Shani Shingnapur temple row: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar supports women's campaign

Mumbai: Spiritual guru and founder of the Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar intervened and offered to help to end the ongoing tussle between women activists and locals over the entry of women in Shani Shingnapur Shrine in Maharashtra.

The spiritual guru, who has been chosen for Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award, backed the campaign by women activists to break gender bias and allow them entry to the sacred sanctrum of the Shani temple and all other sacred places in the state.

Terming the campaign of women as justified, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that there is no scriptural sanction that should discriminate against female devotees.

According to a CNN-IBN report, Sri Sri said, "Women are justified in seeking to enter the sacred sanctum of the temple as there was no sanction to gender discrimination in our scriptures. If men can enter, women too can. Different temples follow different rules, but if men can enter a place of worship, women can also do so. There is no scriptural sanction for any gender discrimination."

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had recently said that religious leaders should intervene in such issues to resolver the matter and bring an end to the standoff over the Shani Shingnapur Shrine.

Over 400 women activists in Maharashtra launched a protest last week against the centuries-old ban of not allowing female devotees inside the premises of Shani Shingnapur Shrine in Maharashtra.