Sri Raghavendra Swamy

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Hare Krishna ! . Dandavat Pranam to Bhagavan Sri Krishna and all Vaishnavas !

Sri Raghavendra Swami was one of the great proponents of Vaishnavism . For nearly 50 years, he was the head of one of the great pItha-s of Vaishnavism . He is widely believed to be an avatara of Prahlada ; and he chose as his Brindavan Manchaale(Mantralaya) on the bank of the Tungabadhra, where Prahlada had performed his yajna in krita yuga. It is said that the stone used for the Brindavan was sanctified by the touch of Sri Rama and Sita in the treta yuga. His nephew, Narayanacharya, wrote Raghavendra Vijaya, which gives a full account of the life of this great Vaishnava saint .

Sri Raghavendra Swami was born in 1595 in Kaveripattana, Tamil Nadu to Thimmanna Bhatta and Gopikamba. His ancestors were of the Gautama Gotra . He was named Venkatanatha as he was born by the grace of Lord Venkateshwara. When his father was performing akSharAbhyAsa, Venkatanatha asked how a small letter like Om can explain the great God. The father was overjoyed that his son understood that the God cannot be fully explained by one small letter. Venkatanatha's Upanayanam was performed in chaitra mAsa, when he was 8 years old. Although his father passed away by then, Venkatanatha did not consider himself an orphan, as he considered Bhagavan Narayana as his father and Gayathri, who reveals Him, as every twice-born's real mother .

Venkatanatha studied yajur veda, maNimanjari, and anumadhvavijaya at Madurai . His powers of meditation were shown when his water from doing sandyAvandan happened to fall on a dry seed, which sprouted . He also developed an expertise in playing the Veena, so he became known as Veena Venkata Bhatta . Upon returning from Madurai, he was married to Saraswati, who was from a noble family.

The Shastras say that for one who has control of his senses, wedded life does not hamper learning. For Venkatanatha, most of his learning occurred after marrying Saraswati . So Venkatanatha went to Kumbhakonam, the seat of learning at the time. There, he studied under Sri Sudindrateerta.He used to stay awake past midnight to write his own comments and notes on the lessons that had been done. Once, he engaged in a debate and defeated a mAyAvAdi at Rajamannar temple. Though his victory was not unexpected Acharya Sri Sudhindra tirtha was surprised at his scholarship in grammar, profound knowledge and rare debating skill, and called him "Mahabhashya Venkatanathacharya" . Similarly he explained the significance of taptamudra dhAraNa quoting several smR^iti-s that the opponents had to accept his arguments were irrefutable. He had a son, Lakshminarayana. Although he and his family were in stark poverty, he was unaffected by it, being immersed in the sweet nectar of Vaishnavism . Not even once did he give up his teachings and learning; he was steadfast in his determination to live by whatever came to him unsought and unasked. Still, when his master asked him to take sanyAsA, he found himself in a grave dilemma. For one thing, he knew that if he took sanyAsA, he would eventually have to take control of the maTha. While trying to find a solution to this problem, Goddess Maha-Lakshmi Herself appeared before him. She told him that if such great people like himself did not spread the right philosophy, that of Vaishnavism the maTha-s would fall into ruin. The light of Vaishnavism would be extinguished by the darkness of Mayavada . Understanding where his true duty lay, Venkatanatha obeyed the Divine Mother Maha-Lakshmi and took sanyAsA. Acharya Sri Sudhindra initiated Venkatanatha on the second day of the bright half of PAlguNa mAsa in the year durmati corresponding to the year 1621.He was given the holy name "Raghavandra Tirtha".

Miracles

Although Raghavendra Swami performed various miracles, the most significant miracle lies in the vast literature he left behind & his contribution to the philosophy of Vaishnavism . He wrote extensive commentaries on the upanishads, bhagavad gIta, vedAs, as well as several texts .

The Tanjavore district was under a great drought at that time. Raghavendra Swami made the ruler perform appropriate rituals and ceremonies. Soon afterwards, rain once again fell upon the lands. The king, to show his gratitude offered Raghavendra Swami a priceless necklace, which Raghavendra Swami in turn put into the Yajna as an offering to Bhagavan Maha-Vishnu, who had really brought the region out of the drought. The king grew angry at what he thought was an insult . Raghavendra Swami immediately brought back the necklace from the fire. The king, realizing that for one who renounced the world a necklace meant nothing, asked for Raghavendra Swami's forgiveness.

