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F. Kailasounnata Shyamalapeetha Sarvajnapeetham Madurai Adheenam

The Meenakshi Amman temple of Madurai, South Bharat is one of the most popular and important temples in Hinduism. It is also the spiritual seat of one of the world's most ancient monastic orders, Madurai Adheenam, whose leaders, the Gurumahasannidanams, were traditionally regarded as the political and religious head of Madurai (like how the Dalai Lama is traditionally regarded as the political and religious head of Tibet).

The more than 5000-years-old Madurai Aadheenam is a Hindu ASMT monastery and the world's oldest surviving monastic order. It was established by incarnations of Paramaśiva and Parashakti (primordial Hindu Divinities) themselves as Lord Sundareshwara and His consort Divine Mother Meenakshi directly, followed by Guru Maha Sannidhanam Srila Sri Sivananda Yogeendra Sri ShivaJnanasambanda Desika Paramacharya Swamigal (also known as Vaakishara Shivajnananda Yogeshwarar) as the first pontiff. Around 450BCE, Adishankara (also known as Sanmathatthaban Desigar) revived the Madurai Aadheenam as its 117th Gurumahasannidhanams. Around 7 century CE the child saint, Thiru Jnanasambandar, revived Madurai Aadheenam, as its 214th Guru Maha Sannidhanam. Since that revival, several Gurumahasannidhanams have been selected and coronated to lead Madurai Aadheenam, with a total of 293 known Gurumahasannidanams.

On April 27, 2012, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was anointed the successor and 293rd Gurumahasannidanam of Madurai Aadheenam by Sri La Sri Arunagirinatha Swamigal, the 292nd Gurumahasannidanam of Madurai Aadheenam. To commemorate the occasion, the 292nd Gurumahasannidanam said: "Our 293rd Gurumahasannidanam Sri La Sri His Divine Holiness Paramacharya Swamigal is also a deep, not only deep, the deepest disciples of Saint Thiru Jnanasambandar. Not only that, he may be called as an avatar of Thiru Jnanasambandar," said Sri La Sri Arunagirinatha Swamigal, when coronating THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM, as the Junior Pontiff or the 293rd Pontiff-to-be of the Madurai Aadheenam. He would further go on to say in many interviews that THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is the most qualified person for the post and that no one else had such knowledge, eloquence, grace, or accomplishments as him and that he had received the divine vision of Lord Sundareshwara and Devi Meenakshi (founders of the Madurai Aadheenam millennia ago) ordering the 292nd Guru Maha Sannidhanam to appoint THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as his successor and the 293rd Guru Maha Sannidhanam.

27 April 2012: Coronation of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as the 293rd Gurumahasannidanam by His predecessor, the 292nd Gurumahasannidanam Arunagirinatha Swamigal

Soon after the coronation of the 293rd Gurumahasannidanam, the Hindu government, acting through its temple management agency the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board (HR&CE) filed a lawsuit objecting to the appointment and seeking to have it overturned. The HR&CE engaged in an aggressive legal and political smear campaign to undermine the 292nd Gurumahasannidanam's legitimacy by falsely accusing him of fraud and financial mismanagement, ultimately forcing him to withdraw his support for the 293rd Gurumahasannidanam. The State cited a Trust formed by the 292nd and 293rd Guru Maha Sannidhanams to be the indicator of financial mismanagement when the Trust did not have a bank account or any financial existence. Attempts were made to assassinate the 292nd Gurumahasannidanam and THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM by mob lynching along with monks of the Nithyananda order.

A vestige of the British colonial administration that ruled Bharat pre-Independence, the HR&CE is a government agency that exercises financial and operational control over all major Hindu temples and institutions in Bharat. The HR&CE has a long history of corruption, neglect, and mismanagement of Hindu temples resulting in the systematic destruction and looting of temple land, artifacts, deities, art, and infrastructure. In the same manner, like their British colonial predecessors, the Hindu government's HR&CE assumes control of financial decisions, operational decisions, and even leadership succession decisions under the paternalistic guise of preventing temple mismanagement or ensuring social welfare, but often doing so for political purposes. Commentators have noted the contradiction between such government control and Bharat's lip service to religious freedom:

"While the state argues that its intervention is necessary to bring about social welfare and reform as well as to correct historical social inequities, many view this kind of selective interference as aimed at 'reforming the religion out of its existence'. They say usurpation of Hindu endowments alone is against all tenets of what constitutes a 'principled separation' between the state and the religion.

