Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati death: Controversies around the Dwarka seer

In January 2014, a journalist in Jabalpur asked Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, who would make a better Prime Minister between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. Saraswati was furious about this and slapped the journalist. Amid an uproar over the alleged incident, Congress had come to the rescue of Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati.

Varanasi: Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati (99), who passed away in Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, was known for his outspoken opinion. Swaroopanand Saraswati was born as Pothiram Upadhyay in 1924 at Dighori village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh. He had left his home in pursuit of God at the age of nine.

It may be recalled that in January 2014, a journalist in Jabalpur asked Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, who would make a better Prime Minister between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. Saraswati was furious about this and slapped the journalist. Amid an uproar over the alleged incident, Congress had come to the rescue of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. Congress leader Manak Agarwal of Madhya Pradesh had said that political questions should not be asked to saints. Later in the year, in June 2014, Swaroopanand Saraswati said that Sai worship is against Hinduism.

Sai devotees should worship Lord Rama, bathe in the Ganges and chant 'Har Har Mahadev', he had suggested. He had said that Sai Baba was the reason for the drought in Maharashtra and worshipping him brings disaster. Women will not be benefited from performing Shani puja. Crime and atrocities against them will only increase. The Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust has been forcibly made to allow women into the temple due to the court verdict.

Saraswati had targeted the RSS and BJP over the affairs of Ram temple by alleging corruption of the temple functionaries. He had said that the foundation stone for the construction of the Shri Ram temple was not laid at an auspicious time. Earlier, without taking names, he had also targeted the Modi government for not stopping cow slaughter.

The rivalry between Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati and Vasudevanand Saraswati with the latter claiming that Swaroopanand is not the Shankaracharya of Jyotishpeeth. Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati had hit back at him saying that Vasudevanand Saraswati does not have the right to add Shankaracharya with his name. The matter even went to court.