Acyutananda
Encyclopedia
Achyutananda Das was a 16th century poet seer and Vaisnava saint from Orissa
, India
. He was considered to have the power to see the past, present and future. He was a prolific author and one of a group of five that led a revolution in spirituality in eastern India started by translating sanskrit
texts into the local language for common people.
He was one of the famous five friends of spirituality and literature Panchasakhā
who transcribed ancient Hindu
Sanskrit texts into easily understandable colloquial Oriya for the people of Udra Desha (Orissa
). Shri Achyutananda Das was the most prolific writer of the Panchasakhas and wrote numerous books, many of whom could be loosely translated as the Book of Prophecies. He is known as the Mahapurusha (Great Man) for his vast knowledge on many subjects such as spirituality, yoga, ritual, Buddhist tantra, Ayurveda
(science of life, longevity and medicine), and other various science and social regulations.
caste by birth but some claim he was Khandayata. His surname Das means servant (shudras) to god.
His mother was Padmavati and his father was Dinabandhu Khuntia and his grandfather was Gopinath Mohanty, a scribe in the Jagannath Temple (Puri)
. He was born after his mother prayed at the pillar in front of the Jagannath Temple and his father had a dream that the divine bird Garuda
brought him a child. In legend he is believed to be an incarnation of Garuda.
in his youth and became the youngest of the Panchasakhā.
(five friends of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
), who lived between 1450 to 1550 AD. The contemporaneous five saints- Acyutānanda Das, Ananta Das, Jasovanta Das, Jagannātha Das, and Balarāma Das, shaped Vaiṣṇava philosophy, spiritualism and literature of Orissa
.
Two important factors set the Panchasakhas apart from other Indian saints. They were the first to take the Hindu Sanskrit
texts of the Brahmins into the ears and hearts of the common people by translating them into the common language (Oriya
). This was first done by Sāralā Dasa’s
translation of the Mahābhārata
in the mid-fifteenth century, followed by Balarama Dasa’s Jagamohana Ramayana
, Jaganath Dasa’s Bhagavata Purana
, and Acytananda Dasa’s Harivamsa
. The second aspect is their form of Oriya
Vaiṣṇavism which sees God as the "Shunya Purusha" and the nature of the soul as being able to merge into the Absolute.
Some authors, such as N.N Vasu, have depicted Orissan Vaisnavism as ‘Buddhist-vaisnavism’ since it does not accept Ramanuja’s
Viśiṣṭādvaita
philosophy (11th century) nor does it adhere to orthodox Gaudiya Vaisnavism created in the 16th century. Other scholars, such as Prabhat Mukerjee, have denied these claims supporting the different varieties of Vaisnava philosophy. Scholars debate the influence of the Panchasakha from the original Vaisnava agama (Pancharatra
s) while others source their ideas in sahajayana Buddhism and the Natha sampradaya. Both the Sahajayana Buddhists and the Panchasakha worshiped the image of Jagannath
as the Buddha
, though the Panchasakha saw Jagannath
as an incarnation of Visnu as seen in the dasāvatar image on the main mantel of the Jagannath temple
.
At the time of Shri Chaitanya, his followers who came from Nadia, called later as Gaudiya
, were considering themselves greater or superior to the Utkaliya Vaisnavas and were disregarding them. So there was a cold war among them. Knowing this Shri Chaitanya conferred the title of ‘Atibadi’ (the great) on Jagannath Das to keep up the dignity of the Utkaliya Vaisnavas. But it brought no solution and on the other had created conflict among them. The conflict of these two groups are evident in the Basana Charita Gita of Acyutananda, and even in modern day derogatory language of the Gaudiya towards the Utkaliya Vaisnavas.
Explaining to his disciples the attributes of a devotee, Shri Acyutananda Das said, “There are bhaktas that go on chattering the name of the Lord, there are bhaktas who will take food from any home. There are bhaktas who perform occult acts and bhaktas who make false offerings. There are wandering bhaktas who carry flags to parade their devotion, and there are bhaktas who are smeared all over there body. He who has attained the right understanding of the Divine is the real bhakta, he is he best because he has an inward eye sees God within him and in every man.”
