Women are generally not allowed to enter the Shani temple though this rule is not followed in all Shani temples. Recently the case of a women offering oil to the Lord at Shingnapur was in the headlines. Later on some women right activists also protested against this practice followed at one of the most sacred shrines of Lord Shanidev. Today we will discuss why this rule was made at the first place and should we follow the same. Many consider it as discrimination towards women but is that actually true? Or the facts are different.

Editor’s Note: before proceeding further we must clarify one thing that we are full supporters and advocates of women rights, independence and equality. We are saying so because these days certain so called women organizations tend to make an issue out of anything just to gain their own mileage. The Indian traditions have been full of respect for women and most Deities are female and worshipped globally like say Maa Vaishno, Maa Chinpurni and so on. Of course during the phase of foreign rule the society got deteriorated and many evils came in, but basically religion has not been against women or any gender for that matter.

We usually consider old customs as made by illiterate people whereas even the most advanced countries now admit the fact that knowledge written in ancient text is even more advanced than our current level of physical sciences. So we should not straight away dismiss everything as orthodox and outdated but try to see the basic cause for it.

Discrimination towards a specific gender?

A lot has been written about why women are not allowed in many temples. It has been taken as discrimination towards the weaker sex. Nevertheless, do you know that there are many temples in India where men are not allowed to enter? No one ever questioned that because men have been considered as the stronger sex in our culture. Anything that men are not allowed to do will never be termed as discrimination.

Few Basic Principles

Astrology is a science where we study how the planets affect the life of the individuals. Depending on the place and time of your birth it is checked how a planet will affect your life. Some planets are strong for you and some are not. Some planets can get you good results and others may put you down. Well if we start to talk about the planets the topic will get diverted.

According to the planets the ancient Indians had made temples. Each temple was dedicated to each planet. If you are having problems with a particular planet you can go to the concerned temple and try to do some remedies in order to reduce your trouble.

The Planet Shani

Shani is also a planet. It is considered to be the son of Sun. Shani has a brother too his name is Yama. Shani is the planet that controls our health, thoughts, depression, governance and adversities.  Yama is the god of death. The mother of these two brothers and the wife of sun is Chaya. Chaya means shadow. Wherever sun is present there will be light and invariably there will be shadow. As shadow follows the sun she became his wife. If you look closely you will see the logic and science behind this.

Shani is very far from sun. It takes thirty long years to complete one revolution of the sun. The seventh day of the week is Saturday this is also called Shani vaar. Shani is the seventh planet from the sun that is exactly why the seventh day is called Shani vaar. Graha means planet in Hindi. Grah means something that can influence you. Planets do influence our lives so they are called graha.

There might be many more planets and some are yet to be discovered but the astrologers give importance to only those planets that have an influence in our lives. As sun and moon also have an influence in our lives they are also considered planets in astrology whereas in reality they are not planets at all. As sun is considered as a planet Shani becomes the seventh planet else it is the sixth planet from the sun.

Effects of Shani

Shani is a very important planet. If it is placed well in your horoscope it can give you immense pleasure and happiness. On the other hand if it is not placed in a good position it can cause you a lot of health problems. It is up to you to decide if you want such external factors to affect your life.

Many people do not belive in astrology nowadays. On the other hand there are many who completely trust the verdicts that are given by astrology. If a person is on the spiritual path no astrologer in India will check his or her future. Because when you are on a spiritual path you are not in a position to be influenced by such external factors. This science is meant only for those who are having a family and are living the life of a grihasta.

Shani takes thirty years to finish one revolution of the sun. This is why each and every one of us has the possibility of getting affected by this planet at least once in thirty years. Once this planet enters our life the affect stays for seven and a half years. This phase is called Saade saathi. During these years one becomes more vulnerable to diseases and accidents. During this time puja and other rituals are done in the Shani temple to ensure that this planet cannot do much harm to the person who is suffering from Saade saathi.

Shani Shinganpur: Maharasthra

There are many temples in India that is dedicated to the Shani lord. In these temples the planet Shani is treated as god. One such prominent temple is Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra. There is a lot of debate going on about this temple and if women be allowed to go till the innermost part of the temple where Shani god had been placed. This temple is a very important temple and is used for tantra and mantra. Many people who are affected by an evil spirit are taken to this temple.

Due to these procedures that are carried on in this temple women are not allowed. Women are sensitive to these procedures and the energies that come out during these procedures can be very harmful for women. Especially if the woman is pregnant and having periods her sensitivity to attract these negative energies become stronger.

In this state she can be very vulnerable and as a result she may suffer. Men on the other hand are relatively stronger and they do not get affected by these negative vibes so much. Men do not give birth to the next generation. It is the woman who carries the child for nine months and gives birth to it. This is why women are more sensitive. No one wants to get influenced by evil spirits.

However, it is possible for any one of us to get affected by these spirits and negative energies. These temples were primarily built to deal with these problems only. This is a part of our life and we must respect the same. If a woman is affected by such a spirit she might get over it with a lot of rituals but the effect remains. It can cause both mental and physical damage to the woman that is not good for her in the future and also for the child that she would be bearing in the future.

The Ill Effects

If this restriction was put in place by the ancient people of India there was a lot of thought process that went into it. If women start going into these temples then the strength of these temples might start to suffer and in the future they might not be able to give the same results that they have been giving in the past.

These temples were built with a purpose. The purpose was to ensure that anyone who is suffering due to a negative spirit of energy source can get relief here. If women start going into these temples the effect of this temple will reduce. It may seem like discrimination to many. But it is actually not discrimination towards women. The temple authorities should talk more clearly about the rules that they have made and why these rules must be respected at any cost. These rules are made after a lot of thinking and analysis.

Other Reasons & Analysis

There are some temples that were located in remote areas like hills and mountains. To reach these temples you would have to cross a dense forest. These forests were filled with wild animals before and they could kill women. Women generally could not fight wild animals as they were physically weaker so these temples slowly became popular as places where only men can go. However, today there is no such fear of wild animals attacking women so if required women might be allowed in these temples. First we need to analyse why these rules were made and are these rules relevant in today’s world and accordingly we must decide to change the rules.

Think Before You Protest

Shani temples are not meant for women and they must be educated about the science of these temples so that they leave the idea of going into these temples. We are a democratic society and each one of us has our opinion. Men and women are two different sex and this fact must be appreciated. There are many things that men cannot do and perhaps should not do. Similarly there are things that women should not get into. If this is not followed the results can be very dangerous for the women who are entering the Shani temples. The sexual differences are a fact and women are be more sensitive than men.

We hope that this article will help the readers to understand why men and women are treated with a difference when it comes to entering the temples of India. There are some rules that were made and we must try to understand them before we jump into a conclusion that these rules were made to discriminate men and women. Unless we know the whole truth we will not be able to take the right decision about who should enter these temples.