Kodaikanal: April 21-22, 2017

Jagadgurus at Kodaikanal

Sri Mahasannidhanam and Sri Sannidhanam arrived at the hill station of Kodaikanal to a warm welcome by devotees at around 6:30 pm on April 21, 2017. Sri Mahasannidhanam inaugurated a building named “Sri Bharati Tirtha Kripa”. After Dhuli Pada Pooja by Sri Bharatan, Veda Ghosha and prayer took place in the public function organised on the occasion. Swagata Patrikas were read in Sanskrit and Tamil to welcome the Jagadgurus to Kodaikanal. Sri Mohan Srinivas and Sri Dinakaran of Aruppukkottai spoke on the occasion offering their Pranams to the Jagadgurus.

ANUGRAHA BHASHANAMS

In His Anugraha Bhashanam, Sri Sannidhanam said that His Paramaguru and His Guru had graced Kodaikanal in the past despite the strenuousness of arriving on one day and returning on the next day because of the devotion of the residents. Some wonder if the Sringeri Jagadguru will ever grace a small town or a place that is not easy to reach or has little amenities. It must be remembered that the Vijaya Yatra is essentially undertaken for Dharma Prachara and to reach out to sincere devotees. When a disciple serves the Guru, the Guru bestows what he needs. If the the the disciple is a seeker of knowledge, the Guru instructs accordingly. If the disciple is not such a seeker, the Guru blesses him in accordance to his needs and eligibility. It is essential to have Guru Bhakti to attain Shreyas.

Sri Mahasannidhanam in His Anugraha Bhashanam stated that the objective of Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada was to make people understand the tenets of Vedanta, expound Self-Knowledge and the need to remove ignorance; make them tread the path of welfare and bring about their Shreyas. Sri Mahasannidhanam quoted the famous verse from the Madhaviya Shankara Digvijaya that highlights the Avatara of Adi Shankaracharya –

अज्ञानान्तर्गहनपतितान् आत्मविद्योपदेशैः
त्रातुम् लोकान् भवदवशिखातापपापच्यमानान् ।
मुक्त्वा मौनं वटविटपिनो मूलतो निष्पतन्ती
शंभोर्मूर्तिः चरति भुवने शङ्कराचार्यरूपा ॥

In order to uplift the jivas who are struggling in the boundless dense forests of ignorance and suffering due to the flames of the forest fire of Samsara, Lord Parameshwara (Dakshinamurti) left His place under the banyan tree, gave up remaining silent and moves around the word in the form of and moves around in this world as Shankaracharya.

Sri Mahasanidhanam remembered that He had first come to Kodaikkanal accompanying His Guru in 1983 at the request of devotees led by Dharmatma Vaidyasubramania Iyer. Sri Mahasannidhanam also mentioned that He had later come during His subsequent Vijaya Yatra and had come now bringing along Sri Sannidhanam to bless the devotees.

Later that evening, Sri Sannidhanam performed the Chandramoulishwara Pooja and Sri Chakra Pooja.

VISIT TO KURINJI AANDAVAR TEMPLE

The following morning, Sri Sannidhanam had Darshan at the Kurinji Aandavar temple. After granting Darshan to devotees in Kodaikanal in the forenoon, the Ubhaya Jagadgurus started for the famous Kshetram of Palani in the afternoon.