Gross Commercialization of Hinduism

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

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My recent trips to many popular temples and visits on Mahans (just a Dharshan and Sashtantanga Namaskarams) again brought to my mind a disquieting feature of Hinduism in the last 50 years.

That is commercialization.

Before I proceed I would like to say that this is not a complaint. Many of my postings have been called complaints. What I am doing is some loud thinking. Lying in bed recovering from a viral fever, I thought I would share my thoughts.

The first and the foremost instance of commercialization is in Temples. We have even modified traditions or created new traditions towards this.

Archanai:

According to the Sasthras, the God/Goddess is treated like a living being. We wake up the Deity, give a bath, do alamkarams, offer seat, food etc.etc. These are called upacharams. These are done a number of times depending on the Tradition like Thri Kala puja, pancha kala puja etc.
Archanai is an offering to the Deity reciting the different names offering flowers, kumkumam etc.

After the Archanai one of the rituals is Karpura Neerajanam or karpura thampoolam where we offer Camphor.

Now if we have Thri kala puja we do Archanai officially only three times in a day and offer karpuram only three times.

If this is the rule how do we offer Archanai and karpuram so often in temples? Archanai being only a studhi can be offered by any Bhakta or a sasthirigal on behalf of the yajaman after doing the proper Sankalpam.
But showing karpuram so often is not correct, since this is a part of the Thri kala puja and should not be done on a standalone basis.

This is one of the peculiarities of the Tamil Nadu temples. It was not being done in the Kerala temples. But with more and more of sabari Malai devotees going from Tamil nadu, some of the temples have started doing this. At the same time the temples which are managed by private trusts in Tamil Nadu do not do this.

I am writing about this practice, because this heralded the beginning of commercialization of temples.

Do you think this is correct? If so how?

I will write about how slowly commercialization has become the bane of our temples.

 

[KRS]

Dear sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

Hopefully you are now free of the virus and can use your desktop.

This is exactly the main reason, why I totally have lost fath in all the magic mumbo jumbo (sorry if I am offending some of our brethren) related to Purva Mimamsa oriented rituals. No one anymore knows the terms and if they do, they are not in a position to explain. And this is from those who insist on sambradhayams and following the script!

In addition, while I appreciate these practices as part of our culture (I still vividly remember many occassions from my childhood when my uncle did these rituals at home for different festivals/other special events), I have a hard time understanding that these rituals carry any more significance to add to my humanity.

Temples and rituals in our religion have lost their original purposes, in my mind. One only needs to explain why Thirupathi is the richest temple in India, to understand this 'commercialization' phenomenon.

So the idol is not 'Ishwara' at all. He/She is an intermediary, ready to bestow His/Her magic on a person to circumvent the Karma Phala. This is how, in my opinion, the temples and their Gods have been 'used'. No connection to the ultimate goal of our religion.

Pranams,
KRS

 

[Brahmanyan]

Gross Commercialisation of Hinduism.

Dear Sri KRS and Sri Nachinarkiniyan,

Permit me to intervene in the discussions.As Sri KRS has put it clearly, this is one aspect of our Religion which is troubling me in my mind since long. Why our Temples are commercialised to the extend of issuing tickets like an entertainment house. I do not want to post my personal beliefs in this sensitive subject. As we all know that Temple worship is based on Agamas and many of the famous Temples, (except perhaps a few in Kerala),have gone to the extent of bending the procedures of the Agamas to suit the political masters who visit off and on. In many Temples we can see the power of money and corruption, which precedes devotion. It is a pity, devotees who come from far off places spending money are driven out by uniformed watchmen or ushers even before having a glimpse of the Lord in the sanctum.! If we do not find equality before the Lord in his own abode where will we find it? Will it not be possible for our learned Acharyas and Gurus to take up this matter seriously and find a solution to set right this?

Regards,
Brahmanyan.

Dear sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

Hopefully you are now free of the virus and can use your desktop.

This is exactly the main reason, why I totally have lost fath in all the magic mumbo jumbo (sorry if I am offending some of our brethren) related to Purva Mimamsa oriented rituals. No one anymore knows the terms and if they do, they are not in a position to explain. And this is from those who insist on sambradhayams and following the script!

In addition, while I appreciate these practices as part of our culture (I still vividly remember many occassions from my childhood when my uncle did these rituals at home for different festivals/other special events), I have a hard time understanding that these rituals carry any more significance to add to my humanity.

