Seers belonging to various monastic orders and groups attended a 'Dharm Sansad' held amid the Maha Kumbh here demanding that a Sanatan Board be instituted.
Jagadguru Vidya Bhaskar Ji Maharaj also called for revocation of Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act. According to him, the law was implemented unilaterally without consultation by people to guard mosques constructed with the demolition of Hindu temples.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should use his majority in Parliament to dismantle the Places of Worship Act. The government at that time passed this law without any discussion and imposed it on the nation," he said.
He further asserted that the survival of all living beings depends on preserving Sanatan Dharma. "Establishing a Sanatan Board is the need of the hour to protect' sanatanis,'" he added.
Nimbark Peethadheeshwar Shyam Sharan Devacharya, who presided over the Sanatan Dharma Sansad (Sanatan religious parliament), said the board would protect Sanatan Dharma and secure the future.
"The board is important to keep such outsiders out of the temples like Tirupati Balaji and deviate our faith system. Once, countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bhutan were culturally related with India. If we do nothing, India also might go out of Hindus' hands," he said.
ISKCON leader Gaurang Das Ji Maharaj mentioned that a single body is necessary for 'sanatanis'.
"If bodies like CII and FICCI exist for industries and the IMA for medicine, why can't we have something similar to safeguard and consolidate the 'sanatanis'?" He said that only all 'sanatanis' joining under the umbrella of a Sanatan Board would deliver peace, security and justice.
Preacher Devkinandan Thakur linked the alleged decline of “Sanatan culture” to Macaulay’s educational policies, which replaced Indian traditions with the English language. He also warned of a “conspiracy” to take over India through the Waqf Board.
"Lands vacated by those who left for Pakistan are under the Waqf Board's control. But what happened to the land of Hindus who came to India? Why is there no Hindu Board in Pakistan?" he said.
Thakur said that if in India, Waqf Boards exist, similar boards for the minorities do not exist in Pakistan or Bangladesh. He claimed that temples such as Tirupati Balaji contribute Rs 500 crore annually to the government. That money can be used instead to fund projects for Sanatan Dharma.
If a Sanatan Board is formed, every temple will have its own gaushala, gurukul, and hospital, and all donations will remain within Sanatan Dharma," he said.
The Sanatan Dharma Sansad was attended by a number of saints and religious leaders, such as Chinmayanand Bapu from Haridwar, Mahamandaleshwar Ashutosh Nand Maharaj, Raghavacharya Ji Maharaj, Jain saint Vivek Muni Ji Maharaj, Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi, and Vallabhacharya Ji Maharaj from Ayodhya, all of whom expressed their support for establishing a Sanatan Board.
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