VOICES OF THE SAINTS
HIMALAYAS
“HERE TO BLESS THE PILGRIMS”
WE ARE ONE OF THE WELL-KNOWN Shaiva akharas. We are all naga sannyasins. It is difficult to know how many we are in total. The Kumbh is going on nicely and peacefully. The naga sannyasins are enjoying the bathing and going around the Kumbh mela area merrily. Police and administration are nice. We are here to bless the pilgrims. It is believed that with the mere darshan of nagas, one’s sins are washed away. We would like to give blessings to all the Hindus of the world. We are the force of dharma. We normally work silently, but when we see that the force of karma is not effective, then we come into action to save any threat to our dharma.
Children
The problems we are facing today are because we have not brought up our children the way we should. We have allowed our children to become modern, advanced and forward. But we have not taught them about their duties and limitations.
Most of the youth and their parents have just a working kind of relationship; they are not really on speaking terms with each other. Gradually the relationship between parents and children is deteriorating, as the culture is also changing.
Today we are not respecting our saints. Crime against our women is increasing. Our girls are being killed in the wombs of their mothers. Even the government is not putting a check on all this. Our daughters are also a part of the force who preserve and protect our religion when they assume the role of mothers.
We have so many eminent saints teaching good things in direct kathas and through television. Why is this not having an impact on the society? Why do our youth and even householders continue to live in the same way and do not change even after listening to the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata?
Shri Digambar Ishvargiri, a naga sannyasin of the Shambhu Panch Atal Akhara, sitting at the dhuni in his tent
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Treatment of Sadhus
Our dharma is facing all kind of dangers. Today the temples are being handed over to the trustees, and sadhus are being pushed out. Sadhus are being told to go and stay in jungles. In the past, for sadhus there was land which was provided by the kings and the governments in cities and villages alike. Today we are supposed to purchase land for building ashrams and temples. Today the saints cannot find shelter even in the cremation grounds. Even there, the commercial people are running their shops.
The Dhuni Fire
We worship our sacred fire, dhuni. It is Narayan. It is kept alive round the clock. Through it, we pray for the welfare of the people. If you sit around the dhuni, your speech becomes purified and your meditation deepens. Devatas appear out of the dhuni; it holds great significance for us. All the ash we use to cover ourselves comes from this sacred fire.