Temples and rituals in our religion have lost their original purposes, in my mind. One only needs to explain why Thirupathi is the richest temple in India, to understand this 'commercialization' phenomenon.

So the idol is not 'Ishwara' at all. He/She is an intermediary, ready to bestow His/Her magic on a person to circumvent the Karma Phala. This is how, in my opinion, the temples and their Gods have been 'used'. No connection to the ultimate goal of our religion.

Pranams,
KRS

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Thank you, KRS and Brahmanyan. I have spent a lot of time in temples. I love to sit in a corner of the temple reciting my mantra. But temples have all become crowded now and somehow no one seems to like to see an old man sitting in a corner mumbling his mantra. I have had varied experiences in temples. Mostly wonderful ones.

But I have also been beaten up by security guards, kicked by other devotees, beggars, vendors, and abused. It teaches you humiliation. The only reason I do not spend a lot of time now is the crowd.

Temples are basically meant for devotees. The Bhakthas believe in the Deity and it is their faith which yields results. Most of the times the rules have been bent or broken only to please the devotees. Like the example of Archanai and karpuram. The Devotees in Tamil Nadu knows that the grand finale of any Puja is the Karpura Aradhanai. Everyone wants his Puja to conclude with that. Our priests have accommodated this sentiment. You might have noticed that the common devotee burns Camphor everywhere.

But this is a ritual which has been included to please the devotees. This can be rectified only when the devotee is made aware of this practice being incorrect.

It is the duty of our Acharyas and religious teachers to educate the devotees. But what is shocking is the attitude of the Brahmin community. The Brahmins should know better. But they also insist on Karpura Neerajanam. The average Brahmin is no better than the ignorant devotee when it comes to these rituals. You will find that the Brahmins are so particular to ensure that all the names and Gotra etc. are correctly stated by the priest. In fact most of them hardly look at the image of the Deity. They are all concentrating on whether the priest is stating the name correctly.

If you believe GOD is omnecient and omnipotent why do you need an introduction to GOD?

My MOTHER is GOD. She knows exactly what I am. I am her son. So I demand so much from her. But then she will do what is good for me. Of course this is a saranagadha Bhava.

Coming back to Archanai, I believe that as a Brahmin it is my duty to educate the other devotees and also show them the right way. I believe that as a community we can help reduce if not eliminate such wrong practices. Of course one of the risks is getting beaten up. (personal experience).

What do you think?

 

[KRS]

Dear sri Brahmanyan Ji,

How can I reach you? Please write to me at [email protected].

Thanks.

Regards,
KRS

 

[N.R.Ranganathan]

Gross commercialization....

Yes, I agree with Sri Nacchinarkiniyanji on this point.

Payment of money starts at the entrance. You will have to pay the
watchman for safe-keeping of the slippers. This is the starting point.

The priest allows you to stay at the sanctum santorum a little longer if
you show him some currency notes.

The Temple Administrators collect some money from the devotees if they
want to have close darshan.

We have fallen very badly !

 

[kunjuppu]

i would like to share an experience with you folks.

about 9 years ago, when my mother passed away, i was requested by elders in my family to do the first anniversary of mother's death at kasi (along with the ceremonies for dad who had passed away 12 years earlier). as i live outside of india, it was felt that doing these final karmas at kasi/gaya was a good way to pay homage to my parents and incidentally all my ancestors.

a year passed. i came to madras and went to kasi. my sister who has lived in the north, accompanied me. also tagged along a local vaathiar, with specific instructions from my uncle to keep us company all along and provide succour.

we were lodged in a ganapaadigal house in varanasi. the ceremonies went for 5 days or so. i was asked to provide a lumpsum 50, 000 ruppees and was told that amount covered all expenses. i had no problem with this.

now as we are all aware, at the critical junctions of the ceremonies, the dhaanam part is the most important (atleast for me). poor brahmins trooped in amidst the homam fire, received the saris, veshtis and what not from me, and then turned around went to the next room, and handed it back to the ganapaadigal's wife.

this was a regular practice not only for me, but for other mourners conducting similar ceremonies at different times of the day with the same ganapaadigal. on further enquiry, i found out, that this was the practice among all the ganapaadigals there, and the poor did not see the light of any of the money which was meant to be dhaanam.

