Temples, Temples and Temples

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

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Sometimes I wonder how many people read my posts in this thread.

There has been a sustained politically motivated campaign for getting the temples out of the control of the HRCE department and revert them to private management. Any government department has lot of shortcomings. There is always political interference. This is true of all government departments not only HRCE. But to do away with this will be going back to the gross mismanagement of the before 1920 period.

Let us also see how over the centuries the wealth of the public temples were put to use/misuse.

In old days the only accommodation available for pilgrims in pilgrim centers were the satthirams or chowltries. The chowltries were erected in many cases by communities and individuals. You will find a large number of them in places like Varanasi and Rameswaram. Other facilities like roads, transport etc. were provided by the government.

What did the temples who were public trusts whose beneficiaries were the public do for the public? Nothing. They did not erect chowltries or provide any facilities to the public.

Even today it is not much different. The temples in Thriupathi, Palani, Guruvayur and other places were not erected to provide Bank deposits. But that is what they are doing even now. Why can't the Thirupathi temple provide free Laddu to all the pilgrims? They can very well afford to do it. They have hundreds of crores of money deposited in banks. Thirupathi temple has done a lot for the benefit of the pilgrims. But they can do much much more.

Nothing has been done In Guruvayur for the pilgrims by the temple. Palani is pitiable.

What was the condition of these temples earlier. Horrible. Palani, Thirupathi and Guruvayur were known for its big red light districts around the temple. This was true of many temple towns.

There were/are a number of wells in Varanasi which are considered holy. Pilgrims used to visit these temples pray and also put flowers inside. The wells were never cleaned. In 1870s these wells were stinking so much that people had to cover their noses before approaching them. Then a British administrator got them all cleaned up as they were a major sources of diseases. Even 50 years back most of our temple towns were a big public lavatory. They use to stink to heaven/hell. The tanks were full of muck and other unspeakable things.

What were the temple managements doing about all this? They did nothing.

Temples and temple towns have to become Holy places again.

 

[Nara]

.... They have hundreds of crores of money deposited in banks. Thirupathi temple has done a lot for the benefit of the pilgrims. But they can do much much more.

Dear Shri Nacchinarkiniyan,

I endorse your presentation without any reservation. Temples that are at least 100 years old belong to the public. Even though democracy is the worst form of government -- I hate to quote one of the worst racists who walked this earth -- except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. Therefore, HR & CE is the best entity the general public can trust, with all its shortcomings, it is at least accountable to the political process.

From whatever little I have observed, there is no solidarity among the different temples to help out the not-so-popular ones by the ones that are popular. For instance, there is a temple in a small village, with not even a street in its name, called Thirumandangudi. This is an important stalam because it is the birth place of Thondardippodi Azvar. The first time I visited this temple, in the 90s, it was barely approachable, I could hardly do one pradakshinam around as it was full of thorny bushes. I was told the archaka comes only once every day, for noon aradhanai.

When I went there again in late 90s/early 2000, the temple had undergone a face-lift. The praharam was all cleared and new whitewash, etc. But, the aradhanai situation was still the same.

One might wonder why I should care as I am a self proclaimed atheist. But it is not about me, even though I love Thiondaradippodi Azhvar, it is about all the SVs who wax eloquent about Azhvars and Acharyas, yet not even bother the state of the supposed birth place of one of only 12 Azhvars, hardly 15 KM from Kumbakonam.

Cheers!

 

[Brahmanyan]

Temples, Temples, Temples

There are many things the HR&CE can do for the benefit of pilgrims such as comfortable place to stay with free food at affordable rates (if necessary), free distribution of books on Temple history and slokas and poems written on the temple etc. If you visit the HR&CE offices attached to Temples you will be surprised to see the appalling condition of these offices and the lethargy of people who work there. As one interested in collecting information on the Temple History I have visited many offices attached to Temples big and small. I found, comparatively the conditions of temple under Aatheenams were better than those under the HR&CE. Lot of things are to be done to improve the working of Temple administration. In these days where high power lights and ventilators are fixed upto the sanctum, the use of Cameras are prohibited, but allowed when we pay some money. Even dances by cinema artists are permitted in and around the praharams, all for money !

