RADHE KRISHNA
Swami Haridhos Giri - The Mahavataar
Early years
Swami Haridhos Giri or Guruji as he was affectionately called, was the founder of the Swami Haridhos Giri Ashram in Thennangur, a village, town panchayat which is located in the Vandavasi Taluk of Thiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu. Swami Haridhos Giri was born in the early part of the twentieth century in Thennangur to Sri Nott Annaji Rao and Lakshmi Amma in the month of Margazhi, Uttarabhadra (Uttarathadi) star. Sri Nott Annaji Rao was an illustrious proponent of Namasankirtan. Guruji was named Hari. He grew up in an atmosphere that resonated with Namasankirtan to which he was inducted at an early age.
He went to a suburban school in Coimbatore and subsequently started his career by working as a manager in a Tea Estate at Munnar in Kerala. One day when Hari was sitting on top of a hill of the estate, he saw a small fire downhill. He quickly asked some of the workers at the tea plantation to douse the fire. However, when the workers went down the hill they could not see any fire. Nevertheless, Hari continued to see the fire for nearly a week.
One night, Hari heard a knock on his door. When he opened the door, he saw the fire, but this time at a closer distance. All of a sudden, the fire disappeared and a radiant saintly figure appeared in front of him and waved Hari to come to him. As Hari approached the saintly figure, it vanished. A couple of days after the incident, Hari applied for leave and went to Chennai (erstwhile Madras). When Hari reached Madras, his father Sri Nott Annaji Rao was preparing to make one of his regular visits to Thapovanam near Thiruvannamalai, to seek blessings of the ageless saint Swami Gnanananda Giri and perform Namasankirtan. Hari decided to accompany his father to Thapovanam. As soon as Hari set his eyes on Swami Gnanananda Giri, he burst out crying. He narrated the incident of the fire to his father, and that it was indeed Swami Gnanananda Giri whose radiant form he had seen in Munnar. Hari had an epiphany that he had found his Guru. Swami Gnanananda asked Sri Nott Annaji Rao if he could take Hari as his disciple. He immediately agreed and thus Hari became a disciple of Swami Gnanananda Giri of Thapovanam.
The illustrious disciple
When Hari came to Thapovanam, he completely surrendered to his Guru. A devoted disciple, Hari would follow his Guru’s instructions with implicit obedience and reverence. Hari was the epitome of Guru Bhakti and the relationship between the Guru and disciple was a sight to behold.
Under his guru’s tutelage, Hari’s spiritual evolution accelerated and he became adept at Sri Vidya worship. Hari would spend hours in meditation and mastered Hatha Yoga. He would spend a major part of the day following a rigorous schedule prescribed by Swami Gnanananda Giri.
After years of sadhana, Hari was graced with Gnana deeksha by Swami Gnanananda Giri on the auspicious day of Thai Krittika in 1973. Swami had made Hari his successor and also appointed him as Trustee of Sri Gnanananda Thapovanam. Swami Gnanananda Giri named Hari as Swami Haridhos Giri.
Swami Gnanananda built a memorial for Hari in Thapovanam and called it Hari Bhavanam. Memorials metaphorically reflecting Hari’s rebirth as a Sanyasi. Such was Swami’s love for his disciple.
The disciple becomes the master
Under Swami Gnanananda Giri, Swami Haridhos Giri learnt Sri Vidya and Hatha yoga. Swami Gnanananda Giri also blessed him with the knowledge of the four Vedas and that of the Puranas and Upanishads including Shaiva Vedanta. Swami Gnanananda Giri chose him to spread the spirit of Namasankirtan all over the world. In Kali Yuga, Namasankirtan is the holy path prescribed in Srimad Bhagavatham for upliftment and salvation. Moreover, chanting of Namas is considered easier than other spiritual practices which require tremendous rigour. Swami Haridhos Giri embarked on a journey to spread the importance of Guru Bhakti and Namasankirtan across the world. He carried his Guru’s Padhukas wherever he went and worshipped them with reverence and gratitude. Swami Haridhos Giri’s Namasankirtan and discourses would bring people to ecstasy. He would exhort people to sing along with him and revel in the satsang. People would throng in thousands to participate in his satsang.
Swami Haridhos Giri wrote and composed numerous songs about Advaita Vedanta and Guru Bhakti. People would queue up early morning outside the Narada Gana Sabha Hall in Chennai for his Bhajan and discourse program at 3 pm on the 2nd Sunday of every month; such was the interest he generated amongst people for Bhajans and Kirtans. He also popularised Veedhi Bhajans (bhajans traversing streets) in Mylapore in Chennai, held every morning in the month of Margazhi (Dec15-Jan15). Renowned classical musicians also joined the Veedhi Bhajans.
This tradition continues to be followed by Sri Gnanananda Namasankirtana Mandali and is growing more popular every year. Swami Haridhos Giri’s discourses were about the lives of Bhakta Prahalad, Saint Purandara Dasar, Bhadrachala Ramdas, Tulsidas, Kabir, Meera, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the saints of Maharashtra like Tukaram, Gyaneshwar, Gora Kumbhaar, Eknath and others. He also gave discourses on Ramayana, Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatham and the Dasavathar as well. Even learned people were astounded by Guruji’s scholarship and authority of Holy Scriptures and his repertoire of Bhajans, Kirtans and Abhangs. On one such occasion, Swami Haridhos Giri gave a discourse on Saint Purandara Dasa for 40 days. People close to him would be amazed that he rendered Bhajans and discourses without referring to a single book.
