Phoning it In

I am proud to say that I am one of those guys who likes to try new technology. This is not to say that I jump on every bandwagon blindly and attempt to immerse myself in brand new or untried technologies; but thanks in large part to my dad and mom, I have been fortunate enough to experience new technologies. The first VCRs, the first home computers, the first cell phones; all products of old technology giving way to newer and better technology. It's through these technologies that we have found new ways of communicating with the world and the world has truly become a much smaller place. There are many out there who use these advances as the springboard to the next technology breakthrough and there are others who.... well... I won't call it exploitation, but I will call it taking advantage of new technology and old beliefs.

I recently read an article in the paper about how many small businesses are springing up in India and the purpose of these businesses is to attend and perform religious ceremonies in the name of the customer. Customers as far away as England and the U.S. are signing up and having pujas done for them on a regular basis, so much so that sometimes they can't keep up with demand. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with this, but for some reason, it just strikes me as being a bit of a cheat. Religion is a very polarizing topic for many people and when you call into question someone's religious beliefs you can either polarize them against you completely or not at all. I tend to tread lightly in this regard simply because I don't wish to polarize anyone; I prefer to let everyone practice they way that makes them the happiest.

It seems that this service has seen a very pronounced increase in clients over the past few years. As word of the service has spread, the number of people requesting services has increased and the list of services has gone up as well. Now while I'm sure there are some sane limits on what is being offered, to me it seems a bit of a cheat. To have someone else perform a puja in your name or offer up prayers in your name simply because you can't make it or can't reach the temple is like asking a lottery winner to split his earnings with you because you meant to buy that ticket. If you were able or felt compelled to pray or perform a puja, you should perform it as opposed to letting someone else do it.

There are those who feel a certain benefit to praying in a particular temple or performing a particular puja. They have their favorite gods and/or goddesses and therefore want to keep them happy. One thing I've come to realize in these past few years is that no matter what the religion, most every practitioner of a religion will agree that God is powerful and that God is omnipotent. If that is the base belief of a religion, then it follows that no matter where you offer up your prayers, God will hear them. Is it necessary to follow a set of pujas or practices to have your prayers answered? Not necessarily, but will it make you feel good for having done it? More than likely it will. So then I would do it as and when I can in whatever manner I feel it's best. Offering prayers in a temple that you grew up attending is one thing, but asking someone else to sit in your name is something else altogether. It's not necessarily bad, but it's just not the same.