60yrs of a glorious ministry

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Sixty Years
OF A
Glorious Ministry
H. H. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati
on
The Kanchi Sankaracharya Peetham
अव्यान्नस्सततं नगेन्द्रतनयाव्याप्तस्ववामस्थलः
अानीताे वसुधातलं गुरूवरैराद्यैर्निजाद्धामतः।
श्रीमच्चन्न्द्िरशेखरेन्द्रयर्तराडाराधधताे र्नत्यशः
काञ्चीमध्यगकामकाेटिर्नलय श्रीचन्द्रमाैलीश्वरः॥

First published on 13th February, 1968.
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REPRINTER'S NOTE
This book is a reprint of the original book published in
1988 and is currently out of print. Hence, it was decided to
reprint this book after borrowing the book from the library,
scanning the pages and converting them to english text using
character recognition software available in the local library.
The Sanskrit letters were then typed in manually. It was proof
read by him and his wife.
The printed copy is being made available using the self-
publishing web site – CreateSpace.com and sold through
Amazon.com. The pdf copy of this book is available for free
download on the internet.
Nothing has been changed from the original copy
except for formatting and very obvious mistakes – mostly
spelling mistakes.
This book will be sold at no profit to the reprinters.
Apple Valley, MN USA RA and WA
June 21, 2016

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This factual account of the many sided activities
for the spiritual and moral regeneration of Hindu
Society carried on under the auspices of the KANCHI
KAMAKOTI SANKARACHARYA PEETAM during
the sixty years of Dharmic Rule of HIS HOLINESS
SRI CHANDRASEKHARENDRA SARASWATI
SWAMIGAL is based upon the official records
maintained by the numerous organisations that have
been inspired, guided and supported by His Holiness
and the Kanchi Kamakoti Math. The compilers and
publishers wish to acknowledge the ready co-
operation of the executives of the different
organisations and their gratitude to His Holiness Sri
Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal of the Kanchi Peetam
for the enthusiastic support and active help
graciously extended to them in the carrying out of
the project. The compilers are of course responsible
for such faults and omissions or commissions as may
have crept in by inadvertence.

His Holiness Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swaminah,
Sankaracharya of the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham

THE KANCHI SANKARACHARYA PEETHAM
SIXTY YEARS OF A GLORIOUS MINISTRY
The Kānchi Kāmakōti Peetham of Sri Sankaracharya is of
hoary antiquity. It was founded by the Bhagavatpāda himself
in the last years of his sojourn on earth at Kanchi where he
resided and where he occupied the Sarvjnapeetha. The first
head of the Math after the great Acharya himself was
Sarvajnātma Muni. There have been sixty-eight
peethadhipatis in an unbroken line of succession, teaching,
preaching, and uplifting humanity as much by their own
example as by precept. There were great philosophers, yogis
and bhaktas among them, men who could claim the devotion
of saints like Sadasiva Brahmendra, and magnetic
personalities like the celebrated Vidya Tirtha and the no less
famed Abhinava Sankara. In His Holiness Sri
Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal, the present
Acharya, the Diamond Jubilee of whose accession his disciples
all over the country have been celebrating with eclat, the
Peetha has found an occupant who has not only maintained
the splendid record of work and prayer, of unceasing
ministration and tapas, but added enormously to its prestige
and its power for good. The brief account of his ministry,
which follows, will, it is hoped, show that in everyone of his
great labours his aim has been to maintain the traditions of the
Math and to seek inspiration and support from his great
exemplar, the Bhagavatpada himself.
His Holiness succeeded to the Peetha in 1907 at the age of
thirteen. The next few years, till he took over the
administration, were spent in study in seclusion. Within a few
months of his installation, His Holiness was called upon to
perform a sacramental act of the first importance, the
Mahākumbhābhishekam of the Akhilandeswari shrine at
Tiruvanaikoil. The thātankapratishtā of the Goddess took

2 SIXTY YEARS OF A GLORIOUS MINISTRY
place in 1923, and the thātanka was renewed in 1963. The way
in which the young sanyasin acquitted himself on that historic
occasion marked him out, in the eyes of the discerning, as a
great leader of men. His Holiness is a great jnāni, and a
tapasvi whose austerities it would be hard to parallel from
contemporary life. But no one who sees him as he offers daily
worship to Chandramouliswara and Tripurasundari, can
resist the impression that it is the rapturous intensity of his
devotion that makes him what he is, the greatest spiritual
dynamo of our time.
In 1919 began His Holiness's peripatetic ministry.
Thousands of miles were covered. Millions had darsan,
watched His Holiness at Puja, heard the words of exhortation,
benediction and consolation, and went away cherishing the
kindly smile and the seasonable word. And all the time His
Holiness was observing, thinking, and planning as to how
best this vast sea of suffering that is Indian humanity might be
served. The foremost scholars in the country, who had an
opportunity to come into contact with him at Banaras,
Calcutta and Puri, were impressed by His Holiness's
encyclopaedic knowledge, while the most sophisticated
representatives of the avant-garde were abashed and
respectful before that old-world simplicity and charm which
was the index of a profound spiritual culture.
From His Holiness's camp came the continuous stream of
inspiration which even in those early years set hundreds of
volunteers working enthusiastically at constructive and
ameliorative tasks. So far back as 1911, the old Math buildings
at Kumbhakonam were repaired and considerably added to.
In 1922, the same renovation work was done for the
Tiruvanaikoil Math. On 25-2-44, the kumbhābhishekam of the
Kāmākshi temple at Kānchipuram, of which the heads of the
Kānchi Peetham are the hereditary trustees, was performed,
and in 1941, and again in 1963, the kumbhābhishekam of the
Bangaru Kāmākshi temple in Tanjore was celebrated under

Kalavai Swamigal
(H. H. Paramaguru
Swamigal
Kalavai Swamigal
(H. H. Guru Swamigal

His Holiness Jagatguru Sri Chandrasekarendra
Saraswati Swami (at the age of 13)

the auspices and in the immediate presence of His Holiness. In
1962, the old building of the Math in Kānchipuram was
remodelled on an impressive scale.
Numberless have been the temples whose renovation and
kumbhābhishekam in the past two or three decades owed
their inspiration to the Acharya. The great festival at Madura
in 1963 in which His Holiness was the cynosure of all eyes will
at once come to the mind of the reader. But one branch of His
Holiness's activities in this line is worthy of special mention.
In pursuance of his aim to build shrines to house the image of
Bhagavan Sankarāchārya at all focal points in the country, a
splendid beginning was made in 1963 at Rameswaram, where
an imposing mandapa was raised near the Agnithirtham. In
the same year, the Padukā Mandapam was constructed at
Tiruvidaimarudur, which has a special importance in the
history of the Advaita doctrine, being the legendary site of the
confirmation by Mahālinga Murthi Himself of the truth of
Advaita. Years ago, the image of Sankara was installed at the
Bugga, the lovely rural retreat near Nagari. More recently
West Mambalam has built a fine shrine for the Acharya. The
other day a similar mandapam was consecrated by His
Holiness at Srisailam, which owes its existence to the
generosity of an Andhra lady devotee. Other similar edifices
have been constructed at Kanyākumari, Kurukshetra and
Hrishikesam ; while at Tryambakam and Badari they are
under construction.
THE ADVAITA SABHA
This desire on the part of His Holiness to set up visible
memorials of striking beauty to Adi Sankara and give the vast
mass of the people some idea of the unique place of Sri
Sankara in our philosophical and cultural history stems from
the profound conviction of our Acharya that it is the strong
medicine of Advaita that the world badly needs today. The
driving force behind all that His Holiness has done, and the

transformation he has brought about in the life and thinking
of many men, can be attributed to his being himself
permeated through and through by the Advaita
consciousness, which he has so finely described in
inaugurating the Diamond Jubilee Session of the Advaita
Sabha in 1956. On that occasion His Holiness said:
“The realisation of the identity of the Supreme with the
universe is the only true panacea for all the ills that we
experience in everyday life. This indeed is the ultimate
Bliss, which when realised leaves no longer any room for
the perception of the duality, which alone is, in the last
analysis, the cause of all sufferings in the universe. This
realisation can be attained only through steadfast
devotion to a Personal Iswara, who is but the highest
expression of the Absolute, the crystallisation of the
Formless. The personal Iswara, in the fullest measure of
His grace, reveals His Highest nature, which lies far
beyond all predications and form, to that devotee who
has merged his entire being in the Lord. According to the
teaching of Sri Sankara, devotion to Iswara consists
mainly in the meticulous execution of the Lord's
commands, which are but the injunctions of the Vedas.
The blending of spirituality with the different social
functions demands a high degree of austerity, coupled
with certain hereditary aptitudes. Such an insistence on
austerity and heriditary aptitudes can be and is often
mistaken for narrowness of social outlook. Austerity
does demand exclusiveness, but such exclusiveness,
when filled with a genuine love for all creatures, and
intended for collective welfare, offers no problem. All
our present-day problems crop up only when our
respective functions and responsibilities and their final
goal of Advaita are forgotten. The ultimate values of
Advaita being eternal and unchanging, the means that
lead up to them i.e. the socio-spiritual way of life, stands
beyond the terms "static" and "dynamic". Austerity
linked up with hereditary aptitudes has not only
preserved our nation in the world, but has produced

