05 Apr 2006
O, Brahmin priests! Even today you are the qualified agents for the propagation of divine knowledge of the Lord. Even today the public is inviting you alone to perform religious ceremonies, which are either auspicious or inauspicious. Every human being has to attend the ceremonies and spend some of his time, energy and money either willingly or unwillingly. Everybody is forced by tradition to attend these ceremonies. Even a human being who is busy with his business or profession and does not spend even a single minute for spiritual knowledge and God also has to attend these ceremonies and spend at least one full day for these functions. If these ceremonies had been done in the real spirit, every human being would have slowly turned towards God and attained some spiritual knowledge at least. But, unfortunately there is not even an iota of change in any human being after these ceremonies. If at all there is any change in people, it is not when they attend these ceremonies but when they attend spiritual meetings conducted by spiritual preachers.
In fact, in olden days all these religious ceremonies consisted of spiritual preaching and every priest was really a spiritual preacher. The priest conducting these ceremonies was called as Vashishta. Vashishta was a great spiritual preacher who preached Jnana Vashishtam (Divine Knowledge). Vashishta used to attend all the religious ceremonies like the ceremony of birth, thread ceremony, marriage of Rama. Vashishta conducted the ceremonies as rituals involving materials (Dravya Yajna) and chanting of prayers (Svadhyaya Yajna). When the Vedic hymns are chanted and some materials like sticks, fire etc., are used, the function becomes a mixture of these two types of Yajna [sacrifice]. In fact, today every ceremony performed by Hindus is only a mixture of these two sacrifices. Once the meaning of hymns is revealed, then the interest and quest for God starts. Such quest is called as Tapo Yajna. In this stage, the hymns are explained, discussed and analysed deeply. The final conclusion of such discussions is called as Jnana Yajna.
Today the spiritual functions or meetings, where the audience has interest and the preacher is giving the right knowledge through sharp discussions, is a mixture of Tapo Yajna and Jnana Yajna. Thus, the Yajna or the ceremony (function) has two sides. The external side is the mixture of Dravya Yajna and Svadhayaya Yajna and the internal side is the mixture of Tapo Yajna and Jnana Yajna. When Vashishta conducted a ceremony, both these sides were fulfilled. Vashishta was the priest externally and the spiritual preacher internally. Such a person who is both a priest as well as a spiritual preacher can only be called as Vashishta.
The M.B.B.S. degree [degree of medical doctor] trains the doctor both in medicine as well as in surgery. But now the doctor giving medicine and the doctor doing surgery are completely separated. A priest does not act as a spiritual preacher and a spiritual preacher does not act as a priest. Therefore, today every human being has to spend time separately for the priest and the spiritual preacher. But the time spent with the priest is inevitable because the ceremonies are compulsory. The spiritual functions are optional. A person attends religious ceremonies without failure but does not attend any discourses of spiritual knowledge. What is the result if he does not attend the spiritual function? He or she does not get any spiritual knowledge and lives and finally dies like an animal involved only in the welfare of his or her body and his or her family. Majority of people belong only to this category.
In the absence of spiritual knowledge, even justice (Dharma) is cracked. Simply preaching about not doing injustice and threatening about hell cannot control injustice. Suppose there is a corrupt person. If you say that corruption is not good, nobody will listen to you. If you say by corruption one will be arrested by police, he will find the ways to escape the police. If you say that the corrupt fellow will fall in hell, the corrupt fellow does not believe this and asks for the proof of hell. Even if some body believes in the existence of hell, priests are also becoming corrupt and they show corrupt methods to escape the hell. Therefore, mere telling a person, threatening him in the name of police, courts or hell are not effective in controlling injustice. Unless injustice is controlled, the society cannot be reformed, and will constantly be subject to disturbance and social evils.
The permanent solution for establishing social justice or for the liberation of an individual soul is only spiritual knowledge. The knowledge of mere ethics including the threat of liquid fire etc., cannot control elite intellectuals. Spiritual knowledge alone can establish real justice and also bring about the liberation of the soul. Thus, the Gita, which is the best spiritual knowledge, is competent to establish justice in the society and to give liberation to the spiritual soul. Thus, the Gita mentions about the establishment of justice (Dharma Samstapanarthaya…) and also mentions the liberation or moksha (Muchyante…), achievement of God (Mameti…) and also pleasing the Lord (Mama Priyah…). Thus, Dharma, moksha and kaivalya are the three birds that can be shot with this single spiritual knowledge.
