Namadharaka eagerly asked Siddha to recount to him all about the
next manifestation of the Lord Datta. Siddha replied, “Indeed, the
divine acts of the second avatar cannot be completely comprehended
even by great yogis. So, remember that however much I might
narrate them, my account is bound to be fragmentary and
incomplete.
I have told you that earlier, Sreepada Swami told a Brahmin lady
to devote her life to the worship of Lord Shiva. She did
accordingly and as a result of it, she was born in North India in
a pious family and was named Amba. She grew up into a handsome,
chaste girl and she was married to a pious young man by name
Madhava Sharma. She was devoted, heart and soul to the service of
her husband. His noble company added to the noble tendencies she
developed as a result of her spiritual discipline in her previous
life. She now became an ardent devotee of Shiva. In course of
time, she gave birth to a son. The child did not cry, as is usual,
at birth. On the other hand, the only sound he uttered was ‘OM’
and everyone there was amazed at it. Astrologers assured Madhava
Sharma that their child indeed was an avatar of the Lord. They
also prophesied that he would renounce all worldly tied and that
he would uplift fallen souls. They said that Madhava Sharma was
indeed blessed by the birth of such a child.
The news that this child uttered the sacred syllable immediately
at birth spread to the neighboring cities and towns. Devout men
and women came to see the child in great numbers. At the proper
time, the child was named Narahari. The name signified that he was
the dispeller of the sins and miseries of human beings.
Another miracle took place a little after his birth. At first, his
mother did not have enough lactation. The parents were thinking of
purchasing a she-goat, or arranging for a wet nurse, to feed the
child. But this was not necessary. For, when the little hands of
the child touched the mother’s breast, there was profuse
lactation. The parents who were already worried that the
extraordinary child might suffer from evil eye of the large number
of visitors, decided to keep this miracle a secret.
The child Narahari grew up to be a handsome boy of five, but he
could not speak and the parents were very much worried about it.
One day, the boy conveyed to them through gestures that he wished
to invested with the sacred thread. Accordingly, Madhava Sharma
performed the sacred thread ceremony of his son at that early age.
Young Narahari learned the Gayathri Mantra, adopted the vows of a
young celebate (Brahmacharya), accepted his first offering of food
from his mother’s hands and at once recited the three Vedas. It
was evident that he was indeed the Master of all sacred Wisdom. He
then paced thrice round his parents with all the reverence due to
them, as the physical representatives of the Fatherhood and
Motherhood of God, the Creator and Sustainer; and as
representatives of God, the Father, the Mother, and Teacher of all
humanity said: “Owing to the profound realization that the human
body is impermanent, dispassion has come over me. So please permit
me to renounce all worldly ties and dedicate my entire life to the
highest wisdom. As I am endowed with a keen understanding and
steadfast discrimination, I am not in danger of swerving from my
spiritual path. You need not worry about my life”.
The parents were shocked at his words and wept, saying, “You are
our only child. If you desert us in this fashion, who is to take
care of us in our old age, and of our welfare in the realms beyond
death? You may as well renounce the world after leading the life
of a house-holder for sometime, and, after begetting sons.”
Narahari replied, ‘Mother, scriptures ordain that one should
renounce the world only after living as house-holder for sometime.
But this is imperative only in the case of those who cannot
conquer their desires. But owing to my previous state of
existence, I am endowed with innate dispassion even at my birth.
So, I do not want to enjoy the objects of the senses which can
only lead to misery. So, I shall pass on directly from the state
of celibacy directly to the life of a sannyasi. Thereby, I shall
only confirm my perfection. Indeed, there is no nobler course than
this to one who is endowed with discrimination. In this age of
Kali, the average span of life granted to a man is a mere hundred
years. Half of it is spent in sleep. Part of the rest is spent
away in the ignorance of boyhood and the waywardness of youth.
Another large chunk of it is frittered away in the service of the
family and kinsfolk. The senility of old age gobbles up another
portion of what little is left to him. But, after all wealth,
family ties and responsibilities are as unreal as a dream. Youth
is a transcient as a flower which soon withers. Thus life is very
short when viewed in the light of the only purpose of it, i.e.,
Self Realization. The wheel of time destroys all forms of life,
including the gods, relentlessly. To be emotionally attached to
anything in this phenomenal world amounts to mere self-betrayal
and is self-defeating too. This body, with the skin as its surface
layer, flesh, bones and the blood within, is as frail a structure
as a water bubble. Excessive fondness for one’s wife and children
is the root of all other devil tendencies. In itself, this body of
ours is made of inanimate matter and is ever changing and
perishable. Only the “SELF” within is eternal and is our only true
being. Joys and sorrows of worldly life are merely relative,
subjective and are therefore illusory experiences to the realized.
Man can break the fetters of this illusion only through the grace
of the guru. He who is born as a noble Brahmin and yet does not do
anything to secure liberation from this illusion deceives himself.
Therefore, oh mother, do not hinder me in my resolve. You shall be
blessed with some more children. Go on meditating on me and
thereby you shall cross the ocean of misery and ignorance too’. So
saying, Narahari again blessed his mother with the vision of his
divine form. She perceived it through the eye of wisdom and was at
once reminded of her previous birth. So she said to the Lord:
‘Holy one, you are indeed Lord Sreepada, who in my previous life,
saved me from my unwise resolve to commit suicide. I bow before
you. Your glory cannot be comprehended in its fullness even by the
four-faced Brahma. How then can I, a deluded mortal, know it? Even
this little wisdom was bestowed on us by your grace and as a
result of my good fortune. You are, indeed, the Unbounded One. All
the universes have their being in your infinite expanse. To say
that you are born to me as my son is but a fallacy; for you are
eternal. But the whole of my ancestry and that of my husband are
sanctified by your birth in our family. Yours is the omnipresent
will. I shall not hinder your resolve to renounce the world for
the welfare of all sentient beings. Bless me that this glorious
vision of your divine form is forever impressed on my heart. You
have assured me that I shall be blessed with a few more children.
