Save Sanatan Dharma! Protect Sabarimala!

Dear Honourable Judges of Supreme Court of India, 

You, the Supreme Court of India in your wisdom have directed that women of all ages ought to be permitted into the Sabarimala Temple. A wise lady judge disagreed.  Your majority judgement begins by referring to two quotes by Christians and also later to some precedents.

The credibility of the judgement takes a beating because judges have superficially waded into spiritual realms but before we amplify them, lets try and make the honourable judiciary understand a slice of deep spirituality that exists in ancient Hindu practices. Sanatan Dharma is so pluralistic that it encompasses even atheism but the SC refers to some basic tenets without pointing them, though it is tough even for enlightened self realised souls to define her basic tenets. Hinduism is an emotion seeped in logic. 

The hindu religious, spiritual experience lies in surrender, self negation, sacrifices and many temples act as catalysts towards furthering that experience. Unlike Churches and Mosques which pray to the Heavenly Father. For Hindus, the Gods in the form of deities live in temples. So the devotees bathe, dress in clean clothes, sometimes take a vraddha or a fast and visit temples according to the rules of the temples to meet the spiritual parents who reside in these temples. The deities are also bathed daily, dressed and fed like humans. Sabarimala is one such glorious temple.

Hinduism is not a worshipping of One God but of that One God manifesting Himself in many forms, in innumerable ways. The worshipping of the Deity or Deities in a temple and spending time in the temple is conceptually different from other religions. The deity being a true living force to the believers provides  indescribeble experience and ecstasy for devotees. Those seconds of darshan of that living God represented in deities provide an hypnotising experience which no science can unravel. So in search of this experience, devotees throng temples, unmindful of difficulties, again and again. 

How does this connect happen? The agamas, rituals of the temple make the temple place, sacred. The scriptures, the chanted Vedas have been transforming buildings into  divine abodes of Gods. Humans become what they think repeatedly. Likewise, temples by receiving repeated anointing Vibrate with energy that satisfies the body and mind of the worshiper. The personal discipline of the devotees before entering temples like Sabarimala adds to the aura of the temple. The  different restrictions,  limitations, conditions in the temple make a temple unique and different from another temple.

Supreme Court failed to understand the metaphysics, cosmology, spirit and ethos of Hinduism  and in the process tried to defeat the pluralistic diverse Hinduism by considering it as another abrahamic Christianity or Islam which were organised religions with founders. To look at Hinduism through the eyes of a foreigner is the curse that English education has imbibed into Indians and now even after independence, India continues to be an extension of British rule with both law makers and law protectors failing to understand roots,tradition and heritage while admiring all that is foreign and alien. 

We need to consider three factors that make up for Hindu civilisation. 

Diversity

India prides herself on diversity. Through millennia. Many climates. Varied soil conditions and weather patterns. 100s of languages. Multi cultures. Exuberant facial features. Diverse achievements of the past. Some call India, a sub continent while historians hail her as the only living civilisation. Will Durant calls India as Mother of all. All because of Sanatan Dharma. The letter OM has reverberated across the world and still does.

Hinduism has many sects to it ranging from Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Smartism, etc. Has hundreds of schools of thought ranging from Vedanta to Atheism. It is an elastic religion that is so catholic and broad based that Hindus willingly worship Gods of other religion as their own. And they do not convert other religions with a self righteous fervour. To them all forms of worship is towards the same divine.

Interesting paradoxes make for this Dharma. On one hand, Hindus worship Goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Balaji for material prosperity but their Gurus are often those who have given up all things material. Sanyasis and Saints abound. Naga sadhus walk and live naked. Hindus embraced a Muslim, Shirdi Sai Baba, as their own like the Hindus do and worship him.  Yet Hindus are called out for discriminatory practices. Some Sai temples even have Koran recited. Hindus throng Velankanni Church regularly.

