Mettupatti Yamunacharya was born on 30 September 1899 in Mysore, to parents Narayana Iyengar and Manikyamma. Manikyamma’s father, Alkondavalli Govindacharya Swamy, was an Executive Engineer in the Mysore Government under Diwan Seshadri Iyer. In this capacity, Govindacharya was instrumental in building various sections of the Bangalore-Mysore Railway line, including bridges near Maddur and across the Kapila River near Nanjanagud. He was a staunch proponent of Sri Vaishnavism and was a contemporary of A. R. Wadia at the University of Mysore. Yamunacharya’s ancestors hailed from Mettupatti, Salem. Govindacharya’s father, Sreenivasa Iyengar, had taught English grammar lessons to HH Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV, and he was popularly known as ‘Angrezi Sreenivasa Iyengar’ for this reason! Sreenivasa Iyengar’s first son and Govindacharya’s elder brother, Sreenivasa Raghavacharya, was Assistant Commissioner of Mysore for a brief period as well.

EARLY YEARS & EDUCATION
Yamunacharya had his schooling at Marimallappa High School, Mysore, under the tutelage of ‘Mysore Thathiah’ (Sri Venkatakrishnaiah). Most remember Yamunacharya as being an introvert who resented competition, disliked Mathematics and wasn’t particularly academically driven, in any sense of the word. Subsequently, in 1923, he enrolled into Maharaja College, Mysore to pursue his M.A. in Philosophy under A. R. Wadia, M. Hiriyanna, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and K. T. Shah. In later years, whenever Radhakrishnan visited Mysore, he always made it a point to send for Yamunacharya and spent a great deal of time conversing with him.

AS AN ACADEMICIAN
M. Yamunacharya had several positions available to him in the Civil Service, Police Department and Department of Education. But he was destined to be a teacher. His first stint at teaching was at Collegiate High School, Tumkur. He worked as Principal at the Intermediate College, Hassan, for a while before moving to Bangalore. At Bangalore, he taught ‘Logic’ (Tarka) for nearly a decade. Eventually, he returned to his beloved city in 1951 and taught Philosophy, Logic and Sociology at Maharaja College, Mysore. He was given the additional charge of being the warden of the Maharaja College hostel in 1954. He was felicitated in 1954 on the occasion of his birthday. He received a gold ring as a present in 1956 after attaining superannuation at Maharaja College, University of Mysore. Six months before his retirement, the University made a perfunctory offer of promotion to full Professorship. Yamunacharya graciously turned it down in favour of his junior. A year or two later, UGC (University Grants Commission, New Delhi) made him an Emeritus Professor in Philosophy.

Yamunacharya guided many a research scholar and doctoral student in his tenure at Maharaja College. The renowned American author John. C. Plott, known for his “Global History of Philosophy”, also sought guidance from Yamunacharya for his PhD programme on Ramanujacharya. After nearly three decades of teaching, Yamunacharya retired in 1956. Following his retirement, he was appointed as Honorary Professor at Government Ayurveda College, Mysore, to teach the ‘Darshanas’. He was appointed as an examiner at the Universities of Tirupati, Madras, Allahabad and Benaras Hindu University. He was invited to grace many Philosophical Conferences, including one in Srilanka.

His classes always attracted full attendance. People on the outside barely heard a voice and often found the entire class enthralled and in rapturous silence attuned to a soft, mellifluous voice which would flow, almost incessantly. Concepts would be unravelled in a slow, persistent fashion, and even the most dull student would imbibe the essence of what was being taught! His mastery in both Kannada & English meant that he was able to straddle both worlds with effortless ease, all the while drawing from Sanskrit sources with little or no hesitation, when required. He had a wonderful grasp of both Eastern and Western philosophies and could connect the dots in a beautiful manner.

INTRODUCTION TO H. M. NAYAK
T. R. Subba Rao (Ta Ra Su) was a very close friend of M. Yamunacharya. One day, Subba Rao visited Yamunacharya’s house, accompanied by a young boy from Shimoga. Subba Rao introduced the boy as having just completed his Intermediate exam. Yamunacharya welcomed both of them cordially and extended his full hospitality. He asked the boy his name and what he aspired to study in the future. He replied that his name was H. M. Nayak and that he wanted to study Philosophy. Pleasantly surprised, Yamunacharya remarked that it was indeed a happy thing for him to hear, especially in this day and age, when people were increasingly disinterested in the subject. Yamunacharya then ushered the boy upstairs so that he could see his private library. H. M. Nayak, in his later years, remembered this as a moment etched in his memory – never before had he seen such a vast collection of books catalogued in such perfect order! He was spellbound. Later, Yamunacharya gave him a guided tour of his library, through all its various sections (Western, Indian philosophies and their sub-sections) and presented him with a signed copy of his book “Alwarugalu”. Yamunacharya gave refreshments to both Ta Ra Su and H. M. Nayak and bid them adieu. A year later, H. M. Nayak again ran into Yamunacharya in the Maharaja College corridor. Yamunacharya detected a hint of reluctance and maybe even guilt in the boy’s face. When he broached the reason, H. M. Nayak replied that he could not obtain a scholarship to study Philosophy, but instead received a scholarship to study Kannada and due to financial constraints, he had to choose Kannada instead of his first love, Philosophy! Yamunacharya gave a beaming smile, dragged the boy close and hugged him tightly and said that it was just fine and that he should devote himself to Kannada studies with the same vigour and energy with which he would have delved deep into Philosophy. H. M. Nayak would time and again recollect Yamunacharya’s love and affection for him in his later years.

