Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal
विवेकिनं महाप्रज्ञं धैर्योदार्यक्षमानिधिम् ।
सदाभिनवपूर्वं तं विद्यातीर्थगुरुं भजे ॥
Full of courage, generosity, and humility
He indeed is the epitome of wisdom and intellect
Always are our prostrations offered
To that Guru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha!
Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji, the 35th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, was a perfect embodiment of virtues: compassion, truthfulness, patience, fortitude and righteousness. He worked ceaselessly for years—with inspired vision and strength and an immense capacity to elevate people.
Born to Venkatalakshmi Ammal and Rama Sastry, a primary school teacher, on November 13, 1917, the day of Deepavali at Bangalore, he was named Srinivasa. Even as a child, Srinivasa was ardently pious. At school, Srinivasa was an obedient and conscientious student. Several were the instances of his boyhood days when he displayed exceptional qualities of wisdom and farsightedness. From a very young age, he began expressing to his friends a desire to renounce the world and attempt to see God.
Meanwhile, Srinivasa’s parents were stricken with poverty and were at their wits’ end trying to find a way to feed the family and perform his Upanayana (sacred thread ceremony). Good fortune knocked on their door in the form of an invitation from the Sringeri Mutt to perform Srinivasa’s Upanayana at the Matha’s expense at the Sharadamba temple in Sringeri. Ordained by the Gayatri Upadesha, Srinivasa stepped into the stage of brahmacharya, following which he sought to stay back and learn the holy scriptures at the Mutt.
Chosen successor
Srinivasa was unquestionably the most brilliant of the students at the Mutt and came up with thought-provoking interpretations of the Sanskrit verses that he was taught. He slowly caught the eye of the Jagadguru, the great Jivan Mukta, Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal.
When the Jagadguru decided to choose his successor, the choice fell rightly on Srinivasa. Necessary arrangements were made. On May 22, 1931, Srinivasa was initiated into the holy order of Sanyasa, even before he had attained the age of 14. The Guru named him as Abhinava Vidyatirtha and taught the sacred Mahavakyas that signify the identity of the individual soul with the ultimate reality. The Guru named His holy successor designate Abhinava Vidyatirtha, perhaps because He foresaw that His illustrious disciple would equal or even surpass the great Yogi, the 10th Pontiff of the Peetham, Sri Vidya Shankara Tirtha, in Yoga.
Sensing the capability of his disciple, the Jagadguru who was least interested in administrative affairs, wished to be relieved of the responsibilities of pontifical duties. He handed over the running of the Mutt to his disciple and entrusted the performance of the Chandramoulishwara Puja. He also authorised the young Swami to take decisions on the Mutt’s affairs.
Ever since he was initiated into Sanyasa, Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha was extremely keen on being an ideal ascetic. Mere reading of the scriptural texts could never satisfy his need for perfection. The Acharya was temperamentally inclined to the royal path of Yoga. Maharshi Patanjali lists eight steps leading to the acme of Yoga. He aphorises : Yama (restraint), Niyama (Observance of rules), Asana (posture), Pranayama (regulation of breath), Pratyahara (abstraction), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (contemplation) and Samadhi (trance) are the eight limbs of Yoga. Sri Jagadguru Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal initiated the Acharya into the process of meditative contemplation when He was just 15 years of age. By the time Acharya attained 16 years of age, the deep contemplation of the Self became natural. A few hints from the Guru regarding meditation were sufficient for the Acharya, who practised meditation and soon began to attain Savikalpa Samadhi. He went on to perfect Nirvikalpa Samadhi (attained by concentration on the attributeless Supreme). He was a Jivan Mukta before he was 20.
Strange as it may seem, his formal lessons in Vedanta commenced much after he had attained perfection in yoga. His guru expounded the Bhagavad Gita Bhashyam, Brahma Sutra Bhashyam and Bhashyam on Isa, Kena, Katha and Taittiriya Upanishads. To the Acharya, these lessons merely served to confirm what he had already learnt through his personal experiences earlier in life.
On September 26, 1954, Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati ended his mortal life in the waters of the Tunga. About 20 days later, on October 16, 1954, Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha formally took over as the 35th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.
Able Administrator
Many were the tasks that lay ahead of the new Jagadguru. As his guru had often remained secluded, he had not toured much. Naturally devotees all over the country were eagerly awaiting the visit of the Acharya to their cities. There were other administrative problems of the Mutt that needed to be sorted out immediately by the new Jagadguru.
He started improving the affairs of the Mutt, built a new guest house to stay for the pilgrims coming to Sringeri to receive the blessings of Goddess Sharadamba and Himself, renovated the Ambal and Ganapati shrines, converted a huge bamboo forest into cultivable land, laid roads of access in Sringeri and introduced irrigation facilities.
He was also an able administrator. Though in 1959 the government handed back the administration of the Mutt to the Acharya, it was stripped of all the Jahagirs earlier in its possession. This was a big blow to the income of the Mutt. The Mutt had to be content with an annual compensation of a couple of lakhs of rupees. When the news was sorrowfully told to the Acharya, he was unperturbed and replied, “The Jahagirs were non-existent in the Bhagavatpada's time. The Mutt had been functioning quite well even before the lands were granted. Likewise, it shall carry on now without them. There is nothing to worry about.”
He was equally adept in the art of management. Power in the Mutt was initially concentrated in the hands of a few in the administrative cadre. This provided scope for bottlenecks. The Acharya effectively implemented the well-known management principle of decentralisation. It is common knowledge that favouritism is always detrimental to effective administration. The Acharya gave no room for partiality and the relatives of his former days were no exception.
