Dhirendra Shastri apologizes after controversial statement on Sai Baba

Dhirendra Shastri: Peethadhishwar Dhirendra Kumar Shastri of Bageshwar Dham has apologized after the controversial statement made about Sai Baba. While reciting the story in Jabalpur, he gave a controversial statement about Sai Baba, after which he was opposed all over India. In Maharashtra, people started coming on the road. A case was also registered against him. In such a situation, seeing the matter progressing, Dhirendra Shastri has apologized and said that his intention was not to hurt anyone. Reflecting on his statement, he expressed regret and said that he has respect for the saints and will remain so.

मेरा हमेशा संतों के प्रति महापुरुषों के प्रति सम्मान है और रहेगा मैंने कोई एक कहावत बोली जो हम अपने संदर्भ में बोल रहे थे कि अगर हम छतरी पीछे लगाकर कहें कि हम शंकराचार्य हैं तो ये कैसे हो सकता है…हमारे शंकराचार्य ने जो कहा वो हमने दोहराया कि साईं बाबा संत फ़क़ीर हो सकते हैं और… pic.twitter.com/aHWnC0Leal

— Bageshwar Dham Sarkar (Official) (@bageshwardham) April 5, 2023

Dhirendra Kumar Shastri wrote on his Twitter page, 'I always have and will always have respect for saints and great men. I quoted a saying which we were saying in our context that if we put umbrella behind and say that we are Shankaracharya then how can this happen… We reiterated what our Shankaracharya said that Sai Baba can be a Saint Fakir and in him People have personal faith. If a person believes a Saint Guru to be God with personal faith, that is his personal faith, we have no objection to it… We feel sad and sorry from the bottom of our heart if any of our words hurt someone's heart - Bageshwar Dham Government..'

In the program of Jabalpur, Dhirendra Shastri had said, ' Shankaracharya of our religion has not given Sai Baba the place of deities and it is the religion of every Sanatani to obey Shankaracharya. He is the prime minister of his religion and any saint, whether he belongs to our religion or not, Goswami Tulsidas ji or Surdas ji, is a saint, a great man, a man of the ages, a Kalpapurush but not God. People have their own personal faith and we cannot hurt anyone's faith, we can say this much, Sai Baba can be a saint, can be a fakir but cannot be God.

The devotees of Sai Baba were hurt by this talk of Dhirendra Shastri and they started protesting against Dhirendra Shastri. In this episode, a case was also registered against him in Maharashtra. Shastri has apologized after seeing the matter catching fire.