NIKETAN, THAPOVANAMNIKETAN, THAPOVANAM SRI …Sri Bhuvaneshwari Avadhuta Vidya Peetham, Pudukkottai. Sri Swamiji is an authority on Tirukkural, a great ad-mirer of Manickavacagar,

to serve the latter aspect of

Sadguru Gnanananda’s teaching.

This year, on Chitra Purnima

day, 18-04-2011, twenty five

years of seva to the tradition of

Advaita Vedanta have been

completed.

Our obeisance be to the Brahma

Vidya Sampradaya, from Sri Dak-

shinamurti to Adi Sankara and

to our Acharya!

contemplation. Also the impor-

tance of devotion to the sam-

pradaya or tradition was well

emphasized by Swami Gnana-

nanda.

It was on a Chitra Purnima day

in 1986, that on the initiative of

some senior devotees, Sri

Gnanananda Niketan, a Charita-

ble Trust, was founded by Pujya

Sri Swami Vidyananda Giri and

Pujya Sri Swami Nityananda Giri

Sri Gnanananda Niketan - 25 Years of Seva

S R I G N A N A N A N D A S R I G N A N A N A N D A S R I G N A N A N A N D A S R I G N A N A N A N D A

N I K E T A N , T H A P O V A N A MN I K E T A N , T H A P O V A N A MN I K E T A N , T H A P O V A N A MN I K E T A N , T H A P O V A N A M Special Bulletin N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 1

INDEX :

• Sri Gnanananda

Niketan 25th

Year

• Sadguru Gnanan-

anda Sayings.

• Swami Vid-

yananda Giri

• Swami Nit-

yananda Giri

• Swami

Dayananda

Saraswati, Pa-

tron Trustee of

Sri Gnanananda

Niketan

• Swami Omkaran-

anda Saraswati

• Swami Brah-

mavidyananda

Saraswati

• Sadguru Gnanan-

anda Satsang

Mandap

• Consecration of

the Satsang

Mandap

• Ananda Kutir

• Thanks

• Drop your bun-

dle!

• Sri Gnanananda

Niketan details

Sadguru Gnanananda was a

Mahayogi from the Himalayas

and a Gnanasiddha in the lineage

of Adi Sankara Bhagavadpada

(Jyotirmutt). To his devotees He

was God in human form with

the infinite love and compassion

of the Divine Mother. His disci-

ples saw in him a great Master, a

Witness to the Upanishadic

tradition.

Sadguru Gnanananda’s legacy

covers the different spiritual

needs of the human soul to

ultimately lead us to the know-

ledge of the Self.

He encouraged the devotees to

be engaged in devotional activi-

ties such as pujas with Vedic

chants, bhajans and also in self-

less service (Karma Yoga) thus

helping them attain chitta suddhi

or purity of heart.

Equally, he provided facilities to

advanced spiritual aspirants and

Sannyasins encouraging and

guiding them to undertake in-

tense study of Vedanta and

Sadguru Gnanananda and Swami

Vidyananda Giri

Swami Vidyananda Giri and Swami

Nityananda Giri

Sadguru Swami Gnanananda Giri

P A G E 2

Sri Swami Vidyananda Giri wati Mahaswami and studied

Vedanta under his guidance.

He heard about Sadguru Sri

Gnanananda at Mylapore

Kapaleeswarar temple. Once,

while returning from Thanja-

vur to Chennai, when the

train stopped at Villupuram,

he got down by impulse, pro-

ceeded to Tirukovilur and

after darsan of Sri Ragothama

Moola Brindavana, sought re-

fuge at the lotus feet of Sad-

guru Sri Gnanananda. Swami

welcomed him with great

love. On Sankara Jayanti day

in 1964, He gave him Sann-

yasa Diksha with upadesa of

Mahavakya. Knowing his pro-

ficiency in Vedanta, Gurudev

gave him the Diksha Nama,

“Vidyananda Giri.”

Sadguru Gnanananda made

arrangements for Sri Swami

Vidyananda Giri to conduct

Vedanta classes for other

Sannyasins at Thapovanam.

He blessed him by being pre-

sent at some classes. It was

thus that the teaching tradi-

tion was established and com-

menced by Sadguru Gnana-

nanda at his Ashram.

Sri Swami Vidyananda Giri

was known as Siva

Sankara Davey prior to his

initiation into Sannyasa.

He was born to a pious

Gujarati Brahmin couple

at Thanjavur, where he

also had his school educa-

tion.

