Preceptors of Advaita

THE SAGE OF KANCHI

by
T. M. P. Mahadevan M.A., Ph. D.


Design

6.  All-India Tour (1919-1939)
                        The Acharya’s great tour of our sacred land commenced in March 1919.  It was a long and strenuous tour; but it was supremely worthwhile because of the opportunities it gave to people all over the country to meet the Acharya and receive his blessings.  The Acharya never uses any of the modern modes of transport.  He mostly walks and accepts the use of a palanquin only when it is absolutely necessary.  An entourage accompanies him, consisting of the officials of the Matha, panditas, vaidikas, servants and animals such as cows, elephants, etc.  Wherever the Acharya camps, lots of devotees gather and stay at the camp as long as they can in order to derive the utmost advantage from the Holy Presence.  Besides the daily anushthana and puja, meeting the devotees, receiving visitors, giving instructions to the people concerned for the conduct of the affairs of the Matha and of the many religious and welfare organizations occupy the Acharyas time each day.  He hardly gets two or three hours of rest out of twenty-four.  With frugal diet taken in between fasting days and with so much of pressing work day after day, it is a marvel how the Acharya meets the demands on his time and attention with absolute serenity and with perfect poise.  No one will fail to note that the ideal of the sthita-prajna (the sage who has gained steady wisdom) has become actual in the soul-elevating person of the Acharya.
                        The long pilgrimage began, as we have seen, in March 1919.  During the first three years, the Acharya visited all the places of pilgrimage––even remote and out of the way villages–in the Tanjavur District, the District in which Kumbhakonam is situated.  The chaturmasya in 1919 was in Veppattur village at a distance of five miles to the east of Kumbhakonam.  During the chaturmasya, the sannyasins are to stay at one place so that no harm may be caused to insects and other creatures by treading on them when they come out of the ground in the rainy season.  The sannyasins camp at one place for four fortnights (pakshas); this observance starts on the full-moon day in the month of Ashadha which is dedicated to the worship of the sage Vyasa, the author of the Brahma-sutra.  The day affords an occasion to the devotees to visit the Acharya’s camp and offer to him their obeisance.
                        In 1920, on the most auspicious occasion of the mahodaya, the Acharya took the ceremonial bath in the sea at Vedaranyam.  The Vyasapuja and chaturmasya that year were observed in Mayavaram.  One day, during the Acharya’s stay at this place, a blind old Muslim gentleman wanted to meet the Acharya.  When the permission was given, the old Muslim’s joy knew no bounds.  At the command of the Acharya, he expounded the essential principles of Islam to the assembled audience.  And, before taking leave he said that in the person of the Acharya he found God Himself.
                        In 1921, there was the Mahamakham festival in Kumbhakonam.  The Acharya who was touring in the neighbourhood went to Kumbhakonam on the festival day, but not to the Matha, for according to rule he could return to the Matha only after completing the vijaya-yatra.  A number of Congress volunteers helped in the orderly conduct of the festival.  There was a contingent of Khilafat volunteers also.  They went to Pattisvaram to pay their respects to His Holiness.  The Acharya spoke in appreciative terms about their services and blessed them.  One of the leading nationalists of the day, Subrahmanyasiva, met the Acharya at his Pattisvaram camp and asked for his benediction for the liberation of the Motherland from foreign rule and for the spread of devotion of God among the people.  The Acharya readily gave his benediction and said that those laudable objectives would be fulfilled.  It may be mentioned here that right from the year 1918 when the Khadi movement came into prominence, the Acharya has been wearing Khadi.
                        During this tour of the Tanjavur District, the Acharya was one day going from one village to another, when he saw about two hundred Harijans waiting for his darsana, after having bathed, putting on clean clothes and wearing vibhuti on their foreheads.  The Acharya spent sometime with them, made kind enquiries about their welfare and gave them new clothes.  Similar events have occurred very often during the Acharyas journeys.  His concern for the poor is great and unlimited and he never fails to exhort the better-placed sections of society to go to their succour and asks the Matha to set an example in this direction.  This Acharya visited Ramesvaram and collected a small quantity of sand for consigning it later on in the waters of the Ganga, which act is symbolic of the spiritual unity of India.
                        After touring in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Madurai and Tirunelveli, the Acharya went to Jambukesvaram.  This time it was for the tatanka-pratishtha.  Mention has been made of the Acharya’s earlier visit to this sacred place in 1908 and of the fact that the Image of Akhilandesvari bears the tatankas consecrated by Adi Sankara.  In those early times, according to legends, the Image was manifesting the Goddess’s fierce aspect.  Sankara changed this state of affairs and enabled the beneficent aspect to express itself by adorning the Image with pair of ear-ornaments (tatankas) made in the shape of Sri-chaktra.  When the ornaments fall into disrepair periodically, they are set right and refixed.  This task is the sacred responsibility of the Kamakoti Pitha; and it is the Head of the Pitha that has the ornaments re-fixed.  In 1846, the then Acharya of the Pitha had this ceremony performed.  Now, again, in 1923, arrangements were made for the refixing of the tatankas.  Our Acharya went to Jambukesvaram for participation in this function.  It was a great occasion for devotees to gather and pay their homage.  Every detail of the ceremony was attended to with meticulous care.  Opportunity was availed of for declaring open the renovated Matha of the Kamakoti Pitha there.  A Veda-pathasala and centre for scriptural learning started functioning at the Matha.  It is interesting to note that the late Sir M. Visvesvarayya of Mysore said at a meeting in Tiruchi when he visited that town in 1923, that it was at the Kamakoti Matha in Jambukesvaram that he had his upanayanam performed.
                        After the tatanka-pratishtha ceremony, the Acharya resumed his journey.  One of the places he immediately visited was Nerur where the Adhishthana of Sadasiva-brahmendra is situated.  Born in Tiruvisainallur near Kumbhakonam, Sadasiva-brahmendra soon became a jivanmukta, roamed about on the banks of the Kaveri as an avadhuta and showered his blessings on several people of his time.  Sri Paramasivendra Sarasvati was his vidya-guruSadasiva has written many Advaita works and has also composed devotion-filled kirtanas.  Our Acharya spent several hours each day in the Adhishthana of Sadasiva-brahmendra during the time he spent in Nerur, quietly contemplating on the many benefits that had accrued as a result of Sadasiva-brahmendra’s exemplary life and precious teachings.
                        After Nerur, the Acharya was camping in the village Kulumani near Tiruchi.  One day, a prominent gentleman of Tiruchi, Sri F.G. Natesa Aiyar, who had himself lived twenty years of his life earlier as a convert to Christianity, brought along with him a young man from Kerala who had gone to Tiruchi with the intention of getting himself converted to the Christian faith.  The Acharya engaged the young man in conversation on that day as well as on the subsequent few days.  He explained to the youth the essentials of Hindu-dharma.  It was all-comprehensive; the spiritual paths taught in the other religions were all to be found in Hinduism.  It had its own additional advantages.  There was no reason whatsoever for any one to leave Hinduism and embrace any other faith.  The young man from Kerala was thoroughly convinced of the excellence of the faith he was born in; and he went back home revoking his earlier resolve.
                        The Acharya’s visit to different places in Chettinadu and Pudukkottai State lasted about a year.  During this period, many panditas, political workers and nationalist leader met the Acharya and received his blessings.  In 1925, Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Aiyar, the world-renowned scholar in Tamil, was awarded the title ‘Dakshinatya-kalanidhi’.  In those days whenever he happened to be near the camp, he would witness the puja performed by the Acharya.  Recalling an earlier experience of his, he said once, “When I was eighteen years old, I met the Sixty-fifth Acharya, Sri Mahadevendra Sarasvati and watched his unique Siva-puja.  It is the same experience I am now having again”.  During the Acharya’s Chettinadu visit, a great Siva-bhakta, Vainagaram Ramanathan Chettiyar similarly enjoyed attending the puja and meeting the Acharya.  The people of Chettinadu organised a grand procession at Kadiyapatti.  During the procession the Acharya looked out for Ramanathan Chettiyar, but he could not be seen.  At the conclusion of the procession, the Acharya enquired as to where Chettiyar was.  Chettiyar who was standing at a distance in the crowd responded.  Asked as to why he was not to be found in the procession, he replied with great elation that he had had the privilege that night of being one of the Acharyas palanquin-bearers.  Another eminent scholar who was honoured by the Acharya during his sojourn in Chettinadu was Sri Panditamani M. Kadiresan Chettiyar who was proficient in both Tamil and Samskrit.  The Acharya and Panditamani exchanged views about the ancient classical Tamil texts as also about the measures that were needed for promoting the study of Tamil and Samskrit.
