Temple funds ...administration and buying of Toyota Innovas....

Only the Devout who regularly visits the temple  know the anguish…. It is not unique to any village temple… the malady affects almost all temples – more so, when thousands of devotees come to the temple …. More so when they contribute lakhs and crores of rupees in the Temple hundis.

For a Hindu, devotion and worship is way of life… their life revolves round the Temples ~ more around those great temples of which Alwars and Nayanmars have sung hymns… doing service at the temple, and donating their property were all for propitiation ~ and many rich people donated part of their wealth, their lands and more for Temples – constructing them and maintaining them…. People who died without progeny used to donate their property to temple – as when the temple flourished – all the neighbourhood prospered…. ‘people lived happily in places where culture and religion co-existed’…..

All tales of the past…. Now there are some temples where even daily rituals are not properly conducted… not all of them are in villages, neither – all of them not having property …. They have huge estates – only the administrators are not properly managing to derive revenue out of them.  We have HR&CE which will take over temples when revenue exceeds a set limit [the same rule does not apply to religious institutions of others !!!!] – and with the temple money – they will conduct political functions – in memory of leaders who preached atheism … why at a temple premises …. If feeding the poor is the aim – do it in the name of God – why in the name of political persons ?  have we asked this ??

Sadly, the temple precincts are poorly maintained – hygiene is not at all cared …. Temple festivities are planned, mentioned in agamas and puranas – Brahmothsavam in Vaishnavaite temples were ordained by Brahma himself; later by many Acharyas including Ramanuja Charya… in some places, the annual festivities do not take place … the Car festival is the most majestic and most attended by one and all… 

in some temples, where the ‘Temple rath (car)’ is damaged mainly due to improper (read NO) maintenance – repairs / reconstruction will take decades – that too, only when some private donors willingly take the initiative…………. 

But the officials come in Airconditioned cars – Innovas, Scorpios  - why SUVs and luxury sedans from temple funds – when nothing is done for the Lord = for whom those funds were intended. Why no action against officials who fail time and again to realize the revenue from assets and sometimes even do not maintain proper record of the assets/////////

Sad, sad, tragic … anguish and pain… today, there is a good article of Mr TR Ramesh in Dinamalar which is reproduced below.

Thanks to Dinamalar for publishing this and many thanks to the ilks of TR Ramesh who take up the cudgels, when ordinary mortals feel that there is nothing one can do….

Here is what appeared in Dinamalar supplement - chennai edition dt 8.3.14