New Delhi: Former chief minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav in one of his first responses to the hype around Ayodhya’s Ram Temple inauguration ceremony recalled how the syncretic tradition of the Gorakhnath temple was reversed when it fell under the leadership of chiefs like the current chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Hindutva leader Adityanath.

Yadav also spoke to reporters earlier on Wednesday (January 17) to confirm that he will not be attending the Ayodhya event.

Along with his biographer and senior journalist Nalin Verma, Yadav said in an article published in the Indian Express that “at a time when the lines between faith and politics are more blurred than ever” – referring to the hyper-politicisation of the consecration ceremony of the newly-built Ram temple – it is important to remember how Adityanath undermined the “legacy of inclusivity” of the Gorakhnath Math to transform it into into a symbol of “exclusionary spirituality”.

“It is a paradox that a leader who claims to be a follower of Gorakhnath practises a politics that undermines his legacy of inclusivity,” the article said.

It goes on to narrate the syncretic practices of the 11th-century Gorakhnath sect.

“The great Gorakhnath had his followers among both Hindus and Muslims … The credit for the present form of the [Gorakhnath] temple [in Gorakhpur], spread over 52 acres of land, goes to Mahanta Buddhanath (1708-1723). Historical accounts suggest that Asaf-ud-Daulah, the nawab of Awadh, had donated the land to Baba Roshan Ali, a fakir and devotee of Gorakhnath in the 18th century,” Yadav wrote.

“It helped rejuvenate the temple and added to its glory and grandeur. The tomb of Roshan Ali, opposite to the temple, constitutes the identity of Gorakhpur.”

Yadav said that the politicisation of the Gorakhnath sect began in 1937, when Digvijaynath, who was arrested in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case, became its mahant.

Digvijaynath was also the first chief of the sect to enter electoral politics when he contested the Gorakhpur seat on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket in 1967.

“Digvijaynath’s successors, Avaidyanath and Adityanath, groomed themselves as symbols of militant Hindutva in the Gorakhpur region. Avaidyanath represented Gorakhpur in the Lucknow assembly [seat] and the Lok Sabha several times. Adityanath, the present mahant and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, also represented Gorakhpur in the Lok Sabha five times (1998-2014),” Yadav wrote.

The article said that the politicisation of the temple undermined many love stories, like the legendary Heer Ranjha [both Muslims], Sorthi-Brijbhar, and even bhajans of Kabir, Nanak, Raisad, Dadu and Meera.

It added, “The Nath sect doesn’t accept the supremacy of Brahmins. The followers of the sect chose their gurus from their communities of weavers, dyers, shepherds and agriculturists. Gurus and disciples wander together for alms.

“[Noted Hindi writer Hazari Prasad] Dwivedi says that people from the lower strata of society in both Hindu and Muslim communities – who were looked down upon by the priestly class – became yogis [of the Gorakhnath sect] in the north as well as to the south of the Vindhyas.”

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Yadav further wrote, “I am very passionate about these stories. When I became the chief minister of Bihar in 1990, I got the folklorists to perform. I still get them to perform when I find time.

“In one of his recordings, the religious personality Osho recounts that once, the Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant asked him to pick 12 major religious figures of India. Osho named Krishna, Patanjali, Gautam Buddha, Mahavir, Nagarjun, Shankar, Gorakhnath, Kabir, Nanak, Mira and Ram Krishna. Pant then asked him to cut down the list to seven, five and then four. Osho picked the names of Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha and Gorakhnath.

“When Pant asked him to further shorten the list to only three, Osho refused. Why could he not leave out Gorakhnath, Pant asked. I cannot leave him, Osho replied, because Gorakhnath opened a new avenue and gave birth to a new religion. Without him, there would be no Kabir or Nanak. There would neither be Dadu, nor Wajid, Farid or Meera.

“The entire Bhakti and Sufi tradition of India are indebted to Gorakhnath. Nobody equals him in his teachings that lead to the discovery of the inner soul.”

When Yadav was chief minister, he had stopped the Rath Yatra led by Lal Krishna Advani passing through Bihar on October 23, 1990, and had the senior BJP leader arrested.

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