Biography

Early Years and Education

Sri. Vittala Sastri was born in Yellambalse village in Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka, India on 23^rd August, 1891. His parents Sri. Jois Subbhabhatta and Smt. Nagamma belonged to a middle class Brahmin family. His early childhood and education up to lower secondary (Grade 7) was completed at Yellambalse and the neighborhood villages. Sri. Y. Subba Rao (Sri. Satchidanandendra Saraswathi Swami after Sanyasa) the founder of Adhyatma Prakasha Karyalaya at Holenarasipur was his teacher at lower secondary level and he groomed Sri. Sastri into an ideal student.

Sri. Sastri continued his higher education at Maharaja’s Sanskrit College, Mysore where he studied Sanskrit, Vedas and Prayoga (practical application of Vedas in performing rituals). He stayed at a public choultry and cooked food for himself as Mysore lacked adequate hostels. He continued his higher studies at Madras (Chennai) and obtained the Vedanta Shiromani qualification from Madras University in 1916 and the Vedanta Visharada from Madras Sanskrit College. He had earlier in 1915 passed with distinction the Vidwat examination conducted by Advaita Vedanta Sabha.

With these qualifications Sri. Sastri secured appointment as a high school teacher in Sanskrit at Fort AV School Bangalore in 1917. He married Smt. Seshamma in 1919. Thereafter, he worked in Bangalore, Kolar and Shimoga.

Life as a Householder (Grihastha Ashram)

Sri Sastri worked at Mysore from 1937 until his retirement in 1949. After retirement he continued to live in Mysore. During his life as a householder he followed the path of Karmayoga both in letter and spirit. Although he was fully immersed in pursuit of Vedantic studies and its propagation he firmly believed in the teachings of the BhagavadGita which ordains the path of selfless action when an individual is not yet ready for the path of renunciation. A typical day for him started early in the morning. After the daily Sandhya, Japa and puja he conducted classes from 7 A.M. to 8 A.M. on Shankara Bhashyas of Dashopanishads, the BhagavadGita and the Brahma Sutras. After this class he would do Ramayana Parayana for a while. At the school where he taught, he was a personification of devotion to duty and integrity. In the evenings he used to conduct discourses on the Puranas, the BhagavadGita etc. whenever requested by temples and other institutions. He was a regular speaker at Ramakrishna Ashram.

Sri Sastri was well versed in the performance of rituals such as marriage, Grihapravesha, Upanayanam and homas etc. and was highly sought after by people who considered it their good fortune if they could secure his services. His aim was to engage people in the path of dharma and not for making monetary gains. Many a time he would spend money out of his own pocket to conduct rituals when he came across deserving people who could not afford it. While performing these services he was un-mindful of any physical discomforts. Physical distances didn’t bother him as he was known to travel in crowded train and buses during the night in order to conduct the function/ritual in the following morning. No matter what, he never compromised on the method of conducting the rituals and followed them to the letter and spirit. His commitment to the propagation of Dharma marga could be gauged by his continued performance of rituals until the ripe old age of ninety years. In addition, he was well versed in the subject of Astrology and used to advice people who approached him about fixing of auspicious dates for marriages, matching of horoscopes and performance of homas to mitigate unfavourable planetary positions.

Sri Sastri’s household deity was Lord Panduranga of Pandharapur. His household was the embodiment of Annapoornaweshwari and no visitor went away on an empty stomach. In addition to his children there were some resident students who lived with them. In addition there were also students on Varanna a system by which students who lived elsewhere would have meals once a week with his family. Friends and distant relatives not in Mysore used to stay for medical attention at Mysore which was unavailable to them at their place of residence. He used to treat everybody in the same manner with regard to food, accommodation or attention. To him there was no distinction of people between ours and outsiders.

In Sri. Sastri’s life, as a model house holder, the contribution, cooperation and sense of duty of his wife Smt. Seshamma was commendable. In observance of all dharmic activities she was wholeheartedly co-operating and was a true companion in all respects. Whatever may be the condition of her health, she used to look after the needs of students, the guests and other invitees with utmost care and attention. She was known for her patience love and affection without discrimination. In his householder’s stage and thereafter she was true “all weather” companion. Sri Sastri and his wife can be compared to Paravathi and Parameshwara. Later when Sri. Sastri decided to take Sanyasa she, realizing this step was for everybody’s good gave her consent.

All through his life, his honesty, sense of discipline and following rules and regulations to the core endeared him to one and all. He was very punctual and this extended to his public lectures which were always on time and never went overtime. He set high standards for what was to be accomplished in a day and followed the old adage Do what is to be done tomorrow today itself. He was extremely honest and practiced this all the time even under trying circumstances. On one occasion, he rejected outright the very notion of certifying a wrong date of birth for his daughter to secure a coveted government job. He never sought after worldly wealth and earned his living by his honest efforts. For instance he was teaching Advaita Vedanta to H.H. Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV of Mysore royal dynasty. The Maharaja recognizing Sri. Sastri’s scholastic abilities had conferred the title of Asthana Vidwan on him. Despite, having such close access to the Maharaja he never sought after any personal gains. While he came down hard on any in-discipline and dis-honesty he was a very compassionate man. To many people in times of their distress he was their savior. His eyes would fill with tears and he would rush to help them with whatever little resources he had. One beneficiary of his help was an old Brahmin called Ranga Bhatta to whom he provided food and shelter for almost 8 years as he had nobody to look after him. He even performed his last rites after his death like his own son. Sri. Sastri was held in high esteem by people for his knowledge and character. When he was a teacher at Maharaja’s High school Professor Eagleton, the principal of Maharaja’s College Mysore was learning Vedanta from Sri. Sastri. The professor would sit along with others as an ordinary pupil. The professors of Vedanta at the Mysore University Dr. S.S. Raghavachar and Dr. K.B Ramakrishna Rao held him in high esteem.

Biography in Kannada can be found: