Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji
Encyclopedia
Dr. Sree Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji (born April 1, 1907) is the present head of Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur District
Tumkur district
Tumkur district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. The district headquarters are located at Tumkur. The district occupies an area of 10,598 km² and had a population of 2,584,711, of which 19.62% were urban as of 2001...

, South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

 and founder of the Sree Siddaganga Education Society. He was initiated into viraktashram order in 1930. Swamiji was born in Veerapura near Magadi Taluk. He studied English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 in college and is proficient in Kannada and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

. He has established educational institutions which offer a courses in traditional learning of Sanskrit as well as modern science and technology. He is widely respected for his philanthropic work by all communities. In recognition of his humanitarian work, Sree Swamiji was conferred with an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by Karnatak University
Karnatak University
The Karnatak University established initially at Mumbai in 1949, the location was shifted to Dharwad in October, 1949 and Karnatak University had its official inauguration in March 1950. The campus spans 750 acres . Dr. D. C. Pavate was the vice-chancellor of the university from 1954 to 1967...

 in 1965. He continues his humanitarian work even at the age of 104.

Contributions to society

Swamiji's Guru Kula houses more than 8500 children of age group 5 to 16 years and is open to children from all religions, castes, and creeds, who are provided free food, education, and shelter. Under the pontiff's guidance, annual agricultural fair is held for the benefit of the local population. Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 state government has announced to institute Shivakumara Swamiji Prashasti from the year 2007, the centennial year of Swamiji. Dr. A.P.J Kalam, the former President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

 visited him at Tumkur and praised the initiatives of Swamiji in education and humanitarian work.He is also working hard on taking care of twenty thousands of poor students included with their fees and daily hostage along with 3 full meals a day .

Awards

On his centenary
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...

 in 2007, the Government of Karnataka
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...

 awarded Swamiji the prestigious Karnataka Ratna
Karnataka Ratna
Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka. It is awarded to a person for his extraordinary contribution in any field. It was constituted in the year 1992 by the Government of Karnataka. There have been a total of 8 recipients of this award.- The Award :The Award...

 award, the highest civilian award of the state.

External links

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