Tragic to see Sabarimala become a place for women journalists and activists to indulge in celebratory activism rather than approach it as pious devotees of Lord Ayyappa
I wonder whether the Honourable Supreme Court bench judges who wrote the majority verdict on the Sabarimala case (one judge, a lady, dissented) knew that their order would be used as a weapon by some women journalists and activists who don't seem to have any history of devotion to Lord Ayyappa, to attempt to celebrate breaking of tradition rather than approach Lord Ayyappa deity with piety.
A journalist is supposed to cover events. Here some women journalists are trying to become the events!
Tragic to see this tamasha (circus spectacle) at a place of worship and piety.
My personal view is that Lord Ayyappa is a celibate deity. Yad Bhavam Tad Bhavati! As is the feeling so it happens! When devotees have worshipped the deity with the feelings and belief that the deity is a celibate deity who does not want young and middle aged women to come before him, then that belief must be respected and adhered to.
It seems that the vast majority of women devotees of Lord Ayyappa are "ready to wait" and do not want to break these traditions.
So the Supreme Court order is not benefiting the vast majority of women devotees of Lord Ayyappa and has instead created great discomfort amongst them.
I felt it appropriate to transcribe two small parts of what Smt. Deepa Easwar said in this TV debate video clip, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDQG7Xa7a4, published by India Today on 18th Oct. 2018 :
[Around 1 min. 42 secs.]
If you look at it, it gives a very ordinary Hindu the feeling that what was the necessity of all this. Are you seeing a huge queue of young women devotees lined up there and appealing to the police constables to please get us up there at Sabarimala? There are countable number of women and they were sent back.
[Around 2 min. 14 secs]
It is extremely unfair and an absolute injustice on the devotees like me, like Rahul Easwar, like all of them who are fighting there, because they just see people like Liby C.S. who has openly on Facebook proclaimed that I am an atheist and I am going to Sabarimala. And if Ayyappa has a problem with celibacy let me give him a (Kadakya) which is sort of a fruit which can be given in ... Let him maintain his celibacy. So she is mocking it ... And we see this sight ... of police providing her hundred percent security ...
---- end transcript segments ---
Ravi: I condemn the mockery of devotion to celibate deity Lord Ayyappa that has been indulged in by allegedly atheist activist Liby C.S. I condemn those young women journalists who are not devotees of Lord Ayyappa but are simply using the court order to attempt to make a spectacle of them being the first women to break the tradition of Sabarimala.
While I am not a regular worshipper of Lord Ayyappa, I am familiar with the deity and its worship traditions as my late elder brother was a devout worshipper of Lord Ayyappa and had been to Sabarimala many times, after observing the traditional vows during the period he wore the 'mala'. I also know many other devotees of Lord Ayyappa. So I am very pained to see this spectacle of mockery of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala done by some women who are under police protection!
I respectfully disagree with the majority verdict of the Honourable Supreme Court on the matter. I earnestly pray to Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala that the appeal against this verdict be heard by the Supreme Court at the earliest and that the verdict gets reversed.
A journalist is supposed to cover events. Here some women journalists are trying to become the events!
Tragic to see this tamasha (circus spectacle) at a place of worship and piety.
My personal view is that Lord Ayyappa is a celibate deity. Yad Bhavam Tad Bhavati! As is the feeling so it happens! When devotees have worshipped the deity with the feelings and belief that the deity is a celibate deity who does not want young and middle aged women to come before him, then that belief must be respected and adhered to.
It seems that the vast majority of women devotees of Lord Ayyappa are "ready to wait" and do not want to break these traditions.
So the Supreme Court order is not benefiting the vast majority of women devotees of Lord Ayyappa and has instead created great discomfort amongst them.
I felt it appropriate to transcribe two small parts of what Smt. Deepa Easwar said in this TV debate video clip, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDQG7Xa7a4, published by India Today on 18th Oct. 2018 :
[Around 1 min. 42 secs.]
If you look at it, it gives a very ordinary Hindu the feeling that what was the necessity of all this. Are you seeing a huge queue of young women devotees lined up there and appealing to the police constables to please get us up there at Sabarimala? There are countable number of women and they were sent back.
[Around 2 min. 14 secs]
It is extremely unfair and an absolute injustice on the devotees like me, like Rahul Easwar, like all of them who are fighting there, because they just see people like Liby C.S. who has openly on Facebook proclaimed that I am an atheist and I am going to Sabarimala. And if Ayyappa has a problem with celibacy let me give him a (Kadakya) which is sort of a fruit which can be given in ... Let him maintain his celibacy. So she is mocking it ... And we see this sight ... of police providing her hundred percent security ...
---- end transcript segments ---
Ravi: I condemn the mockery of devotion to celibate deity Lord Ayyappa that has been indulged in by allegedly atheist activist Liby C.S. I condemn those young women journalists who are not devotees of Lord Ayyappa but are simply using the court order to attempt to make a spectacle of them being the first women to break the tradition of Sabarimala.
While I am not a regular worshipper of Lord Ayyappa, I am familiar with the deity and its worship traditions as my late elder brother was a devout worshipper of Lord Ayyappa and had been to Sabarimala many times, after observing the traditional vows during the period he wore the 'mala'. I also know many other devotees of Lord Ayyappa. So I am very pained to see this spectacle of mockery of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala done by some women who are under police protection!
I respectfully disagree with the majority verdict of the Honourable Supreme Court on the matter. I earnestly pray to Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala that the appeal against this verdict be heard by the Supreme Court at the earliest and that the verdict gets reversed.
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