Two Shankaracharyas—Puri Shankaracharya Swami Adhokshjananda Tirtha and Dwarka Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati—have come out openly against Narendra Modi and decided to work for his defeat in Varanasi as they believe he is a “sinner” in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Puri Shankaracharya on Thursday said he will go to Varanasi and campaign against the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the 12 May elections. “I will go to Varanasi and expose him. Those who divide people to come to power should be exposed.”
He said Modi has committed “sins” and no justice-loving person can ever “like” him.
Narendra Modi is pitted against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal and Congress candidate Ajai Rai in the holy city.
The Puri Shankaracharya said he had himself gone to Gujarat and witnessed the situation after the 2002 riots. He charged Rashtriya Swayamsevak Samiti (RSS) with using religion to “mislead” the people. He said it should come to the fore as a political organization rather than a social-cultural body.
The Puri Shankaracharya said Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leaders were already issuing statements which were creating tension in the country. He said he would not campaign for any particular party but just wanted that secular parties should win.
Dwarka Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand is also opposed to Modi and will be deputing his close associate Swami Avi Mukteswaranand to Varanasi to campaign against Modi, people close to him said.
They said Dwarka Shankaracharya cannot travel to Varanasi because of his poor health. He had recently protested against the “Har Har Modi” slogan, saying it amounted to “worship” of a man and “god will stop Modi” if it was not stopped.
Sensing a religious controversy, Narendra Modi had immediately asked his supporters to refrain from raising such slogans. – Live Mint, 1 May 2014
Dwarka Shankaracharya not in anti-Modi camp, says disciple Swami Avimukteshwaranand – TNN
VARANASI: A prominent disciple of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Jyotish and Sharda-Dwarka peeths, on Friday said the seer’s name was dragged in the anti-Narendra Modi campaign in Varanasi under a conspiracy and legal action could be taken against those behind it.
A section of the media has claimed two Shankaracharyas — Swami Adhokshjanand Tirath and Swami Swaroopanand — have come out openly against the BJP PM pick and decided to work for his defeat in Varanasi as they believe he sinned during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“It is a conspiracy to malign the revered seat of Shankaracharya,” said Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the chief disciple and representative of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati.
“The seer had only objected to the slogan of ‘Har Har Modi’ after which BJP separated itself from the controversy and Modi had also asked his followers not to raise such slogan that hurt religious sentiments of the people,” he said.
“Objecting to the slogan ‘Har Har Modi’ does not mean that Shankaracharya will campaign against Modi. He is above politics and objecting to the ‘Har Har Modi’ slogan was his duty to the Sanatan dharma,” said Avimukteshwanand.
“Moreover, it’s objectionable to associate the seer’s name with self-proclaimed Puri Shankaracharya Swami Adhokshjanand Tirth, against whom there is an order of the Odisha High Court that he would be arrested if he goes in a periphery of 500 metres of Puri math,” he said.
“Swami Swaroopanand, who is presently at Paramhanshi Ganga Ashram in Madhya Pradesh, has no programme to visit Varanasi in near future,” he said. “The seer is not a political person nor has he any political interest.”
Meanwhile, head of the famous Kabir Mutt Sant Vivekdas Acharya said, “Modi does not reflect the composite culture of this temple town. His contesting election from this sacred place may vitiate its centuries old unity between Hindus and Muslims. It is unfortunate for the people of Varanasi that Modi is contesting from here as he (Modi) is divisive.”
Terming Varanasi a confluence of various religious beliefs and symbol of India’s core values, the Acharya accused Modi and BJP of trying to exploit electoral gain by taking a narrow view of the city that it was a nerve centre of Hindu tradition.
He said the MP Murli Manohar Joshi did not do any work for the city during the last five years. “If one of BJP’s tallest leaders did nothing for the city, then how can one expect Modi to do something.” – Times of India, 3 May 2014
Filed under: india | Tagged: dwarka shankaracharya, hindu, hindu leader, india, india elections 2014, indian politicians, narendra modi, politics and religion, psychological warfare, puri shankaracharya, RSS, sannyasi, varanasi |
BHARATA BHARATI 
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Visitors please note:
Swami Avimukteshvarananda the disciple of Dwarka Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda disputes the PTI — Live Mint news item above and states that he does not know how it has come out.
