Author:
Publication: Viswasambad Kendra Orissa
Date: August 30, 2008
[Note from the Hindu Vivek Kendra: With the
work done by the Swamiji is it at all imagineable that the Maoist would even
think of killing such a person? The only ones with a motive are those who
found the Swamiji as an obstacle to their own evil agenda.]
Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati
(84) is known as second incarnation of Lord Parsuram. He took the vow to develop
the downtrodden class of the society and made his centre of activities at
Chakapada in tribal dominated Orissa's Kandhmal district.
Besides social and religious development of
the tribal people, he tried all most four decades to empower them economically
and academically. He established a Gurukul pattern of school and a college
to teach Sanskrit in Chakapada a remote place of Kandhamal.
Sankaracharya Kanyashram, a residential school
at Jalespatta is another ashram of Swamiji in the district, where education
is being imparted to women population with an intention to build their character
and bring cultural nationalism among them.
While there was a move to ban cow slaughter
in India, Swamiji came from Himalaya to Orissa. After the movement of cow
protection was over, Swamiji decided to return back to his Tapashya, when
the then chief of RSS of Orissa Sri Bhupendra Kumar Basu narrated the sad
stories of the tribal population of the State and requested him to help the
suffering population. Swamiji went to Phulbani (Kandhmal) with Sri Basu, saw
the life of people there and decided to serve the backward people mostly tribals
and harijans, there and focus them to join into the main stream of the society.
In 1969 he started his first ashram at Chakapada
and the ashram became a centre for brisk activities. He renovated the temples:
Birupakshya, Kumareswar and Jogeswar and established a Sanskrit school and
a college.
Swamijee invested his full energy to teach
the youth of schedule caste and schedule tribe in Sanskrit and built the youths
as disciplined citizen well civilized, well cultured, well educated, well
spiritual and protector of the society.
Swamijee was well versed in Vedanta philosophy,
Sanskrit grammer and was awarded with the honour as "VEDANTA KESHARI".
He was not only gave philosophical thoughts to the people but taught them
good cultivation, animal care, and horticulture and so on. The students coming
out from the Kalyan Ashram Gurukula are taking leadership of the society in
economic, social and cultural fields.
Due to his selfless service to humanity he
was warded with VIVEKANANDA SEVA PURASKAR" from Kolkota.
He stood firm in Phulbani district for a long
time and struggled hard to preserve and protect the tribal culture and dharma,
the Sankaracharya of Govardhan Pitha, Puri awarded him with the Upadhi as
"BIDHARMI KUCHAKRA VIDARAN MAHARATHI.
While he started his work in Kandhamal, a
devoted RSS Pracharak, Sri Raghunath Sethi associated with him for a long
period. He initially selected his place of activities at Chakapad because
there is Birupakhya temple. Subsequently he established Kanyashram at Jalespatta,
a Seva school at Tulasipur, Banki in Cuttack district and an Ashram at Panigola
in Angul district.
The Birupakshya temple at Chakapada is situated
in the district of Kandhamala (Phulbani). It stands on an elevation of about
800ft. from sea level. River Burutanga is flowing near the temple. The place
is surrounded by beautiful natural scenaries. Chakapada has also been mentioned
in the Ramayana. The old age name of Chakapada is Ekachakranagari. The name
is connected with Ramayana. Here exists a Shiva temple where Linga is bent
to south and all the trees of the place are also bent to south by his effort
this place has been declared a tourist place by the govt.
Swamiji was a visionary. It has been clearly
established by his activities. Taken step by step and transform the total
life style of people of Kandhamal. Satsangh was his unique discovery to eradicate
all evils of the society making them prosperous. He thereafter started Satsang
at all villages of the district.
He has started night school for adult education.
Insisting them to send their children to the school by which the literacy
rate amongst tribal and Harijans of that area has increased. He stared a Sanskrit
School named Kalyan Ashram, Sanskrit vidyalaya at Chakapad in the year 1969
which is now promoted to a Sanskrit college.
For the education of the girls, he established
'Sankaracharya Kanyashram' a wholly residential school at Jalespata in Kandhamal,
in the year 1988 where 250 girls' students are studying. He also established
a school at Banki and ashram at panigola in Angul district. The student of
Chakapada and Jalespata taking leadership in all social sphere of their life
in Kandhamal and most of them are established in the government service.
