New Delhi, Nov.6 : A “Tulabhaaram” ceremony was organised here on Monday by followers of Sugunendra Theertha Swami who weighed him with coins and prayed for his successful tenure as the head of Sri Krishna Mutt at Udupi in Karnataka.

Shri Sugunenda Theertha will assume the Paryaya on January 18 next year.  This will be his third Paryaya.

The ceremony performed at the Raghavendra Mutt here was attended by a large number of his followers from Delhi.

The ceremony was all the more important as it subsided the concerns raised by some persons that Sugunendra Theertha Swami had crossed the seas and it was against Hindu customs.

But many of his followers stated that just as Swami Vivekananda went abroad to spread Hindu philosophy, the Swami Sugunendra Theertha has done the same.

It was stated that the ancient rule forbidding overseas visit for a Hindu seer was obscure in today’s global world.

Thousands of Hindus were working in the United States and it was necessary that they should be guided by holy persons like Swami Sugunendra Theertha. Moreover, Hinduism today had followers all over the world, the devotees stated.  

During his recent visits abroad Swami Sugunendra Theertha had met President George Bush and President Vladimir Putin in Russia.

Swami Sugunendra Theertha established many temples in different parts of the United States like New Jersy, Phoenix and Los Angeles to spread Hindu philosophy.

At the Tulabharam ceremony here support for the efforts of Swami Sugunendra Theertha in spreading Indian philosophy all over the world was articulated by Rajagopalachar of Raghavendra Mutt.

Shri Surendra Kumar of Dharmasthala and I. Ramamohan Rao, former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India were present on the occasion.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna had attended the welcome ceremony on Sunday (October 28) organised to mark the arrival of Swami Sugunendra Theertha Swami in the capital for a week. (ANI)