more saints and seers, more pious artists and sculptors,
than any other part of the world. The greater the rigidity
of the code of austerity, the sooner and firmer the
realisation of the Truth. Souls that have experienced the
ultimate truth proclaim with conviction that the
requisites of such realisation, like viveka and vairagya
can be obtained only by worshipping the Personal
Iswara through unflinching and austere adherence to
Varnasrama Dharma.
Such souls, then, as have transcended all limitations
through the realisation of the Absolute have been the
beacon-lights of morality and spirituality.
Overwhelmed, as it were, by the flood-tide of
spirituality surging from such souls, even hardened
sinners have been weaned from criminality more
drastically and effectively than all the secular
legislation and executive enforcement of the law could
do. A country having at least a few such blessed souls is
undoubtedly the most blessed one in all the world. The
elevation of every soul to such a pinnacle of spiritual
realisation gradually and progressively is the true aim
of the Upanishads, as also of the Bhāshyas of Sankara."
We may, in view of that sublime testament of faith,
fittingly commence this account of the Acharya's work with a
brief history of the Advaita Sabha.
The Sabha was started at Kumbhakonam as far back as
1895 with the blessings and under the auspices of Sri
Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal, the Paramaguru of
the present head of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha, with the
object of encouraging the study of Advaita philosophy by
arranging for its systematic teaching and the publication of
unpublished works. The Sabha holds annual conferences of
learned pandits and scholars in the traditional method called
‘Vākyārtha’ when philosophic discussions in Sanskrit are held
and popular lectures are delivered in Tamil. The organisation
of the Sabha was largely due to the efforts of N. Vaidyanatha

Iyer, a distinguished Professor of Philosophy of the
Kumbhakonam College. Its activities have vastly expanded
under the benevolent guidance of His Holiness the present
Acharya.
The first annual gathering was held in 1895, when eminent
citizens and lovers of our ancient culture such as Sir A.
Seshayya Sastri and Dewan Bahadur R. Raghunatha Rao were
present. Eminent scholars like Brahmasri
Mahamahopadhyaya Raju Sastriar of Mannargudi, Brahmasri
Kuppuswami Sastriar of Pudukottah, Mahalinga Sastriar of
Tiruvisanallur, Balakrishna Sastrigal of Tiruvadi, Harihara
Sastrigal of Chidambaram and others took part in the
discussions and delivered popular lectures for ten days.
The Sabha expanded and extended its influence through
its annual Vidwat-parishads and lectures. In 1900 the
management was taken over by a committee over which Dr.
Sir S. Subramania Aiyar presided. The Sabha was registered
in 1908. The draft regulations therefor were framed by the late
V. Krishnaswami Iyer.
The annual gatherings of Pandits were utilised for
drawing up a scheme of studies in Advaita Philosophy and
conducting written as well as oral examinations with a view
to creating a steadily increasing class of pandits proficient in
Advaita. In the year 1898 discussions in Dharma Sastra were
also added to the functions of the Sabha. (This part of the
activities of the Sabha has since been taken over by the Veda
Dharma Sastra Paripalana Sabha.) Sambhāvanas are awarded
annually to the pandits and scholars whose merits have been
tested by a Board of Examiners. Once the prize is given, the
Pandit receives it every year he attends the annual session of
the Sabha.
The annual gatherings were not confined to
Kumbhakonam but were also held in different centres,

Madras, Madura, Palghat, Shiyali, Konerirajupuram,
Mudikondan, Anathandavapuram and other places.
The main activity of the Sabha is the conducting of daily
Vedanta classes at Kumbhakonam and the arranging of
periodical lectures in other places. Brahmasri Balakrishna
Sastrigal of Tiruvadi, Vedanta Kesari Ganapathy Sastrigal,
and those who succeeded these as Advaita Sabha Pandits, not
only conducted classes in Sri Sankara Bhasya daily but also
delivered periodical lectures in Tamil, which were promoted
by endowments made by Sri P. R. Sundara Aiyar, Sri V.
Krishnaswami Aiyar, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, Professor K.
Sundararama Aiyar and others. An endowment of
Rs. 65,300/- made by Brahmasri Ayyu Aiyar of Palamarneri
enabled the Sabha to provide for a regular course of Vedanta
studies with three studentships at a time, in a pāthasāla
which has been named after him, the classes being held in the
Kumbhakonam Mutt. Another endowment in
Mahamahopadhyaya Brahmasri Raju Sastriar's name
provided for another studentship for advanced studies in
Advaita, especially of the works of the great savant, Appaya
Dikshitar. A branch of the Sabha was opened in Mylapore for
conducting daily Vedanta classes in 1955.
The activities of the Sabha are conducted with the aid of
subscriptions and donations. From Rs. 520 in 1894-95, the
subscriptions increased in 1956 to Rs. 2,200, but the funded
capital stood only at Rs. 25,000/-.
The Sabha is housed in its own premises, gifted by
Srimati Akhilambal (Mrs. R. Satyamurthi Aiyar) at the
request of Sri S. Vaidyadanatha Iyer. It owns a library gifted
by Sri Kunnam Subramanya Iyer. The Sabha celebrated its
Golden Jubilee at Sri Sankara Mutt, Kumbhakonam for a
week following the Mahamakham Festival in February, 1945,
under the presidency of His Holiness Sri
Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Sri Kamakoti
Peetha. At the close of the festival, in March, 1945, His

Holiness presented gold coins to all the Pandits who
attended, Commemoration volumes of essays on Advaita in
Sanskrit, English and Tamil, containing very valuable
contributions by the most eminent scholars in the field, were
published, clearly establishing that the essential purport of
the Sruti, the Smritis and the Puranas and other
Vidyasthānas as well as that of Pāncharātra, Vaikhānasa
and Saiva Agamas, and even of Alankāra Sāstra and the
works of Mahākavis is the Advaita Siddhanta.
From 1949, the Sabha has been publishing a Sanskrit
journal Brahma Vidya. It contains instructive original articles
in Sanskrit and Tamil; in the earlier years, a message
(Sandesa) from His Holiness was a regular and valuable
feature. The journal has done invaluable work in giving to the
world a large number of rare Advaita Prakaranas, many of
which have since been issued by the Sabha in book form.
Other publications of the Sabha include such research works
as "Nyayendu-sekhara" of Maha-mahopadhyaya Raju Sastriar
and Harihara Sastriar.
The Sabha celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 1956, His
Holiness presiding; and a souvenir containing valuable
articles in Sanskrit and life-sketches of the Sabha pandits, was
issued. Double the usual Sambhāvanas were given to the
pandits on this important occasion, and in addition each
pandit, according to his qualification, was presented with a
"thôdā", a ring or a gold pendant, each set with a diamond
and with the image of Sri Adi Sankaracharya embossed.
The late Sri S. Vaidyanatha Aiyar, who was Secretary for
many years, did much by his energy and drive to extend the
scope of usefulness of the Sabha, ably aided by Sri K.
Balasubramanya Aiyar, who was and still is the Joint
Secretary.

