SAMADHI VON SRI GNANANANDA SWAMI
Der Swami war ein Guru "par
excellence". Er zeigte, dass die Liebe eines Gurus mehr ist als die eines Vaters oder einer Mutter. In anderen menschlichen Beziehungen könnte etwas Unangemessen sein. Aber bei Guru kann es keine
Verzerrung geben. Er war ein wahres Beispiel eines "Großen Gnani und Jivanmukta". Er war ein Brahma Rishi in der authentischen Tradition Indiens, eine zutiefst menschliche und mitfühlende Seele,
deren Liebe für die leidende Menschheit überragend war. Der Swami verliebte sich in die leidende Menschheit und tat alles in seiner Macht Stehende, um Schmerzen sowie Trauer zu lindern, Trost zu
spenden und Tränen wegzuwischen, wo immer er sie fand. Der Swami würde menschliches Leiden nicht einfach als Teil des illusorischen Universums ignorieren, sondern es mit schöpferischer Liebe
behandeln, die das wahre Attribut des ewigen Lebens ist. Der Swami legte großen Wert auf "dana", Wohltätigkeit, insbesondere "anna dana" (Essensangebot). Alle wichtigen Funktionen im Ashram
endeten in der Regel mit der Ernährung der Armen.
Any description of the swami cannot
fail to take note of his treatment of his disciples which were unmistakably that of a siddhapurusha. The swami's way of moving with people, canopied with unbroken gentleness, his way of dealing
with devotees, was astute. A unique aspect of the Swami's spontaneous affection for all was his abounding hospitality. The Swami would look at the devotee with eyes full of tenderness and love
and this alone was enough to win the heart of the devotee. The swami was a "thrikalagnani"(one who could apprehend past, present and future times) and with his divine intuition, indeed, saved
many from potential disasters. The swami never bothered about the status of a person. The swami had very nice way of deflating people's ego, so that the self may be renounced. Indeed there is no
other way of describing the personality of the swami than by calling Him a "Paramananda Vigraham".
Keine Beschreibung der Behandlung
seiner Schüler kommt umhin zur Kenntnis zu nehmen, dass diese eindeutig solche eines Siddha Purusha war. Die Art und Weise, wie der Swami sanftmütig mit Menschen umging, und mit seinen Devotees,
war besonders. Ein einzigartiger Aspekt der spontanen Zuneigung des Swami zu allen war seine Gastfreundschaft. Der Swami schaute den Devotee voller Zärtlichkeit und Liebe an; und dies allein
genügte, um das Herz des Devotees zu gewinnen. Der Swami war ein "Thrikalagnani" (einer, der vergangene, gegenwärtige und zukünftige Zeiten erfassen konnte), und mit seiner göttlichen Intuition
tatsächlich viele vor möglichen Katastrophen rettete. Der Swami kümmerte sich nie um den Status einer Person. Der Swami hatte eine sehr nette Art, das Ego der Menschen zu entleeren. In der Tat
gibt es keinen anderen Weg, die Persönlichkeit des Swami zu beschreiben, als ihn "Paramananda Vigraham" zu nennen.
http://www.gnanananda.org/
SRI GNANANANDA
SWAMI
"Sri Gnanananda Thapovanam" is a quiet place,
situated on the northern banks of Pennar river, near Thirukovilur in Tamil Nadu. Thapovanam meaning "forest of penance" is today a place of pilgrimage. It is situated within a couple of miles
from a sacred town called "Tirukovilur", meaning a town of sacred temples. Swami Gnananandagiri Swamigal, established his modest ashram at Thapovanam, a place which was identified by Swami
himself for its spiritual potency. It is known that Maharishi Mrigndu, centuries ago, undertook penance at this holy place, having cluster of five old mango trees. Swami finally made this Ashram
his regular living place, until he attained Mahasamadhi in the year 1974. A shrine of grace has been constructed over his "Samadhi". Swami did not appoint or nominate any spiritual successor.
