By IANS
Guruvayoor (Kerala) : The famed Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple's board Wednesday apologised to Ravi Krishna, son of Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, for conducting a purification ceremony after he and his family visited the shrine in Kerala last month.
On May 19, Guruvayoor priests performed a purification ritual after the visit of Ravi and his family for the naming ceremony of Ravi's grandchild. Ravi's wife Mercy Ravi, a former Congress legislator in Kerala assembly, is a Christian by birth.
The temple authorities had said they were not very clear about Ravi Krishna's religion.
It has been decided to apologise for what happened to Ravi Krishna, board president Thotathil Ravindran said after the conclusion of a two-day board meet here.
"The temple priest told us that a purification ceremony was done because a similar ritual was conducted in 1997 after Ravi Krishna's marriage. So he said that the same ceremony had to be repeated. This is not correct and Ravi Krishna's certificates show he is a Hindu," Ravindran told reporters.
The board has decided to call a meeting of the 'Acharaya Sadasu' (experts drawn from various sections of Hindus) to discuss the temple's traditions and what needs to be done in the wake of recent controversies over allowing entry to non-Hindus.
The meeting also decided to hold a 'devaprashnam' – a ritual to ascertain if the temple deity was happy with the recent developments.
"The normal practice is to hold a devaprashnam once every 12 years and it was last held in 1990. Such a ritual will also be held soon," the board president said.
Ravi and his son said they had accepted the board's apology.
"We are happy because we wanted some action to be taken after the purification ritual was done. We accept their apology," Ravi said.
Ravi Krishna, however, wanted to know what the temple would do the next time they visited it.
Debate over allowing entry to non-Hindus to the temple at Guruvayoor was first raised by Kerala Devasom Minister G. Sudhakaran, who wrote to the board asking that eminent singer K.J. Yesudas, a Christian, be allowed to sing on the premises Hindu devotional compositions that he is famous for.
Since then there have been demands from various quarters that the temple open its doors to all believers. But the supreme authority of the temple (Guruvayoor Temple Pramabarya Paricharana Samithy) last month ruled out any change in the temple traditions.