Maha: Religious leaders pay tributes to Swami Swaroopanand

Thane, Sep 14: Religious leaders on Wednesday paid tributes to Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, who died in Madhya Pradesh recently, terming his death as a great loss to the country.

Swami Swaroopanand, once known as a "revolutionary sadhu" for participating in freedom struggle, who spoke his mind on religious and political issues and questioned the "deification" of Saibaba of Shirdi, died of cardiac arrest in his ashram in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday at the age of 99.

Swami Swaroopanand, who was the Shankaracharya of Dwarka-Sharda Peeth (in Gujarat), and Jyotish Peeth (in Uttrakhand), was not keeping well for over a year. At the memorial meeting held here, speakers said the death of Shankaracharya was a huge loss to the nation.

Mahant Balak Das of Kashi-based Akhil Bharatiya Nyas Sangh said it was unfortunate that the central government, which declared a one-day state mourning on Sunday as a mark of respect to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, did not announce a similar step following the death of the Shankaracharya.

"The Shankaracharya dedicated his life for the mankind and the Hindu religion. His teaching was that the seers should express themselves fearlessly and not fall prey to any political pressure," he said.