House of the old man who took Maha Samadhi
A 69 year old man has taken Mahasamadhi in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The body of the person who took Samadhi was re-buried at his residence on Friday. The man had taken samadhi at his home near Neyyattinkara, but officials had expressed doubt over his family’s claim. After this the body was taken out of the grave and sent for post-mortem. The body was brought here with a religious procession and re-buried in a large square pit amid chants of ‘Om Namo Namah Shivay’. His family and those who performed the burial described the ceremony as ‘Maha Samadhi’.
Gopan Swamy’s body was brought from the mortuary to the family home in an open vehicle decorated with flowers. The dead body was wrapped in a red cloth and made to sit. His relatives and supporters showered flowers on the body during the religious procession. A large square pit was prepared and named ‘Rishi Peetham’ (where a yogi sits) and the remains were completely covered with ‘Vibhuti’ (sacred ash) and buried in it in a cross-legged position.
The program ended with ‘Om Namo Namah Shivay’ chanting.
During the entire ‘Maha Samadhi’ ritual, local religious leaders and ‘sanyasis’ chanted ‘Om Namo Namah Shivay’ while a large crowd gathered there to watch it. On Thursday, Gopan Swamy’s remains were exhumed amid tight security and post-mortem was conducted as part of the investigation into his mysterious death. After post-mortem at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, the body was handed over to the family by noon the same day. Police said that as per preliminary post-mortem findings, the cause of death appears to be natural.
Court refused to intervene
The work of removing the body was stopped earlier this week following protests by family members and residents. Subsequently, the family approached the Kerala High Court to stop the removal of the body, but the Court refused to intervene. The incident came to light when posters were put up near the man’s house which read, “Gopan Swami has taken Samadhi.” Police registered a missing case and began recovering the body following complaints from residents, alleging foul play.
Took Samadhi last Friday
Gopan Swamy’s son Rajasenan claimed that his father visited the burial site around 11.30 pm last Friday and went into samadhi. He told the media that his father had instructed the family to keep his body away from public view and bury it at a designated place. The burial site was specially prepared by Gopan Swamy, a priest who also established a temple on his estate at Kavuvilakam in Neyyattinkara. (Input-PTI)
Latest India News