Anarchy in the name of rituals:

The holy city of Varanasi and the ghats on the bank of the sacred river Ganges (Ganga) are no more that holy a place as they used to be in the past traditionally since ages where people from all over the country, nay all over the world, used to congregate and take a dip in the waters of the river with the belief that this acted as a vital source to absolve themselves of whatever sins they  might have committed in their life. They did so also with the conviction that the type of such a bath coupled with certain rituals in the form of a puja (worship) was a sure way of going to heaven when they die. Such a puja used to be and is still performed on their behalf by the local priests who practically behave more as gangsters than the real holy men. These priests have their own prescribed rates for each ritual and the worshippers are forced to pay them exorbitantly failing which the worshippers have to face their wrath and curse in most crude a form. The most surprising phenomenon is that even in the present day world of ultra modern culture at the level of the society there are people who can’t afford disregarding the dictates of the priests for the fear that this may annoy the so called god men to the detriment of their future births. Such a false belief on the part of the devotees is not only highly ironical it is in fact a grave tragedy which they suffer from for no logical a reason. Only the other day I saw some of the priests on the bank of the Ganga at Varanasi well clad in jeans and multi coloured shirt practicing the puja on behalf of their customers/ devotees as if they were enjoying some picture in a cinema hall and had nothing to do with their traditional dress of dhoti/ kurta with a vermilion mark on their forehead. It is difficult to comprehend as to why the people should pose their faith in the god men so blindly. What the priests practice and the way they do it in the name of rituals is an act criminal in nature and in fact the devotees themselves are a party to such a crime by voluntarily succumbing to pressure tactics of the god men. Wake up India, wake up.

Link:Entity of God(s)

Technorati Tags: falsefaith,devotees,ganga,priests,society,culture