From Dr Rajkumar, Rajinikanth, Narayana Murthy to Amit Shah, Rajeev Chandrashekhar: Devotees of 'Guru Raaya'
Raghavendra swamy also called as 'Guru Raaya' the 15th-century saint and proponent of Dvaita philosophy has followers from across India and particularly from South India. Noted film stars Dr Rajkumar and Rajinikanth have personal attachment, however, other celebrities find solace in visiting his mutt, here are some of them.
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FollowRajinikanth: played the character of saint Raghavendra Swamy and developed personal attachment with his personality. The superstar after achieving stardom made it a habit to visit the Mantralayam situated in the banks of the Tungabhadra river bordering Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh often.
Recently, when the star visited, he appealed to the mutt authorities to make special arrangements as he feared the crowd and Covid-19 andemic. The temple authorities told the superstar to make time and come so that the mutt authorities can show the gaushala, sanskrit school and other developmental activities.
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Dr Rajkumar: Similarly, Dr Rajkumar was said to have developed a special attachment towards saint Guru Raghavendra as he too had played a similar character much earlier in the film Mantralaya Mahime.
He later sang many devotional songs, like 'Halalladaru Haku, Neeralladaru Haku' and 'Vaara Banthamma' is the favorite pick of devotees cutting across all the generations.
Puneet Rajkumar: Last year Dr Rajkumar's son Puneet Rajkumar also visited Mantralaya, offered puja, and later sang a few lines of the song Vaara Banthamma which his father had sung two and half decades ago. Puneet also assured the mutt authorities that he will come again to this place as he feels very special as his father was connected with the mutt.
Narayana Murthy: Not just film celebrities, even politicians and businessmen are also devotees of Guru Raghavendra. In 2015, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy took a helicopter to reach Mantralayam, and offered puja at the mutt. He visited 'Moola Brindhavana' where the saint attained 'jeeva samadhi'.
Murthy was blessed by Shubudendra Teertha, chief pontiff of the mutt.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar: Rajya Sabha MP is also one among the devotees of Mantralayam Guru Raghavendra and in 2012, he visited Manchalamma, the village deity of Manthralayam and then visited the 'Moola Brindhavana and took blessings from chief pontiff Shubudendra Teertha. The temple authorities were happy with his visit as he also had given a contribution of Rs 5 crore and has come forward to help the mutt build a campus on the Gurukula model at the premises. Earlier, the MP has built 170 homes for villagers following the damage due to floods.
Amit Shah: Two years ago, BJP leader Amit Shah visited the Raghavendra Mutt at Mantralayam and inaugurated an ayurvedic hospital built at the cost of Rs 65 lakh in the temple premises. He was presented a memento by the pontiff.
Shah was moved by the temple's service to the poor in terms of offering prasadam and had appealed to the villagers to utilize the services of the temple hospital.
