Sadguru Sri Yogi Narayana Math is located in Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka. The Math is dedicated to Sri Yogi Narayana who was born in Kaiwara in 1726. During his blessed existence, he played the role of the spiritual leader Tataya as he is fondly referred to. Kaivara Narayana Tatha in Kannada and Narayana Tathaiya in Telugu.
Sadguru Sri Yogi Narayana Math is about 81 km from Bangalore. It is about 35 km from Chikkaballapur city and 36 km from Chikkaballapur railway station.
Tatayaa belongs to the line of seers of Vedic and Upanishadic times. They were social reformers and scholars, all their teachings based on Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita. He took examples from Bhagavata and preached the essence of Bhakti. He followed the Bhakti Sutras of Narada.
Tatayya is the personification of a mystic and a true yogi. Many examples of yoga can be found. The experiences in his works are all influenced by his own experiences. He worked hard in the Matt to eliminate the caste discrimination that was rampant in the society. He found the same values in his life in Sri Ramanuja’s Vishitadvaita teachings. He liked Vaishnava Agama Puja in temples and advised others to adopt it. This type of temple worship continues even today in the Matt temple.
Narayanappa Tathaiah composed poems in both Kannada and Telugu in praise of Amara Narayanaswamy, an incarnation of Vishnu. His works include “Amara Narayana Shataka”, “Kalajnana”, and “Brahmanandpuri Shataka” which explains the subtleties of yoga. Like Sri Ramanuja, he preached in the Math that salvation will be free for all, regardless of caste, creed, gender. He was a very enlightened yogi who believed that the path of yoga under the guidance of a true guru was the only path to salvation.
