Political pundits who study Tamil Nadu are often surprised by the critical Hindu unity that prevails in Kanyakumari district. Whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins the assembly elections or the parliamentary elections or not, Hindu unity is always at the core here.
One could say that there is a ‘common minimum Hindu unity’ which cannot be observed by any political party. Often, scholars attribute this to the dominance of radical Christianity in the region.
But that doesn’t explain the whole truth. While Christian aggression is real, its manifestation has evolved over decades. The Catholic Church and the more evangelical Protestant dioceses stopped short of attacking Hinduism directly. Instead, they have begun to focus on increasing their stranglehold on secular institutions and discourses. The new generation of Kanyakumari district is not even aware of the worst events like the 1982 riots and the Christian protest against the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. However, a unified Hindu consciousness permeates society, culture and politics is seen in the district.
A major reason for this is the network of religious slurs (spiritual classes) that run through the villages and towns of the district.
In the 1970s, there were aggressive conversions and threats to Hindus in the district. Not only the clergy, but even the lay Christians took pleasure in denigrating Hindu customs and traditions. If a Hindu wears a vibhuti, he or she faces ridicule. Usually this agony questioned the meaning of a custom or festival, leading to the vilification of Hinduism and the assertion of the superiority of Christianity. Hindus who don’t know much about their own religion either keep silent out of shame or stop following the ‘known’ traditions of their religion.
But, religious slippage changed all that.
At the heart of the event was Vellimalai Sri Vivekananda Ashram, topped by a Murugan temple. The ashram is incredibly humble in origin.
A student from today’s Kanyakumari district was studying at a college in Chennai (now Chennai) in 1897, the year a sannyasi was welcomed back from the West. The college student was fascinated by this sanyasi and caught him during a morning walk on the Madras beach. (Sanyasi) That meeting with Swami Vivekananda changed the student Maduranayagam Pillai.
Later he got Sarnamurudham from Devi Sarada and became Swami Ambananda. On the auspicious day of Tai Poosha, he started an ashram at Vellimalai in Kanyakumari – a lonely place at that time infested with snakes and wild animals.
Guru and Disciple: Swami Ambananda and Swami Madhurananda
In 1951, a few months before he attained Mahasamadhi, a boy who had completed his graduation visited him. 29 year old Subpaiah Pillai became Swami Madhurananda and after Swami Ambananda, Swami Madhurananda became the head of the ashram.
As a student, Subbiah Pillai involved himself in the freedom struggle with a spiritual bent. (See photo below of Mahatma Gandhi carrying the tricolor in a procession celebrating his birthday in 1945). He graduated with a degree in philosophy and could have landed a plum government job, but he had no such aspirations.
1945 Gandhi Jayanti March – The future Madhurananda is seen walking with the tricolor flag.
Swami is a true ascetic. His spiritual aura allowed anyone who came in contact with him to feel his greatness. His austere appearance exuded a powerful spiritual personality and many approached him for spiritual advice and to experience peace.
Swami always went on spiritual pilgrimages with other great men of his age. As early as 1957 Thiruvananthapuram (Thiruvananthapuram) with Swami Abedananda, before the Chinese occupation of Kailasa, Swami Madhurananda visited Kailasa. It was a dangerous and difficult journey. Many did not support his undertaking this journey. Later, when asked what he got out of such a tiring journey, he replied that it was the Sivoham experience.
Swami never revealed his spiritual experiences to others. However, in some conversations it was published as mentioned above.
He is also proficient in traditional poetry. All his poems were devotional hymns to Gods, Goddesses and the Holy Trinity of Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. We learn from a poem that when he had doubts about the Upanishads and the Gita, he had a darshan of Mother Sarada, who cleared those doubts. He also met Lord Sri Ramana Maharishi.
For Swami, spirituality and social service are not different. He was pained by the ignorance of dharma prevailing in the adharma society.
He started giving lectures and promoting Gita classes. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many Gita classes were held on Sundays, mainly for adults. Among these, Swami created religious baldness for children.
Swami Madhurananda (marked here) with a group of volunteers at the Swami Vivekananda Rock – before arriving at the memorial.
