Temples have Forgotten Their Social Obligations; Have Become Money Minting Organistions !!

By Anindita Roy

God does not dwell in a building, He dwells in our hearts. We do not have to meet at a special building or enter a special building to worship God. He does not need houses or temples to dwell in---the entire universe is God's house, "the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him" and His infinite Spirit cannot apparently be confined in any way to man-made dwelling places.

The philosophy behind donating to Temples seems to have been lost totally these days. Early Temples were not only places where people could congregate and worship or find peace in the quietude of the place, but temples also sheltered the travellers, the poor and the needy. Donations to temples were used to feed and clothe the destitute apart from maintaining the Temple’s structure and paying the priests their allowance.

The rich and the powerful donated part of their wealth to the Temples, who in turn used these funds to look after the poor, who were in need of money, and support noble causes. Now, this wealth which is donated to the temples are gobbled up by the temple owners and the management of the Temple. The business of running a Temple has become very lucrative. If we can take out the money from the Temples alone, we would be able to feed every hungry mouth in every city.

As an alternative, we can stop donating our money to the temples and every time there is an urge to do so, put that money in a piggy bank and see it grow. Use this money for some social cause and see the beneficiary smile and bless you.

For a long time now, Temple priests have deceived the rich by saying that yajnas (special prayer) can wash away their sin. Hence, the rich donate gold and valuables to the temples. Instead, the rich should help the poor to get their blessings and then maybe their sins can be washed away.

The poor are also cheated by unscrupulous priests by telling them that if they donate money to the Temples, they will achieve wealth and their wishes will fructify.

The encroachments on our pavements by these petty businessmen should be removed without FEAR OF GOD!!! God is everywhere, in every atom, removing a Temple from the pavement will not anger God !! When will we learn ?