I read yet another shocking news and could not resist commenting on it. Here is an dialogue account of what might have taken place.
Paul Roediger (PR) is the American tourist amazed by the Indian culture and Hindu religion. He has traveled far and wide and read lots of books and articles about India. He visits Puri and is greeted by Ramachandra Panda (Priest) is a priest at Jaganath Temple.
PR: I see this majestic temple, and thousands of devotees. What is this place?
Priest: It is the temple of Lord Jaganath, the King of the Creation. Subjects from all over the world come to pay their respects to their mighty Lord. The Lord blesses them and cleanses their soul.
PR: Did you say the Lord of the Entire World? I also have a grievance, can I also worship here?
Priest: NO!
PR: Please, I promise i won’t take more than 15 seconds of my lords time.
Priest: No, you cannot meet him… you need to be a Hindu.
PR: So if I am a Hindu and an Indian, I can meet him?
Priest: Yes, But provided you are not a Shudhra.
(confused why someone would want to be a Shurdhra on the first place)
PR: How do I become a respectable Hindu?
Priest: You can never become one… you need to be born a hindu to be one.
(Seriously disappointed, and not knowing what to do. This devotee PR is turning back)
Priest: Hey wait! I can make a special provision for you.
PR: What sort of provision? (thinks for a while) Will 500/- do?
Priest: (smiles) You are the most generous and noble man I have ever seen.
Gist of the story….
I seriously believe that in a Modern egalitarian India, there is no place for temples like this. Temples like Jaganath breed religious hatred and casteism. and keep the Indian mentality primitive. SC/ST/OBC and females are still barred from visiting many of the holy sites.
You cannot cleanse these temples by throwing 300,000/- worth of prasad (food), but by DEMOLISHING Jaganath temples and putting all the priests and authorities behind bars. What use is this grandeur if there is no humanity and brotherhood?
@manuscrypts.. i could not understand what you meant by 3rd party….
@sree.. sounds great to me.
Comment by pegasus — March 6, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
well it will be inappropriate to comment on the Religion and Tradition by itself, when the priest is commiting the henious crime of accepting the money to show the Lord to the foreigner.
It’s pity that our rich culture and tradition is blackmarked by the behaviour of such stupid peoples.
Comment by manu — March 7, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
well, in the case of religion, a priest.. even a temple/any other religious structure
Comment by manuscrypts — March 8, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
Hi, Pegasus.
I disagree that to be a hindu you must be born a hindu. I was born a Jain and I converted to hinduism and practiced devoutly for a long time. Just because a priest cant convert you, doesn’t mean the scriptures dont have provisions (there are so many of them, you can pick any one lol). The basic idea of hinduism is “Atman is Brahman” and “Aum”. If you embrace these and live by the prescriptions of the scriptures, who can deny your faith in hinduism, and the fact that you are a hindu?
Whether this faith, no matter how deep or true it is, can grant you a place in the social structure and hierarchy of hinduism, is a different story altogether.
People should not pay so-called “holy men” who want bribes. The temple is already defiled by their presence (the presence of bribe-takers and casteists). If you realise that the place is defiled, you wont have such a desire to worship there anymore, but if you still want to worship, take a lawyer with you, the Constitution of India provides for all hindus to be allowed into hindu places of worship – Jains are also hindus – you can convert to Jainism, hence go inside the temple freely. lol
-RED
Comment by R-E-D — March 10, 2007 @ 10:35 pm
@red… I agree with most of the points you raised. but what i meant by no way to become Hindu was:
“Whether this faith, no matter how deep or true it is, can grant you a place in the social structure and hierarchy of hinduism, is a different story altogether.”
however I am raising one more question… for a temple to be called ‘Jaganath’ shouldn’t all of the god’s creatures be allowed inside…. that includes Non-Brahmins, Non-Hindu, and maybe even non-Humans
Comment by pegasus — March 11, 2007 @ 6:09 pm
jai shree krishan .Don’t try to see krishna, do somthing so that krishana may see you.
Comment by varinder — July 29, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
[...] PS: I still maintain my earlier stance on Puri [...]
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