[Advaita-l] Sringeri Days - About Umesh ji

[Venkatraghavan S]

Thank you for the timely message Subbuji. I shared your consternation at
some of the messages. I have not had the fortune of meeting Sri Umesh, but
the words of Jagadguru Abhinava Vidyatirtha svAminah and Bharati Tirtha
svAminah should be ample pramANa for all Astikas.

If doubts still remain, my sincere suggestion would be for people to mind
their own business and not speculate whether someone is or is not a jnAni.
It is an utterly futile exercise - no conclusion is possible as such
information is beyond the access of our pramANas, and even if one concludes
either which way, there is no practical benefit of that conclusion. If the
subject of the discussion is a jnAni, we are committing a great sin by
speaking ill of them. If they are not, given the person in question is a
total recluse, speaking ill neither protects us nor anyone else.

What comes across from such messages is only one of jealousy appearing in
the garb of scientific skepticism.

Let us focus instead on our efforts towards gaining AtmajnAna.

Regards
Venkatraghavan

On Wed, 12 Sep 2018, 13:22 V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> I was pained to read some of the messages posted about Brahmasri Umesh in
> this thread. There is also a comment that no information is available in
> the public domain about Umesh. Having known Umesh for a few decades now, I
> wish to share the following information about him.
>
> Sri Umesh had the great good fortune of performing shravana, manana and
> nididhyasana under the direct guidance of His Holiness Sri Abhinava
> Vidyatheertha Mahaswamin, the then Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sringeri. As
> for his academics, Umesh finished his B.E (Hons.) in Electrical Engineering
> and M.E in Computer Science from the College of Engineering, Guindy in
> Chennai.  Later, as advised by His Holiness, Umesh also applied for and
> completed His Ph.D in Control Systems as also two Post-Doctoral researches
> involving mathematical modelling of Visual and Auditory systems.  On the
> instruction of the Acharya, for a few years, Sri Umesh served the Math as
> the Press Secretary to His Holiness and the Managing Trustee of Sri Sharada
> Trust, an affiliate organisation of the Math, engaged in the publication of
> books.
>
> About Sri Umesh’s establishment in the Truth, the then Jagadguru Himself
> has spoken to his disciples on many occasions. For instance, even in a
> public Upanyasa delivered in 1989 the Jagadguru said (the English
> translation of which is), ”Owing to the special merit acquired by him in
> his earlier birth, on his sitting in Samadhi, he does not get up even after
> three days have passed and “He is absorbed in Supreme Brahman.” “
>
> On Umesh’s shastraic erudition, the present Jagadguru His holiness Sri
> Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamin writes in the Srimukha to the book in Sanskrit
> written by Umesh, “Vacharambhana-srutyartha-vivechanam”, a treatise on the
> excellence of the Shankara Bhashya vis-à-vis other schools on the
> Vacharambhana Sruthi, (and here is an excerpt from it in English) “The
> author of this work is Brahmacharin Umesha, our dearest disciple.  He
> served my Guru well for a number of years and became the recipient of His
> unbounded grace.  Another speciality is that the author of this book had
> studied the Chandogya Upanishad bhashya directly from the Lotus-mouth of my
> Guru and gathered many a subtle points therein….”
>
> About the veracity and excellence of the contents of Umesh’s book “Yoga
> Enlightenment and Perfection (a spiritual biography of His Holiness Sri
> Abhinava Vidyatheertha), Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha says in his
> Sanskrit Srimukha published in the book (and I present its translation),
> “We are extremely happy that Bharmacharin Sri Umesh has authored this work…
>   This author, the recipient of the limitless grace of the revered Guru,
> has correctly acquired the matters here directly from His (The Guru’s )
> lotus-mouth; it is.... certain that this book reveals what are facts. We
> bless that those striving for liberation study this book with faith and
> advance in the spiritual path.”
>
> Again, in the latest book of Umesh, “The Multifaceted Jivanmukta” (A
> comprehensive Biography of His Holiness Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha
> Mahaswamin) the present Jagadguru writes in His Srimukha in Sanskrit (and I
> cite its translation):  ”(The recipient of the infinite grace of the most
> exalted (my) Guru…) the celibate Sri Umesh penned His biography
> comprehensively in English for the comprehension of one and all and
> submitted it to me”.  His Holiness released the said book during the birth
> centenary celebrations of His Guru (18.10.2017) and praised the contents of
> the book.
>
> Umesh, with the permission of the Jagadgurus, withdrew Himself from all
> activities including his position in the Math even in his early thirties.
> From his prefaces in his books cited above, it could be discerned that they
> were written by him solely in deference to the directives of the present
> Jagadguru. He has not been part of any organisation, nor does he give
> lectures or take classes for the past 2 decades or more. It may seem
> strange but the fact is that he does not have email or social media
> accounts. Therefore, I am sure, he won’t even be aware of what is being
> written about him in FB or in this list.  Knowing him, I can say with
> certainty that he will neither respond to his praise in FB by Paddy Rao or
> his censure (ninda) here in Advaita –L even if he had access to these fora.
>
>
> regards
>
> subrahmanian.v
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