                        Among the politicians and nationalist leaders who met the Acharya during this period were:  Sri C.R. Das, along with Sri S. Satyamurti and Sri A. Rangaswami Aiyangar and Sri Jamnalal Bajaj along with Sri C. Rajagopalachari and others.  The latter group met the Acharya in 1926 at Jambukesvaram.  Sri      C. Rajagopalachari was staying out, sending in Sri Jamnalal Bajaj.  The Acharya sent for Sri C. Rajagopalachari and asked him why he had not come in.  When the latter replied that the reason was that he had not bathed that day, the Acharya told him that those who were engaged in national work might not find the necessary time for daily bath, etc., and that Sri C. Rajagopalachari who had dedicated his life for the service of the nation could meet him at any time and in any condition.  The Acharya made it clear to the politicians and political leaders that he, as a sannyasin, would not identify himself with party politics of any brand; but he was free to ask them all to keep the good of the people always at heart and to work towards its achievement and also to do all they could to strengthen faith in God.
                        An incident which occurred in 1926 deserves special mention.  The Acharya was proceeding to Pattukkottai from Karambakkudi.  Among the people who saw the Acharya off at the latter place there were some Muslims also.  One of the Muslims followed the party, touching the palanquin with his hands as a mark of respect.  After about three miles of the journey, the Acharya stopped and called for the Muslim gentleman and made kind enquiries.  The Muslim placed before the Acharya some personal matters for his advice and guidance and then offered some verses of praise he had composed along with flowers and fruit.  At the command of the Acharya, the Muslim read out those verses and explained their meaning also.  When taking leave he expressed his joy in these words:  “To my eyes the Acharya appears as the embodiment of Allah Himself.  The Acharya’s darsana is enough for a man who wants to get liberation from worldly bondage.”
                        In July 1926, the Acharya went to Udaiyarpalaiyam, a Zamindari closely associated with the Kamakoti Pitha.  When the transfer of the headquarters of the Matha from Kanchi to Kumbhakonam was being made in the eighteenth century, the then chief of the Zamindari had rendered all assistance to the Sixty-second Acharya.  Since that time the ruling family had been closely associated with Kanchi and Kamakoti Pitha.  Hence, it was a great occasion for Udaiyarpalaiyam when our Acharya visited it in 1926.  The Zamindar, his family and the people accorded to the Acharya a magnificent reception and valuable presents were made to the Matha to mark the occasion.
                        When the Acharya was camping at Tiruppadirippuliyur, an old lady who was a scholar in Tamil and national worker came for his darsanaAchalambikai was her name.  She had composed a narrative poem on the life of Mahatma Gandhi.  She had known the Acharya as a child in his purvasrama; and had also studied under the Acharya’s father.  Tears of joy streamed from her eyes when she now beheld the son of her teacher shine as the Jagadguru.
                        There is a place called Vadavambalam on the northern bank of South Pennar where a Purva Acharya of the Kamakoti Pitha had his samadhi.  At our Acharya’s wish the samadhi which had been obliterated was reconstructed and arrangements were made for regular worship there.
                        At Pondicherry, the officials of the French Government and the people gave the Acharya a royal welcome.  During his stay there, the shocking news of the destruction of the famous temple-car at Tiruvarur as a result of incendiarism arrived.  The astikas of the district of Tanjavur rose as one man and resolved to build a new car.  The Acharya blessed the effort; and through his blessings a new car equaling the old in magnificence was built in two years’ time.  One Elulur Subbaraya Vadhyar took a leading part in this laudable effort.  Later on, he became a sannyasin bearing the name ‘Sri Narayana Brahmananda’; even as a sannyasin he did great service in renovating old temples and performing kumbhabhishekams.
                        In March 1927, the Acharya went to Salem and toured in the district.  At Erode, a Muslim gentleman offered a few verses in Samskrit which he had composed in praise of the Acharya.  The letters of the verses were written in small squares which together formed the figure of the Siva-linga.  In the presence of the Acharya, the Muslim scholar read out the verses and explained their meaning.  When the Acharya asked him as to how he had mastered the language to such an extent as to be able to compose verses, he replied that his forbears were scholars in Samskrit and that he himself had studied the language under his own father.  The Acharya complimented him on the proficiency he had attained in Samskrit and advised him to keep up his studies.
                        After visiting Coimbatore in April 1927, the Acharya, arrived in Palghat in the first week of May.  Kerala which had given birth to Adi Sankara was now jubilant at the visit of an illustrious successor in whose life and mission the greatness of the Adi-Guru was luminously reflected.  The Acharya spoke to the sishyas in Malayalam.  The people who listened to him mistook him for a Keraliya.  It was during the Acharyas Palghat visit that Sri T.M.Krishnaswami Aiyar, a leading Advocate of Madras who later served as Chief Judge of Travancore, met the Guru with a party of devotees and conducted Tiruppugal Bhajana.  The Acharya was greatly pleased with the devotion and the music and blessed the leader by conferring on him the title ‘Tiruppugal-mani’.
                        In the latter half of 1927, Mahatma Gandhi was touring the South.  He had heard about the Sage of Kamakoti Pitha and wanted very much to meet him. The meeting took place at Nallicheri in Palghat.  They met in a cattle-shed in the Acharya’s camp.  It was a unique experience for the Mahatma.  Here was an authentic successor of Adi Sankara, dressed in a piece of ochre cloth made of Khadi and seated on the floor.  The Acharya too appreciated the occasion provided for getting to know at first hand the leader of the nation who had adopted voluntarily the mode of a simple peasant’s life.  The Acharya conversed in Samskrit and the Mahatma in Hindi.  The conversation took place in a most cordial atmosphere.  On taking leave of the Acharya, the Mahatma gave expression to the immense benefit he had derived from this unique meeting.  How profoundly he was drawn to the Acharya will be evident from a small incident that occurred during the interview.  It was 5-30 in the evening.  Sri          C. Rajagopalachari went inside the cattle-shed and reminded the Mahatma about his evening meal; for the Mahatma would not take any food after 6 O’clock.  The Mahatma made this significant observation to Sri C. Rajagopalachari:  “The conversation I am having now with the Acharya is itself my evening meal for to-day.”
                        The Acharya visited several places in Kerala, including Guruvayur, Tiruchur, Ernakulam, Quilon and Trivandrum.  The States of Cochin and Travancore accorded to the Acharya the highest veneration.  At Allepy the Acharya paid a visit to the Sri Chandrasekharendra Pathasala and blessed the pupils of the school.  At Cape Comorin, he worshipped at the Kanya Kumari temple after a bath in the confluence of the seas.  After completing the Kerala tour, he proceeded northwards again.  At Madurai, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru of Allahabad met the Acharya and sought his blessings for the effort he was making to convene on All Parties’ Conference, in order to impress on the British Government that it should not ignore the demands of the nationalist forces.  The Acharya told Sir Sapru that the urgent need in India was for achieving the good of the people through peaceful means and that any effort in that direction had his good wishes.
                        In February 1929, the Acharya began his tour of the South Arcot District.  The chaturmasya that year was observed in Manalurpettai.  For about a month the Acharya was having fever.  In utter neglect of the state of his body, he performed the daily worship taking his usual bath.  In due course the fever left, relieving the devotees of their great anxiety.
                        During the present time, the Acharya was passing through Tandalam village.  A cowherd of that place wanted to sell his small holding and give the proceeds as his offering to the Acharya.  The Acharya dissuaded him from doing so; but the devotee would not go back on his resolve.  He actually sold his piece of land to a rich man of the place and made his heart-offering to the Acharya.  The Acharya, however, did not like that the cowherd should become a destitute.  He, therefore, arranged through the local Tahsildar for the allotment of sufficient piece of puramboke land to the cowherd.
                        In December 1929, the Acharya went to Tiruvannamalai for the Dipam festival.  Tiruvannamalai is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage.  The holy hill Arunachala is itself worshipped as a siva-linga.  According to Purana it was here that the Lord Siva appeared as a column of light whose top and bottom Brahma and Vishnu could not discover.  And, it was here that Parvati acquired half of Siva’s body and as a consequence the Lord became ArdhanarisvaraSaint Arunagirinathar had his vision of Subrahmanya here and became the bard who sang the Tiruppugal.  The samadhi of Idaikkattu Siddhar is said to be within the precincts of the great temple of Arunachalesvara.  In our own time Tiruvannamalai became the hallowed residence of Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Once a year on the full moon day in the month of Krittika, just at sun-down, a beacon is lit at the top of the sacred hill signifying that Siva is worshipped at Tiruvannamalai in the form of light and fire.  This is known as the Dipam festival.  Our Acharya visited the sacred place during this festival in 1929, staying there for about a month, walking round the hill several times and worshipping at the temple.
