The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Paryaya: seers stick to their views on right to worship

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Friday, Dec 28, 2007
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Paryaya: seers stick to their views on right to worship

Special Correspondent

Three Ashta Math heads to meet on January 1
Meeting is expected to throw up a compromise

Bangalore: Visvesha Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Math has reiterated his position that Sugunendra Tirtha Swamiji of Puttige Math has no right to worship Lord Krishna at the Udupi temple during the Paryaya celebrations because he had travelled abroad.

Earlier this week, Sugunendra Tirtha had declared that no one could deny him the traditional right to worship. He argued that denying him the right for “crossing the seas” was an archaic rule and had no religious sanction.

Though a meeting of three heads of the Ashta Maths of Udupi — Puttige, Pejawar and Palimar — on January 1 is expected to throw up a compromise, as of now the two pontiffs seem to be in no mood to budge from their respective positions. Visvesha Tirtha, however, described the squabble as a “dispute between brothers” that would be solved amicably.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Visvesha Tirtha said he was not opposed to “reform for social change”, but was strongly for “retaining traditions that do not affect society at large”. He was not against foreign travel, said the pontiff, but was only against such a person worshipping inside the sanctum sanctorum. “If the tradition is broken, it could set a bad trend of people travelling abroad for love of the dollar,” he said.

Visvesha Tirtha said “no personal grudge or politicking” was involved, but he was only voicing the majority opinion of the pontiffs of the eight Madhwa maths of Udupi. Agreeing to an earlier suggestion made by Sugunendra Tirtha, he said that formulating a written constitution governing all the maths would be welcome.

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