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Akhandanand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Akhandananda Saraswati (called "Maharajshri" by his followers) (19111987) was an exponent of Bhagavata Purana and a scholar of diverse spiritual traditions including Vedanta,Bhakti, and associated Shastras(scriptures).
Contents [hide] 1 Early days 2 Ascetic life 3 Death 4 References 5 External links

Early days

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He was born on Friday, July 25, 1911 in Pushya Nakshatra (Shravana Amavasya v.s. 1968 per Vikram Calendar) in the village of Maharai in the district of Varanasi. According to the lunar calendar, it was the Amawasya of the month of Shravan, in the Samvat 1968.[1] His Saryupaarine Brahmin family named him "Shantanu Behari", since he was born by the grace of the Lord Shantanu Bihari [2][citation needed] According to the book "Shri Gita Rasa Ratnakar", astrologers predicted at the time of his birth, that his lifespan was only nineteen years. Fear of death made him move towards the path to spirituality.[citation needed] He was ten years old when his grandfather made him read the original Bhagwat in Sanskrit. Since then the Shrimad Bhagwat stayed by him like a faithful companion.[3] Prior to his Sanyas, from 1934 to 1942, He was a member of the editorial board of "Kalyan" at the Gita Press and published a number of books and articles. He translated Bhagavata Purana in Hindi for the Gita Press.

Ascetic life

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In his youth, he went to Jhusi, to meet Brahmachari Prabhudatta, a saint. There, he met Udiyababa, and had discussed Vedanta. He was captivated by Udiyababa's conviction in the principle of non-dual reality. He received initiation for Sanyas (monkhood) from the Shankaracharya of Jyotishpeethadhishver, Brahmanand Saraswati in February 1942, following which his name was changed from Shantanu-vihari Dwivedi to Akhandananda Saraswati.[4] During the 1960s, he was elected President of the Bharat Sadhu Samaj, an Indian organization of monks. He was an honorary board member of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan. [5] He was regularly invited for delivering lectures at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's Headquarters in Mumbai, as well as by other organizations around the country, including Prem Puri Adhyatma Bhavan (Mumbai), Birla House (Kolkata), Birla Temples (Delhi and other cities) and J.K. Temple (Kanpur). He authored over 180 books which covered topics including Bhagavata Purana, Bhagavat Geeta, Ram Charitra Manas, and Upnishads of the Vedanta. He established Anand Vrindavan Ashram near Moti Jheel in Vrindavan, a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. His disciple Omkaranand Saraswati guided Anand Vrindavan Ashram and associated charitable trusts, from 1987 to 2008. Today, Sachchidananda heads Anand Vrindavan ashram.[6]

Death

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He died on November 19, 1987 (the Margasheersha Krishna Trayodashi of the lunar calendar) around 2:00 am.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhandanand

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