Madhya Pradesh: Bageshwar Dham and its Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri are in news recently. Self-styled godman Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, also known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar or ‘Baba’ of the temple, ran away after a Marathi superstition-fighting organisation challenged him to demonstrate his incredible power in its Satsang. But Shastri reportedly declined. Dhirendra Krishna Shastri videos are going viral, and #बागेश्वर_धाम_सरकार Bageshwar Dham is trending on Twitter now.
Following this incident, Shashtri claimed it was a conspiracy and summoned the committee to his Raipur court on January 20-21. The BJP’s Kapil Mishra has defended Shastri in the latest controversy, claiming that he is being attacked because he has stopped religious conversion. Mishra tweeted on Twitter that the anti-national and anti-Hindu gang was bound to get a stomach ache.
Dhirendra 26, Madhya Pradesh’s self-styled godman, is associated with the Bageshwar Dham temple in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh. Shastri has a large following of people who believe in his miraculous abilities. Shastri born in 1996, rose to prominence after his followers claimed he could read minds. Dhirendra Krishna Shastri is known to have organised ‘Ghar wapsi’ of many. The Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti has accused the Maharaj of Bageshwar Dham of encouraging superstition and has called for police action.
Dr Narendra Dabholkar (67) founded the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, an anti-superstition organisation. Dabholkar was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding assailants while out for a morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. The attackers were allegedly affiliated with the radical Hindu organisation Sanatan Sanstha.
On Thursday, a video of Bageshwar Dham Sarkar went viral in which Shastri said that he did not flee Nagpur. Whoever wants to witness his miracle can come to Raipur. Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, in another video, said he does not have any miraculous power and has nothing to prove. “I am just a servant at the feet of Bageshwar Balaji. I do as he inspires me,” he said in the video.