Parijnanashram I

Swami Parijnanashram I or Adi Parijnanashram(Devanāgarī: आिद पिर्ज्ञानाश्रम ्, Ādi Pari.jñān.āśram) was the first guru and Mathadhipati(Head of a community,that is, Head of a matha or community monastery) of the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Brahmins. He is supposed to have been ordained by Lord Bhavanishankara(Bha.vā.ni.śan.kar) to guide the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Community in 1708(See Ordination).

He was a Sanyasi who was a Kashmir Sāraswat Brahmin.^[1] He was asked by Lord Bhavanishankara in a dream to come down to the banks of Kotiteerth(a water tank) in Gokarn to lead the Chitrāpur Sāraswat community. The community had been faced with an official decree from the King of Nagar which stated that unless the saraswats had shown him their guru, the community would have to face heavy penalties.(See Royal Decree)

He was a man of great spiritual grace and was a scholar in the Sanskrit scriptures and the Vedanta.^[2] He established the first matha of the community at Gokarn. He was succeeded by his shishya(śi.śya) or disciple Shankarashram(Śankar.āśram).Swami Parijnanashram I died in 1720.(See Mahā-Samādhi) His samadhi(shrine) is located at Bhandikere in Gokarn, next to the Uma Maheshwar(U.mã Ma.he.śwar) temple. (Bhandikere means lane(keri) of carts(bhandi) )

Before Parijnanashram I

After their migration from the north,the Saraswats had occupied highly prestigious posts in administration in the kingdom of Nagar(parts of present day Kanara). They were more intelligent and more efficient than the other people of the region. This caused jealousy amongst the other people and they went and complained to the king that they did not have a guru and hence no "spiritual existence of their own". So the King issued them a decree stating that unless the community showed them their guru, heavy penalties would be imposed on them. This included evicting them from their present administrative posts.^[3]

The elders of the community,in despair, started praying to Lord Mahabaleshwar(Ma.hā.ba.le.śwar) at Gokarn. They had a dream that a sanyasi would appear at the banks of the Kotiteerth, the temple tank, the following day.^[4]

Swamiji Arrives

On the given day and at the given hour, a sanyasi clad in saffron robes and with ash smeared on his forehead, appeared at the banks of Kotiteerth. This saint was a Kashmiri Saraswat Brahmin who had had a dream about coming to the said location by Lord Bhavanishankar himself. He was carrying an idol of Lord Bhavanishankar in his cloth pouch.All the people in the community started rejoicing at the sight of this saint with the idol of their Kula-devata(Ku.la De.va.ta)(God of the community).^[5][6]

He was formally ordained as Swami Parijnanashram at the Sri Vishveshvar Vitthal(Vi.śve.śvar Vi.t.h.al) Temple at Gokarn in 1708.^[7] This was the starting point of the Guru Parampara of the Chitrāpur Sāraswats. The people of the community wrote to the King of Nagar about their new guru.

The people of the Chikarmane(Chi.kar.ma.ne) clan(belonging to the Chitrāpur Sāraswat community) built a monument called the Belli Mantap("Belli Hall/Temple") at the exact spot where the community met Swami Parijnanashram at Kotiteerth in Gokarn.^[8]

Shringeri

The King of Nagar had his prejudices about the new guru. So he asked the Sāraswats to get their Mathadhipati consented by the Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Shringeri.^[9] This shocked the people since the followers of the Shankaracharya had been hostile towards their community.^[10]

Swami Parijnanashram was calm at the order and he made the trip from Gokarn to Shringeri to meet with the Shankaracharya. The people of Shringeri had locked the doors of the temple of goddess Sharadamba(Śa.ra.dām.ba) when Swami Parijnanashram arrived at Shringeri. The swamiji stood there at the doorsteps and started praying.

The prayers of the swamiji were so intense that Jagadguru Shankarācharya vision where Goddess Sharadāmba was irked at the callousness of the temple officials. When Shankarācharya went to the temple, he saw that the idol had lost its lustre.^[11]

Immediately he called in Swami Parijnanashram into the temple. After discussions with him, Jagadguru Shankarācharya was amazed at the in-depth knowledge he possessed in the scriptures,his mysticism and his yogic abilities.^[12] He immediately gave consent by offering Swami Parijnanashram the Adda Palaki(A.dd.a Pā.la.ki)(a palanquin),Birdu and Bavāli(the usual symbols associated with a Mathādhipati). He offered Swami Parijnanashram his letter of consent and thus was officially declared as the Guru of the Sāraswats.^[13]

After the coronation, the king of Nagar was informed and he came rushing to greet Swami Parijnanashram. He apologized profusely for having questioned his authority by falling at his feet.^[14] Parijnanashramji was honoured by the King. Even in all this fanfare and festivity, the Swami is said to have maintained the same calm that he had while the community was in despair.^[15] After accepting their guru, the official decree was repealed and the Sāraswats could go back to their normal routines.

Adi-matha

Once the crisis over the community was over, Swamiji wanted to go back to his 'sannyasa'(life of an ascetic).^[16] But the devotees wanted him to remain. After much pleading from the community members he graciously consented. The Sri Vishveshvar Vitthal Temple at Gokarn became the abode of the swamiji. Swamiji performed his Anushthān(ceremony of foundation) there. This became known as the Adi-matha("first community monastery") of the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Community.^[17][18]

Shishya Sweekar("Accepting a Disciple")

The devotees wanted the Guru parampara to continue. So they requested the ageing Swami Parijnanashram to accept a shishya(śi.śya) or disciple(who will succeed him as the new Mathādhipati). The Guruji graciously alleviated their concerns by accepting a shishya.

The son of Krishna Kulkarni of the Haritekār family was "the chosen one". His shishya sweekar ceremony was performed on the Shudha Poornima(Śu.dha Pūr.ni.ma) day in the month of Chaitra in the year 1720.Swami Parijnanashram ordained his new shishya as Shankarashram(Śankar.āśram).^[19]

Death

As the years rolled by, Swami Parijnanashram's health was deteriorating.The news of the failing health attracted devotees from far and wide to seek his Darshan(seeing the Swami) and his blessings. He died only 14 days after accepting Shankarashram as his disciple. So on the Krishna Chaturdashi day of the month of Chaitra, he died.^[20][21]

His last words to Shankarāshram were(translated to English from Konkani:"Lead the devotees on the spiritual path and unto the Lord's grace. Lord Bhavānishankar will always protect you when you face obstacles".^[22] Thus Param Poojya Swami Shankarashram I was ordained as the next Mathādhipati.

References

• "Shrimat Parijananashram Swamiji -I". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 

• Divgi, Jyothi (2002). Anugraha-A Saga of cascading grace. Shri Chitrapur Math Publication. 

• Guruparampara Charita Saramrita (in Devnagari). Shri Chitrapur Math Publication. 2002. 

Notes