Earning money through the Holy places is a sign of destruction; administrators will have to bear its consequence

Saints have written to the Prime Minister against the practice of fees for Darshan at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) – The Saints and Mahants have demanded the closure of the policy of having a fee for darshan at the Mahakaleshwar Temple which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. They have written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to stop this practice. They have said that charging fees for darshan is like the Mughal’s Jizya tax. Not only that they said that it can be understood if a Hindu is stopped from darshan in Pakistan. But in India, discrimination among the Hindus as to who can take darshan and who can not is absolutely wrong. Earning money from the Temples is a sign of destruction. A warning has been given in this letter that if this bad administration continues the bad effects of this will have to be borne by the administrators.

Swastik Pithadhishwar Paramhans Dr Avadesh Puri Maharaj and Dr Sumanand Giri of Shri Panchayati Niranjani Akhadya’s Pithadhishwar have written to Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and said,

1. The discriminatory attitude of the Temple administration and making it a means of earning money is bringing it disrepute. This is absolutely against your appropriate leadership and popularity. From this, it can be seen that the primary objective of the Temple Administration is to collect money. This will hurt the faith and religious feeling of the Hindus from all over the country. Their faith in religion will reduce. The devotees will not hesitate to say that Temple is a centre for looting the devotees. They might not say this out of fear, but if this bad administration continues the bad effects of this will have to be borne by the people in power.

2. The devotees are asked to pay separate fees for darshan, entry into sanctum sanctorm, and darshan of the Bhasma arati. Taking fees from the devotees could be excused but permission is denied to the Sadhus, Saints as well.

3. If there is a quota reserved for District officers and Police Commissioners, then an extra quota should be kept for Sadhus, Saints, and Mahants. This will help their disciples, devotees, and followers will be able to easily take darshan in the Temple. If this cannot be done then the quotas for District officers and Police Commissioners should be cancelled.