Lighthouse

Author(s): Udayvallabhvijay
Publisher: Pragna Prabodh Parivar

Page 33

ago when Bhakra Nangal Dam was constructed,
Decades the then Prime Minister Shri Nehru had described it as the teerthas of modern India. If someone's mind is obsessed with modernity he would equate a giant dam with a temple. When someone is obsessed with cleanliness, he would term a lavatory as necessity and a temple unnecessary!
One thing is certain. The modern education certainly dents the old values and ethos in people's mind and that gives birth to such utterances.
Devotees are tolerant, they are not cowards. There were strong reactions against the above stated statement of Nehru. He was aptly replied by Darryl de' Monte. His reply was later on published in the book form also titled - Temples or Tombs? (place of pilgrimage or a burial ground?) One cannot oppose development provided it benefits all and has relativity. In the mad obsession for development, if environment, natural resources etc. are destroyed, one should not sing laurels of development.
One can definitely describe a temple as a non-polluting industrial unit which takes care of people without disturbing environment and natural resources. It is the best platform to satisfy mankind's belief, dedication etc. Ignoring this aspect, the modern education, various writers and media strive their best to aggressively create abhorrence in the minds of people against religious places. It is an irony that things which create conveniences to encourage and satisfy the pervert feelings of human mind
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Lighthouse