'In
Varanasi, Maharaj Shri got an Ashram built in Siddhagiri Bagh,
Chhotigaivi. Moreover, a Sanskrit College was established in the memory
of his Sad Guru Dev, where students receive free education upto
Acharya. The Ashram is a three storyed building, where fifty families
can be accomodated. These
two buildings are under the management of Shri Krishnanand Saraswati
Trust.'
-'Strange Facts About a
Great Saint' by Raj Varma, M/s Varma & Sons, 1980, p72
'It
is to be remembered that back in 1936, before being offered the post of
Shankaracharya, Maharaj Shri had had built the Shri Brahmavidya Niketan
and the Shri Brahmanandeshwar Mahadev Ji Mandir (a temple) in Choti
Gaibi, Varanasi, in rememberance of his own venerable Shri Gurudeva.
The beautiful appearance of the ashram
and mandir
(temple) etc, was made on account of the management and another major ashram
in Siddhi Giri Baag, Varanasi, was built by the name of Shri Brahma
Niwas. This, the two other buildings and one at Bahadur Ganj, Prayag
(Allahabad) were all connected, and these properties were placed under
the protection of the Shri 1008 Swami Krishnanand Saraswati Trust,
whereof mention is made in Maharaj Shri's final will.
Pujya
Swami
Gyananand Ji Maharaj, the senior founder of Bharat Dharma Mahamandala,
had long wished for the restoration of the peeth
so he proceeded to Sidhhigiri Baaga hoping for the fulfilment of this
desire. With a great declaration from Shri Charan to restore the
northern seat of Dharma the shodashopachara
puja (of sixteen offerings) was done and the abhisheka
(anointment) was accomplished by about ten o'clock. '
'The
Biography of Guru Dev: The Life and Teachings of Swami Brahmananda
Saraswati' - Volume II', Paul Mason - Premanand 2009, p176
'....
according to this vasiyat
(Will) will the management be done of Shri Jyotish Peeth and Shri Swami
Krishnanand Saraswati ashram
and the connected pathshala
(school), Brahma Vidya Niketan and the mandir (temple) of
Brahmanadeshwar Mahadeva.' - extract from what is
said to be the last Will of Guru Dev -
So,
Guru Dev founded his ashram
at Varanasi in 1936-7
(1993 in the
Vikram Samrat calendar). and called the ashram 'Shri Brahma
Niwas', registering the property under the Shri Krishnananda Saraswati Trust
Kashi.
The
property is still there, though not a working ashram at
present. For some while it was under the care of Brahmachari Bakshi,
and is it now being looked after by a Nepalese 'swami' by the
name of Brahmachari Prabuddhanand.
Recently
a
Norwegian traveller, Indramurti Odd Bull, explored the byways of
Varanasi and located the ashram, took
some snaps and kindly
offered me to share them.
'Hi
Paul,I just found The Ashram.There was Bengali people living there,but
upstairs lives an old swami from Nepal, Brahmachari Prabuddhanand.He
said he was the caretaker of The Ashram.He is 80 years Old and was very
happy to scroll your pages on The Shankaracharya on my Smartphone. A
lovely man.'
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th
December 2014 (1 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th
December 2014 (2 of 34)
श्री
कृष्णाणन्द सरस्वती ट्रस्ट काशी
प्रभन्धक धर्म सम्राट प्रतः स्मरणीय श्री
मज्ज्योतिष्पीठाधीश्वर जगद्गुरु शंकराचार्य
श्री स्वमी वासुदेवानन्द सरस्वती जी महाराज
ज्योतिर्मठ बदरिकाश्रम (हिमालय)
(नया)
श्री ब्रह्मनिवास डी. ६१/२८ / डी ६१/१७१. सिद्धगिरि बाग वारणसी
Kashi
= Vanarasi, at one time called Banaras or Benares prabandhaka
= provider dharma samraT
= emperor of dharma praataH =
dawn smaraNiiya
= noteworthy, memorable majj =
bathe jyoti =
light, flame, lustre, vision piiTha =
seat adhiishvara
= a master, ruler, lord, chief. nivaasa =
dwelling, abode, residence, house, quarters nayaa = new
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th
December 2014 (3 of 34)
श्री ब्रह्म निवास
SHRII
BRAHMA NIVAASA
SA. 1993 VI
VI = Vikram SA.
