1. H.H. Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamigal

[The following brief account consists wholly of excerpts from an essay penned in 1993 and a discourse delivered on October 4, 1989, by His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamigal, the 36th Jagadguru Sankaracharya of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.]

Our revered Acharyal, who should be thought of at the start of every day, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamigal shone for thirty five years as the thirty fifth pontiff of the Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sharada Peetham. The holy life of this most illustrious one whose renown spread to the end of the quarters is an ideal for everybody.

This great soul took birth at Bangalore on Āśvina-kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī of the year Piṅgala (November 13, 1917) as the eldest son of a virtuous couple, Kaipu Rama Sastry and Venkatalakshmi, and was named Srinivasa. He, who was endowed from childhood with devotion to God, detachment to sensory objects, fondness for noble people and with good conduct, became the recipient of the unlimited kindness of then pontiff of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, the pre-eminent Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Mahaswamigal, who it was who arranged to bring Him to Sringeri.

His upanayana took place at Sringeri itself. Then, He learnt well from scholars the Veda and Sanskrit literature. When He was going on fourteen, the revered Guru graced Him with the saṁnyāsa āśrama and the yogapaṭṭa of Abhinava Vidyatheertha and nominated Him as His successor to the Peetham. Commencing thereafter the study of the Nyāya-śāstra, He attained extraordinary proficiency in it in a few years and, even as He imparted it to students, His unique intellectual prowess was readily discernible. From the very words of the venerable Guru, who was continuously desirous of His rise, it can be unmistakably understood how much joy He experienced on learning about His mode of studying the śāstra. For instance, He has written as follows:

about the healthy condition of Your body and about the mode of Your study and teaching, which are proceeding without any impediments.)

Thereafter, diligently learning the Vedānta-śāstra from His Guru, He acquired excellent proficiency in it too. Having put in much effort to master Sanskrit literature, He was thoroughly versed in Sanskrit, being able to write well in it and to speak it flawlessly. Though not enamoured of composing poems, He did glorify His Guru in beautiful verses. By way of illustration, two of them are given below.

and the lustre of whose feet destroys the blinding darkness of avidyā.)

preceptors by paying obeisance to whom even a dullard becomes akin to the Guru.)

Deeply scrutinising Dharma-śāstra texts, He resolved, with citations of authoritative passages and examples, the doubts of disciples on matters of dharma; He received the praise of His Guru for this. Able to speak fluently in Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, He also mastered Hindi. North-Indian scholars have been struck with awe on hearing Him discourse in chaste Hindi.

His Guru was generally thoroughly introverted; the Guru’s mind did not incline even a little towards the activities relating to the Math. In obedience to His Guru’s command, He safeguarded the fame of the Math by keeping an eye on all the activities of the Math, ensuring the proper conduct of its functions and granting audience to and communicating with the devotees. “With the Guru’s completion of sixty years as the occasion, some great yāga for the good of the world should be conducted” - giving weight to this prayer of devotees, He conducted, in the year Vijaya (in 1953), a Sahasracaṇdī-yāga in a grand manner.

The first president of independent India, the distinguished Babu Rajendra Prasad, came to Sringeri on August 24, 1954, to have the darśana of the Guru. At that time, His Holiness arranged for his audience with the Guru, conveyed to him in Hindi what the Guru spoke in Sanskrit and conveyed to the Guru in Sanskrit what he spoke in Hindi; He thus caused much joy to him and to the Guru. That very year, the Guru attained disembodied liberation. Conscious of His duty, though deeply pained, His Holiness performed the Guru’s ārādhana and the like in strict accordance with tradition. He was installed as the pontiff of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham on Āśvayuja-kṛṣṇa-pañcamī of the year Jaya (October 16, 1954).

After His coronation, He dwelt for about one and a half years in Sringeri itself, focussed on His revered Guru. Disciples variously requested His Holiness to undertake a dhārmic-digvijaya. Acceding to the requests, He set out from Sringeri on a tour in 1956; reaching Kalady, the place where Śaṁkara Bhagavatpāda incarnated, He observed cāturmāsya and navarātri there. Thereafter, He toured South India for six years. Right from the start, there has been the practice in the Sringeri Math of its pontiffs undertaking tours to bless disciples. However, it is hard to identify anyone in the annals of the Math who so extensively and repeatedly toured from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas as did our Guru.

He used to discourse in a beautiful and lucid manner. He made people easily comprehend even profound Vedāntic truths. The minds of people underwent a great transformation for the better on hearing His talks; the greatness of the talks was such that the listeners became dedicated to the performance of their duties. Through His discourses, common folk could understand topics of the Śrutis, Smṛtis, Itihāsas and Purāṇas that would have otherwise been difficult for them to comprehend. He was not in the least dogmatic. The ancients held that the earth is fixed while the modern scientists aver that it moves.