                        The next place of importance to be visited was Adaiyapalam near Arani.  It was here that the famous Appaya Dikshita had lived about four centuries earlier.  Dikshita was a great Advaitin as well as an ardent Saiva.  He was a polymath who wrote several classical works.  The Acharya reminded the people of Adaiyapalam of the great service rendered by Dikshita to Advaita and Saivism and asked them to observe the birth-anniversary of this eminent teacher and to arrange for popularising his works.
                        In December 1930, at Tirukkalukkunram (Pakshitirtham), an address of welcome was presented to the Acharya on behalf of the All-India Sadhu Mahasangham.  The address referred in glowing terms to the invaluable service that the Acharya was doing to Hindu dharma and society, both through precept and practice, following faithfully the grand tradition of Adi Sankara.  In January 1931, the town of Chingleput had the privilege of receiving the Acharya –– the privilege to which the people of the town had been looking forward for a long time.
                        A notable event that took place during the Acharyas sojourn in Chingleput was the visit of Mr. Paul Brunton, a noted British writer, journalist and spiritual seeker.  Mr. Brunton was on an extensive tour of India looking out for contacts with mystics, yogins and spiritual leaders.  It was the desire for A Search in Secret India3 that had brought him to this country from far off England.  While in Madras, he met Sri K. S. Venkataramani, the talented author in English of essays and novels on village life.  It was Sri Venkataramani that took Mr. Brunton to Chingleput for an interview with the Acharya.  Through his personal representation to the Acharya, he succeeded in securing for the English visitor an audience with the Acharya.  The beatific face and the glowing eyes of the Sage produced at once an experience of exaltation in the visiting aspirant.  Mr. Brunton looked at the Acharya in silence and was struck with what he saw.  Referring to this memorable meeting, he wrote later in his book, “His noble face, pictured in grey and brown, takes an honoured place in the long portrait gallery of my memory.  That elusive element which the French aptly term spirituel is present in his face.  His expression is modest and mild, the large dark eyes being extraordinarily tranquil and beautiful.  The nose is short, straight and classically regular.  There is a rugged little beard on his chin and the gravity of his mouth is most noticeable.  Such a face might have belonged to one of the saints who graced the Christian Church during the Middle Ages, except that this one possesses the added quality of intellectuality.  I suppose we of the practical West would say that he has the eyes of a dreamer.  Somehow, I feel in an inexplicable way that there is something more than mere dreams behind those heavy lids.4”
                        Mr. Brunton put to the Acharya questions about the world, the improvement of its political and economic conditions, disarmament, etc.  In his own characteristic way, the Acharya probed behind the questions and explained how the inward transformation of man was the pre-condition of a better world.
                        “If you scrap your battleships and let your cannons rust, that will not stop war.  People will continue to fight, even if they have to use sticks!”
                        “Nothing but spiritual understanding between one nation and another and between rich and poor will produce goodwill and thus bring real peace and prosperity.”
                        The Indian attitude towards life and the world, according to the critics, is one of pessimism.  But that this view is utterly wrong is borne out by the answer which the Acharya gave to one of Mr. Brunton’s questions.
                        Mr. Brunton:  “Is it your opinion, then, that men are becoming more degraded?”
                        The Acharya:  “No, I do not think so.  There is an indwelling divine soul in man which, in the end, must bring him back to God.  Do not blame people so much as the environments into which they are born.  Their surroundings and circumstances force them to become worse than they really are.  That is true of both the East and West.  Society must be brought into tune with a higher note.”
                        Mr. Brunton does not fail to make a note of the universalistic and catholic vision of the Acharya.  “I am quick to notice”, he writes, “that Shri Shankara does not decry the West in order to exalt the East, as so many in his land do.  He admits that each half of the globe possesses its own set of virtues and vices and that in this way they are roughly equal!  He hopes that a wiser generation will fuse the best points of Asiatic and European civilizations into a higher and balanced social scheme.”
                        Adverting to the purpose for which he had come to India, Mr. Brunton asked if the Acharya would recommend anyone who could serve as his spiritual preceptor, or if the Acharya himself would be his guide.  “I am at the head of a public institution”, said the Acharya, “a man whose time no longer belongs to himself.  My activities demand almost all my time.  For years I have spent only three hours in sleep each night.  How can I take personal pupils?  You must find a master who devotes his time to them.”
                        It was as directed by the Acharya that Mr. Brunton went to Tiruvannamalai and found the Master he had been in quest of, in Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Already a devotee of the Maharshi had told Mr. Brunton in Madras about the Sage of Arunachala.  Mr. Brunton was not keen then, because he thought that the Maharshi might turn out to be another Yogi like the ones he had met earlier in this country.  But now, it was different.  The Acharya himself had asked him not to leave South India before he had met the Maharshi.
                        After the interview at Chingleput, Mr. Brunton returned to his residence in Madras.  That night he saw the Acharya in a vision.  There was a sudden awakening.  The room was totally dark.  He became conscious of some bright object.  He immediately sat up and looked straight at it.  This is what he writes:
                        “My astounded gaze meets the face and form of His Holiness Shri Shankara.  It is clearly and unmistakably visible.  He does not appear to be some ethereal ghost, but rather a solid human being.  There is a mysterious luminosity around the figure which separates it from the surrounding darkness.
                        “Surely the vision is an impossible one?  Have I not left him at Chingleput?  I close my eyes tightly in an effort to test the matter.  There is no difference and I still see him quite plainly!
                        “Let it suffice that I receive the sense of a benign and friendly presence.  I open my eyes and regard the kindly figure in the loose yellow robe.
                        The face alters, for the lips smile and seems to say:
                        “Be humble and then you shall find what you seek!”
                        “The vision disappears as mysteriously as it has come.  It leaves one feeling exalted, happy and unperturbed by its supernormal nature.  Shall I dismiss it as a dream? What matters it?”5.
                        From Chingleput, the Acharya went to Kanchi, the seat of the Kamakoti Pitha.  This was his first visit after he had assumed the headship of the Pitha.  The ceremonial entry into the holy city was made on Sunday the 25th of January 1931.  The city wore a festive appearance that day, the citizens offered to the Acharya a reverential and enthusiastic welcome.  Kanchi is the city of temples par excellence.  The temple of Sri Kamakshi occupies the central place.  Adi Sankara installed the Sri Chakra in this temple.  In the inner prakara, there is a shrine for Sankara with a life-size image.  Tradition has it that he ascended the Sarvajna Pitha and attained siddhi in Kanchi.  There are sculptured representations of Sankara in many of the temples including those of Sri Ekamresvara and Sri Varadaraja.  For several centuries past the management of the Kamakshi temple was being carried on under the general supervision of the Kamakoti Pitha.  In 1840 the Sixty-fourth Acharya, Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati, performed the kumbhabhishekam.  The very next year, the British Government in India arranged for the taking over of the direct management of the Temple by the Matha itself.  During our Acharya’s stay in Kanchi in 1931, he made arrangements for the renovation of the temple and for the proper and regular conduct of the daily worship.
                        Leaving Kanchi towards the end of April 1931, the Acharya visited Uttiramerur which is a place of historical importance as there are inscriptions there regarding the ancient democratic institutions.  Another great place in Chingleput district to which the Acharya went was Sriperumbudur, the birth-place of Sri Ramanujacharya.  In a discourse which he gave at the Sri Adikesava Perumal Temple, he explained the significance of the verse in Pushpadanta’s Siva-mahimna-stotra in which the various religious paths are compared to the different rivers joining the same ocean, and the differences in approach to God are attributed to the differences in taste.