= Samvat = a year, an era, the year of Vikramaditya era
Vikram Samrat = calendar established by emperor Vikramaditya
1993 in Vikrami
calendar = November 1936 to October 1937, Gregorian calendar
Shri Brahma Niwas, Varanasi, 4th
December 2014 (4 of 34) Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (5 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (6 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (7 of 34)
At
this
very place, Shri Brahma Niwas, Guru Dev established his base for near
on seventeen years. This is where in 1941-2 the young Mahesh came and
became a secretary to Guru Dev, later, in about 1949, becoming a brahmachari (celibate
student) of Guru Dev. It is where Guru Dev gave darshan and where
on 20th May 1953 people came to pay there last respects to him,whilst
he was temporarilly
laid
to rest in the courtyard.
'Arrival at Mughal Sarai [the junction near
Varanasi] was at about
three o’clock in the day [of the afternoon of 21st May]. From
Mughal Sarai the
earthly body of Maharaj Shri was taken by car to Varanasi and at about
four
o’clock it was well-adorned and placed in the courtyard of
Brahmanivas Ashram
for devotee darshan-seekers. By
this
final darshan a blow was caused in
the heart of devotees that cannot be conveyed by any kind of words.
Standing
having become stupefied, holding their hearts,. Then flowers were
offered and
they did the final pranaam.
Afterwards,
in the room where Maharaj Shri would relax in the day,
in there he was taken to be washed. After a circle of pandits read Veda, Bhagwan’s shodashopachara
pujana (puja
with sixteen methods of worship) was done, and then for the special
specific
appearance for the antima yatra
(the
final journey), Bhagwan was seated on a well-decorated vimana
(bier). The vimana
was placed on a truck that had been decorated, and the final journey
commenced.
In front, the Police Band was playing shenai
(Indian clarinet), after that a circle of kirtan
(reciting), an assembly of pandits,
the sannyasi community was singing kirtana. Behind the vimana
moved an immense multitude of devotees. From the ashram,
from Kamachcha, from Godoliya, from all sorts of places, the procession
arrived
at Dashashvamedha Ghat. Already waiting here on the steps and on
several
hundred boats were hundreds of thousands of people.'
'The
Biography of Guru Dev: The Life and Teachings of Swami Brahmananda
Saraswati' - Volume II', Paul Mason - Premanand 2009, p310
It
is
also where Swami Shantanand Saraswati was anointed as successor to Guru
Dev as Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math on 12th June 1953.
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (8 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (9 of 34)
Written in
chalk on the courtyard are Diwali greetings.
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (10 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (11 of 34)
'Paul
Mason asked me the other day if I could find out anything about Sri
Shankarasharia Brahamananda Saraswati's Ashram in Benares.
So I did. My friend Ernesto from Argentina and I whent on our Magical
Mystery Tour to find out. After some humpety bumpety time across the
universe in a humble autoriksha we found The Place. Obladi oblada,The
Ashram was habituated by beautiful Bengali people and the caretaker was
swami Brahmachari Pra Boddhananand'
'Brahmachari Pra Buddhanand could confirm all our questions. He also
revealed that he was a gurubai of Mahesh Yogi. Meaning they where
brother disciples of Sri Shankaracharya Brahmanand Saraswati of Yotir
Math.'
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (12 of 34)
'Swamiji
radiated kindness and peace and love.
He
took care of several cows.And they just loved him.The young cow on The
picture wanted Swamiji for himself and was jealous of us stealing his
attention' Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (13 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (14 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (15 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (16 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (17 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (18 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (19 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (20 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (21 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (22 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (23 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (24 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (25 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (26 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (27 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (28 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (29 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (30 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (31 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (32 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (33 of 34)
Shri Brahma
Niwas, Varanasi, 4th December 2014 (34 of 34)
'I
did not get the chance to look at any rooms or halls.It would be
interesting to go back some time and have a good translater. I had the
impresion that swamiji would have been happy to do so if only there was
time. And I am leaving for Rishikesh on Sunday. Anyway,this has been
interesting.Thank You for having taken Me Here.'
'I am happy you put Me on this search so I could discover other facets
of Varanasi.I have to be greatful for the rikshawalla, Sanjeev, who
spoke good English and is very friendly. Jai Guru Dev'
* * *
class in November/December 2019 - photographs thanks to Carl Maes Shri Brahma Vidya Niketan c2005 - photo thanks to Teri Tucker
Shri Brahma Vidya Niketan c2005 - photo thanks to Teri Tucker
Shri
Brahmanandeshwar Mahadev Ji Mandir
murti of Nandi in mandir (temple), Choti Gaibi Bhag, Sigra, Varanasi, November/December 2019
photographs thanks to Carl Maes
.......................................
Shri Brahmanandaswar Mandir
established Shukravar 10 Shravana 1995 (Vikram calendar) - Friday, 5th August 1938 murti of Nandi, and Shivalingam, in mandir (temple), Choti Gaibi Bhag, Sigra, Varanasi, 2019
photographs thanks to Adwaitan Way
