Personally, I don't believe in most of these rituals/rules/beliefs. You can close your eyes and see god - if you have faith.
However, if you think you believe in so and so God - say Lord Ayappa in this case - you need to follow the faith in its entirety. If you're not supposed to go to the temple, as per the rules of the God - you've two options. One - follow the rules. Two - don't believe in that particular god/sect/belief. You can't follow the stream and not follow the rules.
