Shri Shyamji Khatu

Shri Shyamji Khatu

He is the star of Shyam Baba which traced support to the medieval Mahabharata. Barbareek be the child of the grand Pandava brother - Bhim and Nag Kanya - Ahilawati. Barbareek, from beginning his babyhood was especially courageous and a large soldier. Shyamji khatu was interested to making a drawing of struggle from her mother. Lord Shiva satisfied and given him a three perfect arrows (Teen Baan) Agni Dev (Fire God) also give the Bow, which has create him winning in the three worlds.



The fight of Mahabharata be the certain among the Pandavas and Kauravas, and has got the information, Barbareek required to view the huge battle. Shyamji khatu assure his mother, so he felt the support, to contribute in the fight, he would connect the surface behind. Shyamji khatu ride the navy Horse (Leela Ghora) prepared through the three arrows and bow. The universal Lord Krishna, cover as a Brahmin, closed Barbareek to observe his power. He still tries to tease Barbareek saw the leaving toward the huge fight with simply three arrows.



Resting going this, Barbareek reply that just single arrow was sufficient to demolish every enemy in the battle; also it would afterward go back to his shiver. But when all the three be used, it would create havoc in the three worlds. Lord Krishna faces him to attach all the leaves of the peepal tree below were he had taken its position, through single arrow. Barbareek established the face, detached one arrow since his tremble and free from his bow.



The arrow joined every the leaves mutually quich in a second. Although Lord Krishna has one leaf below his base. The arrow subsequently in progress rotating roughly his base as well as he asks the young man, whom he would favors in the fighting. Barbareek repeat so as he would battle for the area which loses. Lord Krishna knows that beat of Kauravas was expected, but this vrave child connect them, the effect live in their support.



The Brahmin (Lord Krishna) required gifts since the child. Barbareek assure him everything he desire. Lord Krishna requests him to provide his skull in contributions. The child was surprised, except he preserve his swear. He demands the Brahmin toward reveal his self. Lord Krishna shows him his great structure.



He clarifies to Barbareek facing the fight; arrange to love the battlefield, Kshatriya requests to be sacrifice. With measured Barbareek toward the bravest, and therefore invite his chief in contributions.



Barbareek demand the required observing the fight cultivate its ending, as well as his desire was settled. Thus on the12th day of Shukla Paksha of Falgun month, he provides his skull to Lord Krishna (SHISH DAAN). The skull was located atop a mount near the battleground since wherever; Barbareek might observe the full battle.



While the fight is ended moreover Pandavas have win, they quarrel with themselves was dependable for success. By Lord Krishna recommended that Barbareek's skull have watched the complete fight, and who else would be an improved judge. Barbareek's skull optional it was Lord Krishna who dependable for the conquest, his instruction, his incidence, his gameplan had been critical. He might see only the Sudarshan Chakra rotating roughly the battleground which is hack the Kaurava army to portion and Draupadi assume the scared structure of Mahakali Durga was consumption bowl behind sink of blood with was not allow still one fall of blood to resting on the soil.



Lord Krishna, satisfied with Barbareek's huge sacrifice, decided him the advantage that when Kaliyug fall down, he would be worshipped by the name of Shyam in his structure. His supporter would be holy presently by assert his forename since the floor of their spirit.



His skull was then covered in Khatu. Milk was flowing from the cow’s and while she attain the mark. Presently, the rest was dig up, as well as the chief emerge. The skull was handed above to a Brahmin who worshipped the skull for several days. The emperor of Khatu had a vision wherever he was moved to construct a temple and establish the head. Later, a holy place was constructing and the skull "SHISH" was install on the 11th day of Shukla Paksha of Kartick month.

Sadguru Nityananda

Sadguru Nityananda

Sadguru Nityananda (November/December, 1897 – August 8, 1961) was an Indian guru. His teachings are published in the "Chidakash Gita". Nityananda was born in Quilandy (Pandalayini), Kerala, South India.

Early Life

Details about Nityananda's birth are relatively unknown. According to his disciples, Nityananda was found as an abandoned infant in Tuneri village, Kozhikode, India by a lady named Uniamma Nair, who was married to Chathu Nair. The Nair couple adopted this child and took care of him along with their own five children. Nityananda was named as Raman by his foster parents. The Nair couple worked as farm labourers on a farmland owned by a wealthy lawyer named Ishwar Iyer, who greatly trusted them. Nityananda's foster father died when he was three and his foster mother when he was six. Before dying she handed over her responsibility of Nityananda to Ishwar Iyer. Even in childhood, Nityananda seemed to be in an unusually advanced spiritual state, which gave rise to the belief that he was born enlightened. He was eventually given the name Nityananda, which means, "always in bliss".

Before the age of twenty, Nityananda became a wandering yogi, spending time on yogic studies and practices in the Himalayas and other places. By 1920, he was back in southern India.

Adult Life

Bhagawan Nityananda as a young Yogi.

Settled in southern India, Nityananda gained a reputation for creating miracles and wonderful cures. He started building an ashram near Kanhangad, Kerala state. The local police thought he must be producing counterfeit money to pay for the building, so Nityananda took them to a crocodile-infested pool in the jungle. He dived in and then produced handfuls of money, which was apparently enough to satisfy the police. The beautiful hill temple and Ashram in Kanhangad are now pilgrim centres. The Guru Van, a forest in the hills nearby where Bhagawan sat on penance, is now a pilgrim retreat.

By 1923, Nityananda had wandered to the Tansa Valley in Maharashtra state. There, his reputation as a miracle worker attracted people from as far away as Mumbai, though he never took credit for any miracles. He said, "Everything that happens, happens automatically by the will of God." Nityananda gave a great deal of help to the local adivasis, who were despised by the population at large. Nityananda set up a school, as well as providing food and clothing for them.

As a guru, Nityananda gave relatively little by way of verbal teachings. Starting in the early 1920s, his devotees in Mangalore would sit with him in the evenings. Most of the time he was silent, though occasionally he would give teachings. A devotee named Tulsiamma wrote down some of his teachings and his answers to her specific queries. Later, these notes were compiled and published in the Kannada language and came to be known as the Chidaksha Geeta.

Some believe that Nityananda had the power to transmit spiritual energy (shaktipat) to people through non-verbal means. He could also be extremely fiery and intimidating in his behaviour, even to the point of throwing rocks on occasion. This was his way of deterring people who were not serious in their spiritual aspirations, or who came to him with ulterior motives.

In 1936, he went to the Shiva temple in the village of Ganeshpuri and asked if he could stay there. The family that looked after the temple agreed and built a hut for him. As his visitors and followers increased, the hut expanded and became an ashram. To the people around him, he was an avadhuta: one who is absorbed in the transcendental state.

Nityananda died on August 8, 1961. His Samadhi is located in Ganeshpuri at the Samadhi Mandir. There is also a shrine dedicated him in the Gurudev Siddha Peeth ashram at Ganeshpuri. His ashram, tourist hostel, and other buildings associated with his life in Ganeshpuri are preserved by the Shree Bhimeshwar Sadguru Nityanand Sanstha Ganeshpuri. This trust is also responsible for his samadhi shrine in Ganeshpuri, which is a pilgrimage site.

A trust at Kanhangad looks after the Ashram and temples located there. The trust also runs a few educational institutions and a dharmasala.[citation needed]

Nityananda’s Guru

According to Nityananda's biographers, the identity of Nityananda's guru is a mystery. Some believe that he had no guru. In one of his talks, Swami Muktananda said Nityananda’s Guru was an unknown Siddha Purusha from Kerala. At least one photograph has been identified showing him with a teacher named Swami Sivananda when Nityananda was a young man.

Books Further reading

* Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, by Swami Muktananda. Siddha Yoga Publications, 2nd edition (1996). ISBN 0911307451.
* Life of Bhagawan Nityananda & Chidakasha Geeta, by Deepa Kodikal. Surendra Kalyanpur, 2007.
* Nityananda: The Divine Presence, by M.U. Hatengdi, 1990.

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Five hundred years ago Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the most recent incarnation of Krishna, taught by His own example that one can live the essence of Bhagavad-gita by chanting Krishna’s holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Sri Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu both taught Bhakti yoga, the spiritual practice of connecting with God through devotional service to Him. Based on Their teachings, in 1966 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, referred to as Srila Prabhupada, founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City.

Srila Prabhupada and his disciples popularized the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in the 1960s and 1970s, and it spread to countries around the globe. Though the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is the legal name for the movement Prabhupada started, most people know it as the Hare Krishna movement.

Birth and Parentage

Pundit Jagannath Misra, alias Purandar Misra, a pious Brahmin of the Vaidik sub-caste, had migrated from Sylhet and settled at Nadia or Nabadwip, a city of learned men in the Nabadwip district of West Bengal, situated on the river Ganges, seventy-five miles north of Calcutta. Jagannath Misra's wife was Sachi Devi, daughter of the scholar Nilamber Chakravarti. She also was a pious lady. A son was born to Jagannath Misra and Sachi on the night of the full moon, on 4th February, 1486 A.D., at Nabadwip.

The newborn child was named Viswambar. He was the tenth child of Jagannath Misra and Sachi Devi. The first eight--all daughters--died soon after their birth. The ninth was Viswarup, a son. He abandoned the world at sixteen when he was being forced to marry and entered a monastery in South India. The women, thinking that Sachi had lost many children, gave the tenth child, Viswambar, the bitter name of Nimai (derived from the name of the Neem tree) as a protection against all evil influences. The neighbours called him Gaur or Gaur-Hari or Gauranga (fair-complexioned) on account of his marvellous beauty. Gaur means fair and Anga means body; and they called him Gaur-Hari, because he was so fond of the name 'Hari' that nothing could soothe him, when he cried during childhood, save Hari's name.

