NEW DELHI: Shankaracharyas with further explanations on their abstinence from Ramkshetra consecration ceremonies to be held in Ayodhya on January 22. Swami Nischalananda Saraswati Maharaj said that the distancing from established traditions at the time of the installation of the Ram Lalla idol was behind their decision not to participate in the ceremony. He clarified this in an interview given to ANI.

'Shankaracharyas need to uphold their dignity. This is not an ego issue. Should we sit outside and applaud when Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils Ram Lalla's idol? Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati said that the secular government should not stand to destroy the tradition. Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati is the 145th Shankaracharya of Govardhana Peeth in Jagannath Puri, Odisha. He assumed charge on February 9, 1992.

Shankaracharyas had earlier announced that they would not participate in the consecration ceremony. Avimukteswaranand Saraswati, abbot of Uttarakhand’s Jyothir monastery, and Nischalananda Saraswati, head of the Govardhana Matha of Puri are of the position that performing Prana Pratishta in an unfinished temple is against the rulings of Shastra. Avimukteswaranand Saraswati had earlier clarified that all four Shankaracharyas would not participate. He had said that he should not interpret it as anti-Modi and that he did not participate because the function was against scientific judgment.

Puri Shankaracharya said that there was politics in the event and reiterated that he would not go. However, Gujarat Dwarka Saradapeeth abbot Swami Sadanand Saraswati and Sringeri Saradapeeth abbot Bharati Theertha have welcomed the event. It was also described as the end of 500 years of struggle. The opposition also came forward with Shankaracharya's position. The Congress said it decided not to participate in the ceremony because of its opposition to the ceremony at the incomplete temple.