MYSORE-BORN SRINGERI PONTIFF

MYSORE-BORN SRINGERI PONTIFF

By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology,University of Mysore.

(Star of Mysore, 14.3.2010)

From the past 1,200 years, ever since Sri Adi Shankara established a Mutt at Sringeri, 36 pontiffs have adorned that Mutt without any break. Of these 36 pontiffs, it was a pleasant surprise that Mysore city has just contributed only one Swamiji for this great religious institution. That was the 33rd Jagadguru famous Sri Sachchidananda Sivabhinava Narasimha Bharati (1858-1912).

Kunigal Ramasastry was a great Sanskrit scholar patronised by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III. To him was born a boy by name Shivaswamy. After the death of Ramasastry, the boy was taken care of by his elder brother by giving good education. This boy attracted the attention the pontiff Ugra Narasimha Bharati, famous for austere meditation. The Commissioner Bowring wanted to test his capacity for mediation. One day at 1 am, he came to the temple without being noticed by the Swamiji and saw the pontiff immersed in deep meditation. He showed his respect to the monk by removing his hat and quietly left the temple.

The Swamiji decided to take Shivaswamy as the junior pontiff, but the elder brother did not agree to this proposal. But the Maharaja intervened in the matter and Shivaswamy became the junior pontiff of Sringeri peetha. Normally the rituals are held at Sringeri but in this case, it was done at the Lakshmi Venkataramana temple in the palace (where the priest had tried to poison King Raja Wadiyar 300 years ago), in 1867.

The Swamiji practiced Raja Yoga and became proficient in it. As per the tradition of Sringeri Mutt he undertook tours to various parts of the country preaching moral and spiritual values of this ancient land. On such an occasion, he visited Talacauvery in Kodagu and worshipped the goddess Cauvery with gold coins. He went to Travancore in Kerala and stayed with king Setupathi. The king brought to Swamiji's notice that during Dasara one thousand animals are being sacrificed to the goddess Rajarajeswari and he had failed to stop this obnoxious practice. Swamiji called the leaders of the city and explained to them that goddess cannot be propitiated by killing animals and in fact it is a sinful act. The people accepted this advice and took an oath of not sacrificing animals. The Swamiji achieved what the Maharaja could not.

It was known to everybody that Kaladi was the birth place of Sri Adi Shankara. But in these 1000 years, people had lost touch and familiarity with that holy place and hence some undesirable elements had usurped that area in the absence of proper claimant to the birth place of Shankara. Swamiji made a lot of exploration and research with the help of scholars and officers and identified the places where Adi Shan-kara lived with his mother, the spot where Poorna river took a turn at the behest of Adi Shankara, the place where Acharya Shan-kara cremated his mother etc.

Temples for Adi Shankara and goddess Sharadamba were built by him. Thus he rediscovered the birth place of Adi Shankara at Kaladi. In this connection, an incident may be narrated here. Half a century ago, a German lady by name Greiger wrote to the Indian Ambassador in that country asking for some details regarding Kaladi. The ignorant Ambassador's staff wrote a reply stating that Kaladi is near a petty Railway Station in Kerala.

People had confused opinion regarding the correct birthday (Jayanti) of Acharya Shankara. The Swamiji, after doing a lot of calculations with the help of scholars, fixed the correct date and asked the devotees to celebrate Shankara Jayanti on a particular day. This is being followed by all the institutions both in India and abroad.

Acharya Shankara is famous for the commentaries (bhashyas) on Vedic literature (Prasthanatraya). They was not easily available to the readers as they were not printed at all. Swamiji asked the famous Vanivilas Printers and Publishers at Srirangam to take up this great task. They agreed and for the first time in Shankara's commentaries were printed and made available to readers.

Swamiji was an educationist too. He started a Sanskrit school in Sringeri (Sadvidya Sanjivani) and also one at Bangalore. In addition, he built the Shankara Mutt at Bangalore which has completed centenary. Swamiji felt that the Sharadamba temple at Sringeri was inadequate for the ever-increasing devotees. Architects and sculptors from Chettinad came forward to build the new Sharadamba temple and it was built. That is the temple we see now at Sringeri. But the pontiff could not see its inauguration in 1916 by his successor Sri Chandrashekara Bharati.
Swamiji's name spread all over. Madanmohan Malaviya, architect of Banares Hindu University, requested the pontiff to lay the foundation stone for an arts college building at Kashi. Swamiji could not go but sent the wooden sandals (paduke) of his guru for that purpose. This is significant indeed ! Frazer, an Englishman who met this Swamiji, has said that it was his good fortune to have met him twice. Swamiji was adept in giving discourses in simple language to common people. He used to say, 'don't blame Britishers always for your failure,' 'don't blindly imitate the British but take whatever is good in them.'

