his sayings and quotations. I received many gifts from my two teachers. They are explained in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 is about siddhis and supernatural powers. Chapter 5 is about healings. Chapter 6 contains stories by Chris about his spiritual experiences. Chapter 7 is about Shiva-linga Swamy’s relationship with Lord Ayyappan/Dharma Shasta of Sabarimala. Chapter 8 tells how Shivalinga Swamy taught me to worship the Navagrahas—God in planetary form. The final chapter contains Shivalinga Swamy’s 108 Names and Vinnuacharya’s 108 Names, along with several poems. The stories are both spiritual and astrological. There are also several poems honoring the planetary deities.

Overall, this collection can be viewed as both a memoir and a biography. Had I known Shivalinga Swamy for more than seven years, the stories would have become more biographical. Guruji showed me how to write each story - what facts to include and what details to omit. He knew how he wanted each one presented. Fortunately, I had never deleted any of my old emails to my family back in Michigan, so I could reread them and recall specific names, places and events.

Shivalinga Swamy once asked me, Can you write, Frances? I replied, I’m no Ernest Hemingway, Guruji, but I know my way around a story. He left it at that. I realize now that he planted the seed for this book on that day. He knew that, in time, a plant would grow and fruit (the stories) would appear. By way of a dream, he and Vinnuacharya also gave me the book’s title, Driven by the Divine. It occurred after Shivalinga Swamy’s passing.

In the dream, I was seated in the back seat of a car with Guruji. The steering wheel of the vehicle was on the right-hand side, so I knew we were in India. There was no driver at the wheel, but we were traveling safely and smoothly down a two-lane road. There were no other vehicles and no obstacles in our path, only trees on either side, and a blazing sun up ahead. I wrote to Vinnuacharya and told him about the dream. He wrote back and told me, You are being driven by the Divine, Frances. I understood completely, and I also knew at once that he had given me the title for the book. The dream also served as a reassurance to me, for I knew that I was still safely on my spiritual journey even though Guruji was no longer in a physical form.

I am grateful to Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya for teaching me all that they could during the seven years that I traveled with them. And I humbly ask Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles and divine patron of scribes and writers, to bless this collection of stories and to bestow his blessings on each person who reads them.

Om Gam Ganapatiye Namah

Om Namah Shivaya

1

Gurus and Their Shishyas

"God won’t ask you what you have learned;

he will ask you what you have done."

– Shivalinga Swamy

Two Saints from Shishunala

In 2004, Vinnuacharya moved out of his apartment near WMU and into my house on South Park Street. But before the move I would do pujas and meditate with him at his place. The altar at his apartment was so beautiful. In addition to his idols/murthis, which had all been blessed by Shivalinga Swamy, he had several pictures of Lord Shiva and his family and one of Shirdi Sai Baba. But there was one photo that I did not recognize. It was a picture of two men seated in front of a large banyan tree. Vinnubaba explained to me that they were 19th century saints named Guru Govinda Bhatta and Sharif Shiva Yogi. Guru Govind and Sharifbaba were well-known in South India. They had lived in the village of Shishunala, which is in Uttara Karnataka in the district of Haveri. And because Sharif’s native place was Shishunala he came to be known as Shishunala Sharif. There are many stories that tell of the miracles performed by the famous Guru Govind and his equally famous shishya, Sharif Shiva Yogi. The following one was told to me by Vinnubaba and Rashmi, Shivalinga Swamy’s wife. Later, I saw this miracle depicted in three murals painted on the walls of the temple at Shishunala.

Years ago in rural India, people had little need for exact time, clocks or calendars. When the sun came up in the morning it was around six o’clock, when it was directly overhead it was noon, and when the cows came back home it was about six in the evening. People calculated the days each month by keeping in mind the full moon (pournima) and the new moon (amavasya). On these two dates women cleaned their houses and made rangoli designs at the entrances of their homes. Pujas were performed, and ancestors were honored on amavasya. Therefore, it was important for the villagers to know when it was full moon and new moon, because it had religious significance for them.

One day an old woman went to Shishunala Sharif and asked him if it was pournima or amavasya. It was almost evening and there was some confusion about it. Before Sharif could answer, Guru Govind, in a distracted manner, answered for him, saying that it was full moon. But it really wasn’t. It was new moon, amavasya. Therefore, except for the stars and planets, the sky would remain cloaked in darkness. As the evening progressed, the villagers kept watching and waiting for the full moon to appear. Then Guru Govind, realizing his error, performed a miracle so that all the villagers would see the full moon rising in the sky. He turned the darkness into light.