It is time that the entire working of Temple administration should be reviwed by scholars in the subject and procedures be introduced basing on the requirement of modern day devotees.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Temple administration under HRCE is like any government administration. This is a country where the majority of the police stations have no urinals leave alone a lavatory. Does any one bother? Have you seen the working conditions in some of the RTO offices and registries? Inhuman conditions. We are not bothered.

The misuse and loot under the earlier temple administrations is well recorded. Even under HRCE the old trustees are still very powerful.

Some times I wonder why people do not do anything themselves rather than waiting for the government to do everything. A private donor or a group of local individuals could take up the matter of repairing the temple offices. In Madras there is an old temple which did not attract many devotees. The local people decided that a Punar Uddharana ceremony is needed. The HRCE said they did not have money for that. After lengthy discussions they agreed to clean and renovate the temple if the local people will take care of other things. One single individual led the effort. He collected money and conducted the entire Punar Uddharanam ceremony. It cost lakhs of rupees. Donations were collected without any receipt or accounting. We trusted the individual and gave him money. It was all done beautifully and the temple has more crowd now. HRCE approved/did not stand in the way we did it.

What I mean is that we need more voluntary efforts.

Of course this is not to deny the fact that HRCE administration needs improvement. The public should pressurize the government to appoint a committee to suggest ways of improvement. Mass petitions should produce results. Non Political of course.

Talking about voluntary efforts we in India expect the Government to do everything. When a road has pot holes no one even does temporary filling of the pot hole. Recently there was a report of a crowd in Bengal stoning a police station because some cows which were under the care of the police station died. The police had seized about 50 cows and tethered them in the police station compound. But there was no one to water and feed them. People it seems noticed it and complained. But the police did nothing. A few cows died.

The question is if the people had noticed that the cows did not get water and feed, why did they not give them water and food? Why did they stand idle watching the cows die?

Things are changing. But not enough.

Every temple should have a group of devotees/volunteers who are willing to do manual and other work for keeping the temple clean and beautiful.

When I visited Jwalmukhi temple in Himachal Pradesh a group of devotees had come from Punjab. Rich people. Suddenly one of them said said let us do some Kar Seva. They all took brooms and water and cleaned up the temple. Looking at them many people joined. Kar Seva is well known in Sikh shrines. It is time that the idea of Kar Seva catches on in entire India and is done in all temples.

Self help is the Best help.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

I had quoted from court judgements about the ownership of a public temple.

“In a public temple, the installed idol itself is held to be the temple’s legal owner, and the beneficiaries—those to whom the endowment is dedicated

—are the general public. In a private temple, the owner is the individual who endowed the idol, and the beneficiaries are the family members.”

Now some people say that the temples should be restored to the previous/erstwhile management. Even if it is done it does not become private property. I became very unpopular in this forum when I pointed out the Chidambaram temple was not constructed by the ancestors of the Deekshidars for the benefit of the community. Chidambaram temple was constructed by Kings long before the Deekshidar community was even known.

My family has a private temple. The extended family of my ancestors got together and erected a temple for their worship. Later a trust was formed and properties entrusted to the trust for upkeep of the temple. Even today mostly only the family members visit the temple. The only outsiders are the present residents of the village. There is hardly any income. Even then we are exteremely careful to ensure that it is not taken over by HRCE.

Many Mutts and other organizations have gone to the court claiming many temples as private property. Most of them have lost their cases. Now an attempt is being made under the guise of "Hinduism in danger" to get back possession of temples.

Even in the case of Kings when the states were merged with the Indian Union most of the temples in the states were declared public property. Only the temples if any inside the palace where thee King resided was held to be private property. The only known exception of a big temple was Padmanabha Swami temple in Trivandrum which was held to be the private property of H.H. The Maharaja of Travancore. The reason for this was that the public were allowed into the temple only when the Maharaja was not in the temple. Having a Dharshan used to be a problem for the public. Of course a Dewaswom was formed for managing the temple and the Maharaja used to give his entire privy purse (I think it was Rs.27 lakhs) to the temple. There was no public hundi in the temple in the old days.

Things have changed a lot now especially after the demise of the Maharaja.

Recently the High Court has declared that it si not the family property of the Maharaja. It has ordered a take over of the temple by the state government.

