Thiruvananthapuram | A Devaswom Board in Kerala is planning to end the long-standing practice of requiring male devotees to remove their upper attire before entering temples, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Wednesday.
The move by the board follows a statement made by Swami Satchidananda, head of the renowned Sivagiri Mutt founded by sage and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.
The monk had described the practice as a social evil and called for its abolition during his address at the Sivagiri Pilgrimage conference on Tuesday.
The chief minister, who inaugurated the conference, had endorsed the monk's call and suggested that such a step could be viewed as a significant intervention in social reform.
Responding to a query on the matter at a press conference on Wednesday, Vijayan said, "A representative of a Devaswom Board met me today. They said they were going to take that decision. I said it is good...a very good suggestion."
The chief minister, however, did not specify which Devaswom Board is set to implement the decision.
Kerala has five major Devaswoms--Guruvayur, Travancore, Malabar, Cochin, and Koodalmanikyam--collectively managing nearly 3,000 temples.
Vijayan said it was Satchidananda Swami who called for abolishing the practice, and he merely endorsed it in his speech later.
In his speech, Swami also stated that temples associated with Sree Narayana Guru would abolish this practice, he said.
When asked about the BJP's demand for a discussion on the matter, the chief minister said, "Let it be discussed."
"That should be done by the Devaswom Board, not the government," he added.
In his speech, Swami had said the practice of removing attire was introduced in the past to ensure whether men wore "poonool" (the sacred thread worn by Brahmins).
The monk had also said the practice was against the preachings of Sree Narayana Guru and it was sad to see that even some temples associated with the sage-reformer are still following it.
Sivagiri (Kerala) | Congress leader V D Satheesan on Wednesday criticised the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's statement on Sanatana Dharma, alleging that it was an attempt to make Sanatana Dharma exclusive to the Sangh Parivar.
"Sanatana Dharma is a cultural heritage. It encompasses Advaita, Tat Tvam Asi, the Vedas, the Upanishads, and their essence. Claiming that all of this belongs to the Sangh Parivar is misleading," Satheesan told reporters after addressing a programme organised as part of the Sivagiri pilgrimage here.
Addressing the Sivagiri pilgrimage conference on Tuesday, Vijayan had cautioned against "organised efforts" to portray sage and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, who advocated "one caste, one religion, and one God for people," as a proponent of Sanatana Dharma.
He stated that Sanatana Dharma is nothing but varnashrama dharma (a caste-based social order), which Guru had challenged and overcome.
Reacting to Vijayan's statement, Satheesan said it was akin to saying that everyone who goes to a temple, applies sandalwood paste, or wears saffron is part of the RSS.
"Handing over Sanatana Dharma and its legacy to the Sangh Parivar is incorrect. What the Chief Minister said is wrong," the Leader of the Opposition said.
He noted that, like in all religions, priesthood, monarchies, and ruling systems in Hinduism had also been misused.
"We do not support the varna-ashrama or chaturvarnya system. Even Sree Narayana Guru has explained the essence of Sanatana Dharma in detail. It is not right to dismiss Sanatana Dharma entirely or claim that it exclusively belongs to the Sangh Parivar," Satheesan said.
He argued that Sanatana Dharma has no communal outlook and that it has been misinterpreted and misrepresented by the Chief Minister.
"His portrayal is inaccurate. In the past, people used to talk about 'saffronisation,' which was also misunderstood and misused. Driving all Hindus into the RSS fold through such narratives is not the right approach. This is not what should be done," he said.
Meanwhile, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran, while addressing another function at the Sivagiri pilgrimage, echoed the words of Vijayan and alleged that there had been an attempt not only to hijack Guru's ideals but Guru himself.
"Isn't there an effort to confine the universal visionary Sree Narayana Guru--who proclaimed 'One Caste, One Religion, One God'--within the frameworks of chaturvarnya and varna-ashrama under the guise of Sanatana Dharma? Let us firmly declare that Gurudevan cannot be surrendered to anyone in such a manner," he said.
The Chief Minister's remarks had drawn sharp reactions from the BJP, which alleged that Vijayan had insulted Sanatana Dharma in the holy land of Sivagiri. The BJP also claimed that the Chief Minister had insulted the followers of Sree Narayana Guru through his remarks.
"The crux of Vijayan's speech at the Sivagiri conference was that Sanatana Dharma should be hated. His remarks were a continuation of Udayanidhi Stalin's statement that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated," senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan said.