I wanted to call Nischalananda Saraswati who is the current 145th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Purvamnaya Shri Govardhana Peetham of Puri, Odisha to my award event “Pillars of Hindutva”. His name was endorsed and suggested to me by many think tanks. Some even told me that reaching him is not possible because his parikars (one who serves him) will not let you meet him. He is surrounded by many of his disciples and devotees. Most of them have some or the other role to play.
One fine morning I dialled his number that was available on Google; to my surprise, one humble gentleman not only answered my call but directed me to connect with Swamiji’s media manager Prem Chandra Jha. I called Mr Jha and then he asked me to reach Nagpur to greet Swamiji. Getting a flight to Nagpur was next to impossible. Flights, Buses and trains all were full. One or two flights were there but they were supposed to reach Nagpur via many places after 12 hours of journey. I just let it be, and all of sudden my travel desk told me about the availability of one seat on the flight, I thought that I was destined to meet Swamiji and my journey began.
I reached Nagpur at midnight and the next morning went to meet Swamiji. I was under the impression that the Swamiji must be in his lavish arrangements and there would be lots of fences before I greet him. When I reached the venue, there I was respectfully received by his disciples. My only curiosity was to greet Swamiji, at last, I got to sit in front of him. I was moved to see the simplicity, humbleness, kindness and above all the intellectual approach of Swamiji. He is the author of hundreds of books; he is an excellent orator and presenter. He is guiding thousands of youths and professionals to research and explore Vedic mathematics. Vedic Mathematics is a collection of Methods or Sutras to solve numerical computations quickly and faster. Nischalananda Saraswati Ji is a genius mathematician.
He was in simple saffron clothes, without much demand. He was drinking his water from a copper pot. He was unlike those spiritual leaders who cannot even lift a glass to drink water or wash their hands on their own. These days’ spiritual practices and Babaism have become commercial businesses. The Glory and fame of these so-called Babas are calculated by their wealth and lavishes. Most of them are uneducated goons; those babas are nothing but fiddles.
Nischalananda Saraswati has ways of managing his life and his needs are very limited. His thrust is a divine accomplishment. He is educating thousands of people; he inspires many minds and motivates them to explore life from their own perspective. There is no greed or demand for money. There is no forceful demand. If someone wishes to do something for them, they welcome them with open arms.
Niscalananda Saraswati’s guru was Hariharanand Saraswati popularly known as Swami Karpatri (because he would eat only what would come in his palm ‘kara’, as the bowl ‘pātra’), was born as Hari Narayan Ojha into a Saryupareen Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a sannyasi in the Hindu Dashanami monastic tradition.
Niscalananda Saraswati’s father was a high-ranking scholar of Sanskrit in the Mithila tradition and was a court vidwan of the then king of Mithila (Darbhanga Kingdom). The Swami’s previous name was Nilambar, given by his elder brother Pandit Sridev Jha. In his childhood, Nilambar was very studious and intelligent. At age 17, he left his home and started in pursuit of his life journey. In one of the seminars involving all the branches of Vedas, Dharma Samrat (emperor of dharma), Karpatri-Ji Maharaj and the then Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth Swami Sri Krishna Bodh Ashram-Ji Maharaj were present. On that occasion, he accepted Karpatri-Ji Maharaj as his spiritual master. He was given the name Dhruvachaitanya by Swami Sri Naradanand Saraswati of Naimisharanya. He studied the Vedas and various branches related to Vedas at various places like Kashi, Vrindavan, Naimisharanya, Badrikashram, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Puri, Sringeri etc. Dhruvachaitanya fought hard against carnage on cows, considered a symbol of faith among Hindus while participating actively in Dharma Samrat Karpatriji Maharaj’s agitation for cow protection. He was kept in the Tihar jail from 9th November 1966 for 52 days for advocating cow protection.
The Shankaracharya of Puri has been travelling far and wide across India like the first guru Adi Shankaracharya to protect Sanatana dharma, its values and glories. He has been addressing and advocating the concerns of harmony in India, protection of its territories, women empowerment, and environmental issues. He has set up two organizations Aditya Vahini and Ananda Vahini under the patronage of ‘Peeth Parishad’ with the objective of creating an intelligent, self-reliant society, by protecting values. Through these two organizations, he is spearheading a nationwide campaign to protect the ancient culture of our Sanatan Dharma. He is a true saint and guiding scholar; my generation is really privileged to have him around us.
