- Sri Matam -
SRI GNANANANDA GIRI PEETAM
®
DEVOTION, CULTURE, SERVICE
- Descendent of the (Kashmir) Jyothir Matam Lineage of Sri Adi Shankaracharya -
What We Do
Namasankeerthanam
Divine chanting of the Lord's name - It is the easiest form of worshipping God in the current Kali Yuga.
Samooga Seva
Social Welfare - To encourage every human being to give back to the society and help the underprivileged and downtrodden by uplifting their choices in life.
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Gnana Vimukthi - Old-age Shelter
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Gnanodhayam - Education & upliftment of the poor
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Gnana Vidhya Nidhi - Education fund for the Disadvantaged
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Gnana Prasadam - Feeding devotees and the needy
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Gnana Sukhadhaar - Environmental protection & renewables
Paramparyam
Upholding ancient cultures & traditions that encouraged healthy and righteous living - It acts as an umbrella term to the different pujas, rituals and traditional arts as well as healthy living, as given in the Vedas.
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Gnana Paramparyam - Uphold & invigorate Hindu culture and dharma.
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Gnana Pusthakaalayam - Spiritual Books Repository.
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Gnana Pasupathi - Care & Shelter for Cows
The Importance of Giving in Hindu Dharma
Giving plays an important role in Hindu culture and dharma. The Matam's mission emphasises of the need to give back to others a little at least of what we ourselves are blessed with. The Skanda Purana talks about giving away ten percent of every man's total earnings each time, to charity. Giving can be done in many ways. Not just wealth and possessions although they too play an important role. One can give food, one's time in service and even one's own self in surrender to God and Guru. Dhana or 'giving’ has been emphasised in the Taittiriya Upanishad as a compulsory duty. One is asked to give with a certain attitude. The following statements from the Upanishad illustrate the expected mindset of a person who is encouraged to give as his duty:
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Shraddhaya Deyam - May you give with faith:- The faith here is that, what one puts in, is beneficial to others. Involving oneself in a meritorious deed will result in one’s own emotional maturity and integrity. The purity one achieves, is, in itself the reward apart from having been of help to another.
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Ashraddhaya Adeyam - May you not give without faith:- Being helpful and concerned for the other is innate to humans, not having faith in this instinct is like having no faith in humanity at large. Know that the very act of giving is the reward in itself, a privilege.
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Shriya Deyam - May you give in abundance:- One is inspired to give in profusion not letting stinginess take over. To be able to give plentifully, one has to be producing bountifully. Indirectly, the upanishad is motivating people to be producers and work for society.
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Hriya Deyam - May you give with humility:- While giving, the receiver should not be looked down upon. He has to be treated to be on an equal pedestal. Such giving keeps a check on arrogance. The fact that one is in a position to give is not the privilege, but the fact that there is a receiver to accept what you give is the actual privilege.
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Bhiya Deyam - May you have concern for others:- One is asked to develop sensitivity, to identify with the problems of the others. Empathy is something that flows in when the heart is allowed to open up without predispositions. Being human, it is the moral duty to apportion a good quantity of possessions to society at large. In fact, not giving is burdensome.
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Samvida Deyam - May you give with an understanding of the whole situation:- Give to a worthy cause and to the needy. Don't give where charity is not needed.
Gnanananda Namasankeerthana Mandalis & Gnanananda Seva Samajams
Our first Madaathipathi, HH Sathguru Sri Haridhas Giri Swamigal, established namasankeerthana mandalis (in various states/ regions of India) and seva samajams (in countries abroad) to encourage the practice of namasankeerthanam, which is said to be the easiest way to attain redemption or moksha in the current yuga, kaliyuga, as well as to fulfil the purposes of the other two overall objectives of the Matam's Mission, to nurture the cultural traditions and arts as well as serve the community and those in need.
Gnana Paramparyam
Today's technology and social media-driven world have no time for ancient traditions, the rich culture we as a society have inherited or the benefits these bring to us, both psychologically and physiologically. In the footsteps of our first and founding Madaathipathi HH Sathguru Sri Haridhas Giri Swamigal, our current Madaathipathi HH Sathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal strongly advocated that it is important for any child to grow up knowing his or her roots, to be able to have a strong identity and the confidence to face an increasingly competitive and conflict-ridden global society we live in. The Matam has therefore established classes and camps to educate today's younger generation, both urban and rural, and develop them as well rounded individuals through character building. We enable this via a journey through the cultural and traditional values of Hinduism and their innumerable benefits. The Peetam has been conducting:
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Weekly Classes focussing on moral education, learning simple Tamil and Sanskrit songs and Slokas as well as about the exemplary lives of our ancestors
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Summer Spiritual Camps
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Weekend Classes on beneficial exercises for the body and mind to relax
Gnana Pusthaakalyam
The Matam's library is s researcher's paradise, housing a treasure trove of religious and cultural books dating back centuries, and in many different languages including some extinct ones. There are books for all types of scholars, from children to postgraduate students and professors as well as any learner of any age who wants to know more about this beautiful Sanathana Dharmic philosophy of ours. The library is open to researchers and scholars who want to use the resources available for reference purposes and currently we are also on the lookout for an in-house researcher who is interested in staying on the premises and conducting research on the in depth connection between Hinduism and Tamil literature and writing a book on the subject that will be published by the Matam under their authorship. The person will also be able to work with a blank canvas and build on the currently repository to further enhance its collections.
