H.H SHRIMATH SUDHINDRA THIRTHA SWAMIJI Present Mathadhipati Of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan, Varanasi

H.H SHRIMATH SUDHINDRA THIRTHA SWAMIJI

Present Mathadhipati Of Sri Kashi Math

Samsthan, Varanasi

|| श्रीमत् परमहंस परिव्राजकाचार्य कुलतिलक यमनियमाध्यष्ठांग योग संपन्नपद वाक्य प्रमाण पारावार पारंगत सर्वतंत्र स्वतंत्रश्रीमद्वैष्णव सिद्धांत प्रतिष्ठापनाचार्यश्रीमद्व्यास रघुपति देव दिव्य श्रीपाद पद्मारधकश्रीमत् वरदेंद्र तीर्थ श्रीपादकरकमल संजात श्रीमत् सुक्रतींद्र तीर्थ श्रीपादवर कुमारक श्रीमत् सुधींद्र तीर्थ श्रीपादैः जयते ||

Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, the presentMathadhipati of Shree Kashi Math Samsthan, isthe twentieth Swamiji in the Guru Parampara. Inthe Poorvashram (before being initiated intosanyasa by the previous Swamiji), he was knownas Shri Sadashiva Shenoy, son of Shri RamadasShenoy, a trustee of Shri Venkataramana Templein Ernakulam. He was born at Ernakulam on 31stMarch, 1926. He completed his Pre-Universityeducation in Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam andselected Natural Science, Physics and Chemistryas his main subjects. From an early age he hadshown inclination towards a religious life. Thenoble traits of his character, his devotion to God,his desire to serve his fellow men, his honesty,his integrity and his love for Hindu Dharma wereremarkable. When Shrimath Sukrateendra ThirthaSwamiji was camping at Ernakulam, this youngboy attracted his attention. The Swamiji had theintuition to choose the right man and wasdivinely inspired to select this boy to be his fittestsuccessor, later to head Shree Kashi MathSamsthan. The father’s consent was obtained forthe transformation of the college student into aSanyasi, eventually to lead a sizeable portion ofVaishnava Goud Saraswath Brahmin communityin the righteous path of Vaishnava Dharma.The Guru-Swami took him to Mulki and onWednesday, 24th May 1944 (Karka Lagna, JeshtaShuddha Dviteeya of Tarana Samvatsara,Shalivahana Shaka 1866) initiated him intoSanyas in the divine presence of Lord SriVenkataramana, Sri Ugra Narasimha and SriBindu Madhava in Mulki (KA IN) and renamedhim as SHRIMATH SUDHINDRA THIRTHA, whothen severed the family connections and took tohis new duties earnestly and enthusiastically andled an austere life. He felt the need of equippinghimself with all the knowledge of the DharmaShastras. He mastered Sanskrit at theBhuvanendra Sanskrit College, Karkala. Thescholarly teachers of the college were appointedto impart the necessary education in DharmaShastras. He was camping in Shrinivasa Ashramain the College premises. In those days he wasvery fond of animals. There were many petsincluding a deer and a tiger cub in ShrinivasaAshrama.After taking the vow of celibacy in 1944 andpreserving it since then, the Swamiji strives day inand day out for the welfare and uplift of thecommunity as a whole. Endowed with excellentgrasping power, wonderful memory andextraordinary intelligence and plenty of God’sgrace and Guru’s blessings, he completed hisstudy in a short time. The Brahma Sutra, TheBhagavad Gita and the Upanishads (PrasthanaTraya) and other works were studied in greatdetail. He became a great scholar in Dwaitaphilosophy, as propounded by ShriMadhvacharya. He learnt the methods ofworshipping God according to Agama Shastra. Hetravelled with the Guru to various places andpicked up his duties well. He sat at the feet of theGuru and learnt the traditions of Shree KashiMath.His Holiness had taken charge of the Samsthanin 1949 after the Mukti of his Guru ShrimathSukrathindra Thirtha Swamiji in Kochi. He borethe loss of his Guru with courage and took overthe reigns of the spiritual chariot of the followersof Shree Kashi Math Samsthan in his able handsand has been leading the chariot since then.He traveled widely from Kanya Kumari toBadrinath, meeting his disciples, exhorting themto lead a life of morality and religion, conductingthe pujas to Shri Vyasa-Raghupati withunbounded devotion and single-pointedconcentration and praying at all times for thewelfare of the community. Kindness, compassion,generosity and breadth of vision are the strongtraits of his way of work. He visited many placesof pilgrimage including Nashik, Ujjain,Kurukshetra, Mathura, Ayodhya, Prayag, Kashi,Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badri, Tirupati, Srirangam,Madurai, Palani, Kumbhakonam, Rameshwaramand Kanya Kumari.Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, like hispredecessor Swamijis, performed manyinstallation and re-installation ceremonies invarious temples. Thus he performed the thirdrenovation/ reinstallation ceremony of ShriVenkataramana Temple, Kundapura on VaishakhaShuddha Trayodashi of Vikari Samvatsara, Sh.Sh. 1881 (Wednesday, 20-5-1959). Thereinstallation ceremony at Shri LakshmiVenkatesha Temple at Hosdurg was performed byhim on Chaitra Shuddha Navami, SharvariSamvatsara, Sh. Sh. 1882 (Monday, 4th April,1960). The installation of idol of ShriVenkataramana in Balaji Mandir, Kurla, Mumbaiwas performed by him on Tuesday, 20th March,1973. Among the temples renovated and the idolsreinstalled by the Swamiji are :Shri Venkataramana Temple, Kasaragod, ShriVaradaraja Venkataramana Temple, Gurupura,Shri Venkataramana Temple, Mangalore, SriKrishna Mandir, Mangalore etc. In addition, heinstalled various idols at different temples, suchas Shri Venkataramana and Mahalasa Temples atKonchady Shri Kashi Math, Shri MuralidharaKrishna at Kota, Shri Narasimha at ShriRamanjaneya Temple, Vile Parle (Mumbai), ShriNarasimha at Shri Venkataramana Temple,Uppinangadi and Shri Lakshmi VenkateshaTemple at Mudabidri.In order to mark the Golden Jubilee of the annualBhajana Saptaha at Shri Lakshmi VenkateshaTemple, Kasaragod, it was decided to conduct aYajna by writing Shri Ramo fai Rama fai faiRama, 52 crore times. Special books wereprepared for the purpose and members of thecommunity residing in different parts of thecountry contributed their share by writing thedivine name as many times as they could. TheYajna was conducted in a grand manner underthe able direction of the Swamiji.On another memorable occasion the Swamiji wasresponsible for conducting a Utsava in which theLord of Tirupati was seated on golden Garuda.The Swamiji also participated in the divineprocession, with the accompaniment of recitationof Vedas, instrumental music, singing of Bhajansetc.The year 1963 was a red letter day not only inthe history of Karkala but also in the history ofGoud Saraswath Brahmin community. It was inthat year that the heads of the three MathsShrimath Dwarakanatha Thirtha Swamiji (GokarnaPartagali Jeevottam Math), Shrimath SudhindraThirtha Swamiji (Kashi Math) and ShrimathSachhidananda Sarasvati Swamiji (Kavale Math)observed their annual Chaturmas Vrita in ShriVenkataramana Temple, Karkala. Perhaps such anevent had never occurred in the history of theseMaths earlier.Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji performedthe Sahasra Kumbhabhisheka in ShriVenkataramana Temple, Karkala, in March 1969and in Shri Lakshmi Venkatesh Temple, Udupi inMay 1971.The Swamiji founded two Math Bhavans, one atBhagamandala on the banks of the river Kaveri(in 1960) and another at Bandora in Goa (in1972). Shri Bhuvanendra Balakashrama, Basrurwill long be remembered as a worthy monument.Founded in 1965 under the auspices of ShreeKashi Math, this institution is a bold venture,where some of our boys are trained to lead anideal life. It started functioning by admittingfifteen students to whom Dharmic education isbeing imparted. Though the Math had decided tobear all the expenses in connection with therunning of the institution many donors from thecommunity have come forward to defray part ofthe expenses. An executive committee has