Achyutananda (and the other four saints) believed in a concept of god (Visnu) as Sunya (emptiness, void, zero) called Shunya Purusha and/or Shunya Brahman. This shunya signifies a transcendental principle that eludes the conceptual nexus applied to human thinking as described in the Upanishads. Achyutanada’s culminating work is called the Shunya Samhita where he discusses this philosophy in depth.
The philosophy is not the Shunya of the Buddhists as it is not empty but full, sometimes even called the Purna Shunya (the full/complete void). The Panchasakha project the deity Jagannath
as the embodiment of the Shunya Purusha. Achyutananda uses a classical (pre-Ramanuja
) concept of Vaisnavism that uses both form and formless aspects of god. This is seen in his statement from the Gurubhakti Gita:
) to get to god. The Panchasakhas differed from Chaitanyas philosophy and believed in Jnana Mishra Bhakti Marga , which states the one needs a combination of love (bhakti) and knowledge (jnana
) to reach god. The Panchasakhas therefore promoted a Vaishnavism that involved study, yoga, ritual and devotion.
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was considered to have the power to see the past, present and future. He was a prolific author and one of a group of five that led a revolution in spirituality in eastern India started by translating sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
texts into the local language for common people.
He was one of the famous five friends of spirituality and literature Panchasakhā
Oriya literature
Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...
who transcribed ancient Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Sanskrit texts into easily understandable colloquial Oriya for the people of Udra Desha (Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
). Shri Achyutananda Das was the most prolific writer of the Panchasakhas and wrote numerous books, many of whom could be loosely translated as the Book of Prophecies. He is known as the Mahapurusha (Great Man) for his vast knowledge on many subjects such as spirituality, yoga, ritual, Buddhist tantra, Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
(science of life, longevity and medicine), and other various science and social regulations.
Early life
As Acyutānanda became a popular figure much of his life began to become legend. He is famous for being one of the few who wrote about the social situation of his time and this is a scholarly reason many study his writings. His poetry was often cryptic about himself and written in code or analogies. Achyutananda belonged to KaranaKarana
Karana may refer to:*Karana dance, poses in classical Indian dance*Karana, the main character in Scott O'Dell's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins, who is based on the historical Juana Maria*Karrana, a village in Bahrain...
caste by birth but some claim he was Khandayata. His surname Das means servant (shudras) to god.
Birth
Acyutānanda was born in a village by the name Nemala or some say 'Tilakana', where two distributaries of the Mahanadi, Luna(Labana Dhara) and Chitrotpala bifurcated, of Cuttack district of Orissa, during the twenty first anka (year of region) of the Gajapati (king) Purushottam Deva. This is thought to be somewhere between 1480 and 1505 by different scholars.His mother was Padmavati and his father was Dinabandhu Khuntia and his grandfather was Gopinath Mohanty, a scribe in the Jagannath Temple (Puri)
Jagannath Temple (Puri)
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa, India. The name Jagannath is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat and Nath...
. He was born after his mother prayed at the pillar in front of the Jagannath Temple and his father had a dream that the divine bird Garuda
Garuda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
brought him a child. In legend he is believed to be an incarnation of Garuda.
Education
Acyutānanda had a formal education in Puri. It is agreed by most texts that he met Shri Chaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
in his youth and became the youngest of the Panchasakhā.
Panchasakhā
Acyutānanda was part of the famous PanchasakhāOriya literature
Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...
(five friends of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
), who lived between 1450 to 1550 AD. The contemporaneous five saints- Acyutānanda Das, Ananta Das, Jasovanta Das, Jagannātha Das, and Balarāma Das, shaped Vaiṣṇava philosophy, spiritualism and literature of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
.
