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Imposing Dress Code for Tirupati Temple! Right or Wrong?

Dress Code has been imposed in Tirupati Temple, which is situated in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradeh. The move was initiated following a complaint by a devotee, who said that he was perturbed by women worshippers wearing what he condired immodest clothes.

16 years ago, August 7th 2007 No: 1 Msg: #17359 Delete Edit

Nazar
Md Mudassir Alam

N Posts: 2

Recently the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) accounced that they will make the dress code mandatory for devotees. According to their guidelines it will be mandatory for women to wear sarees or other traditional India attire, while entering the Tiruapti Temple, the home of Lord Balaji. The announement came after a devotee from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh staged a protest and demaned that women should be banned from entering the temple in indecent clotes. Do you agree with the decision of the temple authority or not. Leave your views. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 16th 2009 No: 2 Msg: #63234 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

I agree completely with their views....They have a dress code for men as well....If guys want to wear shorts and girls want to wear mini skirts it better suits when they go to pubs and bars...not temples. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 16th 2009 No: 3 Msg: #63235 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Hello Nazar 😊

While I see nothing wrong with dress codes in themselves, when they are used as a tool to discriminate against women then they are wrong. Unfortunately, rules that restrict womens freedom and status are more common to religion, than rules that restrict men. So, I lean more towards wrong, on the grounds that it may be motivated by sexism.

Mel

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15 years ago, February 16th 2009 No: 4 Msg: #63236 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Customs involving clothing Reply to this

15 years ago, February 17th 2009 No: 5 Msg: #63295 Delete Edit

Tanya 0608
Tanya

B Posts: 160

Why are devotees checking out women's clothing rather than praying? Its the look in the eyes which is indecent not what is worn.

I've been to Tirupati before and observed that people just check out others while waiting bcoz of the long lines, maybe they should close their eyes and chant prayers. Will suit the purpose of their visit. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 17th 2009 No: 6 Msg: #63297 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Based on religions track record for gender equality(or lack of it rather), I tend to mistrust anything it wants to impose on women. Many things that are no longer acceptable in the more modern societies are insisted upon by religion. One has to ask why religion is being allowed to by pass the reasonable level of personal freedom put in place by legislation.

According to their guidelines it will be mandatory for women to wear sarees or other traditional India attire, ..

Why traditional attire? Why not just a dress code for both women and men that says knees and shoulders should be covered. Why put a gender emphasis on the rule?

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 7 Msg: #63365 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

(Why are devotees checking out women's clothing rather than praying? Its the look in the eyes which is indecent not what is worn.)

Because its a religious place and not a park to flaunt ones personnel dilemma.
Guru Nanak the great mystic and founder of sikhism says " wear modestly and cover yourself when you visit places of worship.Your dressing should not give rise to lust in the hearts of others."

The world is always there for one to wear a mini skirt and flaut their personal identity and attitude but a religious place is a place of worship for the whole family.Children and young will be there.men apart other women may not like it.
That is why all religions ask for modesty and humility of men and women.People go to temples as a sangha or a church so its not possible to close their eyes and pray when mini skirts or shorts are worn by someone ahead of you.It somehow reflects disrespect of the basic beliefs of a religion.
It goes without saying that even men are asked to cover themselves and even we as men cannot enter temples with our undies or shorts ...

If you go to a court wont you wear proper dress according to prescribed dress code.

In a normal court of law you cannot enter it as you will ...with whatever dress you have...otherwise it will be considered as contempt of court...

it will be deemed that you are disrespecting their system.. when you go to court you follow a prescribed dress code....(like tie and suit for men)..so why not a dress code for temples....

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 8 Msg: #63403 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Are we talking about courts or the Tirupati Temple?

And courts then: Are there any courts that put an over responsibility on women for 'giving rise to lust in the hearts of others'. And if so, which countries are they in? And if there are such courts in the world, why do they make women so responsible for the lust? Surely men are as responsible for their lust as women are for theirs?

Anyway, where religion and the Tirupati Temple are concerned, why are so many women so eager to not only respect what does not respect them, but to embrace it?

Guru Nanak the great mystic and founder of sikhism says....

