Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only visiting Chennai for three hours on Sunday, took out the time to meet spiritual guru Bangaru Adigal. As part of his jam-packed schedule, the Prime Minister handed over the Arjun Main Battle Tank to the Indian Army here and inaugurated the Chennai Metrorail from Washermanpet to Wimco.
Adigal, who is 80 years old, is followed by devotees from almost all major political parties. A number of party leaders have visited him, including Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, several ministers as well as leaders of political parties.
Popularly addressed as ‘Amma’ by his followers before former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa became associated with the moniker, Adigal is the head of the Adiparasakthi Charitable Medical Educational and Cultural Trust. The Trust runs a medical and an engineering college among other educational institutions at Melmaruvathur, around 90 kms from Chennai on the national highway to Villupuram.
Adigal was a teacher in a rural school in Melmaruvathur village. He soon became famous for his spiritual powers in the area, and gradually in other parts of the state. In the 1980s, he became famous among ministers of then government headed by MG Ramachandran.
During that period, the Adiparasakthi Peedam used to hold a yagna every year on Marina beach in which thousands of people participated. In 1986, a big yagna was performed on the sands of the Marina and dedicated to the cause of World Peace. This practice of occupying the Marina for a few days in the name of yagna was later barred by the government.
The temple at Adigal’s native Melmaruvathur village became famous, especially among women, as they were allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. Even today, many walk several hundreds of kilometers to Melmaruvathur, which is located on the highway. Adigal, now famous mostly in the western region of the state, has named his son as his spiritual successor.
In 2010, Adigal’s Trust was embroiled in controversy for violating rules while setting up the medical and engineering colleges. During the UPA regime, Income Tax searches were conducted across several areas associated with the guru. Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had opposed the searches and wanted the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to return everything seized during the searches.
Following the controversies, Adigal lost some of his support among the people. But in 2019, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government honoured him with the Padma Shri, a move that led to criticism from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin and senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Pandian.
However, the present Telangana Governor and the then Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundarajan defended the award as he had opened the doors of the sanctum sanctorum of the Adhiparasakthi temple to women.
In the last few years, Adigal has not been in the news as much as he or his Trust were in the 1980s. It is only when political leaders or governors call on him that there is news about him.
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