SilverJubileeCelebrationofAdvaitaSabha,Kumbakonam

GoldenJubileeCelebrationofAdvaitaSabhaatSivasthanam,Kancheepuram

His Holiness's zeal for promoting Advaitic studies took in
1954 the practical form of getting published through the
Kamakoti Kosasthanam a cheap and very useful edition of Sri
Sankara's Sūtrabhashya, complete with Sānthi Pātha,
summary of adhikaranas and brief extracts from glosses for
distribution to earnest students. In 1964 was published the
Advaitagranthakōsa prepared by His Holiness Sri
Anantanandendra Saraswati, a disciple of the Upanishad
Brahmendra Mutt and a life-long devotee of His Holiness Sri
Sankaracharya. It is a painstaking and exhaustive account of
works on Advaita, both those in print and those in
manuscript.
REVITALISING THE DHĀRMIC LIFE
Hinduism is a way of life dominated by the concept of
the purushārthas. The knowledge that frees is regarded as
the consummation of a life time of high endeavour
dominated by Dharma. The great Acharya Peethas
established by Sri Sankara are Dharma Peethas; and His
Holiness has from the beginning taken the utmost interest in
revitalising the Dhārmic life.
India is still predominantly the land of villages. Work
that aims at recovering the robust moral vigour of the
organic society of the old days has to start in the villages.
And that means, first and foremost, providing the right sort
of leadership. This was the rationale of the mudrādhikāri
scheme, which His Holiness set afoot.
The Mudradhikari Sangam :
This was established in 1939, pioneering work being
done by quiet workers like Sri Sundaresa Sarma, (who later
on took sannyāsa). In the succeeding three years it grew so
rapidly that in the Tanjore District alone it had about 2,000
mudrādhikāris working.

The ’mudrādhikāris’ were volunteers who worked under
the auspices and directions of the Math in villages and
towns. They were conceived as the channel of
communication between the Math and all the āsthika
families, both Saivaite and Vaishnavite, as well as those of
other philosophical persuasions within their jurisdiction,
who were either disciples or sympathisers eager to forward
the ameliorative activities initiated by the Math. This they
were expected to do by convening periodical meetings of the
residents, at which the Math's wishes and plans could be
explained. Since the main object of the institution was to
strengthen the moral purpose of the community and to
diffuse correct ideas regarding dharma, they had to be men
who were acceptable to the most responsible members of the
public in their respective areas and could depend on
securing their practical cooperation. The ‘mudrādhikāri’
must thus be a born guide, friend and philosopher. Men of
this calibre are rare at any time, but they are eminently worth
finding.
Eleven tasks were listed as especially devolving on the
‘mudrādhikāris’. These were (1) the expounding, or reading of
versions in easy Tamil on every Ekadasi day, of some episode
or section from the Mahabharata, the Peria-Purāna, the
Bhakta-Vijaya, or other Puranas, to the assembled public; (2)
communication to the public of the contents of the circulars
from the Math; (3) the removing of weeds etc. from temple
grounds and compound walls, every Ekadasi day; (4) the
prevention by persuasion of cattle being sold to butchers, and
the maintenance of old cattle with the help of the villagers; (5)
the counteracting by peaceful means and propaganda of
attempts at conversion of Hindus by other religionists; (6) the
collection of cow's ghee in small quantities from each
household and the use of it to keep lights burning on Fridays
in all temples within their jurisdiction; (7) the preparation of
lists of temples, of properties dedicated to charity, and of

tanks, big and small, in their jurisdiction ; (8) the collection on
behalf of the Math of two Madras measures of paddy from
every household (in areas other than those where there are
"mānyams" given to the Math) to be sold and the remission to
the Math of the proceeds of their sale. Not the least important
of the “mudrādhikāri’s” duties was to collect a voluntary
labour force from within his jurisdiction to co-operate with
other similar forces from other villages included in the larger
organisational unit called a "kōttagam", and executing such
tasks of public utility as were decided upon by the Kōttagam
council. The digging or deepening of tanks and ponds for the
use of all classes, as well as for the convenience of all living
creatures, birds and beasts included, was recommended, as
subserving an obvious need, especially in summer; but it was
emphasised that the work undertaken should be primarily
useful to the poorest classes and to cattle.
The mudrādhikāris, who carried a distinctive staff of
office, toured their areas, spending one or two days in every
small village within their jurisdiction explaining to the
residents the objects of the Sangam and initiating the above
items of work. During festival times and the sessions of the
various organisations connected with the Math, they served
as volunteers helping the public and the visitors.
DHARMA THONDU SABHA
In 1945, a new organisation called the Dharma Thondu
Sabha was started, and it co-operated with the Mudradhikari
Sangam; its special work was the publication of small leaflets
setting out brief expositions of religious and moral truths.
10,000 copies of each of these were printed, and these were
distributed through about 2,000 helpers in the villages, who
sent reports from time to time of how they were distributed.
The reactions of the public were carefully studied, and the
leaflets were adapted to their requirements. The contents of
many of these leaflets were dictated by His Holiness himself.

The leaflets were printed gratis by Mr. K. Neelakanta Iyer of
B. G. Paul & Co., but postage alone came to nearly Rs. 200 for
every leaflet, and the Math bore the cost. This service, which
lasted for four or five years, had to be discontinued because of
the great increase of cost of paper and printing.
The Journal "Kāmakoti" :
The objects which the Dharma Thondu Sabha leaflets had
in view are to some extent being served by this Tamil journal,
which was started in 1942 and is being issued from
Kumbhakonam under the editorship of Sri A. Gopala Iyer.
Though it charges a nominal subscription of three rupees a
year, it is being sent free to those who collect and despatch to
the Math articles used in worship such as cow's ghee, honey
etc. It reports on the activities of the Mudrādhikāris, the work
of the Tiruppavai-Tiruvembavai Committee and so on.
Jivatmakainkarya Sangam:
This is a great humantarian service initiated by the Math.
Its main work is to dispose of the unclaimed bodies of men
and women of the Hindu faith, who die in hospitals, prisons
etc., according to the practice and rites of their community. In
the old days the disposal of the lonely dead was automatically
the responsibility of the village community ; but since the
disruption of rural life began, there has been none to do these
last offices of piety for those unfortunates, especially in towns.
While the religious and philanthropic organisations of other
religious communities have long regarded this as their special
responsibility, the Hindus alone have been remiss in this
matter. From 1946 His Holiness was feeling the urgent need to
remedy this; but only in 1952 could the work begin even on a
small scale, and that too in only one place, when the Jivātma
Kainkarya Sangham was started in Kumbhakonam as a
branch of the Mudradhikari Sangam. Door to door collections

were made and the Sangam began its work with a capital of
Rs. 2,800. Sri P. G. Sivasankara Sastri, as the head of the
Sangam, did yeomen work from 1952 to 1964, when he passed
away; it is now under the capable direction of Sri
Lakshmikanta Sarma of Lalitha Pharmacy. How greatly it
appeals to the finer instincts of the people will be seen from
the fact that on its record of service it has been able to build up
a capital of Rs. 14,000/-. The annual expenses come to about
Rs. 1,200; in 1965-66, 89 dead bodies were disposed of. Many
who live outside Kumbhakonam and help in this good cause
are anxious to start similar associations in their own places.
The need for such an organisation in every fair-sized village or
town should be obvious.
Among the other objects of the Jivātma Kainkaryam
Organisation of Kumbakonam are (1) the distribution once a
week to patients in hospitals of prasādam from His Holiness
and stōtra literature calculated to inculcate devotion to one's
ishtadevatā; (2) to bring consolation to those who are at the
point of death by giving them the sacred tulsi and Gangā
water and reciting Ramanama in their hearing (3) to give talks
of an improving character to prisoners in jails. In pursuance of
these aims, the Kumbhakonam Organisation distributed
prasādam and leaflets on religious and moral topics to more
than 5,000 patients in the Kumbhakonam hospitals, and
chocolates on Tamil New Year's Day and the Acharya Jayanti.
Daiva-Vazhipattu Sangam :
This organisation started in Mylapore, Madras, in 1958
with the blessings of His Holiness, has been carrying out,
with great zeal and imagination, the latter parts of the above
programme on an extended scale commensurate with the size
of Madras city. It is now distributing prasādam to patients in
the General, Stanley and Royapettah Hospitals in Madras and
the Tambaram Sanatorium. More than 6,000 patients are thus
served every week. It is estimated that more than two and a

half million people, since the movement was started, should
have benefited. The psychological value of thoughtful and
considerate ministration to the sick can hardly be over-
estimated : and in a large number of cases it had beneficial
effects on their state of health. On important days like
Vinayaka Chaturthi, Rama Navami, and so on leaflets
containing extracts from His Holiness's discourses are also
distributed, as well as tricoloured pictures of the various
deities. On Deepavali day the Sangam does particularly
touching service, dear to the heart of His Holiness, in
distributing Gangā water, oil, vibhuti and Kumkuma as well
as sweets to the patients, destitutes being given new clothes
also to the extent possible. Apart from conducting weekly
bhajanas with the permission of the authorities in the
Tambaram Sanatorium and the Mental Hospital, the members
of the Sangam apply themselves with enthusiasm to such ad
hoc humanitarian tasks as His Holiness suggests; for example,
after the cyclone of last year they made door to door
collections of Second-hand clothes for the relief of the victims.
Messrs. T. S Ramaswami Iyer (President), R. Venkataraman
(Secretary), and their colleagues are to be congratulated on
their untiring zeal and cheerful service.
Other Projects for Promotion of Religious and Cultural
Activities :
(i) In 1950 the "Vāra-Vazhipādu Sangam" (Organisation
for promotion of congregational worship) was started
under His Holiness's inspiring guidance. The residents in
every village are advised to offer such worship once a week,
going reverently round the village temple, making bhajana.
Under the directions of the H.R.E. board, temple trustees
are offering all help and co-operation.
(ii) From 1950, the Math has been intimating, before
Rama Navami and Sri Jayanti, the portions of the
Ramayana and the Bhagavata (including the chapter on Sri