Boyhood and Studies

Gouranga studied logic at the school of Vasudev Sarvabhauma, a reputed professor of Nyaya. The extraordinary intellect of Gauranga attracted the attention of Raghunath, author of the famous book on logic called Didheeti. Raghunath thought within himself that he was the most intelligent youth in the world. He thought that he was more intelligent than his teacher Sarvabhauma. Raghunath's one great ambition was that he should be the foremost man of learning in the whole world. But, when he found that Gauranga, though much younger than himself, was more intelligent and learned, he began to lose hope. His heart was filled with fear. Gauranga was at that time writing a commentary on Nyaya. This made Raghunath more nervous. Raghunath wanted to see the commentary of Gauranga. But he doubted whether Gauranga would consent to show it to him. Anyhow Raghunath requested Gauranga to show him his commentary on Nyaya. Gauranga readily consented to read it to Raghunath. When they were crossing the river by boat, Gauranga read out his commentary to Raghunath. Raghunath found that Gauranga's commentary was a masterly original exposition. Raghunath's hopes of occupying the first place in the world as professor of Nyaya were blasted. He wept bitterly. Gauranga asked, "Brother Raghunath, what is the matter with you? Why do you weep? I shall console you". Raghunath spoke out the truth: "Brother Gauranga, I have a strong ambition that I should attain the first place in the whole world as a professor of Nyaya. With this hope I have written a book on Nyaya thinking that it will beat out all the existing books. But my hope is entirely gone now, because your book really excels my book. It is concise, clear and original. It is indeed a scholarly production. This is the reason why I wept".

Gauranga also burst into tears. He said to Raghunath: "Is that all? Then do not weep, my dear brother. Nyaya is after all a dry philosophy. I will not be benefited much". He threw the manuscript into the river. From that moment he gave up the study of Nyaya. Look at the magnanimous heart of Gauranga! Gauranga's Nyaya was lost to the world. Didheeti of Raghunath became the first authority on Nyaya.

Gauranga mastered all branches of Sanskrit learning such as grammar, logic, literature, rhetoric, philosophy and theology. He developed marvellous talents. He was a genius. He himself started a Tol or place of learning. He was then sixteen years old and he was the youngest professor to be in charge of a Tol.

Gauranga was kind and compassionate. He was pure and gentle. He was sweet and loving. He was humane and sympathetic. He was a friend of the poor. He lived with them, served them and cheered them. He was very simple in his life.

Death of Gauranga's Father

While Gauranga was still a student, his father died. Gauranga then married Lakshmi, the daughter of Vallabhacharya. He excelled all the Pundits and defeated even a reputed scholar of another province. He made a tour of the eastern region of Bengal and received many valuable gifts from pious and generous-hearted householders. On his return he heard that his wife had died of snake-bite during his absence. He then married Vishnupriya. He entertained pupils and taught them. He became proud of his vast erudition.
A Turning Point in Gauranga's Life

In 1509, Gauranga went on a pilgrimage to Gaya with his companions. Here he met Isvar Puri, a Sannyasin of the order of Madhvacharya, and took him as his Guru. A marvellous change of life now came over Gauranga. He became a devotee of Lord Krishna. His pride of learning entirely vanished. He shouted, "Krishna, Krishna! Hari Bol, Hari Bol!". He laughed, wept, jumped, danced in ecstasy, fell on the ground and rolled in the dust. When he was in an ecstatic mood, he never ate or drank.

Gauranga proceeded to witness the footprints of Lord Krishna in the Gadadhar temple. He stood before the footprints motionless as a statue. He became absorbed in meditation. Tears gushed out of his eyes in continuous stream. His cloth was drenched with tears. He was about to fall down. Isvar Puri rushed forward and supported him. Gradually Gauranga came back to consciousness. He spoke to Isvar Puri: "Oh venerable Guru, have mercy on me. Extricate me from the quagmire of Samsara. Initiate me into the mysteries of Radha's love for Krishna. Let me develop pure Prem for Lord Krishna. Let me drink the nectar of Krishna-prema-rasa".

Isvar Puri then gave Gauranga the ten-lettered Mantra of Lord Krishna. Purva Raga (love springing from a previous cause) dawned in the heart of Gauranga. He always remained in a meditative mood. He forgot to take his food. Tears trickled down his eyes. He swooned sometimes. He muttered again and again, "Lord Krishna, my Father! Where art Thou? I cannot live without Thee. Thou art my sole refuge, my solace. Thou art my real father, mother, friend, relative and Guru. Reveal Thy form to me always". Sometimes Gauranga would gaze with vacant eyes. Sometimes he would sit in the position of meditation. He tried to conceal his silent tears from his companions. Sometimes he was unconscious of his surroundings. Gauranga wanted to go to Brindavan, but his companions forcibly took him back to Nabadwip.
Nitai

Nitai alias Nityananda was a Brahmin by birth. He took to the ascetic life at the age of twelve. He wandered about in quest of Krishna. He resided at Brindavan for sometime, but could not find out his Krishna. Gauranga took Nityananda to his own house and introduced him to his mother: "Mother, here is another son of yours. He is my elder brother. The lost Viswarup has come back to you now. Take him as your Viswarup". Sachi said to Nitai: "Child, come. Take care of your younger brother. Protect him. He is careless and thoughtless. Now I need not be anxious about him. Sit down, my child. Take your food and be happy".

Nityananda conducted Sankirtan in various places. Nabadwip resounded with Hari Nama. Nitai spent whole nights in singing the praises of Radha and Krishna. Religious processions were frequently arranged in which the devotees, headed by Gauranga and Nityananda, went dancing and singing through the streets or gathered in the courtyards of houses.

Gauranga was an embodiment of love. He lived, moved and had his being in love. His speech was full of love. He radiated love to all. His touch was a magnetism of love. He sang in love. He breathed in love. He walked in love. He showed by practice how God should be loved. He taught little by precept, but more by example. If he simply uttered one word, "You will be blessed with Bhakti", it was quite sufficient to throw a man into Samadhi and fill his heart with Prem (love). Such was Gauranga's power.

When Gauranga passed along the streets and roads, his powerful Prem current influenced and overpowered thousands. They uttered irresistibly "Hari Bol! Hari Bol!" and danced in ecstasy.
Gauranga Becomes a Sannyasin

The learned and the orthodox began to hate and oppose Gauranga. But Gauranga stood adamant. He converted only a few persons. He resolved to become a Sannyasin for their salvation. He thought within himself: "As I must get salvation for all these proud scholars and orthodox householders, I must become a Sannyasin. They will undoubtedly bow to me when they see me as a Sannyasin, and thus they will be purified, and their hearts will be filled with devotion. There is no other way of securing emancipation for them".

So, at the age of twenty-four, Gauranga got himself initiated by Swami Keshava Bharati under the name of 'Krishna Chaitanya', usually shortened into 'Chaitanya'. His mother, the tender-hearted Sachi, was heartbroken. But Chaitanya consoled her in every possible way and carried out her wishes. He bore deep love and reverence for his mother till the end of his life.

Chaitanya was extremely dispassionate. He abandoned all sorts of sensual pleasures as poison. He was very strict in observing the rules of Sannyasa. He declined to grant an interview to Raja Pratap Rudra of Orissa, because it is a great sin for a Sannyasin to see a king. It is as sinful as looking at a woman. If a Sannyasin sees a Raja or a king, gradually he will be attached to the Raja. As the mind has the habit of imitating, the Sannyasin also will begin to lead a life of luxury and have a downfall eventually. That is the reason why a Sannyasin is prohibited from seeing a Raja. Gauranga never saw a woman in the face. He did not allow any woman to approach him. He slept on the ground with bare body.

Gauranga was a great Vaishnavite preacher. He disseminated the doctrines and principles of Vaishnavism far and wide. Nityananda, Sanatan, Rupa, Swarup Damodar, Advaitacharya, Sribas, Haridas, Murari, Gadadhar and others helped Chaitanya in his mission.

Conversion of Jagai and Madhai

Jagai and Madhai of Nabadwip were the most abandoned of sinners and the worst of criminals ever known to history. They were brothers. They were the Kotwals of Nabadwip. They plundered the rich, outraged the modesty of women and committed murders on the slightest provocation. There was no heinous crime on earth which those brothers had not committed. Though Brahmins by caste, they were inveterate drunkards.

Chaitanya and Nitai undertook the serious task of reclaiming the two brothers. Chaitanya proposed to his devotees that they should go to the tent of Jagai and Madhai, doing Kirtan all the way, and then give Hari Nam to them.

Chaitanya and his devotees appeared in the streets and started the Sankirtan. Nitai was at the head of the party. He led the party to the camp of Jagai and Madhai. He then came face to face with the two brothers. Nitai said, "Pray, dear brothers, take Krishna's name and serve Krishna, for He is the Supreme Lord". This exhortation inflamed Madhai, the stronger of the two. Madhai pelted Nitai with the broken neck of an earthen jar and inflicted a gaping wound in his forehead. Blood gushed from the wound. Nitai pressed the wound with both hands to stop the gush. Madhai picked another piece of the same jar and wanted to throw it on the head of Nitai. Jagai caught hold of Madhai's arms and remonstrated with him: "Hold Madhai. You are very cruel. What is the merit of killing a Sannyasin? It will do you no good".

News was conveyed to Gauranga, who was behind in the Kirtan party, that Jagai and Madhai were killing Nitai. Gauranga immediately ran to the spot where Nitai stood wounded. He took his own cloth and wrapped it round the forehead of Nitai to stop the bleeding. He then embraced Jagai for the good he had rendered to Nitai by checking Madhai from attacking Nitai again. Jagai fell down in a state of trance. Madhai was in a state of despair. He lost all power of speech. He prostrated at the feet of Gauranga: "O Lord, I am a great sinner. Have mercy on me". Gauranga asked Madhai to go to Nitai and seek his pardon. Madhai apologized to Nitai. Nitai pardoned Madhai and embraced him. Madhai also, like his brother, fell down in a state of trance.

