On 22nd June`2014, in a statement that could hurt the sentiments of the followers of Shirdi Sai Baba, Dwarakapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand said that worshiping Sai Baba was a conspiracy to divide the Hindus. He said that Sai Baba should not be worshiped as he was not God nor a Guru, but was a just a human being and so Sai Baba Temples should not be built.
“It is a conspiracy of some foreign organizations which are making money. They don’t want Hindu community to unite,” news websites quoted him as saying.
Shankaracharya also refused to regard Sai Baba as the epitome of Hindu-Muslim unity, saying if it were the case, Baba would have been revered by Muslims with as much devotion as Hindus.
In Sanatan Dharma, there are said to be 24 avatars (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, In Kalyug, there is no mention of other avatars than Kalki and Buddha. Hence, Sai Baba can certainly be not an avatar, Shankaracharya opined.
He added that Sai Baba should not be considered a guru and an ideal because he was a non-vegetarian and advocated the practice of circumcision.
Shankaracharya also claimed that a number of temples devoted to Sai Baba built across India were just to deviate the attention from the Ram Temple movement in Ayodhya.
Response from Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan Trust :
Former Shirdi Sansthan Trust Chairman Shri.Jayant N Sasane hitting back at Swami Swaroopanand's allegations said that "Swami's claims were wrong. Sai Baba stayed in Shirdi for around 60 years and worked for the welfare of the people of all religions. He worked for the country and the world, and did not anyway steal anything or demand anything from anyone. Shri.Sasane added that in the manner Swami Swaroopanand was talking and in the language he was talking is absolutely wrong and is just a plot to deliberately mislead people. "
"In Raja-yOga, there is nO particular MOde (Asana) Of wOrship, prescribed. nO particular ActiOns (Rituals/Practices) are prescribed in Raja-yOga. nO particular Place (Pilgrimage) is prescribed in Raja-yOga. Raja-yOga is abOve fOrmalities. All these take place in the Head. SalutatiOns tO gOd take place in the Brain-center (Brahmarandhra) in a Raja-yOgi. In additiOn, the SalutatiOns dOne in the Brain-center reaches all. Such SalutatiOns are Universal in Nature !" .....Bhagawan Nityananda Of Ganeshpuri
"Everything is Ordained by gOd. gOd has alsO laid dOwn the means fOr attaining Him. By visiting places Of Pilgrimage withOut the direct knOwledge Of the Inner-Self, a man cannOt attain Mukti. Seeing Or wOrshiping StOne Images is nOt seeing Or wOrshiping gOd.
It is the Mind’s hallucinatiOn when yOu regard Images as gOd. If yOu have any desire, yOu want a separate gOd, because gOd's help is necessary to accOmplish yOur desire. Then the Mind gOes after the senses & creates "dOubt". and then feels the necessity of an Idol or Image. Infact, gOd is fOrmless. He takes that fOrm which yOu wish HIM to take !" ....Bhagawan Nityananda Of Ganeshpuri
On Friday 18th July`2014, following Swaroopanand's statement to ban Sai worship, a delegation from the apex body of Hindu Saints including saints from Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad & Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti visited Sai Baba temple at Shirdi to closely inspect the procedures followed at the temple.
The 7-member delegation led by National Spokesman of the Aakhada Parishad Baba Hathyogi (Ramdal) and comprised of Durga Das, Narayan Das, Swami Chinmyanand, Swami Kalyan Dev,Swami Pramod Krishna and Narayan Giri visited Shirdi. They also have planned to meet disciples of Sai Baba across India, as well as from other countries and would know their views on this controversial issues.
The group witnessed the 'Dhup Arati' at the temple and visited other nearby temples in the vicinity inclding Dwarkamai and Chavadi, before declaring that there is nothing wrong with people worshiping Baba.
All India Akhada Parishad said that remarks of Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati against Sai Baba are "baseless" and that he was only misleading people by his statements.
Urging the followers of Sai Baba to ignore the comments made by the Shankaracharya, Baba Hathyogi, national spokesperson of the Parishad said, "The statements (of Swami Swaroopanand) are baseless and confusing. He is not an authority on the entire Hindu religion and at the age of 90, Swami Swaroopanand, as adage goes, becomes 'naughty' hence his comments should not be taken seriously.
Former chairman of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust Shri.Jayant Sasane had organised a tour of sadhus, mahants of Haridwar and New Delhi to Shirdi.
"All of us will meet the Shankaracharya soon and request him to withdraw his statements about Sai Baba. We will also invite him to Shirdi," Pradip Krishnam of New Delhi's Kalki Peeth said.
The Peethadheeshwar of Sri Kalki Dham Acharya Pramod Krishnam, said that "It is good that Muslims too visit the Shirdi temple to pay homage adding that Sai worship is not against Sanatana Dharma."