Great saint Sri Chandolu Sastry garu

Om

After a long waiting period we were fortunate to visit Chandolu near Tenali on the way to Replella in Guntur District.   There lived a great saint Sri Tadepalli Raghava Narayana Sastry garu who was a great scholar and veda pandit.  

He was also Sri Bala upasaka .  Mother goddess was always around him in house.  He was great yogi with high divine powers which were not used for his personal requirements.  He accepted everything as prarabda karma.  He also mastered in Ayurveda shastram  where he treated many medical problems like women abdominal issues (Grabha dosha) and blessed them.   A Veda pathashala is also running there till today.

After his demise his son is carrying out the tradition and culture in the same place.  He is also well versed in Vedas and Ayurveda shastra.

The time we visited that place it was not less than a feeling of entering holy shrine⁄temple. We  were cordially received by his grandson, as the son of Sastry garu went to bless somebody on a occasion.  Very patiently he explained about his grandfather (Sastry garu) and miracles of that time.  It was told that sri Sastry garu (Also refered as Chandolu Sastry garu) was a great Sri Bala mantra upasaka and sometimes the mother goddess used to represent him in her voice and answer.  He frequently immersed in the Samadhi for days together in the huge backyard of his home.  He planted many Ayurveda trees and plants.  There is one peepal  and neem tree which are nearly 100 years old.  There is a huge gowshala (Cow shed) with 100 cow capacity where the vedic  students used to do thri-kala sahasra gayatri seated scattered in that huge place.  

All the objects used by sastry garu are kept in respective places and worshipped.  Navaratri  (Dussehra) utsava is celebrated gloriously in same tradition even now.  Sri Dattatreya and Sri Dakshinamurthy are also worshipped at same place. 

There used to be nearly 100 students in veda patashala during Sri Sastry gari time for learning Vedas and Smartham.  The father of Sastry garu was also great veda pandit and upasaka with capability of vision  of Kailasa(abode of God Siva) from his place.   The walking God Sri Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswathiswamy once visited Sri Sastry garu and addressed him as Yogi following Sanyasa Asharma Dharma though living in the Gruhasthashrama.  Sri Vangala Ram murthy garu Ghanapathi is also an close associate of Sastry garu who train many aspirants in Veda Sastra patanam even today.    

Out of 100 students in Veda Patashala,  now hardly 10 students are carrying out their studies.  Such huge Gowshala now look pale and empty with only one Gowmatha (Cow).  It’s a pathetic  feeling to see such a glorious place is underutilized due to lack of vedic aspirants.  Even now the same principles and rules are followed as were during Sri Sastry gari regime.  Any out gone student of Chandolu Patashalal has good recognition and fame.  Apart from pandits of same family there are even inhouseVeda⁄Sanskrit lecturers who run the school now.