Haasan: Rashtrakavi Kuvempu was not only a writer but also a great sage, Dr. Sri Nirmalananda Nath Swamiji, president of the Sri Adi Chunchanagiri Mahasamsthan Math, has said.
He was presiding over the 120th birth anniversary celebrations of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu and the state-level BGN Kuvempu Award ceremony held at the Adi Chunchanagiri Community Hall in the city on Wednesday evening.
“Siddeshwarananda Swamiji, a monk of the Ramakrishna Math who had read his literary works, mentioned in a letter written to the ashram in India from abroad that Kuvempu was a purely spiritual person. He wrote that Puttappa was a great sage when he was meditating at his house in Krishnapuram. If we understand such a poet correctly, life becomes meaningful. Meditation does not require a lot of steps. It is enough to remember such a person. In a life that is always full of mud, if you remember such people often, the mind will become mature,” he said.
“Today, the award-winners are doing the work of spreading Kuvempu’s thoughts all over the world. Through them, it will be possible to measure Kuvempu’s height,” he said.
“Generally, writers do not write in a spiritual language. Kuvempu was the only one who adopted the language of spirituality and modern technology in his writing. Kuvempu’s literature also gives the same feeling as a jasmine flower gives off fragrance in a house. When you remember Puttappa, the mind reaches a meditative state. Many people in Kannada literature have written about social evils. Along with that, there are few who have reached spiritual heights,” he said.
The seer added: “Kuvempu alone dominated the literary field of the 20th century. Whether they criticized or praised him, the literature revolved around Kuvempu. If that is the case, we should all think about how much power Kuvempu had over minds.”
Speaking on the occasion, researcher H.P.Nagarajaiah, who received the BGS State Award, said that although Kuvempu’s role in the implementation of the Gokak Report was great, it did not get priority in the media.
He said that the government made Kannada compulsory as a result of the struggle for Kannada in education by Dr. Rajkumar from the cinema sector and Kuvempu from the literature sector.
Litterateur Prof. Krishnagowda, Dr. T.C. Poornima and Vijaya Karnataka newspaper editor Sudarshan Channangihalli were honoured with the state-level BGS Award on the occasion.
Before the stage programme, the Gayailigalu drama performance of the Aniketan art team of Kiragur was appreciated.
Shri Shambhunatha Swamiji of the Adichunchanagiri Hassan branch Math, Shri Shivaputranath Swamiji of Kabbali Math, District President of Vokkaligara Sangha G.L. Muddegowda, MLAs C.N. Balakrishna, H.P. Swaroop, and H.B. Madanagowda were present.
Lecturer Lakshminarayana compeered the programme.
