Parijnanashram I
Swami Parijnanashram I | |
|---|---|
| Honors | First Guru of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins Established Adi-matha at Gokarn |
| Religious life | |
| Philosophy | Shaivism,Dharma as path to Moksha |
| Senior posting | |
| Guru | Lord Bhavanishankar |
Swami Parijnanashram I or Adi Parijnanashram(Devanāgarī: आिद पिर्ज्ञानाश्रम ्, Ādi Pari.ñan.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.
He was a Sanyasi who was a Kashmir Sāraswat Brahmin. 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.
He was a man of great spiritual grace and was a scholar in the sanskrit scriptures and the Vedanta.He established the first matha of the community at Gokarn. He was succeded by his shishya(śi.śya) or disciple Shankarashram.Swami Parijnanashram I attained Maha-samadhi(Ma.ha Sa.mā.dhi) (death) in 1720.His samadhi(shrine) is located at Bhandikere in Gokarn, next to the Uma Maheshwar(U.mã Ma.he.śwar) temple.
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.[1]
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.
Coronation
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)(community God).
He was formally ordained as Swami Parijnanashram at the Sri Vishveshvar Vitthal(Vi.śve.śvar Vi.t.h.al) Temple at Gokarn in 1708. 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.
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.This shocked the people since the followers of the Shankaracharya had been hostile towards their commmunity.
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.[2]
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. 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.
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. Parijnanashramji was honoured by the King. Even in all this fan-fare and festivity, the Swami is said to have maintained the same calm that he had while the community was in despair[3]