Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Leaves Prayagraj Magh Mela Midway 'With A Heavy Heart'

Prayagraj: Amid the escalating row between Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the head priest of the Jyotish Peeth in Badrinath, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the head priest of the Gorakhnath monastery in Gorakhpur, the former suddenly left the ongoing Prayagraj Magh Mela on Wednesday without taking a holy dip at the Sangam, saying he is hurt and disturbed by recent events.

Before leaving, the Shankaracharya said, "I never imagined I would be returning without taking a holy dip." He added that he was leaving the mela midway, with a heavy heart.

He also said, "For the first time in my 39-year spiritual journey, I'm leaving the Magh Mela midway. My heart is very sad. We are leaving without taking a holy dip. Prayagraj has always been a land of religion, spirituality, and peace. I have been coming here with great devotion for the past 39 years, but it has never happened before that I was prevented from taking a bath. The incident that happened to me and my followers was soul-shattering. It has weakened my faith in justice and humanity. I have said what I had to say, but let me tell you one more thing: Yesterday, I received another letter from the mela administration. It said I would be taken to the Sangam in a palanquin with due respect and allowed to bathe. Flowers would be showered upon me, but I rejected the offer. When the heart is sad and the mind is angry, even holy water cannot bring peace."

Origins Of The Row

This comes days after the mela administration, on January 18, stopped the Shankaracharya's chariot, as he attempted to reach the Triveni Sangam to take a holy bath on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. It was also alleged that his followers and disciples were beaten up, and that the police grabbed his sacred tuft of hair and behaved "brutally and disrespectfully" with him.

Since that day, the Shankaracharya staged a sit-in protest outside his camp. Thereafter, he was served the first of three notices by the Prayagraj Mela Authority — which reports to the UP government helmed by Yogi Adityanath — regarding his use of the ‘Shankaracharya’ title, citing a Supreme Court ruling. To this, the religious leader sent an eight-page reply on January 21, demanding the notice be withdrawn or the authorities would face legal action.

The second notice asked him why he had created disorder at the mela by arriving at the Sangam with his devotees on his palanquin without permission, which could have caused a stampede. It further asked why the land allotted to him at the mela should not be cancelled, and why he should not be permanently banned from attending the mela.

With his sit-in protest continuing, Swami Avimukteshwaranand then refused to participate in the holy bath on Basant Panchami (January 23). He remained adamant that he would not take the holy dip until the mela administration apologised to him and invited him to bathe with due respect.

He did respond to the second notice, though, after which, he received a third letter from the Mela Development Authority, inviting him to take a holy dip with due respect. However, the Shankaracharya rejected this offer, citing the delay in receiving the proposal and other reasons.

The Magh Mela, which started on January 3, will continue until February 15, the day of the Mahashivratri bath. In between, there is the Maghi Purnima bath on February 1. Amid the controversy, the Shankaracharya has left the Magh Mela 18 days early.

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