Treasure worth over 1 Lac crore unearthed from padmanabhaswamy temple vault

[Vyom]

Can you elaborate on that question ? I did not get it.

Though I would hazard my guess - Every faith has a set of inviolable rules, practices are considered essential and violation of which is considered sacrilegious and sin. Well, in Hinduism utilization of wealth which has been offered to Lord is considered one such.

Let me point you to the incident of Krishna & Indra in when the latter brought flood and storm as retribution to people choosing not to follow "inviolable rules" as you are subscribing here. Can you take it from here?

 

[Godless-Kafir]

How about building Hindu Missionary schools and institution to revive Hinduism? Would that not be the most logical thing to do when you find money inside your faith?

 

[KS]

Let me point you to the incident of Krishna & Indra in when the latter brought flood and storm as retribution to people choosing not to follow "inviolable rules" as you are subscribing here. Can you take it from here?

I'm just saying that appropriating Temple wealth is considered equal to committing the Pancha Mahapathakas and its considered sacrilege.

How about building Hindu Missionary schools and institution to revive Hinduism? Would that not be the most logical thing to do when you find money inside your faith?

Good suggestion. The example of Tirupati Devasthanam is a valuable guidance to the Trustees of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

 

[Vyom]

I'm just saying that appropriating Temple wealth is considered equal to committing the Pancha Mahapathakas and its considered sacrilege.

There is nothing more sacred than the actions that bring well-being to the needful. There is no act greater than lok-kalyan on a collective level such as a society.

And the Gods, verily, do not require material treasure. All these "Temple Laws" are subjective and synthetic. They might have been put in place to protect the treasure from greedy eyes. But all such situations must be viewed from the point of view as to how we can, and only if we can, utilize what we have for the general welfare of the people. The supreme interest of the people is also the sanctity of the faith.

 

[nrj]

Government already has money if to use it for social welfare. Only when treasures are found, suddenly everyone has realized about 'Poverty alleviation'. Temple assets have every legal protection.

BTW people should travel more if they think that temples do not feed poors.

 

[KS]

There is nothing more sacred than the actions that bring well-being to the needful. There is no act greater than lok-kalyan on a collective level such as a society.

And the Gods, verily, do not require material treasure. All these "Temple Laws" are subjective and synthetic. They might have been put in place to protect the treasure from greedy eyes. But all such situations must be viewed from the point of view as to how we can, and only if we can, utilize what we have for the general welfare of the people. The supreme interest of the people is also the sanctity of the faith.

God himself did not 'mandate' any law in any religion.

So can we just abandon all religious customs based on that reasoning ?

That can be done when 90% of this country becomes Atheist or Agnostic. But right now touching Temple wealth is considered sacrilegious/heinous sin by majority of the Hindus and since it was found in a Hindu Temple we expect - and rightly so - others to "respect" our religious sentiments.

 

[Vyom]

God himself did not 'mandate' any law in any religion.

So can we just abandon all religious customs based on that reasoning ?

No it is simply that your priority is misplaced. I pointed you out to the Kirshna-Indra apologue just for this purpose, but it seems you missed the point. Deal with the essence, not with symbolism and identify their rightful position.

That can be done when 90% of this country becomes Atheist or Agnostic. But right now touching Temple wealth is considered sacrilegious/heinous sin by majority of the Hindus and since it was found in a Hindu Temple we expect - and rightly so - others to "respect" our religious sentiments.

The two are not contradictory. And as you said, they are simply customs and hence cannot become sinful for a purpose that is much higher than its stature. The customs are precedence set in some context which may no longer be applicable to the society and can/should always be reviewed for the purpose of a greater cause. Breaking a custom for a better cause can never be sinful.

 

[KS]

No it is simply that your priority is misplaced. I pointed you out to the Kirshna-Indra apologue just for this purpose, but it seems you missed the point. Deal with the essence, not with symbolism and identify their rightful position.

The two are not contradictory. And as you said, they are simply customs and hence cannot become sinful for a purpose that is much higher than its stature. The customs are precedence set in some context which may no longer be applicable to the society and can/should always be reviewed for the purpose of a greater cause. Breaking a custom for a better cause can never be sinful.

That 'serving' purpose the Temples are already doing if in case you have missed that. Numerous charities are run with the donations the devotees give for this purpose expressly.

I would like to refer you to these posts of S.A.T.A who delves deep into it.

Link and Link

 

[Vyom]

That 'serving' purpose the Temples are already doing if in case you have missed that. Numerous charities are run with the donations the devotees give for this purpose expressly.

I would like to refer you to these posts of S.A.T.A who delves deep into it.

Link and Link

All I mean to say is that this is a treasure of enormous proportions and if the court finds that there is no harm in using it for public, that the treasure either in whole or part, is not needful for preserving as a heritage, then it should be utilized to serve the people. What services the temples are already doing is distinct of this treasure and can be seen as value added to this grand service.

 

[nrj]

All I mean to say is that this is a treasure of enormous proportions and if the court finds that there is no harm in using it for public, that the treasure either in whole or part, is not needful for preserving as a heritage, then it should be utilized to serve the people. What services the temples are already doing is distinct of this treasure and can be seen as value added to this grand service.

Court will first make sure that no external activity is risking the legal framework of Hindu law.

Government can undertake public welfare projects on its own money which is abundant. The question of merging treasure into government property arises only when, GOI will move to SC asking permission to break Hindu law by converting temple assets since it is left with no funds to run public project. That is the scenario when GOI can assume control over private property. And it will not be allowed to happen.

