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Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha (also Uttaradi Mutt) (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಉತ್ತರಾದಿಮಠ Devanāgarī: श्री उत्तरादिमठ) [ IAST: Uttarādi Maṭha] is a Dvaita maṭha (a monastic religious establishment) based in southern India and has great history. It is one of the original seats of Jagad-guru Śrī Madhvācārya and thus belongs to the Madhva sampradāya.
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"The Supreme God also wanted to bless the souls with divine knowledge, by which they can attain salvation. For this purpose, the Supreme God — Śrī Nārāyaṇa Himself incarnated as Śrī Haṁsa and adorned the pontifical seat called the Haṁsa-Pīṭha. As He is also known as Uttara, the Maṭha initiated by Him came to be known as "Uttara-Ādi Maṭha" (The Maṭha initiated by Śrī Uttara)."[1]
The complete list of pontiffs (ācāryas) who had taken the seat of this Maṭha is as below:[2][3] This list represents the authorized guru-paramparā (disciplic succession) of Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha till date (2010-2011 AD).
The list is numbered beginning from Śrī Madhvācārya
Its chief mission is to practice, protect, preach and propagate the ancient Vedic dharma (sanātana dharma). Since the time of its origin, till date, Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha has been and continuing to be the strong propounder of the true Vedic dharma. The Maṭha is very much committed in extending service to mankind in all spheres of life like medical care, education, disaster, calamities, wars etc.[5]
The current pīṭhādhipati or the ācārya holding the pontifical seat is His Holiness Śrī Satyātma Tīrtha Svāmīji (Śrī 1008 Śrī Satyātma Tīrtha Śrīpādaṅgaḷavaru)
This Maṭha is predominantly present in Karnataka and has many followers in southern India and few in the north too.
Śrī Śrī 1008 Śrī Satyātma Tīrtha, the present pontiff of the Uttarādi Maṭha took over Vedic sāmrājya from 3-11-1997 after Śrī Śrī 1008 Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtharu attained Haripāda Sannidhi on 3-11-1997. Śrī 1008 Śrī Satyātma Tīrtharu was ordained to sannyās-āśrama on 24-4-1996 at Tirukoilur by Śrī 1008 Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtharu. He is the forty second pontiff of the Maṭha since Śrī Madhvācārya.
Known by the name Sarvajñācārya in his pūrvāśrama, he is the son of the great scholar “Sudhā Viśāradā” Paṇḍita Raṅgācārya Guttala, pūrvāśrama son of the late Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtharu and the present Kulapati of Śrī Jayatīrtha Vidyāpīṭha, Bangalore. His mother's name is Smt. K.S. Rukmābāī, daughter of Paṇḍita Māhuli Gopālācārya. He was born at Mumbai in 1973 and was named “Sarvajña”.
Sarvajñācārya’s great grandfather, i.e. the father of Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtharu was also a great scholar and virakti śikhāmaṇi. It is as if with his great puṇya (merit) that the Guttala family has seen such a series of scholars for successive generations, two of them being the pīṭhādhipati of this great Maṭha in succession. The śāstra lakṣmī seems to have made the Guttala family her permanent home.
It is an accepted fact that no ordinary soul has occupied the Uttarādi Maṭha Pīṭha. Many gurus who had appeared ordinary in pūrvāśrama have astounded everybody by the spiritual heights they reached after gracing the Uttarādi Maṭha Pīṭha by the mere blessings of the guru. Śrī Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtha Svāmījī, the then pīṭhādhipati of Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha, discovered the latent attributes of a great genius, a dynamic leader, a compassionate benefactor of humanity and a devotee of a high order in him. In short , all the great qualities one must possess in order to become a pīṭhādhipati. He therefore, decided to induct him to sannyās-āśrama in the name of Satyātma Tīrtha and thus made him the heir to the Uttarādi Maṭha. Thus at the young age of 24 he joined the group of great pīṭhādhipatis of the Uttarādi Maṭha who had the privilege of accepting sannyāsa directly after brahmacarya (the second or third in the history of the Uttarādi Maṭha).