The Hindu : Front Page : Court order on take-over of Padmanabhaswamy Temple

So even in the case of maharajas who have maintained the temple for generations it is not private property. So the Maths and others have no leg to stand on.

Now there have been three cases of the Government taking over a famous temple because of gross mismanagement and demand of the public.

Vaishno Devi Temple in Katara, Jammu is very famous and visited by lakhs of pilgrims from all over India. This was managed earlier by hereditary trustees. There were hardly any faclities. In 1986 the mamnagement was taken over by the Jammu & Kashmir government under “The Jammu & Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1986". The person who was instrumental for this was the then Governor Jagmohan. Now it is managed by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (commonly called Shrine Board). Tremendous improvement in facilities and the temple.

https://www.maavaishnodevi.org/

Pandharpur Vittala/Panduranga temple. A temple which is well known in South India. A center of Bhakthi movement. Management was vested in the family of Bhadves. I used to know one of the family members. The temple faced a number of problems. Public opinion forced the state government to take over the temple in 1973 as per Pandharpur Temples Act, 1973. Only the mangement was taken over. The Bhadves continue to be priests and also get a share of the income. There are so many family members that the share is divided. Thus we have one paisa Bhadve, five paise Bhadve and so on.

Things have improved. But still the exploitation of the pilgrims goes on. Please see this.

HC asks collector to oversee Pandharpur temple working

Kasi Vishwanath Temple.

A visit to this temple used to be a pain because of the Priests who ran the temple. Bowing to public opinion on January 28, 1983 the Temple was taken over by the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh and it's management ever since stands entrusted to a Trust. with Divisional Commissioner as Chairman. Things have improved.

In all the three cases it is the public opinion which forced the Government to take over the temple. The erstwhile management were/are very powerful. In Vaishno Devi they do not interfere thanks to Sri. Jagmohan. In Pandharpur the state government is half hearted. It is better in the case of Kasi Vishwanath temple though the public figures who were earlier associated with the trust have all gone now and only the government officials remain.

It is upto the Bhakthas/devotees who are the general public to protect the Temples. Please remember this.

I was shocked when a math destroyed a Shiva temple and the Tamil Brahmins did not even bother to protest. It is a non-Brahmin who went to the court. Tamil Brahmin community has done nothing to improve the pitiable conditions of the Archakas. The temples are for the benefit of the Bhakthas and not for the Brahmin community alone. Hinduism belongs to everyone. If it is in real danger we should appraise the other Hindus who form more than 70% about the situation. Not politicize Hinduism.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

There are many cases where private temples have been handed over by the owners to the HRCE or some Dewaswom. One of the Namboodiri Illams had a number of small temples in a compound near Guruvayur. They were finding it difficult to maintain them. They wanted to hand over the temples to the Guruvayur dewaswom. The Dewaswom was reluctant to take them over as they have no income. Then if I remember correctly the Illam made some cash donation to the Guruvayur Dewaswom as an inducement. The tempels were taken over.

I went searching for these temples as they are associated with the Illam. They are being maintained now, but there are hardly any visitors.

In a village agraharam in Tamil Nadu there was a temple owned by a Tamil Brahmin family. Their ancestors must have been well off since this was a middle sized temple right in the heart of the village. Only Brahmins visited the temple. It had no income. The family's financial position went down and they were no longer rich. Stll they continued maintaining the temple with their own funds.

But with the passing away of the older generation, the younger generation has handed over the temple to HRCE. The temple has been repaired extensively by HRCE and looks beautiful now. But still there is no income.

I know of one family who has handed over their family temple to Shringeri Math.

So HRCE does play a significant role here also.

This completes my posting about temples and HRCE.

We will go back to knowing about interesting facts about temples.

 

[zebra16]

"But the verses in Sanskrit from RV 8.96 have nearly disappeared on the internet. Even sacredtexts.com is providing the verses only until RV.8.92: Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 8: Rig-Veda, Book 8 index and the subsequent verses have been removed.

