Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Dec 9: "I advise you to continue to pay obeisance at Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala in large numbers. But make it a point not to place any donations in the donation box there. Continue this practice till the Supreme Court delivers a verdict that upholds the aspirations of crores of Ayyappa devotees," said Sri Ramachandra Bharati Swamiji of Kapilashram, Uttarakhand.

He was delivering benedictory address at the mega convention of Ayyappa devotees which was organized at town hall here under the aegis of Sri Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam's Dakshina Kannada district unit on Sunday, December 8.

The Swamiji called upon the devotees to give a fitting reply to communists who are trying to wedge a divide in Hinduism. "Let us teach a lesson to those who deposit crores of rupees donated by Ayyappa devotees into banks and make merry out of interest earned. Let us make sure that there is no dearth of devotion towards Lord Ayyappa in our hearts. I request you to also bring Prasadam from Sabarimala along with the holy ash (Bhasma). But for the present, stop putting donations into donation boxes at the shrine. With this, we should make Kerala government to feel the heat," he advised.

Inaugural

Shashikumar Varma, member of Pandala kings lineage, inaugurated the convention. He said that the minds of Ayyappa devotees have been disturbed since the last one and half years. He said that the decisions taken by Kerala government have hurt the self-respect of Ayyappa devotees.

National president of Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam, T B Shekhar, presided, Sharavu temple managing trustee Sharavu Raghavendra Shastri, flagged off the procession. National general secretary Erode N Rajan, state vice president V Krishnappa, Alva’s Homeopathy College principal Dr Praveenraj Alva, and a number of others were present.