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ISBN:
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ii
Preface
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groomed Him.
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presented. The hymn beautifully portrays the nondifference between Sri Adi Shankaracharya and Sri
Sacchidananda
Shivabhinava
Narasimha
Bharati
Mahaswamiji.
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12-05-2010
Kalady
GurusevaDhurina, Padmasri
Dr. V.R. Gowrishankar
CEO & Administrator
Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham,
Sringeri.
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CONTENTS
1. Parentage and Early Life ............................................. 1
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! Grihya Sutra VI - 12
Chola-desha The land came to be known so because it belonged to
Chola kingdom. Presently, it is a part of the state of Tamilnadu.
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Vishistadwaitins,
criticisms
launched
by
unfortunately he did not live to complete it.
though
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the Nizam of Hyderabad had great regard for him and was
anxious to comply with his wishes in every aspect, as well
as be helpful to him.
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worthy disciple who could develop into a great Jnani had at
last borne fruit. He sent Lakshminarasimha Shastri and
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that had come to him on the very first day of his initiation
into the fourth order - the feeling of the identity of his Self
with the whole universe of existing things? The scriptures
say that this great experience had come to great sages like
Shuka and Vamadeva when they were infants. The Guru
who was then engaged in his usual meditation heard the
murmured words. What should have been the delight and
amazement of the Guru on that occasion! What should have
been the force of experience of past births of the young
Swami!
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in his stead.
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performed his ChaturmasyaSankalpa in Bellary and remained there for two months.
His disciples in that place took upon themselves the whole
of the Math expenses during that period and served him
with great devotion. It has already been said that the Raja
of Jamkhandi visited the Mahaswamiji here. Another
distinguished visitor was the late Rajyadhurandhara Sri
K.Seshadri Iyer, the illustrious Dewan of Mysore who
looked upon the Jagadguru as an incarnation of God. Sri
Sheshadri Iyer came to Bellary and underwent BhashyaShanti at the hands of the Guru and received his blessings.
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Mahaswamiji
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From that day till the day of his death, the love and
devotion of K. Sheshadri Iyer towards the Mahaswamiji
was exemplary. He was initiated into several mantras by
Mahaswamiji. He also learnt some of the principal methods
of Yoga and made fair progress in it. He visited the
Mahaswamiji often, was numbered among his most
cherished disciples, learnt from him the methods of
contemplating Nirguna-Brahman and endeavoured to
secure supreme happiness; but as he was occupied with
worldly affairs he was unable to perfect himself in spiritual
training. It was his earnest desire to spend some years after
his retirement at the feet of his Guru to complete his
spiritual education but that ambition was not fulfilled
owing to his sudden death.
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From
Satyamangalam,
he
travelled
on
to
Gopichettipalayam and remained there during the days of
the Dasara festival. A rich land holder named
Shivakkolundu Mudaliar was desirous of installing an
image of Lord Sri Subrahmanya in this place, as desired by
his father. He desired to have the image installed according
to the Vedic rites by the Mahaswamiji and to arrange for its
worship in the Vaidika method. Till that time, the common
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properties that had been set apart for charity were kept
under the management of certain members of the family
who were maintaining out of the proceeds of these
properties, only one charity in the form of feeding Brahmin
travelers who came to the village.
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sorrow.
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6. Life at Sringeri
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were cleared; gold and silver plates and jewels were freshly
made at a cost of over one lakh of rupees. The Mahaswamiji
himself never gave a thought to these material
considerations; but his very presence was enough to inspire
his agent and his subordinates with zeal and it was their
fidelity, aided by the protecting-hand of the ruler of the
State that had accomplished all these tasks.
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Life at Sringeri
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It is needless to add that the sight of the innocent boyprinces of Mysore, removed from the strong hand of
paternal control touched his heart as nothing else could
have done and the first thing he did on his return to
Sringeri was pray to Goddess Sharadamba, soliciting her to
keep them from all peril and make them wise and pious. A
couple of stanzas from this hymn are given below:
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(O Bharati! May the two fine children of Sri Chamaraja
be thoroughly endowed with prosperity, very sharp
intellects, long life and happiness.)
This hymn he caused to be sung every night, before the
Life at Sringeri
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Life at Sringeri
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Life at Sringeri
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Life at Sringeri
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Life at Sringeri
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into the milk and sugar before he offered them to the God.
He examined the fresh flowers that had been fetched by his
servants before placing them at the feet of the Gods, lest
they should contain withered or otherwise unworthy ones.
It was not merely to set an example to the thousands who
came to witness the Puja, but this feeling of reverence and
attachment was instinctive with him.
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His childlike trust in the symbols of Godhead coexisted with his capacity for abstract meditation. For days
together, he gave up the external forms of worship and
devoted himself to meditating on the Supreme. He used to
spend a month almost every year, on the hill not far from
Sringeri, known as Narasimha Parvata. Here he lived in a
hermitage, a little removed from the quarters of his
attendants and spent his forenoon in prayer and
meditation. In the evenings he used to walk on the hills for
two or three miles, alone. Sannyasins and others who came
to pay their respects to him would stand a little aloof and
follow him a little distance behind, after their prostrations;
He did not speak to any one on these occasions but
communed with himself and nature. Only, his bright smile
irradiated the atmosphere around him and brought peace
of mind to those who beheld him even from a distance.