Afterwards those brothers became holy saints, and as beloved of the world as they were hated and dreaded in their earlier days for their brutality. They atoned for their past misdeeds by going over on their knees in utter humility before everybody who went to the river for bathing and by doing for them all sorts of menial services. They prepared, spade in hand, a bathing Ghat which is still known by the name of "Madhai's Ghat" at Nabadwip.
Talks to Washerman

Gauranga with his companions came to a washerman who was beating the clothes upon a piece of plank. He asked the washerman to say 'Hari Bol!'. The washerman thought that the mendicants had come to beg alms from him. He said to Gauranga, "Oh mendicant, I am very poor. I have nothing to give you. Gauranga said, "I do not want anything from you. Say 'Hari Bol!' at least once". The washerman refused. He thought he would be required to pay something to the mendicant. He said, "I am very poor. I cannot give up beating the cloth in order to utter the Name you have given to me". Gauranga said, "I shall do the beating of the cloth. Please say, 'Hari Bol!'". The washerman said, 'Hari Bol!'. Then Gauranga asked him to repeat the same twice. The washerman repeated twice. Then the fire of devotion started. The washerman repeated the name unasked. He began to dance in ecstasy raising both his hands high.

The wife of the washerman brought some food to the washerman. She saw her husband dancing with uplifted hands uttering: "Hari Bol! Hari Bol!". She also noticed that her husband had no consciousness of his surroundings. She tried to rouse him by calling him loudly but in vain. She was frightened. She ran to the village and said to the relatives and neighbours, "A ghost has taken possession of my husband. Please help me. Drive away the ghost from him". They all proceeded immediately to see the washerman. He was still dancing in ecstasy. They were afraid to go near him. At last a bold man caught hold of the washerman and tried to stop his dancing. He too caught the contagion and began to dance with the washerman uttering, "Hari Bol! Hari Bol!". He embraced the onlookers. They too caught the contagion and danced in ecstasy. The people of the whole village were affected. Gauranga enjoyed the scene for some time and left the place.
Pilgrimages

Chaitanya, along with his friend Nityananda, proceeded towards Orissa. He preached Vaishnavism wherever he went and held Sankirtan. He attracted thousands of people wherever he went. He stayed for some time at Puri and then proceeded to the South. Gauranga visited the Tirupathi hills, Kancheepuram and the famous Srirangam on the banks of the Cauvery. From Srirangam he proceeded to Madurai, Rameswaram and Kanyakumari. He visited also Udipi, Pandharpur and Nasik. He visited Brindavan. He bathed in the Yamuna and in several sacred pools and visited the various shrines for worship. He prayed and danced in ecstasy to his heart's content. He also visited Nabadwip, his birthplace. At last Gauranga returned to Puri and settled there. He spent his remaining days at Puri only. Disciples and admirers from Bengal, Brindavan and various other places came to Puri to pay their respects to Gauranga. Gauranga held Kirtan and religious discourses daily.
Miracle at Puri

At Puri a miracle happened. During the car festival, the car of Jagannath did not move. All the pilgrims tried their combined strength. It proved futile. The gigantic elephants of the Raja of Puri also failed to move the car. All were in a stage of suspense and dilemma. Gauranga came just then. He pushed the car by his head and the car moved at once. All the pilgrims and devotees rent the air with the sound 'Hari Bol!'.
Conversion of Sarvabhauma

Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was a great Vedantic scholar. Once Chaitanya went in an ecstatic mood to the temple of Jagannath. He rushed to embrace the image, but fell down on the ground in a deep swoon. The guard was about to beat Gauranga. The learned scholar Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, the minister of King Pratap Rudra of Orissa, removed Chaitanya to his house. His students carried Gauranga on their shoulders and put him down on a clean spot in the house. The devotees uttered loudly the name of 'Hari' in the ears of Gauranga. Gauranga came back to consciousness.

Sarvabhauma thought that Gauranga was a young man without any control of passion and knowledge of Vedanta. He did not like Kirtan and Nritya (dancing). He desired to re-initiate Gauranga. Gauranga humbly listened to Sarvabhauma for many days. Sarvabhauma expounded the following verse in nine different ways. Chaitanya showed his skill in Sanskrit and expounded the same verse in sixty-one different ways. Sarvabhauma was struck with wonder. The verse runs:
"Atmaramascha Munayo Nigranthapi Urukrame,
Kurvanty Ahaitukim Bhaktim Ithambhuta Guno Hari"

"Hari's qualities are so charming that the Atmarama Yogis--though they are Nigranthas (i.e., outside the influence of illusion or Shastraic injunctions)--become contemplative and are attracted by the same into adoring the Urukrama Hari with selfless love and devotion." Sarvabhauma had neither devotion nor realisation. He was only a dry learned Pundit. Gauranga was a great scholar and yet he was humble. He would never indulge in such talks as were calculated to wound the feelings of others. He would never feel a sense of elation if he got victory in his debates. Gauranga eventually converted Sarvabhauma to his faith and criticised his arguments one by one. Gauranga embraced Sarvabhauma. Sarvabhauma fainted in an ecstasy of divine joy. He then rose and danced. He prostrated at the feet of Gauranga and said, "Oh venerable Master! Logic had made my heart as hard as iron. I had no devotion. Thou hast melted me. Salutations unto thee, O powerful Lord!".

Lord Gauranga converted all the leaders of Advaita and the heads of the Vaishnavas who came under his fold. Prakasananda, the Advaitacharya of Varanasi, was also converted. The ministers of the King of Gour were subjugated. Kazi, the Governor, was conquered. The King of Orissa became Gauranga's ardent and devoted disciple. He recognised Gauranga as an Avatara of Lord Krishna.
Healing a Leper

Vasudeva was a humble, pious and good-natured Brahmin. He suffered from leprosy--a loathsome disease. He was forced to live apart from his friends and relatives on account of the abominable stench emitted by his body. He used to pick up the maggots that dropped from his sores and put them back in their place. Vasudeva had extreme compassion and equal vision. He believed that all living creatures had an equal right to live and that he had no right to deprive them (the worms) of their natural food. What a magnanimous soul with a wonderful soft heart!

Vasudeva lived in the vicinity of the temple of Kurma at Jagannath. At night he heard of Chaitanya's arrival in the temple of Kurma. Next morning he proceeded to the temple to see him. He learnt that the Master had left the place half an hour earlier. On hearing this he fell down in a faint from disappointment and sorrow, exclaiming as he fell, "O Lord Krishna, hast Thou forsaken me?".

Chaitanya, who was then passing along the road, heard the cry of Vasudeva and ran towards the temple. He lifted the leper in his arms and embraced him, and lo! the leprosy disappeared and the body became sound and beautiful. Vasudeva said, "Oh Lord! Thou hast embraced me! All people fled from me due to the stench of my body. I came here to pay my respects to Thee and see Thy lotus feet. Certainly I did not come here with any idea of being healed. The loathsome malady taught me to be humble and compassionate and to remember the Lord at all times. But a healthy body will again generate pride and vanity and I will forget the Lord".

Chaitanya consoled him and said, "O Vasudeva! My child! You have the grace of Lord Krishna. You will never again be puffed up with vanity and pride. Lord Krishna has already accepted you on account of your extreme humility and compassion towards all living creatures and even to those worms which fed on your body. Repeat Lord Krishna's Name and save men by making them also repeat Krishna's Name".
Kirtan at the Residence of Sreebas

Pundit Sreebas was a sincere devotee of Gauranga. The first Kirtan party was formed in the courtyard of Sreebas's house. It was there that the Kirtan was usually held. Chaitanya Bhagavata was written by Sreebas's grandson in his house.

There was a grand Kirtan in the house of Sreebas one night. Gauranga and the Bhaktas were dancing in great joy. Now a maid-servant entered the courtyard and made a sign to Sreebas to follow her. Sreebas left the Kirtan and went inside the house. Sreebas's only son was seriously ailing from cholera. Sreebas saw now that his son was in a dying condition. His wife was weeping. Sreebas told her, "Do not weep. This will disturb the joy of our Lord. It is a great fortune that our son is dying when Hari's Kirtan is being done in the house". In a few minutes the soul of the boy left the body. Sreebas joined in the Kirtan and danced in joy. He was not a bit affected. The matter could not be kept secret for a long time. Anyhow it reached the ears of a Kirtanist. He stopped the Kirtan. Another heard the news. He also stopped the Kirtan and wanted to see the condition of Sreebas. Gradually the Kirtanists stopped one by one. Gauranga also stopped the Kirtan and said: "How is it that I do not experience much joy today? Has anything serious happened today?". He looked at Sreebas with a pained heart.

Sreebas replied, "Can I have any danger when the Lord is doing Kirtan in my house?". Another devotee said, "It is true, my Lord, a great calamity has occurred. Pundit Sreebas's son is dead". Chaitanya said, "His son dead! When?". The devotee replied, "He died some six or seven hours ago". Chaitanya burst into tears. He said, "Sreebas, bring the child before me". The body of the child was brought before Gauranga in the courtyard. Gauranga addressed the dead child and commanded him to speak. The boy spoke: "I am leaving this body for a better existence. O Lord, may my soul cling to Thy lotus feet!". The soul again left the body of the child. Gauranga then said to Sreebas and his wife Malinee: "I and Nityananda will take the place of your departed child. Be not troubled. Be not anxious". What a large and sympathetic heart Gauranga had!
Six-Handed Divinity

The followers of Chaitanya regard Chaitanya as a six-handed Divinity. It is said that he showed his form with six hands to Sarvabhauma, Ramananda Ray and Nitai, the first two hands provided with bow and arrow, the second two with a flute in the act of playing upon it and the last two with Danda and Kamandalu (staff and pot). By this manifestation Chaitanya made Nitai understand that he was Rama as well as Krishna.
Jumping Into the Sea

When Gauranga was in a fit of devotional ecstasy, he jumped into the blue sea at Puri. He imagined that the blue sea was the Yamuna. He wanted to join in the frolics of the Gopis of Brindavan. As his body was in an emaciated condition, owing to constant fasts and vigils, it floated on the water and fell into the net of a fisherman. It was night. The fisherman was extremely glad as he felt that the net was very heavy. He thought that he had caught a big Brobdingnagian fish. He dragged the net to the shore with difficulty. He found in the net a human corpse instead of a big fish. He was disappointed. The corpse made a faint sound. The fisherman took it for a ghost or hobgoblin. He was greatly frightened. He slowly walked along the shore with trembling feet. Swaroopa and Ramananda, who were searching for their master from sunset, met the fisherman. Swaroopa asked him if he had seen Gauranga Deva anywhere. The fisherman narrated his story. Then Swaroopa and Ramananda hurried to the place where the net was lying. They removed their Master from the net and placed him on the ground. They sang the name of Hari loudly. Gauranga came back to consciousness.
His Last Words

Lord Gauranga said, "Listen Swaroopa and Ramananda Raj! The chanting of Krishna's Name is the chief means of attaining Krishna's feet in the Kali Yuga. Sankirtan of the Name is the supreme healer in the Iron Age. Sankirtan tantamounts to Vedic sacrifice. Sankirtan destroys sins and purifies the heart and creates Bhakti. Chant the name while sitting, standing, walking, eating, in bed and everywhere. The Name is omnipotent. You can repeat the Name at any place, at any time.

