RELIGION – A CLASSICAL DHARMA
S.S.SANJAY KRISHNAN & K.P.MANISH
B.COM; LLB (Hons) & BBA; LLB (Hons) SASTRA, THIRUMALAISAMUDHRAM, THANJAVUR
ABSTRACT
The authors here tried to explore and elaborate the fundamentals of common ethnic practices which can be classified as essentials of such religious practices. The anthropological origins of religion have not been of great concern to the authors, but the effect of such religion on the progress of mankind and statehood has been discussed in abundance. The symbiotic relationship shared by religion with state entities and laws is discussed here. The radical changes in either of these participants would tremendously affect the relationship and the other participant. Religions that have led to the rise of laws and morals in the primitive societies are now been subjected to the laws of modernization and logic
The legal intervention into matters of religion has greatly affected them and has led to their deviance from the original puritan approach and conservative practices. These deviances are highly ambiguous in nature and to classify them in the binary code of rights and wrong is largely impossible. The authors have discussed the cases of Haji Ali Dargah, Shani-Shingnapur and the very recent infamous Sabarimala judgment to elaborate on the above-mentioned aspects. Taking of an ideological stand in analyzing these judgments would spoil the academic approach to it. Therefore, the authors have refrained from doing so and have taken a third-person objective viewpoint.
INTRODUCTION TO RELIGION:
“RELIGION IS THE OPIUM OF THE MASSES”
- KARL MARX
Religion is the set of belief, practices, dogmas and other feelings which define the relations between human being and the sacred or divinity. Every religion that is followed by the people living in the universe has its own dogmas, sacred books, rites, worship, sacrament, moral, prescription, interdicts, and organization. The main concept of religion is to believe in something which is said to be sacred or divine. The essential characteristics of the term religion are as follows:
1) Belief in religious practices
2) Feeling religious
3) Unity in a community of those who share the same faith.
The word religion is said to have derived from the Latin term “Religion” which means moral bond or anxiety. It was used by the Romans, before the birth of Jesus Christ, to indicate the worship of the demons. Initially, the term religion was only used in Christianity, and then its use gradually extended to all forms of social demonstration in connection with sacred. After that Lucretius (Roman Poet), Lactantius (Christian author) and Tertullianus (Christian author or Cathage) put forth its origin in “Religare” which means to connect. The origin of religion can generally be traced to the ancient Near East and they can be classified as follows:
a) Polytheism
b) Pantheism
c) Monotheism
d) Atheism
POLYTHEISM:
Polytheism is said to be the belief that is many gods, that is the existence of many gods. In Greek, the word “poly” refers to “many” and the other word “theism” refer to “god”, Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish writer is the first inventor of the term. The history is that when the religion of Christianity was adversely spreading in Europe and the Mediterranean coast, the non- Christian were called as “Pagans” or Gentiles or by saying them as idolaters. Even though say Alexandria had invented the term, but Jean Bodin was the first person to use it in modern times. The most understandable example of polytheism in the olden times is the Greek/Roman mythology (Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Aphrodite, etc). The current relating modern example of polytheism is Hinduism, which carries around 200 million gods. In spite of the fact that Hinduism falls under the category of Pantheistic, but it does hold to beliefs in many gods. In it to be noted that about an interesting fact that, in polytheistic, one god usually regains supremacy over the other god, example Zeus in Greek/Roman mythology and Brahman in Hinduism. Polytheism is one of the types of religion, in which, there are multiple numbers of gods in the universe. In a country like India where there is diverse religion present, there exist people of various religions on every different part of India. Thus in toto, the religious practice of polytheism is implied more in India. India, where the concept of henotheist is applicable which the religion of preaching one particular god but accepting the existence of other gods or other religion followed by other the rest of the people.
PANTHEISM:
Pantheism gives the notion that reality tantamount with the divinity, in simple term it says their reality of happenings of an individual does not depend on the god and it says there remains a difference between diversity and reality. There exist varied definitions of Pantheism, as some consider it a philosophical and theological position concerning God. It is portrayed in a way such that every form of reality may be considered either of the avatar of being or anything similar to it. Few say that Pantheism is a non-religious philosophical position, as of which, to those people, Pantheism is that view which the Universe and the God are identical (referring to the denial of the transcendence and personality of God). There is a huge difference between Pantheism and Panentheism (which is also called monistic monotheism). The former tells us that God and the universe are one and the same and can be equated as God is the universe, whereas the latter describes the divine interpenetrates all aspects of the universe and outshines it. It is derived from the Greek word meaning all of everything; the initial meaning of this concept was defined in Latin by Joseph Raphson.