That famous poem of Sadashiva-Brahmendra, Atmavidya-vilasa, was his favourite work, which he used to
repeat to himself. Oftentimes when he was seated among
his pupils, he used to ask one of them to sing the verses of
this poem in a sweet voice. For five or six minutes he would
Life at Sringeri
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The noteworthy feature in all this was that his selfforgetfulness in the Samadhi on the Supreme Brahman was
followed by his wakeful state by intense love of God,
induced by his veneration for such outward symbols as the
padukas of his Guru, the images of his worship. It was a
love born of no earthly consideration, a love that seeks no
return, an intense and ethereal flame that baffles all
analysis, that glories in self-prompted and unquestioning
surrender. This Avyaja-bhakti (devotion without motives)
led to the Light and the vision beatific - in which the God in
man and the God in the Universe are fused into one. Sri
Shankaracharya says in Vivekachudamani:
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(Repeated salutations to the pair of padukas of the preeminent Guru that removed the dumbness of the son of the
Brahmin livening in the village of Ashrama and confer
bliss.)
The Mahaswamiji, however, never thought he had a
part to play on such occasions. He would only pour his
heart out to the Divine Mother:
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Life at Sringeri
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progeny. But he got none. He was now fifty years and lost
all hope of getting children and bequeathing to them his
fortune. He now wished to hand over what he had, to the
Sringeri Peetham, wrote a will to that effect and prayed to
the Mahaswamiji to accept his bequest for the Peetham. The
Mahaswamiji sent him back saying 'Mother does not want
your fortune; She prefers that you should bequeath your
fortune to your children. So please take the will and go
back to your place. The gentleman instead of taking back
the will as directed, simply added a codicil that if he should
get issues his proportion might go to them; otherwise they
should go to the Peetham, and left it with the authorities of
the Peetham. The man got afterwards three sons and three
daughters and lived to a ripe old age. Instances may be
multiplied; but it is needless. There are hundreds who have
had personal experience of the Mahaswamiji's potent
blessings.
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there to visit him and after that, proceed on his further tour.
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the
Maharaja,
performed
the
worship
of
Chandramouleeshwara and other deities in the palace,
accepted the Pada-Puja performed by the Maharaja in
accordance with the established custom and blessed the
Maharaja and other members of the Royal family. Although
he had intended to return to his lodgings after these
ceremonies were over, he remained the whole day in the
palace at the request of Maharaja and returned to his camp
late at night, after performing the evening worship. As the
time for Chaturmasya-Sankalpa was drawing near and as
the journey he had undertaken was a prolonged and
arduous one, he was able to remain in Mysore only for
thirteen days.
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ment were all there in time to see that the sanitary and
other arrangements made for the comfort of the crowd of
expected visitors were satisfactory. The Peshkar of
Kottayam division was also there with his subordinates; all
the lodgings were provided with cooking and vessels needed for the use of the occupants; provisions and other
materials were stocked on a liberal scale. Persons were
deputed to receive visitors at the Railway station and to
provide conveyances for them to proceed to Kalady as well
as to provide them with accommodation and food supplies
after their arrival at Kalady.
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10. Videhamukti
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Ever since his return from the Kalady tour, the Swami
was suffering from bronchial trouble during the cold
season. On the Shuklapaksha Saptami of Magha in
It may be incidentally mentioned here that of the first batch of eight students, seven
came out successful in the final examination, held under the auspices of Jagadguru Sri
Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji, with the help of eminent pundits during the
Navaratri festival in the year Siddharthi (1919) and were awarded the title of Panditapravara and received shawls and gold chains and certificates in recognition of their
proficiency. Three of them became Pundits in the Sringeri Math; one became a professor
in the Sanskrit College, Mylapore; one a teacher in the Sanskrit school at Puducode,
established by the late Justice P.R. Sundara Iyer, one a Pundit in the Government Library
Mysore; and the seventh a teacher in a Sanskrit Patashala, established at Chittoor, Cochin
State, by Sri Dharmasila Krishna Iyer.
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Videhamukti
165
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166
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167
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168
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169
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170
Sannidhanam.
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Videhamukti
171
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172
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175
manhood, it was the same love that threw him into the
rapturous joy of fervent devotion.
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176
adopted may have been different, but the result was the
same the suffering of the disciple was alleviated and their
minds were suffused with bliss. Sometimes, the very
Darshan of the Mahaswamiji was sufficient for the suffering
of the devotees to disappear.
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177
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178
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179
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I. GurudvayaAbheda
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Gurudvaya-Abheda-Anusandhanam
181
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-1 salute with humility the world-Preceptor Sri
Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrsimha Bharati, who has
vowed to protect all the worlds, who sanctified the entire land
184
by the dust under His feet, and whose mind always abides in
the self-luminous Consciousness.
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meditate
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Preceptor Sri
Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrsimha Bharati, who is the
Sun to the darkness (of ignorance) in the hearts of His
disciples, who is the avowed protector of the scriptures and
traditions, and who shone with scholarliness praised by the
highly learned.
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