All in the name of God

Of all the headlines that literally gives us insomnia or indigestion day in and day out, this one grabbed my attention. Not only this drew my attention, it made me lose my peace of mind. This is not about the security of the nation; it is not about the border struggle between two states, not about film celebrities or cricketers but about God.

Thus goes the Headline: “Shirdi is the 2nd richest temple”. No prices of guessing the 1st richest temple – of course, it is the Tirumla Tirupati Temple famously known as Balaji Mandir. My initial reaction to this headline was, “Kya zamaana aa gaya – We have started classifying temples also as rich and poor”.

As I started reading the details, there is much more into it that kept me thinking for the whole of last week. While the TTD (Tirupati) grossed over Rs 700 crore, Shirdi Sansthan recorded a collection of Rs 81 crore in cash, 920kg of Gold, 440Kg of silver in its hundi. Besides this, donations worth Rs 42 crore were also made. Some devotee donated a Golden throne and another offered to cover the sanctum sanctorum with a gold sheet!

Saibaba, through out his life lived like a fakir. Instead of following him by adhering to his principles, we made him a God and are offering him a Golden Throne. Does not it sound ridiculous? Did Sai Baba ask us to provide Him one? For a great soul who spent his life under the shades of a tree, we are providing a roof of golden sheets! Of late, it is observed that every temple is planning to build a golden chariot for the Almighty. Why? What does this imply? Is it not an action of vulgar demonstration of wealth? Are we offered to have such an extravaganza?

These donors are cheaters of Government. They evade tax and the black money generated is offered as donation to these temples. They think that by bribing God, they can get rid of the sins they accumulate. These donors are termed as philanthropists. I can’t accept it. There is no dearth of temples in India but there is a huge shortfall in number of toilets, hospitals, primary health centers, schools etc., Will these so called philanthropists donate similar amount to build these toilets or schools or hospitals? The best charitable deed is not to build a temple not to feed a beggar but to educate someone. Why these donors have not thought of this?

In olden days, temple building provided employment to sculptors, artists, builders, and craftsmen etc., Temples were used as shelter in case of natural calamities. The wealth of temples were utilized in case of calamities, war etc., Also when there were no banks, the kings decided to have the wealth in form of temples and deities so that the wealth will not be stolen (as a respect to the Lord) by the invaders., In olden days, we had everything in abundance. So, instead of wasting the material like milk, curd, honey down the drain, it was offered to Lord in the form of abhisheka. Why to follow the same even now when people created by Him are starving of the same?

I am aware that TTD has been doing a great service to the society but they can always avoid such extravaganza. In Palani temple, Tamilnadu the wealth was literally looted by the politicians. The idol of Muruga is made of medicinal herbs. So whenever we consume the material that is applied on the idol in form of abhisheka, it had the medicinal effects on us curing certain problems. But what happened. The authorities literally scrapped the herbs and sold it in the open market for financial gains and the idol has become too weak that abhisheka cannot be performed on it or else the idol would break.

I am not aware of the practices of worshipping centers of other religion so I cannot comment on it. I am not against the agama rules of the temple. I believe in God but I can’t digest the extravaganza we practice. When the needs of the people created by Him are not met, practicing such extravaganza in temples seems a demonstration of vulgar display of wealth.

Charity & Philanthropy

Charity and Philanthropy are the two characteristics that distinguish humankind from others. Charity is to contribute for a common kind on one’s own. Simply put, a voluntary donation for a good cause is termed as Charity. Philanthropy is no different from charity. However, it is defined as love for the mankind or benevolence.

How long one should extend giving charity? Should they do once in their life time or everyday? Should it be given to the same person or different persons? These are some confusing questions. Privilege is different from right.

It is the law of humanity that richer should aid poor. However, the problem here is the discrimination. How to differentiate the genuine deserving poor from the lazy, idle beggars? I am, at times, driven to have the opinion of encouraging laziness and begging through this charity-thing. This has encouraged our beggars to remain as “people-always-in-need”. The habit of providing alms has conditioned the so-called poor to remain poor always and seek alms as they are lazy enough to earn their bread.

Charity should be driven by the kindness of one’s heart. However, nowadays it is driven by other reasons! The ironical reason is advertisement. The other reason is the fear of God. The “punya” factor – means by doing charity, people perceive that their misdeeds are getting squared up! Or otherwise, it is a sort of bribing for their misdeeds.

This is clear from the data of offerings made at temples, churches or any other worship-spots. In India, worship-spots have become money-minting enterprises. It is not only the money but the Gold, silver, diamonds, cloths, and food material. I have never come across where God has asked for temples to be built on His name. Nor I had read He wanted temples be furnished with Gold or His idol be made of high-class marble or panchalola & studded with precious jewels!

Shirdi Saibaba lived like a Fakir but His devotees plan a diamond-studded crown for his marble statue. He never advised extravaganza or such a display of wealth. How can they be called as devotees if they did not understand the teachings of Saibaba?

In olden days, construction industry has been the main source of employment apart from agriculture and arts. So, Kings kept on building forts and temples. Temples were operated as banks for the kingdom. The wealth of the kingdom was transformed into gold and it was stored in temples. In case of natural calamities, the entire population would take shelter in the temples and they will be fed from the temple’s coffer. Alas! Nowadays it has taken a shape of a ritual!

If we gather all the wealth (even only gold and diamond) from temples all over India, we will never fall short of resources to build a new country. However, the existing politicians should not be allowed to have access to this. I am not atheist but I feel that serving the needy is the service to God. There is no dearth of temples in India but there is a scarcity for toilets, hospitals and primary schools. Why don’t we build them? Why build temples and block all our money? Is this called charity? Is this called kindness or benevolence?

In my humble opinion, this is not charity, nor charity means giving alms to poor. Parting away with funds and material is quite easy. If one after another keeps providing fish to the guy, he will never learn fishing and will seek some one who can provide him fish. This conditions him to be lazy. Instead, if we taught him fishing, as a part of charity, that would do him a world of good. The real teacher is the one who makes the students thirsty and not the one who provides pots of water!

The real charity would be to teach them how to earn their bread. To educate someone is the real charity or sponsor someone getting educated is the real service to God. Many of us might be educating many under-privileged children. For others, even if a few of them get inspired after reading this blog and does this act, that is a great charity from my part!