What a shame for Hindus! A non-Hindu visitor from America has been ‘thrown’ out of the Puri Temple! Click on the link for the details. This news was published on the NDTV online version.

Are we becoming fanatics? Why this intolerance? Why this humiliation on someone who is interested in visiting a place of Hindu worship? Is this the essence of religion? If by mistake he entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, he could have been politely told about this!
We often make grunts and noises about proselytization/ conversions being forced on Hindus, but these kinds of acts simply do no good for a religion which is the oldest religion and claims to preach universal brotherhood. Puri Temple is a prominent place of worship for Hindus and such acts not only project the religion in bad way, they also highlight the rigid orthodoxy practiced by the priest classes. We have come across such incidences where temple authorities have refused admittance to women, dalits and visitors of other faiths. These are totally condemnable acts. We need to relect upon the corrective measures for removing such anomalies from the religion.