Shreevidyamahayog - A Historical Survey

Lord Shri DakshinamurtyShreevidyaakhandmahayog is a spiritual discipline originated from Lord Shri Dakshinamurty (Lord Shiva in the role of Vishwamahaguru, the preceptor of the whole Cosmos) to bring the highest spiritual realization for the most ardent spiritual aspirant. The spiritual tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga is also known by other various names such as - Shreevidyaakhandmahayoga, Shreebrahmavidyaakhandyoga, and Mahayoga. Shreevidya, the supreme Consciousness, is also known as Chit-Shakti, the divine energy of Parabrahman, the cosmic formless nameless Absolute. Just as the heat is the intrinsic energy of fire and the light is the intrinsic energy of the Sun, so too Shreevidya is the intrinsic energy of Brahman. Hence, this energy is also called Shreebrahmavidya. Shreevidyaakhandmahayoga as a spiritual discipline guides and leads the sadhaka, the spiritual aspirant to realize the Parabrahman through the light of Shreevidya or Shreebrahmavidya. The spiritual tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga rooted in the ancient Vedas advocates an all-inclusive synthetic view of spiritual life and discipline, harmonizing otherwise apparently divergent opposite view points about them. As it is clear from its theoretical and practical disciplinary structure, Shreevidyaakhandmahayoga sets before the spiritual aspirant the ideal of synthetic Divine that includes and transcends the characteristic features such as immanence and transcendence, Divine incarnated in a divine form and formless divinity, divine personality and impersonal divinity, a cosmic all-pervasive Being apparently transforming itself into perceptible plurality of the universe and at the same time abides in it unchangeably as its supreme inner divine controller, which may appear opposite and contradictory to a logically thinking intellect. Therefore, it is not surprising that Shreevidyaakhandmahayoga as a practical spiritual discipline is also comprehensive and of an integral nature including and synthesizing in its widest application apparently opposite and divergent methods of reaching towards the highest spiritual reality. The traditional ways of Karma and Bhakti, different yogic methods such as Rajayoga, Hatayoga, Layayoga and Mantrayoga, setting aside their conflicting nature get themselves synthetically harmonised in Shreeviyaakhandmahayoga, leading ultimately towards perfect realization of the synthetic Divine at the levels of acosmic and formless Brahman, the omniscient, the omnipotent and omnipresent cosmic Godhead, the Paramatman and His incarnations in divine forms at different times and at different levels of the universe as Divine persons - the level of Bhagawan. It is this supreme fullest realization called in this spiritual tradition Shreevidya that gives to the initiated spiritual aspirant in his sadhaka stage successively and in his perfected siddha stage simultaneously a direct awareness of his blissful proximity (Sameepya) with the Divine person-Bhagawan, his similarity (Sadrushya) with the supreme cosmic Godhead - Paramatman as an aspect of Divine Godhead, participating in His divine nature, and his non-dual identity with acosmic formless Absolute, the supreme Brahman. These three aspects of the supreme spiritual realisation-Shreevidya, pertaining to the three main aspects of the Integral Divine - Bhagawan, the Divine person, Paramatman, the supreme cosmic Godhead and Parabrahman, an acomsic formless and nameless Absolute - are traditionally called Apara Vidya, Parapara Vidya, and Para Vidya respectively. There are four main branches of yoga - Rajayoga, Hatayoga, Layayoga, and Mantrayoga. Each of these branches of yoga focuses on a particular aspect of human personality to utilize it for spiritual realization. Rajayoga prominently lays its stress on the Mind and recommends the sadhaka various meditative techniques which are useful in controlling the mind that results ultimately in spiritual realization. Hatayoga primarily emphasizes the Prana --- the vital energy in the body and recommends various breathing and physical exercises including body postures aimed at controlling the Prana or the vital energy that results in the control of mind, thus indirectly leading the sadhaka to spiritual realization. Mantrayoga mainly deals with "Vac" or Vani, the power of speech and vocalization and recommends the sadhaka various recitation techniques (Japaprakriya) that involve the recitation of the mystic mantras, the word or words empowered with divine energy. The recitation of such mantras, if done properly, under the guidance of expert Mantrayogins helps the sadhaka to unite and assimilate the "Vac", the vocal energy with "Manas" the mind, the power of thought which, in turn, leads to spiritual realization. Layayoga focuses on the Ego-aspect of human personality, guides the sadhaka to purify his/her Ego recommending various purification techniques such as meditative exercises which may include recitation of mantras which, in turn, aim to purify the individual ego as much as possible to assimilate or dissolve it in the supreme consciousness or Brahman. The spiritual discipline of Shreevidyaakhandmahayoga is a happy blending, a harmonious synthesis of all these four main branches of yoga. It utilizes disciplinary practical techniques involved in each of these yogas in its practical approach but does not limit spiritual