“Dharma Sansad on August 25th adopted a resolution declaring Sai Baba, the 19th century mystic, was neither God nor a guru and hence cannot be worshipped and placed among Hindu Gods.” – TOI
Shirdi, Maharastra: Dwarka Peeth Seer Shakaracharya Swami Swarupanand Saraswati has sent an invitation to the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi to participate in the ‘Bruhad Dharma Sansad’.
A delegation on behalf of the seer that arrived in Shirdi on August 10 and handed over the invitation to the deputy executive officer of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi Appasaheb Shinde. The invitation extended to the trust is to attend the two day meeting — Dharma Sansad, to be held at Kabirdham in Kavardha district of Chhatisgarh on August 24-25, and present their views.
Only some time back, Shankaracharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati’s remarks against Sai Baba and the trust had raked a controversy till the devotees of Sai Baba decided to ignore the remarks.
Speaking to the media, Vidyanand, a member of the seer’s delegation, said that they had come to Shirdi on behalf of Swami Swarupananda to end the controversy following the remarks by the Shankaracharya. “Swami Swarupananda himself has sent us to end this dispute and has urged the Sansthan Trust to attend the two-day Dharma Sansad and present their views. The meet will be attended by Swami Swarupananda himself, Shankaracharyas of Shringeri and Puri Peeth and other seers,” Vidyanand said.
While the delegation met the officials of the trust and spoke to the media, they did not visit the temple. When asked about it, Vidyanand replied. “We are here to perform the duty assigned by my Guru (Shakaracharya Swami Swarupanand), which we have done. God is everywhere,” he exhorted.
While the police beefed up security during the delegation’s visit, it was informed that the delegation members did not visit the temple only to avoid a possible uproar by devotees and any chaos thereafter.
Public Relations Officer of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi Mohan Yadav, said that the delegation from Swami Swarupanand including Vidyananda has given the invitation for two-day Dharma Sansad and it has been accepted by Sansthan’s deputy executive officer Appasaheb Shinde. The invitation will be placed before three-member-committee of the Sansthan Trust to decide on it, Yadav said. – DNA, 12 August 201
Dharma Sansad backs Dwarka Acharya, says Shirdi Sai Baba neither God nor Guru
Kawardha, Chhattisgarh: Backing Dwarka Peeth Seer Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, a Dharma Sansad on Monday [August 25, 2014] adopted a resolution declaring Sai Baba, the 19th century mystic, was neither God nor a guru and hence cannot be worshipped and placed among Hindu Gods.
“Dharma Sansad has adopted many resolutions, including one which stated Sai Baba cannot be worshiped as God. Kashi Vidyat Parishad will soon make a formal announcement on the decisions taken by Dharma Sansad”, spokesman Rajesh Joshi told TOI.
He said Dharma Sansad adopted many resolutions, including pressing demand for a total ban on cow slaughter, purification and preservation of Ganges, introduction of Gita, Ramayan and Mahabharata in school syllabus, early construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.
During the course of discussions sadhus from many akhadas or monasteries strongly backed the 90-year-old pontiff, who had sparked a controversy with statements against worshiping Sai Baba. The seer asked his followers to remove Sai Baba’s photographs and idols from temples where he gets the pride of place with Hindu deities.
Niranjini Akhada’s Sadhu Narendra Giri said devotees of Sai Baba should remove Sai Baba’s idols from temples and immerse them in Ganges to prevent forcing sadhus from doing it.
There has been tension at the venue for a while when three people, claiming to devotees of Sai Baba, reached and opposed the resolution and demanded an opportunity to speak out. One of the Sai devotee Manushya Mitra was pushed around at the venue as he started speaking out saying sadhus and saints were hesitant to go on hunger strike to enforce a total ban on cow slaughter and protection of holy river Ganges but were talking against Sai Baba.
Later, Mitra told reporters he feared threat to his life. However, those associated with Dharma Sansad said three Sai devotees came on their own in their personal capacity and were not deputed by Sai Baba Trust.
A heavy police contingent was deployed at the Dharma Sansad venue where more than 300 sadhus and saints had assembled to discuss the Sai Baba controversy. However, Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi and its representatives kept aloof as Sai devotees had earlier decided to ignore the controversy. – The Times of India, 26 August 2014
See also
- Dwarka Acharya calls Shirdi Sai Baba a meat-eater, charged with hurting religious sentiments – PTI & News Nation
- Sai Baba–Shankaracharya controversy – Jayasree Saranathan
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