With some difficulty i was able to identify the verses from totalbhakti.com as below: Sacred Texts, Download Religious Texts, SAMA VEDA, YAJUR VEDA, ATHARVA VEDA, RIG VEDA, SUKTAM, AARTI, NAMAVALI, SUNDERKAND, CHALISA, MANTRA - totalbhakti.com

अव दरप्सो अंशुमतीमतिष्ठदियानः कर्ष्णो दशभिः सहस्रैः |
आवत तमिन्द्रः शच्या धमन्तमप सनेहितीर्न्र्मणा अधत्त ||"

The aforesaid portion of mantras appear in Surya namaskaram mantras, popularly known as "AruNam", vide Taittiriya Aranyaka 1.6.19

Regards,

narayan

 

[sangom]

"But the verses in Sanskrit from RV 8.96 have nearly disappeared on the internet. Even sacredtexts.com is providing the verses only until RV.8.92: Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 8: Rig-Veda, Book 8 index and the subsequent verses have been removed.

With some difficulty i was able to identify the verses from totalbhakti.com as below: Sacred Texts, Download Religious Texts, SAMA VEDA, YAJUR VEDA, ATHARVA VEDA, RIG VEDA, SUKTAM, AARTI, NAMAVALI, SUNDERKAND, CHALISA, MANTRA - totalbhakti.com

अव दरप्सो अंशुमतीमतिष्ठदियानः कर्ष्णो दशभिः सहस्रैः |
आवत तमिन्द्रः शच्या धमन्तमप सनेहितीर्न्र्मणा अधत्त ||"

The aforesaid portion of mantras appear in Surya namaskaram mantras, popularly known as "AruNam", vide Taittiriya Aranyaka 1.6.19

Regards,

narayan

Dear Shri Narayan,

RV 8-85-13 (6-6-34-13) does not talk about a "Krishna" as we now know that word. It is about a "drapsam kṛṣṇam" = black drop (drapsam meaning drop). The sukta relates, according to the brhaddevata, about soma going away from the vedic devas to the amsumatee (Yamuna) river in the Kuru country; Indra along with the maruts and brhaspati, went and beseeched it to return; when soma refused, it was conquered and taken back to the country of the devas.

To me it looks as though somewhere in those ancient days the original soma started getting cultivated in the Yamuna banks somewhere. But the western vedic people did not like it. So they might have destroyed all the soma cultivation in the Yamuna area. Exactly because of this refusal to allow soma being taken to other parts, the vedic sacrificers lost all knowledge of what exactly soma was and many substitutes get suggested in the later texts. There is therefore adequate grounds to believe that the original soma - whatever it might be - was powerful enough to give exhilaration to the drinkers and much of the rigveda is the output of such exhilarated minds of the vedic priests.

 

[zebra16]

Dear Shri Narayan,

RV 8-85-13 (6-6-34-13) does not talk about a "Krishna" as we now know that word. It is about a "drapsam kṛṣṇam" = black drop (drapsam meaning drop). The sukta relates, according to the brhaddevata, about soma going away from the vedic devas to the amsumatee (Yamuna) river in the Kuru country; Indra along with the maruts and brhaspati, went and beseeched it to return; when soma refused, it was conquered and taken back to the country of the devas.

To me it looks as though somewhere in those ancient days the original soma started getting cultivated in the Yamuna banks somewhere. But the western vedic people did not like it. So they might have destroyed all the soma cultivation in the Yamuna area. Exactly because of this refusal to allow soma being taken to other parts, the vedic sacrificers lost all knowledge of what exactly soma was and many substitutes get suggested in the later texts. There is therefore adequate grounds to believe that the original soma - whatever it might be - was powerful enough to give exhilaration to the drinkers and much of the rigveda is the output of such exhilarated minds of the vedic priests.

Namaste Sri Sangom,

I thank you for the above write-up. But you have added to my confusion (in a pleasant way!!). I was struggling with the following two translations and trying to reconcile them (actually they seem to be irreconcilable) and now have the third one to increase my work-load!!

