Bharathi Tirtha Mahaswamiji (), ( Purvashrama name Seetharama Anjaneyalu) (born 3 April 1951), is an Indian religious leader who is the current and 36th Shankaracharya of

Sringeri Sharada Peetham Dakṣiṇāmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pīṭham () or Śri Śṛṅgagiri Maṭha (); , ) is one amongst the four cardinal Matha, pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the ''peetham'' or ''matha'' is said to have been established by ach ...

, an important

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

monastery in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta established by Sri

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and h ...

Early life and career

Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji was born 03 April 1951 to a Telugu

Smartha The ''Smarta'' tradition (, ) is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Uttara Mīmāṃsā, Advaita, Yoga, and theism. The Smar ...

family from

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

. His family later moved to

Narasaraopet Narasaraopeta is a city and district headquarters of Palnadu District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town is a municipality and mandal headquarters of Narasaraopet mandal and Headquarters of Narasaraopet revenue division. The town a ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. He was a religiously minded child. His '' upanayana'' ceremony was performed when he was seven years of age. In addition to schooling, he spent his time studying

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and took lessons in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

from his father who himself was a

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

scholar. In the year 1966, at the age of 15, Anjaneyalu approached the 35th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji, seeking religious guidance from him. Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji accepted Brahmachari Seetharama Anjaneyalu as the disciple. Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji appointed Brahmachari Seetharama Anjaneyalu as the successor-designate on the 11 November 1974, when Anjaneyalu received saffron robes, a staff, and a

kamandalu Kamandalu (Sanskrit: कमण्डलु, ), kamandal, or kamandalam is an oblong water pot, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made of a dry gourd (pumpkin) or coconut shell, metal, wood of the Kamandalataru tree, or from clay, usually w ...

(water pot). The newly initiated

sannyasi ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), '' grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprastha ...

was given the title of Yogapatta Sri Bharati Tirtha in line with the Dashanami Sampradaya of Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya. As part of the tradition, Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji undertakes tours to different places in order to offer guidance to the devotees. The most recent tour took place in 2017 and spanned

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

References

External links

Sringeri Sharada PeethamAbout Shri Adi Sankarcharya and His Parampara
{{Authority control Advaita Vedanta Sringeri Sharada Peetham 1951 births Living people Indian Hindu monks Shankaracharyas Telugu people People from Guntur district People from Andhra Pradesh