A very dear friend of mine living in the USA sent me a message this morning on WhatsApp:
“Shree Ram temple will fully be completed only by 2026 and today all the 4 Sankaracharyas have politely declined to attend the consecration ceremony. Their decisions sound logical to me. Their stand seems to vindicate the Opposition parties in India. How do you observe this?”
My reply to him via WhatsApp was as below:
I’m no one to comment on the decisions taken by their Holiness Sankaracharyas who are all to be revered implicitly. 🙏
However , in my limited understanding of the Agama sastras —- but please do not take me for any kind of “expert” in Agama sastra, because I’m NOT —- it is not prohibited to perform or conduct “maha samprokshanam” of a temple and “moola” and “bera archa pratishta” inside — the main and idol and the sacramental icon — so long as the “garbha-gruha” or the sanctum-sanctorum under the main “vimaanam” is complete in all respects and has been duly sanctified according to the sacred sastras. The outer “praakaarams”, “Mantapams”, and other adjacent and minor structures of a temple even if they are still work-in-progress do not in any way vitiate the fact or validity of the consecration or inauguration of the temple.
In my own state of Tamil Nadu , I’ve personally seen the construction of many temples ( e.g. Anjaneya, Narasimhar and other deities) being completed only in stages and that too long after the “samprokshanam” of the main sanctum had been already conducted. It was in no way regarded as any violation of Agama sastra.
Having said that, I must add the caveat that my comments should not be misconstrued as any sort of judgment being offered on the views expressed by their Holiness Sri Sankaracharyas of the various Advaita Peetams and Sannidhaanams. Their knowledge of sastras and their wisdom in applying it to the context of Ayodhya Mandir today cannot be questioned by an ordinary layperson like me . The followers of those Seers must abide by whatever stance their respective Acharyas take .
I offer my views here to you, Sir, only because you asked me for it … and my views completely personal. I stand open to correction.
BTW, please read this latest news flash too: https://hindupost.in/media/sringeri-math-calls-out-dainik-jagran-fake-news/
Sudarshan Madabushi 🙏
PS: you may be interested also to read a 2021 blogpost of mine on the same subject but is a commentary upon another aspect of it.