Profiles

But at the doctrinal level, this consequence is the direct outcome of imposing the selfsame untested theory of freedom, democracy, liberty and related ideas fashioned in the West on an entire people who had fashioned their lives for more than three millennia based on a thoroughly different political, cultural and social inheritance. In other words, an all-encompassing and far-reaching change was thrust upon the entire population of the seventh largest country in the world without their consent. Bharatavarsha continues to pay the human cost of this change.

During 1934-35, during Sir Mirza Ismail's term as the Diwan of Mysore, there were many prominent men from Madras who would come to Bangalore to spend their summer here. P S Shivaswami Iyer was one such person. His ancestors belonged to aristocratic and affluent families and thus Shivawami Iyer was well off even by birth. Just as the saying goes, "Śucīnāṃ śrīmatām gehe," he was born to a wealthy family yet a noble, dignified, and morally upright one.

At the individual level, the Bhagavad Gita’s dictum of uddharedAtmanAtmAnam (Let a person raise and purify himself by his own efforts) and its emphasis on Svadharma also means that one must rule oneself, which in turn means that the onus is upon the individual to constantly rectify himself. Hidden within these tenets is a call to discard one’s ego at every step. The opaque wall of ego blocks the sunlight of self-reflection required for the said rectification.

I will now talk about a small organization that lived only for a few years starting from about 1916-17. I also happened to be a member of the organisation. The name of the organisation was Non-entities. In other words, 'anonymous.' I don’t know the exact nature of circumstances that caused its birth.

Muniswamy Achar was one of  the frontrunners among a group of connoisseurs at Mulabagilu. He was popularly called Gattanagari Muniswamy. He was a goldsmith. One of his ancestors by name Ghattanna might have probably gained popularity for his athleticism.

Note: This is the full text of the author’s address delivered on the occasion the launch of the Mysore Hiriyanna Library, a set of reprints of M. Hiriyanna’s books and essays, published by Prekshaa Pratishthana.   

At the outset, I take great pleasure in extending a very warm welcome to all of you.

AR Krishna Shastry was a scholar by birth. His father, Ambale Ramakrishna Shastry was the head professor of Grammar in the Samskṛta Pāṭhaśālā in Mysore. In addition to Sanskrit grammar, he was well versed in Jyotiṣa and Ayurveda too. Scholarship, therefore, flowed in Krishna Shastry's veins.

Krishna Shastry lost his mother at a young age and this probably was one of the reasons for him to develop a tender heart full of empathy. Krishna Shastry lent out a helping hand for many. He always had a soft corner for the needy.

Kunigal Sri Rama Sastri[i] had once embarked on a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had made all the necessary arrangements for the same. A team of chefs and servants, a palanquin and strongmen to carry it—this entire family accompanied him.