Jayendra Saraswathi
Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal (born July 18, 1935 as Subramanyam Mahadeva Iyer) is the 69th Shankaracharya (guru and head or pontiff (Peetadhipathi)) of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
Subramanyam Mahadeva Iyer was nominated by his predecessor, Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal as his successor and was given the title Sri Jayendra Saraswathi on March 22, 1954. He is one of the leading religious figures in Hinduism today.
On account of his sacerdotal office and his profound knowledge of the Hindu religion, he commands wide respect in India, particularly in religious Hindu Brahmin circles. The Kanchi Math has grown into a strong organization under him. Further, the Kanchi Mutt is also widely patronised by many NRIs, particularly from the U.S.A. The Kanchi Mutt runs many schools, eye clinics and hospitals, Shankara Nethralaya in Chennai and Guwahati, Assam, and the Children's Hospital, Hindu Mission Hospital and the Tamil Nadu Hospital. The Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu enacted a law to ban religious conversion, in keeping with the Shankaracharya's oft-expressed concerns.[1] The Tamil Nadu government also started to enforce a pre-existing ban on animal sacrifice in temples,[2] echoing concerns raised by the pontiff. There was wide spread objection to this unilateral government decision because of the very wide spectrum of practices in Hinduism. Sacrificing animals in the temples was very prevelent in many Hindu castes. It was alluded that the chief minister being a brahmin lady did not heed to the majority non-brahmin sections in Hinduism. After a big electoral loss suffered the chief minister, she lifted the ban unilaterally. The government portrayed the ban withdrawal as heeding to peoples sentiment and sought to delink it from the comprehensive electoral defeat.
The Shankaracharya was arrested on November 11, 2004 and charged by Tamil Nadu state prosecutors to being a conspirator in the murder of a temple manager, Sankararaman. On January 10, 2005, he was able to secure bail from the Supreme Court of India although lower courts refused his bail application three times. [3]. On 26 October 2005, the Supreme Court of India transferred the case out of the state of Tamil Nadu state to the adjoining Union Territory of Pondicherry. [4]. The case has dragged on for more than 6 years and trial is on-going as of January 2012.
The Shankaracharya's arrest being a sensational case attracted widespread media coverage, prompting accusations of a trial by media. The interest of the media seemed to wane after successive verdicts of the High Courts in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as well as the Supreme Court of India. Particularly, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh found that the conduct of the media was improper.[7]. As of January 2010, many state witnesses in the case have turned hostile claiming Tamil Nadu state police had forced them to depose against the Shankaracharya and his disciple Shri Shankara Vijayendra Saraswathi. [5][6].
Recently, around December 2011, sensational news were reported that the prime accused Jayendra Saraswathi was negotiating a favourable verdict with the Pondicherry trial court judge for cash consideration. The recordings of the purported telephonic conversations between Jayendra Saraswathi and the trial court judge were also widely played out in the news media. Jayendra Saraswathi has denied all such allegations that he was subverting justice or indulging in clandestine negotiations with the trial judge. The authenticity of the audio recordings are as yet unverified as on January 2012.
| Preceded by Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati |
Kanchi Kāmakoti Pīṭādipati January 3, 1994– Incumbent |
Succeeded by Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Heir Apparent |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
- Complete text of the Order of the Supreme Court of India in dismissing the application of the Government of Tamilnadu in seeking the stay of the Shankarachaya outside the States of South India
- Complete text of the Order of Writ Mandamus issued by the Madras High Court against the Government of Tamilnadu holding that the freezing of the bank accounts by the Police is illegal
- Kanchi Forum an online forum. (a forum for devotees of the acharyas to share their views)
- Cover Story on Jayendra Saraswathi, in Frontline news magazine.
- Consolidated news on Legal proceedings on Sri Jayendra Saraswathi.
