“Sai Baba’s disciples can worship him at a temple dedicated to him only……some people, who did not have knowledge of Sanatan Dharma, had installed Sai Baba’s idols in other temples,” he added.
Sharma said that the idol of a pious dead man could not be installed at temples. “It is not permitted in the Sanatan Dharma. The idols of only five gods and goddesses – Surya, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and Ganesha- could be installed in the temples and worshipped,” he remarked.
Sharma said that the idols of Sai Baba would be removed from Bhooteshwar and Agasteshwar Temples in the next few days.
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 NH, “Sai can be a ‘dharm guru’ (religious preacher), a ‘mahapurush’ (a great person), a ‘Saint’, 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 temple
The Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Sarswati had also opposed worshipping Saibaba saying that the latter was not a Hindu god. “There is no mention of Saibaba in the ancient scriptures,” he had said. Acharya Dheerendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham had also said that Saibaba could be worshipped as a ‘Mahatma’ but not as a god.
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.”
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, Locals told GPN.
On its website, the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, states that Sai Baba is revered as one of the greatest saints ever seen in India, endowed with unprecedented powers, and is worshipped as a God incarnate. (SAI meaning Sakshaat Ishwar) (God the absolute).
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and member of the UP Legislative Council Ashutosh Sinha termed the removal of Sai baba idols from temples as a “political stunt” of BJP. “Sai baba is widely respected and revered in Maharashtra as the Saint who is in unison (oneness) with the Supreme (God), the Hindu religion is an inclusive religion, Over the centuries it has accepted a variety of thoughts,” Sinha said.
Earlier in the year 2020 a controversy stirred a row over the birthplace of Sai Baba as nobody can tell whether the 19th Century saint was actually born in Shirdi or Pathri in Parbhani district.
Locals on anonymity said to GPN that Government should frame a policy on permissions to be taken before hand on interference of Religious Matter which can hurt the sentiments of communities at large so any untoward incident could be thwarted.
RECENT UPDATE – In 2014 Already The SC Apex Court Had Moved Against Removing of Sai Baba’s Idols from Temples As A Petition By The Saidham Charitable Trust
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