Mandirs are a place of worship for Hindus, a place where one can find the omnipresent, the omniscient being. God is supposed to be intangible and while I have my own reservations for the concept of religion, I believe that the presence of God is important in our lives. However, the opposite is true for Mandirs (in my humble opinion, of course).
Mandirs as a physical concept don't make sense but they make sense as a mental concept. In a religion where there are no limits to the definitions and powers of God, people need to go somewhere to find what is impossible to find, God in his/her/its tangible form. They provide mental peace due to the aura they possess and while I am fine with that I am not fine with what happens within a Mandir's walls. The transformations and usage of religion which Mandirs have caused and exploited limit one's belief in religion and God. A proof of this would be the reduction in the number of Hindus over time and the increase in the number of atheists whether agnostic or not. The atmosphere is destroyed by the intense screaming, the serenity is destroyed by the rubbish lying around, the 'prashaad' is destroyed by the business it encourages and God is destroyed by Man. Moreover, Man isn’t the only one being affected.For centuries, menstruating women have not been allowed within prayer areas. A menstruating woman is considered “ashudh” or impure by the religion and in some extreme cases, they are alienated by the society.A concept very similar to “Chua-Chuthh” or untouchability, menstruating women are given food in another plate, not allowed to indulge in any religious activity or even social gatherings.Which God discriminates amongst his/her followers due to an inevitable biological process? And if there is a God who does so, then he/she isn’t one. As Lex Luthor put it, “If God is all good, then he cannot be all powerful, and if God is all powerful, then he cannot be all good.”
(One might argue that there’s a difference between Hanuman and Superman but you get my point!)
We live in an age where Mandirs are being used as vote magnets by politicians, a place to get sexual pleasure by sick-minded men who use the crowd to get what they want. Through this we are destroying the concept of Mandirs in the minds of people like me. Finally, (because I kind of
have to say this in today's intolerant world) I am not trying to hurt someone's sentiments towards God and religion but I am trying to spread the message of keeping our Mandirs a place where God can truly reside.