The first translation I am reproducing from "sooyra namaskara bhashyam" by Sri Anna. It is in tamil and since I do not have tamil set up, I am reproducing in roman script transliteration and my understanding in English to obviate any misunderstanding of tamil transliteration. It goes as under:

QUOTE:
avadrapsaH : vaanathilirundhu irangiya mazhai jalam (rain water/drops falling from sky)
amSumatheem: bhumiyai (the earth)
athishTath: adainthathu (reached)
KrshnaH: “krishi: - athaavadhu payir seivatharku vasathiyaaga (facilitating growth of crops/agriculture)
dashabhiH sahasraiH: pathu, nooru, aaiyaram endra kaalvaaigaLal (in/through channels/canal of 10s, 100s and 1000s)
iyaanaH: paaivadaaga aayitru (flowed forth)
IndraH: Indran (Indra)
Aavartham: adikkadi vandu (coming frequently)
Dhamantham: idi muzhukkathudan (with thunder)
nrumaNaam: manidhargal aavaludan veNdum (desired by people eagerly)
tham: andha mazhaiyai (that rain)
sachyaa: thanadhu shakthiyaal (with his force/power)
aThadhram:keezhe bhumiyil irangumpadi (compelling that rain to descend on the earth)
upasnuhi: varshikattum (let it rain)
ithi: endru (thus)
UNQUOTE

The second translation (it is in summarised form) from "HISTORY OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE. LIFE IN ANCIENT INDIA IN THE AGE OF THE MANTRAS BY P. T. SRINIVAS IYENGAR, M.A.

QUOTE:
Another foe of Indra in the [ag0'''5F](agnishtoma?) mantras was Krishna, a god or deified hero of a tribe called the Krishnas. Of him it is said, "The fleet Krishna lived on the banks of the Ams'umati (Jamuna) river with ten thousand troops. Indra of his own wisdom became cognizant
of this loud-yelling chief. He destroyed the marauding
host for the benefit of (Arya) men. Indra said, * I have
seen the fleet Krishna. He is lurking in the hidden region
near the Ams'umati, like the sun in a cloud. O Maruts, I
desire you to engage him in fight and to destroy him. The
fleet Krishna then appeared shining on the banks of the
Ams'umati. Indra took Brihaspati as his ally and destroyed
the fleet and godless army." (R. V. viii. 85. 13 — 15)*
Indra with Rijis'va, son of Vidathi, killed the pregnant
wives of Krishna (lb, i. loi. i, ii. 20 — 7). Indra smote
50,000 Krishnas, as old age destroys the body (R, V. iv.
16—13). European scholars have interpreted d r a p s a ^
Krishnah in the first of these passages as the
* black drop/ possibly because they believe that the
Krishna-cult rose later; but there is absolutely no
reason why beliefs on a priori grounds should
over-ride Indian tradition which makes Krishna one
of Indra's seven demon-foes, he " who never had met
a rival " till Indra was born (R. V. viii. 85. 16). In fact the translation '* black drop" makes the whole passage meaningless. Krishnaa was the enemy of Indra throughout the whole course of the development of religion in India.

The Puranas, which certainly contain very old legends, many as old as the Vedic age, describe many conflicts between
Indra and Krishna, in one of which, Krishna put an end to
the worship of Indra on the banks of this very Jamuna,
among the tribes that lived in the woods near the river.
The phrase ''fleet Krishna ' vividly brings home to us that he was from early days the god of wandering pastoral
tribes; probably called the Vrishriis — the ram tribe. The
antagonism of the Krishna-cult to the Indra-cult not only
recurs constantly in the legends but a far-off" echo of it is heard even in the Bhagavad-Gita where Krishna refers
scornfully to the ** flowery words " of the " fools," who
delight in the Vedas, which as we know were born from the
Indra cult, and which Krishna advises his followers to reject because they bewilder the mind (ii. 42, 45, 46, 53).

And Krishna, the god of the early Indian pastoral tribes, became the nucleus round which gathered other tales, possibly of human heroes, other cults, ex. the Vasudeva-cult of the Bhagavatas, the Vishu-cult of the Vaishinavas till to-day, Krishria-worship is the dominating religion of India and the Indra-cult practically dead.

It is also interesting to note that notwithstanding the accretion of so many tales round the name of Krishna, it is the cowherd playing the flute to his cattle on the banks of the Jamuna and sporting with the simple village maidens that still appeals to the mind of the Hindu.
UNQUOTE

I have furnished the preceding and succeeding paras also so as to enable you to easily ascertain the context

Of the three translations, which is the most appropriate (especially in the AruNa prasna) or all the three only partially correct, forcing us to do guess work or the three are three different levels of meaning/understanding?

