The mortal remains of Mahant Narendra Giri were placed in a samadhi in the premises of the Baghambari Matha on Wednesday, amidst chanting of mantras in the presence of scores of saints and seers.
The bhu-samadhi was placed under a lemon tree at Baghambari Matha , as desired by the deceased saint. Mahant Narendra Giri was found dead on Monday evening in suspicious circumstances.
Earlier, the mortal remains of the Mahant were taken in a procession in Prayagraj city to Sangam for the last holy bath. A huge crowd turned out along the route to pay last respects to the seer. UP CM Yogi Adityanath has said the death will be probed and any culprits will not be spared. All educational institutions and commercial establishments in the city remained closed today as a mark of respect to the departed saint.
The word samadhi has a deep spiritual meaning in Hindu Dharma. When someone is in samadhi their mind is absolutely still and they are in an enlightened state. Sadhus belonging to monastic orders such as Dasnami, Nath, Aghor, Shakta are given bhu (earth) samadhi, and sometimes sadhus are also given jal (water) samadhi. Mahanta Narendra Giri was a sannyasi of the Dasnami order and is being given bhu-samadhi in his Matha.
While all other Hindus are cremated, children below 7 years are also buried. This is because sadhus and children are considered to have pure minds and hence their atma doesn’t have the same attachment to the physical body. Hence there is no need to cremate the body to destroy that attachment.
Secretary of Niranjani Akhara, Mahant Ravindra Puri, said, “After the post-mortem of the departed seer, his mortal remains will be taken for the traditional bath at Sangam. We will then proceed to Hanuman temple and the procession will return to Baghambari Matha in Allahapur.”
On the third day (September 24), the ceremony of ‘dhul roti’ would be performed and prasad would be given to devotees.
Mahant Balbir Giri, who was named as the successor of Mahant Narendra Giri in a note, said “All members of the panch (a body of eight seers of the Akhara) have arrived and they will hold a meeting on Wednesday after the nagar yatra.”
It is also learnt that although representatives of all the 13 Akharas have either arrived in the city or are expected to reach before samadhi, the all-important meeting of the Akhara Parishad will be held after ‘shoshthi’ (16 days after the seer’s demise).
The meeting will then formally elect the next president of the apex body of the 13 recognised Hindu akharas (monastic orders) of the country.
The autopsy of Mahant Narendra Giri was also done on Wednesday morning by a designated panel of five doctors. The report was sealed and the viscera has been preserved for further examination. Sources, however, said that the panel of doctors had confirmed death by hanging.
(With IANS inputs)