WHO IS ADI SHANKARA & WHAT IS THE MEANING OF HIS DASHNAMI SAMPRADAYA ?GURU-01

ADI SHANKARA;--

05 FACTS;-- 1-Adi Sankara (788 - 820) was born in Kaladi, Kerala, India. By age 16 he had realized his true Self and completed everything he would ever write, including his commentaries on the 10 Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutra. 2- Adi Sankara travelled the length and breadth of the sub-continent 4 times and established the 4 principal monastries at the 4 cardinal points in India (known today as the 4 Shankracharayas). 3-It was his genius that reformed and organized the great body of wandering monks in India into 10 well knit orders, the Dasanami Sampradaya. 4- Sri Ramakrishna, the great 19th century mystic of Bengal was a disciple of Swami Totapuri who belonged to the line of Puris among the Dasanamis.

5-Adi Sankara disappeared in the Himalayas at age 32. Due to the boldness, depth and subtlety of his insights, he is widely considered the greatest influence on the purity of Advaita Vedanta (non-dual oneness - unity in diversity.

WHAT IS DASNAMI?--

07 FACTS;--

1-Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE) organized monks into into ten orders (dasa=ten, nami=names). Many, possibly most, although not all swamis are related to one of these. Each related to common characteristics of the monks of each of the orders, as it was at that time. 2-In the past 1200 years, however, there is not such a close relationship to the underlying meaning of the name. For example, it may have been true at one time that the monks of the Puri order "lived in the cities", although that is not a requirement, and swamis today of Puri dasnami live any a diversity of locations, some in cities, and some not. The relation to the name is nominal, at best. 3-Swami Rama writes in Living with the Himalayan Masters: "Our tradition is Bharati. Bha means 'knowledge'; rati means 'lover.' Bharati means 'he who is the lover of knowledge.' From this comes the word Bharata, the land of spiritual knowledge, one of the Sanskrit names used for India." 4-Swami Rama's linkage to Bharati comes from his initiation as Dandi (staff carrying) swami, which was given to him by a leader of swamis who was of the Bharati order. At that time Swami Rama became known as Dandi Swami Sadashiva Bharati. It was much later that he took the name Swami Rama. 5- Hindu monastic tradition of "single-staff renunciation" (ēkadaṇḍisannyāsi) generally associated with the Advaita Vedanta tradition.The disciples of Adi Shankaracharya are also called "Dash Nam Sanyasi" as the Title is further divided into ten groups viz. Giri, Puri, Bharti, Ban, Aranya, Sagar, Aashram, Saraswati, Tirth, and Parwat. These all dashnam Sanyasi are associated with four Math in four corners of India, established by Adi Shankaracharya. Initially all the disciples were Sanyasins who embraced sanyas either after marriage or without getting married. 6-Single-staff renunciates are distinct in their practices from Shaiva trishuldhari or "trident-wielding renunciates" and Vaishnava traditions of Tridandi sannyāsis. 7-In the 8th century a section of the were organized by Adi Shankara into four maṭhas. However, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Shankara maṭhas remained nominal Any Hindu, irrespective of class, caste, age or gender can seek sannyāsa as an Ēkadaṇḍi renunciate in the Dasanāmi tradition. The Ten Names;---- 1-Bharati: full of light 2-Giri: live in the mountains 3-Puri: live in the cities 4-Saraswati: scholars 5-Van: live in forests 6-Aranya: live in groves 7-Tirtha: live in pilgrimage places 8-Parvat: live in the high mountains 9-Sagar: live at the ocean 10-Nath: defenders of the faith Smarta Tradition

HISTORY OF DASHNAMI SAMPRADAYA;--

03 FACTS;--

1-The Dashanami Sampradaya sadhus belong to the Smarta Tradition. They are said to have been formed by the philosopher and renunciant Adi Shankara. Dasnami Sampradaya One of the major achievements of Acharya Shankaracharya was to organize the Hindu monasticism.

2-He divided the Hindu monks into ten sects called "Dasnami" and organized them under four heads with the Headquarters at Dwaraka in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Rameswaram in the South and Badrikashrama in the North.

3-These became the four sacred "Dhams", "Holy Places" of the Hindus. He also enumerated other details of the order of Hindu monks grouped under these heads for their identity. Although there are today a number of Hindu monastic sects, the most authentic are the ten established by Acharya Shankaracharya .

DASHNAMI SANYASINS;-

07 FACTS;--

1-Saanaka, Sanandana, Sanat-Kumara and Sanat-Sujata were the four mind-born sons of Lord Brahma. They refused to enter the Pravritti Marga or worldly life and entered the Nivritti Marga or the path of renunciation. The four Kumaras were the pioneers in the path of Sannyasa.