Whether he was lecturing Fulbright scholars in the United States or delivering impromptu lectures to villagers, Yamunacharya was always in a calm, composed and equanimous manner, expressing the same interest, curiosity and affection towards his audience, every single time. This singular quality endeared him more and more towards his students, fellow scholars and international audience alike. In the words of one doctoral scholar at Penn State University, this was how he described listening to Yamunacharya’s discourse: “…..While I was well cognizant of there being many other students and distinguished professors in the room, I, for one, was convinced that he was actually looking at me and teaching me alone, all through the class!” This particular sentiment was a well-shared perception of Yamunacharya across different groups and nationalities of people.

VISIT TO MALLADIHALLI
Once, Yamunacharya received an invitation to visit and deliver a lecture at the ashram in Malladihalli. The senior pontiff of the ashram was known for his scholarly erudition and strict monastic practices. He was also deeply philosophical in nature. As per the letter of invitation received by Yamunacharya, he was to get down at the train station and wait to be escorted by a local guide. As he got down from the train, he was welcomed by a short, diminutive man with an unkempt appearance. He was extremely cordial to Yamunacharya and readily picked up his bags and walked him to the ashram. Yamunacharya walked behind him and reached the ashram with great anticipation. After a while, not seeing anyone turn up from the inside, he motioned to the fellow who had escorted him as to where the revered Swamiji was..? The escort happily took off his turban and introduced himself as Sri Raghavendra Swamiji of Malladihalli Math! Yamunacharya was taken aback and profusely apologised to the senior pontiff for not recognising him, and worse, for making him carry his luggage all the way from the railway station!

PERSONAL LIFE
Yamunacharya married Rajamma on 19 February 1913. Rajamma was the niece of Natakashiromani A. V. Varadachar, the famous dramatist. At the time of their marriage, Yamunacharya was 14 years old and his wife was 12 years old! Their wedding was a four-day affair and featured concerts by Veena Seshanna on day one and a private concert by Bidaram Krishnappa on day two. They had eight children – three boys and five girls from this happy union. In addition to these eight children, Yamunacharya also brought up his late brother’s children. When it came to spending time with children, Yamunacharya was himself a child at heart, full of innocence and enjoyed unbridled joy in their company. His wife would keep the kitchen going throughout the day to feed all those whom Yamunacharya would bring home with him. His house, ‘Veda Gruham’, came to be known as ‘Yamunacharya Choultry’!

Yamunacharya had a very amiable nature. When he came home in the afternoon, he would often sit on his favourite armchair, read the day’s newspaper at leisure and then attend to letters and so on. On many days, his favourite dog would be found sleeping on this very armchair. Yamunacharya would tiptoe around the chair and patiently wait for it to wake up before reclaiming his chair! Such was his patience. Similarly, one afternoon, he found his son sleeping on his cot. Instead of waking him up, Yamunacharya slept on the floor and waited for him to wake up, in his own time!

Once, a visitor asked Yamunacharya’s son how his father treated his children. He replied that his mother was short-tempered and scolded children on a regular basis. But he said that they were more scared of their father. The visitor asked why it was so? He replied that the calm demeanour of their father hid behind the veil, the burning anger of a silent man!

M. Yamunacharya’s circle of well-wishers and acquaintances included the likes of R. R. Diwakar, G. V. Narayan Murthy, Maasti Venkatesh Iyengar, D. V. Gundappa, G. P. Rajarathnam, D. Javaregowda, D. L. Narasimhachar, P. T. Narasimhachar, Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, Ralapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma, Siddavanahalli Krishnasharma and T. T. Sharma.

Yamunacharya, like his maternal grandfather, conducted the ‘Samashrayanam’ ceremony at his house, Veda Gruham. This was a ritualistic initiation into Sri Vaishnavism for members of other castes. Quite a few people took part in it voluntarily in those days.

Among his very few addictions was the famous Mysore Masala Dosa. He would never miss an opportunity to have it and is remembered to have remarked on more than one occasion that the person who created the Masala Dosa most certainly deserved the Nobel Prize for it!

COMPASSION PERSONIFIED
Once, a burglar gained entry into his house and was caught stealing, of all things, a blanket! Many people came forward to give him a sound thrashing and to eventually hand him over to the Police. Yamunacharya would hear nothing of it. He sat the burglar down on his favourite armchair, fed him sumptuously a hearty lunch and then gifted him the blanket. Then he bid him adieu. The burglar, feeling embarrassed, wanted to return the blanket. Yamunacharya was quite emphatic that the blanket should stay with him and eventually convinced him to take leave. He promised him that there would be no complaint to the police. People around Yamunacharya were, of course, livid and felt irritated at his forgiving nature.

VIDWAN R. VISVESWARAN
Vid. R. Visveswaran was the first student in B.A. Honours course in the newly instituted ‘Indology Course’ at Maharaja College, Mysore, in 1951. This Indology Course later led to a M.A. degree as well. Many distinguished scholars endowed with erudition, scholarship and time enriched the Indology Course. Foremost among these were Dr S. Srikanta Sastri, Prof. Shivaram Sastri, Prof. S. Ramachandra Rao, Prof. M. Yamunacharya and Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri.

