By IANS
Trissur (Kerala) : Days after a panel of Hindu priests decided to discuss the sensitive issue of throwing open the doors of Kerala temples to non-Hindus, the supreme authority of the Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple Thursday ruled out any change in the traditions of the famed temple.
K. Raman Nampoothiri, secretary of the Guruvayoor Temple Pramabarya Paricharana Samithy, said that they had a long meeting that ended late Wednesday night and decided that at no cost should there be any changes in the tradition of the Sree Krishna Temple.
"We have a feeling that the devotees of this temple are a worried lot that there is going to be a change in the traditions after reports surfaced in the media after a meeting of the Yogakshema Sabha Monday.
"The Sabha Monday decided to appoint a five-member panel to look into this issue in all temples of the state," Nampoothiri told IANS.
"We also took part in that meeting and we expressed our opinion that at the Guruvayoor temple there cannot be any changes in the traditions and we are committed to that and we wish to convey this to all devotees of this temple," he said.
The Samithy consists the tantris and those who take part in the rituals and prayers of the temple while the Yogakshema Sabha represents the entire Brahmin community including priests and temple administrators of Kerala.
When asked if he was not in agreement with the Yogakshema Sabha decision to appoint an expert panel, Nampoothiri said that at the Sabha meeting he had expressed the view that there should be no changes in the tradition of the Guruvayoor temple.
"We wish to reiterate that if there is even a small change (in the tradition), it would lead to a series of changes and that is just not acceptable because this is a temple with a long tradition.
"We can speak only for this temple and the Yogakshema Sabha is free to go ahead with their panel to study if any changes are required in other temples," added Nampoothiri.
The famed Guruvayoor temple of late has run into controversies. Kearla Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran was instrumental in igniting one when he wrote to the temple administrators to see that veteran singer K.J. Yesudas, a Christian, be allowed to sing inside its premises Hindu devotional compositions that he is famous for.
Last week, Guruvayoor priests performed a purification ritual after the naming ceremony of Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi's grandson there. Ravi's wife is a Christian.
After the ritual at the temple, a section of Hindus has argued for a change in entry rules to allow non-Hindus into temples.