Sudhindra Thirtha
| Sudhindra Thirtha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Sadashiva Shenoy 31 March 1926 Ernakulam, Kerala, India |
| Died |
17 January 2016 (aged 89) Haridwar |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Denomination | Kashi Math |
| Order | 20th Mathadipathi |
| Guru | Sukrathindra Thirtha |
| Notable disciple(s) | Samyamindra Thirtha |
| Vrindavana | Vyas Ashram, Haridwar |
Sudhindra Thirta (31 March 1926 – 17 January 2016), also referred to as Shri Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, was the legal and spiritual head (mathadipathi) of the Kashi Math and the twentieth successive person called the swamiji of guru parampara.[1][2]
They were also referred as "Ulloche Devu" (Translated from Konkani-"Talking God")by GSB community
Early Life
In the Poorvashram (before being initiated into sanyasa by the previous Swamiji), he was known as Sadashiva Shenoy, son of Ramadas Shenoy, a trustee of Shri Venkataramana Temple in Ernakulam. He completed his Pre-University education in Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam and selected Natural Science, Physics and Chemistry as his main subjects. From an early age he had shown inclination towards a religious life. The noble 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 were remarkable.
Shishya sweekar
When Shri Sukrathindra Thirtha Swamiji was camping at Ernakulam, this young boy attracted his attention. The Swamiji had the intuition to choose the right man and was divinely inspired to select this boy to be his fittest successor, later to head Shree Kashi Math Samsthan. The father’s consent was obtained for the transformation of the college student into a Sanyasi, eventually to lead a sizeable portion of Vaishnava Goud Saraswath Brahmin community in the righteous path of Vaishnava Dharma. The Guru-Swami took him to Mulki and on Wednesday, 24 May 1944 (Karka Lagna, Jeshta Shuddha Dviteeya of Tarana Samvatsara, Shalivahana Shaka 1866) initiated him into Sanyas in the divine presence of Lord Sri Venkataramana, Sri Ugra Narasimha and Sri Bindu Madhava in Mulki and called him as Sudhindra Thirtha, who then severed the family connections and took to his new duties earnestly and enthusiastically and led an austere life. He felt the need of equipping himself with all the knowledge of the Dharma Shastras. He mastered Sanskrit at the Bhuvanendra Sanskrit College, Karkala. The scholarly teachers of the college were appointed to impart the necessary education in Dharma Shastras. He was camping in Shrinivasa Ashrama in the College premises. In those days he was very fond of animals. There were many pets including a deer and a tiger cub in Shrinivasa Ashrama. Soon After taking the vow of celibacy in 1944 and preserving it since then, the Swamiji strives day in and day out for the welfare and uplift of the community as a whole. Endowed with excellent grasping power, wonderful memory and extraordinary intelligence and plenty of God’s grace and Guru’s blessings, he completed his study in a short time. The Brahma Sutra, The Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads (Prasthana Traya) and other works were studied in great detail. He became a great scholar in Dwaita philosophy, as propounded by Shri Madhvacharya. He learnt the methods of worshipping God according to Agama Shastra. He travelled with the Guru to various places and picked up his duties well. He sat at the feet of the Guru and learnt the traditions of Shree Kashi Math
Head of Kashi Math
Sudhindra Thirtha took the charge of Kashi Math in 1949 after the samadhi of his guru in Kochi.[1] He traveled widely from Kanya Kumari to Badrinath, meeting his disciples, exhorting them to lead a life of morality and religion, conducting the pujas to Shri Vyasa-Raghupati with unbounded devotion and single-pointed concentration and praying at all times for the welfare of the community. Kindness, compassion, generosity and breadth of vision are the strong traits of his way of work. He visited many places of pilgrimage including Nashik, Ujjain, Kurukshetra, Mathura, Ayodhya, Prayag, Kashi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badri, Tirupati, Srirangam, Madurai, Palani, Kumbhakonam, Rameshwaram and Kanya Kumari. Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, like his predecessor Swamijis, performed many installation and re-installation ceremonies in various temples. Thus he performed the third renovation/ reinstallation ceremony of Shri Venkataramana Temple, Kundapura on Vaishakha Shuddha Trayodashi of Vikari Samvatsara, Sh. Sh. 1881 (Wednesday, 20-5-1959). The reinstallation ceremony at Shri Lakshmi Venkatesha Temple at Hosdurg was performed by him on Chaitra Shuddha Navami, Sharvari Samvatsara,(Monday, 4 April 1960). The installation of idol of Shri Venkataramana in Balaji Mandir, Kurla, Mumbai was performed by him on Tuesday, 20 March 1973. Among the temples renovated and the idols reinstalled by the Swamiji are : Shri Venkataramana Temple, Kasaragod, Shri Varadaraja Venkataramana Temple, Gurupura, Shri Venkataramana Temple, Mangalore, Sri Krishna Mandir, Mangalore etc. In addition, he installed various idols at different temples, such as Shri Venkataramana and Mahalasa Temples at Konchady Shri Kashi Math, Shri Muralidhara Krishna at Kota, Shri Narasimha at Shri Ramanjaneya Temple, Vile Parle (Mumbai), Shri Narasimha at Shri Venkataramana Temple, Uppinangadi and Shri Lakshmi Venkatesha Temple at Mudabidri. In order to mark the Golden Jubilee of the annual Bhajana Saptaha at Shri Lakshmi Venkatesha Temple, Kasaragod, it was decided to conduct a Yajna by writing Shri Ramo fai Rama fai fai Rama, 52 crore times. Special books were prepared for the purpose and members of the community residing in different parts of the country contributed their share by writing the divine name as many times as they could. The Yajna was conducted in a grand manner under the able direction of the Swamiji.
