Annoyed over placement of Sai Baba's idol, Shankaracharya boycotts event in Shimla temple

Shimla: The Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth cancelled a scheduled event of his at a Ram temple here on Thursday as he was irked over the placement of a Sai Baba idol in the shrine and said there is no place for Sai Baba in Hindu temples.

Jyotispeethadheeswar Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who was scheduled to participate in the "Gau Dhwaj" hoisting programme at the Ram temple here, boycotted the event and did not visit the shrine.

Shankaracharya, who went to the Jakhoo temple for "Gau Dhwaj" hoisting in the morning, conveyed the message that he would not visit the Ram temple after he was informed that an idol of Sai Baba was placed in the shrine.

"Sai Baba has no place in Hindu temples and his name has not been mentioned anywhere. Priests and trustees of the temple have installed the idol of Sai Baba for earning money," he said in a video released here.

"We condemn the action of those, irrespective of who they are, for placing the idol of Sai in a temple of our gods," he said.

The proposed visit to the temple was cancelled after the Shankaracharya was informed that there was an idol of Sai Baba installed in the temple, said Jeet Ram Sharma, the priest of the Ram temple. The statue of Sai Baba is actually installed outside the temple and no prayers are held there, he added.

Meanwhile, state vice-president of Gau Rakshak Dal Gauputra Ravi demanded the removal of the idol of Sai Baba and said the Shankaracharya has assured people that he will visit the temple once the idol is removed.