O priests, in the present situation, you have to become the spiritual preacher also and you must get elevated to the post of Vashishta. Both Pravritti [path of righteous worldly action] and Nivritti [path of selflessly serving and pleasing God] sides should be present in the same Yajna. At least some basis of spiritual knowledge must be present in every ceremony. Mere chanting of the Veda and using materials develop only Pravritti, which is the fulfilment of worldly desires. If only this side is developed, it can also lead to social corruption. Then human beings do everything only for the welfare of themselves and their families. The Lord comes down in human form, to spread divine knowledge, uplift humanity from injustice and to lead it to achieving the grace of God. Therefore, there is no other alternative for the Lord but to approach all of you [priests] to help Him in His mission. If you are elevated as spiritual preachers, every human being will have compulsory spiritual knowledge at least at some basic level. Then every human being will also attend the spiritual preaching of great spiritual preachers for further clarifications. For this purpose you have to learn the meaning of the Veda.
No Need for Recitation
Recitation of the Veda is not at all required in the present time when the Vedas are stored as printed books. In olden times, since there was no printing technology, preservation of the Veda by recitation was essential. Today you can conduct the ceremony by directly reciting the hymns from a printed book. But some of you feared that in such a case everybody will do this and then you will lose your profession. Therefore some of you created a Sanskrit verse which states that one should not read the Veda from a printed book (Likhita Pathakah). With this fear only you kept the recitation in living condition. Then there is no alternative than to learn the Veda by recitation from a Vedic teacher. Again there is fear that everybody may learn recitation so that you may lose your jobs. Therefore, you have limited the Veda to your caste only. Thus, keeping this target in your mind you have developed a big vicious circle. You can keep your vicious circle alive even if you say that a Brahmin only can conduct the ceremony even by reciting from printed book. Such recitation will not spoil your condition in anyway. By this you can save the unnecessary time wasted in memorising the Veda from a Vedic teacher. Instead of wasting so much time in memorising the Veda, it is better that you allot this time for learning the Sanskrit language. Once you know Sanskrit, you can explain the Veda, which alone can generate the urge for knowledge (Tapo Yajna) among people. Then only can the Jnana Yajna come into the picture. Then only can this society be reformed and every human being gets liberation and attains the real grace of God.
Do Not Disgrace Your Ancestors
You are supposed to be the relatives of great Vedic scholars like Kashyapa, Bharadwaja etc. The Veda also states this (Brahma Bandhuriva…). You have come down from the sages like a light from another light. You have the genes of those secret sages. Even today the society respects you based on this single point. But the light that came from another light also must have light. The genes must show the same old characteristics. But such characteristics are not seen. This is shameful on your part. You do not know the meaning of even a single statement of the Veda. Your practice reflects your ignorance of the Veda. The Veda says that food should not be wasted (Annam na Parichakshita). But just see your leaves after finishing your meals. [In such traditional ceremonies, the Brahmin priests are fed after the rituals on plates made out of banana leaves.] How much food have you wasted? This wasted food is thrown out and becomes food for bacteria, which causes diseases even to good people. Then, in what way are you different from a demon, who harms good people? Food is a form of wealth, which gives health. Health is the best wealth. This food is Dhanya Lakshmi [Goddess of wealth in the form of food], who is Lakshmi in a particular dress. Dhana Lakshmi [Goddess of wealth in the form of money] is the same Lakshmi in another dress. If you have insulted Dhanya Lakshmi, Dhana Lakshmi is also insulted because Lakshmi is one and the same in both forms. This is the reason for the poverty of Brahmins. If you do not like a certain food item, you must keep it separately in another plate before you taste it because the Veda says that the tasted food should not be eaten by others (Uchchishtamabhojyam). Therefore, it is said before eating itself you should separate the unwanted food (Yat rochate tat grahyam…).
Don’t be angry with Me for this harsh truth. I am also a Brahman [Brahmin] like you. I am your real well-wisher. My advice may not be liked by you but it is true and will be in your welfare. I invite at least the realised souls among you to join My mission as My soldiers in establishing both Pravritti and Nivritti. Let every ceremony performed by Hindus be used as a platform for spreading spiritual knowledge apart from meddling with materials and chanting the Vedic hymns. If you follow My advice you will be blessed in this world by Goddess Lakshmi and you will also be blessed by Lord Narayana in upper world to get final salvation and to please the Lord.