"Listen, Swaroopa and Ramananda! I tell you about the mental attitude with which the Name should be recited.

"Hari's Name should always be chanted by him who must be humbler than a blade of grass (which is trodden upon); who is more patient, forbearing and charitable than a tree (which does not cry out even when it is cut down, and which does not beg for water even when scorched to death, but on the contrary, offers its treasure to whosoever seeks it, bears the sun and rain itself but protects those who take shelter under it from rain and sunshine); who, however worthy of esteem should, instead of claiming respect for himself, give respect to all (from a sense of God's immanency in all beings). He who thus takes Krishna's Name gets Krishna-prem".

Lord Gauranga became more humble in spirit and recited the following Sloka:-

"Oh Lord, I ask not for wealth or followers, or for poetic genius. May my motiveless devotion to Thee continue in me whenever I take birth."

Gauranga passed away on the 14th June, 1533.

Chetodarpana Marjanain Bhava Mahadavagni Nirvapanam
Sreyah Kairava Chandrikaa Vitaranam Vidhyavadhoo Jivanam;
Anandambudhi Vardhanam Pratipadam Purnamrita Swadanam
Sarvatmasnapanam Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam.

"Glorified above all is the chanting of the various names of Krishna which cleanses the mirror of Chitta (sub-conscious), which extinguishes the great forest fire of the succession of births and rebirths, which operates like the moonbeam upon the white lily of spiritual well-being, which is the elixir of life of the bride Vidya, which makes the ocean of bliss swell, which gives the chanter the fullest enjoyment of that divine love at the utterance of each word, and which bathes the mind and the senses in divine bliss."--Gauranga
Sikshashtaka

The following translation is copyright of Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, 2004. Used with permission.

Although Lord Chaitanya was widely renowned as a scholar in his youth, he left only eight verses, called Sikshashtaka. These eight verses clearly reveal his mission and precepts. These supremely valuable prayers are translated herein.

1. Glory to the Sri Krishna Sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This Sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
2. O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.
3. One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
4. O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.
5. O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krishna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
6. O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
7. O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
8. I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.


Basic Philosophy

The Vedas teach us that our real identity is spiritual. All living beings in this world are souls identifying with the bodies they inhabit. Though we souls are tiny and God is infinite, like Him we are by nature eternal, full of happiness, and full of knowledge.

Though we belong with God, Krishna, in the spiritual world, we must stay in the material world until our pure love for Him awakens and we lose all desire to try to enjoy separately from Him.

We must understand the pitfalls of living in the material world. Sensual pleasure is temporary and fleeting. We suffer from old age, disease, and eventually die. The reactions to our activities, or karma, compel us to take repeated births in various species.

Enlightenment involves coming in contact with a realized soul, or guru, who can teach us how to purify our consciousness and reestablish our love and service attitude for God. In the current age, the easiest method of purification is to chant the holy names of God, the Hare Krishna mantra, in the association of like-minded spiritual seekers, or devotees of Krishna.

Basis of the Teachings

At the beginning of creation, Krishna spoke the knowledge of the Vedas, which guides souls on the journey of life and ultimately back to their spiritual home.

From time to time that knowledge becomes diluted or changed. To revive it, Krishna came to this world 5,000 years ago and spoke Bhagavad-gita to His friend Arjuna. The Gita contains detailed teachings on the supreme, infinite soul (God), the finite souls, karma (work in this world), time, and creation.

After Krishna left this world Vyasadeva compiled Srimad-Bhagavatam, from the ancient oral tradition originating from Krishna. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is a treatise of 18,000 verses, explaining in detail the science of God.

Five hundred years ago, Krishna came again, this time in the guise of His own devotee as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He taught that the easiest method for returning to God is to chant His holy names, especially by chanting the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. By His life, Sri Krishna Chaitanya demonstrated how a devotee of Krishna lives in this world and progresses to the next.

Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu form the core of the Bhakti teachings, the essence of which is to return to our relationship with God and live with Him eternally.
History of the Bhakti Tradition

Vedic knowledge is carefully passed down from guru to disciple in spiritual lineages called sampradayas. India’s sampradayas have for centuries protected its traditions of deep spirituality. Unfortunately, when spiritual knowledge is not gained from an authorized sampradaya it lacks real spiritual benefit.

The Hare Krishna movement strictly adheres to the sampradaya system. Srila Prabhupada, the movement’s founder, was a spiritual master of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, which begins with Lord Krishna and includes His most recent descent, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

The lineage is known as the Brahma sampradaya because at the beginning of creation Lord Krishna Himself enlightened Brahma, the original inquisitive soul, the first created being.

The line later becomes known as the Brahma-Madhva sampradaya because of the prominent teacher Madhva (A.D. 1238-1319).

Still later, the line becomes known as the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya after the line is joined by Sri Chaitanya (1486-1534), who appeared in the region of Gauda (Bengal) and imbued the tradition with new vigor.

Shri Guru Raghavendra Swami

Shri Guru Raghavendra Swami

Shri Guru Raghavendra Swami (1595-1671) is an influential 16th century Hindu saint who advocated Vaishnavism (worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) and Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy. He attained Jeeva Samadhi at Mantralayam in present day Andhra Pradesh in 1671.

His devotees' faith regarding his continued presence at his Brindavan in Mantralayam, either in physical or metaphysical form makes it a very popular religious destination in India.

Birth

Sri Raghavendra Swami was born as Sri Venkanna Bhatta, the second son of Sri Thimanna Bhatta and Smt. Gopikamba on Thursday, Sukla Saptami of Phalguna month in 1595, when the moon was in Mrigashirisha Nakshatra, at Bhuvanagiri, near present-day Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu.

Sri Thimmanna Bhatta was the son of Sri Kanakachala Bhatta and the grandson of Sri Krishna bhatta, a Veena scholar in the court of King Krishnadevaraya.

Sri.Thimanna Bhatta and his wife, Smt. Gopikamba had a son, Gururajacharya and a daughter, Venkatamba.

Sri Venkanna Bhatta was also called Venkatanatha or Venkatacharya in honor of Sri Venkateshwara at Tirupati, with whose blessings he was considered to have been born, as a gift to his parents for their devotion and diligence towards the deity.

Early life

Sri Venkatanatha proved to be a very brilliant scholar from a very young age who learnt to play the Veena very proficiently thanks to his father and grandfather.

After his father's demise, young Venkatanatha was brought up by his brother Sri Gururaja Bhatta and completed the initial portion of his education under his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya's guidance in Madurai .

Marriage

After his return from Madurai in 1614, Sri Venkatanatha married Smt.Saraswathi Bai in the same year and had a son Sri Lakshminarayanacharya.

After his marriage, Sri Venkatanatha and his family went to Kumbakonam where he studied the Dwaita vedantha, grammar and literary works under his guru, Sri Sudheendra Theertha.

Sri Venkatanatha was already very well versed in bhashyas and consistently prevailed over renowned and reputed scholars, irrespective of the complexity of the debates.

He was an ardent devotee of Sri Moola Rama and Sri Panchamukha MukhyaPranaDevaru (the five-faced form of Hanuman - Pancha meaning five, mukha meaning faces).

He spent a large part of his Poorvashrama life teaching Sanskrit and the ancient Vedic texts to children.

He never demanded any money for his services and endured a life of poverty along with his wife and son. They went without food several times a week.

But he was so devoted in his quest for a higher spiritual plane that these obstacles never deterred his faith in the Lord.

Poorvashrama Miracles

Once while he was touring Kumbakonam along with his wife, Sri Venkatanatha and his family was invited to attend a function.

Unfortunately, the hosts did not treat him well and wanted him to earn his food by running a chore. So they asked him to make some sandalwood paste for all the invitees.

Sri Venkatanatha per his habit, was chanting stotras and mantras while preparing sandalwood for Tilaka.

When the guests applied this paste, it induced a burning sensation all over their bodies. Surprised by this, the hosts sought a clarification from Venkatanatha.

He replied that the burning sensation was due to the Agni Suktam (hymn for the worship as defined in the Esoteric Vedas) that he was chanting while preparing sandalwood and thus eternal power of Vedic Mantras revealed itself. This happens only when chanted with absolute dedication and devotion. The power is enhanced since it was chanted by someone as virtuous and devoted to Bhagwaan Hari as himself. Upon realizing his devotion and power, the host apologized profusely to Sri Venkatanatha and sought his forgiveness.

Sri Venkatanatha then prepared the paste again but chanted the Vedic Mantra to Varuna (Vedic Rain Gods) this time.

It has been recorded that when the guests applied this paste, they were awash with a sense of being drenched in rainwater, reaffirming Sri Venkatanatha's power of devotion.

Ordination into Sanyasa as Guru Raghavendra

Thus while his life was spent in the worship of God and service of humanity, his spiritual guru, Sri Sudheendra Theertharu, was looking for a successor to his math.

He had a dream where the Lord indicated that Sri Venkatanatha would be the right person to succeed him as the pontiff.

Sri Venkatanatha initially refused due to his responsibility towards his young wife and son but was soon blessed by the Goddess of Learning, where she in a dream indicated that he was to seek salvation as a Sanyasi.

Sri Venkatanatha treated this as an omen and changed his mind.

The sanyasa ordination took place in 1621 on the Phalguni Sukla Dwitiya at Tanjore.

