Entry of lower cast Hindus and non-Hindus in to Puri Temple (A message from Mr. RatnakarDash - Chairman-Bishwokalya)
Manoj Padhi
Respected Manoj Babu,
JoyaJagannatha
Thanks With Regards
RatnakarDash (journalist)
Chairman-Bishwokalya
President-Dist.Union Of Journalists
Phone/Fax-06861230474,Mob-9437165407
Jibanendra Mahanty
There has been a lot of controversy on the Subject of allowing lower caste
Hindus and Non-Hindus to enter the Temle of Lord Jagannath in Puri.
Being a resident Of Puri, my understanding is that the Entry to this great
12th Century Temple is open to all Hindus irrespective of caste,faith or
creed. It is also open to all Budhists,Jains and Sikhs, the religions which
originated from Bharat Barsha.
In regards to allowing the Muslims and Christians, it may be carefully noted
that these religions originated from outside Bharat and these religions had
been responsible for destruction of places of Hindu worship, conversion of
gullible/innocent Hindus ( some times by force e.g. Aurangzeb) into other
religions, and thus were enemies of the Hindu Religion. Please mark the
word " were" and Not are, in the foregoing sentence. I do not wish to
describe the History which is replete with destruction and plundering of
Hindu temples by the Enemies of Hindu religion. Indeed the Lord Jagannath
had to be shifted from the main Temple on several occasions, for safety. Not
a single ancient Temple survived in the whole of North India from Punjab
to Bengal.
In the present context when Muslims protest even singing of Vande Mataram
and where Christians protest taking part in Saraswati Bandana, the question
of allowing these people to enter the Great Temple of Hindu Worship does
not serve any purpose. Readers may be aware that in Kerala, Muslims and
Christians even refuse to take part in any function where a lamp is lighted
to commence the function, citing that it is a Hindu Ritual.
PS: I have visited several ISKCON Temples from America to Australia, I
never came across a Muslim visiting these Temples. BTW, all are welcome to
visit Jagannath Temple in Green Park/Hauz Khas, New Delhi and I never came
across a Muslim/Christian visiting this Temple ( based on observation by my
friends and relatives).Indeed, once I had invited an Oriya Christian friend
to attend a function there and he politely declined to attend.
Then the argument comes that there are some good Muslims and Christians
who would like to offer prayers to Lord Jagannath. Accepted, and this
requirement may be fulfilled during the Annual Car Festival, when all are
"Welcome" to have Darshan of the Lord and pray to Him. My suggestion to such
believers is that they shd schedule their trip accordingly. It may be
appreciated that in case of normal Entry for all, it would be impossible to
distinguish between a Bhakta and an Imposter
Another question is about the Children of Hindu-Christian parentage.
Personally speaking, these persons shd be allowed entry subject to a
decalaration that they follow Hinduism and they have full faith in Hinduism.
Let us understand very clearly this Great Temple is not place for picnic or
Sightseeing. It is a place where Devotees are expected to pray to the God
with full concentration( Ekagra Chitta) and also to ensure that
concentration of other Devotees are not disturbed.
I do not wish to drag the issue any further ( as one can argue on the "For"
and "Against" the Topic endlessly without any conclusion) and would
suggest that let the Subject be left to and decided by the Learned Pandits
of Mukti Mandap Sabha, of the Jagannath Temple.
Last, but not the least, I personally feel that we have many serious Issues
such as, Eradication of Poverty, Employment, Health Care, Education,
Infra-structure development, Disaster Management, etc etc to work on and we
shd stay away from such Highly Controversial Temple Entry Issue. Such
debatable Issues will tend to dilute our strength and Unity to fight for
more Important Issues for the upliftment of our Home State.
Thanks for going thru the Text.
Bande Utkal Janani.
J.N.Mahanty
anshuman rath
Dear Jibendra Bhai,
I fully agree and endorse your views. (Except one point which I'll illustrate in the last) Just to substantiate your view point and to give it further depth, Iam highlighting few points as mentioned below:
1. Iam going with the presumption that Lord Jagganath is essentially a Hindu Deity which means all other religions which are offshoot of Main stream Hinduism Religion like Budhist, Jainism and Shikhism are part and parcel of same and hence people from these religions should be allowed entry into Jagganath temple.
2. All Hindus , irrespective of caste, creed and sex should be allowed as Lord Jagganath is a Hindu Deity ( He has an Universal Appeal is a different discussion matter and hence Rath yatra is there for people who are allowed and not allowed to see him , if they so intently desire, this includes children of mixed religions and other religions.) This is due to the fact that Caste was created as written in Geeta by Lord Sri Krishna- based on division of labour for proper functioning of society and to bring specialisation and was not supposed to be maligned into a Master and slave relationship or One Higher and one lower caste basis. This happened due to the degradation of Hindu religion and rigid interpretation of vedic texts.
3. Islam preaches and teaches every true muslim is the one who prays and surenders only to Allah and to none, hence where is the question of any muslim even thinking of Lord Jagganath, forget worshipping or surrendering to him. And if he does so than does he remain a Muslim any more!! Islam, Chirstian and Judaisim are all Monothestic religions where plagarism is strictly prohibited / restricted. In Islam to the extent that one can be stoned to death.
4. Why is that, non muslims are not allowed to visit Makka and Madina, and why is it that residents of Saudi Arabia have to carry different colours of passports as per their religious status.
5. Why is that no other religious practice is allowed in Saudi and repressed in other Islamic countries.
6. Why all the temples were destroyed and mutilated by Islamists and Christian missionaries when they were aggressively propogating their religions and is even visible today in many parts of india where the idols were mutilated.
Why why why - all these are very sensitive issues and need careful delibaration before we press ahead with any amendments to current arrangements. Certain practices were promulgated as this, due to threat and danger that was posed on Hindu culture, religion and way of life. Pls. don't forget the fact that Hindus worship cows, whereas for Muslims and Christians it is a delicacy.
If you want Hindus to open up the doors of their temples to Non Hindus than let non Hindus embrace Hinduism and hence the topic to be discussed should be - Should Hindu converts be allowed in the Temples!
Lastly (Good Christians and Muslims), will not worship Lord Jagganath, because they are good for their religions and they can not be bad because they want to worship Lord Jagganath, so what is the solution - let them embrace Hinduism, so the problem is solved.
BR,
Anshuman Rath
From: "Jibanendra Mahanty" <jn...@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: Oriss...@googlegroups.com
To: Oriss...@googlegroups.com
CC: ffj...@gmail.com
Subject: OTN: Re: Entry of lower cast Hindus and non-Hindus in to Puri Temple (A message from Mr. RatnakarDash - Chairman-Bishwokalya)
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:31:17 +0530
Jibanendra Mahanty
Thanks for your Addendum to the Msg .
I agree with you and to the views you have described. Let this sensitive
subject be handled by the Temple Authority, as they have the back-up of
Centuries' of experience.
For the interest of Readers I will like to describe one of my bitter
experiences in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, while on an Official trip to Saudi
from Doha, Qatar.
In connection with an Official work I was travelling along with a British,
from Jeddah ( the largest City of Saudi) to Taif. The Highway passes thru
Mecca City. When the Car reached the outskirt of Mecca, we had to report to
a Check Post, manned by Police and Mutawa. After checking our Paasports,
they directed us to take a by-pass road and NOT to enter into Mecca City.
We were also cautioned to follow the Bypaas, while returning to Jeddah. We
had to travel an extra 20KMs to bypass their Holy City and in the process
lost about an Hour. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter into their Holy
Cities.
Bande Utkal Janani.
J.N.Mahanty