Young teachers well versed in the basic knowledge of Hindu Dharma taught the children. Swami designed textbooks for different levels of religious vahubu – from primary to graduation. The graduates, known as Vidya Jyothis, started taking spiritual classes for children, conducting pujas in temples, offering counselling, offering prayers to bereaved families and offering their services during calamities.
In 1981, with his blessings, the ‘Hindu Youth Movement’ was started and imparted Sat Sang and Hindu religious knowledge to the youth.
Meanwhile, Swami Sidbhavananda introduced an initiative called ‘Andhar Yoga’, a one-day spiritual retreat for families. The family attended spiritual discourses, bhajans and meditations. It was a unique, cost-effective ‘spiritual retreat’ modern in style but affordable to the middle and lower middle classes, which attracted Hindus from all walks of life.
Swami Madhurananda during his visit to Sri Lanka.
Vellimalai Sri Vivekananda Ashram has been the center of many such ‘Andhar Yoga’ camps. Families from nearby villages attended these sessions with their children and received discourses on dharma in simple terms and language.
Dr. Pa. Arunachalam, a retired Tamilian from Malaysia who settled in Nagercoil, and a scholar of Saiva ideology, delivered fascinating discourses.
Walking across the network of villages in the district, even remotely to every creed, one person who bestowed the nectar of the Gita was Sri N Krishnamurthy – the author of Vivekananda Kendra’s Viveka Vani. He did his M.Tech in Geography at IIT, worked at the Indian Geological Survey, was with Acharya Vinoba, and later came to Vivekananda Kendra. A great scholar of the Gita, and living its Vedanta in his daily life, Swami Madhurananda loved him in his heart and used his wisdom for the benefit of every Hindu child in the district.
‘Tulsi’ Ram has translated every spiritual classic into Tamil verses melodiously, lucidly and without diluting the substance. His translation of the Bhagavad Gita into Tamil verses is an event in the history of translation.
Swami Madhurananda addressed a large Hindu gathering at the Hindu Unity and Awareness Conference 1981: It changed the district forever.
Swami Madhurananda addressed a large Hindu gathering at the Hindu Unity and Awareness Conference 1981: It changed the district forever.
Dr. Airavatham Mahadevan, a great scholar who was a patron of Vivekananda Kendra, was amazed to read this translation and opined that it has reproduced the tone and magnificence of the original verses. Swami Madhurananda and Vivekananda Kendra used these verses in their classes. Hence, the children not only memorized the original Sanskrit verses but also memorized the Tamil translations of ‘Tulsi’ Ram.
Swami Madhurananda conducts classes for children
Hindu Dharma Vidya Peedham blossomed in 1984 through the efforts of Swami Madhurananda of Kanyakumari district.
At the convocation ceremony of Hindu Dharma Vidya Peedham
Religious education is not just about religious classes like Sunday Bible schools. It offered children an in-depth odyssey into the various spiritual mansions of dharma. The texts also present the Tamil spiritual literature of Nayanmar and Azhwar along with verses from the Upanishads and the Gita. Children also learn about patriots and social reformers.
Creating a series of such textbooks in the 1980s from a remote ashram without proper electricity and solid financial support from a remote corner of Kanyakumari district, Swami Madhurananda took dharma knowledge to every child in Kanyakumari district.
From practical Vedanta to patriotism, the movement provided children with a basic knowledge base of dharma. If they decide to pursue it further, they can become Vidya Jyoti.
Today, the graduation ceremony of Vidya Jyothis is a grand event and the conduct of examinations for Vidya Jyothis is an important event that is reported in newspapers. A Vidya Jyothi degree holder is accepted with respect and love by the society, even if not recognized by any formal university.
Swami attained Mahasamadhi on 2nd June 1999.
Let the children light the Bhagavad Twaj fire and light up Tamil Nadu.
India and the world.
Let the children carry the Bhagavad Twaja fire and light it all over Tamil Nadu, India and the world.
The impact of religious slippage can be seen from the fact that even during the civil war in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus asked Swami Madhurananda’s successor, Swami Chaidanyananda, to provide religious education in troubled areas. Island country. Swami Chaidanyananda and a group of Madhurandaka devotees obliged.
Swami Madhurananda was born on 14th April 1922.
It is the centenary year of this great sage who has single handedly blessed us with the blueprint to transform Tamil Nadu back into Dharma Bhoomi.
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