In one of his discourses he called upon the people of higher castes to encourage the people of lower castes so that they can be equal partners in society. His another pet subject was to tell people to be content with whatever is available. Contentment makes our life happy. Swamiji attained mukthi in 1912.

Actually this Swamiji was born in old Agrahara where Shankara Mutt stands today. The Maharaja who was close to the Swamiji ordered that a temple be built which could be visible to him at all times. This Shankara Mutt with shrines for goddess Sharadamba, Adi Shankara and the Swamiji is like a mini Sringeri in Mysore. Thus an old Agrahara-born boy became a Jagadguru and brought laurels to Mysore city. He was a religious monk with a corporate culture.

My tours and travels

The great game of cricket has taken me to various places in the country and since I am fond of visiting different places I have made it a point not to miss it whenever time was available. There are some places also around Mysore but have not been able to capture much, ironically! Only a couple of tours have been with family.

These are some pictures from Kukke Subramanya, 2007.


by dinakarkr

Some pictures from my trip to Hardwar and Rishikesh with my friend/team-mate Naveen.


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Our team made a tour in 2007 to Chandigarh. We found time to visit Golden Temple at Amritsar. There was a large crowd. After a short while, Mukunda (Jr.) and I somehow detached from the group. So we were on our way on our own till we met at the stipulated time at the entrance.


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After that we went to the nearby Jhalianwala Bagh, renown for its 1919 tragic incident which history records with great sadness.


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Then before sunset we were at Wagah Border to watch the Flag ritual.


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In Chandigarh itself, we had a free morning before our afternoon cricket match, which some of us made use of by visiting the great creation of Nek Chand, The Rock Garden.


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Shimla is close to Chandigarh and so the entire team had planned a visit to the "Queen of Hills".


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Chamundi Hills is an everyday sight for Mysoreans as it adds beauty to the entire city. A trip to the close by hills in 2008 Summer are frozen in some frames here:


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November 2008, we (family, this time) had gone on a short trip to the North-east part of our country, just to a few places. Some 100 frames here:


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Going around our own city now:


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At nearby Srirangapatna, a 'shandy' takes place on Saturdays. We happened to be there in December 2007. A few shots.

Srirangapatna Santhe

During Dasara festival this year, 2009, I saw myself making a walking tour in the heart of the city.

Dasara Heritage Walk

During the above walk, I had entered with a ticket to the Curzon Park Horticultural Show. Lovely flowers!

Dasara Horticultural Show 2009

During Dasara, Mysore's important buildings were illuminated. Looked colourful at night.

Dasara Illumination 2009

This album consists of a mixture of tours because these are recopies from the photo album before the "e-era". Digitizing them now was fun!

My tour and travel

Dream come true - of air travel

Had posted an entry on my 'aero memories' some time back. Now things got real, almost out of the blue. Thanks to the government's scheme of things, the dream of looking at the earth from above [not from a hill] got to fruition. I feasted my eyes from the window seat I chose each time on the 4 flights from Bangaluru to Kolkata to Bagdogra and back, but did not use the camera to click many pictures due to on-flight instructions. This one taken on way to Bagdogra was breathtaking - flying above the clouds. Felt like they were "cloud 9"! Huge balls of cotton hanging in the air and in their small gaps, a majestic unpolluted green-blue river was seen in its real beauty almost following us. It must have been River Teesta or Mahanadi.
At one time, not that flight, the preceding one was in an Airbus A320 and that was at one time at an altitude of 11,000 metres and the aircraft speed had crossed 700kph. View of the earth from up there was amazing.

