Canadian Media on Kanchi Acharya Case

[Guest guest]

Dark Days for a Guru

Cleo Paskal

Weekend National Post

May 7, 2005

www.nationalpost.com

 

"There is a palpable anger on the street, much of it directed against

Gandhi's religious meddling. Amma's popularity is also plummeting. As

well, a petition has recently been presented to the Indian Supreme

Court to move the case out of Tamil Nadu."

 

 

The most famous alleged murderer in India speaks quietly, almost in a

whisper,

which in the still evening air sounds more like the muted rustle of

leaves than

a human voice. Until he giggles, which is often. Even by Indian

political

soapopera standards, the case of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi is

remarkable. As the

69th Acharya (religious leader) of Kanchi Mutt ­ a 2,500-year-old

temple

complex in the southern state of Tamil Nadu ­ he is the closest thing

Hinduism

has to a pope. He has hundreds of millions of followers worldwide,

including in

Canada. And he has been charged in connection with the scandalous

murder case

of a manager from another temple. Other elements of the bizarre

convoluted case

include an ex-film-star-turnedpolitico and her live-in same-sex

companion. Many

believe the links in the case stretch all the way up to Sonia Gandhi,

the

Italian-born widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Out

of jail on

bail, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi has agreed to talk to me, his first

formal

audience with a journalist. We can't talk about his case, so we cover

politics

and, of course, religion.

 

 

"It's not just religion that needs to grow, but morality as well,"

says the

Hindu guru. "Morality is not restricted to religion alone, it

pervades all your

life. You have to educate children. And bring a moral dimension to

the media.

As long as there is a commercial aspect to the media, we can't expect

the

truth. If the youth and the media change, then politics change."

Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was chosen as a child to be the 69th Acharya,

and grew

up in the rarified air of the temple. The modest compound where he

now lives,

with white-washed walls and pilgrims in white wrap-around leg

coverings, has a

free clinic, a school for the physically challenged and a nursing

home for the

elderly. Dr. V., who guided me around the temple and is my

interpreter, is a

London-trained neurologist. Like many of the temple workers, he

volunteers out

of religious conviction.

 

As the leader of 860 million Indian Hindus, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi

is revered

as much for his modern ways as he is by dint of ancient tradition.

One of his

most influential moves was to open the temples and centres of Hindu

learning to

everyone ­ all castes, women, Muslims, Christians and anyone else who

was

interested. The wider he opened the gates, the larger his following

grew ­ and

his influence. That influence has also been felt socially and

politically. Sri

Jayendra Saraswathi became a powerful ally to the Hindu nationalists

and their

political party, the BJP. And he became a threat to other centres of

political

power. It is said, albeit in hushed whispers, that one of his biggest

enemies

is the powerful Sonia Gandhi, who leads the BJP's political rival,

the Congress

Party.

 

The top politician in the state of Tamil Nadu is chief minister Dr.

Jayalalithaa, a flamboyant former actress who calls herself "Puratchi

Thalaivi"

(Revolutionary Leader). She had a famously difficult adolescence

growing up in

the adult world of film before she finally made the switch to the

real stage,

in politics. As her power grew, Jayalalithaa started calling

herself "Amma" or

mother, to better distance herself from her sultry past. In her early

days in

political office, she implemented much-needed social and education

programs and

was highly regarded. But soon, there were mutterings about the undue

influence

of her live-in "best friend," Ms. Sasikala. Most of the whispers were

about the

sudden prosperity of Ms. Sasikala's friends and family.

 

Amma started courting the Hindu vote. She passed an anticonversion

bill aimed at

slowing the progress of Evangelical conversions. She began a program

to feed

children at temples, rather than at school. But she was a Brahmin in

a state

with a small Brahmin population. And she was losing popularity. Then,

on

Sept.3, 2004, at approximately 5:45 p.m., the manager of another

religious

complex in the state, not the Acharya's, was attacked and left dead

on the

floor of his temple. It was a shock. No one was sure who had killed

him. Or

why. He had been a strident man, complaining about myriad perceived

improprieties, including ones allegedly committed by the Kanchi Mutt

hierarchy

itself. But strident people are not uncommon, especially in a temple

town.

 

Two months later, on Nov. 11, the eve of Diwali, one of the biggest

Hindu

holidays of the year, the police showed up at a religious centre in

the

Congress Party-run state of Andhra Pradesh and dragged Sri Jayendra

Saraswathi

off to jail. Over the next couple of months, he was followed by 24 co-

accused.

Although official charges had yet to be laid, the hundreds of pages of

accusations boiled down to one against the Acharya: that he had

abetted or

masterminded the murder. No one was saying that the renowned guru had

wielded

the fatal dagger himself. Thousands, not all of them Hindus, were

outraged at

his arrest. One person self-immolated in protest. The Hindu

Conference of

Canada condemned the arrest. Meanwhile, much of the world press,

including the

BBC, claimed that the incident showed that finally, Indians were

getting over

their reverence for religious leaders.

 

It took months for official charges to be filed ­ March 31, 2005.

People began

to suspect that perhaps something else was going on. It is doubtful

such a

high-profile arrest could occur in the state without the involvement

of Amma.

And an election was approaching. But could Amma make such a brazen

move without

the approval of Sonia Gandhi?

Gandhi has consolidated her power at the national level by taking

control of the

ruling Congress party. However, she has been shrewd enough to not

take on the

public responsibility of being prime minister. Such an arrest would

suit her

very well. Gandhi is propping up rival Hindu religious leader Swami

Swaroopanand who, unlike the Acharya, supports her and her Congress

Party.

 

However, the tide is turning against the two ladies. There is a

palpable anger

on the street, much of it directed against Gandhi's religious

meddling. Amma's

popularity is also plummeting. As well, a petition has recently been

presented

to the Indian Supreme Court to move the case out of Tamil Nadu. And

this week,

the Indian High Court ordered 11 of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi's co-

accused

released unless other charges were brought against them. Sitting on a

simple

plastic chair in a bare concrete room with an open roof, the

Acharya's gestures

are elegant but child-like. Periodically, he gazes over my shoulder,

as if he

sees something there that reassures him. He is relaxed, comfortable,

at peace.

Despite the storm surrounding him, here, there is a calm. He gently

chides me

for thinking in terms of India versus the West. "Aren't we all one?"

The Hindu

pope certainly appears to be a wise and good man. But in a

politically volatile

India, that may be the most dangerous kind of man there is.