I realise this topic may not be suitable under this thread, but I do not know how to shift threads.

Regards,

narayan

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

KRS,

Please transfer the last three posts from this thread to another new thread. These have no relevance to the subject matter of temples.

Sangom has started another thread for this.

http://www.tamilbrahmins.com/genera...gveda-contd-temples-temples-temples-here.html

Thank You.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Integration of the folk Deities into mainstream Hinduism

The integration of the folk Deities into mainstream Hinduism has been a continuous process. Some people have called it Brahmanization. But it is not always so.

An integration was successfully done in the middle ages in Bengal. Bengal has thousands of village Deities. Many of these temples have non-Brahmin priests. One of the most popular Deities is Chandi who is the Supreme deity in Devi Mahatmyam. A number of poems and literary compositions in Bengali called Chandi Mangala Kavyas were written from 13th century to early 19th century. These had the effect of merging the local folk and tribal goddesses with mainstream Hinduism. The Mangal kavyas often associate Chandi with goddess Kali or Kalika and recognize her as a consort of Shiva and mother of Ganesha and Kartikeya, which are characteristics of goddesses like Parvati and Durga. The concept of Chandi as the supreme Goddess also underwent a change. The worship of the goddess became heterogeneous in nature.

Mangala-kavya - Next to Vaishnava literature, the Mangal-kavyas form the most important branch of Bengali literature during this period. It consists of poetical works describing the glories of many popular gods and goddesses such as Manas (snake-goddess), Chandi (a form of Durga), Dharma-Thakur, Siva and others. The central theme of Manasa-mangala is the conversion of the rich merchant Chand Sadagar who was at first unwilling to worship Manasa but was ultimately forced to do after his seven sons were killed by snakebite. Through her skills in dance and music the widow of the 7th son had his life restored.

The Chandi-mangala Kavya is based on two themes, which describe how, through the favor of the Goddess Chandi, the hunter Kalaketu becomes a king and merchant Dhanapati has his son married to the king of Ceylon. The oldest available texts of this kavya are accredited to Mukundaram Chakravarti, composed towards the end of the 16th century. The kavya has enjoyed immense popularity over the years. It depicts the social condition of Bengal during the medieval period esp. of the common man.

Dharma-Thakur, the subject matter of the Dharma-mangala Kavyas was a local God of Radha (West Bengal) worshipped mostly by the lowest classes of society. The hero of the kavya is Lausen, victorious in many battles always protected by Dharma-Thakur. The author Manikram, flourished about the middle of the 16th century.

The Siva-mangala has a long history but no texts older than the 17th century. The best known work is that of Ramesvar Bhattacharya who lived during the first half of the 18th century.

Several texts of the Kalika-mangal glorifying the goddess Kali were written during the period under review. The main theme is the secret love of princess Vidya and Sundara, Kali appears at the end when Sundara condemned to death is saved by her intercession. The best work is known as Vidya-Sundara kavya by Bharata-chandra who flourished about the middle of the 18th century A.D.

Lastly mention should be made of Raya-mangala who glorifies Dakshina-raya, the Tiger God i.e. one by worshipping whom men can be saved from the tigers.

History Of Bengali::History of Indian Languages

This site has some more interesting information about Bengal.

Even today most of these temples have non-Brahmin priests and some of them like Manasa, women priests. Due to the influence of the Bengali literature these Gods/Goddesses have become a part of main stream Hinduism.

This was not done in South India.

 

[jpoosha]

Cleaning and retaking of temples

Temple administration under HRCE is like any government administration. This is a country where the majority of the police stations have no urinals leave alone a lavatory. Does any one bother? Have you seen the working conditions in some of the RTO offices and registries? Inhuman conditions. We are not bothered.

The misuse and loot under the earlier temple administrations is well recorded. Even under HRCE the old trustees are still very powerful.

