👆Sri SadaShiva Brahmendral, Aradhanai @ Nerur 🙏🙏🙏Sadashiva Brahmendra as the celebrated composer of divine kirthanas; but not many may be aware he in his later years was an Avadhutha, a jeevan_muktha who wandered alone the hills and dales, ran along the river banks, naked or semi naked, in a state of divine bliss. He was unmindful of the scorching sun, pouring rain, blowing chill winds. He roamed in wilderness without ever uttering a word, slept under starry sky, shunned all human contact and was ever in a supreme intoxicated state. Today he is revered not merely for his musical compositions but also for his tremendous contribution to Advaitha.
His childhood name was Shivarama_krishna .He was the son of Somasundaram Avadhani, a Vedic scholar of Telugu Niyogi origin who lived in Madurai in Tamil Nadu.It is said Shivarama's family name was 'Moksham' and his mother was Parvathy. He was born in Nerur situated by the quiet flowing Cauvery, near Karuru. He had his early education in traditional subjects under Ramabhadra Dikshitar who lived in Tiruvisai_nallur a.k.a. Shahajipuram.There the young Shivarama came under the influence of what were renowned as the triumvirate of Bhajana tradition viz. Sridhar Venkatesha Iyer, Sri Bhodendra Sarasathi and Bashyam Gopala_krishna Sastry.
On his return, Shivarama still in his early teens was promptly married. He however, soon thereafter ran away from home never to return. He went to Tiruvisai_nallur and while wandering aimlessly in the woods nearby, he met his Guru Sri Paramashivendra Sarasvati who initiated Shivarama into sanyasa and named him Sadashiva_Brahmendra.
Sadashiva Brahmendra was an active young man , talkative and always chirping away. On one occasion his incessant talk so annoyed his Guru that he in despair called out "Sadashiva! When will you learn to be quiet?". The disciple promptly replied, "Right now, Master". He fell into silence and never talked again the rest of his life. He gradually withdrew from the world, introspected and plunged into intense penance. He discarded all norms of accepted behavior, wandered naked aimlessly in the hills and along the Cauvery. He looked wild and insane. When some one reported to Sri Paramashivendra that his disciple had gone insane, the Guru was delighted and exclaimed "Will I ever be so fortunate!" He realized that his disciple was now an Avadhuta.
Sadashiva Brahmendra remained in that state; beyond body consciousness, not bound by ordinary social conventions and worldly concerns for a long period. A number of stories and myths grew around his mystical powers.
On one occasion when he met his past associate Sridhar Venkatesha Iyer, the later remarked that it was laudable to be a mauni in worldly matters; and questioned what prevented him from singing the praise of the Almighty. Sadashiva Brahmendra saw reason in the argument.
He thereafter created a series of musical compositions in praise of :
Sri Rama:
* Pibare Rama rasam,
* Khelathi mama hridaye,
* Bhajare Raghuveeram,
* Cheta Sriramam,
* Prathi varam varam manasa etc.
Sri Krishna
* Smara nandakumaram ,
* Gayathi vanamali,
* Bhajare Gopalam maanasa ,
* Bhajare Yadu natham maanasa ,
* Kridathi vanamali , Bruhi mukundethi etc.
and of Brahman
* Sarvam Brahma maya re ,
* Khelathi Brahmande Bhagavan ,
* Manasa sanchara re , Tadvad jeevanam Brahmani etc.
He also wrote a number of philosophical works of high quality such as Brahma sutra Vrithi, Yoga_sudhakara, Kaivalya_amrutha _bindu (based on Upanishads); Siddantha_kalpa_valli (a poetic treatise on Appaiah Dikshitar's work), Advaita rasa manjari, Brahma tattva prakaashikaa and Mano_niyamana. His Navamani_mala, Guru_rathna_malika and Dakshina_murthi_dhyana are in praise of the Guru.
Atma_vidya_vilasa is a poetic work running into 62 verses in simple, lucid Sanskrit. Its subject is renunciation. It describes the ways of the Avadhuta, one who is beyond the pale of social norms , beyond Dharma , beyond good and evil; one who has discarded scriptures, shastras , rituals or even the disciplines prescribed for sanyasins;one who has gone beyond the bodily awareness , one who realized the Self and one immersed in the bliss of self-realization. He is absolutely free and liberated in every sense – one who "passed away from" or "shaken off" all worldly attachments and cares, and realized his identity with God. The text describes the characteristics of an Avadhuta, his state of mind, his attitude and behavior. The text undoubtedly is a product of Sadashiva Brahmendra's experience. It is a highly revered book among the Yogis and Sadhakas.
Sadashiva Brahmendra lived in that exalted state on the banks of the Cauvery until he discarded his mortal body at its age of one hundred years or a little more, some time between 1750 and 1753. His Samadhi in Nerur, Karur district is now a shrine to a large number of devotees
He is said to have performed many miracles whilst alive, some of the most prominent are provided below. His jiva samadhi site is briefly mentioned in 'Autobiography of a Yogi' by Paramahamsa Yogananda.
