Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati Mahaswamigal

श्री सच्चिदानन्दशिवाभिनव्य नृसिंहभारत्यभिधान्यतीन्द्रान् ।
विद्यानिधीन् मन्त्रनिधीन् सदात्मनिष्ठान् भजे मानव शंभुरूपान् ॥

Shiva in human form, ever immersed in the Atman,
Treasure of learning, treasure of mantric lore
Verily He is the King among Sages,
Hail Sacchidananda Shiva Abhinava Nrisimha Bharati!

Parentage

More than a century ago there was a pious and orthodox brahmin, named Yajnanarayana Sastri, who lived in a village called Edaturai, on the banks of the cauvery in Mysore. As enjoined in the Smritis, he studied the Krishna Yajur Veda, his own Vedic Sakha, according to the rules of discipline prescribed for brahmacharya, married in due time and settled as a house holder, observing the rules of hospitality and worshipping the Gods in sacrifice, begot children for the perpetuation of his family and when he turned 60, set his heart on the means of liberation from the trammels of samsara. He left his house and reached a village – Seranmadevi far removed from his village and turned a Sanyasin and in due course attained videha mukti. In the line of this mula-purusha, ancestor, was born a Brahmin named Narasimha Sastri, who was the first to leave the village Edaturai and seek his fortune in the Court of the Maharaja of Mysore. He settled with his family in the old agrahara of Mysore town. He had two sons, the elder named Narasimha Sastri according to the custom of the family and the younger named Rama Sastri.

Rama Sastri showed signs of towering intelligence, studied the Vedas, the Kavyas and the rudiments of Nyaya under his father. After his father's death he continued his Nyaya Studies under Tirupati Srinivasacharya, then a pandit renowned for his skill in Tarka Sastra. He then went through a course of santipatha of Sankara's bhashyas and became the laureate among the court pandits. He wrote a very learned work on Nyaya Sastra named Satakoti which is held in high esteem by renowned pandits.

After the birth of three or four children who died in their infancy, Rama Sastri and his wife Lakshmi Amma observing fasts and vigils prayed to Medha Dakshinamurti, an aspect of Paramasiva for long lived children and in his 34th year, a son was born to them. Following the family precedent of naming the first son after their tutelary deity Narasimha and the day being a festive day in honour of Lord Narasimha, Narasimha Jayanti day, the new-born infant was named Lakshmi Narasimha.

After intense prayers another son was born to Rama Sastri and Lakshmi Amma at 9.00 P M on Thursday, the 11th day of the dark fortnight in the month Phalguna in the year Pingala (March 1858). Shivaswami, so the child was named, delighted his parents with his childish sports, lisping words of divine praise, in imitation of his father when he performed his daily Siva Puja. Before he completed two years he lost his father and mother in his fifth year. His elder brother Lakshmi Narasimha Sastri was now 19, having completed his studies under his father shouldered the responsibility of taking care of the family.

Ascension to the Pitha

During the greater part of the 19th century the Peetha at Sringeri was presided over by Sri Nrisimha Bharati VIII (1817 - 1879). The Guru was in his 60th year and he had graced the Peetha for 40 years. One day, while engaged in contemplation, it appeared to him that a voice arose saying “make room”. He interpreted it to mean that he should nominate a successor and bring him up properly, in a manner suited to the position he was to occupy. The guru sent for several horoscopes and had them scrutinized. The search for a suitable nominee took eight years. At last he found a horoscope to his satisfaction. The boy Shivaswami was seven years old at this time. Lakshmi Narasimha Sastri, accompanied by his young brother Shivaswami came to Sringeri to pay their respects to the Guru. The Guru seated the boy by his side and asked him what he wanted. The boy quoted a Sanskrit verse. This was a prayer to Siva, peculiarly appropriate to the occasion and in harmony with the Upanishadic doctrine that the guru was God himself in human form. The boy wanted nothing but steadfast devotion to the guru. This prompt reply from the young Shivaswami greatly pleased the Guru.

In 1866 Sri Nrisimha Bharati Swami ordained him under the Diksha name of Sri Sacchidananda Sihvabhinava Nrisimha Bharati. It was a long compound name; but the guru wanted that the name of his guru Sacchidananda who was a great yogi should be given to the initiate; the boy's name as determined by his father was originally Shivaswami and the pandits assembled there were of the opinion that Shiva, the first part of the name given by the father, should be added; the Maharaja of Mysore who was present throughout the ceremonies thought his guru's name – Nrisimha Bharati – should also be added. The young Sanyasin, eight years old, was fatigued at the end of the day long rites of ordination and when he was put to rest, much to the wonder of his Guru, he murmured in his sleep Sarvoham, Sarvoham manifesting the spiritual potentiality that lay in store for him.