[This discourse was given by Swami spontaneously in a ceremony in which several Brahmin priests participated. Swami showed the clean leaf on which Swami took His food and compared it to the leaves of other Brahmin priests on which lots of food was leftover. Swami became emotional and gave this discourse to all the priests.]
God’s Agents
O Brahmin priests, Shankara always argued with the Vedic scholars who were Brahmins and spiritual preachers who controlled the masses as their followers. In the Bible you find Jesus often addressing the priests, who controlled the masses and even the government officials. Therefore, you are essential agents for propagating the spiritual knowledge to the masses. If you are covered, all the public is covered. The huge public cannot be approached directly. Therefore, all the human incarnations of the Lord that came down to preach the spiritual knowledge to the entire humanity contacted only these Brahmin priests cum spiritual preachers.
When a marketing manager of mutual funds visits a town for investments, he conducts a meeting with the agents of that town. If the agents are convinced, the investors in the town are captured. Even if the marketing manager approaches some investor, the agent is necessary while contacting the investor. The reason is that the agent is always in contact with the investor and the investor finally bends only to the agent due to his personal and continuous contact. The agent has influence on the psychology of the investor due to continuous contact. Of course some elite investors may directly contact the marketing manager and learn about the various schemes and may directly invest with the help of the marketing manager directly without the agent. But such cases are rare. The investors in mass come only through agents. In the simile the human incarnation is the marketing manager and the agents are the Brahmin priests cum spiritual preachers. The investors are the entire humanity.
Psychology in Preaching
Shankara and Jesus always debated with these priests. Shankara and Jesus always argued and criticized the priests for their defects. The psychology of a child or an ignorant person is that he does not like continuous criticism. But Shankara and Jesus were eager in the welfare of the humanity and were vigorous in transforming the priests. In fact such transformation helps not only the humanity but also the priests. The ignorant priests did not like such vigorous criticism and therefore Shankara was killed by the black magic of a priest and the priests crucified Jesus. The psychology of a child or an ignorant person is similar; both do not like continuous and severe criticism. But from the angle of the teacher such criticism shows the eagerness of the teacher in the welfare of the student.
The father of a Sanskrit poet called Bharavi used to continuously criticize his son whereas people used to appreciate him. One day Bharavi decided to kill his father. But Bharavi secretly heard his father explaining to his mother that the father should never appreciate his son. The Shastra says that if a father appreciates the son, the longevity of the son is reduced. What does this mean? If father appreciates the son he will be easily captured by pride and ego. Then the fall comes quickly. If the father appreciates the son, the son will think that the appreciation must be true because it comes from the mouth of the father. Therefore, a real well wisher points out only the defects but the psychology of the other side does not permit this. Therefore, the preaching must be from both the angles, which are the eagerness for transformation of the student and also from the angle of the psychology of the ignorant student. Therefore, criticism must always be mixed with appreciation.
In the Gita you find Lord Krishna appreciating Arjuna here and there while also preaching to him. Parents should also follow such a path with their children. You have tasted the Prasadam of Ugadi just a few days back [Ugadi is a festival. Prasadam is the consecrated food that is distributed on this occasion.]. The Prasadam was a mixture of both sour and sweet ingredients. Therefore, I am adopting the same mixture-technology in advising you. In fact the Lord always adopts this mixture-technology. But why did Shankara and Jesus adopt the path of severe criticism? They were also incarnations of the Lord but the situations at that time were serious. When the defects reach the climax and the priests are fully blind, such a path is essential. Suppose your son is blindly following the wrong path. Will you not be serious and criticize severely? But now the situation is not so serious because at least some of you have open minds and are prepared for transformation. Some of you have come to Me with appreciation and wanted to listen to Me further. Some of you have expressed apology and stated that whatever happened was due to the ignorance of the truth. But in the time of Jesus, all attacked Him vehemently because they were all completely blind, rigid and full of ignorance.
The Great Declaration
I am the incarnation of Shri Dattatreya, who was the son of the sage Atri. I know your minds and some of you have an immediate doubt about this statement. Some of you have even developed repulsion to this statement in your minds. If I do not clear this point now itself, even others will be attacked by the same repulsion. Jealousy and ego are very powerful and contagious viruses, which cause the repulsion-fever. Let Me kill these viruses now itself without allowing them to progress. When I say that I am the human incarnation of Lord Datta, it means that the God embedded in the causal and subtle bodies of Datta, has entered into My human body. I am just a composite of the gross, subtle and causal bodies. In the energetic gross body of Lord Datta present in Brahma Loka, even now, the God with the causal and subtle bodies exists. But by His inexplicable supernatural power (Maya), God along with the causal and subtle bodies from that energetic body of Lord Datta has come down and entered into Me. As I said, due to His Maya, God with the causal and subtle bodies still exists in the gross energetic body of Lord Datta. Therefore, when I say Datta entered into Me, Saguna Brahman (God with causal and subtle bodies) has entered into Me.