                        The chaturmasya in 1931 was in Chittoor.  After that the tour was resumed.  While the Acharya was camping in Arani, a party of about two hundred volunteers of the Indian National Congress wanted to have his darsana.  Those were the peak days of the struggle for freedom.  The British Government would come down upon anyone who showed any hospitality to the volunteers.  Therefore, the officials of the Matha were hesitant in the matter of receiving the volunteers.  When the Acharya was informed of the intention of the volunteers, he immediately asked the officials to admit them and arrange for their hospitality.  He made individual enquiries of the members of the party and gave to each one of them vibhuti-prasada.
                        In March 1932, the Acharya went to Kalahasti for the Mahasiva-ratri.  During his stay there, he walked round the Kailasa hill, a distance of about thirty miles along difficult forest paths.  From Kalahasti, the Acharya proceeded to Tirupati and Tirumalai; vast concourses of people listened to his daily discourse in chaste Telugu.  Among other places in Chittoor District, the Acharya visited Venkatagiri and Nagari.  In Nagari, the Acharya was presiding over a discussion on Vedanta among scholars, one day.  The Manager of the Matha received a telegram from Kumbhakonam carrying the sad news of the passing away of the Acharyas Mother on the 14th June 1932.  As the Manager was approaching the Acharya with the telegram in his hand, the Acharya enquired if it had come from Kumbhakonam, to which the Manager replied ‘Yes’.  The Acharya made no further enquiry, but asked the Manager to get back.  He remained silent for some time6, and then asked the assembled scholars: “What should a sannyasin do when he hears of the passing away of his mother?”  Guessing what had happened; the scholars were deeply distressed and could not say anything.  The Acharya got up and walked to a water-falls at a distance of two miles followed by a great number of people chanting the Lord’s name.  He took his bath; the others too did the same.  The passing away of the Mother of the Jagad-guru was felt as a personal loss by everyone of the sishyas.
                        There is a spot of natural beauty near Nagari, called Bugga.  In the same temple, here, there are the shrines of Kasi Visvanatha and Prayaga Madhava.  A perennial river flows by the temple; and five streams feed the river.  Commencing from the 17th of July 1932, the Acharya observed the chaturmasya at this fascinating place.  During his stay there, the temple was renovated and kumbhabhishekam was performed on a grand scale.  A large number of devotees from Madras went to Bugga and invited the Acharya to the Presidency City.  En route to Madras the Acharya visited Tiruttani and the famous Subrahmanya shrine there.
                        Before we follow the Acharya to Madras, let us record here the epic of a faithful and devoted dog.  Since 1927, a dog was following the retinue of the Matha.  It was a strange dog –– an intelligent animal without the least trace of un-cleanliness.  It would keep watch over the camp during the nights.  It would eat only the food given to it from the Matha.  The Acharya would therefore enquire every evening if the dog had been fed.  When the camp moved from one place to another, the dog would follow, walking underneath the palanquin and when the entourage stopped so that the devotees of the wayside villages could pay their homage, it would run to a distance and watch devoutly from there, only to rejoin the retinue when it was on the move again.  One day, a small boy hit the dog; and the dog was about to retaliate, when the officials of the Matha, in fear, caused the dog to be taken to a distance of twenty-five miles blindfolded and left there in a village.  But strange as it may seem, the dog retuned to where the Acharya was even before the person who had taken it away could return.  From that day onwards the dog would not eat without the Acharyas darsana and stayed till the end of its life with the Matha.
                        The citizens of Madras had the great privilege of receiving the Acharya on the 28th of September, 1932.  During the four months’ stay of the Acharya in the city, the people felt in their life a visible change for the better.  In their crowds they flocked to the camp at the Madras Samskrit College and later in the different parts of the city and drank deep of the elevating presence and the soul-moving speeches of the Acharya.  On the first night, there was a huge and colourful procession terminating at the Samskrit College.  Seated in a decorated palanquin, the Acharya showered his blessings on the people.  Sri K. Balasubrahmanya Aiyar and other devotees had made all arrangements for the Acharya’s stay at the Samskrit College, founded by Sri Balasubrahmanya Aiyar’s revered father, Justice Sri. V. Krishnaswami Aiyar.  A discourse-hall for studying the Sankara-bhasya on the Vijayadasami day was built, for which the Acharya himself gave the name, Bhashya-vijaya-mantapa.
                        The Corporation of Madras wanted very much to present the Acharya with an address of welcome.  Sri T.S. Ramaswami Aiyar was then the Mayor.  Moving the resolution to present an address, Sri A. Ramaswami Mudaliyar referred to the fact that that was the first occasion when the Corporation would be presenting an Address to a religious leader, paid his tribute to the Acharya, saying that he was held in great esteem not only by the Hindus but also by the followers of other religions and hoped that the resolution would be passed unanimously.  The resolution was passed with acclaim by the entire House.  But when the invitation was conveyed to the Acharya, he politely declined as it would not be proper for him to associate himself directly with a secular function at the Corporation Buildings.
                        The navaratri in 1932 was celebrated at the Samskrit College.  During this puja-festival, the Acharya fasts and observes silence on all the nine days.  Women are honoured with offerings of gifts, as they are manifestations of Para Sakti (the Great Mother of the World).  And, ceremonial puja is performed to girls, commencing with a two-year old on the first day and ending with a ten year old on the last day.  This is what is known as kanya-puja.  Along with recitation of the Vedas, parayanam of the Devi-bhagavata, the Ramayana, the Gita and other texts, the Chandi and Sri-Vidya homas are performed during the festival.  Thousands of people participated in the navaratri festival at the Samskrit College and received the Acharya’s benedictions.
                        After the navaratri, the Acharya delivered discourses every evening after the puja.  Thousands of people listened to these in pin-drop silence.  Seated on the simhasana, the Acharya would remain silent for some time.  Then, slowly he would commence to speak.  It was not mere speech; it was a message from the heart, each day.  With homely examples, in an engaging manner, he would exhort the audience to lead a clean, simple unselfish and godly life.  The essentials of Hindu dharma, the obligatory duties, the supreme duty of being devoted to God, the harmony of the Hindu cults, the significance of the Hindu festivals and institutions, the cultivation of virtues and the grandeur of Advaita, formed some of the themes of these discourses7.  Those who were not able to listen to these speeches had the benefit of reading reports of them every day in “The Hindu” and “The Swadesamitran.”  The Acharya’s teachings enabled the listeners and readers to gain the experience of inward elevation.
                        During his stay in the city, the Acharya visited some of the educational institutions such as the Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home, the P.S., Hindu and Theological High Schools.  He advised both teachers and students to be devoted to the sacred task of educating and learning respectively.  Before leaving the city, he blessed some of the eminent scholars and devoted leaders by the award of titles; Mahamahopadhyaya S. Kuppuswami Sastri received the title Darsana-Kalanidhi, Sri K. Balasubrahmanya Aiyar, Dharma-rakshamani and Sri A. Krishnaswami Aiyar, Paropakara-chintamani.
                        Tiruvorriyur near Madras, is a most sacred place.  It has been for centuries the favoured resort of mahatmas.  The temple of Tvagesa and Tripurasundari is an ancient one.  Adi Sankara installed the Sri chakra in this temple.  Even to this day the archakas that officiate at the shrine of Tripurasundari are Nambudiris.  There is an image of Sankara in the inner prakara of the temple.  Several of the heads of the Kamakoti Pitha chose to live at least for some time at Tiruvorriyur.  In the Sankara Matha there, the adhisthanas of two Acharyas of the Kamakoti Pitha are to be seen.  Our Acharya visited Tiruvorriyur and made the holy place holier.
                        Leaving Madras, the Acharya went to the South again in order to participate in the Mahamakham festival at Kumbhakonam in March 1933.  Since the vijaya-yatra was still in progress, he did not enter the Matha at Kumbhakonam; the camp was set up in Tiruvidaimarudur.  From there, he went to Kumbhakonam on the festival day and took the ceremonial bath in the Tank.  About six lakhs of people thronged to Kumbhakonam that day to participate in the festival that comes once in twelve years.  After the Mahamakham the Acharya continued to stay for some months at the Sankara Matha in Tiruvidaimarudur.  According to tradition, when Adi Sankara visited this holy place and had darsana of Sri Mahalinga-svami in the temple, there appeared Siva’s form from the Linga, raised the right hand, declared three times that “Advaita alone is the truth” and disappeared.  In 1933, our Acharya celebrated the Sankara Jayanti at Tiruvidaimarudur.
                        For a long time the Acharya had had the intention of visiting Chidambaram.  But, for over two hundred years no previous Acharya had gone there, the reason being that the Dikshitars of the Temple of Sri Nataraja would not let even the Acharyas of the Sankara Matha take the sacred ashes straight from the cup as was the custom in all other temples as a mark of respect shown to the Pitha.  Many of the devotees of Chidambaram, however, wished very much that the Acharya should visit Chidambaram; and the Acharya too wanted to have Sri Nataraja’s darsana.  Accepting the invitation of the devotees, he arrived at Chidambaram on May 18, 1933.  A great reception was accorded to him by the inhabitants of Chidambaram including the Dikshitars.  The devotees of the Acharya were rather apprehensive of what might happen when the Acharya visited the temple in regard to the offering of vibhuti.  The Acharya, however, was utterly unconcerned.   All that he wanted was to have Sri Nataraja’s darsana as early as possible.  He resolved to go to the temple early in the morning; having asked one of his personal attendants, to wait for him at the tank, he went there alone at 4 a.m., had his bath and anusthana and when the shrine was opened he entered and stood in the presence of Sri Nataraja absorbed in contemplation.  The Dikshitar who was offering the morning worship was taken aback when he saw the Acharya there.  He sent word to the other Dikshitars; and all of them came at once.  They submitted to the Acharya that they were planning for a ceremonial reception and that they were pained at the fact that none of them were present in the temple to receive him that morning.  The Acharya consoled them saying that he had gone to the temple to have the early morning darsana of Sri Nataraja, known as the visva-rupa-darsana and that he would be visiting the temple several times during his sojourn in Chidambaram.  The Dikshitars honoured the Acharya in the same manner as he is honoured in the other temples.  And, at the earnest request of the Dikshitars, the Acharya stayed in the temple for a few days and performed the Sri Chandramaulisvara-puja in the thousand-pillared Mantapa.  The devotees had the unique experience of witnessing puja performed, at the same place, to two of the five Sphatika-lingas brought by Sankara, according to tradition, from Kailasa––the Moksha-Linga of Chidambaram and the Yoga-Linga of Sri Kamakoti Pitha.
                        The 1933 chaturmasya and navratri were observed at Tanjavur.  A Sankara Matha was established there mainly through the munificence of the Tanjavur Junior Prince Pratapa Simha Raja and Sri T.R. Joshi.  The preparation for the Acharyas northward journey to Kasi had by now been completed.  A number of years earlier the Acharya had commissioned a youth Sri Anantakrishna Sarma to go to Kasi on foot.  He had to walk the entire distance and send notes regarding the route and places en route.  He should learn Hindi before he returned and could do the return journey by rail.  Sri Anantakrishna Sarma carried out the instructions in the letter and in spirit.  It took six months for him to reach Kasi.  Aged sannyasins like Brahmananda Sarasvati and revered scholars including Mahamahopadhyaya Ananda Saran and Pratap Sitaram Sastri, Agent of the Sringeri Matha, sent their letter of invitation to the Acharya of the Kamakoti Pitha on behalf of the citizens of Varanasi; Mahamahopadhyaya Chinnanaswami Sastri, Professor of Mimamsa in the Banaras Hindu University, read out the letter of invitation in the Chidambaram camp of His Holiness.