After the formal installation the two Acharyas started on a tour. After visiting Srirangapatnam, Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar, they toured the districts of Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchurapalli, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Trivandrum, Chengelpet, North Arcot, Madras, Cuddappah and Kurnool, and returned to Sringeri in 1878. During the twelve years the tour lasted, the education and training of the young Acharya was completed under the personal care of the senior Guru. On Sri Nrisimha Bharati Swami attaining Mahasamadhi, Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati ascended the Vyakyana Simhasana of the Sharada Pitha as thirty-third in the line of succession from Sri Adi Shankara.

Second tour (to the North)

The first six years of his incumbency were spent in constant Puja and yogic exercises, in which he soon attained perfection. He was in constant spiritual communion with his guru and this gave him necessary inspiration and sustaining faith. He started on a tour in February 1886 and first went to Gokarna to worship at the shrine of Sri Mahabaleshwara, who was in the last thoughts of his Guru. Visiting one place after another, the Acharya reached Kolhapur, where the Swami of the local Mutt received him with due respect. The Acharya did not proceed beyond Poona and started on his return journey. After four years of digvijaya, the Acharya returned to Sringeri in 1890.

Third tour (to the south)

Life in Sringeri for the next two years was a quiet one for the Acharya, who daily gave lessons in advanced works of Vedanta. Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar sent a pressing invitation that the Acharya accepted. He went to Mysore in 1891. After visiting Nanjangud, the Acharya went to the source of Cauvery in Coorg. Sathyamangalam and Gobichettipalayam were then visited. In the latter town, the Acharya consecrated and installed the Murti of Sri Subramanya in a temple built by a wealthy resident of the place. He then visited the Agraharams on the banks of Cauvery and at Ayyampalayam, laid the foundation of Dandapani temple at the request of a wealthy mirasdar. Then to Kadattur, Palani, Madurai and Rameshwaram. During the navaratri which he celebrated in Ramanathapuram at the earnest solicitation of the Raja he stopped the gruesome form of worshipping the goddess by sacrificing sheep and installed within the palace enclosure Sri Raja Rajeshwari and a Sri Chakra and arranged for the daily puja according to Vedic rites, for which the Raja set apart a village. The Raja further offered to the Mutt five villages in his zamin. He then visited Koilur near Karaikudi which is the seat of Advaita Mutt conducted by Nagarattars ( nattukotai chettiars) and several other towns in Chettinad. The Nagarattars gave him Rupees Thirty Thousand towards renovation of the temple of Sri Sharada of Sringeri. There he heard the news of the death of the Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar which most distressed him.

Proceeding to Tirunelveli, he visited Banathirta, the source of Tamraparani, one of the most sacred thirthas of our land, where the Zamindar of Singampatti entertained him. On the return journey he installed Sri Dandapani, Sri Prasanna Parameshwara, Sri Prasanna Parvathi and Sri Srinivasa in the temple which Mirasdar Tandavaraya Pillai had built at Aiyampalayam (April 1895). At Bangalore he received an invitation from the Maharani Regent and went to Mysore to console her and bless the young princes.

With the help and blessings of the Jagadguru and the co-operation of Raju Sastri and other descendent of Sri Ayyappa Dikshita, a devout yati, Swami Mahadevendra Saraswati of the Upanishad Brahmendra Mutt at Kanchi got the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple (near Vellore), associated with a sacred memory of Dikshita, renovated, performed Kumbabhishekam and arranged for daily worship(1892).

In 1894-1895, the Government of Maharaja Sinde of Gwalior communicated their decision that in that State, the Sringeri Mutt should be given precedence over Sankeswar Mutt. Soon after he returned to Sringeri, he established the Sadvidya Sanjivini Patashala providing for studies in Vedas and Sastras. He himself taught Vedanta to some advanced students.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya deputed one of his friends to invite the Acharya to Varanasi to lay the foundation-stone of the Hindu University. The Acharya regretted his inability to proceed to Varanasi at such short notice and instead sent a pair of his guru's sandals, which, he said, would impart greater blessings to the enterprise than he could ever do.