Two important factors set the Panchasakhas apart from other Indian saints. They were the first to take the Hindu Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
texts of the Brahmins into the ears and hearts of the common people by translating them into the common language (Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
). This was first done by Sāralā Dasa’s
Sarala Dasa
Sarala Dasa was one of the great scholars of Oriya literature whose work formed a perennial source of information for succeeding generations....
translation of the Mahābhārata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
in the mid-fifteenth century, followed by Balarama Dasa’s Jagamohana Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Jaganath Dasa’s Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, and Acytananda Dasa’s Harivamsa
Harivamsa
The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 verses, mostly in metre. The text is also known as . This text is believed as a khila to the Mahabharata and is traditionally ascribed to Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa...
. The second aspect is their form of Oriya
Oriya literature
Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...
Vaiṣṇavism which sees God as the "Shunya Purusha" and the nature of the soul as being able to merge into the Absolute.
Some authors, such as N.N Vasu, have depicted Orissan Vaisnavism as ‘Buddhist-vaisnavism’ since it does not accept Ramanuja’s
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
Viśiṣṭādvaita
Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita, Dvaita, and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy...
philosophy (11th century) nor does it adhere to orthodox Gaudiya Vaisnavism created in the 16th century. Other scholars, such as Prabhat Mukerjee, have denied these claims supporting the different varieties of Vaisnava philosophy. Scholars debate the influence of the Panchasakha from the original Vaisnava agama (Pancharatra
Pancharatra
Pancharātra is a Sanskrit drama written by Bhasa. The plot is based on the Hindu epic Mahabharata....
s) while others source their ideas in sahajayana Buddhism and the Natha sampradaya. Both the Sahajayana Buddhists and the Panchasakha worshiped the image of Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
as the Buddha
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
, though the Panchasakha saw Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
as an incarnation of Visnu as seen in the dasāvatar image on the main mantel of the Jagannath temple
Jagannath Temple (Puri)
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa, India. The name Jagannath is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat and Nath...
.
Utkaliya Vaisnavism
Utkaliya Vaisnavism (sometimes called Oriya Vaisnavism) developed into its present state in the 15th century. According to the Panchasakhas Lord Jagannath is the 'Purnabrahma' and all avatars of Vishnu emanate from Him and also enter into Him at the end. Jagannath was the chief god of the devotional sect. The chief ideal of the Panchasakhas was that as a bhakta they would be faithful, humble, learned, selfless, active, benevolent and affectionate. The Panchasakha were against the caste system, they considered all beings as one. They put the Sanskrit classics into the colloquial language, and anyone could become a Vaisnava, even Muslims.At the time of Shri Chaitanya, his followers who came from Nadia, called later as Gaudiya
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...
, were considering themselves greater or superior to the Utkaliya Vaisnavas and were disregarding them. So there was a cold war among them. Knowing this Shri Chaitanya conferred the title of ‘Atibadi’ (the great) on Jagannath Das to keep up the dignity of the Utkaliya Vaisnavas. But it brought no solution and on the other had created conflict among them. The conflict of these two groups are evident in the Basana Charita Gita of Acyutananda, and even in modern day derogatory language of the Gaudiya towards the Utkaliya Vaisnavas.
Explaining to his disciples the attributes of a devotee, Shri Acyutananda Das said, “There are bhaktas that go on chattering the name of the Lord, there are bhaktas who will take food from any home. There are bhaktas who perform occult acts and bhaktas who make false offerings. There are wandering bhaktas who carry flags to parade their devotion, and there are bhaktas who are smeared all over there body. He who has attained the right understanding of the Divine is the real bhakta, he is he best because he has an inward eye sees God within him and in every man.”
Sunya Purusha
Nāhi tāhāra rūpa varṇa, adṛsha avarṇa tā cinha.
Tāhāku brahmā boli kahi, śūnya brahmhati se bolāi.
It has no shape, no colour,
It is invisible and without a name
This Brahman is called Shunya Brahman.
Achyutananda (and the other four saints) believed in a concept of god (Visnu) as Sunya (emptiness, void, zero) called Shunya Purusha and/or Shunya Brahman. This shunya signifies a transcendental principle that eludes the conceptual nexus applied to human thinking as described in the Upanishads. Achyutanada’s culminating work is called the Shunya Samhita where he discusses this philosophy in depth.
