Need For Religious Reform ( Reflections Of A Non-Practicing Hindu)

The 'purification' ritual that was carried out by priests of the Lord Krishna temple at Guruvayur because of Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr. Vyalar Ravi's wife being a Christian is symptomatic of the deep malaise plaguing some Hindu temples in certain parts of India.Every religion needs to move forward with time, be flexible, adapt to ground realities and get rid of suffocating religious dogmas.Traditions and rituals are something to be respected, but they also need to evolve sensibly with changing times.Hinduism needs to do the same and adopt a more progressive and liberal face in this regard.It needs to reform itself from within to get rid of the ills present in it.It is here that the government needs to step in and play a sensible and pro-active role,not that of an imposer though, by urging a healthy dialogue between the traditionalists and the reformists.This process will take time, but has to begin sooner rather than later.It is ironic that in a supposedly 'progressive' and 'literate' state like Kerala, many incidents highlighting religious rigidity in temples have been brought to light.