God by Himself is called as Nirguna Brahman, which means God without attributes (Gunas). Therefore, Lord Datta is speaking through Me. This is the clarification of the concept of the human incarnation. Therefore, do not misunderstand that Lord Datta is Myself. Lord Datta needs a medium composed of five elements in this world. His energetic gross body is not suitable for this world. I am just the wire and Lord Datta is the electric current. By this angle you can destroy the viruses of ego and jealousy towards the human incarnation of God. When I said that I am Lord Datta, it means that the electric wire can be assumed as current. People say ‘current’ by showing the electric wire. From this angle you can treat Me as Lord Datta just like treating the electric wire as current.
Caste Connection
Lord Datta was also a Brahmin and I am also a Brahmin. Dattatreya is the ultimate God but even in that human incarnation the influence of the Upadhi is always there. Therefore, He has some soft corner towards His caste for the same reason, I too have soft corner towards you. The Upadhi is like the external shirt and is not at all the person. The Upadhi is not even a part of the person. The shirt is not your limb like a leg or hand. It is only an externally associated item. Yet, it has some influence on the mind. When the police officer puts on his uniform, his mood becomes serious. When he is in a civil dress and is associated with his family members, his mood is jovial. Therefore, the external dress has some influence on the mind. Similarly, the caste, which is an external factor, certainly has some influence on the mind. My original source as well as Me, have the same shirt and have the same influence. Please understand Me, and realise that I love you all and My advice is totally aimed at your welfare and upliftment and not to harm you in any way.
Therefore, treat Me as your friend due to the common dress that is the caste and take My advise positively. Please do not misunderstand that God has a feeling of caste distinction. God and the soul (pure awareness or causal body) are both attributeless. The feeling of caste distinction is an attribute (guna) present in the subtle body. Therefore, neither God nor the causal body of God has feelings of caste. Even the causal body of any human being cannot have the feeling of caste because the causal body of any living being is attributeless. The difference between a human being and Lord Datta is that, in the human being, the soul is controlled by the attributes. Therefore, the human being is overpowered by the caste feeling. In the case of Lord Datta, God and His causal body are not controlled by the attributes. Therefore, the caste feeling is under the control of Lord Datta. Even in a realised scholar, the causal body is not under the control of the attributes and therefore, scholars are not controlled by the caste feeling. Association with an attribute does not mean that you should be controlled by that attribute. Even a controller is associated with the attributes just like a king is associated with his servants. Therefore, remember that the human incarnation of God is associated with all the Gunas, but He is not controlled by the Gunas.
Every human incarnation is Datta alone, and is associated with the three fundamental qualities (Sattvam, Rajas and Tamas). All the good and bad qualities are condensed into these three main qualities. The three faces of Datta indicate these three fundamental qualities. Thus, Datta does not mean the form with three faces. The Gunas are under His control and will be used by Him whenever the necessity arises. On this occasion, the Lord wants to encourage the priests by removing the misunderstanding that the Lord is their enemy just because He criticizes them. Therefore, the Lord used this attribute to apply as an ointment on the wound created in their hearts due to this sour and strong acidic criticism. There are some clever human beings who say that they do not have a caste feeling. In their case the caste feeling is not present only in their words. But it is present in their mind and action. In the case of Lord Datta here, the caste feeling is neither in His mind nor in His action. It is present only in His words. Great people maintain homogeneity in minds, word and action. Clever people who are bound to hell, maintain heterogeneity in mind, word and action (Trikaranas). The attribute directed towards a good purpose is not sinful.
