09 Sep 2018
Shri Anil asked:- Some people say that allowing ladies in to the temple of Swamy Ayyappa in Kerala is responsible for the recent water calamity. What do you say?
Swami replied:- The main cause is already explained by Me, which is the violence on good natured peaceful living beings. Apart from the main reason, secondary reasons may also exist, which are many. The analysis only decides whether something is at least the secondary reason or not. It is certainly the basic concept that there is no discrimination of gender in the presence of God. The reason presented by you has some good point in it. It is not the question of gender in the divine presence, but, the good side is that the male devotees undergo very strict discipline in food etc., for a specific period of time and reach the temple maintaining the discipline followed for sometime, which is attachment to God through detachment from world. In such case, if you allow the other gender also, there is lot of chance for male devotees to slip from the concentration on God. I feel that this good side is not properly presented in the court. It is better to restrict the gender at least for that one month during which the discipline is maintained by the male devotees. Alternatively, the male devotees can select a separate place (temple) on the same divine hill for the specific gender at least for that limited time. This tradition is towards such point only because old ladies and minor girls are exempted from this tradition. This is certainly a slip without understanding the good background of a tradition, but, need not be taken seriously to that extent of this much calamity. Serious punishments have always serious backgrounds. Killing the public by such calamity indicates the sin related to killing only. Death sentence is given for the crime of killing others only. We shall not reject every tradition as blind without analyzing it deeply. We are only particular of rejecting the bad traditions followed blindly without analysis.