Shivakumara Swami (1907-2019) was a spiritual saint and a great devotee of Lord Shiva. His birth name was Shivanna. He belonged to Lingayat caste, and he joined the Siddaganga Mutt in 1930 at Karnataka and became the chief pontiff in the year 1941. He was the founder of the Sri Siddaganga Education Society. He was respected by the people of Karnataka due to his simplicity and devotion on god, and they praised and worshipped him as a great saint.
Shivanna was born on 1907 in a village at Mysore. From his younger age onwards, he will used to go to the nearby Shiva temples and worship Lord Shiva with great faith, devotion and dedication on him.
Shivanna completed his basic education in his village. And he was the successor of Uddana Shivayogi Swami and administered the Siddaganga Mutt in a proper manner. He was proficient in all the regional languages, and was a great scholar in Hindu scriptures. Shivanna, after attaining sainthood was called as Shivakumara Swami. He was a Padma Bhushan awardee.
He founded many educational institutions and was a great philanthropist. He provided free food, education and training to the school children and took care of them properly and cultivated the bhakti spirit, and insisted them to worship the god in the temples, and to offer regular prayers. He also provided free food, clothing and shelter to the poor people.
He died during the year 2019 due to illness.
IMPORTANCE
He is still remembered by the people of Karnataka for his selfless service to the society and for his kind attitude over others. He lived a noble life, and done many social welfare activities, and is still living in the hearts of millions of people. He was a true and an honest man who contains great courage, boldness and wisdom. He also guided the people in the spiritual path, and mingled with them smoothly. He used to chant the mantra “OM NAMAH SHIVAYA” regularly and also insisted others to do so, in order to live a peaceful and a blessed life.
Let us worship the great saint and be blessed.
“OM SRI SHIVAKUMARA SWAMIGALE NAMAHA”
“OM NAMAH SHIVAYA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR