- Sri Matam -
SRI GNANANANDA GIRI PEETAM
®
DEVOTION, CULTURE, SERVICE
- Descendent of the (Kashmir) Jyothir Matam Lineage of Sri Adi Shankaracharya -
Teachings of the Jyothir Matam Lineage
Dhakshinamurthy samarambhaam |
Shankaracharya madhyamaam ||
Asmath aacharya paryanthaam |
Vanthe Guru paramparaam ||
தக்ஷிணாமூர்த்தி சமாரம்பாம் |
சங்கராச்சார்ய மத்தியமாம் ||
அஸ்மத் ஆச்சார்ய பர்யந்தாம் |
வந்தே குரு பரம்பராம் ||
In this great lineage of Gurus, preceded by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, Sri Thotakacharya and Sri Sivarathna Giri Swamigal, came our very own Sathgurunathar, Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Varya Jagathguru Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal. Of the many saints who were His disciples, Jagathguru Sri Haridhas Giri Swamigal, known as Guruji to His devotees, was hand picked as His chief disciple by Sathgurunathar. In this lineage, next came Jagathguru Sri Namananda Giri Swamigal, Namaji to His devotees, who also served both Sathgurunathar and Guruji before taking sanyasam in the lineage. He was followed by the current Guru in this esteemed lineage, Jagathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal, Swamiji to His devotees, who after seventeen years of serving both Guruji and then Namaji, also took sanyasam in this lineage.
The lineage that descended through Jagathguru Sri Haridhas Giri Swamigal is known to propagate Namasankeerthanam, is what most devotees will say. However, Namasankeerthanam is only one part of the wider teaching of their Guru, Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Varya Jagathguru Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal, that the Gurus of this lineage tried to instil time and time again. As one would teach the first lessons of knowledge to kindergarten school children, they did this through devotional songs/bhajans and stories of saints and sants, and by celebrating grand festivals in the hope that even amongst the pleasures and perils of this world, devotees would find it within themselves to re-ignite their humaneness through invoking the Lord’s name again and again. That is the purpose of human birth. To serve and to reach God. “The purpose of us having greatly escaped all other forms of birth and to have taken this greatest of births as a human is to seek the Grace of the Almighty, who is the Most Divine Light of Grace. Therefore we must somehow try and attain His Grace”, Saint Vallalaar said.
Time and time again, Sathgurunathar lived, taught and showed, Guruji spoke ceaselessly, Namaji sacrificed and showed and Swamiji once again came full circle to live, teach and show by His life, the essence of our very own Ten Commandments:
1.
Always speak the truth.
2.
Never hurt anyone or any living creature.
3.
Never waste this rare and precious human birth in gossip and telling tales and wasteful speech about other people.
4.
To always, again and again, seek the answer for ‘Who am I?’ and not ‘Who is she or he or they?’.
5.
To always serve the less fortunate in whatever way we can. Not just with money. With our hearts and souls.
6.
To never be the cause of hurt or trouble or misfortune for other people or living beings.
7.
To correct and cleanse one’s own self and not judge other people.
8.
To respect the saffron cloth of a Guru irrespective of one’s personal like or dislike of the Guru. To never ever talk ill of a Guru and to never stay in a place where a Guru is becoming criticised and you cannot defend Him or Her.
9.
To treat all human beings equally without prejudice or special treatment based on caste, creed, status, wealth or any such man-made denominations.
10.
To do true Namasankeerthanam - where the ragam and thalam is not important, who is singing well or not is important, where every single person in the place is truly focused on the Lord the namasankeerthanam is being sung to without any distractions.
Namasankeerthanam
Sathgurunathar’s definition of Namasankeerthanam is when the Lord Himself descends amongst the singers to show His appreciation of their true devotion. When it needs so many external arrangements to get a VIP to visit a place, how much more internal arrangements, the cleansing of the character, heart and soul, is needed for the Lord Himself to come.
