Great men are born in a period of turmoil and at a stage when society requires their invaluable guidance. Adi Shankaracharya, Guru Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh, Dayanand Saraswati, and Swami Vivekananda are some of the revered holy men who faced multifarious challenges and whose work and teachings helped in societal rejuvenation and nation-building. Periyava was also a great soul, who came to this earth when Indian traditions and culture were facing an onslaught under British rule and he stemmed the decline.
Swami Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, also known as Periyava, is regarded as the reincarnation of Adi Shankaracharya, who organised the Hindu religion and laid the foundation for its rejuvenation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Adi Shankaracharya’s Samadhi and unveiled his statue at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand in November last year, a day after Diwali. It will be perhaps in the fitness of things if the Prime Minister also unveils the statue of Periyava, whose contribution to fostering national unity and societal rejuvenation is immeasurable.
Adi Shankaracharya revived the Indian culture and Hindu traditions at a time when great and stable empires in India were disintegrating and small feudal states were emerging that led to political anarchy and some disorder in traditional social systems.
His teachings came when spirituality and religion were getting linked with stereotypes and outdated practices. There was orthodoxy. He referred to this situation in Brahmasutram: “Idanim iva kalantare pyavyavasthitaprayan varnasramadharman pratijanita” (One might suppose that varnashramadharma was in disorder earlier also just as it is now).
It is very significant to note that following the footstep of PM Modi, the Madhya Pradesh government has just now decided to set up a 108 ft tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya and an international museum in the state to connect it to the rest of the world at the cost of Rs 2,000 crore. This announcement of MP’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan may invite some hard political critics in a sharp politically divided society of ours where religious tradition has always been under tighter scrutiny. However, from the perspective of India’s great tradition of reformist religious saints honouring the likes of the great Adi Shankaracharya and the great Peetaadipati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Swami Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi is very much in need of the time.
The Indian philosophy looks at life in a holistic way and Adi Shankaracharya helped people realise the ultimate truth. Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi took charge of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham as the 68th peetadhipathi on 13 February 1907 when the fight against the British was gathering steam. He was not even 13 years old at that time.
Paramacharya was at the helm of affairs when the freedom movement was at its peak and also after India attained independence. He traversed the length and breadth of the country by palanquin as well as by foot spreading the glory of Sanatana Dharma. He lived as an embodiment of simplicity, renunciation and asceticism.
Periyava was the pontiff in the hallowed line of succession of spiritual heads of the peetham. In fact, the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is the only Sankara Peetham in the country which has been blessed with an unbroken line of succession of Acharyas right from its inception around the fifth century BC, more than 2400 years ago.
Periyava was born on 20 May 1894 in South Arcot District, Tamil Nadu as Swaminathan. After being initiated into Sanyasa Asramam and named Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, he was the head of the Mutt for 87 years.Though politics was not his area of work, the seer influenced the national mind through his subtle actions during the freedom struggle. He fully identified himself with the national and Swadeshi movement and changed to khadi as his saintly attire.
He urged his devotees to do away with foreign and non-natural clothes. The day India became free, he gave the Maithreem Bajatha song, which was later to be sung at the UN by M.S. Subbulakshmi. He gave a speech on the significance of the flag and the Dharma chakra in it on that day.
Rajaji and Mahatma Gandhi met the Acharya in a cowshed at Nellichery in Palakkad in present-day Kerala on 15 October 1927. Mahatma Gandhi later said that the conversation he had with the Acharya was an “evening meal” for him.
When the Indian Constitution was being framed, Paramacharya called a well-known Vedic scholar and asked him to meet Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to pass on a message. As a result, Article 26 of the Constitution was enshrined and this extended constitutional protection, not just to the major religions—Hinduism or Islam—but to every sub-sect of these religions.
Perivaya was a spiritual master and people came drawn to him from all walks of life and from almost all lines of political thinking. He always thought of national interest and was not given to any dogmas.
The ban on RSS, after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, was lifted through the influence he exerted on T.R.V. Sastri, who negotiated with the Government of India and succeeded in the effort. Periyava looked upon the RSS as an organisation which stood for the national cause.
When then RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar came to Kanchipuram to meet Periyava, he was a bit unwell and was staying at a friend’s house. Golwalkar, also known as Guruji, informed the people in the mutt accordingly—that he was planning to visit the sage after taking bath. Periyava asked his attendants to inform Golwalkar that, “for a pure atma like Golwalkar, there is no need to take bath. He can come now itself”.
The mother of Golwalkar was very affectionate towards him and he was very disturbed by her sad demise. In this state of mind, he received a condolence message from Periyava that comforted him a lot. The message read, “Your mother of flesh and bone is no more. But since time immemorial, you and good sons like you have been blessed by the holy Motherland, the Bharat Mata. You are already serving the Motherland selflessly. Hence, it is impossible that you experience the pains of bereavement.”
When Indira Gandhi visited him in Tenambakkam and conveyed her desire to seek blessings so that the country could get rid of evil forces that had arisen, Periyava lifted up his right hand and gave his blessings. Indira Gandhi has described the Acharya as “one of the greatest men living on earth”. “He is in line with the ancient sages of India, who by their mere presence gave strength and understanding to all of us. To meet the Acharya is a rare spiritual experience. He is living truth and compassion,” she had said.
Immediately after India got independence, Periyava advised the then Congress government and leaders that the old temples destroyed by the Muslim rulers should be restored and rebuilt. He made efforts for the resolution of the dispute concerning Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya in the early nineties when various factors were causing religious polarisation in society.
Remaining active throughout his life, the sage of Kanchi twice undertook pilgrimages on foot from Rameshwaram in the far south of the Indian peninsula to Benares in the North.
During this period as head of the mutt, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam acquired new strength as an institution that propagated Adi Shankaracharya’s teachings. He advocated simplicity, shunned pomp, ostentation, and extravagance.
The devotion, fervour, and intensity with which Periyava practised what Adi Shankaracharya had taught are considered to be unparalleled by his devotees. Throughout his life, the focus of his concern and activities was rejuvenating the study of Vedas, dharma shastras, and the age-old traditions which had suffered a decline. “Veda rakshanam” was his very life-breath and he referred to this in most of his talks.
His exposition of Vedanta, sastras and the dharmic duties attracted scholars and laymen alike for it has always been rich in values and simple in understandingHis long tenure as Pitadhipathi is considered by many to have been the Golden Era of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
Adi Shankaracharya is regarded as the manifestation of the divine avatara of Lord Shiv. His parents had a dream before his birth and they named him Sankara.
His spirit was reflected in Periyava, like Adi Shankaracharya, he travelled the country and worked all his life for strengthening the Hindu religion and resurrecting its spiritual and knowledge traditions. Periyava is seen his reincarnation. Taking a cue from the MP government’s decision regarding the Adi Shankaracharya statue, it will be in the fitness of things that the statue of Periyava should be erected at an appropriate spiritual place and unveiled by the PM. Periyava was born on 20 May 1894 and the statue could be unveiled on his 130th birth anniversary in January 2024. It will be a mark of the country’s gratitude to the seer whose life was devoted to reviving India’s spiritual glory. The statue will inform and inspire the coming generations about his work.
The writer is a political analyst and former Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Electronics Development Corporation.