Skip to main content

ISKON – A case study in temple management ?

“If you visit Bangalore, you ought to have visited ISKON at least once”. Having lived at Bangalore for almost a year, I was having a feeling of, not exactly guilt … but definitely felt that I have missed some part of Bangalore. I always wanted to be there once, and yesterday was the day.

Sunday, 14th May 2006 :

I was sitting at Forum shopping mall with a friend, and as usual doing nothing. Suddenly the idea struck … Why don’t we go to ISKON … and then began a long ride through he crowded streets of the city. Braving he heavy traffic, and an overdose of the likes of carbon monoxide, SPM, nitrogen dioxide etc. we finally managed to reach there after an excruciating 45 minutes ride. There stood the ISKON temple, on a very small hill, in a very large area. Had it been a movie, the appropriate term would have been ‘magnum opus’. And began our journey negotiating the Sunday crowd of devotees...

I have never been too religious, in fact not too much of a believer, but occasionally I do visit a temple or a church. I don’t know whether I ll be granted what I ask for, but still I do ask for a wish or two, and obviously hope it gets true. Still I often believe that I need not necessarily go to a place of worship to ask for something which I desire from bottom of my heart and with a pure mind.
Anyway, we reached the temple and I was intimidated by the serpentine queue for ‘darshan’.

With great difficulty we managed to take out or shoes and hand it over. Apparently everything seemed to be too professionally managed, but still the service left us wanting, maybe just because of sheer number of people. There were few people shouting and abusing the person who collected the shoes. Anyway we proceeded with the security check and washing the hands and landed in a queue for the ‘darshan’, and meanwhile hearing the chant of

‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare’.

There were three levels to go. With a temple on all of them, two small and a big one … the one that housed ‘Radha Krishna’ and “Krishna Balaram’ temple . Only the pass holders were allowed a ‘darshan’ from close. Even the ‘parikrama’was not allowed. And there were volunteers taking care of each and every aspect. Then we made an exit … but there was a lot to go. Also the view of the city from that small hill-like structure was amazing.

As we went to ‘another level’ we were amazed by the complex network of shops (seemed more like stalls) selling devotional books to food to some decorative item to clothes… of course we expected it but never expected it to be so big. Yes, there was a small exhibition which mainly contained paintings and small and big idols of mostly Lord Krishna. And I could easily guess that those shops would be having a huge turnover, especially in the weekends. And before the ‘prasad’ as offered and we left, we had already been to a popcorn shop, countless sweet shops, cake shop, a restaurant and many other shops.

I was amazed by such a commercialization of the religious place. Well, I expected some of these shops, but the sheer number and magnitude of the same would take my breath away. In hindsight I thought “is religion so commercialized?”A place of worship with all those shops and even a restaurant!!. Everything there seemed too mechanical. But again a thought came “Ok … What’s wrong in that!!” … And maybe that “mechanical” or the systematic things might not be out of place but absolutely necessary due to sheer number of people visiting there. Maybe in some other big temple like Tirupati Balaji it might be even bigger. Anyway, I found the ISKON temple too crowded and cramped, but maybe that s the price for being too popular. Somehow, I expected much more from that place; maybe I was keeping my expectations too high.

Comments

Shop @ Amazon

Popular posts from this blog

Assorted Random Semi-Verses

Memories Isn't every memory a magic? Making you lose the sense of time. Which is so much beyond the realm of logic. Though sometimes they are mere illusions But they keep coming back to you, And make you feel nostalgic! ___ The Dark Side With every talent comes a curse, From every gift speaks a caveat aloud, Even the beautiful moon has a dark side, And every silver lining has a cloud! ___ The Race Somewhere in this race, Some time during the run, I lost myself in between, And forgot to have fun. ____ I write ... I sometimes write random words, Which hardly make any sense; But I just felt that you should know, That in some corner of this little world, I do have a little presence!

Snaps from The Himalayas

Some glimpses of one of the best landscapes in the country. Why long for Alps when our own old, enigmatic yet beautiful Himalayas provide such magnificent and picturesque sceneries!! Have a look. Enjoy. Location - Garhwal Region, Himalayas which lie in the state of Uttrakhand.

destined for greatness ...

He had one final look at his work. The ending was perfect. The beginning was perfect. Yes. The pace slackened a bit in middle, but it was acceptable. A handful of people may not like it. He couldn't please all. But he was sure that he would please most of the people, the ones who mattered. Above all, the work would impress him. He had surpassed his own expectations. He had read the final draft for the 27th time by now. It was perfect. Next day he would contact the publishers. He was sure that nobody would refuse. They would lap up his work and offer him some handsome sum of money. Probably much more than any of the first time writers could ever dream of, at an age of 29. That would bring it all - name, fame, recognition, money ... everything! He was destined for greatness, as a part of the title suggested. Maybe in a year ... or two years at max, the world will recognize his greatness. Maybe, that would be fitting reply to the world which had branded him as a insecure, reclusive, w...

Financial tips for a 25 year old

Originally published at  BeingfinWise __ If you are 25 year old, there is a good likelihood that you would have started working or are likely to start soon. And hopefully start(ed) managing your own finances. So, what do you do next? The good news is that having a profession can soon lead to cash flows which perhaps wouldn't have seen in your student days. And that can be empowering in many ways. The bad news is that, if you are reckless with spending money, it can soon lead to a downward financial spiral. Managing your finances well can be a good first step towards a healthy financial life. And it starts with small steps.

What's the purpose of investing?

"Investment" - This word is much used and often much abused one. One keeps on hearing this almost all the time be it in office or catching up with friends or attending a family functions - almost everywhere. More so when we are fed with lot of information about how one needs to make money work to get more money. However, for a lot of people, the clarity on one question is often lacking - What is the purpose of investing? And even if one knows his/ her purpose of investing, it is often not implemented in real life. For instance, purpose of one's investments may be having sufficient funds in times of need. Yet they may opt for a personal loan when faced with pressing need for money. Based upon my observations, below are some of the most common purpose of investments (in no particular order) I invest because there is some sufficient funds lying with me and I can get great returns. I am investing for some specific goal - buying a house, education of kids, m...