Moksha of Smt. Saraswathi

On the day of Sri Venkatanatha's ascension into SanyasAshrama, his wife, Smt.Saraswathi was seized by a sudden desire to see her husband's face for the last time.

She ran towards the Matha throwing caution to the winds and accidentally drowned in an old and unused well on the way.

Per the tenets of Hinduism, she became a ghost trapped mid-way between Heaven and Earth due to her untimely death. Since her last wish of seeing her husband was not fulfilled, her ghost went to the matha to witness the ordaining function. However, by the time she arrived, her husband had become a Sannyasi Sri Raghavendra Theertha.

However, Sri Guru Raghavendra could immediately sense his wife's presence with his spiritual powers. He sprinkled some holy water from His Kamandalu on her as a means of granting her last wish.

This action granted her moksha or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and was considered her reward for a lifetime of dedicated and selfless service to Sri Raghavendra Swami.

Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji

On handing over the Peetha to Sri Raghavendra Swami, his guru, Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji left for his heavenly abode. His Brindavana was constructed at Anegunde near Hampi under the personal supervision of Sri Raghavendra Swami.

Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swami's Brindavana is the ninth Brindavana at that location, earning the region the popular moniker of "Nava Brindavana". It is an extremely holy pilgrimage centre for Madhvas.

Sri Yadavendra Tirtha and Sri Raghavendra Swami

Much before Sri Raghavendra Swami ascended as Peethadipathi of the Mutt, Sri Yadavendra Tirtha had been given Sanyasa by Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji.

When he came back to Tanjore from his Teertha Yatra across Southern India, Sri Raghavendra Swami offered to make him the Peethadipathi of the Matha and offered him the idols of Sri Moola Rama.

However Sri Yadavendra Tirtha, on seeing the devotion and spiritual prowess with which Sri Raghavendra Swami was pontificating the Mutt, declined the offer and continued on his pilgrimage.

Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami then continued to enrich Dvaita Vedanta from Kumbakonam where numerous shishyas joined the Matha.

Kumbakonam Drought

During Sri Raghavendra Swami's time at Kumbakonam, the Tanjore district as a whole was reeling under the effects of a severe 12 year long drought.

The Maharaja of Tanjore approached Swamiji for spiritual solace and was advised to perform some Yagnas. No sooner were these rites performed, was the region flush with rain and prosperity.

As a mark of gratitude, the Maharaja gifted the Matha with a necklace embellished with precious stones.

Swamiji offered the necklace as a contribution to a yagna that he was performing then.

The Maharaja took affront at this action.

When Swamiji realized this, he immediately put his hand into the homa kunda and retrived the necklace in a condition identical to which it was given to him by the King.

Neither the necklace nor Swamiji's hand showed any indication of having been in a raging fire.

This incident only served to reaffirm the greatness of Swamiji and converted the Maharaja of Tanjore into an ardent Bhakta.

Tour of South India

Sri Raghavendra Swami embarked on a tour of South India, spreading the Dvaita Philosophy and visiting famous pilgrimage centers such as those at Rameshwaram and Srirangam.

At Rameshwaram, he clarified the origins of the Siva Linga as the one that was installed by Lord Rama himself before his journey to Lanka to fight Ravana. In this context, he also clarified that Ravana was a Rakshasa since he was born to a Rakshasi mother and Brahmin father.

He rebuffed the claim made by some scholars that Lord Rama, as the Supreme One, is not bound by Brahma Hatya Dosha (or any other doshas) for eliminating Ravana.

He also traveled to Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai where he met his Poorvashrama brother-in-law with whom he had spent a large part of his childhood.

As part of his Yatras, he traveled to Vishnu Mangala, Kukke Subramanya and Udipi in Karnataka, amongst other such spiritual centers and impressed one and all with his mastery of Dvaita philosophy, won many admirers, gained many devotees and published stellar works of literature and philosophy some of which were carried around in processions of elephants as a mark of respect for its brilliance.

Dewan of Adoni

On one of his numerous travels, Sri Raghavendra Swamy came across a young cowherd who prostrated before him in respect. Swamiji blessed him and told the little boy to think of him or pray to him in times of adversity.

A few days later, the Nawab of Adoni was riding by the same region.

Being illiterate, he asked the same boy to read him the contents of a letter he was carrying then.

The little boy too was illiterate.

Hence he was unable to do read the letter and was too afraid to disclose his handicap to the Nawab. Hence he simply said that he would be unable to read the letter.

This enraged the Nawab who threatened the boy with dire consequences for failing to obey him.

The boy, who was in desperation by then, remembered the benevolent Swamiji who had passed by the same route a few days ago.

He prayed hard to him and tried reading the letter.

Miraculously, he is said to have told the Nawab the contents of the letter.

Since the information was favorable to the Nawab, he was impressed and the boy became the Dewan of Adoni.

Many years later, the Nawab learnt about Sri Raghavendra Swami from his Dewan.

Nawab of Adoni and Mantralayam

Much after the above incident had occurred, Sri Raghavendra Swami got an opportunity meet the Nawab of Adoni face-to-face.

The Nawab, instead of being respectful to him, decided to test his spiritual skills and placed before the Swamiji, a plate of non vegetarian delicacies completely covered with a piece of cloth, in the guise of offering alms.

Per Hindu customs, alms are customarily offered to a visiting saint to seek his blessings.

Swamiji took some water from his Kundalini, meditated and sprinkled it on the covered plate, as part of his regular practice of purifying any food before consumption.

He then opened the plate.

It contained fresh fruits.

The Nawab immediately became remorseful and became an ardent devotee of Swamiji then on.

As an apology, he offered to give the Swamiji any amount of land and wealth.

While Swamiji refused any such gift for his personal gains, he asked that the land around Manchale (present day Mantralayam), which was part of the Nawab's kingdom, to be handed over to his Matha.

Though the Nawab of Adoni offered to give him a more fertile region, Sri Raghavendra Swami insisted on the dry and barren region around Mantralayam, on the banks of the Tungabhadra river.

Many years later, he told a devotee that it was the region where King Prahalada had performed his yagnyas to Lord Rama during the Dwapara Yuga and was hence an extremely holy land.

Thus the Matha moved to Mantralayam where Sri Raghavendra Swamy continued his spiritual journey.

At Mantralayam, Sri Guru Raghavendra encouraged Annadhanam (donation of food) to all devotees. It is a practice that is followed by the Matha to this date and is heavily subsidized by donations.

Sri Raghavendra Swami at Mantralayam
Panchamuki

Sri Guru Raghavendra performed penance at a place called Panchamukhi, near Mantralayam, in present day Andhra Pradesh where He received darshan of Hanuman in the form of Sri Panchamukha MukhyaPrana.

Sri Guru Raghavendra is considered by his devotees to be a reincarnation of Prahlada, the devotee who was saved by Vishnu in his avatar as Narasimha (see Vaishnava Theology).

Prahalada in turn is believed to be a reincarnation of Shankukarna, a Devatha, in the Dwapara Yuga.

Hence, Sri Raghavendra Swamy chose Mantralayam as the location of his Brindavan

Jeeva Samadhi

Sri Raghavendra Swamy Moola Brindavan at Mantralayam on Akshaya Trithiya

On Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671, Raghavendra Swami gave a soul-stirring speech to hundreds of devotees who had gathered to watch the event. Some quotes from that speech are as follows -

* "Without right living, right thinking will never come. Right living is performing one's ordained duties according to one's station in life without hankering after the fruits of the actions and on the other hand offering all one's activities to the Lord. This is real sadachara (right living). This is real karma yoga."

* "Social work done for the good of worthy people should also be considered as the Lord's worship. In short, our life itself is a worship. Every action is a puja. This life is precious. Every second of our life is precious. Not even a second that has gone will come back. Listening to the right shastras and always remembering Him is the highest duty."

* "Always keep away from people who merely perform miracles without following the shastras and yet call themselves God or guru. I have performed miracles, and so have great persons like Srimadacharya. These are based on yoga siddhi and the shastras. There is no fraud or trickery at all. These miracles were performed only to show the greatness of God and the wonderful powers that one can attain with His grace. Right knowledge (jnana) is greater than any miracle. Without this no real miracle can take place. Any miracle performed without this right knowledge is only sorcery. No good will come to those who perform such miracles and also those who believe in them."

* "Have devotion to the Lord. This devotion should never be blind faith. Accepting the Lord's supremacy wholeheartedly is true devotion. Blind faith is not devotion. It is only stupidity. We should have devotion, not only for the Lord, but also for all other deities and preceptors in keeping with their status."

After this speech, Sri Raghavendra entered the Brindavana specially constructed for him with stone brought from Madavara village, near Manchale. Per his advice these stones were sanctified by Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana's footsteps when they visited the village during Dwapara Yuga.

He had advised his disciples to start arranging slabs around him once the japamala in his hand becomes still.

He began reciting the pranava mantra and slipped into deep samadhi. Once his japamala became still, his disciples arranged the slabs up to his head and then, as per his earlier instructions, they placed a copper box containing 1200 Lakshminarayana saligramas that had been specially brought from Gandaki river in Nepal. Then they placed the covering slab over it and filled it with earth. They poured twelve thousand varahas (abhisheka) over the brindavan that they had built.[citation needed]

Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami attained Jeeva samādhi on Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671.

This date is celebrated each year as Sri Raghavendra Swamy Aradhana at Brindavans all over the world. The Raghavendra Mutt in Mantralaya housing his Brindavan is visited by thousands of devotees every year.

It is believed he would live for

* 76 years physically on the Earth.
* 100 years physically inside the Brindavana.
* 300 years through this literary works.
* 700 years in the Brindavana without a physical form.

Sri Appanacharya and Sri Raghavendra Stotra

Sri Appanacharya was one of Sri Raghavendra Swami's foremost disciples at Mantralayam.

Knowing his unstinting devotion and that he would try and thwart his Jeeva Samadhi, Sri Raghavendra Swami sent Sri Appanacharya to a town in Karnataka on the opposite bank of the Tungabhadra river before entering the Brindavana to attain Jeeva Samadhi.

