New Delhi, Jan 20 (NationPress) Following the issuance of a notice by the Prayagraj Mela Authority to Swami Avimukteshwaranand, questioning his designation as ‘Shankaracharya’—a title that has traditionally been reserved for the highest spiritual figures in Sanatana Dharma—Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders asserted that a grave injustice had been committed against the Shankaracharya.

In an interview with IANS, Congress representative Udit Raj condemned the government’s actions, suggesting it was targeting individuals who do not conform to its ideology.

“A profound injustice has been inflicted upon the Shankaracharya. This government conducts itself in a manner that whether it concerns a saint or any citizen, if they do not comply with its directives, they are treated poorly, assaulted, wrongfully implicated, and humiliated. I vehemently denounce the treatment of Swami Avimukteshwaranand in Prayagraj,” he articulated.

Supporting similar views, Samajwadi Party MP Sanatan Pandey expressed that his party is strongly opposed to the measures taken by the Prayagraj Mela Authority.

According to officials from the Mela Authority, the notice references a Supreme Court ruling and asserts that Swami Avimukteshwaranand is not recognized as the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath.

The notice questions his authority to use the title ‘Shankaracharya’ and demands a response within 24 hours.

Citing the case titled ‘3010/2020 Jagat Guru Shankaracharya Jyotishpeeth P.S.S.N. Saraswati versus Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati’, the notice pertains to a protracted legal dispute regarding the rightful Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math (Jyotish Peeth).

The case involves competing claims from P.S.S.N. Saraswati (also known as Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati) and Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, both disputing each other’s qualifications and the legitimacy of their appointments.

This ongoing conflict is rooted in historical disagreements and has undergone examination by trial courts, High Courts, and the Supreme Court, particularly concerning issues of injunctions and eligibility.

Both Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati (P.S.S.N. Saraswati) and Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, a disciple of Swami Shantanand Saraswati, have asserted claims over the spiritual leadership of Jyotir Math, situated at Badrinath.

In October 2022, the Supreme Court halted the coronation of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati as the new Shankaracharya of the Jyotir math in Uttarakhand.

Hindu scholars emphasize that traditionally, a peeth should not remain without a Shankaracharya.

The title ‘Shankaracharya’ is typically associated with the heads of monasteries, or mutts, that adhere to the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism.

Adi Shankaracharya established four major mutts throughout India—the Jyotish Peeth at Badrikashram (Badrinath) in the north, Sharada Peeth at Dwarka in the west, Govardhan Peetha at Puri in the east, and the Sringeri Sharada Peetham in the Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka in the south.

This notice has emerged amid recent tensions between Swami Avimukteshwaranand's followers and the Magh Mela administration during the Mauni Amavasya bathing festival.

The spiritual leader claimed that police obstructed him and his followers from performing a sacred dip in the Ganga on Mauni Amavasya.

In response, Swami Avimukteshwaranand protested outside his camp, refusing food and water, demanding an apology from senior officials of the mela administration and police.

Mela Officer Rishiraj, however, contended that the seer’s supporters had allegedly breached barricades on a pontoon bridge reserved for emergency services.

District Magistrate Manish Verma noted that similar inquiries regarding the status of the Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya arose during the 2022 Magh Mela, prompting the then-mela officer to seek legal guidance.