Vid R. Visveswaran later founded the ‘Varalakshmi Academy of Music’, dedicated to Fine Arts. Yamunacharya was invited to be its chairperson and later the president of a committee consisting of board members like T. S. Shama Rao, K. B. Ramakrishna Rao, H. S. K. and Dr S. Srikanta Sastri.

Yamunacharya’s daughter, Usha Devi, joined the ‘Varalakshmi Academy of Music’ to learn music. She eventually married Vid R. Visveswaran on 2nd August, 1961, in a Smartha – Sri Vaishnava wedding ceremony!

The newly constructed Mysore University library building was inaugurated by Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on December 7, 1965. On this auspicious occasion, Vid R. Visveswaran, with his band of budding musicians from ‘Varalakshmi Academy of Music’, sang some verses from the second chapter of the Sankhya Yoga. Dr S. Radhakrishnan was believed to have been quite impressed with Vid R. Visveswaran’s singing at the time.

INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS
Yamunacharya was often invited to deliver lectures at various forums such as schools, village panchayats, All India Radio interviews, and once even delivered a lecture at a mosque in Gulbarga! He was fluent in Kannada, Tamil, English, Hindi and Sanskrit. Yamunacharya was a fine orator and often attributed his oratorical skills to T. S. Venkannayya. His lectures delivered at all these forums were listened to by audiences in rapture and reverence. It found acceptance by the intellectuals as well. Following his retirement in 1956, Yamunacharya began devoting more and more time to these lectures as he felt he could spread the teachings of Ramanujacharya and Vishistadvaita to the masses better in this way. Many times, he would be accompanied by his good friend S. V. Ranganna on these all too frequent trips. Any remuneration that came his way from these lectures would immediately be donated either back to the organisers or to an orphanage elsewhere.

Even Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama monks at Mysore used to respect Yamunacharya for his grasp of the Darshanas. Many of them approached him with questions and doubts to help with their discourses. Yamunacharya used to chair many a literary meet at the orphanage founded by M. Venkatakrishnaiah. Yamunacharya, T. S. Shama Rao and S. V. Parameshwara Bhatta were regulars at most of the big Ganesha puja functions held around Mysore during August – September months. Yamunacharya’s lectures on Ganesh Puja were popular both with laymen as well as scholars! He would effortlessly speak for hours on the evolution of Ganesha in collective imagination, stories associated with Lord Ganesha, his numerous names, geographical variations in how people worshipped the deity and even references to Ganesha worship in faraway lands such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia!

On one such visit to a Municipal High School in Arsikere in 1966, Yamunacharya was requested to deliver the inaugural address. It was so well-received that he got a standing ovation at the end. One of the ninth standard students by the name of V. N. Seshagiri Rao later penned an article titled ‘Philosophy and Philosopher in Maharaja College, Mysore’ and this later appeared in the Maharaja College Centenary Souvenir Magazine. Even today, this article serves as a trip down memory lane as it describes in vivid detail Yamunacharya, his bearing and demeanour, his style of elocution and his affability with the students. What makes it worthwhile is that it is written from the perspective of a high school student who saw Yamunacharya for the first time in his life!

At a mosque in Gulbarga, Yamunacharya was requested to speak on the Holy Quran by the chief Maulvi. At the end of an hour-long lecture, the assembled Islamic scholars were left dumbfounded at Yamunacharya’s vast knowledge not only about Islam and the Quran, but also about Prophet Mohammed. They readily conceded their amazement and congratulated him on his erudition and scholarship. They remarked that he was henceforth fit to be addressed as Maulvi Yamunacharya!

Almost every year, the Mysore Jail Superintendent would invite Prof. Yamunacharya to deliver lectures to prisoners on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. When he could not make it on one such year, the prisoners raised a hue and cry and made an impassionate plea for his return! Such was his ability to connect with the masses.

HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar sought Yamunacharya’s help and guidance in authoring his book on Lord Dattatreya titled 'Dattatreya - The Way And The Goal' (1957) by Allen & Unwin.

Yamunacharya even had a cameo role as ‘Buddha” in a stage adaptation of “Kisa Gotami” at Gorur. His eldest son, Muthu, had acted in a Kannada movie ‘Sathya Harishchandra’ while he was employed at CFTRI, Mysore. Muthu was a child artist who was groomed under the tutelage of Dhruvakumara. In fact, the very first Kannada talkie movie to go into production, “Bhakta Dhruva”, featured Muthu in it. Even though it was the first talkie movie to go into production, it was the second official talkie movie to hit the screen (as Sati Sulochana had already been released by this time). Muthu also acted in various plays arranged and directed at CFTRI, Mysore, by Dr Sampath Chaluva Iyengar.

In his later years, M. Yamunacharya was appointed as Honorary Professor of Indology at the University of Mysore. He was also made trustee to ‘Sri Nanjeeyar’s Sannidhi’ at Melukote, which was built by his aunt. He was an active member of organisations like ‘Mythic Society’ (Bangalore), ‘Kannada Sahitya Parishat’ (Bangalore), ‘Fellowship of Friends of Truth’, ‘Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs’ (Bangalore), ‘Malleshwaram Gandhi Sahitya Sangraha’ (Bangalore), and ‘Indian Institute of World Culture’ (Bangalore). He was also an active member of the Indian Philosophical Congress.