Upon hearing of his beloved Swamiji's decision to enter Brindavana, Sri Appanacharya came rushing back to Mantralayam only to find the Tungabhadra in full spate due to the rains.

Unable to cross the river, he burst into a 32-stanza hymn, now popularly known as Sri Raghavendra Stotra as a prayer to his beloved Swamiji. It is said that on hearing the hymn, the Tungabhadra abated and allowed him to walk on her.

As Sri Appanacharya rushed into the Matha, he was mid-way through singing the last stanza of his hymn. At the same time, the last slab was placed on Sri Raghavendra Swamy in the Brindavana.

On seeing this, Sri Appanacharya was overcome with emotion and was unable to sing any further to complete the stanza.

Suddenly, a voice from inside the Brindavan said "Sakshee Hayastotra Hee", completing the Stotra and implying Sri Hayagreeva (an avatara of Lord Vishnu with the Horse head and Human body)and Prahalada and hence Sri Guru Raghavendra himself was witness to Sri Appanacharya's hymn.

This 32 stanza sloka has acquired fame as Sri Raghavendra Stotra or Sri Poornabodha sloka, since the first stanza starts with the words "Sri Poornabodha".

Another famous 2-stanza sloka praising Sri Raghavendra goes thus

Poojyaaya Raaghavendraaya Satya Dharma Rathaayacha

Bhajataam Kalpa Vrukshaaya Namathaam Kaamadhenave

Adi Shankaracarya

Adi Shankaracarya

Adi Shankara (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, was an Indian philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the soul and Brahman, in which Brahman is viewed as without attributes. He hailed from Kalady of present day Kerala.

Shankara travelled across India and other parts of South Asia to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He founded four mathas ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship.

Birth and childhood

The birth place of Adi Shankara at Kalady
Adi Sankara Keerthi Sthampa Mandapam, Kalady, Kerala

Shankara was born to Kaippilly Sivaguru Namboodiri and Aryamba Antharjanam in the region of Kalady, in central Kerala. According to lore, it was after his parents, who had been childless for many years, prayed at the Vadakkunnathan temple, Thrissur that Sankara was born under the star Thiruvathira.

His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara's upanayanaṃ, the initiation into student-life, was performed at the age of five. As a child, Shankara showed remarkable scholarship, mastering the four Vedas by the age of eight.

Sannyasa

From a young age, Shankara was inclined towards sannyasa, but it was only after much persuasion that his mother finally gave her consent. Shankara then left Kerala and travelled towards North India in search of a guru. On the banks of the Narmada River, he met Govinda Bhagavatpada, the disciple of Gaudapada. When Govinda Bhagavatpada asked Shankara's identity, he replied with an extempore verse that brought out the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Govinda Bhagavatapada was impressed and took Shankara as his disciple.

The guru instructed Shankara to write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and propagate the Advaita philosophy. Shankara travelled to Kashi, where a young man named Sanandana, hailing from Chola territory in South India, became his first disciple. According to legend, while on his way to the Vishwanath Temple, Sankara came upon an untouchable accompanied by four dogs. When asked to move aside by Shankara's disciples, the untouchable replied: "Do you wish that I move my ever lasting Ātman ("the Self"), or this body made of flesh?" Realizing that the untouchable was none other than god Shiva himself, and his dogs the four Vedas, Shankara prostrated himself before him, composing five shlokas known as Manisha Panchakam.

At Badari he wrote his famous Bhashyas ("commentaries") and Prakarana granthas ("philosophical treatises").

Philosophy and religious thought

Advaita ("non-dualism") is often called a monistic system of thought. The word "Advaita" essentially refers to the identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (Brahman). Advaita Vedanta says the one unchanging entity(Brahman) alone is existing- Changing entities do not have absolute existence like the waves have no existence other than the ocean.The key source texts for all schools of Vedānta are the Prasthanatrayi– the canonical texts consisting of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras.

Adi Shankara was the first in its tradition to consolidate the siddhānta ("doctrine") of Advaita Vedanta. He wrote commentaries on the Prasthana Trayi. A famous quote from Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, one of his prakarana granthas that succinctly summarises his philosophy is:

Brahma satyaṃ jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah

Brahman is the only truth, the spatio-temporal world is an illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and individual self.

Advaita Vedanta is based on śāstra ("scriptures"), yukti ("reason") and anubhava ("experience"), and aided by karmas ("spiritual practices"). This philosophy provides a clear-cut way of life to be followed. Starting from childhood, when learning has to start, the philosophy has to be realised in practice throughout one's life even up to death. This is the reason why this philosophy is called an experiential philosophy, the underlying tenet being "That thou art", meaning that ultimately there is no difference between the experiencer and the experienced (the world) as well as the universal spirit (Brahman). Among the followers of Advaita, as well those of other doctrines, there are believed to have appeared Jivanmuktas, ones liberated while alive. These individuals (commonly called Mahatmas, great souls, among Hindus) are those who realised the oneness of their self and the universal spirit called Brahman.

Adi Shankara's Bhashyas (commentaries) on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras are his principal works. Although he mostly adhered to traditional means of commenting on the Brahma Sutra, there are a number of original ideas and arguments to establish that the essence of Upanishads is Advaita. He taught that it was only[citation needed] through direct knowledge that one could realize the Brahman.

Adi Shankara's opponents accused him of teaching Buddhism in the garb of Hinduism, because his non-dualistic ideals seemed rather radical to contemporary Hindu philosophy. However, although Advaita proposes the theory of Maya, explaining the universe as a "trick of a magician", Adi Shankara and his followers see this as a consequence of their basic premise that Brahman alone is real. Their idea of Maya emerges from their belief in the reality of Brahman, as opposed to Buddhist doctrines of emptiness, which emerge from the empirical Buddhist approach of observing the nature of reality.

BHAJA GOVINDAM

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
bhaja govindam müãhamate,
samprápte sannihite kále
na hi na hi rakúati dukøòkaraïe.(1)

Adore the Lord, adore the Lord, adore the Lord, O fool! when the appointed time (for departure) comes, the repetition of grammatical rules will not, indeed, save you.

müãha jahèni dhanágamatøúïám
kuru sadbuddhim manasi vitøúïám,
yal-labhase nijakarmopáttam
vittam tena vinodaya cittam.(2)

O fool! leave off the desire for accumulation of wealth; create in the mind, thoughts about Reality, devoid of passion. What you get – i.e. what you have achieved through your past deeds – with that, satisfy your mind.

nárèstanabharanábhèdeùam
døúûvá má gá moháveùam,
etan-mámsavasádi-vikáram
manasi vicintaya váram váram.(3)

Seeing the seductive female form, do not fall prey to frenzied delusion. That (female form) is (but) a modification of flesh and fat. Think well thus in your mind and again and again.

nalinèdalagatajalam atitaralam
tadvaj-jèvitam atiùayacapalam,
viddhi vyádhy-abhimána-grastam
lokam ùokahatam ca samastam.(4)

The water on the lotus-leaf is very unsteady; so also is life extremely unstable. Know that the entire world is devoured by disease and conceit, and smitten with sorrow.

yávad-vittopárjana-saktas-
távan-nija-pariváro raktaç
paùcáj-jivati jarjara-dehe
vártam kopi na pøcchati gehe.(5)

As long as you have the ability to earn money, so long will your dependents be attached to you. After that, when you live with an infirm body no one world even speak to you a word.

yávat-pavano nivasati dehe
távat-pøcchati kuùalam gehe,
gatavati váyau dehápáye
bháryá bibhyati tasmin káye.(6)

As long as there is breath in the body, so long people in the household ask about one’s welfare. Once the breath leaves, on the destruction of the body, the dependents dread that very same body.

bálastávat kriãásaktas-
taruïastávat taruïèsaktaç
vøddhastávac-cintásaktaç
pare brahamïi ko’pi na saktaç(7)

When a boy, one is attached to sport; when a youth, one is attached to as young woman; when old. one is attached to anxiety; to the supreme Brahman, no one, alas, is attached!

ká te kánte kaste putraç
samsáro’yam atèva vicitraç,
kasya tvam kaç kuta áyátas-
tattvam cintaya tadihaq, bhrátah.(8)

Who is your wife? Who is your son? Exceedingly wonderful, indeed, is this empirical process! Of whom are you? Who are you? Whence have you come? O brother, think of that truth here.

Satsañgatve nissañgatvam
nissañgatve nèrmohatvam
nirmohatve niùcalitatvam
niùcalitatve jèvanmuktiç.(9)

Through the company of the good, there arises non-attachment; through non-attachment, there arises freedom from delution; through delusionless-ness, there arises steadfastness; through steadfastness, there arises liberation in life.

Vayasi gate kaç kámavikáraç
Ùuúke nire kaç kásáraç
kúiïe vitte kaç pariváro
iòáte tattve kaç samsáraç.(10)

When youth is spent, what lustful play is there? When the water has evaporated, what lake is there? When the money is gone, what dependents are there? When the truth is known, what empirical process is there?

má kuru dhanajanayauvanagarvam
harati nimeúát kalaç sarvam,
máyámayam idam akhilam hitvá,
brahmapadam tvam praviùa viditvá.(11)

Do not be proud of wealth, kindred, and youth; Time takes away all these in a moment. Leaving aside this entire (world) which is of the nature of an illusion, and knowing the state of Brahman, enter into it.

dinayáminyau sáyam prátaç
ùèùiravasantau punar-áyátaç
kálaç krèãati gacchaty-áyus-
tapapi na muòcaty-áùaváyuç.(12)

Day and night, dusk and dawn, winter and spring come repeatedly; Time sports, life is fleeting; yet one does not leave the winds of desire.

ká te kántá-dhana-gata-cintá
vátula kim tava násti nivantá
trijagati sajjana sañgatir eká
bhavati bhavárïava-taraïe nauká.(13)

Why worry about wife, wealth, etc., O crazy one; is there not for you the one who ordains? In the three worlds, it is only the association with good people that can serve as the boat that can carry one across the sea of birth.

jaûilo muïãi luòchitakeùaç
káúayámbarabahukøtaveúaç
paùyannapi ca na paùyati müãho
hyundaranimittam bahukøtaveúaç.(14)

The ascetic with matted lock, the one with his head shaven, the one with hairs pulled out one by one, the one who disguises himself variously with the ochre-coloured robes – such a one is a fool who, though seeing, does not see. Indeed, this varied disguise is for the sake of the belly.

aïgam gallitam palitam muïãam
daùanavihinam játam tuïãam
vøddho yáti gøhitvá daïãam
tadapi na muòcaty-áùapiïãam.(15)

The body has become decrepit; the head has turned grey; the mouth has been rendered toothless; grasping a stick, the old man moves about. Even then, the mass of desires does not go.

agre vanhiç pøúûhe bhánü
rátrau cubuka-samarpita-jánuç
karatalabhikúas tarutalavásas
tapadi na muòcaty-áùapáùaç.(16)

In front, there is fire; at the back, there is the sin; in the night, (the ascetic sits) with the knees stuck to the chin; he receives alms in his palms, and lives under the trees; yet the bondage of desire does not leave him.

kurute gañgáságaragamanam
vrataparipálnam athava dánam,
jòánavihènaç sarvamatena
muktim na bhajati janmaùatena.(17)

One goes on pilgrimage to the place where the Gañgá joins the sea; or observe the religious vows with care; or offers gifts. But if he be devoid of knowledge, he does not gain release-according to all schools of thought-even in a hundred lives.

suramandiratarumülanivásaç
ùayyá bhütalam ajinam vásaç
sarvaparigrahabhogatyágaç
kasya sukham na karoti virágaç.(18)

Living in temples or at the foot of trees, sleeping on the ground, wearing deer-skin, renouncing all possessions and their enjoyment – to whom will not dispassion bring happiness?

yogarato vá bhogarato vá
sañgarato va sañgavihènaç
yasya brahmaïni ramate cittam
nandati nandati nandaty-eva.(19)

Let one practice concentration; or let one indulge in sense-enjoyment. Let one find pleasure in company; or in solitude. He alone is happy, happy, verily happy, whose mind revels in Brahman.

bhagavadgètá kiòcid-adhitá
gañgáialalavakaïiká pètá,
sakûød-api yena murári-samarcá
kriyate tasya yamena na carcá.(20)

For him, who has studied the Bhagavadgitá even a little, who has drunk a drop of the Gañgá-water, and who has performed the worship of the Destroyer of the demon Mura (viz. Ùri Køúïa) at least once, there is no tiff with Yama (the lord of death).

punarapi jananam punarapi masraïam
punarabi jananè-jaûhare ùayanam,
iha samsáre bahu-dustáre
køpaya’ páre páhi muráre.(21)

Repeated birth, repeated death, and repeated lying in mother’s womb – this transmigratory process is extensive and difficult to cross; save me, O Destroyer of Mura (O Køúïa), through your grace!

rathyá-carpata-viracita-kanthaç
puïyápuïya-vivarjita-panthaç,
yogi yoga-niyojita-citto
ramate bálonmattavad-eva.(22)

He who wears a dress made of rags that lie about in the streets, he who walks in the path that is beyond merit and demerit the yogin whose mind is given up to yoga revels (in Brahman) just as a child or as a mad-man.

kastvam ko’ham kuta áyátaç
ká me jananè ko me tátaç,
iti paribhávaya sarvam asáram
viùvam tyaktvá svapnavicáram.(23)

Who are you? Whom am I? Whence have I come? Who is my mother? Who, my father? Thus enquire, leaving aside the entire world which is comparable to a dream, and is essenceless.

tvayi mayi cányatraiko viúïur-
vyartham kupyasi maasahiúïuç,
sarvasminnapi paùyátmánam
sarvatrotsøja bhedájòánam.(24)

In you, in me, and elsewhere too, there is but one Viúïu (God). Vainly do you get angry with me, being impatient. See the Self in all things, and leave off everywhere ignorance which is the cause of difference.

shatrau mitre putre bandhau
má kuru yatnam vigrahasandhau,
bhava samacittaç sarvatra tvam
vánchasyacirád yadi viúïutvam.(25)

Make no effort to be either at war with, or in league with, enemy, friend, son, or relative. If you want to attain the status of Viúïu (Godhood) soon, be equal-minded towards all things.

kámam krodham lobham moham
tyaktvá’tmánam bhávaya ko’ham
átmjòanavihèná muãhás
te pacyante narakanigüãháç.(26)

Leaving off desire, anger, greed, and delusion, make self-inquiry; who am I? They are fools who are without Self-knowledge; as captives in hell, they are tortured.

geyam gètánámasahasram
dhyeyam ùrèpatirüpam ajasram
neyam sajjana-sañge cittam
deyam dènajanáya ca vittam(27)

The Bhagavadgètá and the Sahasranáma should be sung; the form of the Lord of Lakúmè (Viúïu) should always be meditated on; the mind should be led to the company of the good; and wealth should be distributed among the indigent.

sukhataç kriyate rámábhogaç
paùcáddhanta ùarère rogaç
yadyapi loke maraïam ùaraïam
tapapi na muòcati pápácaraïam.(28)

One easily takes to carnal enjoyment afterwards, lo, there is disease of the body. Although, in the world, death is the refuge, even then one does not relinquish sinful ways.

artham anartham bhávaya nityam
násti tataç sukhaleùaç satyam
putrádapi dhanabhájam bhètiç
sarvatraiúá vihitá rètiç.(29)

`Wealth is no good’; thus reflect always; there is not the least happiness therefrom; this is the truth. For the wealthy, there is fear even from a son; everywhere this is the regular mode.

práïáyámam pratyáháram
nityánityavivekavicáram,
jápyasametasamádhividhánam
kurvavadhánam mahadavadhánam.(30)

The regulation of breath, the withdrawal of the senses (from their respective objects), the inquiry consisting in the discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal, the method of mind-control associated with the muttering of mantras – perform these with great care.

gurucaraïámbuja-nirbhara-bhaktaç
samsárád-acirád-bhava muktaç
sendriya-mánasa-niyamád-evam
drakúyasi nijahødayasthqam devam.(31)

Being devoted completely to the lotus-feet of the Master, become released soon from the transmigratory process. Thus, through the discipline of sense and mind-control, you will behold the Deity that resides in your heart.

Dada Bhagwan

Dada Bhagwan 

 

   

Dada Bhagwan (Ambalal Muljibhai Patel, also known as Dadashri) (November 8, 1908-January 2, 1988) was an Indian Spiritual personality and leader of a new religious movement. He was a native of Bhadran, Gujarat, India and inspired the Akram Vignan, a spiritual path to achieve self-realization and liberation.

There is a constant drip of poison falling over this world, however the manifest ‘Gnani Purush’ (completely Enlightened Being), the Sat Purush (Self realized being) and the Sant Purush (saintly beings) shower the world with sweet nectar (Amee).

There is a common misconception of defining the saints, the Self realized beings and the Gnani Purush as being the same. In fact, it is not so. A saint is someone who on the most part has destroyed the pollution of his knowledge and vision; who has made progress towards taking the steps to achieve the ways for self-knowledge and is helping others on that path. The Self realized being is someone who has achieved the supreme eternal truth. He has attained the ultimate soul, however he cannot help others attain the same but he can show them ways to attain it. The Gnani Purush is the highest of all beings. He is the complete, pure and the supreme unbound universal Soul. What is more He can help people attain the same state. The saints and the Self realized beings help people become free from worldly troubles but only the ‘Gnani Purush’ can help people attain the final liberation and break the cycle that perpetuates the worldly life. Simply put, the Gnani Purush can be described only as the embodied Supreme Soul.

For Him, there is nothing left to be known in this universe. A Gnani is someone who does not have to read books or scriptures; He does not need to turn a rosary nor does He have to do penance or renounce anything. A Gnani is such a being who is eternally established in the Self-form as the Soul; a being whom one has never seen or heard of in the past and yet He exists in reality. He can be experienced by those desirous of spiritual salvation. The Gnani’s speech in itself is an instrument which people with spiritual aptitude can know Him. It is a speech that emanates after touching the manifest Supreme Soul within and therefore, it touches people’s hearts and frees them from their sins, whereas the words of the others can earn people merit karmas but not destroy their sins.

Where currently the Kaliyug (the current time cycle) presents itself in it’s decorated and ornamental form, those who have received the incomparable Knowledge of Self realization from the present manifest Gnani Purush, are experiencing constant one-ness with their own Pure Soul and enjoying the pomp of Satyug (past time cycle of spiritual and moral virtues).

In India, Gnani's manifest inevitably. Every two to five years, there manifests a bogus person who calls himself the Gnani of scriptures, but an experienced Gnani comes around once in a thousand years. He can take spiritual aspirants in a step by step path towards Self-experience (Self realization)but he does not know what is self realisation.. He is a Gnani Purush of the Karmic path. As an exception and on extremely rare occasion, there will come in to existence the path of Akram Vignan (a non-sequential, short-cut spiritual path of Self realization), where the spiritual aspirant does not have to climb the steps but simply sit in the lift (elevator) that will take him to Self realization. The Akram path means the perfect and the complete path, where no traditional rituals of chanting the Lord’s name, penances, renunciation or any other forms of austerities are required. One simply has to know and understand the Knowledge given to him. Right and proper understanding leads to right and proper belief and the right and proper experience leads to right and proper knowledge, and the one who has known and understood will develop right and proper conduct. Such is the Akram path. Once in thousands of years, the incarnation of this Knowledge of Akram Science comes into existence in the person of a Gnani Purush. Hence the Akram Gnani Purush is unique and incomparable in the universe.

Through natures beautiful compilation, in spite of these terribly stormy times, such an Akram Gnani Purush, Shri Dada Bhagwan has indeed manifested; this phenomenon is as a result of the credit karmas of countless people from their millions of past lives, has come to bear fruits.

Those who have received His blessings attain, within one hour, a state of Self realization and the divine vision that makes them see the Soul in every living being and that, all animate beings are same as souls! As incredible as this may seem, it is indeed a fact that is being experienced by hundreds of thousands of people with merit karmas.

