Tribute:

Rajapuvaneswaran - Man with a mission

A.R. Surendran President’s Counsel President, Vivekananda Society, Colombo

Rajapuvaneswaran had been for the past thirty five years the live wire and lynch pin of the Vivekananda Society. He was the solid bedrock on which the whole edifice of the society stood proudly. He was a man of action, a true Karma Yogi who devoted his entire life for the advancement of the Society and its ideals. His involvement with the Society was so inextricably interwoven that his name has become synonymous with that of the Society.

Born in the shadow of the Suthumalai Puvanes-wary Ambal Kovil in Jaffna and living for a very long period cheek by jowl with the Muthumari Amman Kovil, Kotahena, naturally Bakthi was ingrained in his being at a very tender age. Raja had been a deeply religious man in the true sense of that expression from his young days.

His idea of religion was inclusive. It was a harmonious blend of devotion, discipline, and dedicated service. He was a devout Hindu steeped in the Hindu scriptures, devotional hymns, Thevarams and Thiruvasagam. In him one saw the natural confluence of the Siddanta and the Vedanta in equal measure. He was as much a practising Saiva siddantist as he was a true Vedantist, who believed in the Vedic proclamation Ekam Thath Bahootha Vadanthi (Truth is one sages call it by different names).

His idea of a religious life went far beyond the confines of shrines and temples. It encompassed within its sweep selfless service activities aimed at uplifting the poor, helping the needy, and enlightening the ignorant.

Inspired at a very young age by Swami Vivekananda’s exhortation ‘service to man is service to God’, Raja as a youth yearned to plunge into social service. Moreover he had a firm faith in the urgent need to preserve and resuscitate our ancient traditions and cultural values. For a young man like Rajapuvaneswaran who was aspiring to serve the society and awaken the people, the attraction of the Colombo Vivekananda Society, an institution committed to these lofty ideals was irresistible.

The Society, which is the first of its kind in the whole world, established after the name of Swami Vivekananda, due to the untiring efforts of Sir Ponnamblam Ramanathan and other Leaders of Civil Society, drew Rajapuwaneswaran into its folds in the mid fifties. Thus even before he joined the Bank of Ceylon where he later rose to great heights as a senior banker, Rajapuvaneswaran offered his services to the Vivekananda Society at a very young age.

His natural skills as an able orator who had won many awards including the prestigious Father Peterpillai Memorial Challenge Cup, and his amazing capacities as an energetic organizer soon found him occupying responsible positions in the society. He served the society in many a capacity Departmental office bearer,

Asst Secretary, Examination Secretary, Editor and Treasurer prior to his election as the Hony General Secretary in 1974. The invaluable experience gained by him as an office bearer serving under some of the eminent legal luminaries, top flight civil servants, and prominent doctors, men of the calibre of Sir Kandiah Vaidyanathan, Ranganathan Q.C, K.Alvapillai and Dr T. Nallainathan stood him in good stead during his long years as the Society’s General Secretary.

The past 35 years when he functioned as the General Secretary of the Society, saw the Society grow by leaps and bounds with a plethora of activities largely organized by him almost single handedly.

The Thirumurai Vizha, the annual Sir Ponnampalam Ramanathan memorial lectures, the Saiva teachers seminars held in Colombo and out stations, the erection of the Sithie Vinayagar Temple in 1986, Nursery schools for the Hindu students of the area, the Bharatha Natyam classes and the annual oratorical contests bear ample testimony to his spirited service and consummate skills as an organizer.

The crowning glory of his tenure as the General Secretary was the installation of the nine foot high statue of Swami Vivekananda which was erected under the special canopy at the Society premises. In 2002 Rajapuvaneswaran successfully organized islandwide programs in connection with the centenary celebration of Swami Vivekananda’s samadhi. Due to his untiring efforts the well attended valedictory function was graced by Jaswant Sinha, the then Minister of External Affairs in the Indian Government.

The fact that Raja was able to accomplish all these tasks amidst his busy work schedule as a Senior Banker attached to the Bank of Ceylon demonstrates the great odds against which he gave his time and energy to the Society.

At the Bank of Ceylon which he served for thirty four years from 1965, he championed many a just cause on behalf of his fellow employees and was elected as the President of the Bank of Ceylon staff officers’ association.

The interest he took even after retirement, in the affairs of the Bank officers was such that just two days before his death whilst he was in hospital under life support, he removed his oxygen mask and queried his brother in law Narendrakumar, a retired Deputy chief legal officer of the Bank, as to why he had not gone for the meeting of the retired bank officers which was taking place on that day. That was Rajapuvaneswaran.

One of the most significant features of Raja’s personality was his uncanny capacity to relate to the younger generation with ease. Imbued with ardent love for our culture and religion, Raja at an early stage of his tenure as the General Secretary, identified the younger generation as the potential harbingers of our cultural and religious ethos.

When as one of the Vice Presidents of the All Ceylon Hindu Congress with which he was very closely associated, he was tasked with giving leadership to the Sivathondar unit (servitors of Lord Shiva). He willingly undertook this project and carried out his duties with complete dedication. This gave him an opportunity to interact closely with the youth. He was leading them from the front.

His ideas were exemplary and he was able to inspire the young to follow in his footsteps, not by preaching to them but, by actively engaging in service with them. He never stood on his dignity and was able to motivate the younger generation with his love and affection for them. The extent to which he endeared himself to them was manifested by the large number of these youth who were present at his funeral.

His alertness, his attention to every minute detail done with meticulous care, his willingness to make himself available for the activities of the Society sometimes even neglecting matters of his own family, all these qualities helped him to leave his mark as the most efficient General Secretary that the Society had ever had in its history spanning one hundred and five years.

In fact his attachment to the Society was so strong that after his retirement as a Senior Manager from the Bank of Ceylon he refrained from accepting gainful employment as a consultant in the private sector, as he thought that such an engagement would swallow up his time and energy hindering his activities in the Society.

Rajapuvaneswaran firmly believed that he had a mission in life. He fought valiantly for what he believed to be a right cause. He gave himself totally and wholeheartedly for the promotion and propagation of his cherished values. He did not waste his life pursuing ephemeral worldly objects. He spoke against all forms of injustice and discrimination. He never minced his words when it came to articulating his point of view. He was congenial and accommodative yet uncompromising and unflinching when it came to upholding principles.

The rough edges that were sometimes seen in him added lustre to his diamond like personality. His occasional outbursts stemming from justifiable indignation and his fearless criticism aimed at frivolity never earned him the wrath of the recipient, for everybody knew that his anger was not ‘in personam’ and that he bore no ill will or malice towards anyone.

In fact he was admired by many for his forthright views and courageous criticism in situations when most of the people would choose to maintain discreet silence. In the circles in which he was known, he was one of the most admired and much loved personalities. In short Raja was a man with a mission who left a priceless legacy for his fellow men - the legacy of love, the legacy of service, the legacy of true dedication.

May he attain Moksha.