Controversial Lord Hanuman murals removed from Swaminarayan temple in Gujarat
The matter was resolved on Monday evening when the Swaminarayan Vadtal Gadi Sansthan, which manages the temple, decided to remove the murals
The murals depicting Lord Hanuman bowing down to Sahajanand Swami were removed from a Swaminarayan temple in Gujarat’s Botad district on Tuesday following outrage about their “distorted depiction”.
The matter was resolved on Monday evening when the Swaminarayan Vadtal Gadi Sansthan, which manages the temple, decided to remove the murals, said a government official aware of the matter.
Hindu religious leaders on Sunday passed 11 resolutions against the Swaminarayan sect, including one related to the boycott of its saints and temples, over the depiction even as the government appealed to both sides to resolve the dispute. The murals were removed following a meeting of the saints on Monday.
In a statement, the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha emphasised that all stakeholders agreed that the controversy needed to be put to rest in the larger interests of the Hindu religion. It referred to a meeting on Monday “with the blessings of Dwarka Pith Sankarachayrya and Acharya Rakesh Prasad Maharaj of Vadtal ” and said all saints unanimously resolved to end the controversy.
“Also, it has been determined that no member of the Swaminarayan sect would make any provocative statements or remarks against Hindu Sanatana Dharma and its deities. In fact, the leaders of the Swaminarayan sect emphasised that their sect was an integral part of Vedic Sanatana Dharma within Hinduism,” said the statement.