The fire-spitting seer known for his tendency to wade into controversies, Jyotish Peethadhipathi Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati on Tuesday trained his gun on the media and the silver screen, accusing them of making Shirdi Sai Baba morph into a dazzling godhead from an ordinary saint.
“The TV serials and films on the Sai Baba have made him a godhead by showering divinity on him,” he said, adding that such deification of a mortal into a divine was not good.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Swaroopanand said, “Showing Sai Baba as possessing miraculous powers on the silver screen has mesmerised the people. This is a case of the media and films blowing things out of proportions to make a mortal into a boon-showering and miracle-wielding godhead,” the seer said, adding that the media and the film makers should refrain from conjuring up such miraculous fits attributed to one who is devoid of such traits. “This impacts the people adversely, making them genuflect before him in abject subjugation,” the seer said.
Clearing his stance on the status of women in the Indian society, he said despite the Indian society being a male-dominated one, there has been gender parity here. “Here we have the tradition of ‘Matri Devo Bhava’ and ‘Pitri Devo Bhava’, meaning that both are equal. Respect for women is inherent in us,” he said.
He decried the hue and cry raised over the Hindu women being not allowed to enter certain temples. “Women of other religions are also barred from entering the religious places, but nobody dares raise a finger. They are vociferous about things prevailing in the Hindu society. This is because of our tolerance,” the seer said.