Gopan Swami (78), a native of Neyyattinkara, was on Thursday secretly
buried by his sons, who claimed he had attained ‘Samadhi.

The deceased, Gopan Swami, was buried by his two sons, Sanandan and
Rajasenan, who claimed that their father had attained ‘Samadhi’, used
to refer to the death of holy men who have reached the state of
ultimate spiritual realization.

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The incident took place at Aralamoodu in Neyyatttinkara, near a temple
that Gopan Swami had built and maintained. The burial was carried out
on Thursday without informing relatives or neighbours and a tomb-like
structure built on the spot.

One of the sons, Rajasenan, claimed that the burial was carried out as
per his father’s wishes. He said his father had previously expressed
his desire to attain ‘Samadhi’ and had prepared for it. He stated that
after his father ‘attained Samadhi’, they covered the structure with a
concrete slab.

He said they had only made arrangements to cover the structure and all
other preparations were made by his father in advance. Locals knew
about the death only after a flex board announcing the ‘Samadhi’ was
put up on Friday.

“Father came back home from the temple, took his tablets, had food,
and told us he was going into ‘Samadhi’. He got dressed, sat here in
Padmasana, and entered the state of ‘Samadhi’. He had already arranged
for the memorial stone in advance. During the Samadhi rituals
(poojas), only my brother and I were present—no one else was allowed
to witness them. After the Samadhi, I brought my mother and wife; they
paid their respects and left. We covered the structure after that,”
Rajasenan said

Questions arose regarding the circumstances of Gopan Swami’s death,
prompting the police to seek further investigation. Neyyattinkara
police have sought the permission of Thiruvananthapuram district
collector to exhume the body and conduct a post-mortem examination
following suspicions around the burial of Gopan Swami.