The Irony of Temples

Note #7

I Recently visited some famous temples in the south of India. I saw this writing specifically in the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram.

 

This One part read: 

Unselfishness is the ultimate test of religion. He who has more of this unselfishness is more spiritual and nearer to Shiva. Whether he is learned or unlearned. He nearer to shiva than anybody else whether he knows it or not. And if a man is selfish, no matter if he has visited all the temples, seen all the places of pilgrimage, and painted himself like a leopard, he will still be farthest away from Shiva. 

I absolutely loved this, but at the same made me realize how much irony exists in these temples. These big famous temples can be a very hypocritical place, especially those identified as main pilgrimage sites. It boggles my mind that even though people know these philosophies, they still don’t adhere to it, and call them religious. The entire definition of worship and religion is marred.

People come all the way from different parts of the world just to visit some of these temples, and the contentment and serenity that is meant to be felt at the temple completely goes for a toss. There you have so-called priests and guides saying they will do all necessary rituals and take you through the way where you will get maximum blessings ONLY if you pay them. At this point, it’s certain that just want to make money, and there is no real intent in providing blessings to devotees. Sometimes I feel the temple has become a money making place, and too commercialized.  Even the way the lines are set up in the temple segregates the poor and the wealthy (free darshan vs paying 200 rupees for speed darshan). Animals are captivated and trained, especially elephants, and are used for “blessings.” The basics of respecting the animal and its nature is not followed.

You, as a devotee, go in with the hope of paying proper respects to the deity and come out with a peace of mind, but you end up feeling scammed, stressed, and frustrated from all the rush. It's really sad to see so many people blindly trusting without knowing they're being taken advantage of in the name of religion. When trust is hard to come by, and greed gets in the way of actual intentions, it's tough to tell who's genuinely devoted and who's just looking to make a quick buck. You can’t trust anyone. People take advantage of religion and will on monetize anything in the name of god.