Dalit Brahmachari at Sringeri Mutt

By S Chandrasekhar

Reiterating the Vedic tradition that one becomes a Brahaman not by birth but by karma and jnana (knowledge), Shri Sivanandan Sharma of Karimullaikal Mavelikara is all set to become a Brahmachari in the tradition bound Sringeri Mutt of Karnataka. The initiation is all the more sweet since Sivanandan belongs to the Hindu Paraya community and Sringeri Mutt is among the five Mutts, established by Advaita Acharya Shri Shankara, in five corners of Bharat. Incidentally the distance between Sri Shankara’s birth place Kalady and Sivanandan’s birthplace, Mavelikara is only 100 kilometres.

Fourth among the sons of Shri PR Kunjan, Sivanandan’s spiritual journey started very early. After his pre-University education he mastered all the Vedas, Upanishads and obtained upanayanam from the Vedic Scholar the late Acharya Narendra Bhusan. He will shortly be initiated as a Brahmachari at the Sringeri Mutt after Sanyasa Dheeksha.?