Miscellaneous
The gods must be dizzy
Pilgrims go to church, mosque, temple, gurudwara and other religious places according to their belief, and all such places charge no entry fees.Saurav Aryal
Pilgrims go to church, mosque, temple, gurudwara and other religious places according to their belief, and all such places charge no entry fees. But how to worship deities depends on the choice of the devotees. Some spend a big amount of money to make the gods happy, others sacrifice animals in the name of god, and some extend a helping hand to underprivileged people. Here is a story about whom the gods bless and how to worship them.
There are two friends. One always goes to temple in the early morning and bows in front of the god and offers delicious food. The other friend never goes to temple, but is ever ready to give a helping hand to underprivileged people. One day, the god’s angel came carrying a list of names. Being very curious, both the friends asked the angel what he was carrying. The angle replied that he had a list of the names of persons who loved the god. Being very curious, both the friends asked him whether their names were on the list or not. The angel showed the list with the name of the friend who goes to temples every day at the top. The other friend was very disappointed, but the angel showed him another list and his name was at the top. The disappointed friend asked what this list was about. The angel replied that this was a list of persons whom the god loves. So the choice is yours. Being a follower of god, one might be a religious person; but the one who follows god’s advice will become his beloved person.
“Buy this ticket and then only can you enter through the gate,” the man standing outside the east gate of the main temple of Pashupatinath yelled to an old lady. The lady was requesting the man to allow her to have a glance of Lord Pashupatinath, but to no avail. It costs a minimum of Rs1,100 to be allowed to enter the temple and worship the lord of lords Shree Pashupatinath with ‘panchamrit’.
If one can’t afford the entry ticket, then it’s almost impossible to worship Lord Pashupatinath from all the four doors. ‘Panchamrit’ is a mixture of five foods, usually milk, honey, sugar, yoghurt and ghee. I have no problem with offering it at the temple, but we can collect it and distribute it to underprivileged people. That is the concept of ‘prasad’ too, and all the gates of all the temples should be open to all pilgrims. True devotion to god is following his advice instead of spending a big amount of money to give his idol a ritual bath or fancy food.
Likewise, talking about patriotism, shouting slogans and spending a lot of money on making banners saying “Buddha was born in Nepal” is not being religious or patriotic. People should follow the Buddha’s teachings. That is what is important.