The tantri is right on most points here, except for two critical arguments he has failed and avoided answering here. First, he carefully creates an analogy to compare punyaham after someone's entry into the temple to punyaham after vomiting/blood shedding. He knows very well that the two are not the same. The latter is a natural body act that is considered impure but does not render the person impure. So, it is the act that requires purification. The former punyaham, is required when someone who is not believed to be of the faith enters the temple, which is an insult on that person, if he/she is a follower of Hinduism. At the heart of this lies the archaic tradition, as the tantri pointed out, that a mother's children takes the religion of the mother. This is an extremely chauvinistic perspective and one expects better of a supposedly egalitarian religion. What would have happened if Ravi had a daughter by his Christian wife and that daughter had a daughter and so on? Aren't they "non-believers" in the tantri's eyes? In the end, one should not go by what these temple priests believe to understand Hinduism. All a true devotee has to do is go back to the basics - the Gita - to understand who are true devotees of Hinduism and who are not. And when one does so, one realizes that a Hindu is not chosen by a temple priest or a temple tradition, but a Hindu is a person who approaches God and knows him as his "own Divine Self".
RE:Sexist
by BhejaFry on Jun 05, 2007 07:14 PM Permalink
the tantri was unsure whether ravi krishna was hindu or whether he was baptised by his mother.so he had no choice but to perform purification.
RE:RE:Sexist
by abhishek nair on Jun 05, 2007 07:19 PM Permalink
No, the sole criteria was biological. Ravi Krishna, although he claims to be a practising Hindu, happens to have a Christian mother. That is the sole reason why he is not allowed inside the temple, and why the purification ritual was deemed necessary.
RE:RE:RE:Sexist
by Surya on Jun 05, 2007 08:21 PM Permalink
abhishek nair
Hey can the tantris prove biologically they are pure and Ravi Krishna is impure.Please tell me.What is biological pureness and what its significance in hinduism.Please publish a paper on this and request for coments from all over the world let me see how true is this biological pureness is?
WE Hindus are not like Muslims or Christians who straight-away head for mosque or church from their bed. Hindus take bath and then only visit temple, especially in Kerala.
As far as Tantri is concerned, he takes bath not once or twice - he may have to take bath sometime, even half a dozen time in a day.
RE:Sexist
by abhishek nair on Jun 05, 2007 07:16 PM Permalink
He who knows me as his own divine Self breaks through the belief that he is the body and is not reborn as a separate creature.
Such a one, Arjuna, is united with me. Delivered from selfish attachment, fear, and anger, filled with me, surrendering themselves to me, purified in the fire of my being, many have reached the state of unity in me.
As men approach me, so I receive them. All paths, Arjuna, lead to me."