in gaya, under the proverbial bodhi maram, i found consolation at the loss of my parents. but definitely not at the household of the ganapaadigal who enriched himself without sharing the fees that he charged me.

re the vaathiyar who was supposed to be with us all the time, he disappeared as the train entered varanasi, and came back on our departure, with the sheepish smile for tips. this was the last straw for my ever soft spoken sister who gave him a piece of her mind on her behalf and mine.

my issue is not with the money. the ganapaadigal can charge whatever he feels is fair for his service. i have some discomfort at the thought that i was given to understand that a fair portion of this would be dhaanams, and in front of my eyes, none of that happened.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Gross Commercialisation of Hinduism.

Dear Sri Kunjuppu,

This is an issue many people, especially Brahmins would like to discuss, but dare not due to sensitiveness of the subject. People go all the way to Kashi and Gaya to fulfil their religious obligations to their forefathers and previous generations spending large amount of money. They would like to solumnize the obsequities with all the poignancy the occasion requires. But in reality the Pundits who are supposed to guide us performing the ceremonies use the occasion to encash the faith of the people without any scruples. You will find the theory of demand and supply work very effectively. The incidents quoted by you are not rare or exceptions but regularly done ever where. Though I have generalised the issue there are still a few exceptions left in this field also. My brother who had been to Kashi and Gaya last month found some one who took interest in performing the ceremonies properly according to the quantum of money paid to him.

At one end we quote our scriptures extensively on the importance of followings the rituals, but in practice the people who are supposed to guide us literally act against the common faith reposed on them. In fact "Arya Samaj" has stemmed this unscrupulous acts by introducing simple procedures in accordance to Vedas.

As I have stated in another post, at present there is a churning taking place in the issues relating to our Community, which I hope will bring out more good and some bad. Let is see what we get.

Regards,
Brahmanyan.

i would like to share an experience with you folks.

about 9 years ago, when my mother passed away, i was requested by elders in my family to do the first anniversary of mother's death at kasi (along with the ceremonies for dad who had passed away 12 years earlier). as i live outside of india, it was felt that doing these final karmas at kasi/gaya was a good way to pay homage to my parents and incidentally all my ancestors.

a year passed. i came to madras and went to kasi. my sister who has lived in the north, accompanied me. also tagged along a local vaathiar, with specific instructions from my uncle to keep us company all along and provide succour.

we were lodged in a ganapaadigal house in varanasi. the ceremonies went for 5 days or so. i was asked to provide a lumpsum 50, 000 ruppees and was told that amount covered all expenses. i had no problem with this.

now as we are all aware, at the critical junctions of the ceremonies, the dhaanam part is the most important (atleast for me). poor brahmins trooped in amidst the homam fire, received the saris, veshtis and what not from me, and then turned around went to the next room, and handed it back to the ganapaadigal's wife.

this was a regular practice not only for me, but for other mourners conducting similar ceremonies at different times of the day with the same ganapaadigal. on further enquiry, i found out, that this was the practice among all the ganapaadigals there, and the poor did not see the light of any of the money which was meant to be dhaanam.

in gaya, under the proverbial bodhi maram, i found consolation at the loss of my parents. but definitely not at the household of the ganapaadigal who enriched himself without sharing the fees that he charged me.

re the vaathiyar who was supposed to be with us all the time, he disappeared as the train entered varanasi, and came back on our departure, with the sheepish smile for tips. this was the last straw for my ever soft spoken sister who gave him a piece of her mind on her behalf and mine.

my issue is not with the money. the ganapaadigal can charge whatever he feels is fair for his service. i have some discomfort at the thought that i was given to understand that a fair portion of this would be dhaanams, and in front of my eyes, none of that happened.

 

[kunjuppu]

thank you brahmanyan for your kind and consoling words.

two other incidents that haunts me from that trip ...

the ganapaadigal deputed one of the poor brahmins to be our guide/priest for a 4 hour boat ride during which my sister cooked 3 or 4 separate instances of pindams. this was a gentle soft spoken soul who had empathy in him and treated us ever so gently. at the end of it all, we handed him some money which he refused. he felt that this was his duty as asked by the ganapaadigal, and to accept any money would be going against his conscience. my sister and i had tears flowing on hearing this.

we had to go a few times to the ghats to throw vadai/neyyappam. we had to throw these into the ganges, and no sooner done, we saw street urchins and stray dogs diving into the river, and usually the urchins got caught the batchanams, to anger and growling of the dogs. still this thought churns my stomach.

since then, i have often wondered, how badly my pithurs wanted all this! i do not believe that this was a test of my faith. i simply had no idea what to expect.

my late mother, during her final years, had told me that she had no more faith, and she warned me against performng any ceremonies after she had gone. maybe she knew her son, and what he could handle.

thank you again and God Bless.