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Guru Govind and Sharif Shivayogi

Shishunala Sharif was a great philosopher and social reformer. His teachings are often compared to those of Kabir Das in Northern India. He is especially famous for his moral poems (tatvapada) which he would create spontaneously whenever a teachable moment would arise. He then turned the poems into songs, and in this way he spread his message. Films have been made about Shishunala Sharif and his teacher, Guru Govind, and there are many recordings of Sharif’s songs. He was 70 years old when he left his body in 1889, and was greatly loved by both Muslims and Hindus.¹

Vinnuacharya was very casual about the fact that he had been Sharifbaba in a previous birth, and that Shivalinga Swamy had been Guru Govind. He just knew it and accepted it. Vinnubaba was not concerned with impressing people with anything he did. He and Guruji had had so many incarnations together, and in each one he was famous. It happened over and over, and it was nothing new to him. He had no particular interest or desire to have people notice him. Name, fame and worldly acquisitions were of little interest because they all paled in comparison to the bliss of divine communion with his beloved Lord Shiva. He also once told me that he (Sharif/Vinnubaba) had not written any of the songs, that Guru Govind/Shivalinga Swamy had written them all through him. I certainly understood and identified with that statement.

Vinnubaba played out whatever roles were assigned to him in the divine play. I found it amusing that he was playing the part of a student at Western Michigan University at the same time that he was also cast in the role of a spiritual teacher for Chris and me. In each birth, certain students would come back to Shivalinga Swamy and Vinnuacharya. And since the law of attraction was always operating, students just kept returning, and they just kept teaching. It was their contract with the Divine.

In spring of 2004, Vinnuacharya went back to Bangalore for awhile. In May I received an email from him describing events that had occurred while he and Guruji had been in Shishunala visiting the home and temple of Guru Govind and Sharif Shiva Yogi. Below are excerpts from that letter. Note: samadhi, meaning samadhi mandir, refers to a temple or mausoleum built in honor of a saint or guru, a fakir /fah-KEER/ is a Muslim holy man or wandering ascetic, and mukti means liberation or enlightenment.

May 12, 2004

Om Nama Shivaya SLS [the initials stand for Shivalinga Swamy]

Dear Mother,

I recently went on a trip with Guruji. It was wonderful. We went to the samadhi of the two saints that I told you about—the picture on the altar of the guru and student sitting together. It was a mystical experience. Two of Guruji’s most trusted shishyas came along, plus another assistant. We spent the night there and slept on the road. We were all so high and joyful.

Guruji gave mukti to two of the fakirs there. They had much karma left in them and they had to be forgiven by Guruji. They instantly recognized who Guruji and this soul were. They sang for their forgiveness, about some previous life karma which they had done. They wanted to go home, and Guruji said that he would take them home.

They realized that the two saints, Guru Govind and his student, Sharif Shiva Yogi were sitting in front of them. They told me of the big test that I would face in this lifetime. If I can overcome it by not falling into the trap I will fulfill my mission. I was humbled because they touched my feet and told me about the powers that Shiva will give to me for his mission. It was a very special time because Guruji took out a lot of karma from all of us and took it onto himself. His body has weakened some, though, because he has taken on so much karma from so many of his devotees.

You should have seen Guruji. He was in divine bliss, laughing throughout the night. I have never seen such pure and divine laughter. His eyes were shining with power and he was immersed in the ultimate bliss.

I tire of typing now. I will write more soon.

Om Nama Shivaya SLS

Swami Sharanu

Hari Om

The next year I went to Bangalore for six months to be with Shiva-linga Swamy. It was my first meeting with him. While I was there he made another pilgrimage to Shishunala, and this time I got to go with him. Vinnubaba and two other students went with us. Bangalore and Shishunala are both in the state of Karnataka, but it still took hours to drive there. When we arrived in early evening Guruji and Vinnubaba took me to the temple first. There I saw the story of the moon miracle painted on the walls. Then Guruji directed us to another large building. I could not tell what its function was, but it appeared old.

We stepped inside the entrance area and I immediately noticed the floor. Shivalinga Swamy stood beside me and asked, How do you like the floor, Frances? In great surprise I replied, I know this floor, Guruji, I know this floor! He laughed a little. I continued, I used to clean this floor. I remember. I used to work here.