Veda and Brahman
The Veda means knowledge. The root word of Veda is Vidul, which means knowledge (Vidul Jnane). If you are reciting the Veda and if you do not understand any word of it, how funny is the situation! If somebody is called as Harishchandra Prasad by name and tells lies everyday, how funny it looks! [Harishchandra was a great king who is famous for speaking the truth]. Similarly, you are called as Vedic Scholars (Veda Pandita). Again the word Pandita means knowledge. The root word is ‘Panda’, which means spiritual knowledge (Panda Parmartha Jnanee). In the Gita while writing the commentary on the word Pandita in the second chapter on the first verse itself, Shankara stated this meaning (Nanu Sochanti Panditah). Now the Veda means knowledge and Pandita means also knowledge. Therefore, the word Veda Pandita is stressing on knowledge. Even the word ‘Adhyayana’ means knowledge according to Sanskrit grammar. Therefore, how shameful it is, if you simply recite the Veda without knowing its meaning? When the meaning is not known, how can you practice it? You have recited the Vedic sentences like “Annam Na Parichakshita, Aham Annadah, Ahamannam, Annat Purushah, Aham Brahma, Annam Brahma” etc. Yet you don’t know the meaning of any of these statements. Therefore, you have wasted food by leaving it uneaten on the leaves. All these Vedic statements say that food is Brahman and the food is yourself.
Brahman means the greatest item among a category. Food is the greatest item because it is the basic need of life. The basic aim of every activity of every living being is only getting food. Therefore food is Brahman. You are a form of food. Your gross body is the form of the matter-aspect of food. When the food is digested, inert energy is released. This inert energy is responsible for the functioning of your lungs, heart, kidneys etc., in the body. When this inert energy flows through nervous system, it becomes awareness-energy [life energy]. The various works of this awareness energy (mind, intelligence, chittam and ego) constitute your subtle body. The pure awareness is your causal body or soul. You are just a composite of these three bodies. Thus, the food in the aspect of matter becomes the gross body and food in the aspect of awareness-energy becomes the subtle and causal bodies. The food as inert energy is a part of the gross body itself. Thus, you are totally food. How have you become Brahman? Since food is Brahman and food is yourself, therefore, you have become Brahman. Therefore, food made you Brahman. Now by rejecting and wasting food you have insulted yourself and you have insulted Brahman. The Veda is also called as Brahman because it is the greatest scripture (Brahmakshara Samudbhavam—Gita). Therefore, you have insulted even the Veda. How much sin have you committed by insulting this food! Can there be a greater sin than this? Food is the source of all your activities. Even your spiritual effort is an activity by which you can attain salvation and please God. Therefore, food is the root cause of even your spiritual effort.
Yaska, the sage who prescribed the grammar for the Vedas explained the stage of a priest who recites the Veda without knowing its meaning. He compares such a priest to a person who carries a bag of gold and delivers it to the house and takes just one rupee as the porter’s charge. The priest is delivering crores of rupees to another human being through the Veda just for one rupee (Dakshina). This happens because the porter does not know the contents of the bag. The priest who does not know the meaning of the Vedic sentences recited by him is just similar to that foolish unfortunate porter. Without knowing the meaning, how can devotion be developed? In the absence of devotion there will be no fruit from God. Suppose, you go to your father and deliver a dialogue of love in some foreign language, which you don’t know, without knowing the meaning of any word of your dialogue, do you have any trace of love in your heart? Suppose your father asks whether you know the language in which you have delivered your love dialogue and you say that you don’t know the language. Then your father will hate you. Therefore, the meaning alone can generate feeling and not mere words. Love is a feeling. Devotion is love. The Lord will be moved to answer your prayer only by your love.
Yaska says that the ceremony performed merely as a mixture of Dravya Yajna and Swadhyaya Yajna is just like cooking the food without fire (Anagnawiviva…). When the meaning is not known, even the interest for God does not arise then where is the question of love for God. In such a ceremony Tapo Yajna and Jnana Yajna are absent. Yaska says that such ceremony is useless because it does not yield any fruit. The process of such cooking cannot yield cooked food because everything was present except the fire. The process of cooking itself is absent without fire and therefore, the fruit of cooking does not arise at all. Similarly, when the process of devotion is absent, how can the grace of God, which is fruit of devotion, come?
The person who is doing the ceremony is also not getting any fruit from this ceremony. It is a waste of time, energy and money. The public is fooled by you due to ignorance and you are also fooling yourself. Sometimes when the ceremony is over the fruit appears and you think that the fruit is due to your ceremony. If that were true, the fruit should have appeared in every case and for every ceremony. But the fruit appears only sometimes. What does this mean? Due to the rotating cycle of good and bad fruits (Karma Chakra) the good fruit appeared accidentally at that time. You attribute the fruit to your ceremony. A palm fruit was just about to fall and exactly at that time, a crow landed on that branch. You think the fruit has fallen due to the landing of the crow. This is called as ‘Kakataleeyaka’. If the fruit had fallen due to the landing of the crow, then every time a crow lands on the branch, a fruit should fall. The Gita says the same (Naadatte kasya chit…). The Lord says that He is not giving good or bad fruits by Himself. Only the good or bad actions of a soul are giving the corresponding fruits. Of course in the path of the highest proved devotion, the Lord may consider a special case and may yield some good fruit. The technique in such a case is also very complicated.
