Narahari taking to Sanyasa

Narahari taking to Sanyasa

Siddha Yogi continued the narration as follows:

Narahari talked to his mother on the higher philosophy of life. She had tried to tell him earlier that one should not skip one's responsibilities to the household; one should pass through the prescribed stages of life in sequential order, the AsramaDharmas. After Grihastasrama only, which mellows man, his senses having been appeased, should one take to Vanasprasta or Sanyasa, and not before that. Narhari gave her revelation that he was not a normal mortal being who has to necessarily go through all graduational stages of life. Everyone has his own Adhikara and one has to decide by himself his course of life, using his discrimination properly. Further, he told her as follows:

Life is like a bubble. Death might know at any time and snatch us away. Every moment of human life is precious and is the god-gifted opportunity for man to regenerate himself spiritually and speed up to the blessed state of self-realisation. In the earlier Yuga's man's life was long. The stages of life prescribed by the Sastras were all right for them. But in the Kali Yuga, men have a short life span of life and do not have the longevity of the men of the earlier Yugas. If one goes through life slowly, without taking to the pursuit of higher purposes of life, and if his life is cut short early, isn't this birth futile? One should cultivate Vairagya towards worldly pleasures from early stages of life. One should not fritter away his energies in human foibles. The world is illusory. If one doesn't use discrimination and does not cultivate Vairagya, he would sink into the mire of samsara and will let go the precious life to waste. One should set his mind on the goal of life and strive to achieve it from the early stages of life, because who knows when he will be snatched away by death. Losing this life without realisation of God will be the greatest tragedy for man..."

The mother realised that the spiritual fire raging in her son cannot be smothered and that her motherly love and attachment should not be let to hold him back from his quest for the Infinite. However, she pleaded with him to stay in the home for at least a few years more, till she had another child. Narahari agreed to it and said that she would have four more children, three sons and a daughter.

A year later Amba Bhavani had twins, to sons born to her and then she yielded to let Narahari leave home. While bidding farewell, touched by the tears of the parents, Narahari said, "whenever you think of me and want me to be with you, wherever I may be, you will have my Darshan." He told then again that hey would have one more son and also one daughter. With these consoling words to his parents, young Narahari - who was hardly in his ninth year at that time, left his home and set out on his spiritual quest. The entire village bade a tearful farewell just as it happened to Krishna and Balarama, when they left Brindawan for Mathura.

Narahari came to the hold Varanasi, the spiritual heart-centre of Bharat. Everyday after taking bath in the sacred water of the Ganges, he used to worship Kashi Visweshwara three times a day. At Kashi, he came in contact with Sri Krishna Saraswati, a highly advanced Yogi and a fully realised soul. Narahari requested Sri Krishna Saraswati to initiate him into the Sanyasa ashram. Sri Krishna Saraswati was pleased at the devotion, the austure discipline and earnestness of Narhari and much more so with his intellectual brilliance and scriptural knowledge. Sri Krishna Saraswati recognised in him a future savant of the spiritual culture of the country, and especially one who was going to glorify the supramacy of Sanyasa Asarama again, as earlier done by Sri Adi Sankaracharya of Kaladi. He was immensely happy to have Narahari as his disciple and to initiate him into Sanyasa. Narahari was given by him the new name of Narasimha Saraswati.

Namdharak interrupted Siddhamuni and asked why Narahari, God Incarnate himself, needed a Guru and why he should go through the formality of initiation. Siddhamuni said that Guru is the link between God and the embodied being, even though the latter may have been a divine incarnation. Sri Rama had Vasishtha Rishi as Guru and Sri Krishna had Sandeepani Rishi as his Guru. He gave a glorious account of the Guru Parampara, originating with Lord Shankara Himself.
Sankara-Vishnu-Brahma-Vasistha-Sakti-Parasara-Vyasa-Suka-Gaudapada-Govindacharya-
Shankara Bhagvatapada ...thus flows the glorious Guru Parampara, said Siddhamuni.

For spreading true knowledge, for the enlightment and welfare of all Sri Narasimha Saraswati conducted a number of Jaana Yagnas by discoursing and giving sermons, going from place to place around Banares. Hundreds of people were guided on the spiritual path by him. A number of them became his disciples.

From Banaras, Narasimha Saraswati went to Badrikashram forest with his disciples. Then, he moved from place to place and arrived at Ganga Sagar near Calcutta. Traveling along the bank of the holy river, he reached Prayaga (Triveni), the holy confluence or the sacred rivers, Ganga Yamuna and the subterranean Saraswati. He initiated one Madhava Saraswati onto sanyasan at the holy Prayaga.

Thus ends the Twelfth Chapter of Sri Guru Charitra describing " the glorious GuruParampara that nourished and sustained the perennial flow of spiritual wisdom (Jnana Ganga) in this holy and blessed land of ours, Bharat Desa".

Glory to the All-merciful, the Omni-present and the ever responsive Guru Nath!