practice to only a particular method or methods recommended in that particular branch and therein lies the significance of the words, "Maha" and "Akhand" which are attached to this discipline of yoga as its adjectives. Shreevidyayoga or Shreebrahmavidyayoga is Mahayoga or supreme yoga, in a sense, that it implies in its wider practical application all these four main branches of yoga without exclusive insistence upon any of them at the cost of negating the remaining yoga techniques and for the same reason it is aptly called Akhandmahayoga just because it takes into consideration the spiritual importance of all aspects of human personality from the most gross physical body, subtle vital energy or prana, mind, intellect up to the subtlest among them Ahankar or ego and emphasizes to utilize each one of them to gain complete spiritual realization. Human personality is akhand, a harmonious whole in which no part should be treated as useless and unimportant in spiritual pursuit. On the other hand, a sadhaka should try to utilize and divinise through appropriate sadhana each and every aspect of his personality from the most gross physical body to the subtlest ego aiming to divinise the whole of his personality which will ultimately result in complete spiritual realization of the three most important divine states -- 1. Sameepya - His blissful proximity with the divine person---Bhagawan. 2. Sadrushya - His similarity with the supreme cosmic Godhead, the Paramatman or Ishwara through his total participation in five main Aishwaric i.e.divine qualities which are: a.Sarvadnyatva - Omniscience b. Sarvashaktimatva - Omnipotence c. Sarvavyapakatva - Omnipresence d. Nityatrupti - Desireless and unending fulfillment e. Paramswatantrya - the Absolute freedom in will, knowledge and action. These are the five main characteristics of the supreme Godhead. 3. Sayujya - the state of non-dual identity with acosmic formless Absolute Brahman. In this last state, the "I" is lost and the experience of union with formless Brahman is achieved. The sadhaka of Shreevidyaakhandmahayoga should aspire to realize all of these main spiritual states. In other words, he should realize his relation of Sameepya, the blissful proximity with personal Bhagawan, his magnificent celestial divine similarity with Paramatman, the cosmic Godhead and his relation of non-dual identity, Sayujya with acosmic Absolute Parabrahman. It is the realization of all these three states which is the highest spiritual ideal set before the sadhaka of Sreevidyamahayoga. Shreevidya is a happy blending, a harmonious whole of all these three main aspects of complete spiritual realization. The ascetic goal of non-physical bliss attainable through a total negation of the sensuous pleasures and the hedonistic goal of enjoyment of sensuous pleasures as the highest attainment lose their mutual conflicts and get themselves perfectly harmonized in the highest spiritual consummation attained by the sadhaka of Shreevidyamahayoga. The ldeal of Bhoga, the physical enjoyment in the material realm, and Moksha, the bliss in the realm of the liberated spirit, lose their mutual conflicts and get themselves perfectly harmonized in the highest consummation realized by the sadhaka of Shreevidyamahayoga through an integrated spiritual practice that happily harmonises and balances otherwise conflicting tendencies working in human being such as attachment to the physical well being and at the same time aspiring to realize non-physical values, interest leading to active participation in social processes and in social role performances aiming at collective well being at the levels of different human collective systems such as family, society, state and nation and its exact opposite a complete and final surrender to trans-social, non-collective single Divine that demands from the spiritual seeker an attitude of total indifference to the well being of such collective human systems, however exalted and highest such an ideal of collective well being may appear from varied social, moral and religious standpoints. Shreevidyamahayog - A Historical Survey (Page 2) The Guru who initiates a disciple into the spiritual discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga has a paramount place in this tradition. Even a divine incarnation in a human form born upon earth to fulfill his divine mission has to be initiated by a Guru in Shreevidyamahayoga. Thus, the tradition is passed on over the ages from the Guru to his disciple. This is called "Guru-shishya" tradition. As it is stated earlier, Lord Dakshinamurty Paramshiva, the world-peceptor, Adi Jagatguru, initiated Lord Dattatreya, an incarnation of Mahavishnu born to great Vedic sage, Atri and his wife Anasuya into Shreevidyamahayoga. Lord Dattatreya on the direction of Lord Dakshinamurty accepted the role of Pradhan Acharya (the Pedagogue) of this spiritual tradition. In this role, Lord Dattatreya initiated Lord Parashuram, the sixth among the ten main incarnations of Lord Vishnu born to the great Vedic sage Jamadgni and his wife Renuka. He is also known as Bhargavaram as he was born in the ancestral line originated from Bhrugu, one of the main seven Vedic sages. Bhagawan Parashuram initiated his disciple Sumedha Haritayana into Shreevidya. Thus over several generations and through lengthy epochs the spirituaal tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga was passed on from Guru to shishya, the disciple.