When it came to evaluating the answer scripts of students, Yamunacharya was the very personification of fairness and compassion. However, for a few terms, he assiduously avoided evaluating answer scripts from the ‘Social Philosophy’ sections of the question paper. This was because his own daughter, Ms Varada Prasad, was studying ‘Social Philosophy’ at the time. At best, he would show her some chosen answer scripts of students like S. L. Bhyrappa and would encourage her to model answers along those lines.

Once, an eminent Professor of Philosophy at Maharaja College, Mysore, raised a complaint against Yamunacharya, alleging blatant bias while evaluating answer scripts of “Non-Brahmin” students! Yamunacharya pleaded innocence. An Investigation was initiated, and a University Syndicate member was entrusted with this witch hunt. After a thorough investigation which lasted weeks, the Syndicate member threw his hands up in the air and admitted that there was not a shred of evidence in favour of such an allegation. Yamunacharya was finally exonerated. Ironically, the Professor who raised the complaint was promoted to the post of Principal of Maharaja College, Mysore! In this post as well, he relentlessly continued his tirade against poor Yamunacharya and tried his best to weed out Yamunacharya’s favourite topic in Indian Philosophy – Tattvashastra. It is relevant to mention here that, against the backdrop of this bitter episode, many non-Brahmin students came forward to depose in front of the Syndicate member, not against Yamunacharya, but in favour of him!

Some weeks before his retirement, admiring students took it upon themselves to organise a farewell function for him. Leading this group was none other than S. L. Bhyrappa himself. They began collecting money from the rest of the students in the class. When S. L. Bhyrappa approached Ms Varada Prasad for a donation, some of the students objected, saying that, as Ms Prasad was Yamunacharya’s daughter, it may not be appropriate to collect money from her! Bhyrappa disagreed and insisted on Ms Prasad paying some token contribution to the farewell function. When she approached her father with a request for some money (for his own farewell function), he smiled and happily gave her a few rupees!

ILLUSTRIOUS STUDENTS
In his four decades of teaching experience, Yamunacharya groomed many students, scholars and researchers, both at home as well as overseas. S. L. Bhyrappa and D. Javare Gowda were among some of the prominent students of his in Mysore, who later made a name for themselves in academia and elsewhere.

Once, Javaregowda was searching for someone to translate a particular paragraph authentically from one of Kuvempu’s novels. He approached some stalwarts in the English department and got it translated. To his dismay, poet Kuvempu was none too impressed with the translation. Then someone suggested M. Yamunacharya’s name. Yamunacharya took a day’s time and came back with a translation of the desired passage. Javaregowda took it back to Kuvempu, and this time he was overjoyed and remarked that only Yamunacharya had been able to grasp the full import of what he had expressed in that particular paragraph!

S. L. BHYRAPPA
Yamunacharya used to engage a Junior Intermediate class to teach a paper on Logic (Tarka). There were about 120 students in the class, and one of them used to come to him with several questions after each session. Yamunacharya would always give him a patient hearing and would present him with books like ‘Katopanishad’ to assuage his intellectual thirst. This bond between the teacher and the student would last for several decades. Yamunacharya had left such an indelible impression on this boy that he decided to take up B.A. and later M.A. in Philosophy, both under M. Yamunacharya’s tutelage. He even chose his favourite topic ‘Logic’ for his Master’s Degree. He was none other than S. L. Bhyrappa.

While in B.A. Philosophy, Bhyrappa found Greek history quite dry and boring. He also had many doubts for which he required clarification. So, he approached Yamunacharya for additional help. Yamunacharya introduced the young student to the complete volumes of “Jowett’s Translations of Plato”. He also insisted that Bhyrappa should read all the works of Socrates and Plato. In fact, Yamunacharya gave a list of authors & titles, which he considered to be essential reading for anyone venturing into a study of Western philosophy – Greek Plays, Shakespeare, Bradley’s criticism on Shakespearean Plays, Thoreau, Emerson, Dante and Tolstoy. Yamunacharya was particularly fond of quoting Spinoza, especially using his expression of ‘God Intoxication’!

After Bhyrappa had progressed well into these texts, Yamunacharya then introduced him to Romain Rolland’s famous work, The Ten Volume Work titled “Jean Christophe (1904 – 1912)” on the life and times of the musical genius of the same name. With regard to studies in Eastern Philosophy, Yamunacharya emphasised reading ‘Bhagavata’, ‘Bhagavad Gita’, ‘Ramayana’, sections on ‘Vidura Nithi’ & ‘Shanthi Parva’ and works of Kalidasa & Bhasa.

Yamunacharya permanently placed two cane chairs in the front porch of his house, so that he and S. L. Bhyrappa could spend evenings discussing various questions on Philosophy. Often, these discussions would go well into the late hours of the evening, as both teacher and student would remain engrossed in their conversations. Once, realising that it was almost half past eight, Yamunacharya stopped Bhyrappa from leaving and requested him to sit down again. He went in and came back with “Huli Avalakki” (broken rice) with “panaka” (sweet lime juice) and offered it to Bhyrappa. Yamunacharya reminded him that it was the festival of Ramanavami and that the hostel mess would be closed by the time he made his way back there.