Our further road travel was equally thrilling. Winding roads, uphill and down hill, curves and steep hairpin bends through the lovely hills took us to beautiful Gangtok. Subsequently, the tour organizers took us to Thukla, Chhangu lake, Darjeeling, Tiger Hills, Gangamaya Park, Darjeeling Zoo, Tea estates, Mirik and later to Kolkata. More of these in another place. Here are some pictures in this album:
by dinakarkr

Take a peek at my daughter's blog: http://darjtrip.blogspot.com/

Destiny in someone else's hands

http://dinu58.wordpress.com/2007/06/14/destinies-in-someones-hands/

[Hope you have visited that link]

It so happened that the Boss and my 'first choice person' above when they retired, were presented a scroll in the form of rhyming poems [scroll to see my post in this blog] at different times. I was much satisfied with the way both compilations happened!

Childhood Deepavali memories

After Dasara holidays it was Deepavali which we eagerly looked forward to when we were young, in the 1960s and early 70s. It was not solely for the chance to buy and enjoy fireworks, but it really meant a festive atmosphere everywhere. Such was the spirit.

It would begin with buying cloth lengths [cotton only] for all the male members in the family. For me and brother it was for a set of shirt and half pants to be stitched at Tailor Narayana Rao’s shop close to our house. Ready-mades were less preferred, though some shops sold them.
Then it was the purchase of fireworks with our grandfather. Our loudest sounding item was ‘elephant cracker’ with that Red Fort picture on the packet, which exploded with a tolerable sound and there was an odd one that fizzed too, much to our delight! We used to buy just a couple of chains of these but a lot more of those cheap ‘horse crackers’. These were much smaller. Some adventurous boys used to burst them holding in their fingers, while it was concealed into cigarette to explode at the lips – the seniors played this mischievous fun trick. So feeble were these. All crackers in the chain were separated to increase the number instead of burning chains at one go, so that we will have ‘more’ time to spend!

‘Atom bombs’ [now banned, but still manufactured and sold] were not much popular, though ‘Lakshmi cracker’ and ‘China chuvva’ [close equivalents] were bought by us in very small numbers as we grew older – a sense of promotion! But since I have always hated big noise, this was not an item on the list. But we enjoyed it from distant somewhere that reverberated in the city skies. Skies were so silent then, esp. before dawn, except for the disturbed crows and house sparrows [now gone from the region]. I was actually afraid to burst a cracker myself or being close to it!

For the two of us, the expense would be hardly twenty five or thirty rupees at the most. Compare it to the thousands that people spend now! We just bought a few crackers, some sparklers, match sticks, incense sticks [for igniting fireworks], flower pots, threadlike sparklers and ‘ground-wheels’. No rockets and other dangerous things. It was also a common thing to ask others ‘for how many rupees did you buy fireworks?’

The ladies of the house would clean all the copper vessels in the bath and fill with fresh water [24-hour supply then] the previous evening. Mother would exhibit her talent with rice-flour rangoli in front of the house – a beautiful pattern would be drawn. [See my 'crafts in the family' post in this blog - picture]. We were woken up at 4 a.m the next day for oil bath. Already, some cracker noise would be heard at a distance, envious we were not ‘first’ to burst. People were ready with all the enthusiasm to celebrate the festival. Special dishes for lunch, new clothes would be worn and fireworks played.

Boys were curious to know what other boys would burst. It was fun. People did not make much of a show by exchanging greetings for the festival like now. We have come to a state when we wish others on any day –‘Happy Independence day' or 'Happy Ganesh Festival' for example! I don’t remember they did that in the 1970s! Patriotism existed in greater spirit, than now, in spite of not greeting the fellow citizen!

Then, it was less people, less noise. The festival did not have a nuisance value generally. The sky did not choke. Now it chokes. More people, more show, more noise, more poison smoke, more of all the negatives! The festival-enjoyers show least concern to other neighbours or passers-by. The Police stipulate the time for bursting crackers. Yet, nobody listens or heeds to rules showing utter disregard to others in society. Bombs go up at anytime of the day or night with shocking intensity. Smoke fills the air and settles like fog, creating breathing problem esp. to the sensitive. Stars cannot be seen during the festival nights. Also, many accidents take place due to carelessness. It can be very painful. My young brother had burnt his fingers playing with ‘fire’. Accidents should not teach us, we should be forewarned.

