[Advaita-l] True scholarship

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

Karthik - PraNAms
Thanks for the post. My salutations to the great soul.
Hari Om!Sadananda

 

    On Thursday, September 12, 2019, 09:30:03 PM EDT, S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:  
 
 I had earlier posted a few letters from my Guruji, who was an esteemed Vedic scholar in Chennai, Mysore
and surrounding areas. Only recently did I come across his obituary that appeared as a news piece in
The Hindu a few years ago (see below).
 
First, these were his letters, along with an explanation from me:
 
https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/1996-July/005165.html
https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2001-September/001898.html
https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2005-April/014452.html
https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2011-June/027651.html
 
An anecdote to reveal just how close he was to contemporary great religious pesonalities. Once when
I visited him at his home (either in Mysore or Bangalore) around 2008 or so, the conversation went
something like this:
 
  Guruji: "When I went to see Bharati, I was saying, 'Bharati, why is it that...'"
  Me (puzzled): "Who is this 'Bharati'?"
  Guruji: "The Sringeri Mahasannidhanam Bharati Tirtha, I address him as 'Bharati' only!"
 
The number of people who can openly call the Sringeri Mahasannidhanam by His first name, can probably
be counted on the fingers of one hand!
 
This year (2019), when I visited Sringeri to pay my respects to the Mahasannidhanam, I introduced myself
as the disciple of My Guruji Srikanta Kumaraswamy. The Mahasannidhanam immediately recognized the name
and enquired about him, using the Tamil word for reverence, "avar". I then conveyed that my Guruji had
passed away.
 
Anyway, here's the long obituary in The Hindu:
 
https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/tribute-to-srikanta-kumaraswamy-who-passed-away-in-mysore-on-july-5/article6267688.ece
 
FRIDAY REVIEW
 
True scholarship
 
K.R. MOHAN BANGALORE,  JULY 31, 2014 20:01 IST; UPDATED: JULY 31, 2014 20:01 IST
 
Srikanta Kumaraswamy, a man who achieved excellence in science and spirituality, passed away on July 5 in Mysore
 
Vedic scholar and an expert in making steel furnace, R.K. Srikanta Kumaraswamy passed away on July 5 in Mysore.
 
Srikanta Kumaraswamy was born on May 20, 1928 at Nanjangud. After a brilliant academic career, he began his career as a lecturer
in Basappa Intermediate College (now Renukacharya College), in 1947, at the age of 19. He joined Mysore Iron and Steel Works,
Bhadravathi in 1952 and worked till 1965. He was responsible for many innovations and improvements in the quality and quantity
of production in the iron-making and steel-making furnaces.
 
His passion for teaching made him join the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras as a lecturer in 1965. Right from his school
days, RKSK was much passionate about the Vedas and Sanskrit. He managed to learn them from reputed Ghanpatis at Bangalore, Varanasi,
Shimoga and Madras. During his free time in the evenings, he devoted time to teaching of the Vedas at Bhadravati and Madras.
Many of the staff members and students from IIT used to attend veda classes with total interest. In his 23 years of service at Madras,
he might have taught about 200-300 students, irrespective of caste or creed and many women as well.
 
After his retirement, teaching the Vedas became a full-time vocation. He gave a series of seven lectures to packed audiences on
Vedic literature in 2007, under the aegis of Parampare at Nadabrahma Sangeetha Sabha Hall, Mysore.
 
RKSK was an expert in both Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavatam, and gave several lectures and participated in seminars on several
aspects of our culture. Kasturi, a popular Kannada magazine, used to publish his illuminative articles in Kannada.
 
He has written six books in Kannada and they are: Hridaya Sampannate (this is a compilation of his experiences with noble souls
whom he had come across in his life. This has seen three editions.)
 
Sraddha (Sraddha is the annual ritual performed in memory of one’s own parents. This booklet gives the basic concepts behind every
ritual as envisaged by our Maharashis.)
 
Sarala Vivaha (This is also a Vedic Samskara (sacrament). This booklet gives the real way in which the marriage should be conducted
according to our Maharshis.)
 
Samskaragalu mattu Maanaviya Maulyagalu (Samskaras and human values : All our samskaras are meant to result in Chittashuddhi,
a cleaning of the mind, which is nothing but the practice of human values. The book gives the details of all the usual samskaras
and its relationship with human values.)
 
Upakarma (A small booklet about the annual upakarma (beginning of studying the Vedas) which is being observed on the full moon day
in the Sravana month), Antyesti (Popular misconceptions and fears associated with the final rites are cleared in this work.)
 
He was a man with a liberal and rational outlook. He held women in high esteem and taught them vedic mantras and performances of rituals.
 
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