MIRACLE AT KARLA MATH.

On July 5^th and 6^th, a miracle took place at Karla math. On 5^th July, i.e Krishna-panchami day during deepnamaskar at Karla math,a "NAAG SARPA" was seen on steps of Samadhi temple of Shrimat Parijnanashram Swamiji. The "NAAG SARPA" after taking Swamijis darshan went to his sthana.

Next day i.e 6^th of July,when archak went inside Samadhi to do evening pooja, "the same "Naag" which took darshan of Swamiji the previous day had adorned the Shiv-linga in Samadhi temple. The "NAAG" warned the archak not to come near itself when archak took out the “Shiva-mukut” before the evening Samadhi pooja as if NAAG was protecting his master "shiva".After nearly 2 hours the NAAG went back to his sthana after archak showed the path through the passage from where abhishek water goes.The significance of this incident is that the flowers on the shiva-linga were intact.

The "NAAG" was also seen in ashram under Swamijis chair on 5^th July. Everyone present there took darshan of naag. It is indeed a miracle from which it is very clear that H.H Parijnanashram Swamiji is indeed Lord Bhavanishankar and there is no doubt in the NAAG protecting his master "Lord Shiva".

ANANDASHRAY,SHIRALI

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"WHEN I SEE POOR, OLD AND HANDICAPPED PERSONS, I FEEL VERY SAD.THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING MUST BE IMPROVED."



After the revival of the Rathotsav festival in 1973, the Swamiji diverted His attention to fulfil His one more and very important assurance He had given to His Guruswami - the construction of a "Home" for the aged and the forsaken Saraswats. Swamiji had once said, "The condition of our old people is simply pitiable. They are regarded as burden by their own children and have no place to go , no place where they can live in honour and self respect. Some of them write to Us also,asking if they can come and stay here permanently.What reply can We give them ? "But Swamiji"s mind was even then busy finding a way to bring such people together. Thus came the birth of "Anandashray", one of the finest monuments to Poojya Anandashram Swamiji , the Home for the aged that came into being just before Swamiji left the peetha. He rightly named the Home "Anandashray" which aimed at bringing "Anand" among the distressed and the forsaken or uncared for Saraswats. Swamiji contributed sizeable personal funds for the venture. These personal funds included gold from kanakabhishek . His own compassionate urge coupled with the inspiration from His Guruswami to give the much needed relief to the aged, ultimately saw its successful establishment. Many aged and uncared for Saraswats have taken advantage of this Home. A unique feature of this Home is that the inmates are able to attend the daily poojas at the Math in addition to bhajans and keertans in the evening and satisfy their spiritual urge.




Swamiji often used to take the inmates of "Anandashray" to panchavati hills and used to give pravachans and lectures.Thereafter there used to be a small Tea party.This would bring happiness to the less fortunate old persons..swamiji would personally drive the car and take them to the panchavati hills..With great difficulty and very little help from the community Swamiji raised Anandashraya.It is our duty to safegaurd this structure as a Mark of respect to our Great guru HH Parijnanashram swamiji.

REVIVAL OF RATHOTSAVA 1973

While going through some old Math correspondence, Swamiji had come across a letter written by His Guru H.H.Anandashram Swamiji that He had to stop celebrating the annual Rathotsav festival at Shirali because the meagre finances of the Math would not permit its continuance. Parijnanashram Swamiji took it upon Himself to revive Rathotsav , which he achieved in 1973. The idea was not of pomp and enjoyment. Revival of Rathotsav was to fulfil the promise He had made to His Guru and to give an opportunity to the young and old to congregate at Shirali and keep up the old tradition. Swamiji , with the help of a band of selfless workers made all out efforts to collect the corpus of Rathotsav Fund the annual interest of which would suffice to meet the expenses of the festival every year. He announced that as long as there is the Sun and the Moon , this festival should go on !. People will long remember His noble contribution to not only the Saraswat community but also to people of other communities in and around Shirali.
HH Swamiji in his Purvashram and at a tender age of 6 promised his grandmother (who had shown him bad condition of ratha which was standing on the ground due to discontinuation of rathotsava due to lack of funds) that HE will start rathotsava one day ,Thus completing wish of grandmother.This incident confirms He was a true balyogi.
THE ASHIRVACHAN GIVEN BY POOJYA SWAMIJI ON THIS DAY OF RATHOTSAVA WAS VERY EMOTIONAL.TEARS DIDNT SPARE THE DEVOTEES AS WELL AS POOJYA SWAMIJI..IT WAS INDEED DREAM COME TRUE ..

