Temples marketing God!
Kerala have since ages been renowned on the diversities of its religions and cultures. Hinduism that gained a high esteem now shares equal position with the Islam and Christianity . Every religious rituals and rites of every religion had a specific goal not just towards moralizing the society but to spread love and to impart the ancient wisdom to its followers. Religion was also an influential figure in protecting our environment. But what have it become now!We are familiar with the common poojas and homams in Hindu religion. Ganapathi Homam being one of the most accepted offering to Lord Ganesha. It involves many steps that not just firing up incense and chanting mantras, it has a positive impact n our surroundings as well, but honestly how many of you have heard of aiswaryadhanalabdhi poojas and karyasidhi poojas that are rampant in the temple provinces nowadays. People when invest greatly for such rituals they don't realize that just like trademark advertisements for product temples have become mere products the temple authorities are trying to market! What are they marketing? God? God's grace? then how? Its been within a span of four or five years that such marketing have arose in temples. Even the idols fixed simply under a tree now stands decorated in the fifteen feet wide sanctuary of gold plated leaves and concrete pavements with electric lighting and tape recorder playing sprung musical albums praising the God or Goddess. This is how they market God!
When you badly need something run to the nearby temple offer some 50,000 rupees arrange an instant homam or pooja , cry so that God will hear you and go in peace thinking that your money have won God's grace, if that was the case no millionaires and billionaires would ever face a hurdle and no poor man would have been uplifted by the divine grace. Our Religious beliefs have been greatly blinded and consumerism have affected even our devotion who ask for grace fit for the spent up money! Pollution is all around us and now inside us. The crudeness of our views have mutated our values and now our perspective to God.
Realize that God never needs your money and he knows what's best for you and will give you the right thing at the right time. Now all that we are doing is to spend up our cash and where does it end up? No doubt in the pockets of the temple authorities. They glaze up the temple surroundings by the cheapest way possible and rest goes into their pockets. How could people be so thoughtless and bribe God who is the Epitome of truth!