It is a pity that spirituality is allowed to be interpreted by those who are granted the position of priest or great one by mere fellow humans. There isnt any sexism in spirituality and God does not have a gender, so why is religion different?

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 9 Msg: #63406 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Imposing Dress Code for Tirupati Temple! Right or Wrong?

At least this question gives hope that not everybody is blindly accepting.

I think one of the main dangers of religion is that so many allow spirituality to be interpreted for them and then they folllow the leader, without even considering where the leader is leading them to. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 10 Msg: #63410 Delete Edit

Tanya 0608
Tanya

B Posts: 160

Prayer is as pure as your thought is. If looking at women is going to get men around lusty then they should avoid visiting temples with impure thoughts in their mind.

And can anyone define modesty? Its only the perception that you carry in your mind. You cannot disrespect God or religion by clothes, but yes shallow thoughts certainly can spoil the holy spirit.

Also, everyone is so particular about clothes in holy places. But what about cleanliness and hygiene to respect God? Why is it ok to throw rubbish, spit and pee anywhere around these places?

You may choose to be religious by imposing clothing or may create an environment of beauty and tranquility with pure and noble thoughts.

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 11 Msg: #63411 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

impure thoughts

And why does religion deem sex impure? What sense does that make? Maybe in the olden days unmarried sex had to be avoided to prevent pregnacy and disease but why did it have to be made dirty to persuade people to avoid it under certain circumstances? And why do people so easily buy into philosphies which dont seem to make sense?

But what about cleanliness and hygiene to respect God?

Temples in some countries do impose this on people. They insist that you wash before entering the temple. Also some say menstruating women are dirty, and so should not enter the temple. I actually stopped going into Temples in certain countries after I was told that I must not enter if I am menstruating. I asked why that is. They said, 'because it is dirty'. I stopped going inside temples in certain countries after this experience, because although I consider myself as entitled as others to be in a spiritual place to help connect with my spiritual side, I find the slap in the face of being told I am dirty unacceptable.

But maybe the word 'dirty' is just overused and abused by some religious folk.

Why is it ok to throw rubbish, spit and pee anywhere around these places?

LOL
In the temple where menstruating women and the unwashed were not allowed, people were smoking marijuana and spitting. Didnt notice anybody peeing, but maybe they just didnt do it while I was there. :D

The extravagant beauty of so many temples, churches etc was payed for with the blood and misery of humans. Are they really such good places? Maybe they should be turned into war museums. Maybe they should be used as a place where we can feel our regret for the bad things humans do to other humans and ponder on ways to prevent it happening again.
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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 12 Msg: #63434 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

( If looking at women is going to get men around lusty then they should avoid visiting temples with impure thoughts in their mind.)

not only men but teens or youth or other women too.

we have movies for family and others are rated as adult...why so?.why be so conservative.....what about other women who object to such display of bodies....

(You cannot disrespect God or religion by clothes, but yes shallow thoughts certainly can spoil the holy spirit.)

if clothes cannot be a means of disrespect to any institution then we can go nude into the supreme court of india...where a lawyer was recently thrown out because he did not wear a tie....Clothes and how you behave in a temple can be a means of respecting or disrespecting GOD.
Its just a matter of opinion....also one important thing is there is a different between worldly people and sadhus or saints...worldly people have some mores and when we are in the world we have to follow them...
and then in india we have those who have left the world for god...they can be nude or come in what ever way they want..because they are sadhus....or avadhootas....many of them go around nude...and its acceptable because they have left the world and question us ...we were not born with clothes god made us this way...it is acceptable too in hinduism...a saint women a few years back entered tirupathi without any clothes and kumkum smeared all over her body...she was allowed. ...because she renounced everything for god....

it is not your deed that is jurdged but your intention.

(And courts then: Are there any courts that put an over responsibility on women for 'giving rise to lust in the hearts of others'. And if so, which countries are they in? And if there are such courts in the world, why do they make women so responsible for the lust? Surely men are as responsible for their lust as women are for theirs?)

NO there are no courts like that but are there courts that leave men just because they are men?NO there arent...
no women is being made responsible for lust ....why do men wear proper dress to work place or why do men wear a uniform in office.. more than questions of womens rights these are questions of whats acceptable in a society than questions of womens rights.

