Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya , the 69th head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, passed away on Wednesday morning . The 83-year old seer breathed his last in a hospital near to the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt at the temple town of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.
Born Subramanyam Mahadeva Iyer on July 18, 1935 in a village near Mannargudi, he was appointed pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt by his predecessor Chandrasekharendra Saraswthi in 1954. After the demise of Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi in 1994, Jayendra Saraswathi was apointed as the head of the Kamakoti Peetham Mutt.
It was Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi who initiated Jayendra Saraswathi into sanyasam. What made him distinct from other monks was his maverick and mercurial style of functioning.
This Shankaracharya was opposed to any kind of un-touchability and religious conversion. People from other religions who came to him seeking his blessings to get converted to Hinduism were turned away by the Seer.
“All religions are good. When one leaves one’s religion, he/she leaves behind his parents, close relations and others. One can reach salvation through any religions though perceptions may differ from religion to religion,” the pontiff had told this writer in an interview in 1998.
Unlike his predecessor, Jayendra Saraswathi did not confine himself to the four walls of the Mutt. He undertook a walkathon all over the country in the 1970s and interacted with the common folk. He had launched many welfare programmes for the villagers in and around Kanchipuram.
The Seer stirred a hornet’s nest when he spoke against forced religious conversions. It was as per his suggestion the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa introduced the anti-conversion bill in 2002 which was widely condemned by the Church and the lefts.
The Shankaracharya was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police on Diwali Day in 2004 in connection with a murder case. It was alleged that he and his deputy Vijayendra Saraswathi were the prime accused in the murder of Shankararaman, manager of the Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram.
The trial court acquitted him and Vijayendra Saraswathi of all charges.
The arrest of the pontiff and his deputy came at the time when the former was playing a major role in the Ram Janmabhumi dispute and was in discussion with the leaders of the Muslim community.
In August 1987, the seer was reported to have gone missing from the Kanchi Mutt but was later found out from Talacauvery in Karnataka. It was believed that he ran away from the Mutt following disagreements with the then Pontiff.
leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the demise of the Mutt head. “Deeply anguished by the passing away of Acharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam Jagadguru Pujyashri Jayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya. He will live on in the hearts and minds of lakhs of devotees due to his exemplary service and noblest thoughts. Om Shanti to the departed soul,” tweeted Prime Minister Modi on hearing the news.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit said the pontiff’s demise was a great loss to the society.
It may be noted that the Governor had called on the Seer on Monday.
