Devaki

Devaki, the second wife of Kuttan Menon, was highly educated and a post-graduate in Sanskrit. She was intensely spiritual and used to entertain swamis of the Ramakrishna Order frequently. Strict fasting, japa and other such sadhanas characterised her daily routine. Naturally, she had a lot of respect for Swami Chinmayananda. So did her children, who looked up to the resplendent young swami, who continued to offer his affection and support for all of them.

There is an interesting episode narrated by Vijaya, one of Devaki’s daughters. She explains how Gurudev helped the family at a time when all of them were ill.

Devaki’s brother, Puthezhath Rama Menon, was the Sarvadhikari of Cochin State, and later a High Court judge. He was a well-known writer in Malayalam and became a Fellow of Kerala Sahitya Academy. He was the president of Chinmaya Mission Thrissur for a few years and arranged Gurudev’s first jnana yajna in Thrissur.