Why people who menstruate don't enter temples?

Menstruation is a huge taboo in our society. Even the mere mention of this normal biological process gets everyone all awkward and shushing.

This stigma and lack of education about menstruating persons and the process itself results in widespread myths.

One of them is that people are not allowed to enter temples, religious places or religious functions when they menstruate.

It was because they were thought to be impure and unhygienic. Some of the cultures took things a bit too far and labelled menstruation as something evil, hence the escalation in the rise of touch-her-not.

But digging a bit further, it seems that some of the practices and norms are twisted, and not at all true.

India is the Land of Ayurveda. All the teachings, medicines and body cleansing rituals stem from the belief that Ayurveda is based on the principles of three primary life-forces in the body, called the three doshas. Doshas are the bio-energies that make up every individual, and help in performing different physiological functions in the body.

Menstruation is regarded in Ayurveda as a special opportunity enjoyed by women for monthly cleansing of excess doshas; it is this monthly cleansing that accounts for female longevity.

Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati (Guruji), the founder of Devipuram temple in Andhra Pradesh, was asked about the practice of women not being allowed to enter temples. His answer might change your assumptions behind the impurity.

Credits: Devi Bhakta, wikipedia.org

He said, "What is pure, we don’t touch. And what we don’t touch, we call it a taboo. She (a menstruating woman) was so pure, that she was worshipped as a Goddess. The reason for not having a woman go into a temple is precisely this. She is a living Goddess at that time. The energy of the God or Goddess which is there in the murti will move over to her, and that murti becomes lifeless, while this (the menstruating woman) is life. So that’s why they were prevented from entering the temple. So it is exactly the opposite of what we think."

(Credits: Excerpt from an interview conducted by mythrispeaks.wordpress.com )

Kamakhya Peetham is another diety in the same temple sculpted in the shape of yoni (vagina).

Credits: Devipuram.com

The guru claims the Peetham greets visitors regardless of whether or not they are on their periods.

It's high time we shun these myths and let the person menstruating know the original thought behind it, rather than the deep-seated, garbled version. Let them choose for themselves if they want to enter a temple or not!