Warmth that transcended the barriers of caste, religion and parochialism defined Shivakumara Swami, say his students and those close to him.
According to K. Veerabhadrappa, the Kendra Sahitya Award-winning Kannada writer, his life was shaped by two years of education at the Siddaganga Mutt school between 1971 and 1973. “As the only person in my family to have completed SSLC, I came to the mutt in the hope of getting a seat. This institute was the hope for thousands of poor children. I could not get through the interview. But I observed Swamiji for a month and learnt that he was a lover of literature. When I got the chance, I recited poems and they impressed him. He gave me the seat and a chance at education,” he said.
Many of the 3,000 students at that time were from minority religions and a variety of castes. “During our mass prayers, the seer would read out stories from religious texts to us. He selected stories for children and on student issues. His narrative style and analysis were unmatched. Of the around 300 stories I must have heard, I can still recite 150 from memory,” he said.
Former Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Shankar Bidari said his introduction to the seer was in 1981 when he was posted as Additional Superintendent of Police in Tiptur. “I met him for the first time during an official programme at the mutt. Since then, I have sought his blessings many times... He had an affection for me, and between 1993 and 2015 he came to my house without fail for pujas and blessings on my birthday,” said Mr. Bidari.
He attributed the success of the task force set up to capture forest brigand Veerappan to the blessings of Shivakumara Swami.
