Sri Raghavendra Swami

India is known for great sages and saints who presented our ancient spiritual values and influenced the thought and life of the people. Sri Raghavendra Swami of Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh was one of the influential saints. He lived in the 17th century and is worshipped by the people for his preachings of vaita philosophy propounded by Sri Madhvachary. He is considered by his devotees as reincarnation of Prahalada. He is widely believed to have performed many miracles during his lifetime and thousands of people make a pilgrimage to the place with firm faith that He would continue to bless the people to this day.

Born in Bhuvanagiri village in Tamil Nadu, He took sanyasa in 1621 A.D. and illumined the spiritual scene of South India for five decades, leaving behind a rich legacy of spiritual philosophy through his works. He attained samadhi at Brindavan (his sacred tomb). He is also known as Sri Raghavendra Teertha, Guru Raya and Rayaru by his devotees. In his poorvasrama He was named  Venkatanatha because His parents thought that He was born by the grace of Lord Venkateshwara.

After ascending the Peetham as successor to Sri Sudheendra Teertha He went on a series of pilgrimages to holy shrines including Manishrunga, Madurai, Srirangam, Vishnu Mangala, Subramanya, Udipi, Pandarapura, Kohlapur, Bijapur, Srisailam, Kumbakonam and Kanchi. He visited all these places when roads were in poor condition and travel was difficult and unsafe. Wherever He went He spread the message of Sri Madhvacharya, defeating scholars of opposing doctrines, writing scholarly commentaries and notes, teaching the shastras to students and motivating people to lead righteous lives. There are several incidents of his healing the devotees of their afflictions. A Nawab who was attracted to him offered Him rich presents. The ‘Islamic Dome’ of the Brindavan is a symbol of recognition of the Nawab’s devoted offering. It also stands for His acceptance of the principle of religious harmony. Sri Raghavendra Swami was a divenly inspired vyrvic vidwan.

After attaining samadhi Sri Raghavendra was visible to Sir Thomas Munroe, the then Collector of the days of the British Empire and conversed with him. The testimony of Munroe is available even today in the Madras Gazette. After meeting Him, Munroe quashed the proposal for the resumption of the land.

When He entered Brundavana (Samadhi while alive) thousands of people, devotees and doubters gathered there. He delivered a famous speech of spiritual significance in 1671 before entering samadhi. Some of His illuminating words found in the book written by Prof. Prabhanjanacharya and reported in Wikepedia (the free encyclopedia) are as follows:

–Without right living, right thinking will never come. One’s ordained duties  should be performed according to one’s position in life without expecting any gain or reward. Our actions and activities should be offered to God. This is true karma yoga.
–Social work done in the right spirit and help rendered to worthy people should be considered as true worship of God. Every action is a pooja. This life is precious. Time lost is lost forever. It cannot be recycled. Listening to the right shastras is one’s duty. Put into practice as much as you can.

–Never go near the people who merely perform miracles without following the shastras and call themselves gurus and God. But my miracles and of holy men like Sri Madvacharya are genuine because they came from Yoga siddhi and the shastric knowledge. They are not magic tricks. These miracles were performed with the purpose of creating faith in God. Jnana or right knowledge is greater than any miracles. One should know that no good will come from false miracles.

–One should be a devotee of God, but devotion should not lead to blind faith. Faith and reason are not contradictory. One can follow reason and at the same time put faith in God, other deities and the right type of gurus. Philosophical thought is essential for the soul’s growth. Help ever. Hurt never. The true yogi has a compassioante heart.

After giving this parting message to the people, Sri Raghavendra Swami recited pranava mantra and entered samadhi state (very deep meditation). After some time the string of beads (Japamala) in His hand became still. His disciples took the cue and began to arrange slabs around Him. According to His instructions they placed a copper box containing 1200 Lakshminarayana saligramas when the slabs were level with His head. After placing the covering slab over the box they filled it with earth. This is the Brindavan which is attracting thousands of pilgrims today. A detailed account of His entering Brindavan is found in ‘Raghavendra Darshana: Glimpse of Sri Raghavendra Teertha: Saint of Mantralaya’ by Prof. V. Prabhanjanacharya.

Raghavendra Mathas are built all over the world. In them they perform religious rituals following the pattern set by the Mantralaya near Kurnool (in Andhra Pradesh) Apart from His miracles, the most important achievement was the stupendous output of literature and His notable contribution to the philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya. He produced elaborate explications and commentaries on Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavadgita, which is called Panchamaveda. He also wrote interpretations of Sri Madhvacharya’s erudite works. The miracles performed by Him were to do good to society and relieve the suffering and misery of people. Even today miracles happen to the faithful who go to Mantralaya to seek His blessings. The speech that He delivered before His samadhi is the quintessence of His philosophy.

There are 21 branches of the Math in Andhra Pradesh and 28 branches in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and New Delhi. Regular poojas and rituals are conducted in shrines in New York, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries. Sri Guru Sarvabhauma Sanskrit Vidya Peetham and Sanskrit School have been established in 1974. Seminars on philosophy, Vedic knowledge and ancient scientific knowledge are conducted. Recently during the 500th Aradhana of Sri Raghavendra Swami 101 books in 4 languages were published and released. Sri Raghavendra Swami Math continues to be a beacon of scholarship, social service, communal harmony and spirited light.