Protest against godman grows strident

CHENNAI: The protests against the anointment of controversial godman Nithyananda as head of the Madurai Adheenam, a Shaivaite mutt, gained momentum on Monday with Hindu outfits threatening to approach the court for a solution. Several Hindu outfits and other mutts across the state are planning a joint campaign. The 1,500-year-old adheenam has more than 1,000 acres of land and other properties under its control.

Defending the appointment, the present pontiff of the mutt, Arunagirinatha Desikar, said on Sunday that "a divine voice" had prompted him to name Nithyananda, who was caught in a sleaze tape controversy two years ago, as his successor. The Hindu Makkal Katchi is planning to bring together like-minded groups and heads of other adheenams on May 10 in Madurai for a meeting. The Hindu leaders will also address a public meeting the same day.

"We are planning to move vacation bench of the Madras high court against the appointment, which is against all traditional procedures. Appointing a controversial person as head of the Madurai Adheenam is a disgrace to all other adheenams," said Arjun Sampath, general secretary of the Hindu Makkal Katchi, a breakaway group of the Hindu Munanni.

There are around 18 adheenams across the state, many of which control Shiva temples. Though the state-run Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) department is the custodian of these temples, the heads of mutts are the traditional trustees and take care of the day-to-day administration and rituals.

"A big chunk of the income from these temples, including hundi collections, also goes to the adheenams," said Tamil research scholar T M Selvaganapathy. "Their main activities include administration of temples under their control, managing schools and colleges run by the mutts and publishing religious books and periodicals."

The Madurai mutt is the oldest among the adheenams. Contrary to popular belief, Shaivaite saint Thirugnana Sambandar (8th century) did not establish this adheenam, said temple research scholar Ooran Adigal. "Sambandar was invited for a debate against Jainism and he won the debate. He stayed on at the mutt and it came to be called Sambandar Adheenam," he said.

The major problem faced by many adheenams is finding appropriate successors. "Earlier, there used to be many tambirans (junior pontiffs) in each adheenam. But now, not many are ready to become a pontiff, renouncing worldly pleasures. That is the reason why the present Madurai pontiff has chosen a controversial person to head the organization. But the proper procedure is to train juniors and hand over charge to them when the pontiff is not able to carry out his duties due to ill-health or other reasons," said Ooran Adigal.

While the state government does not have full control over the mutts, they have to submit audited accounts to the HR&CE commissioner every year. "Under the HR&CE Act, the state gets a share of the temple incomes and oversees administration. We cannot interfere in the appointment of heads of these adheenams as they are governed by their own rules and regulations," said a senior state official.

Source: Times of India