Statues of Sai Baba were removed from multiple temples in Varanasi on Tuesday following a campaign launched by a group called 'Sanatan Rakshak Dal'.
Of these, the group removed a Sai Baba statue from the Bada Ganesh Temple here and placed it outside the temple's premises.
Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, "Sai Baba was being worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures."
Similarly, Shankar Puri, the head priest of the Annapurna Temple, said, "There is no mention of the worship of Sai Baba in the scriptures."
Meanwhile, Mahant of Ayodhya's Hanumangarhi temple Raju Das told PTI, "Sai can be a dharm guru (religious preacher), a mahapurush (a great person), a peer or an aulia, but he cannot be a bhagvaan (God). I am thankful to the person in Varanasi who has removed the idol (of Sai Baba). I urge all the Sanatanis in the country to remove the idol of 'Chaand Peer' (Sai Baba) from the temples."
Ajay Sharma, state president of the Sanatan Rakshak Dal, said, "Only the worship of Lord Shiva, the supreme deity, should take place in Kashi (Varanasi)." Respecting the sentiments of devotees, statues of Sai Baba have already been removed from 10 temples. In the coming days, statues will also be removed from the Agastyakunda and Bhuteshwar temples, he said.
The priest of the Sai Temple located in Sant Raghuvar Das Nagar in the city's Sigra area, Samar Ghosh, said, "Those who claim to be Sanatanis today are the same people who established Sai Baba in the temples, and now they are the ones who have removed him from there. All gods are one. God can be seen in any form. Such acts are not right. They will hurt people's faith and spread discord in society."
Ghosh mentioned that this Sai Temple opens daily from 7 am to 10 pm, and Sai devotees come to worship every day.
"Particularly on Thursdays, around 4,000 to 5,000 devotees visit the temple to pay their respects," he said.
Vivek Srivastava, a Sai Baba devotee, said the removal of Sai Baba's statue is an extremely distressing event.
"This incident has hurt the faith of millions of Sai devotees. All gods are one. Everyone has the right to worship God in whichever form they believe. As for whether Sai Baba was Hindu or Muslim, it is we who have created those divisions. God does not make distinctions among humans," Srivastava said.
Reacting to the developments, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi said, "It is unfortunate that the BJP and those supporting it have made religion a wrestling arena (akhara) of politics, which should not be done. Sanatan Dharm is a religion, which incorporates, imbibes and integrates all the good aspects of everyone (including other religions). If in the name of fanaticism (kattartaa), they want to remove the idol (from temples), then it is certainly not in the interest of the country."
Spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party Sunil Singh Sajan, when contacted said, "It seems that the BJP is the number 1 player, when it comes to play with one's 'aasthaa' (faith in Gods). Now, they have even started discriminating and division among Gods. Division and hatred seems to be the core character of the BJP. Sai Baba has crores of followers. When the Constitution does not indulge in discrimination, then who are we to do so?" Sai Baba, revered as a spiritual leader, is known for his teachings of love, forgiveness, and charity, transcending religious boundaries.
On its website, the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, states that Sai Baba is revered as one of the greatest seers ever seen in India, endowed with unprecedented powers, and is worshipped as a God incarnate. (SAI meaning Sakshaat Ishwar) (God the absolute).
"This mysterious Fakir first made his appearance in Shirdi as a youth and remained there throughout his long life. He transformed the lives of those who met him and continuously is doing so even after his Samadhi in 1918 for those whose hearts are touched by his love and who pray and call him at any emergency in life for his blessings," the website states.
The trust also mentions that an outstanding aspect of Sai Baba is that he is "beyond distinctions" of religion, caste or creed. He embodied all religions and preached the Universal religion of Love.
"Devotees of all faiths find their meeting point in the Sai and people from all communities and all walks of life are united by the great love and reverence Baba inspires in them. Baba had great regard for his Hindu devotees and their Gurus and he responded to their needs and permitted worship according to the Hindu and other religious rituals. At the same time his dwelling place was a masjid (mosque) and the name of Allah was ever on his lips...," it added.
