Biography of Sri Chidanandhar of Guhananda Mandali – Sage of Kanchi
May 11, 2017 | Author: Stephane Chollet | Category: N/A
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biography sage kanchi mahaperiyar...
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age of Kanchi WORLD' LARGT MAHAPRIYAVA TMPL
HOM › DVOT XPRINC › IOGRAPHY OF RI CHIDANANDHAR OF GUHANANDA MANDALI
iograph of ri Chidanandhar of Guhananda Mandali Y MAHH on APRIL 15, 2016 •
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When I was googling on the mandali, I ran into this site that gave the full account of the life histor of this mahan, who was one of the greatest rivida Upasakar. He was the one who rought rivida upasana closer to smarthas with the full lessings of oth Kanchi Paramachara and also ringeri Achara. I also posted one incident from His life related to Mahaperiava….Click here to read.
shrI chidAnandanAtha, founder of guhAnanda maNDali, hails from a famil of Agnihotris from sapta godAvarI region of Andhra desha elonging to kauNDinasa gotra. His famil name was Nediminti. This famil migrated to Tamil Nadu and settled in a village named eppittaankulam located sixteen kilometers west of Venkunram (now Dhavalagiri), aout thirt-nine kilometers south of Kanchipuram. His father shrI Narasaa was the son of shrI Venkataraalaa and mt. Kanakammal. He was greatl devoted to shrI surahmaNa stationed at Thiruttani. His hakti was severel tested shaDAnana in the form of a severe stomach ache. Unale to ear the pain, shrI narasaa decided to end his life and proceeded towards Nedungunrum. There, he was lessed with the grand vision of his eloved deit Lord shaNmukha who lessed him with hers to cure the ailments of the stomach and shaDakharI mahAmantra to cure the disease of samsAra. After this point, shrI narasaa dedicated his life to the upAsanA of rahmaNa. He was married to mt. Ammai Ammal who was short-lived. After the demise of his wife, shrI narasaa married mt. Kamakshi Ammal, the third daughter of shrI Kuppaa.
The couple was lessed with a o on Nov 14, 1882 on a Tuesda. The child surahmaNa was orn in vR^ihaha lagna, mUlA nakhatra, on Kartika hukla Chaturthi of the ear chitrahAnu. surahmaNa was the eldest son and the second child of his parents. shrI surahmaNa
underwent
vedAdhaana as well as nglish education. The o attained master over nglish and anskrit languages within a ver short duration. He married mt. Vishalakshi Ammal, daughter of ri eshaa of Pazhavantangal at the age of sixteen. He started his married life in Kanchipuram. His rothers shrI Venkatraman and shrI Kuppuswam also egan to live with him in Kanchipuram.
Father shrI Narasaa attained videha mukti in 1901. surahmaNa took over the responsiilit of his famil and joined the Teacher’s Training chool. He soon egan to teach at the Chennai corporation school. He also learnt to paint from Rev. Fr. Matthew, headmaster of the Teacher’s Training school. His painting skills were put to wonderful use later when he painted a portrait of his guru, paramahamsa guhAnandanAtha. In 1913, he ecame the headmaster of Vallaha Agraharam Corporation chool (Model chool), located at Triplicane, Madras. He retired in 1937 after 35 ears
of service as the headmaster of the school. sAngata of Venapuli T Velusami Pillai helped him acquire master over Tamil language.
