Mahant Gorakhnath Das was killed by thieves on Monday night who also stole 13 murtis of Hindu deities and jewelry adorning the deities from an ancient Ram-Janki temple in Saran district, Bihar.
The elderly priest’s body was found on his cot the next morning by a helper who comes daily to clean the temple. On receiving information about the incident, the local police and DSP Muneshwar Prasad Singh reached the temple in in Aphaur village, Nagra police station area and initiated an investigation. They sent the priest’s body for post-mortem.
The stolen murtis made of ashtadhatu (octo-alloy) were estimated to be worth crores of rupees. The thieves likely intended to steal all such 14 murtis from the temple but a small murti was found lying on the ground which might have fallen when the accused were fleeing the spot.
There is great unrest in the area over spiraling crime. Two jewelry chops were also looted in the preceding days. Locals, especially traders, have alleged that police and administration is least bothered about providing security and are busy extorting bribes from sand and liquor mafia. A protest was organized demanding speedy investigation of this and other cases, and improved security.
In its barebones, 123-word report on this shocking crime, Aroon Purie’s India Today (archive link) has not even bothered to provide the murdered priest’s name and there are no photos either.
This murder and dacoity comes on the back of a staggering sequence of murders and assaults on Hindu priests in Bihar alone, in recent years. We list some cases below, almost all of which sunk without a trace in English-language ‘national’ media –
March ’22: 70-year-old paralysed priest Kashinath Pandey was shot by unknown miscreants at a Hanuman temple in Buxar district
October ’21: Kankali temple head priest Rajiv Kumar Jha was shot dead by goons in Darbhanga. He had complained to police earlier about the same goons, but no action was taken.
April ’21: Two priests, Hira Das and Anand Mishra, of Dharoharnath Mahadeo Temple at Khirhar on the outskirts of Madhubani town were beheaded. The temple was also desecrated and valuables stolen.
December ’20: Priest Arun Pandey was brutally killed in West Champaran district while returning from a pooja on his cycle.
September ’20: Naxal terrorists kidnapped pujari Neeraj Jha in Lakhisarai district – they killed him and dumped his body in a jungle.
January ’15: Priest killed, precious murtis stolen at Rahua Math in Muzaffarpur district.
Murti theft is also endemic in Bihar: June 2021: 4 precious idols estimated to be worth a few crores stolen from Thakurbari Mutt located in Patna city; Feb 2021: Murtis worth over Rs 2 crore stolen from Muzaffarpur temple; March 2018: 7 antique murtis worth Rs 50 lakh stolen from a temple in Samastipur district; January 2016: 14 murtis worth Rs 1 crore stolen from Vaishali district – at that time, a senior police official said that 200 murtis of different Hindu deities were stolen from different temples and maths of Bihar over the last five years!
The pan-Bharat view is even scarier…such murders of priests/sadhus, and temple attack/theft/desecration are reported almost daily. 90-year-old priest Baba Govind Das was murdered by slitting his throat by one Chaman (no last name provided in media reports) in Gurugram for ‘disrespecting’ his ancestor’s tomb.
See Indian Express‘ dismissive report of that crime – they chose to put the word ‘killing’ in scare quotes in their headline – these quotation marks are placed round a word or phrase to draw attention to an arguably inaccurate use, to subtly cast doubt and convey scepticism.
The same English-language media went ballistic in 2015 with a ‘Christians under attack’ narrative when a few stray incidents of vandalism by drunks, fire due to short-circuit and petty theft occurred in some Delhi churches in 2015. The Hinduphobia/Hindumisia, indeed the utter contempt for Hindu sensitivities, among large swathes of our nation’s English-speaking elites is very-very real.
The fast deteriorating law & order situation in Bihar is also very real. BJP MLAs are right in calling for the UP model of crime control to be deployed here, and for CM Nitish Kumar to crack the whip.
How To Get To Heaven
How to get to heaven – What it Isn’t
Many people believe that the answer to the question of how to get to heaven is to be a good person. For some, being good means not being bad. One or more of the following may describe you: You haven’t murdered anyone. You don’t steal. You don’t curse, too much. You don’t lie, too often. You’re not a drug addict. You don’t cheat. You rarely gamble. Your conscience is clear because you aren’t nearly as bad as the people you read about in the newspapers or see on television. You’re just like everyone else you know and you can’t all be going to hell. So, you’re pretty sure that after you die God is going to let you into His heaven, right?
Many others believe that the answer to the question in how to get to heaven revolves around doing good deeds. One or more of the following may describe you: You give money to beggars or food to the homeless standing on street corners. You’re actively involved in civic and community affairs. You generously donate your time, talents, and/or your money to non-profit and charitable organizations. You’re better than most of the people you know. In fact, you’re so good that you‘re convinced that, after you die, God will absolutely let you into His heaven, right?
There are others who believe that their religious rituals will be their ticket into heaven. This may describe you: You embrace religious beliefs that tell you how to live a spiritual life. Your religion may tell you that there is a God, but it does not tell you how to have a personal relationship with Him. And, despite all of your religious rituals, your religion does not guarantee that following those rituals will get you into God’s heaven, right?
How to get to heaven – Believe the truth!
The truth is that there is only one way for any human being to get to heaven and that is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every human being is, by nature, a sinful being. The Bible says that our efforts at doing “good deeds” are not acceptable in the sight of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). God alone is holy. God alone is good. So, God has made a way for sinful human beings to enter into His heaven.
God is the only perfect Being in the entire universe, and He came to earth 2,000 years ago, as a man — Jesus. His mother was a virgin by the name of Mary. But, Mary was not impregnated by a man, but by the Holy Spirit of the Living God. She gave birth to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s laws required that a life be taken to save a life. Mankind was so sinful that the animal sacrifices of the Jewish people could no longer cleanse them of their sins. So, God sacrificed Himself, through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that our sins could be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. During His time on earth, Jesus led a perfect, sinless life.
Jesus Christ died on a cross. He was buried in a tomb for three days and, on the third day, He was raised from the dead. After forty days, He returned to heaven, where He currently reigns. He will return to earth a second time to claim those who have confessed their belief in Him.
How to get to heaven – Make it Personal
Jesus died so that those who believe in Him would no longer be condemned to an eternity apart from God. If you want to be assured of going to heaven after you die and you believe that Jesus Christ died to save you from the penalty for your sins, answer these questions.
Do you understand that you are a sinner, and you believe that Jesus Christ came as the one and only Redeemer of sin? Are you ready to receive God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? If so, believe in Christ, repent of your sins, and commit the rest of your life to Him as Lord:
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
If you decided receive Jesus today, welcome to God’s family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.
Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
Find a local church where you can worship God.
Did you become a follower of Jesus today?
If YES! Please Visit: http://www.allaboutgod.com/common/yes.htm
or NO Please Visit: http://www.allaboutgod.com/common/no.htm
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, “Jesus is Lord,” you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.
What is your response?
this is just the sort of brainwashed supremacist, exclusivist nonsense that Christian fundamentalists spread all over the world – it is one of the leading causes of the conflicts we are seeing in society as we move towards the so-called ‘End Times’. Any saintly person would be appalled that his followers are spreading such poisonous ideas in his name.