Keshavashram
Encyclopedia
His Holiness Swami Keshavashram (Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

: केशवाश्रम् , ) was the fifth guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

 of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community,that is, the Fifth Mathādhipati(Head of the Chitrāpur Matha
Chitrapur Math
Chitrapur Math is the central Math for the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin sect. This Math is located in Shirali in North Kanara area of Karnataka and has been there since 1757. The other Maths of this community are located in Gokarn, Karla, Mangalore and Mallapur...

) of the community. His reign was from 1785 to 1823, a period of 38 years (42 years including his period as disciple of Swami Shankarāshram II
Shankarashram II
Swami Shankarāshram II was the Fourth head guru or Mathādhipati of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community. His reign was from 1770 to 1785....

). He became the head of the community after his teacher(guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

) Swami Shankarāshram
Shankarashram II
Swami Shankarāshram II was the Fourth head guru or Mathādhipati of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community. His reign was from 1770 to 1785....

 attained Mahā-samādhi (died) in 1785.

Under his administration, the Chitrapur Math
Chitrapur Math
Chitrapur Math is the central Math for the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin sect. This Math is located in Shirali in North Kanara area of Karnataka and has been there since 1757. The other Maths of this community are located in Gokarn, Karla, Mangalore and Mallapur...

 acquired land and property. He was able to consolidate the Sāraswat Community both in numbers(increased the number of followers) and in faith (weaned away many from Dvaita
Dvaita
Dvaita is a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya....

 Vaishnava practises). He attained Mahā-samādhi in 1823 at Shirali. His samādhi(shrine) is located at Shirali
Shirali
Shirali is a village in the located in the Bhatkal subdistrict of Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Shirali is home to two prominent temples: the Chitrapur Matt and the Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya Temple...

.

(Note: In this article Swamiji will refer only to Swami Keshavāshram)

Taking charge

Swami Keshavāshram became the Fifth head of the community after his teacher (guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

) Swami Shankarāshram II
Shankarashram II
Swami Shankarāshram II was the Fourth head guru or Mathādhipati of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community. His reign was from 1770 to 1785....

 attained Mahā-samādhi in 1785 in the month of Maagha
Maagha
Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....

. The official taking over took place on the tenth day of the month. Swamiji had the advantage of being under his guru for 4 years and could hence could easily take charge of the administration of the Chitrāpur Matha
Chitrapur Math
Chitrapur Math is the central Math for the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin sect. This Math is located in Shirali in North Kanara area of Karnataka and has been there since 1757. The other Maths of this community are located in Gokarn, Karla, Mangalore and Mallapur...

and the community in general.

Swamiji was a very able administrator and he could acquire land and fixed property for the Chitrāpur Matha. This resulted in the expansion of the matha. He would personally supervise the administration and finance of the matha whenever he had the spare time. He was well versed with the scriptures but at the same time had a keen mathematical prowess. In the 42 years in charge with the matha administration(38 years as the Mathādhipati and 4 as disciple to his guru), he could consolidate the community as a whole.

He was considered as a good orator. The knowledge and the speaking skills were very convincing and devotees flocked to hear his discourses.

"Poojya Swamiji,truly a Jnāni
With Spiritual Knowledge did glow,
Discourses filled with wisdom,
So smoothly would flow!
Devotees flocked to listen to the words of wisdom,
Our beloved Sadguru they came to meet,
In abundance they received from Gurudev,
With reverence they prostrated at His Lotus Feet."


Swamiji could convince many devotees from getting rid of their Dvaita
Dvaita
Dvaita is a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya....

 Vaishnava practices. Thus many devotees were united under the Guru Parampara
Chitrapur Guru Parampara
The Chitrapur Guru Parampara or Guru Heritage of the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Brahmins is the lineage of spiritual teachers , also known as Mathadhipatis who have led the community throughout its history.These teachers are viewed as the torch-bearers of the rich culture and heritage that the community has...

and bore allegiance to the Chitrāpur Matha. The devotees never failed to pay a portion of their income to Swamiji and thus the financial stability, that the matha had lacked for so long, was achieved.