The Jagadguru's mind was set on retirement and Tapasya. He had a portion of the jungle to the south of the river cleared and an ashrama put up in the clearing, which he named Narasimha Vana after his Guru. He lived there for most of the years, but the Chaturmasya months, he spent in Mutt buildings. Maharaja Krishna Raja Wodeyar with his brother and his tutor Fraser came to Sringeri in 1898 to obtain guru's blessings before assuming the reins of administration. He repeated the visit in 1901.

The need to take effective steps to counteract the spread of irreligion and materialism and indifference, if not opposition, to the age-long spiritual and moral codes was very prominent in his mind. Centuries ago, when there was spiritual chaos in the land, Sri Shankara incarnated and revived the dharma of the land. The Acharya longed for another descent of the spirit of the Master for which purpose he felt it necessary to build a shrine at the birth place of Sri Shankara and make it a great centre of pilgrimage to radiate spiritual influence all over the land.

As a first step he instituted the annual festival - Sri Shankara Jayanti -a five day festival in April-May in honour of the great Master's birthday. The festival has since become popular in the country and is now marked in the almanacs.

Deputed by the Acharya, Diwan Seshadri Aiyar succeeded in identifying the site of the ancient agrahara in Kaladi, the birth place of Sri Shankara. The Acharya deputed the learned Nadukaveri Srinivasa Sastri to go to the place every year and conduct the festival. In 1905 the Acharya sent his agent Srikantha Sastri and A. Ramachandra Aiyar, a retired Judge of the High Courts of Travancore and Mysore to acquire with the help of the Travancore Government the land about Kaladi. The pious and highminded Maharaja Rama Varma (popularly called Sri Mulam Tirunal) and his Diwan V.P. Madhava Rao readily fell in with the proposal. The Maharaja introduced in the State as law, the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1904 for the preservation of Ancient monuments, and in pursuance there of 'acquired' Kundakara puraiydam lekkam No.115 registered in the name of Kaipalli Nambutri, and in the possession of Tekkamatam Svamiyar and other lands in Kaladikara Manjappara Proverthy, Kuttanad Taluk, which are associated with Sri Shankaracharya containing sites which are known as his birth place, the sites where his house stood and the site on which the remains of his mother were cremated. The Maharaja placed the site so acquired at the disposals of the Jagadguru together with ten thousand rupees for developing the site for the shrines to be built on it.

Fourth tour (to Kaladi)

Overjoyed with the initial success of his scheme, the Jagadguru sought the grace of Sri Sharada and commenced his tour to Kaladi. During these years he had become so enamoured of a quiet life of comtemplation and communion with the self in quiet retreats of Narasimha Vana, that it was a great wrench tearing himself away from the place. The verses that he addressed to Sri Sharada on the occasion came from the depth of his heart and reflect the working of his mind and spiritual experiences. 'Why then do you send me away from your presence? I was happy spending my time visiting my Guru's shrine or the shrine of Sri Vidyatirtha, wandering along the Narasimha hill, chanting Vivekachudamani or Atmavidhyavilasa or the hymns of Sri Shankara or seated on the sands of the river fixing my mind on the parvattva (Eternal Truth) ? Am I not your child entrusted to your special care by my guru'? – in these and similar strains did he pour out his heart.

But the great scheme called for fulfillment. It was Sri Sharada's behest as he understood it. Before he left Sringeri he laid foundation of a new temple for Sri Sharada to be built of granite. The Maharaja with his wife, mother and brother paid a sudden visit to the Acharya, and received initiation in the Shivapanchakshari and Sri Vidhya mantras and worship of Sri Chakra.

Leaving Sringeri in February 1907, the Acharya reached Bangalore in May. At the request of V.P. Madhava Rao who had become Diwan of Mysore, and A. Ramachandra Aiyar, he installed an image of Sri Shankara in the newly acquired plot in Shankarapuram in the heart of Bangalore city. Passing through Mysore by quick marches, he reached Gobichettipalayam, and visiting the villages on the banks of river Kaveri, arrived at Jambukeshwaram (Tiruvanaicoil) near Tiruchirapalli to participate in the Kumbabhishekam of the temple of Sri Jambunatha and Sri Akilandeswari which had been renovated by Chidambaram Chettiar of Kanadukattan. After a brief halt at Srirangam and Tiruchirapalli, he travelled to Koilur through Pudukottai, then to Kanadukattan, Karaikudi, Devakottai, and Kunnakudi where he performed the year's chaturmasya. Then Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Rameshwaram were visited. The disciples in the towns and villages of Tirunelveli gave him a rousing reception, and out of their munificent contributions, two lakhs of rupees were earmarked for the consecration of Kalady shrines. The Acharya went to Papanasam Banathirta falls, and Sri Kanyakumari. When he reached Trivandrum in 1909, a royal and unprecedented reception awaited him. The Maharaja presented an elephant and another sum of ten thousand rupees towards the expenses of the consecration of the Kaladi shrines.

