On Monday (15th January), citing the occasion of the Hindu festival of Makar Sankranti, Sringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji released a video asking the Hindu citizens to worship Lord Ram on 22nd January. Sringeri Shankaracharya stated that as the Pran Pratishtha ceremony will take place in Ayodhya on 22nd January, all the devotees shall recite Lord Ram’s name (Ram naam) and seek blessings of Shri Ram.
“This is the moment for which Hindus have struggled for the last 500 years. Everybody is happy and satisfied as the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha is taking place in Ayodhya on 22nd January. We all have to unitedly participate in the event and seek blessings of Lord Ram,” he said.
He also stated that Shringeri has a special connection to Shri Ram’s birthplace at Ayodhya and that Maharshi Rushya Shringa of Shringeri was approached by King Dashrath for Mahayagya before the birth of Lord Ram. “It is due to this yagya that Lord Ram took birth on this Earth. So there is a special connection between Shringeri and Ayodhya,” he added.
“It is important that we worship Lord Ram from wherever we will be on 22nd January. We all must unitedly seek the blessings of Lord Rama and ignore the false propaganda that is being spread against the Shringeri Math,” he affirmed.
Earlier, on 12th January, top spiritual leaders of Sanatan Hindu Dharma, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Dwarka SharadaPeetham and Sringeri Math had issued statements addressed to Lord Ram devotees regarding the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the idol of Lord Ram in Ayodhya on 22nd January. They denounced the fallacies disseminated in social media by vested interests and extended their firm support and blessings to the Pran Pratishtha event. They were reacting to claims by Congress leaders and others that four Shankaracharyas in India including the Shankaracharyas of Dwarka and Sringeri math have opposed the Pran Pratishtha ceremony and that they are not attending the event.
It was claimed that Shankaracharya Swami Shri Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati of Badrikashram Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand, Shankaracharya Swami Shri Nischalananda Saraswati of Purvaamnaya Govardhanmath in Puri, Shankaracharya Swami Shri Bharati Teerth Ji of Sringeri Mutt and Shankaracharya Shri Swami Sadanand Saraswati of Paschimannaya Dwarka Shardapeeth are opposed the way the pran pratishtha ceremony is being held, and they will not attend the ceremony.
While the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath and Puri have indeed said that they will not attend the event, no such announcements were made by Dwarka and Sringeri, but their names were also added to the claims. They have not said that they are opposed to the ceremony, and have not said that the Ram Mandir is incomplete, as claimed by several opposition leaders. Therefore the Dwarka and Sringeri Maths have issued statements refuting such claims, and they urged the devotees to celebrate the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
An official statement was released by Sringeri Math stated, “It is a matter of joy for all Astikas (believers in Sanatan Dharma) that after a struggle of about five centuries, the Prana-pratishtha (consecration ceremony) is to take place in the beautiful temple constructed for Bhagavan Sri Rama in the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Kshetra of sacred Ayodhya on Pushya Shukla Dvadashi (22-1-2024).”
The statement slammed the vicious elements who tried to pollute the auspicious occasion with their misinformation and fictitious claims. “It has been noted that during such an occasion, certain ill-wishers of our Dharma have used the name of ‘www.dainikjagran.com’ in social media to spread a post, which carries a photo of Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sharada Peethadheeshwara, His Holiness Paramapujya Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji and conveys that the Sringeri Shankaracharya in a message has expressed displeasure over the Prana-pratishtha.”
It further refuted the unfounded assertions and highlighted, “However, the Sringeri Shankaracharya has not given any such message. This is merely false propaganda by ill-wishers of our Dharma. All Astikas are hence requested to disregard such false propaganda and take note of what has only been published by the official website (www.sringeri.net) and official social media platforms of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.”