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Sri
Guru Raghavendra Swamy
(1595–1671)
Is a respected 16th century Hindu saint who
advocated Madhvism (worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) and Sri
Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy. He ascended Brindavana at Mantralayam in
present day Andhra Pradesh in 1671. His Brindavanam in Mantralayam situated in
Andhra Pradesh, India is a pilgrimage destination.
Birth
Sri Raghavendra Swami was born as Sri Venkata
Natha (Venkata Ramana), the second son of Sri Thimanna Bhatta and Smt.
Gopikamba on Thursday, Sukla Navami of Phalguna month in 1595, when the moon
was in Mrigashīrsha Nakshatra, at Bhuvanagiri, near present-day Chidambaram in
Tamil Nadu. Sri Thimmanna Bhatta was the son of Sri Kanakachala Bhatta and the
grandson of Sri Krishna bhatta, a Veena scholar in the court of King
Krishnadevaraya. Sri. Thimanna Bhatta and his wife, Smt. Gopikamba had a son,
Gururajacharya and a daughter, Venkatamba.
Sri Venkanna Bhatta was also called Venkatanatha
or Venkatacharya in honor of Sri Venkateshwara at Tirupati, with whose
blessings he was considered to have been born, to his parents for their
devotion and diligence towards the deity.
Early life
Sri Venkatanatha proved to be a very brilliant
scholar from a very young age who learnt to play the Veena very proficiently
thanks to his father and grandfather.
After his father's demise, Venkatanatha was
brought up by his brother Sri Gururaja Bhatta and completed the initial portion
of his education under his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya's guidance in
Madurai.
Marriage
After his return from Madurai in 1614, Sri
Venkatanatha married Smt. Saraswathi Bai in the same year and had a son Sri
Lakshminarayanacharya. After his marriage, Sri Venkatanatha and his family went
to Kumbakonam where he studied the Dwaita vedantha, grammar and literary works
under his guru, Sri Sudheendra Theertha.
Sri Venkatanatha was already very well versed in
bhashyas and consistently prevailed over renowned and reputed scholars,
irrespective of the complexity of the debates. He was an ardent devotee of Sri
Moola Rama and Sri Panchamukha MukhyaPranaDevaru (the five-faced form of
Hanuman - Pancha meaning five, mukha meaning faces). He spent a large part of
his Poorvashrama life teaching Sanskrit and the ancient Vedic texts to
children.
He never demanded any money for his services and
endured a life of poverty along with his wife and son. They went without food
several times a week. On occasion, his wife did not have change of clothes.
This forced her daily change of wear to be dependent on when the clothes dried.
She would wear 1/2 the saree, wait for the other 1/2 to dry and wrap it around
her. But he was so devoted in his quest for a higher spiritual plane that these
obstacles never deterred his faith in the Lord
Poorvashrama Miracles
Once while he was touring Kumbakonam along with
his wife, Sri Venkatanatha and his family were invited to attend a function.
Unfortunately, the hosts did not treat him well and wanted him to earn his food
by running a chore. So they asked him to make some sandalwood paste for all the
invitees. Sri Venkatanatha per his habit was chanting stotras and mantras while
preparing sandalwood for Tilaka. When the guests applied this paste, it induced
a burning sensation all over their bodies. Surprised by this, the hosts sought
a clarification from Venkatanatha. He replied that the burning sensation was
due to the Agni Suktam (hymn for the worship as defined in the Esoteric Vedas)
that he was chanting while preparing sandalwood and thus eternal power of Vedic
Mantras revealed itself. This happens only when chanted with absolute
dedication and devotion. The power is enhanced since it was chanted by someone
as virtuous and devoted to Bhagwaan Hari as himself. Upon realizing his
devotion and power, the host apologized profusely to Sri Venkatanatha and
sought his forgiveness.
Sri Venkatanatha then prepared the paste again but
chanted the Vedic Mantra to Varuna (Vedic rain gods) this time. It has been
recorded that when the guests applied this paste, they were awash with a sense
of being drenched in rainwater, reaffirming Sri Venkatanatha's power of
devotion.
Ordination into Sanyasa as Guru Raghavendra
Thus while his life was spent in the worship of
God and service of humanity, his spiritual guru, Sri Sudheendra Theertharu, was
looking for a successor to his math. He had a dream where the Lord indicated
that Sri Venkatanatha would be the right person to succeed him as the pontiff.
Sri Venkatanatha initially refused due to his responsibility towards his young
wife and son but was soon blessed by the Goddess of Learning, where she in a
dream indicated that he was to seek salvation as a Sanyasi. Sri Venkatanatha
treated this as an omen and changed his mind. The sanyasa ordination took place
in 1621 on the Phalguni Sukla Dwitiya at Tanjore.
