Category Archives: Kashi Mutt, Bangalore

Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha Swamiji – 20th Pontiff of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan, Varanasi

Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha Swamiji was the Twentieth Pontiff and Mathadhipati of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan, Varanasi. As the Dharmaguru of the Gowda Saraswat Brahmins of India, Swamiji had been guiding the community in spiritual matters for the past seven decades. Continue reading Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha Swamiji – 20th Pontiff of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan, Varanasi

Madhva Navami pravachana of Samyamindra Tirtha

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Below is translation of the pravachana of Sri Samyamindra Tirtha rendered on 16 Feb 2016, at Bangalore Kashi Math, on the day of Madhva navami.
[I have provided references at places possible in brackets, translations mistakes are all mine – Girish Prabhu]
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We are Maadhvas!
Today is a great day for all of us. We are Madhvas and today is Madhva navami.
“Madhva sambandhinaH MaadhvaaH”. We follow Maadhva siddhanta.
“ante siddhastu siddhantaH” – this is the final philosophy. After this there has been nothing that has been made ‘siddha’. This is the ultimate philosophy, the concluding one. [ From Yukti Mallika of Sri Vadiraja ]
“anusrutya gacchanti iti anuyaayinah” “yaati iti anuyayina” “yaa gatou”
Since we follow Madhvacharya, we are His anuyayis. Our first guru is Madhva. Our parampara is Maadhva parampara. Continue reading Madhva Navami pravachana of Samyamindra Tirtha

Peetarohana of 21st Mathadipathi Of Shri Kashi Math at Haridwar

I visited Haridwar from 27 Jan to 31 Jan to attend Peetaarohana of Srimad Samyameendra Tirtha swamiji,following Mukthi of Srimad. Sudhindra Tirtha Swamiji at  Haridwar in the early hours of 17th Jan.

Vrindavan of Sudhindra Tirtha has been located inside the Vyasa Mandir at Haridwar  on the circulambulatory path around the inner temple on the right side of Sri Vadavyasa and on the left side of SARASWATI temple .Vrindavan is now in the initial stage of construction.

Aaraadhana Mahotsava was held between 22 and 26th Jan.The weather was chilling cold between 22 max and 6 min.

Peetaarohana was held on 28th Jan in which mover 3500 people from all over India and few from overseas attended. This was a grand function and historical function which heralded the ascension to the peetha of the 21st Guru of  Kashi Math to lead the desciples in the 21st century.

It is the first time that a vrindavan of Kashi math swami is situated in Aaryaavirta,the original habitat of saraswata brahmins.

Gita Jayanti competitions and celebrations 2015

 

A report on the Bhagavad Gita Competitions held on 20th Dec and Gita Jayanti celebrations held on 21st Dec at Bangalore Shri Kashi Math.

There were 5 categories for the competition, 2 additional categories from last year

1)            Age group: less than 10 years

Chanting of verses: 1 to 10 from Chapter 12 of Bhagavadgita

2)            Age group: 10 to 18 years

Chanting of verses: 1 to 20 from Chapter 12 of Bhagavadgita

3)            Age group: greater than 18 years

Vykhyaana/Speak-up (in Konkani, Kannada, or English)

अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च | निर्ममो निरहंकारः सम-दुःख-सुख-क्षमी || (Bh.Gita 12.13)

4)            Quiz competition on Lord Krishna/Mahabharata/Gita.   Members: 2 in a group

5)            Essay competition on ‘Gunas of a Bhakta’ as explained in 12th chapter

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Sri Vasant Madhva Pai and Sri Sriram Nayak were the two judges for the competitions.

The competition started as planned at 9.30 am for the first category of participants. There were around 20 children, both boys and girls, wearing colorful attire and full of enthusiasm. Almost all the kids recited the first 10 verses of 12th chapter of Bhagavadgita with ease and with a wonderful grasp over memory and pronunciation. The youngest participant being Aniruddha Prabhu of age 3 years.

There were around 15 participants for the 2nd category for reciting the first 20 verses. Participants were judged for their memory, pronunciation and presentation.

As usual, the judges had tough time choosing the top 3 in each of the categories.

The 3rd category was for the commentary on the 13th verse of 12th chapter:

अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च | निर्ममो निरहंकारः सम-दुःख-सुख-क्षमी

There were 10 participants for this category and each one was versatile in explaining the different aspects related to the verse and every participant adding a new dimension to the verse for which the meaning looks simple. The time-limit was set to 10 minutes within which the participants were required to summarize their understanding of the verse as they were judged for relevance and their style of presentation.

The 4th category was Essay competition on the ‘Gunas of the Bhakta’ and had to be limited to 4 long sheets, which was provided to the participant. There were again around 10 people who wrote very well on different attributes a devotee should be having.

