Guru Purnima was celebrated in this holy city with traditional gaiety and religious fervour when a heavy rush of shishyas (disciples) was seen at several leading ashrams, maths and other places here on Monday. Long queues of devotees were seen at Parao, Garhwaghat, Ravindrapuri and other famous ashrams where thousands of supporters thronged, seeking the blessings from their gurus.
At Aghor Peeth Ashram (Shri Sarveshwari Samuh Sansthan Devasthanam) in the northern outskirts of the city at Parao, long queues of disciples was seen both inside of this sprawling premises and outside to seek the blessings of Baba Gurupad Sambhav Ram, who while talking to the reporters on the eve of the day, said that the religion does not teach us to fight with each other, but teaches us the art of living. “Religion is a social system which always connects and creates a harmonious atmosphere,” he said. Several dignitaries including former Union Minister PL Punia also reached there to seek blessings of their guru. The name of the leprosy unit of this ashram has been included in the Guinness Book of World Records for treating the maximum number of lepers through traditional methods.
Similarly, at yet another big ashram located on the southern outskirts, thousands of people sought the blessings of Peethadheeshwar Sadguru Sarnanand. It was the ashram where in recent years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and others visited there frequently, keeping in view of its influence among the people.
In the mid-city area heavy rush of disciples was seen at Kinaram (Krikund) Ashram, Ravindrapuri. There was a festive mood seen throughout the day. The devotees sought the blessings from Peethadishwar Aghoracharya Baba Siddharth Gautam Ram. Apart from these ashrams, at Patalpuri Math, several Muslims including women and other disciples sought the blessings from Mahant Balak Das.
At Srividya Math near Shankaracharya Ghat, in absence of Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the followers offered prayers to his ‘Charan Paduka’ and he function was attended by a good number of followers from Varanasi and its adjoining districts and important among them were media in-charge Sanjay Pandey, Brahmchari Bhiritanand and Basant Rai. The women sang bhajans on the occasion.
At Dharmsangh Shiksha Mandal, Durgakund, in the morning Peethadishwar SwamiShankardev Chaitanya Brahmchari Ji Maharaj offered prayers to the charan paduka of his guru late Swami Kalpatriji Maharaj and ‘Brahmleen’ Swami Laxman Dev Chaitanya Brahmchari Ji Maharaj. Later, he gave blessings to his disciples who reached there in a large number. A good rush of people was also seen at Tulsi Ghat, located residence of Mahant of Sankat Mochan Temple Prof VN Mishra and many others.