The floor was made of approximately 12-inch square tiles of dark gray marble. It was in great condition, as though it was brand new. Naturally it would be though. After all, this was marble. It doesn’t last for years, it lasts for thousands of years. My mind, hands and arms felt the drippy torn cloth that I had used to make big sweeping motions over the smooth marble surface. My legs and back felt the cold hard floor as I stooped to clean an area, repositioning myself again and again until the whole floor was clean once more. How many times had I washed this floor? Hundreds, no doubt. I laughed. It had been so many years ago, but I had relived it all in just a moment. Then I looked into the room on my right. It was quite large. In fact, I believe it is the largest kitchen I have ever seen. I remembered the kitchen, too. I had prepared food there—a lot of food—a lot of food for a lot of people!

Next we walked past the kitchen into a long hall. Several men were seated on the floor eating mounds of rice and sambhar off of banana leaves. Servants refilled their glasses with water from time to time and offered them more helpings of the rice and soup, plus fresh chappati, curd and mango pickle. It smelled delicious. Guruji sat down indicating that we, too, would have our evening meal there. Servants brought us clean banana leaves, then came around to each of us individually and spooned food onto our leafy green plates. We were all so hungry. Silently we ate our food, remembering that it was blessed by Shiva, and that it was a gift from him.

After dinner we joined a group of about a hundred people who were singing devotional songs in the compound built around the enormous tree. I sat down and listened. I couldn’t sing any of them because they were all in Kannada, but I knew that they were Sharif’s songs. I had heard two of them on a CD that Vinnuacharya had played for me once in Michigan. Some of Sharif’s songs were about his great love for Guru Govind. The impact of this perfectly orchestrated conjunction of people in time and space was powerful, indeed. Shishunala Sharif, the author/composer of the very songs that I was listening to was sitting right beside me, and Guru Govind, the subject of the songs, was sitting right next to him! It was all quite amazing. Vinnuacharya and Guruji knew that I grasped the significance of this unique meeting of events. Sitting there together we shared our common knowledge and appreciation of the moment. Naturally, all of this had been arranged by Guruji, and I recognized that it had his signature.

After listening to several songs, Shivalinga Swamiji got up and walked a short distance down a dirt road. We all followed him. Soon we came to a small hut made of large palm leaves held up by poles. The man who lived there invited us into his simple home. He recognized Guruji and Vinnuacharya and understood who they were, and it was obvious that he loved them both. He offered us some tea and other refreshments, and asked us to sit down. The man’s furniture consisted of two wooden benches and a small cot with a woolen blanket. It was just fine.

About half an hour went by as everyone laughed and talked. All the while in the distance I could hear musicians playing and singing back at the temple. I could tell they were singing Shiva songs, so I asked Guruji if I could join them. He smiled and said, Of course. You have plenty of time, though, Frances, because they are going to sing songs about Shiva for an entire week without stopping. What a wonderful devotional practice—a whole week of non-stop Shiva songs. I definitely wanted to sing with these other bhakti musicians, so I headed over to the temple.

Later I learned more about this ancient devotional practice. During the week preceding Shivaratri (usually in February or March) musicians and various kirtan groups take turns singing at Shiva temples. Instrumentalists and singers in a village or district organize their songs so that there is never a break in the music, day or night. One group arrives and sets up to sing for a few hours as another group is singing their final songs and preparing to leave. Devotees who come to the temple can sing Shiva songs day and night, no matter what time they arrive. It is like a steady flowing river of devotional praise and joy, and the spiritual energy generated by it is powerful indeed.

I didn’t have a very strong connection to my body as I walked slowly over to the temple. But since all I had to do was follow the sound of the music, it wasn’t too hard to find my way. When I got to the temple I found four musicians singing and playing their instruments: tablas (floor drums), a hand drum, finger cymbals and a harmonium (portable organ). Other devotees sat nearby and joined in or sat quietly meditating or practicing japa. I didn’t have an instrument with me, but that was not important. I knew the bhajan that they were singing, so I sat down near the harmonium player, clapped my hands (the ultimate percussion instrument) in time to the rhythm, and sang the words that I knew so well, Shiva Shiva Shiva Shambo Hara Mahadeva Shambo.

