Kanchi Shankar-acharya Outreach helped millions

[Guest guest]

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2004 10:38:44 PM ]

 

BANGALORE: He is known to give audiences to the most powerful in the

country and even the world. He stands before no one and is perceived

to be the seventh most powerful man in the country ahead of the

President and Prime Minister and behind the likes of Ambanis and

Tatas. His address is Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Kancheepuram, and he

is Kanchi Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi.

 

 

But his arrest by Tamil Nadu police and being sent to Vellore

Central Jail has rattled his devotees, who cut across all castes and

creed among the Hindus, apart from Muslims and Christians including

several foreigners.

 

The Kanchi Shankar-acharya, who has been in several controversies in

the past, deviated from the tradition of being a Brahminical Mutt to

one that served the Dalits as well. Of course, his senior,

Paramacharya Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal started that

tradition. Most of the work undertaken by the Mutt has been in rural

India, and that has been one primary reason for their high

visibility in the last 50 years. In fact, it has moved from being a

mere religious institution to that of a social organisation.

 

While Sri Jayendra Saraswathi played a major role in the Ayodhya

negotiations, he got into a tiff with the Vaishnavite Mutt jeers

after "interfering" in the administration of Tirupati and got flak

from them.

 

The 2,500-year old Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, which is perhaps facing its

worst crisis since being set up, has devotees from the world over

South Africa, Ghana, France, Germany, England, America, and controls

a network of assets which is estimated to be over Rs 5,000 crore

(The Sringeri mutt in Karnataka is said to be richer than the Kanchi

mutt). Traditionally, the Kanchi mutt has followers among Smarthas

(those who worship both Shiva and Vishnu, which means they are

neither Shaivites nor Vaishnavites) and are mostly in Tamil Nadu and

Andhra Pradesh, and some in Karnataka.

 

The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam runs through its various trusts over 200

schools, several hospitals including the Shanakara Netralaya and

Childs Trust Hospital in Chennai and at Guwahati apart from vario us

other cities, about 25 colleges including the deemed university at

Kancheepuram - Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi Vishwamahavidyalaya

which runs colleges for MCA, an Engineering college, degree colleges

and a management school. The deemed university has an international

library which has material to do research on all religions.

 

The Mutt was planning to start a medical college and as part of it

acquired the defunct, but full-fledged Tamilnad Hospitals in Chennai

sometime last year.

 

The Mutt had also started the Venkateshwara College of Engineering

at Sriperambudur near Chennai over a decade ago and then handed it

over to corporates to run it. For example, the Shankara School in

Adyar in Chennai is run by India Cements.