Kudunga kudunga, anju rupaai kudunga

This is basically an excerpt from a statement made by a haggler demanding five rupees for some purchase. Any guesses who this haggler might have been? My guess is that most of the conjectures that you might have made now are wrong. This is NOT what I heard from the (in)famous chennai auto drivers or from the owner of a petty shop or from a flower seller. This is what the priests for the main deity in palani had to say!! Disgusting.

I had been to a friends marriage to a place near Madurai and from there I went to Palani along with a friend. I had visited many religious places in Chennai with the noted exception of Palani. So, I was all the more excited to go to palani, see the famed lord Muruga and experience the bliss of being in a famed temple. I guess those who have been to temples in Tirupathi, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam would vouch that visiting these temples is truly a great experience. I was expecting something along the same lines in Palani.

But the first caveat for what would follow came from my friend.
"Dei, do not listen to what any one says and do not look into the eye of any sales person"
"hmmm... why?"
"The guys there are a**h*** who will want to fleece the last penny out of you. They will grab your hand and place their product in your hand and will demand a huge sum for that. So never bother about what they say and never look them into their eyes."
"Oh... what a nice way to welcome people coming to a holy place... kudos to indians"

This caveat from my friend didnt prepare me for the greater surprises, read shocks, that awaited me.

The time of the year that we went was 'off season' and hence the crowds were minimal, rather non-existent. So we decided to perform a pooja and obtained the pooja ticket from the counter. This is what that transpired in front of the main deity, the moment we went there. Let the following be the various characters.
P1: person who performs the pooja
P2: person who distributes the prasadam
F: My friends father
M: Yours truly
CC: Crowd controller

P1: kudunga sir kudunga, archana panrathukku kaasu kodunga
F: mothalla archana pannunga saami, piragu tharen
P1: archana panna piragu, kootam irukarthunaala odiduveenga. athenaala ippove kudunga, kaasu kodunga
F: poi archana pannittu vaanga

After the archana, P2 gives the viboodhi. Typically, the priests in any temple would say, "inthaango prasadam", but...

P2: kudunga kudunga, anju rupaai kudunga. kaasu kodunga. (my friend then gives 5 rupees)
M: I was screaming inside. But some how the words wouldnt come out. !@#$%$#!!#
CC: kalumbunga sir, kalambunga.. kalambunga kalambunga

All of us then start to move

P1: hello sir, kaasu kuduthutu ponga... ithukku thaan appove ketten.. kaasu kuduthuttu ponga... kudunga kudunga
(my friends father then gives him five rupees)

I was fuming when I came out. I couldnt understand why. We are living in an economy driven by money and everyone needs money. So whats wrong in the priest trying to make some money. Afterall, when I landed in palani, the hawkers there were trying to fleece me. I was only irritated then. But now I am really fuming. Why?

The difference is hypocrisy. The hawkers dont claim to be great souls. They simply go about doing their businees. But these priests claim to be holy and do all this which really irritates the hell out of people. Atleast they did get under my skin. I really couldnt fathom why we need to pay them money. They are being paid by the temple trust to do their job. So what is this money that they are demanding for? Is it brokerage for them for they acting as brokers between the devotees and the gods. This is worse than a government employee demanding bribe. The priests are supposed to act as people who show the common man the path towards spiritual enlightenment. Thats why they were given an exhalted place in society in earlier times. Already most of the priests dont do it any more. To add to that, these guys are now demanding money. So from being a guru who shows the path toward god, they are now acting as brokers.

Definitely man does not need a broker between him and god. The relationship between man and god does not need a middle man. In fact one does not really need to go to a temple to connect with god. We just need to realize god within our hearts. A temple is simply a place that provides the right environment for humans to go about the process of connecting with god. In that respect, what these priests at palani do, have reduced or rather obliterated that environment at palani. If this is allowed to continue, we will no longer be able to call palani a holy place. For it would have lost its raison d'etre of providing a good environment for man to realize god.

Somebody stop them!!!