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WORLD  Jagannath Temple Ponders Entrance Policy BY PARAMA KARUNA DAS  INDIA, Nov 30 (VNN) — "So these European and American Vaisnavas, they're hankering after jagannatha svami nayana pathagami bhavatu me. Now it is through your intervention they may be able to see Jagannatha Swami." (Srila Prabhupada addresses pandas at Puri, 26 January 1977)Dear devotees, Hare Krsna! I am forwarding you the important announcement of the managing of the Jagannatha Puri temple (Orissa, India) regarding the possible imminent abolition of the restrictions against non-Indian born devotees. The announcement comes after years of work from our part, culminating in the heated debate that we sustained on various Hindu groups on Internet, the example of which I am pasting below the news. Please circulate the information among all devotees. It would be very helpful if a large group of devotees could come to Jagannatha Puri in December 2005 and/or January 2006 to support the good winds of change. Your servant, Parama Karuna D ============== Jagannath Temple Ponders Entrance Policy (www.newindpress.com) BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, November 25, 2005: Will January 2006 bring cheer to the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains of foreign origin by opening the doors of Shri Jagannath Temple along with several other Hindu places of worship, which have so far been out of bounds for them? Well, it just might. For, all those who have a say in the matter are set to assemble at Muktimandap of Shri Jagannath Temple and take a decision on the centuries-old tradition. As a heated debate rages whether to or not to allow Hindus, Buddhists and Jains of foreign origin into the Hindu temples, most particularly the 12th Century Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati is expected to convene a meeting with the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, Sevayats (servitors), temple administration and the Government representatives to discuss the issue by December-end. Sources close to Shankaracharya, who is on a religious trip outside the State, said, he is aware of the development and is keen to sort it out in consultation with the stake-holders. "He will return to Puri by the last week of December and would initiate the discussions immediately,'' sources said emphatically. The move of the Shankaracharya assumes significance as he heads Muktimandap, which is the apex decision-making body of the temple and whose verdict is also accepted by other Hindu temples and places of worship. Even Hindu organizations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad have called for relaxation of the tradition and allowing Hindus, Buddhists and Jains of non-Indian origin to enter the Jagannath Temple. =========== Saving Hinduism in India posted on IndianCivilization, thinkersmeet, VFAmembers, and forwarded to single individuals Dear Friends, Namaskar and Hari Om! In reference to the recent threads of discussion about the Hindu temples in India, I am offering here below some points which may be useful for contemplation. The first and foremost point is the necessity to clarify the misconception that some people seem to have about who is denying entrance into Hindu temples to non-Indian Hindus, and why. What misinformed people do not know, is that the temples that are denying entrance to non-Indian Hindus are precisely those temples that are already controlled by the secular (i.e. anti-Hindu) Indian Government, and not those that are independently managed by a local Committee of Hindus. And most important, it is the Indian Government (in the persons of spiritually unqualified policemen) that decides who is a Hindu and who is not, on the basis of very wrong and dangerous parameters that are seriously damaging Sanatana Dharma and the survival of Hinduism in India. I believe that the two issues of 1) liberating Hindu temples from the control of the secular Indian Government and 2) welcoming non-Indian Hindus, are strictly connected in a positive and extremely important sense. There have been periods in India's history when temples and Deities had to be protected from hostile invaders bent on the "destruction of idols", from atheists or simply from ignorant, dirty and uncultured people, and indeed such protection may still be necessary in some areas. However, this is not what the policemen at the entrance of the Government-controlled temples in India are doing: we will examine this point in detail later on. Besides, we should understand that the Government does not need to take full control of the temple administration and divert its funds for other purposes, before it accepts to ensure a reasonable physical protection from violent attacks to a temple, its priests and pilgrims. The Indian police supposedly have the duty to do so in all temples (as well as in any other place on Indian territory) when the temple itself is not capable of ensuring its protection with a private service of security guards and when there is a clear and present danger to the security of the temple and pilgrims. However, this is not what is happening. Quite the contrary. What we have at Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar and in many other Hindu temples is policemen stationed at the gates all day, harassing innocent and harmless pilgrims who simply want to worship and support the temple and Deity service with their donations. And what we should ask ourselves is: why this is happening, what