Mahant Bhanu Das, 65, sat inside a small room in his ashram at the Panch Kosi Parikrama Marg in Ayodhya, his eyes fixed on the door. "Are you from the trust? Have you brought me an invitation?" he asked as two local visitors entered.
Their answer in the negative left the seer visibly disappointed.
Bhanu Das was referring to an invitation for the pran pratishtha or the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple scheduled to be held on 22 January. The ceremony will be performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the guidance of Pandit Lakshmi Kant Dixit, a priest from Varanasi.
"Ram lalla ka mandir ban raha hai...hume bohot khushi hai. Lekin sadhu santon ka dhyan bhi rakhna chahiye tha (We are happy that the Ram Temple is being built but they shouldn't have sidelined the priests and saints)," he quipped and went straight to his prayer room only to emerge 15 minutes later.
"I am not denying that (Narendra) Modi and Yogi (Adityanath) have built the temple after the Supreme Court judgement...but it is a day we've waited for all our lives. They invited me to the Diwali utsav. Why can't they invite me now?" he said after a brief pause.
Mahant Bhanu Das, 65, as he waits for an invitation to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.
(Photo: Shiv Kumar Maurya/The Quint)
Religion, Faith, and Politics
Bhanu Das's concerns are in line with those voiced by other saints and seers including the shankaracharyas or the pontiffs of the four mutts, or monastic orders, that are part of Hinduism’s Advaita Vedanta tradition established by the eighth century Hindu saint, Adi Shankara.
On 4 January, a video of Puri’s Govardhan Mutt head Nischalananda Saraswati, also known as the Puri Shankaracharya, surfaced where he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “interfering in religious affairs” and announced that he will skip the consecration ceremony.
“What will I do there? While Modiji inaugurates and touches the idol, will I stand there and clap? I don’t want a position. I already have the biggest one. I don’t need credit. But what will shankaracharyas do there (at the consecration)?” the Govardhan Mutt head was heard saying in the video.
A poster featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath outside Ayodhya's busy Hanuman Garhi Temple.
(Photo: Shiv Kumar Maurya/The Quint)
Soon, the other three shankaracharyas joined Nischalananda Saraswati and issued a statement saying that they will all skip the ceremony.
On 9 January, Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the head of Uttarakhand's Jyotir Mutt announced that none of the four religious heads will attend the ceremony because it is being held “against the shastras” — or sacred Hindu scriptures — especially since the temple construction is incomplete.
"It is a shankaracharya’s duty to follow rituals of the shastras and ensure that they are followed. And here, the shastras are being ignored. The biggest problem is that the consecration is being done when the temple is still incomplete,” he said.
On Ground, The Lines Are Blurred
Ramanand Prasad, 45, stood outside Ayodhya's famous Hanuman Garhi Temple on the morning of 10 January.
With 'Jai Shri Ram' painted on his forehead and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag in his hands, he was waiting, in a long queue, to enter the temple. "Bohot shandaar mandir banwaya hai Modi aur Yogi ne (Modi and Yogi have built a fabulous temple)," he said as he explained why he was carrying a BJP flag.
Prasad, along with a dozen other people, travelled 400 km to Ayodhya from Sithauli village in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district — a journey they covered on foot.
45-year-old Ramanand Prasad outside the Hanuman Garhi temple with other people from his village in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district.
(Photo: Shiv Kumar Maurya/The Quint)
"Hum yahan Ram Lalla aur Modi, dono ke darshan karne aaye hain. Lekin abhi lag raha hai wapas lautna padega. Bohot security hogi uss din (We came to Ayodhya to get a glimpse of Lord Ram and (Narendra) Modi. But it seems we'll have to return before the consecration. It's a high security event," he lamented.
Across Ayodhya, for several people such as Prasad, there is no difference between religious groups and the BJP. Words like 'saints', 'sadhus', and 'mahatmas' are used interchangeably to address PM Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Take for instance, consider a performance by Bhajan singer and Hindu religious preacher, Anjali Dwivedi, at the famous Ram ki Paidi — barely 2 km from the Hanuman Garhi Temple — on the morning of 10 January.
Dwivedi, who was performing for a leading English news channel, first sang her flagship song on the "return of Shri Ram to Awadh", and then ended her segment by saying that modern India has only two saints — "Modiji and Yogiji."
A crowed, of approximately 50 people, cheered her on.
'The Issue Has Always Been Political': VHP
At the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) office in Karsewakpuram, Sharad Sharma is a busy man. "Ayodhya, since the ancient times, has been the centre of politics," said Sharma, who joined the VHP in mid 1980s when the temple movement was gaining ground.
"It was for political reasons only that Lord Ram was exiled. The movement for the Ram Temple was powered by the saints and seers, along with the Sangh Parivar which also includes the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP by virtue of being a political party had its limitations and yet if you think of it, the temple is being built in Ayodhya today only because of the efforts of the BJP," he added.
VHP leader Sharad Sharma at the outfit's office in Karsewakpuram.
(Photo: Shiv Kumar Maurya/The Quint)
Sharma claimed that while the struggle for the temple was both religious and political in nature, the consecration has no political motive as is being claimed by the shankaracharyas and other political parties.
"We have utmost respect for the shankaracharyas. But can someone tell me that why are 4,000 saints coming to Ayodhya from all across the country for the consecration if there is no religious meaning of it?" the VHP leader asked.
'Is New Ayodhya Not for Ram's Biggest Bhakts?'
Sharma's explanation, however, is completely lost on Mahant Chandra Bhan Das, a 60-year-old seer at a temple near the Jhunki Ghat.
"Ram Lalla humesha Ayodhya mein hi the, bas abhi unhe ek ghar mil raha hai. Inhe yaad rakhna chahiye ki isme hum saadhu santon ka bhi yogdan hai (Ram Lalla never left Ayodhya. He's just found a permanent home in the temple now. The BJP must not forget the contribution of saints and seers in the movement)," he said.
"Many important religious leaders have decided to skip the ceremony. They have a point. We are not denying that the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister have worked for the temple but so have we. Also, what is the hurry to hold the consecration when the work is not complete?" the mahant questioned.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)