This post might offend some (or even most) of you. So lets start with a little defence. I am what you would label ‘the new generation’ and might even generalize me as a person who doesn’t respect elders, has no value for traditions, and lacks all etiquettes of a woman. Although I am no judge, I refute all of the above.
Somehow, if you belong to the new generation and engage in activities like cooking a meal, visiting the temple once in a while, wearing traditional clothes, you earn the ‘nice girl’ badge. I say BS. I (read we) cook because I am a foodie, I (read we) visit the temple and pray at home because its a habit I grew up with and well, ‘old habits die hard’, and I wear traditional clothes because man, Indian clothes make everyone look gorgeous. None of the above have anything to do with how good a person/ human I am. Yes if I cooked a meal for the homeless once a week, I will accept the prestigious tag.
The purpose of my rant is very simple really. Hypocrisy is acceptable till a limit. When it gets in the way of humanity, it should stop. It might be too harsh a word, yes, but I could not put it in a better way.

Now I was born in a house where we actively engage in idol worship. We are Hindus. Consequently, the miniature temple in my house has several idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I don’t know if I want to buy the whole shebang about Gods creating the universe (considering the scientific details that my education stands against), but praying to God and offering them some ‘prasad’ daily gives me mental peace. Mind you I don’t follow any rule book, I do it my way. Nonetheless, that makes me spiritual I believe. Please don’t mistake me as a religious person because I am most certainly not. I eat most of the forbidden foods in my religion and absolutely get into a brawl with someone who tries to sell the concept of caste system to me to name two.

Naturally, establishing a temple is not technically a waste of money in my perceptive, especially because it can be a source of income and one can ideally help the needy with the same. However, money to embellish a temple could possibly feed a school of hungry children. Yes, a temple (or any other house of worship) would stand out with an extra tower of gold, but it could also save a life far away at a place which has no medical set up. An intricately adorned structure would have people marvel at its beauty, but why not preserve the beauty and dignity of a group of harassed and tortured women who desperately need shelter and protection.

My apologies if I am marching on thin water here, or maybe I am missing an obvious point, but right now our world is at a terrible place. Several girls are being raped and/ or murdered every minute, body parts are flying around from constant explosions, children are being murdered, their bodies blown up while they sleep, homeless and poverty stricken people are dying from sickness, men, women, and babies are dying of hunger. I am reasonable enough to hear you out if you can explain why establishing a statue at a public garden, using millions of flower petals to welcome some guest of honor, adding a tower of gold amidst several others at a place of worship is justified when so many fellow beings are literally being denied the basic needs to sustain oneself.

Possessing daya, ksanti, anasuya, sauca, anayasa, mangala, akarpanya, asprha is what makes you a good Hindu. Read up (if you haven’t already), and you will find out that these are also what makes you a good human. You cannot skim the convenient aspects and leave the rest. If you are religious, follow the religion, and do a good job at it. Don’t make it a business or a policy, because it is not. I believe it is what should unite us all from all corners of the planet, not get us apart.