The story dates back to when Yogi Adityanath had left his family and relatives and had made Gorakshanath temple his abode. He took sannyas at the age of 22 and had been declared the successor of the Goraksha Peeth.  He had also taken over the reins of Janata Darbar being held in the temple premises. Many devotees complained to him, about the theft of shoes and slippers from the temple during that time. One day, during the inspection of the Bhandara, the staff of the Math told Yogi that a group of Muslim youths from the neighborhood left after eating, wearing the shoes and slippers of others. On coming to know about this, Yogi reprimanded the boys and asked them to leave. In the meantime, Yogi’s guru reached there. On knowing the whole matter, he gave him a lesson and said that they were your guests. No one should return hungry from the bhandara and he should go and invite them with love and bring them back. The young Yogi followed the orders of his guru. This guru was none other than Mahant Avaidyanath. The very Mahant Avaidyanath from whom Yogi Adityanath got the rich legacy of Gorakshapeeth. That Mahant Avaidyanath who irrigated Hindutva in the Yogi’s subconscious minds.

Mahant Avaidyanath of the Nath sect tradition was the guru of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Yogi has inherited the Gorakshapeeth from Avaidyanath. The death anniversary week of Mahant Avaidyanath, who had left for his heavenly abode, is going on. The Ram temple construction movement flourished in Ayodhya only while he was Goraksha Peethadheeshwar at the GoGorakshanath temple. Due to his leadership, there was a discussion all over the world about Hindutva. He was also one of the pioneer leaders and prominent faces of the Kar Seva that took place in December 1992.

Mahant Digvijaynath took samadhi in September 1969. After him, Avaidyanath, who became Gorakshapeethadhishwar, took over the command of the Ram temple movement from the very beginning. He declared that he would not be in peace until the liberation of Ram Jambhoomi. He believed that the goal could not be achieved without political change. Despite retiring from politics in 1980, his struggle for the Ram temple continued. He succeeded in bringing all the creeds on one platform.

Mahant Avaidyanath strived hard to make the Ram Jambhoomi movement a success, by connecting the religious leaders of different faiths of Hindu society together on one platform for a common goal. At the time of formation of Ram Janmabhoomi Yagya Samiti in July 1984, Mahant Avaidyanath was elected as its president. The reason for this was that all the religious leaders considered him as their ideal. As long as he lived, he remained at this position forever. Yogi Adityanath gave him a higher status than his biological father. He also used to write Mahant Avaidyanath’s name in his father’s column.

Following the inspiration and footsteps of Mahant Avaidyanath, Yogi Adityanath became the heir to the vast empire of Goraksha Peeth at the age of just 22. Avaidyanath has also been an MP from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha. Yogi used to oversee the functioning of the bench even during his stay in Delhi while the proceedings of the Parliament session used to be in progress. It has been witnessed on several occasions that Yogi Adityanath gets emotional while remembering his Guru Mahant Avaidyanath.

In fact, the month of September is special for the Gorakshapeeth located in Gorakhpur for the last half a century. This Guru-disciple relationship which is mentioned in the Rishi tradition. In this month, throughout the week, the Gorakshpeeth becomes a living example of this. In fact, the death anniversary of Brahmalin Gorakshapeethadhishwar Mahant Digvijaynath and Mahant Avaidyanath falls in September itself.

This year also marks the 53rd death anniversary of Yugpurush Brahmaleen Mahant Digvijaynath Ji Maharaj and the 8th death anniversary of Rashtrasant Brahmaleen Mahant Avadyanath Ji Maharaj. The event continues throughout the week on this occasion. The program of lecture, story, musical program, procession, havan, bhandara will continue. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also Gorakshpeethadhishwar. He will be present at the venue for the opening and closing ceremony of the event.

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