Chinna Jeeyar | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | 3 November 1956 |
Religion | Hinduism |
Nationality | Indian |
Parents |
|
Signature | |
Organization | |
Order | Jeeyar (Lion) [1] |
Philosophy | Vishishtadvaita |
Religious career | |
Guru | Pedda Jeeyar |
Awards | Padma Bhushan |
Chinna Jeeyar (born 3 November 1956), more formally known as Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swami, is an Indian religious guru and yogi ascetic known for his spiritual discourses on Sri Vaishnavism. He subscribes to Thenkalai tradition of Sri Vaishnavism. He operates spiritual centers in India and the US. He is the designer and planner of the Statue of Equality, a statue dedicated to Ramanujacharya, in Hyderabad, India. He is also guiding Telangana State Government in the renovation of Yadadri Temple. He is one of the few Jiyars who accepts disciples irrespective of their castes. [2]
Jeeyar was trained in the Vaishnava tradition. At the age of 23 he took the oath to become an ascetic. He has been visiting the United States since 1994, where he taught a large number of people. He has also visited London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Canada, where he performed Yagnas. [3]
Chinna Jeeyar Swami was born in Andhra Pradesh, Arthmur near Rajamundry, in a traditional vedic family. His grandfather, Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar, also known as Pedda Jeeyar Swami, mentored him and he was educated by several scholars in Sri Vaishnava system. He mastered many Sanskrit and Tamil works, Vedas, Puranas, Ithihasas, Prabandhas etc., scriptures. After taking sannyasa when was only 23, he assumed leadership when H. H. Pedda Jeeyar Swamiji died in 1981, becoming the head of Srimad Ubhaya Vedantha Acharya Peetam, Nadigaddapalem. [2]
Chinna Jeeyar Swami founded the Jeeyar Educational Trust (JET), with branches in places such as Hyderabad, Chennai, and the United States, to help educate students in Vedic tradition. His schools are open to everyone. In addition, he is known for his performance of Vedic rituals of peace and harmony. He speaks multiple languages and provides religious discourses in simple words. He has performed thousands of samasrayanams. His understanding of kainkarya includes modern social services such as schools for tribals and homes for the elderly, orphans, handicapped and destitute. Further, he supports rural development, science and technology schools as well as the introduction of computers for the study of Vedas. [2]
In December 2013, Jeeyar endorsed the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) student organisation for instilling patriotism in students and encouraging them to learn about Indian culture. He claimed Indian culture would remain unchanged if students are acquainted with a comprehensive understanding of the country's history. He expressed the view that students play a critical role in a country's development. [4] Jeeyar was invited by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to assist in organising the Godavari Maha Pushkaram (river festivals) in July 2015. [5] He has spoken at the United Nations about Sustainable Development Goals. [6]
Ramanuja, also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.
Historical Vishnuism as early worship of the deity Vishnu is one of the historical components, branches or origins of the contemporary and early Vaishnavism, which was subject of considerable study, and often showing that Vishnuism is a distinctive worship — a sect. The tradition was forming in the context of Puranic Vaisnavism evolving in the process of revitalizing religion of Brahmanism, of which Vishnuism is believed to be a part, through assimilating a number of orthodox, non-conformist and tribal elements; the absorption of mother goddess worship, into what now known a Vaishnava sampradayas. It is a tradition of the historical Vedic religion and is distinguished from other historic schools later forming the Vaishnavism by its primary worship of Vishnu, later identified as the source of all Avatars. A number of separate sects or traditions merged with each representing the names of god of Vaishnavism. In contemporary Vaishnavism God is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism, that relates to historic traditions that some scholars theorize to be separate and distinct historically. It is distinct from Krishnaism, as in the revival of Bhakti, found in the Bhagavata it is referred as Vishnuism.
Vedanta Desika (1268–1369), also rendered Vedanta Desikan, Swami Vedanta Desika, and Thoopul Nigamantha Desikan, was an Indian polymath who wrote philosophical as well as religious and poetical works in several languages, including Sanskrit, Manipravaḷam, Tamil and Prakrit. He was an Indian philosopher, Sri Vaishnava guru, and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period. He was a Hindu devotee, poet, Master of Acharyas (desikan) and a logician and mathematician. He was the disciple of Kidambi Appullar, also known as Athreya Ramanujachariar, who himself was of a master-disciple lineage that began with Ramanuja. Vedanta Desika is considered to be avatar (incarnation) of the divine bell of Venkateshvara of Tirumala by the Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavism. Vedanta Desika belongs to Vishvamitra/Kaushika gotra.
