God may be everywhere but
certainly not in some temples.
Though I am not a regular temple
visitor, I can very easily recall incidents of absolute demolition of anything
spiritual at many shrine places thronged by hundreds of thousands of devotees
every year. While standing in the queue, you get more than enough time to
ponder over the degradation of the ethical human existence to the extent that
one class is feeding over the other in the name of god. Devotees have different
reasons to visit a religious place but the priest class in most of the famous
Hindu and Muslim shrines are nothing but the agents trading your faith for some
easy bucks.
Religion is the most profitable
business. Isn’t it? Ask the likes of Nirmal Babas and Asharam Bapus.
I really feel alienated when I
see a priest forcing you to offer this much even if you’re not willing to; when
I am approached by some members of this group with the proposition that they
would arrange for an entry through the VIP gate in exchange of due
considerations; when I find administration of some big religious places issuing
high-denomination tickets to allow the privileged class to bypass the long
hours of waiting in the queue (and one of the most routine pointers to emphasize
the existence of god is that everyone is equal before him!); when I see the spirit
of religion and spirituality being killed in these very places at every passing
moment by the very same class who is supposed to propagate it.
Yuck! The cocktail chokes your
breathing.
How can any god decide to stay
put at such places of perversion? The answer is a certain no!
It is said god is present
everywhere but I would love to sound concrete in saying that he left religious
places like this a long ago!
