Travel
Sites Visit
Goa, Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh in South
India, Delhi, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh in North India, Assam, Bengal,
Sikkim in East India |
| |
Religion Back
To Index
Page
Monks protest against barricading sacred Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya
Bodhgaya: Monks in Bodh Gaya have staged a demonstration
against barricading of the sacred Bodhi tree by the Bodhgaya Temple Management
Committee (BTMC). Monks alleged that a scientist of Forest Research Institute
(FRI) had submitted to BTMC a report stating that offering of prayers by the monks
just below the sacred tree would stop intake of oxygen to its roots, drying down
it in due course of time.
They marched down towards the Bodhgaya management office, raising slogans for
removal of the barricades around the sacred tree. "The agitation is due to the
report that has been submitted to the Bodh Gaya Temple committee by one of the
expert stating that people sitting below the sacred tree and offering prayers
stops oxygen intake to the roots of the tree. This is a very condemnable conspiracy,"
said Bhane Pragyadeep, a monk. "We are demonstrating in front of the temple committee
office for our constitutional right. One cannot take our religious rights from
us. The temple management committee of Bihar is responsible to take care of the
cleanliness of the area around tree committee, but they cannot decide that where
we will offer prayers," said Bhante Priyepal, another monk. Scientists from the
Forest Research Institute after being approached by authorities at the Mahabodhi
Temple treated the diseased portions of the Bodhi tree last year. With over 2,000-year-old
legacy attached to the Bodhi tree, the devotees would chop off its branches or
take twigs for keepsake, causing a grave threat to its existence. But the practice
has been put under check. FRI scientists earlier said that tree should be inspected
and analyzed after wvery six months. Lord Buddha is known to have attained Mahanirvana
(salvation) under the Bodhi tree where the temple stands now. Acknowledged as
a world heritage monument in 2002, the Bodh Gaya Temple has since been drawing
an increasing number of foreign tourists. -
Oct 21, 2008
Previous
File |
|