He says the Shankaracharya’s position is different from that stated in the article but does not say what that position is.
The news item was released by the Press Trust of India, the most authoritative and trusted Indian wire service. It is for them to correct the reference to the Dwarka Shankaracharya if they agree that it is in error or has been planted by a third party.
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Khangress is everywhere. Wrong people everywhere.
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yes sir , sri Ganapathi , the Jagadguru of Sringeri Peetham is a proper Peethadhipati & the best one ; probably there is no second opinion about it ;
thanks for reminding Sankara Jayanti
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Resp. Sir Nanjappa garu , if every Hindu sheds at least a drop of tear for each of the questions shot by you , there would be a deluge that can wash all the dirt off this pious land !
yes , it is enjoined on the Jagadgurus to go out into the society & look to it that Dharma is properly practiced by all — in all my life I never saw such a thing happen !
may God make all Hindus realize the import of all those issues mentioned by you !
may God look to it that the new ruler bestow proper attention on those issues !
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I too a Smarta belonging to Sri Sri Aadi Shankaracharya tradition. But, I can not agree the conduct of these two Shankaracharyas. Swami Swaroopananda Saraswathi is from Kedar Peeth in the North. He is in-charge of Dwaraka Peeth in the West also. Unlike Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sharada Peeth, Sri Shri Bharathi Teertha Mahaswami in the South, the other three Shankarachayas of North (Kedar), West ( Dawaraka) and East (Puri) are known for making their controversial statements very often, on very important issues touching the society.
When the Supreme Court itself has given a clean chit for Modi on the Gujarat riots, I can not understand as to how these Shankaracharyas can issue ridiculous statements like the one made ! I feel the conduct of these two Shankaracharyas is Political, rather than Spiritual. They are not befitting to their seat (Peeth) they have occupied. Their behaviour is highly deplorable and condemnable. All those who follow Sri Sri Adi Shankaracharya’s Philosophy should severely condemn this political conduct of Dwaraka and Puri Shankaracharyas on the occasion of ‘Shankara Jayanthi’ tomorrow ( 4th May, 2014) and make them not to transgress the limits of Spiritualism and Shankara Philosophy. If they continue to behave like this in future, true followers of Sri Sri Aadi Shankaracharya will think of removing these two controversial Shankaracharyas from the seats they have occupied.
These two controversial Shankaracharyas have much to learn from Sri Sri Bharathi Teertha Mahaswami of Sringeri Sharada Peeth in the South, which is the first Peeth established by Sri Sri Aadi Shankaracharya regarding as to how a true Sanyasi should conduct, behave, perform and function.
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Thank you cnm for the info concerning the fraudulent sankaracharya Adhokshajananda.
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I am no uncritical admirer or follower of Modi. I am a Smarta who follows Adi Sankara by tradition. But what these acharyas from the two peethas say is pure trash. Knowing how the word “secularism” has been debased and interpreted in the Nehru and post-Nehru era as favouring non-vedic religions and against Hindu interests, for these acharyas to plead for secular parties to win casts a doubt not only on their dharmic credentials, but on their very sanity. No one in his right mind who knows something about the so called secular parties and the people who infest them will plead for them.