Shri Adishankar Bhagavadpada alias ShankaracharyaAbout twenty five centuries ago, the revered Shri Adishankar Bhagavadpada, an incarnation of Lord Dakshinamurty, born to Shivaguru and Aryamba, a pious Brahmin couple involved in severe austerities surrendering their lives to the services of Lord Paramshiva, came to earth with the sole purpose of revival of Sanatana Dharma through his scholarly writings, discourses, friendly debates with his ideological opponents, through his austerities and the high moral standards reflected through his behaviour. Sage Adishankar Bhagavadpada, commonly known as Acharya Shankar regenerated spiritual fervor among the then society. It was Acharya Shankar who was mainly responsible to bring almost the whole of Indian society of his time into the main fold of Sanatana Vedic Dharma from which the then Indian society had been deviated and swayed away due to certain reasons. Adishankar Bhagavadpada is now-a-days known as one of the foremost exponents of Advaita doctrine -- the non-dualistic interpretation of the Vedanta. The celebrated Dnyanmarga, the path of knowledge, the highest and ultimate path that leads to the realization of formless Absolute Brahman is firmly rooted in Shankaracharya's non-dualistic teaching. Hence, Shankaracharya is widely known as the foremost advocate of spiritual discipline of Dnyanmarga, the path of knowledge. But somehow, this fact has overshadowed other equally important aspects of preceptorship of Shri Acharya Shankar. In this connection, one must take into consideration that in addition to being a great ascetic and a mystic having undergone very profound experience of non-dual formless Absolute Brahman, Acharya Shankar was also a Bhakta, a devotee of supreme Divine Mother, Lalitatripursundari Kamakshi -- the presiding deity of Kanchikamkotipeetham established by Acharya Shankar himself in Kanchipuram, a city which is now-a-days a part of the present day Tamilnadu. Acharya Shankar, a great Shreevidyopasaka and a yogi of a very high order, practised all the main forms of yoga that constitute the comprehensive disciplinary system of Shreevidya as mentioned earlier. Acharaya Shankar got initiated into Shreevidya from his Guru Acharya Govindpada. The occult tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga has preserved the secret truth which is orally known to the initiates through their Gurus that Acharya Govindpada with advanced practice of Shreevidyamahayoga divinized and immortalized his physical body and is still present secretly in physical form upon the earth. He was, in turn, initiated into Shreevidya by his Guru Acharya Gaudapada, a celebrated author of Gaudapadkarika. In addition to being an exponent of pre-Shankarite Advaitism, Acharya Gaudapada was also a practioner and preceptor of Shreevidyamahayoga. His Shreevidyaratnasutra and Subhagodayastuti expound his teaching connected to Shreevidya. Acharya, Gaudapada himself was initiated into Shreeviyamahayoga through a line of Guru-shishya tradition that had originated from Lord Daskhinamurty down to Lord Parashuram and Sumedha Haritayana. Adishankar Bhagavadpada thus being one of the highest Shreevidyamahayogins, also did a pioneering work in the field of Shreevidyamahayoga. His celebrated hymn Saundaryalahari, a poetic composition revealing and explaining the secrets of Shreevidya, is one of the authoritative texts of Shreevidyamahayoga. His commentary upon Lalitatrishati, Prapanchasarsangrah, an independent treatise written by him pertaining to Tantric spiritual practices and commented upon by his disciple, Padmapada, are a testimony of his pioneering works in the spiritual discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga. It is a well known fact that Acharya Shankar revived and rebuilt the structure of Sanatana Dharma upon a very strong foundation of the Vedanta by writing very illuminating commentaries on Upanishads, Bhrahmasutra of sage Badarayana and Shrimadbhagavatgita which are popularly known among the traditional Vedantic scholars as the Vedanta Prasthantrayi i.e. three main authoritative texts of ancient Vedantic doctrine. But somehow, it is overlooked through a lengthy passage of two thousand years since the advent of Acharya Shankar on this earth that his contribution to the revival of Sanatana Dharma through Tantric-Agamic side was not less important. Though Shreevidyamahayoga, like all other various spiritual disciplines, has its origin in the Vedas, it was developed and spread through Tantric-Agamic tradition also. Acharya Shankar successfully harmonized the Vedic and the Agamic traditions by accepting and assimilating everything inherent in both of these traditions which was useful for the spiritual upliftment of all human beings. The result of his highly successful attempt in this direction was his formulation of Shreevidya in its revised and improved form called "Samayamat" which is clearly stated in his celebrated hymn Saundaryalahari. In this connection, one can not overlook his another equally important contribution for the revival and resurgence of Sanatana Dharma. In Acharya's times, the Vedic way of life involving the performance of Vedic rituals was confined only to men belonging to three upper castes or Varnas i.e. Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya respectively. While the Vedantic way of life involving the renunciation of all Vedic rituals was confined only to ascetics who used to renounce the householder's duties that involved scrupulous performance of Vedic rituals. The ascetics were expected to concentrate fully on the study of monistic Vedanta and meditate on the non-dual truth to realize it through one's own personal experience. In short, the monistic Vedantic way of life was confined to Yatis i.e. ascetics only. The majority of the people constituting the largest population which covered all shudras and women of all castes remained outside the Vedic and Vedantic way of spiritual life. This limitation present in the then structure of Sanatana Dharma was successfully removed by Acharya Shankar by opening the gates of Shreevidyamahayoga to all human beings irrespective of castes and sex differences. Acharya Shankar not only opened the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga to men and women belonging all Varnas and Ashramas but also established an institution of preceptors to systematically propagate the theoretical and practical aspects of Mahayoga to all deserving aspirants throughout Bharatvarsha. Shreevidyarnavatantra , one of the most important treatises related to the teaching and practice of Shreevidya, is written by a sage called Vidyaranya --- a great authority in the field of Vedic-Agamic sadhana-but different from the well known Vidyaranyaswami of Vijaynagar and the author of celebrated Vedantic text entitled Panchdashi and other Vedantic treatises. Sage Vidyaranya in the introductory chapter of Shreevidyarnavatantra, has given a detailed account of how Acharya Shankar had planned to effectively propagate the spiritual discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga throughout all parts of Baharatvarsha. Sage Vidyaranya has further stated that Acharya Shankar selected out of his innumerable disciples fourteen yogins, five of which were ascetics and remaining nine were married householders - Grahsthas. He appointed them as preceptors to propagate Shreevidyamahayoga. Shankar, Padmapada, Bodha, Girvana and Anandteerth were the first five ascetics among those fourteen preceptors. Acharya Shankar appointed them in the mutts and their various branches established by him at the four corners of Bharatvarsha. It was the recommended duties of these ascetic-preceptors to systematically teach the theoretical and practical aspects of Shreevidya to the pontiffs of those mutts and their followers also. The remaining nine preceptors were married householders. Shreevidyarnavatantra features the names of the remaining nine preceptors as follows: 1. Sunder 2.Vishnu Sharma 3. Lakshman 4. Mllikarjun 5.Trivikram 6. Shridhar 7. Kapardhi 8. Keshav 9. Damodar. These nine married-householder-yogins were appointed by Acharya Shankar to propagate Shreevidyamahayoga among the masses that included the majority of shudras and women and also those men belonging to three upper castes who somehow due to this or that reason had lost their connection with Vedic way of spiritual life. Thus, Shreevidyamahayoga began to spread throughout all parts of Bharatvarsha through the able preceptorship of all these fourteen preceptors and their followers by the way of Guru-shishya tradition.

