”हिन्दवः सदो रह, न हिन्दू पतितो भावेत्।” (All Hindus are born of the same womb, of Mother India). This rather reformist stance, condemning the caste system and recognizing the equality of all Hindus, was unanimously passed at the first Vishwa Hindu Parishad conference in Bombay on August 29, 1964. MS Golwalkar, the sarsanghchalak at the time, declined to endorse the promotion of the varna system as an integral aspect of the Hindu religion. This decision was met with dissatisfaction from Swami Karpatri, the founding leader of the extreme-right political party, Akhil Bhartiya Ram Rajya Parishad.
Fast forward to today—Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati, the current and 145th Govardhan Peeth Shankaracharya of Puri, Odisha, is one of the four Shankaracharyas who have rejected the invitation to the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha on grounds of the function’s ‘deviation from the shastras’. Interestingly, Swami Nischalananda is an eminent disciple of Swami Karpatri, and as one knows, a guru’s ideologies and beliefs have a great influence on his disciples.
So, what were Karpatri’s beliefs? In 1954, Karpatri devised a form of segregation right inside the Kashi Vishwanath temple premises, denying ”Sparsh Darshan’ to Dalits. Dalits were prevented from accessing the sanctum sanctorum or garbhagriha. In a pravachan published on the official Govardhan Math channel titled ‘शूद्रों के मंदिर प्रवेश में अधिकार’ (Right of Shudras To Enter Hindu Mandirs), the same regressive view was reiterated by Shankaracharya Nischalanand.
The caste system, at its very core, is an enforced and discriminatory hereditary occupational division. Reinforcing this in an interview with CNN-18, Swami Nischalananda declared, “चरम वर्ग तो ब्राह्मीण होते हैं” (Brahmins are the superior class) “यज्ञ कराने का अधिकार ब्राह्मण मो ही है” (The right of priesthood is reserved only for Brahmins).
Of the 24 priests at the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, 2 are members of the OBC community, and one is an SC. Are these practices in part a reason for the Shankaracharyas opposition, alleging that the events at the Ram Mandir consecration deviated from the shastras?
Regarding the RSS, Swami Karpatri declared, ‘These Sanghis, Bh*ngis & Chamars, eat everyone’s bread.’ In 2013, the then Shankaracharya Swaroopanand ji of the Joshimath Peeth expressed dissatisfaction with the RSS, accusing them of exploiting the Ram temple for political purposes. Careful observation reveals that the reason for his disapproval might not just be the politicization of the temple but the long-running political rivalry between the RSS and Swami Karpatri’s party, the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad, which he held the presidency of from 1973-2022.
Swaroopanand Saraswati ji, who assumed the position of Shankaracharya of Joshimath Peeth in 1973, coinciding with his taking over of the Ram Rajya Parishad’s presidency until 2022, had two spiritual mentors—Swami Brahmanand and Swami Karpatri.
In the 2019 general elections, the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad fielded a candidate against Narendra Modi in Varanasi. In 2014, two Shankaracharyas had campaigned against Narendra Modi for Congress. In 2021, Swami Swaroopanand criticized the BJP, on the basis that only individuals in alignment with the party’s ideology were appointed to the Ram Mandir Trust.
While allegations made by the Acharyas regarding the involvement of corruption and bias on the part of the BJP in choosing members of the trust are worthy of investigation, the question still stands: If the Shankaracharyas are truly in firm resistance to politicising religion, why do they find themselves embroiled in various political activities?
Upon the news breaking, individuals aligned with the Indian left swiftly seized upon the Shankaracharya’s decision as a point of backing for opposition to nature of the Ram Mandir consecration. I encourage readers to reflect on whether their detraction genuinely aligns with the same reasons as those of the Acharyas’ and to critically assess the legitimacy and morality of using it as corroboration for their own views.