The worldly name of this extraordinary Akram Gnani Purush was Ambalal Muljibhai Patel, a native from the town of Bhadran in Kheda District in the state of Gujarat. He was born on November 8, 1908, in the house of his mother’s parents in the town of Tarsadli. His Mother Zaverba was like an incarnation of the Divine universal mother goddess Jagadamba. His mother’s influence impacted and changed the direction of his life. As a young boy, one day when he came home after beating up a boy in a fight, his mother told him, “Son, come home beaten by others but not after beating others. I will nurse your wounds and tie a bandage but what will become of other boy?”

In his young age, in accordance with his family’s traditional Vaishnav religion, his mother had him wear a tulsi necklace. One day this necklace broke. His mother told him, ‘Get another one or else people will call you ‘nugaro’ (guruless)’ to which he responded “The one who enlightens me is my Guru! I don’t want a Guru who is confounded in darkness himself!”

At the age of 12, in school, He was introduced for the first time to the mathematics of the lowest common denomination. The teacher asked the students, “In all these numbers, which number is the smallest and indivisible?” Dadashri stood up and replied, “Sir, I have found God from this definition of yours. Every living being is a number and within every living being, that which is common, the smallest and indivisible, is God Himself!”

At the age of 13, He met a saint in his town whom He visited daily and served him sincerely. As a result, the saint blessed him saying “Go son, God will take you to moksha (final Liberation).” At this time, He challenged God. “If God takes me to my final liberation then if He tells me to get up, I have to get up and if He tells me to sit down, I have to sit down. I don’t want this kind of liberation. If He sits me in the place of final liberation and if his acquaintances come along, then he will tell me to move from there and sit somewhere else. What use is that? Liberation and having a superior are contradictory. I don’t want a superior over me neither do I want an underhand below me.”

He got married at the age of 16. During the marriage ceremony of joining hands with the bride, his head-dress slipped partially blocking his vision. While fixing it a thought occurred to him. ‘The marriage is taking place right now but sooner or later it is inevitable that one of us will become a widow.’ What a pinnacle of indifference towards worldly attachment even amidst an event that is filled with infatuation and fascination!

At the age of 18, He was in matriculation grade. His father and his older brother were discussing their intent to send Him abroad for further education and consequently arrange for a post as a governor (administrator of a province). Dada happened to overhear them and thought, ‘If I pass the metric exam, they will make me a governor. I don’t want to slave under anyone in a job all my life. I would rather open small shop and sell paan (betel leaf and nut shop) but I do not want a boss over me. So he would not study and instead would go out to eat ice-cream, fritters and snacks. One day in His English class, He told the teacher, “Sir, I wasted 15 years of my life trying to learn one language. In those 15 years I would have found God!”

He deliberately failed the metric exam and joined his brother’s contractor business. At the age of 20, he celebrated the birth of a son by distributing penda (sweets) to everyone. Two years later one evening He threw a big party for all his friends in a hotel. Everyone kept asking as to what was the party was in honor of. After the party was over, He told them “The guest that had arrived is now gone!” Similarly he celebrated the birth of a daughter by distributing pandas to everyone and threw a party for his friends to celebrate her departure as well!

His entire life was spent in helping others. He told all His loved ones, “Do not do any work for me, however if at any time you need any work, even if it is in the middle of the night, I will get it done.” He would help whoever needed His help. During His life, He earned lacks of rupees but he did not keep any fixed or liquid asset, nor even a penny with him.

In the contract business, He clearly told his partners, “We do not want to cut corners where cement and iron is concerned, like other contractors. Cement is the blood of a building and iron, the bones. If we take away blood and bones, what will remain? We will go hungry but we will not be unethical.”

If we were to put in his own words the state of his antah-skaran (the workings of the inner instrument of the mind-chit-intellect-ego) prior to Self realization, He had said, “Prior to Self realization, I could not find even a single particle or atom (parmanus) of greed or deceit in my nature, however there was a severe disease of pride within. How could that be ever endured? The slightest jolt to this pride within gave me intolerable suffocation. If in a hurry someone happened to address me with four letters of ‘Am-ba-la-l’ instead of six as in ‘Am-ba-la-l-bha-i’, it would create unspeakable anxiety within me and what is more, this anxiety would last for many days; it’s effect would not go away. That was all madness.”

Since there was no knowledge (true), there was a cohesive force of obstructions in the intellect within. His intellect was so highly developed that he would give free advice to many prominent businessmen in order to help them escape their predicaments. As a result one would see many cars of prominent rich merchants in front of his home.

Even at age 20, His thoughts were so elevated that He always felt that whoever met Him, should definitely benefit from meeting Him. Day by day this benevolent tendency grew and in the end resulted in sheer compassion for everyone.

An intense desire for achievement of salvation was evident in him from a very young age. He read and profoundly studied the Vaishnav, Swaminarayan and Jain religion. He also read the teachings of Saints Kabir, Akha and many others but found no gratification. In the meanwhile, at age 23, his partner, Shri Kantibhai, gave him a book written by Shrimad Rajchandra. After reading it, he said, “Until now I have seen many books but nothing anyone said appealed to me and satisfied my hunger. I liked Shrimad Rajchandra’s book but because I did not meet him in a living form, there too I did not get complete gratification. Despite this, I remained fully engrossed in him.” Before achieving Self realization, the battle with the ego was fought on daily basis and because of that he could not sleep at night. About his ego, he said, ‘One day the ego reached its climax. As it became unbearable, I made a package of my ego and placed it under the pillow. Then I could sleep a little and in the morning I said a respectful goodbye to it and offered it in the Vishvamitra River! It was only then the internal pain went away!”

And then arose the grand day of the acquisition of the Enlightenment of perfect Self-knowledge! It was in the month of July in 1958, Dadashri was sitting on the last wooden bench on platform 3 of Surat railway station. He was returning home to Baroda from Sonaghad, waiting for the train. He had finished his supper before sunset; it was around 5.30 pm. During the next hour He spontaneously became enlightened with the Knowledge of the entire universe. In this knowledge he acquired the answers to questions such as: Who an I? What is this universe? How does it run? Who is God? What does He do? Where does he live? Etc. All the views of the entire universe came into His vision. Since that moment, he constantly remained in that same state of being the Pure Soul. While describing the condition at that time, He says, “In 1958, this knowledge came into existence and I became a Gnani (Enlightened Being). Before that, I too was ignorant of my real Self; I was egotistic and then I became ego-less. Even though I was sitting on a bench at the time, I experienced the boundless bliss, as if I were sitting in the Siddha Gati (the state of final salvation). As such how can I narrate the knowledge of the experience that is beyond words? This ‘Akram’ is a wonderful science that has manifested; otherwise in the ‘Kramic’ path (the step by step spiritual path) nothing would be gained even if you were to go back and forth following instruction.”

When someone asked Dada how He attained this knowledge, He would reply, “It happened but natural! It would not happen (to you) even if you were to copy or imitate me. So, come to me and receive your final liberation.”

People asked Him what he used to do in terms of what did He read in order to attain this knowledge and he would say, “There is no relation between scriptures and knowledge. Scriptural knowledge does not bring about a conclusion; a conclusion comes from knowledge that is experienced. I have not done any bargaining in my business my entire life. Since my childhood, I cared not for my own happiness but for the happiness of others. That seed of compassion was sown and as a result, knowledge cannot help but come to light. Moreover, the one whose beggarliness is completely gone (removed) will get enlightenment of knowledge, without fail. For me, all beggarliness was gone in every aspect. I had no desire whatsoever; no desire fame, respect, money or followers. I had no desire of any kind at all and it was only then that this status of Gnani was attained.”

The status of Gnani is not attained by accident. The intentions and self-effort of infinite life times helps the selection of that status. A Gnani means he has become completely faultless himself, he has made his vision completely faultless and he sees the entire world as being faultless. A Gnani is the embodiment of the form of final salvation. He is a savior who is completely impartial. His speech is accepted by all and approved by all religions. He makes the Jains realize the egoless speech of Lord Mahavir, the Hindus the Gita of Lord Krishna, the Muslims the God’s message and the Christians the words of Jesus Christ. Everyone relates to Him as his or her own God. The Gnani Purush is not the owner of his body or his speech. He says that His speech is a ‘tape recorder’ that is talking. His Self realized state was not known to anyone for four years. Later in 1962, His cousin’s grandson was instrumental in opening the magnificent gates of Knowledge for everyone. Today hundreds of thousands of people seeking Self realization are able to achieve the same Knowledge within an hour, and experience the happiness of being free despite being in an embodied state living a worldly life! This is His phenomenal and extraordinary accomplishment. Yet, He lived in a state of being simply instrumental and a complete non-doer ship. This Knowledge is very quickly effective and keeps people motivated for their salvation in the eternally established aim of the pure Soul by completely and perfectly purifying and the inner and the outer being.

Giving freedom from the austerity of penance, renunciation and other rituals of the Kramic path; He is regarded as the Vitraag (free of all attachments) Scientists of the magnificent short, direct and non-sequential (Akram) Path of Self realization. In spite of living the worldly life, He was in a state of complete unattached and that is the highest wonder of present time! What is more He becomes an inspiration for even a family man to advance and succeed on the path of ultimate spirituality. Despite being involved in the roguish business of contract, He remained in a state completely free of worldly attachments till last moments.

In the beginning Dadashri remained very inconspicuous. Slowly more and more people began to receive Self realization from Him, through his one hour long spiritual scientific process of separating the Self from the non-self. People were delighted with their experience of the bliss of the Soul within. On this path of direct Knowledge, without having to undergo the austerities of rituals of chanting, penance, service, worship, fasting, meditation or yoga, there prevails a constant awareness that the body and soul are separate. The body state is gone and the Soul state is permanently there. It is the experience of thousands that the awareness of ‘I am a pure Soul and the Knower and the Seer of the mind, speech and the actions of the body’ prevails effortlessly. After that no worries, tension or pain touches one from within; such is this wonderful and awe-inspiring knowledge.