The new MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and controversy’s most favourite child Kangana Ranaut did what she does best, bringing anyone into the line of fire disregarding the person’s stature. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand, one of the four holiest places of the Hindu faith established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century had the misfortune of being sermonised by the celebrated actress.
The Shankaracharya is one of the rare, probably only Hindu religious leaders, who is speaking openly against the ruling BJP which has politically positioned itself as the protector of the Hindu faith and Interests. Shankaracharya criticized the BJP and Prime Minister Modi for inaugurating the Ram temple at Ayodhya which he claimed was not yet complete and hence against the set norms of Hindu faith. He opposed virulently the plans of constructing a new Kedarnath temple in Delhi backed by the BJP, saying that it is designed to reduce the importance of the original temple in the Himalayas. In another of his attacks, Shankaracharya accused the temple trust of stealing 228 Kilos of gold donated to the temple.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati was in Mumbai recently at the invitation of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani on the occasion of the marriage of his youngest son Anant with Radhika Merchant. The Swami accepted the invitation of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to visit their residence at the iconic address in Maharashtra political context, the “Matoshree” bungalow. After his visit, the Shankaracharya had said that treachery is considered to be one of the biggest sins, and “those who betray cannot be a Hindu”, in an apparent jibe at the Current Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde. Eknath Shinde led the revolt of Shiv Sena MLAs and became the Chief Minister toppling the Uddhav Thackeray government. Shinde also staked claim of being the real heir to the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena and father of Uddhav Thackeray.
Shankaracharya said he is anguished over the betrayal done to the former Chief Minister. “Our pain will not end till he becomes the chief minister again,” he said. “We are Hindus and followers of the Sanatan Dharma that believes in ‘Punya’ (virtue) and ‘paap’ (sin), wherein ‘vishwasghat’ (betrayal) is said to be among the biggest sins. The same happened here (in Maharashtra),” Swami said.
Kangana Ranaut, the new BJP MP and a former resident of Mumbai due to her professional career in Bollywood, could not restrain herself from commenting upon the Hindu seer’s remarks. Kangana herself had a much-publicized and viciously acrimonious feud with the administration under Uddhav Thackeray. She had a portion of her office destroyed by the municipal authorities which she claimed was done due to vendetta. She had used unsavoury words for the Chief Minister then.
” Is he supposed to sell gol-gappas?” Kangana demanded to know, emphasizing that Eknath Shinde is a politician. “In politics, it is very normal and constitutional to have alliances, treaties, and division of a party. Congress party was divided in 1907 and then again in 1971,” she wrote on X. Writing in Hindi, she said “Shankaracharya ji has misused his words and his influence and religious education. Religion also says that if the king himself starts exploiting his subjects then treason is the ultimate religion.”
Kangana Ranaut did not hesitate to say that the highest Hindu priest “has hurt the sentiments of all of us” by ” insulting the dignity of the Hindu religion by saying such petty and petty things”
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