It has been a while since my last blog post, which was posted on Krishna Janmashtami last year. It was about Sri Poornananda Teertha Stava, a hymn written by Maharajshree Swami Akhandananda Saraswati, about his Guru, the great sage Swami Poornananda Teertha, better known to all as Odia Baba.
Brahmamurthi Sri Odia Baba (1875–1949) was a Paramahamsa—a supreme sage—firmly established in the non-dual state of Self-abidance. He was born on Bhadra Krishna Saptami of Vikram Samvat 1932, which coincided with Smartha Krishna Janmashtami, in August 1875 C.E. This year, Smartha Krishna Janmashtami falls on August 15, marking the 150th Jayanti of Baba. To commemorate the occasion, a week-long festival is being held at Sri Krishnashram, his Ashram in Vrindavan.
This blog post is a humble offering at His holy feet, on this sacred occasion of his sesquicentennial anniversary.
For over thirty years in the early 20th century, Baba lived along the banks of the Ganga, moving from place to place. One may wonder how this supreme sage of the Jnana marga came to be associated with Vrindavan, the sacred abode of Prema. In this context, I share here a few passages drawn from the writings of Maharajshree Swami Akhandananda Saraswati (from his works Pavan Prasang and Brahmamurthi Odia Baba) and Brahmachari Sivanand Anjaneya (from his biography Hamare Maharajji). Originally written in Hindi, these selections have been rendered here into English.
Here goes…
Maharajshree writes:
“Sri Odia Babaji Maharaj used to recount that when he first came to Vrindavan, he never had any particular inclination to wear ochre robes. Ever since he had given up carrying the danda (staff), there was nothing like a rule that he must wear ochre clothes. Someone had once draped a shawl over him, and wearing that same shawl, he went to meet Baba Ramakrishnadasji (a prominent saint who lived in Vrindavan, known for his deep devotion to Lord Krishna and his mastery of scriptures).
Ramakrishnadasji assumed he was some Vaishnava. As they began talking, he asked Baba: “Mahatmaji, do you give primacy to personal effort (paurusha) or to the grace of the Lord (bhagavat-kripa)?”
Babaji, being from the region of Ganga, replied: “We give primacy to personal effort — meditate and become one with the object of meditation, then you meet the Lord.”
Ramakrishnadasji looked at him intently and said: “Have you come from somewhere along the Ganga?”
Babaji replied, “Yes, Maharaj, I have come from the banks of Ganga.”
Then Ramakrishnadasji said: “Then you should go back to the Ganga’s bank and study the Upanishads thoroughly. When your work there is complete and you feel, ‘I have no duties left, no sense of doership; whatever happens is solely by the will of the Lord,’ when you have taken complete refuge — full sixteen annas — in His grace, then come to Vrindavan. Come here only when your faith in the grace of God is complete. This is not the abode of personal effort; this is the abode of divine grace.”
That was the first spark of Vrindavan. After spending several decades on the banks of the Ganga, he moved to Vrindavan in the 1930s, where Shri Krishnashram was established as his residence. His close association with Hari Baba—a staunch proponent of the Bhajana Marga—may well have influenced his decision to settle in Vrindavan.
Of his decision to move to Vrindavan, Sri Anjaneyaji writes:
“For years, Shri Maharajji had been saying, “Let us go to Vrindavan, to Goloka-dhama. There, we will take a small corner from Sri Bihariji, build an ashram, and live there.” This was, in truth, nothing other than the Vrindavan-lila dwelling in the very heart of Sri Maharajji, quietly revealing itself. Moreover, we should clearly understand that just as the planetary periods often, without our knowing, bring about the right circumstances, society, and connections, so too the lila-devi of Mahapurusha —full of wonder—brings forth astonishing plays and manifests extraordinary strength and prowess. In accordance with these divine plays, the holy abode (dhAma), the circle of lila-companions), and all that is needed also naturally come into being.
That blessed day had now arrived. When he first came to Vrindavan, the renowned saint there, Shri Ramakrishnadasji, said, “Here, on every leaf and stalk, there is Shri Krishna; what place is there here for Brahman realized chiefly through renunciation?”
But the heart-core of this Poornananda-Brahman was Shyama-Brahman (Krishna, the Absolute Reality) alone. That very essence manifested as Shri Krishnashram and as the divine play that unfolded there.”
