Recently I had visited a temple
in Andhra Pradesh. I had taken my camera and took as many snaps as possible to
capture the essence of the pilgrim place. As I was going through the snaps, I
was amazed at the job opportunities these types of places provide for the
locals.
As we came out railway station, the place was
teeming with auto-rickshaws, cabs and vans. As the station is eight kilometers
from the temple, passengers have to get dropped in the main town. The fare
depends on the number of people traveling.
This was income for the drivers and the vehicle owners.
Then the lodge we went to stay,
was new, with AC and geysers for hot water.
This was income for the lodge owner and their employees.
We had tea and breakfast, lunch
and dinner in different hotels. This was income for the hotel owners and their
employees. Vans to supply milk for these hotels.
There were trinket vendors,
tender coconut peddlers, soda stalls, flower hawkers, fancy item stores, and outlets
,that sold religious materials.
Then there were the
photographers, who gave instant two minute prints. Guys were selling mementos, and books
extolling the virtues of the temple and the deities.

Public toilets and bathing
rooms, for a small sum, were available for devotees who were too poor to afford
a room.
There were many shops selling
religious articles.
Inside the temple there were
counters for devotees to make payments for any type of religious activity they
wished to perform. Payments ranged from Rs. 200000 to Rs.100, depending on the
affordability, and the type of service.
Counters were also issuing
Prasad, [ eatable sweets, particular to the temple], for a sum.
The temple also provided free
meals, and hundreds of devotees, were fed lunch and dinner. This meant
employment for cooks, and cleaners.
So much of employment, business
opportunities, income for thousands of people residing in that area.
And the source of such income
was faith. Faith in Gods, in saints, in religion, in rituals. Religion was
meant to be the first step towards spirituality. Religion was needed to tell
men about the existence of God in a visual form, as stone or metal images, in a
audio format, as chants, prayers and songs, bells and drums, and as smell in
flowers used for worship and incense sticks lit in temples. As taste in Prasad,
and as touch in the basil leaves, and saffron rice, kumkum and vibhuti we
receive from the priests.
But mankind stayed in the first
step ,and never used the inquiring mind to go from the
obvious to the subtle. He was trained and conditioned never to enquire, about
the nth dimension. Even
with the faults, religion has a place in society. After all it serves the
purpose of “ Give us this day our daily bread.”
No comments:
Post a Comment