 

[KS]

All I mean to say is that this is a treasure of enormous proportions and if the court finds that there is no harm in using it for public, that the treasure either in whole or part, is not needful for preserving as a heritage, then it should be utilized to serve the people. What services the temples are already doing is distinct of this treasure and can be seen as value added to this grand service.

Courts should have no say in religious matters or matters regarding faith as long as the faith does not hurt anyone physically.

 

[Vyom]

Court will first make sure that no external activity is risking the legal framework of Hindu law.

Government can undertake public welfare projects on its own money which is abundant. The question of merging treasure into government property arises only when, GOI will move to SC asking permission to break Hindu law by converting temple assets since it is left with no funds to run public project. That is the scenario when GOI can assume control over private property. And it will not be allowed to happen.

It should be declared national treasure, why would it remain a private property in the first place? The treasure is a collection from people which they would have donated in the name of the deity. Now it makes no sense for it to remain a private property.

 

[Vyom]

Courts should have no say in religious matters or matters regarding faith as long as the faith does not hurt anyone physically.

Why are you trying to sound like a typical mullah from Pakistan? Please revisit the way you approach your faith and try to find what it is all about in the first place.

 

[KS]

It should be declared national treasure, why would it remain a private property in the first place? The treasure is a collection from people which they would have donated in the name of the deity. Now it makes no sense for it to remain a private property.

It does not remain a private property. The erstwhile King of Travancore has already said his family does not have any claim over the wealth and its entirely the property of Lord Padmanabha and the Temple.

There is no religious/legal standing for it to be declared "national treasure". It remains the property of the Lord and as per Indian Law the representatives of the Lord on Earth - the Tantri takes over as the manager of the assets.

Why are you trying to sound like a typical mullah from Pakistan? Please revisit the way you approach your faith and try to find what it is all about in the first place.

Mullah ? You know what Secularism is ? Separation of Church from State. Here is the exact opposite. The State is trying to poke its nose into the affairs of the Church (Temple).

Where were you crying hearts when the Church and Waqf rejected Govt interference in running their assets and managed their own ?

 

[nrj]

Its found in temple. So it involves hindu law. There is no way it will be converted to Govt money. CM has already cleared its stand on it. Some part will be made into museum. Idols & rest things will remain with temple & people will worship it.

 

[Vyom]

It does not remain a private property. The erstwhile King of Travancore has already said his family does not have any claim over the wealth and its entirely the property of Lord Padmanabha and the Temple.

There is no religious/legal standing for it to be declared "national treasure". It remains the property of the Lord and as per Indian Law the representatives of the Lord on Earth - the Tantri takes over as the manager of the assets.

The whole world is the property of the Lord. I think we have forgotten the meaning of prasad (offering). Why do we offer fruits and other eatables to the Lord and then distribute it to everyone? As I said, look for the essence, and don't get trap in symbolism which is just a way of signifying the heart of the matter.

Mullah ? You know what Secularism is ? Separation of Church from State. Here is the exact opposite. The State is trying to poke its nose into the affairs of the Church (Temple).

Where were you crying hearts when the Church and Waqf rejected Govt interference in running their assets and managed their own ?

It is not always about scoring points. I am talking about our faith and what we can do about it, just like you mentioned earlier that Muslims should rise up for proper leadership. I am talking about the reforms we need to bring about in the way we approach our faith.

Just stagnate your mind for a while on this thought and ponder.

 

[nrj]

Kerala temple treasure shows India's legendary hunger for gold

As per historian Fernand Braudel, the movement of this metal determined history. What is crucial is that all through history, gold has moved towards Asia, not away from it. According to gold expert Peter Bernstein, Asia is the sink of gold and once it enters this sink it never escapes. Within Asia, India is the preferred point of accumulation, gold experts say.

From the studies of experts such as Frank Perlin, Gunder Frank and Fernand Braudel, it is clear that gold and silver move in opposite directions within India; gold moves southwards to accumulate in South while silver moves northwards.

Though India's hunger for gold is legendary, its share in the world production all through history is a meagre 1%.

But the gold accumulated in this sink is more than 25,000 tonnes, almost one- sixth of the world's total. With last year's import of more than 1,000 tonnes, the passion for this metal goes unabated.

How could, in the near-total absence of a particular commodity, an object could be desired for? This is in total contradiction with the materialist-dialectical theory which presupposes the presence of an object in an appreciable quantity to have any effect. Ironically, despite gold's negligent presence, the mythological origin of India occurs from the Hiranyagarbha, the golden womb. Perhaps this genetic myth is true of Kerala than any other region of the country. The productivity of the land in Kerala used to be measured in gold. Gold coins in ancient Kerala were called Rasi, one of the smallest coins found anywhere in the world.

In the economic history of the world, Kerala had gained significance related to gold. In ancient civilizations one incontrovertible sign of imperial power was the right to mint gold coins. For centuries, this right was vested with the emperors. Except one vassal king - its logic is still a mystery - only the Roman emperor minted gold coins. From Julius Caesar to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 there were only two Roman gold coins current in the western world: the early aureus of Constantine. Solidus was the "dollar" of the western world. On the other side, other than the Roman emperor the only royal head to mint gold coins anywhere in the world was the Zamorin of Calicut (now Kozhikode in Kerala). This is recorded by Alexander Del Mar, the American economic historian.

 

[KS]

^ Gold is seen as Goddes Lakshmi and hence the interest in Gold. Simple.