THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Hindu community is forced to maintain silence during attempts to challenge its age-old customs and practices, Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bai, member of erstwhile Travancore royal family said here on Saturday.
"The right to worship in Hindu religion is incomparable. The age-old customs and rituals should be preserved at any cost," she said after inaugurating a meeting of office-bearers of advisory committees in temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). The meeting was organised by the TDB to create awareness on preserving the rituals traditions at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
Dr M G Sasibhooshan led a class on "rituals practices and precedence at Sabrimala temple" and State Institute of Languages director Dr M R Thampan spoke on "logic and science of Hindu rituals and practices".
Thampan said that the temples were centres of knowledge in the past. The State Institute of Languages is ready to sell its books at half price if temples set up counters, he said. "A debate on spiritual matters is the least devotees wish for," he said.
Thampan said that the 'aarattu' ritual at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple was an example of the rich tradition of communal harmony in the state. "In the past, members of a non-Hindu community were taking care of the Travancore king who take a dip in the sea during the 'aarattu' ritual at Sangumugham beach," he said."The ban on women's entry at Sabarimala is intrinsically connected with the customs of the temple. Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, in his columns, had hinted that the temple was a favourite place to Tibetan Lamas. Age-old rituals of the temple cannot be changed in ease," Sasibhooshan said.
TDB member P K Kumaran, commissioner C P Ramaraja Prema Prasad, secretary V S Jayakumar and PRO Murali Kottakakam spoke.
‘Include Ayyappa legend in Syllabus’
TDB president Prayar Gopalakrishnan, who presided over the meeting, said the board does not wish to drag the Sabarimala temple into a controversy. He urged the government to make the legend of Lord Ayyappa part of the school curriculum to spread the message of communal harmony.