SrI:
Dear Sri Sadagopan Mama,
I really enjoyed your excellent
write-up. It is indeed sad to know about the way the Bhattars are after money.
ArchakAs in many temples (including divya desams) are wallowing in poverty;
from what I heard, the Government is just paying them Rs.150-Rs.300 a month,
which is not even $20. Unfortunately the Dravidian Governments in the state
have only usurped the temple properties, making the temples' administration
totally dependent on the government.
I guess the government of Tamilnadu should increase the wages of these poor
priests, whose chances of growth through academic means are also stunted
because of reservation politics. Honestly, even if we try to, we cannot provide
for the financial support for all the bhattars in all the temples.
I could recall when I visited MannArkudi 7-8 years ago - our family of 4 were
the only pilgrims in the whole gigantic complex. The Bhattar was utterly poor,
to make matters worse, two of his sons were deaf and mute, and my sensitive
mind was terribly affected. When we go down south, we can even see Bhattars
openly begging for money, which makes us feel guilty. A weekend dinner at a
nice restaurant for us means 3-4 months of wages for those financially poor
Bhattars.
Perhaps, the Lord compensates for their lack of money by giving them the most
superior enumeration instead: kainkaryam to his lotus feet. But still, the
guilt does pinch me at times..............................................
adiyEn dasan.
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