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Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, has written a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, praising the objective of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and wishing him the best.
The VHP, with whom Satyendra Das has had a somewhat uneasy past, regretted the move, saying the priest should have taken into account the history of the Congress when it came to Lord Ram.
Satyendra Das said political motives should not be read into the letter. “The blessings of Ram are for everyone who seeks them,” he told The Indian Express.
Das wrote the letter in response to a Congress invitation to the Yatra, as it entered the state on Tuesday.
In the letter, he said he wanted to extend his best wishes to Rahul for the success of the Yatra. “May you be healthy and have a long life. The work that you are doing for the betterment of the country is in the direction of sarvajan hitaya, sarvajan sukhaya (betterment and happiness of all)… Prabhu Ram Lalla ki kripa aapke upar bani rahe (May the blessings of Lord Ram Lalla always be with you),” he said.
Congress state spokesperson Gaurav Tiwari, who hails from Ayodhya, said he had taken the letters of invitation for the Yatra to many temples and sants in Ayodhya, who gave their blessings in return.
“A printed letter of invite was sent to us by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, on which we had written names of dignitaries by hand. Such invites were given to many sants in Ayodhya. We met Satyendra Dasji also, and he said he wanted to bless the Yatra with a letter, which I have forwarded to the party leadership,” Tiwari said.
Das replaced Baba Lal Das as the chief priest in March 1992, months before the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December of that year.
In August 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for a grand temple to come up at the Ram Janmabhoomi site, and it is likely to be inaugurated by the end of 2023.
Sharad Sharma, VHP spokesperson in Ayodhya, said the priest should not have written the letter. “It is his personal decision to give blessings to someone, but the fact is that blessings help only those with a clear conscience and mind and those who actually want to work for uniting society,” he said.
“Being the priest of the Ram temple, he should have first given a thought to the fact that these were the same people who tried to demolish the Ram Setu and questioned the very existence of Lord Ram. He should have thought of these things before giving his blessings. Nonetheless, we are sure that God’s blessings reach only those who do not have a corrupt heart and are genuine in their mission,” Sharma said.
Das said his gesture should not be taken “in the wrong way”.
“I am not a political person but just a sant. Whoever comes to me for blessing, I give the same to them. I know the people who came to me with the invite and who wanted blessings for Rahul Gandhi for the Yatra, and I gave it to them,” he said.