Gnana Pasupathi
Cows are considered the most sacred of animals in Hinduism, and worshipped as the abode of the Goddess of wealth, Sri Mahalakshmi. Go pujai is conducted every morning at Sri Matam and every Sunday, in the Go-Sala that houses the milking cows. The Go-Sala is located as two separate structures on different locations, within the Matam's precincts. The first one houses the milking and breeding cows and the second structure serves as a rest home for the old and incapacitated cows. All are looked after with the utmost care until the end of their natural life. The cows are fed, in addition to their usual feed, a special type of grass as well as agathi keerai, a specific greens that help with the cows' nutrition. A dedicated vet has also been appointed to oversee their health. The milk obtained from the cows is used for the ashram's daily use, abhishekam for the deities, annadhanam and also made into ghee. There are more than 40 cows and calves in the Go-Sala at present.
Gnana Vimukthi
We all grow old someday. Shelter and security are very important in old age. Feeling part of a community and knowing your needs are taken care of is important to all of us, nevermore so to the very young and the very old. Here at the Matam, senior citizens without family support, those who got some reason are unable to stay with their families, those who need respite or short term shelter for compelling reasons and the destitute are all provided with accommodation and food. All admissions are subject to the consent of the Madaathipathi. Basic medical facilities are also available on site. There is a thriving retired community here and incumbents are welcome to join in religious activities and/ or volunteer their time towards the many charitable pursuits of the Matam.
Gnanodhayam
The Matam is named after our Jagathguru Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal who strived to educate and uplift the poor, wherever He went, in His travels across the length and breadth of our nation and beyond. Background, status, caste and creed were never a bar to Him. He worked tirelessly for the advancement of the poor and needy in the surrounding villages of each of the locations that His ashram are situated in. Following in His footsteps, our current Madaathipathi Jagathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal has personally taken steps to conduct daily and weekly tuition classes for the children of the village, in school subjects, spoken English, personal hygiene, environmental cleanliness, moral values, bhajan singing as well as religious studies. In addition, the children are given an opportunity to cultivate an interest in and learn traditional arts and fine arts. Recently children have learnt traditional dance forms such as bharathanatyam, kolattam karakattam, kummiyattam and kavadiyattam, rangoli, Tamil culture-related sports like kabadi as well as choir singing. They have been encouraged through practice sessions and performance at programmes to mark Navarathri and Guru Aradhanas.
Gnana Vidhya Nidhi
Our current Madaathipathi, HH Jagathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal is a firm believer that giving a child the chance to educate him or herself is the equivalent to giving them a key to their future. He is an avid campaigner who insists that education is a basic human right that should be available to all children irrespective of their families' backgrounds or affordability. To that extent, He currently funds the education of selected children from various age groups who are outstanding students but cannot afford to pay for their own education. His Holiness also provides the uniform for the local Government-run primary school, at the beginning of every academic year. His Holiness's long term plans include establishing a tuition centre for students of all ages and abilities, particularly those that are considered below average in their abilities and further along, establish a school based on the values described both in this paragraph and under the Gnana Paramparyam objective above. Click below to learn more about the scholarship His Holiness has established at the prestigious University of Oxford.
Gnana Prasadam
All religions in the world place emphasis on the importance of charity, especially during holy months and festivals. So does our Sanathana Dharma (Hinduism). Our Parameshti Guru, HH Jagathguru Sri Gnanananda Giri Swamigal has always said that even feeding one needy person in a day is the best charity of all, and specifically, it brings redemption to the giver's entire generation - past, present and future. Everything, from money, education and clothes to even work opportunities can never really make everyone content. But when someone who hasn't had a full meal is fed until full, and he or she feels content with what they have eaten, the blessings incurred to the one giving or facilitating the giving of that food, is hundredfold. Our Matam, therefore, conducts poor feeding everyday for at least 150 people in the afternoons. In addition, as per the wish and command of all the Gurus in this lineage (Parampara) no one, no matter at what time of the day or night, is refused food if they arrive hungry and tired at the ashram gates. The Matam has been conducting:
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Daily Annadhanam (feeding the poor)
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Special Annadhanam during festivals and ceremonies
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Special Annadhanam on behalf of donors to commemorate birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and memorial days.
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Providing Annadhanam in government and special needs schools, orphanages and shelter homes when needed.
Gnana Sukhadhaar
At a time when the state of our environment determines the climatic conditions we are subject to as well as the avoidance of epidemic diseases, our current Madaathipathi HH Jagathguru Sri Niranjanananda Giri Swamigal has initiated projects involving the local youth to clean up the environment, to teach the importance of recycling and to encourage hygiene at home and the surroundings. Both the locals and visiting foreign devotees take part in these cycle of projects to help redevelop our environment. In addition, also as part of this objective, His Holiness encourages self sourced gardening of vegetables, to enable self sustenance wherever possible. Vegetables, some fruits and a variety of flowers are all grown on the Peetam's lands and used in cooking, for neivethyam (offering to God) and annadhanam (feeding the poor) whilst the flowers are used in puja. Future projects include establishing a water recycling system to minimise water wastage improve rain water collection as well as install solar panels that would help reduce the dependency on the electricity grid.
Volunteering
In addition, the Matam operates a time bank style volunteering system where devotees and members of the public, from home and around the world, can commit a certain number of hours each day, week, month or year, either in advance or whenever they are able to. They can either indicate their expertise and be assigned to do tasks that allow them to further develop that or they can help with any of the many general services that take place around the ashram. Further details of volunteering opportunities will be released when the Matam is looking for volunteers.
