Why did four Shankaracharyas choose not to attend Ram Mandir’s Inauguration?
Jan 17, 2024
Ahead of the controversial Ram Mandir inauguration in Uttar Pradesh’s
Ayodhya, the four Shankaracharyas are upset over the reduced significance
granted to them in the ceremony despite being the topmost religious
authorities of Hinduism in the country. They say that the consecration
ceremony of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir is not being done according to the Sanatan
Dharma, and so none of them will be present in the ‘Pran Pratishtha’
ceremony.
The pushback by Shankaracharya against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s grand
event has put the Hindu nationalist groups in crisis. The ambitious
decades-long Hindutva campaign to raze down Babri Masjid and build Ram
Mandir seems to have hit a roadblock from the most unlikely place.
Who are the Shankaracharyas?
The top four Shankaracharyas are the heads of the four major Hindu mutts
(monasteries) based in Odisha, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Gujarat. These
monastic orders belong to Hinduism’s Advaita Vedenta Sampradaya tradition
founded by Adi Shankara in the eighth century. These religious heads,
namely Shankaracharya Swami Shri Nischalananda Saraswati of Puri,
Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand of Jyotir Math, Shankaracharya Bharati
Teerth of Sringeri and Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati of Dwarka, are
considered as the supreme authority for interpreting the Hindu religious
scriptures, particularly the Vedas.
What have they said?
On January 4, Nischalanda Saraswati, the Puri Shankaracharya, conveyed to
the nation that all four Shankaracharyas will not be attending the
consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, which is scheduled for January
22nd. He said that he is “conscious of the dignity of his position…. [Prime
Minister Narendra] Modi will inaugurate the temple, he will touch the idol,
then what am I supposed to do? Stand and clap?”
On Saturday, January 13, the Shankaracharya of Puri, at the Ganga Sagar
Mela in West Bengal, further solidified his stance of declining the
invitation to the inauguration of the temple and expressed how the
consecration of a half-constructed temple flouted the scriptures. He said
that political intervention in spiritual domains was not preferable and
that even the Constitution was against it.
“There are rules and restrictions in the religious and spiritual domain
and these rules should be followed. Interfering every area by politicians
is insanity. This is also a heinous crime according to the Constitution…
Overstepping these rules for propagating one’s name is an act of rebellion
against god… and going down the path of destruction.”
He also emphasized the decreased significance granted to the Shankaracharyas
despite their religious superiority, as they have not been allotted a
position in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and are supposed to remain
outside. “This is not acceptable to me,” Saraswati added. “I do not like
the prospect of watching the inauguration of Ram Temple by sitting at the
event and clapping.”
Champat Rai, the head of the Ram Temple Trust, said in a recent interview
that the *temple fulfils the beliefs of the Ramanand sect of Hindus, and
does not adhere to the Shaiva and Shakta traditions*. The four
Shankaracharyas belong to the Shaiva sect.
Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand, of Jyotir Math, Uttarakhand, hit back at
Rai: “If so, then why had the trust demanded donations from us for the
construction of the Ram temple and why did they accept money from us?” The
Shankaracharya further asked Rai to step down as the head of the trust, as
Rai too does not represent the Ramanand sect.
KR As a sankaracharya what a foolish question he made? Asking for
donation is a normal act; there is no distinctions made among the donors.
All go to Tirupati; does it mean we go there only as Vaikanasa agama
people? As a Trikala Gnani, you could have refused the donation but why did
you contribute? Is it because you wanted to perform and not clap clap?
The Ramanand tradition was established in the 15th century by Vaishnavite
devotee Ramanandi. These devotees consider Vishnu to be the supreme Hindu
deity, of whom Ram is an incarnation. In contrast to the Shankaracharyas
who believe the world to be an illusion, the Ramanandis consider the world
as the ultimate truth and that all their karma will occur on earth.
Avimukteshwaranand, like Saraswati, emphasized that the consecration
ceremony of the temple is not per the norms of the Hindu religion. “It is a
Shankaracharya’s duty to follow rituals of the shastras and ensure that
they are followed. And here, the shastras are being ignored. The biggest
problem is that the consecration is being done when the temple is still
incomplete,” he said on January 9*. He clarified, “We are not anti-Modi but
at the same time we also can’t go against our Dharma Shastra.” *
*KR Then why did the opposition cry so much? Because of Puri politics? *
On Friday, January 12, Sadanand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Dwarka,
Gujarat, informed the media about his rejection of the invite for the Ram
temple consecration in Ayodhya due to its relation to “anti-religious”
elements and controversies. He said, “The Ram temple movement has been
going on for the last 500 years, and we had wanted it (the disputed land)
handed over to Hindus. We visit Ayodhya for a spiritual power that exists
there…… but we fail to get that spiritual power when anti-religious
elements take over such an area. The symbols of our culture should remain
with spiritual people for the sake of their purity.”{KR: what is that
anti-religious movements? HE never explained it till date; if so why
anti-religious use them as their trump card?}
He reaffirmed that all four Shankaracharyas would not be present at the
consecration ceremony of the temple despite having received invitations for
it, as the puja would be conducted in ignorance of the principles laid down
in the Vedas.
The Shankaracharya of Sringeri, Karnataka, Bharati Teerth, has not yet
clarified whether he will attend the ‘Pran-Pratishtha’ ceremony or not.
However, a statement published in his official website debunked the media
reports which declared his displeasure with the ceremony. “It has been
noted that during such an occasion (consecration ceremony), certain
ill-wishers of our Dharma have used the name of “www.dainikjagran.com” in
social media to spread a post, which carries a photo of Dakshinamnaya
Sringeri Sharada Peethadheeshwara, His Holiness Paramapujya Jagadguru
Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji and it conveys that the
Sringeri Shankaracharya in a message has expressed displeasure over the
pran pratishtha*. This is merely a false propaganda by ill-wishers of our
Dharma,” read the statement. It further said that Teerth had conveyed his
blessings and asked every ‘Astika’ to attend the sacred ceremony.*
The Reactions
Sharad Sharma, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that
Ayodhya had always remained a centre of politics. He lauded the BJP for
enabling the success of the Ram temple movement: “It was for political
reasons only that Lord Ram was exiled. The movement for the Ram Temple was
powered by the saints and seers, along with the Sangh Parivar which also
includes the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP by virtue of being a political
party had its limitations and yet if you think of it, the temple is being
built in Ayodhya today only because of the efforts of the BJP.”
Sharma clarified that despite the political nature of the struggle for the
temple, the consecration is devoid of any political motives as being
claimed by the Shankaracharyas and other political parties. He asked, “We
have utmost respect for the Shankaracharya. But can someone tell me that
why are 4,000 saints coming to Ayodhya from all across the country for the
consecration if there is no religious meaning of it?”
In May 2014, the predecessors of Nischalananda Saraswati and Sadanand
Saraswati, Puri’s Adhokshjanand Devtirath and Dwarka’s Swaroopanand had
campaigned against Narendra Modi in Varanasi as he was a “sinner” in the
2002 Gujarat riots. {KR Who is a politician?} Swaroopanand, in 2021, had
raised suspicions about the trust established to enable the Ram temple’s
construction. “There is not a single person in this who can perform the
pran prathishtha,” he said. Post his death in 2022, the Shankaracharyas
have resorted to being absent from the ceremony, with three of them
directly stating their reasons. K Rajaram IRS 19 1 24
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