As Siva Sankara Davey, he

used to visit Tiruvanna-

malai often and have dar-

san of Sri Seshadri Swami-

gal and Bhagawan Sri Ramana

Maharishi.

He was very much devoted

to Kanchi Paramacharya, Sri

Chandrasekharendra Saras-

“There where

nothing is,

everything in fact

Is.

Penetrate this

secret,

and you will vanish

from yourself,

Then alone, in truth

YOU ARE”

Sadguru

Gnanananda

Sadguru Sri Swami Gnanananda Giri

“Even as a farmer who wants to reap a

rich harvest must toil hard, plough the

hard soil, make it soft before the seeds are

sown, protect the young crops from extra-

neous growth of weeds and keep off the

cattle, a spiritual seeker who aspires for

God Realization must seek the company of

god men, seers and sages, listen carefully

to their advice and tread the path shown

by them. There is no short-cut to Self-

realization”.

Sadguru Swami Gnanananda Giri

Translated from “Gnana Inba Veli”

S P E C I A L B U L L E T I N

P A G E 3

“Not only did Sri Sankara

teach his disciples who were

with him, but he also made

sure that the teaching came

down to posterity through his

writings”

Swami Dayananda

Saraswati

Swami Dayananda Saraswati Patron Trustee of Sri Gnanananda Niketan

Right from the constitution of

the Trust, Sri Gnanananda

Niketan has been receiving

the valuable and timely gui-

dance of Pujya Swamiji.

The Board of Trustees of Sri

Gnanananda Niketan ex-

presses its gratitude to Pujya

Sri Swami Dayananda Saras-

wati for having gracefully

accepted to be a Patron Trus-

tee of Sri Gnanananda Ni-

ketan Trust and again seeks

Pujya Swamiji’s blessings and

guidance for this Sadhana

Kendra.

No introduction is required

for this unique teacher of

Vedanta of our times. His

contribution to Brahma Vidya

tradition in today’s world is

indeed very important.

Pujya Swamiji’s brilliant in-

sights help us understand the

teaching of the scriptures in

accordance with the tradition

and implement it in our life.

Swami Nityananda Giri

The Board of Trustees of Sri Gnanananda Niketan wants to inform its friends and supporters that

Pujya Sri Swami Omkarananda Saraswati and Sri Swami Brahmavidyananda Saraswati had earlier

been coopted as Trustees of Sri Gnanananda Niketan.

The collection of his tea-

chings in Tamil titled “Gnana

Inba Veli” was published four

months af ter Sadguru

Gnanananda’s Mahasamadhi in

January 1974.

Swami Nityananda Giri was

initiated into Sannyasa in 1975

by Swami Vidyananda Giri.

The book published in En-

glish, titled “Sadguru Gnana-

nanda”, giving a detailed ac-

count of the life, personality

and teachings of the sage, was

compiled by devotees under

the guidance of Swami Nit-

yananda Giri and published in

1979 by Bharatiya Vidya Bha-

van.

He assisted Swami Vidyanan-

da Giri in publishing Vedanta

books in Tamil with Sankara

Bhashya.

He wrote in Tamil the popu-

lar work on the sage’s life,

teachings and also the signifi-

cance of the daily routine at

the Ashram, that was pu-

blished under the title “Sri

Gnanananda Darsanam” in

1996.

Swami Nityananda has tra-

veled widely in Europe, Can-

ada and United States, lectu-

ring on Vedanta and Yoga.

It was after much persuasion

by his Diksha Guru, Swami

Vidyananda Giri, that he fi-

nally accepted to be the Ma-

naging Trustee of Sri Gnana-

nanda Niketan and continue

the tradition of teaching Ve-

danta, established by Sadguru

Gnanananda during his life-

time.

Swami Nityananda Giri, born

in an orthodox brahmin fa-

mily, had from his very early

age the exposure to Vedic

culture and god-men . He left

home in 1963 renouncing his

profession and a senior posi-

tion

After a period of intense

spiritual training, he came to

Sadguru Gnanananda in 1971.

Under his direct guidance, he

studied Advaita Vedanta in

depth as a student of Swami

Vidyananda Giri, the Vedanta

teacher of the Ashram.

Swami Nityananda Giri was

directed by Sri Gnanananda

to compile his teachings in

the later half of 1973. He was

blessed to have access to the

great Sage at any time in the

day or night for this purpose.

S P E C I A L B U L L E T I N

P A G E 4

Sri Swami Brahmavidyananda

Saraswati was born and

brought up in Tamil Nadu,

South India.

After his graduation in engi-

neering, he worked in indus-

try and as a teacher for few

years.

