Pandharpur temple allows women, men of all castes as priests.

[prasad1]

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There are hundreds of such temples in Southern India, where pooja is conducted by traditional poojaris hailing from communities other than brahmins. Mostly these temples are for village deities like Maramma, Mari Amman, Ellamma, Renukamba, Aiyanar, Sudalai Madan,. Muniyandi, Veeran, Pechiamman, etc. Most of these temples are governed by local traditions and legends of folklore. Even though Vibhuti, Kumkum and chandan are used as pooja materials and as 'prasad', the offerings mostly are by way of animal sacrifice though a couple of them do gave vegetarian tradition too.
Several brahmin families have one or the other such deities as their 'kuladevata', their worship is generally on the vedic/kalpa pattern with lemon,coconut,banana and rice offerings.

Based on a 2002 judgement of the Supreme Court, the Tamilnadu government released a G.O. permitting people belonging to all Hindu communities, with the required training and qualification, to become archakas in temples.

Kerala temples are chanting a new mantra of inclusiveness, thanks to a silent revolution inside the sanctum sanctorum of hundreds of temples in the state.


This move, powerful enough to break the last bastion of casteism, has already ushered in many non-brahmins to preside over pujas and kriyas hitherto handled only by priests who were brahmins by birth.


In the last two months, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) filled up 50 out of the 100 posts for pujaris (priests) with non-brahmins, who will soon start performing rituals in shrines assigned to them among the 2,000 temples under TDB.


TDB had conducted a recruitment drive six months ago and interviewed hundreds of applicants belonging to all castes and they selected 199 pujaris, out of which 40% were non- brahmins.

 

[sarang]

Only teaching of vedas and officiating yajnas was reserved for brahmanas. Preferred, mandatory, necessary, sufficient - such terms used in modern science were applicable in those days as well. There were kings, ministers, senapatis, vaidyas, musicians, and assorted professionals in all varnas, and from all varnas. We have to keep aside the biased knowledge gained from the conquerors and learn from our own samskrit and regional literature and history to wipe out faulty notions.

We are working hard to move away from reservation and quota system. Why temples shoud suffer that. There are hundreds of new temples built every year which may or may not conform to agamas. For a start, temples in USA and in foreign soil can employ priests of their choice from any varna. It is natural and right for temples built by sects liks sankara mutt, ahobila mutt, swaminaraya, chinmaya, saibaba trusts to find priests from among their sects are followers. And there are hundreds of temples, some financially well off and attracting a large number of devotees, in all towns and villages which have other than brahmin priests. In many old temples, most of the jobs - archakar, maniyakkarar (administrator for daily rituals) and kaikaryar are all hereditary.

Unnecessary argument.

Dear Sir,

These days no one does a caste based occupation anymore..Brahmins or Non Brahmins are not doing jobs that are caste based anymore...once upon a time the job of a physician was considered a Non Brahmin job cos it dealt with disease and exposure to "impurities" but Brahmins took up the occupation too.

We find Brahmins in the armed forces like Kshatriyas too..also we find Brahmins running restaurants serving food like a Vaishyas..some have gone into construction business too again the domain of a Vaishya.

So I guess times have changed..but there is no harm if anyone of any caste wants to study anything if they have the interest..but if the orthodox feel its not advisable for Non Brahmins to "rob" the livelihood of Brahmins..may be let only certain temples be run by Non Brahmins and have a quota based employment to make sure the Brahmin has the major share as priests.

 

[renuka]

BTW all this issues about who can or cannot be priest is only present as long the belief in God exists.

So if one decides to abandon any sort of worship and not consider himself/herself a believer or a non believer and does not subscribe to any school of thought..there would not be any problem.

Sometimes come to think of it we humans are a deluded lot..we keep fighting over God whom we have never seen or have no idea about.

At times it just seems that we are in mad mad world where sanity of mankind itself is questionable!

 

[sarang]

Another myth from the west which is getting its due burial!

Aryan invasion,

 

[sarang]

Why are you generalizing? Royal 'we' or universal'we'?

Faith in God is not a necessary condition to live in Bharat as in some other countries. Even abuse of gods is tolerated to a great extent.

Our scriptures show the path to see god for those interested.

All non believers must be living without problems. Good for them, provided they learn to respect believers.

BTW all this issues about who can or cannot be priest is only present as long the belief in God exists.

So if one decides to abandon any sort of worship and not consider himself/herself a believer or a non believer and does not subscribe to any school of thought..there would not be any problem.

Sometimes come to think of it we humans are a deluded lot..we keep fighting over God whom we have never seen or have no idea about.

At times it just seems that we are in mad mad world where sanity of mankind itself is questionable!

 

[renuka]

Why are you generalizing? Royal 'we' or universal'we'?

There is only One We..that is the Universal We.

”अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् | उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् || ”

ayaṁ bandhurayaṁ nēti gaṇanā laghucētasām | udāracaritānām tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam ||

Discrimination saying "this one is a relative; this other one is a stranger" is for the mean-minded. For those who're known as magnanimous, the entire world constitutes but a family.

 

[vignesh2014]

QUOTE=renuka;247470 Dear Ms. Renuka,

These days no one does a caste based occupation anymore..Brahmins or Non Brahmins are not doing jobs that are caste based anymore...once upon a time the job of a physician was considered a Non Brahmin job cos it dealt with disease and exposure to "impurities" but Brahmins took up the occupation too.

Here i beg to differ. Now a days there are not many brahmin doctors compared to non brahim doctors. Even if there is brahmin doctor, in their lineage they might be doctors mostly

We find Brahmins in the armed forces like Kshatriyas too..also we find Brahmins running restaurants serving food like a Vaishyas..some have gone into construction business too again the domain of a Vaishya.

