Sannyasi disciples

Expressions researched:
"sannyasa disciples" |"sannyasi disciple" |"sannyasi disciples"

CC Adi-lila

Among his sannyāsī disciples, Īśvara Purī and Paramānanda Purī were very dear to Mādhavendra Purī.

CC Adi 9.13-15, Purport:

Paramānanda Purī: Paramānanda Purī belonged to a brāhmaṇa family of the Trihut district in Uttara Pradesh. Mādhavendra Purī was his spiritual master. In relationship with Mādhavendra Purī, Paramānanda Purī was very dear to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, there is the following statement:

sannyāsīra madhye īśvarera priya-pātra

āra nāhi eka purī gosāñi se mātra

dāmodara-svarūpa paramānanda-purī

sannyāsi-pārṣade ei dui adhikārī

niravadhi nikaṭe thākena dui jana

prabhura sannyāse kare daṇḍera grahaṇa

purī dhyāna-para dāmodarera kīrtana

yata-prīti īśvarera purī-gosāñire

dāmodara-svarūpereo tata prīti kare

"Among his sannyāsī disciples, Īśvara Purī and Paramānanda Purī were very dear to Mādhavendra Purī. Thus Paramānanda Purī, like Svarūpa Dāmodara, who was also a sannyāsī, was very dear to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and was His constant associate. When Lord Caitanya accepted the renounced order, Paramānanda Purī offered Him the daṇḍa. Paramānanda Purī was always engaged in meditation, and Śrī Svarūpa was always engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. As Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered full respect to His spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, He similarly respected Paramānanda Purī and Svarūpa Dāmodara."

CC Madhya-lila

The most intimate devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, namely Gadādhara Paṇḍita, accepted tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa and also accepted Mādhava Upādhyāya as his tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī disciple.

CC Madhya 3.6, Purport:

The most intimate devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, namely Gadādhara Paṇḍita, accepted tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa and also accepted Mādhava Upādhyāya as his tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī disciple. It is said that from this Mādhavācārya the sampradāya known in western India as the Vallabhācārya sampradāya has begun. Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who is known as a smṛty-ācārya in the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, later accepted the tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa order from Tridaṇḍipāda Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī. Although acceptance of tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa is not distinctly mentioned in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava literature, the first verse of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Upadeśāmṛta advocates that one should accept the tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa order by controlling the six forces:

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ

jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam

etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ

sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

(NOI 1)

"One who can control the forces of speech, mind, anger, belly, tongue and genitals is known as a gosvāmī and is competent to accept disciples all over the world." The followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu never accepted the Māyāvāda order of sannyāsa, and for this they cannot be blamed. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted Śrīdhara Svāmī, who was a tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī, but the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, not understanding Śrīdhara Svāmī, sometimes think that Śrīdhara Svāmī belonged to the Māyāvāda ekadaṇḍa-sannyāsa community. Actually this was not the case.

Śaṅkarācārya introduced names for his sannyāsa disciples, and these are ten in number. Out of these, the surnames Tīrtha, Āśrama and Sarasvatī are considered topmost.

CC Madhya 6.73, Translation and Purport:

Gopīnātha Ācārya replied, "Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu does not rely on any external formality. There is no need for Him to accept the sannyāsa order from a superior sampradāya."

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted sannyāsa from the Bhāratī sampradāya (community), which belongs to the disciplic succession of Śaṅkarācārya. Śaṅkarācārya introduced names for his sannyāsa disciples, and these are ten in number. Out of these, the surnames Tīrtha, Āśrama and Sarasvatī are considered topmost. In the monastery at Śṛṅgerī, the surname Sarasvatī is considered first class, Bhāratī second class and Purī third class. A sannyāsī who has very nicely understood the slogan tat tvam asi and who takes his bath at the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamunā and Sarasvatī is called a Tīrtha. A person who is very eager to accept sannyāsa, who is detached from worldly activities, who has no desire for any kind of material facilities, and who is thus saved from repeated birth and death is known as Āśrama. When a sannyāsī lives in a beautiful, solitary place in the forest and is freed from all material desires, he is called Vana. A sannyāsī who always lives in the forest and renounces all connection with the world in order to be elevated to the heavenly planets, where he can live in the Nandana-kānana, is called Araṇya. One who prefers living in the mountains engaging in the study of the Bhagavad-gītā and whose intelligence is fixed is called Giri. One who prefers living in great mountains, even among ferocious animals, to attain the summit of philosophical speculation (understanding that the essence of this material world is useless) is called Parvata. A sannyāsī who has dipped into the ocean of the Absolute Truth and collected some valuable stones of knowledge from that ocean, who never falls from the regulative principles of a sannyāsī, is called Sāgara. One who has learned the classical art of music, who engages in its culture, and who has become expert and completely aloof from material attachment is called Sarasvatī. Sarasvatī is the goddess of music and learning, and in one hand she holds a musical instrument called a vīṇā. A sannyāsī who is always engaged in music for spiritual elevation is called Sarasvatī. One who has become completely educated and is freed from all kinds of ignorance and who is never unhappy, even in a distressed condition, is called Bhāratī. One who has become very expert in absolute knowledge, who is situated in the Absolute Truth, and who always discusses the Absolute Truth is called Purī.

