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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
KANCHIPURAM, OCT 12: ``Thanks to God, my mission to Mount Kailash and Manasarovar was successful'', was how the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, reacted to his recent pilgrimage.
The Swamigal is the first seer from the Kanchi Math to visit these pilgrim centres after Adi Sankaracharya. After offering his prayers at the Kailash temple in Nepal, Sri Jayendra installed a statue of Adi Sankara amid the chanting of mantras.
The highlight of his trip was that he scaled Manasarovar in three days and performed Guru Purnima pooja on Thursday, an auspicious day. The Kanchi Sankaracharya told The Indian Express today, ``You can achieve anything where the atmosphere is surcharged with peace''.
The Sankaracharya could also perform the Chathurmasya Vyasa pooja at Mount Kailash on July 9. ``I have travelled extensively and visited terror-stricken areas like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, and I have found the satisfaction of realising peace in these areas. I mustthank God once again as my mission to Kailash and Manasarovar, the temples that are over 14,000 feet above sea level, was without hurdles''.
Asked how he felt while passing through Tibet and China, he said it was ``a nice experience''. He added though Tibet was basically a Buddhist region, Hinduism and Buddhism have close links.
Recalling Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's declaration (Naidu visited the swamigal at Hyderabad on his birthday on August 9) that he was happy he could visit him without security, the swamigal said: ``This feeling is of utmost importance to mankind.''
He said, ``A man should not be greedy, should not develop an ego and should adjust with nature for a peaceful and happy life.''
The Kanchi seer said the country does not basically face a caste or communal problem. If there is harmony, no part of the country will witness violence, he said, and appealed to people to shed hatred and work for the country's unity and peace.
Asked about the performance of theBJP Government at the Centre, he said he did not ``want to say anything right now as he had just landed after a successful pilgrimage.''
Speaking at the felicitation function at the Kamakshiamman Temple, the Swamigal said he saw that ``Hindusim was propagated well in all the places he visited'' and observed that ``people had the intention to promote Hinduism in a better way.''
He appealed to the people to shower love and affection on one another and said if this was the dominant sentiment, there would be no disturbances in the country.
After felicitations by dignitaries, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was taken on a `Hamsa Vahanam' to the Math, covering the four streets of the Kamakshi Amman temple.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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