Nashik Trimbakeshwar temple incident: The golden opportunity lost

Nashik Trimbakeshwar temple incident: Once upon a time in the ancient city of Nashik, four intrepid Muslim explorers (or shall we say, somnambulists) stumbled into the mystical realm of the Trimbakeshwar temple. You see, these four amigos, Akil, Salman, Matin, and Salim, weren’t your everyday temple invaders. No, no, no! They were just plain sleepwalkers, who had misjudged their nightly route for a simple jaunt in the park. Well what happened in Nashik Trimbakeshwar temple and what incident is taking place there which caught the eyes of Media? let’s find out.

But, alas! The fundamentalists of the land, clearly lacking a sense of humor, failed to recognize the comedic potential of this sleepwalking quartet. Instead of laughing it off, they went the whole nine yards and called in the forces, leading to an FIR being registered and the poor sleepwalkers arrested.

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Nashik Trimbakeshwar temple incident

You’d think it was a scene straight out of a Bollywood film, with the temple trust playing the villain. All we were missing was a dramatic background score. I mean, come on! This was a golden opportunity to teach these guys a thing or two about Hindu culture. Imagine this alternative scenario: The sleepwalkers wander in. Instead of freaking out, the temple-goers welcome them with a cheerful “Namaste, sleepwalking brothers!”

For safety’s sake, they are carefully frisked for bombs or dangerous weapons not because of stereotypes, but because even sleepwalkers could accidentally pocket a kitchen knife, you know?

With the all-clear, the guys are decked out in traditional Hindu outfits. Akil is rocking the dhoti, Salman’s in a kurta, Matin is strutting in a Angavastra, and Salim is donning a Dhoti with Kurta. It’s a fashion show right there in the temple!

A special Yagyopaveetam Sanskar is organized for them. The sacred thread ceremony is complete with the tonsuring of heads (and a nice little tuft of hair left at the back called the Shika, the perfect fashion statement!

Then, the Tripunda is applied to their foreheads. Suddenly, they are the stars of the temple, with everyone admiring their spiritual transformation.

For the next 15-20 days, they are made to perform Rudrabhisheka with a Parthiv Shivlingam inside the temple campus, chanting the Shiv Panchakshari Mantra one crore times. The temple provides lunch, dinner, and even scheduled loo breaks. It’s like a spiritual retreat!Finally, the climax: the newly minted Sanatanis are led to the temple’s inner sanctum. There’s applause, cheers, tears, the works.

The result? Four new devotees of Sanatana Dharma, having undergone an unforgettable spiritual journey, all thanks to a bit of sleepwalking.

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But instead, the fundamentalists just had to ruin the fun. Seriously, guys, where’s your sense of adventure?

All we can hope for now is that the SIT set up by the state government recognizes the hilarity of the situation and lets these poor somnambulists off the hook. Maybe next time, they’ll invest in some GPS-enabled sleepwear to avoid straying into the wrong places!