Women and Sabarimala by Sinu Joseph – Book Review

Women and Sabarimala is the book for you if like me you too tend to question traditions and culture. Most of all the restrictions around menstruation have frustrated me the most. That is how I was extremely interested in Ritu Vidya by Sinu Joseph.

It was while searching for that book on amazon I got to know about Women and Sabarimala, which talks about the science behind restrictions. Somehow I got pulled toward reading this even more. I mean what could if any be the science behind not allowing women to some temples?

My study of yogic scriptures has at least made me open to the fact that our traditions are very scientific, it is just that we never studied them in depth. Our education system is also so much influenced by the west and modern medical science that instead, we tend to question traditions. And questioning is good because such questioning by the author led her to write these wonderful books that dwell on the topic in depth.

Sabarimala Temple is a Hindu temple located in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Kerala, India. It is one of India’s most famous and important pilgrimage sitesand is dedicated to the Hindu god Ayyappan. The temple is open to all Hindu devotees but this has been a contentious issue as the temple has been traditionally closed to women of menstruating age. The Supreme Court of India overturned this ban in 2018, but it is still not being implemented fully due to protests by traditionalists.

The book explains the yogic philosophy behind not allowing women in Sabarimala. It connects the yogic philosophy very beautifully with a scientific explanation of how the energetic influences of the temple can harm the bodies of women in menstruating age group.

The book has gone in details to explain the yogic concepts like the concept of chakras so that even people who are new to these can make sense of the same. What is wonderful is how the author took the whole journey to explain what she experienced.

For me, the book was an eye-opener. I could have never imagined that there could be such deep reasoning behind the traditions. Being on the path of yoga and reading the yogic texts has changed the way I take Indian culture but this is a whole new thing. But this will make no sense for someone who does not believe in the energy system and the chakras.

I highly recommend Women and Sabarimala. It is a short and very easy read. The author takes you through very beautifully. I am glad to have read this book because it clarified a lifetime of questions in my mind.

You may buy it here on amazon.