Haridwar: The country’s four prominent Shankaracharyas, or religious heads, will not attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the 46th Shankaracharya of Uttarkhand’s Jyotish Peeth, announced on Tuesday.
The announcement came following the Shankaracharya of Puri’s Govardhan Mutt decision not to take part in the consecration ceremony of the idol as it was against the shastras, sacred Hindu scriptures.
Avimukteshwaranand said that installing idols of Lord Ram before completing the construction of the temple was against Sanatan Dharma. Adding to that, there was no need for such a hurry.
Responding to the reason for not attending the ceremony, he said that he is not attending because of any hatred or aversion, but “rather because it is the responsibility of shankaracharyas to observe and make sure that the shastra-vidhi (rituals of the shastras) are followed. Moreover, shastra-vidhi is being disregarded here. The primary issue is that the temple is not yet finished when pran pratishtha (consecration) is performed.”
He also claimed that they could be called ‘anti-Modi.’ But what is anti-Modi here, he asked. “We are not anti-Modi, but at the same time, we also can’t go against our Dharma Shastra,” Avimukteshwaranand said.
Consecration event preparations
The devotees of Lord Ram are eagerly waiting for the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple on January 22. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest of the event. Moreover, thousands of people, including celebrities, politicians, and saints, have all been invited.
The first floor and the sanctum sanctorum of the temple are ready. It will take two more years for Ram Mandir to be fully constructed, according to the temple trust.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress party has announced that its leaders Sonia Gandhi Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not attend the ceremony as they allege that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to procure political benefits from it ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