Because of his thirst for

knowledge, he gave up all

other pursuits except Vedanta

and started to study under

Pujyasri Swami Dayananda Saras-

wati. Swamiji initiated him into

Sannyasa and later he was the

Acharya (teacher) of the three

years’ residential Vedanta course

at Swami Dayananda ashram in

Rishikesh.

He has a vast knowledge in Sans-

krit, Vedanta and Yoga philoso-

phy. He is currently residing in

Sri Swami Chidbhavananda Ash-

ram at Theni, conducting classes.

Swami Brahmavidyananda Saraswati

S P E C I A L B U L L E T I N

Swami Omkarananda Saraswati Pujya Swami Omkarananda is

an outstanding Teacher of

Vedanta known for

his eloquence in

Tamil and Sanskrit.

His ability to present

the most intricate

topics of Vedanta in

an easily understand-

dable manner has

won him a large

following of youth as

well as rural and

even not so well

educated masses.

Swami Omkarananda

was inspired by the teach-

ings of Swami Vivekananda.

His spiritual thirst led him to

Pujyasri Swami Chidbha-

vananda of Sri Ramakrishna

Tapovanam, Tiruparaiturai.

Swami Chidbhavananda was

a disc ip le of Swami

Sivananda, a direct disciple of

Sri Ramakrishna.

Sri Swamiji received sannyasa

diksha from Swami Chidbha-

vananda.

Sri Swamiji studied Advaita

Vedanta under his vidya

Guru Pujyasri Swami Pa-

ramarthanandaji, the well

known disciple of Pujyasri

Swami Dayananda Saraswati,

the great master of our

times.

Sri Swamiji founded Sri

Swami Chidbhavananda

Ashram at Theni run by

Vedanta Sastra Prachara

Trust.

Swami Omkarananda

succeeded Sadguru

Santananda Swamigal of

Sr i Bhuvaneshwari

Avadhuta Vidya Peetham,

Pudukkottai.

Sri Swamiji is an authority

on Tirukkural, a great ad-

mirer of Manickavacagar,

Saint Tayumananavar and

Mahakavi Sri Subramanya

Bharati. A unique feature of

Sri Swamiji’s classes is the

spontaneous flow of quota-

tions from the Vedas as well

as Tamil texts like Tiru-

mandiram and Kaivalya

Navaneetam.

P A G E 5

S P E C I A L B U L L E T I N

We are glad to inform that with Sadgurudeva’s

Grace and blessings, the construction of Sadguru

Gnanananda Satsang Mandap, has been success-

fully completed.

The Meditation Hall is situated in the basement of

the Mandap on the western side and under the

auspicious influence of two Pipal trees.

Vedantic classes, spiritual discourses and parayanas

for the welfare of mankind, will be conducted in the

Satsang Mandap.

Sadguru Gnanananda Satsang Hall Dais in the Satsang Hall Veranda in the Satsang Hall

Sadguru Gnanananda Satsang Mandap

Kartigai month is considered

to be specially auspicious for

chanting the Vedas.

A chant of Krishna Yajurveda

Samhita by a few Vedic Pun-

dits was arranged for three

days during the first week of

Kartigai month at Sri Gnana-

nanda Satsang Mandap as

consecration of the new

building.

As another part of the conse-

cration, a recitation of Tiruva-

cakam -Tiruvacakam Muttrodal

- will be performed by Sivan-

adiyars from and around Ti-

ruchirapalli.

The one day function will be

conducted on Monday, the

12th December 2011 (the last

Monday of Kartigai month and

with Ardra nakshatra, specially

sacred for worship of Lord

Siva), under the graceful gui-

dance of Pujya Sri Swami Om-

karananda Saraswati.

On Tuesday, the 13th Decem-

ber and Wednesday the 14th

December, discourses in

Tamil by Pujya Sri Swami Om-

karananda on “Srimad Bhaga-

vadgita and Tirukkural” have

been arranged in collabora-

tion with Tirukoilur Panbattu

Kazhagam in Anusuya Ammal

Sriramulu Chettiar Tirumana

Mahal, East Street, opposite

to big Gopuram and next to

Anjaneeyar temple, from 6:30

to 8:00 pm.

Swamiji will also address the

students of Vidya Mandir

Higher Secondary School at

Tirukoilur and Sri Viveka-

nanda Higher Secondary

School at Arakhandanallur at

10 am on Tuesday the 13th

December 2011 and 14th

December 2011 respectively.