A matha, also written as math, muth, mutth, mutt, or mut, is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism. An alternative term for such a monastery is adheenam. The earliest epigraphical evidence for mathas related to Hindu-temples comes from the 7th to 10th century CE.
Telugu Brahmins are Telugu-speaking Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India. Telugu Brahmins are further divided into sections like Vaidiki, Niyogi, Deshastha, Dravida, Golkonda Vyapari among others.
The Daśanāmi Sampradaya, also known as the Order of Swamis, is a Hindu monastic tradition of "single-staff renunciation" Ēkadandis were already known during what is sometimes referred to as "Golden Age of Hinduism". According to hagiographies composed in the 14th-17th century, the Daśanāmi Sampradaya was established by Vedic scholar and teacher Adi Shankaracharya, organizing a section of the Ekadandi monks under an umbrella grouping of ten names and the four cardinal mathas of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. However, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Shankara maṭhas remained nominal.
Upamaka is a village in Nakkapalle mandal of Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh in India, where an ancient temple of Lord Venkateswara Swamy is present. Upamaka, is a small village very much like a Minnow.
The Ramanandi, also known as Ramavats, is one of the largest sect of Vaishnavas. Out of 52 gates of Vaishnavism divided into 4 Vaishnava Sampradayas, 36 are held by Ramanandi. The sect mainly emphasizes the worship of Rama, Sita, and Hanuman and avatars of Vishnu. They consider Rama and Sita as Supreme Absolute who are non different from each other. It is considered to have been founded by Ramananda, a 14th-century Vaishnava saint.
Alagiya Manavalan, best known by his epithet Manavala Mamunigallit. 'The great saint, Manavalan' (1370–1450), was a Hindu theologian. He was a major proponent of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in the 15th century in Tamilakam, disseminating it with the help of his eight disciples. The disciples of Manavalan established places of learning to teach the Vishishtadvaita philosophy in Tamilakam.
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana in addition to other regions of India. They can be broadly divided into two denominations: Iyengars, who are adherents of Sri Vaishnavism, and Iyers, who follow the Srauta and Smarta traditions.
Sheik Chinna Moulana, popularly known as Sheik, was a legendary nadhaswaram player in the Carnatic tradition. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1998. He achieved high position through his outstanding control over the instrument, rendering the Krities in the Gayaki style and for his extraordinary style of Raga Alapana.
Vaishnavism is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, Mahavishnu. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas, and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus.
Sri Vaishnavism is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi, as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who are together revered in this tradition.
Vaikhanasa or Vaikhanasagama is a tradition of Hinduism that primarily worships Vishnu as the Supreme God. The tradition draws its name from the philosophy propounded by its founder, Sage Vikhanasa.
The Ahobila Matam is a Vadakalai Sri Vaishnava monastery established around 1400 CE at Ahobilam in Andhra Pradesh, India following the Vadakalai tradition of Vedanta Desika. It is attributed to Sri Adivan Satakopa Swami.
Satani is a community that renders temple services in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in India. Traditionally, they have rendered a variety of services as supervisors and purohits of minor temples, guardians of temple properties, heralds, singers and torch-bearers at festivals, bodyguards of Jiyars, and providers of umbrellas, flower garlands, and namam clay. They have claimed Brahmin status, although this has been contested by Brahmins as they do not wear the sacred thread and they do not study or chant/recite Sanskrit Vedas or Gayatri Mantra, but they study and recite only Naalayira Divya Prabandham written by Alvars. They are currently included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list by the central and state governments.
The Statue of Equality is a statue of the 11th-century Indian philosopher Ramanuja, located on the premises of the Chinna Jeeyar Trust at Muchintal, Ranga Reddy district in the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is the second tallest sitting statue in the world. The project of building the statue was conceptualised by the trust to commemorate the 1,000th birth anniversary of Ramanuja. Costing an estimated ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million), the project was paid for through monetary donations by devotees in a major part.
Ayee Jananyacharya or Devaraja Perumal was a Hindu Sri Vaishnava religious leader, great saint, and one of the important propagator of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition. Sri Jananyacharya Swami was Seventh in the lineage of Sri Ramanujacharya. He was a scholar in ubhaya vedanta who took Vishishtadvaita school of vedanta to the next level and widely popularized and propagated the Sri Vaishnava tradition.
Andhra Vaishnavas is a Brahmin community in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who follow Ramanuja Vishishtadvaita Vedanta Darshana and profess Sri Vaishnavism.
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