(All that is ancient is not good nor is a work censurable because it is modern. The wise accept an alternative after examination; the unwise are guided by the beliefs of others.)

In keeping with this statement of the pre-eminent poet Kālidāsa, His Holiness subscribed only to the position that the earth moves. He ignored, in this manner, the distinction of ancient and modern in numerous matters and gave weight only to that which was reasonable and accorded with evidence. Broadmindedness such as His was difficult to come by in anyone else.

I do not consider Myself competent enough to adequately speak about His total mastery over the senses, perfect character or high erudition.

(Like the footprints of birds in the sky and of fishes in the water, the course of the knowers of the Truth cannot be discerned.)

Our Guru was the foremost of such knowers of the Truth. Having embraced saṁnyāsa at a young age like Bhagavatpāda, He was a stranger to passion; what He was conversant with was mokṣa (liberation).

He told people that while they were welcome to converse with Him on something worthwhile, He would not give room for idle gossip. He said, “Having studied the Upaniṣads, we know that they say:

(One should not think of many words, for that is particularly fatiguing to the organ of speech.)

“So, it is better to remain silent than to waste time in idle speech. By keeping silent, we would at least not be taxing the organ of speech.”

He held the view that if we wish to speak, we must utter only what is useful. He loved to read and reflect on the teachings contained in Śaṁkara Bhagavatpāda’s works. He directed Me, “One should ever contemplate, even when moving about, on the truths expounded by Bhagavatpāda. We have just returned from Śāradāmbā’s temple. We prostrated before Her. That is a bodily activity. The inner activity should be the constant contemplation on the Truth taught by Bhagavatpāda. That indeed will make one’s birth fruitful.”

Kālidāsa has said in the Raghuvaṁsa:

(A good person, though unfriendly, was acceptable to him (King Dilīpa) just as medicine (though distasteful) is to the sick: and even a friend, if wicked, was to be discarded, like a finger bitten by a cobra.)

“We should be like this,” He told Me. Our Guru had such characteristics of Dilīpa. He was overflowing with compassion. He regarded life as meant to do good to others. In His natural kindness, He never kept in mind any wrong done to Him by others. He said to Me,

(One should retaliate)” – we should not entertain such a notion at all. That is for those of a rājasik nature. We are saṁnyāsins.” He would immediately forgive any offender and bless him too. I have seen hundreds of such instances. He avoided wounding the feelings of anyone.

At Sringeri, His Holiness initiated numerous projects. There was, earlier, just a single guest-house for housing devotees. His Holiness constructed many buildings such as Shankara Kripa, Shankara Niketan, Jayashankara Niketan, Sharada Niketan and Bharathi Vihar and greatly benefited the devotees. He founded the Sharada Dhanvantari Charitable Hospital. For the protection of cows, He built a huge gośālā (cow-shed) and, for elephants, an elephant-shed. Due to His tireless efforts, various branch Maths, dharmaśālās and pāṭhaśālās came into existence. Many of the already existing ones were developed.

His Holiness was intent on the dissemination of the Vedas and the śāstras. Every year, He organised a vidvat-sadas (assembly of scholars) during Śaṁkara-jayantī and Vināyaka-caturthī and honoured the panditas. To spread Sanskrit throughout the country, He started an institution called the Surasarasvatī-sabhā. Many publications were launched by the Math during His pontificate. He initiated numerous religious activities at various places. For example, He effected the performance of many Sahasracaṇdī-yāgas, Atirudra-yāgas and koṭi-kumkumārcanās at Sringeri. Every work of His is an illustration and a reflection of His foresight and benevolence.

Even while I was a brahmacārin, He had great affection for Me. Once, during the early days of My stay in Sringeri, I went to the other side of the river on a pradoṣa day. That night, while seated for pūjā, He asked, “Did You go to the other side?” “Yes, I did,” I answered. He said, “It is enough if You stay in Narasimhavana itself. I will be observing You.” From this, I understood the concern and affection that He had for Me. He told Me that there must not be any distraction while studying. “If You develop distracting habits, Your learning will be impeded. Efforts put in by You at a much later stage will not suffice to enable You to become versed in the śāstras. If I missed My studies for even a while, My Guru would chide Me,” He said.

In this fashion, He narrated His experiences and advised Me about how I should conduct Myself, the traditions of the Math and how to treat devotees. He often said, “Whatever be the attitude of the visitor, We, for our part, should show affection to all. We should not forget this. None should feel that his presence is not liked.”

(Every subject felt, “I am the favourite of the emperor (Aja).”)

This statement of Kālidāsa, the foremost poet, about emperor Aja found fulfilment in His Holiness. Our revered Guru, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha, the repository of good qualities, the mine of knowledge and the mount of courage, covered the world with His glory like the sun with its rays and attained disembodied liberation on Bhādrapada-kṛṣṇa-saptamī of the year Śukla (September 21, 1989).

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