It’s all like a nightmare, laments junior pontiff

Author: TSV Hari in Kancheepuram
Publication: Sify News

Two words can aptly describe the expression on the face of Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati, the junior pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Stunned disbelief.

The quest to meet the junior seer began nearly 18 hours before this report was filed. As a matter of policy, the Mutt has now learnt to forget the existence of the contraption called mobile phone.

As a believer in the Hindu faith, and as a devotee of the Mutt, this journalist wanted to hear from the present centre of power of the 2500 year old institution what it was all about. The terse reply on a landline connection said, 'Come before 9.00 am tomorrow.'

At 8:45 am, the Mutt was almost deserted. But for a strong contingent of policemen outside the Mutt, and three old hands at the place, there was an eerie silence - a far cry from the usual hustle and bustle that one normally associates with the institution.

The junior seer spotted this scribe and immediately stopped for a few words. It began with innocent incredulity.

"Why has the press suddenly turned so hostile towards us?" the junior seer asked the question not as a rhetoric.

It was obvious that he is yet to come to terms with a medium called television which captured his visuals and juxtaposed it with diatribe. | Full Coverage: Arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya |

"As every hour passes, I am informed that a new series of lies has been said about us. When people started saying that my brother from my previous existence was trying to hide from law, I requested the television crews to come here and take pictures of him. They did that and uttered more untruths," he said.


"Now I know better. The press is free to write and show what it wants. I only have one wish now. I just want to see 'my guru' and hear from him what kind of tribulations he is undergoing. The second and third hand information is confusing and threatening at the same time," Vijayendra Saraswati said in an emotional tone.

"I have requested the advocates representing us to seek the permission (of magistrate Uttamraj] to enable me to meet my guru in person - a one- to-one meeting. That is all I want for now."

"Just tell me, what is the truth about Shankararaman?" this writer asked.

"I remember this man vaguely. That is all. All this talk about him being a former employee of the Mutt and everything else is like a nightmare. But why talk about him? The courts can find out the truth. But I have firm belief in one thing. My guru is innocent. Every allegation made against him is untrue."

"The outside world doesn't know what kind of rigorous discipline we have and how many rituals we have to perform. Today, various newspapers and television channels show some visual and add a different commentary, totally twisting everything out of context. Some one told me that a television channel said that I was emotional. They showed me brushing off the dust from my eyes, suggesting that I was shedding tears. Tell me, is this journalism?"

Devotees of the Mutt began gathering to seek the junior pontiff's blessings before he started his worship - the Chandramouleeshwarar Puja - which lasts a minimum of 140 minutes.

The junior seer seemed unaware of the passage of time till he was reminded about it politely. It seemed inappropriate to ask probing questions, because the auspicious minutes were fast approaching.

The wait to hear him utter something more seemed interminable though it lasted for just two minutes.

"Just request your readers to pray for the release of my guru. I simply want him to be free. Everything else seems so needless for the moment," he said in a matter of fact tone, blessed this scribe, got up and walked away towards the main hall of the Mutt for puja.