Some times I wonder why people do not do anything themselves rather than waiting for the government to do everything. A private donor or a group of local individuals could take up the matter of repairing the temple offices. In Madras there is an old temple which did not attract many devotees. The local people decided that a Punar Uddharana ceremony is needed. The HRCE said they did not have money for that. After lengthy discussions they agreed to clean and renovate the temple if the local people will take care of other things. One single individual led the effort. He collected money and conducted the entire Punar Uddharanam ceremony. It cost lakhs of rupees. Donations were collected without any receipt or accounting. We trusted the individual and gave him money. It was all done beautifully and the temple has more crowd now. HRCE approved/did not stand in the way we did it.

What I mean is that we need more voluntary efforts.

Of course this is not to deny the fact that HRCE administration needs improvement. The public should pressurize the government to appoint a committee to suggest ways of improvement. Mass petitions should produce results. Non Political of course.

Talking about voluntary efforts we in India expect the Government to do everything. When a road has pot holes no one even does temporary filling of the pot hole. Recently there was a report of a crowd in Bengal stoning a police station because some cows which were under the care of the police station died. The police had seized about 50 cows and tethered them in the police station compound. But there was no one to water and feed them. People it seems noticed it and complained. But the police did nothing. A few cows died.

The question is if the people had noticed that the cows did not get water and feed, why did they not give them water and food? Why did they stand idle watching the cows die?

Things are changing. But not enough.

Every temple should have a group of devotees/volunteers who are willing to do manual and other work for keeping the temple clean and beautiful.

When I visited Jwalmukhi temple in Himachal Pradesh a group of devotees had come from Punjab. Rich people. Suddenly one of them said said let us do some Kar Seva. They all took brooms and water and cleaned up the temple. Looking at them many people joined. Kar Seva is well known in Sikh shrines. It is time that the idea of Kar Seva catches on in entire India and is done in all temples.

Self help is the Best help.

STORY OF A COUPLE passed on from an article of 2002, probably they're still at service

After a week's hectic work, some people go to the theatre, some watch a movie and munch popcorn, some listen to music or read books, while still others prefer the television...

But for B Rajesh and his wife Rajani, relaxation is of a different kind altogether. After taking care of the demands of Rajesh's small factory, the Chennai-based couple, along with their daughter and some close friends, drive down to a remote village where they stay for a week. Their mission: to clean and renovate temples that have fallen prey to neglect and the passage of time.

Rajesh is an MTech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and owns a small factory with a turnover of Rs 3 million. Rajani works at the government-run television channel Doordarshan.

The couple was first inspired by the words of Adi Sankara, that once upon a time temples were the focal point of village life and that all social activities in a village revolved around the temple. The second inspiration occurred 15 years ago when they came to know about a dilapidated Vishnu temple in Thirumazhisai near Poonamallee from a friend.

"I still remember how the Vishnu temple looked when I first reached the place," says Rajesh. "We could hardly call it a temple. The face of Lord Vishnu was not visible at all. There were cobwebs everywhere and the whole place looked so dirty! We got all the more inspired to start work, and it went on for several weeks."

Rajesh and Rajani cleaned out and renovated the temple. When the shankaracharya of Kanchi heard about the couple's work at Thirumazhisai, he summoned Rajesh to Kancheepuram and asked him not to stop the exceptional work that he had just begun. He also asked the couple to pay a visit to one Shiva temple at Achirupakkam, in Kancheepuram district. The shankaracharya had found the temple to be in a very bad shape, with bats infesting the interiors and few devotees visiting it. "Can you do something there? Can you make the villagers visit the temple?" he asked Rajesh.

This became their second assignment.

Rajesh first visited each and every house in the village and requested the villagers to come to the temple, but no one was willing to do so. So he, Rajani, and a few friends started cleaning the premises on their own. Soon, the embarrassed villagers joined the couple and their friends. Once the temple became visit-worthy, they organised prayers for the welfare of the villagers.

Within a month, the number of people coming to the temple went up to around 500. "I didn't have to personally do all the renovation work there," he says. "I just kindled the interest in them, and that was enough for the villagers themselves to clean up the place. They understood that after all it was their own temple."

News of the temple-renovating couple began to spread and they soon started received calls from various villages requesting them to rebuild several dilapidated temples.

Thus began their new journey. One temple after another was cleaned and renovated as the years flew by. Now, after 15 years of relentless work, they have renovated 50 temples in and around Kancheepuram district, a few kilometres south of Chennai!

