Nowadays, my heart aches when I just see devotees carrying huge baskets of offerings, chanting the holy names but fail to implement the things mentioned in our scriptures !!!
The best business men nowadays are the priests, only some actually care, rest are just lunatics !!
Chanting Mantras, terrifying devotees stating your Shani is heavy, mangal is heavy & asking them for huge donations to resolve the issues (though that never gets settled) Eventually the nature does the trick !!!
The worst part is the way they maintain the deities, Bombarding heavy jewelries, stacks of chunri( Red cloth adorned with golden borders), sarees garlands , even fruit garlands. Just try to lay these things on a human, the person would suffocate to death.
The idol is made up of life-less things that's what makes them think to do such shameful acts.
It's not mandatory to have 108 things arranged for worship but in mind one is just cursing other, praying for other's illness, lust etc won't be of any good.
The Almighty is innocent, sweet, adorable. they just carve for true love & devotion. And trust me friends, when you love someone compassionately, knowing no rules, scriptures etc will still lead you to the Lord, the desireless actions which you would perform will be accepted by the almighty.
The only priest who used to cr while doing the aarti was Shree Ramkrsihna Paramhansa who loved Mother Goddess Kali like anything. He used to play, sing, eat food with the Mother Goddess & it was believed that Mother Goddess only use to eat the bhog offered by him. The locals called him mad, but once when Ramakrishna Parmhansa was irate he hit the idol with a sharp object. Immediately blood started flowing from the idol & then & theer people came to know about RamaKrishna's divine interventions were true.
Though, I was not fortunate enough to be born in that era but my heart aches when I see such Kaliyuga dark practices prevailing these days.
Let me tell you an incident which was witnessed by my family.
It was the sixth auspicious day of Chaitra(spring) navratra, when my dad, mum & younger sister went to pay their obeisance to the mother Goddess Kali. By the time they reached the shrine the door was closed, as it was the time when the goddess is fed in the non & is put to rest ( just like an afternoon nap). Dissapointed, when they were about to leave, the priest opened the door stating " Mayer Dorshon Korben ? ( Want to see the mother goddess ? ) My family was amazed to see the priest gesture, as once the gate is closed it's not open till it's time for the evening aarti. Anyway they all prayed & thanked the priest for the same, the priest tied the holy thread on their hands ( a symbol of protection from evil spirits). When mum tried to offer him some Dakshina( money), he simply refused, that shocked them more,as normally they take & some even demand for more. Still, mum requested him to keep it as a token of love & respect. As they were about to leave he shouted " Tomra Bhog Khabe na ? " ( Won't you eat the Prasshad, food offered to the God/Goddess) They all had Khichuri & thanked the priest for his humble behavior & hospitality. A rare but an enchanting inccident.
All these things happened in just one day, the same auspicious days of navratra where most of the temples in northern India are filled with devotees, where the priests are either busy entertaining their high-profile clients or are busy hunting the offering baskets. Shameful, I would say.
Moreover some devotees I tell you, I happen to visit Isckon temple on sunday, As it was time for the afternoon aarti we gathered in front of the Lord, A middle-aged lady out of nowhere very abusively stated " Hare Krishna HAre Krishna hatiye hatye" ( Hare Krishna Hare Krishna move) I was like maybe she is looking for something but no she anted to stand first in the row. I was like there is no need to shout mam, please stand here. And the fun begins when the priest throws the flower/garlands so that devotees can bless themselves & keep it with them. All respect, discipline goes down the drain. I simply laugh & help only the poor old aged people who are there just to get a glimpse.
I am religious, but I don't follow any specific rules, scriptures etc. Have plenty of scriptures which I read during the grand Durga-puja, Lakshmi puja but doesn't make them mandatory for my family members.
At the end of the puja, I request my members to just grab a flower dipped in sandalwood paste( after all the Lord needs the be serve the best as I love them ) & request them to pray & offer their obeisance.
By this blog, I just want to make the virtual readers aware that, no matter what happens don't fall for superstitions, just keep your faith on the lord. As they will be with you forever. If you make elaborate arrangements for your love that's fine but even a leaf, lighted wick( diya), water, Incense stick & bhog ( Lord's food : fruit, home cooked dishes avoiding garlic & onion) is sufficient to please the lord. And most important sanity, if you ever visit Kalkaji temple you will be petrified to see it's situation. Outside it's filled with garbage & who is responsible for that ? Devotees throwing plastics, garlands, foods etc etc. Why don't they understand they are littering the Almighty's house. Simply donating 1001 rupees & coming back to your own house after doing all the mess, that won't earn you any good fruits.
I wanted to pen down many incidents but for the meantime lets keep it short.
Almighty is omnipresent, try to feel them & offer your true love & devotion for them.