Generally in such a case the Lord brings the good fruit from the future cycle to this present birth like the premature withdrawal of a deposit. People think that the Lord gave the good fruit by His grace even though they have not done a good deed. Actually what they are getting is the fruit of some good deed done by them in the previous birth, which is not known to them. Only in a very very rare case, does God undergo your punishment and yield good fruit, pleased with your exceptional devotion. In such a case your exceptional devotion itself is considered as a good deed. Therefore, even in that case the theory of Karma is not violated. For this case also devotion is needed, which is a feeling that depends on the meaning of the word and not on the sound of the word. In what way are you different from a tape recorder uttering the same sounds? The sound may generate a little feeling but such feeling is very much negligible compared to the feeling generated by knowing the meaning of the words. Unless you know the meaning and discuss with sharp analysis and unless you draw the right conclusions and practice the final conclusions of the discussions, how can you prove your real love towards God?
Without the proof of love, God will not respond to you because God is not a human being who can be fooled by false love. Some human beings may be satisfied by the expression of love itself and may be trapped without the proof of the love. Such human beings are ignorant fools. In olden days, kings were fooled by poets in this way and the poets were rewarded with wealth. But God is not such a foolish king, who can be trapped by mere poetry without the proof of love. Hanuman never praised Rama by any prayer as you can see in the Ramayana. Every action of Hanuman was a proof of the love towards Rama. Therefore, Rama made Him the Brahma (Creator) in the next cycle of creation. All this can be known only by knowledge. Therefore, you must become a Vedic scholar and you must turn every ceremony into a Jnana Yajna. If you simply recite the Veda you cannot be called as a Veda Pandita and you shall be called as Veda Pathaka, which means a person who sounds [recites] the Veda.
Divine Infrastructure
The infrastructure for conducting a professional college is already present. Buildings and laboratories are present and only attendants and non-teaching staff exist. What is the use of such infrastructure without the technical and teaching staff? Can the students be benefited? Similarly, huge temples with statues and priests along with the management members exist. The temple is the building. The statues are the laboratories. The priests who just wash and decorate the statues are the attendants. The management members are the non-teaching staff. The public attending such temples are the ignorant students. If a college without technical and teaching staff exists, and if they say that the student will get a degree in that college, can you believe it? Similarly, if the priests or the management committee of a temple advertises that by visiting the temple one can get upliftment in this world and can get salvation, you should not believe it. If a student goes and observes the clean and decorated equipment with full meditation and prays to it, can the student become an engineer or doctor? Similarly, if you go to the temple and concentrate and pray to the decorated statue, you will neither get your desires fulfilled in this world nor get the salvation in the upper world.
There should be the technical and teaching staff to teach the theory and practicals in the college. The present temples without such scholars are just like the colleges without teachers. It is just like a beautiful human body without life. Therefore, you must appoint a scholar also along with a priest in the temple or let the priest be a scholar too. You have the faculty improvement program in a college. Similarly, let all the present priests be taught Sanskrit and let them learn the concepts of all the scriptures. Even the knowledge of Sanskrit is not necessary. Language is just a vehicle of communication. Let the priest be trained in the concepts of the scriptures so that when the public attends the temple, the priest need not recite some unknown hymns in Sanskrit. Let the public sit before the statue. The statue represents the concept of a human incarnation. Let the priest or the scholar explain the concepts of spiritual knowledge in different angles. Then only a temple becomes meaningful and serves the purpose for which it stands.
In olden days the temple was under the control of a learned scholar called as Mathadhipati. Matham means a temple and it is a centre for knowledge. Every temple was a Matham. The king never interfered with the administration of the temple and never touched the funds of the temple. The king spent only the revenue collected from the public for public works. Similarly, all these temples today must be handed over to a committee of great saints and let the administration of the funds be handed over to them. You doubt about the corruption and misuse of the funds. Do you think that corruption and misuse is not present today. It is present in every place. When the spiritual knowledge is propagated, not only will the present corruption in temples disappear but so will the corruption in the entire country.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★