Foreword

Swami Rudranandaji Maharaj

(11 March 1901 to 30 June 985)

Rev. Swami Rudrananda Maharaj was an extraordinary man. He was a polymath and a dynamo, all the ingredients that make for the release of a great deal of energy when mixed together. During the 46 years of his illustrious career in Fiji, he brought all his energies to bear on a number of spheres of human endeavour – cultural, social, educational, economic, political and spiritual – all of which have been positively influenced by him.

Swami Rudrananda’s arrival in Fiji in 1939 had a far reaching impact on the lives of the South Indians: he gave their languages a fillip; he played a major role in undermining the entrenched Hindu caste system; he elevated the often banausic lifestyle of South Indian sugarcane farmers by galvanising them into building schools and temples in their villages and encouraged them to involve themselves in activities associated with them. His endeavours lead to the creation of a more egalitarian community and esprit de corps amongst the South Indians. Gradually, Gujaratis and then the other Indian communities came under his influence. No one can lay greater claim to transforming Nadi into the cultural centre of gravity of the Fiji Indian community, than the Swami.

The Swami provided the Indian community access to education. The establishment of the ‘Boys’ Boarding’ at the Nadi Temple precinct, enabled scores of students from as far a field as Labasa, Raki Raki and Navua, to receive education at Nadi Sangam School. Other primary schools were established in its aftermath. Since its inception in 1949, Shri Vivekananda High School (now designated College) has and continues to, provide a springboard for careers in the professions for its students. Indeed, legions owe livelihood to their Alma Mater.

Indian Independence movement gathering momentum in the wake of WW II apparently had a ripple effect on far-flung Fiji; it is conceivable that in consequence, some South Indian Muslims and many Hindu Telugus, little by little began to depart from Sangam and form their own associations. In so far as the latter are concerned, whatever the personal or ideological reasons which contributed to their exodus from Sangam, one wonders whether the imminent independence of India had any bearing on it; for the Telugus, who were more populous than the Tamils, did not have a state of their own during the British Raj, but were lumped together with the Tamils, in the mega state called, Madras Presidency, whose civil service was probably dominated by Tamils, in all likelihood by Tamil Brahmins, the pre-eminent intelligentsia of India. Nationalistic sentiments engendered amongst the Telugus as a consequence, lead to agitation and the subsequent creation of Andhra Pradesh, albeit a decade after India gained independence in 1947. Could this have had a knock-on effect resulting in the break away from Sangam, of a significant number of Telugus to form ‘Andhra Sangam’ in Fiji? Nevertheless, many Telugus remained loyal to Sangam. In view of these developments, it is not surprising that a majority of the remainder, mostly Tamils, were averse to agreeing to the Ramakrishna Mission supplanting Sangam. So the odds were stacked heavily against the Swami at the fateful 1953 Sangam meeting, in which transfer of Sangam assets to the Ramakrishna Mission was high on the agenda; that he was unable to transfer all Sangam assets to the Ramakrishna Mission, was indeed a major setback for the Swami. Of those Sangam members who opposed the motion, some sincerely believed in preserving the status quo, for fear of losing their identity; their stand on this matter is comprehensible. But, the schadenfreude some of his detractors indulged in as a result was as gratuitous as it was demeaning. After all, Swamiji had placed the item on the agenda on behalf of a significant number of members, including the much Revered Sadhu Kuppuswami, the Founder and life-long President of Sangam, who was still alive then. Therefore, Swami Rudrananda’s bona fides in this regard have been above reproach.

Hinduism, as practised by a large majority of South Indians in Fiji at the time of Swami Rudrananda’s arrival was at the personal or family level. He leavened it with liturgy, in order to add a further dimension to it, i.e. promote public worship, including bhajans and group singing of hymns, some of which were composed by himself.

Swami Rudrananda took the existential Hindu religious beliefs and practices of South Indians to a higher plane: under his influence, religious conformity began to take in the central tenets of Hindu theology; metaphysical concepts such as, ‘atman’, ‘Brahman’, ‘karma’, ‘samsara’, etc., virtually unknown to the Sangam hoi polloi, began to gain currency. Swami Rudrananda fervently believed in universal brotherhood of religions: he eschewed religious bigotry and preached latitudinarianism because he was not a splitter but a lumper of religions. In consonance with the teachings of most religions, in him, religion and morality were intricately interwoven but service to humankind represented the apotheosis of his spirituality.

Swami Rudrananda’s support for the South Indian community was unique in that it was without detriment to other Indian communities, much less, ethnic Fijians, inasmuch as he was above parochialism and politics.

During Swamiji’s lifetime, scores of students, men and women have personally benefited - educationally, morally and spiritually - from their associations with him. At the national level, the footprints of Swami Rudrananda's prodigious contribution towards education and the sugar industry are writ large on the pages of Fiji’s history; they are indeed his best epitaph and memorial.

Sydney, November 2007 Gunasagaran Pillai

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