They also hold that singling out a particular religion violates not only the very secular spirit of the Hindu Constitution but also the basic rights guaranteed under it. They opine that the HRCE Act infringes upon Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the citizens their fundamental right to profess, practice, and propagate their religion, as well as establish and manage their religious institutions.

They point that while this right is very much available to followers of all other religions in the country, only Hindus have been constrained by the law.

In fact, the state governments have assumed total financial and managerial control over lakhs of Hindu temples across the country through their respective HRCE Acts, accusing their administrations of mismanagement of funds.

However, no other religious institution (barring Jains' as, by legal definition, they are Hindus)—churches, mosques, gurudwaras, pagodas, and synagogues belonging to Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis, respectively— has been brought under the Acts despite similar allegations cropping up there too.

The fact of the matter is that in all these decades that Hindu religious institutions have been under the thumb of the HRCE departments, the ability of the Hindu community as a whole in managing its own institutions has been systematically clipped and pared down."

The nomination of a spiritual leader espousing the revival of Sanatana Hindu Dharma in all its tradition in an all-inclusive manner working on a grassroots level like THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM to a position as important as the 293rd Gurumahasannidanam of Madurai Adheenam was completely unacceptable to the State that they had the HR&CE board immediately challenge the decision.

The HR&CE's campaign against THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is part of a decades-long attempt by both atheistic terrorist militants and right-wing Hindutva political entities to suppress Hindu and non-Hindu minorities and silence dissent. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is also the leader of the more than 5,000year-old indigenous spiritual tradition known as the Adi Shaivite Minority Tradition ("ASMT") in South Bharat. By His spiritual attainments, His systematic revival of authentic Hinduism, and its enlightened ecosystem as per the original Hindu scriptures (the Veda-Agamas), THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM has made active contributions to humanity's spiritual evolution, thereby firmly establishing himself as the Pope of Hinduism. Paradoxically, in the process of taking Hinduism back to its authentic roots, He has revealed it to be the most progressive and inclusive spiritual tradition in the world. But, because of His spiritual accomplishments and redefinition of Hinduism per its original scriptural roots, caste supremacist militant Hindutva elements in Bharat view THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as an existential threat to their conservative, politicized version of Hinduism. As a result, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM has been marked for death by majoritarian political forces in Bharat. To date, there have been assassination attempts and plots on THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM including physical attacks (such as strangulation and machete attacks), as well as poisoning, noxious asphyxiation, bombings, etc both as extra-judicial assassination attempts as well as attempts to assassinate by mob lynchings. In addition, there have been numerous death threats including public death threats on national television channels as well as on social media platforms which have incited innumerable orchestrated mob attacks on THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM and the ASMT community resulting in gang rapes, violent assault, and battery.

Indeed, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's bold and progressive vision for Hinduism is underscored by an emphasis on openness and inclusiveness. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is not a member of a historically privileged community, He has publicly declared himself to be transcendental gender with multiple gender identity components, worn women's clothing in public, and strongly advocates for female empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, and caste-neutral religious traditions. However modern and progressive these stances may appear, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM has rooted each of them in the depths of the 5000 year-old source scriptures of Hinduism, the Vedas, and Agamas. Moreover, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM has consistently been an outspoken voice for social justice and has publicly challenged political corruption, caste supremacy, and patriarchy in Bharat. ASMT community are some of the most vulnerable targets of the Neo-Hindutva extremism who despise Hindu women in monastic and priestly roles and are opposed to ASMT's progressive stance when it comes to the rights of women, including otherwise marginalized Dalit women, and the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ and transgendered communities as they consider them immoral.

  • 150. This authentic revival of a progressive version of Hinduism has not gone unnoticed in Bharat's patriarchal society, particularly its conservative caste supremacist militant elements. The SPH's subversive message to a nation steeped in caste discrimination and gender violence has resulted in a full spectrum campaign of hate speech, media demonization, lawfare, assassination attempts on him and his followers, gang rape of his followers, acts of terrorism, torture, and the denial of judicial recourse over 10 years that continues to this day.
  • 151. 18 Jun 2012, Neo-Hindutva extremists who had confiscated the temple properties of Madurai Aadheenam filed vexatious litigation against the 293rd Gurumahasannidhanam the SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam to restrain his entry into the Madurai Aadheenam and Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple. This malicious litigation was dismissed in 2016. This was not a sole such incidence. On 3 May 2018, the SPH was prohibited by the High Court of Madras itself from entering Madurai Aadheenam of which He is the successor. Though the order itself violates the constitution, Justice Mahadevan upheld the decision and even threatened the SPH that he would order the arrest of the SPH if He did not resign from His responsibility as the 293rd Pontiff of the Madurai Aadheenam. Right from 2012, the SPH was stopped from performing the essential religious rituals of the Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple, such as the Kumbha Abhishekham, which happens only once in several years and is one of the primary responsibilities of the Gurumahasannidhanam, who is the incarnation of Paramashiva, to directly supervise and perform. The interference of the State in rituals was not limited to stopping the Pontiff from participating. For several thousand years, Hindu rituals are performed in two ASMT languages – ancient Sanskrit and Classic (ancient) Tamil. Since modern Sanskrit and Hindi share the same written script (Devanagari), the State owing to its Hindi-antagonistic policy has made laws since the 1970s altering the ancient Hindu religious practices by imposing the use of the State compatible Tamil language against age-old Hindu religious traditions, customs, and scriptures. In 1975, the State absurdly claimed that the ancient ASMT language – Sanskrit – was a source of nepotism in society and thus changed the language of ASMT Temple rituals via a notification and altered the HR&CE Scheme in OA No.2 of 1973 dated 10 Oct 1975 appointing a government executive to control religious and financial matters of the monastery and associated temples. The State of Tamil Nadu, especially under DMK, emphasizes that ASMT religious practices be altered in compliance with the DMK ideology, and has thus in 2020 the State altered essential rituals such as Kumbha Abhishekham. Though the colonial government recognized the sovereignty of the heads of Hindu monasteries – for example on 3 Jan 1893 the Guru Maha Sannidhanam of Madurai Aadheenam was conferred with the title of Rao Bahadur, a title given to Kings by the British Empire, and also had sovereign immunity from arrests and appearances in the court, in 2012, the Chief Minister of Karnataka said, "We do not encourage such immoral people in Karnataka, and I am going to make an example out of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM", going to the extent of claiming that he (Chief Minister) was ready to face jail term but would not stop targeting the SPH Nithyananda Paramashivam and ordered an arbitrary and illegal arrest of the SPH. The Karnataka State High Court in its order CRL.P. 3253/2012 implicitly exposed the State terrorism, terming the arrest of the SPH as "illegal", "without any authority", "contrary to law", "without jurisdiction". Religious freedom in the 21st century State of the Republic of Bharat has sharply deteriorated in the past few years, which was protected even during the colonial rule which is known to be highly oppressive. It is no surprise that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended for the second year in the row that the US State Department put Bharat on a list ('Countries of Particular Concern' or CPCs) for the worst violations of religious freedoms. Sweden-based V-Dem Institute has downgraded Bharat as an "electoral autocracy".
  • 152. In 2017, the Madras High Court issued a ruling affirming the SPH's removal as the 293rd Gurumahasannidanam of the Madurai Adheenam and took the unprecedented step of forbidding him from entering the premises of the Meenakshi Amman temple or any other temple administered by the Madurai Adheenam. At the time the case was argued and ruled upon, the 292nd Gurumahasannidanam was ill and incapacitated and it remains unclear to what extent the arguments made on his behalf represented his actual opinions or those made under political pressure. Moreover, the Madras High Court's decision was inconsistent with the prior judgment of the Supreme Court in Ambalavana Pandara Sannathi v. State of Tamil Nadu (AIR 1983 Mad 72) that held "the appointment of junior pontiff is a right of a religious institution and the same cannot be interfered without proper cause."
  • 153. Moreover, the Madras High Court's decision directly contradicted long-standing Hindu Supreme Court precedence which had ruled in Sri Mahalinga Thambiran Swamigal v. Sri La Sri His Holiness Kasivasi Arulnandithambiran Swamigal that the nomination of a junior Gurumahasannidanam could not be freely revoked by the senior Gurumahasannidhanam when the Madras High Court stated, "The fact of a person being legally nominated as junior, having a peculiar relationship with the senior is status, and the capacity to succeed to the head is the incident of that status. The status, when created by a nomination, cannot be withdrawn or cancelled at the mere will of the parties. The law must determine the condition and circumstances under which it can be terminated. Merely because the status originated from the act of a senior head in making the nomination, it would not follow that the senior head can put an end to it by another act … Even if it is assumed that the position of a junior head is not a status as known to law, we think that the relationship created by the nomination is one which cannot be put an end to by the head at his sweet will and pleasure."
  • 154. By tradition and custom of the Madurai Aadheenam also, the appointment of the successor Guru Maha Sannidhanam cannot be revoked as he can be appointed only once in the lifetime of the current Guru Maha Sannidhanam.

