I offer my salutations to the holy feet of Sri Sri Chandrashekara Bharati Swami who is the epitome of spiritual enlightenment. I also offer my humble salutations to the genius of the original author, Vidyalankara Prof. S. K. Ramachandra Rao, whose magnanimous work opens up the world of an era gone by and provides us with a very deep, spiritual, educational, and emotional view into the lives of the one the most inspirational and spiritual personalities to grace the earth. This book is an English translation of the famous Kannada book “Sharadha Peethada Mankiya” (The Jewel of the Sharadha Peetha). The translation by Sri. Karthik is excellent and presents the content in its original form without losing the essence due to translation, along with some very interesting inclusions towards the end of the book.
The book starts with a prologue of the author, where we are exposed to the very heartfelt, deeply emotional, and spiritual words of the author. Considering that the author himself is a doyen of multiple fields, we can only imagine the impact of the spiritual guru on the author and through his work, on the general populace. For Kannada readers, some of the content is reminiscent of the works of DVG (Sri. D. V. Gundappa) along with ample references to Ve. Si. (Veerakesari Seetarama Sastri). DVG has contributed immensely to the development of the book by providing a lot of material, which is acknowledged by the author too. As the author outlines, the purpose of this book is mainly to inspire generations and not any form of publicity. This book does more than inspire.
It is quite difficult to write a review of this book without mentioning the deeply personal and spiritual experience one would experience during the reading of the same. The journey of Pataguppe Ishwari Narasimhasastri to one of the highest spiritual, religious, and powerful seats as the Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharadha Peetha is interesting, intriguing, laden with many contradictions, yet imparts an undeniable and unmistakable imprint on the reader’s psyche. Being born as the grandson of an emancipated soul who becomes an Avadhuta, Narasimha Sastri’s journey as a brilliant student to being the unexpected, perhaps unwanted choice of the previous Jagadguru as the successor to the famous seat is quite extraordinary, to say the least.
The author starts the description from Sri Sri Ugranarasimha Bharathi swami with an excellent explanation of the events during the Hyder Ali campaign and reinstating the seat at Sringeri. The author explains the familial background and journey of Kunigal Ramaswamy’s son Shivaswamy to Sri Sri Satchidananda Shivabhinava Nrsimha Bharathi swami. There are some enlightening anecdotes along the flow. In one instance, swami describes himself as “He who is happy with God’s boon of Deafness”. The book also captures the contribution of the Vijayanagar Empire, the royal Wodeyar family along with various Dewans across the period. The book is also an excellent resource for understanding and comprehending the activities of Sringeri Matha, especially identifying and creating a temple in Adi Sankara’s birthplace, Kalady as well as the establishment of Shankara Matha in Bengaluru.
The journey and experiences of Narasimha Sastri is quite an extraordinary one. Owing to the precarious financial situation of the family, Narasimha grows up in the house of Nanjangud Srikanta Sastri. Fate’s twists and turns are totally unpredictable and at times quite shocking. In an astounding turn of events, Narasimha Sastri is appointed as the heir apparent to the Sharadha Peetha, much to the chagrin of the same Nanjangud Srikanta Sastri who also happens to be the chief administrator of the temple. It is also quite surprising to read that the reigning monarch, Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV also didn’t approve of the choice, but bowed down to the wishes of the incumbent Jagadguru. The impact of Sri Virupaksha Sastri on the young Jagadguru in shaping his values, principles, and perhaps the spiritual outlook of the latter is inspirational and educative at the same time.
The book outlines the various compositions of the Jagadguru and is highlighted in various sections of the book. One of the most profound compositions is on Madurai Meenakshi, which leaves a very deep impact on the reader. The disenchantment of the Jagadguru in the day-to-day (loukika) affairs of the Matha and intense focus on the inner and spiritual development gives a very deep insight into his personality. The events around the Sanskrit commentary on Viveka Chudamani, a task started by his predecessor and Guru are quite insightful, especially his last comment on the same topic.
One of the standout facets of his personality is the very open struggle to deal with Sanyasa while grappling with his responsibilities towards his parents, especially with his mother. His transition into an avadhuta form with intense focus on Spiritual Sadhana and inner growth is partly due to his teacher Sri Virupaksha Sastri and his intense dedicated devotion towards his predecessor and Guru. The life experiences of the Swami give the reader many points to consider for imbibing in their own lives.
Towards the end of the book, there is a short anecdote on Sri Sadashiva Brahmendra Swami, whose work Atma Vidya Vilasa became an integral part of Swami’s life. The book also has a very wonderful English translation of Atma Vidya Vilasa for the readers to savour.
As a reader, I felt a very deep personal connection with the Swami through this book. At times, some of the anecdotes or experiences seem to talk to me directly. The book leaves the reader with a sense of calm to deal with situations and perhaps an unmistakable change in the thought process of the reader. This book is perhaps a life-changing experience for me and am sure many can relate to this claim through their own experiences.
It’s just not a MUST READ, but a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book, but a book worth worshipping, drawing inspiration from, and imbibing in our daily lives.
~~~ Sri Gurubhyo Namah ~~~
Gee Vee is an engineer and avid fan of itihasas, puranas and books.
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