This is what Arjuna told in Gita..It is happening out of economic necessity with no one to support

So I guess times have changed..but there is no harm if anyone of any caste wants to study anything if they have the interest..but if the orthodox feel its not advisable for Non Brahmins to "rob" the livelihood of Brahmins..may be let only certain temples be run by Non Brahmins and have a quota based employment to make sure the Brahmin has the major share as priests.


No body will give quota for brahmins. Even before also brahmins occupied high places or entered into government service not because of quota system but due to their own merit. Priest hood is not like modern eduction. Even all brahmins can't enter into priest hood unless in their families, they practised it. There is nothing wrong in it because even siddha vaidyam is done by that family only. The knowledge which is preserved and also the way in which lineage occurs, they will do the job perfectly rather than a doctor or engineer who does it for money sake.(it is not to demean anybody but it is the bitter truth..nobody able to digest now a days)

 

[renuka]

All non believers must be living without problems. Good for them, provided they learn to respect believers.

Dear Sarang ji,

Problems are faced by any one who is embodied..no one can run away from that.

So its not a question of who is living without problems and further more if one learns to live without subscribing to any school of thought he/she develops a broader mindset and learns to see everyone as the same..so the question of a believer or non believer does not arise..its just mutual respect for entire mankind.

I feel men will learn to understand each other if they payed less attention to the God concept in life.

I am not advocating Atheism BTW.

 

[krish44]

Dear Sarang ji,

Problems are faced by any one who is embodied..no one can run away from that.

So its not a question of who is living without problems and further more if one learns to live without subscribing to any school of thought he/she develops a broader mindset and learns to see everyone as the same..so the question of a believer or non believer does not arise..its just mutual respect for entire mankind.

I feel men will learn to understand each other if they payed less attention to the God concept in life.

I am not advocating Atheism BTW.

god concept has nothing much to do with understanding each other. it is just a head under which people have conflicts. if it was removed , they still will have conflicts because they are human beings and they like to conflict. understanding can come only if they are civilised enough and realise conflicts lead only to destruction of human race

 

[renuka]

Unnecessary argument.

But yet it necessitated a reply! What an irony yaar!LOL

 

[tks]

Problems and conflict start only when one wants to dictate their beliefs on others or pass judgement on others for their tradition/beliefs.

The world is in balance and harmony even with all its diversity including theist, atheists and all others isms (or lack of any).

If traditions, beliefs, study, scriptures etc are viewed *ONLY* for one's own maturity and not used to pass implied judgement about anyone else there are likely to be minimal conflicts for human beings.

 

[sarasa]

Can ladies do sri yantra pooja at home?

 

[Kuvalayavalli]

Dear Sarang ji,

Problems are ......and further more if one learns to live without subscribing to any school of thought he/she develops a broader mindset and learns to see everyone as the same..so the question of a believer or non believer does not arise..its just mutual respect for entire mankind.

I feel men will learn to understand each other if they payed less attention to the God concept in life.

.....

Dear Renu,

This is what J. Krishnamurthy advised many years ago. This is the core of his philosophy.

 

[Kuvalayavalli]

god concept has nothing much to do with understanding each other. it is just a head under which people have conflicts. if it was removed , they still will have conflicts because they are human beings and they like to conflict. understanding can come only if they are civilised enough and realise conflicts lead only to destruction of human race

Conflicts are due to many organized religions existing, due to man's unsuccessful attempts to understand God through religion founded by him. God is not the source or perpetrator of conflict or war. For God is Love, Peace, Joy, Happiness etc.

 

[Kuvalayavalli]

Another myth from the west which is getting its due burial!

Elaborate with evidence please!

 

[krish44]

Conflicts are due to many organized religions existing, due to man's unsuccessful attempts to understand God through religion founded by him. God is not the source or perpetrator of conflict or war. For God is Love, Peace, Joy, Happiness etc.

god might be all the things you say. humans however use their religion to create conflicts with others not following their religion.hence the thinking that religion and belief in it is not good for coexistence of humans

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Breaking barriers: women priests perform puja in Maharashtra temple

On Friday, for the first time in its 900-year-old history, non-Brahmin men and women priests performed the puja in the famous Vitthal Rukmini temple in Pandharpur, Maharashtra.

“We are committed to perform our duty as per directed by the law. We are grateful to the support extended to us from all quarters of the society,” said Sanjay Teli, executive officer of the temple’s Trust. He said all daily services of Lord Vitthal and his consort Rukmini (or Rakhumai) will be performed as per the tradition.

The temple, a favourite of the Warkari sect in Maharashtra, attracts over two crore devotees a year. During the Hindu month of Ashaadh, lakhs of Warkaris and other pilgrims from across the State walk to the temple.

The Supreme Court in its verdict on January 15 stripped Brahmin families (Badve and Utpat) of their right to appoint priests and keep donations. The families had claimed ancestral rights over the temple.

Following the verdict the VRTT interviewed 129 candidates for the post temple priests, in which non-Brahmins and 16 women candidates were included. Speaking to The Hindu in May, Anna Dange, the Trust’s chairman, said it was time to set an example and that no group should claim monopoly over serving as priests.

Read more at: Breaking barriers: women priests perform puja in Maharashtra temple - The Hindu

 

[ashwin_ash]

Already the powerful Warkari sect is creating a ruckus saying the temple trust is temporary, and the temple has traditionally belonged to them alone. They are now demanding the takeover of the temple administration in entirety. And they have 'warned' the government and the trust not to interfere with age-old 'traditions'. With elections due in November, let us see the outcome.. whether the government caves in to the Warkaris, or defies them (and loses a potential 25 seats in the elections).