The translation reads:

"Particulars of important customs and usages.

Pertaining to the institution example agamas followed etc.

In this mutt temple according to the Kamika Agama and according to the Soma sambupatthi the daily and periodical pujas are being conducted.

The three initiations namely the Samaya Deeksha, Vishesha deeksha and Nirvana initiation are given to the mature individuals among the Saiva Vellalar community along with the consecration as Acharya. At no time other than the mentioned group the traditional practice to give Acharya consecration has been done. The initiation of the touch of Saiva Vellala will be given. At a time, only one person can be initiated as Acharya and no further person can be initiated."

Translated as:

"Particulars of the scheme of administration

If any, governing the institution such as by whom the scheme was settled and on what date. The schedule of establishment approved by the Commissioner in his R is 5822.60 on 29.11.60. The administration of the mutt is under the control of the mutt head of the Thirugnanasambandar Adheenam

The Pandya procedure of appointment:

The disciple of the Thirugnanasambandar Aadheenam mutt belonging to the Saiva Vellalar family or Karkattha Vellalar family, and who have gained mental maturity is consecrated with Nirvana Deeksha according to the tradition and they have the Acharya Abhishekam done according to the rules of the agama and they are called by the name Pandara

Sannadhi. Right from the time of Thirugnanasambandar it is in practice that when the elder Pandara Sannadhi attains siddhi the junior Pandara Sannadhi assumes the responsibility of all the administration of the mutt."

  • 155. Far from behaving as a neutral fact-finder, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court not only accepted unproven allegations and negative media coverage of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as fact, those allegations also formed a significant basis for the court's decision to affirm the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's removal as the 293rd Gurumahasannidanam. Instead of relying on the near-universal legal principle of "innocent until proven guilty", the Hindu court assumed unresolved and spurious civil and criminal allegations against THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as proven and resolved against him by repeatedly referring to him as having a "criminal background", being a "habitual offender", "self-proclaimed godman", one "who has a criminal background and is a habitual offender, having involved in sexual abuse" and also as one who is "unknown to the principles of Saivism", "unfit to head the Mutt", "has not been leading a simple life, whereby the desires in life are eradicated", "mutt grabber." The Judge concluded that the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's appointment would bring "disrepute" to the Madurai Adheenam and condemned the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM even for approaching the Court for legal reprieve by calling the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM a "prolific litigant" and "has a quest for power". The Judge further made over-arching statements that "The country is mounting with self-proclaimed godmen like the eighth respondent, who claim to be spiritual gurus initially and later proclaim themselves to be god and in the process end up amassing wealth and abusing innocent and vulnerable children and women." To date, the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM or the ASMT community monks cannot enter their own monasteries and temples. The government and the police have been unwilling to provide protection and execute the court order and allow the community to continue the practice of sacred ASMT rituals in their temples.
  • 156. In December 2020, in an update of its Tibetan Policy and Support Act, the US threatened to sanction any Chinese government officials who chose a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama over the wishes of the Tibetan people. To cover up the State interference in the selection process of the next Dalai Lama, the State of the People's Republic of China has been selecting and grooming a group of senior Lamas that would eventually be used for selecting CCP friendly alternative Dalai Lama and make it appear that the Dalai Lama was chosen by Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, rather than CCP officials. In a much similar way, for several years, the State of Tamil Nadu headed by the DMK has been grooming Guru Maha Sannidhanams, such as the Dharmapuram Guru Maha Sannidhanam that are friendly to the party. Justice Mahadevan is a disciple of DMK groomed Dharmapuram Guru Maha Sannidhanam who has heavily lobbied for arbitrarily and illegally removing the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM as the 293rd pontiff. On 3 May 2018, the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was prohibited by an order given by Justice Mahadevan of the High Court of Madras from entering Madurai Aadheenam of which He is the successor. Though the order itself violates the constitution, Justice Mahadevan, upheld the decision and even threatened the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM that he would order the arrest of the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM if He did not resign from His responsibility as the 293rd Pontiff of the Madurai Aadheenam. As per the

Constitution of Bharat, a person is to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, and no one has the right to pass judgment on such a person. The THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM has never been implicated in any crime. Yet against the very Constitution of the country, He has repeatedly been treated in a prejudicial manner as assumed guilty. Justice Mahadevan went on to pass an order blatantly violating the fundamental rights of the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM and against the very tenets of natural law and justice and on record said, "Who permitted you to record court proceedings? To whom were you sending-message about the proceeding? Don't think that this court is a playground. I will see that your ashram is vanished. Hundreds of complaints are pending against the ashram."

