Bageshwar Dham: The story of the controversy and miracles of Dhirendra Shastri

Highlights:

• Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri was recently in the news for his claims of putting the people’s request in front of Balaji Hanumanji, the god of Bageshwar Dham temple.
• He further claimed that he has a solution to all human suffering, from ghosts to diseases.
• All his claims were recently challenged by Mr Shyam Manav, the organiser of Maharashtra’s Andha Shraddha Nirmoolan Samite.

The Bhageshwar Dham temple, which is located in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, has been in the news recently. But at the centre of the debate is the self-proclaimed godman and the priest of Bhageshwar Dham temple, Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri. Pandit Shashtri travels across the country and delivers religious addresses, also called Katha. 

The debate started in Nagpur, where the priest was accused of spreading superstitions and was challenged by Mr Shyam Manav, the organiser of Andha Shraddha Nirmoolan Samite, a Maharashtra-based anti-superstition organisation, to display his miraculous powers at an event in Nagpur.  

What followed was a fierce reaction from Pandit Dharmendra Shastri, wherein he called his challengers to Raipur, where he was addressing a Ramkatha. On Friday, Mr Dhirendra Shastri, in one of his Kathas, claimed that he had performed miracles in front of several media persons. He called a reporter from the stage and revealed his uncle’s name. The journalist was then seen proclaiming that it was a miracle that Mr Shashtri was aware of his family details. That video is now making rounds on social media. While the supporters of Dhirendra Shastri call it a miracle, the protestors claimed that all the information revealed by the pandit could be found on the journalist’s social media accounts.  

Several BJP leaders, including the party veteran Mr Kailash Vijayvargiya, have come out to support Pandit Dharmendra Shastri. Speaking to the ANI news agency, Mr Shastri said he fully believes in his Bageshwar Balaji, the temple deity. He added, “Anyone can challenge my words and actions on camera. Whatever inspires me, I will write, and what I write will turn out to be true.” Following the footsteps of Mr Kailash Vijayvargiya, another BJP leader, Kapil Mishra, an accused of making several hate speeches, also took out a rally in Delhi to support the self-proclaimed godman. The BJP leader also said that Mr Shashtri was under attack for speaking out on religious topics and “love jihad”.

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According to the information available on Bageshwar Dham’s website, Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri. Aka Pt. Dhirendra was born in 1996 in the Gadaganj village of Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh) district. His entire family still lives in Gadaganj. He is currently the Pramukh (Chief) of the temple, and his “kathas” draws lakhs of devotees to the religious spot.