Moksha of Smt. Saraswathi
On the day of Sri Venkatanatha's ascension into
SanyasAshrama, his wife, Smt. Saraswathi was seized by a sudden desire to see
her husband's face for the last time. She ran towards the Matha throwing
caution to the winds and was turned back. Since she couldn't see her husband
any longer, she committed suicide by drowning in an old and unused well on the
way.
Per the tenets of Hinduism, she became a ghost
trapped mid-way between Heaven and Earth due to her untimely death. Since her
last wish of seeing her husband was not fulfilled, her ghost went to the matha
to witness the ordaining function. However, by the time she arrived, her husband
had become a Sannyasi Sri Raghavendra Theertha. However, Sri Guru Raghavendra
could immediately sense his wife's presence with his spiritual powers. He
sprinkled some holy water from His Kamandalu on her as a means of granting her
last wish. This action granted her moksha or liberation from the cycle of
births and deaths and was considered her reward for a lifetime of dedicated and
selfless service to Sri Raghavendra Swami.
Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji
On handing over the Peetha to Sri Raghavendra Swami,
his guru, Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji left for his heavenly abode. His
Brindavana was constructed at Anegundi near Hampi under the personal
supervision of Sri Raghavendra Swami. Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swami's Brindavana
is the ninth Brindavana at that location, earning the region the popular
moniker of "Nava Brindavana". It is an extremely holy pilgrimage
centre for Madhvas.
Sri Yadavendra Tirtha and Sri Raghavendra Swami
Much before Sri Raghavendra Swami ascended as
Peethaathipathi of the Mutt, Sri Yadavendra Tirtha had been given Sanyasa by
Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji. When he came back to Tanjore from his Teertha
Yatra across Southern India, Sri Raghavendra Swami offered to make him the
Peethaathipathi of the Matha and offered him the idols of Sri Moola Rama.
However, Sri Yadavendra Tirtha, on seeing the devotion and spiritual prowess
with which Sri Raghavendra Swami was pontificating the Mutt, declined the offer
and continued on his pilgrimage. Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami then continued to
enrich Dvaita Vedanta from Kumbakonam where numerous shishyas joined the Matha.
Kumbakonam drought
During Sri Raghavendra Swami's time at Kumbakonam,
the Tanjore district as a whole was reeling under the effects of a severe 12
year long drought. The Thanjavur Nayak ruler Sevvappa Nayak approached Swamiji
for spiritual solace and was advised to perform some Yagnas. No sooner were
these rites performed, was the region flush with rain and prosperity. As a mark
of gratitude, the Maharaja gifted the Matha with a necklace embellished with
precious stones.
Swamiji offered the necklace as a contribution to
a yagna that he was performing then. The Maharaja took affront at this action.
When Swamiji realized this, he immediately put his hand into the homa kunda and
retrieved the necklace in a condition identical to which it was given to him by
the King. Neither the necklace nor Swamiji's hand showed any indication of
having been in a raging fire. This incident only served to reaffirm the
greatness of Swamiji and converted the Maharaja of Tanjore into an ardent
Bhakta.
Tour of South India
Sri Raghavendra Swami embarked on a tour of South
India, spreading the Dvaita Philosophy and visiting famous pilgrimage centers
such as those at Rameshwaram and Srirangam. At Rameshwaram, he clarified the
origins of the Siva Linga as the one that was installed by Lord Rama himself
before his journey to Lanka to fight Ravana. In this context, he also clarified
that Ravana was a Rakshasa since he was born to a Rakshasi mother and Brahmin
father. He rebuffed the claim made by some scholars that Lord Rama, as the
Supreme One, is not bound by Brahma Hatya Dosha (or any other doshas) for
eliminating Ravana.
He also traveled to Kanyakumari,
Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai where he met his Poorvashrama brother-in-law
with whom he had spent a large part of his childhood. As part of his Yatras, he
traveled to Vishnu Mangala, Kukke Subramanya and Udupi in Karnataka, amongst
other such spiritual centers and impressed one and all with his mastery of
Dvaita philosophy, won many admirers, gained many devotees and published
stellar works of literature and philosophy some of which were carried around in
processions of elephants as a mark of respect for its brilliance.
Diwaan of Adoni
On one of his numerous travels, Sri Raghavendra
Swamy came across a young and poor sheep rancher who prostrated before him in
respect. Swamiji blessed him and told the young rancher to think of him or pray
to him in times of adversity.
