Shri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji (18 January 1945 – 13 January 2013) was an
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
religious leader who was the seer of
Adichunchanagiri
Adichunchanagiri, also called ''Mahasamsthana Math'', is a hill township in Nagamangala Taluk, Mandya District, Karnataka State, India, 110 km west of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India and 6 km from Bangalore-Mangalore Nation ...
,
Nagamangala
Nagamangala is a PuraSabhe in Mandya district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The history of the town dates back to the period of Mahabharatha. Arjuna' son Babruvahana is said to have ruled this area, the town was earlier known by names Uluchi ...
Taluk,
Mandya district
Mandya District is an administrative district of Karnataka, India. The district is bordered on the south by Mysore district, Mysore and Chamarajanagar district, Chamarajangar districts, on the west by Hassan District, on the north by Tumkur Di ...
. He was awarded
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, India's third highest civilian honour for the year 2010.
Swamiji was born to Shri Chikkalinge Gowda and Smt. Boramma as Gangadharaiah. He was born in a Kannada Vokkaliga Community (farming community) He had five siblings - two brothers and three sisters. Shri Gangadharaiah completed his graduation in diploma Science from Government Arts & Science College, Bengaluru. Motivated by the desire to serve God and the people, he chose the spiritual way of life.
Initiated at the age of nineteen, Shri Swamiji spent his initial years mastering the Vedas and other sacred texts under the tutelage of his Guru Shri Ramanandanatha Swamiji.
Shri Shri Shri Balagangadharanatha Mahaswamiji took over as the 71st Pontiff of the ancient Natha Center of Worship, Shri Adichunchanagiri Math, on 24 September 1974 at the age of 30. He was of the line of Shri Bhakthanatha Swamiji, Shri Chandrashekaranatha Swamiji and Shri Ramanandanatha Swamiji of the ‘Natha Pantha’ (Parampara).
Balagangadharanatha Swamiji died on 13 January 2013, five days before his 68th birthday, due to kidney failure. He was undergoing treatment at
BGS Global Hospital, under his control, in Kengeri after his blood pressure went out of control during dialysis.
The mutt witnessed a revolutionary progress under his leadership with several of his flagship projects in education, religion and social service. The seer focused on providing humanitarian services including providing basic necessities like food, education and health for lakhs of people during the last four decades.
Awards
See also
*
Padma Bhushan Awards (2010–2019)
The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is si ...
*
Nirmalananda Swamiji
Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr. Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji, the 72nd Pontiff of Sri Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, Mandya District, Karnataka, the Chancellor of Adichunchanagiri University (Established under Karnataka Act No. 18 of 2013) and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swamiji, Balagangadharanatha
People from Mandya
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work
1945 births
2013 deaths
Deaths from multiple organ failure
Scholars from Karnataka