“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the temple, he will touch the idol, then what am I supposed to do? Stand and clap?” - Shankaracharya of Puri on January 4
If this statement by the Shankaracharya of Puri--one of the holiest Hindu shrines--was not enough for the BJP to be disturbed in the run-up to the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir scheduled to be held on January 22, the Shankaracharya of Joshimath has made it worse. In a video posted on social media X on January 9, Joshimath Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said that he would not attend the consecration as the temple is not yet complete and ‘pran pratishtha’ of the idol in such a situation is not acceptable as per Hindu scriptures.
Notably, till now, only the sanctum sanctorum of the Mandir is ready and the rest of it is yet to be constructed. According to Narendra Mishra, the chairperson of the construction committee, the first and second floor of the Mandir would be finished by December 2024.
Citing the incompleteness of the temple, allegedly a hindrance to the consecration ceremony, Avimukteshwaranand added, “The scriptures are being undermined by carrying out consecration before the construction of the temple is complete. There is no reason for this rush.”
While the Shankaracharyas of Joshimath and Puri have cited religious reasons for skipping the ceremony, Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth is not on the same board. While talking to Outlook, Mantri of Dwarka Peeth, Brahmacharya Narayananand says, “Shankaracharya Jagadguru Sharada Peethadhiswar will not be able to attend the consecration ceremony on January 22 due to massive protocols and his prior engagements. But he is very happy with the inauguration of the temple.”
Referring to the end of a ‘500 years old conflict’ he adds, “The God has been there for aeons and the pran pratishtha thus is just a ritual.” The Shankaracharya of Sringeri also in a statement said that he is against such ‘false propaganda’. Though he would also not attend the ceremony, he has different reasons.
Interestingly, it has also brought out a sectorial tension among different Hindu sects in the fore. The head of the Ram temple trust Champat Rai, in a recent interview to a Hindi daily said that the temple belongs to the Ramanand sect and the Shankaracharyas are part of Shaiva and Shakta tradition.
Expressing his disgruntlement over such comments by Rai, Avimukteshwaranand said, “If the temple belongs to the Ramanand sect, why is Champat Rai heading the trust?” He also added that people from all sects have contributed to the foundation of the temple and no single party can claim it.
A Conflict of Religious Interest?
Amidst the growing tension between the priests and the BJP government, one can recall the earlier instances where different Hindu priests had taken a stand against PM Modi- who otherwise is considered to be the protector of Sanatan dharma by his supporters.
The first such instance dates back to 2013 when Modi was yet to become the PM. Condemning VHP leader Ashok Singhal’s upholding of Modi’s image as the next PM at Kumbh Mela, Bharat Sadhu Samaj general secretary Swami Harinarayanand said that such a statement from a pilgrimage site is “highly objectionable”. “It was against the norms and sanctity of pilgrim places,” he tells media after coming from Kumbh.
In 2016, within two years of taking charge as the PM, Modi had to face the wrath of Sadhus. Bharat Sadhu Samaj, a conglomerate of different Babas across the country, in its Haridwar conclave said that they were not happy with the working style of the PM at all. It is only in the BJP-ruled states, that the Sadhus are suffering most, they said. As per the reports, these comments stemmed from their objection to the decision of the government to charge taxes on the religious institutes.
One of the biggest religious projects of PM Modi- the development of Kashi Vishwanath corridor- even didn’t pass without facing stern criticisms. The priests in Varanasi accused him of destroying small temples at the cost of the corridor. Dr Kulpati Tiwari, the chief priest of Kashi Vishwanath Mandir after the inauguration of the corridor said that though he was one of them who campaigned for the PM, after witnessing the destruction of small Shiva temples, he came out of the delusion. “Eventually, the Gods and Goddesses of Kashi will drive them (the BJP) out,” he said.
He also pointed out at the violation of the rituals during the inauguration of the corridor and added, “I sat in a corner, both insulted and amazed that so many details in worshipping, rituals and even taking the holy dip were all wrong.”
These instances show that the recent statements of the top Hindu priests are not out of sync with the earlier dissents. Does it reiterate the importance of separating state and religion? Prior to the inauguration of Somnath Temple, then PM Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to President Rajendra Prasad requesting him to not attend the ceremony. However, Prasad still went. But, from Somnath to Ayodhya, the debate over secularism and the participation of the state in religious ceremonies continued.