2-Sri Dattatreya also is among the original Sannyasins. The Sannyasins of the present day are all descendants of the four Kumaras, Dattatreya and Sankaracharya.Sri Sankaracharya, regarded as an Avatara of Lord Shiva and the eminent exponent of Kevala Advaita philosophy, established four Maths (monasteries) one at Sringeri, another at Dvaraka, a third at Puri and a fourth at Joshi Math in the Himalayas, on the way to Badrinarayana shrine.

3-Sri Shankara had four Sannyasin disciples, viz., Suresvara, Padmapada, Hastamalaka and Totaka. Suresvara was in charge of Sringeri Math, Padmapada was in charge of Puri Math, Hastamalaka was in charge of Dvarka Math and Totaka was in charge of Joshi Math.

4-The Sannyasins of Sringeri Math, the spiritual descendants of Sri Shankara and Suresvacharya, have three names, viz., Sarasvati, Puri and Bharati. The Sannyasins of the Dvaraka Math have two names, viz., Tirtha and Asrama. The Sannyasins of the Puri Math have two names, viz., Vana and Aranya. The Sannyasins of the Joshi Math have three names, viz., Giri, Parvata and Sagara.

5-The Dasanamis worship Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu, and meditate on Nirguna Brahman. 6-The Dandi Sannyasins, who hold staff in their hands, belong to the order of Sri Shankara. Paramhansa Sannyasins do not hold staff. They freely move about as itinerant monks. Avadhutas are naked Sannyasins. They do not keep any property with them.

6-The Sannyasins of the Ramakrishna Mission belong to the order of Sri Shankara. They have the name Puri.Then, there are Akhada Sannyasins, viz., Niranjana Akhada and Jhuni Akhda. They belong to the order of Sri Shankara. They are Dasanamis. They are found in the Uttar Pradesh State only.Rishikesh and Haridwar are colonies for Sannyasins. Varanasi also is among the chief abodes of Sannyasins.

7-The Sringeri Sharada monastery founded by Jagatguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya in Karnataka is the centre of the Smarta sect;-- ........ Shishya(lineage) Direction; Maṭha; State; Mahāvākya;Veda ;Sampradaya East; South ;West; North

1-Padmapāda Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ Odisha Prajñanam brahma (Consciousness is Brahman) RIG VEDA Bhogavala

2-Sureśvara Sringeri Śarada Pīṭhaṃ Karnataka Aham brahmāsmi (I am Brahman) YAJUR VEDA Bhūrivala

3-Hastamalakācārya Dvāraka Pīṭhaṃ Gujarat Tattvamasi (That thou art) SAMA VEDA Kitavala

4-Toṭakācārya Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ Uttarakhand Ayamātmā brahma (This Atman is Brahman) ATHARVA VEDA Nandavala WHAT IS SMARTA TRADITION ?--

07 FACTS;-- The five prime deities of Smartas( Panchayatana);--- 1-Ganesha (centre) with Shiva (top left), 2-Devi or Durga (top right), 3-Vishnu (bottom left) 4-Surya (bottom right). 1-Smarta tradition is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. This Puranic religion is notable for the domestic worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal – Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya and Devi (Shakti) 2-The Smarta tradition contrasted with the older Shrauta tradition, which was based on elaborate rituals and rites. There has been considerable overlap in the ideas and practices of the Smarta tradition with other significant historic movements within Hinduism, namely Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. 3- The Smarta tradition is aligned with Advaita Vedanta, and regards Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer. Shankara championed the ultimate reality is impersonal and Nirguna (attributeless) and any symbolic god serves the same equivalent purpose. Inspired by this belief, the Smarta tradition followers, along with the five Hindu gods include a sixth impersonal god in their practice. 4-The term also refers to Brahmins who specialize in the Smriti corpus of texts named the Grihya Sutras, in contrast to Shrauta Sutras. Smarta Brahmins with their focus on the Smriti corpus, contrast from Srauta Brahmins who specialize in the Sruti corpus, that is rituals and ceremonies that follow the Vedas. 5-The Smarta Tradition accepts two concepts of Brahman, which are the Saguna Brahman – the Brahman with attributes, and Nirguna Brahman – the Brahman without attributes.The Nirguna Brahman is the unchanging Reality, however, the Saguna Brahman is posited as a means to realizing this Nirguna Brahman . 6-The concept of the saguna Brahman is considered in this tradition to be a useful symbolism and means for those who are still on their spiritual journey, but the saguna concept is abandoned by the fully enlightened once he or she realizes the identity of their own soul with that of the nirguna Brahman. A Smarta may choose any saguna deity (istadevata) such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Surya, Ganesha or any other, and this is viewed in Smarta Tradition as an interim step towards realizing the nirguna Brahman and its equivalence to one's own Atman. 7-Smarta is an adjective derived from Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, Smṛti, ).The smriti are a specific body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down but constantly revised, in contrast to Śrutis (the Vedic literature) considered authorless, that were transmitted verbally across the generations and fixed .The term Smarta means "follower of Smriti".

…..SHIVOHAM......