Krishna's birth) which pandits and others interested could
take up for pārāyanam and exposition to local audiences;
special coins and prasādams are sent to those who do so.
Special Pujas and Parayanas in Critical Times :
(iii) At the time of the combination of eight planets in one
house in 1962, when there was widespread fear that it might
portend trouble and distress for the world at large, His
Holiness was not only responsible for Ati-Rudram and other
Vedic rites being performed on a large scale and at a great cost
all over the country, but also initiated a movement in the
Tamil Nad calculated to touch the imagination of the people,
by advising the recital of the "Kōlarupathikam" of the great
Tamil saint Jnāna Sambanda in temples, congregations and
private homes.
Hanuman Chalis :
At the time of the Chinese invasion, it was at His
Holiness's suggestion that worship was offered to Parāsakti
in many temples with flowers of gold, invoking divine aid in
that hour of trial; and in one of the most memorable appeals
broadcast by All-India Radio, His Holiness exhorted the
people to rally to the defence of the country, without
entertaining bitterness or rancour against the aggressor.
At the instance of His Holiness the math had the well
known Hindu hymn Hanuman Chalis, in praise of
Hanuman, the devout Bakta and doughty warrior, printed
and lakhs of copies were distributed through the authorities
to the troops on the battle front, and they had considerable
effect in sustaining their morale.
Āgama-Silpa-Bhārata-Vyāsa-Vidvat-Sadas :
Though it has been the fashion in high places to preach
national integration, little has been done in practice because

those in authority are paralysed by their peculiar notions of
secularism and unable to strike that responsive chord in the
human heart which alone releases the energy that moves the
mountains. Howevermuch we may have fallen from our
ideals, religion still occupies the central place in the Indian
scheme of life. So far as the Hindus, especially in the South,
are concerned, the temple has for centuries served as the
inspiration and rallying point of all religious, social and
cultural activities. That His Holiness has long felt the need for
the vigorous revival of temple worship and all that the temple
meant to the community should be evident from the various
movements in this behalf, already referred to, aimed at
bringing out the fact that the temples made for a joyous and
happy community which brought to the service of the deity all
that it itself delighted in—art, song, pageantry, entertainment,
decoration and ritual. The coping stone on these various
complementary movements was placed by the inauguration in
1962, at Ilayathakudi in Ramnad Dt., where His Holiness was
then camping, of the first session of a most momentous
conference, which has since been holding regular annual
sessions at different places. The reports of the proceedings,
which have been published in extenso, should serve as an eye-
opener to those who are unfamiliar with the treasures of
popular art that the temples cherished and fostered in the
centuries of their hoary past, and that are still struggling for a
precarious existence.
The key was set by the opening remarks of His Holiness at
the first session. According to a contemporary report, His
Holiness began by referring to " the progressive deterioration
of moral and ethical standards," and went on to stress the
need for “a movement which will help to recapture the
glorious cultural traditions of the country. The Sadas would
concern itself with the modes of temple worship prescribed in
the different Agamas and with temple architecture and
sculpture as dealt with in the Silpa Sastras, and it would

arrange for the demonstration of the different methods of
popular exposition of the Ithihasas, including ‘Villu-p-pāttu’
which had long been in use. To revive the old appeal of the
Dharmic life and to combat the baneful influence of many
modern entertainments, His Holiness emphasised the need to
revive indigenous forms of cultural entertainment like the
Bommalattam and Shadow-play, Kathakali, Ottam-thullal,
Yakshagana, Burra-katha, etc. with puranic and religious
themes. Artists who were faithful to these arts were invited to
give demonstrations at the conference, and His Holiness
emphasised the need for giving them all encouragement."
The conference showed, as have the succeeding sessions in
increasing measure, that these indigenous arts were not
merely of provincial importance or local provenance, but were
to be found, with characteristic variations which added to the
richness of the whole, not only all over the country, but in
such outposts of ancient Indian culture as Thailand and
Cambodia, and that they still possessed tremendous vitality. It
attracted enthusiastic students and visitors from different
countries of Europe and America, and many countries were
represented by their official representatives, who paid tributes
to His Holiness's vision and constructive zeal. In securing the
co-operation of foreign scholars and arranging the very
valuable exhibitions and demonstrations, many Indian
scholars, notably Dr. V. Raghavan of the Madras University
and Dr. T. N. Ramachandran, Retired Joint Director General of
Archaeology, played a very useful part.
There is no doubt whatever that the movement has
brought new life and hope to the sthapathis, the craftsmen
who have specialised in temple-building and chariot-
construction, and to the players of ancient temple music, such
as the pancha-mukha-vādyam, the exponents of villu-p-pāttu,
the karagam dance, and numerous other arts.

His Holiness Jagatguru at the
Agama-Silpa-Bharata-Vidvat-Sadas
His Holiness Jayendra Saraswati with the
Vaikhanasa Pandits

To place the work of the conference on a permanent
footing, an organisation called "The Kanchi-Kamakoti Peetha-
Vyāsa-Bhārata-Kalādi Sadas Samājam" was registered in 1963.
Five annual Conferences have since been held under the
auspices of the Samajam. Regular discussions by Sivacharyas
and Vaishnava Bhattacharyas both of the Pāncharātra and
Vaikhānasa Agamas on knotty points connected with the
modes of temple worship are an important feature of the
annual conference. The different groups not only discuss
among themselves, but also jointly deliberate on points where
such deliberations would help. Very valuable results have
been achieved by these discussions; silpis too have discussed
their problems among themselves, and also helped by
contributing to the Agama debates, throwing light on many
points connected with temple construction and image-making.
Important practical steps have been taken by the starting
at different places of Āgama Pathasalas and the awarding of
stipends to students. Books describing temple ritual in detail
are printed by the Samajam and distributed to archakas. At
the suggestion of His Holiness, the Samskrit Education
Society, Madras, has inaugurated a scheme for the training of
silpis by an able and experienced sthapathi.
Great are the potentialities of this movement for national
integration by the promotion of mutual understanding and
appreciation by people of different religions of each other's art
and culture and the influences bearing on the everyday life of
the people. But even greater is the hope of a real cultural
renaissance and religious revival from this effort to release the
springs of creative activity, which have been too long clogged
by the imposition of alien patterns of culture and the ignoring
of the national genius.

OTHER EDUCATIONAL WORK
Among the educative influences that owe their inspiration
to the Acharya are the Kāmakoti Kosāsthanam and the
Kamakoti Pradeepam. The former was started by the late Sri
D. Balasubramanya Iyer, a devout "sishya" of His Holiness,
who founded the well-known book-selling firm of B. G. Paul
& Co. It has brought out cheap and sound editions of
devotional classics from the extensive stotra literature in
Samskrit, with translations in English or Tamil. Of recent
years its activities have grown considerably under the
fostering care of Sri K. Neelakantan, Sri Balasubramanya Iyer's
brother-in-law and present proprietor of B. G. Paul & Co.
Sri. Neelakantan is also the publisher of The Kamakoti
Pradeepam, a Tamil monthly started eight years ago, and
edited by Sri. K. Balasubramanya Iyer. Its object is to set out in
popular language the great principles of dharma illumined by
our epic and puranic literature and the teachings of Bhagavan
Sankara and other great Acharyas and to publicise the
activities of the Math and the great work of spiritual
awakening that His Holiness the Acharya of the Kanchi
Peetha is doing. The journal is popular and has won esteem
and goodwill. Though produced by a body of sishyas and
admirers, it has no affiliations with the Math.
LITERATURE FOR GRADUATES
A proposal is under foot to make Kurukshetra, where His
Holiness recently had a fine piece of sculpture representing
the Lord's upadesa of the Gita to Arjuna, set up, the venue of
activities aiming at the cultural education of graduates from
the Indian universities by presenting them with copies,
attractively produced, of the great Hindu scriptures, including
the epics.

