Śrī Śrīmad Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer
1930 – 2012
We have just been contacted by phone from Śrī Raṅga-kṣetra (Śrī Raṅgam Temple) in South India, that the Ācārya from Śrī Raṅgam His Divine Grace Śrī Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer – Śrīla Ācāryadeva has left this world and his body has been placed in samādhi in the grounds of the Śrī Raṅgam Temple.
His Divine Grace Śrī Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer – Śrīla Ācāryadeva was a true mystic and a Vaiṣṇava, excelled in the Sanskrit language, and was trained in many of the ancient Vedic sciences, including analysing the symptoms of a mahā-bhāgavata. He was gifted with tri-kāla jña, he had knowledge of past, present, and future.
His Divine Grace Śrī Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer – Śrīla Ācāryadeva had 20,000 disciples, however some say 100,000 disciples, however suffice it to say he had thousands of thousands of disciples and thousands upon thousands of grand disciples.
It is a very sad time for the disciples and followers when the Ācārya leaves this world. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, “Of all kinds of distress, what is the most painful?” Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya replied, to be bereft of the association of the Vaiṣṇava.
When his disciple and secretary Śrī Badrinārāyaṇa Rāmānuja dāsa explained to him that he felt that there was a sādhu in ISKCON Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Temple Bhubaneswar with the symptoms of a mahā-bhāgavata he felt compelled to go there and verify what his disciple had seen. On first sight of His Divine Grace Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami, His Divine Grace Śrī Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer – Śrīla Ācāryadeva paid full daṇḍavats to Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami and confirmed that he had all the symptoms of a mahā-bhāgavata. Later on His Divine Grace Śrī Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer – Śrīla Ācāryadeva said to his disciple Śrī Badrinārāyaṇa Rāmānuja dāsa that Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami was a very powerful personality, a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, a spiritually effulgent personality.
His Divine Grace Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami wanted to go to Śrī Raṅgam and said to Śrī Badrinārāyaṇa Rāmānuja dāsa, “Badrinārāyaṇa, you will take me to Śrī Raṅgam.” Unfortunately our beloved Gurudeva Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami left this world and did not visit Śrī Raṅgam.
Śrīla Ācāryadeva visited Bhubaneswar temple in Orissa many times, to take the association of His Divine Grace Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami. If there is a mahā-bhāgavata on the planet we should definitely go there and pay obeisances and have his darśana.
(A more detailed account on the life of His Divine Grace Śrī Laksman Ramanuj Jeeyer – Śrīla Ācāryadeva is available in the soon-to-be published book Encountering Part Two by Tattva-vicāra Publications.)
This is such a loss! I remember when i was a small girl Acaryadeva personally cooked and served prasad for us when we visited Sri Rangam in 1993. He was so humble and set the perfect example of a real Vaishnava.
It was definitely a memorable event when we went in 1993.
He was a great sadhu.
Ys
NPdasa.
Whilst Caitanya Candra prabhu was at our house Nov. last year we were talking about the Acarya from Sri Rangam. On the first visit to Bhubaneswar CCd took him to a room and he did not have saffron bedding it was white, and the Acarya said to CCd a sannyasi only has three things that are white, his teeth, his brahman thread and his heart [meaning a pure heart – purity is the force]. Very nice.
I will leave you with it.
Your servant,
Nimai Pandit dasa.
We stayed with the Acarya from Sri Rangam, he was fanatastic. humble, very pleasant, not bombastic, terse, prima-donna, non of that , just a simple and pure Vaisnava. Which I guess we are all aspiring for and want to become.
He could see right through you, what you were thinking. He could dissolve your false ego very nicely. He was not (you know we have all met swamis that are rude) obnoxious, or difficult to deal with, he was non of that. He was very humble and that is what attracts the living entity, humility and purity are the attractive force. Purity is the force, not force is the force. He was also a very good cook, he cooked for everyone and then very humbly served out. How many swamis you know do that? What to speak of swamis, this is the Acarya of a sampradaya. One other thing the Acarya from Sri Rangam is a naistika brahmachari.
I know our Gurudeva was also very humble, he would not let anyone wash his cloth, or cook for him, but as his health became worse he had to start allowing different devotees performing service for him.
Especially in those early days in Bhubaneswar Gurudeva would not allow anyone to cook, wash his cloth etc., devotees that were there said they had to force Gurudeva to allow them to cook. Gurudeva did not want anyone doing anything for him, he did it himself.
YS
NPdasa.
Just one more point.
When Srila Prabhupada came to Bhubaneswar in 1977, some of Gurudeva’s old friends came to Bhubaneswar to see Gurudeva, and Gurudeva served them personally. He brought them prasad and served them out.
It is the way of the sadhus we cannot immitate it, the humility drips of them.
YS
NPdasa.
IT IS VERY SAD THAT ONE BY ONE THESE GREAT SOULS ARE LEAVING US.
I REGRET I DID NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF VISITING THIS GREAT SOUL SRI SRIMAN LAKSMAN RAMANUJ JEEYER
OUR SRILA GURUDEVA SRILA GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI TOLD US ” THAT A SADHU IS USUALLY NOT RECOGNISED IN HIS OWN LIFE-TIME ”
I WAS THERE IN FRONT OF OUR GURUDEVS HUT AT BHUBANESWAR 1992 OR 93 ABOUT MIDDAY ONE SADHU CAME ON A CYCLE RISKSHAW HE GOT OFF AND PAID HIS FULL DANDAVATS TO OUR GURUDEVS HUT BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT OUR GURUDEVA WAS INSIDE .THEN HE WENT INSIDE GURUDEVS ROOM .
THIS SADHU WAS VERY BIG AND I THOUGHT HE IS VERY HUMBLE,. ALSO AT THAT TIME THE CEMENT WAS VERY HOT .,
LATER I CAME TO KNOW THAT HE WAS THE ACHARY OF THE RAMANUJA SAMPRADAYA .
I SAW OUR GURUDEVS DEALINGS HE TOLD IN CLASS ” THAT BEFORE YOU PAY OBEISANCES TO THE SADHU ,. THE SADHU HAS ALREADY PAID OBEISENCES TO YOU ,.
I SAW THAT IN OUR SRILA GURUDEVA ,. THAT HE PAID RESPECT TO ONE AND ALL ,. THIS HUMILITY I SAW IN THE ACHARYA OF SRI RANGAM .,
MAY SOME SMALL TRACE OF THAT TRUE HUMILITY ENTER MY HEART.
HARE KRSNA
Nice comment prabhu.
We need the association of sadhus such as this, but they are few and far between.
He was truly trnad api sunichena.
YS
NPdasa.
The passing of another great sadhu.