Bhakt Surdas : Great Poetic Saint

As I discussed in my earlier Post about Adi Shankaracharya, that due to server failure, I was unable to publish about Bhakt Surdas, now this is all about him.

There is scanty information about the life of Sant Surdas, (The dates of his date and birth are not really very clear), the medieval poet-singer of Braj the land associated with Lord Krishna. His compositions are in Braj Bhasha a dialect of Hindi that was considered crude at the time. Surdas' works are some of those credited with raising this dialect to a literary status.

Surdas was born blind to poor parents and because of this he was a victim of neglect and abuse. He left home at the tender age of 6.

The greatest blessing of Surdas's life came when Sri Vallabhacharya, the celebrated exponent of the Shuddhadvaita. also known as Pushti Marga, accepted him as his disciple. From his teacher he received knowledge of hindu philosophy.

He memorized the Srimad Bhagavata and other hymns in Sanskrit.

He portrayed in exquisite poetry the life of Krishna, especially child Krishna, in such vivid detail that he has not been equalled by any saint or poet, not even Kalidasa, in describing childhood.

It is one of the marvels in the realms of literature how a blind poet could portray in such meticulous and colourful detail the childhood of Krishna, stage by stage. Krishna's cutting his first tooth, his uttering of the first word, his taking the first step unaided, are all occasions for Surdas to compose inspired songs which are sung even to this day, in hundreds of homes, by mothers who see child Krishna in their own children.

The love that had been denied to him as a child flows by means of his songs on, the love that was showered on Bala Gopala in Braj by Yashoda, Nandagopa, the Gopis and the Gopas.

Surdas never entertained any idea of marriage but saw in Sri Krishna the eternal lover and he portrayed the love between Radha and Krishna as ethereal love-the irresistible attraction the individual soul has for the Oversoul or of the Jivatma for the Paramatma.

His work consists primarily of three major compilations, the Sur-Saravali, the Sahitya-Lahiri and the Sur-Sagar. The Saravali is supposed to have
originally one hundred thousand verses but many have been lost forever. It is based on the analogy of the Holi festival, by far the most popular of the festivals of the time, and always associated with Krishna as part of his Divine Play. Apart from being great narrative poetry they are also significant sources of information about the past.

The Sahitya-Lahiri is supposedly a treatise of various forms of poetical composition, dealing primarily with Bhakti.

The Sur-Sagar is his masterpiece, the ‘Oceanic work’ as its name indicates and remains the most influential and important of all his works. It deals with the life of Krishna in detail.

His fame was wide spread though he never left his native land, even the Mughal emperor Akbar paid homage to him.

Aadi Guru Shankaracharya

In this year 2010, the birthday of Shri Adi Shankaracharya came on 18th of May, but due to the server system failure I was quite unable to publish post about Him. On this day the birthday of Saint Soordas was also there. But I was quite unable to write about both and that is why, I am publishing something about HIM today. I'll try to write about Saint Soordas also. But now, this is only about Aadi Shankaracharya. He was the Great Hindu Saint and the Great Hindu Philosopher. He was the only person who is seemed to be avataar of Lord Shankar and that is why he was quite capable to rebuilt the Sanatan Hindu Dharma in India.

Shri Adi Shankaracharya or the first Shankara with his remarkable reinterpretations of Hindu scriptures, especially on Upanishads or Vedanta, had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism at a time when chaos, superstition and bigotry was rampant. Shankara advocated the greatness of the Vedas and was the most famous Advaita philosopher who restored the Vedic Dharma and Advaita Vedanta to its pristine purity and glory.

Shri Adi Shankaracharya, known as Bhagavatpada Acharya (the guru at the feet of Lord), apart from refurbishing the scriptures, cleansed the Vedic religious practices of ritualistic excesses and ushered in the core teaching of Vedanta, which is Advaita or non-dualism for the mankind. Shankara restructured various forms of desultory religious practices into acceptable norms and stressed on the ways of worship as laid down in the Vedas.

