The will of SBS was not disputed by the VHP. The VHP fully supported Guru Dev's successor Swami Shantanada Saraswati as the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. In an interview with Robert Kropinsky the Swami Swaroopanand has stated that Guru Dev left a will which clearly specified the names of those individuals who were to assume the title and responsibilities of Shankaracharya after Guru Dev's death. The will specifed that Swami Shantanand was to succeed to the seat of the Shankaracharya of the North.
http://minet.org/Documents/shank-5 On Sat, Oct 12, 2013 at 9:12 PM, Richard Williams <pundits...@gmail.com>wrote: > Allahabad, January 10, 2001 > > The brass band gave a standing ovation to the triumphant entry of > Vasudevanand Saraswati. The Shankarcharya sat on high gold-coloured > "throne" with four of his men standing beside him as flag-bearers on the > Triveni Sangam Marg. The "throne" was being carried on a tractor trolley > that moved slowly towards the Akahara area in Sector 7 of the Mahakumbh. > > The Shankaracharya raised his right hand to bless the thousands of the > people who stood by to watch his entrance. It was like a recreation of a > historical scene, the entry of a king or an emperor. Only the tunes - > mainly film songs - played by the band were out of place. But the devotees > could not care less. > > Another sadhu was sitting on his throne wearing sunglasses. On being asked > his name, he handed over his business card, which read: > > Shri 1008 Mahant Vishnu Devanandji > Dera Baba Atmandand Ashram > Himachal Pradesh >
