Process Starts on "Who" Can Enter Jagannath Temple

BY: DEBABRATA MOHAPATRA

Jul 28, JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — The Jagannath temple, which is off limits for non-Hindus, is now on a landmark path of imposing some limitations on Hindus as well. The shrine administration on Saturday formally started to crack the contentious issue, involving the "categories" of Hindus to be allowed into the 12th century shrine.

A four-member delegation led by Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, the King of Puri, met the Puri Sankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati on Saturday evening to find a solution to the raging issue of caste confusion, which has created an unprecedented flutter at Puri in recent past.

On two occasions some Hindu pilgrims (as claimed by police after verifying identity cards) from Indonesia were thrown out of Jagannath Temple by some priests, who suspected the devotees as non-Hindus. The two embarrassing incidents had prompted the Jagannath Temple authorities to decide who can enter the shrine. Considering the complexity of the matter, the shrine authorities had thrown their hands up over the issue and banked upon the Puri seer to reach a consensus.

"Since Sankaracharya is a religious expert, only he will decide Hindus of which category can enter Jagannath Temple," said Bhaskar Mishra, a temple official. However, Mishra did not divulge the discussions he and other delegates had with the seer.

Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb also did not disclose anything about the 2-hour long closet meeting. "The process is on and it will take some more time. We will hold discussions with the Sankaracharya again," said Dibyasingha Deb, the Chairman of the Jagannath Temple Managing Committee and first servitor of Lord Jagannath.

Meanwhile priests and foreign ISKCON devotees who have converted to Hinduism are eagerly looking forward to seeing an end to the row over "caste" and "color" confusion at Jagannath Temple. Many times in the past, devotees, despite being Hindus, have gone through terrible ordeals because of their skin complexions or shapes, which created confusion on their religion.

"We are happy that the matter has finally been put forth by the temple officials before Sankaracharya, who is the best person to issue a decree. The matter needs to be resolved at the earliest," said Narayan dasa, an ISKCON pilgrim from England. "We also eagerly waiting for a solution," said Shyamasundar Mohapatra, a priest.