does it mean, and what effect it is having. It is extremely important to correctly identify the enemy; otherwise we risk foolishly shooting on friends and allies instead of eliminating or restraining enemies - a strategy that will only weaken our position. The danger here, for Hindus and for the Indian Government, is to mistake a life-saving rope for a snake, and the real snake for a very useful rope. The problem of restricted entrance into temples in India is not caused by the opposition of the priests, pujaris or even the Hindu population in general. As already mentioned, this problem is due to the non-religious (dharma-nirapeksata) policemen of a non-religious (dharma-nirapeksata) Government who stand guard at the entrance of the temple with batons and are ready to mercilessly beat any innocent pilgrim who does not look Indian enough, even if all the pujaris at the door have explicitly and eagerly invited him/her in, and if the surrounding Indian pilgrims and local residents are all favorable to allow the pilgrim into the temple. The presence of non-religious policemen at the entrance of the Government-controlled temples is actually an insult to Hinduism. They are not there to protect citizens or to keep the order, but rather to attack harmless people who want to worship God. While two policemen with batons are risibly insufficient to ward off possible terrorist attacks or even aggressive loonies, they are more than sufficient to threaten and beat up harmless, humble and devoted pilgrims in front of a flabbergasted crowd. The question is: on which grounds is the Indian Government denying entrance into Hindu temples to non-Indian Hindus? It is not a faith problem. The very fact that a person desires to enter a Hindu temple in order to respectfully and lovingly worship the Deity there, qualifies one as a religious Hindu. For what other reason would someone want to enter a temple and respectfully worship according to the traditional methods? If we must judge on faith (which should be the definition of "religion"), definitely non-Indian Hindus who travel such long distances to perform a pilgrimage to holy places and temples in Bharata are much more Hindu than those Indians who never feel the urge to go and visit the temples in their own city. It is practically impossible for the policemen at the temple doors to judge who is a Christian, who is a Muslim, who is a Hindu or who is a communist/atheist - simply by the external appearance. If one is not a genuine Hindu, it will be seen from his/her behavior inside the temple, and not at the door. It would be fair and just that security guards or policemen should be called in case any visitor at the gates or inside the temple started to behave in a bad way, showing disrespect or aggressive tendencies. In such cases, it could be necessary to physically remove the offender from the temple premises. However, the policemen who guard the temples do not care for the amount of devotion and proper etiquette shown by those who are allowed or not allowed to enter the temple. The sign "no leather items allowed into the temple" is also routinely disregarded as many "Hindu" visitors carry or wear leather handbags and belts, and certainly the policemen don't bother to stop them. Most of the people who are routinely allowed into the temple are not even dressed in traditional Hindu attire: rarely one man wears a dhoti (they are all in trousers and sport Western style tucked-in shirts), what to speak of the Hindu markings such as mala (tulasi, rudraksa etc) or tilaka (Vaisnava, Saivite, etc). On the other hand, all the non-Indian Hindus who seek to enter the temple to worship (and are prevented to do so by the police) are carefully dressed in traditional Hindu clothes and wear malas and tilaka. So ironically the policemen are letting in those who choose not to declare their being Hindu (by their bodily markings), but the same policemen do not allow into the temple those who declare their being Hindu by their attire and bodily markings. A legal definition of Hindu is "one who has faith in Vedic religion and practices it". How many Indian-born Hindus do we really have in India, then? Even many Indian families that could claim a very high ancestry in Vedic tradition have no faith in the Vedic religion and are not following it (by performing samksaras, studying the Vedas, maintaining home puja and seva, and regularly visiting temples and tirthas). In fact, many of them openly believe and declare that Vedic knowledge is mythology and folklore only; they openly put their faith and love in very different places (including "foreign" things like cricket or the Western model of unsustainable development). The fact that the policemen give no consideration to the religious qualification through samskaras or initiation is particularly interesting. Qualification through samskaras is something that RSS formally and openly recognizes when "reconverting" thousands of tribal Christians even of second (or further removed) generation back to Hinduism by performing homa and symbolic suddhi rituals. Is then the "secular" Indian Government more radically communalist than the "saffronised extremists" of RSS in deciding who is a Hindu and who is not, or better, who can BECOME a Hindu and who cannot? It is not a legal problem, either. Is the "law enforcing" policeman at the entrance of the temple going to accept the legal power of a court affidavit declaring that the concerned person has indeed converted to Hinduism and is therefore a genuine