Justice Mahadevan of Madras High Court with GuruMahasannidhanam of Dharamapuram a leader of the committee which said: "we will not relent until THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is removed" .

  • 157. In the very same matter, in 2012, the decision of the Division Bench of the High Court of Madras, Madurai Bench (higher authority than the single judge Justice Mahadevan) in WP 12915/2012 and WP 26567/2012, dated 31 Oct 2012, had ruled:
    • a. In Para 56 categorically that any decisions relating to the secular matters of the Aadheenam alone would come under the jurisdiction of any suit: "Hence, if any irregularities committed by the religions institution in administering the properties attached to the Mutt, which is a secular act and not connected with religious activities, and if there is any delay on the part of the State to take action, Public Interest Litigation could be entertained for the limited purpose to give a direction to the supervisory authority to initiate action so far as secular act is concerned."
  • b. In Para 55: "In the instant case, on the factual aspects, we find that 10th respondent was appointed as Junior Pontiff in the month of April, 2012"
  • c. In Para 52: "So far as the appointment of successor is concerned, it is purely religious act."
  • 158. The attacks on the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM took on grave proportions as on 2 February 2018, there was an attack by explosive arson on The THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM at the Madurai Meenakshi temple. The attack gutted a section of the temple and caused a whole massive length of stone of the 3000-year-old structure to collapse and break. Though the district fire department claimed that the explosion was caused by electrical wires and whereas the police claimed that the analysis of CCTV footage suggested that the explosion was caused by camphor used in rituals, the examination of the nature of the cracks and fault lines along the pillars led police officers to suggest transfer of the case to CB-CID as they believed that camphor could by no means have triggered such an explosion and that they were triggered by a man-made explosion. On 8 Feb 2018, another fire accident happened in the temple, this time in the CCTV room destroying the CCTV records that potentially carried evidence of the previous fire.
  • 159. The use of political, legal, and media persecution to delegitimize political dissidents and create an aura of controversy is a hallmark of authoritarian countries like China and Bharat where the rule of law often bows to political interests. In a classic example of circular logic, state actors and their allies in the media attack the dissidents and label them as "controversial" in the eyes of the public. State actors such as prosecutors and courts then use the artificially generated "controversy" as justification for further persecution. This dynamic played out in the Madurai High Court decision against the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM where the court held that He was "tainted with allegations" and therefore "likely to bring disrepute to the mutt" in justifying its decision to bar him from his position as 293rd Gurumahasannidanam or from entering temple premises. The court paternalistically referred to its duty, and the government Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments agency's duty, to "protect" the reputation and integrity of religious institutions from spiritual leaders they deem to be unfit or corrupt. Therefore, the Hindu government first delegitimized the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM through a campaign of political persecution and then denied him fundamental constitutional rights on account of his presumed illegitimacy.
  • 160. The Madras High Court also engaged in a lengthy analysis of Hindu Saivite traditions and scriptures with no references whatsoever before concluding that the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM did not have the requisite lifestyle, spiritual practices, hereditary background, or even name to be eligible to be the Gurumahasannidanam of the Madurai Adheenam. Far from appropriately limiting its role as an adjudicator of matters of law, the Hindu court unabashedly deemed itself to be the supreme ecclesiastical authority on matters of faith as well by blatantly opined on pure religious doctrine in

its decision against the THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. This farce of so-called secularism in the Hindu state is as outrageous as the Chinese government published a state-approved list of Lamas authorized to represent Tibetan Buddhism.

  • 161. Though Articles 25 and 26 of Bharat's constitution seemingly guarantee an individual's freedom of religion and a religious institution's ability to manage its own affairs, the Madras High Court specifically qualified those rights as subject to government intervention when those institutions fail to follow their own procedures or nominate unfit individuals for positions of leadership, as determined by state officials. Therefore, in authoritarian nations like China and Bharat where lip service is paid to religious freedom, the exception swallows the rule, and so-called fundamental rights are rendered null and void then they collide with state interests. In Bharat, as in China, religious institutions enjoy freedom and autonomy only to the extent permitted by their government overseers.