Know about Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati

Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati Maharaj (2nd September 1924, 11th September 2022 ) is an Indian religious leader and freedom fighter.

He was jailed for participating in Quit India Movement and served two prison sentences in 1942. In 1973, he became the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Badrinath and in 1982, he became the Shankaracharya of Dwarka peeth as well.

Swaroopanand Saraswati was born in Pothiram Upadhyay in 1924 at Dighori village of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh. A disciple of Shankaracharya Brahmananda Saraswati of Jyotir Math (1941-1953) and of Shankaracharya Krishnabodha Ashrama of Jyotir Math (1953-1973), in 1950 his Guru Brahmananda made him a Dandi Sannyasi. Swami Swaroopanand became president of the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad, established by Swami Karpatri. On Swami Krishnabodha Ashrama's demise in 1973 the title of Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Badrinath passed to Swami Swaroopanand. Later he also became the Shankaracharya of Dwarka peeth in 1982.

Shankracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati

His thoughts & Opinions on recent past activities:

• April 2016 -  "Rapes will increase if women enter Shani Temple, women should not have entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple as it will bring bad luck to them. Shani is a planet of sins. Worshipping him will lead to a rise in crime against women". The comment comes just days after the temple ended a centuries-old ban on women being allowed to offer prayers at the open-air platform where the idol is placed in the Shani Shingnapur shrine in Maharashtra. Temple officials and locals in the area had prevented women from entering the inner sanctum till the Bombay High Court ruled last week that their actions were illegal.
• Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati has also held the worship of the "unworthy" Shirdi Sai Baba by his followers responsible for a drought-like situation in Maharashtra.
• Swami Swaroopanand in January 2016 noted the pitiable condition of the River Ganga and stated that the proposed dams in Uttarakhand should not be constructed to ensure the free flow of the pure water from the sources of the River. Only the free flow is required for a clean Ganga.
• On 30 June 2014, Swami Swaroopanand said that Article 370 should be removed from Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the abrogation of the Article will be beneficial for the people in the valley and that a demographic balance is necessary to end recurring strife in J&K.
• Swami Swaroopanand in May 2015 welcomed the decision of the Maharashtra government to extend the ban on cow slaughter to bulls and bullocks in the state and opined that it would increase the production of milk which will, in turn, help feed children in the country.
• Swami Swaroopanand in February 2016 questioned the claim of ISKCON to be a part of Sanatana Dharma and accused it of being a front for money laundering, it is used to send money from India to the USA and other foreign countries. Money donated by Indians was being shunted by the USA. 
• Swami Swaroopanand in May 2015 said, "Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion to curb corruption, bribe-taking is rampant in the country. This is because of society's degradation of moral values and ethics." 
• Swami Swaroopanand in March 2016 said on the RSS, "RSS takes the name of the Hindus, but they have no commitment towards Hindutva. They are trying to deceive people by telling them that they have come to protect the Hindus. This is more deadly. BJP rules this country now. Before this, it was Congress. But under both governments, cow slaughter has been continuously happening. Then what is the difference between BJP and Congress? BJP initially said that they will build Ram Temple at Ayodhya and remove Article 370. Now they are saying that they will think about it." 
• Swami Swaroopanand in January 2015 raised questions on the censor board, saying movies like ‘PK’ insult the Hindu religion and Lord Shiva as well.

Update: Dwarakapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati died on 11th September 2022 at the age of 99.