COURT RULES TEMPLE BAN ILLEGAL
A bastion of Hindu caste-ism crumbled this week in the face of more enlightened times. In a landmark ruling, the Orissa High Court in India legislated that Dalits – ‘outcastes’ from the traditional Hindu caste system – could no longer be banned from entering any Hindu temple.
"Every Hindu, irrespective of his caste, has a right to enter any Hindu temple which is open to other persons professing the same religion," a division bench of Chief Justice Sujit Burman Roy and Justice M M Das observed.
The dispute over whether dalits should be allowed to pray in the Jagannath temple in the Keredagada village in Kendrapara district reflects an earlier statement issued by Mr. Pravin Togadia, the international general secretary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) regarding foreign nationals belonging to ISKCON (Hare Krishna movement) being allowed full access to Hindu places of worship , including the large Jagannath temple in Orissa :
“There is no harm in allowing inside temples foreign nationals who practise Krishna worship. They are like ordinary Hindus who pray to Lord Krishna. They should not be denied the opportunity to offer prayers at Hindu temples,” said Mr Togadia.” (The Asian Age, February 20, 2006).
Anil Bhanot, General Secretary of the Hindu Council UK, welcomed the decision of the High Court:
“Banning people from worshipping in a Hindu temple based on their social status or philosophical belief is completely antithetical to the principles of Hinduism. We therefore welcome this significant ruling of the Orissa High Court and demand that any Hindu temple, whether in India or the UK, which practices such bannings immediately cease this morally unlawful discrimination. Hinduism has a long tradition, grounded in our ancient Vedic scriptures, of accommodating all classes of men and all schools of thought and no one has the right to prevent anyone from offering prayers to God.”
Click to enlarge Mr Bhanot explains how the well meaning scriptural order is turned upside down by Man to appease his arrogance, "at the beginning of civilisation, the first civilised Man, Adi-Manu, says in his Samriti (order), that Brahma the creator has unified 4 functions of a civilised life into Man. Symbolically the illustration is given as Brahmins (education & metaphysics) as Brahma's mouth, the Kashatriyas (defence & politics) as Brahma's arms, the Vaishyas (trade and agriculture) as Brahma's thighs and the Shudras (labour and hygiene) as Brahma's feet. Each function is equally important and Man is not complete without either one of them. Adi-Manu then goes on to say that the feet touch the Mother earth which must be worshipped as Brahma's divine energy. Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha treated all as equals and the Ramayana, the Gita and all other scriptures have several verses to testify that.
Suraj Sehgal
Director for Defence and Security
Hindu Council UK
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