Sage of Kanchi

Sage of Kanchi

Sage of Kanchi




                        A representative Committee had been formed at Varanasi headed by His Highness the Maharaja of Kasi, with Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya, the Mahamahopadhyayas, distinguished Scholars and other eminent men as members.  The citizens of the Spiritual Capital of our country were eagerly looking forward to the visit of our Acharya, who had already made the sankalpa for kasi-yatra.
                        In conformity with the past practice observed by the previous Government, the Government of Madras issued a notification to the Governments of other States and the native States to accord due honour and all facilities to the Acharya and his entourage during his journey to Kasi.
                        The journey commenced in the second week of September 1933.  The Acharya proceeded northwards, covering about twenty miles each day.  While camping at Kurnool, the Acharya thought of going to Sri-saila which is regarded as the Southern Kailasa.  Here, the Lord Siva appears as Mallikarjuna-linga and Parvati as Bhramarambika.  The Linga is one of the twelve Jyotir-Lingas in the country.  The holy place is counted among the eighteen Sakti-pithas.  The sthala-vriksha is the Arjuna tree.  (The two other sacred places which have the Arjuna as the sthala-vriksha are Tiruvidaimarudur, also known as Madhyarjuna in Tanjavur District and Tiruppudaimarudur, also called Putarjuna in Tirunelveli District).  The tirtha at Sri-saila is Patala-ganga (the counterpart of Akasa-ganga at Tirumalai).  Adi Sankara has sung the praise of Sri Mallikarjuna in his Sivananda-lahari.  Our Acharya delights in reciting these verses––especially the 50th verse:  ‘ I adore Mallikarjuna, the great Linga at Sri-saila (the Arjuna tree entwined by jasmine creepers on the beautiful mountain) who is embraced by Parvati (which is auspicious), who dances wonderfully at dusk (which blooms profusely in the evening), who is established through Vedanta (whose flowers are placed on one’s ears and head), who is pleasing with the loving Bhramarambika by His side (which is grand with eager honey-bees humming around), who shines in the repeated contemplations of pious people (which always wafts good scent), who wears serpents as ornaments (which embellishes those who seek enjoyment), who is worshipped by all the gods (which is the best of flower-trees) and who expresses virtue (and which is well-known for its high quality)”8.
                        Taking with him only a few attendants, the Acharya went by boat upto Peddacheruvu and from there walked the remaining distance of eleven miles uphill.  He reached Sri-saila on the 29th of January 1934, went to the temple and stood before the Deities for a long time reciting verses from the Sivanandalahari and the Saundarya-lahari.  After spending a few days at Sri-saila, the Acharya returned to Kurnool.  During the difficult Sri-saila journey through dense forests, the Chenchus, members of a wild hill-tribe, gave every assistance and protection to the visiting party.  They considered the Acharya’s presence in their midst a great blessing.
                        Crossing the Tungabhadra at Kurnool, the Acharya entered the Hyderabad State.  He reached the Capital of the State on the 12th of February 1934.  The people and the State officials including the Chief Minister vied with one another in paying their homage to the Jagadguru.  At the command of the Nizam, the State Government undertook to meet one day’s expenses of the Matha.  Every facility was provided for the conduct of the daily puja, etc.  During the Acharyas stay in Hyderabad a Sanatana-dharmasabha was held; it was attended by many prominent scholars.  In his inaugural address to the Sabha, the Acharya emphasized the need for safeguarding the Dharma, reminded the Hindus of their duty to follow the rules of conduct and asked the people to hold the panditas in high esteem.
                        As the journey from Hyderabad northwards would be a difficult one –through wild forests and uninhabited areas––a large part of the entourage consisting of carts, cattle, attendants and others, was left behind; this part rejoined the group that accompanied the Acharya, after four years, in Andhra Pradesa.  Leaving Secunderabad on the 24th of April 1934, the Acharya reached a place called Sonna on the banks of the Godavari on the 5th of May and had his bath in the sacred river.
                        What was then known as the Central Provinces was the part of India which lay next in the Acharyas itenerary.  In May that year, Sri Sankara Jayanti was celebrated at Bendelvada on the banks of a tributary of the Godavari.  After spending a few days at Nagpur in June, the Acharya travelled through the country of the Vindhya mountains.  It was an arduous journey in burning summer, through practically waterless tracts.  The members of the party braved all difficulties with cheer, their sole aim being to serve the Master in the fulfillment of the resolve to complete the pilgrimage to Kasi.  After crossing the Vindhyas, the Acharya reached Jabalpur on the 3rd of July 1934 and had his bath in the sacred river Narmada.  Journeying quickly thereafter, the Acharya arrived at Prayaga (Allahabad) on the 23rd of July 1934.  At the outskirts of the holy city, the prominent leaders of the place headed by Mahamahopadhyaya Ganganatha Jha received the Acharya with due ceremony.  Thousands of people lined the route of the procession, uttering the words “Victory to the great Guru!” (Gurumaharaj-ji-ki Jai!).
                        On the 25th of July 1934, the Acharya immersed the sacred sand he had brought from Ramesvaram in the holy waters at Prayaga, the place of Triveni-sangama, the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the subterranean Sarasvati; and gathering the holy water in vessels, he had it sent to the places of pilgrimage in South India.  By these significant ceremonial acts, the Acharya made it known to our people how custom and tradition are expressive of the spiritual, as well as geographical, unity of India.  On the 26th of July, the Acharya commenced the chaturmasya at Prayaga.  For the Vyasa-puja that day, many devotees assembled there from the different parts of the country.  During this chaturmasya period, a conference of scholars was held in the immediate presence of the Acharya.  Several panditas of North India participated in the deliberations of the Conference and received the Acharyas blessings.
                        From Prayaga (Allahabad) to Kasi ––a distance of eighty miles –the Acharya travelled by foot.  He entered the most holy city of Kasi on the 6th of October 1934 and was received by the citizens in their thousands, headed by the Maharaja of Kasi, Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya and others.  About a lakh of people participated in the procession that day, many of them uttering the full throated cries of victory, “Jagadguru-Maharaj-ji-ki Jai!”  Unprecedented crowds–a record in the history of the city–gathered to greet the visiting Acharya.  A glowing account of Kasi’s reception to the Acharya was published in the Hindi newspaper “Pandit” dated the 8th of October 1934.  Among other things, it said that the joy of the people knew no bounds when they beheld the beaming face of the great ascetic and that the procession and the mammoth meeting were unprecedented in magnificence and splendour in the history of the holy city within memory.