WIRELESS SHACK

In life , it is easy to tread a beaten path than venture into an uncharted road , because there is no risk of thorns or unknown danger on the way. This quality in men is popularly known as "herd mentality".In short , do what the next door guy does and one is safe ! We bhanaps are a typical example of followers of "herd mentality". It is perhaps in this context that our Parijnanashram Swamiji when talking about the Guru & laity relationship had said that , " Our people feel quite contented in having "dhoolbhet" and/or "phalamantrakshat" whenever they come to us. arring a few , they have no concept that Guru is meant to give "margadarshan" and even "Mukti" if one so desires. If at all they come to us , it is to seek solace regarding someone"s job or promotion or alliance or health etc.".

Swamiji"s vision was broad and all encompassing. In that sense , He was not a Guru of a particular community , but a "Jagatguru". He could not withstand human suffering and misery. Once , when He had gone to Panchavati at Shirali one evening , the weather was cyclonic and He saw a small boat with two fishermen struggling to remain afloat in vain and they drowned in the Arabian sea. He though to Himself, "If I could not save these two helpless fishermen , how can I save a "samaj" for which I have been ordained ?" Thus was born the idea of the Wireless shack. On a war-footing He enlisted the help of stalwarts like Shri Badakere Dutt , Shri Kallianpur Ramanand , Shri D.P.Row and Shri Dattu Sharma and set up a Wireless Receiver cum Transmitter. He scored a first grade and obtained a licence to operate as a Ham within 3 months , something which other people would have taken years to accomplish. His vision was to equip Shirali with a communication tool that could quickly call for help from anywhere in any emergency.


swamiji giving exam for getting the liscence of wireless shack-
Badakere Dutt mam played a major role in helping swamiji get a grade one liscence from government of india.swamiji were camping at Anandashram ,khar where dutt mam arranged for an examiner since it was not right for a great saint like HH swamiji to enter an examination hall.The examiner gave question paper and answer sheet to poojya swamiji.Swamiji immidiately started writing paper and completed the paper well before time which even experts and scholars couldnot do it.on reading answer sheet the examiner was shocked..swamiji had applied for grade 2 liscence but the answers were so well written that swamiji were awarded grade 1 liscence..It was indeed a great miracle..swamiji had great love for the wireless shack and the most favourite thing which swamiji had accquired.


HH Swamijis contribution to india in crisis.
During wars,when entire communication system of that time would come to a halt,HH Swamijis HAM and wireless set got secret messages and war like warnings which were immidiately sent to government of india which helped government take appropriate steps to save civilians.
Yet our community people tried in many ways to stop HH Swamiji from doing such great achivements.

MIRACLES AFTER SWAMIJIS MAHASAMADHI
countless people including amchis as well as non-amchis have experienced the grace of HH Parijnanashram swamiji..some of the miracles are even hard to imagine.
some of the miracles after Swamijis mahasamadhi are given below.-

Opening of the samādhi(shrine) during renovation:
Swamiji's samādhi(Shrine) is situated near the Durga Parameshawari Temple at Karla. But for the shrine to be completed, a Shiv-linga was to be installed. So during February/March of 1993 the samādhi slab was removed. To the surprize of everyone, the Marigold flowers and the tulsi leaves that had been placed over the body of Swamiji was still very fresh. Swamiji's scalp and hair was intact as well despite being interred for nearly 18 months.


Goddess Durga and Lord Shankara appearing in flames:
Many devotees have claimed to have witnessed the image of Goddess Durga along with Lord Shankar in the flames of the Homam(Ritual where offerings are placed into fire, usually offerings to lord Agni. The picture of the Gods appearing in the flame can be seen here. This photograph was taken on 28th January,2001.

Swamiji was born on 15th June 1947 at Shirali (Karnataka). Shirali is a place of worship a "tirtha kshetra". It is an abode of Lord Bhavani Shankar and has in its precincts the glorious "Shree Chitrapur Math and six Samadhis of our illustrious holy Guru Parampara started nearly 300 years ago by Adi Parijnanashram Swamiji". His parents Smt. Shantabai & Shri Shankarnarayan Shukla named Him "Ravindra". When Smt. Shantabai was pregnant she had experienced varied indications of Divinity like the sight of 7 hooded serpent, the impulse to offer her offspring to Lord Bhavani Shankar during the arati and so on. He was broughtup in Shirali until the age of six. Ravindra had the privilege to imbibe not only the holy vibrations of Shree Chitrapur Math but to be under the watchful and loving gaze of none other than Shrimad Anandashram Swamiji - our ninth Guru of the holy Guru Parampara. Shrimad Anandashram Swamiji was an embodiment of peace (Shantamoorti), love and kindness.

Young Ravindra came to Mumbai along with his parents in 1953 and had his early schooling in Poddar High School - Santacruz. He used to leave his elders flabbergasted by his witty replies which gave evidence of his luminous wisdom, praiseworthy for that tender age. He had another younger brother and sister too. Shrimad Anandashram Swamiji selected Ravindra as befitting shishya who could adore the "Peetha" and thus vouchsafed the continuance of the sacred Guru Parampara. He was ordained and given sanyas-deeksha by His Guru Shrimad Anandashram Swamiji at his tender age of 11 years on 1st March 1959 at Shivaji Park Mumbai attended by thousands of devotees in a great grand ceremony. The religious heads of other Saraswat Maths were also present to bless the Shishya. Young Ravindra was named as "Parijnanashram" by his Guru Swami Anandashram.