Shree Bhaskarraya Bharati alias BhasuranandnathIn the last quarter of the 17th and the second half of the 18th century A.D., there appeared one of the greatest Shreevidyamahayogins named Bhaskarraya Bharati in the Guru-shishya line that started from Vishnu Sharma, one of the nine married-householder preceptors. Bhaskarraya was a Maharastrian Deshastha Brahmin born to Ghambirraya and his wife Konmamba. Gambhirraya was a great scholar working as a court pundit in the royal court of Bhahamani King Adilshah of Vijapur, now-a-days a district place situated in modern Karnataka. A young Bhaskarraya underwent the studies in Vedas and Agamas under the guidance and supervision of his own father and a scholarly sage named Narsimvhadhvari. Bhaskarraya got himself initiated into Shreevidyamahayoga from Shivadatta Shukla of Surat in Gujarat. After his full initiation into Shreevidya, he was given a Diksha name, Bhasuranandnath by his Guru, Shivadatta Shukla who was himself known by his Diksha name, Prakashanandnath. Bhaskarraya was cordially invited by the Maratha king, Vyankoji Bhosale of Tanjavur, the son Shahaji Bhosale and the step-brother of Ch. Shivaji Maharaj to his court and was offered by him a village named Bhaskarrajpuram lying on the northern bank of the river Kaveri in Tamilnadu. Bhaskarrya lived to a ripe old age and left his mortal body at the famous Madhyarjun Kshetra which is now-a days known as Tiruvidaimarudur in Tamilnadu on the main line of South Indian railway. The life and works of sage Bhaskarraya Bharati dazzlingly exemplify his multidimensional scholarship and rigorous tapsya done through an arduous practice of Shreevidyamahayoga. Being an author of more than forty two Sanskrit treatises, sage Bhaskarraya not only expounded in clear-cut language the principles of Shreevidyamahayoga but also through his prolonged and continuous tours throughout all parts of India, his contacts and discussions with the then pundits and yogins belonging to various spiritual and religious sects which were prevalent in India at his time, giving spiritual and religious discourses before common public and influencing kings and chieftains who were the rulers of different parts of India, he tried to inculcate and permeate Shreevidyamahayoga into the very depths of Indian society. His contribution to the propagation of Shreevidyamahayoga among Indian people can justifiably be compared with that of Acharya Shankar. Among innumerable disciples of Bhaskarraya, there was an ascetic called Swayamprakash who was a resident of Banaras. He initiated Martand Dixit into Shreevidya. Martand Dixit originally hailed from Murgod, a small village which is now in modern Karnataka. After getting initiated into Shreevidya by ascetic Swayamprakashswami, Martand Dixit performed tapasya, austerities in the kshetras (holy places of pilgrimage) namely, Deverhippergi in Karnataka and Akashchidambar in Tamilnadu. Through his severe austerities, the pious Martand Dixit propitiated Divine Lord Paramshiva Chidambareshwar and received a divine boon from the Lord that Lord Chidambar himself will incarnate in the form of his son. Having received the boon, Martand Dixit returned to his village, Murgod and resumed his routine duties as a household Brahmin. In due course, his wife gave birth to a male child in whose form Lord Chidambar himself got incarnated as savior of mankind. Hence, the child was also named as Chidambar.