No one cared if I spoke Kannada or not. It didn’t matter. We all spoke Shiva’s universal language of love and bliss. So we all sang and sang and sang into the night. Then, understanding that I, too, was a musician devotee, the harmonium player pushed his instrument over to me and motioned for me to lead a bhajan. I sang/chanted the Mrityunjaya Mantra, which everyone knew, of course. I have no idea how long we repeated Shiva’s great mantra. I simply sang until I could sing no more. Then I pushed the harmonium back to its owner, and he began another song.

I had been at the temple for quite awhile. I remembered that I should probably return to Guruji and Vinnubaba. So I got up and began walking/floating back to the hut. My body had all but disappeared from so much concentrated Shiva energy. But in time I found my way back by walking slowly and carefully down the dark dusty road. When I returned, Guruji said that we would spend the night at a house on the other side of the compound. Thankfully, our belongings had already been taken to the house by someone, so we didn’t have to unload Guruji’s SUV. We all found places either in beds or on the floor. As I repeated my mantra and drifted off to sleep I could still hear the sweet sound of Shiva’s devotees singing to him at the temple, Om Nama Shivaya Shivoham.

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Shivalinga Swamy and Astrology

From time to time Shivalinga Swamy would show me the birth chart for a client, student or family member. I was certainly not in his league. He was an expert jyotishi. Politicians often consulted him about upcoming elections. I recall one politician who asked him to do a prediction/forecast chart for him. Guruji did the chart and told him that he would, indeed, win the election, but that he would later be forced out of office because of a scandal. This is exactly what happened. I was glad that I knew enough about western astrology that Guruji and I could at least discuss some elementary matters. Luckily, I had read Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India, by Hart deFouw and Robert Svoboda. The information in this book helped to bridge the gap somewhat. There still was, however, a really big gap.

I learned that in jyotish the twelve constellations or signs are called rashis: Mesha (Aries), Vrishabha (Taurus), Mithun (Gemini), Karka (Cancer), Simha (Leo), Kanya (Virgo), Tula (Libra), Vrishchik (Scorpio), Dhanus (Sagittarius), Makara (Capricorn), Kumbh (Aquarius) and Meen (Pisces). The twelve houses are named bhavas, and the ascendant is called the lagna. Also, in Indian astrology, the ascendant, the sign on the eastern horizon at the time of birth, is considered to have greater importance than the sun sign.

Vedic astrology also includes 27 lunar constellations called nakshastras, and many jyotishis regard the moon sign as more important than the sun sign or ascendant. Including information derived from the individual’s nakshastra makes a Vedic chart more precise and comprehensive than its Western counterpart.² Both systems can be compared to two submarines gathering data. The one that can dive to a depth of 1,000 feet can, no doubt, find out a great deal about ocean currents and sea life. But the submarine that can dive down farther, to perhaps 1,500 feet, is bound to discover a greater wealth of information. Vedic astrology, with its nakshastras and other unique differences, takes the Indian jyotishi down a little deeper in his analysis.

My occasional astrological discussions with Shivalinga Swamy were often based just as much on intuition as they were on information derived from tables, charts and websites. But this was not surprising. Guruji had given me Navagraha sadhana, spiritual practices involving the nine planetary deities. I was engaged in a daily ongoing ever-deepening relationship with God in the form of the planets, the sun and moon, and with Rahu and Ketu, the shadow planets that form eclipses. My relationship with the Navagrahas transcended information found in astrology books. This was how Shivalinga Swamy intended it, and it was one of his unique gifts to me.

Notes from Guruji’s Horoscope

One day while I was visiting him at his home, he showed me his own natal chart. I was surprised that he would share this information, but nevertheless, he did. It was hardly more than a quick glance, because he was primarily interested in showing me Skanda and Shasta’s charts. His twin sons had been born on the auspicious date of 2-27-2009 (2 + 9 and 2 + 9 = 11 + 11 = 22). The number 22 is considered to be a divine master number combining vision with action.³

I only retained three things from seeing Guruji’s chart—the date and place of birth, and the fact that he had a Leo ascendant. Then three years later while writing this book I remembered the day he had showed me his horoscope. I decided to see if I could reconstruct it from what I knew. It was a good thing that I had remembered the Leo ascendant, because otherwise I could not have done it. I didn’t have his birthtime. But I knew that the degree of his Leo ascendant (lagna) was in the teens, so that helped considerably.

