10/09/2025
From Temples to Tickets: How We Lost the Soul of Our Economy
Bitter truths rendering colonialism as ultimate villain
Temple as Community Economy (Before Colonial Capture)
Temples were not just places of worship. They were banks, schools, cultural centres, hospitals, and theatres.
Land endowments funded annadhanam, vedic schools, music, art, and even irrigation.
Everyone - from sculptors to flower-sellers - had dignity and livelihood tied to temple life.
Colonial Interference in Temple Wealth
British codified the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act (early 20th century), allowing state control over temple lands and revenue.
This weakened the community's direct say in temple economics.
The same colonial logic survives today in state governments controlling temple boards.
India is being called a "leech." A politician from across the ocean says it casually, as though it were fact. But history is not so forgetful. The true parasites were the ones who came before him: missionaries, colonisers, slave traders, and capitalists who institutionalised their faith to extract wealth from every corner of the world. They leeched our gold, our labour, our culture - and then gave us a narrative that we are the problem.
Even today, the hypocrisy continues. They speak of "Brahmins" with disdain, while hiding the fact that the elite Boston Brahmins shaped much of America's own power structures. They plant theories like the A***n Invasion to divide India, fund missionary propaganda, and then accuse us of being parasites.
But the deeper wound is not what the West says. It is what we allowed to happen at home.
The Collapse of Dharma Economics
Temples were once the beating heart of community life. They supported artisans, farmers, musicians, priests, teachers. Offerings were not just ritual - they were the economy. Dharma was wealth, and wealth sustained dharma.
Today, temples are controlled by politics. Tickets for darshan are treated as normal. I ask: Why must I pay to see my deity? My ancestors planted cultural iconography, art, and sacred science into these temples. Now much of it is plundered in open daylight, justified under "maintenance" or "modernisation."
The economy of faith has been hijacked. Freewill religion - the pride of our civilisation - has become easy prey for parasites who know how to turn devotion into revenue.
Tickets and Monetisation of Faith
Darshan tickets are justified as "maintenance" or "crowd management."
But ask: Why should access to the divine depend on ability to pay?
Contrast: Churches and mosques don't charge entry fees in the same way.
It reduces devotion into a "transaction," echoing the Western model of institutionalised religion.
Erasure in the Name of Restoration
Renovation often means painting over inscriptions, removing ancient vigrahas, replacing traditional iconography with cheap materials.
Instead of preservation, there is destruction under the guise of modernisation.
The colonial gaze of "improvement" is still alive in how we treat our temples.
Political Capture & Continuity of Divide-and-Rule
Temple boards are stacked with appointees of ruling parties.
Donations are siphoned into state coffers while temples decay.
Meanwhile, political narratives keep alive the colonial myth of "Brahminical oppression" to justify the looting.
Result: temples are drained, people lose cultural pride, and identity becomes fragmented.
The Rise of Individualism
At the same time, society has changed. Our grandparents pulled us out of poverty with sweat and blood, and for that they deserve respect. But in worshipping money as the ultimate salvation, we lost sight of what money was meant to protect: identity, dignity, and community.
Today, most people in my generation think only of job, wife, and private comfort. They call discussions about history, colonialism, or dharma "a waste of time." They are opportunistic, ridiculous in decision-making, and allergic to brainstorming. If you dare to speak truth, someone will leak it, twist it, or sell it as their own.
The socialistic safety nets are collapsing, privatisation is the new gospel, and the security of an individual rarely extends beyond the walls of their own home. A person has only his family to depend on. No community, no cultural spine.
Why It Matters
When a culture forgets how to sustain its own sacred institutions, it becomes dependent on those who know how to exploit them. When people become too individualistic, they lose the strength to resist.
Money alone cannot protect your children's identity. What will they inherit? A flat, a salary, and a passport - or a culture rooted in dignity, courage, and beauty?
The Question We Must Face
We cannot keep sitting like ducks while temples become cashboxes and communities dissolve into consumerism. We must begin asking:
What economy do we want our faith to build?
How do we protect our culture from being ticketed, sold, and pawned?
When will we stop blaming parasites and start reclaiming dharma on our own terms?
The West institutionalised its faith to retain dominance. We chose freewill. That is our strength, but it is also our weak spot. Unless we find a way to rebuild a dharmic economy - rooted in community, not exploitation - we will remain vulnerable to parasites, old and new.
The time has come to stop being silent spectators. The plundering happens in daylight. The question is, will we have the courage to answer?
The Spiritual Question
Beyond economics, there is a psychological theft.
A devotee starts to think: "Maybe my culture is backward, maybe my gods are a business."
This seed of doubt is the real colonial victory - and it's still happening.
