A ‘spiritual strife’ between Swaminarayan sect, other Hindu outfits in Gujarat

The religious leaders at the Shri Kashtbhanjan Dev Hanumanji mandir in Salangpur, Botad district, managed by the Swaminarayan sect’s Vadtal branch, on Tuesday removed two controversial murals of Lord Hanuman kneeling before and praying with folded hands to the 19th century seer Sahajanand Swami, founder of the sect, known by his followers as Lord Swaminarayan. However, the controversy that erupted about a week ago has become a larger dispute between the Swaminarayan sect that wields political and economic power and other Hindu outfits in Gujarat. On Facebook and WhatsApp there were also snippets of seers of different factions of the Swaminarayan sect making remarks that other Hindu religious leaders felt were disrespectful of their gods and goddesses. The resolution passed at the meeting on Sunday, when the boycott call was given stated, “Saints of the Swaminarayan sect should never be invited to any temples or ashrams of Sanatana Dharma and saints of Sanatana Dharma must never accept an invitation to any temple of the Swaminarayan sect or any other place of theirs.” It went on to call for the dismissal of anyone from the sect who held positions in a Hindu organisation.