Swami Haridhos Giri’s fame grew far and wide. Devotees started fondly calling him Guruji and he became known as Guruji across the world. Thousands of devotees across the globe were drawn to his Satsangs and took to Namasankirtan because of him. He established Samajams in the name of his Guru Swami Gnanananda Giri in all the major cities in India and in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and the USA.
Guruji was a Mahavataar who inspired thousands of people to follow the holy path of Namasankirtan. Although he was known mainly for his Namasankirtan, he was an authority in the scriptures, yoga, Sri Vidya worship, Vedas, Upanishads and the Puranas. Devotees would often discuss their personal problems and he would guide them at every step. He was a loving and compassionate Guru. Many disciples and devotees had divine experiences with Guruji. Before writing about the final journey, the experience of a very close disciple in Pune will offer a perspective. These were his words “I am disciple of Guruji residing in Pune and took care of all of Guruji’s programmes in Pune. On one such visit, a Maharashtrian couple Mr and Mrs.Navale came to meet Guruji. Although language was a barrier, they felt connected to him and invited Guruji to their residence. Guruji did so and after that visit, every time Guruji was in Pune, they would come to meet him. A couple of years later in 1967, their daughter was getting married and they extended their first invitation to Guruji. Guruji told them that he would try to make it.
On the day of the marriage, Guruji was in another disciple’s home in Mumbai. I was with him. At the mahurat time of the marriage in Pune, Guruji who was in Mumbai, went into one of the rooms for dhyana and instructed us not to disturb him. After a couple of hours, Guruji came out and told me go to Pune and attend the evening reception. Before leaving for Pune, I went into the room where Guruji sat for dhyana and could smell garlic. The Mumbai family with whom Guruji was staying did not use garlic and therefore, this was surprising. On reaching Pune, as soon as I entered the reception hall, Mr and Mrs Nawale came rushing to me. Before I could apologise for not attending the morning wedding, they elatedly told me that they were blessed today, as Guruji had come to their daughter’s wedding in the morning and had lunch with them. They also told Guruji that the dal they had made had garlic in it and asked him whether they should make fresh dal without garlic. Guruji told them not to worry and asked them to serve it to him. After spending some time with them, he blessed their daughter and son-in-law and left. They were very happy.
When I heard this I was stunned. That is when I got a glimpse of the unfathomable depth of Guruji’s divinity.”
The final Journey
Over five decades had passed since he embarked on his journey as ordained by his Guru Swami Gnanananda. Every year, Guruji would take devotees who would come from all over the world to different parts of India like Brindavan, Pandharpur, Mathura, Kashi, Badrinath and Kedarnath. This was a delightful experience for all his devotees as they would get to spend time with their Guru. In one such journey in September 1994, Guruji and his devotees left from New Delhi to Hardwar on Sep 1, and after staying overnight, proceeded to Uttara Kashi. From there they proceeded to Koteshwar, near Rudra Prayag in the morning of September 4, 1994. Guruji had visited Koteshwar the previous year along with devotees. A Mahadev( Lord Shiva) temple in Koteshwar is on the banks of the holy Alakananda river. The temple is inside a cave with many Swayambu Shiva lingas on the walls as well as the floor of the temple. Legend has it that Lord Shiva meditated here. The name Koteshwar comes from the Hindi word Koti which in English means a crore. It is said that a crore of Shiva lingas are there at the bottom of the Alakananda River. Guruji came with his devotees to the banks of the river at around 3 pm. At 4 pm it was Pradosha Kala, which is sacred to all Shiva devotees. Guruji entered the water at that time and after doing pradakshina (Circumambulation) in the water three times in an upright position, went into the water. This was the last time Guruji was seen in his physical form.
It has been twenty seven years since and his teachings, bhajans, discourses and the extraordinary experiences of many with him, continue to inspire.
Today, Namasankirtan has spread far and wide in the world due to the seeds sown by Guruji, so much so that the word Namasankirtan today is synonymous with Guruji. Guruji was also responsible to give Namasankirtan its pride of place and reiterated the Srimad Bhagavatham teaching that it is the path to Moksha.
It was Guruji’s vision to build an ashram dedicated to his Guru. He built an ashram at his birthplace in Thennangur. The aim of the Ashram is to uphold the tenets of Sanatana Dharma through the path of Namasankirtan.
There are 4 temples in the ashram complex. In the Panduranga Rakhumayi temple, the magnificent idols of Panduranga and Rakhumayi stand tall at 12 ft. and 10ft. respectively. The Maha Shodasi Temple is one of its kind with the sixteen-handed goddess Maha Shodasi and her army of protective deities. The unique Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple was built here since Thennagur( also known as Dakshina Halasyam)was the birth place of Goddess Meenakshi and the ancient Lakshmi Narayan temple adorn the ashram.
The ashram runs a hospital that provides subsidised medical treatment and is a lifeline for the surrounding villages. It also has a Vedic School, a Senior Citizens home, a Ghoshala (Habitat for cows), an Annadhana Hall and a Namasankirtan Hall.
