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Tamil Blood is our Bread
Swami Hemavell Maheshwara Bhadrananda muses on the violence against Tamils
“We have to be proud of Tamil Nadu and her people”, Swami Hemavell Maheshwara Bhadrananda often says. He cites a number of reasons for that.
“The Tamils are the flag bearers of the Dravidian culture for one”, he says, “and the Tamil people have stoically withstood many physical and moral attacks to uphold it. And without any doubt, Tamil, the language of the people of Tamil Nadu is one of the most ancient languages, older than even Sanskrit”.
The Swami further adds, “The Tamils are spunky and spirited, peaceful and broad-minded, welcome everybody and treat all with equanimity”
“Equanimity is not the word…. respectful”. They call ladies, “Amma” , a term of respect and they call the males, “Ayya”.
He asks rather seriously, “How does a Keralaite eat his food? That has to come from Tamil Nadu” referring to the truck loads of grain, vegetables and serials coming from Tamil Nadu to an agriculturally starved Kerala State.
Swami Hemavell Maheshwara Bhadrananda gets animated when the topic gets to Tamil Nadu and her people. He says, “My uncle, Mr. Nanjil Manoharan was a cabinet minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu. One had to see to believe the gratitude, respect and above all love of the people of Tamil Nadu to him’.
“And make no mistake, the Tamils are undoubtedly the most liberal, open-minded, tolerant, progressive, radical, receptive, responsive, loving and caring people you see anywhere in the world”.
The Swami gives numerous examples. “Take the superstars of Tamil films… MGR, Rajni Kanth, J.Jayalalithaa…… all sought refuge in the Tamil film industry, and all were given a grand welcome.”
Regarding the Tamil bravery, he says, “Most Indians were reluctant to join the fiery Subhash Chandra Bose, the fierce, radical leader in the fight against the British but the Tamils bravely jumped in to join him”.
The Tamil concept of beauty is also unique. The drawing of ‘kolams’, the ‘Bharatha Natyam’, the Pongal festivities, the passion for classical music, the Tamil films can all be cited as examples, the Swami says.
With all his high passion for the Tamils, why did he take a wrong stance against the Tamils in the Mullaperiyar issue?
The Swami gets so affronted and furious that one dreaded an outburst. But he quickly calmed down to be the effacing self. He seemed more sad than annoyed.
“You know the politicians of Kerala”, he said. “They act as good friends, but you don’t realize that you are being taken for a ride and being used”.
“The politicians have a secret agenda. They couch it with a cunning sweetness of doing good to the people”.
The real issue at the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border was not related to the Mullaperiyar Dam at all. The issue was that a lot land in that area was held by certain members, supporters and politicians of a particular party known to be representatives of a minority religious group. This political party is known for its land-grabbing, wealth-seizing, greed, acquisitiveness and avarice , and it is well-known to be flagrantly pro-bourgeois and pro-moneyed. This was a time of fishing in troubled waters for the party, for the Mullapperiyar issue coincided with the peak pilgrim season to the venerated Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.
The Swami has friends everywhere, and when a person named Mr. Sangeeth Louise called for a talk with the Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. Oommen Chandy to resolve the Mullapperiyar issue, he readily agreed. The media had been coming out with reports of the Tamil hostility towards the Keralites settled in the Kerala- Tamil Nadu border, and of attacks on students studying in the various colleges in Tamil Nadu. The Government as usual was indecisive and dumb, and when it sensed the people’s anger, it decided to act in a round about way. The compulsion to act had little to do with solving the crisis. It was more related to demonstrating to the people that this was a pro-people’s Government, willing to take the cudgels.
The Swami readily and willingly agreed to the talks. He was willing to do anything that would prevent further brutality and bloodshed. The talks themselves went sour. The Swami sensed that the people involved were not for solving a grave issue but to create bloodshed. It seemed their idea of a solution to the violence was by further violence- harm the innocent and unoffending Tamils, a la ‘tit-for-tat’. The Swami, by nature is opposed to violence and always tells his people that “AHIMSA”- non-violence was the first of the ten basic ethical values propounded by Sage Patanjali. The Swami was very disturbed and talked little.
Mr. Sangeeth Louis, a shady man behind the powerful politians of Kerala offered to drop the Swami back home in a motor car, to which the Swami readily agreed. This later turned out to be a thoughtless act and a calamitous error in judgment as the later incidents proved. The speeding car came to a screeching halt when a Tamil truck was spotted on the road. Mr. Sangeeth Louise got out in a huff asking the Swami to remain in the vehicle. He picked up a big stone from the road and hurled it on the front glass of the truck. The glass pane was smashed and splinters of glass were splattered on the road. The Swami crouched in the car stupefied.
