He kindled wisdom and benevolence

Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji (90), the twentieth Mathadhipati of Shree Kashi Math Samsthan who attained ‘mukthi’ at Haridwar Shri Vyas Ashram early Sunday, was the longest serving Mathadhipati since the ‘Math’ was founded in 1542.

While the first Guru Yadavendra (I) Thirtha Swamiji served as Mathadhipati for 67 years, Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji headed the Kashi Math Samsthan for 67 years and four months when he strived day in and day out for the welfare and uplift of a sizeable portion of the Vaishnava Goud Saraswath Brahmin community.

In the Poorvashram (before being initiated into sanyas by the previous Guru), he was known as Sadashiva Shenoy, son of Ramadas Shenoy, a trustee of Shri Venkitaramana Temple in Ernakulam.  He was born on March 31, 1926, and lost his mother during his childhood.

From an early age, he had shown an inclination towards   religious life, often meditating at the temple for long hours. It was at this time, the 19th Mathadhipati Shrimath Sukrateendra Thirtha Swamiji, camping at Ernakulam, met the boy and was attracted by the noble traits of his character – devotion, desire to serve his fellow men, honesty, integrity and his love for Hindu dharma.

Based on intuition, the Swamiji selected the boy (then 18 years) as his successor and obtained his father’s consent to make the college student take the vow of celibacy in 1944.

It later proved to be the golden period in the upliftment of the community of six lakh population (two lakh in Kerala alone).

Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji exhorted the young generation to lead a value-based life and not to take a materialistic approach. He gave thrust to the importance of education and knowledge.

He travelled widely from Kanyakumari to Badrinath influencing lives of his disciples and set up 26 Maths at various places. The purpose was to spread the message of peace, and compassion.

For instance, one such Math was set up at Kalpi in Uttarakhand at a time when violence engrossed the Chambal region. Swamiji thrown open the Math to all irrespective of caste and creed and thus paved the way for the development of the region.

In Kerala too, the Swamiji initiated many charitable works, which included the setting up of Dr Padiyar Memorial Homeopathic Medical College at Chottanikkara, Sree Sudheendra Medical Mission Hospital at Chittor Road, Sree Sukratindra Oriental Research Institute, Thammanam and Kuladevatha Kshetra Samuchayam, Ambalamedu among others.

However, Swamiji never liked to come to the limelight and always kept a distance from politics, though, he was not averse to his disciples making political observations.

Swamiji last came to the TD Temple way back in 1997 though he had visited the Math at Ambalamedu numerous times. Two months back, his preachings were consolidated in English and published  Guruvachanamruth.

For the last two months, Swamiji was under treatment at the Seven Hills Hospital at Andheri and though his health condition was deteriorating, he expressed the desire to be taken to the Haridwar Shri Vyas Ashram.

Swamiji was taken to Dehradun on an air ambulance and from there to Haridwar by road. After a few hours, Shrimath Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji attained salvation, at 1.10 am on Sunday.

The writer, an advocate, is the management committee member of Ernakulam Thirumala Devaswom (As told to Krishna Kumar K.E.)