In 1911, ir undertook a pilgrimage to praAga along with his mother. His wife, mt. Vishalakshi Ammal, could not accompan him due to her pregnanc. He reached Allahaad on puha ahuLa ekAdashI in the ear sAdhAraNa. He had the darshan of numerous great adhus and ogis at the Kumha Mela adhu angama. He staed in Allahaad with shrI hairava shAstrigal (known for his legendar dIpa navAvaraNa), a great upAsaka of shrIvidA and kAlikA, at Tarakanj hiv Mutt. While taking a ath at triveNI sangama, he spotted a great ogi who appeared like shiva in human form. Divinel inspired, ir fell at the feet of the great avadhUta and requested to e rescued from the great ocean of samsAra. The great master, whose vision could pierce past, present and future effortlessl, remained silent for a few moments and instructed ir to come ack to him after two das, during the auspicious mahodaa puNakAla. Paramahamsa ativarNAshramI sarvatantra svatantra avdhUta vareNa shrI guru guhAnandanAtha initiated ir on Amavasa during the mahodaa puNakAla at sunrise, when the star was shravaNa. He estowed on ir pAdukAnta shrIvidA dIkhA, hamsa, mahAvAka and mahA mahA pAdukA mantras. He also lessed ir with the dIkhA paTTa, shrI chidAnandanAtha. ir returned to the residence of shrI hairava shAstrigal and recounted the divine events of the da to his mother. The same evening, the pUjA at the residence of hairava shAstrigal was graced the presence of shrI guhAnandanAtha. ir staed at his guru’s feet for a period of twent-seven das and learnt the secrets of shrIvidA upAsanA, vedAnta and surahmaNa tattva. He also performed hikhA sevA to his Guru and served him with limitless devotion is ever possile wa. shrI guhAnandanAtha also initiated mt. Kamakshi Ammal into shakti panchAkharI and surahmaNa mahAmantras. After twent-seven das, the great avadhUta decided to depart to adarikAshrama on the da of mahAshivarAtri. He instructed ir to return to outhern India and continue upAsanA with asolute secrec for a period of twelve ears. He further instructed ir to perform the pArAaNa of sUta samhitA and mahAvAka ratnAvaLI and estowed his paripUrNa anugraham to the shiha ratna. He lessed ir thus: All will go well! You shall attain AtmasAkshAtkAram. When ir was overcome with immense grief at the thought of separating from his Guru, shrI guhAnandanAtha indicated that his sthUla rUpa would e visile in the shrIvigraha of surahmaNa at Thiruttani on a specific da during vihUti ahiheka. To allow all disciples to have darshan of his guru, ir started the Thiruttani Vaihava Mahotsavam in 1946 at the shrine of urahmana. To this da, this hol practice continues and hundreds of sincere shrIvidA upAsakas witness the appearance of the Phsical Form of the great Guru in the idol of surahmaNa. M own mother, initiall a non-eliever, can ear testimon to this fact!
ir practiced his upAsanA for a period of twelve ears till he received an instruction from H H sacchidAnanda shivAhinava nR^isiMha hAratI mahAsvAmigal to teach shrIvidA to eligile disciples. Once when ri Chidanandanatha visited ringeri, he was lessed with the fortune of discussing the secrets of ri Ucchishtha Ganapati Upasana with Mahaswamigal. A scholar who was present there recited a certain ahasranama of this form of Ganapati. Having heard this ahasranama, which neither conveed the greatness of ri Ucchishtha Ganapati even partl nor the associated secrets of rivida Upasana, ri Chidanandanatha immediatel expressed his disapproval. efore he could speak further aout the actual ahasranama, Mahaswamigal raised his right hand, commanding ri Chidanandanatha to remain silent. After the scholar left, Mahaswamigal had the following conversation with ri Chidanandanatha. It was at this moment that the period of 12 ears approached completion.
Mahaswamigal: Do ou know aout the ahasranama of ri Ucchishtha Ganapati? Can ou recite
the same?
Chidanandanatha [hesitantl]: Unale to control m enthusiasm, I lurted out aout the
ahasranama earlier. However, I cannot speak untruth efore our Holiness. M Guru ordered me to protect this ahasranama and the related mantras with utmost secrec. I am unsure if this ahasranama can e recited under the present circumstance. reciting the ahasranama now, I will incur the sin of disoeing m Guru. I have never een in such a fix in m entire life. There can e no one etter than our Holiness who can advice me aout the right course of action.
Mahaswamigal: If our own Guru appeared right here and asked ou to recite the ahasranama,
would ou still hesitate?
Chidanandanatha: When Guru himself orders, how can there e an room for hesitation?
Mahaswamigal: Is our Guru ri Guhanandanatha restricted to a phsical form and present onl in
adarikashrama? Is he not present here now and everwhere?
[ri Chidanandanatha was immensel surprised to hear his Guru’s name and place of residence from Mahaswamigal as he had not revealed these details efore anone till then. He was filled with tears of jo; his od tremled and he immediatel fell at the lotus feet of Mahaswamigal].
Chidanandanatha: I will act according our orders. Please forgive m earlier ignorance.
Mahaswamigal: Your Guru Guhanandanatha, I or Kodaganallur undara wamigal ma appear
different phsicall ut are same in essence. Understand this truth well. Have ou read Achara’s work – Manisha Panchakam?
Chidanandanatha: I have read the work ut have not realized its inner purport et.
Mahaswamigal: Ver soon, ou will realize its inner purport. After that, ou will reach the same
state as the three of us. o, confidentl recite the ahasranama now.
[ri Chidanandanatha now egan to recite the Purva Pithika of the ahasranama, which is a conversation etween ri Dakshinamurti and anaka. It is significant to note that the pAdukA of Ucchishta Mahaganapati is traditionall called mahA mahA pAdukA and is actuall referred to as Dakshinamurti Mahapaduka.]
