Birth of an Incarnation and a Paramahamsa
It was under the glow of this mighty mountain and in the holy energy center reinforced by the jyotirlinga that THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born as the second child of Arunachalam and Lokanayaki.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM says remembering his conscious birth: It was neither dark nor light, an indeterminate color that covered the Planet Earth. Suddenly a bright and brilliant light appeared from a region that was the Arunachala Hill. I entered into that light. I was immediately transported into a body. I was in my mother's womb. It was a conscious birth. I entered into the body at 1145 pm. I took a muhurta, about 45 minutes, settling into the body.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's mother discovered that she was with child when she was on a pilgrimage to the holy temple town of Tirupati. She was sick and when the doctor examined her she was found carrying her child. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's connection with Lord Venkateshwara at Tirupati, another form of Vishnu, thus started well before his birth. Hs mother had actually wanted a daughter as her first born was a boy, and was somewhat disappointed when the second child too was a male child.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born on 1st January 1978 at 30 minutes past midnight. He was named after his mother's father as Rajasekaran based on local custom. The name referred to Siva, and means King of Gods.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December-January). In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna refers to himself as Margazhi amongst the months. It is the month of the brahma muhurtam period of the Devas, their early morning. It is the month in which many great sages and enlightened Masters have been born: Ramana Maharishi, J Krishnamurti, Sarada Devi, Osho, Seshadri Swami, Vivekananda and many others. It is the month when the first of the six annual abhishekams of Lord Nataraja in Chidambaram is performed. It is the holiest of the months.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born on the ashtami day, the eighth day of the waxing moon. Ashtami is considered to be wordly and therefore not considered very favorable period by ascetics. Legend has it that ashtami prayed to Krishna to redeem itself and Krishna decided to be born of the ashtami day to prove to the world that spirituality can be pursued by a person of the world, establishing the concept of Quantum Spirituality where materialism and spirituality meet seamlessly. It is very much in that tradition that in later days THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM preaches the same concept of combining material success and spiritual evolution.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born under the Chitra star, which means 'shining', on the eighteenth day of the Margazhi month. The number eighteen has always been auspicious in the Hindu calculations. Bhagavad Gita has 18 chapters; as do the Chandi and Brahma Sutra (scriptural works); the gnanendriyas, karmendriyas and tattvas (philosophical works) add up to 18. The battle of Kurukshetra in Mahabharata lasted 18 days.
Baby THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was born at 1230 am, exactly 45 minutes after he entered the body in his mother's womb. Exactly 22 years after THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM entered his body on this Planet he would reach enlightenment, severing the thin line that held him to the Planet. During these 22 years he was visiting people on this Planet in a relaxed, conscious way. He was gradually shedding the little satvic guna that he came to be born with through the tapas and parivrajaka that Existence had ordained for him.
According to his parents the baby child never cried at birth; its spirit was so relaxed and comfortable; the Doctor had to tap the baby to make sure that it was alive. There was no pain in the birth to the Being. Based on mother's weight and size the Doctor expected twins, and the baby justified the size at 10 pounds.
The child was born in Kanya rasi and Kanya lagnam (moon and sun signs of Virgo), normally indicative of a female child. When the family priest drew up the baby's horoscope he found that the stars and planets had aligned themselves in an exceptional manner that he had never seen before as an astrologer. After extensive studies and consultation to ensure that he was not making a mistake, the priest declared to the startled parents that the baby would grow up to be a rajasanyasi or a 'king amongst holy men'. The priest considered himself blessed to have been able to cast the child's horoscope, and stopped practicing astrology after casting this baby's horoscope.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's parents were not very happy with this prediction. However much a family may respect a saint and revere holy men no parents want their own child to become a monk, so too it was with THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's parents. They had no desire to see their son turn into a monk, renouncing the material world. Like all other normal parents they too wanted the propagation of their family through progeny of their children and they were quite upset to learn that this may not happen. They wanted to know from the priest if such an eventuality of the boy becoming a sanyasi could be prevented through ritualistic religious interventions. The priest confessed that he knew of no method to prevent his prediction becoming true. He, however, suggested that they keep this knowledge from the child in the hope of postponing the inevitable.
Many years earlier, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's father's grandfather Kumaraswami had met an enlightened master and had a spiritual experience. When this man decided to give up his material way of living, he threw out all his belongings including jewelry from his house on to the street so that any passer by could pick them up and walk away. He went way from home and lived near a cremation ground, Bhoomantra Kolam in Tiruvannamalai. Later he traveled to Varanasi on a pilgrimage and passed away.
In Kumaraswami's household an ascetic once came seeking alms; as the lady of the house was about to come out with food to serve the ascetic, someone from inside shouted out sarcastically that able bodied people should work and earn, and not beg. The ascetic walked away without accepting the food that was offered to him, cursing as he left that in that household at least one person in each generation would end up begging.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's birth removed that curse laid on that family several generations earlier. It is said that an enlightened master's birth removes the samskaras of his ancestors and progeny for seven generations each way.