The Mahapunyaham or purification process performed by temple priests at the Guruvayoor temple in Kerala after Union Minister for Overseas Development Vayalar Ravi and his family performed a choroonu (first taste of solid food for a child) for his grandson, has once again brought the temple into limelight for its rigid stance. Six years ago the temple conducted a similar punyaham following the conduct of the minister’s son’s marriage in the temple. Non-Hindus are strictly barred entry into the temple. Devotees who are born out of an inter-religion marriage have to produce a Hindu certificate from the Arya Samaj. Mr Ravi has now threatened legal action against the famous temple, stating that although his wife was Christian he and his son’s family were practising Hindus and that they were avid devotees of Guruvayoorappan, the presiding deity at the temple. The Union minister has even accused the tantri or temple chief priest of trying to resurrect the legacy of “untouchables”.
Going beyond Mr Ravi’s contention, the issue here is not whether children of inter religious marriages are Hindus or not, it is time that Guruvayoor and other temples changed their rigid stance and allowed entry to devotees regardless of their religion. Hinduism is an all encompassing religion and every devotee who wants to enter a temple to pray must be allowed to do so. Just last month the Guruvayoor temple was in the eye of the storm when Kerala Temple Affairs Minister G Sudhakaran raised the issue of temple entry to non-Hindus, especially the two decade old controversy denying permission to singer K J Yesudas to pray at the temple. Mr Sudhakaran had said that this had to be corrected and Yesudas should be allowed to sing in the temple and wrote to the temple committee requesting it to throw open its doors to all believers. The other recent controversy was Kannada actor Jayamala’s entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Ayappa temple, where women are barred entry. There are  several other temples that bar entry to Dalits.

Barring entry into temples either because of gender, caste or religion were all part of the rules formulated several years ago by human beings and not by some higher power and have been rigidly followed by temple priests. But these time-honoured traditions and customs in our temples have no place in a modern and secular India and is an anachronism of the times. It is time to move on.