CHENNAI: Shri Vidyadheesha Theertha Swamiji, who is the 30th pontiff of Shri Palimar Matha in Udupi, will be in the city till November 25, for the last leg of his paryaya sanchara. Keeping in with ancient traditions, Swamiji is proposing to renovate the roof of the sanctum sanctorum of Shri Krishna Matha during his Paryaya (2018-2020) and to further cover the same with gold plates and inscribe the ‘Hamsa Mantra’ on it.
Ordained to Sanyasa Deeksha at 24 in 1979, Swamiji played an instrumental role in expanding the Matha activities in fields like education, health and preservation of art, architecture and culture. Talking about the current generation, he says they are like a cradle. “They go in both directions; it may be good or bad. It is essential for them to make the effort and understand and study everything about religion. It is also our duty to stress on the need to understand it and hence spread awareness in the right manner,” he explains.
With an intention to preserve and promote Sanathana Dharma, Swamiji has established various learning centres in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Addressing the issue of violence, which is on a large scale today, Swamiji says, “Violence is caused when some people just choose to go in the wrong direction...Or when some believe that their religion is superior and we don’t need another way of faith.
This is why there is a strong need to spread awareness about religion and its teachings,” he elucidates.
Ask him about his thoughts on religious leaders in politics and he immediately says, “It is good to have some religious leaders in politics, especially if they mean well. We have one nation, one religion and so, we should follow one policy. We should not have different ethics and rules for different people,” he explains.