Twitter was greeted with a tragic news on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on Saturday. It was revealed that popular Twitter user who tweeted under the username @OGSaffron has passed away in an unfortunate accident. His acquaintances on the social media platform revealed that he passed away in a car crash in the month of May.
@OGSaffron was known to post aesthetic content on Twitter and he made a significant impact on the discourse surrounding Hinduism. His presence on Twitter since 2016 profoundly altered the discourse within Hindutva circles in Twitter and also, in the manner in which others perceived Hindutva circles on social media.
The late @OGSaffron used to post beautiful paintings and photographs of Devis and Devtas he sourced from the internet along with devotional captions to rouse the Hindu heart. He was a known Bhakta of Rama and Lord Hanuman although he was devotional towards all Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Apart from photographs of Devis and Devtas, @OGSaffron also used to exhort Hindus to hit the gym in order to build a proper physique. Over the years, he has made several posts to that effect.
@OGSaffron also used to post inspirational quotes in order to inspire Hindus. “There are no pacts between Dharma and Adharma,” he said in one of his most popular posts.
In another post, he said, “Every act of devotion is an act of beauty.”
Apart from devotional and inspirational texts, @OGSaffron also had strong political opinions. He was particularly fond of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. This journalist introduced him to the Hindutva icon when the Mahant of Gorakhnath Muth was still considered a fringe figure in Indian politics.
Posts where he used quotes of the Warrior priest of Gorakhnath alongside photographs of his for aesthetic effect receives a great many retweets and ‘likes’ on the social media platform.
This journalist has known @OGSaffron since 2016 when he was a small account on Twitter to becoming a widely-followed account whose posts were regularly shared on other social media platforms. There were others who opened accounts in his name on Facebook and Instagram and used to copy his posts from Twitter to elsewhere. Eventually, he opened an account on Instagram himself where he had a great many followers.
There are others who have known him for even longer and they have tweeted today celebrating his memory. “Farewell, my friend,” and “Om Shanti” is the dominant message that is reverberating across social media. The hashtag #OGSaffron is also trending on Twitter. As we were recounting his memories together, a mutual friend that we happen to share told me something profound, “For a person who lived as short a life as he did, he did extraordinary things.”
And truly, for someone who operated an anon account on social media, the outpouring of love and respect that we are witnessing on social media today is indeed quite awe inspiring. @OGSaffron was also very fond of Sita Ram Goel. He once told this journalist, “I first heard of him while searching for a defence of polytheism. He describes polytheism as “The natural expression of an evolved consciousness.” It is quite literally the greatest quote by any human being on why polytheism is so great. It’s how I got into Sanatana Dharma. Even though I have only read one of his books in its entirety.”
In many ways, @OGSaffron was a star that burned brightly across the firmament of Hindutva discourse but as is often the case, he burned too brightly and exhausted himself too soon. However, the extent of the impact he has had on the lives of so many people through an anon account on social media is evident from the manner in which Twitter has reacted to the news of his death.
There is the tale of Achilles, the great hero of the Trojan War, that this journalist is reminded of. As a man of refined taste, it is only natural that @OGSaffron was aware and fond of the Greek Warrior as well. The Hero, who also died at a very young age, had the choice between Glory and a long life. Achilles chose the former and through that choice, he engraved his memories across the tides of time. @OGSaffron, too, might have lived a short life but his life was indeed glorious.
There is only one platform where @OGSaffron has penned long form articles. In a blog called Devayasna, he has elaborated in greater detail about his opinions. His Telegram channel can be accessed through this link. Like all those who respect him, we hope that he attains Sadgati and may the digital impressions that he left behind continue to have a positive impact on Hindutva discourse in the time to come. Om Shanti.
