'Expected to sit and applaud when PM...': Puri Shankaracharya on decision to skip Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration

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ANI, “The Shankaracharyas uphold their own dignity. This is not about ego. Are we expected to merely sit outside and applaud when the Prime Minister installs the idol of Ram Lalla? The presence of a 'secular' government does not imply the obliteration of tradition." Swami Nischalananda Saraswati is the 145th Sankaracharya of the Govardhana Peetha at Jagannath Puri, Odisha.

He took the responsibility of the Peet as its head on 9th February 1992 (Vikram Samvat 2048). Earlier on 13 January, in a video shared by the news agency PTI, Nischalananda Saraswati stated, “Who said that all the four Shankaracharyas disagreed on the ceremony? It is false." He further clarified, Shri Ram Ji must be ‘prathishit’ in his own abode, it is necessary. But it is also necessary to follow all the shastra-vidhi (rituals of the shastras) that align with traditional practices while doing that.

Shankaracharyas of Shri Shringeri Sharda Peeth Karnataka, Dwarka Sharda Peeth in Gujarat, Jyotir Peeth in Uttarakhand and Govardhan Peeth in Odisha have decided to not to attend the consecration ceremony on 22 January. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have claimed that the Shankaracharyas have decided against attending the event after objecting to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at an 'incomplete temple'. Turning down the invite for the Pran Pratishtha event, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that even our Shankaracharya's (religious guru) will not be attending the Ram Mandir event which shows that the reason for not attending it is important.