Andavan Ashramam Acharya Guru Parampara - 9

[Guest guest]

Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Maha Desikaya namaha:

 

Acharya parampara of Srimath Andavan Ashramam continues in this posting with

Srimath Thembarai Andavan - Sri Ranganatha Mahadesikan

 

 

 

Thembarai Andavan:- Thirunakshatram: Avani Revathi

 

 

 

 

 

Thanian:

 

Srimath VEdha vathamsa lakshmana munehe praapthaaga maantha dvayam

 

ThEna Sri raghu punga vangri yugaLe nyasthaathma Rakshaambharam

 

Srimath Srinidhi yogivarya karuna labdaabhja chakraangkanam

 

Vande shaanthi virakhthi poornamanagham Sri ranga naatham Gurum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Srimath Thembarai Andavan Sri RanganAtha MahA dEsikan adorned Acharya peetam as

the 8th Andavan in the Andavan Periashramam Munithraya Sampradayam AchArya

Lineage. .

 

 

 

Thembarai is a beautiful serene village situated on the banks of river pAmani

..He was born to Sri. U.Ve. Vangeepuram SeshAdriyAchAr in then year 1886 VIYA

varusham in the month of Avani with Revathy as birth star(19-08-1886).His

poorvasirama name was venkataraghavan. (His father gave him excellent education

in his younger days.

 

 

 

The Astrologers who looked at the horoscope of swAmi predicted that he would

become a sanyAsi and a parama virakthA,unparalleled. After undergoing samskArams

at the right age, swAmi performed adhyayanam of sAma sAkhA and became an

exponent. He underwent rigorous training and mastered sanskrit, and Kavya

sAstrAs along with other vEda sAkhAs in Thirukkudanthai Sanskrit College. He

went to Rajamannar koil nd mastered vyAkaraNa sAstrAs under the tutelage of

Sri. U.Ve. RangachAr swAmi (This mahAn later became the 39th Jeer of Sri Ahobila

Mutt as Sri Parankusa SatakOpa yatheendra mahA dEsikan). Later he went to

viLAkkudi to learn tharka sAstrAs under the eminent guidance of “ThArkika

simham” Sri. U.Ve. SrinivAsachariAr swAmi. Having completely learnt tharka

sAstrAs, swAmi learnt and mastered MeemAmsa sAstrAs under the guidance of MahA

mahOpAdhyAyA Brahmasri KuppuswAmi SastrigAL and Brahmasri ChinnaswAmi SastrigAL.

 

 

 

Marriage

 

 

In the year 1908, swAmi was married to Srimathi Vijayavalli Ammal. Immediately

after the marriage, swAmi took the VaisvadEva upadEsam from his paternal uncle,

Maha vidwAn Brahmanidhi Sri. U.Ve. RamabhadrAchAr swAmi. During his

GruhasthAsramA, swAmi observed panca kAla anushtAnams in an austere and rigorous

way. Later, swAmi served as a religious teacher in a national high school. .

During this time swAmi served as an examiner for sanskrit competitions conducted

Sri kanchi kAmakOti matam. Sri SankarAchArya (paramAchAryA) had utmost respect

for swAmi’s pAndithyAm.

 

SwAmi followed Sriman nigamAntha mahA dEsikan in observing ‘Unccha vrutthi’.

Such was the vairAghyam swAmi possessed in renouncement all the materialistic

lifestyle and observance of severe austerity. c.. SwAmi underwent grantha

chathushtya kAlakshEpams under Srimath NammAndavan. In the kAlakshEpa goshti,

swAmi used to listen to kAlakshEpam with rapt attention and full concentration.

 

Srimath NammAndavan performed panca samskAram to swAmi in his younger days and

later performed bharasamarpanam at the lotus feet of vaduvoor (Lord Sri Rama).

In the year 1922, in Mannargudi,Sri Ramanaya upanyasam of swAmi was arranged by

Sri. U.Ve. vidwAn Rama swAmi Iyengar and Sri. U.Ve. KrishnamAchAriAr,which went

on for over two months.

 

While swAmi was undertaking kAlakshEpams from His Holiness Srimath NammAndavan

,Srimath Andavan adorned ThirunAdu unexpectedly in Kanchipuram. Srimath Akkur

Andavan succeeded NammAndavan to adorn the AchArya peetam. Thembarai swAmi

continued his kAlakshEpams under Srimath Akkur Andavan.

 

 

 

 

Guna seelA

 

>From his younger days, swAmi was a puritan filled with all satva gunAs ..

Simplicity, honesty, purity, veracity, courage, equality, renunciation, lucid

and profound

sampradayic knowledge were hallmarks of swAmi’s gunAs. One could see simplicity

all the way in the clothes he wore, the food he ate or the lifestyle he led.

