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He combines religion with social welfare
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It is 50 years since Sri Jayendra Saraswati assumed the mantle as the 69th Acharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. The golden jubilee celebrations begin in Chennai today. K. SUBRAMANIAN writes.
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Pic. by A. Muralidharan.
THE YEAR-LONG Peetarohana golden jubilee celebrations of Sri Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam will begin with the participation of the heads of various Hindu religious Maths in the country at the Narada Gana Sabha on March 21. Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati will deliver the inaugural address.
The King of Nepal, Gnanendra, will be the chief guest at the special function to be addressed by distinguished persons, including Union Ministers, at the University Centenary auditorium in Chennai on March 22. A committee with the President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, as patron, has been formed to conduct the year-long celebrations from March 21.
A special function has been organised at Kanchipuram, on March 23. Both the Sankaracharyas will come in a procession and offer worship to Lord Ekambareswarar . A special abishekam will be performed to Goddess Kamakshi Amman with 108 paalkudam and then to Sri Adi Sankara. Immediately, Kalasaprathishta will be performed for the 60-ft Adi Sankara statue at Enathur, near Kanchipuram, in the presence of the Nepal King and the Queen.
Swarna Paduka Prathishta will be performed at the Paramacharya's Maha Samadhi at the Kanchi Math. Later, the King and Queen will perform Paadhapuja to Sri Jayendra Saraswati.
Born as Subrahmanyam to Mahadeva Iyer and Saraswathi on July 18, 1935, at Irulneeki village in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, Sri Jayendra Saraswati's upanayanam was performed on May 9,1943, while he was studying in a primary school in Villupuram.
It was on March 22, 1954, that Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati (Paramacharya) initiated Sri Jayendra Saraswati into the Holy Order and made Him the 69th Acharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.
From the beginning, Sri Jayendra Saraswati has been laying great stress on the value of our culture and heritage. He has always emphasised that the pursuit of religion alone is not enough. It has to be tempered with social welfare measures. Sri Jayendra Saraswati is, perhaps, the most travelled person in the country and has covered thousands of kilometres on foot, often accompanying his guru, and several lakhs of kilometres by van and other means of transport. The travels have helped him understand the problems of the people and to solve them to a great extent.
Sri Jayendra Saraswati, who follows the principles of Sanatana Dharma says, ``there can be no social welfare measure without invoking the blessings of God and which does not make one think of God." Sri Jayendra Saraswati has been instrumental in starting a number educational institutions, including the Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Viswa Maha Vidyalaya (Deemed University) at Enathur in Kanchipuram, eye and general hospitals, hostels, etc., in several parts of the country. His advice to the people is not to construct new temples in places where there are temples but to renovate those in poor condition.
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