Temples of Hindus are not imitation of another, though some could be. Each temple has its own rituals, agamas, rules that make every temple singularly unique and not another mere replica. There are Temple towers with thousands of idols as at Meenakshi Temple Madurai while there some without an idol like the tall tower of Murudeshwar temple in Karnataka. There are marble idols of deities, stone idols, panchaloka idols, Navabhashana idols, mud idols and there are even temples without idols.

There are Gods in reclined poses, meditative state, standing, with spouse, with family, etc. Standardisation doesn’t simply exist with temples. Everything depends on the geography and history of temples, the Gods that reside in them and  the inspiration gained directly from the Gods. For the Christian, smattering in tongues is acceptable. So is for Muslims. But when a Hindu says he receives directions from God, he is mocked as superstitious. Many temples are built on signals, signs, directions from divine forces and Hindus believe those saintly sooth sayers because those souls won’t ever utter a lie or hurt a living being. This cannot be fathomed easily unless one is destined to understand it. Yes, this is a hindu belief.

The hindu festivals are also based on the history of the temple and differs from one another. There are Gods who love decoration (alankara) and there are some who desire different pujas. There are Gods whom devotees can touch, some you can see closely and some from a distance. No temple is like another. Hindus have unique diverse practices of worship.. Women alone rituals, Men exclusive rituals, worship of children and women, celebration of menustruation, Tantric worship and so on. There is a temple for transgenders in Tamilnadu. Fasting is intertwined with the faith. Another practice is enduring pain. Some walk on burning coal, some carry pots with fire, some pierce their bodies with metals and some worship with leaves on. Some walk many hundred miles as penance to temples. These customs are not thrust on devotees but are matters of faith and independent choice.

Some temples demand men come in with bare upper bodies. Some break coconuts. Some offer flowers and fruit to the Gods in temples. Some sacrifice animals like goats and hen. All these are not individual choices. They form part of particular temples. Often no same procedure for thanksgiving exist. Hindus believe that the Gods desire them to follow these rituals and for Hindus the temples are residences of living Gods. After following rituals and conditions, nobody comes between the darshan of the Gods by the devotee. Not even the government. 

The cosmopolitan faithful Hindu was quick to embrace reforms when they find some deformative and is open to change. Saint Ramanuja to Gokhale were reformers. Yet, the wise hindu is looked down and his diversity is being harmed by the looking glasses of westernised Hindus who failed to understand the depth and consciousness of Dharma. In the process, they have damaged from within the hindu social fabric. 

It is this diversity that hmarks Sabarimala that has become the target of the Judiciary. Courts respect Islam’s curtailment of women’s entry into mosques. It accepts that Churches can never led by women in India. But, restriction of women of reproductive age which is unique to Sabarimala is being questioned as Courts feel Lord Ayyappan is mere idol worship. Just like those detractors of Sanatan Dharma who did it for conversions. 

Equality

Constitution of India stresses on Equality. It means that negative discrimination is unacceptable. In social sphere. In jobs, in education, in opportunities. Before Law.

The term equality is vague and complex. Continues to be debated in the west. Yet racial, gender discrimination exist in the most developed of nations. The Red Indians of North America and the Aborigines of Australia remain victims. Didn’t the enlightened west practice slave trade until recently?

Does the Indian Constitution say that Equality of genders ought to be pursued not withstanding qualifications and limitations? Can all men be treated equal for jobs and education without resorting to their eligibility and qualifications? When two individuals cannot be treated equal, unconditionally, how is it possible for all men and all women to be practically be treated equal? This may sound an extreme argument. Just think. Do you think you were equal to your siblings or that as a parent you treat all your kids with same emotions, all the time? Is it absolutely possible to be without favouritism and bias?

Indira Ghandy made a profound statement on equality. No two persons are equal. It will be impossible to match equality between two individuals let alone by gender. True. Wasn’t she more equal to all the stalwarts to be chosen as PM of India? 