The Consecration of the Kalady Shrines

At Perambavur, five miles from Kaladi, the agent of the Mutt Srikantha Sastri and Ramachandra Aiyar came to the Acharya to report progress. The Acharya soon went into Samadhi, and there stood before him the vision of Sri Aryamba, mother of Sri Shankara, as if welcoming him with a winning and benevolent smile. Reaching Kaladi, the first place he visited was an ashoka tree which stands at the place where the blessed mother was cremated by Sri Shankara.

Kalady, for long a sleepy hollow in the woods, pulsated with a new life on the arrival of the Acharya. Two beautiful shrines had been built, one for Sri Shankara and the other for Sri Sharada, both of which the Jagadguru consecrated on Monday, February 21, 1910. The act symbolised the re-descent of Sri Shankara on the earth, and the Acharya prayed to both Sri Shankara and Sri Sharada to establish in the land the reign of Dharma and ensure the well-being of all people.

The Swami of the Sivaganga Mutt was also present during the ceremonies. During his stay in Kaladi, the Acharya received the Maharaja of Mysore and Cochin, and the Diwans and high officials of the States of Mysore, Travancore and Cochin.

On the return journey, the Acharya passed through Cochin State, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirapalli districts and reaching Aiyampalayam installed in the Sri Dandapani temple of Tandavaraya Pillai, an image of Sri Shankara. His agent had already installed there an image of the Acharya. In the Mysore State, he visited Nandi hills and then Bangalore, where in the newly built Mutt buildings, he instituted a College of higher Sanskrit studies- the Bharatiya Geervana Praudha Vidya Abhivardani Mahapathasala and declared open residential quarters for teachers and pupils which V.P. Madhava Rao had donated. Reaching Sringeri in March 1911, he hastened to the shrine of Sri Sharada and sang hymns of the thankfulness saying, 'I have seen the mother..... What then remains to be done?'.

The Jagadguru had already fixed upon Narasimha Sastri, a young man born in Sringeri, of sparkling intelligence and 'exemplary character' for nomination as his successor to the Peetha. He had prayed to the Devi fervently to make Narasimha ‘a paragon of wisdom, a pupil to me.' Narasimha was at that time pursuing higher studies in the Sanskrit College in the Mutt at Bangalore. Early in March 1912, the Jagadguru felt it was time for him to renounce his body. Finally resolved to initiate his successor, he directed that Narasimha Sastri should be brought to Sringeri after informing the Maharaja.

On March 20, 1912, the great Acharya attained Videhamukthi and his mortal remains were interred in Narasimha Vana, and over the samadhi, a linga was installed. Sri Narasimha ascended the Peetha on April 7 under the name of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Swami.

A prince among Atmajnanis, an exemplar of bhakthi, a veritable Bharati in knowledge, an adept in yoga, Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati Swami was universally hailed as an avatar of Sri Shankara. And appropriately enough he conceived the need to resuscitate Kaladi, the birth place of Shankara. His universal sympathy and benevolence drew to his presence men of all religions. Muslims and Christians no less than Hindus saw in him a saint full of purity and Godliness. Tutor Fraser avowed that his conversation with the Acharya had lifted his soul above life's turmoil. Wrote Charles Johnston: 'He is a man of the highest character, a magnetic personality, a fine Sanskrit scholar and a perfect master of the intricacies of the Vedanta Philosophy.' Thousands sought relief from troubles and none went away disappointed. He gave relief out of his intense psychic powers which came to him unsolicited. Like Sri Shankara the Acharya preached Vaidika dharma and condemned immoral practice in the name of religion.

Many eminent Sanyasis had their training and vidhyabyasa under the Jagadguru. One of them is Sri Venkatarama Sarasvati who later became Sri Bharathi Krishna Tirtha, Head of the Govardana Peetha and another K.Ramachandra Aiyar who became the siddha Sri Ramananda Sarasvati. Ardhanari, who later became the siddha Villimalai Sri Sacchidananda, had his first initiation from the Jagadguru into vairagya and vanaprastashrama. In response to the Jagadguru's commands and under his guidance the Sri Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, brought out a complete edition of Sri Shankara's works and a series of publications on Vedanta. The hymns sung by the Jagadguru on different occasions, often during his visits to the temples, have been published as an anthology under the title Bhaktisudhatarangini.