“Religious Places Shouldn’t Make One Feel Guilty.”

One of the most common elements which we in India come across when we visit a religious place is a sense of feeling of being cheated.

Whether we visit a temple in the South or North or West or East of our country we get surrounded by the tauts who pod you to spend money to buy products related to the worship or to get across the long queries to reach the deities in lesser times.

Once we manage to cross the hurdle of these tauts another set of looters await us in the holy disguise of priests who pounch upon the visitors as an eagle catches its prey.  Their services are such that a simple God fearing person can’t but accept them. Their questions are like, “Are your parents living ?” If one says, “Yes”, they suggest “You need to go around a pole 7 times while I recite the slokas for their long life and it will cost you such and such amount.  If one says “No”, they suggest, “In that case you need to go around a pole 7 times while I recite the slokas for their souls to rest in peace and it will cost you such and such amount.  Now how can one come out of the situation.  One needs to be very rational and also strong from within to drop both the options and return from the temple without feeling guilty.  This is just one small example by which the tauts and the priests try to cheat the pilgrims.  It doesn’t just end here.  While we try to leave the temple one has to again cross long line of beggars who will really make you feel bad if you leave without giving them the alms.

When one, however, visits a Sikh Temple which is called Gurudwara (Master’s Door) the experience is totally different.  One never comes across any tauts outside trying to prod the visitors to buy any stuff from them for being offered inside as part of any worship.

Once inside the premises there are no queues to be followed or lines to be crossed on payments.  Ones prayers are not dependent on having any priest as a mediator. Everyone is entitled to pray directly on his own.

People inside the Gurudwara are always more than eager to serve you in some way or the other.  They love to serve the visitors with holy Prasad, with langar (food), tea, snacks, drinks whatever may be the occasion.

One can either sit along and relish the serene atmosphere or join the sangad (holy congregation) and take part in the on going keertan (singing of words in the Lord’s praise).

As the organizers of Gurudwara take good care of feeling everyone including the poor one seldom sees any beggars in and around any Gurudwaras.

Note :             The article is not written to hurt any ones sentiments.  I’ve just tried to reflect my personal feelings and experience.

 16.05.2015