Mahaswamigal: There is no need to recite these verses now. Recite the ahasranama starting with
ac [the first actual name in the ahasranama].
Chidanandanatha was surprised eond measure once again. He now understood that Mahaswamigal knew the ahasranama well and egan to recite the names in the ahasranama. At a certain place in the ahasranama [called Matrika Mala traditionall], ri Chidanandanatha forgot some of the names. Immediatel Mahaswamigal prompted him with the right set of names. He then concluded the ahasranama with the two final and glorious names of Ganapati. Mahaswamigal then discoursed on the inner significance of these two names to Chidanandanatha for more than 30 minutes.
Chidanandanatha: I would e lessed to hear the ahasranama from th holiness which will help
me to get clarifications regarding some of the names.
Mahaswamigal: I will recite the ahasranama at leisure on another occasion. The true
ahasranama of Ucchishtha Ganapati is indeed the one recited ou. Your pAtha is almost close to the correct one. ut there are some mistakes in some of the names recited ou.
Having said so, Mahaswamigal corrected those names and explained the correct pAtha to ri Chidanandanatha. ri Chidanandanatha wrote down those corrections on a piece of paper and left ringeri. Later, that piece of paper was lost. He then desired to meet Mahaswamigal again and get guidance from him in privac. efore his plan could materialize, Mahaswamigal attained Mahasamadhi. However, all the douts were clarified one da, as though Mahaswamigal himself appeared efore Chidanandanatha and uttered the correct paTha. Correct pAtha of the ahasranama was also otained from Pitamaram Aadurai Ier, whose famil had worshipped the cop of ahasranama for centuries and ri Chidanandanatha attained iddhi in his Upasana. The correct pAtha however was never shared with anone except two of his direct disciples. The few availale handwritten copies carr incorrect pAthas as the correct pAtha has never een pulicized according to the instructions of Mahaswamigal.
ir also studied vedAnta from Kallidaikuruchi Rajanga vamigal. He also learnt to recite Thiruppugazh under the auspices of Vallimalai wamigal’s ri Kumara Thulumavar Thiruppugazh sangham. The sangham compiled ir’s writings in Tamil and pulished them in the form of a ook, Thiruttanigai Praandha Tirattu. In 1925, the sangham pulished his ook kanda Purana angraham, which contains a gem named nirguNa ahTottarashatanAmAvaLi of rahmaNa, revealed his Parama Guru shrI AtmAnandanAtha. It is a practice in our Mandali to worship the Lord without fail with this nAmAvaLi during the surahmaNa chakra pUjA on pancha parvas, as instructed hagavatI lopAmudrA mt. prakAshAmA. In 1933, the sangham honored ir with the title Arulkavi at Thirupattiswaram.
ir proceeded to Thiruvannamalai to see eshadri wamigal at the Kamathi Naanar temple on Ma 20, 1920. ri eshadri vamigal instructed ir to come ack to him the next da at 3 am. ir remained awake the entire night immersed in meditation, waiting for the darshan of eshadri wamigal. harp at 3 am, wamigal appeared efore ir engulfed in aruNa varNa. Lost in the emanating AruNa, ir lost himself in rahmAnanda, when the wamigal said, “ee well! Do ou recognize what ou see? What ou see is the same as what ou have and nothing different. afeguard what ou have”. ir also met Chinna eshadri swamigal (shrI ramaNa maharshi) and spent man das discussing vedAnta with him. It ma e noted that shrI svAmI shastrigal (anantAnandanAtha), a senior disciple of ir and the foremost of gaNapati upAsakas in recent times, was specificall chosen hagavAn ramaNa to perform the kumhAhishekam of mAtR^ihUteshvara temple and the consecration of the shrIchakra on the adhihThAnam of mt. Azhagammal.
During the paurNami following sharannavarAtri of 1924, ir performed the navAvaraNa pUjA at the shrIchakra in the shrine of kAmAkshI parAhaTTArikA at Kanchipuram for the first time. Due to unknown reasons, this worship had een stopped at the shrine for several decades. ir continued to perform the pUjA regularl for the next twent ears as per the instructions of H H paramAchAra of Kanchipuram. To this da, this worship is performed the shiha paramparA of ir. Due to several aneful practices, shrIvidA had acquired a ad reputation in outhern India
during those times. ir pointed out the immense importance and special greatness of shrIvidA while providing evidence for its validit from shruti, smR^iti, Agama, purANa and tantra. The credit for restoring shrIvidA upAsanA to its pristine purit and ringing it to the common man in the current centur elongs undoutedl to ir. However, there was not an iota of dilution or svakalpita UhApoha in an of his teachings. He ased his teachings solel on shAstra pramANa, gurUpadesha and svAnuhava.