A few days later, the Nawaab siddi masud khan
(king) of Adoni who is a Persian, and he did not know how to read, write the
local language Telugu or Kannada was riding on a horse near where the sheep
rancher's herd was grazing. At that time an ambassador brought a letter written
in local language, and gave it to Nawaab. The Nawaab, who did not read the
local language, looked around to seek someone's help to read and explain the
contents of the letter. He saw the rancher and asked him to read and explain
the contents of the letter. The sheep rancher too was illiterate and could not
help the Nawaab in deciphering the contents of the letter. This angered the
Nawaab because the Nawaab misunderstood the sheep rancher's inability to
translate the contents of the letter as not obeying his order and threatened
the man with dire consequences for failing to obey his order. The sheep
rancher, who was in desperation by then, remembered the benevolent Swamiji who
had passed by the same route a few days earlier. He prayed hard to him and
tried reading the letter. Miraculously, the rancher was able to read and
explain the contents of the letter to the Nawaab. Since the information was
favourable to the Nawaab, he was impressed and the rancher became the Diwaan of
Adoni (administrator of the local region Adoni). Many years later, the Nawaab
learned about Sri Raghavendra Swami from this man.
Nawaab of Adoni and Mantralayam
Much after the above incident had occurred; Sri
Raghavendra Swami got an opportunity to meet the Nawaab of Adoni face-to-face.
The Nawaab, instead of being respectful to him, decided to test his spiritual
skills and placed before the Swamiji, a plate of non vegetarian delicacies
completely covered with a piece of cloth, in the guise of offering alms.
Per Hindu customs, alms are customarily offered to
a visiting saint to seek his blessings. Swamiji took some water from his
Kamandala, meditated and sprinkled it on the covered plate, as part of his
regular practice of purifying any food before consumption. He then opened the
plate. It contained fresh fruits. The Nawaab immediately became remorseful and
became an ardent devotee of Swamiji then on. As an apology, he offered to give
the Swamiji any amount of land and wealth. While Swamiji refused any such gift
for his personal gains, he asked that the land around Manchale (present day
Mantralayam), which was part of the Nawab's kingdom, to be handed over to his
Matha.
Though the Nawaab of Adoni offered to give him a
more fertile region, Sri Raghavendra Swami insisted on the dry and barren
region around Mantralayam, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River.
Many years later, he told a devotee that it was
the region where King Prahalada had performed his yagnyas to Lord Rama during
the Dwapara Yuga and was hence an extremely holy land. Thus the Matha moved to
Mantralayam where Sri Raghavendra Swamy continued his spiritual journey. At
Mantralayam, Sri Guru Raghavendra encouraged Annadhanam (donation of food) to
all devotees. It is a practice that is followed by the Matha to this date and
is heavily subsidized by donations.
Panchamuki
Sri Guru Raghavendra performed penance at a place
called Panchamukhi, near Mantralayam, in present day Andhra Pradesh where He
received darshan of Hanuman in the form of Sri Panchamukha MukhyaPrana. Sri
Guru Raghavendra is considered by his devotees to be a reincarnation of
Prahalada, the devotee who was saved by Vishnu in his Avatar as Narasimha (see
Vaishnava Theology). Prahalada in turn is believed to be a reincarnation of
Shankukarna, a Devatha, in the Dwapara Yuga. Hence, Sri Raghavendra Swamy chose
Mantralayam as the location of his Brindavana
Jeeva Samadhi
On Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671,
Raghavendra Swami gave a soul-stirring speech to hundreds of devotees who had
gathered to watch the event. Some quotes from that speech are as follows -
"Without right living, right thinking will
never come. Right living is performing one's ordained duties according to one's
station in life without hankering the after fruits of the actions and on the
other hand offering all one's activities to the Lord. This is real sadachara
(right living). This is real karma yoga."
"Social work done for the good of worthy
people should also be considered as the Lord's worship. In short, our life
itself is worship. Every action is a puja. This life is precious. Every second
of our life is precious. Not even a second that has gone will come back.
Listening to the right shastras and always remembering Him is the highest
duty."
"Always keep away from people who merely
perform miracles without following the shastras and yet call themselves God or
guru. I have performed miracles, and so have great persons like Srimadvacharya.
These are based on yoga siddhi and the shastras. There is no fraud or trickery
at all. These miracles were performed only to show the greatness of God and the
wonderful powers that one can attain with His grace. "
"Right knowledge (jnana) is greater than any
miracle. Without this no real miracle can take place. Any miracle performed
without this right knowledge is only sorcery. No good will comes to those who
perform such miracles and also those who believe in them."
