God's Own Controversy

Two recent asinine controversies vis-à-vis two of the most holy places in God’s Own Country have yet again brought out the rift between the conventional and the progressive thinking populace; the reasons for all the hullabaloo created being neither new nor novel.

The first case of whether women (more specifically pre-menopausal women) can be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum at Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala is the more hotly debated of the two and the one argument for which I see no immediate or rational conclusion. The main basis of the controversy, the 41 day vow of celibacy, cleanliness and self-discipline being observed prior to undertaking the pilgrimage, is anyways shirked by most people nowadays. This also negates the argument against allowing women. Why would a woman’s periods cause her to become impure (sic) and lose her cleanliness status? How can a religion which considers fertility to be a blessing, look down upon the menstrual periods which are the very symbols of fertility? I feel it is time the Temple authorities and the religious heads looked into the relevance of such religious practices (incidentally most of them biased against women) if they want to ensure the continued existence of the Hindu way of life. The other counter arguments to allowing women like Lord Ayyappa being a Bachelor God and women being unable to make the tedious journey to the temple are as frivolous as they can be. Lord Ayyappa is a God, for Heaven’s sake and to say that He can be distracted by the entry of a woman who has come to worship him is nothing short of sacrilege.

The second controversy is the existing ban on the entry of non-Hindus in the Guruvayur temple. My take on it is very simple… Everybody, irrespective of their Religion, Caste, Creed or Gender should be allowed entry into Hindu temples as long as their intentions are noble. Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion. A Hindu doesn’t have to live by a strict code of conduct as set by other religions. Yes, there are scriptures, traditional beliefs and practices but whether they are followed is left to the individual’s choice. Also, there were no other organised religions in existence when Hinduism first came into being (I don’t believe in the All Religions Are Equal Bullshit) and I can’t understand why people, whose ancestors were lured away by unscrupulous theories, and who still want to retain the link with their erstwhile way of life, are being discriminated against. The ban on non-Hindus entering the Guruvayur temple is also futile because there is no way of identifying a non-Hindu from a Hindu more so if he is following the temple practice of being shirtless and wearing a dhoti. The Tirupati Temple authorities have devised a better approach towards avoiding such controversies by allowing non-Hindus into the Tirumala-Tirupati temple if they sign in a register stating their faith in the Hindu God. Maybe the Guruvayur Devaswom Authorities can consider such an arrangement. I only hope the Guruvayur Devaswom board realizes that such a magnanimous gesture will certainly do no harm to the Temple’s sanctity or growth of its popularity.

These indifferences of the two temples (and many more temples all across the length of Kerala) make me wonder if God still consents to residing at such places where Man discriminates against his fellow Man. For a state which boasts of the highest literacy rate in the country, these religious intolerances do not bode well and the sobriquet of “God’s Own Country” may very well be a misnomer and I’m pretty sure that for once God will agree with me.

To all the people who have been or claim to have been at the receiving end of either of the two temples’ bigotry, I cannot understand why you cannot worship Lord Ayyappa at any of the dozens of other Ayyappa temples all around you which do not discriminate between genders and why you need to visit only Guruvayur and not the other Hindu temples where there is no religious discrimination. Could it be that you people are publicity crazy or just a bunch of communists trying to find a credulous cause to further your personal welfare or indulge in the now popular game of Hindu-bashing???