'Mukteshwaranand is a fake baba, Congress backing him': Swami Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj's scathing attack

Swami Sri Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj on Sunday attacked Swami Avimukteshwaranand, saying he is a fake baba. "One fake baba called Mukteshwaranand is getting popular these days. PM Modi has touched his feet and a big businessman like Ambani welcomed him to his home. Some people on TV are giving him the tag of 'Shankaracharya'. I want to give this message to all the citizens of the country that Mukteshwaranand is fake number one, he is not even deserving of adding sadhu, sant or sanyasi to his name so forget about Shankaracharya," Swami Sri Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj said. 

Govindananda showed what he called a Varanasi Court's order. "A non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against him, he (Avimukteshwaranand) was declared absconder. We want to tell all of this to the Supreme Court but they keep giving next dates and we want justice. He is causing harm to the country."

"We are putting all of these documents forward for the sake of the country. Avimukteshwaranand is killing and kidnapping people, raising questions against the Pran Pratishtha of Lord Ram, he is attending weddings pretending to be a 'Sanyasi'. He is saying that 228 kg of gold in Kedarnath is missing, does he even know the difference between gold and brass?" Govindananda asked. 

Govindananda Saraswati further claimed that Congress was giving support to Avimukteshwaranand. He said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote a letter on September 13, 2022, addressing him as revered Sankharachayra Avimukteshwaranand. "The Congress issued a letter and Avimukteshwaranand reached the Supreme Court...How did Priyanka Gandhi Vadra write a letter addressing Avimukteshwaranand as the Shankaracharya when the Supreme Court had issued a stay?" he asked. 

"Will Congress decide who the Shankaracharya is? He is standing against Narendra Modi and who is backing him? Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Avimukteshwaranand will stand with Rahul Gandhi when he makes anti-Hindu remarks. Why? This letter is the reason. Congress is playing a game and Avimukteshwaranand is the toy. I want to ask Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that she should either issue a public apology for writing this letter or we will file a contempt in the Supreme Court against her."

In October 2022, the Supreme Court stopped the coronation of Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati as the new Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand. The order was passed after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the Shankaracharya of Govardhan Math in Puri had filed an affidavit that the appointment of Avimukteshwaranand as the new Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth had not been endorsed.

The top court was hearing an application alleging that Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati falsely claimed to have been appointed as a successor Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth by the deceased Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati.

arlier this month, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who is known as Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, attended Anand Ambani's wedding in Mumbai and then visited Matoshree, the private residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray. 

After meeting the Shiv Sena chief, Avimukteshwaranand made some political comments that were seen as an attack on the BJP. He suggested that Uddhav was a victim as his party was split. "Uddhav Thackeray has been betrayed and many people are anguished by it. People's pain won't subside till he becomes the chief minister again. Betrayal is the biggest sin. The one who betrays can't be a Hindu. The one who tolerates betrayal is a Hindu," he added.

Avimukteshwaranand received heavy backlash from some seers who said Uddhav Thackeray betrayed the Hindu community and Devendra Fadnavis. 

Juna Akhada's Mahant Narayan Giri also slammed Avimukteshwaranand, saying a saint does not go to "saadharan aadmi" and industrialists' weddings. He said Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati went to meet Thackeray, who betrayed Devendra Fadnavis and joined the "vidharmis". Giri said that Fadnavis was set to become the chief minister but Thackeray betrayed him. He was referring to Shiv Sena's alliance with Congress and NCP despite being in a pre-poll alliance with the BJP. 

"Aise logo ke ghar par jakar, unko aashirvaad de rahe hai aur keh rahe ke unke saath dhokha hua hai. Dhokha to unhone diya hai. Uddhav Thackeray ne dhokha diya hai...Hindu samaj ko dhokha diya. (the Shankaracharya is visiting such people's residences and giving blessings. It was Uddhav Thackeray who betrayed Hindu Samaaj)," Giri said. 

According to Hindu scholars, a peeth can't remain without a Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya is a commonly used title of heads of monasteries called mutts in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism.

According to the religious beliefs, Adi Shankaracharya had established four Maths– Badrikashram Jyotish Peeth in North, Sringeri Sharda Peetham in Karnataka’s Chikkamagalur in the South, Shardha Peeth in Dwarka in the west, and the Govardhan Peetha in Odisha’s Puri in the east.

(With inputs from PTI)