Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Sunday claimed to have broken the impasse on the “gender bias” at Shani Shingnapur temple by proposing the “Tirupati Balaji” darshan model that keeps both men and women away from sanctum sanctorum, but women’s activist Trupti Desai said she is awaiting a “proper decision” from the Maharashtra Chief Minister on the issue.
Sri Sri mediated on the issue by holding separate meetings with the trustees of the temple and Bhoomata Brigade leader Trupti Desai, who had recently led an agitation against the traditional ban on women at the temple’s sacred ‘chabutara’ (platform) at the temple.
“There are two models for darshans by devotees namely Kashi Vishwanath and Tirupati Balaji. This solution is based on the Tirupati Balaji model where no one — men or women — are allowed in the inner sanctum,” Sri Sri told reporters after the meeting.
“No one (both men and women) will step on the sacred ‘Chabutara’ and all will have darshan of the deity from a distance of three feet. Thus there will be no gender discrimination,” he said.
“It is not that you do not get blessings of God if you have a darshan from some distance,” he added.
The spiritual leader added that because of constant pouring of oil, the slippery surface of the ‘chabutara’ posed the risk of skidding for the devotees who throng for darshan. “There seems to be a communication gap between the two sides,” he felt.
However, responding to Sri Sri’s suggestion, Desai said, “If both men and women are to be disallowed to have darshan by stepping on the ‘chabutara’ in future, then activists of Bhoomata Brigade should have an opportunity to perform the last pooja at the sacred platform in the presence of Sri Sri and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.”
Asked what was her next move since she was not satisfied with the formula evolved by Sri Sri, Desai said, “We are scheduled to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister next week. We hope he will take a proper decision on the issue backing women’s rights to end gender bias at religious places.”
On January 26, at least 400 women volunteers, mainly hailing from Pune, led by Desai had made an unsuccessful attempt to storm the chabutara of the temple when police stopped the marchers at Supa village, 70 km from the shrine.