Simple living and high thinking characterise Mahatmas. The Acharya insisted on doing his personal work himself. He would take his attendant's assistance for a task only if such help was essential or if it were to relate to his pontifical duties. He always used to go about completing his work with remarkable accuracy and maintained his things methodically.
He started a girls’ school at Sringeri, established branch Mutt’s at various places and consecrated many temples.
The Acharya was also blessed with incredible memory. When questioned about the accuracy of his recollections relating to numerous details he said: “I used to remember details of the construction work that was carried out in my presence. In fact, I could even recall the exact number of nails used for a particular task as also the number of strokes with which each nail was driven in, provided the task was carried out in my presence.”
In April 1964, the Acharya started from Sringeri on his first all-India tour during which he met the Shankaracharya of Dwaraka. The meeting of the two Jagadgurus was a great event and was hailed by the press and the public alike.
Fifteen years later, during the Jayanti of Shankara Bhagavatpada in May 1979, the Acharya organised a historic summit meeting at Sringeri with the Jagadguru Shankaracharyas of the three other Mutts of Dwaraka, Badri and Puri, established by Adi Shankara, thus showing the unity of spiritual strength of the religious leaders.
Extensive Tours
It is true that right from the beginning the Acharyas of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham have undertaken tours to bless the devotees. But it is difficult to find a personality like Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha in the annals of the Mutt who had so extensively and repeatedly traveled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Not only that, he is the only Amnaya Pithadhipati after Adi Shankara to have visited Nepal. Maha Shivaratri was celebrated by him at Nepal in 1967. That too was on the earnest and devout request made by the then king of Nepal. Out of gratitude for the special blessings received by his father, King Tribhuvan, from Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati, king Mahendra of Nepal extended a reverential invitation to the Acharya.
Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal started on his first tour in 1956 and covered the four southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, for a period of six years. Again starting from Sringeri in June 1964, he covered southern and northern India continuously for four years. This was his second major tour.
In many parts of the country, he established branches. In many places, he consecrated the idols of Sri Sharadamba and Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada. He established Patashala and initiated activities for Dharmic awareness. For propagation of Vedas, the Acharya added a Veda Patashala to the existing one at Bangalore where only Sastras were being taught. Tremendous developments took place in the 100-year old Patashala at Sringeri. Similarly, for the propagation of Sanskrit, he established ‘Surasaraswathi Sabha’ which is conducting examinations for a large number of students twice a year.
The finances of the Mutt were not in good shape when he became the Acharya. Added to it, the Inam abolition and land reforms brought fresh problems. But he faced the problems bravely and put the Mutt on a strong footing by efficient management of the affairs.
Constructive Work
He gave a face-lift to the Mutt premises in Sringeri and also provided facilities to the pilgrims who were coming to Sringeri in large numbers throughout the year. The bridge over the Tunga river, called Vidya Tirtha Sethu, stands as a living monument to his memory, for it owes its construction entirely to him.
He renovated the Malahanikareshwara temple, the Sureshwaracharya Samadhi, the Shankara sannidhi, the Patashala and yagashalas. He shifted the Rama and Brahma temples to the front of the Sharada temple, and in their place built the Shankara Krupa Guest House. He constructed the Subrahmanya temple, Shakti Ganapati temple and the Pravachana Mandira and paved entire premises with stones. He also built a hospital with 100 beds at Sringeri and brought out many publications of the Mutt.
Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji was a great scholar; people from all over India came to him for Darshan and guidance. It is no exaggeration to say that he brought to the Sharada Mutt all its eminent eminence and glory.
Acharya's Compassion
His compassion was something that can only be wondered and not explained. Some years ago an Ayurvedic physician brought the Acharya a rare preparation whose composition he kept secret. The doctor said that the lotion he had prepared would heal any wound. The quantity supplied was very small and so was precious. One day the Acharya saw a badly wounded dog. He noticed that someone had hurt it with a knife and that the wound was very deep. The poor creature whimpered in agony. The Acharya was moved. Immediately, he ordered that the lotion be applied on the dog. This shows the remarkable concern the Acharya had on all live beings. The application of the ointment was continued for a couple of days. The wound healed completely beyond expectations and in a remarkably short period of time.
The Acharya being ever alert never missed a chance to help others. Once, as the Acharya's car sped through a city lane he saw a beggar lying prostrate on the ground and having fits. He ordered his driver to halt the car so that the man's welfare could be looked into. The driver replied that such sights were common and more often than not were mere pretences put up by beggars to earn the sympathy of passers-by and get alms from them. The Acharya refused to budge from his stance and said, “It matters little whether the man is a fraud or not. I am going to help him.” Accordingly, the driver halted the car. The Acharya realised that the man had stopped having fits and was feeling thirsty. So, without a moment's thought he picked up his own vessel and asked for the water to be taken to that man. In the meantime, another car had stopped and its driver rushed with water to the sick man and gave it to him before the water vessel sent by the Acharya reached the spot.
When the Acharya resumed his journey he remarked, “How fortunate the other car driver was to be able to render help! I was not lucky enough to avail of the chance to help the suffering one.”
After the formal coronation as the 35th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham on 16th October 1954, in his Anugraha Bhashana he clarified that as regards the pomp with which he had to be associated on account of the Peetham, all pomp related to the Mutt and not to him as a person.
ऋश्यशृङ्गपुराधीशं तुङ्गातीरनिवासिनम् ।
भक्तामोदप्रदं वन्दे विद्यातीर्थमहं गुरुम् ॥
Salutations to our world Teacher
Sri Abhinava Vidya Tirtha Swami
Adept in Vedic lore and a boon to the devoted
Adorning the Holy Sringeri Sharada Peetham!