Sagar ‘panchayat’ may reach consensus against fake godmen
The saints hope to form a consensus against these fake self-styled godmen during the meeting and intensify a campaign against them, said the Parishad office-bearers.
Upset over a stampede in Hathras in which 121 people died and many others were injured, saints from the four cities that play host to the sacred Kumbh Melas—Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik—may call for action against fake saints and seers in the country when they meet in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar on Sunday for the “biggest panchayat” of saints. The meeting will be held under the aegis of the apex decision-making body of Hindu monastic orders ‘Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad’ (ABAP).
The saints hope to form a consensus against these fake self-styled godmen during the meeting and intensify a campaign against them, said the Parishad office-bearers.
The meet will be held just days ahead of a proposed key July 18 meet of ABAP office-bearers in Prayagraj to discuss the preparations for the forthcoming Mahakumbh and possible action against fake saints and issue a call to prevent their entry to Mahakumbh by denying them land and facilities for setting up camps.
In the Prayagraj meet, the saints are expected to not just issue guidelines against fake saints but also come out with a list of 30 such fake godmen.
“Just before the Kumbh melas, a campaign is always launched against fake saints and self-styled godmen. After a decision was taken in a meeting of Saints held in Haridwar recently over the issue, now preparations are on to hold the biggest panchayat of saints in the country at Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh,” said Swami Hari Giri, ABAP secretary and a patron of Juna Akhara, one of the 13 recognised ancient Hindu monastic orders.
In the Sagar meet, prominent saints and representatives of all Akharas who look after the arrangements of Kumbh Melas in the four Kumbh cities have been called. A consensus on the issue will be prepared in this meeting, after which a formal circular will be prepared and made public on the issue of fake saints, he explained.