Swami Sivananda, who blessed him with the name Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati. Swami Sivananda then guided the new ascetic to the most renowned Vedanta master of the time, Swami Tapovanam, who lived in Uttarkashi, in the Himalayas. As Swami Tapovanam's disciple, Swami Chinmayananda led an austere life and underwent an intense study of Vedantic. Swami Chinmayananda - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online. Spiritual Master.
Tapovan Maharaj (1889–1957) was a Hindu sage and Vedanta scholar.
Sri Swami Tapovan Maharaj is one of the most renowned saints of the 20th century. He was a contemporary of Swami Sivananda Maharaj who was the Guru of Swami Chinmayananda Maharaj.Swami Tapovan Maharaj was born in 1889 on the Suklapaksha Ekadashi day of Mārgasirsa month.[1]:v His mother, Kunjamma, belonged to an ancient aristocratic ?Nair family at Mudappallur in PalghatTaluk of Kerala.[1]:v His father, Achutan Nair, belonged to Kotuvayur in Kerala.[1]:v Based on his date of birth, the infant's horoscope, cast in accordance with family tradition, revealed 'unusually contrary indications of huge prosperity and abject poverty'.[2]:2Even as a little boy, Swami Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a marked partiality for spiritual life. He delighted in worshipping idols fashioned with his own hands. He was admitted to the local English school, but not liking the thoroughly materialistic education, he decided to quit the school and continued his studies in English, Malayalam and Sanskrit with still greater vigor by himself. Under competent teachers he mastered poems, dramas, grammar and logic. He read all available religious literature in Malayalam, Tamil, English and Sanskrit. He also engaged in spiritual exercises with close friend Rajan Reddy.
Born in Palakkad, Kerala as Subramanian Nair,[citation needed]with purvashrama name Chippukkutty,[1]:v[3] Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a thirst for spiritual knowledge and self-realisation, also being an accomplished public speaker.[citation needed] He left the modern education system early and dedicated himself to the study of Sanskrit and the Vedanta.[citation needed] After his brother became employed as a lawyer, he entered the order of Sannyasi.[citation needed]
Tapovan Maharaj did not believe in the system of 'ashrams', and was known for his strict solitary lifestyle in the Himalayan region of Uttaranchal. The three places along the Ganges where the master is known to have resided were Gangotri, Uttarkashi and Rishikesh.
He authored two books on his travels through the Himalayas: 'Wanderings in the Himalayas' (Himagiri Viharam)[4] and 'Kailasa Yatra.' Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a deep love for nature and his accounts of his travels demonstrate such.[citation needed] His autobiography, written in Sanskrit is titled 'Ishvara Darshana'. After observance of rites and rituals following the Master's last earthly breath (at 4.30 am on 16/1/1957), Shri Swami Tapovan Maharaj's body was interred into the holy river by a procession of sadhus. To this present day, there is a simple, solemn and dignified way in which the Uttarkashi monks mark the samadhi of any sadhu and Swami Tapovan Maharaj represents the ideal of austerity and pinnacle of wisdom which all anchorites aspire to.[citation needed]
Publications[edit]
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1990). Wanderings in the Himalayas [translation of Himagirivihāraṃ] (revised ed.). Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. ISBN81-7597-168-1.
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1960). Wanderings in the Himalayas [translation of Himagirivihāraṃ] (1st English ed.). Madras: Chinmaya. OCLC13415586.
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1981). Wanderings in the Himalayas [translation of Himagirivihāraṃ] (2nd ed.). Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. OCLC313220835.
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1984). Wanderings in the Himalayas [translation of Himagirivihāraṃ] (1984 ed.). Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. OCLC611139849.
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Chinmayananda, Swami (translator) (1984). Hymn to Badrinath. Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. OCLC13580900.
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1969). Iswara darshan [translation of Īśvaradarśanaṃ] (1st English ed.). Madras: Chinmaya Publications Trust. OCLC791441.
- Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Niranjanananda, Swamini (translator) (2001). Kailas yatra. Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. OCLC54084120. (Originally published in Malayalam in 1928)
About
- Krishnakumar, Radhika (2007). Himalayan hermit: the lofty life of Sri Swami Tapovanam (1st ed.). Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. ISBN9788175973800. OCLC297212306.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcd'Sri Swami Tapovanji Maharaj: A Brief Life Sketch' (pp. v-xiii) in Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1990). Wanderings in the Himalayas [translation of Himagirivihāraṃ] (revised ed.). Bombay: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. ISBN81-7597-168-1.
- ^Krishnakumar, Radhika (2007). Himalayan hermit: the lofty life of Sri Swami Tapovanam (1st ed.). Mumbai, India: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. ISBN9788175973800. OCLC297212306.
- ^'Sri Achuthan Nair aspired to give his son Chippukkutty (that was Swamiji's name in his poorvasrama) the best education' (Wanderings in the Himalayas, 1990 edition, p. v)
- ^Tapovanam Maharaj, Swami; Pillai, T. N. Kesava (translator) (1960). Wanderings in the Himalayas [translation of Himagirivihāraṃ] (1st English ed.). Madras: Chinmaya. OCLC13415586.
External links[edit]
- 'Early Years of Swami Thapovanam'. (7:04, Youtube)
- 'Swami Tapovan Maharaj'. (7:04, Youtube; first 3:00 on Chinmayananda)
- 'Swami Tapovan Maharaj (biography at Chinmaya Mission)'.
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