 

[malgova.mango]

Dear Kunjuppu,

I fully sympathise with you, I've no words to offer for your solace. I also knew many Vathiyars using the shishyas as a form of slaves and manipulate them.

There are also many genunie "Vathyars" who handle things with lot of sensitivity and are very proffessional. There Shishyas revere them.

What you have done is perfect, anything beyond what happened is not in your hand, Leave it to God.

Please do not be discouraged to such an extent of giving up the rituals. Pitru puja and Pitru Bhakti, bestows lot of blessings. My Father In Law used to tell "Pitrus" fight for us telling the "Devatas" about our shraddha and for earthly prosperity and good prognies "Pitru Pujanam" is an effective way. "Devatas" on other hand are calculative and will provide the boon only according to the mantra recitation and tapas.

Regards,

 

[N.R.Ranganathan]

Gross commercialization....

Due to the greediness of the archakas and the flouting of the Agama
vidhis, the sanctity of the Temples is watered down. This also reminds
me of the famous kriti of Saint Thyagaraja - ' manasu nilpa sakthi leka
pothe '. I guess my friends in this forum are aware of this kriti and its
meaning.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Gross Commercialisation of Hinduism.

Dear Sri Kunjuppu,

At the outset I wish to state that I am not here to comment on the faith of believers in performing Ceremonies.

The incidents quoted by you shows different sides of human nature. One, the inner strength of the assistant to Sastrigal who refused to accept money for the services rendered by him and your sister's reaction was nothing but expression of spiritual maturity of hers.

The second incident shows the power of hunger which drives any one, whether human or animal to go to the extremes. Pain of hunger can be felt only by another hungry person. Our scriptures have plenty of incidents showing the importance of feeding the needy. Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi preached about the importance of Compassion and set an example by his deeds. Baghavan Ramana Maharshi always shared his food with others. We should also question ourselves why can't we cook and serve separately (if our faith does not permit us to share the same food served to the Priests) to some needy in memory of the departed souls? It is my belief that compassion towards another living being surpasses even the depth of Love. I have seen in Delhi volunteers collecting food that remain unused left overs in Wedding halls and Hotels at late hours after the closing time and distribute them to orphanages and old age homes. In Bangalore during my early morning walks in those days (1960s)I have seen a Parsee lady quietly distributing food packets to old and infirm beggars lying on the street side almost every day. Thank the Lord, we still have many such noble souls amongst us.

I could understand the feelings of your dear mother when she asked you not to perform any ceremonies after she left.

Warm Regards,
Brahmanyan.

thank you brahmanyan for your kind and consoling words.

two other incidents that haunts me from that trip ...

the ganapaadigal deputed one of the poor brahmins to be our guide/priest for a 4 hour boat ride during which my sister cooked 3 or 4 separate instances of pindams. this was a gentle soft spoken soul who had empathy in him and treated us ever so gently. at the end of it all, we handed him some money which he refused. he felt that this was his duty as asked by the ganapaadigal, and to accept any money would be going against his conscience. my sister and i had tears flowing on hearing this.

we had to go a few times to the ghats to throw vadai/neyyappam. we had to throw these into the ganges, and no sooner done, we saw street urchins and stray dogs diving into the river, and usually the urchins got caught the batchanams, to anger and growling of the dogs. still this thought churns my stomach.

since then, i have often wondered, how badly my pithurs wanted all this! i do not believe that this was a test of my faith. i simply had no idea what to expect.

my late mother, during her final years, had told me that she had no more faith, and she warned me against performng any ceremonies after she had gone. maybe she knew her son, and what he could handle.

thank you again and God Bless.