Hindu? I don't think so. Is it a caste problem, then? Already in the 50s the free entrance into all temples was granted to the "scheduled castes and tribes" and today nobody questions the rightful entrance of low caste or tribal people into the temples where "Hindus are not allowed". Besides, nobody at the temple gates is checking the caste of Indians anyway. Furthermore, historically speaking, the caste system in Orissa has always been very mobile (in spite of many uninformed people believing the contrary). It is sufficient for the King to give an informal statement in the presence of witness, in order to change the caste of any individual or family. In different periods of history, several batches of "non-brahmins" have been made brahmins by Kings and regularly enrolled in the temple service as pujaris. Even the origin of the Jagannatha worship in Jagannatha Puri is questionable according to the standards of caste or jati: the daitapatis (still the most intimate sevakas of Jagannatha) are supposed to be the descendents of Visvavasu, the Sabara (tribal) worshiper of Jagannatha before the Deity came to Puri. Similarly, many sevakas of Jagannatha temple belonging to traditional sevaka families have non-Hindu or lower caste origin, such as the Parsi pujaris (still worshiping the Deity of Satya Narayana in Urdu language within the temple) and even the "official fishermen" of the temple who row the boats in Chandan yatra. Exponents of the "Muslim mathas" such as Haridas math and Kabir math are regularly allowed into the temple and even allotted direct and special service to the Deities, such as fanning with camaras or providing garlands and foods. During the Ratha Yatra the chariots regularly stop at the samadhi of Salabega in Grand Road (a famous "Muslim" devotee of Jagannatha). There is even a very famous story regarding the hard lesson taught by Laksmidevi to Jagannatha and Balabhadra about the spiritual eligibility of candalas (i.e. lower caste people). What to speak of ancient times: recently the temple administration at Sri mandir, Puri, has chosen lower caste policemen as security guards to be stationed INSIDE the temple. Is it a racial problem? It does not seem so, because pilgrims from India's north-east and extreme north or extreme south obviously belong to different racial groups that are easily distinguishable from the local Indians. Many pilgrims from the extreme north or north-west of India are as fair complexioned as most Europeans. So, is it a nationality problem? It may seem so, but it is not. Nationality is not the issue here. Who is a foreigner? There are big numbers of NRIs who are second generation foreign nationals and hold a non-Indian passport who would be freely allowed entrance because nobody is checking documents at the entrance. Anyway it would be futile to attempt to do so, because most Indian people do not have any documents at all and those who have them do not carry them around when visiting temples. Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals would have no problems in being allowed in. And I doubt that any person who has acquired Indian citizenship would be considered "Hindu" by the policemen on the strength of nationality. The second question is, who is getting benefit from this action? What is the utility? I can speak for direct and personal experience, at least as far as Orissa is concerned. Since I am in good friendship with many sevakas in Jagannatha temple, Puri, and Sakhi Gopal temple (Puri district), and I have had very good interactions with many sevakas in Lingaraj temple, Bhubaneswar, I can say that the overwhelming majority of the pujaris and local residents are in favor of welcoming non-Indian Hindus into all temples and unhappy about the Government-controlled administration (although speaking up against Government control on temples and its policies is extremely dangerous). Actually, the sevakas and pujaris would be delighted to welcome non-Indian Hindus, both because most of these pujaris are actually saintly people who are directly in touch with the Divine, AND because the donations of ALL pilgrims are a very badly needed integration of the meagerly salary that the Government administration gives to the temple servants. In all temples controlled by the Government in Orissa, the temple servants (sevakas) get a risible salary ("stipend") of about 60 to 100 rupees PER MONTH (equivalent to about 2 US dollars). In some states, the local Government may arrive up to give 500 or 750 rupees PER MONTH, which is still preposterously low, especially for a man who needs to feed a family (and traditionally, Hindu women are not supposed to get jobs or careers). Strictly speaking according to the legislation, since the sevakas are employed by the Government, they are also not legally allowed to get any other job or profession: should they try to do so, they can be sacked immediately. It is obvious that for their maintenance and the maintenance of their families, the sevakas need to get some "extra money" from pilgrims, especially if they work full time in the temple and have no other income. This is the real reason why the few "Hindu" pilgrims who visit the Government-controlled temples are excessively pressed by the pujaris with requests of donations: a serious root cause that cannot be adequately solved by "seminars in good manners" organized by the Government management. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the huge donations offered by pilgrims and devotees to the temple offices are regularly cashed by the "secular" Government and very often used for other purposes that don't have anything to do with the temple services - so even the puja itself becomes lean and thin on budget. Since the takeover of these temples in Orissa, the standard of Deity worship has constantly declined due to "lack of funds". The sole responsibility of the "secular" Government in the absurd harassment of sincere devotees and pilgrims (both the "Indian Hindus" and the "non-Indian Hindus") is evident when we compare the situation of Lingaraj temple with the behavior of the pujaris and temple managers in those temples that are not controlled by the Government. In Bhubaneswar alone, among the many open temples, we may mention the ancient and famous temples of Kedar Gauri, Siddhesvar, Muktesvar (included in the "standard tour package" for tourists), and the more modern temple of Sri Ram, not to speak of the myriad smaller and more recently built temples. In all these temples, "foreign Hindus" are not only allowed but welcomed. As a consequence, the sevakas there do not need to harass the "Indian-Hindu" pilgrims, because they get better donations from the public. The general spiritual atmosphere is also much more enlivening and relaxing for everybody, which is more appropriate for a religious place. The general population in Orissa is also not interested in the nonsensical restriction for temple darshan, and many are actually contrary to it. Why? Because the "Golden Triangle" of Orissa is almost completely depending on tourism (especially religious tourism) for its income. The more pilgrims Orissa can get coming during the entire year, the better it is for the prosperity of the region. The same applies to all other states of India, as "spiritual tourism" and Hinduism have always been, and will always be, the greatest strength of India. Not being able to see this fact is a bad symptom. And it is even apparent that "converted" Hindus are much more wealthy and generous than "born-Hindus" when it comes to giving to temples and Deity service, or even spending money in shops and guesthouses. Here we should consider the example of Iskcon and Gaudiya mathas converts (largely "non-Indians" of origin) who have donated (and are still donating) huge amounts of moneys to develop Mayapur and Vrindavana (the Gaudiya centers of worship) and also to construct many beautiful temples all over India (and in other countries as well) that are very active and opulent in their religious services. This is a normal characteristic in "converts", who consciously or subconsciously feel more inclined to be active religiously than those who are Hindus (or Christians) just because they happened to be born in a Hindu (or Christian) family. It is well known that Indian converts to Christianity, as an average, have always been much more fanatical and aggressive Christian preachers than people who just happened to be born in Christian families in Europe and USA (exceptions noted). For example, in the "very Catholic Spain", which has about 99% of Catholic Christian population according to census and was historically the pillar of the Popes' power for many centuries, now only about 20% of the people ever go to church (even once a year). Thus, the so-called secularism of the present Indian Government (which is "dharma-nirapeksata" rather than "matha-nirapeksata") actually translates into a very heavy discrimination against Hinduism, which is the "golden heritage" of India and the only reason why India could become a leading, prosperous and highly respected nation in the world. The systematic persecution of the Indian Government against "foreigners" who have genuinely converted to Hinduism and come to India for a holy pilgrimage is actually unjustly favoring Christians and Muslim missionaries, as Christianity and Islam have their traditional holy places OUTSIDE India. The conversion campaigns conducted by Christians and Muslims (with enormous financial and organizational backing, including methods that have nothing to do with spirituality or even ethics) can be effectively counteracted only by giving the proper value to Hinduism. Hindu Dharma could beat both Christianity and Islam hands down, if it was only presented in its true glory and depth, and without any inferiority complex. This is what we need to do, with the help of all qualified and sincere people. The proof of the intrinsic validity (I should say superiority) of Hinduism is the enormous success that it has been having at a global level, starting from the time when Hindu missionaries began to travel around the world, in early 1900s. The solution to the problem is to train genuine Hindu missionaries to travel around India and face Christian missionaries with solid philosophy and exemplary behavior, supported with whatever financial and organizational resources Hindus can gather from any side (even if they are only a fraction of what Christians are using). A very important part in this mission can be played by non-Indian people who converted to Hinduism FROM Christianity or Islam. They are the living example that Hinduism is better than Christianity or Islam, and they should be considered the most powerful weapon of Hinduism. The Indian Government should understand that they are people who left the illusory glitter of Western "developed civilization" with its materialistic ideals, and from an educated and informed platform they came to choose Hinduism as a superior religion and dedicated their lives to preaching and demonstrating it in