Describing the grand and sacred inauguration festival of Sri Krishnashram, Anjaneyaji writes:
“The auspicious moment of entering this abode of Rasa took place on Basant Panchami, in the company of many saints. For the Blessed Lord has said, “’ऋतूनां कुसुमाकर: – Among the seasons, I am the flowery spring,” thus declaring spring to be His own manifestation.
The foundation of Shri Krishnashram was laid by the Gandharva-avatara Shri Gwaria Baba. This too was a clear indication that this ashram would resound and overflow with the waves of Gandharva-vidya (the celestial art of music).
Accounts of that extraordinary celebration are spoken of even to this day. In their lifetime, people had never before witnessed such a grand festival. This celebration lasted from Magha Shukla 2 to Phalguna Shukla 2 in the year 1932 CE. In addition to other programs, it also included fifteen days of uninterrupted sankirtan.
Shrimaharajji and nearly six hundred members of Pujya Hari Baba’s circle were engaged in sankirtan. Thus, in the kirtan assembly, at least a hundred people would be singing at all times. Accompanying instruments included one ghanta (bell), one nagada (kettledrum), one dholak, one harmonium, and twenty-five pairs of jhanj (cymbals). Pujya Hari Baba would lead collective sankirtan in the early morning from about four to five, at midday from eleven to twelve, and in the evening from six to seven. While leading, he would play the ghanta, dancing in various ways. At that time, hundreds of kirtankars, chanting the holy name, would fill the sky with resonant sound. Divine Bliss was there for all to loot. During these times, Shrimaharajji would stand to one side, absorbed in sahaja samadhi.
Inside the ashram, a very large pandal had been erected. There, in the mornings from eight to eleven, there would be recitation and discourse on the Shrimad Bhagavatam. From two to five in the afternoon, the program of katha and pravachan continued. At night, after the collective sankirtan, from eight until ten or eleven PM, the sacred Raaslila was performed.
In Shri Vrindavan, Raaslila programs take place at many locations, but it is the near-unanimous experience of all that the bliss found in the Raaslila at this place was unlike anywhere else. The reason lay in Shrimaharajji’s subtle infusion of divine rasa and Pujya Baba’s extraordinary steadfastness in the lila.
So many people were fed in the bhandara that, due to lack of space inside the ashram, rows had to be arranged on the streets all the way to the Dawanalkund and up to the railway line nearby. That day, about one hundred and twenty man (4.5 tonnes) of flour was baked. There was no restriction for anyone, and yet, even after feeding everyone, a large amount of food remained. It was as if the store had become inexhaustible. Even after distributing for several days, it did not diminish. At the time of farewell, everyone was given prasad to take home. Prasad was also distributed in all the schools and pathshalas of Vrindavan. Uncooked provisions were sent to the residences of Vaishnava saints.”
Maharajshree notes : Shri Maharajji took great delight in the act of feeding others. Whenever festivals or religious observances were held, large crowds would gather. Shri Maharajji was deeply attentive to ensuring that no one in that gathering remained hungry and that no one was deprived of any item. He would say, “The joy of eating is the joy of Jeeva; the joy of feeding is the joy of Ishvara.”
On Baba’s life in Sri Krishnashram, Maharajshree Swami Akhandananda Saraswati notes::
“From morning 3 AM till night 11 PM, the stream of satsangha would flow nonstop at Shri Krishna Ashram. The dignity of Raasa-Leela that was maintained in the Ashram, is remembered till today. There were all arrangements for both methods of spiritual discipline – the realization of Formless God, and that of God with form. Shri Maharajji (Odia Baba) would be personally present in all the Ashram programs. When discussions on Brahmavidya took place, it seemed that Shri Maharajji was the very embodiment of Brahman. When sankirtan happened, he would be immersed in prEma-samAdhi. When seated in the Raas, he would be absorbed in it entirely. When discourses were going on, he would relish them as the chief listener.
Even the disciples in his inner circle failed to understand the secret of what he was. Was he a Shaiva or Shaakta? Was he a worshiper of Rama or Krishna? Was he a Vedanti or what?”
Indeed, how can one define a sage who is beyond all definitions, free from every limiting identity and untouched by duality?
Śrī-Puṇyaśloka Pūrṇānanda Tīrtha Mahārājñāṁ pādāravindayoḥ praṇamāmi punaḥ punaḥ.
Bowing again and again at the lotus feet of Punyashloka Sri Poornananda Teertha Maharajji, I conclude this post with a re-share of Maharajshree’s Stava.
Click here to view ‘Sri Poornananda Teertha Stava’ on YouTube
Happy Krishna Janmashtami to all!
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athato 