Sometime later, a popular private tuition centre in Mysore, by the name of ‘City Tutorial Institute’, approached Yamunacharya to be on their panel of faculty members, to teach private paying students. Yamunacharya politely turned them down, as he was still in Government service. When the private centre requested him again to suggest someone whom he knew to be good, he at once thought of his student. S. L. Bhyrappa, by this time, was already engaging classes for his own classmates and juniors, albeit without a fee! Yamunacharya convinced him to take these private tuitions and hence earn a little on the side. Weeks later, he summoned Bhyrappa to his chambers and requested him to sit next to him. Yamunacharya then narrated to Bhyrappa that, for the last couple of weeks, he had visited his classes at the private tuition centre (albeit without his knowledge) and had stood outside the class within hearing distance. He had listened to his classes with intent and made notes as to how it could be improved. He first and foremost congratulated Bhyrappa on his preparation for these classes, which was clearly evident in the way he would start and finish the hour; he also commended him on his methodology of approaching a particular chapter in either Eastern or Western philosophy. But Yamunacharya had one cautionary piece of advice to Bhyrappa. He felt that Bhyrappa was using high-flown words in a flamboyant style and often posing himself as highly knowledgeable, presumably to impress the students. Yamunacharya argued that this could prove detrimental in the long run and that we needed to use simple language and ensure that the below-average student was also able to grasp the full import of what is being taught in the classroom. This, according to Yamunacharya, was the definition of a successful teacher. To simplify complex ideas and then to successfully convey them in intelligible language was, in Yamunacharya’s opinion, the single greatest responsibility before a teacher. Bhyrappa took the advice with the greatest humility and reverence and promised to make suitable amends to his teaching method at the earliest.

S. L. Bhyrappa was, for a few years resident at the ‘Hoysala Karnataka Hostel’ in Mysore. The Chairman of the hostel instructed Bhyrappa to give free tuition to his daughter at his home! Bhyrappa made his reluctance known and politely bowed out. The infuriated Chairman did everything in his power to oust Bhyrappa from the hostel. Yamunacharya, hearing about this, was quite taken aback. He then penned a letter to each of the Hostel Board Members and implored them to let Bhyrappa stay as an inmate. Yamunacharya argued that, “..if any philanthropic institute was unable to support a student like Bhyrappa, then there was little justification for its existence..” The Board members convened a meeting and convinced the chairman to drop any motion to oust Bhyrappa from the hostel.

In those years, there were few scholarships available to poor students who could not afford the tuition fees for their education. In this regard, a few philanthropists came together and set up a ‘Poor Students’ Welfare Fund’. They even set up a senior person to be in charge of managing the affairs of this welfare fund. Sadly, the designated official mismanaged it quite deplorably and eventually had to be dismissed from the post. Yamunacharya was then requested to take up this responsibility. His social standing was such that one clarion call from him for charity saw umpteen number of rich people lining up to donate more and more funds. Such was the faith and trust reposed in Yamunacharya. Not only did he collect sufficient funds, he even made good and judicious use of them, with a very transparent method of keeping accounts. Many a poor student came to benefit from this organisation in the long run.

In December 1956, Yamunacharya was invited to a conference on ‘Religions & Perspectives on Samadhi Stithi’ at Vivekananda College, Madras. S. L. Bhyrappa, who was in his final year of his Honours Degree, also accompanied his teacher. They both were given accommodation in the Men’s hostel in the same room. On the penultimate day of the conference, there was a luxurious car waiting outside the hostel and a man standing beside it. HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, who had been invited to deliver a lecture, had just reached Madras. He had sent the car to bring Yamunacharya to him. Yamunacharya reached his guest house and then, hours later, telephoned Bhyrappa to send all his belongings to him, as he had to overstay in the guest house. The next day, Bhyrappa was sitting in the auditorium listening to various lectures delivered at the conference. Out of nowhere, Yamunacharya turned up and sat next to him. HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar chaired the next session, and C. M. Rajaji was also present on the occasion. Bhyrappa could not suppress his astonishment because the Maharaja was delivering a lecture ghost-written by Yamunacharya. At the end of the address, he squarely turned to Yamunacharya and asked him if he had any part in its preparation. The style, phrases, idioms, sentence structures and philosophical concepts had Yamunacharya’s stamp on them! He had heard them many a time before in the classroom. Yet, Yamunacharya sat quietly without reacting. A distinguished Sri Vaishnava philosopher, P. N. Sreenivasacharya, sitting next to Yamunacharya, remarked that Bhyrappa lacked discretion as he would discuss things unabashedly without any sense of time or place. But Yamunacharya remained silent, but with a very subtle and wistful smile gracing his face.

TOUR OF THE U.S.A
Once, a team of thirty Fulbright scholars (many of them Philosophy Professors) from the U.S.A. visited Maharaja College, Mysore, as part of their tour of India. Kuvempu organised a seminar for these visiting scholars and requested Yamunacharya to be the keynote speaker. His lecture on philosophies of the West and East impressed them so much that they immediately extended a standing invitation to Yamunacharya to visit Penn State University as a Guest Lecturer. Yamunacharya accepted this invitation and spent nearly four months in America. After bidding him a safe voyage, Kuvempu remarked that “As Swami Vivekananda, Yamunacharya was also going to the West, not to be taught, but instead to teach them”. Yamunacharya left for the United States on 27 February 1963.

He was fond of Thoreau and had translated his ‘Walden’ into Kannada. Yamunacharya, on his visit to America, made it a point to visit ‘Walden Pond” (Thoreau’s birthplace) to see his cottage.

