Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamin
(35th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham)
(35th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham)
Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharathi Mahaswamin, the unparalleled Tapasvin and Jivanmukta, the 34th Pontiff of the Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham, attained videhamukti on mahalaya amavasya 26th September 1954. His Holiness’s formal coronation as the 35th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham took place on the 16th of October 1954.
There was much that needed to be undertaken by His Holiness. First, He set the ball rolling for the construction of His Guru’s samadhi. As His Guru had travelled little, He gave higher priority to the call of devotees and started an extensive South India tour in 1956. He relentlessly strove to inculcate dharma and spirituality in the hearts of people. Apart from being an inspiring teacher, He was also a quick and eager learner. He never missed an opportunity to learn about agriculture, horticulture and machines.
In 1959, while He was still on His first tour, the government handed over the reins of administration to Him. His Holiness initiated the construction of a guest house at Sringeri, renovation of shrines at Malahanikaresvara temple, and the construction of His Guru’s samadhi. He decided that a bamboo forest in Narasimhavana could be converted into cultivable land and accomplished the same, not once hesitating to help clear areas infested with snakes. This resulted in Sringeri getting its first coconut grove, followed by many such groves in other nearby areas as well.
His Holiness was opposed to wasting materials, be it a nail, a sheet of paper or the vestiges of a structural alteration or demolition. The stones that were removed from Chandramoulishwara Thotti during its remodeling were used elsewhere. His Holiness renovated the Sringeri patashala, built a temple for Lord Subrahmanya, a comfortable cowshed and elephant sheds, while also helming the construction of pathways in the matha. Due to His Holiness’s persistence, a road connecting Sringeri to Karkala that is now part of NH 169, came into being.
In Sringeri, His Holiness introduced drip irrigation and implemented elaborate fencing. He was deeply knowledgeable in horticulture and personally grafted rosebushes in the matha gardens. His Holiness set up the first biogas plant in the region and also implemented a modified firewood stove to heat bathing water in Narasimhavana. Other notable constructions in Sringeri that His Holiness planned were guest houses, the matha’s girls’ school, a full-fledged hospital, and a permanent bridge across Tunga (now “Vidyatheertha Setu”).
Being a quick learner and a keen observer, He was inclined to examine gadgets and ascertain how they worked. On a visit to Coimbatore in the 1960s, His Holiness toured G.D.Naidu’s industrial exhibition, who in turn was so impressed with the technical acumen of the Jagadguru, that he named His training institute after His Holiness. On a visit to IIT Kharagpur in 1977, His Holiness took interest in gathering details of boat navigation, research on pollution control repair of locomotives, and even surveyed the interiors of a fighter-plane’s cockpit.
His Holiness had an immaculate intuition and a razor sharp intellect that contributed to His accurate evaluations of situations. While He accommodated sincerity, He made no allowance for hypocrisy, insincerity, and prejudiced nitpicking. He had the knack of subtly nudging groups that did not see eye-to-eye to join hands for a common cause. He resorted to skill-based allocation of jobs and gave officials and supervisors considerable freedom to function in their respective departments. His Holiness was ever concerned of the wellbeing of all the labourers and gave them all a patient hearing, and promptly addressed grievances. He gladly accepted and implemented any good suggestion from anybody.
His Holiness’s magnetic personality, impeccable logic and soothing words have diffused many hostile and complex situations. Devoid of any ego or prestige-consciousness, His Holiness was ever ready to modify or even reverse His instructions when additional facts necessitated so. His Holiness never gave room for any favoritism and never let down any sincere devotee. His Holiness was particular about doing His personal works Himself, and only took assistance from attendants in essential and pontifical matters. His Holiness perused the accounts of the matha carefully as He was particular that the money donated to the matha be spent on the right causes only. He personally oversaw the running of the matha. While on tour, He penned letters to the Administrator to update Him, make enquiries and give instructions.
Such was His magnanimity and kindness that His Holiness considered even a small offering made to Him with devotion as great. Wherever His Holiness was prayed to for rain and invited, it had rained, earning Him the sobriquet “Mazhai Swamigal” (Svamin who brings rain).
Ever so many people came to His Holiness for blessings, guidance and succor. He dealt with each and every one in an appropriate manner. Sincerity in spiritual aspirants merited His Holiness’s priority, and He went to great lengths to guide them in their quest for Truth. His Holiness’s spiritual advices were not only unfailingly lucid and effective but also specific to the individuals who sought His guidance. On many occasions, He spontaneously said something that put a disciple’s doubts to rest even before the disciple posed any question to Him.
His Holiness took a personal interest in the welfare and the studies of the students of the pathashala. He renovated the pathashala building and provided them comfortable accommodation and a good atmosphere for studies. He established veda pathashala in many places. He started the Veda Poshaka Sabha for facilitating the teaching, study and propagation of the Vedas. Through it, He encouraged and provided financial assistance to Vedic scholars.
For the propagation of Sanskrit, His Holiness started the Sura-Sarasvati-Sabha. Magazines Shankara Krupa and Tattvaloka were started for spreading sanatana dharma and facilitating connection with the Sringeri matha. His Holiness established several matha branches and temples, apart from performing the kumbabhishekam of several shrines all over the country. He also encouraged secular education by starting a girls’ school at Sringeri and Jnanodaya School in Bangalore.
On His tours, it was customary for Him to give at least one benedictory address at every city, town or village He visited. His Holiness had delivered thousands of discourses that were beneficial, pregnant with import, lucid, practical, punctuated with rib-tickling humour, cogent and smooth-flowing, with not a single sentence or phrase that was out of place or superfluous. They also bore, when relevant, the unmistakable stamp of His own direct experience.
His Holiness manifested intense patriotism and was steadfast in His commitment to the sovereignty of our country. He contributed significantly towards wartime funds, and was consistently apolitical. He addressed the members of armed forces in numerous places, often exhorting them to diligently discharge their duties. He always urged people to think of oneself as Indian first. He said that this would ensure the prosperity of our nation as well as prevent the growth of divisive forces.
His Holiness hosted a chaturamnaya sammelana of the Jagadguru Shankaracharyas of Sringeri, Dwaraka, Badri and Puri on the Shankara Jayanti day in 1979, the first such occasion in recorded history. Several seers and leaders of other religions deemed it a privilege to have an audience with His Holiness. Children found much affection and kindness in His Holiness, and He made each and every youngster feel dearest to Him. Anecdotes involving the dog Kariya, the deer Hari, the cat Bekku, the elephants Shankara and Sharada, the cows, bulls and calves at the matha, are ample testament to His Holiness’s affection and concern towards all creatures.
His Holiness was a consummate yogi, a deeply revered jivanmukta, an unmatched authority on the shastras, an extremely compassionate Guru and an able administrator. He tirelessly worked for the betterment of the matha, the propagation of sanatana dharma and the welfare of the devotees. He lived a life of perfection that serves as the beacon of light for anyone who strives for higher good.