Some posts of friends on burglary

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

I am grateful to some of you who have reacted to the news of burglary in a

temple in Chenai.

 

Many friends have also sent me private mails and offered very interesting

views a sample of which I give below:

***************************************

 

"...Why be saddened by buglarly. Does The Lord care about these worthless

>material things. It is we who are caring about this.

>The only thing he cares is Our devotion to Him.

>So why worry . It is all His will "

 

Another friend posted as follows:

 

"...Ever since I read about the incident in Mylapore Vedanta Desikar's temple

I was thinking of this. Sri sudarshan's anguish further encourages me to

write this."

 

"...erudite members of this group could please contribute their ideas and

hopefully we may come out with some suggestions to protect our invaluable

heritage."

 

Another view posted was as follows:

 

"...I was very disturbed when I read that other temples (that too ones that

are so sacred to us) were also burglarized. I know that in "Karma" theory,

the consequences of your actions need not manifest themselves right away.

But, sometimes it really "burns" you up to know that that people are getting

away with these kinds of atrocities, and worse, committing them again."

******************************************

 

Dear friends, it is overwhelming to see such responses as above which seem

to range in nature from anguish to indignation.

 

Sri.P.B.Anand has raised very pertinent points in his post on this incident.

Many key issues are raised by him related to temple security, audit and

inventory of temple treasury, need for ornamentation of deity and the

responsibility of administrators, the laity and the temple ecclessiastes.

 

I suspect that all these issues may have been already and wisely addressed

by 'AgamA-s' of temple-traditions like the "pAncharAtra" or the

'vaikhAnasa'. Perhaps some scholar on this list can enlighten us all about it ?

 

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that some of our temple-Administrations

in India known to languish for funds to even perform "nitya-arAdhana-s" will

never be able to afford hi-tech security systems like CCTVs, electronic

alarms systems etc. (After the jewels have been burgled, it may well be the

turn of such CCTVs itself !!)

 

It seems to me, however, that temple-Administrations can be made to be a

little more accountable for their custodial functions in a more

'transparent' manner than at present. A yearly public-audit may not be out

of place where proper inventory is taken and report filed on temple

property; management declarations and representations with regard to due

diligence are taken on public record; independent certification of

internal-control procedures of temple-functioning is sought from duly

appointed authorities; duties and roles of officiating temple staff are duly

reviewed by a competent authority, necessary insurance-policies are arranged

and maintained etc..

 

I even presume all the above are adequately provided for in prevailing

statutes that pertain to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments

(HR&CE) in India.

 

All the above ideas, however, do not seem to be working, dear friends,

because there is utter lack of vibrant public involvement in India today in

these matters. There is nobody (everyone seems to have migrated to the US or

the Gulf, perhaps !) to raise the issue of unapprehended 'temple-burglars'

in the T.Nadu State Legislative Assembly even after five years of such

incidents in Sri Rangam!! Nobody, leave alone our MPs or MLAs, cares really

if the culprits are yet to be brought to book !! How many "letters to the

Editors" of newspapers in India appear registering protest against tardiness

in recovering temple property ? How many associations are there to follow-up

on these things with the Police authorities and create the right note of

strident public uproar ? There are today militant Consumer Protection groups

in India (taking a leaf out of their US counterparts like Ralph Nader's)

which will fight tooth-and-nail on behalf of common housewives complaining

about detergent-soaps that wear away the fragile beauty of their dainty

hands, but sadly, there are no such associations to drag the Police

Department to courts for their long-standing failure to solve "mysteries" of

grand larceny committed in temples !! Nobody knows, because nobody has

attempted it, if a public-interest litigation suit (PIL) can be filed

against the Police authorities for lagging behind in bringing to justice

these instances of criminal plunder !

 

It is not lack of "systems" of security or audit, I think, which is

contributing to the spate of crimes against temples in India, dear

'bhAgavatOttamA-s', but sheer public apathy which is the prime cause.

 

People don't simply seem to care, anymore !! Period.

 

In contrast, I wonder what would happen in France if ever there was as much

as a piece of silver missing from say the Notre Dame Cathedral !! Or what

would happen in Italy if there was as much as smudge on the walls of the

Sistine Chapel ! Imagine the public outcry there would be !!

 

It is in the context of such public apathy in India that we NRIs must ponder

if there is anything we can do to create a public-spirited "pressure-group"

in India to subserve the interests of our temples and traditions. We must

create a "watch-dog" agency to sniff out instances where 'secular'

authorites are lax in carrying out their stated duties to protect the

interests of temples and religious institutions. We need such an agency to

ensure through all means -- legal as well as political -- that there is

somebody ultimately held ACCOUNTABLE for acts of crime against not just

against a temple but against a whole "way of life" of our people !

 

There is nothing "militantly irreligious" in this idea of mine as far as I

can see.

 

What do you all feel, dear friends ? Please do let me know.

 

As for me personally, dear friends, yes, I am deeply saddened by the

burglary.I have spent a greater part of my life in Chennnai. I have

frequently worshipped the Lord in that Temple and hence can't help a heavy

sense of loss over what has happended there.

 

The idol of Lord Rama which the Saint Thyagaraja worshipped all his life was

once thrown by his brother into the tributary of the River Cauveri at

Tiruvaiyaru. The Saint too was saddened by the incident and poured out his

despair in several songs we enjoy today.

 

My sadness is that the Lord has not gifted me with the capacity to feel in

my heart even a wee bit of the intense pain that souls like Sri.Thyagaraja

underwent under circumstances similar to the incident in Mylapore a few days

ago.

 

In a few more days I too will forget all about the incident and my present

sadness too will pass quickly and become mere, vague memory....

 

And that too is cause for my sadness, dear friends.

 

sudarshan