The enacting of theatrics which has come to symbolise the conduct of Swami Nischalanand Sarswati, the Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth, is far unbecoming of a normal spiritual man, far less that of the one adorning the gravitas of the position of Shankaracharya
Vivekanand Jha Ranchi: As I heard the video sent to me by one of the Modi baiters, on Swami Nischalanand Saraswati, the contemporary Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth, raving and ranting against Modi, BJP and Mohan Bhagwat, while praising Yogi Adityanath and the chief minister of Assam, I stood gobsmacked; nonplussed for a while, trying to figure out what that man was saying. After a while, when the sanity dawned on me, I sensed Swami Nischalanand was offended on account of the prime minister calling the so-called Gau rakshak as ‘ Goondas’. However, the bombshell he dropped was, calling ‘the BJP smeared with blood of Ram Bhakts from its head to foot’. And then, as if the sanity had completely eluded him, he went on dubbing Mohan Bhagwat, the Sarsanghchalak of RSS, as a lesser mind, who has to learn a lot to attain intellectual maturity. Whereas for a spiritual leader and, that too, who is occupying the higher citadel of Shankaracharya, to scathingly criticise the political leadership, is nothing abnormal, yet, Swami Nischalanand Saraswati’s intermittent outbursts against anyone he feels like undermining, stands the very institution of Shankaracharya in poor light as well as devalued in the eyes of the common mass of people.
Interestingly, Swami Nischalanand Saraswati has developed an entrenched habit of lashing out at someone at regular interval: barely a couple of months ago, he minced no words in running down Swami Abhimukteshwaranand Maharaj, the current Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. Swami Abhimukteshwaranand Maharaj had succeed Swami Swaroopanand, in the wake of his demise. Swami Nischalanand Saraswati then, had accused Swami Abhimukteshwaranand Maharaj as the lesser talent, whose elevation to the position of Shankaracharya was absolutely unwarranted. Significantly, when Swami Nischalanand Saraswati was speaking critical of Swami Abhimukteshwaranand, he was actually berating Swami Swaroopanand, for his anointment of Swami Abhimukteshwaranand as his successor. Incidentally, in the process of undermining others, Swami Nischalanand Saraswati was seeking his own elevation as the most erudite and luminous among all Shankaracharyas and, therefore, derived the right to pontificate on any issue he chose, no matter his fulminations contributed towards downsizing others. Moreover, his penchant for courting controversies by his sheer prophesy, even though proves fiasco, he takes no cognizance of the same: his past prophesy that India will be a Hindu Rashtra in next three years, even if the time of three years is over, and India is still a secular nation, hardly bothers him, as he moves on to stirring another controversy.
Swami Nischalanand Saraswati’s fulminations of Narendra Modi, especially the latter’s continuation as the chief minister of Gujarat and then, his elevation as the prime minister of India, owing to Godhra incident, makes no sense today in the year 2023. Regrettably, his cheap comment that whether he will be the prime minister in 2024 or not, he will tell in his ear as and when the prime minister comes to meet him, is nothing short of cheap theatrics–his self-glorification of the power of his own clairvoyance –makes him appear a far lesser mortal than he expectedly is. In the similar vein, his childish tantrum that his love and affection for Yogi Adityanath is based on the latter coming to meet him and stayed with him as and when he visited Gorakhnath, smacks of the lowest level of rewarding pure sycophancy or reciprocating someone’s kowtowing him in the past. Unequivocally, if his speech as it appears in the video is not fake, Swami Nischalanand Maharaj has made his self- mockery by stirring the issues which appear irrelevant.
Notwithstanding what Swami Nischalanand Saraswati had said, especially in such polarising times as this, the truth remains that, Ramjanma Bhoomie temple today has come into existence because of the pioneering initiative of Lal Krishna Advani and RSS workers contribution. Narendra Modi too has played his pivotal role or else, would Congress ever have allowed this grand Ram Lala temple to come up? Significantly, the ceremony of the laying of foundation stone of Sri Ram Lala temple on 5th of August, 2020, which was strongly opposed by Swami Nischalanand Saraswati, and where he was not invited, could be the trigger for Swami Nischalanand Saraswati to spew venom against the prime minister and the BJP? Or, could it be the stratagem of Swami Nischalanand to show his opposition to BJP to his critics who often call him a pro-BJP Shankaracharya, only he has the proper answer to this question? But then, one thing is certain: his lashing out at Modi, BJP, and Bhagwat was certainly in bad taste, which will only satisfy the Congress party and Modi’s opponents and his detractors.
The institution of Shankaracharyas, far from living up to its gravitas, is only immersed in delving deeper into politics. Worse still, the very lofty objective of the unification of Hindus, the dissemination of the work of Adi Shankaracharya, his Mission and Vision–all have taken the backside; the matter of paramount importance today remains the personal publicity of the individual Shankaracharyas. Small wonder then, the service to the mankind, has been relegated to the back burner by the institution of Shankaracharyas. Contrast this with Ramkrishna Mission or Arya Samaj, the difference is ostensible: whereas the latter organisations cater to serving the mankind to the fullest of their dedication, the institution of Shankaracharyas, which ought to have been the flag bearer of Hinduism in terms of showcasing Sanatan virtues, ironically appears to be languishing today. There is no even the remnant of interest in serving the objective of unifying Hindus which stand tragically divided along the caste lines. Also, when Hinduism stands enveloped by the enemies from all sides, the institution of Shankaracharyas appears to be straying from its avowed moorings. Was this the purpose behind creating this great institution by great Adi Shankaracharya, the Shankaracharyas of today must ask this question to themselves? If the institution has declined substantially today, it is all because of growing cynicism which has enveloped today’s pontiffs masquerading themselves as the representative of great monist, yet, unabashedly, seem to be getting alienated from his vision and mission. Only making money and earning name and fame of contemporary Shankaracharyas has become the foremost goal of this institution today. The coterie of sycophants surrounding Shankaracharyas have only added to their inaccessibility from the masses. Did Adi Shankaracharya ever have imagined that the institution he was establishing for the security of Hindus, over the passage of millennia, would be reduced to be not even the shadow of His expectation?
lVivekanand Jha, author of Delhi Beckons: RaGa for NaMo, 56 Inches and The Making of Narendra Modi, Unmaking of Jawaharlal.Vivekanand Jha, Author, Academician and a Publ
