A TRIBUTE TO SHRI SHRI VISHWESHA TEERTHA
The unparalleled, magnificent, saint-extraordinaire
- Author : Vidwan Shri Ramavithala Acharya
- Translator : Sri Varun K.V
The late pontiff of śrī pējāvara adhōkshaja maṭha, His Holiness śrī śrī vishvēśa tīrtha swamīji had a magnificent personality. He exemplified through his life how much of an impact a pontiff belonging to the Hindu mādhwa community could have by adopting a no holds barred approach in every aspect. All this without skimping on the duties and responsibilities of sainthood was another achievement which is remarkable in its own right.
His advanced age never hindered his travels and he readily accepted any invite without thinking twice, which revealed his simplicity up until till his last breath. He was most courteous to everyone which made him one of the few people who was impossible to hate by all sections of the society. He was one of the earliest and favourite students of the late His Holiness śrī śrī vidyāmānya tīrtha swamīji. His courage to enter the slums in spite of being a pontiff [and rituals associated with it was admirable. The fact that he was able to communicate and be accepted by them was an even more praiseworthy accomplishment.
The founding of akhila bhārata mādhwa mahāmaṇḍala during his teens was a tremendous feat in itself. This has been constantly engaged in the upliftment of the the entire mādhwa community. At a time when there was severe financial crunch, he was instrumental in setting up many facilities for the benefit of mādhwa youth through the funds collected during his travels in the form of pādapūja etc. No one can forget this service by His Holiness.
With the blessings and support from his guru and other members of mādhwa community, śrī vishvēśa tīrtha swamīji travelled to Bengaluru from Udupi in the year of 1956 to establish pūrna prajna vidyāpīṭha for the purpose of preservation of ancient texts and philosophy. Not only did he earn the entire land on which the institution is currently located but also his role and efforts in growth of the institution was another of his crowning glories.
During his second paryaya, there was a severe food crunch for students of the vidyāpīṭha. śrī vidyāmānya tīrtha who had understood this, worked towards alleviating it without the knowledge of his favourite disciple.
He formulated a scheme under which voluntary donations in the form of food grains, pulses and money was collected from members of the mādhwa community in Bengaluru to be utilised by the students of vidyāpīṭha. It is very rare to see such benevolence of a teacher for his student. śrī vishvēśa tīrtha swamīji was not only actively involved in educating the students but also helped them financially by rewarding them upon completion of their respective courses. This magnanimity was a cut above the rest.
Without restricting himself to religious activities, he was also actively involved in rehabilitation of victims of calamities such as drought and floods through activities such as building shelters, establishing food distribution centres, centres for preservation of cattle and livestock etc. This shows the greatness of śrī vishvēśa tīrtha swamīji. He had excellent relations with multiple leaders across all political parties.
His acumen in engaging in open debates and strongly emphasising his point of view without putting down the opponent was unmatched.
There are multiple instances that exemplified his unwavering stance even in the face of extreme criticism. The controversies such as kanaka gōpura of uḍupi, maḍe snāna of kukke subrahmaṇya were few such instances. His involvement in their resolution without hatred for anyone was another of his multiple qualities that defined him.
His presence at religious debates, usually organised during the Madhwa navami, sudhā maṇgaḷa etc., was almost a given. During these discussions, śrī swamīji was able to brilliantly deflect any attack all along and earning admiration from the opponents of different schools of philosophy was also noteworthy.
All these only cemented his position as the favourite disciple in the eyes of his guru, śrī vidyāmānya tīrtha swamīji. His love for scriptures could not be explained better than the fact that he himself conducted 38 sudhā maṇgaḷa and was actively involved in the exams of disciples of śrī śrī uttrādi and śrī śrī rāghavēndra swāmi maṭhas even during his final days.
During the same period, he was also lucky to obtain the sight of Lord Srinivasa of Tirumala, offer final verbal obeisances to Udupi Shri Krishna and breathe his last in the Lord’s presence as well. śrī vidyāmānya tīrtha was initially the senior pontiff of Bhanḍārakēri maṭha alone. He later assumed the responsibilities of palimāru maṭha additionally.
Śrī śrī vishvēsha tīrtha swamīji had a big role in ensuring that this was a smooth transition and tactfully handled all the legal challenges that arose due to the same. One can even say that this was his ultimate gurudakshina. Due to this itself, śrī śrī vidyāmānya tīrtha benevolently blessed śrī vishvēsha tīrtha swamīji to successfully complete 5 paryayas, a feat second only to another Saint Extraordinaire, śrī śrī vādirāja tīrtha, 400 years ago.
While śrī śrī vidyāmānya tīrtha breathed his last during the fourth paryaya of his favourite disciple, śrī vishvēsha tīrtha swamīji entered vaikuṇṭha during the paryāya of his guru-maṭha, śrī palimāru maṭha. Even here the beautiful bond of teacher-disciple duo has been visible. We salute such a great soul, teacher, saint-extraordinaire