Shankara’s Childhood

Shankara was born in a Brahmin family circa 788 AD in a village named Kaladi on the banks of the river Purna (now Periyar) in the Southern Indian coastal state Kerala. His parents, Sivaguru and Aryamba, had been childless for a long time and the birth of Shankara was a joyous and blessed occasion for the couple. Legend has it that Aryamba had a vision of Lord Shiva and promised her that he would incarnate in the form of her first-born child.

Shankara was a prodigious child and was hailed as ‘Eka-Sruti-Dara’, one who can retain anything that has been read just once. Shankara mastered all the Vedas and the six Vedangas from the local gurukul and recited extensively from the epics and Puranas. Shankara also studied the philosophies of diverse sects and was a storehouse of philosophical knowledge.

Philosophy of Adi Shankara

Shankara spread the tenets of Advaita Vedanta, the supreme philosophy of monism to the four corners of India with his ‘digvijaya’ (the conquest of the quarters). The quintessence of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism) is to reiterate the truth of reality of one’s essential divine identity and to reject one’s thought of being a finite human being with a name and form subject to earthly changes.

According to the Advaita maxim, the True Self is Brahman (Divine Creator). Brahman is the ‘I’ of ‘Who Am I?’ The Advaita doctrine propagated by Shankara views that the bodies are manifold but the separate bodies have the one Divine in them.

The phenomenal world of beings and non-beings is not apart from the Brahman but ultimately become one with Brahman. The crux of Advaita is that Brahman alone is real, and the phenomenal world is unreal or an illusion. Through intense practice of the concept of Advaita, ego and ideas of duality can be removed from the mind of man.

The comprehensive philosophy of Shankara is inimitable for the fact that the doctrine of Advaita includes both worldly and transcendental experience.

Shankara while stressing the sole reality of Brahman, did not undermine the phenomenal world or the multiplicity of Gods in the scriptures.

Shankara’s philosophy is based on three levels of reality, viz., paramarthika satta (Brahman), vyavaharika satta (empirical world of beings and non-beings) and pratibhashika satta (reality).

Shankara’s theology maintains that seeing the self where there is no self causes spiritual ignorance or avidya. One should learn to distinguish knowledge (jnana) from avidya to realize the True Self or Brahman. He taught the rules of bhakti, yoga and karma to enlighten the intellect and purify the heart as Advaita is the awareness of the ‘Divine’.

Shankara developed his philosophy through commentaries on the various scriptures. It is believed that the revered saint completed these works before the age of sixteen. His major works fall into three distinct categories – commentaries on the Upanishads, the Brahmasutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

The most important of the works is the commentaries on the Brahmasutras – Brahmasutrabhashya – considered the core of Shankara’s philosophy of Advaita.

Shankaracharya’s Monastic Centers

Shri Shankaracharya established four ‘mutts’ or monastic centers in four corners of India and put his four main disciples to head them and serve the spiritual needs of the ascetic community within the Vedantic tradition. He classified the wandering mendicants into 10 main groups to consolidate their spiritual strength.

Each mutt was assigned one Veda. The mutts are Jyothir Mutt at Badrinath in northern India with Atharva Veda; Sarada Mutt at Sringeri in southern India with Yajur Veda; Govardhan Mutt at Jaganath Puri in eastern India with Rig Veda and Kalika Mutt at Dwarka in western India with Sama Veda.

It is believed that Shankara attained heavenly abode in Kedarnath and was only 32 years old when he died.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - True Saint

Today is the birthday of Hon'ble Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and this is all about his biography. He is a true saint in my sight. But some of the people of this world who don't like any Hindi minded saint or don't like of spreading light of spiritualism, they always criticizes such kind of people. While I was searching about His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, such kind of one person found on internet who is treating Him as a Fraud Saint. Below is the link, where what has been written about him :

http://www.yunusnews.com/how_genuine_is_sri_sri_ravi_shankar

Not only this, when a number of e-mails had been received, then he decided to create a blog on this topic i.e. "How genuine is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar?" I felt a lot of sadness while reading that article. Anyhow, I am going to discuss about the biography of His holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, although I am neither his disciple nor his devotee, yet I am a true Hindu (The Hinduist) and hence, I regard him from the innermost urge of my heart. I only want to say only this about that person that God might give him a conscious mind.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a renowned spiritual leader and multi-faceted humanitarian whose mission of uniting the world into a violence-free family has inspired millions of people worldwide. The icon of non-violence and universal human values, Sri Sri seeks global peace through service and dialog.

