The Shankaracharyas
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Proliferation of Shankaracharyas
From the traditional 4 to 50 in 2017
Sheo S Jaiswal, Feb 27 2017: The Times of India
The episode of a Haridwar-based sadhu, Swami Achyutananda, who anointed himself as shankaracharya of the Dwarka Sharda peeth on Mahashivratri day has brought into focus the proliferation of shankaracharyas across the count ry. Adi Shankaracharya who started the monastic order set up only four mutts whose chiefs were to be ordained as shankaracharyas. But it is estimated that over 50 seers have proclaimed themselves as shankaracharyas of various peeths, altho ugh exact numbers are hard to come by . Disputes and litigation are ongoing in many .
In the Dwarka Sharda peeth, for instance, there are currently three seers, including Achyutananda, who have declared themselves shankaracharya. Swami Swaroopananda, the incumbent shankaracharya of the peeth, soon after Achyutananda's anointment, claimed he would file a criminal case against the seer.
Haridwar sadhus say that the move by “a few individuals who are desperate to grab high religious offices by any means“ is giving the seer community a bad name. These things are very disappointing, and put the sadhu community under a cloud,“ said Swami Ravindra Puri of Mahanirwani Akhara.
Another seer Brahma Vidyanand said, “None of the self-styled shankaracharyas can hope to fulfil the stringent eligibility conditions for becoming a shankaracharya laid down by Adi Shankaracharya. Only someone with pure conduct and character, possessing deep knowledge of the scriptures including the Vedas, Vedantas, Puranas, and Prasthanatrayee, which includes the Upanishads, Brahmasutra and the Gita, can be appointed shankaracharya.“
The anointment must have the sanction either of the predecessor, or of the Kashi Vidwatparishad, a body of scholars based in Varanasi, he added.
TOI tried to speak with some of the seers who are alleged to have taken on the title of shankaracharya. One of them, Swami Rajarajeshwarashram, the chief of Jagadguru Ashram at Kank hal, who has anointed himself shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharda peeth, said he was in Nagpur and would be in a position to speak in detail only when he returned to Haridwar in a couple of days. Another sadhu Trikal Bhawanta Saraswati, a woman seer, who claims to be shankaracharya of Gayatri Triveni Prayag Peeth, said male sadhus were biased and not giving the shankaracharya's post to females. “A lawsuit regarding my anointment as shankaracharya is pending in the Allahabad high court but I am confident it will soon be decided in my favour,“ she said.
According to Brahma Vidyanand, most of the selfstyled shankaracharyas had assumed the title secretly .“That is why nobody bothers much about them, nor is their number known,“ he claimed.
No data available with govt regarding number of seers
The exact number of shankaracharyas in the country are a matter of mystery even for the government. Doon-based RTI activist Ajay Kumar has filed a number of RTI queries to various departments in the central and state government to ascertain the exact number of seers claiming to be shankaracharyas. But he says he has drawn a blank everywhere. Kumar told TOI that in his endeavour to dig up details, he has always come up against a wall. “All the govt departments that I have approached claim they have no records in this matter,“ he said.
After hitting a dead-end with the government, Kumar says he thought of filing an RTI in the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) office in Varanasi. However, since the body is not covered under the RTI Act, he could not go ahead with it. He says that it is “ironic that no details are available with anybody pertaining to a position like the shankaracharya who is a significant authority in Hinduism.“ TNN
