The shah-nakya: What this seer felt about his meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah

Some meetings with some dignitaries bring unexpected vibes. The casual impression one forms about a person could totally reverse, springing surprises. That is exactly how I felt after an interaction with Honourable Union Minister for Home Affairs and Co-operation Shri Amit Shah ji. 

Yesterday I received a phone call from Shri B L Santoshi and honourable Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai who informed me that Shri Amit Shah ji would be visiting our Harihara Veerashaiva Lingayata Panchamasali Jagadguru Peetha. We extended a formal welcome to him and he too paid his respects to the Peetha. 

Then, as he entered my quarters ‘Sannidhi’ he exclaimed in Hindi “it feels like entering a meditation hall”. His attention was immediately caught by the Sri Chakra painting on the wall. As he started talking about it, I instantly realised he knows a great deal about Sri Chakra Upasana.

Then he looked at a painting of me doing Chakra Meditation and exclaimed ‘awesome!’. He asked, “what does the Lingayat tradition say about Kundalini Yoga?”

I explained briefly about how Saint Basavanna mostly spoke about social and devotion aspects but Allamaprabhu, Akkamahadevi, Yedeyuru Siddalingeshwara, Shanmukha Shivayogi, Nijaguna Shivayogi have spoken extensively about Kundalini Yoga. Responding to this with curiosity, he asked if books in Hindi are available on this subject and if he could get them. I assured that I would send them to him.

He asked about my studies and when I said I had studied at Rishikesh, he instantly connected, talking about Swami Rama, and his autobiographical book Living with Himalayan Masters. I shared some of my experiences of my days in Rishikesh. I showed him the two volumes of the coffee table book “The Making of a Himalayan Master” and “The Spiritual Experiences of a Himalayan Master” that traces my life experiences.

He took a deep interest in them and started going through the pages earnestly. "What a wonderful feat you have accomplished at such a young age, Swamiji!" he exclaimed. He narrated how he had gone to Joshimatha and stayed there for three days and then went to Kedarnath and did his research on Sri Shankaracharya. He said, "In his life of thirty-two years, what great achievements Shankaracharya accomplished, what a great saint, and Jnani!”

I informed him that Sri Shankaracharya had come to visit Harihara and prayed at the 800-year-old Harihareshwara temple and had conducted "Anushtana" on the banks of River Tunga. Then I explained how we are constructing Yoga Mantapas at the very same site that Sri Shankaracharya meditated and explained the Namami Tunga Arati that we have planned inspired by Namami Ganga Arati at Varanasi.

When he saw the photos of me cleaning up River Tunga along with the youth volunteers, he was mighty pleased and exclaimed “Bhesh bhesh” meaning ‘Good, good’. He said he would visit Harihareshwar temple before leaving Harihara. I learnt later that he did keep his words.

As Shri Amit Shah ji was flipping through the pages of the book, he stopped at a particular page and went silent. It had a photo of me standing in front of a huge map of undivided India of pre-historic era: Akhanda Bharat. When he lifted his head, I saw his eyes welled up. I was surprised, to say the least. I was not expecting this.

Shri Amit Shah ji said, “India should become the Vishwa Guru Bharata. It needs the blessings of saints like you, Swamiji”. This time my eyes welled up, overcome by emotion.

I narrated about our legacy of brave women like Kittur Rani Chennamma, Belavadi Mallamma, Keladi Rani Chennamma and others who fought for and died protecting our Akhanda Bharat. He listened to it with utmost interest.

Being a politician and having visited Harihara for election campaign, I was expecting him to talk about politics. But to my great astonishment Amit Shah ji only spoke about yoga, spirituality, sadhana, siddhi etc. He also expressed his wish for ridding of hatred and building a united India. Listening to him I felt I was with a yogi on a spiritual path and not a politician. He was also a great listener and a man with a vision, an epitome of conscientious seeker. Even when he mentioned the removal of Article 370 of the Constitution, he expressed happiness about how the erstwhile fear is replaced with peace in Kashmir and how people are visiting Kashmir now.

Amit Shah ji has a mesmerising personality. He is not just a politician but a seeker of a different kind. In his company, hours turned minutes. He invited me to visit him at his home.

When it was time for Amit Shah ji to leave, I gifted him with the Srichakra painting that he had admired, with my blessings. "Aap bahut sookshma yogi hai" he said.

After his departure, it became clear to me why Amit Shah ji is called the avatar of Chanakya. Dhanananda, the king of Magadha, persecuted Chanakya extremely and even though he tried to kill him, Chanakya did not stop trying to bring together the fragmented Bharat of that time. He made an ordinary boy Chandragupta into an extraordinary emperor. Chanakya was never self-indulging but only strove for building a strong nation. I felt Chankya had reincarnated. He is not living for his own self but for the country. The country is fortunate that he is at the helm of taking the country towards prosperity.

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Writer: Jagadguru Sri Vachanananda Swamiji Veerashiava Lingayat Panchamasali Jagadguru Peetha, Harihara. 

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions, and perspectives appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Republic TV/ Republic World/ ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd.)