Lord Shri Chidambar Dixit MahaSwami alias ShriPurnanandnath Having undergone the Upanayana sanskar, the child Chidambar started studying the Vedas and shastras under the guidance of his own father. Initiated into Shreevidyamahayoga by his father, Shri Chidambar underwent all the stages of Shreevidya discipline and after the completion of his sadhana, he was given a Diksha name, Purnanandnath. The life of Shri Chidambar alias Purnanandnath comprising fifty-seven years was full of superhuman miracles such as healing the sick simply by touch or sight, the total control of the physical nature, mind reading, raising the dead and giving it a lengthy life, remaining present physically in different places simultaneously, fulfilling the wishes of the devotees though blessings, feeding thousands of people with food meant for a very limited number of people, say for just ten to fifteens, were some of the innumerable miraculous acts performed from time to time by Shri Chidambar. He was widely accepted and revered as an incarnation of Lord Paramshiva Nateshwar in human form. He was devoutly called by the masses Bhagawan Chidambarmahaswami. Shri Chidambar came to light as Chidambarmahaswami in the second half of the 18th century and the first quarter of the 19th century. He was a contemporary of Bajirao the second, the last Peshwa ruler of Pune. The tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga was handed over by Shri Chidambarmahaswami to his disciples, among which Rajaram Maharaj was the most prominent and spiritually advanced yogi. One of the pioneering works of Shri Rajaram Maharaj was his compostion of the biography of Bhagawan Shri Chidambarmahaswami in poetic form in Marathi written in the famous Abhanga metre. Had this biography not been written by Shri Rajaram Maharaj, the miraculous divine life and the spiritual teaching of Bhagawan Shri Chidambarmahaswami would have been lost in the dark caves of the past and would have been rendered utterly unavailable to future generations. The tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga continued through a line of Guru-shishya tradition even after the end of the earthly life of Sri Chidambarmahaswami who left this world in 1815 A.D. In the second half of the 19th century there appeared in the Guru-shishya tradition handed down by Shree Chidambermahaswami one great Shreevidyamahayogin named Balshastri Bhat who hailed from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Balshastri Bhat, a profound Vedic scholar and an expert in all branches of Vedic knowledge, was a great tapswi who used to perform the daily vedic ritual of Agihotra very scrupulously till the end of his life.

Shri Chintamani Shastri Ganesh PrathamShri Balshatri Bhat initiated Shri Chintamani Pratham into Shreevidya who hailed from Chaul, a small village situated at the western coast of Arabian Sea in district Raigad, Maharastra. Shri Chintamani Pratham was a high adept in Shreevidya and a devout Ganapati Upasak who, in turn, initiated Pundit Ishwarshastri Dixit from Sangli, Maharastra. Pandit Shri Ishwarshatri, born in 1910, belonged to the anscestral lineage of Lord Shri Chidambarmahaswami through his mother's side. He was an erudite Vedic scholar and a profound Vaiyakarni - a scholar in the field of Vedic grammar founded by sages Panini, Katyayana and Patanjali. Well-versed in Jyotisha and Ayurveda, he was a scrupolous and regular performer of daily Agnihotra and the top of all a highly advanced Shreevidyamahayogin. He left his mortal coil in 1988. Thus, the line of Shreeviydamahayogins originated from Shri Vishnu Sharma came down uninterruptedly up to Pundit Ishwarshastri Dixit. As it has already been mentioned Acharya Adishankar Bhagavadpada had appointed Padmapada and others as ascetic-monk preceptors to propagate the principles and the practice of Shreevidyamahaqyoga among his ascetic disciples and the followers enthroned upon the various peethas and mutts and their branches established by him. Under their able preceptorship, the practice of Shreevidya continued among the pontiffs of those mutts through Guru-shishya tradition. Even at present the same practice of Shreevidya is being continued very devoutly among all the mutts established by Adishankar. Kancikamkotipeetham, one of the most influential, active and highly authoritative institutions established by Acharya Adishankar was adored by the advent of one of the greatest modern sages Late His Holiness Chandrashekharendra Saraswati, the 68th pontiff of the celebrated Kanchikamkotipeetham.

