Jagadguru and Jagadguruttam – Significance and relevance in current times

Before we delve into understanding the significance of these terms, let us do a quick recap of our preceding discussions. Until now, we explored the cosmic dynamics of three eternal entities: Jeeva(individual souls), Brahma (God), and Maya (illusion), where the Jeeva is presented with a binary choice Whom to Vote For? between the spiritual path of God and the material path of Maya. Despite being fragments of divine bliss and inherently yearning for God's virtuous qualities, the Jeeva remains perpetually distant from God, veiled by ignorance and ensnared by Maya The Invincible Maya leading to cycles of illusion, life, and suffering. Overcoming Maya Maya – Friend or Foe? which is an indomitable power of God, demands a power beyond the Jeeva’sown—a power wielded by the enlightened Guru, who has traversed the path to god-realisation and now extends a guiding hand to the Jeeva.

After understanding the pivotal role of the Guru, the next pressing question was how to recognize a genuine Saint amidst a multitude of imposters. While it is impossible to judge a divine personality with a material intellect, we attempted to present some indicators to recognize them. Nevertheless, with a limited and uncertain life, busy schedules, worldly responsibilities, and entanglements, there is a need for an authentic and easier way to reach a genuine Saint.

Notably this precarious situation, where hypocrites and fraudulent people wearing the colored garb of an ascetic became Babas or godmen, existed in earlier times too. Apathetic to the study of the Vedas and Shastras, they instead adopted unscrupulous methods to attract gullible people, thereby, further confusing their naïve followers. This prompted learned scholars, who represented different branches of knowledge, to unanimously bestow the title of Jagadguru on a Saint who was proven to be well-versed in the knowledge of the Vedas and Shastras, and who had realized God and could be accepted as a Guru without any doubt. Such a Saint should command the respect and reverence of all the scholars of India, allowing people to seek his guidance confidently and practice devotion. The practice of honoring a genuine Saint with the title of Jagadguru began to combat deception and benefit all. Unquestionably this tradition, referenced in our scriptures and Puranas, offers a reliable way to identify a genuine Guru.

The word "Jagadguru" is mentioned in the Mahabharata, where Arjuna called Shri Krishna, the Jagadguru-Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. Uttar Khand of Skanda Purana, Mother Parvati addressed Lord Shankara as Jagadguru. In the tenth canto of the Bhagavatam (10.90.27), Shukadeva Paramahansa says, "Blessed are those women who accepted Jagadguru Shri Krishna as their beloved. "Thus, Shri Krishna Himself is the foremost original Jagadguru, "Spiritual Master of the World".Since ancient times, this tradition of honoring a Saint with the titleofJagadguru began with Jagadguru Shankaracharya (BC509-477), who was a partial incarnation of Lord Shankara. During his time there was no assembly of scholars. He travelled the length and breadth of the country, defeating all the renowned scholars in scriptural debates, who, having accepted their defeat, declared him to be the supreme amongst all. In accordance with the prevailing times, he propagated the wisdom of Vedanta and established the doctrine of Advaita. Moreover, to preserve the national culture Shri Shankaracharya established four mathas and nominated four of his disciples to carry forward his principles of Vedanta. As the four successors and their nominated successors followed the same tradition of Jagadguru, they too, were referred to as Jagadgurus, a tradition that continues today.

Meanwhile, following Jagadguru Shankaracharya, came Shri Ramanujacharya (1017-1137AD), ShriNimbarkacharya (1130-1200AD), and Shri Madhavacharya (1238-1317AD) each with their respective doctrines and each earned the title of Jagadguru after all the great scholars of their time bowed before them during scriptural debates. It must be noted here that the three Jagadgurus earned their title after extensive scriptural debates, unlike the nominated successors oftheJagadguruShankaracharyasect. Later in the eighteenth century, a body called Kashi Vidvat Parishat was established in the holy city of Varanasi that comprised an assembly of 500 eminent scholars, each adept in their domain of spiritual disciplines, collectively representing India’s incomparable scriptural prowess. The idea to establish such a body was to authorize them to determine who should be honored with the title of Jagadguru. It was in 1957 when Kashi Vidvat Parishat invited a youth aged 34 years for a discourse after hearing about his profound knowledge from various eminent scholars. The man had a captivating divine persona and spoke fluently in Sanskrit quoting thousands of verses from hundreds of scriptures revealing his unparalleled scholarship for ten consecutive days. His competence completely belied his age. To the utter amazement of the veteran scholars, he not only accepted and proved true the existing philosophies of all previous Jagadgurus, but he miraculously reconciled their apparent contradictions, an unprecedented feat. In addition, he proved the supremacy of bhakti or devotion as being the essence of all the paths for this age. The elite assembly recognizing the divinity of the young man and being completely spellbound by his extraordinary knowledge, then unanimously honored him with the title ofJagadguruttam–Supreme Amongstall Jagadgurusinsertthelink<https://www.deardevotees.com/jagadguruttam-divas-a-celebration-of-divine-grace/>. He was none other than Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, the Fifth Original Jagadguru. Additionally, the entire assembly expressed their love and reverence by honoring him with a poetic tribute called the Padyaprasunopahara and many more epithets including Bhaktiyogarasavtar, Descension of divine love and bliss. Needless to say, this is of course the most authentic and easiest way for us to accept him as our Guru and follow his teachings with complete faith. The uniqueness of Shri Maharaj Ji’s teachings is that they are in simple language understandable by even a layperson contrast to the commentaries and books of all the previous Jagadgurus, who wrote in Sanskrit, a language far beyond the comprehension of common people today. Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj’s principle ofBhaktiyogaapplies to the modern age that attributes universal brotherhood and propagates the message of love and devotion, teachings that align with scriptures around the world. Having found a Guru, our spiritual journey then takes off in the truest sense. Completely surrendering ourselves at Guru’s feet, faithfully following his instructions, and associating exclusively with him would enable us to receive his grace, the ultimate tool to propel our journey forward.

Stay tuned for further exciting explorations on this journey.

Must Read:

Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj’s biography that includes detailed accounts of events leading to his honoring of the title of Jagadguruttam, and vivid elaborations on his celebrated divine life and service to humanity.

The Supreme Spiritual Master-A Biography-Jagadguruttam: English https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/en/product/jagadguruttam-1

Jagadguruttam: Hindi https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/en/product/jagadguruttam-jeevan-parichaya