The local Harijan and tribal people of Kandhamal
become more health conscious after coming to the satsangh. They stared to
keep their houses to clean take bath every day, take safe drinking and thousand
of family of he scheduled caste community have given off taking beef which
,make them healthy and disease less.
Swamiji taught them not to take liquor or
any other alcoholic drinks during Satsang. Then gradually they leave the habit
of taking such drinks. When they were free form alcohol they got ample time
to do some work. Which, they utilize in their field and other activities for
their development. More than 500 villages in the district benefited out of
Swamiji's noble way to control liquor business as well as people on their
own boycotted all intoxicants materials.
Swamiji teach grammar to the student in the
class and technique of good cultivation in the field. He taught the villagers
when and how to cultivate paddy vegetables etc. By which people of G.Udaygira
and Raikia block area produce the best quality and highest quantity of beans
in orissa. There also formed a vegetable cooperative society at Katingia by
agricultural development the economic conditioned improved a lot. Swamiji
always insisted the tribal not tp be afraid of any body. He accompanies them
to the govt. officer and police stations and made them fearless. They got
the courage to face to the collector or SP directly.
Now we can see greenery everywhere in the
Kandhmal because it has more forest cover than any other district. It is all
due to Swamijis efforts to insist them to take wood when required. He also
established "Maths on the hill tops in several parts of the district
and told the villagers that the trees in the hill belong to math and the village
community. If emergency arises one can cut a tree and take wood only after
the permission of the village committee. That worked tremendously. The joint
forest management system which govt. started now has been started by Swamiji
from 1970.
After all Swamiji was very much serious for
preservation and protection of tribal culture and tradition . He has established
and renovated the tribal deity place (Dharanipenu) in several places. Similarly
he has started a Rathyatra through out the Gajapati and Kandhamal district
during which thousand of tribal are attracted to their own belief.
He often says that the area will not prosper
where tear or blood falls. He was against the indiscriminate cow slaughter.
He taught the people to protect cattle from slaughtering and taking beef.
In several occasion he staged demonstration, dharanas and participated in
the hunger strike in several parts of the state. He toured through out the
state for this cause.
He was associated with several socio-cultural
and religious organizations. He has established and renovated several temples
in different parts of the state. He was a founder member and inspiration of
VHP and Kalyana Ashram of odisha.
His main work in Kandhalmal was protecting
the tribals from Christian conversion. He tried his label best to reconvert
the tribals to their original faith. Inspired by his personality thousand
of people in different parts of the states become his disciple.
His main missions are:
1. Making the tribal youth strong, fearless,
educated and financially sound.
2. Tribal should be strong in their belief and check conversion of their brethrens
and reconvert those who have gone out.
3. Protection of cows
These made him popular thought out the states.
During two big functions at Chakapad in 1986 and 2007 lakhs of people gather
in that remote place.
As the reconversion gets momentum Christians
feared of loosing their ground. So they attacked Swamiji several times(9 times).
The ninth attack on him was on 24th december 2007, where he was narrowly saved
being murdered by heavily armed group of 200 people, at Darsingbadi of Kandhamal.
No efforts have been made by the government
or administration to arrest the culprits (The Christian militants) and siege
the illegal weapons kept by them. The roles of Christian NGO's were not investigated.
The attitude of the government was to protect Christians and harass Hindus.
Hundreds of Hindus were arrested but a few Christians. Lakhs of rupees were
provided to the churched and other Christian organizations as relief, which
were not damaged during that period. These things encourage the Christian
militants and they brutally killed Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, Bhakti Mata.
Amrutananda Baba, Kishore baba and Purub Ganthi a guardian of a Kanyashram
girl on the Janmastami night on 23rd August 2008 at 8 pm. They even dare to
enter to the kanyashram and brutally kill 5 persons.
The brutal killing of Swamiji, has sent a
shock wave in the country. People of Orissa are still not in a position to
accept Swamiji's killing. In a spontaneous response, people of Orissa observed
bandh in each and every corner of the State on August 25. People of Kandhamal
still not recover from the shocking demise of Swamiji.