ir initiated thousands of shihas into mantras ased on their adhikAra. He estowed hundreds of shihas with pIThAdhikAra and ordered them to perform navAvaraNa pUja regularl. The list of his senior disciples includes, apart from several maThAdhipatis, mt. prakAshAmA (mt. Lopamudra Rajalakshmi uranaraanan), ri AlAnandanAtha (ri Kamakoti hastrigal), ri pUrNAnandanAtha (ri. Venkata Narasaa), ri Amritananda Yogin and others. ecause of his position as the headmaster, people mostl addressed him as ir. This was adopted his disciples as well and the title ir continues to e used to this da when addressing him. ir was also a pioneer in initiating suvAsinis into shrIvidA and granting them pIThAdhikAra. In those das, during tithi nitA pUja, onl men participated as nitA devatAs. ir changed this practice to allow onl suvAsinis with mantropadesha to enter the nitA maNDala to accept pUjA, a practice that is followed to this da most. ir also provided clear instructions regarding sAmaika pUjA and indu tarpaNa ased on varNa and adhikAra. He devised the laghu pUjA paddhati for those unale to perform the elaorate navAvaraNa.
ir started the rahmavida Vimarshini aha to facilitate research in rivida. The aha met ever week and discussed various topics and works related to rivida and Vedanta. Man great scholars from all over the countr participated in these discussions. everal ooks were pulished as a result of these discussions. When sumitting his magnum opus surahmaNa tattva to the lotus feet of his Guru, ir renamed the saha as ri Guhananda rahmavida Vimarshini Mandali, which is known toda as Guhananda Mandali. Fame or mone was never his goal or of the Mandali, whose sole aim was to ring the knowledge of shrIvidA to the deserving. It is unfortunate that people who engage in producing second rate commercial compilations point fingers at ParamashivasvarupI ir and his Mandali and scorn at the idea of Mandali and such organizations, terming them as mere propaganda. It is quite another fact that some such people have happil copied works of ir veratim and sold their ooks in dozens, without giving an credit to the great master for his unconditional assistance in their udara haraNa! After all, such is the greatness of mahAns like ir, who are similar to chandana; oth sarasa and virasa with them spreads fragrance.
ir’s Tamil commentar on puNAnandanAtha’s kAmakalAvilAsa was released during the hahTapUrti celeration of ir. During this auspicious occasion, H H paramAchAra of kAnchIpuram estowed the title, ahinava hAskara on ir. shrI somadeva harma who wrote the foreword to this work wonders if shrI shankara hagavatpAda and shrI hAskararAa have jointl taken irth in the form of shrI chidAnandanAtha. He was also estowed the title, navahAskara H H Jagadguru hankarachara Mahaswamigal of Dakshinamnaa ringeri harada Peetham. Though a gR^ihastha, ir led a life filled with vairAga efitting a paramahamsa. The following words are used those who know him well to descrie him: AjAnuAhu, shAnta mUrti, karuNA mUrti, face and ees shining with tremendous tejas, exemplar simplicit in ever aspect, strict in guiding disciples in upAsanA, alwas interested in the welfare of shihas, desireless, straightforward, unflinching devotion to vaidika and shrIvidA samandhi karma and completel
dedicated to shrIvidA. During the sharannavarAtri of 1957, on shashthi tithi (mahAvajreshvarI nitA), ir attained lalitA sAujam during the auspicious hours of evening. That da, Kanchi Paramachara H H ri Chandrashekharendra araswati Mahaswamigal took a rief pause during his dail Pooja at the anskrit College at Chennai. He later explained that he had seen a great soul eing welcomed at the door of Chintamani Griha, the aode of ri Rajarajeshwari. It was actuall ri Chidanandanatha that he was referring to, which he clarified explicitl to his disciples.
