Temples - 4

...The temples were places of worshipping the God, spiritual realization and salvation of soul. Being the abode of god in the form of idol, they were as sacred as they could be. These religious places were sacred and pure and hence the entry of untouchables was prohibited. Here we have a case of the strange kind of God who could be defiled by the mere presence of human beings. Any defilable God has to be less powerful then the defiler; all this goes contrary to the notion of all powerful God; actually such a weak God by definition cannot exist. There is no defilable God by definition. Dharma Shastras prescribe severe punishment for an untouchable who dares to enter the temple. They also prescribe purification of temples that have been defiled by such an entry by a human being. However any purifying act after a contact with any untouchables actually meant a defilement of untouchables and not that of God. The untouchables who dared to enter the abode god were severely punished sometimes even with death. May be the spiritual and cultural people thought that it was a nice way to help them to get rid of their wretched lives. Still an untouchable who dares to enter a temple runs the risk of his life in many parts of this pure land. In the same tradition none of the great untouchable saints of Bhakti movement were allowed to enter the temples not withstanding the large followings they had. The spiritual equality that was taught by Bhakti movement gurus was in respect of personal attachment to God. The benefits of devotion were to be reaped in next birth only which is correctly in nice alignment with Karma theory. No amount kind of Bhakti could to make them pure and thus eligible for temple entry. The pollution embedded in them could not be removed by any kind of devotion to any god.

Religion and faith in God is essential part of life of a man who is not an atheist. It gives him the reason for his existence. It gives him mental and emotional support. For his own satisfaction a religious man can complain to God or ask him to alleviate his wretched conditions. The support of religion is essential for a religious human being. It provides him support in his troubled times. The troubled times always accompany an untouchable from street to street. By denying him the reach to temple the mental well being of a religious untouchable is destroyed thereby wrecking his emotional state. Further the actual effect of Bhakti movement on untouchables’ lives has been worthless....