New Delhi: Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, one of the Shankaracharyas who will not attend the Ram temple inauguration, on January 18 (Thursday), expressed two concerns ahead of the January 22 event: the introduction of a new idol of Ram Lalla into the upcoming temple, and that the temple is still under construction.The Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth expressed these concerns in a letter to Nritya Gopal Das, head of Ayodhya’s largest temple, the Mani Ram Das Ki Chavani, and the chief of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, on January 18 (Thursday). It is being said that the ‘new idol is the one whose ‘pran pratishtha’ will follow’, said the letter in Hindi.“We saw some truck also, which we were told would carry that idol,” it added.“The question is, if this new idol will be placed, what happens to Ram Lalla virajman? So far, Ram bhakts thought that the new temple was being built for Lalla virajman. But now, the news of a new idol in the under-construction sanctorum in the temple precincts has raised doubts whether Ram Lalla viraj will be sidelined/ignored.”“Please remember that Ram Lalla virajman is the one:Who emerged (prakat) here on his own, something even a Muslim chowkidar testified to;Who has faced all manner of circumstances after having emerged there;Who has stayed under a tent and faced heat, rain and the cold;Who contested the law case on his own and won it too;For whom, thousands including Bhotinaresh Raja Mehtab Singh, Rani Jairaj Raj Kunwar, Purohit Devideen Pandey, Hanswar king Ranvijay Singh, Nirmohi akhada mahant Raghuvar Das, Abhiram Das, Raja Ramacharya, Ramachandra Das, Gopalsingh Visharad, Hindu Mahasabha, Tiwari ji, Dharmdas ji, have sacrificed and dedicated their lives to;Our lawyers appearing in the Allahabad high court, Lucknow bench, gave an argument, citing Gulab Chandra Shastri’s old Hindu law’s old edition, to make the case that ‘swayambhu’, who reveals himself (God) in a specific place and is worshipped there, cannot be displaced. It was on the basis of that we got the verdict that the idol, where it is, must stay there.If Swayambhu, dev-asuras and ancient ancestors set up an idol that breaks or is damaged in some way, it cannot be replaced with a new idol. Badrinath and Visheshwar Jyotirling bear testimony to that.”Watch | ‘It’s Divided, Not United India’: Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth on Ayodhya Ram TempleSwami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati urged Nritya Gopal Das to ensure that, in the under-construction temple, complete precedence is accorded to Ram Lalla virajman in the designated sanctum sanctorum for pratishtha, with only the placement of Ram Lalla virajman.“Anything done in contravention of this would be in violation of history, public mood, morality, dharmshastra and law, but also a great injustice to Sri Ram Lalla virajman,” said the letter.The letter also questioned the decision to allow a partially constructed temple for public use, citing concerns about Vastu Shastra and the associated rise in expenses and risks for visitors.“So, on what basis has he allowed a partially constructed temple to be made available – and because of this, the consequent rise in expenses and risks to those coming to visit, is he now going to be responsible for those? Because even for premises under construction, there are some rules and laws that need to be followed.”