Raghavendra Swami visited Bijapur, where the scorching heat was unbearable. One brahmin was overcome by the heat and fell down, unable to get up. Raghavendra Swami recited a mantra, and water sprung up from the scorching sands, which saved the Brahmin's life . In another instance, a child was traveling with an entourage, through a desert . The heat was so unbearable that the child started to cry . Raghavendra Swami threw his upper cloth towards the child . Flying through the air, it gave shade to the child for the rest of the journey .

At that time there was a Desai who had no faith in God or the Vedas . He would challenge scholars to make a twig sprout, using Vedic mantras . No one was able to do this . So then the people called Raghavendra Swami to prove to the Desai the power of the Vedas . He sprinkled some water on the twig while reciting a Vedic mantra . Right before the Desai's eyes, the twig began to sprout . This incident instilled deep faith in the hearts of many scholars who were present . They had heard that Raghavendra Swami, in his earlier days, had made the cool sandalwood paste burn, by reciting the Agni Sukta, then made it cool again by reciting Varuna Sukta . After witnessing the twig sprout with their own eyes, they believed that such miracles were possible through the grace of Bhagavan Maha-Vishnu . The Desai, himself, who used to scoff the Vedas, became a faithful Vaishnava and upheld the Vedas, with Raghavendra Swami as his guiding light.

Raghavendra Swami, while performing miracles clearly stated that what he did was not magic or sorcery or witchcraft . It was not Patanjali's yoga, but the yoga of Bhagavan Maha-Vishnu . The aim of his miracles was to remove the suffering of those devotees who seek refuge in Bhagavan Vishnu and thus attract people towards Vaishnavism .

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!!

SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev

[Guest guest]

Dear Rajeev Prabhu, Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupad! Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you so much for sharing the nectar of KC through your many contributions. Most notably about the ones on Guruvayur and now on the life of the great acarya Sri Raghavendra Swami. I am an ardent devotee of this acarya and He still guides me in my Krishna bhakti. However I noticed a slight difference in your narration especially on the part of the acarya taking to sanyasa. According to the authorised literatures it was Mother Saraswathi Devi (the Goddess of Learning) who encouraged Him to take to monkhood. It is apparently stated in the Raghavendra Vijaya as established by the now famous writer Sri Amman Sathiyanathan who has painstakingly researched and still researching and compiling the life and miracles of Sri Raghavendra. Myself and the devotee community will be

very pleased to get your comments on this. He is indeed a great acarya who tirelessly propagated Hari bhakti throughout south India as per the Madhva sampradaya. I have personally visited his shrine which faces the Udupi Sri Krishna temple. The shrine is erected at the exact spot where He used to sit and meditate on the Lord as well as compile His many granthas on Krishna bhakti. I prefer to sit at His shrine to chant my japa. It was indeed a peaceful experience. I would encourage all devotees regardless of their sampradaya to visit this shrine during their next pilgrimage to Udupi. It will be truly a spiritually uplifitng experience for all. My heartfelt thanks to all devotees who had shared their spiritual realisations and look forward to more of such kc nectar. May Sri Krishna, Srila Prabhupada and Sri Raghavendra Swamy bless us all with continued devotional service. Hare Krishna! Haribol! Respectfully, Sudakaran Sangaransrikrishnadasa_rajeev <srikrishnadasa_rajeev wrote: Hare Krishna ! . Dandavat Pranam to Bhagavan Sri Krishna and all Vaishnavas !

Sri Raghavendra Swami was one of the great proponents of Vaishnavism . For nearly 50 years, he was the head of one of the great pItha-s of Vaishnavism . He is widely believed to be an avatara of Prahlada ; and he chose as his Brindavan Manchaale(Mantralaya) on the bank of the Tungabadhra, where Prahlada had performed his yajna in krita yuga. It is said that the stone used for the Brindavan was sanctified by the touch of Sri Rama and Sita in the treta yuga. His nephew, Narayanacharya, wrote Raghavendra Vijaya, which gives a full account of the life of this great Vaishnava saint . Sri Raghavendra Swami was born in 1595 in Kaveripattana, Tamil Nadu to Thimmanna Bhatta and Gopikamba. His ancestors were of the Gautama Gotra . He was named Venkatanatha as he was born by the grace of Lord Venkateshwara. When his father was performing akSharAbhyAsa, Venkatanatha asked how a small letter like Om can explain the great God. The father was overjoyed that his son understood that the God cannot be fully explained by one small letter. Venkatanatha's Upanayanam was performed in chaitra mAsa, when he was 8 years old. Although his father passed away by then, Venkatanatha did not consider himself an orphan, as he considered Bhagavan Narayana as his father and Gayathri, who reveals Him, as every twice-born's real mother . Venkatanatha studied yajur veda, maNimanjari, and anumadhvavijaya at Madurai . His powers of meditation were shown when his water from doing sandyAvandan happened to fall on a dry seed, which sprouted . He also developed an