MONOTHEISM:
Monotheism is been defined as the belief that there is only one God who has created the world. In other words, it says that under this type of religion, there is a presumption that only one God is there in the universe. The word monotheism was taken from the Greek word “monos” meaning ‘single’ and the word “theos” means ‘god’. There is a difference between monotheism and polytheism, as in the former it is believed that there is an existence of one god but whereas in the latter it is said that there are many temples. This type of religion breaks the other religion of ancient times which is Islam, Christianity, and Hindu and brings a conclusion that there existence of one god. There is a lack of presence of any historical event to bring any proof that one type of religion is older than the other, even though few learned scholars stated that monotheism is having a higher value than any other religion. The people when on selecting any one particular way of preaching a religion may at times prefer the principle of monotheism since; there is no diversity of religion as of which the people who believe in the existence of one god in the universe, would likely to follow it.
In the preference of selecting among a religion to be preached, there arise various complications, as there are no satisfactory answers to the questions posed by the public. The trouble under polytheism is on the questions posted regarding the origin of God, similarly, the complications of monotheism are queries regarding the origin of evil in the universe. There is a stand of difference between antithesis and monotheism, as the former opposes or is against of anything which is been definitely affirmed and here in the present circumstance the term states being against the presence of God in the universe. The latter as we already know that it defines the existence of one god.
ATHEISM:
Antithesis is derived from Greek as such, which means setting opposite. This term is generally applied in writing or in any speech or used when to oppose anything in the heat of an argument. Thus in general, Antithesis is defined as a way of speech which is applied in contradicting any clause or any sentences or words argument or a principle or any object. An antithesis could only be used when there is one statement but there is an existence of two ideas. Aristotle enlightens on the area of antithesis saying that using of contradiction on every situation would help the audience in better understanding and would be easy for them to choose the one side, which they would feel convenient. Earlier, we discussed on what antithesis is about, in a general day to day routine. But now we are going to see in religious aspects. Atheism principle is used by an atheist, that is, atheism is a concept under a religious practice in which, people do not have any belief in the existence of God. An important thing which should be noted down that not all atheist is religious by nature. These people over a period of time are not bothered or consider being irrelevant in the existence of God and have been leading their life with that assumption and living happily. Thus, for an atheist, God’s existence or non-existence is of relevancy in their understanding of reality. Thus, an atheist is a person who does not believe in god and he assumes there is no supernatural power apart from living being. In the present generation, there is an existence of people who follow the concept of antithesis, that is, there are many atheists who presume that there is no existence of Almighty in this universe. Atheism to be precise is the antonym of belief or faith in God. The people who don't believe in God or his existence are called an atheist. The term atheism can be classified in two that is strong atheism and weak atheism. These classifications don't provide with their literal meaning but the former refers to the doctrine where the people believe that there is no one called God and the latter refers to the disbelief of the Gods. The term weak atheism is mostly confused with skepticism which means the absolute knowledge that God’s existence is unobtainable and agnosticism which refers to lack of belief in God. The agnosticism and skepticism are commonly known as a practical atheist who lives an atheistic lifestyle.
THE CONCEPT OF LAW AND RELGION:
The classical concept of religion and law as an integral part of society doesn’t exist in religious thoughts. Both the term religion and law are part of the same genus that is Dharma. Dharma is the whole concept governing the universe with its moral and eternal order. This also helps to derive the principle of natural law of the universe. The principle of eternal order is based on authority and validation. In a society of different faiths, the responsibilities governing a particular individual is based and determined by the status of the individual. The status of the person was determined by their caste and stage of life that is “varnasramadharma”. Everyone in this society starting from the king to the last person should be governed and adhered to dharma. The dynamic character of dharma has many influences in the part of an individual’s life. Every individual should follow his natural and moral order that is a proper faithful individual would wish to perform every action in accordance with Dharma. The sources of Dharma are as follows:
1) SHRUTI:
It is considered to be one of the most ancient most sources of Hindu law. It literally means that what has been heard by Rishis, that is, what is directly heard by them from the god. The word “Shruti” is derived from ‘shruv’ meaning to ‘to hear’. It’s one of the primary sources of Hindu law and it is said to be believed that the language of the divine revelation through the sages. Shruti is the synonym of Veda. The word “Veda” means to ‘knowledge or to know’. It is derived from the “vid” which means’ to know’. Vedas do not contain rule of law in a connected form. Vedas or Shruti is a primary and sine-quo-non source of Hindu Law. There are totally 4 types of Veda, which are, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Adarvana Veda. Rig Veda is one the oldest form of Vedas which consist of 1028 hymns arranged into a group, which is divided into small groups.
