[Advaita-l] RE: Ananda, Chaitanya

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

>Sringeri Math tradition says that for Brahmacharis the title is Chaitanya 
>and upon Samnayasa it is Ananda.
>

Not so, with respect to Ananda upon saMnyAsa. Ananda is an optional portion 
of the first name that is given to the newly initiated saMnyAsin. The title 
is one of the ten daSanAmI suffixes, i.e. bhAratI, araNya etc.

>But this does not seem to be followed even in Sringeri.   While anyone who 
>gets Samnyasa from Sringeri is givne the title of Ananda.....the Acharyas 
>themselves perse have not adhered to this suffix of Ananda.   Right from 
>the Adi Acharya to the present one.
>

My deduction from the traditional reports is that the ten name system 
evolved over a short period of time after Adi Sankara. The titles of the 
first few AcAryas from the Sringeri list are not known, only the given 
names, e.g. sureSvara, jnAnaghana etc.

>Why ?
>
>Further, is there any brahmacharya inititation by that Math other than the 
>Upanayana, i dont know.   if there is a one like that, do they award the 
>title "chaitanya" ?!
>

This title of caitanya is meant for those who opt to remain naishThika 
brahmacArins, without getting married but also without taking saMnyAsa 
initiation. Typically, vivAha (marriage) marks the end of the period of 
studying to recite the veda, and the groom is called a snAtaka during the 
vrata done before the wedding ceremony proper. This vrata is like a 
graduation ceremony, so to speak. One who opts to remain a brahmacArin after 
completing the vedic study also goes through a ritual marking his graduation 
and it is at this time that a name with a caitanya title may optionally be 
given. Nowadays it is used in the newer groups like the Chinmaya mission, 
for those who are students, in preparation for saMnyAsa. In north India, 
where the Akhada system is widespread, there is an Agni Akhada for the 
brahmacArins. The members of the Juna, Niranjani and other Akhadas are 
saMnyAsins.

Best regards,
Vidyasankar

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