 

[Ramaa]

Dear Kunjuppu,

These kinds of 'fake' sastris are to be exposed and hounded. Unfortunately we have no hierarchy to complain and correct. If we do not have one we should create one.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

The discussions have veered off to the ceremonies in Banares. I understand the feelings of Kunjappu. I also know some of these pundits personally. When my father performed these rites more than 60 years back, it was very difficult and entailed a number of problems. Over the years these Brahmins have made things easier for everyone. Now they run organizations which can only be compared to Event management companies. Things have also become quite expensive. Then some of the practices are bad. But all of them do ensure that the rituals are conducted correctly. They are doing a service.

In Hanumanghat in Banares, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam has constructed a temple and also has a big math. They also have Sasthirigals offering these services.

But then our Sasthirigals always offer tailor made packages. I remember long time back asking a Sasthirigal about the cost of conducting a Ganapathi Homam. He told me that it varied from Rs. 100 onwards. He also explained how he was being asked to conduct the homam within the particular amount.

It is we who have corrupted our Sasthirigals. We try to conduct rituals according to the amount available with us. You can check in Gyana Vapi in T. Nagar about different financial packages for Anthyeshti.

The fault lies with the Yajamana and not the Purohit. In the old days we asked the Purohit for a list of things required for a ritual and we procured the samagri. Now we ask the Purohit to quote a rate including the cost of the materials.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Gross Commercialization of Hinduism.

I fully agree with the post of Sri Nachinarkiniyan and wish to add a few sentences. There are two aspects we should consider on behalf of the Puruhits, or Vadhyars who perform the religious rites. One, the rites itself and two, the payments to Purohits. People travel all the way to holy places like Kashi, Gaya, and Badri to perform their religious obligations spending a lot of money. Most of them want the ceremonies done within a fixed time table. Say within two days. The Purohits have no other way of performing their duties except in a concise form. It is not possible for a person who had gone to these places to find all the required materials by themselves and the duties are entrusted to the Pundits. So the Pundits use the easy method of recycling the things given in charity. We also accept all shortcuts without any objection when we hear the words like - "Vasthrartham, Doopa deepartham Akshadaam Samarpayami". The cycle goes on and on. Let us be honest. Who is to be blamed for this?


Let us takeup the second, the Payments to Pundits. In ancient times the entire needs of the Brahmins were taken care of by the Community. Today Brahmins have become an "unwanted necessity" in the Hindu Community. The young "Brahmacharies" spend Seven or eight years in Patasalas away from their near and dear to learn "Vedic knowledge". You must see to belive the conditions of our Veda Patasalas in general and compare that with the facilities and comforts that our children of the same age get in our homes. In spite of all these hardships their future is uncertain.The Purohits or Vadhyars have no monetary security, their earnings are not certain, they have no PF, Gratuity, Pension Fund, Retirement benefits, no medical aid, which are available to the lowest grade employee of Government or a Company. Whether it is rain or sun they have to run to the Yajaman's place to perform their duties to earn their food and money. In these days of inflation they also have to live and lead a decent life. The rich and mighty in our community who earn in "Ks" should think and draw some plans to safe guard the interests of these "learned unfortunates" who have no voice since they are born in a "forward community". Our Mutts also should come forward to do some thing for them.

Regards,
Brahmanyan.

The discussions have veered off to the ceremonies in Banares. I understand the feelings of Kunjappu. I also know some of these pundits personally. When my father performed these rites more than 60 years back, it was very difficult and entailed a number of problems. Over the years these Brahmins have made things easier for everyone. Now they run organizations which can only be compared to Event management companies. Things have also become quite expensive. Then some of the practices are bad. But all of them do ensure that the rituals are conducted correctly. They are doing a service.

In Hanumanghat in Banares, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam has constructed a temple and also has a big math. They also have Sasthirigals offering these services.

But then our Sasthirigals always offer tailor made packages. I remember long time back asking a Sasthirigal about the cost of conducting a Ganapathi Homam. He told me that it varied from Rs. 100 onwards. He also explained how he was being asked to conduct the homam within the particular amount.

It is we who have corrupted our Sasthirigals. We try to conduct rituals according to the amount available with us. You can check in Gyana Vapi in T. Nagar about different financial packages for Anthyeshti.

The fault lies with the Yajamana and not the Purohit. In the old days we asked the Purohit for a list of things required for a ritual and we procured the samagri. Now we ask the Purohit to quote a rate including the cost of the materials.