Billawa community did not have a family Diety. The Upper castes had kept us Billawa's away from temples. We were not allowed to see Gods. It was Brahmashri Narayana Guru who gave us a family diety by building Gokarnanatha Temple in Kudroli in Mangaluru.The place where the temple is built was chosen by Narayana Guru… Read More  

Narayana Guru always preached about importance of education in life and unity among different castes and creeds in the society for a peaceful co-existence. He walked the talk. His words are timeless. In 1989, when I was Minister in the Union Cabinet, the President of the Temple Renovation Committee Mr. A.Vishwanath came to me and… Read More  

Once while I was addressing a Public Rally in Dakshina Kannada District, a person wearing a half pant came on stage and said, "I heard your speech. But I have only five paise. Will you accept it" he asked. "Why not? Please give it me," I said accepting the coin. "This five paise are very… Read More  

After installing Nava Durgeyaru, we installed Adishakthi and performed a ten-day non-stop pooja during Dussehra. We named this as Mangaluru Dasara. When we started, we never thought that it could capture people's imagination to such an extent. Today it is one of the most important festivals that people of Mangaluru eagerly long for year after… Read More  

As all work related to Gokarnanatha Temple got over, I decided to appoint widows as Priests to perform religious rituals. I was disturbed by the way the society was treating widows particularly young widows. They were kept away from all important functions. They were not allowed to enter Temples or perform pujas. They were not… Read More  

Koti and Chennayya were the twin warriors of Billava Community who lived in the 16th century. Sons of Deyi Baiditi, they fought many wars. They were very popular among the people due to their helping nature. 'We protect those who believe us. We ensure victory of truth' was their assurance to people and they walked… Read More  

We started mid-day meal for students and devotees of the Temple. Around 1,500 devotees and 600-700 students are being fed in the Temple everyday. We believe that students should not go to bed without having food.People attach a lot of emotional value to solemnising marriages in a temple. A very rich industrialist of Mangaluru Cement… Read More