Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again on Monday reminded that “those who sell religion for their personal and political benefits,” were doing great disservice to their faiths.
Inaugurating India’s first skywalk to approach a religious site at Dakshineshwar Kali Temple, Mamata attacked the “phony” saffron brigade for practising falsehood and befooling the people in the name of religion.
“If you really want to do something for your religion then practice and preach tolerance instead of selling and using it for political gains,” Mamata said reminding how she was stopped from going to Chicago to deliver the Swami Vivekananda Memorial lecture to commemorate the 125th year of his celebrated speech at the world parliament of religions.
“I was scheduled to address an audience at Chicago but later I was told how some people up (read BJP central leadership) their literally threatened the organisers and got my name struck out to make way for someone else to make the speech. This shows how these people are out to hijack our own religion,” Mamata said.
"These people have no knowledge of Puranas, Vedas or for that matter any religious scripture or their true essence. They only know to set one section of the society against the others and reap political harvest,” she said.
Only selling religion for political purpose and power was the main motto of some people, the Chief Minister said apparently in reference to the opposition BJP. “Donning saffron cloth does not make you a religious person. Saffron cloths are sold in the market and anyone can wear them. To talk religion you have to be religious only then you will be able to do something for your religion and the people in general.”
The Chief Minister reminded how “Swami Vivekananda while in Rajasthan went hungry for three days before being noticed in such state by a Muslim person who offered him cucumber and saved him. In Chicago a Christian person helped him to find a place of residence.”
Swamiji’s master Ramakrishna Paramahansa always preached the unity of religions, she said reminding the presence of a Mazaar inside Dakshineshwar Temple where “Thakur Ramakrishna meditated before telling all how he visualised people drinking water from the same pond and how a mother was addressed as Maa by a Hindu, Amma by a Muslim and Mother by a Christian.”
There were two kinds of sadhus wearing saffron clothes she said. “There are phony sadhus who wear saffron clothes but divide the people for narrow self interest and there are true sadhus who love one and all,” she said.
Advising the powers that be to follow her example in the interest of devotees and tourists by constructing the skywalk like the one that was inaugurated at Dakshineshwar Banerjee said she was considering similar facilities at Kalighat, Tarapeeth, Tarakeshwar and other places.
The skywalk is a futuristic elevated glass-and-steel pathway about 3.5 metre wide, and 340 metre long fitted with 12 escalators and 4 elevators and shops on two sides that would cater to the devotees who visit the Temple built by Rani Rashmi and where once Ramakrishna Paramahansa lived and prayed.
“We are naming this skywalk after the name of Rani Rashmani not only because she constructed the temple but also because she played a great role in the Indian and Bengali renaissance,” Mamata said.