If You Bar Women From Temples, Bar Men Too: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Speaking to The Quint Sri Sri Ravishankar explains his solution for the Sabrimala and Shani Shingnapur temple rows.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the Art of Living International Ashram at Bangalore. (Photo Courtesy: srisriravishankar.org)

Speaking with The Quint, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that matters of faith are often led by fear, and such fear cannot be eliminated in a day. He has proposed a ‘mid-way’ solution to the controversy involving entry for women at Kerala’s Sabrimala Temple and the Shani temple at Shingnapur.

In matters of faith, and when people have been <a href="http://www.thequint.com/opinion/2016/01/14/why-disallowing-women-in-sabarimala-is-against-the-constitution">practising something for long</a>, you cannot eliminate fear instantly. For Sabrimala and Shani Shingnapur I have proposed a solution that goes step by step. Either let both men and women in, or both the genders should be barred. This is just the first step.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Pilgrims outside the Sabrimala temple. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Women Reject Sri Sri’s Solution

However, the attempts by the spiritual guru to mediate between the trustees of Shani Shingnapur temple and the women activists fighting for a right to enter the temple have failed to make any headway.

On Sunday, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met both the sides and suggested that only the priest should be allowed on the holy platform and both men and women be barred from entering. The women activists have disagreed to this suggestion, noting that in such a case there should be a women priest as well.

Meanwhile according to news agency PTI, the Kerala government has told the Supreme Court that banning entry of women of menstrual age in historic Sabarimala temple in the state is a “matter of religion”, and it is duty bound to “protect the right to practice the religion of these devotees”.