Kanchi Maha Periyava:
Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyava meaning “The great elder” was the 68th jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. His discourses were recorded in a book titled “Deivathin Kural’‘ in the meaning of Voice of God.
Birth And Early Life:
- Kanchi Maha Periyava was born on the 20th of May in 1894 as Swaminathan Sharma at Villupuram, south Arcot district of Tamilnadu. Being born in a kannada brahmin family, kanchi maha periyava is the second child of the couple subrahmanya sastri and Mahalakshmi.
- He got his Upanayanam– a traditional ritual for initiation of schooling in Hinduism at Tindivanam in 1905. He became well-versed in Vedas, Puranas, various Hindu epic texts, and Indian literature and started performing pooja as well.
- Later on, he ascended kanchi kamakoti peetam and became the 68th Acharya after the demise of 66th Acharya Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati VI and 67th Acharya his maternal cousin. There he got his sanyasa name as chandhrashekarendhra Saraswathi.
- During his 15th age, he was trained in various aspects in 1909 and studied under Pandits at Kumbakonam for 2 years. He then continued his studies during the years 1911 to 1914 and returned to Kumbakonam in 1915 at the age of 21.
Books on Kanchi Maha Periyava:
- A Search in Secret India
- Voice of God
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Vijayam.
- Paramacharya of Kanchi: A spiritual and human relationship
- Hindu Dharma: The Universal Way of Life
- The Vedas
- Voice of the Guru/The Guru Tradition
- Sri Sankara Bhagavatpadacarya’s Soundarya Lahari
- Introduction to Hindu Dharma
- GEMS from the Paramacharya
- Mahaswami 100
- Moment of a Lifetime
- Mahaswami Darshan
- The Saint and Sangita
- Eternal Bliss (Vol. I & II – Medium Size)
Maha Periyava’s Contributions:
- Spreads knowledge and spiritual journey across the country
- Devotional practices daily rituals poojas, Vedas, etc
- Various became his devotees
- Create simple practices to increase devotion, Rama
- Got the name Junagadh Guru (master of the universe)
- Renowned many temples in India
- Helped Vedic priests with their pronunciation of Sanskrit.
- Carry out Agama Sastra technics by describing cosmology, philosophy, etc
- He allowed devotees inside the temple that day India became independent.
- He gave a speech on the significance of the flag and Dharma chakra.
Spiritual Leadership:
Maha Periyava always tried his best to relieve his devotees’ stress through his speech and emphasize the importance of a Guru in one’s life. He frequently speaks about the importance of following the obligation path. His discourse is called “Deivathin Kural”(Voice of the Divine).
Kanchi Mahaperiyava’s Impact on Indian Liberation Movement:
- He showed a grateful path to freedom and to the rise of the modern nation.
He worked for:
- Social unity,
- National integration,
- Cultural improvement,
- Spiritual awakening
- Science,
- Architecture,
- Art and
- Music.
- Maha Periyava helped Indian National Congress leader F.G. Natesa Iyer, a 30-year-old man who was satisfied with Mahaperiyava’s answer to his doubts and reconverted to Hinduism from Christianity. When he was ten he converted to Christianity by one Englishmen.
- In India’s independence, he helped and physically guided people for forty years before Independence and forty-seven years after to shape the country’s progress with his knowledge.
- He advised political leaders to connect with people.
- He was standing for the nation to take a traditional cloth and omit “foreign cloth”.
Discourses:
- Mahaperiyava traveled across the country on a palanquin and started giving discourses.
- On several occasions, he talked about diverse aspects of
- 1) Dharma
- 2) Ancient Culture
- 3) Variety of Subjects.
- The discourse “Deivathin Kural” was compiled by R.Ganapathy and published in multiple languages. And has seven sets of publications featuring.
- His discourses were well-researched and well-advised. He advised his devotees through his discourse. He made funds for schools.
Why Is Kanchi Maha Periyava Famous:
Maha Periyava also known as the sage of Kanchi, was called and considered a ” walking god” by his devotees. That is because he helped and performed plenty of miracles to provide relief from their problem to his followers who came to see him.
Sage of Kanchi:
- Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati is popularly known as Sage of Kanchi because of his divinity.
- He was an Indian godly person and became the 68th head of the Kanchipuram monastery in 1907.
Sadaisiva Sastri:
- Mahaperiyava’s brother is Sri Sadasivan, also known as Sivan SAR. He was born in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. Mahaperiyava said that Sri Sivan SAR at birth was a Jnani meaning “Mother“.
- He wrote a book titled as Yenippadigalil Maanthargal. This book outlines the characteristics of the 11 stages of human life.
- Paavi, 2) Pamaran, 3) Viveki, 4) Sadhu, 5) Sirandha Viveki, 6) Muttrina Viveki, 7) Deiva Viveki, 8) Devia Sadhu, 9) Mahaan, 10) Gynani, 11) Thuravi.
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham:
- Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is also called the Sri kanchi Matham or the Sri Kanchi Monastery. Maha Periyava was the 68th Jagadgutu Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
- Kamakoti referred to Goddess Durga. Kancheepuram is referred to as kanchi. It is a Hindu institution, in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
- It was established by Adi Shankara and has the distinction of an unbroken line of 70 Spiritual leaders. One of the five Pancha-bootha-sthalas (Temples donating “5 elements”).
That represents,
- Earth(Kanchipuram),
- Sky(Chidambaram),
- Air(Kalahasti),
- Fire(Thiruvannamalai),
- Water(Thiruvanaikoli).
- Today Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is the most important religious institution of
South India.
Divine Thoughts Of Maha Periyava:
- “The medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows is to develop unshakable faith in God and tolerance is the medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows. Bhakti alone can give us the capacity to put up with sorrows. Temples are the agencies for developing Bhakti. Hence, the a need for temples at all places. All offerings to the deities in the temples are tokens of our gratitude to God”.
- “That which is within all, which is seen as “This” is the source. He who is within and sees as “This” is God. It is the reality. It is in yourself. What is limited is Sadhana; what is unlimited is the end”.
Miracles Of Kanchi Maha Periyava:
- kanchi Maha Periyava known as the Sage of Kanchi,
- His millions of followers considered him a ‘walking god’.
- He had performed lots of miracles for his followers who came to see him.
- For his devotees, he is a ‘loka kshemam‘ or ‘welfare of the world‘.
- He believed in the ‘productor and student of the Vedas‘.
- He was well-versed in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, English, and French.
- Many great people get intellectual benefits from his ‘darshan’.
- He has extraordinary insight and morality.
- He treated everyone with equal love and care.
Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Golden Quotes:
- “Man is subject to all kinds of hardships and misfortunes”.
- “There is no point in speaking to people who have either no faith or refuse to
develop it through their own experience”.
- “People don’t realize that to be free means to be firmly attached to a system,
that discipline is the road to a higher freedom”.
Kanchi Maha periyava Advice:
- “ நம் தாயாகிய பூமி, நமது விருப்பங்கள் அனைத்தையும் நமக்கு அளிக்க தயாராக இருக்கிறாள். அவளைப் பாதுகாத்து போற்றுங்கள்”.
“Our mother earth is ready to give us all of our options. Protect and admire her”.
- “அன்பினால் பிறருடைய குற்றத்தை திருத்தும் போது மட்டுமே நிலையான பலன் கிடைக்கும்”.
“The lasting benefit comes only when love corrects the guilt of others”.
- “நல்ல விஷயத்தில் மட்டுமே கவனம் செலுத்தி வந்தால் மனம் பளிங்கு போல துாய்மையாக இருக்கும்”….
“The mind is as pure as marble if it focuses only on the good”.