When M. Yamunacharya declined a repeat visit to Penn State University, Prof. Luther. H. Harshbarger lamented thus: “I have just learned with keen regret from Blackwood of Hamilton College, that you are unable to accept our invitation for another visit to the U.S.A. Your friends at Penn. State are very anxious to have you back again”. Years later, when Yamunacharya’s son visited Penn State University, Prof Harshbarger remarked thus: “Your father brought a new light into our lives!”. Yamunacharya had an in-depth understanding of The Bible, the Holy Quran, Torah and the Zend-Avesta in much the same way as he knew either the Bhagavat Gita or any of the Vedas in the Indic system! This made his lectures all the more relatable to international audiences, as they could easily follow him connect the dots in the most simplified manner possible.

Between March and May of 1965, while residing at Penn. State University, Yamunacharya visited Bucknell University, Manchester College, Chatham College, Wittenberg University and Oberlin Colleges as well. He was paid handsomely by each of these Universities as remuneration for his time and efforts in delivering these lectures. Yamunacharya pooled all of these proceeds and gave them to Prof. Harshbarger at Penn. State University! When the good Professor declined to accept it, Yamunacharya insisted, saying that he would request various books from time to time (to be mailed to India) and that the cost of these expensive volumes could then be recovered from this corpus of funds. Prof. Harshbarger finally accepted this idea and retained the money most reluctantly. Sadly, this wonderful idea never came to pass. Not a single book was ever requested by Yamunacharya from India, and not one came to be sent from America to him. Years later, when Yamunacharya’s son visited Penn. State, he decided to take some priceless editions back home to India. University officials happily gave him these books. When Yamunacharya’s son came forward to pay for these expensive volumes, they quipped that his father had already paid for them in advance. Not a penny was accepted from him!

YAMUNACHARYA – THE QUINTESSENTIAL GANDHIAN
Yamunacharya was a lifelong champion of Gandhian Philosophy. He would devote himself to the pursuit of truth with unswerving commitment.

GANDHIJI’S INTERACTION WITH SILVER-TONGUED SRINIVAS SASTRY
In 1946, Gandhiji visited Madras to attend a function at the ‘Dakshin Bharat Hindustani Sabha’. Around this time, Rt. Hon. V. S. Srinivas Sastry was quite unwell and was bedridden. Gandhiji decided to personally call on him. Seeing Sastry in quite a debilitated condition, Gandhi decided to keep his meeting very brief and quickly exited from the latter’s house. Years later, it was decided by Gandhiji’s followers to bring forth a volume chronicling his exchanges and interactions with various luminaries in the preceding decades. In this regard, it was decided that his brief but important interaction with V. S. Srinivas Sastry ought to be included as well. The problem was finding someone who could provide an authentic narrative of what had passed between the two giants. M. Yamunacharya was one of the few people who were standing outside V. S. Srinivas Sastry’s room at that time. Despite repeated requests from many, Yamunacharya was reluctant to pen his recollections of that day; When someone questioned him about his reluctance, he answered that, as he was not in the room and was at best within earshot distance, there was no way of being entirely sure that his narrative was the most authentic! So he held on to his silence. Years later, when he was in touch with the archival wing of ‘The Hindu’ newspaper, he came across a narrative of this 10-minute exchange between Gandhi and V. S. Srinivas Sastry by their official correspondent. Yamunacharya was overjoyed to learn that the reporter’s narrative and that of his own matched verbatim. Convinced that he had indeed got the facts right, he was now happy to set the record straight and narrate his recollections to the Editors, who were keen to include it in their collection! Such was Yamunacharya’s steadfast dedication to facts and the pursuit of truth.

EDITOR OF GANDHIJI’S COLLECTED WORKS AND KANNADA TRANSLATIONS
M. Yamunacharya was appointed as the Chief Editor of the committee entrusted with bringing out all of Gandhiji’s works in several volumes in Kannada, titled “Kannadadalli Gandhi Granthamale”. R. R. Diwakar was instrumental in choosing Yamunacharya to this post at Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, Mysore in 1956. He presided over an Editorial Board consisting of stalwarts like Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, G. P. Rajarathnam, K. Sampatgiri Rao, Kanvi, Narayanamurthy, K. S. Narayanaswamy and briefly Kuvempu.

Mahatma Gandhi’s writings spanned over 50,000 pages. The Herculean task of translating & condensing them to roughly 8,000 pages, across twenty editions in Kannada, fell upon the shoulders of Yamunacharya! He read every single word written by Gandhi and spent close to 10 – 12 hrs per day in the library. His typed draft was so good that it immediately served as a primer for other South Indian languages, desirous of bringing Gandhi’s collected works into their language domain. At times, Yamunacharya had to be a tough task master and ended up pressuring people to meet promised deadlines, to complete the project.

M. Yamunacharya was the first Director of Gandhi Bhavan (Centre for Gandhi Studies) at the University of Mysore, a position which he held from 1965 to 1966. From 1967 onwards, Yamunacharya was associated with the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi, in an administrative capacity.

DELHI YEARS
Yamunacharya was requested to come to Delhi for a few years to expedite the work of editing and publishing the vast corpus of writing by Gandhiji. At this time, he was not in very good health. Despite repeated objections by all the family members, he embarked on this project and left for Delhi in 1967.

