New Delhi, April 4 A number of Hindu saints on Saturday welcomed the proposal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to replace the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) with 'Mahakal Standard Time' (MST). They echoed that throughout the ancient period in India, time has been calculated by determining the rays of the Sun.
Pradhan made the proposal while addressing the International Conference "Mahakal: The Master of Time" on Friday at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, he had also called the city "the original centre of time calculation".
Welcoming the proposal, All India Sant Samiti General Secretary Swami Jitendranand Saraswati told IANS, "Earlier also time used to be determined by the Sun's movement. But it was misused during the colonial era. Who can calculate time in the world other than Mahakal (Lord Shiva) himself."
He asserted, "Why are all the nuclear reactors in the world in the shape of the 'Shivling'? Why did people of other religions not give it a different structure. There is no other option other than Mahakal."
"Now MST will be implemented instead of GMT. I congratulate the Indian government for this," Saraswati said.
Saints in Ayodhya also hailed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's proposal.
Saint Varun Dasji Maharaj said, "The Tropic of Cancer passes through Ujjain, which is the city of 'Mahakal'. Since the ancient times, even in astrology this has been given importance."
"If the State government wants to re-establish India's method (of calculating time), I welcome it," he told IANS.
Another saint of an Ayodhya temple, added, "During the ancient times, our saints used to calculate time through the rays of the Sun. Today, on that lines, a proposal has been made by Dharmendra Pradhan. All Indians should follow it."
Mahant of the city's Saket Bhawan Mandir, Sitaram Das Ji Maharaj, also asserted that the world functions according to the direction of the Mahakal.
"That is why MST should be be established," he said.
Moreover, he expressed disappointment over rules implemented by foreign powers.
"For how long shall we follow foreign rules and regulations? India has all the culture and traditions and it also provides knowledge to the world," he added.
Hanumangarhi's Mahant Deveshacharya Ji Maharaj thanked the Union Education Minister "for thinking about the implementation of India's ancient tradition".
He said, "Earlier the entire world used to function according to the ancient Indian tradition. But in the middle, people came with their own culture which does not have a basic principle."
"This proposal will a positive influence in the country," he added.
Meanwhile, Mahant Yoganand Giri of Shri Panchdashnam Juna Akhara disagreed with Dharmendra Pradhan's proposal.
He said, "I don't know what to call this proposal.
"I can say that the middle point of these fall in the current Indian state of Chhattisgarh from where the Indian Standard Time (IST) is issued," Giri claimed.
According to him, Ujjain is the centre point of 'Jyotirlingas'.
The saint of Shri Panchdashnam Juna Akhara also said, "Whatever is in place should be kept that way only."
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