Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
From a war base to an abode of peace
|
He believed in the unity of all religions and hence chose a symbol incorporating all religions.
|
The view from the terrace of the Universal Peace Centre. At right visitors watching the exhibits on display in the hall.-- Photos: C.V. Subrahmanyam
About six decades ago it had served as a war base. A pious man's vision and his determination to convert it into a base of peace became a reality 18 years after his death. Today, any person can go there and meditate in silence in the lap of nature. Any inkling of the place and the person referred to here?
It is the Viswa Shanthi Kshetram (Universal Peace Centre), established atop the picturesque Kailasagiri Hill and the pious man in question is Swami Omkar, the apostle of peace.
"Individual peace paves the way for world peace. When a person is peaceful and calm, he/she will not have any hatred/anger against others." This was his firm belief and philosophy.
In 1912, Venkateswara, as he was called in his childhood, went to the Himalayas and performed penance chanting the syllable `Om'... 'Om'... The Himalayan sages called him `Omkar' and the name stuck.
The old Shiva Lingam on Kailasagiri hill
On his return from the Himalayas, he established the Prema Samajam at Samalkot in East Godavari district and the Santhi Ashram on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam in 1934 to spread the message of love and peace. During the early 1930s he often used to visit the Kailasagiri hill for meditation. He stopped going to the hill when the British Indian Army occupied it for using it as a war base during World War II. In 1947, the Government issued an auction notice to demolish the building used by the military on the hill.
Swami Omkar was not in favour of demolishing the building. He asked his friend to participate in the auction on his behalf. "I want to use the war base as a peace base," he told the auctioneers. They replied that the land belonged to the Vizianagaram Maharaja.
On a representation from Swami Omkar, the Maharaja donated the entire hill to the Santhi Ashram. He established a peace centre and at about the same time, the Estates Abolition Act was passed. Though the Maharaja had donated the land, the Swamiji did not bother to get it registered and the ashram could not take possession of the land.
In 1951, the Swami donated a piece of his bone for correcting the deformity of a young girl. After the bone grafting was done, he went on a `mouna vratam' (silent penance) on the Kailasagiri hill for six years. He once again longed to establish a peace base there. Again in the early 1970s, he went on a penance on the hill. He had a dream of building a universal temple of all religions. Later, he gave the design for building the structure with eight wings. He wanted a temple of silence without any worship. The dream, however, did not materialise during his lifetime. He died at the age of 88 years in 1982.
Swami Omkar had started peace centres in different countries, including the US, Germany, France, Hongkong, Brazil, South Africa and Switzerland. He believed in the unity of all religions and hence chose a symbol incorporating all religions.
It was on Swami Omkar's birth centenary on January 21, 1995, the Santhi Ashram president, Swami Chidananda, who was also president of the International Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, laid the foundation-stone for construction of the peace base as ordained by the Swami Omkar. His successor, Matha Jnaneswari, worked relentlessly for realising his dream.
On January 21, 2000, the Viswa Santhi Kshetram was inaugurated atop the Kailasagiri. At present, meditation camps are being conducted on all `pournami' (full moon) days. Any organisation, irrespective of religious faith, can conduct silent camps at the centre, with prior permission from the Santhi Ashram organisers at Lawson's Bay Colony.
"The Brahma Kumaris, Siddha Samadhi Yoga (SSY) and Chinmaya Mission followers are already using the centre for their camps. A few spiritual books pertaining to all major religions have been stacked in the library, which is housed on the ground floor. More funds are required to purchase more books for the library and take up landscape works," says an ashram inmate, D.V.R. Anjaneyulu.
What better way to experience inner peace than to meditate in silence at the Viswa Santhi Kshetram nestled amidst the green mountains overlooking the blue ocean and the sky?
B MADHU GOPAL
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