Swami Parijnanashram III was our 10th Guru in the holy Guru Parampara . He was the Mathadhipati of Chitrapur Saraswats for 15 years. During his short regime as a Mathadhipati he revived the Rathotsava in the year 1973 within the limited resources of manpower and material only to fulfill the wishes of His Guru Shrimad Anandashram Swamiji and also to bring about a religious and social awareness in the people. He was a great visionary and was instrumental in developing the Kembre and Bengre farms which were neglected over a period of time. The produce from these farms have succeeded in making Shree Chitrapur Math self sufficient in terms of rice, vegetables and coconuts even today.

He established an archaeological museum in spite of all opposition and humiliation in the year 1974 at Shirali wherein He had collected very many rare and priceless icons. His work was recognised and applauded by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museum Dharwad (Karnataka) and many other scholars. During his visit to the famous "Raja Kelkar Muesum" of Pune Swamijis deep study in archaeology helped to rectify the origin of one of the icons exhibited in the museum. He also vouchsafed the financial stability of Shree Chitrapur Math Shirali by developing a commercial complex in Bangalore which is yielding a sizable income even today. He had setup a deer park and a bird sanctuary on the spacious grounds of Govardhan hillock at Shirali. His love for the animals impelled Swamiji to snatch a very poisonous snake at "Whitekar Snake Park" in Chennai and put around His own neck. "He is my colleague" He said and fondled with him. He used to operate wireless radio and talk with many people throughout the world. This helped in times where other modes of communications were out of order. He was the only sanyasi to become a HAM. Swamiji not only showed keen interest in various fields but actively nurtured them. Collecting stamps, coins and arranging seminars, inviting persons from various walks of life was one of His passions. He violated all the barricades and embraced all the nuances of life.

Swamiji would mix and interact with anyone as if He knew them for ages. Rushing to the calls of His devotees many a times He had pulled them out from the jaws of death. Swamiji started a home for the aged named as "Anandashraya" on 30th March 1980. He had envisaged this activity befitting the need of the times. He had generated the expenses from His own personal belongings and single handedly strove to create an abode of happiness - Anandashraya.

In the lives of every saint they had to face onslaught of humiliation and torture. Swamiji too had no escape from it. Just as an axe which had been used to cut down a sandalwood tree would be blessed with the fragrance of sandalwood, Swamiji emanated love and kindness to the very persons who came to sting him with their poisonous fangs of cruelty, humiliation and torture. He relinquished Mathadhipatya in the year 1979, traveled all over India & abroad and finally settled in His Ashram "Jnananand" at Karla - 8 Kms from Lonavala in the year 1986. He opted not to take any Shishya for the continuity of the Guru Parampara in spite of many pressures from the community. "I am for all who come to me" - He would say irrespective of cast, creed, status and gender.

Having fulfilled all the wishes of His Guru Shrimad Anandashram Swamiji, having gained all the knowledge of the Vedas, Upanishads, Shastras, Sanskrit, grammar, Astrology, Science of debating, Poetry, Literature etc. which is required of a Mathadhipati. Swamiji took Sanjeevani Mahasamadhi on 28th August 1991 at a young age of 44 years. He had assured again and again that "I am still here all the time and whenever you invoke and implore me, I shall always and immediately be with you". This assurance is experienced by many persons even today. To prove this statement thousands of devotees had witnessed an amazing fact during the Pratishta Mahotsava held in February/March 1993 about 18 months from the date of His taking Sanjeevani Samadhi. When the Samadhi was opened for installing the Shivalinga, Swamijis scalp and hair were intact, the marigold flowers and tulsi leaves were also fresh as if they were offered just now. Swamiji lived to what He had said "I am still here all the time ......". "Shree Durga Homa" and "Shree Chandika Homa" are performed during the Navaratri festivals in the month of Ashwin and Magh. For the last 2 years successively devotees could actually see Devi Durga Parameshwari in the flames during poornahuti. This was their subjective experience which could not be shared by all. On the occasion of "Shree Durga Homa" performed on 28th January 2001 "Shree Devi Durga Parameshwari" and "Shree Shankara" appeared in the flames during poornahuti. All can see this in the photograph taken at that time. This incidence has been once again enacted to prove Their presence.

"Swamiji, you should have built a hospital instead of this temple" a devotee had once asked to which Swamiji replied "This is a hospital indeed wherein you leave all your troubles, worries, pains and pangs at the lotus feet of Shree Devi Durga Parameshwari - (Amma which he used to call) and go out with all energies, health and peace to the full".


!! JAI PARIJNAN !!