Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji, the presiding Pontiff and the 36th in the line of Jagadgurus of the celebrated Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham is a saint par excellence and a sage beyond compare.
I was a class 6th school boy,playful and would not let go of an opportunity to tune in Vivid Bharti to listen to my favourite Hindi songs! One fine morning, my father (Late) Sri Suryanarayanan Iyer of Hindustan Times, New Delhi came up to me and said that I need not go to school that day as they were to welcome Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Sringeri peetam in our house and to perform Pada-Puja! I was stunned to hear that and happy too not because of His Holiness coming to our house but for the fact that I could play the whole day and listen to music!! I was also little taken aback at my father's decision to perform Pada-Puja as he was not a very religious man by nature and was more inclined towards Left Ideologies!
It was probably the month of March when winter was folding its wings and summer slowly inching into the atmosphere. Delhi used to be such a beautiful place to live in those times.
My house was full of elderly persons partly relatives and partly friends of my parents who were busy arranging the house and setting it in order for His Holiness Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Sringagiri. The street in which we lived has a cosmopolitan crowd and culture. A few neighbours unable to digest the suspense, pulled me aside to ask what was happening in my house and why such a hustle-bustle with so many people trooping into our house that consisted of a ground floor, a first floor and a terrace or a Barsati as was known during those times! I told them that His Holiness Sri Sankaracharya was visiting our house and nothing beyond as I also did not realise the importance of his visit or the rituals that were part and parcel of his entourage!
The present Acharya
Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji, the 35th Jagadguru of the Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sri Sarada Peetham, was a perfect embodiment of virtues: compassion, truthfulness, patience, fortitude and righteousness. He worked ceaselessly for years—with inspired vision and strength and an immense capacity to elevate people.
Exactly at 9 am in the morning, a huge luxurious car pulled up and volunteers from the pilot car and the cars that followed jumped out and formed a human chain of protection around His Holiness. The mesmerising face of His Holiness, still fresh in my memories was calm, smiling and pleasant. The persona of the swamji has some kind of electrifying effect and I could feel goose bums all over the body, a feeling of seeing the god in person?? My father had arranged Brahman Priests who recited Vedas and welcomed His Holiness with "Poorna Kumbham". As the Vedic chants rent the air, loud chants of Jai Jai Sankara by the assembled volunteers mixed with the vedic chants glorified the sky as if to invite the gods and goddesses to witness this beautiful event!! At this juncture, I could notice at least 50-100 volunteers who were unknown to the area joined in welcoming the Acharya and raised slogans such as "Sankaracharya ki jai ho", "Jai Jai Shankara", and many such praising the Holy Seer and the Mutt. Seeing such as huge crowd in a small lane, even my parents were surprised and felt elated to have risen to the occasion to give a befitting welcome to His Holiness. Later on, my father informed me that those volunteers were from Jana Sangh now known as "B J P" and they volunteered to be there as a mark of discipline and oath taken to protect Hinduism. The news about the arrival of Jagadguru spread like wild fire in the area and by the time my parents finished "Paada Puja", there were hundreds of such who raised slogans in praise of His Holiness Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Sringagiri and gave a befitting farewell sent off from our street. I heard my father saying that the volunteers of Sringeri Peetam who accompanied His Holiness were pleasantly surprised to see such a warm reception accorded and were full of appreciation!
My parents were very happy to have performed Pada-Puja to Acharya of Sringagiri being followers of the Holy Mutt. As I recall that day of my life, there is moist in my eyes and my head bows quietly to salute my father's thoughts and images which carried charisma! In a few months, he passed away leaving only memories for the family to share. The volunteers were none other than the Robust, Disciplined and sincere comrades of Rashtriya Swyam Sevak Sangh, the right arm of the BJP who are always there to protect the culture, heritege of Hindus and Hinduism. Today, if Hindus and Hinduism exist, it is only because of the brave and hard working workers who come from the RSS.
