Raipur: The 19th ‘dharma sansad’ (religious conclave), convened by Dwarkapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, began at the district headquarters town of Kawardha nearly 150 km from Raipur on Sunday to debate on deification of Saibaba the presiding deity of Shridi temple.
Initiating the debate, the Dwarka seer argued that the Hindu scriptures have accepted Shiv, Shakti, Bishnu, Ganesh and Surya and their respective reincarnations as Gods. The Gods accepted by ‘sanatan dharma’ (Hinduism) have found mention in various religious scriptures pertaining to the religion.
He argued that Shiridi Saibaba does not fall in either of the category and hence cannot be accepted as god in Hinduism.
The debate is scheduled to resume on Monday. Hindu religious scholars from Kasi Vidyapeetha, who were among the participants in the meet, will take the final call on the issue raised a few weeks ago by the Dwarka Shankaracharya.
Representatives of other four Shankaracharyas have presented the views of the respective seers at the meet, attended by around 400 Hindu religious leaders drawn from various parts of the country. Incidentally, the Shridi Sai Trust which runs the temple has refused to respond to the invitation by the conclave to present their views on the issue.