INCULCATION OF BHAKTI
THE THIRUPPĀVAI-THIRUVEMBAVAI MOVEMENT
The Tiruppavai-Tiruvembavai movement initiated by His
Holiness Sri Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham aims
at deepening our religious faith and stressing the spirit of
unity which is the central feature of Hinduism. The following
are extracts from the appeal issued in this behalf in 1950 by
His Holiness.
" The Alwars and Nayanmars are our religious guides and
path-finders. The Tiruppavai of Sri Andal and the
Tiruvembavai of Sri Manickavachagaswami are the
representative works of Vaishnavism and Saivism, as
embodied in the Prabandham and Tirumurais of the
Alwars and the Nayanmars respectively.
Sri Andal and Sri Manickavachagar were God-centred souls
who gave themselves up wholly to the service of the
Lord. Their hymns and prayers are of imperishable
beauty. As they carry the hall-mark of truth, they are
valid for ever.
We are to-day troubled by problems like drought, food
scarcity and short supply of the necessaries of life. We
have failed to give truth primacy of place in our life and
conduct. We are losing the old and time-honoured
practice of rising early in the morning.
Till recently the bathing ghats in our rivers and tanks used
to present an animated look in the early hours of the
morning, crowded with people, young and old, full of
the freshness and vigour so natural to early risers eager
to have their invigorating bath. And those days were,
appropriately enough, days of prosperity marked by an
economy of abundance. People were happy, free from
famine and poverty.

Sri Manickavachagar gives the clarion call. " Do not linger in
your bed and waste the early hours of morning ". Sri
Andal exhorts us to take our bath in the early morning
and sing the praises of the Lord.
These twin practices of early rising and devout prayer to the
Lord are rewarding both spiritually and materially. Sri
Andal says, in words of picturesque homeliness, that
only living faith in the Lord will be conducive to
prosperity. “There will be welcome showers thrice a
month ; our harvests will be rich and abundant. Our
cows will yield plenty of milk. There will be God's
plenty in the land."
It has been the endeavour of the Tiruppāvai Committee to
bring home to our children the message of the two "Pāvai"
songs and make them learn them by heart, as they will arm
them with living faith in God and help them in the pilgrimage
of life.
With this end in view free copies of the "Pāvais" are
distributed to school-going children. Hundreds of 'Pāvai'
conferences have been held all over the country with the
blessings of His Holiness. Recitation competitions open to
school-children in their respective areas, and the award of
prizes and medals to successful competitors, have become the
central feature of the Tiruppāvai-Tiruvembavai Conference.
The movement was started in 1950. It was hailed by the
late Mr. V. V. Srinivasa Iyengar as a "stroke of genius" on the
part of His Holiness. Because of its glorious influence in
promoting cordiality and co-operation between the different
Hindu sects, it has won the goodwill of all Hindus. In the
course of sixteen years it has made enormous strides. Our
temple authorities are taking an increasingly active part in the
furtherance of this good work. The Madras Hindu Religious
and Charitable Endowments administration has also been
extending its valued co-operation.

H.H.JagatguruinthemidstofchildrenwhorecitedTiruppāvaiandTiruvembavaisongs

The temple authorities in many centres have undertaken
the publication of the Pāvai books. They are supplying them
free of cost to the Tiruppāvai Central Committee for
distribution among school children, with silver coins bearing
the figure of Sri Ambal to be awarded to successful
competitors in Pāvai recitation competition. The Central
Committee would be thankful to helpers who could give
information as to the number of pupils in the V class in the
schools in their area and to distribute "Pāvai" books to the
children with the help and co-operation of teachers, Head-
masters and managers of schools. The Committee suggests
that Pāvai Conferences may be held on a convenient day in
the month of Margazhi (December-January) and prizes to
school children who are successful in the Pāvai Competitions
may be given at the conference.
Children are being encouraged to write "Rama-nama" by
the award of coins. To write a word means repeating it,
especially where children are concerned, at least half a dozen
times.
The expenditure incurred by the Committee rose from Rs.
5,803 in 1950-51 to Rs. 20,667 in 1965-66; the number of copies
of the "Pāvai" books distributed free, from 14,000 to three and
a half lakhs. Ambal coins began to be given as prize in 1958-
59, 4,500 silver and 300 gold coins being distributed that year.
In 1965-66 16,000 large silver coins and 10,000 small silver
coins were distributed. It is splendid work that Mr.
Ramamurthi of Mayavaram and his colleagues of the Central
Committee are doing.
Latterly the good work done by the Tiruppāvai-
Tiruvembavai Committee has found a logical extension in the
Andhra Districts, thanks largely to the initiative of His
Holiness Sri Jayendrasaraswati Swamigal. Telugu "padyams "
and songs of a devotional character are taught to children, and
they take avidly to this pabulum.

As an indication of the scope and nature of the excellent
work being done by the Tiruppāvai-Tiruvembavai Central
Committee, Mayuram, the following summary of its activities
during the month of Margazhi in the year 1965-66, may serve:
Total number of places in which conferences were held,
179 ; total number of Elementary Schools which received
Tiruppāvai-Tiruvembavai books to enable children to
memorise them, 3890; total number of copies of other books
sent for distribution as prizes to school children (the books
sent were ‘Arul Vākku’ books containing extracts from His
Holiness's discourses and containing the Tiruvachakam
section on Thirupperundurai,} 11,000 copies; number of copies
of srimukham of Sri Jagadguru Sankaracharya Swamigal
distributed during Pāvai Conference 15,000. Eight
devasthanams from the Tamil Districts, including those of the
Dandayudhapani Swami Koil of Palani and the Nachiyar
Devasthanam of Srivillipputtur, as well as a devotee from
Nellore (A.P.) contributed Sri Ambal coins for distribution
during this year; sixteen Devasthanams and Adhinams
contributed and donated Pāvai books for distribution during
the year. A major portion of the expenditure which comes to
thousands is borne by the Mutt every year.
STIMULUS TO SANSKRIT LEARNING
In any programme of cultural renaissance which aims at
touching the core of the national being, Sanskrit must have a
part at least as important as that which the revival of the
classical learning of Greek and Rome played in the European
renaissance.
Sanskrit is par excellence the language of religion and
culture. It is the common property of all Indians, irrespective
of race, caste or creed. The Vedas and other scriptures
constitute the core of it; but there is a secular literature of
extraordinary sweep and power, to which the only parallel is

the literature of ancient Greece; and to this poets and writers
who belonged practically to every ethnic group in this country
have in their time contributed. Unlike the literature of Greece
and Rome, Sanskrit literature, like the Sanskrit language itself,
is very much alive; and it is being studied in universities all
over the world. India, however, presents a tragic contrast.
There are whole regions, including Madras, where Sanskrit
has been totally jettisoned from the educational curriculum
that has the approval of authority. Such halting and half-
hearted steps as the Central Government and some of the
States have of late been making to repair the mischief done by
this neglect have not even touched the fringe of the problem.
The only way to counteract this hostility or indifference on the
part of authority is to organise a nation-wide voluntary
movement for the teaching of Sanskrit to every Indian child
outside school hours.
His Holiness has been alive to the need for providing a
sound foundation for higher studies by diffusion of
knowledge of Sanskrit among all strata of the population and
the promotion of study and research of the highest quality by
qualified men in all branches of the secular literature.
Unfortunately, here it is necessary not only to fight against the
official attitude towards Sanskrit but also to combat the
ignorance and short-sighted self-interest of the average
parent, who thinks that Sanskrit is a handicap in the bread-
winning race and that in order to learn Hindi one must
perforce give up Sanskrit.
Intelligent and enthusiatic men in charge of established
educational institutions can do something to reverse this
trend.
Thus in 1962, under His Holiness's inspiration, the
National College, Trichy, inaugurated a scheme giving
inducements by way of free tuition and hostel facilities to a
number of Brahmana boys who were willing to be trained in
Veda Adhyayana and the study of Sanskrit, in addition to

undergoing the ordinary academic course.
His Holiness's influence has been responsible for many
men of means coming forward to give scholarships to
students in the ordinary schools who opt for the study of
Sanskrit as part of their school course. His Holiness also sees
great potentialities in the Oriental Schools movement (to
which the Madras Government lends countenance and
support), since pupils of these schools can, after learning
enough Sanskrit to go up to Sanskrit colleges, join at their
option the ordinary colleges for university courses. Besides,
the Oriental Schools diploma has been recognised for
recruitment to Government service on a par with the S.S.L.C.
Quite a number of Oriental Schools have been started in the
past few years. The students in these schools more than hold
their own against their compeers in the ordinary schools,
according to the publicly expressed opinion of the inspecting
authority. There is no doubt that Sanskrit has, even more than
other classical languages, the power of sharpening the
intellectutal faculties and increasing the learner's mental
adaptability and resource. The more this is realised the
brighter will be the future of these schools.
The Amara Bharati Pariksha Samiti
This organisation was founded in 1955, to hold
examinations in Sanskrit for boys and girls who learn the
language privately and to award to successful candidates
prizes and other inducements. It provides them also with
books free of charge. It has evoked a good response. A branch
of the Samiti started in Bangalore three or four years ago has
met with even more spectacular success. Sri P. Mahadeva Iyer,
assisted by a committee, is in charge at Madras, and Dr.
Soundararajan of the Indian Institute of Science and his
friends at Bangalore.

