Sri Sankara Jayanti Mahotsava commenced at Sri Gnanananda Niketan
as usual on the sacred day of Akshaya Tritiya on Wednesday, the 18th April 2018.
It was celebrated with Narayana Seva
(annadana). More than 250 people from
the neighboring two villages were served with food on the auspicious occasion.
Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akti or Akha
Teej, is annual spring time festival of the Hindus and Jains.
In Sanskrit, the word "Akshayya" (अक्षय्य) means "imperishable, eternal,
the never diminishing" in the sense of "prosperity, hope, joy,
success", while Tritiya means "third". It is
named after the "third lunar day" of the spring month of Vaisakha in
the Hindu calendar, the day it is observed. It is
celebrated regionally by Hindus and Jains in India and Nepal, as
signifying the "third day of unending prosperity". Akshaya Tritiya
is very popular festival which carries good luck and triumph in terms of
new schemes, weddings, big investments such as buying property or gold and any
new beginning. In Jainism, it commemorates the first Tirthankara's
(Rishabhdev) ending his one-year asceticism by consuming sugarcane juice
poured into his cupped hands. Some Jains refer to the festival as Varshi
Tapa. Fasting and ascetic austerities are marked by Jains, particularly at
pilgrimage sites such as Palitana (Gujarat). Akshaya Tritiya is believed
in Hinduism to be the day of incarnation of Sri Parasurama who is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. On
this auspicious day Veda Vysasa began dictating the epic Mahabharata to his scribe,
Lord Ganesa. Gates of the temple of Badrinarayana open on this
day after winter. Construction of the chariots for Jagannath Rath Yatra at
Puri commences on this day.
Sri Sankara Jayanti was
celebrated on Friday, the 20th April 2018. Elaborate
poojas were performed at Satsang Mandap. Ashtottarasata Namavali Archanas were offered to Sri Dakshinamurti,
Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavatpadacharya and Sadguru Sri Gnanananda.
Parayana of the Bhashyam or commentary of Sri Sankara on Srimad
Bhagavad Gita, Upanishad and Brahma Sutra was also performed.
Swamini
Prabhavananda Saraswati quoted a few lines from Adhyasa Bhashya in Brahma
Sutra Bhasya after the chant of passages from four Vedas.
Swami Nityananda Giri explained that in Sankara’s Adhyasa
Bhashya, he lucidly explains the Upanishadic method of
superimposition and negation by which the nature of the Ultimate Reality is
very well unfolded as the Changeless, Timeless Substratum of the appearances of
all changing and time-bound phenomena. This brings out clearly the difference
between the appearance and Reality and how the Reality supports the appearance
which has no separate existence of its own. The Reality and its appearance have
two separate statuses of Reality. It is immanent when it is the Substratum of
the changing phenomena. It is also the Transcendent, the Eternal Subject, as
the Witness, the Relationless Absolute, which alone EXISTS. All the others are
only appearance.
It
was Sankara who highlighted the importance of Prasthanatraya – Upanishads for spiritual insight, Gita for discipline and Brahmasutra for logic. He establishes
through them that the Trans-causal Brahman
is the Ultimate Reality as per the Upanishads. The later Acharyas have also
used the same criteria for proving the validity of their spiritual insights of
the Causal Brahman, God. In this manner, Veda
Mata in the Upanishads is able to take care of all aspirants of different
spiritual attitude and disposition.
Thus, the Upanishads present a broad spectrum of God-experience.
As
in the past few years Krishna Yajur Veda
parayana of Samhita and Sakha was commenced with ghatasthapana on the day of Sri Sankara Jayanti. It concluded on 24th
April 2018.
Paramapujya Swami Vidyananda Giri was given initiation into Sannyasa
by Sadguru Gnanananda on Sri Sankara
Jayanti day. His Aradhana also followed Sankara Jayanti and was celebrated on 24th
April 2018 at the main ashram.
Sannyasins
and devotees from Niketan attended the special puja at the Adhishtana
(Samadhi shrine) of Swami Vidyananda Giri in the morning of 24th May
2018. Sri Swami Sadasiva Giri attended the traditional aradhana, which was performed in the main ashram. A samaradhana was organized at Niketan and
a special bhiksha was offered to
Sannyasins and other devotees. Bhiksha
for sadhus was also arranged at Yogi Ramsuratkumar ashram, Tiruvannamalai on
the day of aradhana of Swami
Vidyananda Giri.