Consecration of the Satsang Mandap

Besides the construction of the Satsang Hall, the Trust had also undertaken the construction of “Ananda Kutir”, for the Senior Sannyasin of Sri Gnana-nanda Niketan. The Kutir comprises the living quarters of the Senior Sannyasin, a guest room, a front veranda to meet the students and devotees, a small office and an inner hall. It is a much needed and timely addition to the Ashram com-plex. With Sadguru’s Grace and blessings, Ananda kutir was inaugurated on Chitra Purnima day on 18th April 2011.

Ananda Kutir

The Board of Trustees of Sri Gnanananda Niketan, expresses its gratitude

to all its friends who have been supporting this charity ever since the very

constitution of the Trust.

It is because of Sadguru Gnanananda´s Grace and blessings and the devo-

tees’ enthusiasm and dedication, that Sri Gnanananda Niketan is developing

well.

Special thanks for all the support received in the construction of the Satsang

Mandap and Ananda Kutir.

The Board gratefully acknowledges the free services and assistance ren-

dered by:

- Sri R. Bhaskaran, the architect,

- Sri Ram Kumar of Venkataraman and Co.

Civil Engineer Contractors,

- Sri Mohana Krishna, Builder

- Sri Sivasubramaniam, Consultant Engineer

- Sri K. Natarajan, Engineer, Devotee

Special thanks

The second phase of the construction project is to continue. It consists of construction of additional accommodation, compound wall, water harvesting, provision of solar energy panels, diesel generating set, etc. With Sadguru Gnanananda’s Grace, may Sri Gnanananda Niketan continue to develop to carry out its Seva to the tradition of Brahma Vidya in today’s world.

All are welcome to participate in this noble endeavor.

P A G E 6

S P E C I A L B U L L E T I N

Thapovanam Post 605.756

Villupuram District

Tamil Nadu

India

Phone: (91) (0)4153 224938

Cell: 8903238038 - 9444109401

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: Gnanananda-Niketan.org

Inspired by the importance given by Sadguru Gnanananda to Adhyatma Vidya or “Knowledge of the Self”, his loving care of

those devoted to Self-inquiry and with the view to continue the tradition, the Charitable Trust Sri Gnanananda Niketan was

constituted by Paramapujya Swami Vidyananda Giri. The endeavour was fully blessed by Pujya Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati of

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.

Sri Gnanananda Niketan is exclusively dedicated to the service of the Vedantic Tradition, open to all Sannyasins and nishkincanas,

irrespective of caste, creed, gender or nationality and who are devoted to the path of Self-inquiry in the light of Vedanta.

Sri Gnanananda Niketan BOARD OF TRUSTEES • Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Patron Trustee

• Swami Nityananda Giri Managing Trustee

• Swami Omkarananda Saraswati Trustee

• Swami Brahmavidyananda Saraswati Trustee

• Sri T. L. Viswanatha Iyer Trustee, President

• Sri P.N. Devarajan Trustee

• Sri A. S. Krishnamurti Trustee

• Dr. V. Sripathi Trustee

• Sri P.S. Veeramani Trustee

• Sri V. Parameswaran Trustee, Secretary

Drop your bundle!

‘Wisdom, true knowledge, will never

find entrance into anyone against his

will. You have to want it, and to want

it with your whole heart.

‘Supposing one day you hear that on

the other side of the river there is a

Swami whom everyone praises to the

skies. So you want at all costs to have

his darshana. You set off—but the

river is in the way. There is no way to

ford it, and swimming is too dange-

rous. Then besides the bank you see a

ferry man with his boat. You ask him

to take you across to the other side.

‘“O.K.,” he says. “But first, you must

drop that bundle. I only take men, not

their luggage.”’

‘”Oh no. my bundle! I can’t possibly

leave it behind. How could I manage

without my things? In it there is my

food for the journey, my bedding for

the night. I have brought flowers and

fruit to offer to the Swami. I have got

my holy books, which I read everyday.

After all, my bundle is not so heavy.

Look here, ferry man, be reasonable!

Take me across just as I am, with what

I am carrying. I will pay the full fare.”’

‘”Whichever you prefer,” replies the

ferry man. ”The choice is yours. With-

out your bundle, I take you over; with

your bundle, you stay here. Which do

you want? - the darshan of the Swami

or your old baggage?”

‘So then, when we have dropped our

load, we pass over and have the dar-

shana of the Atman”

“Tell me, who can run

with a load on his head?

What the guru expects of

you is yourself—not what

you bought, as you went

through the market!

Sadguru Gnanananda

(in “Guru and Disciple”)

P A G E 7