MYSURU: While the state government is pushing for the appointments of priests from all sections of the society in temples under the Muzarai department, Pejawar Math seer Vishwaprasanna Teertha made a demand that this 'job should be legally exclusive for Brahmins', further adding that attempts are being made to disrupt the priorities enjoyed by the community.
Speaking at a regional convention of Brahmins in Mysuru on Sunday, the seer gave the example of coolies at railway stations who earn money by handling luggage and asked why can't we (Brahmins) be given a similar right legally.
He further spoke about the recent controversy surrounding a scene in the Kannada-Telugu bilingual film 'Pogaru' and commended the protests and reactions that resulted in the removal of the objectionable scene. "Such attempts are not new but this time we reacted to it. If we close our eyes to such things, our kids will reject our culture. Such protests should happen," the seer said.
The seer also said that senior citizens belonging to the community should not sell their properties to live in old-age homes just and instead hand those over to dedicated trusts.
He opined that the Brahmin culture is slowly fading away especially among youngsters who are fast adopting to changing lifestyle with their clothes, mannerisms.
The event was attended by Vijayananda Swamiji, the junior pontiff of Mysuru Datta Peetham who flagged the growing instances of conversions among the community members and called for attempts to prevent it. He claimed that he came across a church in Godavari which had a notice announcing prizes for those marrying priests.
The convention also saw BJP leader and MUDA chairman HV Rajeev himself calling out the state government to implement the EWS reservation in the state. "We are not asking for any new reservations, or inclusion into lists, we want the state government to implement the 10 percent EWS reservation so that our taxes go in helping our own people who are struggling financially," he said adding that already the implementation has been delayed from more than a year.
The event was also attended by MLA S A Ramdas, former MLC Madhusudhan and several others from the community.
Ram mandir donations cross Rs 2,100 crore
The Pejavar seer, who is also one of the trustees of Sri Ramajanmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust said that they had aimed at collecting 1,500 crores for the temple but exceeding their expectations the collections has now gone beyond 2,100 crores. Further, he said that it is easy to build the temple but to preserve it is tough and for this, a younger generation attached to the culture needs to be groomed.