While I have held religion in pretty low esteem for many years now, my belief in its general astute stupidity still gets reinforced from time to time. Such is the power of this all-pervasive phenomenon.
The latest example comes from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, one of the richest religious bodies in the world. They have enacted a new rule, to be enforced from next week, which makes it mandatory for all non-Hindus to sign a declaration, in triplicate, no less, that states their faith in the deity presiding in the shrine.
How do they go about deciding who is Hindu and who isn't? Many Indians are from different faiths, and it is impossible to tell by just looking at them. Just asking people outright may not always get the right answer. What about foreigners who may have converted to Hinduism? What about people who may sign the form but may not actually have faith? If one didn't have faith, why would one stand for hours in the queues to catch half a glimpse of the deity from 50 metres away while being jostled by sweating crowds? Why would one even travel to the town itself, which has nothing but the temple and its associated infrastructure?
Beyond all this, the temple administration needs non-Hindus to sign three copies of the said form so that one can be returned to the non-Hindu and two be kept with the temple folk for administrative purposes. I can't imagine what administrative purpose those forms will serve, other than maybe a boast at some point in the future, when the temple authorities hope to have enough numbers to turn around and say "Look, we have so many non-Hindus coming here and expressing their belief too. Goes to show how cool our deity is." And what does the non-Hindu do with that returned copy? Frame it for the living room wall? Or do the temple folk expect it to serve as a reminder for life-long commitment to the faith?
Take something normal and make it strange, one can always count on religion for that.
On another note, what the hell is a "sad smiley"? Why has the word emoticon gone so wrongly out of vogue?
The latest example comes from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, one of the richest religious bodies in the world. They have enacted a new rule, to be enforced from next week, which makes it mandatory for all non-Hindus to sign a declaration, in triplicate, no less, that states their faith in the deity presiding in the shrine.
How do they go about deciding who is Hindu and who isn't? Many Indians are from different faiths, and it is impossible to tell by just looking at them. Just asking people outright may not always get the right answer. What about foreigners who may have converted to Hinduism? What about people who may sign the form but may not actually have faith? If one didn't have faith, why would one stand for hours in the queues to catch half a glimpse of the deity from 50 metres away while being jostled by sweating crowds? Why would one even travel to the town itself, which has nothing but the temple and its associated infrastructure?
Beyond all this, the temple administration needs non-Hindus to sign three copies of the said form so that one can be returned to the non-Hindu and two be kept with the temple folk for administrative purposes. I can't imagine what administrative purpose those forms will serve, other than maybe a boast at some point in the future, when the temple authorities hope to have enough numbers to turn around and say "Look, we have so many non-Hindus coming here and expressing their belief too. Goes to show how cool our deity is." And what does the non-Hindu do with that returned copy? Frame it for the living room wall? Or do the temple folk expect it to serve as a reminder for life-long commitment to the faith?
Take something normal and make it strange, one can always count on religion for that.
On another note, what the hell is a "sad smiley"? Why has the word emoticon gone so wrongly out of vogue?
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