There was one fire accident at a house on our Devaparthiva Road. We had been to the Dasara Exhibition [old building] in 1970 or so. By the time we returned home [by walk], we saw people gathered and fire engines standing. On one of the houses, hay was stacked [they owned a couple of cows] on the terrace and a rocket had started a fire. Luckily only a part of the house was gutted. We saw how the firemen worked for the first time.

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Scientifically, they say that this festival of lights, Deepavali, is timed when insects are more after the monsoon rains. So this smoke, only when emanated in moderation, helps control the insects. But we are overdoing it to an extent of causing concern to human comfort and environmental pollution, leave alone the insects. It confuses birds and animals as well. Look at the amount of rockets and other colourful fireworks and the amount of poisonous smoke they leave behind.

Are we not harming our own environment in our own little ways? That is not what the previous generation left behind for us. At least now that it is being pointed scientifically the exact reasons for various climatic changes, let us be warned and act wisely. And leave behind, not smoke, but a better environment for the next generation to live in.

Analyses of Man and Woman

ANALYSIS OF MAN (purely in a lighter vein)

Symbol: MaW2 (Mighty, Almighty, Woman wooer)
Molecular weight: 55kg, equivalent to "Reference Woman" as defined by FAO/WHO Expert Group.
Origin: Darwin's Brain Trust!
Zoological name: Romeocca Mangentilus. Ima
Physical Properties: Short-tempered, egoistic, possessive, demanding. Wants to have the cake and eat it too! Always feels that grass is greener on the other side! Would like to have a submissive spouse!
Chemical Properties: Possesses great affinity towards fair sex. Blushes at ladies' attention. Turns violet when his girl talks to other Men! Turns white in trouble, tries to win hearts of other young girls that he is still attractive to the fair sex!!
Reaction: Acidic if challenged; Alkaline if ignored and neutral if necessary!!
Occurrence: Hopping around ladies' colleges and hostels. May also be found at the doors of theatres!
Uses: A good escort for defence of fair sex especially after night shows!
Caution: Unpredictable, Unsteady, breaker of hearts and mischier monger proving Darwin's theory!!

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ANALYSIS OF A WOMAN (purely in a lighter vein)

Nomenclature: Woman
Symbol: Wo
Occurrence: Ubiquitous and abundant
Origin: Unknown
Size: Standard -- 42-24-36
Availability: In all sizes except the standard. Some are upside down to the standard.
Mass: 35-55 kgs.
Length: Between 1 and 2 metres

Properties:
++Structural: Mostly petit frame with 75 % surface tension.
++Physical: At times highly dynamic, but no initiative in times of crises; possesses little strength and force; exhibits alpha, fronted by a better looking specimen.
++Chemical: boils at nothing and melts under sentimental conditions; freezes at sensitive moments, bitter by nature; violently reacts after a brief solitude and improper treatment leading to explosions; turns red even on a little provocation and becomes pale during crises.
++Conductivity: An equally good conductor of both love and hate.
++Thermal: Cold sentimentality under hot conditions and exaggerated sentimentality under cold conditions.

=Susceptibility: Systems:
Eyes- Susceptible near all saree and dress emporia
Ears- Susceptible to all fashionable earrings, earlocks, eardrops, etc.
Tongue- Susceptible to all gossip.
Nose- Susceptible to exotic smells.
Mouth- Susceptible to all pickles in general
Mind- Highly susceptible under sentimental conditions. Very high infatuation towards gold, silver, etc., and invitations.

=Utility:
- General- An ornamental piece fit for an ivory tower; acts as a tonic when judiciously used, otherwise a non-reversible poison even in sub-lethal doses. An accelerator of spirit and simian enthusiasm even among ascetics.
- Economic- Rise in value under speculative conditions, increases demand, and fall in value decreases demand, a paradox in economic parlance. An instrument for equitable distribution of wealth; acts as an effective income reducing agent. An article of ostentation and possesses snob-appeal. A popular bait in all shops and supermarkets to net the victims.
- Caution- Beware of feminine wits and potentialities. Stop, look twice, listen and recede. 660 V. Inexperienced hands should neither touch nor feel. Never try to find the origin. A cul-de-sac. A land of no return.

[Reproduced from a club souvenir, unknown compiler]

Secret Answers in our rooms!

This was an e-mail forward some time back. I have saved it, because of its true worth. Look at the comparison with the objects that we actually have in our rooms everyday, yet they go unnoticed! Worthy reminders to become better!