Maate Mahadevi spread message of Basava Tatwa
HUBBALLI: Maate Mahadevi, who passed away on Thursday, played a vital role in spreading the message of Basava Tatwa.
She was born at Sasalatti village of Chitradurga on March, 13, 1946. As a child, she was studious and brilliant and attracted to a spiritual life. She took diksha (Jangam Diksha) to lead an ascetic life from her guru, Sadguru Linganand Swami, in 1965-66.
She also did her MA in Philosophy from Karnatak University in 1969.
She'd express her spiritual thoughts through writing. She wrote many books and novels on various spiritual and religious issues. She wrote the "Basava Tatwa Darshan" and her first novel "Heppitta Halu" won her the state Sahitya Academy Award. Another novel "Tarangini" also brought her awards and she published the monthly spiritual m agazine Kalyan Kirana in 1970.
She started the Jaganmata Akkamahadevi Ashram in Dharwad in April 1968 to help the poor and destitute women, among others to lead a spiritual life. She stunned the male-dominated world of spirituality by becoming the first woman Jagaduru and occupied the seat of Jagadguru pee tha of Jaganmata Akkamahadevi Anubhava Peetha on April 21, 1970. To popularise Basava's principles, she travelled to England in 1976 and to the US and Canada in 1981 where she gave several spiritual classes and conducted yoga camps. She established th e Basava Gangotri in 1978.
She'd express her spiritual thoughts through writing. She wrote many books and novels on various spiritual and religious issues. She wrote the "Basava Tatwa Darshan" and her first novel "Heppitta Halu" won her the state Sahitya Academy Award. Another novel "Tarangini" also brought her awards and she published the monthly spiritual m agazine Kalyan Kirana in 1970.
She started the Jaganmata Akkamahadevi Ashram in Dharwad in April 1968 to help the poor and destitute women, among others to lead a spiritual life. She stunned the male-dominated world of spirituality by becoming the first woman Jagaduru and occupied the seat of Jagadguru pee tha of Jaganmata Akkamahadevi Anubhava Peetha on April 21, 1970. To popularise Basava's principles, she travelled to England in 1976 and to the US and Canada in 1981 where she gave several spiritual classes and conducted yoga camps. She established th e Basava Gangotri in 1978.
To take the message of Basava tatwa to each household, she started the Rashtriya Basav a Dal in 1980 and Basava Dharma Peetha in Kudalsanga in 1987. She was also instrumental in holding the first historic sharana mela in 1988. She became the Peethadakshye of Basav a Dharma Mahajagadguru Peetha in 1996 and installed the 108-foot high Basava statu e at Basavan Kalyan in Bidar. In recognisation of her service to the society, Divine Hands International University of Chennai honoured her with a doctorate in 2013.
In politics too
She took the plunge into politics by contesting from Dharwad North Lok Sabha constituenc y in 2004 for the Kannada Nadu Party floated by Vijay Sankeshwar.
Though Maate Mahadevi managed to get more than 20,000 votes, she was defeated. But the defeat didn't stop her from taking the lead in many movements, including the one launched to seek separate religion status for Lingayats. She was at the forefront of the movement in Bidar, Belagavi, Bidar, Latur, Kalaburgi and other places.
She was quick to express her views and oppose some government decisions like giving eggs to students in the mid-day meal.
She also sought the renaming of Gulbarga University after Basaveshwar.
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