{{Short description|36th Peetadhipathi of the Shringeri Sharada Peetham}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}} {{Infobox religious biography | name = Bharathi Tirtha | order = Vedanta (Sringeri Math) | honorific_prefix = His Holiness Shri Jagadguru Shankaracharya | honorific-suffix = Sri Mahasannidhanam | title = 36th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sharada Peetham | image = Jagadguru Bharathi Teertha 2018.jpg | religion = Hinduism | philosophy = Advaita Vedanta | ordination = 11 November 1974 | birth_name = Seetharama Anjaneyalu | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|04|11|df=y}} | birth_place = Alugumallepadu,Dachepalli, Madras State (present-day Andhra), India | nationality = Indian | predecessor = Abhinava Vidyatirtha | successor = Vidhushekhara Bharati | caption = Tirtha in 2018 }} '''Bharathi Tirtha Mahaswamiji''' ({{langx|sa|श्रीभारतीतीर्थमहास्वामिनः}}), (Purvashrama name '''Seetharama Anjaneyalu''') (born 3 April 1951), is an Indian religious leader who is the current and 36th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sharada Peetham, an important Hindu monastery in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta established by Sri Adi Shankara.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maramkal |first1=MB |title=Successor designate appointed |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/Successor-appointed-to-historic-Sharada-peetham-at-Sringeri/articleshow/45993640.cms |accessdate=7 October 2018 |work=Times of India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Murthy |first1=Narasimha |title=Salutations To Sringeri Jagadgurus |date=11 March 2017 |url=https://starofmysore.com/salutations-sringeri-jagadgurus/}}</ref>
== Early life and career ==
Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji was born 03 April 1951 to a Telugu Smartha family from Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh.
He was a religiously minded child. His ''upanayana'' ceremony was performed when he was seven years of age. In addition to schooling, he spent his time studying Sanskrit and took lessons in the Vedas from his father who himself was a Vedic scholar.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandar |first1=Suresh |title=Inspiring Saint |publisher=Sri Vidyatirtha Foundation, Madras |url=https://archive.org/details/InspiringSaintLifeOfSriBharatiTirthaSureshChandarK.Sringeri/page/n5}}</ref>
In the year 1966, at the age of 15, Anjaneyalu approached the 35th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji, seeking religious guidance from him. Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji accepted Brahmachari Seetharama Anjaneyalu as the disciple.
Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji appointed Brahmachari Seetharama Anjaneyalu as the successor-designate on the 11 November 1974, when Anjaneyalu received saffron robes, a staff, and a kamandalu (water pot).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shivaram |first1=Choodie |title=Successor initiated |url=http://digital.hinduismtoday.com/publication/?i=411729&article_id=2798892&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5#{%22issue_id%22:411729,%22view%22:%22articleBrowser%22,%22article_id%22:%222798892%22} |accessdate=6 October 2018 |publisher=Hinduismtoday}}</ref> The newly initiated sannyasi was given the title of Yogapatta Sri Bharati Tirtha in line with the Dashanami Sampradaya of Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Geeta |first1=Venktaraman |title=Ascetic extraordinary |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/sri-abhinava-vidyatirtha-ascetic-extraordinary/article25058881.ece |accessdate=8 October 2018 |work=The Hindu|date=27 September 2018 |quote="Successor nominated"}}</ref>
As part of the tradition, Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji undertakes tours to different places in order to offer guidance to the devotees. The most recent tour took place in 2017 and spanned Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Special |first1=Correspondence |title=Reception accorded to the Jagadguru |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/reception-accorded-to-sringeri-seers/article19152941.ece |accessdate=8 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Staff Reporter |title=Pontiffs arrive in the city |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/sringeri-pontiffs-arrive-in-city/article18204129.ece |accessdate=8 October 2018 |work=The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=A |first1=Rajagopal |title=Sringeri mutt chief arrives in capital |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/jun/12/sringeri-mutt-chief-arrives-in-capital-1615588.html |access-date=8 October 2018 |publisher=The new Indian Express}}</ref>
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.sringeri.net/ Sringeri Sharada Peetham] *[http://www.sankaracharya.org About Shri Adi Sankarcharya and His Parampara]
{{Shankara mathas}} {{Hindudharma}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Advaita Vedanta Category:Sringeri Sharada Peetham Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Indian Hindu monks Category:Shankaracharyas Category:Telugu people Category:People from Guntur district Category:People from Andhra Pradesh