The CPM-controlled Cochin Devaswom Board withdrew permission for the grand reception organised for Mahamandaleshwar Anandavanam Bharati Swami at Sreemoolasthanam of the legendary Vadakkumnathan Temple in Thrissur. Believers of Sanatana Dharma had organised the programme in connection with Swamiji’s first-ever visit to Thrissur, his home district in his poorvashrama. Swamiji was anointed as the Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna Akhada prior to the recently concluded Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
Event organisers had applied for permission to hold the programme on 19 March. The Cochin (Kochi) Devaswom Board authorities initially informed them that a Kalasha programme was scheduled in the temple on that day; hence, the event could be held on 18 March instead. Naturally, the organisers proceeded with the invitations and other arrangements. However, at that point, the authorities presented a new version, stating that the Kalasham was actually scheduled for 18 March, meaning the programme could instead take place on 19 March. Organisers rescheduled everything, including invitations. But when they began erecting the pandal on 18 March (for the programme on 19 March), the authorities declared that permission had been withdrawn and that no construction could proceed.
When the organisers attempted to contact the Devaswom President and the Manager, their calls went unanswered.
K.G. Venugopal, chief organiser of the reception and former senior RSS Pracharak, told Organiser that the event would still be held in an auditorium on 19 March. However, before the programme, believers of Sanatana Dharma would conduct japa and prayers in the temple, praying for the “purification of the mindsets of politicians” who had sought to obstruct the highly spiritual event at Sreemoolasthanam.
Sasikala Teacher, patron of Hindu Aikyavedi, told the media that the forces behind these anti-Hindu actions of the Devaswom Board were evident. She asserted that this was the result of a conspiracy by those responsible for every anti-Hindu step taken by the CPM and the Left Democratic Front (LDF). She further pointed out that the same forces had disrupted Thrissur Pooram last year. Clearly referring to Jihadi elements controlling the LDF apparatus, she hinted that the LDF’s defeat in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 was a direct consequence of the Pooram episode. She added that the defeated LDF candidate should investigate what is happening. (A Union Minister won the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, marking the BJP’s first-ever LS victory in the state.)
There is no doubt that anti-Hindu forces were unsettled by the thousands of people expected to gather for Mahamandaleshwar’s reception. The CPM cannot tolerate Swamiji’s spiritual elevation, particularly since he was once a prominent SFI leader during his college days.
Swami Anandavanam, from Kerala, is now Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna Akhara. Juna Akhara is the largest and oldest of the 13 akhadas in the country. He will now be known as Swami Anandavanam Bharati. Sadhu Anandavanam is the first Malayali from Kerala to attain the position of Mahamandaleshwar after Swami Kashikanandagiri Maharaj, one of the leading figures in the field of spiritual and Vedic knowledge in India.
Marxian Leader to Sanatan Warrior: Transformation of Juna Akhara’s new Mahamandaleshwar Swami Anandavanam Bharati
Writes: Viswaraj V#SwamiAnandavanamBharati #JunaAkharahttps://t.co/MJ9pfg20Vx
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) February 2, 2025
According to legend, the parents of Adi Shankaracharya prayed before Vadakkumnathan, the presiding deity of the temple—known as Dakshina Kailas—seeking a child, as they had remained childless for several years after their wedding. Vadakkumnathan blessed them with a child, who later became Adi Shankara. This is why the organisers wished to accord a spiritually significant reception to Mahamandaleshwar, a Keralite, at the Sreemoolasthanam of the temple.