In February of 1968, Yamunacharya had been invited to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan to meet the then-President Dr Zakir Hussain. The preparation for this meeting began weeks before. Yamunacharya’s notes and meticulous attention to detail were impeccable. He wanted to encapsulate all of their research work at the Gandhi Centre into a five or ten-minute presentation before the President, detailing the enormity and magnitude of the intellectual work that had come to be accomplished by the team. The meeting went very well, and Yamunacharya was quite satisfied with the outcome. At the end of the meeting, the fatigue that had accumulated from weeks of strenuous work made him buckle under pressure. The gruelling work, long hours, hot climate and uncontrolled diabetes had weakened him for quite some time now. He was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital for medical succour. Dr Balakrishna (son of the famous Ophthalmologist B. K. Narayan Rao) was there in attendance on that day! He attended to Yamunacharya with great diligence and care.

The initial few days were quite difficult for him as he laboured to breathe, with a failing heart. In the hospital, he had the visionary experience of a gentleman enter the room and sit next to him. This person then appeared to take Yamunacharya’s hands into his own and gently caressed them with the utmost kindness. He then slowly whispered into Yamunacharya’s ears and requested him to begin chanting the “Ashtalakshmi Mantra”. Yamunacharya nodded in agreement and began to slowly chant the mantra. The elderly gentleman stood up, bowed to him and uttered “Om Namo Narayana” and began to leave. As he was leaving, Yamunacharya could make out his facial features and was surprised to see his late grandfather, Sri Govindacharya, who had come to bless him! Yamunacharya took another big breath and sat up to see him clearly. It was his late grandfather who stood before him, smiling. The gentleman once more reiterated that he must not stop reciting the “Ashtalakshmi Mantra”, and thereafter, he slowly vanished from the room! When Yamunacharya later enquired with the nurses about this spectral phenomenon, none had seen anyone either go in or come out of his room. Yamunacharya nonetheless continued chanting the mantra continuously under his breath and slowly got better over many days. Interestingly, even after his discharge, he would be found chanting this mantra in his spare time, either at home or at the office. Yamunacharya strongly believed that it was his grandfather who had visited him on his deathbed to save his life.

All through his stay at the hospital, Yamunacharya had a constant daily visitor, who, without missing a single day, would visit and spend time talking with him. It was none other than his student S. L. Bhyrappa, who had by then taken the position of a Reader at NCERT, New Delhi. The two would discuss various topics dear to them at length for hours. Yamunacharya began to address Bhyrappa in the plural around this time. Bhyrappa took exception to this form of formal address and implored Yamunacharya to address him in the singular as before. Yamunacharya calmly carried on addressing Bhyrappa in the plural and continued doing so for many more years to come!

Yamunacharya toured the Jagannath temple in Puri, Orissa and visited Gwalior in 1968.

A Shanti Homa (Puja) was organised for his good health in 1968 – 69. This was to mark his 70th year as well. Sadly, his health declined again, and he had to be admitted to K. R. Hospital, Mysore. Here he was under the care of Dr Das. While at K. R. Hospital, Yamunacharya penned the following lines:

‘LEAD KINDLY LIGHT' by M. Yamunacharya (1969)

Gandhiji passed away leaving a rich legacy of thought and action behind him. He revolutionised our way of thinking and our way of living. But this impact on us, however rich and dynamic it was, seems to be waning. We are offering him lip service. We are celebrating his birthday centenary. This must lead us to self-examination. Are we following in his footsteps in whatever we do? Or are we providing for ourselves a salve for our guilty conscience by singing the praises of Gandhi in meetings after meetings without asking ourselves the question as to how far we are following him? Are many things as to how far we are following him? Are many things for which Gandhi stood becoming outdated? Is Gandhi relevant to us at the present age in all respects? These are the questions which prop up in our minds. We have to seek for an answer as these questions act as a nightmare in our dreams.

So far as Gandhi himself was concerned he said this once: "As long as my faith burns bright, as I, hope it will even if I stand alone, I shall be alive in the grave and, what is more, speaking from it". Gandhiji never looked back to see if anyone was following in his footsteps. He dared it alone. The responsibility for following him or not was left by him to whomsoever was convinced of his way of living and of the values of life which he expounded. He did not seem to be anxious to be followed. In this he was unlike many of the prophets of the world. But he does speak from the grave. Here and there in the world, in quarters where we do not expect, Gandhi is being followed. Gandhi is silently and slowly exercising his influence on men and women not only in India but in all parts of the world. They may not be known formally as followers of Gandhi. But there is no doubt whatever that his thought and way of life have been silently revolutionising the lives not merely of the elite but of the common man. This has been the case in the lives of the Buddha, of Christ, of Mohammad and Zoroaster. But they have undoubtedly given a direction to human history. The world today as being shaped by atomic bombs, ballistic missiles, of bacteriological warfare is filled with fear of universal destruction and is becoming desperately aware of the need of Gandhi's message.

Staging a comeback by Mahatma Gandhi into the lives of the people all the world over may not be spectacular but I have a faith that the present period of apathy to Gandhi will dissipate like a gathering of clouds and the radiance of Gandhi's life and thought will soon burst forth from out of the clouds in an unprecedented way. We are passing through a period of darkness before dawn. The things for which Gandhi stood have now been given the lie by many of us: namely prohibition, eradication of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity, Hindustani, khadi and village industries etc. If we do not get alert in a dynamic way to these things we will be far from Gandhi and reel back to our savage conditions.

