Jaganmohan Reddy had kicked up a controversy, just before he
landed in jail in May this year in an asset case, by gate-crashing into
Tirupathi temple. The controversy was
that Jagan, being a Christian, had entered the
shrine without signing a register mandated for a non-Hindu declaring he
believes in the deity.
The dust settled even before it could trouble the AP
demagogue, but the controversy forced the temple authorities to go back to
strict enforcement of the ludicrous norm what was confined to the rule book so far.
The norm is ludicrous because it does not only odd fit into the scheme of things in the temple known for
its liberal outlook but defies logic; how can you distinguish people based on
their religion in the crowd when they look alike as part of one culture that is
Indian?, and what is the point in asking anyone whether he believed in the
deity when he has come all the way to pay obeisance? Apart from showing up our pettiness, are we
not beating the God down to our level?
The wide ethnic diversity that Indian society enjoys as its
strength is paradoxically also its weakness for it has infected the basic
texture of its cultural fabric with a malice called caste system. The main
casualty of the menace inevitably is the temples as they are the cultural nerve
centers effective in propagating beliefs. Because they are also the generators
of money and ruling power, a particular section of the society which tend to
rule over others by virtue of knowledge of religion clutched the temples so
firmly that the religious centers became the privilege of the upper castes and
the lower castes deprived of the coveted knowledge were relegated to darkness
and a system was strategically evolved and preserved to see them remain there
for centuries.
In this backdrop, legends centered on churl devout such as a
Kanaka Dasa, a lower caste saint poet who won over the God through his
miraculous devotion, were spawned. Kanaka Dasa, a shepherd by caste, was not
allowed to see the deity in Udupi temple. He went to the backyard of the temple
and sang to pour his heart and pleaded the deity- Bala Krishna, lord Krishna in
child form- to show up. His appeal was so piercing that the temple wall opened
up and the deity turned backwards to show his face to Kanaka. Even today, a
devotee has to peep through the chink of the back wall to pay obeisance to the
deity in the Udupi shrine. Moral of the story is that caste system is silly and
the blessing of the God is reserved for the true devout.
Kanaka Dasa was a true devout for sure and he could turn
even the God on his head. But, what was the fate of ordinary mortals like
Indira Gandhi, who could see electoral advantage even in visiting a temple?
What if she was the prime minister, Mrs. Gandhi was denied entry to the
Jaganath Temple in Puri for she had married to a non-Hindu. And she was not
that great soul to do a kanaka, there was no option but to budge and go back.
Following this, in 1983, the temple authorities put up a sign board at the
‘lion gate’ and the board says: ‘Only orthodox Hindus are allowed’.
But, given a chance
he would sing for the lord at Guruvayur temple, says acclaimed singer K J
Yesudas, if not a miracle of Kanaka standard he could promise. Guruvayur temple
is another famous shrine of Bala Krishna, which is in Kerala, and a non-Hindu
is not allowed. But, Yesudas, a Christian by faith, is an ardent devotee of
Guruvayurappan and his soulful rendition of devotional songs is so powerful
that his fans- the legion includes ‘orthodox Hindus’- believe, if he is given
an opportunity, the virtuoso would make the doors of the sanctum open by his
mere mellifluous voice appeal. But, law is an ass. The law of the Guuruvayur
temple is not an exception; the recordings of his songs are a must in the
temple to exude devotion in the ambiance, but the singer Yesudas is not
allowed.
The absurdity must have been a result of some vested interests
on work in the past, but in the new age it is making mockery of modernity the
society boasts of. Ridiculousness is that the norm in the temples is seemingly
applicable for only celebrities whose religious antecedents are known, while
common people would freely saunter into the temples oblivious to the so called
strict norm, regardless of their faiths and beliefs.
India is indeed incredible. This is the land where we see a
Hindu temple would not complete its rituals without a Muslim Bismilla Khan’s
‘shehnai seva’ (performance of Utad Bismilla Khan, who was bestowed with
Bharatha Ratna, was regular in Viswanath temple at Varanasi, the ultimate holy
destination of a Hindu, till his death in 2006) and the hordes of temples
ridiculously discriminative of faiths. Unity in diversity is the hallmark of
Indian culture so as absurdity in diversity the beacon of its fundamentalist
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