Men can worship at Sree Gowreeswara Temple, Cherayi, wearing shirts starting February 4. The temple authorities have decided to drop the nearly century-old practice of making men shed their upper clothes to worship at the temple. Swami Sathchidananda of Sivagiri Madhom, who recently flagged the issue, will make a public pronouncement at a public meeting to be held on the temple premises on the day at 4 p.m.
“The display board put up at the temple premises asking men to remove the upper clothes to enter the temple would be removed on the day,” said Shelly Sukumaran, secretary of the Vigyana Vardhini Sabha that manages the temple.
The temple, where social reformer Sree Narayana Guru installed the idol, is open to all sections of society, including non-Hindus. However, temple entry is restricted to Hindus in some of the major temples of the State.
“Anyone, including non-Hindus, who wish to offer prayers at the temple should wear clean clothes and maintain personal hygiene. The devotees only need to follow the customary temple practices like leaving the footwear outside. Those with communicable diseases will not be allowed inside the temple. Also, those who have been recently bereaved shall avoid temple entry,” said Mr. Sukumaran.
“The customary rite of the temple is vested with the Sivagiri Madhom. Hence, the decisions regarding temple practices and modification of the dress code of devotees are binding on the temple,” he said.
The Sabha has given a call to the devotees to support the “renaissance movement” related to the temple dress code of men.
A general body meeting of the Sabha held last year had decided to revise the dress code in tune with the call from the Sivagiri Madhom. Though the call of the Madhom was duly endorsed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, it had evoked sharp criticism from the leadership of the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the organisation of Brahmin temple priests.
Incidentally, a delegation led by Swami Sathchidananda had recently urged the Travancore Devaswom Board, which has the administrative control of a large number of temples in the State, to shed the practice, which he had termed regressive.