                        Kasi, the city of the Lord Visvanatha and Sri Visalakshi, is considered to be one of the seven moksha-puris.  The holy Ganga flows here in a northward direction and in the form of a crescent.  The city is the resort of saints and scholars.  Kasi is also known as Varanasi, because it lies between two tributary rivers Varana and Asi.  It was in this city near the Manikarnika Ghatta that Adi Sankara wrote his commentaries.  It was Kasi that proclaimed him as the Jagad-guru.  It was from there that he started on his dig-vijaya.  And so, our Acharya’s visit to Kasi was full of supreme significance.  On the very day of his arrival there, the Acharya had darsana of the Lord Visvanatha and Sri Annapurna.  On the 7th of October, after a bath in the Ganga at the Manikarnika Ghatta, he performed the Chandramaulisvara puja in the Lord’s temple itself.  From the 9th of October onwards, the navaratri festival was celebrated.  On the Vijaya-dasmi day, the Acharya visited the Dakshinamurti Matha on the other bank of the Ganga.  On the 9th of February 1935, in response to Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya’s request the Acharya paid a visit to the Hindu University.  In his welcome address consisting of five verses in Samskrit, Pandit Malaviya referred to the fact that the Acharya was adorning the Kanchi-pitha established by Sri Sankara and that his fame and grace born of his great wisdom, austerity, compassion, generosity, etc., had spread far and wide in this sacred land and requested His Holiness to bless the assembled University community by his words of advice.  Addressing the teachers and students in felicitous Samskrit, the Acharya pointed out that the end of education is to gain peace of mind and that it is by acquiring wisdom that one realizes immortality.  Commending the laudable efforts of Pandit Malaviya in founding the Hindu University, the Acharya said that the main objective of astika education should always be kept in view in planning the details regarding the courses of study, etc., and expressed the wish that the University should train and send out leaders of thought and action who would set an example in ideal living for the masses of the people to follow.  In his concluding speech, Pandit Malaviya said that while from the legends regarding Adi Sankara they knew that the great Master visited Kasi and saved the world through his wondrous works, they now had the rare experience of seeing with their own eyes in Kasi the Acharya who was an avatara of Adi Sankara.
                        The Citizens of Kasi organized a meeting in the Town Hall on the 9th of March 1935, to offer their reverential homage to the Acharya.  Addresses in different languages were presented to the Acharya and several scholars spoke hailing his visit to Kasi.  The Acharya said in his speech that he had undertaken the journey, following in the foot-steps of Adi sankara, that he was pleased with the boundless enthusiasm of the people and that his prayers to the Lord Visvanatha, Sri Visalakshi and Sri Annapurna were that Their grace should make the entire world march on the road of goodness.
                        A conference of the eminent Panditas and Danti Sannyasins of Kasi was held on the 9th of March 1935.  A similar conference of the Panditas of Bengal led by the grand old Mahamahopadhyaya Kamalanayan Tarkaratna was held at Calcutta.  Over one hundred and thirty scholars met.  The conference sent as its representative Sri Mahamahopadhyaya Durgasaran to Varanasi to invite His Holiness to visit Calcutta and to convey its considered view acclaiming the high status and the greatness of the Kamakoti Pitha at Kanchi.
                        Leaving Kasi on the 18th of March 1935, the Acharya reached Patna (Pataliputra) on the 24th of April.  The English Daily of the place, “The Search-light”, wrote in its issue dated the 28th of April: “Bihar accords a cordial and respectful welcome to Jagadguru Swami Sankaracharya of Kamakotipitam.  Heir to a great and honoured tradition, Swamiji Maharaj is an object of veneration to Hindus all over India and his presence in our midst is a rare privilege. . . . .We have no doubt Swamiji’s message will leave an abiding impression on all who receive it, for what he has to say is the result of study and Tapas”.  The Acharya blessed the people of Patna by observing the Sankara Jayanti there; the citizens participated in the puja, meetings, etc., wholeheartedly.
                        The next important place of visit was Gaya.  Arriving there on the 20th of May 1935, the Acharya bathed in the Phalguni River and had darsana of the Vishnu-pada.  On the 25th of May he went to Buddha Gaya and saw the Bodhi Tree and the Temple of the Buddha and also the tiny Sivalinga in a low flooring in front of the large idol of the Buddha, said to have been consecrated by Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada.  A great place of pilgrimage in Bihar is Deogarh (Vaidyanatha Kshetra).  On June 21st, the Acharya visited Deogarh, went to the Temple and stood for a long time in meditation before the Svayambhu-Linga and Sri Girija-devi.
                        After brief halts en route, the Acharya reached Calcutta on the 13th of July 1935.  The premier city accorded to him a rousing welcome.  The Acharya observed the chaturmasya from the 17th of July at Kali Ghat.  In an Address presented on behalf of the Committee of the Kali Temple, Darsanasagar Sri Gurupada Sarma said that after founding the Mathas in the various parts of our country, Adi Sankara established a Matha at Kanchi, that the present Sankaracharya whom they had the honour to receive was on a peripatetic tour of India following in the footsteps of Adi Sankara and that through the grace of Sri Paramesvara and Maha Kali the tour should be completed victoriously after planting firmly in the land righteousness and piety.  In his reply, the Acharya stated that he accepted the reverence shown as a representative of Adi Sankara and blessed all the assembled people.  On behalf of the Brahmana-sabha of Bengal, an address of welcome in Samskrit was presented on the 23rd of September.  The address, which was read out by the eminent scholar Pandita Panchanana Tarka-ratna, paid a glowing tribute to the Acharya who by his grace was leading the people on the path of righteousness, referred to the sanctifying effect of the gracious visit to Calcutta, pointed out the significance of the title “Indra Sarasvati” which belongs to the Acharyas of the Kamakoti Pitha and praised the manner in which His Holiness was performing the vijaya-yatra, following the example of Adi Sankara.