Generally the pīṭhādhipatis at the Uttaradi Matha are gṛhast-āśramīs. After Raghūttama Tīrtharu, Śrī Satyātma Tīrtharu is the second pīṭhādhipati of Uttarādi Maṭha who is a brahmacārī (He is the eldest son of his parents which amply demonstrates the sacrifice of his parents and grandparents). This young pontiff had the full blessings of Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtha Svāmījī. After inducting him to sannyās-āśrama, Śrī Satya-pramodaru passed on to him the heavenly knowledge, the secrets of the Vedānta philosophy, the nectar that continuously flowed in this great paramparā from ages and also the necessary strength to lead a maṭha of this stature. He transformed him into a great saint, capable of protecting the ‘Hindu’ dharma and leading the future generations in the light of the philosophy of Madhvācārya.
He was blessed with sharp intellect, which he seems to have inherited from his father Śrī Guttala Raṅgācārya and grandfather Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtha Svāmījī. He was very studious from the beginning and never showed any interest in worldly matters (a pointer to his future course of action). Kind and compassionate, he was quite unlike the other students. His grasping capacity was extraordinary and earned him the sobriquet, “Eka-pāṭhī” (meaning a single reading is sufficient to learn a lesson). His rapt attention was seldom found in any other student. He was able to understand and digest the most complex lessons of philosophy at his young age.
Śrī Guttala Raṅgācārya who is himself a great scholar sent Śrī Sarvajñācārya to study at Mumbai under a renowned scholar, Śrī Māhuli Gopalācārya, his maternal grandfather, the founder of Satya-dhyāna Vidyāpīṭha and Vāṇī Vihāra Vidyālaya. He completed his formal education under the guidance of his uncle Vidyā Siṁhācārya. Thus he had the privilege of getting the best education from his father's as well as mother's side.
His brilliance was evident at a very young age. An erudite scholar, he has studied the Vedānta, especially the Dvaita school of phiolosophy. Besides Vedānta and mimāṁsa, he is an authority on nyāya, vyākaraṇa, sāhitya, tarka, Sarvamūla Śrīman Nyāya-sudhā and Vysasatraya. He has good knowledge of English and contemporary religions. His qualities like a sharp memory and abundant courage have made him a great debater in Vedic philosophy. His intellectual honesty is matchless and seldom offends people. It is a great honour to listen to his speeches: they are profound yet simple; strong but not conservative; touching but not offending.
His genius and brilliant oratory were clearly evident when he delivered a scholarly discourse on a difficult subject like “Svapna” (the elucidation on dreams in Dvaita philosophy) in an international meeting on different philosophies held at Bangalore in 1993. Hardly 20 at this time, he impressed scholars who were much older than him. They were astounded by his deep knowledge and his brilliant exposition. At the religious seminar held in Chennai in 1995, at the time of Mahā-samārādhanā of Śrī Satyābhijña Tīrtha Svāmījī, he spoke very convincingly on “Samya-vāda” and earned praise from the paṇḍitas in the sabhā.
Again, all his capabilities were clearly evident in the Mahā-samārādhanā held at Kurnool in 1997, where he chaired the proceedings on ‘Jñāna Satra’ a religious seminar conducted at that time.
He had the unique opportunity of teaching Śrī 108 Vidyāvallabha Tīrtha Svāmījī, the pontiff of Kaniyūru Maṭha, one of the 8 maṭhas of the Uḍupi maṭhas founded by Śrīman Madhvāchārya.
His efforts to foster friendly and cordial relations with all the pīṭhādhipatis need special mention. Some of his concepts and ideas to involve the wider spectrum of our community, like imparting religious knowledge to the non-resident śiśyas residing abroad need special mention.
He has so far successfully trained several scholars in the renowned Śrī Jayatīrtha Vidyāpīṭha, founded by his Guru in 1989, in a true gurukula style. Students personally trained by him are doing great service to the society by organizing several programmes like Dharma Jñāna Vāhini, youth workshops, conducting regular śāstra classes and creating dharma-jāgṛti in one and all.
His fortitude and foresight helped him found Viśva Madhva Mahā Pariṣad (VMMP), an organisation for instilling dharma-jāgṛti at the grass root level. Through Śrīmad Uttarādi Maṭha, of which he is the present Head, through Jayatīrtha Vidyāpīṭha of which he is the chief patron, through Viśva Madhva Mahā Pariṣad, which is his brainchild, and through Jaya Satyapramoda Nidhi a registered charitable body, founded by his predecessor Śrī Satya-pramoda Tīrtha Svāmījī, of which he is now the Chief Trustee, he has carved a niche in the field of service to humanity.[4]