I said clearly that even men and their behaviour are controlled.we cannot enter as we wish....we have our own rules to follow....That is how religion is ...it is something that can be reformed as we hindus have done many times over and will continue to do in future.

(where religion and the Tirupati Temple are concerned, why are so many women so eager to not only respect what does not respect them, but to embrace it?)

Is that not freedom of choice....is freedom of women something which mel who is from germany decides for all women or is it a choice for every women to make......
I know of a ezyptian women who told me that she is very mordern but her daughter dosent approve of her ways...her daughter and her friends chose the way of purdah....and did not want to be mordern....for them its an informed choice that was made by them...who are you to question them?.

I dont understand the psyche of western women who make jurdgements of other societies and say how free they are compared to the women of those societies that they come across once a while...Is it not possible that women of eastern societies find the western ideas of women as disrespecting to women in general?.

It is true in societies many women are forced into such kind of slavery similarly many times in the some societies(turkey for example) where religions are very important educated women make a choice of what ever life they want in the prespective of the religion that they inherited from their parents...and we have to respect that.

In India women and men dont act as individuals...they are starting to do now a days but not in general...Most of us live together with our parents and women and men make a lot of adjustments for each other.So its not right always to say that I am an island and my rights and yours ....my space and yours always...that is deemed as being very selfish and self centered...you live for others and also for yourself...and find happiness in working with and for others...That is the way society here formed and shaped itself.
I know of mother in laws who harass their daughter in laws but also know a lot of women who support their daughter in laws when they go for work by taking care of their kids and cooking for their families....It is not regarded as wrong or being exploited etc....

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 13 Msg: #63437 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

(It is a pity that spirituality is allowed to be interpreted by those who are granted the position of priest or great one by mere fellow humans. There isnt any sexism in spirituality and God does not have a gender, so why is religion different?)

Spirituality here is interpreted by saints and not priests like in the western society.
We have many women saints like meera bai ,chimatam amma and ananda mai amma who led men in their quest for spirituality.
In a conservative society meera bai said about her husband "Who is this worldly man who calls himself my husband...God is my husband and him alone will I serve".
same is the case with ananda mai too...she left her worldly responsibilities and followed her own path and led men in their spiritual quest.
They also told us to dress moderately.So who should we follow ?..mel or some women who dedicated their lives to God.
The preachings of women saints and men saints were not different in any way...so mere humans prefer to take them as precidents.
The ultimate bible of hindus is called the vedas was written by many authors and some of them were women.

Your idea that God does not have a gender also came from here...we worship one god in his female form and also in many of his male forms....At one time in india there was a religion that said there was no God.It was accepted with open arms too.
That is why in another post I said that indian spirituality is unique to it and cannot be found anywhere else in the world...whether you agree with us or not..that is true.

we have saints who walked nude and when a chiristian missionary asked them why they said werent adam and eve nude before god?

Religion is that which tells you to better yourself....to try to sacrifice your ideas for a group or leave a lesser ideal for a greater one...that is why it is different.
It has been used in all societies to fight wars and to discriminate women ....but then there is another side to it too..and its our duty to find this other side.
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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 14 Msg: #63438 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

.....what about other women who object to such display of bodies....

Yes, what about them? Why do they insist on supporting rules that oppress other women?

When people are deprived of information for long enough and fed what a power system wants them to believe is information then this unbalanced 'information' becomes mainstream or normal. Otherwise know as brainwashing.

Its just a matter of opinion....

Then why not accept that others have a different opinion about how to get in touch with their spirituality, which does not involve clothes?

...it is something that can be reformed as we hindus have done many times over and will continue to do in future.

So there is a chance, that gender equality may be someday on the cards for Hinduism?

Is that not freedom of choice....is freedom of women something which mel who is from germany decides for all women or is it a choice for every women to make......

It should be a choice that every woman can makes.

...who are you to question them?

Did I question them?

Is it not possible that women of eastern societies find the western ideas of women as disrespcting to women in general?.

They judge us as disrespectful because we dont dress like they do to enter the temples? Or because they object to us making choices with our lives that are not the same as what they do?

