Shankaracharya of Dwaraka-Sharda Peeth, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, has accredited the drought in Maharashtra to the worship of the “unworthy” Shirdi Sai Baba by the people of the state.
The seer, who is on a visit to Haridwar, according to the Times of India (TOI) said that worshipping Sai Baba, who was a fakir, as if he was god, was inauspicious.
“Calamity strikes where those unworthy of worship are worshipped,” the Shankaracharya said to TOI, quoting scriptures to strengthen his claim. “Such places suffer drought, flood, death or fear, Maharashtra is facing all of these,” he added according to TOI.
This is not the first time that he has lashed out at deity-like worship of Shirdi Sai Baba. In 2014 he had claimed that Shirdi Sai Baba was “mystic who was no god” and had urged worshippers to not worship and had asked his devotees to remove photographs and idols from temples where he is kept alongside Hindu deities.
According to TOI, the 94-year-old seer on Sunday had also said that women should not have entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple as it would bring bad luck to them.
“Shani is paap grah (planet of sins). Worshipping him will lead to rise in crime against women,” TOI quoted the seer.