THE SANSKRIT EDUCATION SOCIETY, MADRAS
The guru-sishya relationship, which is India's special
contribution to educational thought, was responsible in the
past for producing a race of pandits who brought to their
chosen study a spirit of dedication, an undiminishing ardour
in the face of disappointment and neglect, a scrupulous
exactitude and thoroughness, and an infectious power of
example, for which there was no parallel. But that race is fast
becoming extinct. However much modern methods of study
and increased facilities might stimulate scholarship, the loss of
the old-type scholar would be an irreparable loss. His
Holiness has for years been preoccupied with this pressing
problem, since ageing men are not being adequately
succeeded by a younger generation, and the rapid
depopulation of the rural areas has resulted in a large number
of the older pandits, who are rooted in village ways and in the
ancient austere mode of life, finding themselves stranded
there with no pupils to teach, who could carry on the
tradition.
So, when the Golden Jubilee (1957) of His Holiness's
accession to the Peetha was being celebrated on a large scale,
and the recommendations of the Sanskrit Commission
favouring the starting of a number of Sanskrit universities in
different States was being vigorously canvassed by Sanskrit
lovers, His Holiness gave a decisive impetus to the idea of
founding an institution for post-graduate studies in Madras,
by directing that the balance of the public collections made for
the Golden Jubilee celebrations be made over to a committee
to be entrusted with organising such an institution. This sum
of Rs. 13,000/- was the nucleus with which the Sanskrit
Education Society began its work. Sri. and Srimati
Varadappan, ardent devotees of His Holiness, donated a very
valuable property of about 30 acres of first class land at the
fifteenth mile from Madras on the Madras-Bangalore
highway. His Holiness blessed the work, which was started

there early in 1960 with Vyakarana as the first subject. The late
Sastra Ratnakara Ramasubba Sastriar, the foremost scholar of
his time in this subject in the southern districts, was appointed
Professor, with two students who had taken the 'Siromani'
diploma in Nyaya. The veteran Pandit also undertook to
prepare a monumental work of reference, the
Kr. danta-rūpa-mālā with the help of his students, and the
first part appeared in 1965. Though unfortunately this great
scholar passed away a few months later, he had done the bulk
of the work, and the students whom he had trained, and who
have been absorbed in the Organisation's teaching staff after
taking their diploma, are carrying on his work, both teaching
and editing, with great credit. The second part of the above
work appeared in 1966 and the third was released by His
Holiness of Kanchi at Eluru on the 24th of May, 1967. Two
more parts, which are in the press, will complete the work,
which has been hailed by competent scholars all over the
country as a signal achievement. The Society has also
published a book in English on the " Teaching of Sanskrit,"
and will be shortly bringing out a new model Sanskrit
Grammar and an Avyaya Kosa.
The second Department of teaching organised by the
Society is Nyaya. Students are undergoing the preliminary
course at Kanchipuram under a qualified teacher at the Math
premises there. The Society is also granting stipends to two
'vidyārthis' studying in the S. V. O. Collge at Tirupathi, taking
Nyaya their special subject. His Holiness Sri Jayendra
Saraswathi Swamigal takes a special interest in this work. At
the suggestion of His Holiness Sri Sankaracharya, the Society
has undertaken the publication of Sābda Tarangini, edited by
the distinguished scholar, Panditaraja Veppattur Subramania
Sastrigal, retired Professor of the Annamalai University, now
Professor of Vedanta, Mylapore Sanskrit College.
The teaching of Silpa by an experienced Sthapati to four
boys from the class of traditional craftsmen has also been

organised at Kanchipuram under the Society's auspices.
The Sanskrit Education Society has, from the beginning,
been anxious to implement one of His Holiness's deeply
cherished ideas--that the Sastras should be taught in ideal
rural conditions, far from the madding crowd, and in an
environment that would promote close rapport between
teacher and pupil. Before the Society could put up its own
building at the Pettai site, the Vyakarana Professor and his
pupils lived in the nearby village in houses kindly made
available to them by the local residents. In 1966, one block of
the spacious building designed to house the teaching
departments was completed, and the Vyākarana classes
moved into it. The families of lecturers and students alike
have also been accommodated here, pending the construction
of quarters.
The Society has also been able to implement in a modest
measure another wish of His Holiness by deputing students
enjoying stipends in Nyaya to study under one of the most
eminent scholars in the subject in the Andhra country, in his
village home.
All students are being given decent stipends, and the
teachers at Pettai enjoy adequate salaries with time-scale,
while scholars teaching in their own homes are given annual
subsidies. The Society is very eager to expand its work, now
that its own buildings are rapidly coming up, and to open
new departments, so that as soon as possible we should have
at Pettai an institution that would be a Sanskrit University de
facto, with distinctive features in developing which the cream
of the old-type scholarship will have the co-operation of
younger men trained in modern methods of teaching and
research.
Finance, however, is the bottle-neck. Many philanthropic
ladies and gentlemen have extended generous help, including
Sri and Srimati T. Sadasivan, who donated Rs. 25,000/- and

Srimati N. Chandrasekhara Iyer, who, in memory of her late
distinguished husband, has donated a piece of land in Madras
City worth half a lakh of rupees. Sri. T. N. Krishnaswami, the
well-known businessman, has generously donated nearly a
lakh of rupees, to be received in monthly instalments over a
period of 8 years. But the liquid resources of the Society are
too meagre to permit of rapid expansion and consolidation.
The institution at Pettai may in a sense be regarded as putting
the coping-stone on the edifice of Sanskrit education which
His Holiness has long envisaged with his mind's eye and
which his fertile suggestions and forward-looking vision, as
much as his blessing and inspiration, are helping to rear. It is
to be hoped that the munificent public as well as the
Governments will come to the Society's aid in much greater
measure, so that India may see the glorious traditions of
Nalanda and Takshasila revived in our time. Sri T. V.
Viswanatha Aiyar, the Secretary of the Society, has laboured
with might and main to collect funds and provide ideal
conditions for study of the Sastras.
STEPS FOR REVIVING VEDIC STUDIES
The Vedas are the bedrock of the Hindu faith. All schools
of philosophic thought start with the postulate of their
primacy. His Holiness gave his attention at a very early date
to the problem of resuscitating adhyayana and study of the
Vedas.
(A) Veda Dharma Sastra Paripalana Sabha :
This organisation was started in 1942, and registered in
September of the same year. It was resolved to enroll donors
of Rs. 100 and more as members and to receive and collect
subscriptions also. The capital of the Sabha, made up of
voluntary donations of money and land, amounted to Rs.
1,00,386.95 in March, 1966.

The objects of the Sabha are (1) to advance among the
people the knowledge of the Vedas, the Veda Bhāshyas and
the Dharma Sastras and (2) to promote, according to their
capacity, the observance of Vaidik Karmas by all sections of
the āsthika community irrespective of doctrinal differences,
and (3) to expound to the public the necessity and significance
of the Hindu samskāras.
The arranging of popular lectures and expositions of the
Vaidik Karmās common to all schools of philosophic thought
and the mantras employed in them, without in any way
compromising the tenets of any sampradāya, is one of the
chief objects of the Sabha.
Publication of cheap editions of the Dharma and Grihya
Sutras and of leaflets explaining in simple Tamil the
importance and significance of the samskāras for the āsthika
Hindus is one of the most useful items of work undertaken by
the Sabha. These leaflets numbering about 70 have since been
collected in two volumes.
Veda Dharma Sastra Sammelans are held under the
Sabha's auspices in different places of our country from time
to time.
In the past 26 years since its inception the Sabha has held
more than 250 sessions. (The scale of its activities may, to
some extent, be gauged from the fact that the expenses on
sambhāvanās and travelling allowances to scholars alone
amounted to Rs. 12,890.11 in 1962-63 and Rs. 12,912.76 in 1963-
64.) The work of the organisation is being increasingly
financed by voluntary donations collected locally.
The Veda Dharma Sastra Paripalana Sabha owes much of
its success to the zeal and enthusiasm of Sri Annadurai
Iyengar of Kulitalai who has been its Secretary from the
beginning, and to Sri P. S. Sitarama Iyer of Mela Thanjavur.