Immediately a mob gathered on the scene, and there were altercations and arguments. The Tamil truck driver was on the point of being man handles. Then the Swami got out of the car to protect him, and prevent him from being man handled. A communist leader appeared on the scene and further arguments and ruction took place. The Swami apologized profusely to the poor Tamil truck driver, and went a step further and told him that all damages would be taken care of.
Mr. Sangeeth Louise, whose house was near-by told the Swami that he better alight and take rest in his own house for some time, and the Swami, who was drained from the pacification talks and apologies agreed. Mr. Louise dropped Swami in his home and went out again informing the Swami that he had some work, and that he attend to them; he further promised that he would be back soon.
It was not Mr. Sangeeth Louise who returned ‘soon’, but the Police. The Swami was aghast that he was hauled in for ‘creating violence and destruction’.
What had followed would have shamed even a dictatorial of vertical communist nation. The Swami was thrown into a cell, abused, tortured, maimed and beaten black and blue by the police, without rhyme or reason; he was not given a few moments of respite. He was not given an opportunity to explain what had really happened. The men in uniform kicked him to the ground with their boots and trampled all over his lying body. They dropkicked and waltzed over the Swami’s spread-eagled body; and not satisfied with these, the Circle-inspector of Police daubed chili powder essence on the Swami’s eyes and just above the genital area. The Swami was spat upon and urinated all over the body. No wonder, blood, urine and feces egresses’ discharged from his body. It was very evident that this was a planned move to frame the Swami and bring him down in the eyes of the people for openly criticizing the Government and bringing into the open its many compulsions, wrong doings, false promises and confused policies, inviting ridicule and contempt from the people.
The media which works hand in hand with the Government of all hues had an axe to grind too. The Swami has his own publications and he digs out scoops and news items which the media turn a blind eye on, thus question its own role as the fourth independent pillar in a democracy. This was much of an irritant to it. The pro-criminal- media combine had carefully planned to get even at Swami, and they had succeeded. Had the Swami, on the other hand played to their low-cunning designs and desires and attacked and assaulted the Tamils, especially the pilgrims coming in at that time in hordes to the famed Ayyappa Temple in Sabari Mala against his conscience and moral codes, he would not have faced this brutal and inhuman treatment. His fault was that he stood by the Tamils and prevented attacks on them. He was a tower and bulwark against the aggressors on the people who he fondly calls, Tamil Makkal’ and ‘my own people’- may be thinking of his late grandfather who had served them with love and gratitude.
The hatching of this plan in quick time might well have been due to the fact that the Swami was conducting mass meditation campaigns in many places to send out holy vibrations of tranquility and harmony in a troubling situation. The Swami had just conducted a meditation camp in the scenic Alappuzha when the ill-fated call came. Troubles, they say come in different guises cloaked in different forms and this was exactly what had happened to Swamiji.
The Swami says, “who in true senses in this world would believe that I was the perpetuator of violence when I was directing my pupils to meditate for peace and love?”. Indeed the police officer in charge said as much later, and even admitted to the ‘pressures from the top’ . Heinous criminals and vile politicians won the day, and another Jesus was crucified on a cross.
The Swami says, “There is an ancient tradition in India which is carried out even today- that is to show gratitude to the provider of food- the ‘Anna Datha’. Who provides food for us, Keralites? It is the ‘Tamil Makkals’. We should not even for one second forget that the Tamil Makkals’ blood is our bread. I suffered pain and humiliation, but I am thankful to God that I could prevent a horrible catastrophe and wanton violence against the beloved people of Tamil Nadu”.
Can the Swami who respects life, commit suicide?
News spread around that Swami Hemavell Maheshwara Bhadrananda, an epitome of Dharma-righteousness- had tried to
commit suicide. The detractors of the Swami presented photographs and video clips showing the Swami pointing his licensed gun on to his temple. Everyone who was acquainted with the quiet and reclusive Swami, including the policemen present there knew what exactly happened. Still a case against the swami was registered for attempting to commit suicide!
What really transpired there has since been presented to everyone vividly and graphically in ‘youtube’ in four parts under the title, ‘Dangerous Secret”. Peace talks were underway in the police station and as a way of self protection, the Swami held his gun, obtained lawfully under license on to his own stomach, thanks to a policeman whispering on to his ear that a gun held outward could be construed as a threat for harm and violence. As the talks wore on and on, the Swami ‘s right hand till now held in one, single posture, started aching and got sore. As a relief, he took his arm facing his stomach off and leaned on the right arm of the chair in which he was sitting which meant a pose with the gun pointing to his temple. This pose was frozen by the cameras, and the police hastily registered a case against the swami for an attempted suicide. The person who instigated and spread word about this despicable act was Mr.Iype Vallikadan of the Asianet Television. This attempt to defame and denigrate the Swami has now turned into a joke and a travesty of justice with the youtube presenting the incidents as they actually happened.
Why the Compassionate Swami Holds a Gun in Hand?
We Indians are very proud to say that we are the largest democracy in the world, but do we the majority of the people of the lower stratum ever enjoy democracy? It is well known that ‘the largest democracy in the world’ is ruled by a minority who run rough shod over the unfortunate and hapless people of the nation. No rule matters to them. But there are intrepid lonely warriors like Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda who defiantly puts forward the causes of the masses and suffer the consequences of a powerful state in return. How the Swami reacts to the problems of the ‘powerless majority’ of the people of the state of Kerala can be gauged from the international broadcasting medium, the YouTube. For speaking out for the hoi polloi, the Swami had to face attempts at his own life. Thrice he was tried to be killed, and the honourable high court of Kerala sensing danger, sanctioned protection to his life. That was in theory; on the ground level the Swami was still unprotected, and his powerful enemies began baying for his blood and life. Apprehending the danger to the life of the Swami, the ADM sensibly allotted a gun to protect him. The Swami stands for justice and ‘dharma’, and would react to anything opposite of them- be at the individual or societal level, risking his own life- the poor and hapless has experienced that and felt that. He is the ‘Dharmic’ warrior of a country now, in dire straits to find a person who would voice the concerns of man of the roads.
Red Emergency Light on Swami Bhadrananda’s Car:Unnecessary Controversy
How the print media which has an axe to grind can use their pens to discredit a true loving, righteous and caring person can be fathomed, at the wretched and unholy presentation of Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadranda as a low criminal and law breaker by a leading Malayalam daily, Mangalam and its staff, especially one Mr. Stephen Arikkara. Swami Maheswara Bhadrananda was in those times driving a car with a ‘KARMA SOS” badge and a red emergency light on top. Many people were dying on the killing fields of Kerala roads through road accidents, and there was none to take care of them. Critical and Emergency care were scarce in those days and the availability of Medical or Para Medical persons almost nil. This made the Swami to sit up and take notice; he decided to patrol the roads in a car all by himself and give emergency relief and instant blood donation to the victims of accidents and take them to the nearest hospitals. A beaming red light was placed on the top of the car to alert the passers-by and in-coming vehicles of an emergency situation at hand and to warm them to clear way for the vehicle acting as an ambulance service. The Swami also stacked First Aid materials and medicines, and oxygen tanks in his car for immediate medical aid on the spot. All the information about his car and his activities were intimated to the then Director General of Police and the Home Minister of Kerala State. The Swami’s car was the first of a kind in Kerala where a single person patrolled the roads to take care of emergency patients; he was doing yeoman service to the needy who otherwise would have bled to death on the roads without medical care.
This was at a time when a lot of scammers, cheats and charlatans acting as saints and Swamis were gaining notoriety in the state. The Mangalam daily published a serialized piece on this topic and made an innuendo that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadranada was associated with the infamous Santhosh Madhavan. The Swami quietly called up the office of the newspaper and told the staff that he was in no way connected with Santhosh Madhavan or any trickster for that matter. The office of the daily asked the Swami to come to their office and explain the situation to the editorial staff. The Swami went to the daily’s office as wanted, and there he politely pointed out the mistakes in the article being serialized. The editorial staff scoffed at him and laughed at the principles of Sanathana Dharma- the eternal path-which the Swami explained he had followed all his life. There were derisive laughter and much sarcasm from those present. The swami responded with laws, logic, rationale and philosophy. Unable to respond or reply cohesively, the Mangalam staff felt slighted and snubbed. They decided to teach the Swami a lesson.
They took their to pen and used the pages of their newspaper for this purpose. They came out with great hullabaloo and brouhaha that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda barged into the daily’s office and threatened the staff. The further added that the Swami was using a car with a red light on top, meant only to the Ministers and Judges, indicating to the people who are ignorant of the law that the Swami was taking law into his own hands. They falsely reported that the Swami’s car carried a badge which said, KARMA: 505” instead of the real, “KARMA SOS”.
This was how the Mangalam Daily used its might as a wide-spread Malayalam daily to denigrate and slander a straight forward, humble, pious person doing service to the society without proclamations, announcements and claims or wanting awards or rewards. Further investigations showed that this daily is rabidly casteist and clannish in its views and approach, and no opposition to its religious views is tolerated. Long live, Indian Press !
Why is the Media Hounding Swami Bhadrananda?
Anyone in the know in this country knows that the Media, like the other three pillars of this decadent society is corrupt.
People know well that they take money and goodies to plant good and favourable news about people and institutions; they also know that, if one refuses the overtures of the media, they are in for big trouble. One of the few who refuses to be intimidated by the powerful Indian media is Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadranada who like many Masters maintain that the only way out for the establishment of a peaceful and just society is to follow unflinchingly the ‘Sanathana Dharma’ (eternal truths as enshrined in the Upanishads); for this approach to life, the Swami is getting consistent negative publicity from the media. Evidence clearly shows that this has a lot to do with the aforementioned ‘mammon-for-mummy treatment’ by the media. The Swami has been approached many times over by various newspapers and T.V. channels for donations and advertisements either directly or indirectly; the deal was straight- ‘give money, we will push you high in the public eye’. Each time the overture came forth, the Swami refused vehemently; not only that, he also declared in no uncertain terms that the media should be used for the good of common man. He further advised that they should stop forthwith, the harassment and hunting down of the common man making them scapegoats of the wrongful actions of the powers that be. Angered by the Swami’s persistent refusal to take the bait and be corrupt, the media decided to seek vengeance; so whatever acts the Swami did were distorted by the pen and camera to portray them as obnoxious and atrocious. They tried to set the powerful Hindu leaders against the Swami by presenting him as a charlatan and a wicked goon. Sage Patanjali mentions, ‘aagama’- the people’s belief that whatever is written down for the public and which makes the masses believe, should be true’- attitude. In the same vein, some of the Hindu leaders were taken in by these deceptive portrayals of the Swami which flashed across the television channels and the pages of newspapers; and as expected and planned by the media, they came out with a strong stance and statements of condemnation against him. The media made to appear that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda was an associate of Santhosh Madhavan, the discredited head of a Hindu group, and a con artist. They made the Swami look a real abominable and amoral scoundrel by coming out with ingenious news items like the Swami doing evil spiritual ‘pooja’ and incantations on Kavya Madhavan, the famous South Indian cine star which they declared as the sole reason of the actress’s marriage falling apart. They conveniently forgot to broadcast the truth that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadranada was one of the earliest leaders to come out against the wrong doings of Santhosh Madhavan; they also forgot to announce the Swami’s ire of Santhosh Madhavan which nearly resulted in blows in full view of the public in a Police Station in full view of police officers and men in uniform. They ignored the several prophesies made by Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda like the killer Tsunami and the chicken guinea attack on the state. They did not report the yeoman service that the Swami was doing by donating blood and medicines, and helping the poor in times of need. No wonder the lay men and leaders of the state turned against the Swami and avoided him. But truth is both lustrous and radiant- it emanates light, and the effulgence is felt by those who know Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda.
The Power of Spirituality
It is well known that the Left Democratic Government ruling the state of Kerala put a false and concocted criminal complaint on Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda on May 17, 2008. The complaint was bogus because the video clippings and still frames of the cameras later revealed so. From May 17, 2008 for a period of 30 days, the Swami was incarcerated. The charge against him was attempting to murder a Circle Inspector of Police in uniform. When he was released on bail, the Swami innocently asked the Police Officer, “Why was I charged with murder, when no such thing had happened?” The composed Police Officer told him coolly, “This was done at the behest of the powers that be in the Government”. The Swami gazed at that sincere police man sedately and said, “Look out for the coming May 17”, and walked away.
What happened on May 17, 2009? Kerala history shows that the Government itself landed in the dock for murdering its subjects. For a few days around the middle of May 2009, there was murder and mayhem in the Beemappalli area, a Muslim belt in the capital city of Thiruananthapuram. The police used unnecessary force and gun to kill six innocent people. The ball had come a full circle in one year; while the Swami was charged with ‘”attempt to murder” a year back, the Government now had to face the charge of murder itself under the Indian Penal Code-302.
‘JNANEES” (Seers and Prophets) are like helicopters; through their lofty vision, they can see the road already traversed and the road that is yet to be travelled in the sojourn called life. Unpleasant things happen in the society, and the “JNANEES’ foretell that. For their vision and courage, they are routinely persecuted or executed. A walk through the history of the world would prove that- Socrates, for example- but they have stood tall guiding the people who are humble enough to approach them.
Swami’s Shenanigans
Call it canard, rumour, spoof, mockery, deception or a joke of the opinion leaders of the state of Kerala- the individuals,
leaders of political parties, religions, institutions, the media- whatever Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadranda does for the good of the masses and the uplift of society is invariably portrayed as just a fabrication, a pompous show or a publicity stunt. Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda perpetually gets the wrong end of the stick and low treatment for all the good he does to the hoi polloi, so much so, the close associates of the Swami has gone so far as to call him a fool for sacrificing and ‘wasting’ his life. Still the Swami goes on at it, stubbornly and stoutly, believing that the ‘Sanathana Dharma’ (the eternal principles of living, as laid down in the Upanishads) should be practiced whatever be the cost to his name and life. This has cost him dearly as the present writer knows- the Swami has no home and made this writer’s car as his abode for quite some time living on the side of a public road. This writer also like many others before him asked the Swami if it was worthwhile getting into a whole lot of trouble for the service he does to the people, thereby garnering unwanted negative publicity; pat came the gentle reply, “Just point out to me a single incident where my act was for my personal gain and NOT for the good of the people- and the people, I refer to are the voiceless, faceless people who the authorities run rough shod over and trample upon”. Point taken.
And what are some of the Swami’s ill considered and ill-advised acts portrayed and pointed out by his detractors and by the ‘know-alls’?
The Swami’s readiness to take on any problem that comes his way and suggest solutions in the ‘Dharmic’ and spiritual light so that the solution remains permanent and not a short term fix.
- His solutions to break through the walls of claustrophobic ‘religious’ views, and encompass the whole of mankind united by love and reverence for each other.
- Making readily available, the much revered spiritual technique which he learned in the Himalayas to solve a problem either for the individual or for the society, however stubborn it might be in just nine hours.
- Making available the aura tuning program which the Swami himself developed to solve intractability, insubordination and inability to concentrate and violent tendencies among children and youth.
- Using unique spiritual techniques even to pairs of lovers, afraid of their parents and the society to have a lasting and peaceful married life without causing hurt or harm to anyone.
Not long ago, Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda initiated a program in the General Hospital, Aluva for the free distribution of food and medicines to the poor patients of that hospital. There he predicted that a ‘disease of horrifying dimensions’ is hovering around and would hit the state at any time. He reiterated this to the then Health Minister of the State, Mrs. Sreemathi when both were in the national capital, New Delhi. Few took notice of it. Then, as the Swami presicted, the disease hit the state as an avalanche in the form of chicken guinea and swine flu, killing several people. Not only that the microorganism started multiplying and spreading in frightening proportions. Mrs. Sreemathy, a true communist had to call in the Indian Army to combat the disease. Nothing worked. At that point, the Swami stepped in and performed his now famous, ‘Hemavell Homa’, and the disease got astonishingly eradicated in just three days. The Swami repeated the miraculous ‘homa’ in Anna Nagar, Chennai with stunning results.
It is both amazing and bewildering why then, Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda is reviled by so many. The answer to this question is known to his close associates. The Swami is both daring and unafraid. He has ruffled the feathers of many high and mighty, and the ‘minority’ high and mighty rule the state at its will and pleasure. The ‘majority’- the common man- is a helpless and hapless lot, allowing them to be crushed and trampled upon. The Swami would have none of it and is not willing to take this hands down or condone the atrocities of the rulers whatever their level or status in the society is. He dares to call a spade a spade and is ever willing to bell the cat. So the Swami faces the flak. The corrupt media, always marauding for the mean, has a field day when the Swami gets into the act of teaching the nefarious, mercenary, unscrupulous lot a lesson. All they do is to watch the truth and invert it for the masses.
Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda is a one-man army. He never tries to befriend cast chieftains, political principals’, religious leaders, sectarian gangsters, political ringleaders or plain goons- he chooses to traverse his own path. He is never afraid of criticism or negative publicity; he laughs his hurt way and just smiles; he follows his conscience which he says is God; and garners a stockpile of unjustified abuse.
Why Was the Compassionate Swami Seen with a Gun in Hand?
An astrologer named Santhosh Madhavan was hogging the headlines of the Kerala media in all its frills and fancy fandangle in the month of May, 2008. The media as is its wont went berserk sensing saucy scoops and juicy stories and they out did one another in embellishing and adulterating news items with their own warped fantasies and twisted imagination. Santhosh Madhavan was portrayed as a Hindu saint, when in fact he was just an astrologer who happened to belong to the Hindu religion. Financial misdeeds and sexual escapades about him came out with a covert pointer and remainder that all Hindu Swamis and Yogis are not a lot to be trusted.
Here the media got an excellent opportunity to denigrate Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda, no darling of the media for refusing to toe its line and walk on the railway track set for him by it. Earlier, incensed individuals and institutions acting in tandem, tried to finish off the Swami with the sword for being too much of a nuisance to their unholy ways, but failed miserably- the intrepid Swami, they found was more than a match for them. Now that they got a golden chance to wreak vengeance with the pen and lens, they were in no mood to let go of this god-given opportunit…so they thought…. So they subtly added Swami Maheshwara Bhadrananda’s name along with all the wrong doings of Santhosh Madhavan, thereby giving the innuendo to the gullible public that the Swami was an associate in crime with Santhosh Madhavan.
Things came to a boil on May 17, 2008. Then Swami Bhadrananda and his beloved mother, who he revered as a Goddess just like the great Indian saint Sri Ramakrishna did, were staying in a house belonging to his secretary and his mother. Some of the men in the media who had been at loggerheads with Swami Maheswara Bhadrananda deliberately planted a story in the media that the Swami was an adulterer, and these shameless tricksters published the photograph of the Swami with his own mother, insuinuating this lady was the Swami’s woman. The Swami who loved his mother dearly, lost his bearings for a moment as anyone would have. It was his mother who had long, long ago advised him to respect women, and taught him that he who didn’t respect a woman, would not rise high in either spiritual or secular life; a man had to look only at the feet of a woman older in age while conversing, that much humility and reverence one should have for women, the Swami was told. Also, his mother was that woman who readily sold off her ‘thali’ to enable the Swami to do social service.
The cleverly planted news spread like wildfire. Incensed by the Swami’s plain impudence, anti social elements gathered in numbers around the abode of the Swami and his mother, to catch him red-handed and teach him a lesson which he wouldn’t forget in a hurry. They seemed violent. Hearing the commotion outside and being by informed by his secretary, the Swami came out to confront them with his licensed gun in hand. His mother came out too, for if her son was assaulted, she too is assaulted. The Swami told the mob, “Let no innocent man be hurt. If you want, you may take my life”. The presence of a violent mob around the house, possibility of harm, insecurity and social stigma compelled the lady of the house to ask the Swami and his mother to leave their house immediately. Nowhere to go, the Swami and his mother stood helpless before a baying crowd.
Then a real wolf in the guise of Mr. Iype Vallikadan of Asianet Television Channel called; obviously he knew about the goings on and was secretly happy that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda was facing the music from the public. Ipe derisively asked the Swami, “Hi, what news? All well over there?” The Swami lost his cool, and asked Iype if he- the Swami- did any wrong to Iype or his ilk. He further told Ipe over the cell phone, that no true Sannyasin deserved to be treated in this manner, and that anyone could take his own life if that was what he wanted. The Swami added, “If you want to teach me a lesson, come on before me here as a man. Don’t hide behind the bushes. I have a loaded gun ready for you”. The clever Iype gathered what was happening there and suddenly turned that into a news flash- that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda is standing before a mob, gun in hand ready to commit suicide! The news was flashed across the television sets of the state and beyond.
The Swami did not know what was going on behind his back. All he was aware was that of a potentially violent crowd in front of him, and that he with his mother were standing helplessly before them. The then DYSP of that area, Mr. P.N Unni Rajan, being alerted of the news of the Swami’s impending suicide called him over cellphone and said that he wanted to initiate talks! The Swami answered that he was in no mood to talk to anyone and that he would come over to the Police Station later and talk to him. The DYSP pleaded with the Swami not to do anything crazy. The Swami said, “What they want is my blood. I won’t give my blood to any asinine cat or dog, but if those guys want my blood, let them have it’. The Swami was speaking about the mob in front and persons who set them up from behind. The DYSP on the other hand was thinking that the Swami was speaking of his suicide! Then the policemen in Jeeps arrived. Two Sub Inspectors of Police and constables landed. They wanted the Swamy’s gun. The Swami asked them why they were demanding his gun, when it was duly obtained with a license to protect his life. A little later the Circle Inspector of Police arrived and demanded that the Swami hand over his gun to him. The policemen were demanding back the gun thinking that the daring Swami would put his life to death for others. The Swami on the other hand was not aware that they came to take his gun back because they were informed that the Swamy was about to end his life!
After some arguments and discussions, all decided to go to the Police Station. By now Mr. Iype Vallikkadan spread the news among the media colleagues that Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda was being taken to the police station, gun in hand for an attempt on his own life! The media came in numbers before the police station with cameras and recorders. The Swami asked to the policemen, “Why are you people harassing saints and yogis like this?”
Ms. Leby Surendran of a revered Malayalam daily, true to the character of an impartial journalist asked the Swami to inform the media of his side of the story. The Swami went ahead describing the sequence of events. Then another media man, Mr. Hyder Ali of India Vision Television team, sore at being ignored, shouted at the policemen if the police station was an arena for flesh peddling!