There was a break for about an hour for lunch and mouth-watering delicacies were available for lunch. The next day being Ekadashi, it was time for everyone to savor as much as possible on the Dashami day.

The 5th category was Quiz competition. There were 14 teams which had to be brought down to 5 teams through elimination questionnaire to enter into the 2nd round and question papers were circulated to the teams. The best 5 were asked to sit on the stage where the next round would start.

The Quiz competition had multiple rounds including very interesting audio-visual rounds. In the ‘recognize-the-image’ category, participants were asked to identify the situation looking at an image displayed on the screen. In the ‘video round’, participants were required to identify the incident from Mahabharata by looking at the video being played.

Not just the participants, the audience and the organizers were also immersed in the quiz competition which got a very good response. The audience was also involved in answering questions.

Sri Sriram Nayak explained the special points regarding every question/answer and also explained in detail the incidents from Mahabharata/Bhagavata related to the question at hand, giving reference to Tatparya Nirnaya of Madhvacharya on Mahabharata and Bhagavata. Audience interest levels were at their peaks.

It needed a tie-breaker to decide on the winners of the quiz competition, as all the teams did well.

Post the tea session, Sri Sriram Nayak, spoke about the practical aspects of being a devotee of the Lord, about the intricacies in the verse which though appears simple has embedded messages for every attribute. He also gave examples of the devotees who had the attributes and also who developed such attributes taking them closer to God. He also corrected some of the misunderstandings about Tattvavada which had come up in the course of the debate.

Major part of the session was made available to be viewed live on youtube. Anyone from any part of the world could witness the live program.

The links are provided below:

https://youtu.be/3PtQLovPB9g

https://youtu.be/0B_xaITtGas

https://youtu.be/sCNSi5FBn7U

https://youtu.be/sMc-rMbpXvw

Participation prize was given to all the participants which numbered close to 80; similarly the audience too collected handful of prizes for answering the questions right.

The first part of the session ended – only to continue with the second part planned on 21st of Dec 2015, the day of Gita Jayanti – for the prize distribution and cultural activities.

On the 21st, there was a music programme by Sri Gajanan Hegde and group; the lively program was attended by a crowd of nearly 50. After the music program, prizes were distributed to the winners by Sri VM Pai, Dr. Saraswati Rao and Sri Hegde.

The prize money was also big this year with the first prize winner getting Rs.2000, the second winner getting 1000 and the third one getting Rs.750.

Sri Mizar Shrinivas Pai, a devotee and philanthropist who lives in the US, generously sponsored for the whole program and the organizing committee is grateful Sri MS Pai for this.

Sri VM Pai spoke on the occasion about the increase in the participants compared to last year, about the interest shown by many for Gita, and about the importance of not ignoring the basics of the Dharma while man progresses towards the new era of technological improvements.

Sri Girish Prabhu who organized the programs on 20th and 21st was congratulated for the huge success of the program; he and his friends Nilesh and Ganesh were also appreciated for their passionate involvement in the Gita Jayanti programs.

Appendix to this report gives the names of the participants and of the 1st,2nd aand 3rd prize winners.

 

Appendix

Prize winners in each category

Category 1 Recitation (Less than 10 years)

1st prize: Laxmi Pai

2nd prize: Venkatesh Pai

3rd prize: Niharika Shenoy

Category 2 Recitation (10 to 18 years)

1st prize: Shreesha Bhat

2nd prize: Shrihari Bhat

3rd prize: Arpita Shanbhag

Category 3 Speak-up (Above 18 years)

1st prize: Nilesh Pai

2nd prize: Jayalakshmi Pai

3rd prize: Suchetha Kamath

Category 4 Essay

1st prize: Jayalaxmi Pai

2nd prize: Sumana Bhat

3rd prize: Namrata Prabhu

Category 5 Quiz

1st prize: Nivedita Kamath and Sumana Bhat

2nd prize: Jayalaxmi Pai and Venkatesh Pai

3rd prize: Suchetha Kamath and Chandrakanth Kamath

Sudhindra Era in Kashi Math

With Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha attaining mukthi yesterday,an epoch making era not only in Kashi Math history but also of the Gsb community and the sanathan samaj in the country has come to an end.

During  the 72 years of his sanyasi life from 1944 to 2016 and during his reign of 67 years as mathadhipathi from 1949 to 2016,he provided strong and decisive spiritual and dharmic leadership to the community spanning 5 generations.The country in this period witnessed tumultuous changes in political,social and economic changes during this period.Swamiji made particularly strong impact on the young generation. Continue reading Sudhindra Era in Kashi Math

Sri Bhuvanendra Medical Mission

GSSS Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce its latest new proposed activity in the area of healthcare and wellness by starting ‘Sri Bhuvanendra Medical Mission’ near Bangalore Sri Kashi Math in Malleswaram,8th Main,19th cross at Malleswaram, Bangalore.This unit will offer both ayurvedic as well as allopathic medicines and therapies.The proposed center Wii be inaugurated at the Holy hands of H.H.Srimad Samyamindra Tirtha in Feb.2016.