2) SMRITHI:
After Shruti, Smrithis are the most sine quo non of sources of Hindu Law. It is derived from the word “smri” meaning ‘to remember’. It literally means to what the Rishis have remembered in their mind when the almighty preaches, thus the recording of matters over the minds of Rishis are been converted into written form, which is called as Smrithis. Vedas represent the direct words of god but whereas Smrithis represents what was remembered from the words of the God heard by sages. The oldest Smrithis is the Manu Smrithis. The earliest Smrithis are called as Dharma Sutras in 800-1200 BC which later was called as Dharma Shastras.
3) DIGEST AND COMMENTARIES:
The rule enshrined in the Smrithis were not clear and also were not free from conflicts, for facilitating administration of justice necessities arose to analyze and systematize the Smrithis by the commentaries and digest writers. Commentaries and Digest covered a period of more than thousand years from the seventh century to 1800 A.D.
4) CUSTOMS:
Custom is regarded as the fourth sources of Hindu law. From the earliest period, the custom is regarded as the highest dharma. Yagnavalkiya defines custom to be that which a person practices whether it is Dharma or not because it is the usage of the country. According to Narada Smrithis, ‘custom is powerful and it overrides sacred law’. Thus, in overall terms custom is a practice of following a religion or an established pattern of behavior followed by the people. Under Indian courts, the custom is recognized in three types, namely, local custom, class custom, and caste custom. The local customs are recognized by the courts, as these practices are found in a particular region or locality. The caste custom and class custom is one and the same, but an only minute difference is seen, in the latter, the custom is been followed as the class of the people and whereas in the former it is the caste of the people as to what religion they practice.
In ancient times the people were governed by this dharma and the idea of natural order. The king would be taking care of the individuals to follow dharma if anyone doesn’t go with the flow they would be punished accordingly. This concept of law and order was then modernized in the colonial era. In the mid-1770s the British rulers tried to bring or enforce the law in the territories controlled by them and were alienated by the Indian legal tradition. Only after the British commemorated changes in personal laws, they understood the concept of dharma and Common Law tradition. After that, they commissioned ‘A Code of Gentoo Laws” which were published in the year 1776 and it served as a law for governing religion in British courts.
These Dharma’s were originally put forth and introduced by the very old sage called Manu who was inspired by Buddha to discover the eternal laws to make them available to the world. These texts which were organized and scripted came to be known as ‘Manudharma’, ‘Manusmrithi’ or ‘Manudharmasastra’.
After the colonial period, many personal laws and laws relating to religious beliefs were developed which had their ideas that developed in the ancient societies by our ancestors. In the modern world taking into account India, Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees every person right to follow any religion and their faith which the individual prefers. The term faith should be decided on the rationale of society and not on individual preference for the purpose of making laws based on them. After making laws on religion by the framers of the Constitution many cases arose which were sometimes judged on the rationale of society and Dharma and sometimes against the will of the society but for the preference of the individuals.
ENTRY OF WOMEN AT SABARIMALA TEMPLE:
The first and the most important instance which clearly depicts the importance of law especially that it must not interfere in the religious belief. The infamous Sabarimala Temple Case, wherein the contention brought forward at the Supreme Court was that women must be allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple. It’s a five-judge bench being led by the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra JJ., have started hearing the matter concerning prohibition of Women’s entry inside the precincts of The Sabarimala Temple.
Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra: “Where a man can enter, even a woman can go. What applies to a man, applies to a woman.”
