Some people, though we see them everyday, cannot impact our feelings. Whereas we feel connected to some, even though we don’t know them and are centuries apart. A sense of warmth and deep feeling of affection arises in our hearts, when we read about them. Even though I do not personally know the Britisher who ruled us, I felt some unknown affection towards Major General Sir Thomas Munro.
Sir Thomas Munro was born on May 27, 1761 in the city of Glasgow, England and died on July 6, 1827 of cholera in Pattikonda which is near Gooty, Rayalaseema, India. He was the Governor of Madras region at that time. His final rites were performed at Gooty near Guntakal, and his ashes were delivered to Madras.
There are surprising truths behind his life, which leave us in utter bewilderment. Would anyone believe that Sir Thomas Munro, in his past life, was Sri Appanacharya, a disciple of Sri Raghavendra Swamy? This is believed to be true by all the devotees of Sri Raghavendra Swamy. I came to the same conclusion after observing his horoscope. Not only that, Sir Thomas Munro in his next life was none other than Sushameendra Teertha Swamy, who held the Acharya position of Mantralaya Peetham and passed away in Bangalore. Please read further to know more about this astonishing truth.
Firstly, I must tell you a little about Appanacharya. Mantralaya Raghavendra Swamy had a disciple by the name of Appanacharya. Raghavendra Swamy requests Appanacharya to take over the Peetham after him. But Appanacharya refuses by saying that he was not yet ready for it and he still had worldly desires remaining in his mind. So, Appanacharya in his next life was born as Sir Thomas Munro and as Madras Governor arrives at Mantralayam to take over the Mutt. Sir Thomas Munro himself wrote that Sri Raghavendra Swamy emerged from his Samadhi, gave darshan and spoke to him. Later, Thomas Munro made arrangements to travel to England, but before his departure, desired to visit his favorite place Bellary and died at Pattikonda due to Cholera.
In the next life, he was born in a Brahmin family in Karnataka, and in his subsequent birth, was born as H.H. Sushameendra Teertha Swamy and became the pontiff of Mantralayam Mutt, thus fulfilling his Guru Sri Raghavendra Swamy’s wish, and passed away in Bangalore.
Soon, I will include photos taken by me of a statue of Thomas Munro at Pattikonda and of Appanacharya and his house in Bhikshalayam (today’s Bichali village) near Tungabhadra river in Mantralayam. We can do a comparative research on the charts of Thomas Munro and Swamiji later. For now observe the similarities in features of Swamiji and Thomas Munro in their photographs.
All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Shakuntala N, which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on September 1, 2009. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.