Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi dies at 82
Kanchipuram, February 28
Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, regarded as one of the most influential spiritual leaders of his time but whose shock arrest in a murder case robbed the spiritual shine of the Kanchi mutt, died here today. He was 82.
The 69th pontiff of the Mutt, established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, was ailing for quite some time. He was admitted to hospital here early on Wednesday after he complained of breathlessness.
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Doctors said the pontiff died following cardiac arrest. His last rites will be conducted on Thursday and his body will be interred in the Mutt premises itself in accordance with traditions followed for Hindu seers.
Born Subramaniyam Mahadevan on July 18, 1935, in Irulneekki in erstwhile Thanjavur district, Jayendra Saraswathi was appointed as junior pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in 1954
by Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi at a young age of 19. A colossal spiritual figure, he initiated innumerable programmes for the downtrodden across the country. Many compared him with Ramanuja — the legendary Vaishnavite guru and a social reformer.
His most challenging period came in 2004 when he was arrested on the eve of Diwali in connection with a murder of a temple manager, A Sankararaman, during the Jayalalithaa regime, sending shockwaves. The trial court had later acquitted him and others, including his deputy Vijayendra Saraswathi, in the case.
Focussed on the uplift of Dalits, the 69th pontiff of the Sankara Mutt was also interested in developing healthcare and educational facilities for the people apart from spreading spiritualism. He was the first Hindu seer to be involved in efforts to find a solution to the Ram Janmabhoomi issue.
“We have not seen Ramanuja. But we have seen Kanchi Mutt seer Jayendra Saraswathi. At the Sankara Mutt, there was no caste discrimination. Before meeting him, I had strong views against Sankara Mutt. But later, I realised that Jayendra Saraswati or the mutt does not discriminate on caste basis,” said Tada Periyasamy, managing trustee of Nandanar Trust.
Vinayagar V Murali, secretary of Sri Chandrashekara Saraswati Swamigal Goshala, said: “Perhaps he was the only Hindu sanyasi who had visited most number of slums and Dalit colonies in the country. He visited the innermost parts of the Dharavi slums in Mumbai and several other slums and Dalit colonies.”
His face in repose, eyes closed and hands folded, the body was brought in a chair to a hall in the mutt as grieving devotees began to pay their last respects to the revered Hindu seer. Followers wept as the body of the Shankaracharya was placed at a vantage spot in the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam so that his legion of followers could bid him goodbye. — PTI
