Bhubaneswar, 19 August (H.S.): The year-long birth centenary celebrations of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati will begin on August 21 at Gurujanga in Talcher, the Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Birth Centenary Celebration Committee, Odisha, announced on Wednesday.

According to the committee, a series of programmes will be organised across Odisha and various parts of India from August 2026 through November 2027. The celebrations are expected to be held at around 25,000 locations across Odisha.

At a press conference, committee president Swami Jivanmuktanandapuri and convenor Binay Kumar Bhuyan outlined the programme schedule. The inaugural event on August 21 will feature a Kalash procession, Go Puja, yajna, town procession, religious assembly, Prasad distribution and a meeting of centenary volunteers.

The evening programme will include cultural performances, devotional music, dance, Pala and discourses by saints at different locations in the village. An exhibition highlighting the life, work and ideals of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati will also be organised.

Several saints, including Brahmananda Saraswati, Sachchidananda Maharaj, Shivdas Baba, Smriti Sagar Maharaj, Jivan Chaitanya Maharaj, Sachchidananda Das Maharaj, Babaji Biswanath Das, Shraddhananda Saraswati and Avinash Baba, are expected to attend the programme. RSS Kshetra Karyavah Durga Prasad Sahu and other prominent personalities from Odisha will also participate and provide guidance.

According to the committee, condolence and tribute meetings will be organised in villages and urban settlements from August 23 to September 4. In October 2026, a Sanskrit conference will be held at Chakapad and a women's conference at Jalespata.

Three major conferences will be organised in Odisha in November, respectively in Sambalpur, Berhampur and Bhubaneswar. Large gatherings will also be held in major cities including Haridwar, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

From January to April 2027, saints will lead awareness and outreach journeys across villages and urban settlements. Large Hindu conferences are proposed at the block and city levels during April and May 2027. The centenary celebrations will continue until November 2027.

Speaking at the press conference, Swami Jivanmuktanandapuri said Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, despite being a monk, dedicated his life not merely to spiritual pursuits but also to the service of the nation and society.

According to him, Swamiji participated in the freedom movement during his adolescence and devoted himself to serving people affected by the 1962 India-China war and the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

He also contributed to the establishment of two Sanskrit schools and two colleges in Kandhamal and a high school at Tulsipur. He promoted education among women by starting night schools in Kandhamal and emphasised yoga and physical exercise.

His initiatives also included an Ayurvedic health centre at Katingia in Kandhamal and a primary health centre in Rayagada. He promoted organic farming and cattle rearing and trained local communities in these activities. Small check dams were constructed to improve irrigation, while an agricultural cooperative society was established at Katingia.

Swami Laxmanananda also encouraged forest conservation through village committees and promoted awareness against the use of plastic. He urged people to plant Tulsi in their homes and encouraged the formation of Kirtan groups and the organisation of religious and cultural programmes in villages. He was also associated with the construction of temples in Kandhamal and Gajapati and the formation of women's Kirtan groups in Kandhamal.

According to committee members, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati participated in the cow protection movement led by Karpatri Ji Maharaj in Delhi in 1966 and was imprisoned for his involvement. In 1967, he led a cow protection movement in Odisha and subsequently served a prison term.

The committee said Swamiji also worked to create awareness against religious conversions and supported the return of people to their faith.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his associates were killed at the Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal on Janmashtami in 2008.

As part of the birth centenary celebrations, the committee has called upon people to draw inspiration from Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati's life and ideals and work towards five key resolutions.

These include creating awareness against religious conversion, promoting cow rearing at the household level, encouraging tree plantation, protecting Maa, Mati and Matrubhasha (mother, motherland and mother tongue), and preserving Indian culture.

Committee convenor Binay Kumar Bhuyan appealed to people to adopt these five resolutions in their personal and social lives and carry forward Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati's message of service, cultural preservation and social awareness.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda