KERALA, INDIA, June 7, 2007: Kalathill Ravindran, chairman of the Guruvayur Dewaswom Board, has found himself in the middle of a dispute that arose when a purification ceremony was performed by the head priest of the temple after the May 18 visit of Union Minister for Overseas Indians Vayalar Ravi, his son Ravi Krishna, daughter-in-law Nisha and infant grandson. Ravi Krishna sent a written complaint to the board of the temple.
Ravindran has responded to the media as a member of the board by saying, “It is in nobody’s interest to keep piling up statements on statements. Something happened, the wrongs and rights of which need to be examined. We have scheduled a working committee meeting for June 12 and 13, at which time we will go into all the issues involved and then issue a statement. The managing committee in its upcoming meeting will review all aspects of the question. Ravikrishna has submitted his complaint; the tantri (chief priest) Chennas Raman Namboodiripad has already given us a detailed explanation of the events, and why he acted as he did.”
However Ravindran also responded from a personal viewpoint with the following comments, “I think it is important for those of us who run temples, whether we are administrators or tantri, to realize that times are changing, to understand the imperative need to change with the times. Let us first look at what the situation is today. We say that all Hindus can enter the temple. So who is a Hindu? Do we define him by faith? No, we define a Hindu by birth. We have a situation where say someone who was born to Hindu parents, and is therefore legally a Hindu, is as a matter of personal belief an atheist. He denies that God exists; he disputes the existence of God; he has contempt for religion. Yet, we allow him to enter the temple if he wants to. If such a person, who repudiates Guruvayurappan’s existence, enters the temple, do we do a punyaham to purify the temple? No. On the other hand, if someone who is an ardent devotee, who publicly and privately professes faith in a religion or in a Deity, wants to enter the temple, we block him on the grounds that he is not a Hindu by birth. It is time for change; it is time to say a temple should be open to all who believe. I do not advocate that everyone be allowed in, irrespective; such a measure will turn the temple into a tourist spot, where people come out of curiosity, not belief or faith. And that will destroy the sanctity of the temple; which no believer will want to happen.”
In conclusion Ravindran said, “What we need is to sit with all those who are concerned — the administrators, the tantris, the government, other interested parties — for a rational discussion of all issues. Such a discussion will throw up consensus, agreement on the right way to proceed further. It cannot happen overnight, and it will not — but it is important to start now, so that change, desirable change, happens for the benefit of all.”