BAPS monk Brahmavihari Swami has attributed the controversy over women employees allegedly being sidelined during the organisation's Eiffel Tower visit to a "miscommunication", saying an investigation found no explicit request to exclude women from the entire procession. "It was a miscommunication on the part of the Eiffel Tower. I do not blame them as well," he told NDTV's Aditya Raj Kaul at the NDTV World Summit.
The controversy followed the delegation's September 5 visit, when female employees were reportedly removed from their assigned duties or kept out of sight. The incident triggered a staff walkout, the monument's closure for a day and criticism in France.
An investigation by the General Inspectorate of the City of Paris found no written evidence of an explicit request by the delegation to exclude women from the entire procession. According to Le Parisien, the inquiry identified communication failures and a "collective dysfunction".
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The tower's operating company, SETE, had acknowledged that the delegation requested arrangements to limit interactions with women, saying those conditions should not have been accepted. Its chief, Patrick Branco Ruivo, subsequently announced he would step down at the year's end following an internal inquiry identifying operational shortcomings.
Explaining the monks' observance of brahmacharya, or celibacy, Brahmavihari Swami said it was a personal spiritual discipline. "As monks, we observe our spiritual disciplines, which we observe but never enforce upon anybody," he said. "If the life of a woman is in danger, all the monks have to give up their laws and help the lady first. Life is the most sacred. You understand? That's the law," he added.
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He said BAPS had engaged with French authorities for nearly a decade before receiving permission to build a temple. He also cited a cultural procession on the River Seine involving around 5,500 people aboard 11 boats.
The monk questioned sections of the Indian media for covering the controversy without adequately examining the facts, while praising media organisations, including NDTV, for reporting the investigation's findings.
BAPS had avoided an aggressive response during the inquiry, he said, following spiritual leader Mahant Swami Maharaj's advice that the truth would emerge. "Truth eventually wins. If we give up our faith in truth, then who will have it?" he said. "However dark the time can get, and however stormy the weather can get, if you are wedded to your value, at the end of the day, the world will appreciate," he said.
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