The Swami turned against this man like a lion, but the latter said, nonchalant, “ We came here to shoot on camera your suicide and bloodshed. Don’t waste our time. Do it fast and let us go”. The Swami could bear it no more. He turned to Hyder Ali and began moving towards him menacingly. The police men pulled him from behind. Then gun went off, not once… twice….bludgeoning the air and the murmur of the crowd.
The police had to act. Because a powerful politician was pooh-poohed by Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda for insulting the intelligence of the people of the State, orders came from above to bring the Swami to book- so they charged him with an attempt to murder the Circle Inspector of Police!
We have to bear one thing very clearly. Our land is ruled by a minority set of wolves and thieves. They use every means at their disposal, media being the favourite- to suppress any voice of dissent. They brook no criticism and are corrupt to the roots. Swami Hemavell Maheshwara Bhadrananda challenges these rouges and exposes them in public. No wonder the Swami is a hounded man.
Dr.RSP Varma
Tamil Blood is our Bread
Swami Hemavell Maheshwara Bhadrananda muses on the violence against Tamils
“We have to be proud of Tamil Nadu and her people”, Swami Hemavell Maheswara Bhadrananda often says. He cites a number of reasons for that.
“The Tamils are the flag bearers of the Dravidian culture for one”, he says, “and the Tamil people have stoically withstood many physical and moral attacks to uphold it. And without any doubt, Tamil, the language of the people of Tamil Nadu is one of the most ancient languages, older than even Sanskrit”.
The Swami further adds, “The Tamils are spunky and spirited, peaceful and broad-minded, welcome everybody and treat all with equanimity”
“Equanimity is not the word…. respectful”. They call ladies, “Amma” , a term of respect and they call the males, “Ayya”.
He asks rather seriously, “How does a Keralaite eat his food? That has to come from Tamil Nadu” referring to the truck loads of grain, vegetables and serials coming from Tamil Nadu to an agriculturally starved Kerala State.
Swami Hamawell Maheswara Bhadrananda gets animated when the topic gets to Tamil Nadu and her people. He says, “My uncle, Mr. Nanjil Manoharan was a cabinet minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu. One had to see to believe the gratitude, respect and above all love of the people of Tamil Nadu to him’.
“And make no mistake, the Tamils are undoubtedly the most liberal, open-minded, tolerant, progressive, radical, receptive, responsive, loving and caring people you see anywhere in the world”.
The Swami gives numerous examples. “Take the superstars of Tamil films… MGR, Rajni Kanth, J.Jayalalithaa…… all sought refuge in the Tamil film industry, and all were given a grand welcome.”
Regarding the Tamil bravery, he says, “Most Indians were reluctant to join the fiery Subhash Chandra Bose, the fierce, radical leader in the fight against the British but the Tamils bravely jumped in to join him”.
The Tamil concept of beauty is also unique. The drawing of ‘kolams’, the ‘Bharatha Natyam’, the Pongal festivities, the passion for classical music, the Tamil films can all be cited as examples, the Swami says.
With all his high passion for the Tamils, why did he take a wrong stance against the Tamils in the Mullaperiyar issue?
The Swami gets so affronted and furious that one dreaded an outburst. But he quickly calmed down to be the effacing self. He seemed more sad than annoyed.
“You know the politicians of Kerala”, he said. “They act as good friends, but you don’t realize that you are being taken for a ride and being used”.
“The politicians have a secret agenda. They couch it with a cunning sweetness of doing good to the people”.
The real issue at the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border was not related to the Mullaperiyar Dam at all. The issue was that a lot land in that area was held by certain members, supporters and politicians of a particular party known to be representatives of a minority religious group. This political party is known for its land-grabbing, wealth-seizing, greed, acquisitiveness and avarice , and it is well-known to be flagrantly pro-bourgeois and pro-moneyed. This was a time of fishing in troubled waters for the party, for the Mullapperiyar issue coincided with the peak pilgrim season to the venerated Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.
The Swami has friends everywhere, and when a person named Mr. Sangeeth Louise called for a talk with the Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. Oommen Chandy to resolve the Mullapperiyar issue, he readily agreed. The media had been coming out with reports of the Tamil hostility towards the Keralites settled in the Kerala- Tamil Nadu border, and of attacks on students studying in the various colleges in Tamil Nadu. The Government as usual was indecisive and dumb, and when it sensed the people’s anger, it decided to act in a round about way. The compulsion to act had little to do with solving the crisis. It was more related to demonstrating to the people that this was a pro-people’s Government, willing to take the cudgels.
