On Aug. 24, 2007, consecration of a golden temple for Goddess Narayani (pronounced: Naaraayan`i) (also names: Mahalakshmi or Shakti)took place. It is said that the temple has been built at a cost of USD 100 million or approx. Rs. 300 crore to Rs. 400 crore.
The temple has a built in area of 55,000 sq.ft. on a land of 100 acres.
Almost all the walls of the temple, the vimana (tower over the sanctum sanctorum), dhwaja stambha (flag post) are said to be covered with gold sheets. The temple is said to have consumed 1.5 tonnes of gold.
This blogger's observations:
1. Do we need such expensive temples?
2. Will the Goddess be happier if surrounded by the yellow metal?
3. Some rich resident and NRI patrons might have donated. Thanks. Normally, the temple administration might have approached them for donations. Some might have come forward voluntarily. Either way, whenever the donors visit the temple, the temple authorities including the priests have to relax rules and specially bow down before the donors offering them seesha vastra (special cloth) etc. This defeats the one of the basic tenets of Hinduism: "All are equal before God".
4. What will be the enormity of security arrangements needed for guarding the temple and gold?
5. Won't there be threats of terrorism, now that the temple has become "prestigious"?
6. If large chunks of land are taken away by places of worship (applies to all religions i.e. temples, mosques and churches)and much more land is gifted away by the Govt. to domestic and foreign industrialists in the name of SEZs and Industrial Parks, will there be any land left for the landless? Will there any space to till?
7. Why the temple administration is crazy of amassing gold? There are more sacred functions which great temples can perform such as 1. performing marriages of poor Hindus (e.g. Kalyanamastu of T.T.D.) 2. Providing shelter to old miltch and plough animals like buffalos, cows and bullocks. 3. Running hospitals for poor 4. Schools for poor.
8. Will the gold walls and towers attract back the poor Hindus who have converted to other religions?
9 How do the gold walls and towers help the society or at least the Hindus?
10. Luxurious temples give the proseylitizers of other religions a stick, to beat us with. The other religions may have their own prayer houses of luxury. But they forget. The poor in India do not know that other religions too have their own ugly places and believe the converting vultures.
11. Idol worship is only a tool. It is only a step in the journey towards self-realisation. Accumulating gold for the idol-houses is, therefore, a hindrance rather than a facilitator of self-realisation.
Not that there are no benefits at all from a golden temple:
1. There will be growth of tourism.
2. There will be some employment in the form of selling materials and worship.
3. Some hoteliers will becomer richer.
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