Shri Raghuprema Teertha of Adoni

 

Shri Raghuprema Teertha, a direct descendent in the lineage of Shri Kudli Akshobhya Teertha maTa, was a great j~jAni, thapOniDhi, vairAgya purusha, avaDhutha shirOrathna and an aparOxa j~Jani.  He followed chathurAshrama Dharma as prescribed in shastra's with utmost sincerity. He was a living embodiment of bhAgavatha Dharma.  Shri Raghuprema Teertha, being a soul of top order, always preached & practiced the motto "SARAKSHITA RAKSHATI YOHIGARBHE".  He thoroughly believed in surrendering to ALMIGHTY in every aspect of life. In short, he lead a life meditating the main tenets of Dvaitha Sidhdhantha, i.e. Shri Hari's Karthruthva, Pujyathva, Bhokthruthva, and Swamithva in every action.

As the saying goes "hanumana mathave hariya mathavu – hariya mathave hanumana mathavu", Shri Raghuprema Teertha was bestowed by the divine blessings of Shri Vayu who protected his disciple through the thick & thin.

He was born to a pious couple Smt. Tungabai & Shri Swamirayacharya in the year 1860 A.D. (Ashvayuja Krishna Paksha, Ashtami, Wedenesday) by the blessings of Lord Srinivasa in ayachoti village of Cuddapah district and thus was aptly named by his parents as Srinivasa. Srinivasa was given in adoption to a wealthy & childless couple, Smt. Radhabai and Shri Muthigi Gundacharya. He studied under Shri Vedavyasacharya and mastered subjects like Mani manjari, Shri Sumadhwa Vijaya, Shri Rukmineesha Vijaya, Shri Sudha, Upanishats, etc. 

 

As the destiny had it, Srinivasa was ill treated by his adopted parents. Hence he decided to go on a pilgrimage to overcome these hardships. This proved to be a blessing in disguise.  He reached Pampa kshetra during his pilgrimage and performed seva for 40 days. His selfless submission to Shri Mukhyaprana proved fruitful. Shri Vayu appeared in Srinivasa's dream and blessed him by saying "Kacherige Ba kudure koduththene" which was an indication to visit holy places of shri hari & His dasas to get utmost spiritual enlightenment.

Srinivasa then started his journey in search of his adhyathma Guru.  He visited several holy places across the country from south to north and east to west for almost 8 years. As Shri Madhwa
says, "Bahuchitra jagath bahudhakaranath", Srinivasa enjoyed & relished the beautiful creations of Almighty during his journey.  He paid due respects to Great Masters and kshetrabhimani devathas all along his journey.

During his visit to Kashi, he came across many people who in disguise of sages craved for materialistic things.  This depressed Srinivasa since he could not find his Guru and made him submit to manObhimani Shri Rudhra. He then had an indication that "the time is not yet ripe for him to get his adhyathma Guru". Srinivasa did not stop here. He increased his prayers and as a result of this saw a Banyan tree (Ashwaththa Vruksha) in his dream and was directed to go there.  He was happy with the indication but it was not as easy as it sounded.  Srinivasa once again started searching for his adhyathma Guru with a new ray of hope. Several years passed by and on one fine day, with the generous blessings of Shri hari-vAyu-guru's, Srinivasa found his adhyathma Guru Shri AraLikatti (Ashwaththa katti) Narasimhacharya of Hattibelegal a place near Adoni.  The life of Srinivasa changed thereafter.  He became one of the forefront disciples of Shri Narasimhacharya. He dedicated his entire life to his Guru.

The guru prapthi prakaranam of Shri Madhanuru Vishnu Teertha states that a Guru is like a precious pearl in the ocean that is not easy to find. Only a person who dives deeper into the ocean can find it.  The charithra of Shri Raghuprema Teertha depicts the depth of his sadhana in flow with bhAgavatha Dharma.

In the year 1920 A.D. (Roudri Nama Samvatsara, Adhika Shravana, Krishna Paksha, Sapthami, Sukravara – Friday), Srinivasacharya was bestowed the sanyasa dhiksha by Shri Raghudhantha Teertha & Shri Raghukantha Teertha of Kudli Akshobhya Teertha maTa.

There are many instances in the life of Shri Raghuprema Teertha that shows that this learned soul had attained the utmost level of spirituality – aparOxa j~jAna. The charithra by Shri Swamirayacharya (his poorvashrama son) aptly describes each such instance. Few such instances are:

- Guru Prapthi Prakaranam
- Guru Seva Prakaranam
- Seva to Shri Mangaraya at Mangarayakote (Shri Vyasaraja Prathistita Shri Pranadeva)
- AparOxa j~Jana at Mangarayakote
- VanaprasthAshrama Acharana
- SanyasAshrama Acharana
- Brundhavana Pravesha

Shri Raghuprema Teertha entered the brundavanam during the year 1943 A.D. (Svabhanunama Samvatsara, Bhadrupada, Shukla Paksha, Pratipadha). He is bestowing his Grace to all the devotees even to date.

 

Please click on the below links to view Shri Raghuprema Teertha Guru Stotra :

 

Kannada

 

Telugu

 

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Please click here  to listen to a brief lecture on Shri Raghuprema Teertha by Shri Harinarayana Vittala Dasa

 

A more detailed translation work on Shri Raghuprema Teertha is in the works. It will be posted on this website when it is ready.