Meet Dhirendra Shastri aka Bageshwar Dham Baba; know controversy behind calling Biharis ‘pagal’

Tej Pratap Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), attacked preacher Dhirendra Shastri on Tuesday, accusing him of abusing Biharis by calling them "Pagal," or insane. Tej Pratap Yadav claimed to solely have faith in the Siddha Yogi saint Devraha Baba when asked about Dhirendra Shastri, who is in Patna for a five-day assembly.

When a reporter mentioned the large gathering, Tej Pratap Yadav emphasised the organizer's poor planning, which resulted in hundreds of devotees becoming ill during Dhirendra Shastri's "Divya Darbar" session in Patna's Naubatpur.

Shastri sparked controversy at his "Divya Darbar" session by referring to his supporters as "pagal" after he had to cancel the aarti because of worries that the audience had surpassed the venue's capacity.

“Bahot jyada bheed ho gayi hai, apaar bheed ho gayi...pagal hi pagal aa gaye hain.”

#WATCH | Bihar Minister Tej Pratap Yadav speaks on Bageshwar Dham's Dhirendra Shastri's event in Patna; says, "...This Baba is abusing Biharis and calling them 'pagal'. There's 'Krishna Raj' & 'Mahagathbandhan Raj' in Bihar...This politics is being done to divide the country..." pic.twitter.com/58Guhj7TsG

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2023

Who is Dhirendra Shastri aka Bageshwar Dham Baba?
Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, also known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar or Maharaj, is the peethadhish of the Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, a religious pilgrimage place in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh in India. He was born on July 4, 1996, as Dhirendra Krishna Garg. Shastri recites stories at Bageshwar Dham in Chhatarpur.

Ramcharitmanas and the Shiva Purana are two of Shastri's most well-known sermons. He asserts that he possesses some charismatic abilities attained by his disciples through sadhana. In his Dham, he set up Annapurna Kitchen, where he provides his devotees with free meals. Dhirendra Shastri also hosts an annual event to marry off underprivileged and abandoned females. He is developing a Vedic Gurukul to advance Sanskrit and ancient Vedic studies.

Controversies of Bageshwar Dham Baba:
When Indian rationalist Shyam Manav confronted Shastri and questioned his spiritual abilities, Shastri came into the spotlight. Shastri is accused of fostering blind faith, according to Manav. After the investigation, police found no grounds for prosecution under the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act. 

It is reported that Dhirendra Shastri's dham meets in a community centre that is owned by the government and that Shastri's employees have been harassing 15 local landowners to sell their property to Shastri's dham. Shastri denies this.