Rajdeep Sardesai wished his followers on Twitter on the occasion of the Ashadhi Ekadashi on Sunday.
Soon after that, liberals including a professor at Stevens Business School attacked him on Twitter for extending those wishes. It is notable that Rajdeep Sardesai belongs to a Marathi family and Ashadhi Ekadashi is one of the most pious occasions of the Hindu calendar and people in Maharashtra celebrate it with great enthusiasm.
It is believed in Hinduism that Lord Vishnu takes a rest for four months starting on this day. On Ashadhi Ekadashi, lakhs of pilgrims gather at Pandharpur in Maharashtra to get the Darshan of Lord Viththala who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Wishing people a blessed Ekadashi, Rajdeep Sardesai wrote, “Wishing everyone a blessed Ekadashi. Peace and happiness.”
It must be noted that just before this tweet, Rajdeep Sardesai wished his followers a Happy Eid, as the Muslim festival of Bakri Eid is also being celebrated on the 10th of July in India. Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted, “Eid Mubarak. Peace and happiness everyone.”
Stevens Business School professor, Gaurav Sabnis, tweeted commenting on Rajdeep Sardesai’s tweet, “Hehehe “Happy Ekadashi” it seems. There are 24 in a year. Sometimes 26. The dude doesn’t know what Ashadhi Ekadashi signifies I’m sure. Just covering all bases.”
Another Twitter user Sanjay Mukherjee replied to Rajdeep Sardesai and wrote in his tweet, “Ekadashi comes twice a month at least. It has no special significance, except that Hindu widows have some food restrictions. In the search of “inter-faith” harmony, don’t obfuscate please.”
After facing criticism for wishing Hindus on Ashadhi Ekadashi, Rajdeep Sardesai tried to monkey-balance things as he tweeted, “Sunday noon musing: Eid and Ekadashi on the same day. Maybe the gods are reminding us of the need for interfaith harmony.”
However, rather than doing damage control, this tweet attracted more criticism for Rajdeep Sardesai. A Twitter user Doremon replied, “Eid is about killing an animal and having their meat to please your senses and Ekadashi is about fasting to clean and purify your mind. Two entirely different philosophies.”
In Maharashtra, there is a 750-year-old tradition of going to Pandharpur by foot on Ashadhi Ekadashi, this is called Wari. The pilgrims following this tradition are called Warkaris. Wari roughly commences 20 to 25 days before Ashadhi Ekadashi. On Ashadhi Ekadashi, people from all the corners of Maharashtra gather at Pandharpur to get the Darshana of Lord Viththala, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Referring to this, another Twitter user Devesh Bagul replied to Rajdeep Sardesai and wrote, “There’s a huge difference. One crowd gathers for a stone-pelting. Other crowds gather to end a spiritual journey to meet their beloved god. Give this secular sermon somewhere else.”
(This piece is taken with gratitude from OpIndia)
