ARE WE NOT MISSING THE BUS SOMEWHERE - 554

  ARE WE NOT MISSING THE BUS SOMEWHERE 







I do not want to appear as someone opposing anything and everything happening around us .

As someone who had the good fortune to visit both SOMNATH AND DWARAKA in Gujarat recently , I would like share some unique experiences at these places  . In terms of Size and the Number of Pilgrims visiting them , they are almost on Par with our own Madurai Meenkshiamman or Sri Ranganathar at Srirangam or the Muruga Prumal at Tiruchedur or even the Thousands that visit Rameshwaram Everyday .

1) Security Check which is almost equal to those at Airports. 

2 ) Mobiles , Cameras not allowed inside Temple Premises. 

3 ) Footwear Storage very Systematic but free .

4 ) Men and Women have to  stand in Separate Queues for Darshan .

5 ) NO SPECIAL DHARSHAN CHARGES OF Rs 100 , 200 or 500 . One single Queue for FREE and that's it .

6 ) NO HARATHY THATTU GOING AROUND FOR MONEY TO BE PLACED FOR VIBHUTI OR KUMKUM .

7 ) TEMPLE TIMING AT SOMNATH 6.00 AM TO 10 PM , DWARAKADEESH 7.OO AM TO 1.00 PM AND 5.00 PM TO 10.00PM , NO THIRAI OR SCREEN ANY TIME IN BETWEEN FOR ALANKAARAM . ALANKAARAM ARE DONE EVEN AS THE DARSHAN FOR THE PILIGRIMS IS IN PROGRESS .

8 ) Blowing of the Conch , Beating of huge Drums and Cymbals , Chanting of HAR HAR MAHADEV with raised arms above the head is a new experience as is the practice of Infants just a Month or Two Old being raised in both hands high above the Head and being introduced in all reverence to the Almighty. The whole atmosphere is sure to bring a feel which is hard to describe in words .

9 ) The entire place is kept spotlessly clean at all times .

10 ) No shops selling Water Bottles , Tea , Coffee , Sugar Cane Juice anywhere close to the Temple Premises . NO NOT EVEN COCONUTS , BANANAS , FLOWER GARLANDS OR EVEN PAN LEAVES . All these are  sold in places which are a fair distance away from the Main Temple .

11 ) Clean Water and Toilets at specific places are not at all an issue .

12 ) Spacious Car Parking at a fair distance from the Temple .

All the above has set me thinking , 

Have we NOT  in our frenzy to  BE DIFFERENT , LOOK DIFFERENT , ACT DIFFERENT AND SOUND DIFFERENT  missed the Bus Somewhere in between . 

Our outlook as to what we see as RIGHT OR WRONG has taken a beating and we seem to  think  NOTHING IS WRONG if  our mindset is manipulated by forces that directs us in a path which has led us to the current sad  state of Affairs . 


Comments

  1. Lakshmi Ayyappan10 March 2023 at 00:51

    Very good observation. Valid thought. This should be the scenario everywhere. Wonderful. Recently we visited Tiruchandur among many other temples, it was so crowded. The idol was placed outside, where people were thronging. Two lines, one was free, other was for Rs 100/-. We took the line costing 200/-. The pujari s were calling out to Mama and Mami and asking them to pay money for special darshan, which was we were allowed to stand for another 5 min. But then they wanted more money for the vibuthi kumkum prasadam. It was really irking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Murthy10 March 2023 at 07:01

    I am an atheist. However clean and tidy a place of worship is, there is nothing to worship and the whole subject is divisive.

    I can also visit these places to admire the architecture, just like I'd go to a museum or an art gallery..

    ReplyDelete

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