Lord Shiva came down on Earth once as Sri Dakshinamurthy and another time as Sri Adi Shankaracharya Bhagavatpadhaal to spread Sanadhana Dharma which was done so successfully on a large scale. Gaudapadacharya was succeeded by Govinda Bhagavatpadhaal. It was to Govinda Bhagavatpadhaal, Sri Adi Shankara became a disciple of. Of Adi Shankara's four chiefs disciples, Sri Thotakacharya was known foremost for his guru bhakti, guru seva and his utmost devotion to his guru and of the four aamnaaya Mutts Adi Shankara established, Thotakacharya was placed as the first madaathipathi of the Jyothir matam in Kashmir, Srinagar.

 

This guru parampara has a special trait that the other three Mutts lack. Only in this guru parampara, the right to become the next madaathipathi is not based on someone’s scholarliness, background, or even their willingness to become a saint.

 

Then what is needed to become the next madaathipathi?

 

An unshakeable guru bhakti and whole-hearted guru seva. Only through their guru’s arul (ultimate blessing), will they become the next madaathipathi. This has been followed all the way from Adi Shankara and throughout this guru parampara.

 

With the mindset of "the guru is everything and the only truth is Parabrahmam," the saints in this lineage are very difficult to know about normally. Only if they themselves choose to reveal anything about themselves, one can find out about them. Looking at it this way, this guru parampara is the only one in which Parabrahmam himself takes form as a saint on earth repeatedly throughout this lineage. This is the truth. It also explains how the saints that come in this lineage can stay for long periods of time without anyone really knowing how long exactly they have stayed for.

 

As the days went, invasions by neighbouring countries, colonisation, problems regarding Kashmir when India and Pakistan split, caused the Jyothir Matam in Kashmir to disappear at one point. The Jyothir matam in Badrinath, Kashmir, now was newly built in 1943 by the people. Even for this, other than it being known as the first matam Adi Shankara established, there was no information known of it. However, even if not much was known and the Jyothir Matam disappeared at one point, the lineage following from Tottakacharya never disappeared and did continue. HH Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal once produced the official document and showed it to His disciples HH Swami Haridas Giri Swamigal and HH Swami Namananda Giri Swamigal which attributed the ownership of Jyothir Matam in Adi Shankara's name itself. HH Swami Nirinjanananda Giri has followed in their footsteps in declaring the origin of the lineage. The time has been taken to put together what is known of each saint the Giri lineage has followed from.