SwAmi was such a down-to-earth person who won the respect of many of his

admirers SwAmi had no desire to save money for his family. The amazing virakthi

swAmi possessed is attributed to his profound knowledge of our siddhAnta and

total belief in it. Even during the sadas when sambhavana was offered to

vidwAns, swAmi would do his best to avoid taking up sanmAnam.

 

SanyAsa sweekAram

 

Swami was doing kainkaryam to Srimath Akkur Andavan, continuing to undertake

kAlakshEpams under His Holiness. Srimath Andavan was immensely pleased with our

swAmi’s GnAna, vairAghyA and AnushtAnams and felt that our swami was the right

person to be adorned as ‘sampradAya pravarthakA’ of periAsramam after His

time.HE WAS very confident our swami would carry Asramam’s growth to heights of

glory. Accordingly HH did upadEsam on prapatti proyOgA and prEsha manthram to

our swami.

 

In the meantime, swAmi’s dharma patni attained AchAryan thiruvadi in the year

1946. Srimath Akkur Andavan was also becoming weak because of age. Swami after

long thoughts decided to take up sanyAsam and hence went to Srimath Andavan and

prayed to HH and sought his blessings for the sanyAsam. Srimath Andavan was

extremely pleased by swAmi’s decision and ordained His sishyAs to make

arrangements for the Holy ceremony.

 

In the year viya in the month of Aippasi on the 21st day i.e. on 6-10-1946 in

the presence of several Andavan Thiruvadis, Srimath Akkur Andavan gave the holy

sanyAsam to Sri. U.Ve. Brahmaniddhi Thembarai VenkatarAghavAchAriar swami. He

was given the title as ‘Sri RanganAtha mahA dEsikan’ and was fondly called as

Thembarai Andavan. Srimath Akkur Andavan lived for 5 more months after that and

adorned ThirunAdu on 19-3-1947 on a krishna paksha dwAdasi day ( in the month of

Panguni, viya year).

 

 

 

Because of the sanyAsa sweekAram, swami's lifestyle did not change a bit at all

as he practiced a life of sanyAsi even before that with rigorous anushtAnams and

extreme vairAghyam having completely renounced worldly comforts.

The daily chores of Asramam was maintained the same way as it was done from

Srimath PeriAndavan's period. Srimath Thembarai Andavan would wake up before 4

AM in the morning and would perform avagAha snAnam immediately thereafter.

SandhyAvandhanam, japams would be done after that followed by bhagavath

ArAdhanam and purvAchAryAs' pAdukA ArAdhanam. This was followed by distribution

of perumAl and pAdukA theertham. . Later, Sri bhAshya, geethA bhAshya, bhagavath

vishaya kAlakshEpams would by rendered by His Holiness after which vaidheeka

karmas such as samAsrayanams and bharanyAsams would be performed for the

bhAgavathAs for the day.

 

 

In the evenings, kAlakshEpams on divya sookthis such as Srimath RamAyanam, nyAya

siddhAnjanam. AdhikaraNa sArAvaLi would happen besides other anushtAnams.

Srimath Andavan would consume very little food once a day in the mornings.

 

 

During swAmi's time as AchAryA, Sri. U.Ve. Chakravarthi KrishnamAchAriar swAmi,

Sri. U.Ve. V.K. SrinivAsAchAriAr swami and later Sri. U.Ve. SrinivAsa

rAghavAchariAr swami ( Kannan swami – later Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan)

served as Sri Karyams of Asramam at different periods.

 

 

As per the holy order of His Holiness, a monthly magazine called 'Sri Ranganatha

Paduka' was started in the year 1955 in the month of October ( Manmatha Varusham

in the month of Ippasi) to bring a connection between the asramam and the

andavan sishyas.

 

Srimath Thembarai Andavan became weaker as the days passed by due to rigorous

anushtanams, meagre intake of food and also due to breathing related health

issues. His Holiness gave upadEsam on “PrEsha 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 anushtAnamOn 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 . On His arrival, arrangements were speeded up for Sri

kannan swAmi's thureeyAsrama 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. and within

few hours on the same day (April 5th 1963) He adorned Thirunadu satisfied with

having found His worthy successor.

 

 

 

 

 

In the next posting adiyen will continue with the history of acharyas beginning

with Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan.

 

Srimath Andavan Thiruvadi

 

Perungadambanur Parthasarathy Sreenivasan

 

(of Besant Nagar)

 

Adiyen is attaching a rare photo(courtesy- Sri Devanathan-Chennai, Srimath

Andavan Thiruvadi) taken in 1950's at Srirangam Periasramam where Srimath

Thembarai Andavan is in the center along with Srimath Thirukkudanthai

Andavan(circled -on your left) in His purvasramam and Srimath Mysore

Andavan(circled, hands folded - on your right) in His purvasramam