For the first time, a 33-year-old Muslim man Diwan Sharief Rahmansab Mulla is set to be made chief priest of a Lingayat math in Gadag district of north Karnataka. A math is a religious order, and members of the clergy are required to adhere to strict rules as they perform their spiritual duties. Sharief, who is influenced by the 12th century reformer Basavanna’s teachings, will be incepted on February 26, The Indian Express reported.
Sharief is married and a father to four children – three daughters and a son. While preaching Basavanna’s philosophy to the people, Sharief ran a flour mill in the neighbouring village. Sharief said, “Nobody asked me to do it, the Almighty came and intervened my thoughts to guide me towards taking this step. Everyone around has been very supportive and cooperative in helping me come here and take charge.” “Today, Rahman’s son has become Diwan Sherief. My parents donated their ancestral property of two acres for the upliftment and welfare of the society, upholding the Basava values of equality open to people across faith,” he added.
The Lingayat math of Gadag is one of the 361 monasteries belonging to the Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Matha of Chitradurga and two acres of the land for the math had been donated by Sharief’s parents who were influenced by the teachings of Lingayat preachers.
Murugharajendra Koraneswara Swami who is going to appoint Sharief as the priest said, “It does not matter what caste you belong to. If God appears to you for a path of goodwill and sacrifice, you will do it regardless of the manmade restrictions of birth and caste.” Speaking about the math’s decision to appoint a married man and a Muslim Koraneswara Swami said, “Basavanna was never against a married person becoming a seer. He (Sharief) has made arrangements for his family to lead a good livelihood. From now, he will be among us to head the Shantidhama. The village residents have welcomed the decision wholeheartedly. It is an opportunity for us to uphold Basavanna’s idea of a ‘kalyan rajya’ (welfare state).”
Sharief who took ‘deeksha’ last year in December, will begin his duties as the main priest of the math on February 26 said that he would “walk on the path of dharma” and spread the message of “love and sacrifice”. He said, “They’ve put the sacred thread and given me the responsibility. They’ve given me the ‘Ishta-linga’ (a symbol of the Lingayat faith) and this honour. I have done the ‘Ishta-linga dharan’. I’ll walk on the path of dharma. Love and sacrifice is the message given to me… that is the message I want to propagate.”
HK Patil, a Congress leader from Gadag told reporters, “In Gadag, the math has a practice of making a person of any community head of the jatra committee. For several years, one or the other Muslim gentleman who is religious, who has faith in Basava philosophies, they are chosen as chairman of jatra committee… This is nothing surprising and is a very healthy development.”
The news of Sharief’s appointment as the head priest has attracted a lot of attention and spread more hope regarding communal harmony in the backdrop of the attacks on protesters agitating against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Speaking about how everyone has supported him in this journey he said, “Everyone has supported me. Nobody has opposed me. Going ahead, let the teachings of Basava grow.”
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