beenformed under the overall guidance of the Swamijito look after the affairs of the institution.One of the major achievements of the Swamiji isthe founding of Shri Kashi Math Welfare Fund inUdupi. This concept was thought of in 1956,when the Swamiji was camping in Shri LakshmiVenkatesha Temple, Udupi, for observing theChaturmas Vrita. With the noble idea of foundingan organization, which would try to banish thesocial and economic ills afflicting the community,a meeting of the leaders of the communityresiding in South Kanara was convened in thetemple on 26th August 1956. Three years later adraft constitution was approved by thecommunity members, blessed by the Swamiji andthe institution was registered on 6th June, 1959.This provided for a Direction Committee,consisting of twenty members (all nominated bythe Swamiji) to implement the various activitiesoutlined in the constitution. A few of the sixteenobjectives listed in the constitution are givenbelow :1. To build up spiritual, religious, moral,educational, physical, cultural, social andeconomic life of the members of theSamaj.2. To help deserving students in prosecutingtheir studies in Vedic religion or Shastrasor in Arts, Commerce, Science andprofessional courses in school andcolleges by giving them loans orscholarships, refundable with or withoutinterest.3. To provide homes for the poor anddeserving children of the community,giving them free boarding at suitablecenters.4. To start, establish, construct, maintain ortake over maternity homes, orphanages,relief centers etc. for helping andrehabilitating the sick for the eradication ofbeggary.5. To publish and print booklets, books,pamphlets, magazines and other works onreligious, social, economic or othersubjects useful to the communitymembers.6. To renovate old temples of the communityand to build or construct and manage newtemples.7. To give monetary help for the expenses ofthe marriages of the girls and theupanayanas of the boys of the absolutelypoor members of the community and forcremation of the dead bodies andobsequies of the absolutely poor membersof the community.Among the various objectives adopted in theconstitution, educational benefits to the youths ofthe community was chosen as the first field forimplementing as advised by the Swamiji. Theothers would be taken up when the organizationis able to have large resources at its disposal.Under this scheme, each member of a householdis expected to pay Rs.50 towards themembership fee either in a lump sum or ininstallments and execute a Nirdhara Patra (a sortof an oath). The Swamiji felt that a spirituallyhealthy, economically sound and educationallyadvanced community could be surest guaranteefor the entire community.The mode of contribution to the fund has beenslightly modified since April ] 967. According tothe modified scheme, annual subscription wouldbe collected from the members (classified as A,Band C classes or ordinary members) besidesdonors, life members and patrons.The Swamiji was responsible for the setting up ofa publishing house, Bharatiya SamskritikaPrakatanalaya, Mumbai in 197] with a suitableconstitution with the aims and objects ofpublishing books and leaflets on the Vedic andBharatiya culture and other allied activities. Themanagement of the Prakashanalaya is beinglooked after by a committee of eleven members(all nominated by the Swamiji). The capitalrequired for the publication of books is raised bydonations. One book Shri Hanumad Ramayana inKannada has been published in ]972.Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji was given asanad by the Government of Mysore in 1953. Acopy of the same is reproduced below:TRUE CopyCourt StampEight Annas12-12-53 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GOVERNMENTOF MYSORE Read:G. O. No. 1336 – 7/Muz. 246-36-4 Dated 30thMarch 1938 sanctioning the ordinary honors ofPallakki, Nagari, Patakaru and Tala to the SriSwamigalu of Sri Kashi Math, Banaras.G. O. No. 17-24/Muz. 1-38-88 dated 5th June1939 sanctioning the honors of Swethachatri,Ubhayasana and Talagalu to the Sri Swamigaluof Kashi Math, Banaras.Srimukhams dated 23rd December 1952 and 12thMarch 1953 from Sri Swamigalu of Kashi Math,Banaras, requesting that a Rahadari permittingthe Sri Swamigalu to use certain Royal, Specialand Ordinary Honors and First Day’s Bhiksha ofRs. 50, when he visits Bangalore city, may begranted.Correspondence ending with letter No. M.I.M. 2.625/52-53 dated 7-4-1953 from the MuzraiCommissioner in Mysore, recommending sanctionto the grant of Royal and Special Honors and afirst day’s Bhiksha of Rs.50/- asked for by SriSwamigalu of Sri Kashi Math, Banaras.ORDER NO. R. 13052-65/MUZ. 249-52-4 DatedTHE 10/1211-1953, BANGALORESri Kashi Math, Banaras, is an ancient Mathhaving its branches in more than 13 importantplaces like Allahabad, Rameshwaram andTravancore with a good number of disciples allover India. In view of the reverence and highesteem in which the Sri Swamigalu is held by theSarasvata Brahmana community all over Indiaand as the Math has already been granted certainhonors by this Government, sanction is accordedto the grant of the followingRoyal and Special Honors to the Sri Swamigalu ofthe Math, in addition to those already enjoyed bythe Math, and a First Day’s Bhiksha of Rs.50/-on the occasion of the visit of the Sri Swamigaluto Bangalore. Royal Honors Special Honors1 Hagalu Deevatige5 Ubhaya Chamara2 Makara Torana6 Kavi Nishanigalu3 Dhavala Shankha4 SurepanThe Muzrai Commissioner is requested to issuethe necessary Rahadari to the Sri Swamigalu, acopy of the same being sent to the Governmentfor reference and record.Sd/-(D,R. Chennarudrayya)For Secretary to GovernmentRevenue Department“COPY”Sd/-(D,R. Chennarudrayya)For Secretary to GovernmentRevenue Department(P.T.O.)(Page 2)Date of application 12-12-53Number of words 368Copying fees 0-8-0Comparing fees 0-2-0Copied by Sd/- (N. Narayana Shetty) 14-12-’53Compared by Sd/ – (T. S. Ramachandran)Copy read on 14-12-’53Copy delivered on 14-12-’53Necessary orders were issued (partly in Kannadaand partly in English) to all the Taluk Amaldars inMysore State by the Muzrai Commissioner inaccordance with Order No. R-13052-651 Muz.249- 52-4 of 10/12-11-1953, mentioned in theabove Sanad. A free rendering of a copy of theorders is as follows -No. R. Dis. M.I M.2 625-52-53.FromThe Office of Muzrai Commissioner, MysoreState .For the information of the Amaldars of all Taluksin the Mysore State .Whereas, Shree Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji,bearing the titles such as ShrimathParamahamsa Parivrajakacharya etc. and thehead of Shri Kashi (Banaras) Math is traveling inMysore State with the intention of propagatingDharma and to guide the Goud SaraswathBrahmin community members on various religiousmatters, whenever the said Swamiji crosses theboundary and enters the area under yourjurisdiction, do not prevent him from doing so.Arrangements should be made for supplying theprovisions required by the Swamiji and hisretinue, from whom the cost of the provisionsshould be recovered and paid to the merchantsconcerned. Further, the Swamiji and his retinueshould be provided with a safe place andarrangements should be made to see that there isno danger from thieves and bandits during thenights. Due respect should be given to theSwamiji and his retinue.The following honors are sanctioned by theGovernment of Mysore as per Order No.13052-65-Muz. 249-52-4 dated 10th day ofNovember 1953.Royal Honors Special Honors1 Hagalu Deevatige1 Ubhaya Chamara2 Makara Torana2 Kavi Nishanigalu3 Dhavala Shankha3 Shweta Chatri4 SurepanOrdinary Honors1. Ordinary Pallakki2. 8 Sepoys3. Ubhayasana4. Camels5. Nagari6. Pipers7. Pathakaru8. Veda Ghoshakas9. Talagala10. Motor Car 111. Elephants12. Bus 113. Horses