Eight of Madhvācārya's sannyāsa disciples became directors of his eight monasteries.

CC Madhya 9.245, Purport:

In his childhood Madhvācārya was known as Vāsudeva, and there are some wonderful stories surrounding him. It is said that once when his father had piled up many debts, Madhvācārya converted tamarind seeds into actual coins to pay them off. When he was five years old, he was offered the sacred thread. A demon named Maṇimān lived near his abode in the form of a snake, and at the age of five Madhvācārya killed that snake with the toe of his left foot. When his mother was very much disturbed, he would appear before her in one jump. He was a great scholar even in childhood, and although his father did not agree, he accepted sannyāsa at the age of twelve. Upon receiving sannyāsa from Acyuta Prekṣa, he received the name Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha. After traveling all over India, he finally discussed scriptures with Vidyāśaṅkara, the exalted leader of Śṛṅgeri-maṭha. Vidyāśaṅkara was actually diminished in the presence of Madhvācārya. Accompanied by Satya Tīrtha, Madhvācārya went to Badarikāśrama. It was there that he met Vyāsadeva and explained his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā before him. Thus he became a great scholar by studying before Vyāsadeva.

By the time he came to the Ānanda-maṭha from Badarikāśrama, Madhvācārya had finished his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā. His companion Satya Tīrtha wrote down the entire commentary. When Madhvācārya returned from Badarikāśrama, he went to Gañjāma, which is on the bank of the river Godāvarī. There he met with two learned scholars named Śobhana Bhaṭṭa and Svāmī Śāstrī. Later these scholars became known in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya as Padmanābha Tīrtha and Narahari Tīrtha. When he returned to Uḍupī, he would sometimes bathe in the ocean. On such an occasion he composed a prayer in five chapters. Once, while sitting beside the sea engrossed in meditation upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he saw that a large boat containing goods for Dvārakā was in danger. He gave some signs by which the boat could approach the shore, and it was saved. The owners of the boat wanted to give him a present, and at the time Madhvācārya agreed to take some gopī-candana. He received a big lump of gopī-candana, and as it was being brought to him, it broke apart and revealed a large Deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Deity had a stick in one hand and a lump of food in the other. As soon as Madhvācārya received the Deity of Kṛṣṇa in this way, he composed a prayer. The Deity was so heavy that not even thirty people could lift it. Yet Madhvācārya personally brought this Deity to Uḍupī. Eight of Madhvācārya's sannyāsa disciples became directors of his eight monasteries. Worship of the Lord Kṛṣṇa Deity is still going on at Uḍupī according to the plans Madhvācārya established.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So I am especially talking to my sannyāsī disciples, who are going out today on a great mission. Please stick to this principle-one-Kṛṣṇa. You will be benefited, and the persons to whom you'll talk, they will be benefited, the world will be benefited. So you have got a very great responsibility. Don't turn into the talks of the gṛhamedhī and break it. That is my request.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-6 Excerpts -- Los Angeles, July 2, 1970:

So as soon as one becomes gṛhamedhī, he becomes blind to see what is self-realization. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that those who are blind, those who have been encaged in the materialistic way of life, for them, there are thousands and thousands of topics to hear and to chant. But those who are seeing to the self... Self is one. Ekaṁ brahma dvitīyaṁ nāsti. For them, one talk only about Kṛṣṇa. So I'll request you, all my beloved disciples present here, that don't turn to that point, gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. Stick to this point, Kṛṣṇa. Then you'll be happy. Don't talk, create. Thousand... As soon as we go out of the scope of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there will be so many talks. And that will mislead you. That is māyā. And if you stick to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no secrecy, there is no duplicity, there is no diplomacy. One talk, Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma... That will make you satisfied. Yayātmā suprasīdati. If you want actually happiness then you stick to these Kṛṣṇa consciousness topics. Don't bring in anything other, else. Then that will become gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām, apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2).