With regard to the growing scepticism about the workability of the Gandhian programme Gandhiji himself struck a note of understanding and warning, "The public is showing a grow-weak tendency. There must be some good reason for doing so, and this change in their attitude should not be ignored. If the situation does not show signs of improvement and is allowed to deteriorate from day to day as it doing, it will be very difficult if not impossible, to avoid the storm that may come". But he concluded with a note of hope when he said : "Let us not defer the hope and make the rest sick". He had faith in a minority of his followers however insignificant it may be in numbers. The two unfinished tasks that he left for posterity were the organization of the youth and mobilization of the masses in the light of the Gandhian ideal. As Sri Pyarelal remarks "Gandhiji had been deeply worried over the growing indiscipline among the youth particularly the students and restlessness among the people born of a feeling of frustration and disillusionment". The widening gulf between precept and practice of political leaders was mainly responsible for the frustration and disillusionment of youth and the masses.

I see glimmerings of a hope in the encircling gloom. Perhaps the challenge must still deepen in intensity in order that the appropriate Gandhian response may break through on men’s minds. Gandhian longing for peace and universal well-being is becoming quite alive on the national and international horizons. What is left for us in the encircling darkness is to pray earnestly for the strength of the human soul.
"Tamaso Ma Jyothirgamaya" is the faith of the present writer.
(October 1969 from K.R. Hospital ward, Mysore)
- M. Yamunacharya

WORKS
Many of Yamunacharya’s works came to be prescribed as part of the academic syllabus across high schools and even at the Bachelor’s Degree level. Some of them are listed here:
1. “Ramanuja’s Teachings in his own words” (English - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)
2. “An Introduction to Logic & Scientific Method” (Venkata Ramaiah & Sons)
3. “Acharya Ramanujaru” (1962 - Kannada)
4. “Alwarugalu” (University of Mysore Publication)
5. “Paschatya Rajakeeya Tatwagalu” (Kannada)
6. “Matha Dharma Tattva Shastra” (1969 - Kannada)
7. “Tarka Shastra Sangraha” (Kannada – University of Mysore)
8. “The Concept of Maya as Avidya” (Indian Philosophical Annual)
9. “Sri Vedanta Desika – A Synthetic Genius” (Felicitation Volume)
10. “Social Philosophy as exemplified in the Karnataka School of Shaivism & Vaishnavism” (Seminar on Indian Philosophy & Social Concern – 1986, Madras University).
11. “Matha Dharma Punarjeevana” (Kannada translation of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s “Revival of Faith”)
12. “Manushyana Mannassu” (Kannada translation of Dr G. D. Boaz’s “Know Your Mind”)
13. Kannada translation of Thoreau’s Biography
14. “Geeta Bhashya”
15. “Shree Bhashya”
16. “Aadhunika Tattvashastra Sangraha” (1957)
17. “Samaja Vignana Sangraha”
18. “Logic” (Kannada)
19. “Studies in Philosophy”
20. “Religion and Literature” (English)
21. Mary and S.K. George souvenir (1959 – 1960)


RECOGNITION AND ACCOLADES
M. Yamunacharya received the ‘Karnataka Rajyotsava Award’ for his “Vishistadvaita Darshana” from then Chief Minister Veerendra Patil. Yamunacharya was invited to Madras to deliver a paper on ‘Perspectives on Samadhi Stithi in different belief systems’ in 1956. Yamunacharya was chairperson for the ‘Joint Symposium on Indian Educational Values (BHU & NCERT)’ at New Delhi. He presented papers at the All India Oriental Conference and also at The Indian Philosophical Congress. He was invited to attend the Vicharagoshti at Varanasi (Kasi) in November of 1967. He made the trip there along with S. L. Bhyrappa.

LEGACY
M. Yamunacharya passed away on 4 January 1970. He was sitting on the sofa next to his wife, listening to her reading ‘Saadvi’ newspaper (a daily evening routine of the couple at their house, Veda Gruham). An ardent student of M. Yamunacharya and later Vice Chancellor of the University of Mysore, Prof. Parvathamma built a ‘Yamunacharya Memorial Hall’ in her compound and would regularly conduct tuition classes there! Yamunacharya was a Scholar, Philosopher, Teacher, Gandhian, Writer, Editor and an authority on Ramanujacharya & Vishistadvaita. Above all, he was a true Vedantin who lived, breathed and practised the very essence of what he taught, all his life. He lived his Philosophy and did so with impeccable grace. Kudos to him!


REFERENCES:
1.“Studies in Philosophy, Religion & Literature” by Prof. M. Yamunacharya (Prof M. Yamunacharya Memorial Trust, Bengaluru).
2.“Pranamapushpam” – Book released on 23 January 2013 on the occasion of “One Day National Seminar on Contributions of Prof. M. Yamunacharya to Philosophy” organised at the Dept. of Philosophy, Maharaja College, University of Mysore, Mysore.
3.Kind inputs from Sri Govinda Prasad (Yamunacharya’s son) and Sri S. G. Sitaram (Mysore), including the five radio interview recordings from AIR archives (now available on YouTube).
4.Photographs taken of M. Yamunacharya’s residence in Mysore – courtesy of Sri S. G. Sitaram and Prof. S. Naganath.
5.Inputs from www.sallapa.com
6.From Late S. L. Bhyrappa’s autobiographical reminiscences in “Bithi”.
7.Five Radio Interviews of M. Yamunacharya on All India Radio (AIR) Akashavani: https://youtu.be/GfsxIFvIVZE?si=tB8Uh1QvrstB_Mas

Mahatma Gandhi