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Drought: CM seeks seer's blessings

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE Sept. 18. The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, on Thursday sought the blessings of Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji of Avadhoota Datta Peetam of Mysore, to solve the problems caused by drought.

Speaking at a civic reception held in honour of the swamiji, on the completion of his 65th world tour, Mr. Krishna said he and his wife, Prema Krishna, had met the seer in Mysore two years ago, when the forest brigand, Veerappan, kidnapped the Kannada film actor, Raj Kumar. With the blessings of the swamiji, the Government had secured the release of the actor, he added. Mr. Krishna said that the State was now facing severe drought, and the people were acute shortage of drinking water. The blessings of the swamiji would give him more confidence to tackle the problems confronting the State, he added.

The swamiji was an "ambassador of values", Mr. Krishna said. He was involved in spreading the message of peace through dharma. The temple constructed by the seer at Trinidad in the West Indies would spread the messages of spirituality, brotherhood, and peace, he added.

On behalf of the swamiji, the former President, R. Venkataraman, handed over a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh to the Chief Minister. Mr. Venkataraman released an audio CD, and said the Bhakti Movement was spread in the country with the help of music.

Purandaradasa in Karnataka, Jnaneshwara in Maharashtra, Guru Nanak in Punjab, and Tulasidas and Kabir in Uttar Pradesh had spread the message of the spirituality through the Bhati Movement, he added.

The Governor, T.N. Chaturvedi, and the Governor of Bihar, M. Rama Jois, spoke on the occasion.

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