MANGALORE, INDIA, October 2011: His attire and mannerisms reflects classic asceticism. But in his unique mission, 68 year-old Swami Bhaktiteertha has hit the road to apply brakes on the trend of naming beedi wrappers, wine shops, non-vegetarian restaurants among other things after Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
The seer traces the roots of his unique mission to 1998. It was advertisements showing a dancing Ganapathi with transistors in each hand, telecast on television during Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations, that pained him. He wrote to the electronics firm and succeeded in getting the offensive advertisement removed.
An accidental meeting with activist-cum-entrepreneur, the late Narayandas Samathani in Coimbatore helped Swami Bhaktiteertha discover his calling. The activist who could not devote himself to the task of making traders hold Gods in reverence shared his printed propaganda material with the seer.
Having embraced asceticism in 1995 at age 52, there was no looking back for Swami Bhaktiteertha. Much of the violation happens due to ignorance, he said. At every village he stops to create awareness on how naming of mutton shops and hair cutting salons after Gods was illegal under Trade and Merchandise Marks Act of 1958.