Shri Chandrashekharendra SaraswatiBorn in1894, brought to and enthroned upon Knachikamkotipeetham in1907, Chandrashekharendra Saraswati was a multidimensional personality. A rigorous ascetic, a scholar of all Vedic branches of knowledge, well-versed in Vedic and non-vedic branches of Indian philosophy, a knower of many languages, a prolific speaker, a Sanatana Dharma pracharak, doing his dharma yatras on foot throughout India almost for three times in his life and an ardent devotee of Shreevidya Tripursundari, Kamakshi and a Jivanmuktadnyani, a liberated soul, perfectly established in the supreme realization of Parabrahman, all these characteristic features rolled into one single personality of His Holiness Chandrashekharendra Saraswati made him virtually an object of devout worship in the eyes of the public for whom he was a Sanchari Dev, a walking God upon the earth. It is unnecessary to say that he was one of the greatest Shreevidyamahayogins of all times. Shri Gurudev Shriniwasji Shamrao Katkar also known among his disciples as Shri Shriniwas Siddhacharya, one of the modern preceptors in Shreevidyamahayoga tradition came into contact in his early thirtees with H. H. Shri Chandrashekhrendra Saraswati in 1975. H. H. the Parmacharya Shri Chandrashekhrendra Sarswati blessed him with Vedha diksha throwing his divine graceful glance upon Shriniwasji when he met H. H. for the first time in a temple in Kalavai, a small village near Kanchipuram. Blessed and initiated by H.H.the Paramacharya, Shriniwasji began his Shreevidyamahayoga sadhana under his guidance in its initial stages.

Pandit Shree Ishwarshastri DikshitIn the year 1980, when his sadhana had taken a very crucial turn, H. H. the Paramacharya Shrichandrashekharendra Saraswati directed Shriniwasji to approach another great Shreevidyamahayogin named Pundit Shri Ishwarshastri Dixit to receive advanced stages in Shreevidyamahayoga discipline.As it is earlier stated, Late Shri Ishwarshastri Dixit was living at that time in Sangli, a district place in Maharashtra. As per the direction of H.H. the Paramacharya, Gurudev Shriniwasji began his Shreevidyamahayog sadhana under the guidance of Pundit Shri Ishwarshastri through initiation into advanced stages of Shreevidya sadhana that culminated in his Purnabhisheka performed upon him by Mahayogi Shri Ishwarshastri Dixit. From then onwards, Shriniwasji was bestowed with the official status of Siddhacharya i.e. the highest preceptor authorized to initiate deserving people in the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga as per their adhikar or spiritual capacity.

Mahayogi Shri Shriniwas SiddhacharyaThus, Shreevidyamahayoga tradition that had been popularly propagated by fourteen preceptors appointed by Jagatguru Acharya Adishankar Bhagavadpad is still alive with Shrigurudev Shriniwasji Siddhacharya. It is interesting note that Shrigurudev Shriniwasji has been blessed by his two illustrious mahayogi Gurus of which one, His Holiness Shri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati, the Paramacharya the 68th pontiff of Kanchikamkotipeetham had been a Shreevidyamahayogin in the line of ascetic preceptors which was started at the behest of Acharya Adishankar by sage Padmapada and others - the five ascetic preceptors while the second Guru of Shrigurudev Shriniwaji Siddhacharya, late Pandit Shri Ishwarshastri Dixit had been one of the highest Shreevidyamahayogins in the line of Guru-shishya tradition which was started at the behest of Acharya Adishankar by sage Vishnu Sharma and others --- the nine married householder yogins. With the blessings of his two illustrious Gurus, Shrigurudev Shriniwasji Siddhacharya alias Shriniwasji Shamrao Katkar is now-a-days involved in his personal studies, sadhana giving guidance to eligible seekers in the spiritual discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga.Shreevidyamahayog - A Historical Survey (page 3) The Spiritual Line of Five world Preceptors --- Vishwamahagurus The paramount significance of five world preceptors - Vishwamahagurus in the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga is one of the characteristic features of this spiritual tradition. These five world preceptors are: Lord Shri Dakshinamurty Paramshiva, Lord Shri Dattatreya, Lord Shri Parshuram, Bhagawan Shri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj and Bhagawan Shri Chidambarmahaswami. Every spiritual aspirant brought into the fold of Shreevidyamahayoga through an initiation from Shri Shriniwasji has to pay his worshipful devotion to all of these five Vishwamahagurus in adition to his own Guru to gain the blessings of them to progress himself in the path of Shreevidyamahayoga. Without receiving the blessings of these world teachers, it is just impossible to progress in this path of Shreevidya even though one has undergone all those initiatory processes under the guidance of the worthy Guru. Hence, it is very necessary to bring out the spiritual significance of the line of Vishwamahagurus before those who are desirous to get themselves included in this tradition through initiation. It is a well-known fact among the sadhakas belonging to Shreevidyamahayoga tradition that there were in all twelve great sages flourished in ancient epochs and eons who were initiators of Shreeviyda. The occult tradition of Shreevidya has recorded their names in the following shloka: MANUSH CHANDRA KUBERASHCHA LOPAMUDRA CH MANMATHAHA AGASTIRAGNIHI SURYASCHA VISHNUHU SKANDHAHA SHIVASHTATHA KRODHBHATTARAKA SHCHAPI DVADASHAITE UPASAKAHA The names of these great sages appear as per the shloka: 1.Vaivswat Manu 2. Chandra 3. Kuber 4. Lopamudra 5.Manmath or Kamdeva 6. Agasti 7. Agni 8. Surya 9. Vishnu 10. Skandh 11. Shiva 12. Krodhbhattarak or Durwasa. These were twelve great sages who were founder-initiators of the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga. Many of these sages are famous Gods in Hindu pantheon while sage Durwasa and sage Agasti and his wife Lopamudra belonged to the class of human beings. Despite being independent initiators in their own line of Shreevidya, almost all of them were vitally connected with two main foremost Acharyas --- Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.

Sage HayagrivaThe occult tradition of Shreevidya records that in a distant ancient epoch Lord Vishnu incarnated in the form of sage Hayagriva propagated the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga among divine heavenly Gods, immortal siddhas and mortal human beings upon earth. The same occult tradition records that in a similar distant and ancient epoch Lord Paramshiva incarnated on the earth in the kshetra

Lord Anandbhairava Nateshwar or NatarajAkashchidambar, now-a-days in Tamilnadu India in the form of Anandbhairava Nateshwar or Nataraj and propagated the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga among the deserving aspirants. The names of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva in the list of twelve founder sages above really refer to Lord Hayagriva as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Lord Anandbhairava as an incarnation of Lord Shiva respectively. The remaining ten sages in the list above are directly or indirectly connected with one of the two sages, Lord Hayagriva and Lord Anandbhairava in receiving their blessings and guidance, e.g. while sage Agasti and his wife Lopamudra had their preceptorial connection with sage Hayagriva. Sage Manmath or Kamdeva, Skandh or Shadanan-Kartikeya and Kuber had their preceptorial connection with the Lord Ananadbhairava Nataraj.

Lord DakshinamurtyThen appeared at the beginning of the present Vaivaswat manwantar the greatest incarnation of Lord Paramshiva in the form of Lord Dakshinamurty in the Mahakailas region in the Himalayas. Lord Dakshinamurty accepted everything that was useful and advisable from the standpoind of spiritual upliftment from the traditions established by Lord Hayagriva and Lord Anandbhairava, reformed them and set before the deserving aspiring sages the discipline of Shreevidyamahayoga in its revised form. It is now clear that though there are twelve founder-preceptor sages in the field of Shreevidya, the three among them, Lord Hayagriva Lord Anandbhairva and Lord Dakshinamurty have a pre-eminent place as founder Acharyas in this tradition.

Lord Dattatreya The occult tradition then records that Lord Shri Dakshinamurty Paramshiva handed over the secrets of Shreevidyamahayoga to Lord Dattatreya who, in turn, handed it down to his disciple, Lord Bhargava Jamadgnya Parashuram who himself was the sixth incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu. Lord Dakshinamurty composed Dakshinamurty Sanhita, a treatise related to Shreevidya. Lord Dattatreya also wrote Dattasanhita, a treatise containing some twenty thousand shlokas, explaining the thereortical and practical aspects of Shreevidyamahayoga.