As soon as I saw Guruji’s natal planets displayed in the twelve houses I knew that the chart was accurate, or at least very close to accurate. The position of his moon validated this for me immediately. It practically jumped off the page. One of his physical characteristics was an obvious confirmation. Shivalinga Swamy had a very full, round face, and Chandra (moon) was in the first house near his ascendant at the time of his birth. Therefore, it was a perfect match, for people born with round, moon-like faces often have moon conjunct ascendant in the first house. Guruji’s face also reminded me of one of Lord Ayyappan’s names—Baline /BAH-lee-nay/, meaning young one. Guruji had a childlike, round face like his beloved Dharma Shasta/Ayyappan. So I spent the rest of the day studying Shivalinga Swamy’s chart. Many times I laughed because I was reminded of things he had said or done, for they were so consistent with what I saw in his horoscope.

One remembrance was particularly amusing. I recalled traveling alone with Guruji one day in his SUV. As usual, he drove quickly and expertly through the streets, never missing an opening in the traffic or an opportunity to save some time. Speaking loudly in order to be heard over the road noise, I said jokingly to him, Guruji, I think you drive like Mario Andretti. You could have been a race car driver! He laughed and continued to navigate speedily through the traffic.

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Shivalinga Swamy celebrating Shasta and Skanda’s first birthday in February 2010. Also pictured are his two daughters, Gagana (left) and Lekhana (right).

Three years later when I saw where Mars (Mangala) was in his horoscope I realized why I had made that statement. Of course he drove like Mario Andretti. His Mars was in Aries! No wonder he always had so much energy, speed and courage. He fearlessly charged into everything with enthusiasm. Then just out of curiosity, I looked up Mario Andretti’s natal planets (his birthdate is online) and found out that he had Venus, Jupiter and Saturn all conjunct in Aries. Not surprisingly, such a fiery Arian conjunction would be consistent with a person who was fast and fearless, one who would be inclined to race through life. But, I thought to myself, Andretti had it easy. He just needed to drive his vehicle around a race track. Shivalinga Swamy’s circuit was far more demanding. He had to drive on the streets of Bangalore!

Actually, all of Guruji’s tasks were performed with ease and speed, regardless of what they were. It was not his nature to be slow about anything. This was true even when he performed religious rituals. Guruji’s pujas flowed like a river, always moving with strength, purpose and momentum. There were never stagnant pools of nonproductive time. Students who assisted him had to stay alert and aware at all times so that Guruji had what he needed when he needed it. He did not want the steady stream of his devotion to be broken.

Vinnuacharya was so expert at assisting him that observing them during a puja was like watching a dance team who had been performing together for years. Preparing for pujas was beautifully choreographed. Bathing the gods was beautifully choreographed. Decorating the gods was beautifully choreographed. Repeating the mantras was beautifully choreographed. It was all a grand devotional dance. And of course it would be, for the two of them were dancing with Shiva!

As I looked at Guruji’s horoscope and noticed all the planetary aspects that were consistent with his personality, I thought with amusement that I probably knew things about Shivalinga Swamy that his own mother never even knew. I also recalled, though, that Guruji had cautioned me about sharing birth data with others, because people may harm you if they know your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. There is no need to discuss every aspect of Shivalinga Swamy’s birth chart, for it is not the main focus of this book. It is only one of many parts. I believe that Guruji allowed me to see his horoscope that day because he knew that years later he would write these stories about himself through me, his student. It was very much like him to orchestrate things to happen at a future date. Therefore, I will share a little more astrological information about Guruji before leaving this subject. After all, he was a fine Vedic astrologer. Let us see now why he was also astrologically aspected to be a fine spiritual teacher.

Shivalinga Swamy was born with a special combination of planetary factors that is often seen in the horoscopes of spiritual teachers and leaders—that of Sun in Pisces with Jupiter in Leo in the first house. Piscean spirituality is blended with Leonine leadership, producing a powerfully dynamic soul who is able to inspire and guide others. Interestingly, I knew a Christian minister years ago who had this same astrological combination. He was a published writer, a gifted speaker and an inspiration to hundreds of people in his community. And not surprisingly, his was the largest, richest and most influential church in the city.

Since Shivalinga Swamy was born with Leo Ascendant combined with both Jupiter (Brihaspati) and Moon (Chandra) in Leo in the first house, he had quite a pronounced Leonine personality. His Piscean characteristics were often eclipsed by the more dominant traits of Leo (Simha). He was always self-confident, powerful, authoritarian and strong. He also had a great deal of physical stamina.