When was the last time you visited a temple? How often do you visit temples?
The answer to these questions will change significantly based on the generation you belong to. And that’s fine. I don’t have the exact data to back up my point, but based on my observations, newer generations are not visiting religious places as enthusiastically and regularly as the previous generations. Which becomes obvious, when we factor in the changes that have happened in our upbringing, in terms of education, access to content, etc. I don’t get bothered by the rise and fall of these numbers, the only thing in which I’m interested is, increasing the usefulness of the investment in religious infra that we have made in the past 2-3 millennia.
We, as a society, have showered a lot of capital on the religious infra. In fact, investment made on these religious infra will be orders of magnitude higher than any other projects undertaken by the community as a whole.
This prompted me to think of ways, we as a society, can reap the benefits of these investments.
Till now, these places have remained “places of worship”, with a few exceptions of fair, rituals, etc. But as the worshipping God is losing charm, so does the significance of these places. We have to identify the needs of the current and future generations and based on that we can take steps.
If you ask me personally, what would I like to have there, it would be
interactive discussion on sacred books. Note that, interactivity here is important. I don’t want to just listen to the stories. People would take home some lessons, read it carefully and then indulge in discussions.
Yoga
Spiritual talks
Contemporary Literature. Works of local, young people.
Indian Classical Music. Both recital and lessons. I feel very close to this and this is my way to connect with the Supreme God.
Classical Dance. Be the Nataraj!
A place to discuss how the overall mental and physical well-being of the society can be improved, and then taking some actions towards that.
Periodic Art and Craft performance. Medium to connect with God differs with every individual. Everyone should be able to showcase their experience.
and many more.
It’s not necessary to have it all. Just one of the above is also fine. It’s just that it should feel authentic and fluid and not like a forced ritual, again!
To avoid transforming these places into typical capitalist institution, we should start funding these new initiatives separately, similar to how the society funds the livelihood of priests and caretaker of people working at these places. It’s easier said than done. It’ll require lots of trial and error, but I’m sure with honest goodwill, this can definitely be achieved.
Generally, the location of religious place is far from the densely populated areas. And sometimes, there is a pond, large trees to make the place even more soothing and peaceful. Which makes it a perfect place for the above activities.
Just imagine taking a morning Kathak class beneath a large banyan tree, beside a large pond, and the cold breeze of the morning, witnessing the sunrise!
साक्षात प्रभु का दर्शन
I daydream a lot!