Karm Pradhan Vishwa Kari Rakha,
The days are gone when only Brahmins were appointed Priest of Temples. Just go thru the news article below,
Pariahs turn priests in temples
8 Jul 2007, 0323 hrs IST,ARUN KUMAR,TNN
PATNA: Bihar, which earned notoriety in the past because of the
oppression of the Dalits by the privileged castes, has been witnessing
a silent social revolution these days. Now, the "pariahs" are
performing "puja" as priests in some famous temples of the state.
Kishore Kunal, who became Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts
(BSBRT) administrator in May, 2006, said Chandeshwar Paswan was the
first Dalit priest appointed by him at Vishwanath Mahadev Mandir,
Hajipur. His appointment as priest was done on the day of Shivaratri,
when a large number of devotees throng this temple to offer their puja
to lord Shiva.
On January 14, the Makar Sankranti day this year, another Dalit,
Jamuna Das, was appointed as a priest in famous Shiva temple at Bihta,
said Kunal.
On June 30 this year, on the occasion of Sant Kabir Jayanti, yet
another Dalit from the Mushahar community, Janardan Manjhi, was
appointed as a priest at the Ram Janki temple at Paliganj in Patna
district.
Kunal said he searched for Dalit Sanskrit scholars for their
appointment as priests. He felt these appointments would go a long way
in eliminating caste discrimination and bring social harmony in the
caste-ridden society of Bihar. He said at Begusarai and Bodh Gaya
temples, too, Dalit priests would be appointed soon.
He said this social revolution in not something unprecedented. The
state had witnessed in the past some kind of social revolt against
Brahminism under the banner of Buddhism. Even during the early days of
the post-independence era, Bihar's first CM Srikrishna Singh had
himself led the untouchable Dalits' entry into Shiva temple at
Baidyanath Dham (now in Jharkhand).
The movement, however, slowed down in the last decades of 20th
century. It was revived again by Kunal, who in his capacity as
secretary of the famous Hanuman Temple of Patna, appointed Phalhari
Suryvashi Das, a Dalit scholar, as a priest of the temple on June 13,
1993. According to Kunal, Das was brought here by him from Ravidas
Temple at Ayodhya. Since then, Das has been performing the religious
rituals in the Hanuman Temple. Sanjay Rajak, another Dalit, has been
engaged in distribution of "charnamrit" (holy nectar) at the temple.
Source/Link:
http://www.mail-archive.com/zestcaste@yahoogroups.com/msg07038.html
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Mahavir Mandir/Temple Patna has appointed Dalit as Priest and it's impotance can be understood by going thru the news item below,
Temple of hope for all in distress
- Mahavir Mandir Trust is second richest in North India after Vaisno Devi AMIT BHELARI
Patna, Aug. 12: The Mahavir temple in Patna, located near the Patna Railway Station, is one of the most visited temples in North India.
On an average, 10,000 devotees visit the temple everyday. On Saturdays and Tuesdays, when people from distant places come especially to worship Lord Hanuman, the number of worshippers at the temple easily crosses 20,000.
“It is a ‘manokamana’ mandir where the devotees’ come and pray to the lord. Their wishes often get fulfilled and this is the reason why the number devotees at the temple has only increased over the years,” said a priest at Hanuman Mandir.
Sudhanshu Shekhar, a devotee and a businessman from Delhi, said, “For the past five years, I have been visiting the temple regularly. Earlier, my business was not makingprofit. My friend asked me to visit the mahavir temple in Patna and soon after I started coming here, my business has started showing profit and has grown over the years.”
Former IPS officer and Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts chairman and secretary of Mahavir Mandir Trust Acharya Kishore Kunal said, “The Mahavir Mandir Trust is the second richest in North India after Vaishno Devi shrine trust. Many devotees donate here to show their dedication and devotion to Lord Hanuman”.
Acharya Kishore Kunal added, “The Mahavir Mandir trust organises medical camps, provides free medicines and subsidised treatment to a large number of poor and needy patients every year. All the cancer patients up to the age of 12 years are taken special care of by the temple trust and it spends more than Rs 2.5 crore per annum on philanthropic projects.”
“The present income of the temple is over Rs. 1 lakh per day, and the annual turnover is around Rs 4.15 crore. The total asset of the trust is almost Rs 100 crore,” said Nagendra Ojha, manager, Mahavir temple.
Its Naivedyam ladoos are making considerable profit for the trust. “It brings around Rs 1.2 crore every year,” said the manager. The Mahavir Mandir trust is presently running four hospitals in Patna. Among all, the Mahavir Cancer Sansthan is the most popular one. “It is one of the first trusts in North India where temple funds have been mostly utilized for philanthropic projects,” said Acharya Kishore.
Source:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100813/jsp/bihar/story_12804954.jsp
No need to be the Priest in the temple but equal rights in the state so instead of going temples go to the government and insist for equal rights.
Our Constitution fundamentally up helds equal rights to everyone. So, let us stop reservations in whatsoever field and let there be fair competition to get a set in educational institutions which is basic and primarily for advancement of a nation. Though reservation of seats was approved Constitutionally, the reservations for creamy layer of society is equally unconstitutional.
Reservations are required to bring in parity, but it should be on economic basis and not on the medieval concept of caste.
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In a N.Aditya V Travancore dewaswom NSC case the Sc said that Brahmins do not have monopoly over performing puja in a temple and said that a non Brahmin can be appointed as a pujari if he is properly trained well versed with rituals.
The right to freedom of religion allows Indian citizens to choose any religion that he / she wants to choose. This fundamental right was chossen after lot of thought regarding the process of person chossing his / her own religion.
Article 25. (1). Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.
I will say, being a priest does not in anyway affect a nations development. Just think the disaster that causes to a nation when a person who does not have inherent talent and technical abilities is given a seat for medical, engineering, research wings that too by depriving the position by a deserving candidate. We do not want reservations which hampers the development of a nation and basically inhuman treatment for a deserving candidate.
I will not agree with whatever UN says. It is only a toy of super powers. It did not agree to accept what happened to Kashmir when thousands of Kashmiri pundits were killed as 'Genocide' while it was obvious for a common man that it was a perfect case of 'Genocide'.
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Once a person has availed the facility of Reservation, his children should not be allowed to take advantage of reservations so that it reaches to everyone. Since only rich and educated class r availing the benefits and poor and illiterates fails to get/avail those benefits and also facing stiff competition with rich and educated one of his community.
Here rich and educated sections of these communities are not helping persons of their own communities.
Also no one is saying anybody to be a priest; it is his/her personal choice. This I have posted to show that trend is changing, and is welcome. People r accepting them in thses posts also and caste systems are fading away with new thinking and advancement.
"Once a person has availed the facility of Reservation, his children should not be allowed to take advantage of reservations so that it reaches to everyone. Since only rich and educated class r availing the benefits and poor and illiterates fails to get/avail those benefits and also facing stiff competition with rich and educated one of his community.
Here rich and educated sections of these communities are not helping persons of their own communities."- Ashutosh Jayaswal.
Ashutosh ji, this is DRF's agenda you hijacked. (I mean, I support you here).