The authors of this research article aren’t conceding to the statement made by the Honorable Chief Justice of India amidst the hearing concerning the Sabarimala Issue. To advance with the aforementioned proposition, the authors have dealt in with the legal dimension of this issue in detail. The restriction imposed over the woman to enter into Sabarimala temple is an “Essential Religious Practice” of this Religious Institution. The emphasis made by CJ Dipak Misra relates to Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which says equality of law and equal protection of law must be given to every citizen of the nation. Under this article, there is a simple concept applied which is the test of reasonable classification. The classification is done on the basis of physiological characteristics between the Women and Men are backed up by strong reasoning and thus are not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It is, in turn, satisfying the conditions of Intelligible Differentia and Rationale Nexus principle. Sabarimala Temple has a separate denomination for itself as it satisfies all the requirements and it is empowered to manage its own religious affairs. The petition claiming for annulment of the ban over the entry of woman is a lucid paradigm of motivated and vexatious litigation. It is not the original dissenting voice of the women who are connected with this issue. In fact, there is no dissenting voice against this issue itself when we consider the actual voices of those women who understand their rights and limitations with respect to their entry at the premises. It is a foul game played by the public activists owing to their nonchalant and recalcitrant consideration for age-old religious Acharas, Customs, and Practices. For clear understanding, the authors would like to explain the history of Lord Ayyappa. Sabarimala temple is of the main god Lord Ayyappa who is known to be a chronic bachelor (also known as a Naishtika Brahmachari). The Sabarimala Temple has been a shrine for Lord Ayyappan which is been located at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Kerala in Pathanamthitta District. Sree Ayyappa was born from the union of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu (mythical enchantress Mohini). This union between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are represented as 'Hariharaputra' where Lord Vishnu is recognized as Hari and Lord Shiva is recognized as Hara. The story behind the birth of the legend Lord Ayyappa has to be looked into the prehistoric scriptures or Purans, as per the Puranas, when Goddess Durga (sister of Lord Vishnu) had killed King Mahishasur, his sister Mahishi wanted to take revenge on her brother. She was born with Lord Brahma's boon which not only made her indestructible but also was based on the fact that the only child born from the union of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu can only defeat her. For this reason, Lord Vishnu had incarnated into Mohini and wed with Lord Shiva in order to give birth to a child and save the world from annihilation. When Lord Ayyappa had accomplished his destiny by defeating the demon, it was found out that a beautiful woman had emerged from her body asking him to marry her. Lord Ayyappa refuses the women by assuring that he would marry her only when Kanni swamis (first-time devotees) had stopped coming to the temple during the period of Mandalam i.e., (November- January) and till then he would remain as celibate. In order to find out the kanni-swamis who visit the temple, the first time devotees are made to mark their arrival by prodding a stick at the Sharam kurthi. With the assurance given by Lord Ayyappa, the woman is now worshipped as Malikapurathamma (also known as manjamatha) who waits for him at the neighboring shrine near the Sabarimala Temple. Lord Ayyappa's idol was sculpted and installed on the day of Makara Sankranthi by Lord Parasuram. The reason behind the restriction/prohibition of entry of women to Sabarimala Temple as per mythological tradition is as follows. Firstly, Lord Ayyappa is and has always been a celibate till date and the main reason behind his celibacy is the assurance which was given to Malikapurathamma i.e., till the day he finds out that kanni-swamis stop coming to his temple he would remain a celibate. In order to support this statement, the authors would like to state that this practice has been followed for years and if by any chance the kanni-swamis have ceased to come to the devasthanam during the Mandalam period then it would be considered that the prohibition of the women entry to the pilgrimage would come to an end. It is believed that Lord Ayyappa would get married to Malikapurathamma after the aforesaid period which would be an auspicious day for all the devotees. Secondly, Entry of women would affect the sanctity of principles of Brahmachariyam. There has always been a religious practice in the Hindu Religion which is based on 4 Ashramas wherein every single person goes through these phases during their lifetime. Lord Ayyappa is going through the first phase of the Ashrama i.e., Brahmacharya. The significance of being a Brahmacharya is to attain both spiritual and practical excellence wherein one must wholeheartedly follow the principle of celibacy. Lord Ayyappa who is a Naishtika Brahmachari is shielding the devotees who visit the Temple and also brings about a change in the vicious thoughts of humanity. The logic behind the prohibition of