The following is the list of some important works authored ir:
1. shrIvidA saparA paddhati: This is eing used almost universall shrIvidA upAsakas across the countr. Great men including karapAtri svAmin, datiA maharaj etc. adopted this saparA paddhati. Chukamha pulication has repulished this monumental work last ear. I have personall seen this paddhati eing followed upAsakas in Gujrat, rinagar, Kolkata, eneras etc. and this is hardl a measure of its immense popularit. 2. shrIvidA saparA vAsanA: AdhAtmika tattva of navAvaraNa worship 3. Guru tattva vimarshanam: An exposition on the greatness and esoteric significance of guru pAdukA mahAmantra 4. shrInagara vimarshanam: Tamil commentar on lalitA stavaratna of hagavAn durvasas 5. hakti mahimna stotram: Tamil commentar 6. varivasA rahasa: A Tamil commentar on this work hAskararAa, indispensile to shrIvidA upAsakas 7. shrIvidA nitAhnIkam 8. lalitopAkhAna vimarshanam 9. ajapA kalpa 10. manIhA panchakam: Tamil commentar on the pentad of hmns Adi hankara hagavatpada 11. Lalita Trishati hasham: Tamil translation of the commentar Achara hagavatpada 12. ri urahmana Tattvam: A journal of secret learning during the period of gurukulavAsa at the lotus feet of paramahamsa guhAnandanAtha 13. shrIvidA gItA: Tamil translation of the jnAna khaNDa of tripurA rahasa 14. jnAna prakAsha: A Vedantic drama 15. kamalAmikA mAhAtmam: AdhAtmika tattva in durgA saptashatI and krtis of the musical trinit 16. kamalAlaa khetra tattvam: An exposition on the tattva of shrI tAgarAja, the presiding deit of Thiruvarur, ased on the secretive Muchukunda ahasranama 17. Panchanada khetra Tattvam 18. Chidamara Rahasam and Nataraja Tattvam 19. ArA shatakam 20. sauhAga hAskara: A scholarl translation in Tamil 21. Forewords to numerous works such as those omadeva harma, Kumhakonam Ganesh Ier etc. 22. everal poems and shlokas in Tamil and anskrit
For some unknown reason, ir has lessed us profusel and showered on us limitless love, directl and through his three advanced disciples. Words fail to descrie his greatness or to thank him for the priceless lessings. eeing no distinction etween parAmA, asmadAchAra and shrI
chidAnandanAtha, we elieve that offering sAhTAnga praNati at his lotus feet is the most we are ale to do to express our heartfelt devotion. As we prepare once again to witness the hol appearance of the great avadhUta in the ima of our kuladevatA, we prostrate again and again to the lotus feet of ir and pra for his enevolent gaze. That the grandson of the late Gollapinni Mallikarjuna hastr, a great upAsaka himself, has volunteered to accompan us on this sacred journe to Thiruttanigai, is veril a proof of the continued lessings of shrI chidAnandanAtha.
surahmaNa om
10 replie kahanam April 15, 2016 • 11:31 pm
Mahaan ThiruvadigaLe CharaNam! There is a Temple for Uchchishta Ganapathi in Tirunelveli, on the wa to Thachchanallur, on the anks of the Thamraharani River. Devotees can visit the Temple and have Dharshan of Lord Uchchishta Ganapathi. An ancient Temple, its stone walls were roken the ritish during their rule and reportedl the stones were used for the Collectorate uilding in Tirunelveli. Due to Devotees’ efforts, renovation work is on. People can contriute. As Archagar comes from some distance awa, Temple will e open from 8 to 10 AM and 5-30 to 7-30PM. uses and hare autos pl from Thirunelveli us tand to Thachchanallur and one gets down near the theatre. Accounts of this temple came in akhthi Vikatan and Amman Dharisanam. Hara Hara hankara, Jaa Jaa hankara!
ree Mahalakshmi April 16, 2016 • 11:01 pm
This article is from Kamakoti Mandali
Praveen Jul 15, 2016 • 2:48 am
im searching for some of his ooks. where do i can get it
Mahesh Jul 15, 2016 • 6:46 am
I got the answer for thsi question onl esterda IT seems Giri Traders carr his ooks…Pl check….
Praveen Jul 19, 2016 • 2:33 am
Dear mahesh
appreciate and thanks. will check with them.. thanks again mahesh
rikrishna Lakshminaraanan eptemer 25, 2016 • 8:02 am
ir M name is rikrishna i need a help from ou can u provide me the ooks as i am not getting these anwhere if u hav so
1) shrIvidA saparA vAsanA 2) Guru tattva vimarshanam 3) shrIvidA nitAhnIkam 4) lalitopAkhAna vimarshanam 5) ri urahmana Tattvam 6) varivasA rahasa 7) kamakala vilasam 8) srivida sapara paddhati
i here request u to kindl help me out with this ooks as i m searching for this for last 20 rs i m suitale with an edition and not getting this ooks an where
Pls rpl for the same
Mahesh eptemer 25, 2016 • 8:22 am
where do ou live?
rikrishna Lakshminaraanan eptemer 25, 2016 • 8:41 am
New Delhi
rikrishna Lakshminaraanan eptemer 25, 2016 • 8:42 am
Pls help me out with this
Mahesh eptemer 25, 2016 • 8:53 am
ome of the ooks are availale at Giri Traders….Pl talk to them…
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