Kalady 100: The Triumph of Faith Over Time (Celebrating 100 Years of the Rediscovery of the Birthplace of Sri Adi Shankaracharya)

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If today we are able to visit a temple, light a lamp, offer a prayer, place our worries at God's feet and come away feeling happy and blessed, we owe infinite gratitude to Sri Adi Shankaracharya. And why is that? Lord Shiva incarnated as Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya in 788 C.E. at a time when spiritual emptiness had enveloped India; misguided practices and wrong interpretations of the Vedas were taking people down the path of misery. In His brief life of thirty two years, He restored the pristine glory of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of the Upanishads and re-established the path through which everyone can experience and become one with divinity and experience everlasting happiness. The breadth and depth of His works and commentaries meet the spiritual needs of the common man to the highest Yogi.
He travelled across India multiple times by foot. Through His brilliant writings and discussions based on His own spiritual experiences, He convinced scholars, preachers and masses alike to abandon their divergent and misguided faiths and practices and return to the essential tenets of Sanatana Dharma. Upon completion of His life mission, He walked into the wilderness of the slopes of Kedarnath in the Himalayas. He was only thirty two years old then. It is no wonder that Sri Shankaracharya is considered as a divine incarnation.
In order to keep His teachings alive and continue to propagate Sanatana Dharma, Sri Shan- karacharya had the vision to establish four Amnaya Peethams or centres of learning. Sri Sharada Peetham at Sringeri is the first and foremost Peetham established by Him and is blessed with an unbroken lineage of Jagadgurus from the time of Sri Shankaracharya.
Although Sri Shankaracharya's teachings spread widely and revived Sanatana Dharma, the place where He was born and displayed His early divine genius was forgotten. Thirty two generations later His spiritual successor at Sringeri, Jagadguru Sri Sacchidananda Shivab-hinava Narasimha Bharati Mahaswamiji, the 33rd Acharya of the Peetham rediscovered the exact birth location of Sri Adi Shankaracharya at Kalady. In 1910, the Mahaswamiji consecrated two beautiful temples for Sri Adi Shankaracharya and Goddess Sharada at Kalady. The temple of Sri Adi Shankaracharya was built at the exact location of His home.
The place where His mother Aryamba's last rites were performed was also identified and sanctified with the construction of a Samadhi shrine. The Mahaswamiji also instituted the now internationally celebrated Shankara Jayanti. A close study of His great life would reveal why the Mahaswamiji is revered as the reincarnation of Sri Shankaracharya.

Of the four Peethams established by Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya, Sri Sharada Peetham at Sringeri has a unique distinction because the Parampara goes on without any change. It is in this Peetham, adorned by the successive Jagadgurus, that one notices the most effective upkeep of Dharma.
The kindness, affection and compassion of the Sringeri Jagadgurus has been there on the Travancore royal family for many centuries. This close relationship must have started from the time of Sri Adi Shankarcharya Himself.
Any event that happens in my family - when a child is born, namakaranam, anna prashanam, vidyarambham, upanayanam, vivaham, shastiabdapoorti, shatha abhishekam and the final leaving - is always informed to the Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham. It is as if the Peetham is part of our family and we are part of the Peetham's family.
The fact that both Their Holinesses (the presiding Shankaracharya Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji and the previous Shankaracharya, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji) have held this humble person's Vigra- ham (of Sri Padmanabha) in their Holy Hands is something which is unforgettable. It is marvellous that whenever we go to Sringeri, we return completely satisifed and happy. You can only say that it’s a blessing for which we will never be grateful enough.