[Chaturamnaya] Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati, Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sarada Pitam

[S Jayanarayanan]

The 2001 Aradhana issue of the Mountain Path ran a
short biography of H.H. Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati MahaswamigaL,
the past pontiff of the Sringeri Math.

It can also be found online at
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ramanafiles/mountainpath/2001%20Aradhana.pdf
 
Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati, Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sarada Pitam

By M. Ravindra Narayanan

SRI CHANDRASEKHARA BHARATI,
Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sarada
Pitha, was an outstanding spiritual personality
of recent times. He was the thirtyfourth
pontiff of the Sringeri Math, one of the four
established by Adi Shankara.

He was born on October 16, 1892, as the
twelfth child of Gopala Sastri and Lakshmi
Amma, who lived in Sringeri. It was an
Ekadasi day, according to the Hindu calendar.
His original name was Narasimha.
Gopala Sastri and Lakshmi Amma had the
singular misfortune of losing all the children
born before Narasimha. They felt that if the
boy lived separately from them, he could escape
the cruel hand of death. They therefore
entreated Srikanta Sastri, the Sarvadhikari of
the Sringeri math to take him under his care.
Srikanta Sastri accepted Narasimha into his
household. The lad was admitted to a local
Kannada school. He proved to be a good student.
He was next admitted to the Sanskrit
school, Sadvidya Sanjivani Pathasala at
Sringeri. This was on the advice of
Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha
Bharati, the ruling pontiff of Sringeri.

In 1911, Sri Narasimha Bharati had
started a school in Bangalore for higher studies
in Sanskrit. Highly impressed by the lad
Narasimha's progress in studies, the pontiff
asked Narasimha to join the Bangalore school
and study Mimamsa as a preliminary to the
study of Vedanta. From the way he groomed
the lad it was clear that the pontiff wanted
Narasimha to succeed him. When Narasimha
came to take leave of him on the eve of his
departure for Bangalore, the Mahaswami
composed three benedictory verses by way
of blessing, wherein, he exhorted the young
lad to take to the ascetic way of life.

At Bangalore too, Narasimha excelled in
his studies.

In 1912, Sri Narasimha Bharati
Mahaswami fell ill and knew that his end was
near. He felt that he had to appoint his successor
and announce the decision officially.
He instructed one of his intimate devotees
and an official of the math, Rama Sastri, to
hasten to Bangalore and bring Narasimha to
Sringeri. Rama Sastri was also asked to intimate
the choice of successor to the Maharaja
of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar.

Rama Sastri after securing the approval
of the Maharaja of Mysore, proceeded to the
Shankara math, Bangalore, to intimate
Narasimha and his parents and to bring the
lad to Sringeri. Narasimha was surprised and
overwhelmed. However, he resolved to obey
the command of the Acharya, to take to a life
of sannyasa. Now, Rama Sastri had to convince
Narasimha's parents. But, however
much he tried, Rama Sastri could not convince
Gopala Sastri and Lakshmi Amma. This
was because he was their only surviving son.
Narasimha told his parents that he himself
did not want to live a worldly life and that
his inclinations were otherwise. The mother
begged of her son to reconsider his decision
since she and her husband had no other support
in life. Narasimha had to use all his persuasive
powers to convince her
of the inevitability of the situation. He eventually
managed to obtain the consent of
his parents.

Narasimha then left for Sringeri with
Rama Sastri. He could reach Sringeri only
on the 21st March. Sri Sachidananda
Sivabhinava Narasimha Bharati Mahaswami
had shed his mortal coil the previous day itself.
Narasimha's grief knew no bounds.
Gone was the opportunity to sit at that Mahatma's
feet and serve him! Nevertheless, he
had to fulfill the master's wishes of administering
the Pitha. The final obsequies of Sri
Narasimha Bharati were carried out in all
solemnity.

On the 7th April 1912, Narasimha was
given sannyasa diksha and anointed the 34th
Pithadhipati of the Sringeri math. Gopala
Sastri and Lakshmi Amma unfortunately,
could not participate in the event, since they
could arrive at Sringeri from Bangalore only
the next day.

Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati on assuming
the Pithadhipatya, invited Virupaksha Sastri,
a highly respected scholar in the Vedas and
sastras to Sringeri, in order to acquire thorough
knowledge in Vedanta and other
sastras. The scholar was the Swami's teacher.
The Swami's position as the Jagadguru demanded
that even his teacher should prostrate
to him before beginning the lessons.
When Virupaksha Sastri entered the Swami's
quarters to commence lessons, the
Swami would however get up on some
pretext, so that the teacher would actually
be prostrating to Sri Narasimha Bharati's
portrait which was behind. Such was the
Swami's simplicity!