Akhara Parishad to help prepare amicable formula on temple issue

ALLAHABAD :The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), a body of 13 prominent akharas of the country, has decided that, along with Mahant Dharamdas, they will prepare a formula within 10 days to amicably sort out the Ram Temple issue.

The decision was taken at the Akhara Parishad’s meeting held at Maujgiri Ashram in Allahabad on Sunday.

Mahant Dharam Das is a party from the Hindu side in the Ayodhya title dispute case.

Swami Narendragiri, president of the ABAP, said the akhara representatives will soon hold discussions with different groups for reaching a consensus on building Ram temple in Ayodhya.

For its part, the ABAP asked Swami Achyutanand Teerth to apologise within a month for having appointed himself as the Shankaracharya of DwarkaSharda Peeth which already has Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati as its Shankaracharya.

Swami Narendra Giri, who chaired the meeting, said: “There is no place for a fifth Shankaracharya in the Sanatan Dharma (the eternal faith). The scriptures say Adi Shankaracharya established only four ‘peeths’ (chairs) of Shankaracharyas. These are Joshimath at Chamoli in Uttarakhand; Govardhan Mutt at Puri, Odisha; Sringeri Peeth in Karnataka and Dwaraka Peeth in Gujarat. These peeths are already headed by four Shankaracharyas. Therefore, Swami Achyutanand should apologise. Swami Narendranand Saraswati of Varanasi who attended this anointing ceremony in Hardwar should also apologise. If they fail to apologise, action would be taken against them.”

He also said the Akhara Parishad reviewed the ongoing work for the Ardh Kumbh Mela.

“Our demand is the same. We want permanent construction for different akharas in Allahabad as it will save a lot of time and money in making temporary arrangements when akharas arrive in Prayag for the Ardh Kumbh and the Kumbh Snan,” he added.

The akhara members also thanked PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for appointing a saint on the post of UP CM.