Swami Avimukteshwaranand was stopped from going to Gyanvapi. The development comes in the wake of claims by Hindu litigants in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi Mosque case that a ‘Shivling’ was found in the complex during a court-mandated survey of the premises last month.
Swami was stopped by the police
Swami Avimukteshwaranand on Friday announced that he and his disciples will offer prayers at a ‘Shivling’, which was claimed to be found in the Gyanvapi complex during a court-monitored survey of the premises, on June 4. However, he was stopped from leaving Sri Vidya Matt in Varanasi by police.
“Until I am not given permission to worship the Shivling in Gyanvapi, I will not eat anything,” he said after he was stopped.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand is a disciple of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati who is the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharada Peetham in Gujarat and the Jyotir Math in Badrinath.
“The decision of the Dharmacharya is final on the matter of Dharma (religion). As the Supreme Court represents law, dharma is defined by ‘Dharmacharya’. In Sanatan Dharma, Shankaracharya is the biggest ‘acharya’ and Swaroopanand is the senior-most,” he said.
“In Gyanvapi, ‘Vishwanath Ji’ (Lord Shiva) has been found and we are gathering material for prayers on behalf of the Hindu community,” he added. “We are not political Hindus but the real ones,” he said, adding the prayers will be held on Saturday.
The Gyanvapi row
The Gyanvapi case is pending at the court for hearing as the Hindu side claimed that a Shivling was found inside the mosque which the Muslim side termed as a water fountain. In the latest development of the matter in the court, the Varanasi district court has postponed the hearing till July 4. The case reached the Supreme Court as well which asked the district court to resolve the issue.
The Muslim side has maintained that the object was part of the water fountain mechanism at the “wazoo khana”, where namazis (faithful) carry out ablutions before offering the namaz. A court here had ordered the video graphics survey of the Gyanvapi complex on a request by five Hindu women that they are allowed to worship Hindu deities whose idols are installed on the outer wall of the mosque.