On another occasion the Swamiji was responsible for conducting a Utsava in which the Lord of Tirupati was seated on golden Garuda. The Swamiji also participated in the divine procession, with the accompaniment of recitation of Vedas, instrumental music, singing of Bhajans etc. The year 1963 was a red letter day not only in the history of Karkala but also in the history of Goud Saraswath Brahmin community. It was in that year that the heads of the three Maths Shrimath Dwarakanatha Thirtha Swamiji (Gokarna Partagali Jeevottam Math), Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji (Kashi Math) and Shrimath Sachhidananda Sarasvati Swamiji (Kavale Math) observed their annual Chaturmas Vrita in Shri Venkataramana Temple, Karkala. Perhaps such an event had never occurred in the history of these Maths earlier. Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji performed the Sahasra Kumbhabhisheka in Shri Venkataramana Temple, Karkala, in March 1969 and in Shri Lakshmi Venkatesh Temple, Udupi in May 1971. The Swamiji founded two Math Bhavans, one at Bhagamandala on the banks of the river Kaveri (in 1960) and another at Bandora in Goa (in 1972). Shri Bhuvanendra Balakashrama, Basrur will long be remembered as a worthy monument. Founded in 1965 under the auspices of Shree Kashi Math, this institution is a bold venture, where some of our boys are trained to lead an ideal life. It started functioning by admitting fifteen students to whom Dharmic education is being imparted. Though the Math had decided to bear all the expenses in connection with the running of the institution many donors from the community have come forward to defray part of the expenses. An executive committee has been formed under the overall guidance of the Swamiji to look after the affairs of the institution. One of the major achievements of the Swamiji is the founding of Shri Kashi Math Welfare Fund in Udupi. This concept was thought of in 1956, when the Swamiji was camping in Shri Lakshmi Venkatesha Temple, Udupi, for observing the Chaturmas Vrita. With the noble idea of founding an organization, which would try to banish the social and economic ills afflicting the community, a meeting of the leaders of the community residing in South Kanara was convened in the temple on 26th August 1956. Three years later a draft constitution was approved by the community members, blessed by the Swamiji and the institution was registered on 6th June, 1959. This provided for a Direction Committee, consisting of twenty members (all nominated by the Swamiji) to implement the various activities outlined in the constitution.
As per the tradition of the math, to continue the guruparampara, on 7 July 1989, he initiated a vatu into sanyasa to be the 21st, and called him Raghavendra Thirtha.[3] Due to internal strife Raghavendra was removed from the position and all rights in the math, with effect from 19 July 2000. Later, to continue the tradition and guruparampara of the math, it was necessary to initiate a new Shishya. Sudhindra therefore initiated another vatu into sanyasa and named him as Samyamindra Thirtha on 20 June 2002 as the new successor.[4] Thus Samyamindra become main disciple (patta shishya) & successor (uttaradhikari) of the math.[5]
Death
Sudhindra Thirtha died (attained mukthi) on 17 January 2016 at Vyasahram, Haridwar.[6]
According to a custom followed in the math, after a swamiji dies, the body is buried in the earth after embalming it with preservatives - salt, camphor, heaps of Tulsi leaves etc. - usually in the math premises or in temples associated with it. Subsequently, a memorial structure is constructed over the site and an idol of Hanuman is installed. A tulsi plant is then planted in front of the idol, the underlying belief being that the soul of the departed swamiji reaches Vishnu (supposed to have a divine presence near a tulsi plant), through Hanuman. The site is called the "vrindavana" or "samadhi" of a swamiji. Arrangements are made for the daily pujas in the vrindavana. The death anniversary (punya tithi) is celebrated with special pujas and prayers and Abhishekam to the Hanuman idol for his blessing to the math and its followers.[7] The vrindavan of Sudhindra Thirtha is being constructed at Vyasahram, Haridwar as per their wish.
References
- 1 2 "Kashi Mutt Senior Pontiff Srimad Sudhindra Theertha Swamiji celebrates 88th birthday today". Tulunadu News. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
- ↑ "Kashi Mutt head Swami Sudhindra Thirtha attains samadhi". manorama. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ "Sri Kashimutt Saunsthan". Balaji Seva Samiti. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
- ↑ "Internal strife (2000) of Kashi Math".
- ↑ "Kashi Mutt Row: Supreme Court victory for Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji". Mangalore Today. 2 December 2009.
- ↑ "Samaddhi of Kashi Math Head Manorma".
- ↑ official site