Śūnyara ākāra viira śūnyara vicāra, śūnye thāi dekha vīra e sacarācara.
Dekha e sacarācara śūnyare prakāsha, śūnyu ude hoicanti śūnyare vilāse.
Oh vira look at the shunya
By placing yourself in shunya,
And meditate on mahashunya,
Shunya itself is the form,
Ground of all discriminating knowledge.
Look at the whole world from the pedestal of shunya;
You will find everything manifested in the shunya,
Everything arises out of shunya and
Everything flourishes in the Shunya Brahman.
The philosophy is not the Shunya of the Buddhists as it is not empty but full, sometimes even called the Purna Shunya (the full/complete void). The Panchasakha project the deity Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
as the embodiment of the Shunya Purusha. Achyutananda uses a classical (pre-Ramanuja
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
) concept of Vaisnavism that uses both form and formless aspects of god. This is seen in his statement from the Gurubhakti Gita:
Dui je Deṇāre pakṣī uḍikari jāi, dui je cakṣure sehi saṃsāre khelai.
Eka je na thile kaṇā dui gale anḍha, eṇukari nirguṇa saguṇa sehi bheda.
A bird can only fly with both wings. It can have a perfect vision with both the eyes.
In the absence of one, it becomes one-eyed, and in the absence of both, it is totally blind.
Thus like two eyes Nirguna [god perceived as formless]and Saguna [god perceived with form] are chained together.
Jnana Mishra Bhakti Marga
The Panchasakhas are very much Vaishnavas by thought . Chaitanya’s path of devotion was known as Raganuga Bhakti Marga (brought to Orissa in 1509) which says all you need is love (bhaktiBhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
) to get to god. The Panchasakhas differed from Chaitanyas philosophy and believed in Jnana Mishra Bhakti Marga , which states the one needs a combination of love (bhakti) and knowledge (jnana
Jnana
Jñāna or gñāna is a Sanskrit and Pali word that means knowledge. It has various nuances of meaning depending on the context. The idea of jnana centers around a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced...
) to reach god. The Panchasakhas therefore promoted a Vaishnavism that involved study, yoga, ritual and devotion.
Pinda-Brahmanda Tattva
The concept of the Piṇḍa-Brahmāṇḍa is that the body (piṇḍa) is a replica of the Universe (Brahmāṇḍa), or microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm. Much of the yogic teachings of Acyutānanda are based on this core concept. His teachings are filled with references to outer locations existing as energies in the body.Sabda Brahman
The concept of the Sabda Brahman is that god created the universe as sound and that all things have sound vibration as their essence. The writings of Acyutānanda are filled with mantras and esoteric concepts about sounds and their effects on consciousness. For example, In Acyutānanda's Rama Rasa Boli, the demon Ravanna is said to have meditated on the sound "Sleem" while focusing on the ten other sacred sounds (yogadashakshara) to please the goddess Sita. Even more esoteric is this verse from the Shunya Rahasa where one can see the interwoven nature of internal yogic theory and sound found in Acyutānanda's writings:
Oh Jnanins: utter the name of Hari [God]
May be you are the eldest or the youngest.
Piercing six chakras blooms the lotus
Near the ethereal void of air
Between the Sutala and Rasatala
The bee abides at the zenith of the void
One is not a servant of the Lord just because they have a rosary
Unless he utters the name of Krisna in his inner heart;
The Name is the seed, rosary its robe
Rosary is of no use if God's name is mindlessly uttered
The three cords are the three triadic streams
Make your oblations there
Ayudhya, Dwarika, and the city of Gopa
This knowledge is memorized by every soul.
External links
- http://www.garoiashram.org/english/index-eng.html#
- http://www.sriachyuta.org/
- http://www.trahiachyuta.com/sri.htm
- https://tagmeme.com/orissa/pothis.html