Mysore: Mutt Head chooses to get liberated through Self-immolation

Daijiworld Media Network - Mysore (SP)

Mysore, Jul 23: The followers of Sri Basavaraja Swamiji (82), head of Sri Murugha Mutt located in Shiramalli village in Nanjangud taluk of the district, were shocked to find on the morning of Wednesday July 22 that the Swamiji had chosen to bid adieu to the world by immolating himself.

The Swamiji reportedly used to tell his followers frequently, that he would leave the world by setting fire to his own pyre. The villagers said, the Swamiji got up early at around 4 am on Wednesday, poured kerosene on himself, sat atop a heap of the dried jowar grass in the Mutt compound and set it on fire. No one had noticed it then. When others in the Mutt got up, they saw the burnt body of the Swamiji in a heap of ashes.

The Swamiji had a good number of followers in the region and was known for simple living and providing suitable guidance. People from the surrounding villages thronged the Mutt and many of them were seen sobbing at the sudden turn of events.