entry of women is that it would not only affect the sanctity of the devasthanam but also affect the essential principle of being a Brahmachari. Lastly, the reason behind the restriction for entry of women aging from 10 to 50 was due to the menstruation cycle which each and every woman would undergo after attaining puberty. The significance of this restriction is in furtherance of the assurance given to Malikapurathamma by Lord Ayyappa as a condition to marry her. It is believed that every woman of age below 10 and above 50 is allowed to enter the sannidhanam. The Travancore Devaswom Board has made it mandatory for every woman to carry an age proof with a view to put an end to the instances of women entering the temple by defying the restriction. Furthermore, even the restricted women who have removed their uterus are allowed to enter the temple without any restriction provided they bring the medical certificate which states the same. Thus as a whole, the Sabarimala Temple having a mythological tradition as of not allowing to enter women is as per the religious belief be kept in a hold and here the law must not interfere. The bench as on 1st August 2018 had reserved its decision regarding the matter and the authors presume to have a judgment which does not violate the religious and custom beliefs. But as on 28th September 2018, the court as per the authors’ presumption had arbitrarily given the verdict in allowing women to enter in the Sabarimala temple. By 4:1 majority, wherein the court held that general discrimination cannot be done under the concept of devotion. The only judge who had dissented was Justice Indu Malhotra in her judgment had expressly stated that pleading a case under Article 32 of the constitution must be filed when there is a violation of personal right of the petitioner alone, and thus it lacked maintainability and justifiability. Hence, hereby by indicating that the petitioners of this case are not any devotees of Lord Ayyappa located in Sabarimala Temple as it is believed that he is called “Naishtik Bramachari”. So thus on deciding the decision to be made the court has to take into consideration the religious matters which any person having a faith of Lord Ayyappa and not in a case where there is a violation of personal right of the petitioner. “To determine the validity of long-standing religious customs and usages of a sect, at the instance of an association/Intervenors who are “involved in social developmental activities especially activities related to upliftment of women and helping them become aware of their rights”, would require this Court to decide religious questions at the behest of persons who do not subscribe to this faith,” she explained on this Friday. One more important contribution given by Justice Indu Malhotra was with regards to Article 25: Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. It was about the matter that the Honorable Supreme Court must not interfere in the practices which are considered to be integral of a sacred temple would end up being a conflict to the rights guaranteed as per Article 25(1), which is to worship Lord Ayyappa in the form of “Naishtik Bramachari”. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra stated that women are not less inferior to men and said ‘Patriarchy of religion cannot be permitted to trump over faith.’ These statements were given by CJI clearly depicts that the stand taken by him over this case verdict was totally arbitrary and was very much in favor of women. As the authors have already provided with necessary reasons as to why women’s entry is been prohibited, which clearly would have been understood to the readers. Moreover, the authors want to highlight the fact that, the restriction with proper reasoning both in religious and customary way and also lawfully. The very basic matter of the case, which is the maintainability of the suit filed by the petitioner, was invalid, which the authors have discussed in Justice Indu Malhotra dissent on the case. Later another learned judge, Justice DY Chandrachud gave a concurring opinion as of the CJI Dipak Misra had stated the primitive impression on restricting the entry of women as it would affect celibacy of Lord Ayyappa and his devotees. The authors strongly stick on one point that the Sabarimala temple has a religious custom and a tradition which are been followed for years together, and going against the customary practice of the temple is wrong. There is the presence of religious denomination, under Article 26 is protected conforming that the devotees of Lord Ayyappa who follow the similar belief, faith and practice followed. The last judge who a concurring opinion at this case was Justice RF Nariman stated that any violation of individual or private rights would be against the constitution, here he is trying to make us understand that an individual women’s right is been violated. The authors presume that the concept of intelligible differentia as per Article 14 is applied in this case. The temple has necessary reasons as to why all women are not allowed to enter the Sabarimala Temple and there is an existence of a nexus between the object of such a restriction. Thus, the restriction imposed over women is valid and it does not violate Article 14 as a result of which their personal rights are not taken away. Thus at the end of this case, the authors feel the decision taken by the five-judge bench was erroneous in nature (Indian Young Lawyers Assn v. State of Kerala.).
SHANI SHINGNAPUR:
The other standard example that shows as on how the provisions of the law have converged in religion which resulted in adversely affecting the primitive religious customs and beliefs that has paved the way to a new era of custom being followed as the similar issue of women also being allowed to enter inside the temple was brought. A Public Interest Litigation was filed by Senior Advocate Nilima and by activist Vidya Bal for removing of restriction for women being allowed to enter into sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. Actually, the entire case was initiated when a woman had entered the sanctum place of the temple and had taken the blessings of lord Shaneshwar by touching the sacred idol on 28th December 2015.This immediately brought an astonishment over the temple trustees as the 400-year-old temple, from its origin, had no issue as similar to this was faced. The trustees presumed that as per the dharma the god had lost its sanctity resulting too which the temple trustee had closed the temple for a day and the temple priest had performed a maha pooja to regain the purity of the temple on the same day the shops located at Ahmednagar district was closed. The security guard in charge on duty on controlling the crowd was suspended from their job, as they failed in their duty in letting a woman inside the sanctum of the temple. As per Hindu dharma, it does not say anywhere as to the fact that woman must not be entered inside the temple sanctum. The immediate response taken by the temple trustee had heated the present status. Bhoomata Brigade is a committee established for the betterment of women, led by Trupti Desai were the initial parties who were going against the trustees, since they gathered a troop of women and had made a open- public announcement as to the public that on 26th of January, 2016 that approximately 400 women would be gathering around the temple and would break inside through the police security and would climb the platform of the temple on which the rock idol of Shani is installed, but in reality it was possible since the police doubled their men as a result of which Trupati Desai was arrested and taken into custody. Later, she had a meeting with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis to submit her memorandum of demand on the unreasonable restriction imposed on women not being allowed to enter the interior sanctum. Thus, this aggravated as the time passed on and finally a PIL was filled by an infamous activist Vidya Bal. Hearing the PIL challenging the prohibition of women to enter the temple, the division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela along with Justice MS Sonak said “You have to ensure their access. Provisions in law already allow this. Nothing prevents women from entering. Police and collector will have to act against those preventing their entry.” The court said that conclusively it’s the fundamental right of the women which has been brought forward and it’s the fundamental duty of the government to protect their right. The Honorable Bench stressed on the provision of the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorization) Act, 1956, as per section 3, states that ”no Hindu of whatsoever section or class shall in any manner be prevented, obstructed or discouraged from entering such place of public worship or from worshipping or offering prayers, or performing a religious service…”. Thus the bench made it clear that the Secretary of Home Department of Maharashtra, will assure the due assent and application of the provisions of the Act, and the court ordered to ensure that the policy and purpose of the Act are fully applied to the citizens. The Honorable Bombay High Court had addressed that these type gender inequality cases cannot be always dealt, thus it has been passed as a general direction to the government. In addition, it also stated that in any case a similar case in been brought forward it, the aggregated party, he/she can approach the local authority for getting redressed. The authors presume that the decision taken by the bench, consisting of Chief Justice D.H Waghela and Justice M.S Sonak to be arbitrary.”There is no law that prevents the entry of women in any place. If you allow men then you should allow women also.... If a male can go and pray before the deity then why not women? It is the state government’s duty to protect the rights of women,” the Division Bench had rapped the authorities. The above point conveyed by the bench gives a clear view that the religious belief and the custom being followed for years are not valued. Every religion has certain beliefs which have to be duly respected by the law, and the mere existence of some state law relating entry authorization is something unacceptable. For every religious belief, there lies a scientific reason. It’s said by few people that not all temple are for worshipping, but instead for maintaining the energies. Moreover, it’s scientifically proven fact that the planets in our solar system have an impact on us humans. The word SHANI means “Saturn”. These are the temples created for different planets in the solar system. The impact of different planets depends upon our own physiology and our psychological structure. Saturn, which is a far away from earth, takes 30 years to complete one revolution around the sun, so once in 30 years, the Saturn will have the certain influence upon us, in Hindi, it’s called saaada saath and in Tamil, they call it Ezhraa meaning seven and a half. So this seven and a half year period of Saturn will affect us and the energy and vibration present is comparatively high and women are very susceptible to these energies when compared to men. That is why it is said that it is not advisable for women to enter the sanctum of Shani-Shingnapur temple. Thus it’s because of this high unbearable vibration of the energy of the Saturn, it’s advised to women especially ladies in pregnancy and women in menstruation cycle, not enter the temple, especially not close to the sacred ideal.
HAJI ALI DARGAH:
The infamous Haji Ali Dargah is a mosque and dargah (tomb) located on an islet off the coast of Worli in the Southern part of Mumbai. The dargah is recognized to be one of the most ancient and well known since it is located at the heart of the city, Mumbai. The matter relating the dargah was about women being restricted to enter the dargah and touch the grave as it was considered to be a “sin” in the case which is citied to be as Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz and Zakia Soman Vs the State of Maharashtra and Haji Ali Dargah Trust. The Haji Ali Dargah was build up in the year 1431 in memories of Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who is a rich wealthy Muslim merchant. The shrine in Haji Ali Dargah is of Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, a Muslim saint who was being revered by all the communities since he was preaching and spreading knowledge about Islam and to the people. Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at The Bombay High Court, by an NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan along with the activists DR. Noorjehan Safia Niaz and Zakia Soman in the November 2014. The contention brought by the NGO was that the ban invoked the protection of Articles 14 and 15, which is Right to Equality and non-discrimination and Article 25(1) which is Right to Religious Freedom. The Bombay High Court gave a verdict in regards to the removal of unjustified restriction over the entry of women at Haji Ali Dargah. The division bench consisting of Justice VM Kanade and Mohite Revati- Dhere stated that the Maharashtra government must ensure safety and security of women saying the ban imposed earlier was a violation of citizen’s fundamental rights as per Part 3 of the Constitution. The contention brought by the trustees of Haji Ali Dargah is that by invoking Article 25(1) that as per Sharia law, a woman must not be allowed to enter the inner sanctum and also seek protection Article 26(b), that is, by granting religious denomination of rights to manage their own affairs in matters of religion. Few Islamic philosophies also say that it is presumed as per Sharia that the god, that is, Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari is believed to be alive inside the tomb which is taken to be the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah. The authors under this scenario presume that the religious belief which lies over the dargah of Haji Ali Shah, which must not be touched by women since the sanity is lost. Every restrain imposed in temple or mosque is made cause of some religious belief or the tradition which is being followed, so thus before foolishly filing a petition of right to equality, an individual must know about the reason as to why there is an intelligible differentia made of not letting all people to enter a temple or a mosque as per Article 14 of the Constitution.
RELIGION AND MORALITY:
Organized religion requires a civilization in order to exist, so it could not have been the architect of moral behavior. People of this modern Era regard morality as the primary and only evidence for all the supernatural intervention in the development of human beings. Every religion has proposed some holy texts which provide motivation to the believers of the said religion. For example Bhagavat Gita for Hindus, Five pillars of Islam etc. These texts are believed to be uttered by God for the welfare of the world that is 'Lokashemam Vahamyaham". The believers of the specific religion believe that the theories of what is wrong and what is correct are derived from these religious texts. These texts put a beginning to the concept of morality and these are regarded as paramount importance in understanding ancient texts. The ideology of people who deviate and go on other track than having belief in any religion can only be found if their root causes for this is found. The concept of religion and following deities is what makes us believe that God's determine our fate. The concept of spreading religion is because; whatever we did to the society the same shall be received by us in the name of a moral code from society. There are also people who believe in God, spirit or dead ancestors and think they have a constant degree of supervision on them. The people are of dynamic nature they have evolved to increase their pro-social behavior by believing in judgmental deities and spirits. These religious beliefs reciprocate our willingness to display moral behavior and to accept some moral codes to reduce the scrutiny people apply to the supernatural powers. The morality that is found in the religion makes the life of the people who believe in them so valuable. It creates self-control among the individuals who follow and do the rituals without any flaw or delay in time and which in-turn leads to mental discipline.
CONCLUSION:
This article is an attempt taken by the authors to showcase the dynamic changes that took place in the country from inside and out. The changes in the law on religion during this time period are very humongous. The morality of religion is the first step as dharma in the making of the rules and eternal orders for the country. The main concept of this morality in law is the Universal peace. The concept of Dharma is followed from the ancient times to the modern ages and this is mainly used in making laws for the public good on religious beliefs. The modern-day law on religion is to be classified on a societal rationale and not individual preference. The issues which came into for judging to the courts were sometimes decided in preference of the society and mostly vice-versa. To conclude religion is not a thing to be dealt by taking modern day laws into account but to decide on faith, belief and the principle of Dharma.