Importance to education

During Swamiji's reign, the British got hold of the Canara
Kanara
The Kanara or Canara region comprises three coastal districts of Karnataka, namely Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada and Kasaragod district of Kerala in southwestern India. Kanara forms the southern part of the Konkan coast...

 Districts(Upper and Lower) (See: British control) where the community was primarily located. Knowing that changing times demanded changes in society, Swamiji encouraged English education. Thus the Sāraswats could occupy prestigious administrative posts during the British Raj.

Miracles

Swami Keshavāshram is attributed to many miracles. Devotees in distress and in need had their problems redressed due to his divine powers. Two of them are listed below.

The Mute boy from Murdeshwar



There lived a pious devotee in the town of Murdershwar
Murudeshwara
Murudeshwara is a town in the Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. "Murudeshwara" is another name of the Hindu god Shiva...

 who had a son who was mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...

. This devotee and his wife tried all sorts of therapy and medication to get the boy to speak, but all that failed. When all hopes seemed to dim, his wife and neighbours asked him to take his son to seek Swamiji's blessings. But this devotee was so pious and considerate that he refused stating that he did not want his burdens to be transferred to Swamiji in any way.

One day both he and his wife had a dream where Swamiji had blessed their son and he was normal again. Since both of them had the same dream, they thought the message was too strong to ignore. So with hopes filled in their hearts, they went to Shirali
Shirali
Shirali is a village in the located in the Bhatkal subdistrict of Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Shirali is home to two prominent temples: the Chitrapur Matt and the Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya Temple...

 to meet Swamiji. The entire family prayed in utmost humility to Swamiji. The boy was weeping bitterly but silently beside Swamiji. When Swamiji placed his hand on the boy's head, the boy miraculously got back his power of speech. The family was then blessed by Swamiji and they returned to Murdeshwar.

The Cripple from Mangalore



In the town of Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

 lived a pious devotee of Swamiji who was physically challenged (feet had a disability). He lived on the charity of people but was truly devout. He had an ardent desire to seek blessings of Swamiji. Despite not having any money or food with him, he started his journey to the Chitrapur Math
Chitrapur Math
Chitrapur Math is the central Math for the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin sect. This Math is located in Shirali in North Kanara area of Karnataka and has been there since 1757. The other Maths of this community are located in Gokarn, Karla, Mangalore and Mallapur...

 on barefoot. Even though his clothes were tattered and poor, his heart was rich with devotion.

En route his feet got swollen and his knees became very tired. With all his energy sapped and the destination still far away, the poor man rested under a Banyan
Banyan
A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree...

 tree very dejected and doubtful of completing his journey. At night he had a dream where Swamiji came to him under the Banyan tree and was massaging his tired feet with oil. At dawn when he woke up, all the pain and agony had disappeared and he could walk normally. With his health and spirits re-energized, the devotee made his way to Swamiji at Shirali and fell at his feet with true devotion. The Swamiji blessed him and the devotee returned with content and happiness.

Shishya Sweekār

When Swamiji's health started becoming frail and weak, the devotees requested Swamiji to accept a shishya(Disciple). Swamiji graciously accepted the offer. So the search was on to find a suitable successor.

The suitable successor was found in a youngster from the Shukla Bhat family from Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

. On the Shuddha Panchami (5th day) of the Ashādhā month in 1804, the new shishya was ordained as Vāmanāshram
Vamanashram
Swami Vāmanāshram was the Sixth guru of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community. His period of reign was for 16 years from 1823 to 1839....

. He would be under the tutelage of Swami Keshavāshram for another 19 years. This long period of being under a guru helped Vāmanāshram attain high proficiency in the Sanskrit scriptures.

Mahā-Samādhi

After being the head of the community for 38 long years, Swami Keshavāshram attained Mahā-samādhi on the Shīrsha Navami(9th day) of the Mārgha month in 1823. He died with his shishya by his side. His samādhi(shrine) is located at Shirali.
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