गुरू ब्रह्मा गुरू विष्णु, गुरु देवो महेश्वरा ।
गुरु साक्षात परब्रह्म, तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नम:।।
Jagadguru Swami Sri Nischalananda Saraswatiji Maharaj, The 145th Shankaracharya of Puri, is the inspiration behind our initiative of Tulasi Vanam – The Hindu World. This brief essay gives us an overview of the life and message of His Holiness. We are blessed to be living during His Divine presence.
On ashadha krishna trayodashi, back in Samvat 2000 (June 30, 1943), that the sacred land of Mithila was blessed with the appearance of who we now know as Jagadguru Swami Nischalananda Saraswatiji Maharaj, The Shankaracharya of Puri Math, Govardhan Peeth.
He was born as Nilambar, the youngest son of Sri Lalvanshi Jha and Smt. Gita Devi, in a village called Haripur Baxi Tol, Madhubani district. Sri Lalvanshi Jha was the head scholar at the court of the king of Darbhanga. His parents passed away at a young age, thus, He was brought up by His aunt and elder brothers and sisters. They left no stone unturned in nurturing young Nilambar (also called “Ghuran”) with great values and kathas of Bhagavan. There were many miracles around the life of the young boy who drew the attention of the entire village with His unique brilliant persona. Soon, Nilambar joined His elder brother in Delhi to pursue His studies.
When He was in high school He overheard the dialogues of the Ram-leela while strolling on the terrace. He thought to himself that when our prabhu Bhagavan Ram could go to live in the forest for 14 long years in order to protect dharma and lift the weight off the earth, then, it is our duty to live a life of austerity in order to work for the same. At this moment, he vowed to offer his life to protect the symbols of sanatana dharma and surrendered to it, fully.
In His youth, Nilambar was deeply engrossed in community development activities in His village, theatre and the aradhana of Bhagavan. He was blessed by His Kula-Devi, Manasa Devi (also called Vish-hara Devi), with the power to cure the impact of snake bites. Through this, He healed many people while His spiritual quest only deepened.
At the age of about 17, He accepted Dharma Sarmrat Karpatriji Maharaj as His Guru. He was given the name Dhruvachaitanya by Swami Sri Naradanand Saraswati of Naimisharanya. He lived in important sacred dhams like Kashi, Vrindavan, Naimisharanya, Badrikashram, Puri, Sringeri etc and dedicated all His time to the study of vedas and shastras. Dhruvachaitanya joined Dharma Samrat Karpatriji Maharaj’s agitation for cow protection (1966). He was jailed in Tihar for over a month with due to this. Swami Sri Karpatriji Maharaj gave Him sannyasa on vaisakha krishna ekadashi, Samvat 2031 (April 18,1974) at Haridwar and He was given the name Nischalananda Saraswati. He continued with His studies and scholarly pursuits as part of which He attended five Chaturmas periods under the previous Shankaracharya of Puri Peetha Swami Niranjanadevji Tirtha Maharaj, and was under His tutelage for the study of specific grantha-s. Impressed by His brilliance and dedication, the Purvacharya anointed Nischalananda Saraswati as the 145th Shankaracharya of Puri Math, Govardhan Peeth.
Today, even at the age of 83, undeterred, His penance continues as He travels with utmost simplicity, across Bharat to protect the symbols of sanatana dharma, and guide millions of Hindus as The Shankaracharya.
Jagadguru Swami Nischalananda Saraswatiji Maharaj is great scholar of Vedic mathematics and has authored over one hundred and sixty books. He continues to write and give discourses in important institutes like ISRO, IIT, etc. Jagadguru in consulted by mathematicians and scientists from world over, some also belonging to very esteemed institutes. You will be fascinated to know that at this age, although belonging to a much older generation, Jagadguru works on a laptop. He says that we must never stop learning, no matter what age or how accomplished we may be.
Since the list of His contributions to the Hindus and Bharat are too vast to detail for the scope of this essay would briefly mention few of the areas of His major involvement here. Cow protection, raising a voice against Christian conversions particularly under Mother Teresa when it peaked, steering the Ram Janma Bhoomi movement, protection of Ram Setu, campaign to free Hindu temples from government control, effort for Ghar Wapsi of large number of Hindus, raising concerns on the plight of Hindus from Kashmir, Bangladesh etc, taking a strong position against ‘divide and rule’ used by governments, environmental protection and importance of cleaning of sacred river, starting Samudra Arti (Mahodadhi Aarti) at Puri, setting up of Aditya Vahini and Anand Vahini for protecting Hindu society, etc. are some of these.
