Elvish Yadav And Sonu Sood Meet Controversial Godman Bageshwar Dham Chief Dhirendra Shastri

On January 12, Indian celebrities including actor Sonu Sood, actress Jacqueline Fernandez, singer-actress Shehnaaz Gill, Govind Namdev and Bigg Boss OTT winner Elvish Yadav were seen visiting Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri at Raghav Sharma's residence.

As Desi Music Factory producer shared glimpse of their meeting, he wrote, "Thank you baba @iambageshwardhamsarkar ji for for coming & giving your blessing ??? #jaishreeram #bageshwardhamsarkar."

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Elvish Yadav, Shehnaaz Gill, Jacqueline Fernandez and Sonu Sood visited Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Shastri

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Who is Bageshwar Dham baba Dhirendra Shastri?

His real name is Dhirendra Krishna Shastri and he is the head of the Bageshwar Dham temple located in Madhya Pradesh. He was born to Saroj Garg and Karpal Garg in 1996. His paternal grandfather Bhagwandas Garg was a Siddh saint associated with the Nirmohi Akhara, where a court was held Hanuman temple. Subsequently, Dhirendra Krishna Shastri initiated a divine court that garnered significant popularity. He would solve people's problems with his spiritual methods which convinced his massive following which convinced people of his spiritual abilities.

Dhirendra Krishna Shastri controversies

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¡ª Vaibhav Raj Shukla (@VaibhavRjShukla) January 16, 2023

Hindu nation

Last year, he stirred up a row after declaring that India is already a Hindu nation. He said that only an announcement is pending. He was reading Hanuman Katha when he advocated a Hindu nation concept for India. "One day a saint asked me if a Hindu nation is possible since I am advocating for the same? I smiled and replied that India is already a Hindu nation and it¡¯s just that the announcement is pending," he said.

His comments sparked a big political storm. While Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) strongly urged him to not use the platform for propaganda. On the other hand, MLA Sumit Kumar Singh Sumit Kumar Singh from Nitish Kumar-led cabinet supported his stance.

Black magic allegations

Apart from this, he was also accused of promoting superstitious activities in his public programmes called Divya Darbar and Pret Darbar in Nagpur. The complaint was filed against Shastri by anti-superstition crusader Shyam Manav, who is also the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti. Dhirendra Krishna Shastri however denied the charges.

Compared women to plot of land

In a viral video, he was quoted as saying, "Women, who have got married, have two identities. Vermillion on the head and mangal sutra (the wedding chain around the neck to symbolise marriage). Assuming if they don¡¯t have maang ka sindoor or mangalsutra, what do think of them? This plot (of land) is available. If they (Hindu women) have maang ka sindoor and mangalsutra around their necks, then we conclude from a distance the registry (of the plot) is complete."

Compared Hinduism to pet dogs

He also said, "There are two kinds of dogs. one is your pet and another is faaltu (useless)." According to him, pet dogs have leash around their necks just like followers of Ram have special chain around their necks.

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