When the Morvi dam disaster took place in Gujarat in 1979 and RSS and VHP volunteers worked day and night to bring relief to the people, where were these acharyas? People are being converted across the country–what have these acharyas done to stop it? Cows are slaughtered and India has become a leading beef-exporting nation–what have these acharyas done to stop it? Hindu children are deprived of Hindu education and made to study secular subjects in schools run by non-Hindu and anti-Hindu outfits–what have these acharyas done to correct it? Hindu temples are being administered by the secular govt, while churches and mosques go scot free–what have these acharyas done about it? Some time ago, Reserve Bank called for information from Hindu temples and religious organisations about their holding of gold and precious metals–what were these acharyas doing then–doing tapas? Increasingly large number of our youngsters are abandoning traditional ways of living and taking to mleccha ways–what have these acharyas done to correct it? Educated Hindu girls are increasingly taking to secular employment–which is against the very tenet of Stree dharma–how do these acharyas tolerate it? Educated Hindu girls do not even wear the traditional saree but have taken to muslim dress or the American outfits–jeans, shorts, and short tops–what have these acharyas done about it? What have these acharyas done to help the cause of the Kashmiri pandits who have been driven from their homes by Muslim hordes and our secular govt has not lifted a little finger? What have they done for the Hindus displaced from Pakistan who are denied citizenship in Bharat? What have they done for the Hindu minority suffering in Bangladesh? Now who is the bigger sinner–these acharyas or Modi?
Ganga is supposed to cleanse the sins of people who bathe in its waters, but is itself purified only when great souls take a dip in it. But when such acharyas go there, what will happen to poor Ganga? Well, it is already polluted, even without our sins added, and what have these acharyas done to save it?
These acharyas are supposed to unite people, but are themselves divided–there is no agreement whether Adi Sankara established 4 or 5 mutts. (ie whether Kanchi is counted among them). There is not even agreement as to how many books Adi Sankara wrote–or whether he wrote all that goes in his name. It is better that these acharyas do not indulge in current politics without knowing the facts and without examining the issues fully. Already, they are an anachronism. This was understood by the 59th Acharya of Kanchi Mutt, Sri Bodhendra Saraswati (d.1692), who foresaw the decline of the narrow orthodox way of the traditional mutts and their increasing irrelevance in the advancing Kali age. Let not these acharyas muddy further the already murky secular waters.
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They have been Sarkari (Congress) Saints for quite some time. By such endorsements they are bringing down the name of the great Sankaracharya.
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Adhokshajananda is not the Shankaracharya of Puri. Swami Nischlananda Saraswati is the Puri Shankaracharya. This Adhokshajananda is a fraud and swindler and, out of chicanery, falsely claiming to be the Shankacharya of Puri. Very few people know that there is an official ban on the entry of Adhokshajananda into Puri.
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well said, admin !
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Do they want to replace Modi with a better human being or a worse sinner ?
“Those who divide people to come to power should be exposed.” — don’t they know who suits best to this allegation ?
Sirs ! Be kind enough to think of the country ! !
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Don’t paint all acharyas and swamis with the same brush. You don’t know how they live in fact, or what moves them. Some are great tapasvis, some are learned and wise, some live in seclusion, some live like kings, some wander as beggars. However Shankaracharyas, who are jagadgurus, have a special obligation to uphold and maintain Vedic Dharma. When they deviate from this responsibility by engaging in partisan politics, they demean their exalted position and are leaving themselves open to criticism.
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The credibility of the acharyas is based on their dharmapragya. Looks it is under political and personal distractions.
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we can do much better without these shankaracharyas and swamis. these good for nothing morons kept on eating food in their maths on a golden plate and did nothing when mass conversion were going on in our rural areas. [sentence and names deleted].
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Do the Shankaracharyas know better than the Supreme Court about Modi’s alleged sins? Are the Shankaracharyas not obliged to accept the Supreme Court’s exoneration of Modi vis-a-vis the 2002 Gujarat riots?
Have the Shankaracharyas no feeling for the Hindu pilgrims who died in the Godhra train burning? Are they aware that they are showing contempt for these martyred pilgrims by joining the Left’s cry for Modi’s blood?
What has turned the Shankaracharyas’ heads? They are learned and pious men universally respected for upholding Hindu Dharma. Yet they have suddenly decided to drag the prestige of their respective gadis in the mud of Varanasi’s bylanes. What has Kejriwal offered them that they have decided to do dirty politics instead of Dharma?
Certainly the Shankaracharyas should go to Varanasi—to wash away their own sins, not to accuse those who work for Dharma of imaginary sins!
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