Juna Akhada expels 13-year-old girl, her guru over sainthood rules

A 13-year-old girl who was admitted in the Juna Akhada recently to become a ‘sanyasin’ was expelled on the grounds that her entry into the monastic order was against the rules.

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Rakhi Singh’s guru Mahant Kaushal Giri, who had given the girl ‘sannyasa’, was also expelled for seven years.

Juna Akhada’s international spokesperson Srimahant Narayan Giri on Saturday said the girl was a minor and her entry into the akhada was against the rules which don’t allow admitting women below 25.

He said the matter of a minor girl joining the akhada was discussed at a general meeting on Friday. It was decided unanimously to reject the girl from the akhada and also expel Mahant Kaushal Giri Maharaj for seven years for admitting a minor girl, Srimahant Narayan Giri said.

He said the girl has been handed over to her parents with respect. According to the rules of Juna Akhada, woman aged 25 years or above are given admission. If a parent donates a minor boy to Juna Akhada, he is given admission in the akhada.

The girl’s mother, Reema Singh, had said Mahant Kaushal Giri Maharaj had been coming to their village for the past three years to narrate Bhagwat Katha and it was there that her 13-year-old daughter took ‘deeksha’ from Guru ji. She suddenly felt renunciation for worldly pleasures and expressed her wish to become a saadhvi to her parents.

The parents considered their daughter’s wish to be God’s wish and handed her over to Juna Akhada.