                        Navaratri or Dasara (called Puja in Bengal) is the most important festival for the Bengalis.  The Acharya performed the navaratri puja in September-October at Calcutta, delighting the hearts of thousands of devotees there.  In the third week of October, the All-India tour was resumed.  A steamer took the Acharya and the entourage on the rivers, Damodar and Rupnarayan which are tributaries to Adiganga.  The Acharya reached Midnapore in response to the earnest request of the people of that place on the 27th of October 1935.  Midnapore at the time was the spearhead of the revolutionary nationalist movement.  Many young men–-especially college students–-were behind prison-bars as detenus.  And, the town was under curfew restrictions.  The authorities, however, relaxed some of the restrictions to enable the people to receive the Acharya and participate in the religious functions connected with the unique visit.  Coming to know of the Acharyas presence in Midnapore, many of the detenus desired to meet him.  They obtained permission from the British officer in charge of the prison for this purpose; but the condition imposed was that they should return to the prison before 6 p.m., that day.  When the detenus reached the Acharya’s camp late in the evening, the Acharya had just then retired for brief rest after the day’s puja.  After waiting for some time, the young men started going back to the prison, disappointed.  Meanwhile, the Acharya came out and on learning about what had happened, sent for the detenus.  They came again, prostrated before the Acharya and prayed to him for his blessings for the gaining of independence for the country and for the welfare and happiness of the people.
                        Kharagpur, where the well-known Railway Workshops are situated and Tatanagar, the Iron and Steel-town, were the places which the Acharya visited, after leaving Midnapore.  Then followed the tour of the Native States in Bihar.  While in Keonjar Garh, the Acharya visited the temple dedicated to Dharani Devi.  The Image of the Goddess, according to the records of the State, was brought from Kanchi by one Govind Bhanj Deva.  In Mayurbhanj State, the Acharya had darsana of the Maha-Linga in the Varanesvara Temple at the State Capital, Baripada (Mayurbhanj State).  In Raj Nilgiri State, at a place called Sujanagad, there is a temple of Sri Chandi Devi, where the vahana is the boar instead of the usual lion.  The Acharya visited the temple and halted in that place for four days.
                        Entering the Cuttack District of Orissa, the Acharya arrived at Jajpur on the 4th of April 1936.  Jajpur is famous for its antiquity and sanctity.  The place is referred to in the Mahabharata as Virajapitha, one of the eighteen Sakti-pithas.  The river Vaitarani flows in a north-ward direction here.  There are twelve main temples and many smaller ones––each exemplifying in a marvelous manner the ancient skill in architecture.  Because there resided at this place over one hundred Samayajins, about two centuries ago, it came to be called Jajpur (Yajipuram).  The Acharya spent five days in this historic town and then proceeded to Cuttack the District headquarters.  That year’s Sankara-Jayanti was celebrated there.  On the 3rd of May 1936, the Acharya visited Sakshi-Gopal, about which there is a legend current in Orissa.  Two Brahmana pilgrims went to Kasi from Kanchi; one of them was old and the other young.  The old one promised to give his daughter in marriage to the young man on their return to Kanchi; this promise was made in Mathura at the shrine of Gopala.  The old man, however, did not keep his promise.  The youth lodged a complaint with the king. Asked if there was any witness, he said that Gopala was his witness and went to Mathura and brought the Lord with him.  The stipulation was that the young man should not look back as Gopala was following him.  On the outskirts of Kanchi, the young man violated the stipulation.  Gopala transformed himself into an image at the very place.  Later, the image was brought from there to Sakshi-Gopal by a king of Puri.
                        After visiting Sakshi-Gopal, the Acharya proceeded to Puri Jagannath.  At the end of a grand procession, a ceremonial reception was given to him at the Govardhana Matha.  The other Advaita Mathas of Puri, viz, Sankarananda Matha, Sivatirtha Matha and Gopalatirtha Matha, also associated themselves with this function and co-operated in the arrangements connected with the Acharyas visit.  The Acharya visited the temple of Jagannatha and at the request of the scholars of the Mukti-mantapa Sabha, sat on the Pitha in the Mantapa and blessed the assembly.  In a speech delivered in Samskrit, the Acharya said that he regarded the honour shown to him as belonging to Adi Sankara whose holy Feet are worshipped by all and who made the false doctrines disappear from the land by establishing the supreme Truth.  On the 6th of May 1936, the Acharya bathed in the Mahodadhi (the Eastern Sea) at Puri; it was the auspicious Purnima day.  On the 9th, he inaugurated a Panditasabha; several elderly speakers recalled the visit of the Sixty-fifth Acharya of Kamakoti Pitha, Sri Mahadevendra Sarasvati, fifty years earlier and said that they were having the unique privilege, again, of receiving in their midst the Sixty-eighth Acharya.
                        The journey through the Chilka Lake area was an arduous one.  High mountains, thick forests and sandy wastes had to be crossed.  Walking at the rate of twenty-five miles a day, the Acharya with the tour-party arrived at Chatrapur on the 17th of May 1936; at this place which is on the sea-coast at the southern end of the Lake, there is a temple of Adi Sankara.  The chaturmasya which commenced on the 4th of July was observed at Berhampur.  The navaratri festival was celebrated in October at Vijayanagaram.  At a largely attended meeting on the 31st of October, the Acharya spoke on Advaita, explaining that there was no difference between Hari and Hara, that saints like Samartha Ramadas gained mukti by following the path of Hari-Hara-Advaita, that those who adopt the path of knowledge attain Jiva-Brahma-Advaita and that the goal is the same for both upasana and jnana.
                        Simhachalam is an ancient pilgrim centre in Andhra.  On a picturesque hill is situated the ancient temple of Sri Varaha Nrisimha.  On the 4th of November 1936, the Acharya visited this shrine and spent some time in meditation near the Gangadhara Falls.  Three days later, the Acharya reached Visakhapatnam, the harbour-town.  After touring in the District of Vizag, he journeyed through the Godavari area.  The chaturmasya in 1937 was observed in Palacole.  The next important place of halt was Rajahmundry, on the banks of the Godavari.  On the auspicious Mahodaya day on the 31st of January 1938, the Acharya bathed in the sea at Kakinada.
                        The Andhra districts to receive the Acharya next in sequence were Krishna, Guntur and Nellore.  At Vijayavada, the Acharya had his bath in the Krishna River.  The 1938 chaturmasya was observed in Guntur.  During this period, the well-known Vyakarana Pandita Sri Pulyam Umamahesvara Sastri offered to the Acharya a poetical composition in Samskrit, consisting of one hundred and seventy verses.  From November 1938 to January 1939, the Acharya was in Nellore.  After visiting Venkatagiri, he went to Kalahasti and Tirupati again.  In April 1939, Sri Sankara-Jayanti was celebrated at Bugga.  After having Sri Subrahmanya’s darsana on the Tiruttani hill, the Acharya reached Kanchi on the 2nd of May 1939.

