Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan life History - Part 6

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SrImathE ranga rAmAnuja mahA dEsikAya namaha

SrI ranganAtha Divya maNi pAdhukAbhyAm namaha

 

Dear Bhagavathas,

 

This is the Continuation of Posting on Life History of

Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan. This is the sixth

Volume in the series.

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Taking up sanyAsam

 

Srimath Thembarai Andavan became weaker as the days

passed by. So His Holiness gave upadEsam on “PrEksha

manthram” and “MOkshAsrama Ahnika AnushtAnam” to

three vidwAns of the Asramam - U.Ve. Sri. Kannan

swAmi, U.Ve. Sri. Mysore GopAlAchAr swAmi( who later

on became Srimath Mysore Andavan in the late 80s) and

Mannargudi GanapAdi vidwAn U.Ve. Sri. NarasimhAchArya

swAmi for them to be ready and take up sanyAsam any

time when called.

 

In April 1963, Srimath Andavan’s health was extremely

affected and with great difficulty His Holiness was

performing his nithya karma anushtAnam. One day, His

Holiness it seems told the sishyAs around Him that

“Yesterday I almost went to virajA Nadi but had to

come back to bhoolOkam upon emperumAn’s orders only to

nominate the successor for the AchArya peetam of this

Asramam. This Kannan hasn’t come yet”.

 

A couple of days earlier, Sri. Kannan swAmi’s son,

Sri. GOpAlan told his father that he had dreamt about

Srimath Thembarai Andavan telling him that He had gone

to virajA nadi and come back and asked him to send his

father immediately and take up sanyAsam. GopAlan also

told his father that he would take care of his mother

(swAmi's dharma pathni) and asked him to proceed to

Srirangam.

 

On April 4th 1963, Srimath Andavan's condition became

worse and most of the sishyAs were informed. Sree

kAryam Sri. U.Ve. kannan swAmi was also informed of

Srimath Andavan’s health and immediately thereafter

rushed up to Srirangam. On His arrival, arrangements

were speeded up for His dureeyAsrama sweekAram.

 

Early morning the next day i.e. on 5th april, 1963

(Friday, sukla dwAdasi, makam star), in the presence

of sishyAs, His Holiness Srimath Thembarai Andavan

ordained the ascetic order to Sri U.Ve. Kannan SwAmi

who was named as Srimath vEdAnta rAmAnuja mahA

dEsikan. His holiness appointed Him as “Ubhaya VEdanta

grantha updEsAthi sampradAya samrakshana doorvahar”.

Srimath Thembarai Andavan felt extremely glad that he

was able to fulfill his avadhAra kAryam and within few

hours on the same day (April 5th 1963) he left for

Thirunadu leaving behind grieving sishyAs.

 

This illustrious AchArya Peetam of Srimath Andavan,

thanks to the good fortunes of a host of disciples,

developed centrally on His Holiness Thirukkudanthai

Srimath Andavan vEdAntha rAmAnuja mahA dEsikan. Among

the Andavan Hierarchy, it may be safely mentioned

without fear of contradiction that the most popularly

known among all members of the Vaishnavaite fold was

Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan .

 

He was a great scholar in NyAya, VyAkarana, and so

much he was at ease in the recitals of NAlAyira Divya

Prabhandham, Srimath RAmAyanam, Bhagavath Vishayam and

sukthis, that people acclaimed him as an AvathArA of

Thirumangai AlwAr himself.

 

Having taken to ascetic order, not out of poverty, but

casting away plentitude of wealth of which he was his

own architect, this great AchArya had assimilated in

himself the strict austerity and highly puritan life

of his predecessors scorning all luxuries. It is a

wonderful phenomenon that it has been possible for

this AchArya to swing from one end of the pendulum

embracing all conveniences and comforts which were

more than a middle class member of the society could

normally enjoy, to the other end of it, shorn of all

luxuries and conveniences and adopting Himself,an

extreme, rigid and rigorous life of a sanyAsi.

 

Used to travel in motor cars in his poorvAsramA- this

AchAryA made pAdayAthrA from place to place. Within a

month after He had embraced the ascetic order, His

Holiness started on his holy pilgrimage, going from

place to place and covering at a stretch, about 15

miles a day and even more sometimes, and spreading to

the wondering public His great knowledge of our

sampradAya granthams, the inner meanings of our

religion and our puranams and Ithihasams. His Holiness

was truly a pillar of Modern Hinduism as he combined

in himself the purity of thought and conduct of his

illustrious predecessors, acclimatizing himself to the

modern conditions of thought and life.

 

His discourses were filled with humor and geniality

with penetrating perception of the sanctity of the

holy lives of our AlwArs and AvathArs. Truly this

great AchAryA attracted not merely the rich and

powerful magnets of our Vaishnavaite community, not

merely a large number of vEdic scholars and

vEdAnthins, but also a large class of devotees among

other communities as well, who were ever ready at his

bidding to take up any holy cause.

 

In a way he became nearest to Srimath ThErezhundur

Andavan (NammAndavan), having a deep and abiding

interest in the propagation of popular religious

literature among His disciples and the spreading of

vEdic lore. He had a deep comprehension and vision of

the needs of reorientation of our religious order and

spreading of vaishvavaite cult, Vaishnavaite

philosophy and educating the younger ones in the

Ubhaya VEdAnthA.

 

 

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(To be continued....)

 

Srimath Andavan Thiruvadi,

dAsan,

venkat Sreenivasan

 

 

 

 

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