Pujyapad’s efforts are creating a silent but giant movement for Hindu rise. At the very heart of His campaigns is Svasth Kranti or a Healthy Revolution for Hindu rise for the goal of Hindu Rashtra without which He rightly says, we cannot achieve much. We do need a system of governance that is aligned with Vedic Arya sanatana dharma, and this can be achieved once our great sanatani traditions and values start reviving in the lives of Hindus.
It is absolutely astounding how Jagadguru has impacted large numbers of youth of Bharat through His yatras and the YouTube transmission of His discourses. His charisma and knowledge have drawn people from all walks of life towards sanatana dharma – from political Hindus, to liberals, communists to those who have been following neo-Gurus and cults from generations. His Holiness says that our heart always welcomes the truth, and this can be observed through the life changing impact of His discourses, that embody truth, alone.
Jagadguru is known for not mincing His words and not shying away from addressing controversial issues faced by the Hindus ranging from political concerns to the rising degeneration and objectification of women in Hindu society. He clarifies our doubts by elaborating boldly on topics like the varnashrama system, the value of Manusmriti and our problematic Indian education system. The lucidity and philosophical grounding of his words, convince the listener. He keeps His language pure and of high standards, urging us to work on improving our comprehension and mental level to learn better.
His Holiness points out that there needs to be a deeper philosophical revolution towards Hindu value systems and principles (which are quite contrary to the current system of education and mass belief), and only this can pave way to making of a Hindu Rashtra in the future. Without a shift in our ways which are merely aping Western ideologies, there is no way that we would be to accept a real Hindu Rashtra, ourselves. We need to build individuals and a society that is healthy, secure, service-oriented, well-cultured and prosperous. This can happen when we have a governance that facilitates such a development, functions without bias and exploiting others. And, this is possible if it is based on sanatani systems.
The dominance of Islam, Christianity and communism, is a symptom of Hindu weakness. If Hindus strengthen, these ideologies stand nowhere. This way He urges us to take full responsibility of the mess we are in and work towards rectifying it. This weakness we have is due to us cutting away from our traditional lineages of Acharyas and being concerned only with our own personal lives, ignoring Hindu society, Bharat and dharma. Even our prayers are limited to “me and mine”. This must change.
Instead of being drowned in materialism, Hindus must start following the ways of their ancestors, their dharma Gurus and their rich granth-s (scriptures). Those who follow the dharma shall alone be able to live through challenging times we face today. The best source to learn about dharma is from Guru-mukh. Only if we know what dharma is, we can follow it and protect ourselves from downfall and destruction.
The way forward for us is to connect with Guru, granth and Govind, and start bringing the ingredients of dharma in our own lives. Change starts with us at an individual level and then spreads to our families, and community building. Jagadguru reminds us of the importance of helping each other and that without collective strength, no efforts can fruit.
If we wish to have a happy and peaceful life now and beyond, we need to remember Bhagavan, self-purify and build the right energy and spiritual power in our lives to attain noble goals. We must constantly strive to strike a balance between principles and relationships and live in a way that reflects harmony of philosophical grounding, practicality and science.
As fellow Hindus, we urge you to start connecting with Jagadguru Swami Sri Nischalananda Saraswatiji Maharaj, The Shankaracharya of Puri Math. It is our own personal experience that invokes a deep desire to see other Hindus become a part of a healthy revolution under the guidance of a great Mahatma. We are indeed blessed to be born during His Divine presence amongst us.
Never think it is too late or too difficult to start following dharma. Begin from where you are in life. Do what you can but act, since every drop adds to the ocean and no effort is a waste. What is in our destiny would be done by us alone, be it something big or small, it does not matter.
Our sincere wish is that the message of Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji reaches as many homes as possible and people start connecting with His Holiness to receive blessings, diksha and guidance as part of this grand Hindu movement.
A heartfelt thanks to you for subscribing to us and supporting us in our effort for the Hindu world. We request you to share our articles with friends and family to spread the light of our ancient sanatani wisdom.
स्वस्त्यस्तु विश्वस्य खल: प्रसीदतां ध्यायन्तु भूतानि शिवं मिथो धिया ।
मनश्च भद्रं भजतादधोक्षजे आवेश्यतां नो मतिरप्यहैतुकी ॥ ९ ॥
Srimadbhagvatam sloka (5.18.9)
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