SIDDAGANGA MUTT (TUMAKURU): At a time when debates are raging over the alleged domination of North India over South on the issue of language -- some call it Hindi imposition, and the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies that is likely to affect South India negatively, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday chose to play the role of a unifier, saying the South guided North on the spiritual front on several occasions.
At the 118th birth anniversary of Sri Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Mutt, he said, “It is unfortunate that some say the North dominates the South on many fronts. This is completely wrong. Karnataka has given a new direction to the North in the field of religion many times. One example is the debate between Acharya Mandan Mishra of Kashi and Adi Shankaracharya, which is the most famous debate in Indian culture. Shankaracharya defeated Mandan Mishra, who later became a disciple of Shankaracharya. It is a popular belief that he came to Karnataka and became Shankaracharya in Sringeri as Acharya Sureshacharya,” he said.
“This shows India’s tradition was liberal on knowledge and it never hesitated to accept the truth. That is why I believe that today, we should get rid of this propaganda which was promoted during the colonial era to create differences,” he said.
Despite many invaders trying to destroy Indian culture, saints have kept the country’s culture intact. “It is due to saints like Sri Shivakumara Mahaswamiji that our culture has remained alive.
The Swamiji was not only the flag bearer of India’s great saint tradition, but also enriched India’s cultural heritage. His social welfare work is an inspiration for all of us. He completely fits the definition of a saint and he established great cultural values, gave a new dimension to education and established high standards of social service to build a strong nation,” he said.
He earlier visited the ‘gadduge’ (tomb) of Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, who was known as ‘nadedaduva devaru’ (walking god) and lived for 111 years.
He said Siddaganga Mutt, with its 128 educational institutions including a medical college and technical colleges, is carrying forward the tradition of gurukul by providing food and shelter along with free education to over 10,000 poor children from all class, caste and creed.
“The mutt has also started a Sanskrit college to promote our cultural heritage. This is highly commendable. Sanskrit means polished or refined. It is connected to words like Sanskriti, which means culture or civilisation,” he said.
Any education system should not be limited to the success of students in the professional field, but also build their character to make them successful and meaningful, he added.