AWAKENINGS

Swaminathan , as the pontiff Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi was known in childhood, was born on May 20, 1894 in Villuppuram town and at the very young age of 13, he became the 68 th pontiff of Kanchi Mutt on February 13, 1907 following the unexpected demise of the 67 th pontiff at the age of 18. He was intensively educated by the Mutt’s pundits in both religious and secular knowledge. He could converse in English, French, Swedish and a dozen Indian languages.  During his tenure, he travelled by foot almost all places in India spreading the message of Vedic culture – the backbone of Hinduism. Periyava once expressed to his devotees that ‘it is my ardent wish that every locality, every street should have a center for teaching the Vedas and the boys, from their eighth year onwards, must be put through the discipline of recitation for an hour a day for ten years. Preserving the pristine tradition of the exalted Vedic chants enshrined in the lineage dedicated to t...