Even today, every grain of sand at Thapovanam is pulsating with his life and message, and vibrating with his Divine Presence. As he mentioned, that his Samadhi is one of a "Jeeva Samadhi",
meaning that Swami is omnipresent, though not present in physical form among us. The Ashram was established by Swami as a place of organised living, prayer and yoga. Swami built temples for the
deities of GnanaGanesa, GnanaSkanda, GnanaPurisa, GnanaAmbika, GnanaMahalakshmi, GnanaVenugopala, GnanaAnjayeya, GnanaBairava, Durga, Navagraha and Chandikeshwara. The deities were given
chaitanya (power) by Swami through his graceful look and sankalpa, and the deities today shower their "anugraha" to all those devotees who pray and surrender. The Ashram today attracts devotees
and disciples from far and near, where one immerses into "Guru bhakti". Prayer and worship, through singing of hymns and stress on "guru bhakti" have been the marked features of life at
Thapovanam.
There were many aspects of swami's young being
(purvashram) which is surrounded by mystery. Any attempt to writing about him is bound to be incomplete, as Swami has always discouraged any inquisitiveness about knowing his life prior to
renunciation. Based on utterances gathered by inmates of Thapovanam now and then during conversation with Swami, it is know that Swami was born at Mangalapuri near Gokarna on the west coast in
Karnataka to an orthodox Brahmin couple. At his young age, he was driven to Pandharpur with an urge to know the "self". It is in this historic place, that swami was guided to meet his Guru, Swami
Sivaratna Giri of Jyotirmutt, one of the four mutts established by His holiness Adi Sankara himself. Swami Sivaratna Giri accepted this young boy as his disciple and swami then followed his Guru
like a shadow and derived great delight in serving him. After swami attained proficiency in "Ashtanga Yoga, Hindu scriptures, upanishadic truths etc., swami was given holy order of "Sanyasa" by
his Guru and was named "Sri Gnanananda Giri" into the "Giri" order of Jyotir Mutt. Later, after Mahasamadhi of his Guru, Swami adorned the peetam of Jyotir Mutt for some time before relinquishing
the same for undertaking intense penance at Himalayas. After long period of seclusion, swami traveled extensively on foot , spanning the whole of India, Tibet, Nepal, Burma and Sir Lanka.
Finally, swami is believed to have returned to Southern India and from around 1966, swami permanently stayed at Thapovanam. Before that, swami established ashrams at Attyampatti,
Siddhilingamadam, Dalmiapuram and also one at Yercaud (established later) known as "Pranavanilayam".
The Swami was a Guru "par excellence". He
demonstrated that a guru's love is more than a father's or mother's. There could be something inadequate in other human relationships. But with Guru, there can be no distortion. He was a true
example of a "Great Gnani and Jivanmukta". He was a Brahma Rishi in the authentic tradition of India, an intensely human and compassionate soul whose love for the suffering humanity was supreme.
The swami would melt in love for the suffering humanity and do everything in his power to mitigate pain, assuage grief, comfort, the afflicted and wipe away the tears, wherever he found them. The
Swami would not ignore human suffering as merely a part of the illusory universe, but treat it with creative love which is the true attribute of life eternal. The swami laid great emphasis on
"dana", charity, more particularly "anna dana" (offer of food). All important functions at the ashram usually concluded with the feeding of the poor.
Any description of the swami cannot fail to take note
of his treatment of his disciples which were unmistakably that of a siddhapurusha. The swami's way of moving with people, canopied with unbroken gentleness, his way of dealing with devotees, was
astute. A unique aspect of the Swami's spontaneous affection for all was his abounding hospitality. The Swami would look at the devotee with eyes full of tenderness and love and this alone was
enough to win the heart of the devotee. The swami was a "thrikalagnani"(one who could apprehend past, present and future times) and with his divine intuition, indeed, saved many from potential
disasters. The swami never bothered about the status of a person. The swami had very nice way of deflating people's ego, so that the self may be renounced. Indeed there is no other way of
describing the personality of the swami than by calling Him a "Paramananda Vigraham".
Swami's simplicity, sweet amiability and his knack of
being at home with everyone he talked to, be he a saint or sinner, merits special mention. Any one meeting him for the first time would feel completely at ease. All devotees found in swami a real
refuge from the tragedies and disappointments of life. On association with Swami, one would be drawn to absolute conviction that Swami would always be watchful of their welfare, and that all one
needs to do is just practice "absolute surrender". A gesture from the Swami, a kind enquiry, a smile would leave them spell bound and dissolve all their discomforts. Devotee's of Swami Gnanananda
basked in the sunshine of Swami's grace and filled themselves with his overwhelming mercy. Swami drew all his devotees to his fold by his grace and awakened in them an intense desire for the life
of the spirit. To all of them, he was a true "Karunamurthy". To conclude simply, "He was God and man in one".