Photo shows H.H.Srimad Sudhindra Teertha blessing the project and giving prasadam to a team of the samaj lead by President G G Shenoy,Past President V M Pai, Dr Ananth Kamath,Dr Vasudev Prabhu , Narendra Nayak, and Ganesh Shanghag at Walkeshwar Shri Kashi Math on Friday 13 November,in Mumbai.

Sri Kashi Math In Badrinath

On the 6th June, H.H.Srimad Sudhindra Teertha Swamiji of Sri Kashi Math Samasthan, camping in Bangalore, announced that the newly built Kashi Math branch of Sri Badrinath, would be inaugurated on 19th June. His Holiness extended an invitation to all to attend the function. I decided to attend this historical programme with a few of my friends. From Bangalore we went to Delhi and from there to Haridwar. We left Haridwar early morning on the 17th June by 4:30 AM on our way to Sri Badrinath. Our Swamiji was camping at Kali Kamblivala Ashram in Rudraprayag, which is 163 km away from Haridwar. We reached Rudraprayag at about 9:30 AM passing through picturesque hilly territories of Rishikesh,Deo Prayag and Srinagar. Rudra Prayag is at an altitude of 610 mtrs at the confluence of the river Mandakini flowing from Kedarnath and Alakananda from Badrinath.

Continue reading Sri Kashi Math In Badrinath

Twenty five Years of Sri Vyasa ashrama

Preparations are on to celebrate the silver jubilee function of Vedavyasa Mandir at Haridwar from 18th to 22nd March 2013. The Mandir and the complex was established by H.H.Srimad Sudhindra Teertha Swamiji, Mathadipathi of  Samsthan Shri Kashi Math of Varanasi in 1988.  This  is an event to be celebrated not merely by the desciples of Shri Kashi Math, not even by all Gowda Saraswat Brahmins, but by the entire community of Sanathana Hindu Dharma in the country and elsewhere. Bhagavan Vedavyasa, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord is the author of Brahma Sutras,  Puranas, Itihasa including the Mahabharatha (which incorporates the Bhagavad Gita) and other scriptures which are at the core of belief and faith held by our people. He is also one of the principal diety of daily worship at the Kashi Math. Vedavyasa is therefore another name for the scriptural treasure of our country.

Continue reading Twenty five Years of Sri Vyasa ashrama

Re-inauguration of Kashi Math at Rameswaram

A report of the event which took place on 18th November 2005.

Rameshwaram, the island at the southern tip of the country, hallowed by the installation of the Holy Lingam of Lord Sri Mahadeva by non other than Lord Rama, which is now the principle deity in the magnificent Ramanath Temple, is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage for all denominations of Hindus.  It is one of the four holy Dhamas or spiritual pilgrimage centres, the other three being Badrinath in the North, Dwaraka in the West and Puri in the East. A branch of Sri Kashi Math had been established here when His Holiness Yadavendra Teertha Swamiji (H.H.Keshavendra Teertha Swamiji) was the Mathadipathi about 300 years ago.  According to available records and legend, the math along with the Kodanda Rama shrine (inside the main Rameshwaram temple) was built through the efforts of one Kalinga Prabhu, a Gauda Sarawat Brahmin of Kochi who was serving as a naval officer with the Dutch, at that time.  The math is located just outside the West Tower entrance of the main Ramanath temple on Nadu Theru Street.  Due to ravages of time, both the Kodanda Rama shrine with the deities of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana , situated within the main temple complex, as well the Math situated ourside on Nadu Theru, became dilapidated. The shrine was renovated on 19 March 1937 by Srimad Sukrathindra Teertha Swamiji.  The Math building outside however continued for much longer period in a dilapidated condition and it is only recently that a decision to pull down the old structure and build a new Math building on the same site was taken.

Continue reading Re-inauguration of Kashi Math at Rameswaram

Consecration and Reinstallation ceremonies of deities of Samsthan Shri Kashi Math at Mangalore

Mangalore the coastal city of Karnataka was witness to a grand historic event lasting nearly a month from 24th May 2012 to 16th June 2012, in connection with the consecration and reinstallation ceremonies of deities of Samsthan Shri Kashi Math of the Gowda Saraswatha Brahmin community. These were held at the Sri Venkataramna Temple, of the community at Car Street where the branch Math of the Sri Kashi Math Samsthan is located.

The following is a brief report of the event, called Parihara and Punah Prathista Mahothsava designed to achieve the Divine Grace of Sri Vyasa Raghupathi of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan.
Continue reading Consecration and Reinstallation ceremonies of deities of Samsthan Shri Kashi Math at Mangalore