Ram Mandir: Seer living in cave donates ₹1 crore, beggar his day’s alms
Ever since the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) initiated the campaign in Uttarakhand to collect donations for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the body has received donations from several people.
Among the collections was an 83-year-old seer living in caves who donated ₹1crore in Rishikesh and a beggar in Champawat who donated his day’s alms for the cause.
VHP, which has so far collected donations of about ₹5 crore in the state, was in for a surprise to receive ₹1 crore from a cave-dwelling seer, Swami Shankar Das, in Rishikesh on Wednesday.
Das, who lives on donations from the devotees at the cave of his guru Taat Wale Baba, said, he had donated the amount “collected by the donations from the devotees.”
“I’ve been living in the cave for over half a century. As a seer, I live on donations from the devotees visiting the cave. When I came to know about the VHP
campaign, I decided to donate the amount for Ram Mandir,” said Das.
In-charge of VHP’S Ram Mandir donation campaign in Uttarakhand, Randeep Pokhriya hailed Das’s act.
He said, “More than collecting donations, the motive of the campaign is to generate a feeling of harmony and service among the Ram Bhakhts.”
“We have so far collected donations worth about ₹5 crore which is three times the target we thought. However, it is not
about the amount collected but the number of people coming forward,” said Pokhriya.
Narrating similar tales of donations, he said that they have been receiving several donations from different sections of the society.
“Recently, a beggar named Rajkamal in Champawat contacted us to make donations in the campaign. He donated his day’s alms of ₹230. Here, the amount was not important but his devotion to Lord Ram,” said Pokhriya.