Goud Sarasvata Brahmin Community

Members of the Goud Sarasvata Brahmin community inhabit predominantly the west coast of India, extending from Bombay in the north to Kerala in the south, through Goa and Kanara districts (North and South), though a sizeable number of the members reside in other cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Baroda, New Delhi, etc. The community had a glorious past with a distinct culture of its own. This is particularly manifest in the existence of the institution of Mathas, one of which has a history of over one thousand years.
The members of the community owe allegiance to one of the following Mathas:

(1) Shri Kashi Matha Samsthan
(2) Shri Gokarna Parthagali Jeevottama Matha Samsthan, and
(3) Shri Kaivalya Matha Samsthan.

Each of these Mathas is headed by a Swamiji, who normally had been initiated into sanyasa by the previous Swamiji and had become the head of the Matha after the passing away of the previous preceptor (Guru). This practice has been followed in all the three Mathas from the time of their inception.

The religious heads of the three Mathas worship different Deities as the principal Deities(Aaradhya Daiva). Lord Bhavani Shankar is worshipped in the Kaivalya Matha Samsthan, Lord Rama Veera Vitthala in the Gokarna Parthagali Jeevottama Matha Samsthan and Lord Vyasa Raghupati in the Kashi Matha Samsthan. As the names of the Lords worshipped by the Swamijis indicate, the disciples to the Kaivalya Matha are Smarthas and those of the other two Mathas are Vaishnavas(worshippers of Lord Vishnu). Smarthas consider all the five deities - Shiva, Vishnu, Ganapati, Surya, and Devi(Shakti) - equally prominent. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the disciples of the respective Mathas consider Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu as the Supreme Deity. Thus Goud Sarasvata Brahmins are either Vaishnavas or Smarthas. However, the disciples of the three Mathas have not maintained their separate identity, since there was (and is) no restriction on inter-marriage between the disciples belonging to the different Mathas. The father's allegiance to a particular Matha is perpetuated by his progeny.

This content is mainly concerned with the origin and the development of the Kashi Matha Samsthan and is an attempt made to acquaint the readers with a comprehensive history of the Guru Parampara of the Samsthan.

The original headquarters of the Kashi Matha Samsthan are situated in Banaras, also called Varanasi, or more popularly, Kashi, from which the Matha received its name. The premises of the Matha extend between the Brahma Ghat and the Durga Ghat on the banks of the sacred river Ganga, where the original Matha buildings were constructed. Among the important temples of the Matha situated in Kashi are:

1. Shri Gopalakrishna Temple, instituted by Shrimad Upendra Tirtha Swamiji, the third head of the Kashi Matha Samsthan,
2. Shri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, founded by Shrimad Raghavendra Tirtha Swamiji, the fifth Guru of the Samsthan, and
3. Shri Bindu Madhava Temple, consecrated by Shrimad Madhavendra Tirtha Swamiji, the seventh Guru of the Samsthan.

Shrimad Sudhindra Tirtha Swamiji, the present guru of the Samsthan, is the twentieth Swamiji in the Guru Parampara of the Kashi Matha Samsthan. He had been initiated into sanyasa by Shrimad Sukriteendra Tirtha Swamiji, the previous head of the Matha, on Wednesday, 24th May 1944 (Karka Lagna, Jeshta Shuddha Dviteeya of Tarana Samvatsara, Shalivahana Shaka 1866) in the Divine presence of Lord Venkateshwara at Mulki, South Kanara. At the completion of twenty-five years of the initiation ceremony, Silver Jubilee functions were celebrated at various centers, notably in Mulki and in Bombay in 1969.

His Holiness had taken charge of the Samsthan in 1949 after the passing away of the previous head of the Samsthan in Kochi. The present Swamiji is a Sanskrit scholar and has a vast knowledge of Dvaita Siddhanta as propounded by Shri Madhvacharya. After taking the vow of celibacy in 1944 and preserving it since then, the Swamiji strives day in and day out for the welfare and uplift of the community as a whole. His Holiness had instituted Kashi Matha Samsthan Welfare Fund under the leadership of Shri T. Madhava Pai of Manipal in 1956 with the noble objectives of helping poor students of the community in pursuing their studies, of renovating old temples belonging to the community in various parts of the country, and of working for the general welfare of the community. Even though the fund is called Kashi Matha Samsthan Welfare Fund, the benefits are open to any member of the community, irrespective of his belonging to any of the three Matha Samsthans mentioned above.

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