Be like Yogi, not Chinmayanand, Akhara Parishad head to members

NEW DELHI: The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, which is the top body of 13 major “akhadas” or religious orders of Hindu saints and seers, will hold a meeting next month on “aachran (character) and vyavahar (behaviour) of its members in an “age of distractions."

This comes after the arrest of BJP leader Chinmayanand on charges of of intimidation and sexual harassment of a law student. Seventy three year old Chinmayanand who has been a key player in the Ram temple movement is presently the Mahamandaleshwar of the Maha Nirvani Akhara.

Mahant Narendra Giri, secretary of the Panchayati Akhara Niranjani Akhara, who heads the body told ET that the council meeting to be held on October 10 will look at the cases being reported against Hindu seers and how “truthful they are”. “At a time when many of us are heading mutts with both male and female devotees, women’s colleges and schools, we want to tell our members to behave properly. Such actions create distrust about Hindu saints which is not good for our society. We want our akhada members to follow the example of Yogi Adityanath who still performs his duties as a mahant and lives an austere life. We will have a discussion on the expulsion of Chinmayanand. We want cases to be tried without prejudice," he said.

Mahant Ram Das from Nirmohi Akhara said there were strict guidelines for the seers that the akharas and the body prescribe.

“In the meeting, we will emphasise that ashrams should be fitted with cameras and that every mahant should make his life as much public and community-driven as possible, with distractions only being reading or watching the news to be informed of the country. Seers are supposed to have a way of life which includes, satsang (community meditation), samvad (dialogue), sah-bhoj (community dining), pravachan (discourse) and sadhana (prayer) among others."

He added, "They are supposed to follow these rules as a sanyasi. But when they get power later, some of them forget this code of conduct. Some also forget the basic rule that a sanyasi should not own assets and cash. All this should belong to a trust and should be utilised for the welfare of the people, ” said Ram Das.

The general council meeting of the Akhara Parishad will take place at Panchayati Akhada Bada Udaseen in Haridwar and it will also launch the preparations for the Kumbh 2021.

Mahant Prem Giri of Juna akhara said Chinmayanand episode has proved that there was a regular need to review the status of superiority enjoyed by some seers designated as mahant or mahamandaleshwar.

"Our Akhara doesn't permit people to take up these positions of power but others too. Also, we need to have clear rules if kathakaar (preachers) or married godmen can go around calling themselves sant."

He added that his akhara will also raise the issue of the powers of Akhara Parishad being curtailed when it comes to designating seers and saints or expelling them.

"Before the Kumbh last year, we took out a list of fake babas, but some of them used their disciples to threaten us, got facilities from government. Our expulsions should hold water. The akhada officially recognises only four Shankar Acharya, but there are at least 50 in the country now which makes it difficult for us to monitor, " he said.