The Swami readily and willingly agreed to the talks. He was willing to do anything that would prevent further brutality and bloodshed. The talks themselves went sour. The Swami sensed that the people involved were not for solving a grave issue but to create bloodshed. It seemed their idea of a solution to the violence was by further violence- harm the innocent and unoffending Tamils, a la ‘tit-for-tat’. The Swami, by nature is opposed to violence and always tells his people that “AHIMSA”- non-violence was the first of the ten basic ethical values propounded by Sage Patanjali. The Swami was very disturbed and talked little.
Mr. Sangeeth Louis, a shady man behind the powerful politians of Kerala offered to drop the Swami back home in a motor car, to which the Swami readily agreed. This later turned out to be a thoughtless act and a calamitous error in judgment as the later incidents proved. The speeding car came to a screeching halt when a Tamil truck was spotted on the road. Mr. Sangeeth Louise got out in a huff asking the Swami to remain in the vehicle. He picked up a big stone from the road and hurled it on the front glass of the truck. The glass pane was smashed and splinters of glass were splattered on the road. The Swami crouched in the car stupefied.
Immediately a mob gathered on the scene, and there were altercations and arguments. The Tamil truck driver was on the point of being man handles. Then the Swami got out of the car to protect him, and prevent him from being man handled. A communist leader appeared on the scene and further arguments and ruction took place. The Swami apologized profusely to the poor Tamil truck driver, and went a step further and told him that all damages would be taken care of.
Mr. Sangeeth Louise, whose house was near-by told the Swami that he better alight and take rest in his own house for some time, and the Swami, who was drained from the pacification talks and apologies agreed. Mr. Louise dropped Swami in his home and went out again informing the Swami that he had some work, and that he attend to them; he further promised that he would be back soon.
It was not Mr. Sangeeth Louise who returned ‘soon’, but the Police. The Swami was aghast that he was hauled in for ‘creating violence and destruction’.
What had followed would have shamed even a dictatorial of vertical communist nation. The Swami was thrown into a cell, abused, tortured, maimed and beaten black and blue by the police, without rhyme or reason; he was not given a few moments of respite. He was not given an opportunity to explain what had really happened. The men in uniform kicked him to the ground with their boots and trampled all over his lying body. They dropkicked and waltzed over the Swami’s spread-eagled body; and not satisfied with these, the Circle-inspector of Police daubed chili powder essence on the Swami’s eyes and just above the genital area. The Swami was spat upon and urinated all over the body. No wonder, blood, urine and feces egresses’ discharged from his body. It was very evident that this was a planned move to frame the Swami and bring him down in the eyes of the people for openly criticizing the Government and bringing into the open its many compulsions, wrong doings, false promises and confused policies, inviting ridicule and contempt from the people.
The media which works hand in hand with the Government of all hues had an axe to grind too. The Swami has his own publications and he digs out scoops and news items which the media turn a blind eye on, thus question its own role as the fourth independent pillar in a democracy. This was much of an irritant to it. The pro-criminal- media combine had carefully planned to get even at Swami, and they had succeeded. Had the Swami, on the other hand played to their low-cunning designs and desires and attacked and assaulted the Tamils, especially the pilgrims coming in at that time in hordes to the famed Ayyappa Temple in Sabari Mala against his conscience and moral codes, he would not have faced this brutal and inhuman treatment. His fault was that he stood by the Tamils and prevented attacks on them. He was a tower and bulwark against the aggressors on the people who he fondly calls, Tamil Makkal’ and ‘my own people’- may be thinking of his late grandfather who had served them with love and gratitude.
The hatching of this plan in quick time might well have been due to the fact that the Swami was conducting mass meditation campaigns in many places to send out holy vibrations of tranquility and harmony in a troubling situation. The Swami had just conducted a meditation camp in the scenic Alappuzha when the ill-fated call came. Troubles, they say come in different guises cloaked in different forms and this was exactly what had happened to Swamiji.
The Swami says, “who in true senses in this world would believe that I was the perpetuator of violence when I was directing my pupils to meditate for peace and love?”. Indeed the police officer in charge said as much later, and even admitted to the ‘pressures from the top’ . Heinous criminals and vile politicians won the day, and another Jesus was crucified on a cross.
The Swami says, “There is an ancient tradition in India which is carried out even today- that is to show gratitude to the provider of food- the ‘Anna Datha’. Who provides food for us, Keralites? It is the ‘Tamil Makkals’. We should not even for one second forget that the Tamil Makkals’ blood is our bread. I suffered pain and humiliation, but I am thankful to God that I could prevent a horrible catastrophe and wanton violence against the beloved people of Tamil Nadu”.
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