Siddharudha Swami(26 March 1836-21 August 1929) was an Indian Hindu
guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
and
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
.
Biography
Sadguru Siddharudha Maharaj lived in the style of an
ascetic
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
throughout his life. Considered to be an incarnation of
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
, one of the Trinity deities of Hinduism, Siddharudha renounced his home and his family ties at the very young age of 6 years, and set himself the goal of finding his
Satguru or spiritual master. Siddharudha later surrendered himself, as a student, to the realized soul Shri Gajadandaswami, and served at his
Ashram
An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
to
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...
, delivering the right wisdom for spiritual awakening and methodical liberation to all those who were cognizant of his exemplary standards of spiritual practice before setting down at
Hubli
Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of ...
, where he was quickly recognized for his spiritual knowledge & immaculate sainthood. People sought him out from neighbouring states for solace, satisfaction of desires and spiritual enlightenment.
He died at
Hubballi
Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of Ka ...
in the year of 1929 and was entombed at his ashram. He was believed to be working miracles for his devotees. A proverb runs by in a native Indian Language
kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
:
Siddharudhara Jolige Jagakkella holige
which signifies the food that is served at his ashram and the miracles that occur of it.
Followers
*He served the people without any discrimination, having a
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
disciple named Kabirdas (not his original name) who was known for his dedication to him.
*Parampoojya Shri Kalavati Devi (alias ''Aai'' meaning mother in
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
**Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
), was his supreme disciple. Formerly known as
Rukmabai Mallapur, she herself is well known as a supreme saint, whose ''
samadhi
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh
''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
'' is found at Shri Harimandir at Angol, Belagavi.
*He had a devoted disciple, Gurunatharudha. His samadhi is just beside the samadhi of Sri Siddharudha Swami in Hubli Matha.
*He gave ''
sannyasa
''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihast ...
'' to Swami
Muktananda, who studied at his ashram in Hubli until Siddharudha's death in 1929, he then left to study with a disciple of Siddharudha called
Muppinarya Swami at his
Sri Airani Holematt in Ranebennur
Haveri
Haveri or Hāvēri is a city and headquarters of Haveri district of Karnataka State in India. Haveri is famous for its cardamom garlands, Byadagi red chillies and Hukkeri Math. Around 25 km away, there is a place called Bada, which is the b ...
District
*Shri Guru also had a disciple, Shri Shivaputra Appaji whose samadhi is situated at 20 metres distance from siddharoodh math. At present Shri Abhinav Shivaputra Swamiji is head of that math.
* Sri Iychanda Bolliappa from Devanageri village was his supreme disciple. Swami Bolliappa was a regular visitor to Siddharudha Matha located in Cherambane village,
Kodagu
Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative List of districts of Karnataka, district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged ...
district, Karnataka.
Teachings
Siddharudha Maharaj is an acknowledged
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 ...
master of the Saivite Advaita stream of Vedic thought and has many followers throughout India, especially in the villages of
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 ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
and Telugu states.
Honour
* A commemorative postage stamp honouring Siddharudha Maharaj was released by
Department of Post on 6 July 2024.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official WebsiteSiddharoodha's stories and biography
Indian Hindu monks
1929 deaths
Advaitin philosophers
19th-century Hindu religious leaders
20th-century Hindu religious leaders
1836 births