Adi Shankara Brahma Vidya Peeth is an
institution established at Uttarkashi, India, with
the primary aim of preserving and propagating the
knowledge of Brahma Vidya, which is the very basis
for India's spiritual and cultural heritage and
also has universal significance for all of
mankind. This profound knowledge of one's true
Self, unfolded through the Vedantic scriptures,
deals with the essential oneness of the individual
and Brahman, the Cosmic Being. India is blessed in
having a Sampradaya, a living teaching tradition
of Brahma Vidya of great depth and elegance, with
many acharyas and mahatmas (saints) such as Sri
Adi Shankaracharya (788 CE - 832 AD), in this
lineage of spiritual teachers and students. The
spiritual teacher (Acharya) imparts this sacred
knowledge to the student (shishya) by unfolding
the profound inner meaning of the scriptures; the
teaching is thus more than a mere intellectual or
academic study.
The Acharya's teaching of this
Self-knowledge leads a student to discover within
himself, the spiritual truth of his Oneness with
Brahman. The commentaries in Sanskrit by Sri Adi
Shankaracharya on the Upanishads, Brahma-sutras,
and Bhagavad Gita are today the canonical texts of
this teaching tradition. Adi Shankara Brahma Vidya
Peeth is dedicated to the study, through an
Acharya, of these profound scriptures. This
institution is based in Uttarkashi, nestled in the
Himalayas of India.
Uttarkashi has been an ancient
seat of this teaching tradition of Brahma Vidya
and a place of austerity and learning for many
celibate sadhus and spiritual aspirants. This is
the place where Sri Adi Shankaracharya deliberated
Vedanta with Sri Veda Vyasa who blessed him by
adding sixteen years to his life span, in order to
propagate Brahma Vidya.
The inspiration for forming the
Adi Shankara Brahma Vidya Peeth arose in the minds
of the sadhus and mahatmas of Uttarkashi due to
the urgent need to preserve and protect an
important ashram of Uttarkashi, called the
Somashram which is more than one hundred years
old.
| |
A view of
Somashram with the Ganga flowing in the distant
background |
|
Somashram
: An
Abode of Penance
Somashram is situated in
Ujjaili, Uttarkashi, amongst a cluster of several
Ashrams on the banks of the Bhagirathi Ganga, and
has been a traditional abode for Vedanta and
scriptural study, sadhana and tapas for many great
sages for over a century. Their mode of living
here was very austere and the sadhus lived on the
frugal bhiksha (alms) gathered from the
anna-kshetra (community kitchen), as well as from
the surrounding villages. Such great sages like
Swami Tapovanam ji Maharaj of Tapovan-Kuti and
Swami Chaitanyananda ji Maharaj of Sivananda
Ashram, Ujjaili, taught Vedanta at Somashram in
the 1950s and 1960s. Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj of
DLS Rishikesh, Swami Chinmayanandaji Maharaj of
Chinmaya Mission, Swami Nirgunanandaji, Direct
Disciple of Yugacharya Swami Pranavanandaji, the
founder of Bharat Sevashram World Wide and Swami
Ganeshanandaji Maharaj of Sadhana Sadan of
Haridwar were all residents of this ashram at
various times and pursued their tapas and sadhana
here on the hallowed grounds of
Somashram.
However, due to a paucity
of funds, the previous trustees and patrons to
whom this land belonged had decided to put up the
Somashram land and the old building located on it,
for sale. At this point, the respected Sadhus
and Acharyas of Uttarkashi keenly felt a need to
step in and purchase this land and retain this
ashram as a seat of Brahma Vidya. Spiritual
institutions promoting Brahma Vidya amongst
sadhus, are becoming harder to come by as
Uttarkashi has become a bustling town of local
trade and commerce.
Adi Shankara Brahma Vidya
Peeth formation
In view of the urgent need to
preserve Somashram as a spiritual centre, the Adi
Shankara Brahma Vidya Peeth, Somashram,
Uttarkashi, was founded as a registered society. A
committee of fourteen Mahatmas has been formed, of
whom seven are to act as the executive governing
body. There is also an advisory body of senior
sadhus of various other ashrams and institutions
from all over India. The land on which Somashram
is currently located,
has been acquired by this
newly-formed Adi Shankara Brahma Vidya Peeth through the generosity of close
devotees and sadhaks who share the ideals of
this Peeth,