Problem with the concept of equality and its implementation is that it has failed to stop discrimination. Lakhs of under trial prisoners are wallowing in jails over the years. Crores of pendency in Courts have disturbed the prosperity and peace of citizens. These are the areas in which courts should focus. But instead, matters of practices in Hindu temples  comes under consideration under equality. Because some Muslims chose to attack it with a petition to you with vested interest. How was the petitioner affected by Sabarimala practices? You failed to question him. Shows Courts as gullible in a hurry to play to the gallery and rake publicity. Sad indeed. 

Religious Freedom

To standardise religious practices that are part of culture for yeoman years is the biggest disservice to a living civilisation. By interfering into the diversity that has evolved and treating it as a discriminatory practice, the Courts have mocked at the richness and strength of a pluralistic culture. The mosaic is being turned into a plain dull canvass that lacks colour. This is called religious restriction, a ban on pluralistic diverse practices and restraints on religious freedom. Will you dare to question what’s going on inside churches, mosques? 

Religious freedom is needed for devotees as well as to the living Gods called deities in temples. It is only minds that have no faith and beliefs that come down on temples and treat them merely as dry yet another public space. The religious freedom to be singularly unique by a Bramachari God has been trampled. The Gods in Hinduism are not supra natural. They are real, in flesh and body. To the devotee. So every temple has two deities as Security outside the Sanctum Sanctorum where the Moolavar or the main deity resides. However strong in character the Hindu Gods may be, they too take precautions not to be susceptible to enemy powers. Hinduism is filled with real characters that are more historical than mythical. But to those who want to be modern and anglised, these facts will be tough to agree. However none has rights to trample or even question on the religious freedom of Hindus to believe in their Gods and practice faith as per their traditions.

Saints and Seers of Sanatan Dharma have often claimed to have spoken to Gods. When a local Christian Pastor or a Mullah says so, it’s respected as religious freedom. But when a Hindu says so, Lutyens media along with elitists laugh at the claims calling him superstitious. Even during last century, we had Saints from Shirdi Sai Baba to Kanchi Mahaswami performing miracles that altered innumerable lives. In Sabarimala, the Chief Priest talks to Lord Ayyappan and this is called Devaprasanam. If one goes to Vaitheeswaran Temple near Chidambaram in Temple, one can have ancient palm leaves read based on thumb impressions. Your past, present and future foretold. Check out on YouTube. Whom should a devotee listen to? The Gods or the powerful SC? Hindus are at cross roads.

Religious freedom is right to worship according to the personal choices of devotees. Sabarimala permits females below ten years and above fifty years. This is no gender discrimination. Just age restriction, which at worst by English minds can be called as age discrimination. But don’t we have age restrictions for voting, marriage, for contesting electoral offices, for driving license, etc. Shouldn’t these age restrictions be removed first if Judiciary is really aghast instead of interfering into religious choices? While young people receive longer extension of passports and driving licenses, isn’t it discriminatory that elders and senior citizens are forced to renew more often?

The judgement of Supreme Court Judges on Sabarimala proves that they have not understood the concept of Sanatan Dharma, the practices in Temples and the metaphysics behind them. This understanding is impossible with minds that interpret judicial laws as the metaphysics of temples is altogether a different state of mind. Understanding takes effort. Interpretation needs cleverness. Instead minorities masquerading as devotees along with imbecile English media are trying to use the SC judgement to smear chilly powder in the 1300+ year wounds of Hindus who have been survived despite continuous onslaughts.

Kindly retract your steps on Sabarimala. Please ensure that your judgements don’t deride or show disdain for the most pluralist, pacifist, tolerant, all encompassing practice of Sanatan Dharma which inspired more religions to mimic in parts and inspire civilisations elsewhere on the planet.

The Courts by coming into temples has done enormous harm to traditions. Ironically, the SC refuses to break its Colonial British Raj traditions of enormous vacations, perks and opaqueness but opts to tinker with temple traditions. SC should look within, Regarding Sabarimala, the Court has offered devotees a choice. The choice to listen to the tradition as directed by Lord Ayyappan or to stamp out traditions by crude application of the constitution of India. It is a choice between the living hindu civilisation and a west aping Indian state. Be assured that Lord Ayyappa will take care. Swamiye Saranam!