(B)The Kalavai Brindavanam Veda Vidyā Trust :
This was established in 1945 in memory of His Holiness
Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal, Paramaguru of
His Holiness the present Sankaracharya, who attained bliss in
the village of Kalavai near Arcot in 1907. The capital was
generously provided by a number of private donors who
instituted endowments.
The funds of the Trust are being used for maintenance of
Pathasalas and the giving of stipends for study and the grant
of sambhāvanās (for life) to Vedic scholars who have qualified
themselves as Grihyajnas, Visishta-Grihyajnas and
Dharmajnas. Sri S. R. Krishnamurthi Aiyar and Sri R.
Vanchinathan look after the work of the Trust.
(C) Shashtiabdapūrti Trust :
This was established in June 1954 under the name and title
of "Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal
Shashtiabdapūrti Trust" on the occasion of the celebrations all
over the country of the Shashtiabdapūrti of His Holiness Sri
Sankaracharya. The purpose of the Trust is to spread the
knowledge of the Veda Bhashyas by providing for their study
by qualified students under competent teachers and the
making of lump sum awards to those who successfully
complete the course.
The funds of the Trust are derived from landed property
endowed in this behalf by a number of private trusts,
donations and collections of voluntary subscriptions.
(1) While the scheme was started in 1954, the first awards
were made in 1961 when the first batch of scholars completed
the seven years course in Veda Bhasya. The number of
scholars given lump sum awards on successfully completing
the course, the classes in which they were placed, and the total
amounts disbursed each year since 1961 are summarised

below. The award for Class I is Rs. 7,000/-, for Class II
Rs. 5,000/- and for Class III Rs. 3,000/- The total amount
disbursed up to date as awards under the scheme is
Rs. 1,63,000/-
Year Class I Class II Class III Amount
1961 2 ... ... Rs. 14,000 00
1962 2 ... ... Rs. 14,000 00
1963 ... 7 ... Rs. 35,000.00
1964 3 1 1 Rs. 29,000.00
1965 2 ... ... Rs. 14,000.00
1966 2 2 ... Rs. 24,000.00
1967 ... 6 1 Rs. 33,000.00
Total Rs. 1,63,000.00
Besides, stipends to the above students for the seven years
period of study and honorarium to teachers averaged about
Rs. 7,800 a year.
Travelling expenses to attend the examinations, interim,
and final, and special monthly grants based on outstanding
performance in the examinations, ranging from Rs. 30/- to
Rs. 250/- are also being given. The total expenditure on these
accounts for the two half-yearly examinations held every year
during the seven-year course comes to about Rs. 12,500/-. The
lump sum awards and other benefits are available to all the
students and they belong to all the three sampradāyas.
The Board of Trustees of this Trust are Sarvasri L. S.
Parthasarathy Iyer (Retired District Judge), N. R. Sundararaja

Iyer of Nangavaram, R. Seetharama Iyer, R Vanchinatha Iyer
of Mudikondan and S. R. Krishnamurthy Iyer, Mylapore who
is the Managing Trustee.
AbatchofVedaBhashyaScholarswhowereawardedlumpsumawards

(D) Samaveda Pathasala Trust :
This is a trust created by the family of Dr. C. P.
Ramaswami Aiyar, which is especially for the teaching of
Sama Veda. It has some 16 students at present.
(E)Vedarakshna Nidhi Trust :
Owing mainly to economic causes the strength of the Veda
Pāthasālās has from the early years of the century dwindled so
much that the preservation of the Vedas in their pristine
purity has become almost a forlorn cause.
Under His Holiness's inspiration remedial measures have
now been initiated which aim at (1) educating even the
educated amongst us on the meaning, import and purport of
the Vedas and Veda mantras and (2) the giving of some
financial assistance to Veda Vidyarthis and experts who are
devoting their whole time to Vedic studies and (3) the
recognition of their service and the according to them of an
honourable position in society.
The Veda Rakshana Nidhi Trust, which began active work
in 1959 and was formed into a trust in 1963, has dedicated
itself to the work of maintenance of a regular flow of
Vidyarthis who complete a course of Veda Adhyayana up to
Ghana, whether in Pāthasālās or otherwise. The Board of
Trustees of this Trust are Sarvasri L. S Parthasarathy Iyer,
Chairman (Retired District Judge), T N. Hariharan, B A., B.L,,
Advocate, Trichy, S. Annadurai Iyengar, Kulitalai (Executive
Trustee), Natesa Iyer of Tiruchirapalli and the Agent of the
Kanchi Jagadguru's Mutt.
Arrangements are made by this Trust to support the
students and to give sambhavanas to the teachers.
The average annual income now is Rs. 40,000/- including
interest on investments and income from land, while the
expenditure is about Rs. 40,000/-.

The following were the disbursements in some of the
earlier years:
1959 : Rs. 8590.95, distributed in 17 pāthasālās, with 18
teachers and 113 Vidyarthis.
1960-61 : Rs. 23,578.98 in 31 pāthasālās, with 41 teachers
and 201 Vidyarthis.
1961 : Rs. 25,805.72 in 41 pāthasālās with 267 Vidyarthis.
This all-important work needs all the support that the
āsthika public can give. That there is an unmistakable
national awakening as to the need for maintenance of Vedic
studies was spectacularly established by the impressive Veda
Sadas held in Delhi in 1963, and in Madras in 1965 in which
Vedic scholars from all parts of the country took part, and for
the first time the extent of this hidden wealth of learning was
brought home to the common man. The Sadas has since
become an annual feature. Notable practical results have
followed, in the establishment of Veda pāthasālās at Baroda,
Calcutta, Nasik etc.

THE PRESERVATION OF ĀCHĀRA
FREE UPANAYANAM
The life of the believing Hindu is one long sacrament.
Though, owing to various circumstances, it has not been
found possible to maintain all the old practices in their
pristine purity, the essentials must be whole-heartedly
adhered to; for as His Holiness has often pointed out,
Hinduism cannot be separated from its practices and will
cease to live if it is reduced merely to a vague set of beliefs or
philosophical notions. In keeping up the sacramental
character of Hindu society, the Brahmana has to play a crucial
part. And to the Brahmana upanayana for boys and vivāha for
girls within the prescribed age-limits are fundamental. His
Holiness has given the widest encouragement to the
performance of upanayanam for groups of young boys
cheaply and with as much simplicity as possible, but with the
fullest and most scruplous observance of the enjoined Vedic
rites.
THE KANNIKADANA TRUST
The position in regard to the marriage of girls has
considerably deteriorated in recent years, partly due to the
arbitrary raising of the age-limit by law and the habit of laxity
that this has encouraged among parents, and partly due to the
economic plight of the middle and poor classes and the
pernicious practice of demanding dowry. His Holiness has in
no uncertain terms condemned the dowry system, and it has
already had some beneficial effect. His Holiness made too the
eminently practical suggestion that relations, instead of
unnecessarily wasting money on transit charges to attend a
one-day affair, could help to reduce the burden of the bride's
father and give him a little help by sending cash presents, as is
the traditional practice with some Hindu communities.