Born in 1956 in southern India, Sri Sri's appeal transcends class, race, religion and nationality. Millions of people revere him as their spiritual leader, and look up to him for inner peace and promoting ecumenical values.

In 1981, Sri Sri started the Art of Living Foundation, an international nonprofit educational and humanitarian organization. The Foundation, now active in more than 140 countries, offers educational and self-development programs designed to eliminate stress and foster a sense of well-being. In Europe and the United States, the Foundation's programs are helping inner city youth turn away from gang violence, drugs and alcohol. Sri Sri's Prison Programs have helped transform the lives of an estimated 150,000 inmates around the world.

In 1997, Sri Sri founded the International Association for Human Values, a humanitarian nonprofit organization that advances human values in political, economic, industrial, and social spheres. In South Asia, South Africa, and Latin America, the Association's sustainable development programs have reached more than 30,000 rural communities.

While his self development programs have popularized traditionally exclusive ancient techniques, Sri Sri's social initiatives address an array of issues such as conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, prisoner rehabilitation, youth leadership, women's empowerment, female foeticide, child labor, and access to education. In Kashmir and Sri Lanka, Sri Sri is working to further dialogue between opposing parties to resolve the conflicts peacefully.

Sri Sri travels to more than 40 countries a year to share his message of social responsibility, and that all great spiritual traditions share common goals and values. His teachings of love, practical wisdom, and service promote harmony among people, and encourage individuals to follow their chosen spiritual path, while honoring other paths.

Dr. Narayan Dutt Shrimali (Amrit Diwas of a True Guru)

Today is the birthday of my Pujya Guruji i.e. Paramhans Swami Shri Nikhileshwaranand Ji Maharaj (Dr. Narayan Dutt Shrimali) i.e. on 21st April. This is a little tribute to HIM from my innermost urge of Heart.

Dr Narayan Dutta Shrimali was a Guru mantra , tantra ,astrology, and ancient Indian sciences.He is considered to be the avatae of the great master of Siddhashram, Paramhans Swami Nikhileswaranand by his disciples.

Dr .Shrimali was married to Bhagwati Devi at an early age of 12. He was inspired by the ancient Indian sciences such as Mantra and Tantra from his childhood . His eagerness to learn the ancient sciences made him quit his home and search for masters in the Himalayas . He wandered in the Himalayas as a Sanyasi .After learning various occult studies such as Mantra, Tantra, Surya Vigyan, Hypnotism, Palmistry, Alchemy from various sages, he finally had the chance of meeting his Guru Paramhans Swami Sachidanand in Siddhashram. After he became complete master and enlightened, his Guru ordered him to go back to his family life and spread his knowledge to the common society. He took up the arduous task of removing the misconceptions of Mantra and Tantra.

Dr.Shrimali was nominated as the President of the World Astrology Conference from amongst representatives of various countries in 1979. He was the president of most of the astrological conferences that happened in India since 1979. In 1987 he was honored with the title of "Tantra Shiromani" by the Para-psychological Council. In 1988 he was honored with the title of "Mantra Shiromani" by the Mantra Sansthan.

Dr.Shrimali was honored with the title of "Maha Mahopadhyay" in 1982 by the then Vice-President of India, Dr.B.D.Jatti. In 1989 he was honored with the title "Samaj Shiromani" by the then Vice-President of India, Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma. In 1991, he was honored by the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Sh.Bhattarai for his unique and singular work in the social and religious fields.