The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Vethathiri Maharishi dead

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Others

Vethathiri Maharishi dead

Staff Reporter

He is the founder of the World Community Service Center in Chennai His body will be kept for dharshan at Aliyar till noon on Thursday and then interred

Founder of the World Community Service Centre, Vethathiri Maharishi. - Photo: M. Balaji

POLLACHI: Spiritual leader and founder-trustee of Aliyar-based Temple of Consciousness, Swami Vethathiri Maharishi passed away at K.G. Hospital in Coimbatore on Tuesday after a brief illness. He was 96.

Hospital sources said that he suffered a heart attack around noon.

Surgery performed

He was admitted to the hospital about 10 days ago after complaining of constipation.

A surgery was performed to remove a block in the large intestine. Later, he developed a problem in kidney and was put on dialysis for a day.

The swami was cheerful and smiling and talking to people till he suffered the attack, the sources said.

Varadhappa Mudaliyar Vethathiri Maharishi was born in a weaver's family in Gummudipoondi, 30 km south of Chennai, as their eighth child.

He hardly had any schooling but mastered Ayurveda, Sidha and Homoeopathy.

Yoga centres

He founded the World Community Service Center in Chennai in 1958 and established 300 yoga centres all over the world. He had written about 80 books in Tamil and English. Many of his works became textbooks in universities.

During a recent conference, the Dravidian University at Kuppam had declared him as the 19th Sidha.

He popularised the simplified Kundalini meditation and synthesised Kayakalpa Yoga exercise for modern life.

His body would be kept for dharshan at Aliyar till noon on Thursday and then interred.

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