In the spiritual heart of Varanasi, Sai Baba has become the latest bone of contention in the complex world of temple politics. Several Hindu organisations, including the Sanatan Rakshak Sena and Brahmin Sabha, are on a mission to remove his idols from temples, claiming that Sai Baba, despite being a beloved saint, doesn’t fit the Sanatan Dharma mould.
A revered figure, famous for preaching love and unity, is now caught in a storm over whether he “belongs” in the temple next to gods like Shiva or Vishnu. Some groups argue Sai Baba was a Muslim fakir and, therefore, shouldn’t be worshipped in Hindu temples. Ajay Sharma, president of the Sanatan Rakshak Sena, quips, “We’re not against Sai Baba, but his idols have no place in temples.”. According to Sharma, installing the idol of a “dead man” contradicts Hindu tradition, as only deities who have graced the ancient scriptures deserve the pedestal.
“No mention of Sai Baba in the Vedas,” echoes Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati, one of the heavyweights behind this movement. Suddenly, it seems as though temple idols are a bit like exclusive club memberships, only certain divine beings need apply.
Agama Panth, a set of scriptures dictating temple decorum is the major force behind this. According to the Shaivites and Vaishnavites, two powerful sects within Hinduism, only gods like Surya, Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, and Ganesha are qualified to be housed in temples. Sai Baba, no matter how virtuous, doesn’t cut. One could almost imagine a strict temple admissions committee deliberating: “Sorry, Sai Baba, but we’ve already filled our quota for gods this century.”
Since this campaign started, Sai Baba idols have been removed from 14 temples in Varanasi alone. And it’s not just random small shrines; significant temples like Bada Ganesh Mandir, where Sai Baba’s idol was installed in 2013, have seen his image taken down. Other temples like Bhuteshwar Temple and Agastya Kunda Temple are next on the hit list. More idols will be removed from 28 additional temples in the coming days.
According to Ajay Sharma and his supporters, the removal is necessary to maintain the “purity” of Sanatan beliefs. “The idol of a dead man cannot be installed inside a temple,” Sharma insists. Even in death, there are rules about where you can and cannot hang out!
In 2014, Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati led a prominent campaign against the worship of Sai Baba, asserting that he was not a deity and should not be revered in Hindu temples. At that time, the Shankaracharya’s followers had pushed for the removal of Sai Baba’s idols from several temples, but the campaign faced strong resistance from devotees.
This sparked widespread debate, with religious leaders like Acharya Dheerendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham also stating that while Sai Baba could be worshipped as a great saint, he did not belong alongside Hindu deities like Shiva or Vishnu. Isolated removals of Sai Baba idols have been reported in Maharashtra and Karnataka, reflecting ongoing local disputes.
Not everyone agrees with these removals. Vivek Srivastava, a dedicated Sai Baba follower, expressed his dismay, “This incident has hurt the faith of millions of Sai devotees. All gods are one. Everyone has the right to worship God in whichever form they believe.”
To Srivastava, faith is whether it’s in a saint or a deity. To Vivek Srivastava, the real question isn’t whether Sai Baba was Hindu or Muslim. “It’s us who create these divisions. God doesn’t make distinctions among humans.” And isn’t that what matters?
Samar Ghosh, the priest of a Sai Temple in Sant Raghuvar Das Nagar, added his dose of irony to the debate: “The very people who installed Sai Baba in these temples are now the ones taking him down!” Like many others, Ghosh sees Sai Baba as a unifying figure rather than a divisive one, pointing out that the saint’s teachings focus on inclusivity, not exclusion.
Not to be outdone, Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi weighed in, saying, “It’s unfortunate that the BJP has made religion a wrestling arena (‘akhara’) for politics.” Sai Baba’s message of unity and love is getting tangled in a political rope pull, and nobody’s letting go anytime soon.
Sai Baba’s legacy is one of love, forgiveness, and charity, which is precisely why his followers find this controversy particularly painful. With millions of devotees across India, especially in Maharashtra.
Sai Baba has long been seen as a force behind inclusivity, ‘Sabka Maalik Ek’. The Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust in Shirdi describes him as “beyond distinctions of religion, caste, or creed. He embodied all religions and preached the Universal religion of Love.
The removal of Sai Baba idols from temples in Varanasi is about more than just who gets to be worshipped in Sanatan temples. It’s a story of clashing traditions, politics, and a saint who probably wouldn’t have approved of all the fuss.
While some argue that this campaign is about preserving the purity of Sanatan Dharma, others view it as a divisive, even absurd, move that goes against the very inclusivity Hinduism stands for. Whether this movement gains traction or fizzles out, it raises important questions about the future of religious practice in India.
Will the ‘idol police’ continue to dictate who stays and who goes, or will Sai Baba’s message of unity prevail? Only time (and perhaps a few more temple meetings) will tell.
Here’s hoping that someday, all this idol drama will settle down, and the gods (and humans) can all just… get along. Or at least, get a bigger temple with room for everyone! Either way, it seems Sai Baba’s followers will keep worshipping him, whether he’s chilling in temples or outside on the streets.