Pray, stay with us, at least till such time!’ Lord Narahari
graciously acceded to her request and stayed away. The blessed
couple used to worship the Lord every day with full awareness of
his divinity. Many were the learned who flocked to him for the
elucidation of intricate questions in scriptural knowledge. Many
of them got their doubts clarified and attained Self-realization.
This is no task to one who could uplift even the dull witted.
In course of time, Amba was blessed with the birth of twins. When
they were three months old, Narahari said to his mother, ‘Mother,
you are now blessed with these two children. You shall have two
more sons and a daughter. Please permit me to renounce the world
now’. She consented. He covered his head with a piece of cloth,
put on wooden sandals, covered his body with the ochre robe and
wore a codpiece. Taking a staff in his hand, he set out from his
home in joy.
On his way to Badrinath, Narahari reached the holy Varanasi (Kasi)
in the guise of a seeker after liberation. There, at a secluded
spot, he sat in the yogic posture of Vajrasana and
restrained his vital breath. He assumed the yogic gesture (mudra)
of khecheri and meditated on the subtle internal sound of
nada. The sages of that Holy place recognized him to be the
Lord himself, prostrated to him and addressed him thus: ‘Holy one,
you have assumed a human form in order to re-establish the
pristine purity and dignity of the great institution of Sanyasa.
It was formally established by Sree Sankaracharya of yore and is
now in a fallen state, almost non-existent in its true form. May
you propagate it again! The wicked who are deluded by the dark age
of Kali, unable to recognize the bliss of Self-realization, have
come to shun the blessed Sanyasa. Even though it is terrible to
the faint-hearted, this age of Kali is capable of bestowing bliss
much more easily than the other ages. Pray, secure for us this
supreme path to Bliss!’
Granting their wish, Lord Narahari, in accordance with holy
tradition, resorted to his Holiness Swami Krishna Saraswathi as
his guru and from him took vow of Sanyasa. Henceforth, he came to
be known as Sree Nrisimha Saraswathi. He relinquished the tuft of
hair (sikha), the sacred thread and all. He formally took
the vow of lifelong celibacy. Thus he became a full fledged
sannyasi who was transcended the opposites of joy and sorrow and
the limitations of a self centered will. This World teacher has
laid down the tradition of Sanyasa for seekers after liberation
and expounded the same to his disciples thus:
“Great good accrues through Sanyasa which consists of the
following acts:
(1) Praayaschitta or holy rites of atonement for one’s sins
of present and previous births, including the witlful acts and
also those done unwittingly;
(2) Ashtasraadhas or the eight rites obsequies which are
offered to all worldly relations including one’s previous self;
(3) Virajaahoma or the fire-oblation signifying the
crossing of the river of death;
(4) Gayatripravesa or entering the spirit of Gayatrimantra;
(5) Yeeshanatraya tyaga or the relinquishment of concern for life,
wife, children and wealth;
(6) Bhooradi Sanyasa or renunciation of desire for the joys
and possessions in heaven and on earth;
(7) Sikhasuutra Sanyasa or relinquishing the tuft of hair
and the sacred thread;
(8) Guruprapatti or resorting to a Guru who expounds to the
seeker, meaning of the four cardinal tenets of Vedanta i.e., the
Mahavaakyas, viz., ‘Pragnaanam Brahma” (pure
awareness of Brahma); Aham Brahmaasmi (My real self is
Brahma); Tatvamasi (Thou art indeed That); Ayam atma
Brahma (This self is indeed Brahman). He also learns of:
Panchiikarana (analysis of the phenomenon of the manifestation
of the five basic elements of existence as this creation and the
body); Yogapatta (or the title of a Monk);
Paryankasowcha (vow of keeping one’s bed pure and giving up
the use of any soft ands comfortable beds other than one’s
garment); Swadharma Vichaara (or understanding of the
spirit of the traditional practices of the life of Sanyasa).
When someone who has renounced the world in the said manner,
leaves his body, it has to be preserved in the earth, or left in
water, but should not be cremated. One has to understand the
implications of Sanyasa and adopt it only if he is competent and
qualified to do so.”
Thus Sree Nrisimha Saraswathi expounded the nature of Sanyasa to
some and the meaning of the Vedas which can secure the true
objects of life (Purusharthas) to others. Then, he
proceeded in his wanderings round the country in a clock wise
direction, along with his disciples. He took holy dips in all the
holy rivers along the way and reached the sacred place where the
river Ganga joins the sea. There he pursued the practice of yoga.
Later, he again set out on his trek and arrived at holy Prayag,
where he expounded the philosophy of Vedanta to a pious Brahmin
named Madhava and initiated him into Sanyasa. Then he proceeded
homewards to see his mother again.”
Having heard thus far attentively, Namadharaka asked, “Who is that
Krishna Saraswathi who had the fortune of being the revered Guru
of the Lord himself? Why did the Lord Himself need to be initiated
by him into Sanyasa?” Siddha replied:
“Just as Sri Rama became the disciple of sage Vasishta, and Sri
Krishna resorted to sage Sandipani, Sree Nrisimha too resorted to
Krishna Saraswathi. For, once he assumed the human form, it
behoves that he should respect the Holy Law of mortals which alone
ensures their lasting good. Else, the Law will fall into a general
neglect. Hence, the holy ones never ignore it. Even the
Bhagavad-Gita says, ‘Whatever the best of mortals does, the world
follows’. Now I shall tell you the spiritual lineage of Sree
Nrisimha Saraswathi.