Lord ParshuramThe same treatise was abridged by his disciple Lord Parashuram in the form of Parashuram Kalpasutra which was, it is said, composed of fifty khandas or sections. Sumedha Haritayana, one of the principal shishyas of Lord Parshuram studied the posthumous volume of kalpasutra and abriged it again into ten sections. He also composed Tripurarahasya into three sections 1. Dnyan khand 2. Mahatmya khand 3.Charya khand. These sections preserve the theoretical and practical secrets of Shreevidya handed down to Lord Parshuram from his Guru Lord Dattatreya. The credit of formulating the ancient Shreevidya in its theoretical and practical aspects and putting it before the deserving public in its revised from goes to these main Acharyas, Lord Shri Dakshinamurty, Lord Shri Dattatreya and Lord Shri Parashuram. Hence it is obligatory to each and every sadhaka of Shreevidya to pay his devout respects to these world-teachers - Vishwamahagurus.

Dnyaneshwar MaharajIn the modern times i.e. in the 13th century A.D., Lord Hayagriva-Vishnu incarnated in the form of Dnyaneshwar or Dnyandeva in Apegoan in Nagar district, Maharashtra, spent almost the whole of his life in Alandi near modern Pune in Maharashtra. He has written a poetic commentary entitled Dnyaneshwari or Bhavarthdeepika on Bhagavadgita. He was also one of the pioneering saints who led the devotional Warkari movement which emphasizes the supreme importance of devotion to Lord Pandurang, Vitthal, one of the satvic forms of Lord Vishnu. However, the occult tradition of Shreevidya records that though Dnyaneshwar was outwardly a popular saint propagating the path of devotion to Lord Pandurang among the masses, he himself was one of the greatest Shreevidyamahayogins. His another small treatise entitled Aubhavamruta or Amrutanubhava is related to the theme of "Shiva-Shakti Samarasya", an important tenet of Shreevidyamahayoga which he received from the tradition of Navanathas and Kashmir Shaivism, both of which were vitally connected to sage Durwasa, one of the twelve founder-preceptors of Shreevidya. Sage Dnyaneshwar Maharaj attained Sanjiwan Mahasamadhisiddhi at the tender age of twenty in Alandi in Shalivahan Shaka1212.

Shri Chidambar MahaswamiThe advent of Bhagawan Shri Chidambarmahaswami has already been sufficiently narrated. In this connection, it is sufficient to note that the ancient divine Acharya Lord Anandbhairava Nateshwar got himself incarnated in the form of Lord Shri Chidambarmahaswami and propagated and continued the tradition of Shreevidyamahayoga among the deserving aspirants in recent times. On the basis of personal experience of the present day Shreevidyamahayoga sadhakas, it can be said that the ancient divine sages Lord Shri Anandbhairava Nateshwar and Lord Shri Hayagriva incarnated as Lord Shri Chidambaemahaswami and Shri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj respectively in the modern times, are still spreading their blessings among the deserving followers of Shreevidya tradition by inspiring them to realize the highest and the perfect goal of Shreevidyamahayoga discipline - the realization of Divine Sachchidanand in its triple-aspects as Bhagawan, Paramatman and Parabrahaman through one's own first hand indubitable personal spiritual experience which is none else but Shreevidya, Chit-Shakti. Therefore, the sadhakas of Shreevidyamahayoga initiated by Shri Grudev Shriniwasji Siddhacharya devoutly worship Lord Dakshinamurty, Lord Dattatreya, Lord Parashuram, Lord Hayagriva-Vishnu in his incarnated form as Lord Dnyaneshwar and Lord Anandbhairava Nateshwar in his incarnated form as Lord Chidambarmahaswami as the five Vishwamahagurus.

Their worship leads the sadhak uninterruptedly to higher and higher levels in his sadhana which ultimately culminates in obtaining the light of Shreevidya in one's own heartspace -- Rhidayakash where the sadhaka realizes that Shreevidya is Bhagavati and inseperable Chit-Shakti of Sachchidanand Bhagawan bestowing upon the sadhak a blissful realization of his inseperable proximity-Sameepya with him. The sadhak realizes the same Shreevidya as inseperable Chit-Shakti of Sachchidanand Pramatman imparting the sadhaka the realization of his magnificent similarity with the supreme Godhead, Paramatman. The sadhak also realizes the same Shreevidya as Brahmi or Brahma-vidya, inseperable Vidya-Shakti of Parabrahman shedding on the sadhak the light of his ever-abiding eternal identity with the supreme Absolute Parabrahman. In this ultimate stage, the sadhaka realizes the basic non-duality -- Advaita of apparent universe and of innumerable individual Jivas, conscious souls with formless nameless Sachchidanand Parabrahman. Here in this ultimate stage, the enlightened sadhak proclaims, "Swatmaiv Devata Prokta Lalita Vishwavigraha" which means Chit-Shakti Lalitamahatripursundari is none else but his innermost divine self who is shining before him in infinite names and forms which the unrealized ignorant people mistakenly perceive as inert unconscious universe infected with various imperfections just as a person weak in eye-sight may in a dim-light mistake rope as serpent.