Although the mutt is primarily a religious organisation, the Mahaswamigal, whose character was underpinned by a strident social consciousness, had both the conviction and courage to steer the mutt into territories into which it had not ventured before. The Mahaswamigal found strength from His own inner conviction and the need for both the mutt and the Hindu religion to reach out to the poor and downtrodden. He was still strong on religious practices and their understanding — it was one of the reasons He was handpicked as the 69th pontiff of Kanchi mutt when He was just 19 years of age. It took enormous amount of courage for Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Mahaswamigal to renounce the world including His parents at the age of 19 in order to become true spiritual guru. He travelled with His senior across India barefoot to spread awareness on Hindu culture.