Sri Sringeri Guru Charitra
Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati Maha Swamiji – 34th Acharya ( 1912 – 1954 )
A Jivanamukta is rare. Sometime in some country a great soul takes birth. One must be fortunate even to get a glimpse of such a being , for it ennobles his life. To this parampara(tradition) of Jivanamuktas belonged Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati, the 34th Acharya of Sringeri Sarada Pitha (1912-1954).
The birth of the Acharya was a special event. Though his parents had many children, none survived. He was born after his parents sought the blessings of the Lord at Gokarna, and was named Narasimha. Right from childhood his devotion and concentration in his studies surprised everyone. With the blessings of his guru Sri Sacchidananda Sivabhinava Narasimha Bharati, he had a double promotion in studies.
Even in childhood his mind was always turned inward. When he was asked to buy grocery from shops, he would go on reciting Muka Panchasati. Immersed in atma dhyana he would walk ahead, beyond shop, sometimes even beyond city limits, and had to trace his way back realising his mistake. On a Pradosha day (day of Siva) he would sit near a pillar in Vidya Sankara temple and mentally perform Siva manasa puja.
Completion of Sloka
His guru was happy to hear about his progress from what others reported to him. Once his guru had to go on a yatra, he gave him part of a sloka and asked him to complete it. (He had earlier given him initiation in Nilakanta mantra).
The line was : “There is a rupa (form) which seemed asleep as eyes were half shut, but at the same time it seemed to reveal Atma Tattva.” The Guru gave the same pada to 10 pandits for completion besides this boy. While the others could not do it, the boy could complete it by dint of devotion.
It is what fills your mind that always finds expression spontaneously. The sloka completed by him was built round Dakshinamurty which is what his guru had in mind. The sloka described the form of Dakshinamurty sitting under the banyan tree in silence showing a mudra by hand to teach the great truth to such great sages as Sanaka.
The sloka hastened his guru’s decision to give him sannyas. The guru sent him to the matha college in Bangalore, with an advice to acquire gnana, not siddhi: “Practise jnana marga through discrimination. Engage yourself in vichara with the utmost faith in the words of the guru and in the maha vakyas heard from him. The think and meditate. The door to liberation will be within your search.
Activity and Seclusion
After his initiation, the young Swami concentrated so hard on his lakshya that he soon became a paramahamsa. Even after coming to head the matha, the Acharya handed over all temporal activities to others and devoted most of his time to self-realisation. In yatras too he was detached. Though he had absolutely no worldly attachments, he had great affection his disciples. Whereever he went he prayed for their enlightenment.
The new Acharya gathered round him veteran scholars. One of them Virupaksha Sastri later became head of the Kudli matha. Virupaksha Sastri often proclaimed that the Acharya’s profound scholarship was the result of divine grace rather than any effort on his part. Within three years, the Acharya mastered all the recondite works on Vedanta, not to speak of the other sastras.
The renovation of the temple of Sri Sarada was completed, and a beautiful shrine was erected over the Samadhi of the late guru in Narasimhavana. In 1916, the Acharya had the kumbhabishekam of both the shrines performed. The Maharaja of Mysore was present, as also representatives of the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda and several other rulers.
Invited by the Maharaja of Mysore, he started in January 1924 on a tour of south India. During his tours, he had arranged to build pathasalas for study of Vedas and Vedanta and an Agrahara at Kaladi. He acquired the house, in which his guru was born, with the adjoining land at Mysore. He has a magnificent temple erected in which a marble statue of that saint was consecrated by him in the year 1924.
Four years of busy touring was followed by a long period of practical seclusion from the outside world. The Acharya gave himself upto intense tapasya oblivious to his surroundings. But the affairs of the matha required attention. Under inspiration from Sri Sarada, the Acharya designated Srinivasa as his successor. He was a youth of remarkable intelligence and potential for spiritual eminence. The Acharya gave him sannyasa on May 22, 1931 with the name of Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha. The junior Swami soon became highly proficient in learning and took over the spiritual and secular affairs of the matha, giving considerable relief to the senior Acharya.
Seldom did the Acharya received disciples while in retirement. On the few occasions that he did for which hundreds would be waiting, a smile or a significant nod proved more efficacious and illuminating than a sermon. It would fill their souls with blessedness. By dint of introspection and tapasya, his consciousness appeared sublimated into an all-radiating spirit.
In 1938, the Acharya yielded to the prayers of the disciples to visit Bangalore and stay there for a few months. Facing the shrine of Sankara another shrine had been built for Sri sarada in Sankara matha. It was consecrated by the Acharya. He went to Coimbatore and thence to Kaladi.
Silent Blessings
The Acharya returned to Srigeri in 1940 and again went to retirement in Narasimhavana. Though he was not accessible, thousands who prayed to his blessings in their troubles got relieved. Many others were blessed even without any conscious attempt on their part to solicit his grace. Here is a thought provoking incident. The Acharya was rarely interested in the news of the world and never read a newspaper. In his retreat but his close attendants approached him.
Suddenly one day in December 1950, he penned a letter of benediction to King Tribhuvan of Nepal, who had then fled his native soil and come to India.The great powers were none to friendly, and considered that he had abdicated. The letter of the Acharya held out the assurance that the king’s troubles would disappear in the space of three weeks, and that by the grace of Sri Pasupatinath and Sri Sarada he would regain his throne.
King Tribhuvan obtained the throne, and the event opened a new and bright chapter in the history of Nepal. Countless others of various stations in life have similarly been blessed. This incident illustrates the universality of his mind in moods of introspection, and how compassion moved him to send a warning and blessing.
When numerous disciples approached the Acharya for permission to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his birth which fell in October 1952, he sternly discouraged the idea. When it was suggested that the funds collected would be spent in performing Atirudra and Sahasra Chandi homas, he approved. The homas were conducted in April 1953. A large concourse of people from distant places gathered to witness this unique function and to get blessings of the Acharya.
The Acharya came out of his retirement for few weeks after the homas had concluded, resumed his normal routine and received disciples. On August 24, 1954, President Rajendra Prasad paid a visit to Sringeri and was received by both Senior and Junior Swamis with whome he spent some hours in intimate and soulful conversation. The Rashtrapati’s innate humility, piety, godliness and respect for saints much pleased the two gurus, who showered their blessings on him.
Videhamukti
A few weeks later, the Acharya of his own volition decided to free himself from the fetters of the mortal body. On September 26, 1954, he got up very early in the morning and walked towards Tunga river. He stepped into the water, and advancing further into the current had a dip. Then he did pranayama, and dipped again. The Acharya’s body was seen floating down the current.
It was reported that the Acharya’s body was in the erect sitting posture with legs crossed as at the time of contemplation and was straightened out only in the attempt to restore respiration. There was no sign of drowning or suffocation or struggle for life. The Acharya had ever been in the best of health, and his passing away naturally baffled all doctors, just as he was baffling them even when he was alive. He was an enigma equally in death as in life to all who sought physical explanation for spiritual experiences.
Article excerpted from : The Greatness of Sringeri, A Sringeri Sarada Peetham Publication
Transcribed by : Vijay Kompalli
