Proposed Legislation to Solve Sabarimala Issue

With the disclaimer that I am not a legal expert......

I am proposing a legislation to solve the Sabarimala Issue as follows:

In the context of Hindu Temples and other places of worship:

Deity means a personified form of an entity of worship. To be called a Deity, the following conditions should be satisfied:
a) The Deity must have the nature of a person of conscience, and the place of worship is to be his/her personal abode.
b) The rituals of worship should be similar to the daily rituals of a person, such as bathing, consumption of food, sleep etc.

The Deity is a legal person, to be treated as a 'minor'. The chief priest, or a person in a similar position by convention shall be the legal guardian of the Deity, with rights and responsibilities to take decisions and express desires on behalf of the Deity.

The actions by the legal guardian can only be challenged by the well established conventions for the same, such as 'deva prashnam'. In case no such conventions exist, a consensus from the persons handling the same function at other temples shall be used.

The Deity, being a legal person, and the Temple being the personal abode of the Deity (and not a public place), is entitled to all rights entitled to a real person, such as right for privacy, right for property etc as guaranteed by the constitution and the legal framework of the land.

The devotees and worshipers visiting the place of worship shall be deemed as personal visitors for the Deity at his/her pleasure. The offerings made directly to the Deity shall be deemed as 'personal gifts' to the Deity.

The right to entry into the premises, customs to be followed, rituals to be performed etc shall be as per the desire of the Deity, as expressed by the 'legal guardian'. Changes in these shall be made only under general consensus of the devotees and the approval of the 'legal guardian'.

Sabarimala Vratham: What are the requirements

Questions are being raised about the Sabarimala Vratham, including the question of 'pula' where you are required to stay away from the worship things for a period after someone close passes away.

Here are the requirements of the Vratham:

You should keep yourself in the "state of hygiene" (Shuddhi) equal to what needed for Temple visit for the entire period. Please note that this is required for ALL Temple visits for the day of the visit. For Sabarimala, the requirement simply extends for 41 days.

a) Body hygiene: Bathe twice daily and keep yourself clean. Bleeding/pus oozing wounds, leaking excreta, menstrual blood etc are cause for unhygiene.
b) Food hygiene: Only vegetarian food, prepared at a same state of hygiene, ie cooked by a person who maintain the same state of hygiene. This is difficult to do in the current environment, so vegetarian food from trusted eateries may be accepted in unavoidable circumstances.
c) Mind hygiene: Avoid any thoughts or deeds of temptation, including about Sex, Food, Money or whatever turns the mind away from god.

If any of the hygene requirements are broken by accident/mistake, you should do penance. If the state of unhygiene is prolonged for more than a day (like a bleeding wound), then you can't continue.

If there is a death or birth in the close family, there is a state of 'unhygiene' associated with it, for certain number of days. This state is relieved by associated rituals at the end of the period.

This 'hygiene' requirements are common for all temple visits for the day of visit, and also for worship at home. You should not light the ritual lamp at morning and evening in the state of 'unhygene'.

Now, Sabarimala needs 41 days of vratham. If the vratham is broken for more than a day, or broken knowingly, you can't continue.

Another point is, you can climb the 18 steps only once per year. You can visit the temple any number of times, but you need to go up to the 'holy yard' by the side entrance. If you start the vratham and it is broken in the middle, the custom is not to take the 18 steps that year.