Pawan Kalyan: TN land of saints; my father visited ashrams in state in 80s & 90s
Andhra Deputy CM says his father had taught him and his siblings the art of Kriya Yoga and was a regular visitor to the Mahavatar Babaji ashram in Chennai’s Santhome
In what seemed like an attempt to give proof of his ‘sanatani’ credentials and that of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Sunday (October 6) said that Tamil Nadu is a land of ‘siddhars and saints’ and his father as a practitioner of Kriya Yoga was a regular visitor to an ashram in Chennai.
“For culture and bhakti traditions, Tamil Nadu, truly stands out and the land is abundantly blessed by many siddhars and saints," the actor-turned-politician said in a social media post.
‘Father initiated me, siblings into Kriya Yoga’
The Jana Sana chief said his own father was an ardent devotee of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Saradha Devi and Swami Vivekananda and had taken ‘deeksha’ for Kriya Yoga from Ranchi and initiated all his children into practicing the ancient meditation technique.
Kalyan said, in the 1980s and 1990s, his father used to visit the Mahavatar Babaji ashram in Santhome, Chennai and do service to 'Yogi Ram Surat Kumar' at regular intervals in Tiruvannamalai.
Dig at Udhayanidhi
Kalyan’s statement comes days after he took a dig at his Tamil Nadu counterpart Udhayanidhi Stalin over the latter’s remarks comparing Sanatana Dharma with certain diseases.
Declaring himself as an "unapologetic Sanatani Hindu", Kalyan in an indirect jibe at Udhayanidhi Stalin on October 3, said, “If anyone tries to wipe out Sanatana Dharma, let me tell you from the feet of Lord Balaji you will be wiped out."
Reacting to the Janasena chief’s comments, Udhayanidhi on Friday retorted with a cryptic comment "Let's wait and see".
(With inputs from agencies)