practice. They are much better "Indians" than many Indian-born citizens because they have chosen to love India (and often to live there), rather than simply "happened" to be born there. Many Indians actually have as their greatest ambition to get out of India to go and live in other countries - and not with the aim to send back money or resources to their homeland or support it from outside. Some believe that conversion into Hinduism is not authorized by Vedic standards, but this is not a fact. In the history of Hinduism there have been many examples of "foreigners" who converted to Hinduism and were accepted as genuine Hindus. Recently on another forum, where the same discussion is going on, I have read several quotes about this point. For those who claim that only Hindu "ancestry" is a qualification (adhikara) to become a Hindu through the appropriate samskaras, there is ample evidence that before the spreading of Christianity (by Paul) the entire Europe observed the model of universal religion that can easily be classified as "Hinduism". A separate discussion may be in order about this subject, as we need now to focus on the issue at hand: survival of Hinduism in India. Today, the great campaign of conversions of Indian-born people to Christianity and Islam is meant to establish their irrevocable and primary loyalty to the Vatican, the Western-based Protestant Churches, or the Islamic alliance of nations -- groups that are politically interested in the control of the world (not simply India), as they have openly declared and demonstrated many times. It is not a secret that large areas that have developed a Christian majority aspire to secession from India in order to form their separate Christian nations. What strategies do we have to counteract this threat? We must be careful to avoid actions and positions that may be insufficient to counteract the problem and may even obtain the opposite effect, projecting a bad and FALSE image of Hinduism as narrow-minded, backward, intolerant, oppressive, ignorant and unrealistic. Even educated and intelligent Indian/Hindu people will distance themselves more and more from this projection of Hinduism, what to speak of the international public opinion. Such a disastrous policy will simply give more power to the propaganda of the enemies of Hinduism, who will clamor that Hinduism is a racist religion, a backward system based on hatred and unjust discrimination, and thus unfit to be allowed to continue freely. THIS will be a stronger basis for them to demand a stricter and heavier control over the Hindu temples by the secular Government officers and the situation will get worse and worse at exponential speed. With the result that, those Indians who are vulnerable to conversion to Christianity or Islam will become even more vulnerable. The rise in the number of converts will in turn create vote banks and increase the political pressure, lobbying and motivated financial investments. Another very important point to make is that Hinduism and its holy places do not belong exclusively to the secular Government of India -- to be controlled, manipulated, exploited or destroyed at will. The Hindus of Orissa were very disappointed when the United Nations denied the status of "world heritage" to the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar and the Jagannatha temple in Puri. The application had been presented by the Indian Government, not based on the universal value of Hinduism as Sanatana Dharma, but on architectural and historical considerations only. The ministry of Tourism of Orissa wanted to build a platform outside Jagannatha Puri temple to attract tourists to contemplate the architecture of the temple - as if that was the truly important thing about Purusottama ksetra. Ironically, it seems it is the Indian Government that does not consider Hindu temples as religious places, but rather as nothing more than museums. One could even suspect that, the faster they can get all pilgrims away from the temples, the sooner they can turn them into museums proper - as they have done already for Konark, Rajarajesvari and other temples. Nothing is done there by the Government to re-establish the original worship that would be fitting for such holy places, yet the entrance tickets to the former temple premises are extremely expensive. Allowing this non-religious mentality to control Hindu temples and holy places is the greatest and most imminent danger to the survival of Hinduism in India and around the world. All Hindus and followers of Sanatana Dharma are considering Bharata Varsa as their spiritual motherland, even if they do not live there. Thus they have the right and the duty to defend it: jati desa kala samaya anavicchinnah sarvabhaumah tad mahavratam ("this responsibility is beyond birth, country, time, circumstance and does not stop in front of obstacles", from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras). There are millions of sincere Hindus worldwide (of Indian or non-Indian origin) who are deeply concerned about the future of their holy places and are ready to support the cause of Hinduism in India in all possible ways. The obstacles to such work must be removed immediately, and all sincere Hindus must cooperate together in this direction, without wasting time and energy. In the service of Dharma, PKD Jagannatha Vallabha Vedic Research Center and Eco-spiritual Village Puri, Orissa, India Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
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