As a constructive contribution to the problem of willing
but poor parents, the Kannikadana Trust was organised in
Madras in 1958, Mr. S. Annadurai Iyengar, Advocate, Kulitalai
taking the first step and setting an example by donating one
acre of wet land in Kulitalai Taluk. A trust was established
with himself and five others, including Mr. M. V. Dattaji, the
present Managing Trustee as Trustees. In the eight years since
the Trust was founded a sum of Rs. 71,283 has been collected
as donations from the public. Rs. 12,586 was contributed by
the Nungambakkam Kainkarya sabha. Income from
investments amounted to Rs. 7,390 ; and the income from the
land donated by Mr. Annadurai Iyengar was Rs. 2,305/-.
Out of the total of Rs. 93,560/- a sum of Rs. 55,638/- has
been disbursed for the performance of 318 marriages. The
main condition laid down by the Trust's Rules is that the girl
should not be over sixteen years of age, should come of a poor
family and should be brought up as far as possible in
conformity with orthodox practices.
The Trust has in the past eight years built up a capital fund
of over Rs. 30,000/-. To supplement its resources it has a
scheme which the public can make successful by its co-
operation. By taking out a life insurance policy on his own life
and assigning it to the Trust, any man can help substantially
without subjecting himself to undue inconvenience. The Trust
has been ably served by the unostentatious and devoted work
of the Managing Trustee, Mr. Dattaji, who gives it his personal
attention and labour unstintingly.
The Fight Against Proselytisation
Hinduism is a non-proselytising faith. The so-called
"parity" in the matter of right to conversion established under
the Constitution is therefore the parity of the mud pot and the
brass pot in the story. The evengelical religions have, since the
advent of Swaraj, stepped up their activities, and wholesale

conversions have been effected among the backward classes
by the adoption of all sorts of questionable means. Take, for
instance, conversion to Christianity alone. Protestant divines
blandly justify the holding out of material inducements as
conducive to helping the non-Christian to consider the
comparative merits of the two religions in "a calm and
thoughtful frame of mind." The Catholic casuist, on the other
hand, claims that, while Christians have an inescapable duty
to win converts, the Hindu must not object, because he would,
by doing so, be violating his own Dharma, which is toleration!
And it will be remembered that at the time of the tragic
partition of the country millions of Hindu women were
forcibly violated and converted.
When that terrible catastrophe occurred, the great
religious heads of the Hindus were confronted with this
problem of conversion in its most inhuman form, His Holiness
Sri Sankaracharya, in declaring that conversion in those
conditions was no conversion at all, gave a powerful lead to
Hindu opinion, which brought a ray of hope to millions of
anguished hearts. But the insidious and unremitting activities
of the proselytisers are much more difficult to counter,
especially when the politicians in office ostentatiously parade
their "secularism" and the climate of the average home, with
its indifference to social integrity and cultural values and its
greed for short-term material gains, is such as to leave the
young completely defenceless against such attacks from
without the community.
This is a matter which has for many years been exercising
the mind of His Holiness. So far back as 1932, when His
Holiness was on his first visit to Madras, a Hindu Central
Committee was set up to think of ways and means of
combating the disruptive forces. The Mudrādhikāri Sangam
and the Dharma Seva Sangam were especially charged with
the duty of working in the villages, particularly to combat the
ignorance of the people and the specious sophistries with

which evengelists of other religions sought to confuse them. It
was mainly due to the vigorous lead given by His Holiness
that even such protection as is now available under Art 25 of
the Constitution was provided by the Constituent Assembly.
And it was by His Holiness's initiative and perseverance that,
perhaps for the first time in the history of the country, the
Heads of Maths of the different philosophic schools began
conferring together not only for the protection of the
legitimate rights of the Maths against encroachments by
secular authority, but also to speak with one voice on the
problems and the perils confronting the Hindu and to take co-
operative action to deal with them.
The first fruits of this endeavour was the establishment of
the Akhila Bharata Dharma Peetha Sangam, a registered body,
which has published valuable popular literature on Hindu
Dharma; it issues from time to time authoritative
pronouncements by Heads of Maths on current questions and
appeals to the community at large to strive for the dhārmic
life. More recently a conference of Heads of Maths of all
persuasions was held at the instance of the Madras Religious
Endownments Board, in which His Holiness took a prominent
part. The conference, it was understood, considered among
other things constructive steps to combat conversion to other
religions.
In this crucial matter, as in regard to such questions as
cow-slaughter, His Holiness has acted consistently in the faith
that educative propaganda and persuasion can in the long run
produce more lasting results than legislation or coercion. And
in his own person His Holiness has set a shining example of
the ahimsā and sarvabhūta-dayā which proclaims the true
friend of humanity. If he opposes conversion, it is because he
feels that every man, be he a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian,
can find his salvation by remaining in the faith he was born
into and practising his own dharma with sincerity. And many
a man belonging to other faiths has, as the result of even a

casual encounter with His Holiness, gone away a better
Muslim or Christian as the case might be.
Where suffering humanity is concerned, there are no limits
to His Holiness's sympathy. The "*handful of rice" scheme, to
give but one instance, which aims at getting every village to
undertake the problem of lightening the distress of its own
poor, is characteristic in its emphasis on self-effort on the part
of the rural community and the need to invoke the Divine
blessing in order to make humanitarianism humble and
sweeten the bread of bitterness. In fact, from his earliest years
on the Peetham His Holiness has been quick to respond to
tales of privation and distress from wherever they might
come. So far back as 1924, when floods in the Kaveri caused
immense havoc in some of the most fertile areas of Tanjore,
His Holiness provided food, clothing and shelter to the
destitute. At the Mahamakham of 1933, and again in 1945 and
1957, thousands of pilgrims were fed at the Math. It was this
passion for relieving those who suffered for lack of basic
necessities that drew to His Holiness the touching devotion of
Annadāna Sivan, that blessed soul who, being penniless
himself, fed millions, and thus ranks among the great
nishkinchanas with whom the Lord loved to range Himself, as
he told Rukmini on a memorable occasion:
*
A small committee of willing honorary workers in and around
Mandirs and temples go round door to door to each family and
request each house-wife to deposit daily a handful of rice or other
staple diet with one paisa in a vessel, kept by her with a sacred
turmeric thread tied round it coloured and this is collected once a
week by the workers and publicly handed over to Mandirs to be
cooked into suitable palatable dishes and offered as Nivedhan, and
after allotting a portion to the archaka, the balance made into small
parcels and sold for a token price of, say, 10 paise to the needy and
poor, (the same would cost 75 paise outside) and proper accounts
maintained with the cooperation of Mandir authorities and others
interested. This can be done in a wider scale having a village, taluk
or district as a unit.

Nishkinchanā vayam Saswan-nishkinchana-jana-priyāh |
Tasmāt prāyena nahyādhyāh mām bhajanthi sumadhyame ||
CONCLUSION
Hundreds of men of the same class, though not of that
supreme quality—that was hardly to be expected—have given
to the Acharya the same kind of devotion, and have under
that uplifting impulse done for years tasks which were badly
needed but are not readily undertaken, involving drudgery
and day to day personal attention, and which are their own
reward. Many public bodies and organisations too have come
into existence in this way, inspired by personal loyalty to the
Guru and loyalty to the ideals he stands for.
His Holiness has, as will been seen from the brief survey
here attempted, harmoniously reconciled and fulfilled the
claims on his time and attention of the spiritual and human
needs of all mankind, to whom, as one spreading the message
of Advaita, he feels himself responsible. Not only Advaitins,
not only Brahmanas, but every Hindu sect and all classes of
Hindus, have been served; while the incandescent flame of his
life has illumined and brought comfort to thousands of non-
Hindus. Men from the ends of the earth have come to him as
to a sanctuary of peace. Many of the items of work, which
have been chronicled above, grew from small beginnings;
some are still hardly more than broad outlines, requiring to be
filled in, though they have the power of life and growth in
them. At the time they came to be started, they might have
struck the superficial as rather small and inconsequent. But in
the retrospect their seemingly casual nature and untidy
appearance are seen as features that characterise all organic
growths. And all these various bits of constructive work,
fashioned over the years, now compose into what is nothing
less than a master-plan for the regeneration of a great
traditional society anchored in faith. His Holiness, as a master
of the art of the possible, put forward from time to time

His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swami
of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham

practicable solutions for pressing needs. But to His Holiness
the way in which a thing is done and the state of mind it
invokes in the doer are no less important than the doing itself.
Every one of the constructive suggestions put forward is such
as could be implemented in an effective way in their own
immediate environment by a handful of men of goodwill.
Apart from objective results, it can profoundly influence the
moral life of the participant and his environment.
The Acharya is not only one of the great creative forces of
our time; he is a gracious lamp for the world to walk by. And
under his benevolent guidance the Math has been realising in
a remarkable way the aims that Ādi Sankara Bhagavatpāda set
for the great monastic foundations he established. This
pamphlet, giving a factual account of the Math's activities, is
put out in the modest hope that it might help to make the
good work better known and attract more helpers and more
resources. Both are badly needed, for the work to be done is
vast. Those who respond to the limit of their resources will be
not only participating in a mighty and many-sided movement
for the spiritual and moral regeneration of our people. They
will have the blessings of a Mahapurusha.

60yrs of a glorious ministry

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