Mysterious death of Shiroor seer must be investigated
Swamijis of various mutts are in news for all wrong reasons now. Raghaveshwara Swamiji of Ramachandrapura Mutt faced rape charges and had to attend court in connection with that. The court finally ruled the swamiji had ‘illicit and immoral’ relationship with the survivor. Yet, he continues to be in the chair. Babas and self-declared godmen in North India are being jailed one after another over sex related charges. Mutts that had to be centres of spirituality and philosophy are becoming centres of politics, controversy, with even rape charges included. People have begun to view these places with suspicion.
The cultural centre of South India, Udupi, is no different from the rest. The difference of opinion between the head seers of eight mathas known as ‘ashta matha’ is very evident since long. Now, looks like this difference of opinion may have caused a death of one of the popular swamijis. Shiroor sri has died under mysterious circumstances. Doctors have confirmed the presence of poison in his body, and even consumption of food laced with poison.
Some allege that sri Lakshmivara Teertha didn’t die an accidental death; instead he was systematically eliminated. And there are many reasons to believe so too. Many a times, fights had transpired between all the eight mathas (referred to as Ashta Mathas). It could be that of a swamiji crossing the seas, one more swamiji loaning money to someone and then having threatened the man who’d taken money with life, etc. Pejawar seer going on a fast during the Paryaya festival of Puttige Swamiji so on and so forth.
Despite being a Brahmin mutt of a particular community, the bouquet of mutts often got into trouble with its pratices and rituals. But then, the mutts always projected themselves as hindu mutts. However, they could never follow a uniform hindu tradition at their places. Shiroor Lakshmivara Swamiji was responsible for the recent tiffs in the mutts. He had become some sort of an embarrassment for his fellows and devotees. Because Shiroor Sri led a very democratic life shunning most practices of the mutt. He spoke like a rational and like those who would have caused a positive revolution in the country. Alshmivara Teertha was interested in music, sports and other aspects too. He would mix freely with the people and involve them in mutt practices as well.
At the same time, he was also questioning the ways and means of politics and illegal happenings in the mutt. He had even spoken about making a foray into politics. He had expressed his desire to electoral politics too. Udupi swamijis have always shown their inclination towards politics. But Pejawar seer was never seen identifying with any particular party. But his influence is of very high order. He has openly supported Ram Janma Bhumi issue.
Shiroor Sri Lakshmivara Swamiji did not have this kind of diplomatic finesse in his approach towards politics. He did not have the ‘craftsmanship’ of Pejawar seer. He had even said “ All swamijis in Ashta Mathas, including me, have children” in a video that went viral on social media. With this, all the swamijis had faced embarrassing moments. The incident of main god had forced him to say most undiplomatic things against the other swamijis. He had said “If I do not get Pattada Devaru, I will move the courts against six yathis.” Not just this, he had even threatened to expose the illegal transactions of Udupi mutts. He had said “Pejawar seer has gun man. But the one who is facing life threat is me. Hence I need protection too,” he had said. In the very few days after he expressed that he didn’t feel safe, he had died of poisoning. If he didn’t get Pattada Devaru, he would have ensured that he somehow got the idol sooner or later. He would have exposed all the irregularities happening in the mutt complex, had he lived for some more time. He was a live landmine that would have claimed massive collateral damage. He was a threat for people around him too, including industrialists and politicians.
Hence this death has to be investigated. Doctors have already said traces of poison are found in his body. Swamiji never consumed meat. He was a pure vegetarian. He wouldn’t even eat out. How can the food prepared in mutt turn into poison? A complaint has also been registered on the death case in the police station. Pejawar seer’s name also figures in the list of Shirur Seer’s enemies. Hence it is Pejawar seer’s need too that the cause of the death be established. All the swamijis of the mutt have to press for an enquiry of Shirur Swamiji’s death. If they remain silent, they would be proving some of the doubts right with their silence and give rise to more rumours regarding this death.
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Pope urges 'all people of all nations' to silence arms and overcome divisions in Christmas address
Vatican City, Dec 25: Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, Africa to Asia.
The pontiff's “Urbi et Orbi” — “To the City and the World” — address serves as a summary of the woes facing the world this year. As Christmas coincided with the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration that he dedicated to hope, Francis called for broad reconciliation, “even (with) our enemies.”
"I invite every individual, and all people of all nations ... to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions,'' the pope said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to throngs of people below.
The pope invoked the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, which he opened on Christmas Eve to launch the 2025 Jubilee, as representing God's mercy, which “unties every knot; it tears down every wall of division; it dispels hatred and the spirit of revenge.”
He called for arms to be silenced in war-torn Ukraine and in the Middle East, singling out Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories, “particularly in Gaza where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave,” as well as Lebanon and Syria “at this most delicate time.”
Francis repeated his calls for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
He cited a deadly outbreak of measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the suffering of the people of Myanmar, forced to flee their homes by “the ongoing clash of arms.” The pope likewise remembered children suffering from war and hunger, the elderly living in solitude, those fleeing their homelands, who have lost their jobs, and are persecuted for their faith.
Pilgrims were lined up on Christmas Day to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica, as the Jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million Catholic faithful to Rome.
Traversing the Holy Door is one way that the faithful can obtain indulgences, or forgiveness for sins during a Jubilee, a once-every-quarter-century tradition that dates from 1300.
Pilgrims submitted to security controls before entering the Holy Door, amid new security fears following a deadly Christmas market attack in Germany. Many paused to touch the door as they passed and made the sign of the cross upon entering the basilica dedicated to St. Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.
“You feel so humble when you go through the door that once you go through is almost like a release, a release of emotions,'' said Blanca Martin, a pilgrim from San Diego. "... It's almost like a release of emotions, you feel like now you are able to let go and put everything in the hands of God. See I am getting emotional. It's just a beautiful experience.”
A Chrismukkah miracle as Hanukkah and Christmas coincide
Hanukkah, Judaism's eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900.
The calendar confluence has inspired some religious leaders to host interfaith gatherings, such as a Hanukkah party hosted last week by several Jewish organizations in Houston, Texas, bringing together members of the city's Latino and Jewish communities for latkes, the traditional potato pancake eaten on Hanukkah, topped with guacamole and salsa.
While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it's taking place this year as wars rage in the Middle East and fears rise over widespread incidents of antisemitism. The holidays overlap infrequently because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and is not in sync with the Gregorian calendar, which sets Christmas on Dec. 25. The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005.
Iraqi Christians persist in their faith
Christians in Nineveh Plains attended Christmas Mass on Tuesday at the Mar Georgis church in the center of Telaskaf, Iraq, with security concerns about the future. “We feel that they will pull the rug out from under our feet at any time. Our fate is unknown here,” said Bayda Nadhim, a resident of Telaskaf.
Iraq's Christians, whose presence there goes back nearly to the time of Christ, belong to a number of rites and denominations. They once constituted a sizeable minority in Iraq, estimated at around 1.4 million.
But the community has steadily dwindled since the 2003 US-led invasion and further in 2014 when the Islamic State group swept through the area. The exact number of Christians left in Iraq is unclear, but they are thought to number several hundred thousand.
German celebrations muted by market attack
German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday that left five people dead, including a 9-year-old boy, and 200 people injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack, saying that “there is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg.” He urged Germans to “stand together” and that “hate and violence must not have the last word.”
A 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had practiced medicine in Germany since 2006 was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. The suspect's X account describes him as a former Muslim and is filled with anti-Islamic themes. He criticized authorities for failing to combat “the Islamification of Germany” and voiced support for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
