Vidyadheesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Palimar Mutt has chosen 20-year-old Shailesh Upadhyaya as his “shishya” (junior seer).
Shailesh is the eldest of the two sons of Surendra Upadhyaya, a priest, and Lakshmi Upadhyaya, a homemaker. While Shailesh is studying at Yoga Deepika Vedic Residential Institute at Palimar, his brother, Vishwesha Upadhyaya, is pursuing ayurveda course in Manipal.
Parents’ consent
The Palimar seer told reporters here on Wednesday that Shailesh was chosen after he and his parents gave their consent. There was no element of persuasion involved in it, he said. He had chosen Shailesh after his horoscope was cleared by three astrologers. Mr. Surendra Upadhyaya did not agree for this proposal in the beginning. Later he consulted two astrologers in Kerala, who gave the same opinion as the previous three astrologers. It was on March 26 that the Upadhyaya family held discussions among themselves and informed him (the Palimar seer) that they had agreed to the proposal of Shailesh becoming a monk, the seer said.
The seer said religious rituals connected to ‘sanyasashrama sweekara’ (initiation to monastic order) and ‘peetharohana’ ceremonies would be held here from May 9 to 12. “Accepting sanyasa is a big sacrifice. It has to come from within,” the Palimar seer said.
Shailesh did his schooling at the Vidyodaya School and SMSP Sanskrit College here and then joined the Yoga Deepika Vedic Residential Institute.
After initiation into the monastic order, he would have to study vedas, vedantas, shastras, and religious texts written by the exponent of Dwaita philosophy, Sri Madhwacharya. He would study these texts under the guidance of the Palimar seer.
Childhood dream
To a query by reporters, Shailesh said, “My childhood dream was to become a scholar-priest like my grandfather Vadiraja Upadhyaya. Hence I took to religious studies.”
