Seventeen years have passed since Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was brutally killed. He was murdered on August 23, 2008, on the auspicious day of Janmashtami in Jalaspata, located in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Kandhamal district. Although Swami Laxmananda wore saffron clothes like any sanyasi in Hindu tradition, his tirade was not for his personal moksha. He left his personal sadhana in the Himalayas and chose to work for the upliftment of tribals and marginalized people in the Kandhamal district of Odisha.
Four decades before his death, an unknown Laxmananda reached by foot a remote, inaccessible place named Chakapada in Kandhamal district after his sadhana in the Himalayas. He was advised to do something good for the poor and tribals in Odisha. He chose Kandhamal district as his karma bhoomi, which was very backward educationally and economically.
In 1969, Swami Laxmananda Saraswati started a Sanskrit school in Chakapada village in the tribal-dominated Kandhamal district. Now, 340 students are receiving Sanskrit education from this school and college.
At present, not only the children of Kandhamal district are studying in Chakapada, but children from six other nearby districts and 17 blocks are also studying there. Most of the students are tribals. Swamiji was an ardent proponent of equality between men and women in the family. In 1988, he set up his dream project, Sankaracharya Kanyashram, in Jalespata of Kandhamal district. Now, 305 girl students are receiving education in this residential school. Tribal girls from three adjacent blocks are studying in this Kanyashram. This was the place where the assassins killed him in August 2008.
“Swami Laxamananda Ji, throughout his life, essentially believed that the tribal population of the country has deep roots in Bharatiya culture and tradition and can never be seen as backward. He strongly believed that women must have equal status with men for a happy and prosperous society. He believed and strived to make a small area self-sufficient, not depending on the outside world to sustain material needs for a happy family life. He believed that education is real empowerment for any society. And finally, he believed that the advent of foreign culture via inducement, allurement, and conversion is a real danger to secularism and even to the sovereignty and integrity of Bharat. His entire life was dedicated to his conviction, and until his last drop of blood, he strived to achieve it,” says Sudhanshu Patnaik, National Secretary of VHP.
“A prolific scholar in Sanskrit and Vedas, he started to teach tribal kids the Vedic sutras, and his conviction was that anyone born on Bharatiya soil is good enough to study Sanskrit. For them, Sanskrit would be easy and comfortable to reach their memory and heart. The traditional belief that Sanskrit was the language of caste elites like Brahmins was something Swamiji wanted to break,” says Shri Patnaik.
With devotion his Sanskrit medium School as gradually grew up had classes up to Shastri and Upa Shashtri parallel to +2 and +3 University education. Products of the college could get into university faculty and Odisha Administrative Service. Swamiji’s School products have spread across Kandhmal and adjoining districts as teachers.
The notion that the tribal population is intellectually backward, Swami Laxmanananada was dead opposed from day one. He instead of arguing it proved it beyond debate through his practical implementation in his school. His detractors perhaps were left with no argument to fight.
He did not believe in caste hierarchy and never accepted worshiping God is monopoly of any caste. As the morning descends on earth, in his ashram cum school the gurukul young students most of them are tribal would be seen performing yangya with reciting Veda mantras like learned pandits of any big temple of the country do.
He believed education and awareness is key to a healthy society. For that he wanted to educate and ran schools. The tribal girls here apart from their formal education recite Gita, make the atmosphere serene with veda mantras and chant Shiva Mahimna strotras. Girls are gifts of God they cannot suffer from any disadvantage, Swamiji essentially believed.
By teaching girls and giving them sanskara he took knowledge and reason to every village in Kandhamal district. He taught the students in the kanyashram after returning home to teach and aware women in their locality.
“Swami Lakshmananand Saraswati Ji believed that just teaching the students the knowledge of books will not be sufficient . They should know every kind of work. For this reason, he used to teach the students about the tricks of farming along with studies. He used to give proper training for this. All the children studying here do farming along with studies. This work is still going on. Now for the last few years, computer training is also being given to the students who study here. ” says Biswamitra Mohanata, Senior functionary of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram.
“Apart from teaching Swamiji is seen as a economic crusader and environmental activist. He took up irrigation and agriculture as main areas of his thrust and made local kandha Tribe to break away from traditional work of collecting minor forest produce and look to agriculture as the real source of livelihood.” Said a functionary of the Kanyashram
Using local traditional know how the ever flowing streams from hill tops were diverted to crate storage points of wanter and made the people use water for agriculture purpose. This was really silent revolution in Kandhamal. The Tribal community did substantial improvement in agricultural activities and comfortably earned livelihood.
Kandhamal is famous in Odisha today for its organic agricultural products. The turmeric of Kandhamal has carved a niche world over. Beans of Kandhamal’s Raikia have demands in Odisha. Its Swamiji who encouraged local tribal to take to agriculture.
It would not be wrong if any one terms him as one of the leading green crusader of Odisha. He urged upon tribal community to protect forests at any cost. To agriculture to sustain rain is the need and its deep forests that ensure rains – hence each tree is not less than God he impressed upon.
He wanted the tribals to worship trees as incarnation of Gods. While most of the tribal districts there were destruction forests due to felling of trees , Kandhamal is the only district where the forest cover has really gone up.
“Government stastics speaks for itself. If any body recognizes Swamiji’s dedication or not that does not matter, at least Tribal population in Kandhamal is very much aware of this saffron Sadhu who always felt economic empowerment of local population is his salvation and that was his tapasya” Said Vishwamitra Mohanta
Perhaps media and his detractors have failed to recognize this part of his life and have concentrated on his religious aspect of his life only.
Missionaries came in large numbers from across the globe. Inducement and allurement were the only method they wanted to use and seva a medium to achieve their goal of conversion. Swamiji was dead against. He stood like a rock between foreign sponsored missionaries army.
He believed protection of tribal culture and their promotion as the national need. He believed the church by converting tribals was cutting the community from Indian routes. . He wanted to link Tribal community to Jagannath tradition which emerged from tribal origin. He organized Jagannath Rath Yatras in tribal heart land of Odisha. He made yatra to restore Dharani Penu (Mother Earth Goddess) worshiped by Kandha tribal community. The money man power and international support of missionaries failed to yield results.
Swamiji had to face bid on his life several times. The year before his assassination he had went public and had taken name before media the role of the then Congress Rajya Sabha MP Radhakanta Nayak being the prime conspirator on bid on his life in Dasingibadi in 2007.
A year after there was letter on threat to annihilate Swamiji from a unanimous outfit called ‘pahadia brunda’. As a law abiding citizen Swamiji went to police station a day before his assassination and registered a police complain. Leading TV channels gave wide publicity of threat letter to kill Swami Laxmananda.
Despite that his fundamental right “Right to Live” was failed to be protected by Sate Government though constitution make it binding. On night of Janmasthami in premises of Jalespata he was killed brutally. Maoists claimed that have killed Swamiji. Circumstantial evidences point to Maoists being used as contract killers and conspirators being other than killers.
However, the mission that he started is going on smoothly. 18 women teachers are teaching children in Jaleshpeta Sanskrit Kanyashram. Apart from this, 14 other employees are working for other works. A Veda Vidyalaya has also been established in the last two years. A Yagya Mandap and Gaushala have been built here with the help of local people. Also, for the safety of the girls’ hostel, walls have been built around it by the Delhi-based Janseva Sansthan.
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