Gadag: In a rarest of rare incident, a young Muslim youth will be appointed as a pontiff in a Lingayat mutt in Gadag district.
Diwan Sharief Rahimansab Mulla is 33 now and as a little boy, he was influenced by the teachings of 12th century reformer Basavanna.
The love and respect of Sharief for Basavanna will see the former take a major step in his life as become a pontiff of the Murugharajendra Koraneshwara Shantidhama mutt in Asuti village, which is linked to the 350-year-old Koraneshwara Sansthan mutt in Khajuri village in Kalaburagi.
The ceremony will be held on February 26.
“Basava’s philosophies are universal and we embrace followers irrespective of caste and religion. He had dreamed of social justice and harmony in the 12th century and following his teachings, the mutt has opened its doors to all,” Murugharajendra Koraneshwar Shivayogi, pontiff of the Khajuri mutt is quoted in TOI.
Sharief’s father too was influenced by Shivayogi’s discourses in Asuti and had donated two acres land to set up the mutt. Shivayogi said the Asuti mutt has been functioning for 2-3 years now and construction of the premises was on.
“Sharief is dedicated to Basava’s philosophy and has been living by those tenets. His father was also a staunch follower and had obtained ‘linga deeksha’ from us. Sharief took ‘deeksha’ on November 10, 2019,” the pontiff said adding that he has been trained on the various facets of Lingayat religion and Basavanna’s teachings over the past three years.
Sharief said that he used to run a flour mill in Menasagi village and during his free time he used to conduct discourses on Vachanas.
Murugharajendra Swamiji, who recognised the service of Sharief took him under his wings.
“I will move on the same path propagated by Basavanna and my mentor,” Sharief is quoted in TOI.
Sharief is married and father to three daughters and a son and appointment of a family man as pontiff is still uncommon in Lingayats.