On the river banks of Cauvery in Mahadhanapuram, he was asked by some children to be taken to Madurai, more than 100 miles away, for an annual festival. The saint asked them to close their eyes, and a few seconds later they reopened their eyes and found they were in Madurai. He also wrote the Atma Vidya Vilasa, an advaitic work.
There is an epilogue to this story. The next day, another youth, incredulous at hearing this story, asked Sadashiva to take him also to this festival. It is said that the youth immediately found himself in the distant city. When it was time to return, Sadashiva was nowhere to be found. The youth had to make his way back on foot.
Whilst relaxing near a heap of grains, he began meditating. The farmer who owned the land mistook Sadashiva for a thief, and confronted him. The farmer raised his stick to hit the saint, but became a statue. He remained in this state until the morning, when Sadashiva finished meditating and smiled at the farmer. The farmer was restored to his normal state, and asked the saint for forgiveness.
At another time, while meditating on the banks of the Cauvery river, he was carried away by a sudden flood. Weeks later, when some villagers were digging near a mound of earth, their shovels struck his body. He woke up and walked away.
Long after all these happened when almost people had forgotten the memories of his wandering in their lands, once the naked sannyasi was seen walking right through a Muslim harem of a Nawab. As a brahma-jnani who sees nothing but brahman everywhere, he would not distinguish between the different human figures which cross his path nor would he be distracted by the sights or noises that his environment may present to him. It was in this state of trance that he was walking along. He, the naked sannyasi, walked straight into the harem, entering it at one end and walking out at the other all the while walking through a maze of inmates of the Nawab's harem. The news reached the nawab, he had his men chase him, they cut off both his hands as he was walking along, the hands fell off and … still he was walking along silently as if nothing had happened. The Nawab got scared, picked up the hands that had been severed, ran to the Sage and offered them in total remorse. The sage stopped his walking, the severed hands were restored to their place, the hands became normal and the sage walked away! There was no conversation. An intriguing eye-witness account of this incident can be found in The Journey Continues, the sequel to the autobiography of the mystic Sri M (known variously as Madhukarnath and Mumtaz Ali Khan).
e is said to have met the Raja Thondaiman of Pudukottai and initiated him into the Dakshinamurthy Mantra. He is said to have written the mantra on sand. This sand was picked up by the king and it is in the worship of the royal family till now in the Dakshinamoorthy temple inside the Pudukottai palace in Pudukottai.
He was responsible for installing the deity Punnainallur Mariamman near Thanjavur and guided the installation at Devadanapatti Kamakshi temple. He was also involved in the Kalyana Venkatesa Perumal temple at Karur.[10] He also installed the Hanuman Murthi in the Prasanna Venkateswara temple at Nalu Kal Mandapam in Thanjavur.
He also installed Lord Ganesh and a powerful Ganesh Yantra at the Thirunageshwaram Rahu Stalam temple at Kumbakonam. An inscription in the temple bears testimony to this fact. The shrine can still be seen at the entrance to the temple.
He has five samadhis :
Nerur (Tamil Nadu)
Manamadurai
Puri
Kashi
Karachi
Every year in Nerur and Manamadurai, music festivals are conducted in his honor. In Manamadurai his samadhi is located at the Somanathar temple, which was identified by Sri Sivan SAR, Purvashrama Bratha (Brother) of the Paramacharya of Kanchi.
Sringeri Jagadgurus have had a special reverence to Sadashiva Brahmendral. Sri Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharati, 33rd Jagadguru of the Sringeri Saradha Peetham had visited Nerur and worshipped/meditated at the Adhistanam of Sadashiva Brahmendra. It is in the tradition of the Acharyas of Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham to offer prostrations only at the Adhistanam (Samadhi shrine) of their Gurus. They do not go and offer prostrations at the Adhistanam of any other Sanyasis. However, Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswami made an exception to this rule at the Adhistanam of Sadashiva Brahmendra. Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswami has composed two Stotras in praise of Sri Sadashiva Bramhendra - Sadasivendra Stava and Sadashivendra Pancharatna. We are aware about the life history of Sadashiva Brahmendra from these Stotras. Jagadguru would also recite the Atma Vidya Vilasam, a work of Sadashiva Brahmendra regularly which was also followed by Jadagduru Chandrashekhara Bharathi Mahaswami.
Jagadguru Abhinava Vidyathirtha Mahaswami, Jagadguru Bharathi Thirtha Mahaswami and Jagadguru Vishushekhara Bharathi Mahaswami have also visited and worshipped at the Adhistanam of Sadashiva Brahmendra at Nerur.
The text "Atma Vidya Vilasa" was the most favorite spiritual text of Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swami the 34th Jagadguru of Sringeri Peetha. The swami , himself an Avadhuta, a week before his passing away, parted with all his meager passions but retained, on second thought, a copy of Atma Vidya Vilasa till the day prior to his departure.
Not many facts are known about his life. It is believed Sadashiva Brahmendra lived in the time of Sharabhoji, ruler of Tanjore (1712 -1728). This is based on the oral tradition that Sadashiva Brahmendra presented a copy of his work Atma Vidya Vilasa to King Sharbhoji when the king called on the Avadhuta to pay his respects.
Let us all reverentially offer our namaskarams to Sri Sadashiva Brahmendra Gnani.🙏
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