Rajesh and Rajani's modus operandi is this: Every weekend, accompanied by a few friends and relatives, with bagsful of fruit and flowers, they drive to the village where their efforts are needed. Without waiting for the villagers to join them, without even calling them, they start cleaning the temples. This act generally prompts the villagers to join them. Sometimes they carry food prepared at home to the temple site; at other times they carry the necessary provisions and, with the help of the villagers, cook lunch in the village. But they always make sure that the villagers join them in partaking of the lunch. After a day's work, they prepare prasadam and distribute it to all the villagers.

"Free food also attracts the poor villagers and they join us in the renovation work that way," says Rajesh. "After a few visits, we become friends. We start carrying the provisions needed for a feast and the villagers join us in preparing the meals. We sit together and eat the food. My driver Antony is a big help in the effort."

One of the most exciting experiences the couple has had was at Kovalam, a place near Chennai. When they came to know that a place filled with waste and plastic bags was once a temple tank, they decided to reclaim it.

"Funds are never a problem for us, we get money from somewhere," says Rajesh. "In this case, somebody gave a bulldozer free, somebody gave two lorries free, someone gave diesel free... all for a good cause. Within five days, we dug up the whole place and collected two lorries full of plastic waste. After that, we invited the district collector to inaugurate the tank. After the inauguration, he promised to construct a compound wall.

"It is a service and not only the local people but even the government is involved in such constructive projects. Once the tank reappeared, the villagers started getting good water! We also renovated the temple in the process. Believe it or not, Kovalam is a Muslim-dominated area and a Muslim gentleman donated Rs 1,000 to the temple!"

Another unforgettable incident occurred at Nemam where they came across a temple that was locked for 25 years. When they first reached the place, they couldn't even locate the temple; the tall grass around hid it. When they asked the villagers to help them clean the place, the villagers retorted: 'How much money will you give us?' Rajesh told them, 'I have come here to clean your temple. You have to pay me for that! This is your temple and it is this deity that will bring you health and wealth. Since you are not cleaning it, I will do it for you.' His answer silenced them.

Soon, one by one, the villagers joined them in cleaning the surroundings. "As we moved forward, cutting the bushes, we saw the temple, and also knee-deep dust inside. The temple was built in such a way that only on the 1st of Chithirai [the Tamil New Year Day, which coincides with April 14], sunlight would fall on the deity. So the whole area was very dark and we could not see anything. Then somebody lit a matchstick and suddenly we saw a Siva lingam three feet tall!"

This is not an isolated story, Rajesh says.

Once the locals are motivated enough to take care of the temple and other community activities, they help the villagers form a village committee. Slowly, the couple moves to another village, another temple, and another challenge.

Encouraged by Rajesh and Rajani's effort, a few voluntary organisations have also chipped in. For example, the Sankara Netralaya, one of the most famous eye hospitals in Chennai, arranges free eye camps for the poor and old villagers when such temple-cleaning operations are on. When the doctors visit the villages, the villagers invite the doctors to eat food with them.

Not that the couple never faced difficulties. They had to encounter resistance and protests in some places where the villagers suspected their motives. Why do these city people come here? Is it to grab our land? Once, when Rajesh opened a temple that was locked for 50 years, he received a lawyer's notice for doing so. But no hurdle has deterred the couple or dampened its spirit.

Both Rajesh and Rajani believe that religious places are very important for the development of a village. "We are willing to clean and renovate other religious places too. The good thing is, when we start cleaning old temples, people belonging to other religions also start cleaning their places."

Money and help have never been a problem for them. People from unexpected quarters come forward and offer them money and manpower. "All the profit that I make from my small factory goes to this work," says Rajesh. "I am only a catalyst. I have to only start and afterwards the villagers themselves continue the work. And we do it because we get pleasure out of the work."

 

[manreddy]

Thanks for your post

 

[prasad1]

Is it religion or culture?
To me religion is the philosophy and culture is accumulation of practices. Practices are time and space bound and can change. History is written by the victor and always biased.
So this is the history according to nacchi, a good one. Is there any scientific proof carbon dating, architectural excavations, etc.

I love your avatar.

 

[prasad1]

A beautiful thread. Thanks for the information.