Uttarakhand CM should not change rituals for reopening Badrinath shrine: Jyotish Peetham head

Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peetham Swaroopanand Saraswati on Sunday advised Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to desist from any changes in the traditional worship of Lord Badrinath for the reopening ceremony of the Himalayan shrine later this month.

At a time when the country is fighting to contain COVID-19, any change in the worship system developed by Adi Shankaracharya may invite the wrath of the deity," Saraswati said in a statement. The Jyotish Peetham head is currently put up in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh amid the lockdown.

It is believed that Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines were established by Adi Shankaracharya. According to tradition, the rawal (chief priest) should open the portals of the shrine after six months of winter break.

This comes in the backdrop of the Uttarakhand government contemplating a change in the traditions of the opening of the famed Himalayan temples.

Saraswati advised CM Rawat to bring in the rawal from Kerala to Badrinath for not only traditional worship of the deity but also to get blessings to "arrest the spread of COVID-19".

With the ongoing lockdown, he asserted that the Uttarakhand government can not replace the existing system.

He said, The government says if the rawal fails to reach Badrinath on April 30 owing to the lockdown, the opening of the shrine will be done through video conferencing.

Since the country is facing the COVID-19 crisis, the need of the hour is not only to retain the prevailing system but also to make elaborate arrangements for worship in order to please the deity, Saraswati opined.

In absence of any treatment to overcome this pandemic, traditional worship of Lord Badrinath combined with sincere faith is the only answer, he claimed.