Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji, the 71st pontiff of the Adichunchanagiri Mutt, has left an indelible footprint in the fields of spirituality, education and politics of the state.
The Swamiji provided spiritual leadership to the backward Vokkaligas, who form the second most populous community in the state. His demise has left thousands of his followers and disciples in old Mysore region abandoned.
The soft spoken Swamiji stood tall among all the pontiffs belonging to other powerful and influential religious institutions across the state and commanded their respect too. As a result political leaders worth their salt could ill-afford to ignore the mutt or him and always wanted to have his blessings and seek his attention.
During his short span of 38 years, the Adichunchanagiri Mutt had established several educational and medical institutions across the state and provided services to all sections of the society.
The sudden demise of the pontiff had sent shock waves among the devotees and his followers, who thronged the BGS hospital, where he died, in large numbers.
Swamiji’s bond with the Vokkaligas cemented further when the pontiff led a large protest rally after a Backward Classes commission denied BC tag for the community in the early 90s. He was the rallying point for the community in the state.
He mission was to establish global peace and universal brotherhood through spiritual, educational, healthcare, environmental, social and moral and cultural activities. He was also the first to acquire a chopper to render his spiritual activities across the state.
More than 85,000 students benefit from the more than 450 educational institutions, including medical, engineering and Sanskrit, established by the pointiff across the country. The mutt also opened hospitals to render free medical health care services for the benefit of the entire community.
In an effort to sensitise the people about environmental issues, the swamiji had formed “Karnataka Vanasamvardhana Trust”, which has reportedly planted over 6 crore sapplings across the state in association with the state government, NGO’s and others.
The mutt had helped thousands of people who were rendered homeless during the 2009 floods in Northern Karnataka.