So I am especially talking to my sannyāsī disciples, who are going out today on a great mission. Please stick to this principle-one-Kṛṣṇa. You will be benefited, and the persons to whom you'll talk, they will be benefited, the world will be benefited. So you have got a very great responsibility. Don't turn into the talks of the gṛhamedhī and break it. That is my request.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Yes. Chant. (devotees offer obeisances) So you will start just at half past seven? So we have got little time. Better perform... That's all. (kīrtana) (break) Car is ready? Car? We'll go to the car or you have got...

1971 Correspondence

My only desire is that all my sannyasi disciples may increase this institution in a wide area.

Letter to Visnujana -- Gorakhpur 22 February, 1971:

I am so glad that you are developing the center in Houston Texas and now have gone to Austin Texas to open yet another center. If you think so, I can send Deities for installing in the Houston temple. Any boy recommended by you will be initiated. I am also contemplating to return to the U.S.A. by the month of April.

Your program there sounds very nice and Krishna is helping you by sending more devotees. The more you render service, Krishna will help you more and more. My only desire is that all my sannyasi disciples may increase this institution in a wide area. So write me and let me know how things are developing. Hoping this will meet you in good health.

1974 Correspondence

I wish to inform you that I am sending one of my elder sannyasi disciples to Fiji for preaching and opening a Krishna consciousness temple there.

Letter to Mr. Punja -- Dallas 17 July, 1974:

I wish to inform you that I am sending one of my elder sannyasi disciples to Fiji for preaching and opening a Krishna consciousness temple there. Three other men will also go there to assist him. His name is His Holiness Subaladas Swami. Please see that he is taken care of there. He will be arriving within one months time.

1975 Correspondence

My beloved sannyasi disciple Swami Pusta Krishna has promised to give me a car, and as soon as I get it I shall move from village to village along with some selected assistants and organize this farming village development program.

Letter to Kartikeya K. Mahadevia -- Johannesburg 19 October, 1975:

Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your wife, Gauridevi, and your children. I am enclosing herewith some foreign stamps for your beloved son, Kirtana. I am very much pleased that now you are taking more active part in the propagation of our missionary activities. Regarding Ahmedabad Centre, we must have a place there. I am also very much eager to open a centre there, Ahmedabad being one of the most opulent and important cities of India. Last time when we held our festival in Ahmedabad it was certainly very encouraging. People are naturally Krishna Conscious there. If we organize properly, people will get enlightenment more and more and they will be happy. We have to organize in the neighboring village from where the Raja Saheb came to offer his respects to me. He has promised to hold a meeting of the agriculturists of 20,000 people minimum and this will be a great opportunity. Now, our next program will be to organize farming land to set an example to the whole world how people can be peaceful, happy, and free from all anxieties simply by chanting Hare Krishna Maha-mantra and living an honorable life in Krishna Consciousness. In India especially people are religiously inclined. They like to live in village and also like to love Lord Rama, Lord Krishna. This idealism is running through their blood and veins. We have to organize their natural tendency and elevate them again back to Home, Back-to-Godhead. Please think over these points very seriously and as soon as I return we shall take up the program. My beloved sannyasi disciple Swami Pusta Krishna has promised to give me a car, and as soon as I get it I shall move from village to village along with some selected assistants and organize this farming village development program.

1976 Correspondence

In spite of my preaching program overseas, the scheduled program in Udupi on the 11th 12th 13rd may may go on and my sannyasi disciples Yasodanandana Swami and Acyutananda Swami will carry on the program there. Please help them to make this program a success.

Letter to Sri Viswesha Tirtha Swami -- Vrindaban 10 April, 1976:

I have received your letter from Guntur inviting me to Udupi through my disciple Yasodanandana Swami. I am very eager to come however due to prior comitments my program has already been scheduled. I am building one Kaliya-Mardana temple in the Island of Fiji and I will go there via Australia, where we have 4 centres, then New Zealand, where we have a center in Auckland, then on to Fiji. Afterwards I will visit my centre in Hawaii, Los Angeles (California) and New York.

In spite of my preaching program overseas, the scheduled program in Udupi on the 11th 12th 13rd may may go on and my sannyasi disciples Yasodanandana Swami and Acyutananda Swami will carry on the program there. Please help them to make this program a success.

Yasodanandana Swami has written an article on Madhvacarya and Udupi and it has been submitted to my monthly journal Back To Godhead, which has a circulation of 10 lakhs copies monthly.

This Sanatana Dharma pracara is the real path followed by all pure acaryas such as Madhva, Ramanuja, Sri Caitanya and others. Kindly help us to spread this Krishna Consciousness movement all over the land of Bharata Bhumi.