The Four Shankaracharyas Not to Attend Ram Pran Pratishta?
Two out of four shankaracharyas have denied the invitation to attend the Ram Mandir pran pratishta in Ayodhya on 22nd January 2024 because of the Non-Vedic way of the ceremony.
The 'Pran Pratishta' of the new Ram Mandir, Ayodhya is India’s mega event strategically scheduled by PM Modi ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Over 10,000 special guests from across India including 100 international dignitaries will attend the ceremony. However, at least two of four shankaracharyas will not because of failure to follow norms and a "political angle" to an event.
But who are Shankaracharyas? The title of 'Shankaracharya' is awarded to the leaders of four sects founded by the 8th century vedic scholar & teacher Shri Adi Shankaracharya. These four sects are established across India in Uttarakhand (Joshimath), Gujarat (Dwarka), Odisha (Puri), and Karnataka (Sringeri). Each sect is supposed to safeguard one of the Vedas - Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda and has the final say in interpreting the scripture’s meaning. According to the reports, the four shankaracharyas had received the invite for the Ram Mandir ceremony. Out of the four, two have politely denied their presence and given the reasons for their absence while the other two have neither confirmed nor denied their attendance. Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Odisha sect denied the invite last week because of the undignified way of ceremony. He said "Lord Ram's pran partishta must be done in a dignified way. PM Modi will be inside the garbhagriha and will touch the idol…. This is being given a political angle. I will neither oppose nor attend." “PM Modi or any regular person should not touch the Ram idol or perform the pran pratishtha. It should be performed as per the guidelines given in the vedas by a dignified & experienced priest like the shankaracharyas otherwise deity's radiance diminishes and demonic entities can enter the idol.” He further said “I am not upset... I have taken my stance. It is just my policy and principle... otherwise I keep going to Ayodhya”. The Shankaracharya of Uttrakhand sect, Swami Avimukteshwaranand also announced that he too will not attend the event and said “Ayodhya had Ram Mandir before. This temple isn't a 'gift' or 'triumph' (victory) for the religion. When cow slaughter ends in India, I will visit the Ram Mandir and celebrate with enthusiasm.” The two other shankaracharyas of Karnataka sect and Gujarat sect have not made any statements regarding their presence in Ayodhya on 22nd January 2024 but there are reports that they too will not attend. Both have put out statements stating the event as "happiness for all Sanatan Dharma followers" but neither confirmed attendance. Shankaracharya Bharati Teerth of Karnataka sect said “This is false propaganda by ill-wishers... all are requested to disregard (this) and take note of only what has been published on the official website and social media platforms"
Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati of Gujarat called the news "misleading" and said, "We only want that all programmes of the Pran Pratishta" should be conducted as per the Vedas and scriptures.” To this, Ram Mandir’s chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das announced that everything is being done as per the shastras.The Congress pointed out the Shankaracharyas' absence to emphasize their point of the pre-election inauguration of incomplete Ram Mandir to be a more political event than a religious one. Along with Congress, other opposition parties and all the Shankaracharyas agree to the key point of the temple being incomplete during the pran pratishta. According to the Shankaracharyas, our vedas have described the temple as the body of God. The temple's peak in God's eyes, and the 'kalash' represents the head. The hair of the God is represented by the flag of the temple.Therefore, it's against the religious scriptures to conduct pran-pratishtha in the body without its head or eyes and an incomplete temple must not be consecrated. The shankaracharyas have also said that pran pratishtha date i.e. 22nd January 2024 is inauspicious for the ceremony. Many of the top Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have turned down their invites.
