Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Aug 31: Chaos erupted at Brahmavar's Dharmavaram auditorium here on Saturday August 30 during 'Swabhimani Buntara Atmajagruti' convention, after objection was raised against Bangalore's Dr Santosh Guruji's intentions to establish Bantara Gurupeeta and declare himself as 'Kula Guru'.
The convention was organized to create awareness and warn the community against accepting Dr Santosh Shetty as 'Kula Guru'. It is claimed that Dr Santosh Shetty of Bangalore has declared himself as a founder of the Bunts’ community through an affidavit and plans to establish Bantapeeta Mahasamsthana Math in Barkur.
A decision was taken during the convention to strongly oppose the concept of 'Kula Guru' and the installation of Gurupeeta.
Addressing the gathering, convention organizer Vasanth Kumar Belve said, "Bunts do not need a Kula Guru. There is no need of a Math. The tradition and spiritual beliefs followed by our ancestors are enough to guide us. For us, teachers who impart knowledge are the true Gurus, and not any individuals who proclaim themselves as gurus. We are opposed to anyone who attempts to make our elders worship his feet in the name of 'deekshe'.
"90 percent of the Bunts reject the idea of having a Gurupeeta. It is important to fight against this idea. The entire Bunt community must join hands to oppose the Gurupeeta. This convention is just a beginning. We will chalk out a plan in the coming days and descend on the streets to protest if needed," he warned.
Sheela K Shetty said, "These days Maths are being established just to obtain money from the government. The government plays vote bank politics and gives crores of rupees to Maths of communities that bring votes. We do not want such Maths.
"We should understand that some are trying to take undue advantage of the innocence of Bunts for their personal gains. We have to beware of self-proclaimed swamijis. If women want to worship at someone's feet, let it be their husbands, but not of fake swamijis," she added.
The programme was inaugurated by women of the Bunt community. Bunt community leaders Aroor Narayana Shetty, Kishan Hegde Kolkebail, Sushila Rai, Vardhaman Durgaprasad Shetty and others were present. Zilla panchayat president welcomed the gathering. Pramod Chandra proposed the vote of thanks while Satishchandra compered the programme.
Meanwhile, a few supporters of Dr Santosh Guruji barged into the venue and protested against the organizers. This led to chaos, and tense atmosphere prevailed for sometime. Police intervened and sent out the protestors, but there too they continued to agitate and chanted slogans in support of the Gurupeeta.
"Gurupeeta is necessary to bring equality in Bunt community by distributing the wealth of the rich among the poor. Nobody has the right to oppose the Gurupeeta that is being personally constructed by Dr Santosh Guruji," said Santosh Shetty, a protestor.