A video of Mahavishnu speaking of afterbirth and how the British destroyed the system of "Gurukulam" that taught students to use mantras to do several things has gone viral, garnering criticism. The speech was made at a government school.
Published Sep 06, 2024 | 4:21 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 06, 2024 | 4:37 PM
Self-proclaimed motivational speaker Mahavishnu. (Facebook)
With the DMK’s Dravidian model of governance in Tamil Nadu proclaiming to raise the scientific temper of school students, a spiritual training class was conducted in the state capital with the awareness of the education department.
A controversy erupted over the conduct of a spiritual training class for the youth by one Mahavishnu at Ashok Nagar Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Chennai.
Even though the state governmnet and the chief minister spoke against the event, people are questioning why a spiritual class was hosted by a government school. The event was held on Teacher’s Day on Thursday, 5 September.
The event comes at the heels of an incident where a man sexually harassed female students by conducting fake NCC camps in schools in the Krishnagiri district.
Mahavishnu runs a private charity organisation named Paramporul Foundation used to conduct spiritual classes in government schools in the Saidapet and Ashok Nagar areas of Chennai.
A video of him speaking of afterbirth and how the British destroyed the system of “Gurukulam” that taught students to use mantras to do several things has gone viral, garnering criticism.
“Gurukulams were systematically destroyed by the British. Just reading a mantra can cause fire rain, heal one’s body, can make you fly, but all these secrets which were written on palm leaves were lost due to British rule,” Mahavishnu said while delivering a class on “self-realisation”.
“If God was kind, everyone should be born equal. One is born rich while the other is born poor. One is born a criminal while the other is born a hero. Why such differences? What you did in your last birth, you were given this birth,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, a teacher at the school named Shankar objected to the comments made by Mahavishnu on afterbirth and reincarnation.
The teacher questioned the theory of afterbirth and said, “All are born equal.”
“Who are you to speak of afterbirth and reincarnation? It is not what should be spoken here,” the visually impaired teacher told Mahavishnu.
Following the exchange between Shankar and Mahavishnu, some staff members of the school guided the former away from the latter.
The video of the interaction was later shared online, including by Mahavishnu, making people question the intent of holding a spiritual talk at a government school.
Several people also raised questions on who permitted such an event in a school.
Meanwhile, sources told South First that the programme was conducted after obtaining permission from the District Education Officer (DEO).
A letter sent to the DEO by the school authorities sought permission to hold a motivational speech programme to instil confidence in the students.
Paramporul Foundation run by Mahavishnu is headquartered in the Tiruppur district.
At a young age, he performed as a stand-up comedian under the name Madurai Maha in the show Asathappovadu Yaaru which was aired on a leading Tamil television channel. Armed with his eloquence that impressed many people, he changed his path from stand-up comedy.
In 2021, he started the Paramporul Foundation in Tirupur, through which he organises paid classes that claim to guide “soul searching”. His official website mentions that it also provides solutions to people’s personal problems.
It is said that Mahavishnu’s Paramathma Trust is said to be working to help poor students’ education, provide financial assistance to sportspersons, renovate school buildings, plant saplings and provide medical assistance to poor people.
The social media pages of the Paramporul Foundation address Mahavishnu as a “Guruji” who is a “Certified ReiKi Healer”.
When South First contacted the Paramporul Foundation to find out more information about Mahavishnu, it was told that he was working as a social volunteer.
They said that Mahavishnu was not in India at the moment and said more details could be provided only after discussing with senior officials.
Recently, Mahavishnu had met state ministers with a representation to include spiritual teaching in the school syllabus.
He met Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi seeking to include Vallalar Ramalinga Swamikal’s “Thiruvarutpa” in Tamil Nadu textbooks with the aim of inculcating moral ideas in the hearts of school children.
Similarly, he called on Minister of Health and People’s Welfare Department M Subramanian, Minister of Hindu Religious Charities Department PK Shekharbabu, Minister of Dairy Department Mano Thangaraj, President of Tamil Nadu Textbook Association Dindigul I Leoni with the same request and petitioned to complete the preparatory work to fulfil his request.
Subsequently, he started conducting his teaching classes in government schools claiming to guide students to the path of enlightenment.
After the video of his class created a controversy Tamil Nadu School Education Secretary Madhumati IAS said no non-educational programmes should be held in schools without government approval. She said strict action would be taken in case of violation.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin underlined the importance of scientific temper and said “Our high-quality textbooks contain the best scientific ideas that students need to know. The teachers themselves can bring out the best ideas needed to face future challenges with confidence and sharpen their knowledge. Actions will be taken by the School Education Department to provide the necessary innovative training, social education — with appropriate departmental experts and scholars,” the chief minister who is on a US tour wrote on X.
“Individual progress, ethical living and sound ideas for social development should be inculcated in the hearts of students. Over the past three years, I have consistently emphasized the importance of education and the need to develop scientific thinking at numerous events. Science is the way to progress”, he added.
மாணவச் செல்வங்கள் அறிந்துகொள்ளத் தேவையான சிறந்த அறிவியல் சிந்தனைகள் தரம் மிகுந்த நமது பாடநூல்களில் இடம் பெற்றுள்ளன.
எதிர்காலச் சவால்களை, தன்னம்பிக்கையோடு எதிர்கொள்ளவும், அறிவாற்றலைக் கூர்மைப்படுத்திக் கொள்ளவும் தேவையான சிறப்பான கருத்துகளை ஆசிரியர்களே எடுத்துக்கூற முடியும்.…
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 6, 2024
Similarly, Minister Anbil Mahesh launched an awareness seminar titled “Education is the greatest weapon to flourish equality” at Ashok Nagar School where the controversial incident took place.
Speaking to the reporters, he said, “I have come to school today (Friday) following the controversy that happened in the government school. I am going to meet the children. We are going to talk about “Education is the greatest weapon to make equality flourish” to change what Mahavishnu said”.
“Action will be taken against the organisation within three to four days. It will be a lesson to Tamil Nadu as a whole so that such incidents do not happen again. The Tamil Nadu chief minister and the school of education department have the same feelings as everyone else”, he said.
The hashtag #Resign_AnbilMahesh is trending on social media asking the minister to explain his position.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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