The Jyothir Math established by AdiShankara was bereft of a head for more than 150 years and the members and other acharyas of the Math wanted BrahmanadaSaraswati to be the Shankaracharya of Jyothir Math and they had been requesting him for around 20 years and it was only at the age of 70, in 1941 that he accepted this responsibility.
Profile
BrahmanandSaraswati was born into a Brahmin landed family in a village called Surhurpur, Uttar Pradesh on 20th December 1868. He was named Rajaram who left his home at the age of nine only to be brought back by a policeman. Back home he sought permission from his parents to live a life of recluse which the parents were unwilling to give. They wanted their family guru to convince him to get married. The contrary happened; the guru was so impressed with the boy’s spiritual evolution that he gave up the attempt to change his mind. So the parents had to give in finally. Rajaram travelled to Himalayas in search of a master. He interacted with many wise sages and after five years, since he began his search, he found his guru in Swami KrishnanandaSarawathi. As astudent he was given the name Brahma Chaitanya Brahmachari who soon went on to become the favourite disciple of the master. His guru asked him to spend most of the time in the nearby caves and to visit him only once a week. When he was twenty he came out of the cave permanently and joined his master. It was only when he was thirty four that he was initiated into the order of sanyasa and was given the name BrahmanandaSaraswathi. For another forty years he lived mostly in seclusion inside a cave. Even during this period there were many requests from the Jyothir Math which he refused to accept. Finally in 1941 at the age of 70 he accepted to become the Jagadguru of Jyothir Math. He had many illustrious devotees, the most popular being Maharshi Mahesh Yogi and he appointed Swami ShantanandaSaraswathi as his successor five months before his samadhi which was on 20th May 1953.
Philosophy Propounded
BhagavanAdiShankaracharya’sAdvaita Vedanta was the philosophy propagated by Swami BrahmanandaSaraswathi. He was well versed in Sri Vidya which was propitiating the goddess Devi.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
BrahmanandaSaraswathi was in charge of reconstructing the institution and temple at Jyothir Math. He went around North India giving lectures to establish Shankarachaya’s teachings. The sage who spent most of his life in seclusion spent his last few years travelling and teaching.
