Shivakumara Swamiji: A sea of humanity that he was…
A country like India can never be devoid of swamijis and mutts almost at every nook and corner of the cities and villages. We even see some fake swamijis being exposed increasingly too. Known as godmen at some point of time, most of them are spending their days inside the jails for their crimes. Hindu dharma that had saints and social reformers like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Narayana Guru etc is being humiliated to the core by fake swamijis.
Many swamijis are in news owing to gruesome crimes too. Despite this, being a swamiji is a matter of benefit for many. They can earn crores in the name of service to humanity and open medical/engineering and other colleges from their mutts. They can be involved in real estate deals without being anxious about being caught some day. Any politician would pour massive amount of black money should someone turn into a swamiji and a thus a safe haven for many misdeeds. Because the IT officers don’t even touch spiritual gurus. A senior Indian politician hence remarked one that “Black money in India is more in mutts than in swiss banks”.
But there are some swamijis who are an exception to such misdeeds. Their humongous service, sacrifice and values are what make them ideal role models to the world. They show how a swamiji or a saint should actually be, to the country, the nation and to the world. One such gem of a saint has silently passed away. Dr Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Mutt who lived to be an excellent example of silent social reformers who never delivered speeches or discourses and involved himself in only serving the humankind has breathed his last. Vachanakaras says the quality of a Sharana is seen in his farewell from the world applies very well to Siddaganga Swamiji. The response of the society to the death of Swamiji who lived a full life of 111 years and passed away says volumes about the life he led and the affection people had about him. This response to a death in the recent times is a very rare one, with Swamiji being the only exception. Normally those who mourn departed swamijis would be people from that community itself. But the demise of Siddaganga Swamiji has a sea of tears flowing from across all communities.
Swamiji was among those rare saints who followed 12th century social reformer Basavanna’s ‘work is worship’ and service by feeding the hungry – kaayakave kailaasa and daasoha. Through his life, Swamiji showed us the way a real Lingayata should live. Today a lot of Swamijis are aligning with political parties. Hardly any swamiji stays away from proximity to power circles. Someone like Pejawar Shree indulges in politics all in the open. Swamijis from every community have chosen their particular favourite political party. Many politicians are nurturing many mutts, swamijis and hence it is appropriate to conclude mutts are moneybags and political spaces that generate votes.
But Shivakumara Swamiji never identified with any political party while every politician wanted to be seen with the swamiji. He never used service as a mode to make money. He literally begged to bring contributions to feed his disciples in the mutt. All mutts have engineering and medical colleges. If Shivakumara Swamiji wished to, he could have got scores of such professional colleges for his mutt and minted money. But he wasn’t greedy. He was focused on setting up more primacy schools. He accommodated scores of children in those institution and served them food and education, totally free of cost. He did not allow casteism to enter into his mutt in any form. When someone made girl students stand out in the name of taboo associated with menstrual cycle, this swamiji told them it was a natural process and they must not be ashamed about whatever god had given them in the body. He asked them to sit in the same row as the others and served them food.
Siddaganga Swamiji did not build castles in the air with speech like the others. He always walked with a hunch and showed that those who bend, can grow beyond Bahubali in stature. People called him ‘moving god’ and are in a hurry to turn him into some sort of a miracle man. This happened with Mother Teresa too. Mother Teresa showed god need not come from the heaven to serve the needy, poor and the sick. She served them with her own hands. How would her service be any great if she was the form of some god? The greatness of Teresa is that she was human, yet she served everyone like she was serving god. This is the big possibility people have to see and understand. Shivakumara Swamiji has shown how a man can be a sea of humanity with his focus and service. Let us retain him as a human being who lived a noble life, instead of turning him into god and making him an impossible goal. Personalities like Mother Teresa and Shivakumara Swamiji should remain humans amongst us who turned divine with their deeds.
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Riyan Parag likely to be fined 25 percent of match fees for vaping inside dressing room
New Delhi (PTI): Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag is set to be fined 25 per cent of his match fee for bringing the game into "disrepute" after being caught vaping on camera during the IPL game against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur.
Parag's actions during the Royals' chase on Tuesday night drew condemnation on social media.
PTI has learned that on field umpires Tanmay Srivastava and Nitin Menon had not reported the matter to match referee Amit Sharma right after the game. They only did that after seeing visual proof and Sharma found Parag guilty for a code of conduct breach as per the IPL guidelines.
The Level 1 offences carries 25 per cent deduction from match fees and one demerit point.
"He is set to be fined a portion of his match fees and a demerit point for a Level 1 offence," said an IPL source.
The Indian government had banned e-cigarettes back in 2019, prohibiting their production, sale and distribution. As per the law, the offender faces imprisonment up to one year and/or a Rs one lakh fine for a first time offence.
"Article 2.21 of IPL Code of Conduct is intended to cover all types of conduct that bring the game into disrepute and which is not specifically and adequately covered by the specific offences set out elsewhere in this Code of Conduct, including Article 2.20," the IPL Code of Conduct states.
"By way of example, Article 2.21 may (depending upon the seriousness and context of the breach) prohibit, without limitation, the following: (a) public acts of misconduct; (b) unruly public behaviour; and (c) inappropriate comments which are detrimental to the interests of the game.
"When assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation, and whether it was deliberate, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental, shall be considered.
"Further, the person lodging the Report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays (with the range of severity starting at conduct of a minor nature (and hence a Level 1 Offence) up to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and hence a Level 4 Offence)."
Since it is a Level 1 offence there was no need for a hearing.
Parag, who has not had the best of times with the bat this IPL, was seen inhaling an e-cigarette, also known as vaping, in the dressing room during the live broadcast of their game against Punjab Kings. Royals won the game to end Kings' unbeaten run in the tournament.
This is not the first controversy to hit the Royals this season. Earlier this month, team manager Romi Bhinder was fined Rs one lakh for breaching PMOA protocol after being found using his phone in the dugout.
IPL and BCCI officials involved in the conduct of the IPL termed it as a careless act in the age of social media and prying TV cameras.
Royals next host Delhi Capitals at home on Friday night.