expertise in playing the Veena, so he became known as Veena Venkata Bhatta . Upon returning from Madurai, he was married to Saraswati, who was from a noble family. The Shastras say that for one who has control of his senses, wedded life does not hamper learning. For Venkatanatha, most of his learning occurred after marrying Saraswati . So Venkatanatha went to Kumbhakonam, the seat of learning at the time. There, he studied under Sri Sudindrateerta.He used to stay awake past midnight to write his own comments and notes on the lessons that had been done. Once, he

engaged in a debate and defeated a mAyAvAdi at Rajamannar temple. Though his victory was not unexpected Acharya Sri Sudhindra tirtha was surprised at his scholarship in grammar, profound knowledge and rare debating skill, and called him "Mahabhashya Venkatanathacharya" . Similarly he explained the significance of taptamudra dhAraNa quoting several smR^iti-s that the opponents had to accept his arguments were irrefutable. He had a son, Lakshminarayana. Although he and his family were in stark poverty, he was unaffected by it, being immersed in the sweet nectar of Vaishnavism . Not even once did he give up his teachings and learning; he was steadfast in his determination to live by whatever came to him unsought and unasked. Still, when his master asked him to take sanyAsA, he found himself in a grave dilemma. For one thing, he knew that if he took sanyAsA, he would eventually have to take control of the

maTha. While trying to find a solution to this problem, Goddess Maha-Lakshmi Herself appeared before him. She told him that if such great people like himself did not spread the right philosophy, that of Vaishnavism the maTha-s would fall into ruin. The light of Vaishnavism would be extinguished by the darkness of Mayavada . Understanding where his true duty lay, Venkatanatha obeyed the Divine Mother Maha-Lakshmi and took sanyAsA. Acharya Sri Sudhindra initiated Venkatanatha on the second day of the bright half of PAlguNa mAsa in the year durmati corresponding to the year 1621.He was given the holy name "Raghavandra Tirtha". Miracles Although Raghavendra Swami performed various miracles, the most significant miracle

lies in the vast literature he left behind & his contribution to the philosophy of Vaishnavism . He wrote extensive commentaries on the upanishads, bhagavad gIta, vedAs, as well as several texts . The Tanjavore district was under a great drought at that time. Raghavendra Swami made the ruler perform appropriate rituals and ceremonies. Soon afterwards, rain once again fell upon the lands. The king, to show his gratitude offered Raghavendra Swami a priceless necklace, which Raghavendra Swami in turn put into the Yajna as an offering to Bhagavan Maha-Vishnu, who had really brought the region out of the drought. The king grew angry at what he thought was an insult . Raghavendra Swami immediately brought back the necklace from the fire. The king, realizing

that for one who renounced the world a necklace meant nothing, asked for Raghavendra Swami's forgiveness. Raghavendra Swami visited Bijapur, where the scorching heat was unbearable. One brahmin was overcome by the heat and fell down, unable to get up. Raghavendra Swami recited a mantra, and water sprung up from the scorching sands, which saved the Brahmin's life . In another instance, a child was traveling with an entourage, through a desert . The heat was so unbearable that the child started to cry . Raghavendra Swami threw his upper cloth towards the child . Flying through the air, it gave shade to the child for the rest of the journey . At that time there was a Desai who had no faith in God or the Vedas . He would challenge scholars to make a twig sprout, using Vedic mantras . No one was able to do this . So then the people called Raghavendra Swami to prove to the Desai the power of the Vedas . He sprinkled some water on the twig while reciting a Vedic mantra . Right before the Desai's eyes, the twig began to sprout . This incident instilled deep faith in the hearts of many scholars who were present . They had heard that Raghavendra Swami, in his earlier days, had made the cool sandalwood paste burn, by reciting the Agni Sukta, then made it cool again by reciting Varuna Sukta . After witnessing the twig sprout with their own eyes, they believed that such miracles were possible through the grace of Bhagavan Maha-Vishnu . The Desai, himself, who used to scoff the

Vedas, became a faithful Vaishnava and upheld the Vedas, with Raghavendra Swami as his guiding light. Raghavendra Swami, while performing miracles clearly stated that what he did was not magic or sorcery or witchcraft . It was not Patanjali's yoga, but the yoga of Bhagavan Maha-Vishnu . The aim of his miracles was to remove the suffering of those devotees who seek refuge in Bhagavan Vishnu and thus attract people towards Vaishnavism . Om Namo Bhagavate

Vasudevaya!!! SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev

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