- Sri Matam -
SRI GNANANANDA GIRI PEETAM
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DEVOTION, CULTURE, SERVICE
- Descendent of the (Kashmir) Jyothir Matam Lineage of Sri Adi Shankaracharya -
Thatha Swamigal
Whilst talking about HH Sri Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Varya Jagathguru Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal of Jyotir Mutt (Sathgurunathar), one repeatedly remembers what He said:
"No one can write my life because it has not been on the surface for men to see."
"Thatha Swamigal" is the affectionate title by which many people, young and old, including well-known saints, use to refer to Sathgurunathar in reference to his "thatha" (grandfather) like nature and with respect towards the thousands of years Gurunathar has stayed on Earth. The legacy of Sathgurunathar is known by many and below is a description of the type of saint He was and continues to be, by our very own HH Jagathguru Sri Namananda Giri Swamigal:
"Sages like Sri Gnanananda Giri Swami are siddha purusha-s. They live beyond times. One could gauge the history of these great saints only from the incidents one comes across in their life and the sermons they give from time to time. Yet, they may not be the complete biography. These saints appear in places at their will and disappear from the scene once the purpose of their avatar is over. They live for long. They have no date of birth or date of demise. Even when He was living and adorning the Peetam of Tapovanam, there were 'samadhis' for Gurunathar in the far off Kadirgamam in Sri Lanka and at Rajasthan in India [just to name a few]. When we have proof of His having lived during the days of Kabirdas, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Brahmananda, we realise that He is beyond the confines of times."
A GREAT SAINT AMONG SAINTS
HH Sri Abinava Vidhyathirtha Mahaswamigal
One morning after poojas were over at Thapovanam, Gurunathar gathered everyone around and announced that a great human being was about to arrive and to be prepared to receive them with full honours. In accordance, everyone waited at the entrance. Soon after, Sri...
HH Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal
There have been many instances in which Gurunathar took to his room and stayed in there for a long period of time. It is known by many that He is normally performing a Yogic act during these moments. At one such time, Gurunathar came out after two hours and announced...
Sathya Sai Baba
During a visit of Namaji's to Puttapathi, Sathya Sai Baba was giving a discourse about the great spiritual leaders of our country. Baba had said there is one saint who is beyond time and He is none other than the saint at Thirukkovilur, who is known as Swami Gnanananda Giri. Namaji...
Sri Swami Sivananda
Once, Guruji and Namaji attended the Jayanthi celebrations of Swami Sivananda at Rishikesh. Before, leaving to Rishikesh, they informed Sathgurunathar who exaplained to them in detail the glory of Swami Sivananda. With Gurunathar's blessings, they left to attend the celebration...
Rama Krishna Paramahamsa & Swami Vivekananda
HH Jagathguru Sri Gnananda Giri Swamigal, as a Paramahamsa Parivrajaka (a wandering monk) wandered across the world encountering many saints at different stages during a period of at least two centuries. His Holiness hardly ever spoke of these encounters though save for...
These are only some of the many saints Sathgurunathar is said to have known and interacted with. Timeless, ageless and having many samadhis in many names across India, Sathgurunathar is summed up beautifully in the book “Sadguru Gnanananda” released by Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan Mumbai -
“In Truth the man who has realised atman is everywhere and lives forever. He is the young Ramana fleeing towards Arunachala and he is also the priest who fed him on the way. He is the hermit who meditated in the forest in the days of the rajahs and he is the sannyasi who met Auveyar. He is Yajnavalkya who revealed to King Janaka the Upanishad of Being, and he is the Rishi who in primordial times heard the Vedas. Is he not Shiva himself seated under the forest banyan tree, clothes in his tiger skin, and casting a withering eye with his median at Kama, alluring Love, who was trying to distract him - or another day giving silent instruction, [as] Dakshinamurti, to Brahma’s four sons who did not know the highest wisdom? He is the Without-Form, the Non-born, who shows something of himself in every form and appears afresh in every birth.”
In short, He was the Parabrahmam. Hence, He is the Grandfather of all saints who themselves are all a reflection of the same Parabrahma. He is Thatha Swamigal.