The 10 Commandments of HH Jagathguru Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal
BE BRISK but NOT HASTY
BE CALM but NOT LAZY
BE ECONOMIC but NOT A MISER
BE KIND but NOT A SLAVE
BE SYMPATHETIC but DO NOT GET DUPED
BE GENEROUS but DO NOT BECOME A BANKRUPT
BE A HERO but NOT A ROGUE
BE DETACHED but DO NOT GO TO THE FOREST
BE A GRAHASTI* but DO NOT BE LUSTY
SEEK THE WISE but DO NOT HATE OTHERS
HH Jagathguru Sri Haridhas Giri Swamigal's (Anubhava Mozhikal)
One
Even to someone like me who knows nothing, my Guru showers His Grace. That is testimony to His love for me.
Two
This world means nothing in comparison to the Guru who showers His love.
Three
True intelligence is having that connection to God who is eternal instead of this perishable world.
Four
You can never repay the love of your Guru. Surrender to it immediately. That is the best way.
Five
To the disciple who comes to Him [seeking spirituality], the Sathguru teaches everything through experiences.
Six
Don’t just say “My body, heart and soul are all dedicated to you, Gurunatha”. Show it through your actions and attitude.
HH Jagathguru Sri Namananda Giri Swamigal's Teachings
HH Jagathguru Sri Namananda Giri Swamigal beautifully consolidates His Gurus’ teachings when saying:
"When you bathe, eat, work, whatever you do in everyday life, remember your Guru constantly within you. Constant Remembrance of the Guru will automatically stop you from thinking, speaking or acting upon evil and baser thoughts. There is no room for pretension in Constant Remembrance. Because your own behaviour in all situations will be the evidence."
Through constant remembrance, one can remember to follow and inculcate within one’s life, the true essence of the teachings of the Guru. Without doing so and without changing our inner self first and foremost, no amount of Gurus descending and teaching will help us reach the goal of human birth. A field needs to ploughed first before seeds can be planted, irrigated, given sunlight and eventually good growth.
HH Jagathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal's Teachings
DEVOTION. CULTURE. SERVICE.
The current Madaathipathi HH Jagathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal took it all a step further and showed this through His actions. He not only tirelessly works to elevate the children of rural areas and poorer families, in their educational, behavioural and spiritual inclusion in a society where they are more or less regarded as lower status, unfortunate and those deemed as untouchables but propagates service to society in every way possible. In a world that is becoming more and more selfish and self centred by the day; where money, status, property, education, power are the only things we seek and want, funding that humaneness within us, and through that, rekindling the love of God within us is so important to face this life with resilience. There is a famous saying in the Tamil language “பொருள் இல்லார்க்கு இவ்வுலகம் இல்லை. அருள் இல்லார்க்கு அவ்வுலகம் இல்லை”. Our Swamiji has explained it countless times. Porul is taken as wealth. No. It does not mean wealth. It means for those who do not have a meaningful life, this world, the five elements that make this world, has no regard for them (Meaningful here means a life that has served others and brought happiness to others). Such people will also not attain the blessings needed to cross the ocean of births and reach the other side, the other world. Instead they will keep on taking one birth after another, not necessarily as human, until they eventually self realise and bring true meaning to life.
To bring change, we need to be the change. Let us start today. And amongst the stresses and strains of life, heed this most important teaching by the Gurus, and do at least one selfless deed a day at least, for the rest of our lives. Bhartrihari, a famous Sanskrit poet, in his “Neeti Shatakam” brings out the importance of human birth in a beautiful sloka:
Paropakaraya Phalanti Vrukshaha |
Paropakaraya Vahanti Nadyaha ||
Paropakaraya Charanti Gaavaha |
Paropakarardha Midam Shareeram ||
Trees bear fruits for others’ sake,
Rivers flow for others’ sake,
Cows wander for others’ sake,
The human body itself is for others’ sake. To serve others.
In accordance with Bhartrihari's poem and HH Swami Niranjanananda's teachings, use the human birth that God has given you for the benefit of others.