From Kanchi, the Acharya proceeded to Chidambaram en route to Ramesvaram.  The sand collected at Ramesvaram in September 1922, it will be recalled, was immersed in the holy waters at Triveni-Sangama (Allahabad) on the 25th of July 1934.  The sacred water of the Ganga that was gathered there was now to be offered to Sri Ramanatha as abhisheka.  On the 10th of June 1939, after bathing in the Agni-tirtha, the Acharya went to the temple and the abhisheka was performed.  With this was concluded the Acharyas Ganga-yatra.  From the next day onwards, for over six months, the Acharya observed silence.  But the tour-schedule was continued, as also all the activities connected with the Matha.  After re-visiting many places in Ramnad, Pudukkottai, Tiruchi and Tanjavur, the Acharya returned to Kumbhakonam from where he had started out on his vijaya-yatra twenty-one years earlier.  The 29th of June 1939 was a red-letter day for the citizens of the town; there was no end to their joy in receiving the Acharya again into their midst.                        


3.  This is the title of a book he later on published, giving an account of his search (Rider & Company, London 1934).  Sir Francis Younghusband says in his Foreword:  “Sacred India” would be as apt a title for this book.
4.  A Search in Secret India, p. 90.
5.  Ibid., pp. 93-96.
6.  The Acharya’s father, Sri Subrahmanya Sastri passed away in Kumbhakonam on the 24th of July 1929.  When the news was conveyed to the Acharya he remained silent for some time and said nothing.
7.  These have been published in three parts:  1. Sri Sankaracharya Svamigal Aruliya Nan-moligal; 2. Sri Sankara Vijayam; 3. Sri Jagadguruvin Upadesangal (Sri Kamakoti Kosasthanam, Madras).
8.  There is a pun on the words of this verse.  The description may be taken as applying to both the great Linga and the Arjuna tree.

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Sage of Kanchi - Other Parts:

Introduction
Early Life
Ascension to Sri Kamakoti Pitha
The First Tour of Victory (Vijaya-yatra)
Study and Training
All-India Tour (1919-1939)
Consolidation and Furtherance of Our Ancient Dharma
At Kanchi
Since 1957

Sixty-One Of The Many Blessings Conferred By His Holiness On The World

 

Sage of Kanchi

Preceptors of Advaita