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 15 Msg: #63439 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

mel or some women who dedicated their lives to God.

Do you need somebody to follow? If so, why?

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 16 Msg: #63441 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

(At least this question gives hope that not everybody is blindly accepting.)

The situation here is not so hopeless as you think.
This is india not the west.

(I think one of the main dangers of religion is that so many allow spirituality to be interpreted for them and then they follow the leader, without even considering where the leader is leading them to.)

That is simply not true either.We are allowed to question a sadh guru over scriptures and debate them.The only rule is that you have to follow him if you find yourself in the wrong.That is the only rule.
Even jesus gave his disciples that freedom...many left him in the middle...

The problems came over later on after his death...society because of many insecurities began to wander off into fear and more terrible things happened to both men and women...and women in particular because they had no choice then.
But whatever terrible things were done in the name of religion was done by people who used religion for the discrimination and exploiting women and populations in general.
Even men were exploited but then who is intrested to discuss that. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 17 Msg: #63442 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

we have saints who walked nude and when a chiristian missionary asked them why they said werent adam and eve nude before god?

That makes Hinduism in general seem so openminded, in comparison with the Tirupati Temple's prudishness.
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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 18 Msg: #63444 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

The situation here is not so hopeless as you think.
This is india not the west.

I meant people in general, rather than just Indians.

But whatever terrible things were done in the name of religion was done by people who used religion for the discrimination and exploiting women and populations in general.

Why were these things done in the name of religion and why did so many accept this discrimination as part of religion?

Even men were exploited but then who is intrested to discuss that.

Go right ahead and discuss it if you want. Your topics are fascinating for me at least. 😊

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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 19 Msg: #63445 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

(Yes, what about them? Why do they insist on supporting rules that oppress other women?)

Probably because they feel its not oppressing in the first place.They feel its ok..its an acceptable rule...and its acceptable if you look at it with a nuetral eye.....If you look at discrimination you find it everywhere...even in laws that support and lean towards women....in the name of protection.

(Then why not accept that others have a different opinion about how to get in touch with their spirituality, which does not involve clothes?)

Yes here we are discussing the possibility arent we?..The genereal rule is that you be a roman in rome...if you dont want to you can voice your opinion but be away from rome.....Hindus belive that god is everywhere...not just in tirupathi ...so you can worship him in your home..

(So there is a chance, that gender equality may be someday on the cards for Hinduism?)

first fight for womens rights to preach in chatolic religion and then discuss about gender equality in hinduism...we already have women preachers....

(It should be a choice that every woman can makes)

yes then whats so offending about some hindu women who think you should not enter their temple with mini skirts....its their choice and they made it.

(Did I question them?)

(When people are deprived of information for long enough and fed what a power system wants them to believe is information then this unbalanced 'information' becomes mainstream or normal. Otherwise know as brainwashing)

yes you did ....this is your opinion in quotes ....."Yes, what about them? Why do they insist on supporting rules that oppress other women?"

who are u to say that women are being oppressed...they have their own point of view...they say that you wear a mini skirt because you want to be popular with men.....and that way you have been brain washed into that kind of behaviour.(...because of what you say that when people are deprived of information and fed witha power system) and they say you are the one who has been fed by a powerful media which portray mini skirted celebrities as hot and you want to flaunt that in their temple...which they dont want you do to do.

(They judge us as disrespectful because we dont dress like they do to enter the temples? Or because they object to us making choices with our lives that are not the same as what they do?)

you make a lot of generalizations with a lot of fed up information that is not true....what makes you sooo sure that they dont have any choice in the decisions that they make....?How can you be so sure....?did you speak with them?.

(Do you need somebody to follow? If so, why?)

Why is it important to lead always...whats wrong in following ....?
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15 years ago, February 18th 2009 No: 20 Msg: #63446 Delete Edit

rakesh
rakesh reddy

D Posts: 98

(Why were these things done in the name of religion and why did so many accept this discrimination as part of religion?)

Discrimination was accepted for many reasons...because society was not free those days...wars were commen and you needed the support of powerful and that is the only way to survive...well that is my opinion..... :-) Reply to this