Tuesday, February 10, 2015

SHORT BIOGRAPAHY OF JAGADGURU SRI CHANDRASHEKHARA BHARATI MAHASWAMIGAL (PART 5)

SHORT BIOGRAPAHY OF JAGADGURU SRI CHANDRASHEKHARA BHARATI MAHASWAMIGAL (PART 5)

VIJAYA YATRA

In or about 1923, His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore requested His Holiness to go over to Mysore and confer blessings on himself and the other members of the royal family. In deference to that request His Holiness left Sringeri on the January 18, 1924 and proceeded to Mysore.

Arranagements had been made for acquiring for the Mutt, the house in the old agraharam at Mysore in which the previous Acharya was born and also some extensive adjoining it. Thanks to the kindness of His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore and the good services of Brahmashri Kunigal Rama Shastri and Srikanta Shastri, it was possible to raise thereon a magnificient stone structure containing a shrine for a beautiful marble image of His Holiness Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswamigal. His Holiness had the supreme pleasure of consecrating this new shrine at Mysore in holy memory of His Guru. In accordance with His instructions, Vedanta classes were being held there daily.

The earnest representatives of the disciples in the southern districts made His Holiness agree to extend His tour as far south as Kanyakumari. After a magnificient reception in Mysore, His Holiness descended the Mysore Plateau by the Sathyamangalam ghat. He was well versed in Telugu, His mother-tongue, Kannada, the language of the land of His birth and Tamil, from contact with the Tamilian disciples who had visited Sringeri. The visit to Sathyamangalam was really His first contact with the Tamil districts.

While there, He was requested to give some words of advice to His disciples and to the great surprise of all including those most intimate with Him, He began to give discourses in such chaste and fluent Tamil as would evoke the admiration of any born Tamilian. Since then throughout the Tamil districts, His discourses were all in Tamil except in special gatherings of pandits which He addressed in His own characteristic style of very simple and expressive Sanskrit so natural to Him. His admonitions and advices, coming as they did from a sincere heart longing for the welfare of the world, had their own inimitable effect in converting many a skeptic and in strengthening the faith of many a believer.

After visiting Rameshwaram, His Holiness toured throughout the Madurai and Tirunelveli Districts, had a fitting reception at Tiruvananthapuram and then proceeded to Kalady, the birthplace of Sri Adi shankara. His Holiness Sri Sacchidananda Siva Abhinava Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswamigal had after great difficulty and with the hearty help of the then Maharaja of Travancore acquired an extensive site there and built there a temple for Sri Adi shankara and another for Sri Sharadamba in 1912.

His Holiness felt that this place must be improved further so as to become a centre for learning. He accordingly directed the formation of an agraharam (street) there for the residence of the temple employees and others and also the building of a Veda Pathasala for the education of young Brahmin boys who desired to learn the Vedas.

In 1927 when He personally visited the place, He inaugurated a Vedanta Pathasala also for advanced students in Vedanta. The students were given a house to live in and also a decent stipend to cover their expenses. From Kalady His Holiness returned via Palghat and Coimbatore to Nanjangud in the Mysore State. There He founded another Pathasala and proceeded to Mysore.

His Holiness returned to Sringeri towards the end of 1927. He was greeted with a magnificent and devoted reception. He showered divine blessings on all those who came in contact with Him.
Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara bharati mahaswamigal's photo.
Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara bharati mahaswamigal's photo.

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