"Have devotion to the Lord. This devotion
should never be blind faith. Accepting the Lord's supremacy wholeheartedly is
true devotion. Blind faith is not devotion. It is only stupidity. We should
have devotion, not only for the Lord, but also for all other deities and
preceptors in keeping with their status."
After this speech, Sri Raghavendra entered the
Brindavana specially constructed for him with stone brought from Madavara
village, near Manchale. Per his advice these stones were sanctified by Lord
Rama, Sita and Lakshmana's footsteps when they visited the village during Treta
Yuga.
He had advised his disciples to start arranging
slabs around him once the japamala rolling by fingers in his hand become still.
He began reciting the pranava mantra and slipped
into deep Samadhi. Once his japamala became still, his disciples arranged the
slabs up to his head and then, as per his earlier instructions, they placed a
copper box containing 1200 Lakshmi narayana saligramas that had been specially
brought from Gandaki River in Nepal. Then they placed the covering slab over it
and filled it with earth. They poured twelve thousand varahas (abhisheka) over
the Brindavana that they had built.
Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami attained Jeeva Samadhi
on Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671. This date is celebrated each
year as Sri Raghavendra Swamy Aradhana at Brindavana all over the world. The
Raghavendra Mutt in Mantralayam housing his Brindavana is visited by thousands
of devotees every year.
It is believed he would live for
76 years physically on the Earth.
300 years in the Brindavana, through his literary
work among the people.
400 years in the Brindavana without a physical
form.
Totally 700 years in the Brindavana helping the
society and the mankind to come-out from troubles and
miseries
Raghavendra and Sir Thomas Munro
An incident concerning Raghavendra Swami and Sir
Thomas Munro has been recorded in the Madras Districts Gazetteer. In 1801,
while serving as the Collector of Bellary, Sir Thomas Munro, who later served
as the Governor of Madras is believed to have come across an apparition of
Raghavendra Swami. Sir Thomas Munro recorded as having spoken with Raghavendra
Swami in English over an endowment proposal which he ultimately quashed as per
the Swami's advice.
Sri Appanacharya and Sri Raghavendra Stotra
Sri Appanacharya was one of Sri Raghavendra
Swami's foremost disciples at Mantralayam. Knowing his unstinting devotion and
that he would try and thwart his Jeeva Samadhi, Sri Raghavendra Swami sent Sri
Appanacharya to a town in Karnataka on the opposite bank of the Tungabhadra
River before entering the Brindavana to attain Jeeva Samadhi.
Upon hearing of his beloved Swamiji's decision to
enter Brindavana, Sri Appanacharya came rushing back to Mantralayam only to
find the Tungabhadra in full spate (sudden flood) due to the rain. Unable to
cross the river, he burst into a 32-stanza hymn, now popularly known as Sri
Raghavendra stotra as a prayer to his beloved Swamiji. It is said that on
hearing the hymn, the Tungabhadra abated and allowed him to walk on her.
As Sri Appanacharya rushed into the Math, he was
mid-way through singing the last stanza of his hymn. At the same time, the last
slab was placed on Sri Raghavendra Swamy in the Brindavana. On seeing this, Sri
Appanacharya was overcome with emotion and was unable to sing any further to
complete the stanza. Suddenly, a voice from inside the Brindavana said
"Sakshee Hayastotra Hee", completing the Stotra and implying Sri
Hayagreeva (an avatara of Lord Vishnu with the Horse head and Human body) and
Prahalada and hence Sri Guru Raghavendra himself was witness to Sri
Appanacharya's hymn.
This 32 stanza sloka has acquired fame as Sri
Raghavendra Stotra or Sri Poornabodha sloka, since the first stanza starts with
the words "Sri Poornabodha".
Another famous 2-stanza sloka praising Sri
Raghavendra goes thus
"Poojyaaya Raaghavendraaya Satya Dharma
Rathaayacha
Bhajataam
Kalpa Vrukshaaya Namathaam Kaamadhenave"
Raghavendra Mathas
Devotees of Shri Raghavendra Swamiji have built
his Mathas all over world. In these Mathas, religious rituals and ceremonies
are carried out as per the tradition and customs followed at Mantralayam. These
branches of the Matha are very useful, especially for those offering
SRADDHAKARMA, according to the Vaidhika Dharma of the Hindu religion.
Sri Raghavendra Theertha is also known as Guru
Rajaru and Rayaru lovingly by his devotees.
Guruji. A. Sivaguru Swamy
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Skype – sivaguruswamy29
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Naagai Dist, Tamilnadu–609 117
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