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Vaishnava Ãchãrya, Sri Ãlavandãn, once desired to visit the temple of Sri Anantha Padmanãbhan at Trivandrum. Before leaving for Trivandrum, he appointed his disciple ‘Theivãriãndãn’ to look after the Mutt. Theivãriãndãn found it extremely difficult to be separated from his Guru. But, in order to adhere to the words of his Guru, he stayed back to manage the Mutt. As days passed by, he lost weight drastically due to the sorrow of being away from his beloved Guru. The other disciples at the Mutt tried their best to treat his illness, but they were of no avail. Realizing that this state of Theivãriãndãn was due to the separation from their Guru, some disciples took Theivãriãndãn to Sri Ãlavandãn. While on their way to Trivandrum, the very thought that he would be seeing his Guru gave immense strength to Theivãriãndãn and he gained his lost health to the extent that he walked and reached his Guru.

Seeing his disciple, who was prostrating, Sri Ãlavandãn said, “Bharata stayed at the place where Sri Rama asked him to stay without a word of complaint or remonstration. But since I do not possess either the prowess or the freedom that Sri Rama did, I guess you have come back to me.” Terrified to hear such words from his Guru, Theivãriãndãn did not stir from his prostrating position. After hearing about the past happenings from the other disciples, the compassionate Guru, Sri Ãlavandãn, raised his disciple and said, “You have indeed lost a lot of weight. Go, have darshan of Sri Anantha Padmanãbhan and come.” Theivãriãndãn immediately replied, “Why should I go to the temple when my ‘Lord of Trivandrum’(Thiruvanandapuranãthan) is standing right before me?” Theivãriãndãn’s Guru Bhakti moved Sri Ãlvandãn and he came back to Srirangam along with Theivãriãndãn.

There are still many disciples who cannot bear the separation from their beloved Guru. Such is their Guru Bhakti!

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