Thursday, July 26, 2007

Victory??

Churidar clad women can visit the temple @ Guruvayoor. First reaction - Yaay! The last time I visited, I sweated tons in a silk saree, having to wait while a special closed doors pooja was going on. In December.

But then, I think. As long as you respect the premises for what it is, are they right in barring the way for non-Hindus? The land of Sankaracharya should show more tolerance, right? I have heard horror tales of the power play that happens in such big temples. Living in the service of God, some people feel so close to Him, that they start feeling/acting like one too. Who decides what is right and what is wrong?

Are the guys still supposed to attend in mundus/veshtis? When are shorts going to be in the allowed list?

I have never been barred from churches and durgahs, so isn't it right that we reciprocate? It is a place of worship for us, but it can be a place of peace for others. I enjoy visiting churches for that calm that washes over me, just like the smell of camphor and basil. Good things need to be shared, right?

14 comments:

Altoid said...

Its certainly a breakthrough considering they've held on to their rules for such a long time. Though I've always felt being rigid and constrictive only shuns people from coming and worshipping. And of course, the rule about limitting the temple only to Hindus is SO non-secular. Totally agree with you that I like to go to churches for the calm and serenity that pervades, that, in no way means I am ready to convert. Its about the ambience. There used to be a Sai Mandir near my place that I used to literally haunt ever so often, cos it was kind of secluded, peaceful and quiet. Not any more, and I dont feel the same, going there any more.

God can mean different things to different people, the way they worship their Gods can similarly vary. We should be God-fearing, man-made-rule fearing.

anyway.....in my perfect world, everything would be just that, perfect! :)

Blogeswari said...

Oh what a relief.. and the worst part is that they don't have a changing room in Guruvayur. The rest room doubles up as.. yikes.. else you change outside the rest room area.

Last time I was there, it was a complete torture wearing that saree doing a Cochin-Guruvayur by road.

Endee Guruvayuraapaa.. nandri

Munimma said...

Ende guruvayurapaa nanni ;-)

rads said...

Finally! I remember going when I was about 12, and they let me wear a short skirt in rather than a churidar as it was considered pants! I found the logic extremely messed up.

The temple - just beautiful. Loved the ambience and the whole thing.
Maybe I should go visit when I go this time!!

amen to chruch. after all me half catholic ;)

Munimma said...

clovey, romba kuzhappariye!

Me too said...

My perisus back home would be really upset. One place where they succeeded in making me wear traditional attire!!

Ironically, after landing in the US, I judged people coming to temple in jeans/shorts!!

The Kid said...

I completely disagree to what is being said here.

Regarding the dress code:
There is one such thing as convenience and there is other thing called organized religion. What you want has nothing to do with fairness but convenience. Some people might want an ambiance where everyone is traditionally dressed and others want to wear whatever they like.

Actually, if you want the rule to be fair, you should also allow people with skimpy clothes in the temple. But even that would be unfair to people who want to be nude. Why be unfair to nudist?

Actually nudism in public is illegal in India. Based on your logic, that is also unfair.

The reason nudism in public is banned because, it is undesirable for some people.

Disclaimer:
Due to my argument above, you might have presumed my stance. My stance on this issue was not revealed in the above argument. I am just pointing the flaw in your logic.

Upps said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Upps said...

I was told that women's organizations were unhappy and wanted women to be allowed in jeans and skirts... hm... therefore, I am presenting my compromise idea here.

On behalf of Lord Guruvayoorappan, I demand that the temple authorities allow women to wear bikinis, mundus, village style-sarees, shorts, or whatever provided they are well within the ultimate stress limits of the Thulabaram strings. After all, we are talking about Krishna's temple.

Seriously, they should allow anyone to enter and pray at the temple as long as the devotees are not a security threat.

rads said...

rofl@kiddo and Upps. :))

Munimma - My last line - amen to chruch. after all me half catholic ;) - was with reference to your line
I enjoy visiting churches for that calm that washes over me, just like the smell of camphor and basil.

I studied at GoodShe remember? :D
ok va? :))

Anonymous said...

Ever since I was prevented from entering Tirumala while wearing shorts, I have decided to stop going to temples with dress codes. Which, by the way, is actually good for temples, because I usually end up arguing with the priest on philosophical matters in any case. Examples:
1) Why must I do pradakshinam clockwise? In a quantum relativistic universe, direction is meaningless. If the deity is the metaphorically the cosmic center, circumnavigation in any direction should mean the same thing.
2) If I was left-handed, why should I accept your offering in my right hand?
Etc.
So my parents usually prefer that I stay out.

Munimma said...

upps: dideer dideernu kaatchi kodukkareenga!

kiddo - mutrum thurantha munivaro?

krish - kudarkkam has a new synonym now ;-)

rads - o i c, marichi poyindi ;-)

I said...

Sometimes it's unfair to demand tolerance.

Munimma said...

i: unfair to demand. period.