Udupi, Nov 27: Pejawar Mutt pontiff Vishwesha Tirtha Swami has said that there should be a debate on what constituted superstition before taking any action against “superstitious rituals”.
He said that he would support banning inhuman practices and traditions such as casteism, violence against animals, untouchability, Devadasi system, as they are bad for the health of the society.
He, however, said that a debate was necessary before taking any legal action against “superstitions”, because for the atheists, puja', pradakshina', homa', and festivals were all superstitions. “There should be clarity over what constituted superstition. I am ready for a debate on this matter,” he said.
He went on to claim that there would be no damage to the Hindu religion if the controversial practice of made snana' was given up.
The seer said that it was not necessary to have a practice where devotees roll over the plantain leaves containing leftovers of meals consumed by Brahmins, which was why he had come up with the concept of ede snana'.
Under ede snana, instead of rolling over plantain leaves containing leftovers of food eaten by Brahmins, devotees could roll over the prasada' or “food offered to the deity”.
There was no scope for controversy under ede snana. Instead of opposing both mada snana and ede snana, had the progressive writers and intellectuals agreed to the latter, it would have put an end to the inhuman tradition of made snana, he said.
On legal action by courts against some seers, the Pejawar seer said that nobody was bigger than the law of the land and the decisions of the courts had to be accepted. But there should no witch-hunt against anybody.
It was necessary to get to the bottom of truth in each case. The decision of the courts on potency test related to a few holy men had to be accepted, he said.
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