What We Do in the Name of God: An Account of My Visit to SriKalahasti Temple

Yesterday, I visited an ancient, renowned temple called SriKalahasti with my family ( 8 people ranging from age 5 to 6).My account of this visit is from the perspective of an agnostic who is hesitant to travel to another state just for pooja and darshan at a temple.

SriKalahasti Temple

As soon as we stepped outside the bubble of our tourist car, we were surrounded by several unkempt, hungry pilgrims. They all began speaking at once. They had traveled from far off places and had no money. One of them requested for money to buy food. My uncle opened his wallet and handed over a few rupee notes and coins. That was enough to attract another bunch of saffron clad pilgrims. We managed to evade them and enter the temple premises.

The inner premise of SriKalahasti was constructed back in the 5th century A.D. whereas the extended area was built in the 12th century. It is only expected that the structure would be imposing and awe-inspiring. We were told that the puja was not to begin for another 3 hours. So we found a spot in the open yard and had a picnic, only it wasn't very enjoyable.

When we began eating the home-cooked food we had packed, an old, emaciated man walked towards us with open palms held together. Did he want money? The elders of our group decided that we had given away enough alms to the pilgrims and told the man off. The man did not leave. I realized that he was asking for food. We gave him a plate of the rice we were eating and some pickle. He found a spot in another corner of the yard and ate the food.

Soon, it was time for the puja. We bought the most expensive tickets: costing about 1500 rupees per puja spot. However, there were numerous others who had bought those same tickets and we were almost fighting for a decent spot. The puja itself took an hour. At the end of the puja, the priests announced that each person should submit Rs.101 as an offering to the priests. Although Rs.1500 had already been paid in lieu of all expenses, including the priests' salaries, this unaccounted money is equivalent to a bribe.At once, I was offended. I asked my mother to give no more than Rs.11 and the priest accepted our rebellious "offering" without a word. 

Later in the day, my grandmother recounted that an underprivileged family seated next to her frantically
searched their purses for the hundred rupees. They ended up borrowing the amount from another relative.This demand for an offering is as good as extorting money in the name of god. Yet, some wealthy people oblige without a thought and the poorer people are looted of their scarce, hard earned money.

An example of the lines

Then the darshan followed. Visitors walked in strict lines with barricades of metals. Only, everyone pushed and fought to get ahead wherever the metallic barriers could accommodate more than one person. Unfortunately, no matter how hard one tried, one could only worship the idol from a distance of 10 feet for 5 seconds.

After that, as we were following the exit lanes (again bound by metallic barriers), I felt like an ant trapped in a human's experiment. When I finally exited the crowded inner temple, I was fatigued, irritable and extremely relieved. It's a maze that, if you enter once, will not let you quit before enduring its hardships.

It is a custom to sit down in the courtyard after exiting the inner temple. While we sat there and shared some conversation, I could not help observing the faces of the people who were pouring out (yes, there were too many) of the exit arch of the temple. Each was drenched in sweat, had a wary, frustrated look on their face. I could not spot one smile. Everyone looked so irascible that they could pick a fight on any insignificant matter.

The purpose of temples and prayer is to create peace. Yet, people only seemed to be more petulant when they left the temple.

I pointed out my concern to my family. In reply, I was told that in those four hours spent at the temple, my sins had been washed away and that god had bestowed more blessings instead. However, ,my less than sacred personal experience prompted me to wonder how. I had done nothing but strewn flowers and saffron powder on an idol, chanted a few Sanskrit words I was told to (I probably jumbled most of the words), prevented other 'devotees' from taking my spot in the crowded line and complained about the heat. Is that all it takes to wash away sins and earn blessings?

Since I had visited only for my family's sake, I decided to not argue further. On the road trip back to Chennai, we stopped the car to buy some flowers on a highway. A girl of about 10 years, with a bundle of garlanded flowers in her hands ran up to our window. My grandmother inquired the price. The girl replied, "20 for 3 arm's lengths". My mother negotiated for 4 lengths at the same price. Abruptly, I asked my mom if the girl might be attending school during the day. I was told that she probably didn't. We bought 4 lengths and handed her one Rs.20 note and another Rs.10 note. The girl looked up, surprised. My mother said softly, "Keep it".The momentary smile on the girl's face was priceless.

We must have spent about Rs.6000 on the entire trip: some at the temple and the remaining for travel. At the same cost, we could have given a quality meal to 300 underprivileged students at an NGO in Delhi which I had visited a few months ago. We could have made 600 little flower selling girls smile by giving them Rs.10 each. If we had to visit the temple, we could have used the money spent on the tickets to distribute home cooked food among the aged, abandoned men and women at the temple. Any of these activities would have changed our day. Instead of an irritable mind and a fatigued body, we would have gained the joy of having made someone's day.

And that would certainly earn us more blessings than shoving people in a crowd. 

Let alone earning god's blessings, I cannot fathom how that experience forgave my sins. Rather, it seems like I committed some minor sins of anger and ill wishes when the woman behind me tried to sneak past me in the line.

So, Simply sitting at home and watching television could benefit my karma more than a selfish visit to a holy place. 

I am definitely not an atheist. I am not against temples and idol worship either. I simply refuse to participate in this religious delusion that paying for unnecessary pujas and priest's bulging wallets makes a difference to one's karma. 

The Kalahasti temple itself a beautiful architectural structure with an extremely rich history. I would gladly attend an event at the temple where I could learn more about the temple's architecture, its symbol, the beliefs it stands for and the dynasties that built it. I would love to learn how the temple has contributed to the culture and economy of the place. To study how deeply the lives of the people are intertwined with the grand temple would be a delight. But the temple authorities and events do not seem much concerned with this kind of immersion. 

In my visit to this ancient temple, I mostly learnt of the atrocities committed in the name of religion. Regrettably, I know the spelling of the name "Kalahasti" (colloquially pronounced Kalasti) because I looked it up on Wikipedia for this blog post.If I hadn't, I would be just another ignorant devotee exhausting my time, effort and cash for no real benefit. Such is the appreciation for our glorious past.