In the name of God..

I got to celebrate an exceptionally good Diwali this year!The 5 day long break served its purpose.It was crackers for 2 whole days as i was part of a big family get-together.The problem(as usual)when all our family members meet is that they carry out a trip to some temple.This time it was the newly built 'Golden temple' in Vellore,Tamilnadu.
I had read about the temple in the papers and even seen about it in jobless news channels.I thought it was just another one until i visited it.It is magnanimous,spread over 100 acres.
Cameras and mobiles were strictly prohibited inside ans hence,there are very few photographs of the temple available for viewing.
The main 'Gopuram' is entirely made of Gold.It is built in such a way that you cannot touch any Gold.The Gold structure is surrounded by water on all sides,thus forming an island kinda look.Even more impressive than the Gold was the remaining 99.9 acres.One will have to walk about 1.5 Kms to see the main Deity.The entire place around you on your way towards the deity is covered with grass lawn.A path made of Granite is for people to walk.You cannot even keep your feet on Grass.A few feet from the entrance you get to see a beautiful artificial waterfall...and you cannot even get close to it and one can watch it only from a 100 metres away.The whole temple is said to have been constructed at a cost of a whopping 500 crores!The amount of Gold that has been spent is an unbeleivable 1500 Kilos!!The whole temple is claimed to be a spiritual park.

But,the question is....is it spiritual?500 crores of money can help develop villages or would be a gift to poor people.India is not yet flying high,that it can neglect 500 crores.The money seems to have come from huge NRI investments.Spending such a huge amount in the name of God is atrocious to me.Defenders might say that it in turn goes to the poor.Bullshit!
Frankly speaking,i didn't feel a faint bit of spirituality when i was inside the 'Sripuram'.I was amazed by the scenery created and was wondering about the cost factor.The whole idea was ridiculous to me.People will remember the place more for the Gold and the landscape rather than the Goddess inside.You can spend such money in building the landscape and scenery and perhaps creating a wonder...but doing that in the name of God is a terrible idea.But,the sad fact is that,the investment turns into a profit when such a temple is built,thanks to Super-superstitious people.
Due,to its increasing popularity,it is on line for being the next 'Tirupathi',which is frustrating for me.
Whatever that is sold in the name of God,sells!