After BJP came to power, the various tirthas (pilgrimage places) in India like Puri, Varanasi, Ajodhya and many others are being beautified. Such beautification at times results to destruction to some existing stuff. Also the cities are being supplemented with stadiums, convention centers and many other infrastructure. How will such development help the greater cause of Sanatan civilization, lets analyze that on 3 criteria: Missionary, Economic and Philosophical.
- Missionary: For a religion to survive and grow, it must spread. It is high time that Hindus develop missionary zeal and make non-Hindus aware of Hinduism and the very foundational characters of the great Hindu Civilization. It is said by business people “Jo Dikhta hai, wahi bikta hai“. How does beautification of Hindu tirthas help in this purpose? If we are able to convert out tirthas to extremely beautiful places, more tourists and also foreign tourists will visit our tirthas instead of Taj Mahal which is beautiful but a symbol of slavery. Lets say a person from Nigeria visits a very beautiful Ajodhya, then (s)he will know about Prabhu Ram, Maa Sita, Hanuman and other great characters of Hindu civilization. As more people visit, Hindu ideals will spread further. One of the reasons why number of the Hajj pilgrims have increased multi-fold in last 100 years is simply because they have greatly beautified Mecca and Medina. . Modiji recently inaugurated a cricket stadium in Varanasi. How will it help the Hindu cause? Lets say an Australian couple who knows nothing about Prabhu Shiva, Maa Parvati visits Varanasi to watch a cricket match. Just by visiting Varanasi, they will know the glory of Prabhu Shiva and Maa Parvati and hence they will themselves become the messengers of Sanatan Dharma. In nutshell, beautification of the tirthas is a soft, easy and effective way of making the world know more about the foundational characters of Hindu Civilization like Prabhu Ram, Maa Sita, Prabhu Krishna, Maa Radharani etc.
- Economic: We must not forget that just till 300 years back, many of our Hindu temples were being demolished by the barbaric hordes. Beautification of tirthas will attract more tourists, both Indian and foreigners alike. This will generate riches and hence will create an ecosystem with deep pockets who will come the defense of the the tirthas. Lets say Marriot Inc. invests in Ajodhya. If Ajodhya is attacked in future, then US Govt. it self will have an interest in ensuring the invaders are defeated. Hence, for long term protection of tirthas, an economic system with deep pockets is must. Deeper the pockets, the better defended our tirthas will be. And not to mention, the jobs and employment the enlarged tourist base will create.
- Philosophical: Change is the unchangeable of nature. Old must be encouraged to give way to new, but preserving the core values. Lord Ram and Maa Sita are eternal. But, if old and depleted idols of our Gods and Goddesses are replaced by new and more beautiful idols, that should be encouraged. If any thing whether a religion, nation, institution, company doesn’t change preserving its core values, then it vanishes to wilderness.
Hence, the changes being done by the Govt. will help Hinduism in long term.
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