TEMPLE BUSINESS

AT HARIDWAR AND RISHIKESH….

My recent visit to Haridwar was an eye-opener as well as a lot of fun.
In our religion a boy before getting married is supposed to wear a holy thread at Haridwar from our ancestral jyotishi. So the purpose of our visit was the ceremony to be performed for my brother.

Haridwar located in the foothills of the Himalayas, represents the point where the Ganga reaches the plains. Several temples and ashrams dot this town and this visit to Haridwar was like stepping into a totally different world. Haridwar, literally means 'The gateway to the Gods', and yes you literally feel close to God because of several reasons at this place. If you are an atheist or for some or the other reason don’t feel the presence of the almighty , you need not worry at Haridwar the artificial temples will at least increase your mythical knowledge or entertain you a bit. With beautiful paintings on the walls of the temples and artificial constructions to depict the lives of saints and the deeds of great men will acquaint you to a great extent.

All the famous temples of Haridwar are situated next to each other, at a distance of two kilometers maximum. They are all in a straight line and more are being built in the unfilled area. Some of the temples are ancient but many of them are being constructed artificially just to fill up the areas or to raise funds. Yes , TEMPLES play an important role in the business of the city. More than 70% of Haridwar’s money comes from TEMPLE BUSINESS. All the upper classes and the politicians have one or more temples constructed by them in the city. They are the real owners here who get all the money of the temples (from the donations by masses and other forms) in their pockets. They also give huge amount of donations to the funds of temples to get extra benefits from taxation.

There were a few temples which we saw and some of them were really beautiful .
My favourite was the LAL MATA TEMPLE.
One km further north is theLAL MATA TEMPLE. This temple is modeled after the Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu & Kashmir. There is an artificial hill, which resembles the original. Also there is a replica of the ice Siva-linga, that is located at the Amarnath Cave in Jammu & Kashmir. It is an interesting temple.

Har Ki Pauri or Brahm Kund is the main ghat of Haridwar. It is believed that it represents the point where River Ganges takes leave of the mountains and makes it way to the plains. Each evening at sunset priests perform Ganga Aarti (the river worship ceremony) here, when lights are set on the water to drift downstream while priests engage in elaborate rituals.In the evening the ghats look breathtakingly beautiful, as thousands of diyas and marigold flowers float and illuminate the Holy waters.

The MANSA DEVI temple is situated at the hill above the city. Mansa Devi is a form of Shakti Durga. There is a cable car that goes to the top of the hill, which has made the journey of climbing to the temple very easy and fast. Just in few minutes you travel some kilometers of high and difficult path. But there are people who still climb up because of their faith and belief in Mansa devi, who fulfills everyones wishes whoever comes to her with a pure heart. From the top of the hill you get a bird’s eye view of Haridwar, the Ganga valley, and the Himalayan peaks.

About a half km down the road, is the PAWAN DHAM TEMPLE, which is decorated with excellent mirror and glasswork. It has many shrines dedicated to different deities.
Down the road is the PARMARTH ASHRAM, which has a temple dedicated to the goddess Durga.

You then go further to the eight-storey high BHARAT MATA TEMPLE . On the top floor is a deity of Lord Shankar (Siva).The PARESHWAR MAHADEV TEMPLE is in the south of Haridwar. The Siva-linga in the temple is said to be made of mercury.

There is also a Rudraksh tree situated at this temple.

The DAKSHESWARA MAHADEV SHIVA TEMPLE(also called Daksha Prajapati Temple) is said to have been built in commemoration of Lord Siva coming to this place to help Sati.

These are some famous temples of Haridwar , which are also a way of hiding black money of our famous politicians. I still remember the words of the autorickshaw driver which took us from Haridwar to Rishikesh. He said that there is huge amount of profit in this business, the TEMPLE BUSINESS, because this income is exempt from taxation. We all know who is getting all the money and who is enjoying all the benefits from these temples but we being the common masses are not in a position to raise our voice against it. All the leaders know that we are fools and they are fooling us every now and then.

In INDIA the corruption has its roots at the top , starting from our leaders and great politicians who are not making any laws to curb it because they are the ones who are breaking these laws.

When it comes to food at Haridwar, we were disappointed from a lot many places. There were only a few palces which served good food.
CHOTIWALA RESTAURANT, opposite the Tourist Office,and near the railway station is popular and recommended. It is one of the best places in town. It has good thalis.

Other than that HOSHIYARPURI DHABHA is also a good and a very old restaurant of haridwar.

Near Haridwar is Rishikesh , another holy place.Rishikesh is one of the best-located pilgrimage centers along the right side of the bank of the Ganga. The rope-bridge `Lakshman Jhoola stands majestically here, as a landmark. This is where Lord Rama's brother Lakshman is said to have crossed the river on a jute rope. The old Lakshman temple is situated on the western bank. Near the Lakshman jhoola is the Ram jhoola, which we crossed in a boat.
Other attractions like the school of Yoga and Meditation and white water rafting camp at Shivpuri, 15 km. up stream, extends an irresistible invitation.


Overall the journey or Haridwar-Rishikesh was a great fun.I came to know a lot about TEMPLE BUSINESS and a little bit of mythological importance of the various temples in the city. A huge amount of money is invested and withdrawn from these temples by the wealthiest Indians for their own personal use and benefits and no one can raise a voice against it or infact nobody wants to….why?? Because almost everyone in POWER is involved in this business to hide their ‘black money’ and the law makers here are only the ones who break these laws……..

As Felt By~PUNEET BHAMBHANI