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Akhada Parishad to decide on action against Chinmayanand at Haridwar meet
The Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP)—apex decision-making body of the 13 recognized Hindu monastic orders of the country—has decided to deliberate on action against him including his possible expulsion from the community of seers at their key meeting on October 10.
More trouble is brewing for former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand, accused of raping a law student and now arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case.
The Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP)—apex decision-making body of the 13 recognized Hindu monastic orders of the country—has decided to deliberate on possible action against him including his possible expulsion from the community of seers at their key meeting scheduled to be held in Haridwar on October 10, informed Swami Narendra Giri, head of the ABAP.
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He said that the meeting has been convened to discuss the preparations for the Kumbh-2021 set to take place in Haridwar, but in light of the serious charges that have been levelled against Swami Chinmayanand, it has been decided to hold a discussion on it as well as mull possible action against him during this proposed meeting on October 10.
Swami Narendra Giri, who is also the secretary of the Panchayati Akhara Niranjani, one of the 13 monastic orders, maintained that the conduct of Swami Chinmayanand revealed in the public domain was in violation of the set norms for seers and had shamed the community. If the representatives of the 13 akhadas who will be present during the October 10 meet set to take place at the Panchayati Akhada Bada Udaseen in Haridwar agree on it, Swami Chinmayanand could be expelled from the community till the court verdict is delivered in the case.
Action against seers in the past:
In the past too, the ABAP has acted against many seers by expelling them as well as declaring many of them as fake saints.
In September 2017, the ABAP released a list of 14 saints that it had dubbed as ‘fake saints’ bringing the community of seers into disrepute through their actions. The list included names of Gurmeet Ram Rahim of Dera Saccha Sauda (convicted in August 2017 by a special CBI court for 20 years in prison for raping two female disciples), Ashumal Shirmalani alias Asaram Bapu (undergoing trial in rapes and murders), Narain Sai (son of Asaram Bapu), Ram Pal (serving a Jail sentence after being arrested in November 2014), Sukhvinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa (Juna Akhara canceled her suspension and reinstated her and gave back the title of Mahamandaleshwar following her apology), Sachin Dutt alias Sacchinand Giri, Vivekanand Jha alias Om Baba, Nirmalpreet Singh alias Nirmal Baba, Shivmurti Dwivedi alias Icchadhar, Bhimanand, Swami Aseemanand, Om Namo Shivaya, Bhrispati Giri, Kushmuni and Malkhan Giri.
Also Read | BJP’s Chinmayanand, accused of rape by law student, arrested by UP Police
More self-styled godmen, including absconding ‘spiritual guru’ Virendra Dev Dixit, found mention in the second list of ‘’fake’’ babas released by the ABAP in December 2017. The list had three names— Virendra Dixit Kalnemi (Delhi), Sachidanand Saraswati (Basti, Uttar Pradesh) and Trikal Bhawant (Allahabad).
Namdas Tyagi, popularly known among his devotees as ‘Computer Baba’, was expelled from Sri Panch Ani Digambar Akhara in November 2018, a decision that was later ratified by the ABAP.
In May 2019, the Niranjani Akhara had expelled Mahamandaleshwar Vairagyanand Giri while the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) had stripped him of his mahamandaleshwar title for performing a ‘mirchi’ (chilly) yagna in Bhopal.
